Appearance
Verses 153–169
The verses describe the demand of the People of the Book that the Messenger of God should bring down to them a book from heaven, because they were not satisfied by the piecemeal revelation of the Qur’an through Gabriel, and then replies to it.
يَسْأَلُكَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ أَنْ تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيْهِمْ كِتَابًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ ۚ فَقَدْ سَأَلُوا مُوسَىٰ أَكْبَرَ مِنْ ذَٰلِكَ فَقَالُوا أَرِنَا اللَّهَ جَهْرَةً فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ بِظُلْمِهِمْ ۚ ثُمَّ اتَّخَذُوا الْعِجْلَ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ فَعَفَوْنَا عَنْ ذَٰلِكَ ۚ وَآتَيْنَا مُوسَىٰ سُلْطَانًا مُبِينًا ١٥٣ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَهُمُ الطُّورَ بِمِيثَاقِهِمْ وَقُلْنَا لَهُمُ ادْخُلُوا الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ لَا تَعْدُوا فِي السَّبْتِ وَأَخَذْنَا مِنْهُمْ مِيثَاقًا غَلِيظًا ١٥٤
(4:153-154) The People of the Book ask you to bring down to them a book from heaven; so indeed they had demanded of Moses a greater thing than that, for they said: “Show us Allah manifestly”; so the lightning seized them on account of their injustice. Then they took the calf (for a god) even after clear signs had come to them, but We pardoned this; and We gave to Moses a clear authority. And We lifted the mountain over them at their covenant, and We said to them: “Enter the door prostrating”; and We said to them: “Do not exceed the limits of the Sabbath”; and We took from them a firm covenant.
“The People of the Book” refers to the Jews and the Christians, as is known from the Qur’anic style in such places. It means that the demand had come from both groups and not only the Jews.
Of course, the injustice and the crimes enumerated in these verses were exclusively committed by the Jews; for example, the demand to see God, the worship of the calf, breaking the covenant when the mountain was raised over their heads and when they were ordered to do sajdah (prostration) and prohibited to cross the limits of the sabbath and things like that. But both groups had grown from the same root, that is, the tribe of Israel (Jacob) to whom Moses and Jesus were sent (although the mission of Jesus spread after his being raised to the heaven to the non-Israelites like Rome, Arabia, Ethiopia and Egypt, etc.) and the injustice done to Jesus by his people was not less than the injustice done by the Jews to Moses.
As the two groups had a common root and the injustice described was done by the Jews only when the time came to describe their punishment, God mentioned only the Jews as He says: Wherefore for the inequity of those who are Jews, We did forbid them those good things which had been made lawful for them. And it was because of this common root that the list of the Messengers described later includes Jesus too like Moses; if the talk were reserved to the Jews only, this could not be justified. Also, it is for this reason that after these verses it has been said: O People of the Book! do not exceed the limits in your religion, and do not speak (lies) against Allah, but (speak) the truth; the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary is only a Messenger of Allah.
In short, the demand had come from the People of the Book together and the speech is addressed to them both, because they share the national trait, that is, despotism, speaking lies, recklessness and disregard of agreements and covenants. The talk covers both in common characteristics but when any group deserves some special comment, it is mentioned separately.
They had asked the Messenger of God to bring down to them a book from heaven. Obviously, they had not asked it before the Qur’an was revealed and recited before them. This event had taken place in Medina and they had heard the Qur’an as much as was revealed at Mecca and the parts which were revealed at Medina up to that time. Yet, they were not satisfied that it was a sufficient proof of his Prophethood; they were not prepared to count it as a Divine Book, although the Qur’an had been sent armed with the challenge and the claim of its miraculousness, as we see in the chapters of “The Night Journey”, “Jonah”, “Hūd” and “The Cow”, all of which were revealed before this chapter of the “Women”.
Clearly, their asking for bringing down a book from the heaven (when they were witnessing the Qur’anic revelation), was merely a foolhardy demand which could not come except from a person who stubbornly refuses to submit to the truth and does not follow the reality. Such a person talks irrationally and raves without thinking, as his desires overpower him; he doesn’t stand on any firm ground nor does he feel constrained by any limit. This arrogance was similar to that which the Quraysh had adopted as soon as the Qur’anic revelations began and its mission became known; as God quotes them as saying: Why is not a sign sent to him from His Lord? (), or you should ascend into heaven, and we will not believe in your ascending until you bring down to us a book which we may read (). It was in this background that God has replied to their demand.
First: These are a people gone far in their ignorance and straying. They do not desist from any injustice, however great it might be; from disbelief and rejection of truth even when clear proofs have come to them; nor from breaking the covenants however sacred they might be; nor do they avoid falsehood, wrong accusation or any type of injustice. A man of such characteristics does not deserve that his demand be granted or his proposal accepted.
Second: The Book which God has sent down, that is, the Qur’an, contains in itself the witness of God and His angels. Moreover, it offers challenge after challenge in its noble verses.
Continuing the reply, God says: so indeed they had demanded of Moses a greater thing than that, that is, greater than what they are asking you, to bring down to them a book from heaven: for they said: “Show us Allah manifestly”, that is, show Him to us clearly so that we see Him with our eyes; this was the peak of ignorance, delirium and transgression; so the lightening seized them on account of their injustice. The story is mentioned in the chapter of “The Cow” (vrs. 55-56) and that of “The Elevated Places” (vr. 155).
Then God says: Then they took the calf (for a god) even after clear signs had come to them, they indulged in this idol-worship when its falsity was clearly shown to them and it was explained to them that God is far from the taint of corporal traits and transience; and this was the most heinous ignorance: but We pardoned this; and We gave to Moses a clear authority. Moses had ordered them in this connection to repent to God by killing each other; they started doing it but God pardoned them before the killings had taken toll of them all; and this is what pardon means in this verse. He gave Moses clear authority inasmuch as his orders were implemented on them and on al-Sāmirī and his calf. This story is mentioned in the chapter of “The Cow” (vr. 54).
Then God says: And We lifted the mountain over them at their covenant. It was the covenant which God had taken from them and then raised the mountain over them. The story has been described twice in the chapter of “The Cow” (vrs. 63 & 93). Further, God says: and We said to them: “Enter the door prostrating”; and We said to them: “Do not exceed the limits of the Sabbath”; and We took from them a firm covenant. The two stories are mentioned in the chapter of “The Cow” (vrs. 58-65) and the chapter of “The Elevated Places” (vrs. 161-163). Probably, the covenant mentioned here is related to these two stories as well as others, because the Qur’an repeatedly mentions making the covenant with them, as God says: And when We made a covenant with the Children of Israel: “You shall not worship (any) but Allah;… “ (); and when We made a covenant with you: “You shall not shed your blood and you shall not turn your people out of your cities”; then you gave a promise while you witnessed (ibid.: 84).
فَبِمَا نَقْضِهِمْ مِيثَاقَهُمْ وَكُفْرِهِمْ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَقَتْلِهِمُ الْأَنْبِيَاءَ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ وَقَوْلِهِمْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ ۚ بَلْ طَبَعَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهَا بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا ١٥٥
(4:155) Therefore, for their breaking their covenant and their disbelief in the communications of Allah and their killing the prophets unjustly and their saying: “Our hearts are covered”; Nay! Allah has set a seal upon them owing to their disbelief, so they shall not believe except a little.
The particle Fa (therefore) shows that the coming statement has resulted from the preceding ones. “For their breaking their covenant” refers to their crimes mentioned after a few verses. These verses aim at describing the humiliating recompense which God has reserved for them in this world and the hereafter. They also describe some of their evil characteristics not mentioned before.
The words of God, “Therefore for their breaking their covenant”, refers together to their breaking the covenant, some of which have been mentioned in the Qur’an and some have not. “And their disbelief in the communications of God”, refers to their various types of disbelief which they committed during the life of Moses and after him. The Qur’an has described several instances of it including the two mentioned in the beginning of the verses, that is: So indeed they had demanded of Moses a greater thing than that, for they said: “Show us Allah manifestly”, and: they took a calf (for a god) even after clear signs had come to them. These two instances of their disbelief were described before other things in the beginning, but have been put here after the description of their breaking the covenant; because the context is different. Beginning of the verses mentions their demand to bring down a book from heaven and it was more relevant to follow it with their asking something greater than that and their worshipping the calf. But the verse under discussion describes their recompense for their evil deeds after their accepting the call to the truth; and in this context beginning the speech with description of their breaking their covenant was more appropriate.
The phrase: and their killing the prophets unjustly, points to Zachariah, John and other prophets whom the Qur’an has mentioned without naming. Then God says: and their saying: “Our hearts are covered”: Ghulf is plural of aghlaf (under cover) which prevents it from listening to the prophetic call and accepting the truth. They uttered this sentence in order to reject the call and at the same time putting the responsibility of that rejection on God. In a way they claimed that their hearts were put under cover by God, or that they could not hear any call except that of Moses, and all this was beyond their choice and authority. That is why God has refuted their claim by saying: Nay! Allah has set a seal upon them owing to their disbelief, so they shall not believe except a little. Thus, it is explained that the refusal of their hearts to listen to the true call is connected to the Divine creation, but not in the sense which they were claiming that they had no hand in it. Rather, God has done it to them because of their disbelief and denial of truth, and consequently these people will not believe except a few of them. We have described in detail about this exception; they were afflicted with this Divine retribution as a society and nation. The whole group taken together is under that punishment and their hearts have been sealed and it is impossible for that society to believe in the Prophet, although a few of them may enter into the fold of Islam.
وَبِكُفْرِهِمْ وَقَوْلِهِمْ عَلَىٰ مَرْيَمَ بُهْتَانًا عَظِيمًا ١٥٦
(4:156) And for their disbelief and for their having uttered against Mary a grievous calumny.
It refers to their calumny against Mary that Jesus was a product of fornication. It is disbelief and false accusation all together; and Jesus had talked to them soon after his birth and said: “Surely I am a servant of Allah; He has given me the Book and made me a prophet.” ().
وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا الْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَٰكِنْ شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ ۚ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِنْهُ ۚ مَا لَهُمْ بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلَّا اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ ۚ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا ١٥٧
(4:157) And for their saying: “Surely we have killed the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of Allah”; and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so (like Jesus); and most surely those who differ therein are only in doubt about it; they have no knowledge respecting it, but only follow a conjecture; and certainly they killed him not
It was described in the stories of Jesus in ch.3 that they had different versions concerning his killing: whether it was by crucifixion or some other means. God first mentions their claim of killing the Messiah, then refutes their claim joining the killing and crucifixion together; probably this mode has been adopted for total refutation, in order to remove all possible doubts; crucifixion is a special method of torture but it does not necessarily lead to killing and when killing is mentioned, crucifixion doesn’t come into mind. [Therefore, refuting killing and crucifixion together refutes the idea of Jesus’ death altogether.]
If only the killing were refuted, it was possible to say that they had not killed him in normal way, that he could have been killed by crucifixion. That is why God added after “they did not kill him” the words, “nor did they crucify him” to make the meaning utmost clear. Then He says explicitly that Jesus did not die on their hands, neither by crucifixion nor in any other way; rather it appeared to them so. They caught another person in place of the Messiah and killed him or crucified him. This could have happened easily in those circumstances; in such a riotous and barbaric mobs often the actual target slips away and some other person is held and beaten up. He was arrested by the Roman soldiers who had no full prior knowledge of his features and conditions; it was possible for them to catch someone else in his place. Moreover, there are traditions saying that God had put his likeness on another person who was caught and killed in his place.
Some research scholars of history have written that the historical stories recorded about Jesus and the events connected with his call as well as the stories of his contemporaries among the rulers and preachers fit completely on two persons, both named the Messiah, and the time gap between them is of more than 500 years. The earlier one was the true Messiah but he was not killed and the later one was the false Messiah who was crucified. According to that scholar it is doubtful whether the present Christian calendar is correct. In that case, what the Qur’an mentions as ‘appearance’ would refer to the similarity of the Messiah, Jesus son of Mary, the Messenger of God, with the crucified Messiah.
And most surely those who differ therein, that is, differ about Jesus or about his killing: are only in doubt about it, that is, they are ignorant of his affairs, they have no knowledge respecting it; but only follow a conjecture, that is, they surmise according to what they have been told by others without firm knowledge: and certainly they killed him not, it may also be translated as: ‘they did not kill him, I give you the confirmed news’.
Someone has said that the pronoun ‘him’ in “they did not kill him” refers to knowledge in the preceding sentence, that is, they did not kill the knowledge certainly; according to the dictionary, killing of knowledge means purifying it from doubt and suspicion. Some others have said that the pronoun refers to conjecture, that is, they did not verify their conjecture. These meanings are very strange and the Qur’anic words do not tolerate them.
بَلْ رَفَعَهُ اللَّهُ إِلَيْهِ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا ١٥٨
(4:158) Nay! Allah raised him up to Himself; and Allah is Mighty, Wise.
God has narrated this story in the chapter of “The Family of ‘Imrān” where He says: And when Allah said: “O Jesus I am going to take you away completely and cause you to ascend unto Me” (). So, this verse mentions first his being taken away and then his being raised.
The context of the verse refutes their claim that they had killed and crucified Jesus. Rather he was protected from murder and crucifixion. Also, it is clear that the one about whom the claims of murder and crucifixion were made (that is, Jesus, with his body) was the one whom God raised to Him and saved him from their conspiracy. In short, Jesus was raised up with his body and soul together. It was not that he had died and then his soul was raised to God, because the context of the verse doesn’t agree with such a hypothesis; the adverb, ‘rather’, would be meaningless if it were to show that his soul was raised up after death, because such raising up could happen even after his murder or natural death.
This raising up was a sort of rescue with which God saved him from their hands. [This verse by itself does not make it clear] whether he had died at that time a natural death or by some means other than murder and crucifixion or was alive and God had given him perpetual life in a way we do not know. It was not impossible for God to give death to Jesus and then raise him and protect him; or He could preserve his life in some extra-natural way. This phenomenon is not different from other events described in the Qur’an regarding Jesus’s miracles concerning his birth and his life among his people as well as the miracles of Abraham, Moses, Sālih, and others. All that is in the same category; the Book of God confirms those happenings so clearly that they cannot be ignored. Of course, some people had tried to reinterpret those miracles thinking that such supernatural events would nullify the general system of the cause and effect; in the first volume of this book, we have discussed in detail the phenomenon of miracle and supernatural events.
However, the next verse proves or points that Jesus is alive and has not died yet.
وَإِنْ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ إِلَّا لَيُؤْمِنَنَّ بِهِ قَبْلَ مَوْتِهِ ۖ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يَكُونُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا ١٥٩
(4:159) And there is not one of the People of the Book but he must certainly believe in him before his death; and on the Day of Resurrection, he (Jesus) shall be a witness against them.
The third person singular pronouns in “believe in him” and “he shall be” refer to Jesus. As for the pronoun in “before his death” there are various interpretations:
Some people have said: The pronoun refers to ‘one’ in “one of the People of the Book”, meaning: each and every one among the People of the Book will believe in Jesus before that one dies. It will become clear to him just before his death that Jesus was the Messenger of God and His servant; even though that faith at that time will not benefit him at all, and Jesus will be a witness over them all on the Day of Judgement. It makes no difference whether they believed in him in a way that was beneficial to them or at a time when it was of no avail like believing at the time of death.
If we say that the pronoun “before his death” refers to Jesus, it would support what has been narrated in some traditions that Jesus is alive, has not died and that he will come down before the Day of Resurrection and then the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians, will believe in him. But this interpretation particularizes, without any reason, the generality of the phrase, “and there is not one of the People of the Book”. But according to this explanation, the verse would mean that only those People of the Book would believe in Jesus who would be present when he would come down from the heavens, while all others who came and went after his being raised and before his coming down would not believe in him. This restricts without any reason the general meaning of the verse.
However, some have opted for this explanation and said that the pronoun refers to Jesus and points to their belief in him at the time of his coming down from heaven in the last days. This view relies on a tradition as we have mentioned above.
But the verse with its two parts clearly shows that Jesus will be a witness on all of them on the Day of Resurrection as will all of them believe in him before death. And God has quoted the speech of Jesus regarding this evidence in a particular way: And I was a witness over them so long as I was among them; when You did take me up You were the watcher over them and You are witness over all things (). In this verse, Jesus limits his evidence for the period when he was alive among them before his being taken away, and the verse under discussion says that he would be a witness over all those who could believe in him; now if all would believe in him it means that he would not die but after all of them. This brings us to the second interpretation, that is, he is alive until now and he will return to them again so that they could believe in him. Utmost that can be said is that the one who will not be present when he will return to them second time will believe in him at the time of his death and the one who will be present at that time will have to believe in him whether willingly or under compulsion.
This verse coming after the Divine words: and they did not kill him nor did they crucify him, but it appeared to them so;… Rather Allah raised him up to Himself, and Allah is Mighty, Wise, indicates that Jesus has not died and is still alive; because there seems no useful purpose in saying that all of them would believe in him under compulsion. This supports the view that their believing in Jesus before death refers to their believing in him before Jesus’ death.
However, there are other verses which apparently go somehow against it. For example: And when Allah said: O Jesus I am going to take you away completely and cause you to ascend unto Me and purify you of those who disbelieve, and make those who follow you above those who disbelieve to the Day of Resurrection (). It shows that some disbelievers in Jesus will continue up to the Day of Resurrection. Also, the verse:… and their saying: “Our hearts are covered”; Nay! Allah has set a seal upon them owing to their disbelieve, so they shall not believe except a little”, shows that it is an affliction written against them, and their society, as a Jewish society, will not believe up to the Day of Resurrection. Also, the verse: And I was a witness over them so long as I was among them; when You did take me up You were the watcher over them (), shows that they will be continuing after Jesus was taken away completely.
However, the fact is that these three verses do not go against the idea of Jesus being alive. The verse:… and make those who follow you above those who disbelieve to the Day of Resurrection, doesn’t say that they would continue up to the Day of Resurrection with their identity as the People of the Book. Likewise, the Divine words: Nay! Allah has set a seal upon them owing to their disbelief, so they shall not believe except a little, only says that the true belief will not be accepted by all of them together and if at sometime they believed, that belief would cover only a few of them. Moreover, if the verse, “And there is not one of the People of the Book but he must certainly believe in him before his death”, shows that they would believe in him before his death, it only mentions the belief, per se; it does not say that it would be an acceptable belief.
Likewise, the verse: When You did take me up You were the watcher over them, refers to the people, not to the Christians or the People of the Book, because the verse begins with these words: And when Allah will say: “O Jesus son of Mary! did you say to the people, take me and my mother two gods beside Allah?” (). Apart from that, Jesus, as one of the ulu al-ʿazm Messengers, was sent to all the people, and when he will give evidence over their deeds it would cover the Israelites as well as others, whether they believed in him or continued as unbelievers.
In short, the verses, seen in their context and in conjunction with other related verses, show that Jesus did not die; he was not killed nor crucified nor did he die a natural death as we have mentioned earlier and we have written on this subject under the verse: O Jesus I am going to take you away completely… () in the third volume of this book.
A very strange explanation has been given by al-Zamakhsharī in Tafsīr al-kashshāf. He says: “This verse could possibly be interpreted in this way that there is none among all the People of the Book but he will believe in Jesus; God will give them life in their graves at the time of coming down of Jesus and will inform them of his coming down and why he has come; so they will believe in him when their believing will give them no benefit. Is it not the belief of al-rajʾah (partial return)?”
There are some other unsound explanations written for this verse:
al-Zajjāj appears to think that the pronoun, “before his death” refers to the individual man of the Book. In other words, all of them unitedly say that we believe in that Jesus who will appear in later days. It is a ridiculous interpretation because the verses describe their claim of killing and crucifying Jesus and refutes that claim. It does not deal directly with their disbelief in Jesus and it has no connection with their accepting that the Messiah will appear in the later days to revive and restore the honor of the Israeli nation. Moreover, if that were the intended meaning, there was no need to say “before his death” because the meaning would have been clear without this phrase, and the same would be the case with the sentence. And on the day of Resurrection he (Jesus) shall be a witness over them, because there would be no need for such a statement at all.
Some exegetes have said that the verse means: and there is no one of the Book but he must certainly believe in Muhammad before the death of that man of the Book.
It is just like the previous explanation in absurdity, because there was no mention of Muhammad in the preceding verses, so that the pronoun could refer to him; nor is this interpretation relevant to the theme of the verses. So, it is a claim without any proof. Of course, this meaning has been given in some traditions as we will read in the coming traditions but that is on the principle of the Qur’an as we shall describe; and such applications have been given very often in traditions as is known to everyone who looks minutely in such traditions.
فَبِظُلْمٍ مِنَ الَّذِينَ هَادُوا حَرَّمْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ طَيِّبَاتٍ أُحِلَّتْ لَهُمْ وَبِصَدِّهِمْ عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ كَثِيرًا ١٦٠
(4:160) Wherefore for the inequity of those who are Jews, We did forbid them those good things which had been made lawful for them, and for their hindering many from Allah’s way.
“Wherefore” shows that the coming statement is a result of what has been described so far. “Inequity” has been used as a common noun to show the greatness of their injustice or to cover it in vagueness (because no important purpose depends on identifying their inequities). This one word refers to some of their transgressions and inequities mentioned earlier. It doesn’t refer to all the inequities mentioned above but only to some of them. God had forbidden some of the good things to them because of that inequity, and it was forbidden in the sharīʾah of Moses which was revealed in the Torah; while some of the inequities were committed by them long after Moses, for example, slandering Mary, etc. That is why we have said that the word, ‘inequity’, refers to some of their great transgressions because of which some good things were forbidden to them after they had been made lawful.
The verse goes on to say: and for their hindering many from Allah’s way. it refers to their repeated deviation from the way of God: And for their taking interest, though indeed they were forbidden it, and their devouring the property of people wrongfully.
وَأَخْذِهِمُ الرِّبَا وَقَدْ نُهُوا عَنْهُ وَأَكْلِهِمْ أَمْوَالَ النَّاسِ بِالْبَاطِلِ ۚ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَافِرِينَ مِنْهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا ١٦١
(4:161) And for their taking interest, though indeed they were forbidden it, and their devouring the property of people wrongfully; and We have prepared for the unbelievers from among them a painful chastisement.
It is in conjunction with: We did forbid them. Because of their inequities, they had attracted two punishments from God; one in this world which affected all of them and that was the forbidding of some previously legalized good things; the other concerns the life hereafter which is reserved for the unbelievers among them and that is a painful chastisement.
لَٰكِنِ الرَّاسِخُونَ فِي الْعِلْمِ مِنْهُمْ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ ۚ وَالْمُقِيمِينَ الصَّلَاةَ ۚ وَالْمُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَاةَ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ أُولَٰئِكَ سَنُؤْتِيهِمْ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا ١٦٢
(4:162) But the firmly rooted in knowledge among them and the believers believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you, and those who keep up prayers and those who give the zakāt and the believers in Allah and the Last Day, these it is whom We will give a mighty reward
It is a sort of exception and emendation separating some persons from the People of the Book. “The firmly rooted in knowledge” and “the believers” are the subject and “believe” is predicate; “among them” is connected with “the firmly rooted in knowledge” and “among” shows partialness.
Apparently, the word “the believers” too has a connection with “among them”. thus the meaning will be: but the firmly rooted in knowledge and the true believers from among the People of the Book believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you. This meaning gets support from the next verse which says: Surely We have revealed to you as We revealed to Noah?… Apparently, the verse wants to say that they have believed in you because they have realized that your prophethood and the revelation which We have sent to you is similar to the revelation which was brought to them by the previous prophets of God, Noah and the prophets after him, and the prophets from the progeny of Abraham and progeny of Jacob and the others whose stories we have not told you and there is no difference between these revelations.
You will appreciate that this meaning is more appropriate for the believers among the People of the Book than for the believers from the Arabs about whom God has said: That you may warn a people whose fathers were not warned, so they are heedless ().
“And those who keep up prayers” is in conjunction with “the firmly rooted in knowledge”, but unlike the “firmly rooted” it is in accusative case to emphasize their praise. Likewise, “those who give the zakāt” is in conjunction with the same. “The believers in God and the Last Day” is the subject and “these it is whom We will give a mighty reward” is its predicate. In the Qur’an of Ibn Masʾūd, “those who keep up prayers” was in nominative case and according to that, all the four adjectival phrases would be the subject, and “these it is whom We will give a mighty reward” its predicate.
al-Tabrisī has said in Majmaʾ al-bayān: “The grammarians have differed as to why ‘those who keep up prayers’ has been revealed in accusative case. Sībawayh and the scholars of Basrah have said that it is meant so to describe their praise.” [Then after mentioning some other interpretations, he says:] “There is a narration of ʿUrwah from ʿĀ’ishah that he asked her about the Divine words, ‘those who keep up prayers’, and, the Sabeans [], and, these two are certainly two sorcerers [], and she said, ‘O my nephew! This is the work of the scribes; they made mistakes in writing’. And there is a narration from some of them [ʿUthmān] that, ‘there are some [ungrammatical] words in the Book of God and the Arabs will soon correct it by their tongues.’ And some of them has said that the phrase: ‘those who keep up prayers’ was in the nominative case in the Qur’an of Ibn Masʾūd. But such reports are not worthy of attention; the companions could not teach the people wrong recitals because they were the leaders and had learnt the words of the Qur’an from the Prophet.”
The phrase, “but the firmly rooted in knowledge”, is the exception from the People of the Book. As we have explained earlier, their demand from the Prophet that he should bring down to them a book from heaven meant that what the prophet had brought to them—the Book and the Wisdom—which confirmed the Divine communications revealed to the Prophets and Messengers before him, was not enough to attract them to the truth and prove its veracity, while in reality the Prophet had not brought to them but what the prophets before him had brought to their people and he lived among them and with them exactly as they had lived among and with their people. God says: Say: “I am not first of the Messengers…” (); And We did not send before you any but men to whom We sent revelation, so ask the followers of the Reminder if you do not know. And We did not make them bodies not eating the food, and they were not to abide (for ever)… certainly We have revealed to you a Book in which is your good remembrance; what! Do you not then understand? ().
Thus, God describes about those People of the Book that they do not have a disposition to follow the truth nor they are firm in their views; they have no determination nor any opinion. There were many clear signs which they neglected and many calls to the truth from which they hindered the people. Of course, those among them who are firmly rooted in knowledge (because of their firmness in their knowledge and the clarity of the truth before their eyes), and likewise, those who are true believers among them (because they are disposed to follow the truth), these two groups of people believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you, as they have found out that what has been revealed to you is similar to what was revealed to all the prophets before you—Noah and other prophets who came after him.
It appears from the above that:
(1) The reason why those People of the Book who followed the Prophet have been given the adjectives “firmly rooted in knowledge”, and “the believers”. The previous verses have adversely commented on the People of the Book that they are not firmly rooted in what they have known, are not firm on any truth even if it was entrusted to them with very firm covenants, and they do not believe on the communications of God and hinder people from them even when clear proofs have come to them. In this backdrop, these people whom God has excepted are firmly rooted in knowledge and true believers.
(2) The reason why the previously revealed Books have been mentioned with the Qur’an in the phrase, “believe in what has been revealed to you and what has been revealed before you”. The purpose is to show that there is no difference between the two revelations.
(3) The Divine words in the coming verse: Surely We have revealed to you as We have revealed to Noah and the prophets after him”, describe the reason of the belief of these believers.
إِنَّا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ كَمَا أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ نُوحٍ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ ۚ وَأَوْحَيْنَا إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطِ وَعِيسَىٰ وَأَيُّوبَ وَيُونُسَ وَهَارُونَ وَسُلَيْمَانَ ۚ وَآتَيْنَا دَاوُودَ زَبُورًا ١٦٣
(4:163) Surely We have revealed to you as We revealed to Noah, and the prophets after him, and We revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and Jesus and Job and Jonah and Aaron and Solomon, and We gave to David Zabūr
As we have said just now, it gives the reason for their belief. The meaning: They have believed in what has been revealed to you because We have not given you any new thing, new claim or new aspect which was not found with the previous prophets. The whole affair runs on one system without any difference. We have revealed to you as We have revealed to Noah and the prophets after him. Noah was the first prophet to come with the Book and a sharīʾah. It is the same as We revealed to Abraham and later to his progeny. These People of the Book know them and understand how they were sent and how they called their people to the Right Path; some were given a Book as David was given Zabūr [Psalms] which was a prophetic revelation. Moses was addressed directly and that was another type of prophetic revelation; and there were others like Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob who were sent without any Book and they too received prophetic revelations.
Whatever their peculiarities, all of them were messengers giving good news of Divine reward and warning against Divine punishment. God had sent them to complete His proof against the people, as they were to explain what was beneficial for them in this life and the hereafter and what was harmful, in order that the people should not have any proof against God after coming of the messengers.
…the tribes,…: It was explained under the verse: and Jacob and the tribes () that the word refers to the prophets from the progeny of Jacob.
…and We gave to David, Psalms (Zabūr): It is said that the word al-Zabūr means ‘the written’; they say Zabarahu (he wrote it), thus al-Zabūr is synonymous with al-mazbūr (the written).
وَرُسُلًا قَدْ قَصَصْنَاهُمْ عَلَيْكَ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَرُسُلًا لَمْ نَقْصُصْهُمْ عَلَيْكَ ۚ وَكَلَّمَ اللَّهُ مُوسَىٰ تَكْلِيمًا ١٦٤ رُسُلًا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَى اللَّهِ حُجَّةٌ بَعْدَ الرُّسُلِ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا ١٦٥
(4:164-165) And (We sent) messengers We have mentioned to you before and messengers We have not mentioned to you; and Allah addressed His word to Moses directly speaking. (We sent) messengers as the givers of good news and as warners, so that people should not have an argument against Allah after the (coming of) messengers; and Allah is Mighty, Wise.
As translated, the word “messengers” is the object and “givers of good news and warners” are its adjectives. It may also be translated as: The messengers, the givers of good news and the warners; in which case all three words will be circumstantial words.
In ch.2 vr.213 (in vol.2), we have extensively discussed the meaning of sending of the messengers and completion of proof by God against the people, and that the reason alone is not sufficient to guide the people on the right path unless the prophets are sent with Divine Laws.
…and Allah is Mighty, Wise: When unlimited power and unlimited wisdom is reserved for God, then it is impossible for anyone to prevail over Him in argument. Rather, the conclusive proofs are with Him. God says: Say: “Then Allah’s is the conclusive argument” ().
لَٰكِنِ اللَّهُ يَشْهَدُ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ إِلَيْكَ ۖ أَنْزَلَهُ بِعِلْمِهِ ۖ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يَشْهَدُونَ ۚ وَكَفَىٰ بِاللَّهِ شَهِيدًا ١٦٦
(4:166) But Allah bears witness by what He has revealed to you that He has revealed it with His Knowledge; and the angels bear witness (also); and sufficient is Allah for a witness.
It is sort of isolated exception from the rejection of their demand that the Prophet should bring down to them a Book from the heaven. What God has described in refutation of their demand beginning with: So indeed they had demanded of Moses a greater thing…, means that their demand has been rejected. The reason for the rejection is that whatever has been brought by the Prophet through the Divine Revelation is certainly not different from the revelations brought by all other prophets. Whoever claims that he believes in what was brought by those prophets is duty—bound to believe in what has been brought by this prophet—without any difference. Now, God adds that He bears witness by what He has revealed to His Prophet and the angels bear witness too and God is sufficient for a witness. The item witnessed is that “He has revealed it with His knowledge”. Merely coming down from the heavens was not sufficient to prove the claim because it could have been done through satanic agencies. The Satan could have polluted the affairs of Divine guidance by opening in front a wrong path in place of the right one; or he could have mixed some falsity in the Divine revelation to confuse the minds. God has pointed to such pollution by refuting it in these words: The Knower of the unseen! So He does not reveal His secrets to any, except to him whom He chooses as a messenger; for surely He makes a guard to march before him and after him, so that He may know that they have truly delivered the messages of their Lord, and He encompasses what is with them, and He records the number of all things ().
Also, God says:… and most surely the Satans inspire their friends… (). In short, giving witness for coming down of, or sending down the Book, still leaves the claim somewhat in ambiguity; but the words, “with His Knowledge”, make the meaning crystal clear, and show that God has revealed it to His Messenger, and He knew what He was revealing; He encompasses him and protects him from deception of the Satan.
This witness is for revelation and revelation was through the angels, as is clear from the words of God: Say: “Whoever is the enemy of Gabriel: for surely he revealed it to your heart by Allah’s command…” (); and He has said describing this honored angel: Most surely it is the Word of an honored Messenger, the possessor of strength, an honorable place with the Lord of the Dominion, One (to be) obeyed, and faithful in trust (). The adjective, “one (to be) obeyed”, shows that there are other angels under his command and it is they who are mentioned in ch.80, vrs.11-16: Nay! Surely it is an admonishment. So let him who pleases mind it; in honorable books, exalted, purified in the hands of (Our) ambassadors, noble, virtuous. In short, as the angels were the means of bringing the revelation to the Prophet, so they too are witnesses like God and God is sufficient as a witness.
To see how God has borne witness for the Qur’an, we should look into the verses which have thrown challenges to the adversaries. For example: Say: “If men and jinn should combine together to bring the like of this Qur’an, they could not bring the like of it, though some of them were aiders of others” (); Do they not then meditate on the Qur’an? And if it were from any other than Allah, they would have found in it many a discrepancy (); Say: “Then bring a chapter like this and invite whom you can besides Allah, if you are truthful.” ().
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَصَدُّوا عَنْ سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ قَدْ ضَلُّوا ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا ١٦٧
(4:167) Surely (as for) those who disbelieve and hinder (men) from Allah’s way they indeed have strayed off into a far error.
The preceding verses have described the convincing argument for the messengership of His Messenger showing that his Book was revealed from God; also that it is the same sort of revelation that was sent to the prophets before him, and that it is accompanied by the witness of God and His angels, and enough is He for a witness. Now, this verse establishes the error of those who disbelieve in Him and hinder others even if they are from the People of the Book.
The speech started with the topic of revelation of the Book from God. Now, the word, ‘Book’, has been changed to God’s way (hinder men from Allah’s way). This simple change has beautifully abbreviated a lengthy premises. It is as though it says: Surely, as for those who disbelieve and hinder men from this Book and from the revelation it contains, they are the disbelievers who hinder people from God’s way, and those who disbelieve and hinder men from God’s way…
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَظَلَمُوا لَمْ يَكُنِ اللَّهُ لِيَغْفِرَ لَهُمْ وَلَا لِيَهْدِيَهُمْ طَرِيقًا١٦٨ إِلَّا طَرِيقَ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۚ وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ عَلَى اللَّهِ يَسِيرًا١٦٩
(4:168-169) Surely (as for) those who disbelieve and act unjustly, Allah will not forgive them nor guide them to a path, except the path of Hell, to abide in it forever, and this is easy to Allah.
It re-emphasizes the reality mentioned in the preceding verse. Accordingly, injustice would point to their hindering men from the way of God as is clear in this context. Also, possibly this verse gives the reason of their straying into a remote error. The meaning is clear.
Examining Narrations
- It is narrated in Tafsīr al-burhān under the Divine words: and for their having uttered against Mary a grievous calumny, from Ibn Bābawayh through his chain from ʿAlqamah that al-Ṣādiq said, inter alia, in a hadīth: “Did they not ascribe to Maryam bint ʿImrān that she was impregnated by a carpenter named Joseph?”
- al-Qummī writes under the words of God: And there is not one of the People of the Book but he must certainly believe in him before his death. “Narrated to me my father, from al-Qāsim b. Muhammad, from Solomon b. Dawūd al-Minqarī, from Abū Hamzah, from Shahr b. Hawshab that he said, ‘al-Hajjāj said to me, “O Shahr! One verse of the Book of God has fatigued me.” I said, “O Amīr! which verse is it?” He said, “The verse: And there is not one of the People of the Book but he must certainly believe in him before his death. By God! Certainly I sentence a Jew or a Christian and he is beheaded. And I stare at him but I don’t see him moving his lips until he dies.” I said, “May God ameliorates the Amīr! This verse doesn’t mean what you have interpreted.” He said, “How is it?” I said, “Surely Jesus will come down to this world before the Day of Resurrection. Then no follower of any religion, Jew or non-Jew, will remain but he would believe in him before his death and he will pray behind al-Mahdī.” He said, “Woe unto thee! From where did you get it, and whence have you brought it?” I said, “Narrated it to me Muhammad b. ʿAlī b. al-Husayn b. ʿAlī b. Abī Tālib.” He said, “By God! You have brought it from a pristine spring.”’ ” (al-Tafsīr)
- al-Suyūtī writes: Ibn al-Mundhir has narrated from Shahr b. Hawshab that he said, “al-Hajjāj said to me, ‘O Shahr! There is a verse in the Book of God that whenever I read it, something happens against it in my mind. God has said: And there is not one of the People of the Book but he must certainly believe in him before his death; and prisoners are brought before me and I kill them but I do no hear them saying anything.’ I said to him, ‘This has not been explained to you in a correct way. When a Christian dies, the angels hit from the front and from behind and say: “O wicked! The Messiah about whom you believed that he was god or son of god or one of the three persons is (in fact) servant of God, His Spirit and His Word.” So, he believes when his belief would not benefit him at all. And when a Jew dies, the angels hit him from the front and from behind and say: “O wicked! The Messiah whom you thought that you had killed him is (in fact) the servant of God and His Spirit.” So, he believes in Jesus when that belief would not benefit him at all. At the time of coming down of Jesus, the living People of the Book will believe in him as their dead ones had believed.’He said, ‘From where have you taken it?’ I said, ‘From Muhammad b. ʿAlī.’ He said, ‘Surely you have taken it from its mine.’” Then Shahr said, “By God! No one had narrated it to me except Umm Salamah; but I liked to irritate him.” (al-Durr al-manthūr)
Author’s comment: al-Suyūtī has also narrated it in abbreviated form from ʿAbd b. Hamīd and Ibn al-Munthir, from Shahr b. Hawshab, from Muhammad b. ʿAlī b. Abī Tālib (and that is Ibn al-Hanafiyyah). Apparently, Shahr b. Hawshab had narrated from Muhammad b. ʿAlī but the later narrators differed in identification whether it was Ibn al-Hanafiyyah or al-Bāqir. However, as you see the tradition supports the explanation we gave earlier for this verse.
- al-Suyūtī says: Ahmad, al-Bukhārī, Muslim and al-Bayhaqī (in al-Asmāʾ wa al-sifāt) have narrated that the Messenger of God said, “How will your condition be when the Son of Mary will descend among you and your Imām will be from among you?” (ibid.)
- Ibn Marduwayh has narrated from Abū Hurayrah that he said: The Messenger of God has said, “It is not far that will descend among you the son of Mary, a just ruler; he will kill Dajjāl and the pig, and will break the cross, and will remove the jizyah and will take over the property and there will be one sajdah for God, the Lord of the worlds. Read if you want: And there is not one of the People of the Book but he must certainly believe in him before his death, before the death of Jesus son of Mary.” (Abū Hurayrah repeated this phrase three times) (ibid.)
Author’s comment: There are nearly mutawātir traditions describing descension of Jesus at the time of the appearance of al-Mahdī from the Sunnī chains of narrators and likewise, from the Shīʾī chains from the Prophet and the Imāms of the Ahl al-bayt.
- al-Hārith b. Mughīrah narrates from Abū ʿAbdillāh about the words of God: And there is not one of the People of the Book but he must certainly believe in him before his death; and on the Day of Resurrection, he (Jesus) shall be a witness over them that he said, “It means the Messenger of God. (al-Tafsīr, al-ʿAyyāshī)
Author’s comment: Its apparent meaning goes against the apparent context of the verses which deal with the affairs of Jesus. Yet, it is possible to justify it on the principle of the flow of the Qur’an. Then the meaning will be as follows: When the Messenger of God was sent and he brought a Book and a sharīʾah which abrogated the sharīʾah of Jesus, then it was incumbent on all the People of the Book to believe in him, and the belief in Muhammad included the belief in Jesus and other preceding prophets. Now, if a man of the Book comes to realize at the time of his death after the advent of Muhammad that Jesus was true messenger then that realization will come together with the realization of the veracity of Muhammad’s messengership. In this way, a man of the Book would only be counted as believing in Jesus if he believed in Muhammad in the first place and in Jesus as a secondary matter. It is Muhammad, after the advent of Islam, in whom every man of the Book should believe in reality and it is he who will be a witness over them on the Day of Resurrection although, Jesus’ position is similar to this and there is no contradiction in both beliefs; and the following tradition somewhat shows the same meaning.
- Ibn Sinān narrates from Abū ʿAbdillāh concerning the words of God: And there is not one of the People of the Book but he must certainly believe in him before his death; and on the Day of Resurrection, he (Jesus) shall be a witness over them, that he said, “The belief of the People of the Book will be for Muhammad.” (ibid.)
- Jābir narrates from Abū Jaʾfar that he said concerning the same verse, “There is no one from all the religions but, when dying, he certainly sees the Messenger of God and the Commander of the Believers, be he from the ancient ones or the later (people).” (ibid.)
Author’s comment: Obviously, the tradition is based on the flow of the Qur’an. Apart from that, the tradition does not say clearly that what the Imām had mentioned was as an exegesis of the verse; there is a possibility that it was a separate matter which the Imām described when speaking on this verse. We may find such examples in the traditions.
- al-Mufaddal b. ʿUmar said, “I asked Abū ʿAbdillāh about the words of God: And there is not one of the People of the Book but he must certainly believe in him before his death. The Imām said, ‘This verse was revealed especially about us. No one from the progeny of Fātimah dies and departs from this world until he acknowledges the Imām and his Imāmate; as the sons of Jacob acknowledged (the superiority of) Joseph when they said: “By Allah! Allah has certainly chosen you over us.” [].’” (ibid.)
Author’s comment: The tradition is a solitary one and it is mursal. There are other traditions of the same meaning which have been narrated under the words of God: Then We made inheritors of the Book those whom We chose from among Our servants; and of them is he who causes himself to suffer a loss, and of them is he who follows the middle course, and of them is he who is the foremost in goodness by Allah’s permission: This is that which is the greatest excellence (); and we shall write there on this topic in detail, God willing.
- Zurārah and Humrān have narrated from Abū Jaʾfar and Abū ʿAbdillāh that they said: “Surely We have revealed to you as We have revealed to Noah? and the prophets after him. Thus every revelation was gathered for him (Muhammad).” (ibid.)
Author’s comment: Apparently, it means that the revelation sent to the Holy Prophet was not unfamiliar to them which would have caused deviation from the path and difference in the prophetic call. It doesn’t mean that every revelation sent to every prophet with all its peculiarities was sent to the Messenger of God, because such a notion has no meaning. Nor does it mean that the revelation sent to him is so comprehensive that all previous sharīʾahs are included in it, because the topic of the verse is unrelated to this them. The following tradition supports the meaning given by us.
- al-Kulaynī narrates through his chains from Muhammad b. Sālim that Abū Jaʾfar said, “God said to Muhammad: Surely We have revealed to you as We revealed to Noah and the prophets after him; and every prophet was ordered (to follow) the way and (the good) custom.” (al-Kāfī)
- Abū Hamzah al-Thumālī narrates from Abū Jaʾfar that he said, “And there were between Adam and Noah prophets unknown and manifest and for this reason, they were not mentioned in the Qur’an, they were not named as the manifest prophets have been named and this is the meaning of the words of God, the Mighty, the Great: And messengers We have mentioned unto you, and Allah spoke to Moses; directly discoursing []. It means that I have not named the hidden prophets as I have named the manifest ones.” (al-Tafsīr, al-ʿAyyāshī)
Author’s comment: This tradition has been narrated in al-Kāfī from ʿAlī b. Abraham, from his father, from al-Hasan b. Mahbūb, from Muhammad b. Fudayl, from Abū Hamzah, from Abū Jaʾfar; and that tradition says: “There were among the prophets who remained concealed and that is why they were not mentioned in the Qur’an, they were not named as were named the manifest prophets; and this is the word of God, the Mighty, the Great: And messengers We have (already) mentioned to you before and messengers We have not mentioned to you.” It means that I have not named the hidden prophets as I have named the manifest ones. In any case, the tradition means to say that God did not mention the stories or the names of those prophets who had remained unknown, while He has mentioned the stories of some of the well-known prophets and named some of them. The words “It means that I have not named the hidden prophets… “ could possibly be from the narrators.
- Abū Hamzah al-Thumālī says, “I heard Abū Jaʾfar saying: ‘But Allah bears witness by what He has revealed to you about ʿAlī, that He has revealed it with His knowledge; and the angels bear witness (also); and sufficient is Allah for a witness.’” (al-Tafsīr, al-ʿAyyāshī)
Author’s comment: al-Qummī has narrated this theme in his al-Tafsīr through his chain of narrators from Abū Basīr, from Abū ʿAbdillāh. It is based on the flow of the Qur’an and applies the verse on a proper example; because there are in the Qur’an verses which were revealed concerning the wilāyah of ʿAlī. It doesn’t want to say that there was alteration in the Qur’an; nor can it be taken to be a particular recital of this verse by the Imām.
- Likewise, it has been narrated in al-Kāfī and al-Tafsīr of al-ʿAyyāshī from Abū Jaʾfar and in al-Tafsīr of al-Qummī from Abū ʿAbdillāh that they recited: “Surely (as for) those who disbelieve and do injustice to the progeny of Muhammad (usurping) their right, Allah is not going to forgive them; ().” Also it has been narrated in Majmaʾ al-bayān from Abū Jaʾfar that he said about the words of God: “Surely, the Messenger (Muhammad) has come to you with truth, that is, with the wilāyah of him whose wilāyah God has ordered. All these traditions are to be interpreted like the previous one.