قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَسْتُمْ عَلَى شَيْءٍ حَتَّى تُقِيمُوا التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَيَزِيدَنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِنْ رَبِّكَ طُغْيَانًا وَكُفْرًا فَلَا تَأْسَ عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ ﴿۶۸﴾ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالصَّابِئُونَ وَالنَّصَارَى مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ﴿۶۹﴾ لَقَدْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ رُسُلًا كُلَّمَا جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ بِمَا لَا تَهْوَى أَنْفُسُهُمْ فَرِيقًا كَذَّبُوا وَفَرِيقًا يَقْتُلُونَ ﴿۷۰﴾ وَحَسِبُوا أَلَّا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ فَعَمُوا وَصَمُّوا ثُمَّ تَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ ثُمَّ عَمُوا وَصَمُّوا كَثِيرٌ مِنْهُمْ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿۷۱﴾

﴾68﴿ Qul yaaa Ahlal Kitaabi lastum 'alaa shai'in hattaa tuqeemut Tawraata wal Injeela wa maaa unzila ilaikum mir Rabbikum; wa layazeedanna kaseeram minhum maa unzila ilaika mir Rabbika tugh yaananw wa kufran falaa taasa 'alal qawmil kaafireen
﴾69﴿ Innal lazeena aamanoo wallazeena haadoo was saabi'oona wan Nasaaraa man aamana billaahi wal yawmil Aakhiri wa 'amila saalihan falaa khawfun 'alaihim wa laa hum yahzanoon
﴾70﴿ Laqad akhaznaa meesaaqa Banee Israaa'eela wa arsalnaaa ilaihim Rusulan kullamaa jaaa'ahum Rasoolum bimaa laa tahwaaa anfusuhum fareeqan kazzaboo wa fareeqany yaqtuloon
﴾71﴿ Wa hasibooo allaa takoona fitnatun fa'amoo wa sammoo summa taabal laahu 'alaihim summa 'amoo wa sammoo kaseerum minhum; wallaahu baseerum bimaa ya'maloon

﴾68﴿ Say, O People of the Book, you do not follow any religion until you act on the Torah and the Gospel and on what has been revealed to you from your Lord, and of course it adds that for many of them the book that was revealed to you From your Lord disobedience and disbelief So do not feel sorry for the unbelieving people
﴾69﴿ Indeed those who are believers and those who are Jews and Sabians and Christians Whoever believes in Allah Almighty and the Last Day And if he acts in the way of the Prophet, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him, then there will be no fear for them, nor will they be sad
﴾70﴿ We took a strict promise from the Israelites and sent many messengers to them When the Messenger came to them with that speech that he did not like, their souls rejected a group and killed another group
﴾71﴿ And they thought that there is no punishment for us (for this action of ours), so they became blind and deaf So Allah Almighty had mercy on them, then again they became blind and deaf many of them, And Allah is the Seer of the deeds they do

[68] This is the first of the five key principles of da‘wah (invitation), and it serves as a detailed explanation of "balligh" (convey)":
"(Lastum ‘alā shay’in)" — “You are upon nothing” Here, “shay’” refers to anything that holds validity or weight in religion. The verse implies that their religion is so far removed from truth that it doesn’t even qualify as a “thing” in any meaningful or beneficial religious sense — a strong expression of negation.
"(Ḥattā tuqīmū al-Tawrāh wa al-Injīl...)" — “Until you uphold the Torah and the Gospel…” Previously, the importance of establishing the scriptures was explained. Here, it highlights that they have failed to uphold them. True establishment includes tawḥīd (monotheism), faith in the final Messenger, and belief in the Qur’an — all of which are essential components of that "establishment."
"(Wa la-yazīdanna kathīran minhum...)" — “And indeed, many of them will be increased…” In verse 64, “many” referred specifically to the Jews. But here, it includes all People of the Book (Jews and Christians).
There, ṭughyan and kufr referred to blasphemy against Allah, such as saying “Allah’s hand is chained.” Here, the ṭughyan and kufr refer to distorting, concealing, and altering the scripture of Allah, instead of upholding it. They engage in deliberate corruption rather than sincere establishment of divine guidance.
"(Fa-lā ta’s)" — “So do not grieve” Meaning: Don’t be saddened by their disbelief. Their rejection will only lead to their own punishment and destruction, so the Prophet (peace be upon him) is being consoled not to feel sorrow over their choices.
[69] The connection of this verse is that previously, the greatness of "upholding the divine books" was mentioned — now, the verse explains what that truly means: having correct faith and doing righteous deeds. It clarifies that this is the real path to salvation.
The main message of the verse is: Upholding the divine scriptures is not just about claiming association with them, such as someone saying, “I am a follower of Musa (peace be upon him).” Such claims and affiliations only have value when they are combined with true faith and righteous action.
"(Fa-lā khawf ‘alayhim…)" — “Then no fear shall be upon them…” This refers to life in Paradise, where there is no fear of punishment, nor any grief or sorrow for worldly matters.
[70] This verse responds to a claim made by the People of the Book, who say: “We have upheld the Book, and we have faith and righteous deeds.” But the verse clarifies that they have neither upheld the Book nor practiced righteous deeds, because they have in fact broken Allah’s covenant, denied the messengers, and even killed them. So how can they truthfully claim faith and righteous action?
"(Kullamā jā’ahum rasūl…)" — “Whenever a messenger came to them…” This is a rebuke for the Children of Israel's betrayal of their covenant.
"(Bimā lā tahwā anfusuhum)" — “With what their souls did not desire” Divine rulings are usually against the desires of the self, since they demand submission to tawḥīd (monotheism) and the way of the prophets (sunnah) — which contradicts people’s egos and worldly attachments.
"(Yaqtulūn)" — “They kill” This clearly states that the Children of Israel killed prophets (peace be upon them). The use of the present tense verb (yaqtulūn) indicates that this behavior wasn’t just in the past — they still had the intention to kill the Final Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as well.
[71] The connection here is that the disease of arrogance and defiance remained in them permanently, and the reason was their belief that no punishment would come upon them. "(Wa ḥasibū)" — “And they assumed” This points to the continuation of their spiritual illness — those who denied and killed prophets considered their actions justified and said these would not lead to punishment.
"(Allā takūna fitnah)" — means “that no trial (punishment or calamity) would occur.” Fitnah here refers to divine punishment, and takūna is an existential verb — requiring only a subject, not a complete clause.
There were several reasons behind this false assumption:
1. They said: “We are the children of Allah and His beloved ones” — falsely believing that they were immune from punishment.
2. They believed that any prophet who brought a ruling that contradicted their desires deserved to be killed.
"(Fa-‘amū wa ṣammū)" — “So they became blind and deaf” This refers to spiritual blindness and deafness — they stopped looking at the truth and refused to hear it, abandoning reflection and guidance.
"(Thumma tāba Allāhu ‘alayhim)" — indicates that they themselves did not repent, but rather Allah turned to them by sending more prophets to renew the call to faith and guidance.
"(Thumma ‘amū wa ṣammū kathīrun minhum)" — means that many of them again returned to blindness and deafness. The word "kathīr" (many) is explained as the predicate of a hidden subject, meaning: “many (of them became like that), even though some did believe” — referring to **those who accepted the Final Prophet (peace be uopon him).