This new passage takes the exposition of Jewish intrigue against Islam and the Muslims a step further, revealing the reasons that lie behind their deep-seated hatred and their treachery and troublemaking. It gives Muslims strong warnings, requiring them to be on their guard in dealing with the hostile and malicious scheming of the Jews. Muslims are pointedly told not to emulate the behaviour of the Jews, or to fall for their trickery and deceit.

It appears that the Jews were making an issue of the modifications and amendments that had to be made to some Islamic rules and requirements during the formative years of Islam. They utilized this to raise doubts in Muslim minds, questioning the validity and veracity of their religion. Had those rules and ideas originated from God, the Jews argued, they would not have had to be changed or replaced.

This insidious campaign gathered strength when the direction faced by Muslims in prayer, the qiblah, was changed from Jerusalem to the Ka`bah in Makkah, sixteen months after the Prophet’s arrival in Madinah in 622 CE.

On his arrival in Madinah, the Prophet instructed his followers to turn towards Jerusalem, the sacred city of Judaism, in prayer, which gave the Jews reason to argue that their faith was superior, the one and only true religion. This made the Prophet wish, although he never expressed his feelings in words, that prayers could be made facing the Ka`bah in Makkah. As time went by, this feeling grew even stronger until his unspoken wish was granted, as we shall see later in the sūrah.

Since the change of qiblah deprived the Israelites of the basis for their argument concerning the merits and status of their faith, they launched a malevolent and surreptitious campaign aimed at discrediting the divine origins of Islam and questioning its veracity. They went for the very foundations of Islam, arguing with the Muslims that if facing Jerusalem during Prayer had not been valid, their worship hitherto would have been in vain; but that if it had been valid, there would be no justification for a change of qiblah. They were hitting at the very roots of the Muslims’ faith in God’s reward and, more seriously, at the wisdom and insight of the Prophet’s leadership.

More worrying were the indications that the anti-Islamic campaign instigated by the Jews of Madinah was having some success. Weak- minded Muslims began to question the Prophet demanding ‘proof’ and ‘evidence’ for what he taught and preached. Needless to say, such questioning is the opposite of complete trust in the Prophet’s leadership and in the source of the Islamic faith. Therefore, the Qur’ān clarifies the principle and the wisdom behind the abrogation, replacement or amendment of some rulings, and warns the Muslims against the real aims of Jewish criticism of the Qur’ān and the Prophet. It tells them clearly that the ultimate aim of the Jews was to turn the clock back, so that the Arabs who believed in Islam would revert to their old pagan days. It was jealousy and malice that drove the Jews to those lengths. They deeply resented, and would not accept, the fact that God had favoured another people with the honour of His final mandate to man and chosen them as the advocates of His last message. The Qur’ān undertook to expose the perfidious and malevolent Jewish accusations and claims, citing examples of earlier conflicts between Jews and Christians in which accusations were exchanged and insults traded.

“Believers, do not say [to the Prophet]: “Listen to us,’ but say: “Have patience with us,’ and hearken. Grievous suffering awaits the unbelievers. Neither the unbelievers among the people of earlier revelations nor the idolaters would like to see any blessing ever bestowed upon you by your Lord. But God favours with His mercy whom He wills; His grace is infinite. Any revelation We annul or consign to oblivion We replace with a better or similar one. Do you not know that God has power over all things? Do you not know that God has sovereignty over the heavens and the earth, and that apart from God you have no one to protect you or give you help? Do you wish to ask of the Messenger who has been sent to you the same as was formerly asked of Moses? He who barters faith for unbelief has surely strayed away from the right path. Many among the people of earlier revelations would love to lead you back to unbelief now that you have embraced the faith. This they do out of deep-seated envy, after the truth has become manifest to them; so forgive and forbear until God makes known His decree. Indeed, God has power over all things. Attend regularly to your prayer and pay zakāt (financial duty); for, whatever good you do for your own sake you shall find it with God. God sees all that you do. (Verses 104-110)

The opening verse of this passage addresses the believers, asking them not to emulate the Jews in their play on certain Arabic words when speaking to the Prophet. One such word is rā`inā, which means “listen to us”, but the sound of which could be subtly varied to convey the offensive meaning of ‘an impulsive fool’. They would resort to this cowardly form of abuse because they would not dare insult the Prophet openly. The Muslims were advised to use synonymous words that could not be twisted to give an offensive meaning in their address to the Prophet.

This kind of behaviour not only shows the extent of Jewish resentment and envy towards the Muslims, it also shows the Jews as discourteous and underhand. The Qur’ān mentions these activities to indicate how caring and well disposed God is towards the Prophet and the Muslims, and how much He is willing to defend and protect them against their detractors.

The sūrah goes on to expose further Jewish ill-will and animosity towards the Muslims, so that they may beware of their malign influence and hold fast to what God has entrusted them with: “Neither the unbelievers among the people of earlier revelations nor the idolaters would like to see any blessing ever bestowed upon you by your Lord. But God favours with His mercy whom He wills; His grace is infinite.” (Verse 105)

The verse speaks of Jews, Christians and idolaters in the same vein, describing them as unbelievers because they have all denied God’s last and final message to man which was revealed to Muĥammad (peace be upon him). They share the same grudges and hatred towards the Muslims for being chosen by God as recipients of His revelation and as trustees and custodians of His religion on earth.

Earlier, we saw other manifestations of this jealousy and the blind hatred underlying it, and how it was extended even to angels such as Gabriel who was no more than a carrier of God’s revelations to the Prophet Muĥammad.

The sūrah then deals with some general claims made by Jews and Christians, to the effect that they are the only righteous people who are assured of being admitted to heaven in the life to come. At the same time they continue to denounce and throw charges at each other. It then goes on to give God’s final word on the matter. “They declare, ‘None shall enter Paradise unless he is a Jew or a Christian.’ Such are their wishful fancies. Say, ‘Produce your proof, if what you say is true.’ Indeed, whoever surrender themselves to God, while doing good works, shall have their reward with their Lord; they shall have nothing to fear nor shall they grieve. The Jews say the Christians have no basis for their faith and the Christians say the Jews have no basis for their faith. Yet they both recite the Scriptures. Those devoid of knowledge say likewise, and on the Day of Judgement God shall judge between them on all their disputes.” (Verses 111-113)

Although, when the Qur’ān was being revealed, there was no strong Christian presence in Madinah, as compared to that of the Jews, the text refers to both groups as well as to the polytheists, dismissing their claims as baseless and challenging them to provide evidence to support their argument. “They declare: None shall enter Paradise unless he is a Jew or a Christian.” This is a dual report of what both groups argued.

Otherwise, the Jews used to claim that only they were destined for heaven, and the Christians claimed that for themselves. Both statements are boastful, without supporting evidence. Hence, God instructs the Prophet to challenge their claims:

“Say: ‘Produce your proof if what you say is true.’“ (Verse 111)

The sūrah then establishes another fundamental Islamic principle: that reward is commensurate with deed, without any preference for one nation, group or individual over another. Faith and submission to God, rather than title, ancestry or name, is the determining factor in this regard, and “whoever surrender themselves to God, while doing good works, shall have their reward with their Lord; they shall have nothing to fear nor shall they grieve.” (Verse 112)

This complements the earlier principle concerning punishment, when they claimed that the fire of hell would only touch them for a very brief period. They were told: “Those who earn evil and become engulfed by their sin are destined for the fire, where they shall abide.” (Verse 81) Thus, the complete Islamic concept of reward and punishment emerges.

Here again we find the most important feature of the Islamic faith: total, unconditional, mental and physical surrender to God. It is, however, a surrender that must be manifested in a practical form, expressed in the verse in the proviso, ‘while doing good works,’ because Islam makes a direct functional link between abstract belief and everyday behaviour, between faith and action, inner convictions and outward deeds. In this way, religious faith becomes a complete way of life, and man’s character and actions merge into a single entity — hence the generous reward granted by God Almighty to believers without discrimination or preference of one group over another. Those who willingly and completely surrender themselves to God “shall have their reward with their Lord; they shall have nothing to fear no shall they grieve.” (Verse 112)

The sūrah then discusses certain distorted concepts of Godhead held by Jews and Christians. It highlights the contrast between those and the beliefs held by the pagan Arabs, emphasizing the striking similarities, before it corrects those erroneous concepts and presents the true unitarian belief of Islam. “They say, ‘God has taken to Himself a son.’ Limitless is He in His glory! His is all that is in the heavens and on earth; all things are obedient to Him. He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He wills something to be, He need only say, Be, and it is. Those devoid of knowledge say, ‘Why does not God speak to us, nor is a sign shown to us?’ The same demands were made by people before them: their hearts are all alike. We have made the signs very clear for those with firm conviction.” (Verses 116-118)

Indeed, the totally misguided notion of “God the Father” was not restricted to the Christians who take Jesus to be the son of God; for some Jews also believed that Ezra was a son of God, while the Arab idolaters believed that the angels were God’s daughters. The sūrah condemns these three groups, all fiercely antagonistic towards Islam in Arabia at the time, without going into details of their beliefs.

It is interesting to note here that those groups compare very closely with the three groups that are opposed to Islam today, as represented by world Zionism, the crusading Churches and international Communism, the last being even more hostile to Islam than the Arab idolaters ever were.

By grouping all three camps together, the Qur’ān equates the absurd Jewish and Christian beliefs with those of idolatry, and it implicitly refutes their claims to exclusive righteousness and salvation by putting forward the correct version of unitarian belief: “Limitless is He in His Glory. His is all that is in the heavens and on earth; all things are obedient to Him. He is the Originator of the heavens and the earth. When He wills something to be, He need only say, ‘Be’, and it is.” (Verses 116-117)

Here we come to the pure and clear Islamic concept of the nature of God and His relationship with His creation, and how creatures come into being. This is the clearest and noblest understanding of all these facts.

The universe was created directly by God through an act of His free, absolute and omnipotent will, expressed in the simple word “Be”. The mere intention of God to create anything would bring it instantaneously into existence in the form chosen for it, without the need for intermediaries of any kind. As to how this actually happens, this remains one of life’s most profound mysteries. In fact, the human mind is not equipped to fathom the secret of life. Such understanding is not necessary for the fulfilment of man’s role, which is to build human life on earth.

God has given man numerous skills, talents and resources that have enabled him to discover and unravel a great many of the natural laws that govern the world around him. But, much as man has been able to learn about the world and exploit that knowledge for his own progress and advancement, other aspects have been kept away from him, as these have no impact on man’s role on earth.

Having dismissed the false claims of the Jews, the Christians and the Arab idolaters and revealed the real motives driving them to oppose Islam, the sūrah directly addresses the Prophet Muĥammad in order to define his mission and specify his responsibilities. It also exposes the true nature of the dispute between him and the Jews and Christians, who wanted to exact a very high price that Muĥammad neither possessed nor was able to afford. “We have sent you with the truth; a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. You shall not be questioned about those who are destined for the blazing fire. Never will the Jews nor yet the Christians be pleased with you unless you follow their faith. Say, ‘Gods guidance is the only true guidance. ‘Should you follow their desires after all the knowledge that has come to you, you would have none to protect you from God, nor to give you help. Those to whom We have given the Book, and who recite it as it ought to be recited, truly believe in it; those who deny it are utter losers.” (Verses 119-121)

“We have sent you with the truth...” This opening statement in these verses gives strong reassurance to the Prophet that would help him to dispel any doubts or fears regarding the nature of his mission, and to foil any schemes or threats to undermine it. It is expressed very sharply and succinctly, giving it force and impact.

“A bearer of glad tidings and a warner.” Muĥammad’s mission was to deliver God’s message, giving the good news to those who accept it and warning those who reject it. This is the total sum of his task. He would not be questioned about those who would end up in hell, because they would have met their fate as a result of their own actions.

The Prophet is also told that the Jews and the Christians would continue to oppose and scheme against him. They would never make peace with Islam, nor be satisfied unless Muĥammad abandoned Islam and took up their distorted beliefs and erroneous ideas, referred to earlier. It was not evidence or proof of credentials they were after; nor was it because they doubted his integrity or the truth of the revelations he had received. Nothing would seem to satisfy or convince them apart from an undertaking by Muĥammad that he was ready to relinquish his commission as Messenger of God and adopt their faith.

“Never will the Jews, nor yet the Christians be pleased with you unless you follow their faith.” This is the bone of contention. What they are after is not evidence or conviction of the truth of Islam. Islam and Muĥammad have been a constant obsession with Jews and Christians throughout history. The faith of Islam has always been at the centre of the crusades and campaigns launched against the Muslim community all over the world. No matter how much the two camps may differ or quarrel between themselves, or how divided each of them may be, when it comes to fighting Islam and Muslims they are in full agreement and as united as they could be.

The conflict between the Judaeo-Christian world on the one side, and the Muslim community on the other, remains in essence one of ideology, although over the years it has appeared in various guises and has grown more sophisticated and, at times, more insidious. We have seen the original ideological conflict succeeded by economic, political and military confrontation, on the basis that ‘religious’ or ‘ideological’ conflicts are outdated and are usually prosecuted by ‘fanatics’ and backward people. Unfortunately, some naïve and confused Muslims have fallen for this stratagem and persuaded themselves that the religious and ideological aspects of the conflict are no longer relevant.