Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 89

(Ayah 89) { يَسْتَفْتِحُوْنَ: } They used to seek victory and help, that is, before the advent of the Prophet (peace be upon him), when the Jews were overpowered by the polytheists of Arabia, they would pray: “O Allah! May the Last Prophet appear soon, so that we may join him and gain dominance over these disbelievers.” (Tabari) The second meaning of { ”يَسْتَفْتِحُوْنَ“ } is: { ”يَفْتَحُوْنَ عَلَي الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْا“ } (the meaning of { فَتَحَ عَلَيْهِ } is to inform), the letters “seen” and “taa” are for emphasis, meaning they used to inform the disbelievers in detail. (Zamakhshari)

Abdullah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) says that before the advent of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), the Jews used to pray for victory and dominance over the Aws and Khazraj with him. When Allah sent him from among the Arabs, they disbelieved in him and denied all those things they used to say about him. So Mu’adh bin Jabal, Bishr bin Ma’rur, and Dawud bin Salamah (may Allah be pleased with them) said to them: “O group of Jews! Fear Allah and become Muslims! You used to pray for victory and dominance over us with Muhammad (peace be upon him) when we were caught in polytheism, and you used to tell us that the last Prophet of Allah is about to be sent and you used to describe his signs.” So Salam bin Mishkam, who was from Banu Nadir, said: “He has not brought us anything we recognize, and he is not the one we used to tell you about.” Upon this statement of theirs, Allah revealed this verse: « وَ لَمَّا جَآءَهُمْ كِتٰبٌ مِّنْ عِنْدِ اللّٰهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَهُمْ» [ طبری۔ ابن أبی حاتم بسند حسن : 238/1، ح : ۹۰۸ ]

Qurtubi has also narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them) that the meaning of {”يَسْتَفْتِحُوْنَ“} is that before the appearance of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), when the Jews faced the polytheists of Arabia, they would pray through his means and say: [ اَللّٰهُمَّ إِنَّا نَسْئَلُكَ بِحَقِّ النَّبِيِّ الْاُمِّيِّ الَّذِيْ وَعَدْتَّنَا أَنْ تُخْرِجَهٗ لَنَا فِيْ آخِرِ الزَّمَانِ إِلاَّ نَصَرْتَنَا عَلَيْهِمْ ] “O Allah! We ask You by the right of the unlettered Prophet, whom You have promised us that You will send him for us at the end of times, grant us victory over them.” So when they met the enemy and made this supplication, they would defeat them. (Qurtubi)

This narration is in Mustadrak Hakim (2/263, Hadith: 3042). Imam Hakim (may Allah have mercy on him) said, this narration has been brought due to the necessity of tafsir and this narration is gharib (rare). Imam Dhahabi (may Allah have mercy on him) said in its summary that there is no necessity for it, because the narrator Abdul Malik is abandoned, he is a ruin, and apart from this, none of the narrations of this meaning are Sahih.

89. 1 (یَسْتَفْتِحُوْنَ) has one meaning: they used to pray for dominance and help, that is, when the Jews were defeated by the polytheists, they would pray to Allah that the Last Prophet be sent soon so that by joining him, they could gain dominance over these polytheists. That is, "istiftah" means seeking help. The second meaning is giving news. "Ay yukbirunahum annahu sayub'ath"—that is, the Jews would inform the disbelievers that soon the Prophet would be sent. (Fath al-Qadeer) But after the Prophet was sent, despite having knowledge, they did not believe in the Prophethood of Muhammad ﷺ merely out of jealousy, as mentioned in the next verse.

89. And when there came to them a Book from Allah confirming what was with them—and before this, they used to pray for victory over the disbelievers—yet when there came to them what they recognized, they denied it [105]. So the curse of Allah is upon the disbelievers.

[105]
The Jews Seeking Help Through the Coming Prophet:

That is, before the advent of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, these very Jews, when they were defeated by the Arab tribes—whom they considered illiterate and uncivilized out of contempt—would often pray to Allah, saying: O Allah! Send forth Your promised Prophet of the Last Age so that we may, together with him, gain victory over these disbelievers. Then, when that promised Prophet came, and they recognized him fully according to the signs mentioned in the Book of Allah (the Torah), they denied him. And in reality, these are the true disbelievers upon whom is Allah's curse. And those whom they used to call unlettered and uncivilized were the very ones who, based on what they had heard from the Jews themselves, were the first to believe in the Prophet of the Last Age ﷺ.