Āl ʿImrān 3:111-112

Lan yaḍurrūkum illā adhā, wa in yuqātilūkum yuwallūkumu'l-adbāra thumma lā yunṣarūn · Ḍuribat ʿalayhimu'dh-dhillatu ayna mā thuqifū illā bi-ḥablin mina'llāhi wa ḥablin mina'n-nāsi wa bāʾū bi-ghaḍabin mina'llāhi wa ḍuribat ʿalayhimu'l-maskana, dhālika bi-annahum kānū yakfurūna bi-āyāti'llāhi wa yaqtulūna'l-anbiyāʾa bi-ghayri ḥaqq, dhālika bimā ʿaṣaw wa kānū yaʿtadūn

"They will do you no harm beyond annoyance… · Wherever they are found, abasement is stamped upon them — except by a rope from God and a rope from people. … This is because they denied the signs of God and killed the prophets without right; this is because they disobeyed and transgressed."

And the most important element of the verse is the exception in its middle, and it is usually passed over: illā bi-ḥablin mina'llāhi wa ḥablin mina'n-nās.

That is, the ruling is not absolute; it has a caveat, and the caveat is inside the sentence. Two ropes: one from God, one from people.

And the word ḥabl had occurred nine verses earlier, at verse 103. The comparison of the two occurrences was recorded above.

ذِلَّة — root ذ-ل-ل: lowness, submission. Dhalūl — a tamed animal, one brought under. And the opposite of the root is ʿizza.

مَسْكَنَة — root س-ك-ن: stillness, immobility. Miskīn — one who cannot move, who is helpless.

And it must be recorded that both words come with the same verb: ḍuribat — "was struck". In Arabic the verb ḍaraba is used also for the pitching of a tent and the stamping of a seal. And the verb is passive: the one who strikes is not named.

The same two words and the same verb occur together at 2/61 in al-Baqara (wa ḍuribat ʿalayhimu'dh-dhillatu wa'l-maskanatu wa bāʾū bi-ghaḍabin mina'llāh). I rely on that treatment. The difference between the two verses must be recorded, and it is the point this commentary draws attention to:

And the difference is at the most important place: in giving the same ruling, Āl ʿImrān adds an exception.

Per the method (Method) I record this plainly: these two verses cannot be read as a blanket ruling about a community. The reason is not brought in from outside; it is from the text itself, in three places:

One. The ground of the ruling is counted at the end of the verse by verbs: denial, killing prophets, disobedience, transgression. That is, the ruling is tied not to a name but to a list of conduct.

Two. There is an exception in the middle of the sentence, and the exception says that the ruling can be lifted.

Three. And one verse later the sūra will set up the division plainly: laysū sawāʾan (113).