And if only the People of the Scripture had believed and feared Allāh, We would have removed from them their misdeeds and admitted them to Gardens of Pleasure.
Allah states that the Jews, may Allah's continuous curses descend on them until the Day of Resurrection, describe Him as a miser. Allah is far holier than what they attribute to Him. The Jews also claim that Allah is poor, while they are rich. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah's statement,
وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ يَدُ اللَّهِ مَغْلُولَةٌ
(The Jews say, "Allah's Hand is tied up.") "They do not mean that Allah's Hand is literally tied up. Rather, they mean that He is a miser and does not spend from what He has. Allah is far holier than what they attribute to Him." Similar was reported from Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Ad-Dahhak. Allah said in another Ayah,
Some conditions of the Jews were mentioned in the previous verses. More particular ones appear in the verses cited above, especially the ones identified with Nabbash son of Qays and Fenhas, the chief of the Jewish tribe of Qaiynuqa` who uttered words of affront with reference to Almighty Allah, the description of which follows. Thereupon, the opening verse was revealed. (As in Al-Lubab, from Sayyidna ibn ` Abbs ؓ narrated by Al-Tabarani and Abu Al-Shaykh)
Commentary
The first verse begins with the words: وَقَالَت الیَھُودُ the Jews said). It mentions what was a grave offence and an utterly undignified re-mark for any human being to make. They were wretched enough to (God forbid) say that Allah's hand is tied up.
In the Quran, when stress was laid on spending in charity for God’s sake and when people were urged to give gratuitous loans to God, the Jews made this the subject of ridicule. They used to say that God is a pauper and his subjects are rich; God’s hands are empty these days. They knew full well that God was above suffering a shortage of anything; so such statements were not directed against God, but against the Prophet and the Quran, and were meant actually to show that the Prophet was not the true Prophet and that Quran was not the Book of God. According to them, had the Quran truly been sent down on behalf of God, its content would have been quite different. But those who hold forth in this way only prove that they are devoid of the spirit of real religion; they are living in a state of insensitivity. When the Jews refused to accept the guidance offered by the Quran, it was not a simple refusal. It was actually a claim that they already enjoyed salvation and did not need any further guidance. An extreme type of egotism develops in people who have such a conceited mentality. In their dealings with others, even in their everyday lives, they are not prepared to give up their ego. As a result, the whole of society falls a prey to mutual differences and enmity. The call of a prophet is that man should also adopt that religion of obedience to God which has already been adopted by all things of the universe. This means keeping a peaceful balance in the world (islah). Now, those who place impediments in the way of the prophetic call seek to create a disturbance in this world of God. However, man has the freedom only to deal with his own inner turmoil. Nobody has that right over another’s fate.
