Sūrat al-Māʾidah
Section 12 of 25 · Surah Studies · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
O Messenger, Convey
Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) is told:
۞ يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلرَّسُولُ بَلِّغْ مَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ ۖ وَإِن لَّمْ تَفْعَلْ فَمَا بَلَّغْتَ رِسَالَتَهُۥ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ
“O Messenger, convey all that has been sent down to you from your Lord. If you do not, then you shall not have conveyed His message (at all). Allah shall protect you from the people. Surely, Allah does not lead the disbelieving people to the right path.” (5:67)
O Messenger, convey that which has been revealed to you from your Lord. Wa-in lam tafʿal — if you do not, for whatever reason: because of some constraint you feel, or because you think it may not be politically opportune at the time, as has been seen elsewhere — fa-mā ballaghta risālatah: then you have not truly conveyed your message. Wa-llāhu yaʿṣimuka mina al-nās. This is the verse in question: until it was revealed, there would sometimes be men standing guard outside the door of the Prophet (peace be upon him), feeling that they ought to protect him. After this verse was revealed — verse 67, wa-llāhu yaʿṣimuka mina al-nās, Allah will protect you from the people — there was no need for any human guard. Allah was there. Inna Allāha lā yahdī al-qawma al-kāfirīn.
Allah (swt) then speaks to the People of the Book, telling them to proceed properly according to what is in the Torah and the Injīl, and that which has been revealed to them from their Lord.
قُلْ يَـٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَسْتُمْ عَلَىٰ شَىْءٍ حَتَّىٰ تُقِيمُوا۟ ٱلتَّوْرَىٰةَ وَٱلْإِنجِيلَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُم مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ ۗ وَلَيَزِيدَنَّ كَثِيرًا مِّنْهُم مَّآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ طُغْيَـٰنًا وَكُفْرًا ۖ فَلَا تَأْسَ عَلَى ٱلْقَوْمِ ٱلْكَـٰفِرِينَ
“Say, “O people of the Book, you have nothing to stand on, unless you uphold the Torah and the Injīl and what has been sent down to you from your Lord.” What has been sent down to you from your Lord will certainly make many of them more persistent in rebellion and disbelief. So, do not grieve over the disbelieving people.” (5:68)
What does this mean — that they should follow their own books properly? Are they not to follow the Qur'an? The sense is that if they follow their books properly, they will find in them the mention, the tidings, of the last prophet; and so, following their books properly, they would have to follow the last prophet. They would have to make that upgrade. Allah then praises those who have done so.