Overall meaning : Allah Almighty says to His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: Are you not amazed, Muhammad, that those who falsely claim they believe the Qur’an and the other previous divinely revealed books and yet they seek judgement in their disputes in other than what Allah has revealed although they have been commanded to reject such judgement? Satan only desires to lead them far astray.
When they are instructed to turn to what Allah Almighty has revealed in His Book and in the teachings (Sunnah) of His Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, you see these hypocrites completely shunning you, Muhammad, and to what you are calling them and turning others from it as well.
But terrible indeed will their condition be if some disaster strikes them on account of their unbelief and sins—including their seeking judgement in their disputes in other than what Allah has revealed—and then they come to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, expressing regret and falsely swearing by Allah that they have sought other than his judgement with the best of intentions, thereby doing nothing but good and attempting to reconcile disputants, stating that they do not believe that such judgement is valid anyway. Allah declares that He is fully aware of their evil intentions and of the hypocrisy their hearts conceal, and that He will punish them for that. Then He instructs His Prophet, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, to leave them alone, make them desirous of submitting to Allah’s will and obey His Messenger, bearing in mind the dire consequences of not doing so, and to secretly offer them such poignant advice as to deeply penetrate their hearts and souls.
The Almighty then proclaims that never has He sent a messenger but that he should be obeyed and followed by those to whom he is sent by His will. And if, when these who wrong themselves by committing sins come to the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, during his lifetime, with a truly repentant heart, imploring Allah’s forgiveness, and the Messenger prays to Allah to forgive them their sins, they will surely find that Allah is ever ready to pardon their sins and have mercy on them.
Allah next swears by Himself, saying: By your Lord, Muhammad, they will not be true believers until they make you judge in all matters on which they disagree among themselves, and not doubt the justice of your decisions and accept it wholeheartedly and with the fullest conviction.