Transliteration:( Wa lammaa jaaa'ahum Kitaabum min 'indil laahi musaddiqul limaa ma'ahum wa kaanoo min qablu yastaftihoona 'alal lazeena kafaroo falammaa jaaa'ahum maa 'arafoo kafaroo bih; fala 'natul laahi 'alal kaafireen )
165. The word verification or affirmation in this verse means that it is the Holy QUR'AAN which has verified the authenticity of these revealed Books like the Tauraat (Old Testament). The Injeel (New Testament), etc because they had prophesised the coming of the QUR'AAN and all these prophesies became true after its revelation. It also means that the QUR'AAN was responsible for advocating that all these Books are indeed revealed Books of Allah because if it was not for the QUR'AAN the world would not have known the truth of these Books. Although Allah had sent approximately 124,000 Prophets for the guidance of man only those names are remembered which are mentioned in the QUR'AAN.
166. Circumstances of its Revelation:
Whenever the People of the Book (the true Yahud and Nasara) had fought with the heathens they would always pray for their victory and success by seeking the mediation of the Holy Prophet. Oh Allah grant us success for the sake of the Final Prophet. And Allah would always make them victorious. The previous revealed Books and the Prophets had all proclaimed the coming of the Final Prophet, In this verse these People of the Book are reminded by Allah that first you would pray through his blessed name, but now that he has come into the world you are rejecting his Prophethood. This verse makes it clear that seeking the Waseelah (intercession) and mediation of the Holy Prophet is an old practice of the previous nations and those who reject this mediation are worse than the Yahud and the Nasara. Also, the Holy mediation was the Prophet's source of fulfilment of people's desires from time immemorial.
167. The word 'him' refers to the Holy Prophet, because when any being is discussed or mentioned with its attributes the word 'him' is used therewith. Says Allah Almighty "And do not marry those women whom your fathers have married' (S4 V22) Further, it can be inferred that theprevious non-believers must have prayed through the medium of the Holy Prophet and not through the medium of the Holy QUR'AAN because only the Holy Prophet was known to them through their Books i.e. Hazrat Isa, had said. (S61 V 6) "Convey the glad news of the Messenger who will come after me, his name is Ahmedâ€.
168. Almighty Allah did not denounce their mediation which was an acceptable act, but He rebuked their rejection of the Holy Prophet. For this reason the word 'upon them' was not used here, otherwise some would have misunderstood this to mean their denouncement was due to accepting the mediation of the Holy Prophet
89. And when there came to them (the Jews), a Book (this Qur’an) from Allah confirming what is with them (the Tawrah) and the Injil (Gospel), although aforetime they had invoked Allah (for the coming of Muhammad ) in order to gain victory over those who disbelieved, then when there came to them that which they had recognised, they disbelieved in it. So let the curse of Allah be on the disbelievers.
Allah said,
(And when there came to them) meaning, the Jews,
(a Book from Allah) meaning, the Qur’an that Allah sent down to Muhammad,
(confirming what is with them) meaning, the Tawrah. Further, Allah said,
(although aforetime they had invoked Allah (for coming of Muhammad ) in order to gain victory over those who disbelieved) meaning, before this Messenger came to them, they used to ask Allah to aid them by his arrival, against their polytheistic enemies in war. They used to say to the polytheists, “A Prophet shall be sent just before the end of this world and we, along with him, shall exterminate you, just as the nations of `Ad and Iram were exterminated.†Also, Muhammad bin Ishaq narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, “The Jews used to invoke Allah (for the coming of Muhammad ) in order to gain victory over the Aws and Khazraj, before the Prophet was sent. When Allah sent him to the Arabs, they rejected him and denied what they used to say about him. Hence, Mu`adh bin Jabal and Bishr bin Al-Bara’ bin Ma`rur, from Bani Salamah, said to them, `O Jews! Fear Allah and embrace Islam. You used to invoke Allah for the coming of Muhammad when we were still disbelievers and you used to tell us that he would come and describe him to us,’ Salam bin Mushkim from Bani An-Nadir replied, `He did not bring anything that we recognize. He is not the Prophet we told you about.’ Allah then revealed this Ayah about their statement,
(And when there came to them (the Jews), a Book (this Qur’an) from Allah confirming what is with them (the Tawrah) and the Injil (Gospel)).â€â€™
Abu Al-`Aliyah said, “The Jews used to ask Allah to send Muhammad so that they would gain victory over the Arab disbelievers. They used to say, `O Allah! Send the Prophet that we read about – in the Tawrah – so that we can torment and kill the disbelievers alongside him.’ When Allah sent Muhammad and they saw that he was not one of them, they rejected him and envied the Arabs, even though they knew that he was the Messenger of Allah. Hence, Allah said,
(Then when there came to them that which they had recognized, they disbelieved in it. So let the curse of Allah be on the disbelievers). â€
95. Before the advent of the Prophet, the Jews were eagerly awaiting a Prophet whose coming had been prophesied by their own Prophets. In fact, the Jews used to pray for his advent so that the dominance of the unbelievers could come to an end and the age of their own dominance he ushered in. The people of Madina were witnesses to the fact that these same Jewish neighbours of theirs had yearned for the advent of such a Prophet. They often used to say: ‘People may oppress us today as they wish, but when our awaited Prophet comes, we will settle our scores with our oppressors.’
Since the people of Madina had themselves heard such statements they were inclined to embrace the religion of the Prophet all the more readily lest their Jewish neighbours supersede them in acquiring this honour. It was therefore astonishing for them to find that when the promised Prophet did appear those same Jews who had so eagerly looked forward to welcoming him turned into his greatest enemies.
The statement ‘and they recognized it’ is confirmed by several contemporaneous events. The most authentic evidence in this connection is that of Safiyah, a wife of the Prophet, who was herself the daughter of one learned Jewish scholar (Huyayy b. Akhtab) and the niece of another (Abu Yasir). She says that when the Prophet migrated to Madina both her father and uncle went to meet him and conversed with him for quite a while. When they returned home, she heard the following conversation:
Uncle: Is he really the same Prophet whose advent has been prophesied in our Scriptures?
Father: By God, he is.
Uncle: Do you believe that?
Father: Yes..
Uncle. Then what do you intend to do?
Father: 1 will continue to oppose him and will not let his claim prevail as long as I live.
(Ibn Hishim, Sirah, eds., Mustafa al-Saqqa’ et al., 2 vols., II edition, Cairo, 137511955, see vol. 1, pp. 518 f. See also Ibn IshAq, The Life of Muhammad, tr. and notes by A. Guillaume, London, Oxford University Press, 1955, pp. 241 f. – Ed.)
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