Tafsir of Al-Ma'idah 5:50

There are two interpretations:

First: The tribes of Qurayza and Nadir requested that the Prophet (ﷺ) judge according to the practices of the Jahiliyyah regarding the disparity in blood money for the slain. It is narrated that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said to them: "The slain are equal [in value]." The Banu Nadir replied, "We are not satisfied with that," so this verse was revealed.

Second: It is a rebuke to the Jews, who are people of Scripture and knowledge, yet they seek the judgment of the Jahiliyyah—a creed of caprice and ignorance that neither originates from a Book nor returns to a revelation from Allah Almighty. According to al-Hasan, this is general for everyone who seeks a judgment other than the judgment of Allah. Judgments are of two types: a judgment based on knowledge, which is the judgment of Allah, and a judgment based on ignorance, which is the judgment of Satan.

Tawus was asked about a man who favors some of his children over others, and he recited this verse.

Linguistic Notes:

• Readings: It is read as tabghun (you seek) and yabghun (they seek). Al-Sulami read Afahukmu al-Jahiliyyati yabghun with hukmu in the nominative case (raf') as an initial subject (mubtada'), with yabghun serving as the predicate (khabar), omitting the referential pronoun—similar to the omission in the verse: "Is this the one whom Allah has sent as a messenger?" (25:41), or in the description: "Among people are two men: a man I insulted and a man I honored," or in the state: "I passed by Hind, Zayd is hitting [her]."
• Qatada’s Reading: Qatada read Afahukma al-Jahiliyyati [in the accusative], implying that this judgment they seek is merely the kind of judgment rendered by the "Snake of Najran" or his peers among the judges of the Jahiliyyah. In their foolishness, they wanted Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets, to be a judge like those judges.

"For a people who have certainty" The lam in "for a people" (li-qawm) is for clarification (li-l-bayan), like the lam in "come here" (hayta laka). It means: this address and this interrogation are for a people who have certainty, for they are the ones who are certain that there is no one more just than Allah, and no one better in judgment than Him.