Translation of the meanings Ayah 72 Surah Āl-‘Imrān - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - The Noble Qur'an Encyclopedia

Ayah: 72

وَقَالَت طَّآئِفَةٞ مِّنۡ أَهۡلِ ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ ءَامِنُواْ بِٱلَّذِيٓ أُنزِلَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَجۡهَ ٱلنَّهَارِ وَٱكۡفُرُوٓاْ ءَاخِرَهُۥ لَعَلَّهُمۡ يَرۡجِعُونَ

(72) A faction of the People of the Book ˹connivingly˺ said: “Believe in what was sent down to the Believers early in the day, and then Deny it at the end of it^[618]. So that they ˹Believers˺ may retract”^[619].

[618] At a later time in the day.
[619] This is a privileged glimpse given to the Prophet (ﷺ) by God into the ways and wiles of his antagonists. In order to sow the seed of doubt in the minds of Believers, they hatched the plot of claiming to embrace Faith after giving the matter some thought, only to disclaim it as untrue shortly thereafter, seemingly as a result of much consideration and insider knowledge. They hoped that this would cause some Believers to waver on the ground that they would see these so-called knowledgeable people abandon the religion in such a way. (al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī)