Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:65
And if only the People of the Scripture had believed and feared Allah, We would have removed from them their misdeeds and admitted them to Gardens of Pleasure.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His word: وَلَوْ أَنَّ أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ آمَنُوا وَاتَّقَوْا لَكَفَّرْنَا عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَلأَدْخَلْنَاهُمْ جَنَّاتِ النَّعِيمِ (65) ("And if the People of the Book had believed and been God-fearing, We would surely have wiped out their evil deeds from them and surely admitted them into the Gardens of Bliss." (5:65))
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted is His mention, says: "And if the People of the Book" — and they are the Jews and the Christians — "had believed" in Allah and in His messenger Muḥammad (Allah bless him and grant him peace), so that they held him to be truthful and followed him as well as what was sent down to him, "and been God-fearing" with regard to what Allah had forbidden them and had avoided it, "We would surely have wiped out their evil deeds from them," that is to say: We would have wiped out their sins and covered them, and not disgraced them with them.
"And surely admitted them into the Gardens of Bliss," that is to say: and We would surely have admitted them into gardens in which they enjoy bliss in the Hereafter.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
Mention of who said that:
12256 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: "And if the People of the Book had believed and been God-fearing," he says: had believed in what Allah has sent down, and been God-fearing with regard to what Allah has forbidden — "We would surely have wiped out their evil deeds from them."
