Tafsir of Al Imran 3:149-151

"If you obey those who disbelieve..."

• Ali (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It was revealed regarding the hypocrites saying to the believers during the defeat: "Return to your brethren and enter into their religion."
• Al-Hasan (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It means to seek counsel from the Jews and Christians and accept it from them, for they used to lead them astray and cast doubts into their religion, saying: "If he were truly a prophet, he would not have been defeated, nor would he and his companions have suffered what they suffered. He is merely a man whose state is like the state of other people; one day for him, and one day against him."
• Al-Suddi said: It means to submit to Abu Sufyan and his companions and seek their protection.

"They will turn you back..." To their religion. It is also said that this is general for all disbelievers, and that it is incumbent upon the believers to avoid them, not to obey them in anything, and not to submit to their judgment or their counsel, so that they do not lure them into agreeing with them.

"But Allah is your Protector" Meaning: Your Helper. You have no need for the help of anyone else alongside Him. His guardianship is sufficient. It is also recited in the accusative case (mawlakum), meaning: "But obey Allah, your Protector."

"We will cast..." Recited with both the nun (We) and the ya (He).

"Terror" Recited with both a quiescent and a damma-voweled ayn. It is said that Allah cast fear into the hearts of the polytheists on the day of Uhud, so they fled to Mecca without cause, despite having the strength and the upper hand. It is also said that they went toward Mecca, but when they were partway there, they said: "We have accomplished nothing; we killed some of them and then left them while we were the victors. Return and exterminate them." When they resolved to do so, Allah cast terror into their hearts.

"Because they associated..." Due to their polytheism. Meaning: The cause for Allah casting terror into their hearts was their associating partners with Him.

"For which He has not sent down any authority" Deities for whose worship Allah has not sent down any proof. If you ask: "Was there a proof there, such that Allah would have sent it down, making their polytheism valid?" I say: It does not mean that there was a proof but it was not sent down to them, for polytheism cannot be supported by a proof. Rather, the intent is to negate both the proof and its descent entirely, similar to the poet's saying: "And you will not see a lizard burrowing there."