Tafsir of Al Imran 3:1

Classification: Medinan. It consists of two hundred verses.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

1-2. Alif Lām Mīm. Allah—there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence.

3. He has sent down upon you the Book in truth, confirming what was before it. And He revealed the Torah and the Gospel before, as guidance for the people. And He revealed the Criterion (al-Furqān).

4. Indeed, those who disbelieve in the verses of Allah will have a severe punishment. And Allah is Exalted in Might, the Owner of Retribution.

Alif-Lām-Mīm: It is proper to pause upon it, just as one pauses upon Alif and Lām, and to begin what follows it as one says, "One, two." This is the recitation of ‘Āṣim. As for the fatḥah (vowel) upon it, it is the vowel of the hamzah that was cast upon it when the hamzah was dropped for the sake of ease (takhfīf).

If you ask: How is it permissible to cast its vowel upon it when it is a hamzat waṣl (conjunctive hamzah) that is not established in the flow of speech, and thus its vowel should not be established, for the stability of its vowel is like the stability of the letter itself? I say: This is not a flow of speech, for the Mīm is in the position of a pause and a state of rest, and the hamzah is in the position of being established. It was only deleted for ease, and its vowel was cast upon the quiescent letter before it to indicate it. Its parallel is their saying, "One, two" (wāḥid ithnān), by casting the vowel of the hamzah onto the dāl.

If you ask: Why do you not claim that it is a vowel to avoid the meeting of two quiescent letters? I say: Because the meeting of two quiescent letters is not a concern in the chapter of pausing. This is like your saying, "This is Ibrāhīm, Dāwūd, and Isḥāq." If the meeting of two quiescent letters in a state of pause necessitated vocalization, they would have vocalized the two mīms in Alif-Lām-Mīm due to the meeting of two quiescent letters, rather than waiting for a third quiescent letter.

If you ask: They did not vocalize the mīm for the meeting of two quiescent letters because they intended a pause, and they were able to pronounce two quiescent letters; but when a third quiescent letter arrived, nothing was possible except vocalization, so they vocalized it. I say: The proof that the vowel is not for the meeting of two quiescent letters is that they could have said "One, two" (wāḥid ithnān) with the dāl quiescent while dropping the hamzah, thus combining two quiescent letters, as they said uṣaym and madīq. Since they vocalized the dāl, it is known that its vowel is the vowel of the dropped hamzah and nothing else, and it is not for the meeting of two quiescent letters.

If you ask: What is the basis for the recitation of ‘Amr ibn ‘Ubayd with a kasrah? I say: This recitation is based on the assumption of vocalization to avoid the meeting of two quiescent letters, and it is not a standard (accepted) reading.

The Torah and the Gospel: These are two non-Arabic names. The attempt to derive them from al-warā (creation) and al-najl (offspring), or to weigh them as taf‘ulah and af‘īl, is only valid if they were Arabic. Al-Ḥasan recited al-Injīl with a fatḥah on the hamzah, which is evidence of its non-Arabic origin, for af‘īl with a fatḥah on the hamzah is non-existent in the patterns of the Arabs.

If you ask: Why was it said, "He sent down the Book" and "He sent down the Torah and the Gospel"? I say: Because the Qur’an was sent down in stages, while the two Books were sent down all at once. Al-A‘mash recited "He sent down upon you the Book" with the light form (takhfīf) and the nominative case (raf‘) for "the Book."

Guidance for the people: That is, for the people of Moses and Jesus. Those who say we are bound by the laws of those before us interpret this generally.

If you ask: What is meant by al-Furqān (the Criterion)? I say: It refers to the genus of heavenly books, for all of them are Furqān that distinguish between truth and falsehood. Or, it refers to the books he mentioned, as if he said—after mentioning the three books—"And He sent down that which distinguishes between truth and falsehood from His books, or from these books." Or, he intended the fourth book, which is the Psalms (Zabūr), as He said: "And We gave David the Psalms" (4:163), which is apparent. Or, he repeated the mention of the Qur’an with what is its attribute and praise—that it is a separator between truth and falsehood—after mentioning it by its generic name, to exalt its status and manifest its excellence.

By the signs of Allah: From His revealed books and others.

Exalted in Might, Owner of Retribution: He has a severe retribution, the likes of which no other avenger can possess.