Tafsir of Al Imran 3:79

"It is not for a human being..." This is a refutation of those who believed in the divinity of Jesus. It is said that Abu Rafi‘ al-Qurazi and a leader from the Christians of Najran said to the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), "Do you wish for us to worship you and take you as a lord?" He replied, "I seek refuge in Allah from worshipping other than Allah, or commanding the worship of other than Allah. It is not for this that He sent me, nor is this what He commanded me." Thus, this verse was revealed.

It is also said that a man asked, "O Messenger of Allah, we greet you as we greet one another; should we not prostrate to you?" He replied, "It is not appropriate to prostrate to anyone other than Allah, but honor your Prophet and recognize the rights of those who possess them."

"And the judgment (al-hukm)..." Meaning: the wisdom, which is the Sunnah.

"But be 'Rabbaniyyin' (devout scholars)..." Meaning: be those who are devoted. A Rabbani is attributed to the Rabb (Lord) with the addition of the alif and nun, similar to saying raqabani or lahyani. It refers to one who holds firmly to the religion of Allah and His obedience. When Ibn Abbas died, Muhammad ibn al-Hanafiyya said, "Today, the Rabbani of this nation has died."

Al-Hasan said: Rabbaniyyin means scholars and jurists. Others said: scholars and teachers. They used to say: The Rabbani is the scholar who acts upon his knowledge and teaches it.

"Because you have been..." Meaning: because of your being scholars and because of your studying of knowledge. It necessitates that Rabbaniyyah—which is the strength of holding fast to the obedience of Allah—must be caused by knowledge and study. This is sufficient evidence for the failure of one who exhausts himself and strains his soul in gathering knowledge, yet does not make it a means to action. His likeness is that of one who plants a beautiful tree that delights with its appearance but provides no benefit with its fruit.

(Note: There are variant readings for "tu‘allimun" (you teach) and "ta‘allamun" (you learn).)

"You study..." Meaning: you read. (Note: There are variant readings for "tadrusun" (you study) and "tudarrisun" (you teach).)

This implies that whoever learns and studies knowledge but does not act upon it has no connection to Allah, and the link between him and his Lord is severed, as the attribution to Him is only established for those who hold fast to His obedience.

"Nor would he command you..." Regarding the reading with the nasb (accusative case), it is a conjunction to "then he says." There are two interpretations:

1. The "la" (no/not) is redundant, used to emphasize the negation in "It is not for a human being." The meaning is: It is not for a human being whom Allah has chosen for prophethood and appointed to call people to the exclusivity of Allah’s worship and the abandonment of rivals, to then command people to be his servants and command you "to take the angels and the prophets as lords." It is like saying, "It is not for Zayd that I honor him, and then he insults me and does not belittle me."
2. The "la" is not redundant. The meaning is that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) used to forbid the Quraysh from worshipping angels, and the Jews and Christians from worshipping Ezra and the Messiah. When they asked him, "Shall we take you as a lord?", it was said to them: "It is not for a human being whom Allah has chosen for prophethood to then command people to worship him, while he forbids you from worshipping angels and prophets."

The reading with the raf‘ (nominative case) as the beginning of a new sentence is more apparent, and it is supported by the reading of Abdullah (Ibn Mas‘ud): "And he would not command you." The pronoun in "nor would he command you" and "would he command you" refers to the human being. It is also said it refers to Allah, and the hamza in "would he command you" is for the purpose of denial.

"After you have been Muslims." This is evidence that those addressed were Muslims—they were the ones who asked his permission to prostrate to him.