Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān fī tafsīr kalām al-Mannān, by ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Nāṣir al-Saʿdī (d. 1376 AH / 1956 CE). A modern commentary in plain Arabic that states the sense of each verse and the lesson drawn from it, without chains or digressions.
The complete commentary on Compassion, mercy and monasticism (57:27), covering 57:27.
On 57:27
Then We sent following, that is, We caused to follow in their footsteps Our messengers, and We sent following Jesus son of Mary. God singled out Jesus (peace be upon him) because the context concerns the Christians, who claim to follow Jesus. And We gave him the Gospel, which is one of God’s excellent books, and We placed in the hearts of those who followed him compassion and mercy, as He, Exalted, said: You will surely find the most intense of people in enmity towards those who believe to be the Jews and those who associate partners with God, and you will surely find the nearest of them in affection towards those who believe to be those who say: We are Christians. That is because among them are priests and monks, and because they are not arrogant (5:82), and the following verses. For this reason the Christians were softer of heart than others when they were upon the law of Jesus (peace be upon him). And monasticism, which they invented: monasticism (rahbāniyya) is worship; they invented of their own accord a form of worship, imposed it upon themselves and bound themselves to its requirements, which God had not written for them nor made obligatory; rather it was they who bound themselves to it of their own accord, their intent in that being the good pleasure of God. Yet despite that, they did not observe it with its due observance, that is, they did not carry it out nor fulfil its rights. So they fell short in two respects: in respect of their innovation, and in respect of their failure to carry out what they had imposed upon themselves. This condition is the predominant one among their conditions, though among them are those who are upright upon the command of God, and for this reason He said: So We gave those of them who believed their reward, that is, those who believed in Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) together with their faith in Jesus: God gave each one according to his faith; but many of them are corrupt (57:27).
About this text
This is a complete English rendering of Taysīr al-Karīm al-Raḥmān fī tafsīr kalām al-Mannān on these verses, prepared for this website from the public-domain Arabic text (tafsir.app, src=saadi). Nothing is abridged: every opinion, every report with its chain of transmission, every verse of poetry and every grammatical note is translated. Qur’anic quotations are in bold; the translator’s own notes are confined to the numbered footnotes and identify names, terms and variant readings only. A second translator has not checked the rendering, and the Arabic is linked so that any passage can be compared. The modern editors’ apparatus is not part of the classical text and is not translated.
Compassion, mercy and monasticism (57:27): all commentaries · The classical commentaries