سُوْرَةُ الْبَيِّنَةِ
Surah Al-Bayyina (98) — Ayah 4
وَمَا تَفَرَّقَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ إِلَّا مِنۢ بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَتْهُمُ ٱلْبَيِّنَةُ ﴿4﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
And the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) differed not until after there came to them clear evidence (i.e. Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and whatever was revealed to him).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
وَمَا
wamā
And not
تَفَرَّقَ
tafarraqa
became divided
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
those who
أُوتُوا۟
ūtū
were given
ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ
l-kitāba
the Book
إِلَّا
illā
until
مِنۢ
min
from
بَعْدِ
baʿdi
after
مَا
mā
what
جَآءَتْهُمُ
jāathumu
came (to) them
ٱلْبَيِّنَةُ
l-bayinatu
(of) the clear evidence
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan — Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf
Tafsir Ahsan al-Bayan is a well-known Quran commentary by Hafiz Salahuddin Yusuf, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. This tafsir explains the meanings of the Quran in accordance with the methodology of the Salaf (early righteous generations), relying on authentic sources and straightforward language. Due to its reliability and adherence to sound Islamic scholarship, the Saudi government publishes and distributes this tafsir among the Hujjaj (pilgrims) visiting the Haramain. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
4. 1. That is, the People of the Book were united before the coming of the Noble Prophet ﷺ, until his ﷺ prophethood occurred; after that, they became divided. Some among them became believers, but the majority remained deprived of faith. The point in describing the Prophet’s ﷺ prophethood and messengership as a proof is that his ﷺ truthfulness was evident, leaving no room for denial. But these people denied him ﷺ merely out of jealousy and enmity. This is why, among those who committed division, only the People of the Book are mentioned here, even though others also committed it, because they were, after all, people of knowledge. And the mention of his ﷺ coming and attributes was present in their books.
