And We sent, following in their footsteps, Jesus, the son of Mary, confirming that which came before him in the Torah; and We gave him the Gospel, in which was guidance and light and confirming that which preceded it of the Torah as guidance and instruction for the righteous.
"Qaffaytu-hu" (We followed him up) is like "aqabtu-hu" (We followed him), meaning: you followed him. Then it is said: "qaffaytu-hu bi-fulan" (I followed him with so-and-so) and "aqabtu-hu bi-hi" (I followed him with him). You make it transitive to the second object by adding the letter ba’.
If you ask: Where is the first object in the verse?
I say: It is omitted. The adverbial phrase "on their footsteps" acts as its substitute, because if one follows him on his footsteps, he has indeed followed him [in them]. The pronoun in "their footsteps" refers to the prophets mentioned in the phrase: "the prophets who submitted [to Allah] judged by it."
Al-Hasan read al-Injil (the Gospel) with a fatha on the hamza. If this is authentically attributed to him, it is because it is a non-Arabic word that, due to its foreign nature, falls outside the rules of Arabic inflection, just like Habil (Abel) and Azar.
"And confirming..."
This is a conjunction linked to the position of "in it is guidance." Its position is in the accusative state (nasb) as a circumstantial qualifier (hal).
"And guidance and instruction..."
It is permissible for them to be in the accusative as circumstantial qualifiers, like "confirming."
It is also permissible for them to be in the accusative as objects for the sake of which the action was done (maf’ul lahu), like "and that they may judge." It is as if it were said: "We gave him the Gospel for the sake of guidance and instruction, and for the sake of judging by the rulings Allah revealed within it."
If you ask: If you arrange "guidance" and "instruction" in the same sequence as "confirming," what do you do with the phrase "and that they may judge"?
I say: I treat it as I treated "guidance" and "instruction" when I made them objects for the sake of which the action was done. I interpret it as: "And that the people of the Gospel may judge by what Allah revealed, We gave it to him."
It was read as "wa-li-yahkum" (and let them judge) as an imperative, meaning: "And We said: let them judge." In the reading of Ubayy, it is narrated as "wa-an li-yahkum" with the addition of an alongside the imperative, as in your saying: "I ordered him an (that) he stand." It is as if it were said: "And We gave him the Gospel, and We ordered that the people of the Gospel judge."
It has been said that Jesus (peace be upon him) was obligated to follow the rulings in the Torah, because the Gospel consists of exhortations and warnings, and the rulings within it are few.
However, the apparent meaning of "And let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed in it" refutes this, as does His saying: "To each among you, We have prescribed a law and a clear way" (5:48). Even if it were permissible for someone to say: "Its meaning is that they should judge by what Allah revealed in it, which includes the obligation to act upon the rulings of the Torah."
