Overall meaning : Allah Almighty makes mention of the Jews’ statement to the believers, ‘Follow the Jewish faith and you will be rightly-guided,’ and the Christians’ statement to them, ‘Follow the Christian faith and you will be rightly-guided.’ So Allah Almighty enjoins His Prophet, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to say to both of them that true guidance does not lie in their corrupt and distorted religions, but rather in following the religion of Abraham, peace be upon him, which upholds pure monotheism and vehemently rejects the practice of worshipping others besides Allah.
Allah Almighty then instructs the faithful to openly declare their belief in Him and what was revealed to them; in what was revealed to the messengers before them, Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the prophets from among the descendants of Jacob (the Tribes); to believe in the scriptures Allah revealed to Moses and Jesus and the miracles with which He supported them; to believe in what Allah has given to the rest of the prophets and messengers, peace be upon them, without making any distinction whatsoever between any of them; and to declare total submission to His will and absolute obedience to Him, Glorified and Exalted be He.
If the Jews and Christians believe as you, Muslims, believe and profess your faith in its entirety, then they will indeed find themselves on the path of true guidance; but if they turn away, know then that they only intend to oppose you and show outright hostility towards you. Nonetheless, Allah will surely take it upon Himself to protect you from their harm and spare you from all evil; for He hears what they say and knows full well what they reveal and what they conceal.
Follow, therefore, Allah’s religion and devotedly adhere to it, for there is nothing better than Allah’s religion, and totally submit to His will.
Then Allah Almighty instructs His Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to disapprovingly say to those Jews and Christians who only argue with him for the sake of arguing: would you argue with us About Allah by claiming that you are more deserving of His grace and favour than us?! How can this be possible when the Lord of all creation is One, and each of us has their deeds according to which they will be repaid?! You are not better than us, but we are worthier of Allah’s favour and grace than you because we do not ascribe partners to Him, but you do.
He then disapproves of the Jews and the Christians and reprimands them for their false claim that Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob and the prophets from among the descendants of Jacob (the Tribes) followed Judaism or Christianity—even though these two religions came only after these prophets—and instructs His Prophet to ask them, ‘Who knows better, you or Allah?’
No one does greater wrong by concealing testimony than those who conceal what Allah has revealed in His books. Allah Almighty is not the least bit unaware of these Jews and Christians. Indeed, He has complete knowledge of all their deeds and nothing is hidden from Him.
Allah Almighty further informs the Jews and Christians who denied the prophethood of Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, that heir righteous ancestors have passed away, stressing that their ancestral relationships with them or their ancestors’ good deeds will by no means benefit them in any way and that they will be judged and repaid only according to their ways and the fruit of his deeds, and not according to the ways and fruit of their ancestors’ actions.