Chapter 3: Surat Aal-'Imran (The House 'Imran), verse 110-112
Translation:
You are the noblest community ever raised up for mankind. You enjoin justice and forbid evil. You believe in God. Had the People of the Book accepted the Faith, it would surely have been better for them. Some are true believers, but most of them are evil-doers. If they harm you, they can cause you but slight hurt; and if they fight against you they will turn their backs and run away. Then there shall be none to help them. Ignominy shall attend them wherever they are found, unless they make a covenant with God or with man. They have incurred the wrath of God and have been utterly humbled: because they disbelieved God's revelations and slew the prophets unjustly; and because they were rebels and transgressors. (110-112)
Commentary:
The Jews
were the bearers of divine religion but they failed to adhere to it and to
preserve it. Then God sent his religion in its original form through the Prophet
Muhammad (May Peace be Upon Him). Now the Muslim ummah has taken the place of
guiding people to the true religion of submission to God. The assignment of this
role demands this ummah to be true believers in God. It devolves upon it to
enjoin goodness to the world and inform them of the things evil in the eyes of
God. Since this is a mission assigned by God, so God Himself has guaranteed to
help His workers out of all odds that come in the path of performing this task.
Those who arise for this task of God have God’s guarantee that their
opponents/adversaries will not be able to inflict any real harm to them. Then
there is another permanent example set by God in the form of the Jews that those
who after being entrusted to this mission, go back to their promises/covenant
their punishment begins from this world itself as they are divested of honor and
dominance. Due to the deprivation of God’s blessings their insensitivity
increases to such an extent that they even do not hesitate to take the lives of
those who draw their attention to their lacking/flaws (moral). “Ignominy shall
attend them wherever they are found, unless they make a covenant with Allah or
with men.” This is one of a special sunnah (way) of God relating to the
community which was made the representative of God’s religion. True
representation of religion is a guarantee of dominance for a community. While
the deviation from the true representation causes its downfall in the present
world. If such a community (which is appointed by God) deviates/turns away from
the representation of the divine religion it will never attain dominance in its
own right (on its own strength) in the present world. If it ever succeeds in
assuming power and stability it will be supported by some other group, sometimes
because of having received the support of Muslim and sometimes of non-Jewish
power (like those of Christians in present times).
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