THE HOLY QUR’AN With Annotated Interpretation in Modern English by Ali Unal

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The Disbelieving Humans Beings

The disbelieving human beings share the same characteristics of Satan and are always busy misleading people from the path of God, are also called “satans” in the Qur’ān.

How to identify the human satans by their characteristics:

They command you to evil and indecency and that you should speak against God the things about which you have no (sure) knowledge.
They invite you to disbelieve in God or to associate partners with Him.
When they meet those who believe, they declare (hypocritically), “We believe”; but when they are alone in secret, with their (apparently human) satans (to whom they hasten in need, to renew their unbelief and their pledge to them, for fear of losing their support), they say: “Assuredly we are with you; we only mock (those others).”

Holy Qur’an Chapter 2 The Cow: Verse 79 With Annotated Interpretations

Verse 79. Woe, then, to those who write the Book with their hands (interpolating into it their readings of the Scriptures and their explanatory notes thereto, stories from their national history, superstitious ideas and fancies, philosophical doctrines and legal rules) and then, in order to sell it for a trifling price (such as worldly benefit, status, and renown), they declare: “This is from God.” So woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they have earned (of the worldly income and the sin thereby).

The above Quranic verse draws our attention to a specific ‘Book’ that has been interpolated, meaning, it has been altered or corrupted by inserting new or foreign matter into the text and then falsely attributing it as God’s Word.

First, lets learn the NAME of this specific ‘Book‘ by watching a Youtube Video pertaining to this subject, then secondly, using the Qur’an, lets discern who is responsible for this deception.

Now Lets Discern, by using the Holy Qur’an, Who Is Responsible for Interpolating ‘the Book’

Holy Qur’an Chapter 2 The Cow: Verse 40-53 With Annotated Interpretations

Verse 40. ⁴⁵O Children of Israel!⁴⁶ Remember My favor⁴⁷ that I bestowed upon you, and fulfill My covenant (which I made with you through your Prophets),⁴⁸ so that I fulfill your covenant,⁴⁹ and of Me alone be in awe and fear (in awareness of My Power and of your being My servants).

45. The history of the Children of Israel (Jews) narrated in the Qur’ān is an example of the general history of humankind or of all nations.

It is for this reason, and because of the significant part that the Israelites and their descendants would play in the future history of Islam and humankind, that the Qur’ān draws attention to certain aspects of their story.

In presenting and praising the true believers at the beginning of the sūrah (Chapter 2), the Qur’ān opened a door on the history of previous peoples with the expression, ‘Those believe in what is sent down to you, and what was sent down before you (such as the Torah, Gospel and Psalms, and the Scrolls of Abraham (p.b.u.h.) ) (Chapter 2: Verse 4).

This door is opened for several reasons; because of the importance of the part the Children of Israel played in the past, and would play in the future history of humankind; because of the important position the Jews enjoyed in Madīnah during the Madīnan period of the Messengership of Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings; and to warn the nascent² Muslim community and all the Muslims to come in the future against lapsing into the same deviancy and error as the Children of Israel fell.

For these reasons, the Qur’ān recounts notable events in the history of the Jews, at the same time urging them to believe in Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) and enter the Muslim community.

46. “Israel” was a title of the Prophet Jacob, upon him be peace, meaning a pure servant of God. In Muslim history, the Jews are usually referred to as Yahūdī , meaning one who belongs to Yahūda –Judah in the Old Testament. Judah – Yehudah in Hebrew – is the name of one of the two kingdoms which emerged with the division of Prophet Solomon’s (p.b.u.h.) kingdom after his death, and takes this name from Judah, one of the sons of Jacob (p.b.u.h.).

According to another opinion, Yahūdī means one who follows the Law established by Judah, an Israelite jurist who lived in the second century after Jesus (p.b.u.h.). The Jews themselves name their religion – Judaism – after Judah.

The Qur’ān uses the term Yahūdī for the most rigid enemies of Muslims among the Children of Israel and those who regard and call themselves as Yahūdī among them (Chapter 6: Verse 82; Chapter 2: Verse 62).

By referring to them as the children of a Prophet, a pure servant of God, the Qur’ān means that they are expected to believe in the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) and so fulfill their covenant with God.

This usage also establishes an important principle of good manners, especially in calling people to the Straight Path, that one should address people with the titles they like to be addressed with.

47. Here there is a reference to the favor mentioned in the Holy Qur’an Chapter 1.

When used in a general sense, it means being favored with religion, a Divine Book, a Prophet, guidance, and following the Straight Path without deviancy.

It specifically means here God’s choosing Prophets and Messengers from amongst the Children of Israel and granting them a great kingdom, and giving them a Book, guiding them to the Straight Path, and making them inhabit the land promised to them.

48. The covenant God made with the Children of Israel was that when a Messenger came after the Prophets, they would believe in him and help him; therefore, they were required to believe in Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), whom God had mentioned with his particular attributes and, the good tidings of whose coming He had given in the Book He had sent to them, and whom they consequently knew very well.

49. The covenant of the Children of Israel – your covenant in the verse – is that they would continue to receive His favor if they reformed themselves and were steadfast in following His way after so many calamities striking them in return for their rebellions and transgressions.

For the covenant between God and the Children of Israel, see also Chapter 17: Verse 4–8.

Verse 41. Believe in that which I have sent down (the Qur’ān), confirming what (of the truth) you already possess, and do not be the first to disbelieve in it. And (you scribes, fearful of losing your status and the worldly benefit accruing from it) do not sell My Revelations for a trifling price (such as worldly gains, status and renown); and in Me alone seek refuge, through reverence for Me and piety.

Verse 42. Do not confound the truth by mixing it with falsehood,⁵⁰and do not conceal the truth while you know (the meaning and outcome of what you do, and that what you strive to hide is true, and that Muhammad is the Messenger of God, whose coming you have been anticipating).⁵¹

50. About the ways in which the Children of Israel (Jews) confounded the truth by mixing it with falsehood, see Chapter 2: Verse 71, 79, 140, 174, 179; Chapter 3: Verse 167; Chapter 4: Verse 13, 46; Chapter 5: Verse 106.

(They made additions or changes in the Book and then attributed them to God; they willfully misinterpreted its words; and they hid the truths which they thought did not serve their purposes. They also confounded the message through false testimony and wrong judgment.)

51. The late Elmalılı Hamdi Yazır (1877–1942), one of the greatest Muslim interpreters of the Qur’ān, made the following comment on confounding the truth by mixing it with falsehood:

‘Were it not for another verse concerning this subject, this verse alone would suffice to teach us how we must act in the matter of the translation and interpretation of the Qur’ān and in similar other issues of the religious sciences.

It must never be forgotten how important it is that the Qur’ān should remain and be preserved in its original form, and its translation, interpretation or commentary in any other language can never replace and be substituted for the Qur’ān.

We must avoid such expressions as the “Turkish Qur’ān” and the “Persian Qur’ān.” No matter into how many languages the Qur’ān is translated, or in how many languages it is interpreted or commented on, none of them can be the Qur’ān, nor can they substitute for It.’

God Almighty declares explicitly:

“Do not confound the truth by mixing it with falsehood.” (Yazır , 1: 336.)

This point should be considered especially with reference to the controversies about whether the extant versions of the earlier Scriptures are (or could be) exactly the same as their originals. As is well known, the earlier Scriptures were not preserved in their original language and only translations of them are extant.

Verse 43. Establish the Prayer, and pay the Prescribed Purifying Alms (the Zakāh); and bow (in the Prayer, not by forming a different community or congregation, but) together with those who bow (the Muslims).⁵²

52. The Qur’ān orders the Children of Israel to pray—not their own prayer, which lacks the rite of bowing, for they must have changed it during their long history – but, rather, the Prayer God taught the Muslims through the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings. The Qur’ān draws particular attention to the bowing (rukū‘) in the Prayer.

This tells us that bowing has a special importance in the Prayer, and because of this, every cycle of the Prayer is called rak‘ah , a word derived from the same root as rukū‘.

In addition, the verse is alluding to the importance of establishing the Prescribed Prayer in congregation, which is both a means and an expression of the solidarity and unity of Muslims.

This is a warning against forming separate congregations on the basis of differences of opinion about minor legal or other secondary matters.

The verse is also inviting the Children of Israel to join the Muslim community. We can infer from this verse that they had become negligent about the duties of the Prayer and the Prescribed Purifying Alms (the Zakāh).

The latter (Zakāh) is a tax at fixed rate in proportion to the value of property or wealth above a certain minimum, and its proper expenditure is decreed in Chapter 9: Verse 60.

Verse 44. Do you enjoin upon people godliness and virtue but forget your own selves, (even) while you recite the Book (and see therein the orders, prohibitions, exhortations and warnings)? Will you not understand and come to your senses?⁵³

53. Enjoining godliness on others but forgetting it oneself means knowingly exposing oneself to perdition and consenting to punishment. Not acting on the advice one gives to others means contradicting oneself and degrading the knowledge and authority on which that advice is based.

Obviously, it can have little or no effect on others to recommend and enjoin on them what one does not do oneself. So, enjoining the good on others but not doing it is sheer stupidity and absurdity.

Like earlier Israelite Prophets who severely admonished and scolded their people, we also see in the Gospels that the Prophet Jesus, upon him be peace, addressed many among the Jewish scholars of his time in terms much harsher than the Qur’ān.

For example:

Brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart brings forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. (Matthew, 12: 34–35)

….saying, the scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat.

Therefore whatever they tell you observe, that observe and do; but do not do according to their works, for they say, and do not do. For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

But all their works they do for to be seen by men: they make their phylacteries³broad, and enlarge the borders of their garments.

They love the best places at feasts, the best seats in the synagogues, greetings in the market places, and to be called by men, ‘Rabbi, ‘Rabbi. But you, do not be called ‘Rabbi’; for One is your Teacher, the Christ; and you are all brethren.

But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, nor do you allow those who are entering to go in.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows’ houses, and for a pretense make long prayers; therefore, you will receive the greater damnation.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel land and sea to win one proselyte⁴, and when he is won, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.

Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘Whosoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obliged to perform it!’

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you pay tithe of mint and anise and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law, justice and mercy and faith. These you ought to have done, without leaving the others undone. . . . Blind Pharisee, first cleanse the inside of the cup and dish, that the outside of them may be clean also.

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like unto whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness. . .

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’

Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are the sons of those who murdered the prophets.

Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. ‘Serpents, brood of vipers, how can you escape the damnation of hell? (Matthew, 23:2–8; 13–16, 23, 26–27, 29, 31–33)

The Qur’ān’s warnings are not addressed only to the scholars and leading representatives of a certain religion; they are directed to all those who represent a heavenly religion, including, of course, Muslim scholars.

Verse 45. Seek help through patience⁵⁴ (and fasting, which requires and enables great patience), and through the Prayer. Indeed the Prayer is burdensome, but not for those humbled by their reverence of God:

54. It can be said that patience is the half of Islam, the other half being thankfulness. The patience shown just at the moment when misfortune strikes is true patience.

With respect to the situations requiring it, patience can be divided into the following categories:

enduring the difficulties of fulfilling the duty of servanthood to God or steadfastness in performing regular acts of worship;
resisting the temptations to sin of the carnal soul and Satan;
enduring heavenly or earthly calamities, which entails resignation to Divine decrees;
steadfastness in following the Straight Path without deviancy in spite of worldly attractions and distractions;
showing no haste in pursuing those of one’s hopes or plans that require a stretch of time to achieve.

Because fasting requires prohibiting to the carnal soul the things of which it is most enamored – eating, drinking, and sexual relations, as well as lying, backbiting and gossip – it strengthens and deepens the believer’s willpower.

Accordingly fasting as a duty of worship has come to be regarded as identical with patience. For this reason, the meaning of “patience” in the verse includes fasting.

Verse 46. Those who feel as if always in the Presence of their Lord, having met with Him; and are certain of following the way to return to Him.⁵⁵

55. God’s guidance is based on compassion, knowledge, evidence, logic, reasoning, warning, giving good tidings, and illustration.

Here, again, the Qur’ān refers to the beginning of the sūrah (Chapter 2): it relates the topic here to faith, establishing the Prescribed Prayer, Purifying Almsgiving, and spending in God’s cause, reverence for God, and the afterlife – all of which were treated at the beginning of Chapter 2.

By recounting the history of the Children of Israel and the favors God bestowed upon them, the Qur’ān continues to send Its rays of guidance to their minds and hearts.

Verse 47. O Children of Israel! Remember My favor that I bestowed upon you, and that I once exalted you above all peoples;

Verse 48. And be fearful of and strive to be guarded against a day when (everybody will be seeking a means to save himself, and when) no soul will pay on behalf of another, nor will any intercession (of the sort common in the world but which does not meet with God’s permission and approval) be accepted from any of them, nor will compensation be received from them, nor will they be helped.

Verse 49. And (remember) that We saved you from the clan (the court and military aristocracy) of the Pharaoh,⁵⁶ afflicting you with the most evil suffering (by enslaving you to such laborious tasks as construction, transportation and farming⁵⁷), slaughtering your sons and letting live your womenfolk (for further humiliation and suffering). In that was a grievous trial from your Lord.⁵⁸

56. When the Prophet Joseph, upon him be peace, was taken to Egypt as a slave, the Hyksos dynasty ruled Egypt. They were a northwestern Arab or mixed Arab–Asiatic people who came to Egypt from Syria sometime between 1720 and 1710 bc and subdued the Middle Kingdom. The Muslim historians call them al-Amālīk.

From the time of Joseph (p.b.u.h.) (roughly the mid-seventeenth century bc ), the Divine Religion represented by the Children of Israel (Prophet Jacob (p.b.u.h.)) became prevalent, and they had the authority in Egypt (Chapter 5: Verse 20).

However, within two centuries thereafter, the native Copts took over the rule. Their kings were called Pharaohs. As understood from the Qur’ān, the Pharaoh ruled in Egypt with his family, army, and a privileged aristocracy. What the Qur’ān means by Āli Fir‘awn is this ruling oligarchy ⁵.

57. For a description of this period in history, see also The Bible, “Exodus,” 1: 11–14.

58. The Qur’ān uses the term balā’ (trial) for the tormented life of the Children of Israel in Egypt.

God tries people with both good and evils.

When He tries with good such as success, wealth, high position, and physical beauty, it requires gratitude to God and attributing it to Him.

When He tries with evils such as a misfortune, illness or poverty, it requires patience without complaint. This, however, does not mean that one stricken by an evil should not try to escape from it. Being tried with evil is usually the result of a sin.

Therefore, it also requires repentance and seeking forgiveness.

Whether a believer is tried with good or evil it is good with respect to its consequence, provided it is met with gratitude in case of the former and patience without complaint in case of the latter.

In addition to serving for the forgiveness of the sin committed and bringing extra good, trial causes the stricken people to be saved from wrong conceptions, beliefs and assertions, and matures and perfects them.

The trial of the Children of Israel resulted in their escaping a life of torment in Egypt and being favored with God’s guidance and a great kingdom.

Verse 50. And remember when (after years of struggle to escape Egypt, you had just reached the sea with the army of the Pharaoh in close pursuit and) We parted the sea for you and saved you, and (as sheer grace from Us, which you had no part in) caused the family of the Pharaoh to drown while you were looking on.

Verse 51. And when, on another occasion, We appointed with Moses forty nights,⁵⁹then (during the time he stayed on Mount Sinai), you adopted the (golden) calf as deity and worshipped it after him; and you were wronging yourselves thereby with a most heinous wrong.

59. The night (because it is quieter and there are fewer distractions than in the day) is particularly favored for spiritual journeying in God’s cause. We read in the Qur’ān that the Last Messenger of God, upon him be peace and blessings, was commanded long night vigils, especially at the beginning of his mission, because night is more suitable for prayer and night vigils are more impressive, with the recitation in them being more certain and upright (Chapter 73: Verse 2–6; Chapter 76: Verse 26). The Messenger’s miraculous journey to Jerusalem and his Ascension also took place at night.

Verse 52. Then (even though adopting as deity any other than God is an unpardonable sin, We accepted your atonement and) We pardoned you after that, that you might (acknowledge Our many and great favors to you and) give thanks (believing in God and worshipping Him alone, and carrying out His commandments.)

Verse 53. And remember when We granted Moses (while he was on Mount Sinai for forty nights) the Book⁶⁰ and the Criterion to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and the knowledge, and the power of judgment to put it into effect,⁶¹that you might be guided to truth and abide by it.⁶²

60. The Book, wherein was light, guidance, mercy and the solution to all the problems that would confront them. See: Chapter 5: Verse 44; Chapter 6: Verse 91 & 154; Chapter 7: Verse 145.

61. The word translated as “the Criterion to distinguish between truth and falsehood, and the knowledge, insight, and power of judgment to put it into effect” is al-Furqān, as it is the means to distinguish truth and falsehood, right and wrong, and lawful and unlawful.

In another verse (Chapter 8: Verse 29), the Qur’ān declares that if those who believe keep their duty to God in fear and respect, in order to deserve His protection, He will assign them a furqān.

Here it means an inner sense or faculty of insight, discernment, inspiration, and power of judgment to distinguish between right and wrong. Al-Furqān is also one of the titles of the Qur’ān. God’s Messenger (p.b.u.h.) said:

“I have been given the Qur’ān and its like together with It.” (Abū Dāwūd, “Sunnah,” 5.)

The “like of the Qur’ān” is the Sunnah of the Messenger.

In addition to its other functions, the Sunnah interprets the Qur’ān. In order to understand the Qur’ān correctly and fully, especially Its commandments, we must, of necessity, depend upon the Sunnah.

For this reason, as the Sunnah may be a furqān, the Furqān given to the Prophet Moses, upon him be peace, may be his Sunnah, in the sense of the criteria by which to practice the Book in daily life.

62. The previous verse concludes with the need to give thanks – a comprehensive concept that includes carrying out God’s commands and refraining from His prohibitions – for forgiveness after apostasy and returning to tawhīd, while this verse, which mentions that God gave Moses the Book and the Furqān, ends with being guided to truth and abiding by it.

This points to a very significant fact:

The only way to find the Straight Path and follow it without deviancy is by obeying the Book in accordance with the Furqān – the Divine criteria.

The concept includes both the Divine commandments in the Book and the criteria to apply them, namely the Sharī‘ah. The rules and principles of the Sharī‘ah are the citadel of religion. It is also the Sharī‘ah which determines the limits and principles of the spiritual ways leading to God. Any spiritual or esoteric journeying trespassing its limits ends in a marsh of deviancy.

It is also worthwhile noting that “Torah” means “law.”

Read the Qur’an, Chapter 2 The Cow: Verse 54-74 to understand how the Children of Israel continually disobeyed their prophet, Moses (p.b.u.h.) and ultimately disobeyed God, and the consequences of their disobedience, despite all that had occurred and the manifest signs of our Lord that they witnessed over many years.

Holy Qur’an Chapter 2 The Cow:Verse 75-114 With Annotated Interpretations

Verse 75. (O community of the believers!) Do you hope that those people (whose hearts have become more hardened than rocks and who have continually shown disloyalty to God,) will believe you (and believe in the Prophet Muhammad, and in the Book he brought and the Religion he preaches)? (It is surely not possible) when there has been a party among them that hear the Word of God, and then, after they reasoned and judged it (to be the Word of God), have tampered with it knowingly.⁷⁹

79. One of the aims of the Qur’ān in presenting diverse aspects of the history of the Children of Israel is to make them known to the nascent Muslim community in Madīnah and the succeeding Muslim generations.

Prior to the Emigration ( Hijrah ), the Jewish communities in Madīnah were better off than the native Arab tribes, al-Aws and Khazraj, being more knowledgeable of worldly affairs and belonging to a heavenly religion.

Whenever a conflict arose between them and the Arabs, they (the Jews) threatened that a Prophet would appear among them and that, under his leadership, they would triumph over them.

Thus, they (the Jews) had been anticipating the coming of the Last Prophet. However, when he appeared not among them but among the Arabs, they (the Jews) refused to believe in him.

It was partly because of this background that the Muslims of Madīnah had expected that they would be the first to believe in the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings.

Accordingly, the Muslim converts among the Arab tribes approached their Jewish friends and neighbors and invited them to embrace Islam.

When the Jews declined to do so, this was exploited by the hypocrites and other enemies of Islam as an argument for creating doubts about the truth of Islam.

In order to warn the new Muslim converts against such doubts and the mischief the Jewish communities might bring about, the Qur’ān draws attention to their character and past history, and the real reasons for their reluctance to embrace Islam.

Verse 76. When they meet those who believe, they declare (hypocritically), “We believe (in what you believe in);” but when they are alone with one another, in private, they say (chiding each other): “Will you tell them what God has disclosed to you, that they might use it as an argument against you before your Lord? Do you have no sense?”⁸⁰

80. Among the Jewish rabbis were some who partly preserved their loyalty to their religion.

They had told the members of al-Aws and Khazraj tribes about the attributes of the Last Prophet (p.b.u.h.) they had been anticipating. Since all of these attributes were seen in the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, ‘Abdullāh ibn Salām, the greatest among them (the Jews), accepted Islam.

It was because of such factors that at least some among them felt compelled to admit faith when they encountered the Muslims.

However, when they were alone with one another, they chided each other or those who admitted faith, saying:

“God had disclosed to you (the Jews) some secrets about the Last Prophet in the Book He sent to you. By telling the Muslims these secrets, would you like it if they use them as an argument against you in the presence of your Lord?”

In thinking and acting in this way, they demonstrated that they (the Jews) did not have true knowledge of God, but rather had a conception of Him such that He does not know what people keep secret.

Also, by using the expression “your Lord,” they (the Jews) demonstrated that they believed that they (the Jews) had a Lord exclusive to themselves.

(This is a false conception: either it means that God is not the Lord of all, or, equally bad, it means that God practices a sort of “favoritism” on behalf of some of His creatures to the neglect or detriment of others.)

Verse 77. Do they not know that surely God knows what they keep concealed and what they disclose.

Verse 78. Among them are the illiterate folk who do not know anything about the Book except fancies from hearsay, and merely follow their conjectures¹.

So woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they have earned (of the worldly income and the sin thereby).⁸¹

81. In addition to interpreting the Book of God according to their wishes, for the sake of fame, status and worldly gain, the rabbis interpolated into it their own readings of the Scriptures, stories from their national history, superstitious ideas and fancies, philosophical doctrines and legal rules, and attributed these to God.

This caused what was human and what was Divine to be confounded.

Furthermore, they expected others to believe in whatever there was in the Book, and they regarded rejection of their additions as being identical with unbelief.

As pointed out in verse 78, the common people were unlettered. They tended to believe in whatever they were told in the name of religion, and thus, they were dragged along into conjectures and fancies through mere imitation.

As in other similar verses, this one contains significant warning for the learned scholars and the unlearned Muslims of this community.

As pointed out by Bediüzzaman Said Nursi, the religious books written by scholars should serve as “binoculars” to look at the Qur’ān, not as substitutes for it.

This and similar verses also shed light on why God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, showed some reluctance in the early years of his mission to have his sayings written down.

Verse 80. They say (despite all that): “The Fire will not touch us at all except for a certain number of days.”⁸² Say, then, (to them): “Have you made a covenant with God and received a promise from Him? If so, God will never break His covenant. Or do you say things against God that you do not know?”

82. Left without any means to object to the Qur’ān’s unveiling their past and inner world, some Jewish rabbis attempted to defend themselves by claiming that the Fire would not touch the Israelites except for a definite number of days – as many days as they had worshipped the calf (Chapter 2: Verse 51).

They put forward as an excuse their being Jewish and a nation exalted above others, whereas this was not intended in terms of supremacy in virtue, but was for a determined period when they were granted a great kingdom during the reigns of the Prophets David and Solomon, upon them be peace.

They even went so far as to claim that they were the children of God and His beloved ones (Chapter 5: Verse 18).

The only true criterion in the sight of God in judging people is taqwā; as stressed in Chapter 2: Verse 62, being a Jew, Christian, or Muslim by name does not suffice for salvation.

Verse 81. (It is indeed the case that you speak in ignorance. The truth is,) rather, that whoever earns an evil (by his free will) and his vices engulf him – those are the companions of the Fire,⁸³they will abide therein.

83. There is a close relation between this and the following verse 82, as well as Chapter 2: Verse 28 and 29.

This verse is also linked to Chapter 2: Verse 24, which threatens those who reject belief in the Qur’ān.

The words and expressions used here – evil, earning evil, vices, and vices engulfing the person – describe the people of Hell, who are deprived of faith and engulfed in sins.

The verse also implies a warning for those Jews that the sins that they committed in their past history and were committing in Madīnah were of the kind that, contrary to their claim that the Fire would not touch them except for a certain number of days, had contaminated their very being and would doom them to being companions of the Fire eternally.

Verse 82. While those who believe and do good, righteous deeds, those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide therein.

Verse 83. And (remember) when We took a promise from the Children of Israel: You shall worship none save God (as the only Deity, Lord and Sovereign), and do good to parents in the best way possible, and to the near (relatives), to the orphans, and to the destitute; and speak kindly and well to the people; and establish the Prayer in conformity with its conditions; and pay the Prescribed Purifying Alms. But then you turned away in aversion, all except a few of you; in fact, you are a people always avoiding your compacts and responsibilities.⁸⁴

84. When the noble Messenger of God, upon him be peace and blessings, emigrated to Madīnah, three Jewish tribes were living there, namely Banū (the children of ) Qurayzah Banū Qaynuqa‘ and Banū Nadīr.

The Messenger made a written contract with each of them, as co-citizens of the city-state of Madīnah, then in process of establishment. None of these tribes remained loyal to the contract, and they went so far as to attempt to kill God’s Messenger, and to make secret agreements with the enemy forces during the Battle of the Trench against the Muslims.

The verses in this sūrah (Chapter 2) recounting God’s favors to the Children of Israel, inviting them to believe in the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, and making them known to the Muslim community, did not come on a single occasion but covered a period of at least five or six years.

They were intended to warn the nascent Muslim community in Madīnah and all the Muslims to come until the Last Day against any conspiracy to put doubt in the mind concerning the tenets of Islam.

They were also intended to invite and encourage the Jews to believe in the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, and follow him.

To this end, by reminding them of God’s favors to them during their history, stressing their continual disloyalty, and drawing their attention to the calamities that struck them because of their transgressions, these verses would have stirred their inner human resources – to return good with good, to take lessons from past experiences, to feel remorse for wrongs done, and to reform themselves.

Verse 84. And (remember also) when We took a promise from you: you shall not shed blood among yourselves, and shall not expel one another from your habitations. You confirmed it, and you yourselves were (and still must be) witnesses to it.

Verse 85. Then, here you are, killing one another, and expelling a party of your own from their habitations, conspiring against them in iniquity and enmity. If you take them as captives, you hold them to ransom, and if they are brought to you as captives, you ransom them; yet their expulsion was made religiously forbidden to you.⁸⁵

Then (like a people having no sense), do you believe in part of the Book, and disbelieve in part? What else, then, could be the recompense of those of you who act thus than disgrace in the life of this world? On the Day of Resurrection, they will be consigned to the severest of punishments. God is not unaware or unmindful of what you do.

85. The style of the verses is of a nature to guide to a historical review and understanding of events. Past and present are linked and brought together in a meaningful juxtaposition².

This is how narration of the past becomes, instead of a random chronicling of events, a meaningful history – an account of life still vivid and relevant for the present, full of lessons connected with its continuing effects.

In addition, since the characters of the past and those of the present share the same attitudes and qualities, all the events, those of the past and the present, give the impression that they occur around the same characters.

That is why in the foreground, we see the persons, with their characteristics, intentions, and attributes, rather than the events.

Before the emigration of God’s Messenger to Madīnah, the Jewish tribes had concluded an alliance with the Arab tribes of al-Aws and Khazraj, who were then polytheists.

When fighting broke out between the Arab tribes, each Jewish tribe fought against another on the side of its allies, which led to fratricide³and, therefore, to a violation of the Divine Book.

Furthermore, when the war ended, the captives were ransomed. They justified the ransom on the basis of scriptural arguments. They venerated the Book when It allowed the ransom of captives, but when it came to Its prohibition of mutual feuding, they paid no heed to It.

Verse 86. Such are the ones who have bought the present, worldly life (the life of corporeal desires and ambitions) in exchange for the Hereafter. So (in consequence of this exchange) the punishment will not be lightened for them, nor will they be helped (not saved from the punishment in any of the ways they resort to in the world such as bribery, influence, or unjust intercession).

Verse 87. (That is their just deserts. For) We assuredly granted Moses the Book, and after him sent succeeding Messengers (in the footsteps of Moses to judge according to the Book, and thus We have never left them without guides and the light of guidance).

And (in the same succession) We granted Jesus son of Mary the clear proofs of the truth (and of his Messengership), and confirmed him with the Spirit of Holiness.⁸⁶ Is it (ever so) that whenever a Messenger comes to you with what (as a message and commandments) does not suit yourselves, you grow arrogant, denying some of them (the Messengers) and killing others?

86. Different views have been put forward about “the Spirit of Holiness” with which Jesus (p.b.u.h.), was confirmed. Literally meaning the spirit of extraordinary purity, cleanliness, and blessing, it is, according to some, a spirit from God, while some are of the opinion that it is one of the Greatest Names of God, and still others maintain that it is the Gospel.

Others hold that it is the archangel Gabriel (p.b.u.h.), whom the Qur’ān calls the Holy Spirit (Chapter 16: Verse 102) and One Trustworthy (Chapter 81: Verse 21). Still some others opine that the Spirit whose holiness is stressed with respect to Jesus (p.b.u.h.), and both holiness and trustworthiness with respect to the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), is the same being or entity.

According to Imam al-Ghazzālī, he is an angel (or angel-like being) whom God employs in breathing each one’s spirit into his/her body.

Bediuzzaman Said Nursi maintains that there is a spirit representing everything, every being.

In the light of these opinions, it can be said that there is a Spirit which functions differently according to the particular mission of each Prophet.

It is a Spirit of Law for the Prophet Moses (p.b.u.h.), a Spirit of Holiness and Trustworthiness for the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), and a Spirit of Holiness for the Prophet Jesus (p.b.u.h.).

The Qur’ān’s mentioning of Jesus (p.b.u.h.) being confirmed with the “Spirit of Holiness” is because spirituality had precedence⁴ in Jesus’ (p.b.u.h.) mission.

Muhammad’s (p.b.u.h.) mission is distinguished with both holiness and trustworthiness, more than the missions of other Prophets.

Verse 88. (Despite all such favors, affection, forgiveness, advice and truths, they refuse to believe, and by way of excuse, they ask derisively: “Do we need any of what you have to tell?”

Recognizing that what they are told has no effect on them) they say: “Our hearts have become covered (callous, no longer having any ability to believe).”

No! Rather, because of their unbelief, God has cursed them (excluded them from His mercy and set a seal on their hearts and hearing, and a veil on their eyes.) So, little do they believe (or can admit of the truth).

Verse 89. And when there has (now) come to them a Book from God, confirming what (of the truth) they already possess – and though before that they were asking for a victory over the (tribes of al-Aws and Khazraj who were then) unbelievers (saying: “The Last Prophet will come and we will defeat and destroy you under his leadership”) – and when there has come to them what they recognize (as well as their own sons), they have disbelieved in It. Then God’s curse (rejection) is on the unbelievers.

Verse 90. How evil is that for which they have sold themselves: (they have disbelieved in what God has sent down) begrudging that God should send down out of His grace the Book (and bestow Messengership) on whomever He wills of His servants. So they have earned wrath upon wrath. And, (as with other unbelievers who, defeated by their haughtiness, malicious envy, racial prejudice, worldly desires and ambitions, knowingly reject the truth) for those unbelievers is a shameful, humiliating punishment.

Verse 91. And when they are told (since the sign of a believer is believing in whatever God has sent down): “Believe in that which He has sent down (on Muhammad, namely the Qur’ān).”

They retort: “We believe in only what was sent down to us,” and they disbelieve in what is beyond that, though it is the truth, confirming what (of the truth) they already possess.⁸⁷

Say (to them, O Messenger): “Why then did you kill the Prophets of God before, if indeed you are believers (loyal to what was sent down to you)?”

87. Every unfair, unjust individual and community surely acts in this way. For them, belief is no more than a mere assertion by which they make a display of themselves. They will not acknowledge a Prophet or a scholar as such, if he does not belong to their community or nation.

It has usually been this self-centered haughtiness, this kind of racist nationalism, which has brought about rifts within a people and led them to associate partners with God, and to oppose right with sophistry⁵ and intrigue⁷. It was the same kind of attitude that caused Iblīs to be expelled from the Presence and Mercy of God.

Verse 92. Assuredly, Moses came to you with the clear proofs of the truth. Then, however, very soon after he left you, you adopted the calf as deity, proving yourselves to be wrongdoers (who were continually committing such sins as breaking your covenants with God and serving false deities in His place).

Verse 93. And (remember) when We took your promise (to keep Our covenant) and (in order to stress the importance of both the covenant and keeping it, and warn you against breaking it) We raised the Mount (and caused it to tower) above you: hold firmly to what We haven given you (of the Book) and give ear (to Our commandments and obey Moses).

They replied: “We give ear,” (but by doing the opposite of what they were commanded, they meant) “we disobey.” Because of their unbelief, they were made to drink into their hearts (love of ) the calf (with then no place left therein for faith).

Say (to them): “How evil is that which your belief enjoins on you, if you are believers.”⁸⁸

88. Even if action is not a part, an essential element, of faith, faith exhibits itself through actions commanded or required by it. Actions are the mirror that show whether one is a believer or not.

Verse 94. Say (to them again): “If (as you claim, you are the beloved ones of God and the sole followers of the Straight Path, and therefore) the abode of the Hereafter with God is (reserved) for you alone, excluding other people, then long for death, if you are sincere in your belief and truthful in your claim.”

Verse 95. But because of what they have forwarded with their own hands (to the Hereafter, namely the sins and offenses which have destroyed the desire in them to meet God), they will never long for it. God has full knowledge of the wrong doers (who wrong their own selves by what they have done).

Verse 96. And you will undoubtedly find them the greediest of all people for life, more greedy than even those who associate partners with God. Everyone of them wishes if only he might be spared for a thousand years,⁸⁹yet his being spared to live will not remove him from the punishment. God sees well all that they do.

89. “Love of the world is the source of all errors and sins.” (al-Bayhaqī, Shu‘ab al-Īmān , 7: 338)

Verse 97. (This is not all. They feel enmity toward Gabriel because he brings the Qur’ān to you, not to one among them.) Say (O Messenger, to them): “(The Lord of the worlds, my and your Lord, declares:) ‘Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel (should know that) it is he who brings down the Qur’ān on your heart by the leave of God, (not of his own accord), confirming (the Divine origin of and the truths still contained in) the Revelations prior to it, and (serving as) guidance and glad tidings for the believers.’”⁹⁰

90. The link between this verse and the opening verses of the sūrah, describing the praise worthy qualities of the believers, is explicit. The believers mentioned here are as described in those verses— that is, they are those who believe in the Unseen; establish the Prayer; and spend, out of whatever God provides for them, to help those in need; who believe in what has been sent down to the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, and what was sent down before him; and who have certain faith in the Hereafter. The opening verses of every sūrah (chapter) are of pivotal importance to an understanding of its meaning.

Gabriel (p.b.u.h.) ( Jibrīl in the Qur’ān) denotes the angelic existence above every other power, with the exception of the Divine, and the spirit that no material force can resist, whose works are irreversible and indispensable. Since Revelation has an absolute certainty, with no room for the intervention of any mortal being, the name Jibrīl (p.b.u.h.) (by which the angel bringing it is called) also serves as a definition of that angel. He has other titles, as well (e.g., a Spirit from God, the Trustworthy Spirit, and even the Spirit of Holiness according to some), and is described in the Qur’ān as a noble, honored messenger, mighty, having a high, secured position with the Lord of the Supreme Throne, obeyed by other angels, and trustworthy (Chapter 81: Verse 18–21) (Yazır, 1: 432).

Verse 98. (Enmity to Gabriel, who does nothing other than what he is commanded to do by God, means enmity to God and to His will.) Whoever is an enemy to God, and His angels, and His Messengers, and (so) Gabriel, and Michael, (should know that) God is surely an enemy to the unbelievers.

Verse 99. (O Messenger, do not grieve about their persistence in unbelief!) Assuredly We have sent down to you truths so manifest (that they both prove your Messengership and the Divine Authorship of the Qur’ān as brightly as the sunlight). None disbelieve in them except transgressors (who have strayed from the Straight Path in belief, thought and conduct).

Verse 100. Is it not ever so that whenever they (those transgressors) make a covenant, a party of them set it aside? (Indeed, they do so, and they are not a small party), rather, most of them do not believe (so that they might be expected to keep their covenant).

Verse 101. (This is not all.) When (finally) there has come to them a Messenger from God, confirming what (of the truth) they already possess, a party of those who were given the Book (the Torah) have (instead of paying heed to what it contains concerning the Last Messenger) flung the Book of God (the Qur’ān) behind their backs, as if they did not know (that it is a Book from God and that the Messenger who has brought it is the Last Prophet they have been anticipating).

Verse 102. And (just as their ancestors did) they follow the fictions the satans invented and spread about the rule of Solomon (falsely attributing his employment of jinn, devils, and animals in his kingdom to sorcery). But (ascribing creativity or creative effect to sorcery is a kind of unbelief and) Solomon (being a Prophet and excellent servant of God) never disbelieved.

Rather, the satans (who spread false things about his rule) disbelieved, teaching people sorcery and the (distorted form of the) knowledge that was sent down on Hārūt and Mārūt, the two angels in Babylon. And they (these two angels charged with teaching people some occult sciences such as breaking a spell and protection against sorcery) never taught them to anyone without first warning, “We are a trial, so do not disbelieve (– It is risky to learn the knowledge given to us, therefore use it in lawful ways, and beware of committing an act of unbelief by abusing it).”

And (yet) they (those who followed the falsehoods of the satans) learned from them (the two angels) that by which they might divide a man and his wife. But (though they wrongly attributed creative power to sorcery, in fact) they could not harm anyone thereby save by the leave of God. And they learned what would harm them, not what would profit them. Assuredly, they knew well that he who bought it (in exchange for God’s Book) will have no share (no happy portion) in the Hereafter. How evil was that for which they sold theirselves; and if only they had known (acted like people of true knowledge and understanding).⁹¹

91. In addition to many miracles and miraculous achievements, Prophet Solomon, upon him be peace, was distinguished by his ability, by the leave of God, to subjugate jinn and satans to his command and employ them in diverse tasks. Once, they made an attempt to revolt against him but failed. After his death, satans began to whisper to their intimates among the devilish people that Solomon had derived his power from sorcery. When moral and material decline set in among the Children of Israel, they turned increasingly to black magic, sorcery and charms in order to ensure the achievement of their desired ends.

During their life of exile in Babylon, a very ancient center of science, especially of the science of astronomy, God sent them two angels, called Hārūt and Mārūt, in order to teach them some occult sciences so that they might be protected against sorcery and the evils it caused. The angels, as dutiful servants of God with the power to assume the form most fitting for the specific task assigned to them, must have come to them in human form, just as the angels sent to the Prophet Lot (p.b.u.h.) came in the form of handsome youths (Chapter 11: Verse 69–81).

While teaching people some occult knowledge, they warned them, saying:

“Any knowledge is indeed a trial and temptation. So what we teach you may be used for undesirable ends by some evil ones. Beware that these evil ones do not lead you to any act of unbelief.”

Any knowledge, indeed even elements as essential to human life as fire and water, can be turned into a means for evil in the hands of evil people. The evil ones among the Israelites were interested only in how they could sow discord between a man and his wife. This indicates the depth of moral corruption to which these people had fallen.

The Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, said:

“Satan sends his agents to all parts of the world. On their return, these agents report their accomplishments, each mentioning his own special evil act. But Satan is not satisfied with any of them. It is only when an agent reports that he was able to separate a wife from her husband that Satan becomes joyful and embraces him.” (al-Bukhārī, “Talaq,” 25.)

We might consider the teaching of the Kabala and certain similar esoteric doctrines and rituals of some secret organizations in the light of this verse. (We may note in passing that there was a deity called Madruk among the deities of Babylon, a deity of magic.)

Verse 103. And if only they had believed and, in fear and reverence of God, sought to deserve His protection (against their straying and His punishment), a reward from God (of which they could not conceive) would have been absolutely good; if only they had known (acted like people of true knowledge and understanding).⁹²

92. Both this and the preceding verse conclude with the words literally meaning, ‘If only they had known‘. However, in the light of – ‘Assuredly they knew very well that he who bought it (in exchange for God’s Book) has no share, (no happy portion) in the Hereafter‘ –these words mean that these people did know, but they did not act according to what they knew as men of true knowledge and understanding. We can conclude that any knowledge which does not lead its possessors to act according to it is of no benefit to them, and thus is not regarded as “true knowledge” by the Qur’ān.

Another point to note here is that in some of its verses (e.g. 3: 19), the Qur’ān refers to the Divine Book or Revelation as “knowledge.”

Therefore, those who do not act according to this “knowledge” are ignorant, even though they may be knowledgeable in some other matters. All that we would wish to explain here is succinctly expressed by the verse (Chapter 35: Verse 28):

‘Of all His servants, only those possessed of true knowledge have awe of God.‘

The pre-Islamic period is called the “Age of Ignorance” (Jāhiliyyah). This is not because the people living in that era were ignorant, but because they believed and acted like people without (true) knowledge and understanding.

Verse 104. O you who believe!⁹³ Do not say (in your relationship and conversations with God’s Messenger,) rā‘inā (please attend to us), but say, unzurnā⁹⁴ (favor us with your attention), and pay heed to him. (And be assured that) for the unbelievers (who are disrespectful to God’s Messenger) is a painful punishment.

93. In the Qur’ān, the phrase “O you who believe!” occurs in about eighty places. This address is to those who declare their belief (with their tongue) and perform the Prescribed Prayer in congregation with the Muslims; pay the Prescribed Purifying Alms due on their wealth, including property held in the open (such as livestock and agricultural produce); and eat of the animals sacrificed by the Muslims.

Obeying the commandments that follow the use of this address is a requirement of being a believer. Only one who sincerely believes in the essentials of faith and obeys the prescribed commandments from the heart, purely for the good pleasure and approval of God, is a true believer.

94. In their conversation with God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, the Companions sometimes used the expression ra‘inā, meaning “kindly lend ear to us,” or “please attend to us,” when they wanted to request a short pause.

However, when some local Jews visited the Messenger, they tried to vent their spite by using ambiguous expressions in their greetings and conversation. They either used words with double meanings, one innocent and the other offensive, or changed the pronunciation of the expressions used by the Companions.

They would pronounce ra‘inā to sound like a Hebrew word meaning, “Listen, may you become deaf ”, and sometimes like an Arabic word meaning, “our shepherd.”

To prevent the expression ra‘inā from being abused in this way, the Muslims were asked to avoid it and use instead the straightforward expression unzurnā, meaning “kindly favor us with your attention”, or “kindly grant us a while to follow”. The verse draws attention to the importance of showing the necessary respect to God’s Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, and paying heed to his teachings.

Verse 105. Those who disbelieve among the People of the Book (The Christians) (by denying any of the Prophets or Divine Books or associating partners with Godor cherishing enmity to His angels or in another way), and those who associate partners with God (among the people of Makkah and others) love not that there should be sent down on you any good from your Lord. But God singles out for His mercy (of favoring with Prophethood or another similar mission) whomever He wills.

God is of tremendous grace and bounty.

Verse 106. (Though they would exploit the abrogation of some rules of secondary degree to challenge your authority, the truth is that) We do not abrogate any verse or omit it (leaving it to be forgotten) but We bring one better than it or the like of it (more suited to the time and conditions in the course of perfecting the Religion and completing Our favor upon you).⁹⁵ Do you not know (and surely you do know) that God has full power over everything?

95. With regard to legislation, Islam followed three principal ways:

It retained the commandments that pre-dated it, in the previous Books or in the custom and practice of the community in which Islam appeared, and which were not contradictory with its essential principles.
It corrected or amended the ones that were not in conformity with its principles.
It installed new legislation. In establishing new legislation, it considered both life’s unchanging (essential) and changing (temporal) aspects. In the second case, it laid down rules that could be revised when necessary, according to time and conditions, and in conformity with its essentials of faith, worship, and morality; and it established legal principles to maintain this process. The best known and most important of these are drawing analogies (qiyās); deducing new laws through reasoning based on the Qur’ān and Sunnah (ijtihād); adopting what is good and beneficial (istihsān); maintaining without change what has already been approved (istishāb); taking what is suited to the public benefit and discarding what is harmful (masālihal-mursalah); and blocking corruption and what is unlawful (saddaz-zarā‘ī). The same procedure was also followed in the time of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) himself, during which the Qur’ān was revealed. God abrogated some verses, either with the injunction contained in their wording or with both their wording and the command they contained. This process was called naskh; the verses abrogated, mansūkh; and the new ones substituting the previous ones, nāsikh.

Scholars differ over the number of abrogated verses. However, it must always be remembered that the Qur’ān has absolute authority until Judgment Day and that human life consists of ups, downs, and twists.

Given this, there may be times when some of the commands replacing or abrogating others should be temporarily neglected or viewed as not-yet-revealed. This process of naskh contributes a great deal to Islam’s dynamism, for preaching Islam and transforming people into true and perfect Muslims is a process. Also, the principles or commands conveyed to new believers or those who are interested have different priorities.

Verse 107. Do you not know (and surely you do know) that God is He to Whom belongs the sovereignty (absolute ownership and dominion) of the heavens and the earth (with all that is therein)? (He acts as He wills in His dominion, and you are His servants wholly submitted to Him. Given this, and unless He wills), you have, apart from God, neither a guardian (to whom you can entrust your affairs) nor a helper.

Verse 108. Or do you desire (prompted by the unbelievers among the People of the Book (the Christians), and without perceiving the wisdom in the abrogation of some verses) to harass your Messenger with senseless questions and unanswerable demands (such as seeing God plainly), as Moses was harassed before? Whoever exchanges faith for unbelief has surely strayed from the right, even way.

Verse 109. Many among the People of the Book (the Christians), out of the envy ingrained in their souls, wish they could restore you as unbelievers after you have believed, after the truth was clear to them (that the Qur’ān is God’s Word and Muhammad is the last, awaited Messenger). Yet pardon and overlook them (avoiding useless debates and polemics with them) until God brings in His verdict about them.

Surely God has full power over everything.

Verse 110. (Let your concern be to) establish the Prayer in conformity with its conditions and pay the Prescribed Purifying Alms. Whatever good you send ahead (to your future life in this world and the next) to your own souls’ account, you will find it with God. Whatever (good or evil) you do, surely God sees it well.

Verse 111. They ( Jews or Christians) say that none will enter Paradise unless he be a Jew or a Christian. That is their wishfulness (vain desires and fancies). Say (to them, O Messenger): “Produce your proof if you are truthful (in and convinced of your claim)!”

Verse 112. No! Rather, whoever submits his whole being to God (and does so) as one devoted to doing good, aware that God is seeing him, his reward is with his Lord, and all such will have no fear, (for they will always find My help and support with them), nor will they grieve. ⁹⁶

96. We sometimes need to stress the relationships between individual verses and how the sūrah (chapter) turns round its opening verses. The relationship between this verse and verses Chapter 2: Verse 38 and 62 is manifest. These three verses are especially important with respect to linking the events narrated to the pivot or main theme of the sūrah and drawing attention to that link.

Verse 113. The Jews say the Christians have nothing (from God) to be based on, and the Christians say the Jews have nothing (from God) to be based on; yet they (both) recite the Book. So, too, those who have no knowledge (from God) say the like of their word. God will judge between them on the Day of Resurrection concerning what they have been disputing.

Verse 114. Who is more in the wrong than he who bars God’s places of worship, so that His Name be not mentioned and invoked in them, and strives to ruin them?⁹⁷ Such people might never enter them, save in fear (whether because of their alienation from the Religion or because they try to destroy them owing to their animosity against God). For them is disgrace in the world, and in the Hereafter a tremendous punishment.⁹⁸

97. The verse asks rhetorically if there is a greater wrongdoing than barring God’s places of worship so that His Name is not extolled there, and striving to ruin them. This does not mean that it is uniquely the greatest wrongdoing.

Rather, it is one of the greatest offenses, some others being concealing a truth revealed and established by God concerning faith (Chapter 2: Verse 140), knowingly denying God’s Revelations (Chapter 6: Verse 21 & 93), and turning away from God’s Revelations in purposeful denial (Chapter 32: Verse 22). Each of these is among the greatest wrongdoings.

98. This verse severely denounces any offenses against God’s places of worship, and alludes to such historical examples as the Bayt al-Maqdis in Jerusalem being ruined by the Assyrian kings; by Nebuchadnezzar, the Babylon king; and by the Roman emperor Titus and other Roman rulers, such as Adrianus. It also refers to the Muslims being prevented from worshipping in the Ka‘bah. In general, it warns against any attempt in the future to close down places of worship or ban people from worshipping in them.

Holy Qur’an Chapter 62 The Cow: Verse 1-8 With Annotated Interpretations

1. All that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth glorifies God, the Absolute Sovereign, the All-Holy and All-Pure, the All-Glorious with irresistible might, the All-Wise.

2. He it is Who has sent among the unlettered ones¹ a Messenger of their own, reciting to them His Revelations, and purifying them (of false beliefs and doctrines, and sins, and all kinds of uncleanness), and instructing them in the Book and the Wisdom, whereas before that they were indeed lost in obvious error.

1. The Jews are a people to whom the Divine Book (the Torah) was given. Most of them knew how to read and write during the Prophet’s time. But as will be pointed out in verse 5 below, although they were instructed in the Torah, they acted as if they were unaware of the value of what they had been entrusted with, just as a donkey laden with books does not understand the value of its load. On the other hand, the Arabs, who were unlettered in the sense that they had not been given the Book, or that most of them did not know how to read and write, greatly appreciated the Book sent to them through the Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings, and made it the guide for their lives.

3. And (with the same mission, He has sent him) to other peoples than them who have not yet joined them (in faith). He is the All-Glorious with irresistible might, the All-Wise.

4. That is God’s grace. He grants it to whom He wills. Surely God is of tremendous grace.

5. The parable of those entrusted to carry the Torah, who subsequently do not carry it out in practice, is that of a donkey carrying a load of books (it transports what it does not understand). How evil is the example of those who (ignore what their Book teaches and) deny God’s Revelations (sent down for them and containing news of the Last Messenger)! God does not guide the wrongdoing people.

6. Say: “O you who are Jews! If you claim that you are the favorites of God to the exclusion of all other people, then wish for death, if you are truthful (in your claim).”

7. But they will never wish for it because of what they have forwarded (to the Hereafter of sins and offenses) with their own hands. God has full knowledge of the wrongdoers.

8. Say: “Death, from which you flee, will surely meet you in any case. Then you will be returned to the Knower of the Unseen and the witnessed, and He will make you understand all that you were doing (and call you to account).

Learn What the Qur'an says about Jesus (p.b.u.h.)

An opinion or conclusion formed on the basis of incomplete information.
the fact of two things being seen or placed close together with contrasting effect.
the killing of one's brother or sister.
The condition of being considered more important than someone or something else; priority in importance, order, or rank.
the use of fallacious arguments, especially with the intention of deceiving.
Arouse the curiosity or interest of; fascinate. /efn_note] or brute force⁶Relying on or achieved through the application of force, effort, or power in usually large amounts instead of more efficient, carefully planned, or precisely directed methods

Warning! Do Not Follow In Satan’s Footsteps!!