Those who disbelieve in the signs of God and slay yaqtulūna is also read as yuqātilūna ‘they fight against’ the prophets without right and slay those who enjoin to equity to justice and these are the Jews who are reported to have killed forty–three prophets and to have been forbidden this by a hundred and seventy devout worshippers among them each of whom was killed immediately. So give them good tidings let them know of a painful chastisement. The use of ‘good tidings’ here is meant as a sarcastic ridicule of them the fā’ of fa-bashshirhum so give them good tidings is considered part of the predicate of inna because its noun that is its relative clause resembles a conditional sc. in yakfurūna ‘if they disbelieve…’ fa-bashshirhum ‘then give them good tidings…’.
