َ فِيهَا كُتُبٌ قَيِّمَةٌ ﴿۳﴾ وَمَا تَفَرَّقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَةُ ﴿۴﴾ وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَذَلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ ﴿۵﴾ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أُولَئِكَ هُمْ شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّةِ ﴿۶﴾

﴾3﴿ Feeha kutubun qaiyimah
﴾4﴿ Wa maa tafarraqal lazeena ootul kitaaba il-la mim b'adi ma jaa-at humul baiyyinah
﴾5﴿ Wa maa umiroo il-la liy'abu dul laaha mukhliseena lahud-deena huna faa-a wa yuqeemus salaata wa yu-tuz zakaata; wa zaalika deenul qaiyimah
﴾6﴿ Innal lazeena kafaru min ahlil kitaabi wal mushri keena fee nari jahan nama khaali deena feeha; ulaa-ika hum shar rul ba reeyah

﴾3﴿ In those scriptures are writings containing firm and established teachings
﴾4﴿ And those who were given the Book did not become divided into groups except after clear proof had come to them
﴾5﴿ And they were not commanded except to worship Allah alone, being sincere in devotion to Him, upholding Tawhid, establishing prayer, and giving Zakat. And this is the upright religion of firm-standing men
﴾6﴿ Indeed, those who disbelieved from the People of the Book and the polytheists will be in the fire of Hell, abiding therein forever. They are the worst of creation

[4] This is a warning against division and disagreement after the establishment of clear proof. The phrase “those who were given the Book” is specifically mentioned because the source of discord is usually the people of knowledge, while the common people merely follow them as imitators.
[5] In this emphasis lies a former torment, meaning that they have deviated from the agreed-upon religion (which is the upright religion).
The phrase “وَمَا أُمِرُوا” (And they were not commanded) refers to the command given in the previous scriptures — meaning this religion is the religion of all divine books and the religion of all prophets (peace be upon them).
Or it means that they have been commanded with these things in the Qur'an, even though these same commands existed in their own books — so why do they reject them?
“مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ” — Religion here means worship, and sincerity (ikhlas) means to perform actions purely for Allah the Exalted, free from show (riya), seeking fame (sum‘ah), or any other worldly motives. The place of sincerity is the heart.
This is what is intended by the lawful intention (niyyah shar‘iyyah). From this, the scholars have deduced that intention is a condition for every act of worship, as mentioned in the authentic hadith: “Actions are only by intentions.”
“حُنَفَاءَ” — Al-Sharbini said that Hanif is the one who is free from the five foundational religions: Judaism, Christianity, Sabianism, Magianism, and all forms of polytheism.
And like this, it alludes to all three: people of knowledge have deduced that actions are included within faith.
[6] This warning of the Hereafter is for the deniers.
“شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّةِ” — is derived from bar’ meaning creation, so bariyyah refers to all created beings, including angels and jinn.
Or it is derived from bariy (without hamzah), which refers to soil, so bariyyah would refer only to humans, since they were created from soil.
However, the first opinion is stronger, based on the context of Surah Al-Anfal (8:55, 8:22).