لِئَلّا يَعلَمَ أَهلُ الكِتابِ أَلّا يَقدِرونَ عَلىٰ شَيءٍ مِن فَضلِ اللَّهِ ۙ وَأَنَّ الفَضلَ بِيَدِ اللَّهِ يُؤتيهِ مَن يَشاءُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ ذُو الفَضلِ العَظيمِ

So that the People of the Book may know that they have no power over anything of Allah’s grace, and that all grace is in Allah’s hand which He grants to whomever He wishes, and Allah is dispenser of a great grace.

EXEGESIS

The lā (at the end of the opening words liʾallā) is not a negation particle because that would reverse the meaning to become: So that the People of the Book may not know. It is an additional particle whose function is to show emphasis and allow the flow of the words without altering the meaning. As a literary device, this has been employed in other verses as well (cf. 7:12).

The possessive prefix dhū, given here as dispenser (often as ‘possessor’) before the words great grace has been explained earlier under verse 6 where it occurs in the feminine as dhāt.

The meaning of faḍl (grace) in the Quran has also been explained earlier, under verse 21.

So that the People of the Book may know that they have no power over anything of Allah’s grace is in response to the false sense of pride of being unconditionally ‘chosen by God’ that the Jews of Medina displayed over the new Muslims (cf. 3:24). This verse echoes others (2:111, 3:73-74) that assert that guidance, excellence, and being chosen is only God’s to give and that all grace is in Allah’s hand which He grants to whomever He wishes – it is no one’s prerogative. And God guides and chooses a nation on merit. He even takes away that status from the undeserving. Even when Prophet Abraham (a) prays for God to make his descendants the leaders and guides of mankind, it is not accepted unconditionally: He [Allah] said: ‘My pledge does not extend to the unjust’ (2:124).

As mentioned under the Exposition of verse 21, which He grants to whomever He wishes does not mean He does so indiscriminately. Rather, that He grants to the deserving and He knows best who they are and no one can have a say or restrict what He grants and to whom. The same is true for God forgiving and punishing whomever He wishes (3:129) or guiding and allowing to go astray whomever He wishes (14:4). None of this is done randomly and indiscriminately but is given based on divine wisdom and each individual’s merit and what he or she deserves.

Allah’s grace also includes the appointing of a prophet amongst the Arabs, and this verse therefore also means that although the Jews of Medina rejected the Prophet because he was not from their lineage (2:90) and the Meccans had denied him because he was not of wealth or a prominent leader amongst them (43:31), they have no power to dictate God’s decision on whom He appoints as a prophet or to whom He grants revelation, and He gives of His grace as He pleases.

See the Exposition of verse 21 for the concluding words, which He grants to whomever He wishes, and Allah is dispenser of a great grace.