138. Best Ummah or the best community because this is the very Ummah that follows the right religion. The people of the Book adopted deviated ways in religion and therefore lost the original faith. Now Allah has raised the Muslim Ummah for the reformation and guidance of humanity. The quality of this Ummah is this that it is equipped with faith and performs the duty of enjoining what is right and forbids what is wrong. For this reason it has been called the best Ummah and not because of its birth or racial connections, as the people of the Book think about themselves.

The really deserving people to be called the best Ummah were the companions of the holy Prophet and the people who immediately followed them, in whom these qualities were found. As regards those Muslims who have no interest in faith and whose every effort is directed towards enjoining what is wrong and forbidding what is right are not worthy of this high office. (See Surah Baqarah Note No. 166).

139. That is: If these jews and the Christians would have embraced Islam and would have joined the best Ummah, it would have been better for them. But among them there are only a few who have faith and the majority of them are wrong doers and transgressors.

140. It is about the people of the Book of that time that they were very weak-willed, and therefore could talk only of inflicting harm. They cannot stand in opposition to the true people of faith. Subsequent events confirmed this statement of the Quran, as the people of the Book were made to taste the ignominy of great defeat.

141. They do not stand on their strength. If at some place they have been given shelter by an Islamic state under a covenant, then at another place other nations have given them refuge These supports are temporary. Their own honour and dignity is nothing.

142. As a fruit of their love for this world, there was no willingness in them to give preference to the Hereafter over the world and to offer sacrifies for the faith, and they had reached the nadir of moral downfall and evil-doing.

143. There is evidence of these crimes of theirs in the Bible also:

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you. (Mat: 23:37)

“Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against thee and cast thy law behind their back and killed thy prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to thee and they committed great blasphemies therefore thou didst give them into the hand of their enemies, (Neh 9: 26,27)

144. This refers to that group of the people of the Book which stood by the covenant made with Allah. They were righteous and faithful and as the truth about the prophet and the Quran went on becoming clear to them, they accepted the faith and joined the group of Muslims. Quran here has eulogised only such people of the Book, only.

145. That is: The thing which prompts them to reject faith is the love of wealth and children, but these things, wealth and children will not save them from the divine punishment.

146. In this example wind signifies good acts and charity, and by the icy and frosty wind is meant lack of correct faith and rejection of belief. The harvest means the earnings. etc in the material world. As the wind, which is generally useful for agriculture but the same wind when it becomes icy cold and brings frost with it, proves to be highly disadvantageous for the harvest, in the same way good acts and charity, inspite of their being useful. are destructive to the reward of the Hereafter if they are bereft of feelings of faith and are contaminated with the poison of rejection (kufr).

147. In this verse Muslims are directed not to take any persons outside the Islamic nation into their confidence, and the reason for the same has also been stated. These people on account of their hatred of Islam and Muslims will spare no pains to harm your interests. This direction was given at the time of the battle when it was feared that Muslims might reveal their war secrets to the Jews on account of their old friendly relations because the Jews were supporting the enemies of the Muslims and rancour had developed in the heart of the Jews against Islam. The guiding principle which can be derived from this verse is that wherever the striving for the supremacy of Islam has entered the stage of jihad or where the Muslims are in power politically, there the Muslims should be extra cautious in respect of the war secrets and political manouevres. etc. and they should not reveal their secrets to or take into confidence those who have refused to accept the faith and join the Islamic nations.

148. That is: You are their well wishers, while they do not wish you well. They are morbadly anti-Islam and anti-Muslim.

149. The Jews claimed that they believed in Allah and the Last Day, therefore they were faithful, although they were not prepared to recognise Quran as the revealed Book from Allah. Quran says that as long as a person is not prepared to accept all the revealed Books including Quran as Divine Books, he cannot be faithful and his faith is not at all reliable.

150. This is the picture of those who do not like that Islam should propagate and prosper and the Islamic nation should attain supremacy. They are always prejudiced against Islam and Muslims. and every success of Muslims is an utterly painful event for them.

151. Here righteousness refers to following the directions that have been given above.