Appearance
Verses 150–152
Now, the talk turns to the People of the Book describing the reality of their disbelief and explaining some of their injustices, sins and scandalous talks.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ اللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ نُؤْمِنُ بِبَعْضٍ وَنَكْفُرُ بِبَعْضٍ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَتَّخِذُوا بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ سَبِيلًا ١٥٠ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ حَقًّا ۚ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُهِينًا١٥١
(4:150-151) Surely those who disbelieve in Allah and His messengers and desire to differentiate between Allah and His messengers, and say: “We believe in some and disbelieve in others”; and desire to take a way between (this and ) that. These it is that are truly unbelievers, and We have prepared for the unbelievers a disgraceful chastisement
These are the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians; the Jews believe in Moses and disbelieve in Jesus and Muhammad while the Christians believe in Moses and Jesus and disbelieve in Muhammad—God’s mercy be on all of them. These people think that they believe in God and in some of His messengers and disbelieve in only a few of them; but God has clearly stated that they are disbelievers in God and all His messengers. Therefore, it was necessary to explain the all-encompassing sentence, “Surely those who disbelieve in God and His messengers”. This explanation is given in the next phrase which is given as explicative apposition, “and desire to differentiate between God and His messengers, and say: “We believe in some and disbelieve in others”. This phrase is self- explanatory. They are disbelievers in God and His Messengers because when they say: “We believe in some and disbelieve in others”, they actually want to differentiate between God and His messengers; when they disbelieve in some of His messengers although he has been sent by God, they are rejecting the Divine choice; thus rejection of any messenger is rejection of God’s Divinity.
Again it is explained with another explanatory conjunctive, “and desire to take a way between (this and) that”. They want to chart out a way between two opposites: believing in God and all His messengers and disbelieving in God and all His messengers; and that middle way is believing in some and rejecting some others. However, the only way to God is to believe in Him and all His messengers together. A messenger in his capacity of messengership has no authority over his own self or on his mission; everything is done under Divine guidance. To believe in him is to believe in God and to reject him is to reject God.
Disbelieving in some and believing in others together with God is an attempt to differentiate between God and His messengers. In this way, they want to make the messenger independent, unrelated to God. According to the, belief in the prophet has no connection with the belief in God and rejection of a prophet is unconnected with disbelief in God; the messenger is accordingly marginalized and removed from his central position. How can one be called a messenger if believing or disbelieving in him is unrelated to belief or disbelief in God?
Now, it is clear without any doubt that believing in such a messenger is tantamount to ascribing someone to God, the great, the High. That is why God, after describing their attempt to believe in some and disbelieve in others, in order to differentiate between God and His messengers and to find a via media, says that, “These it is that are truly unbelievers”, and then threatens them saying, “and We have prepared for the unbelievers a disgraceful chastisement”.
وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَلَمْ يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ أُولَٰئِكَ سَوْفَ يُؤْتِيهِمْ أُجُورَهُمْ ۗ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَحِيمًا ١٥٢
(4:152) And those who believe in Allah and His messengers and do not differentiate between any of them; they (are those whom) He will grant them their recompense; and Allah is Forgiving, Merciful
After exposing the disbelief of those who differentiate between God and His messengers, and stating that they were disbelievers in God and all His messengers, now God describes those who stand opposite to them, that is, those who believe in God and all His messengers without any differentiation. This completes the division of the people in two groups. We find in the second and third verses that the pronouns describing God have been changed from first person plural to third person singular; first it was said: and We have prepared for the unbelievers a disgraceful chastisement, and now it says, “they (are those whom) He will grant them their recompense”. Probably, ascribing award of punishment to first person shows that it would surely happen; this certainty is not so clear in third person pronoun; and the same reason justifies the change of pronoun in the second verse. The verse is addressed to the Prophet and contains good tidings. The Prophet knows that God would surely fulfil His promise and this recompense is certain to be awarded.