Tafsir of Al Imran 3:20

"If they argue with you, say..."

"If they argue with you" Meaning: If they dispute with you regarding the religion.

"Say: I have submitted my face to Allah" Meaning: I have dedicated my soul and my entire being to Allah alone. I have not associated any partner with Him in it, neither by worshipping another nor by invoking a god alongside Him. This means my religion is Tawhid (monotheism), which is the upright religion whose validity is as established for you as it is for me. I have not brought anything novel that you should argue with me about.

Similar to this is: "Say, 'O People of the Scripture, come to a word that is equitable between us and you—that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him'" (Al-Imran: 64). This is a rebuttal to their argumentation, asserting that what he and the believers with him follow is the absolute truth, free of ambiguity; thus, there is no basis for arguing about it.

"And those who follow me" This is a conjunction linked to the ta (the 'I') in aslamtu (I have submitted). The separation [by the intervening words] makes this conjunction acceptable. It is also permissible for the waw (and) to be in the sense of "with," making it an object of accompaniment (maf'ul ma'ahu).

"And say to those who were given the Scripture" The Jews and the Christians.

"And to the unlettered" Those who have no scripture, from among the polytheists of the Arabs.

"Have you submitted?" Meaning: Evidence has come to you that necessitates submission and makes its occurrence inevitable. So, have you submitted, or do you remain in your disbelief? This is like saying to someone for whom you have summarized an issue, leaving no path of clarification or exposition untraversed: "Have you understood it, or not?"

From this is His saying, Exalted is He: "So will you not desist?" (Al-Ma'idah: 91), after mentioning the deterrents regarding wine and gambling.

In this interrogative form, there is a sense of reproach and accusation of obstinacy and lack of fairness. For a fair-minded person, once the proof is manifest, their submission to the truth does not falter. Obstinacy after the manifestation of proof acts as a barrier between the person and submission. Similarly, in "Have you understood it?" there is a rebuke for dullness and lack of intellect; and in "So will you not desist?" there is a rebuke for lagging in desisting and for intense greed in engaging in what is forbidden.

"If they submit, then they are guided" They have benefited themselves by emerging from misguidance to guidance, and from darkness to light.

"But if they turn away" They do not harm you, for you are a Messenger tasked with delivering the message and pointing to the path of guidance.

"Indeed, those who disbelieve in the verses of Allah and kill the prophets without right and kill those who order justice among the people—give them tidings of a painful punishment. They are the ones whose deeds have become worthless in this world and the Hereafter, and for them there are no helpers." (21-22)