TRANSLATION
The followers of previous revelations [followers of Moses in this instance] demanded of you [Prophet Mohammad] that a book from Heaven be brought to them. As a matter of fact, they placed an even more grave demand on Moses earlier: “Show us God in person.” Punishment from Heaven descended on them as a consequence of their own evils [and unreasonable demands]. They then took the calf as an object of worship after all the evidence of truth came to them. God, nonetheless, forgave them and provided Moses with clear authority [and evident truth]. We [God and His prophet] took a covenant from them by the side of rising Mt. Sinai and asked them to enter the gate humbly with due submission to God. We also told them, “Do not violate the Sabbath laws.” This was a solemn pledge taken from them. [After all of these] they broke the covenant, disbelieved in God’s messages, killed prophets wrongfully, and claimed, “Our hearts are filled with belief.” No, their hearts have been sealed by God due to their disbelief—they believe but very little.288
They disbelieved when they lodged against Mary [mother of Jesus] the serious allegation [of being unchaste] and said, “We have killed the Christ Jesus, the son of Mary, Messenger of God.” But they killed him not, and he did not die on the cross, though they conceived as such. Those of them who held differing opinions on this were in doubt [about the real truth]—they had no real knowledge, and they made only conjectures. They did not kill him for certain, and God exalted him in His presence—God is infinitely Mighty and Wise! 289
And there are none among the People of the Book [Jews and Christians] who will but come to realize this [the true nature of Jesus Christ] before his death and on the Day of Resurrection [the Day of Judgment], and he [Jesus] will be a witness against them [who failed to accept his true nature and teachings].
As for the injustice committed by those from among the Jews and their turning away repeatedly from God’s guidance, We [God] deprived them of the good things that were available to them. [This was also due to] their persistent usurious practices, though forbidden, and their wrongful displacement of rightful owners from their properties under false pretext. For the repeated deniers of truth from among them, We [God] prepared a seriously adverse consequence [punishment]. But those who are deeply rooted in knowledge from among them and are truly faithful (1) firmly believe in what has been revealed to you [the Qur’an] and what was revealed before you [the Bible and the Torah], (2) are devoted to consistent worship of God, (3) take care of the vulnerable and deprived [e.g., through Zakat], and (4) firmly believe in God and The Last Day [final judgment]. It is for these that We [God] shall grant a grand reward.280
INTERPRETATION
288. Some of the Jewish tribes who opposed Prophet Mohammad were no different than some of the followers of Moses who opposed him, even when he was with them as their own prophet. It was not the prophets that they were opposed to but the very message of truth and guidance and the role of law prescribed by God through their messengers; Mosaic laws and beliefs were not different from what Prophet Mohammad was bringing to his people, including the Jewish tribes. It can also be said that Prophet Jesus was doing the same to his Jewish tribes during his tenure as a prophet.
289. The Jewish tribe’s false allegation against Mary, the mother of Jesus, regarding her chastity, their killing of prophets (people of truth and faith) sent by God to them, and their attempt to humiliate Jesus on the cross are stark reminders of what we are capable of as human beings when we are drawn to evils, humiliate good citizens, torture and kill opponents for power and material gains, and when leaders twist the law to fit their needs while holding average citizens accountable to the full tenor of the law. The controversy over Jesus’s death is raging even today, while the Qur’an holds the view that he did not die on the cross as asserted by Jews and as accepted by Christians.
290. Time and again, the Qur’an cautions against blanket judgment against any group of people, as there are always exceptions, and people of deep faith, devotion to God, and knowledge are found in every faith group. It is more the characteristics that are questioned and condemned, and current Muslims and Muslim leaderships—imams, sheikhs, and rulers—should do well if they reflect on these characteristics and see how these have crept into Muslim societies and to what extent they are responsible. False appropriation of people’s property to personal coffers of rulers in many Muslim countries is endemic. Corporate laws in favor of capital owners, implicit acceptance and tolerance of near monopoly, and widely accepted evidence of oligopoly in the face of the professed claim of free market over almost all the world are syphoning billions of dollars from average citizens to the coffers of billionaires. Truly understanding the essential nature of our devotion to God, the evils of usury (in all our financial dealings and rule of ownerships), the exploitation of the masses in favor of the superrich (individuals and businesses), and the notion of Zakat as a wider responsibility to share the benefits of each and every gift that one is endowed with to share with another who is dispossessed of such gifts are some of the challenges of our time.
REFLECTION
Accepting prophets for who they are and the mode in which God made them to communicate God’s guidance are part of the messages that God sent through revelations. Denial of the prophets or the books of revelation are tantamount to disbelief, as it denies the content of the books of revelations that contain knowledge about truth, human guidance, and civil/moral/financial laws. Many people of faith, especially many Muslims today, are trying to bend the Qur’an to their desires and justify their evil deeds and evil schemes by falsifying the true message in the Qur’an, similar to what had been done by followers of previous prophets.
ACTION
In our times, when so many so-called clerics, scholars, and leaders claim to speak for God and misuse the Qur’an to justify their evil acts, it is a major responsibility of every person of faith (all faith groups) and especially those of us who call ourselves Muslims, People of Faith (Mo’men), and people of responsibility (Muttaquin) that we exercise our God-given intellect, mindfulness, and spirituality to study, comprehend, and put into practice the true guidance of God as manifested in the Qur’an, the Bible, and the Torah. The call for such action is ever more important when we face such disparities in human conditions around the world—the serious lack of human dignity on a daily basis around the world, the violation of rule of law for justice and equality, and an abysmal disregard for environmental degradation on a scale that we have never witnessed.