A show of false belief followed by relapse, Their dishonest dealings with others, Their alteration of scriptures, Claim to divinity not to be attributable to any apostle.

Aal ’Imran Verses 72 – 80

وَقَالَتْ طَائِفَةٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ آمِنُوا بِالَّذِي أُنْزِلَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَجْهَ النَّهَارِ وَاكْفُرُوا آخِرَهُ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْجِعُونَ

“And said a group of the people of the Book, “Believe in what hath been sent down to the believers1at daybreak and deny it at its close perchance (by this device) they may return (to disbelief)” (3:72).

وَلَا تُؤْمِنُوا إِلَّا لِمَنْ تَبِعَ دِينَكُمْ قُلْ إِنَّ الْهُدَىٰ هُدَى اللَّهِ أَنْ يُؤْتَىٰ أَحَدٌ مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيتُمْ أَوْ يُحَاجُّوكُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّكُمْ ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ الْفَضْلَ بِيَدِ اللَّهِ يُؤْتِيهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ

“(And they say) And believe not in any but those who follow your religion; Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) “Verily, the (true) guidance is the guidance from God; ‘(envy ye) that to any other (also) hath been given the like of what hath been given to you; or (fear ye that) they (would) dispute you in the presence of your Lord”. Say, Thou, - “Grace is in the hands of God; He granteth2it unto whomsoever He liketh; and verily, God is Omniscient, All-Knowing” (3:73).

يَخْتَصُّ بِرَحْمَتِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ ذُو الْفَضْلِ الْعَظِيمِ

“He singleth3out for His mercy whomsoever He liketh; and verily, God is (the Lord) of Great Grace” (3:74).

وَمِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ مَنْ إِنْ تَأْمَنْهُ بِقِنْطَارٍ يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيْكَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ إِنْ تَأْمَنْهُ بِدِينَارٍ لَا يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيْكَ إِلَّا مَا دُمْتَ عَلَيْهِ قَائِمًا ۗ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا لَيْسَ عَلَيْنَا فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ سَبِيلٌ وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

“And from among the people of the Book are such whom if thou entrust (even) a heap of Gold, he will restore it unto thee: and from among them are such whom if thou entrust (even) a dinar, he will not restore it unto thee unless thou keepeth standing firmly upon him demanding it; This because they say “It is not incumbent on us” (to be faithful) to the ignorant and they utter a lie against God while they know (what they do is wrong)” (3:75).

بَلَىٰ مَنْ أَوْفَىٰ بِعَهْدِهِ وَاتَّقَىٰ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُتَّقِينَ

“Yea, whoso keepeth his promise4and guardeth himself (against evil), for5verily, God loveth those who guard themselves (against evil)” (3:76).

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَشْتَرُونَ بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ وَأَيْمَانِهِمْ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا أُولَٰئِكَ لَا خَلَاقَ لَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَا يَنْظُرُ إِلَيْهِمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

“Verily6, they who barter their covenant with God and their oaths for a paltry price7; These! are they for whom there is no share in the hereafter, and God will not speak to them will not look towards them on the Day of Resurrection; nor will He purify them, and for them (shall be) a grievous punishment” (3:77).

وَإِنَّ مِنْهُمْ لَفَرِيقًا يَلْوُونَ أَلْسِنَتَهُمْ بِالْكِتَابِ لِتَحْسَبُوهُ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

“And verily among them is a group who twist8their tongues (with) the book that ye may reckon it to be of the Book, but it is not of the Book, and they say, “It is from God”, and it is not From God; and they tell a lie against God while they know (it well)” (3:78).

مَا كَانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَنْ يُؤْتِيَهُ اللَّهُ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحُكْمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ ثُمَّ يَقُولَ لِلنَّاسِ كُونُوا عِبَادًا لِي مِنْ دُونِ اللَّهِ وَلَٰكِنْ كُونُوا رَبَّانِيِّينَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تُعَلِّمُونَ الْكِتَابَ وَبِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَدْرُسُونَ

“It is not for a man, that God should give him the Book and Judgment and apostleship and yet he should say to people, “Be ye worshippers of me, besides God’s”; but rather, (he would say) “Be ye godly9what ye teach the Book and what ye read (yourselves)” (3:79).

وَلَا يَأْمُرَكُمْ أَنْ تَتَّخِذُوا الْمَلَائِكَةَ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ أَرْبَابًا ۗ أَيَأْمُرُكُمْ بِالْكُفْرِ بَعْدَ إِذْ أَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ

“And10nor would he enjoin you that ye should take the Angels and the Apostles for lords: What! would he enjoin you with disbelief after ye are ‘Muslims’11unto God?” (3:80).

Commentary

Verse 72

To make a show of belief for some time and then to avow that they were mistaken; this was one of the tactics which the Jews had been adopting to at least create doubts in the minds of the simple-minded ignorant people about Islam. But they were never successful in this device also, as in their other plans and intrigues.

This tactic of the opponents of posing as impartial seekers of truth by accepting some doctrinal views and denying the other ones, or accepting the doctrine for some time and rejecting them afterwards, is an old trick played by the Jews and the Christians against Islam and it was continued to be played by the ruling party in Islam against the Holy House of the Prophet and its devoted adherents. It can be noticed in the authentic books of traditions and the theology sponsored by the ruling party. While the author narrates some of the sayings of the Holy Prophet in favour of the ‘Ahl Al-Bayt’ to show his impartiality, he narrates side by side some spurious traditions which nullify the previous one or reduces its importance. The same is the case with the modern orientalists who pose to be very impartial when writing about Islam, and some of them go to the extent of praising Islam to camouflage or conceal their bigotry and then vomit the venom against it. (A.P.)

Verse 73

Grace stands for knowledge and wisdom. It may mean prophethood, which position is the highest grace of God. (B.H.)

Regarding the grammatical construction of the clauses in this verse, there are several possibilities given by the commentators. The clearest one to us, is to take the clause ‘believe not save the one who follows your religion’ as the supplementary clause co-ordinating with the previous clause ‘believe that which. The following clause is given by the Qur’an in the refutation of their statement, that they are wrong in their narrow-mindedness in confining to their doctrine which they followed. It says that guidance is God’s, Who can give it, and has given the same what you have been given, or to give them the means to argue against you before your Lord. (A.P.)

Verse 74

Mercy here means Prophethood, Islam or the revelation, i.e. of the Holy Quran. (UB. M.S.).

From ‘Man Yasha’... (i.e., whomsoever He likes, some commentators infer that God’s blessings is not based on merit but at His will. This does not mean that His will is arbitrary, not based on His wisdom. His will is not restricted by any external condition, but it cannot be denied that His wisdom dominates His will, and His wisdom and His justice do not give any room for any arbitrary action. (A.P.)

Verse 75

It is quite evident from this verse as to how far and how much Islam stresses upon the discharge of a trust. Note the appreciation and the admiration of the quality even in the enemies of the faith as in the faithful which indicates as to how essentially it must be expected of the Muslims.

The amount of importance attached to Trusts by Islam, is evident from the verses 4:58, 33:72, 8:27, 16:90, 4:135 which means undertaking and shouldering responsibility towards others. In this sense, one’s responsibility and undertaking towards God, is estimated. Whatever we possess of the senses and the faculties, is an endowment entrusted to us by God. Man is responsible to use it according to His will and order.

Some are the obligations and the responsibilities of man to each other. All the promises, contracts, pacts and the covenants, whether political, economic or social, according to Qur’an come under the principle of trust. The prophet of Islam was so cautious about trusts throughout his life that even his deadliest enemies had utmost faith in his reliability, and was popularly known as the ‘Al-Ameen’ (i.e., The Trustworthy), or (the Trusted one). They used to deposit their valuable things even at the time of the hostility. When he was forced to leave Mecca, he handed over the deposits to Ali to restore them to the respective owners on his behalf. When he came back to Mecca as a victor or a conqueror, he called for the key of the Holy Ka’ba, and after cleaning the Holy House of the idols, he returned the key to the old custodian saving: ‘I am ordered to return the trust to the owner.’ The Holy Prophet said that ‘All the customs, the rules and the regulations of the pagan days, are under my feet save the trust that shall be fulfilled or restored to the people, be they good or bad’. The Holy Prophet said that there are three things if done by any person, he is a hypocrite, though he may stick to prayer and be fasting and think himself to be a believer:

1. If he talks, he tells lies.

2. If he promises, he breaks.

3. If trusted, he cheats.

Having this noble principle as the basis of the Islamic Social, Economic and Political life, Qur’an criticises the narrowminded tendency of the Jewish and the Christian people of no responsibility towards the non- Jewish and the non-Christians.

Islam enjoins Justice, Fulfilment of Promises and the Holding of Trust for others, no matter whatever be their caste, creed or faith, and whatever be their attitude towards the Muslims, be that hostile or friendly. And these three qualities are counted among the principal requisites of piety.

‘Qintaar’, i.e., The maximum gold measurement.

‘Dinar’, i.e., The minimum gold measurement.

Verse 76

Fulfilment of a covenant or a promise and piety is preached on condition for one to be loved by God.

‘Bait’ or allegiance to the Holy Prophet or the acceptance of the faith, is a covenant or a promise of fidelity to him, which is actually a covenant with God. Those who desert the Holy Prophet on every occasion and particularly in battles deciding the fate of the faith, have actually broken the Covenant.

Piety means guarding one’s self against evil, both in thought as well as action. And those who desert the Holy Prophet on any occasion in thought and action have actually deserted the good and joined the evil. To know those who have done this during the time of the Holy Prophet a sincere seeker after the truth may refer to the Islamic history of that period.

Verse 77

‘To take, purchase or to exchange for a little price’, i.e., to forfeit or surrender or give up the truth for a paltry sum, i.e., for the profit of this world or for some enjoyment of the earthly life which, however much it may seem to anyone, is in fact nothing when compared to the reward in the life hereafter. Note the penalty for doing so against which people are warned that God will not speak to them, i.e., no appeal from such ones will be heard and God will not look towards them, i.e., no amount of imploration and repentance on the part of such people will then have the least value to qualify the individuals for any merciful attention nor shall such convicts be purified for any later merciful consideration of their cases, meaning that the conviction or the condemnation shall be final and for ever.

‘Ahdallah’.. .The Covenant accepting God’s Sovereignty. (A.P.)

Verse 78

‘Yalo’na’ Alsinatahum’ corrupting the correct recital of the Book with unnecessarily twisted tongues with the evil motive of contriving the pronunciation, leading to the wrong meanings of the original words. This was the most feasible course adopted by the Jews and the Christians as regards the original version of the Torah and the Evangel. The Holy Qur’an also when it was first inscribed on various materials and was in the position of the half-hearted believers and the hypocrites, different kinds of recitals were assigned to one and the same version by the seven different reciters of the Qur’an. But only Ali and the Holy Ahl Al-Bayt knew the correct pronunciation of each letter of the Holy Book for it was only Ali and none else who was with the Holy Prophet from the very start of the revelation of the Holy Book until it was concluded, all the others joined the ranks of the Muslims during: the course of the ministry of the Holy Prophet. Besides, Ali alone and none else remained always with the Holy Prophet both in his domestic as well as his Public life. And it is about Ali, the Holy Prophet had declared that:

“Verily, the Holy Qur’an has been revealed with seven letters of which there is no letter which has not a manifest and a latent meaning. And Ali Ibn Abi Talib, with him is the manifest and the latent (of it). (Saheeh Bukhari).

The twisting of pronunciation was particularly easy with the words of the language owing to the then imperfect or the crude and the defective system of writing.

After convening the people of the Book who had broken the divine covenant and had gone against their oaths and solemn promises for a limited interest, Qur’an refers to the other group who tried to pose as talking on the authority of the scripture and falsely claiming the statements to be from God.

Utmost care was taken by Ahl Al-Bayt and their adherents to guard Qur’an against such mis recitations which were liable to affect the originality and the significance of the meaning. (A.P.)

Verse 79

‘Rabbani’ meaning a highly learned holy man devoutly devoted to God (root-being Rab, i.e. Lord). Hence Rabbani, one who possesses the knowledge of the Lord, i.e., God. A teacher of religious knowledge. Abu-Rafe, a Jew, one of the chiefs of Najran asked the Holy Prophet, ‘Dost thou O’ Muhammad want us to worship thee? The Holy Prophet replied: ‘I seek refuge in God against my worshipping anyone else other than God or enjoining upon anybody to worship any one besides Him.’ On this occasion was revealed this verse. (M.S.,U.B.)

This verse clearly indicates that no prophet could ever have preached to his people to take him as a god or worship him in God’s place. If any people have taken any of the Prophets, including Jesus, as God or worship him in the place of God it is their own innovation, and it is a calumny against the Prophet if any such thing is assigned to his teachings.

Verse 80

A precautionary warning to Muslims not to deify any personality, whatever the degree of [the excellence be that, either of the apostolic or saintly order, and not to consider them anything more than the true and the obedient servants of God though in degree some of them may be above the others, yet all are His created ones and equally subordinate to His will and order.

Another point to be noted is the admonishing clause to practice to the extreme, the contents of the Book which they used to preach and to exemplify by their deeds, the lessons they had to teach to the people.

In the last clause of Verse 79 it is pointed out that all the above negative and the positive statements are contained in the term Islam. (A.P.)

Angels are mentioned here because the pagans worshipped the angels as the daughters of their god.

• 1. The Muslims.
• 2. Refer to: 2:269, 3:26.
• 3. Chooseth. Vide 2:105.
• 4. Applicable to the Covenant or the Bait or the promise taken at Ghadir Khumm under Verse 5:67.
• 5. This is the reply understood.
• 6. Refer to: 2:174.
• 7. of some worldly profit.
• 8. Distorting it.
• 9. Divine.
• 10. Vide 19:93.
• 11. Become Muslims i.e. Submitted ourselves to God.