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Explanatory Note
The sūrah goes on to expose further Jewish ill-will and animosity towards the Muslims, so that they may beware of their malign influence and hold fast to what God has entrusted them with: “Neither the unbelievers among the people of earlier revelations nor the idolaters would like to see any blessing ever bestowed upon you by your Lord. But God favours with His mercy whom He wills; His grace is infinite.” The verse speaks of Jews, Christians and idolaters in the same vein, describing them as unbelievers because they have all denied God’s last and final message to man which was revealed to Muĥammad (peace be upon him). They share the same grudges and hatred towards the Muslims for being chosen by God as recipients of His revelation and as trustees and custodians of His religion on earth.
Earlier, we saw other manifestations of this jealousy and the blind hatred underlying it, and how it was extended even to angels such as Gabriel who was no more than a carrier of God’s revelations to the Prophet Muĥammad.
In stating that “God favours with His mercy whom He wills”, the sūrah emphasises that God’s decisions in these matters are not arbitrary. If He chooses to bestow His mercy on Muĥammad and his followers, it is because He knows that they both deserve and are worthy of it. The comment at the end of this verse is: “His grace is infinite”.
The greatest of God’s bounties is His message, and the advocacy of His faith. Thus, believers should realise in their hearts how favoured they have been. They would be able then to counter the hatred and doubt campaign led always by the Jews to weaken the faith in the hearts of Muslims, with awe and gratitude, coming as it does after they have been alerted to the unbelievers’ intrigues and ill-will. All these feelings may be seen as an essential mobilisation to counter the Jews’ campaign against Islam.
The main reason for this impudent attack, as mentioned earlier, was the abrogation, replacement or amendment of certain Qur’ānic directives and rulings, especially the one regarding the qiblah. This last ruling instructed Muslims to face the Ka`bah in Makkah, rather than Jerusalem, in prayer.