Sayyiduna Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), regarding the saying of Allah Almighty: "Allah is the Protector of those who believe; He brings them out of the darkness into the light" [Al-Baqarah: 257], said: "These are people who used to disbelieve in Isa (peace be upon him), then they believed in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)." And regarding "And those who disbelieve, their protectors are the taghut (false deities); they bring them out of the light into the darkness" [Al-Baqarah: 257], he said: "These are people who believed in Isa (peace be upon him), then when Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent, they disbelieved in him."
Hadith Referenceالمعجم الكبير للطبراني / باب العين / 11068