سورة البقرة

Ali ibn Ibrahim (may Allah have mercy on him): This verse was revealed about Jews who, while being hypocrites, professed Islam outwardly. When they saw the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family), they would say: "We are with you," and when they met the Jews, they would say to them too: "We are with you."

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): When the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) overcame these Jews with his miracles, and cut off their excuses with his clear proofs, so that they had no way to contend with him and could not resist, and concealing the truthfulness of the Prophet's miracles was impossible, they said: "O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! We have believed in your messengership, and that you are the guide who is himself rightly guided [by Allah], and that Ali (peace be upon him), your brother, is the wasi (successor) and wali (guardian) [of Allah]." But when they sat privately with the other Jews, they would say to them: "This faith we have shown outwardly protects us from the harm that would otherwise come from them, and helps us in destroying him (Muhammad, peace be upon him and his family) and his companions; because when they think we are one of them, they trust us and hand over their secrets to us, and hide nothing from us, and by this means we pass on their information to their enemies; so that their enemies, with our help and support, can seek to harm them at times when they are preoccupied and troubled, and unable to defend themselves or fend off the enemy." At the same time, [these Jews] would tell the other Jews: "Conceal the miracles you saw from the Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) from the rest of the people, so that they do not come to believe in him." But Allah made the Noble Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) aware of this ugly belief of theirs, their unwarranted meddling, and their denying, regarding the Prophet's miracles and clear proofs, what they themselves had witnessed, and He said: أَ فَتَطْمَعُونَ أَنْ یُؤْمِنُوا ... [Do you then hope that they would believe in you...]

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): [O Prophet!] Do you and your companions, such as Ali (peace be upon him) and his pure household (peace be upon them), hope that these Jews, whom you have overcome by proofs and miracles, will believe in you, and do you hope that those whom you have overpowered with clear proofs will affirm you as true and describe your exalted rank and noble state to their devil-natured friends?

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): "A party of them" means some of these Jews of the Children of Israel.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): [The Jews who lived in the time of Musa (peace be upon him)] used to hear the word of Allah and His commands and prohibitions at the foot of Mount Sinai.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): When [the scholars and elders of the Children of Israel] wanted to tell the other people of the Children of Israel the verses [rulings and commands] they had heard [from Allah's commands and the Torah], they would distort and alter them.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): They were fully aware that what they were saying was false.

Imam Askari (peace be upon him): [Those who distorted it] knew that they themselves were lying.