"And those who are Jews," meaning: those who became Jews. "And the Christians," Qatadah said: They were named Christians (Nasara) because they were in a village called Nasirah.
"And the Sabaeans," Qatadah said: They are a people who recite the Psalms (Zabur) and worship the angels.
Yahya said: Some of them recite it as "wa-l-Sa'ibin" (the Sabaeans) with a hamza.
﴿وَالَّذِينَ هادوا﴾ يَعْنِي: تهودوا ﴿وَالنَّصَارَى﴾ قَالَ قَتَادَة: سموا نَصَارَى؛ لأَنهم كَانُوا بقرية يُقَال لَهَا: ناصرة.
﴿وَالصَّابِينَ﴾ قَالَ قَتَادَة: هُم قوم يقرءُون الزَّبُورَ، ويعبدون الْمَلَائِكَة.
قَالَ يحيى: وَبَعْضهمْ يقرءونها: ﴿والصائبين﴾ مَهْمُوزَة.
