Translation
O People of Faith: Do not take Jews and Christians (as relevant to Prophet’s generation) into your confidence; they are friends of each other. If you do that, then you become like them, and God does not guide people who are unjust. You can see people who have doubts (about faith) incline toward them and say: “We fear that a misfortune will fall on us.” Perhaps God will bring victory (for the faithful) or any other outcome that will become a source of regrets for those who harbor such thoughts (against faith and the faithful) in their souls. Those who are firm in their faith (will reflect on the outcome) and wonder: “Are these the same people who took a strong oath to align themselves with the adversaries?” Their action bore no positive results, and they suffered losses. 311
O People of Faith: If you abandon your Way of Life (and your commitment to goodness), God will bring another generation who will love Him, and He will love them. These people will be humble with the faithful and resolute against those who deny faith (and goodness in people), strive their utmost to follow God’s guidance and persist in the face of all obstacles. This (disposition and resolve) is a grace from God, who is Infinite and All Knowing. Your friends are God, His Messenger, and those who have firm faith—those who maintain their worship of God, take care of the needy, and humble themselves (in their day-to-day conduct). If you nurture such fellowships with God, with His Messenger, and with those who are firm in their faith, then you are aligned with God, who will ensure your eventual triumph (in life).312
O People of Faith: Do not align yourself with those who mock your faith and take it as a sport, be they from the people who received revelations before or people who deny God and the truth. Be mindful of your responsibility if you claim to have faith. When people are called to prayer (to worship God and to humble themselves), they mock and take it as a sport because they fail to comprehend (its true significance).
Interpretation
311 Here advice is given with respect to forming alliances with people who espouse a common framework for life and the pursuit of happiness and perfection. If there are people who are not aligned and in active opposition, irrespective of whether they are Jews, Christians, or people who claim faith on the surface but in their hearts harbor doubts and mischief, one needs to be careful, especially at times of open hostility and armed conflicts. This not a blanket statement against Jews or Christians, as some conservative Muslims or terrorists who terrorize people in the name of religion would like us to believe. In a similar vein, there are many verses in the Bible that caution followers of Jesus against the Jews. Again, these are not blanket statements against Jews, as some conservative Christians would like us to believe, but against specific groups of people, be they Jews or Romans, who were bent on denying Jesus a proper hearing of his message and to put him on the cross to end his life and his emergent call to faith and goodness. We also know that the people of the Pharaoh were against the Children of Israel, who were enslaved, and the Torah is full of caution against them and their lifestyle. But even there we see that a certain member of the Pharaoh’s family was giving shelter to Moses and supporting his call to God and goodness.
312 God is infinite in his capacity to make people believe in Him or to punish them for lack of faith, if He wills. The key challenge for us as individuals and as a community is to fulfill our commitment to God and to fellow humans if we truly claim our genuine faith. Irrespective of whether we call ourselves Muslims, Jews, or Christians, if we fail to fulfill our commit to God and our fellow human beings, then God will bring another generation of people (as history is full of such events and outcomes) who will be truer to faith and human goodness. The rise of the Children of Israel against the Pharaoh, the rise of Christians against Roman and Jewish priesthood, the rise of Muslims against the excess of the Byzantine and Persian Empires, and the rise of the Ottomans against the Arabs are examples of the past. In our more recent memories, the rise of the Americas against British and Spanish colonial oppression, the rise of the Allies against Hitler, the collapse of the Soviet communism by the Afghans and the Easter Europeans, the emergence of Arab Spring, and so on are also evidence of the same truth that God will bring a different group of people who will be more attuned to truth and human dignity than the prevailing power. We all can take lessons from such consistent turns of events.
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REFLECTION
We need to understand that God is looking for real commitment to truth and justice for all people and by all people and not just a mere claim or token gesture by one group or another. In the same vein, calling ourselves Muslims or Jews or Christians (or any other group) does not mean that we are committed to fulfill our bond with God and to follow the guidance contained in Books of Revelations such as the Torah, the Gospel, and the Qur’an. When the Qur’an calls to People of Faith as we read it 1,450 years after its revelation, we have to recognize that it is a call to all people who claim to have faith, not just to Muslims. The Prophet Mohammad came to all of humanity, and the Qur’an is the final revelation for all of humanity.
ACTION
We have to interpret the call of the Qur’an as a call to each and every human being, and its calls, its injunctions, and its guidance need to be deliberated in the context of our specific needs, social norms, human conditions, and collective knowledge to derive the true meaning and to apply it in the most efficient and effective ways, ensuring justice, equality, and compassion.
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Key Arabic Term
92. hujuan wa layiban (mockery and sport)