Verses previous to these carried the command to revert back to the mandate given by Allah and the Messenger in all matters. In the present verses which follow, the act of reverting to laws contrary to the Shari` ah has been censured.

Commentary

The background of the revelation of these verses

There is a special incident behind the revelation of these verses, the details of which identify a hypocrite by the name of Bishr. He got into a dispute with a Jew. The Jew said, "Let us go to Muhammad and ask him to settle our dispute.' But, Bishr, the hypocrite, did not accept this proposal. Instead, he came up with a counter-proposal suggesting that they go to a Jew, Ka'b ibn Ashraf and let him give a decision. Ka'b ibn Ashraf was a tribal chief among the Jews and was a sworn enemy of the Holy Prophet and his Muslim followers. It was a strange coincidence that a Jew would leave his chief aside and elect to go by the judgment of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، while Bishr, who called himself a Muslim, would bypass him and elect to go by the judgment of the Jewish chief. But, there was a secret behind it. Both of them were certain that the Holy Prophet ﷺ will give a judgment which is bound to be true and just. It will be free from apprehensions about any tilt or favour or misunderstanding. Since the Jew was on the right in this dispute, so he had more confidence in the Holy Prophet ﷺ as compared to his own chief, Ka'b ibn Ashraf. Bishr, the hypocrite was in the wrong, therefore, he knew that the Prophet's judgment will be against him - even though he claimed to be a Muslim while his adversary was a Jew.

However, after some mutual cross talk between them, both of them agreed upon the option of going to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and requesting him to give a decision in their dispute. So, the case went to him. He made relevant investigation in the case which proved that the Jew was in the right: Consequently, he gave a decision in his favour. But, on the other side, there was Bishr, a pretending Muslim, who lost his case before him. He was not pleased with this judgment, so he hit upon a new plan to persuade the Jew to somehow agree to go to Sayyidna ` Umar ibn al-Khattab ؓ and have him give a decision in their case. The Jew agreed. There was a secret here too. Bishr was under the impression that Sayyidna ` Umar is usually hard on disbelievers so he would, rather than decide in favour of the Jew, decide in his favour.

Thus, they both reached Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ . The Jew told him everything about the incident and also narrated to him how the Holy Prophet ﷺ had already given his decision in this case and that this man was not satisfied with it and had, therefore, brought his case before you.' Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ asked Bishr, "Is this what really happened?" He confessed that this is how it was. Thereupon, Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ said: "All right; you wait here, I am coming." He went into the house and came out with a sword which he swung to finish the hypocrite off, saying: "This is the decision for him who is dissatisfied with the decision of the Holy Prophet ﷺ " (This incident appears in Ruh al-Ma’ ani from Sayyidna 'Abdullah ibn ` Abbas as narrated by Thalabi and Ibn Abi Hatim).

Most commentators have also added that, following this incident, the heirs of the hypocrite thus killed filed a suit against Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ accusing him of having killed a Muslim without adequate legal authority as admitted by the Shari’ ah of Islam. To strengthen their case, they submitted interpretations of his kufr (disbelief) in words and deeds in order to prove his being a Muslim. In the present verse, Allah Almighty has unfolded the reality behind the case, confirming that the person killed was a hypocrite, and thus it was that Sayyidna ` Umar ؓ was absolved.

Also reported are some other incidents of this nature where people had bypassed clear Islamic legal verdict to finally accept the decision of a soothsayer or astrologer. It is possible that the present verse was revealed about all such incidents.

The explanation of verses

The first verse (60) exposes the claim of those who say that they have believed in earlier scriptures, the Torah and the Evangel, and now believe in the Book (the Qur'an) revealed to the Holy Prophet Muhammad ﷺ . That is, earlier in time, they were a part of the community of the people of the Book, then they entered the fold of Islam and became a part of the Muslim community. The verse warns that this claim of theirs is simply a verbal camouflage for their hypocrisy. Their hearts are stuffed with the same old disbelief which has come out in the open during this dispute when Bishr, bypassing the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، proposed that the Jewish chief, Ka'b ibn

Ashraf be the judge in that dispute and, in addition to that, later when the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، gave a clear and just decision, he found it unacceptable.

The comment which follows immediately employs the word, "Taghut" which has been left un-translated. Lexically, “ Taghut” primarily means one who exceeds the limits.' In usage, the Satan is referred to as Taghut. In this verse, carrying the dispute to Ka'b ibn Ashraf has been equated with carrying it to the Satan. The reason could be that Ka'b ibn Ashraf was himself a satan personified, or it could be that bypassing a decision under the God-given law and preferring a decision contrary to it can only come from the teaching of the Satan. About anyone who follows this course, it is clear that he has virtually taken his case to the court of none else but the Satan. There-fore, right there in the end of this verse, there appears the warning that those who follow the. Satan, the Satan will mislead them to a remote wrong way.