Al-Bayan, Discourses on the Qur'an by Javed Ahmad Ghamidi
Surah Aal i Imran Aayaat 77 to 91.
[Ghamidi] Gratitude is only for God, the Lord of the World,
and may His peace and mercy be on Muhammad, the trustworthy.
I seek refuge with God from the accursed Devil.
In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Ever Merciful.
Ladies and Gentlemen, We are resuming the study of Surah Aal i Imran
from verse 77 in the Quran.
In the preceding verses, the Quran, states that jews are mistaken
for holding that they have a special place reserved for them by Allah,
due to which they consider themselves superior to others.
And that the Jews are wrong in assuming that God has kept them free
of any responsibility in relation to the gentiles.
The Quran, addressing the Jews, clarified that any rank given by Allah is only for
those who fulfill the covenant, and act in accordance with the covenant
at any cost, which the Quran terms as Taqwa (fear of God).
Those who will act like this will be pious and devout, and God loves to be friends
with the pious people.
Those who disregard their promise to Allah, violate all limits
and reach a point of fearlessness in this, and
even then claim to be God fearing and beloved to God,
they are just merely imagining things and this has no merit.
This is clarified in the preceding verses of the Quran.
The Quran states: Innallazeena yashtaroona bi aahdilleahi
Indeed, those who trade Allah’s covenant and their oaths for a fleeting gain.
In the earlier verse, light was thrown on those who are
God fearing.
Now, the Quran says that those who trade Allah’s covenant and
their oaths for fleeting gain.
What is intended by this covenant?
It's evident that it is with regard to the covenant made with the jews in relation
to God’s Shariah (Islamic Law) and the advent of the final Prophet (pbuh).
And with respect to the oaths; it is mentioned in context to the oaths
with the Prophets by the jews
and in particular to have faith and help and support the Prophet (pbuh).
These oaths will be mentioned in verse 81.
We will learn about the nature of those covenants when we read those verses.
Pointing towards those verses, the Quran says:
Innal lazeena yashtaroona bi'ahdil laahi
Indeed, those who trade Allah’s covenant and
wa aymaanihim thamanan qaleelan and trade their oaths for a fleeting gain.
The Quran stated that they think of themselves as being beloved to God,
They think that they will secure a good place with God
while trading Allah’s covenant and oaths for fleeting gains.
ulaaa'ika laa khalaaqa lahum fil Aakhirati
No matter how religiously they present themselves, and think that they are
superior to others, they will have no share in the Hereafter.
Only those who keep Allah’s covenant and oaths, the ones who have honest affairs
and act in accordance with the laws of religion receive His blessings.
As against them, these kinds of people have no share in the Hereafter.
ulaaa'ika laa khalaaqa lahum fil Aakhirati
The misconception that the jews have that they are the beloved people of God
and that they will be treated specially…
In fact, there is no doubt that jews are a special group of people
as stated in the Quran. Jews were chosen by God,
given a rank and responsibility.
Even after all this the Quran states that the rank given
to the jews was based on merit, it was given with an objective, and
has its own limitations; it is not like the jews will forever enjoy the rank
and its privileges - while they do no justice
to the responsibility delegated to them.
There is no possibility of it. ulaaa'ika laa khalaaqa lahum fil Aakhirati
They are the ones who will have no share in the Hereafter.
wa laa yukallimuhumul laahu Allah will not deign speak to them
on the Day of resurrection.
They are the ones who are rejected in the court of Allah…
In reality, this is the outcome of Laanah (Driven out of Gods mercy).
In our terminology, Laanat is used as an expletive.
It actually means to drive out someone from Gods mercy.
wa laa yukallimuhumul laahu Allah will not speak to them on the
Day of resurrection wa laa yanzuru ilaihim Yawmal Qiyaamati
God will not look at them with kindness on the Day of Resurrection.
Like you say, God will not even like to see them or look at them with kindness.
wa laa yuzakkeehim And God will not exonerate them of sins
wa lahum 'azabun 'aleem and for them there is a painful torment.
As the Quran states that they will not be exonerated of their sins.
What is the meaning of it?
It means that they have committed grave offences of such a degree that
there is no scope for exoneration after some mild form of punishment.
It is evident from the verse that when the sins are so grave…
May Allah guide us towards good, so that an individual may enter the paradise
while taking the first step only.
But from this verse we understand that there can be certain transgressions ...
since we can only enter paradise after being cleansed of all the sins
so if an individual cannot rectify his offenses through good deeds,
Allah removes the remnants of any wrongdoing by a punishment,
Quran mentioned that
they will not even reach this purity.
wa lahum 'azabun 'aleem for them there is a painful torment.
It is evident from this verse that how great a sin it is to deny the truth,
to break Allah’s Covenant, break promises after making them. How great a sin this is
This is a major wrongdoing in relation to the Prophet (pbuh) and
it is also an offense in all other circumstances.
The Quran has explicitly detailed it out.
The Quran has established a connection in the last two verses and stated that
in normal circumstances the jews have immensely degraded themselves,
that is the consequence for breaking
Allah’s covenant and hence, they have fallen so low.
Therefore, the purification of man's moral being will become a reason for
God's kind attention towards him in the hereafter.
and if these people have good intentions, they have true faith in God,
if they are trying to be pious Muslims and do not willingly deny the truth by God,
but have committed certain other offences.
In that case, a glad tiding was received that Allah would warn and punish them
but eventually wash them of their transgressions.
And then they can enter heaven.
This is what has been explained in the Hadiths.
When an event is narrated, many-a-times the narrators try to exaggerate
the real facts.
However, what the Quran has described is only this.
The Quran states: Wa inna minhum lafaree qany yalwoona
alsinatahum bil Kitaabi
And there are some among them who
while reading the Book of God twist their tongues
litahsaboohu minal Kitaab, wa maa huwa minal Kitaabi
so that you may think that what they are reading
is written in the Book whereas it is not written in it.
Just imagine to what extent people and communities can degrade.
If you try to connect it with the previous verses,
you will understand that these words carry extreme displeasure and
disgust from Allah for these people.
Allah gave them a status and treated them accordingly…
Post that they were, indeed, deserving of this punishment.
As Allah describes that neither would He look at them with kindness,
nor address them,
nor will Allah purify them of their sins
so that they could enter heaven.
They will live in this torment forever.
If you try to understand their unique status;
I even gave an example to help you get the point that when the
wives of the Prophet (pbuh) were chosen for this office.
They were designated to an office at a very unique juncture
and it was made clear to them that now their reward and
punishment would both be doubled.
In other words, when you are chosen for this office and you decide to take charge
willingly then you must be ready to shoulder the responsibilities.
The Quran says:
There are some among them…
It is obvious that it is similar to the device that if they
want to escape from responsibilities
of the covenants of God, then how do they distort the Book?
There are two aspects of it.
One is that you alter the text.
Another way out is that since majority of the people are illiterate,
therefore, you distort the book by slightly twisting the text and
change the meaning of the verse in its entirety.
In other words, you did not alter the text but distorted the meaning with your tongue
that is what has been mentioned here.
There are people who while reading the book of Allah
yalwoona alsinatahum bil Kitaabi
There are some among them who distort the Book with their tongues
that is, they enunciate the text of the book in such a manner
that you think that whatever they are reading
litahsaboohu minal Kitaab to make you think this ˹distortion˺
is from the Book, 'wa maa huwa minal Kitaabi'
even though it is not what the Book says.
wa yaqooloona huwa min 'indillaahi that you may consider it to be
from the Book of God,
wa maa huwa min 'indillaahi even though it is not from God.
In other words, they ascribe to God whereas it is not from god but them
wa yaqooloona 'alal laahil kaziba wa hum ya'lamoon
[in this manner] they deliberately ascribe falsehood to God.
The crime that has been mentioned here has been perpetrated
by both jews and christians. In the earlier Surah of Al-Baqara,
it was detailed out how jews and christains alters and twist the meaning
of the word 'marwa' with their tongues.
The word “Marwa” was used when Prophet Abraham (pbuh) was asked
to sacrifice Prophet Ismael, his son.
Apart from other alterations to this incident of sacrifice,
not only did the jews add the name of Prophet Isaac,
but also corrupted the pronunciation of the word Marwa.
So, this is the type of alteration that has been mentioned here in this verse,
​​that you alter the meaning of a word in order to divert people's attention
to a different topic while concealing the real meaning.
In order to conceal the fact that Prophet Abraham (pbuh) came to Arabia,
built the house of God, his lineage had flourished in this soil and also
the Ismael was the one who was to be sacrificed, therefore,
this would ensure the connection with the
advent of Prophet (pbuh), so the Jews manipulated the word Marwa.
This is an example of how they concealed the facts in history,
in order to disassociate the relation of Prophet Abraham with Mecca.
This is just an example that I have given…
This is what has been indicated here.
It is explained that even in the case of the Prophet (pbuh),
when they are unfair, they can stoop to such a level.
People would have been visiting the Prophet (pbuh),
when the Quran repeatedly mentioned about the foretelling,
people would have been visiting the Prophet (pbuh),
asking him about the predictions mentioned in their texts.
This is how the Quran has sketched the picture of what their
religious leaders used to do.
The Quran mentions how
they would distort the real facts, twist their tongues so that you may think that
what they are reading is written in the Book whereas it is not written in it.
They would give you an impression, that what they are reading is written
in the Book whereas it is not written in it. The Quran stated:
Maa kaana libasharin ai yu'tiyahul laahul Kitaaba
walhukma wan Nubuwwata summa yaqoola linnaasi koonoo
'ibaadal lee min doonil laahi
The Quran says that: Not only do they speak a lie against Prophet (pbuh),
they don't even think that it is not appropriate
for someone that Allah will bless him with His book, so as
to decide according to that.
yu’tiyahullahul kitaaba wal hukm
decide according to it,
'wan nubuvvata' and bestow him with prophethood, 'summa yaqoola'
linnasi koonoo ibaadan lee min doonillahi “Worship me instead of Allah.”
How is it possible? Since, Christians are addressed in this verse.
How is it possible that God sent down His book to the Messiah,
and guided them to decide in religious matter in accordance
with the book of God and even appointed from him for the status of Prophethood.
And instead of inviting people to worship God, how could Jesus propagate
his own worship instead? How is it possible?
God says, it cannot be that he says that koonoo 'ibaadal lee min doonil laahi
Be servants to me apart from Allah, No!
He would rather say:
wa laakin koonoo rabbaaniyyeena bimaa kuntum tu'allimoonal Kitaaba
but rather He would say “be servants of God”.
Why would he (Jesus) ask you to be his servant,
rather he would ask you to be servants of God.
The word rabbani means worshiper of God (servant of God).
Same is the meaning of Maulvi in our society.
It is indeed a beautiful word. The one of (who worships) the Lord.
but a wrong usage of this word has led us to this point.
Infact, we learn from the Quran that the religious scholars of christians were
reffered to as “Rabbaani”.
Like we use the term “Mualvi” for our religious leaders,
its roots are in the word “Maula”.
Similarly, Rabbani is rooted in the word “Rab”.
So, this word was used in context of worshipper of God, servants of God.
The Quran says: This is what the Prophet (pbuh) would preach.
The Quran also mentions that the Prophet (pbuh) would never want a
a specific number of people to become Maulvi (religious scholar) or
Rabbani (worshipper of God). He would invite everyone to worship God.
but [instead, he would say], bimaa kuntum tu'allimoonal Kitaaba
"Be pious scholars of the Lord because of what you have taught
of the Scripture and because of what you have studied."
wa bimaa kuntum tadrusoon
God has given you this great honour,
because you reach, teach the Book and you preach from it.”
Walaa yaamurakum an tattakhizul malaaikata wan Nabiyyeena arbaabaa
And he would never ask you to take angels and prophets as lords.
Nor will he ask you to make the angels and the prophets as your gods
He will never ask you to make the angels and the prophets as your god
a yaamurukum bilkufri ba'da iz antum muslimoon
Would he ask you to disbelieve after you have submitted?
The Quran, while invoking the good sense of jews, christians and
even Quraish of Mecca were reprimanded that
that those superstitions that you have made a part of your creed,
how could you associate those things with the Prophets of Allah?
You should never do that.
The Prophet would never ask his followers to disbelieve after they
learn about the truth. And if you ever come across something like this,
it would not be legitimate to accept that it is from God himself.
After coming across something of this sort, you should be well aware that
this is nothing but the alteration of the meaning and verses
by people who are leading people astray.
No Prophet can invite you to this sort of religion.
Look at how a standard has been explicated in the Quran that
the one who has the book of God, the one who has been blessed with
the abilities to better comprehend and decide on religious matters in
accordance with the book of God.
The one who would be stationed at the position of prophethood,
what would he say to the people?
He would always guide people towards
Tawhid (oneness of God).
He would guide you towards Tawhid and nothing more.
He would never ask people to submit and worship to him instead of God.
He would never exaggerate about his status
The one having the knowledge of the book would never exaggerate
and boast about the angels and Prophets.
He would only invite you to tawheed, the Oneness of God.
Allah says in the Quran, if you come across anything that is contrary
to the oneness of God, then that is not from God, but fabrication of the message.
It is not possible that after inviting you to Islam and the oneness of God,
the Prophet would then ask you to make partners with God.
It is not possible that the Prophet would first proclaim the oneness of God
and then ask you to worship him instead.
This was the standard that was put before the jews
and it was natural to put forth this standard before the jews.
Even today, if you read the Torah, you will find that the Torah
or the Gospel is wholly about the oneness of God.
You can better comprehend this statement which is explained
here in context, only when you will understand that since,
you have the books of your Prophets with you.
Do you ever see that the Prophet is inviting people to worship him?
Or give the status of God to someone else?
Then how do you assume that if Jesus in the Gospel
propagated the Oneness of God,
stressed on Iman and good deeds, and make this as a foundation
of invitation towards the right path.
Even after thousands of years after Moses's Torah,
it preaches the same Tawhid
about the Oneness of God. How is it possible then that
when the religious scholars try to understand the text,
they ascribe these things to the prophets.
This is what has been stressed over here.
Is it possible that first a Prophet would work hard all his life
to invite people to the religion of Islam and then whisper into someone's ear
to submit to Him and worship Him instead?
It is not possible.
You will understand the full force of this argument when you understand
what sort of juxtaposition is being carried out.
The juxtaposition is between what the Prophet has left behind and
what is being done by his followers.
This is what is being discussed here in the verse of the Quran.
This is what is being stated in the Quran:
a ya’murukum bil kufri baa’da iz antum muslimoon,
the Prophet (pbuh) invited people towards the religion of Islam,
towards the obedience of God.
Even today this invitation towards the right path is clearly stated in God's book
Post this, did Jesus reveal to St. Paul
that He had attained some Godly authority, or there are some attributes of God
that are manifested in him?
Or that he has received some portion of divinity?
When did Jesus ever say something like this to people,
that you are attribution towards him?
This is what has been mentioned in the Quran.
You will better comprehend this force when you will compare the
meaning of the word muslimoon with ya’murukum bil kufri.
How is it possible? When a Prophet (pbuh) himself proclaimed
about the oneness of God and stood by it throughout His life.
How is it possible that He might have said something of this sort,
that you claim the Prophet (pbuh) has mentioned about himself?
How is it possible that the Prophet (pbuh) first presented himself
as the hunble servant of God and preached about Iman and Tawhiid,
in accordance with the verses of the Quran.
And then in no time we came to know different stories of a completely
different perspective about the Prophet (pbuh).
While inviting people to Islam, was the Prophet (pbuh) teaching people
unbelief as well?
This is what has been mentioned in this phrase
a ya’murukum bil kufri baa’da iz antum muslimoon
Would he invite you to disbelieve after you have submitted?
The Messengers of Allah can never do something like this.
The Prophets (pbut) only invite people to Tawhiid and preach about
the oneness of God till the end.
Wa iz akhazal laahu meesaaqan Nabiyyeena
[O Prophet! Remind them of the time] When Allah took the Covenant
from them regarding the Prophets.
Wa iz akhazal laahu meesaaqan Nabiyyeena
Remind them, when Allah took the Covenant from them regarding the Prophets.
What was the Covenant? lamaaa aataitukum min Kitaabinw wa Hikmatin
Allah says in the Quran that: I have given you the Shariyat (Islamic Laws)
and the Wisdom. summa jaaa'akum Rasoolum
then a Rasul (Messenger) comes to you ...
Allah took the Covenant from them regarding the Prophets,
and reminded them of who they are, giving them the Book and the Wisdom.
In other words, after explaining all the content, Allah mentions that
he has given them his religion, i.e., Islam.
There was a possibility of deviating from the right path only when
there would have been no clear guidance from God.
As the Quran says: It is possible that someone might not have
received God’s guidance or the clear book, and in that case
if there is any misunderstanding.
Here it's prefaced in this way. Remind them, when Allah
took the Covenant from you regarding the Prophets, and raised you as a Umma.
Do you remember what you were bestowed upon from God?
He gave you the light of his religion…
The Quran has mentioned it in a lot of places that the religion is composed
of only two things, one Shariat (Islamic Laws) and second, Hikmat (wisdom).
What does wisdom mean?
Wisdom is to do with issues of faith and morality.
In philosophical terminology you can express it as metaphysics and ethics.
Meaning the part of religion to do with both metaphysics and ethics,
and serve as the foundation for developing laws. And those laws are known as Shariyat
The Quran states that: you were given both the Shariat and the Wisdom
and then an oath was taken from you.
summa jaaa'akum Rasoolum
if a Rasul (Messenger) comes to you musaaddikun lima maaakum
a Rasul (Messenger) comes to you confirming that which is
with you (Shariat, Wisdom) that Allah had given to you
(and the predictions about the coming of a Prophet) and comes to you
confirming all that, then what would you do?
latu'minunna bihee, you must definitely believe in him
wa latansurunnahu and you must definitely help him.
Therefore, this was the covenant that Allah took from the Israelites.
Though the word rasul used here is general,
when 'a Rasul' (Messenger) comes, it is amply clear that it is pointing towards
the Prophet (pbuh).
In fact, they were part of this covenant even in the times of other prophets
that used to come to them.
But this was a special covenant in relation to the Prophet (pbuh),
as is mentioned in their books that he would not bring about
a new religion altogether, but confirm the religion that is already known to you.
It is your tragedy that you denied something that was already present
and the Prophet (pbuh) was only confirming the religion
that was already with you.
You took up the heavy responsibility of that Covenant,
but when the time finally arrived,
you denied having made any such covenant and did not confirm.
It is this crime,
as Jesus says: the brides wait for their bridegroom throughout the night
and at dawn, they fell asleep.
You are responsible for the situation you find yourselves in.
So Allah says, [remind them] that We took the Covenant from them,
and the covenant was that whenever any of God’s Prophets would come
musaddiqul limaa ma'akum a Rasul (Messenger) would come to you
confirming about what is already with you that Allah had
given to you and the predictions about the coming of a Prophet in Torah
and Bible and comes to you confirming that you must definitely believe in him,
you must definitely help him.
qaala a'aqrartum wa akhaztum alaa zaalikum isree
Allah asks: “Do you accept (this Oath) and vow to fulfill this responsibility”?
To understand this verse we should consult Bible and Torah.
Whenever these covenants were taken from them,
every time they were asked to confirm, 'you will transfer this knowledge
to you next generation and spread the word among people.'
Prophet Moses (pbuh) used to take this oath with due diligence.
Allah asked: 'qaaloo', and what did your ancestors answer to that?
aqrarnaa (They) said: “We proclaim”.
qaala fashhadoo Then bear witness
va ana maaakum minash sheahideen (Allah) said:
“Then bear witness and I am of the bearers of witness with you”.
Faman tawallaa ba'da zaalika fa ulaaa'ika humul faasiqoon
Whoever therefore turns back after this (denies the Messenger that will
come after the Prophets), they are the Fâsiqûn (those who are not
in the Way of Allah or have gone out of it, transgressors).
Allah reminds them that this is how they were asked to
to follow the Prophet (pbuh) and help him for the cause of religion.
This covenant was taken in relation to all the Prophets of God,
but here in case the Quran is pointing towards Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
I reiterate what I mentioned earlier that these words Fa man tavalla baa’da zaalika
that even after this, if someone turns back after this (denies the Messenger
that will come after the Prophets) then there is no doubt that they
are the Fasiqun (those who breakers of covenants with God, or disobedient).
The meaning of Faasiq in the Quranic terminology is disobedient.
Even after making it clear and taking the Covenant from them regarding the Prophets,
even then you are hell bent towards this attitude...
If you read Bible you will come to know that the Israelite leaders are assembled
in a place and different groups of them come to join them,
they are all assembled in a place of worship before the Ark,
Prophet Moses explains the oath well and only after that took the covenant.
Then instructed them to bear witness and then carry it on the shoulders, and warned
them the worldly and otherworldly consequences if they turn their back on it.
About the commands and prohibitions from God,
about the Shariah and the Prophets of God, thus are covenants taken.
What a lesson it is for the Israelites that Allah
through this reference reminds them how he took oath from them and
still you are denying that covenant.
Afaghaira deenil laahi yabghoona
Allah says in the Quran: Prophets used to come in the same way;
the way in which they have had covenants with Allah.
These prophets came in this manner
Prophets came to fulfill the demands of those covenants that you promised to Allah
Allah says: since they came with the same message and religion,
then are they (Israelites) looking for a new religion altogether?
Are they denying the religion of Allah? Now, after explaining the oneness of God,
the same religion, truth, book and wisdom.
You shouldn't have had a speck of doubt about its proof.
Now, you are denying this religion, so are you looking for
a different religion than Islam?
wa lahooo aslama man fis samaawaati wal ardi
even though everything in the heavens and the earth are obedient to Him,
taw'anw wa karhanw willingly or unwillingly.
They are bound by his commands, are obedient and
are bowed down before God.
wa ilaihi yurja'oon and to Him shall they be returned.
Not only does God have authority over all of the heavens and the earth,
the whole of this universe has submitted to God.
There is no scope of escaping in the world or hereafter.
Every particle in this universe has bowed down before God.
Quran states that: you have to turn towards God even in the hereafter.
There is no other way.
Qul aamannaa billaahi
The Quran Says: “The deed is done. Tell them. We have believed in Allah."
and in the oneness of God. wa maaa unzila 'alainaa
We believe in what has been sent down to us.
This is an occasion in the Quran which expresses absolution.
This is how the Quran clarified the issue, this is how they were reminded
of the oath they took regarding the Prophets.
Now, the Prophet (pbuh) was commandent to announce that 'We believe in God
and that thing which was sent down to us'.
Now, look at how the line of Abraham is connected with this.
wa maaa unzila 'alaaa Ibraaheema
We believe in what has been sent down to Abraham,
wa Ismaa'eela
and what has been sent down to Ishmael,
wa Ishaaqa wa Ya'qooba wal Asbaati and what has been
sent down to Isaac, Jacob and the sons of Jacob,
wa maaa ootiya Moosaa wa 'Eesaa and we believe in what was given to
Moses and Jesus, and what was bestowed upon them. We accept that too.
wan Nabiyyoona mir Rabbihim
and whatever was sent down to the Prophets from their Lord,
We believe in that. What is our maxim?
laa nufarriqu baina ahadim minhum
We do not discriminate between any of the Prophets.
We are not the sort of people who would believe in some and not in others.
We do not employ this method based on our prejudices.
We do not deny any of God’s instruction, neither do we refute it in any way.
We believe in everything sent down to us without any exception.
laa nufarriqu baina ahadim minhum, wa nahnu lahoo muslimoon
we make no distinction between any of them, and we are obedient to Him only.
The Quran says: Wa mai yabtaghi ghairal Islaami deenan
This is Islam, this is the religion of Islam.
You must understand that Islam is not a religion of one era,
but all Prophets invited us to the same religion of Islam.
Islam is the religion of all the Prophets including Abraham, Ismael,
Isaac, Moses, Jesus, Jacob and the sons of Jacob.
All the Propehts brought this religion of Islam to the people.
And we are the believers of this Islam.
And anyone who wishes to accept any other religion apart from Islam.
Wa mai yabtaghi ghairal Islaami deenan falany yuqbala minhu,
And whoever seeks a religion other than Islam (Submission to Allah),
it shall not be accepted from Him, only the religion of Islam is accepted
in the court of Allah, Islam is the religion of all the Prophets
and there is no partiality in it.
There are proper standards of Truth
and this religion is based on those.
If someone wants to abandon this religion and bring about a new religion
based on his own prejudices, desires and innovations, then there is no scope
of its acceptance in the court of Allah.
wa huwa fil Aakhirati minal khaasireen
Allah made it clear that Islam is not a religion that was introduced
by the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). Try to understand the lineage of Islam,
it is the religion of all the Prophets.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) only came for the Revival of Islam.
Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) came for confirmation of Islam.
He came for its rejuvenation.
He rectified the innovations that had creeped into Islam.
He has presented the religion of Islam.
God’s religion has always been Islam.
God never revealed any form of Judaism, Christianity or Muhammadism,
Islam is the only religion revealed by Allah.
The religion from God was always Islam.
Islam is the religion of Allah. Anyone who denies Islam and adopts any other religion
he must know that God will not accept his religion, and in the Hereafter
he shall be of the losers.
Kaifa yahdillaahu qawman kafaroo ba'da eemaanihim
in the world to come he will surely be among the losers.
The Quran reprimands muslims for seeking guidance from those
who disbelieved after professing faith in Allah. This is of the essence!
Compare this with the previous verse where people disbelieved after their believed.
Do the Prophets of God preach people to disbelieve once they have already
accepted the truth? After explicating their attitude,
the Quran says (about them): when you developed prejudices about the religion
when you started creating dissension in the religion,
When you became partial with regard to the different Prophets of God ...
In reality this is disbelief after you had already accepted the truth.
How shall Allah guide a person who disbelieved
after professing faith in Allah. Muslims wanted them to embrace islam.
Quran says: But how can Allah guide them?
wa shahidooo annar Rasoola haqqunw
And they have borne witness that the Messenger is true,
'wa shahidoo', they know it and their hearts bear witness that
this Prophet (pbuh), is a true Prophet,
Even after believing in him, yet they are lying.
wa jaaa'ahumul baiyinaat and they have clear evidences about the Prophet (pbuh).
Quran says: wallaahu laa yahdil qawmaz zaalimeen
and Allah does not make the unjust people attain Guidance (Hidayah).
Allah has a special law according to which a person is blessed with
His blessing and Guidance. It is not the way of God,
that people would deliberately disbelieve after they have professed faith in Allah,
they would indulge in partiality,
they would not be willing to hear the truth from God and it is not possible that
Allah would guide them when they are already inventing new religion
on their own whims and wishes.
The law of God regarding guidance is that the person should be
a true seeker of truth; someone who would want to understand the reality,
one who is open to facts and buries his prejudices.
One who is elevated from his desires to learn about reality.
Then of course, God blesses with his guidance.
Quran states: O Muslim! Do you wish guidance for them?
How shall Allah guide a people who disbelieved
after professing faith and their hearts had borne witness that the
Messenger is true messenger of Allah and the clear evidence had come to them;
and Allah does not make the unjust people attain Guidance.
Unjust means being unjust towards their own selves.
The Quran used the word 'unjust' in both the senses. Here, it is used in this sense
that when they rejected the truth ... One kind of injustice is
doing wrong to someone else and second, being unjust to oneself.
Being unjust to yourself means even after believing in the truth,
yet you disbelieve in it.
The Quran states; Ulaaa'ika jazaaa'uhum anna 'alaihim la'natal
laahi walmalaaa'ikati wannaasi ajma'een
Their punishment is that the curse of God and [his] angels
and all mankind is on them;
By all of mankind, it means that on the day of resurrection everyone
including the good and bad would curse on them.
Curse by good believers is obvious, but why would the bad too curse on them?
They would say that due to them we are in this torment.
The bad would also curse on them.
All of mankind would curse on them.
It further clarifies that the extent of curse is actually associated
with the Day of judgement.
Quran says: everyone would curse on them.
Khaalideena feehaa, and they will abide in it forever,
here it is evident that 'it' here refers to Hell,
which is the consequence of the “Curse”. It is deliberately not expressed in words
because the pronoun returns to it,
implying that it is a consequence of the curse.
Khaalideena feehaa laa yukhaffafu 'anhumul 'azaabu
the torment will not be lightened on them wa laa hum yunzaroon
what you should also understand from the above verse is that this extreme torment
would not be lightened from them.
They would be in this forever.
These verses are for whom?
Those who have deliberately stood in rebellion against the truth even
when they recognized it.
You can find it at multiple places, only those who disbelieve after believing
are addressed in this manner
Committing a sin, falling into a mistake, misunderstanding, negligence,
are altogether a different topic.
There are separate laws to deal with these things.
But when a community or a group comes to the stage of disbelieving
after they had recognized it, then they are punished for their wrong doing,
So Allah says, the curse of God and [his] angels and all mankind is on them;
they shall abide in it forever.
Neither shall their punishment be reduced nor shall they be given respite.
wa laa hum yunzaroon Illal lazeena taaboo mim ba'di zaalika
However, there is still time.
People who repent would save themselves from this torment,
'wa aslahoo' and rectify their mistakes, they would be safe from this torment.
They still have the opportunity,
the Quran says: since the Prophet is present among them,
they must repent and save themselves from this torment
fa innal laaha Ghafoorur Raheem
surely Allah is Oft-Forgiving,
He compassion is eternal, He is the One who keeps people under the shade of Mercy.
Innal lazeena kafaroo ba'da eemaanihim
Surely, those who disbelieve after their believing,
summaz daadoo kufraa then increase in disbelief,
and now when they see their death is near and lament
for their wrongdoing. lan tuqbala tawbatuhum
their repentance will never be accepted
wa ulaaa'ika humud daaalloon
and these are they who have deviated from the right path
Innal lazeena kafaroo wa maatoo wa hum kuffaarun
Surely, those who disbelieve and die while they are disbelievers,
Quran states that; in order to save themselves from this torment,
even if they bring the earth full of gold as ransom...
Innal lazeena kafaroo wa maatoo wa hum kuffaarun
falany yuqbala min ahadihim mil'ul ardi zahabanw wa lawiftadaa bih;
even if they bring the the earth full of gold as ransom
it shall not be accepted from them
ulaaa 'ika lahum 'azaabun aleemunw they shall have a painful torment
wa maa lahum min naasireen
for them there shall be no helpers.
Therefore, it was made clear by the Quran, that there is no way that
they can be released of this painful torment.
There can be nothing to give and take on the Day of judgement,
here in context “earthfull of gold ” means that there is no scope
of bargain or give and take on the Day of judgement.
And they expect that their elders and religious leaders will
intercede on their behalf,
It is mentioned in the verse that, there will be no one for intercession
on the Day of judgement.
This is the last stage, wherein God clarified the principle of salvation.
Forgiveness is only for those who repent on their wrong doing,
for those who try to understand the truth, for those
who fall astray and ask God for forgiveness.
Forgiveness is not for those who kept disbelieving, those who denied
the truth and took this denial to the last degree.
And only after seeing that the torment is near,
they asked for repentance to save themselves.
This is not how the law of God works.
And nothing can be of service to people on the Day of judgement.
Even the wealth of this world would be of no use in the Day of judgement,
those who are in this misunderstanding, should come out of it.
wa maa lahum min naasireen for them there shall be no helpers.
Listen to the simple translation to these verses.
[On the other hand], those who sell the covenant of God
and their own oaths for a trivial price shall have no share in the world to come.
and Allah will not speak to them and He will not look at them with compassion
on the Day of Resurrection.
And will not exonerate them instead for them there is a painful torment.
And most surely there is a party of them (people of the Book) who distort the Book
with their tongues that you may consider it to be of the Book even though it is not
from the Book and they say that it is from Allah even though
it is not from Allah; and they speak a lie against Allah knowingly.
They forge lies against God's prophets too
It is not befitting for any human being that Allah should give him His Book
and the ability to decide and carry out the responsibilities of prophethood
according to it, then he should say to people
“Serve me instead of God.” No, in fact, [he will only say: “People!]
Be devoted servants of God
because you study and teach the Book of God.”
Nor will he ask you to make the angels and the prophets as your god.
Will he urge you to commit disbelief once you have become Muslims?
When Allah took the Covenant of the Prophets, (He said):
"I have given you the Book and the Wisdom, then a Rasul (Messenger)
comes to you confirming that which is with you (Books Allah had given you),
you must necessarily profess faith in him and you must definitely help him”.
After this, Allah asks: “Do you agree to this and acknowledge the responsibility
of My covenant on it?”
They say, “We agree”. Then Allah said: “Then bear witness and
I also bear witness with you.”
Whoever therefore turns back after this (denies the Messenger
that will come after the Prophets), they are the insolent.
[These prophets have come in this manner]
So, do these people now seek a religion other than God’s?
even though all things in the heavens and the earth are obedient to Him,
willingly or unwillingly and to Him shall they be returned
Tell them: We have believed in God and what is revealed to us and to
Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and to their progeny
and which was given by their Lord to Moses and Jesus and all other prophets.
We do not make any distinction between any of them. They are all God's Prophets,
and to Him (Allah) we have surrendered”.
[This precisely is Islam]
and He who would like to choose a religion other than Islam,
it shall never be accepted from him whatsoever and in the world to come
he will be from among the losers.
[You want them to be guided?] How can God guide those who
lapse into disbelief after embracing faith even though they bear witness
to the veracity of this messenger
and there has also come to them clear signs [to bear witness to their veracity].
In reality, God does not guide such wrongdoers
It is these whose punishment is that the curse of God and His angels and
all mankind is on them
they shall abide in it forever
Neither shall their punishment be reduced nor shall they be given respite.
However, [those among them] who after this repent and mend their ways,
they will remain protected from it because God is Forgiving, Ever-Merciful
On the contrary, those who disbelieved after believing and continued
to grow in disbelief [until their death drew near]
their repentance shall never be accepted and, in reality,
and these are they who are have deviated from the path.
Similarly, those who disbelieved and died in this state of disbelief
no ransom which anyone of them may give [to save himself from punishment]
shall be accepted from him even if it is so much gold as would fill the entire earth
It is these for whom there is a painful punishment,
and they shall find none to help them there.
I say this saying of mine, and I seek forgiveness from Allah
for me and for you and for all Muslims.
Translation by Faizan Rashid. Substantially Revised by Danish Hamid.