1104 - Muhammad ibn 'Ubayd Allah ibn al-Munadi reported to us, in what he wrote to me, Yunus ibn Muhammad narrated to us, Shayban al-Nahwi narrated to us, from Qatadah: "And the Jews say, 'The Christians have nothing [to stand on]'" - he said: Nay, the early Christians did have something [to stand on], but they innovated and split into sects.

1105 - 'Isam ibn Rawwad narrated to us, Adam narrated to us, from Abu Ja'far, from al-Rabi', from Abu al-'Aliyah, who said: "And the Jews say, 'The Christians have nothing [to stand on],' and the Christians say, 'The Jews have nothing [to stand on]'" - he said: These are the People of the Scripture who were alive during the time of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Similar to the saying of Abu al-'Aliyah was narrated from al-Rabi' and Qatadah.

His saying: "while they recite the Scripture"

1106 - Muhammad ibn Yahya narrated to us, Abu Ghassan informed us, Salamah narrated to us, he said: Muhammad ibn Ishaq said: The freed slave of the family of Zayd ibn Thabit—meaning Muhammad ibn Abi Muhammad—narrated to me, from 'Ikrimah or Sa'id ibn Jubayr, from Ibn 'Abbas: "while they recite the Scripture" - he said: That is, each [group] recites in its own book the verification of that which they disbelieve in. That the Jews disbelieve in Jesus, yet they possess the Torah in which is what Allah took as a covenant from them upon the tongue of Moses to verify Jesus; and in the Gospel is what he [Jesus] brought of the Torah from Allah; and each disbelieves in what is in the hands of the other.

His saying: "Likewise, the ignorant spoke as they spoke"

[The first interpretation]

1107 - Abu Zur'ah narrated to us, 'Umar ibn Hammad ibn Talhah narrated to us, Asbat narrated to us, from al-Suddi: "Likewise, the ignorant spoke as they spoke" - they are the Arabs; they said: Muhammad has nothing [to stand on].

The second interpretation:

1108 - Al-Husayn ibn al-Hasan narrated to us, Ibrahim ibn 'Abd Allah al-Harawi narrated to us, Hajjaj informed us, from Ibn Jurayj: "Likewise, the ignorant spoke as they spoke" - he said: I said to 'Ata': Who are they? He said: Nations that existed before the Jews and the Christians, before the Torah and the Gospel.

His saying: "Allah will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning that over which they used to differ"

1109 - 'Isam ibn Rawwad narrated to us, Adam narrated to us, from Abu Ja'far al-Razi, from al-Rabi', from Abu al-'Aliyah: "Likewise, the ignorant spoke as they spoke, like their saying" - he says: The Christians said a similar thing to the saying of the Jews before them. And similar to that was narrated from Qatadah and al-Rabi' ibn Anas.