Volume 8 Surah 9 - Enjoy Islam

Al-Tawbah (The Repentance) | RELATIONS WITH OTHER RELIGIONSin God and in what has been bestowed from on high upon you and in what has been bestowedupon them, humbling themselves before God. They do not barter away God’s revelations for atrifling price. They shall have their reward with their Lord. Swift is God’s reckoning.” (3:199) “You will certainly find that, of all people, the most hostile to those who believe are theJews, and those who associate partners with God; and you will certainly find that the nearestof them in affection to the believers are those who say, ‘We are Christians.’ This is so becausethere are priests and monks among them and because they are not given to arrogance. Whenthey listen to what has been revealed to God’s Messenger, you see their eyes overflow withtears because of the Truth they recognize. They say: ‘Our Lord, we do believe; so enrol usamong those who bear witness to the truth. How could we fail to believe in God and the truththat has come to us when we dearly hope that our Lord will admit us among the righteous?’And for this their prayer God will reward them with gardens through which running watersflow, where they will abide. Such is the reward of those who do good.” (5: 82-85)Denying a Known TruthHowever, the attitude of these individuals was not representative of the attitude ofthe majority of the people of earlier revelations in the Arabian Peninsula, particularlythe Jews. Once they felt that Islam represented a threat to them, the Jews in Madinahlaunched a wicked campaign against it, using all the methods mentioned in severalplaces in the Qur’ān. Needless to say, they refused to adopt Islam, and denied thereferences in their own Scriptures to the Prophet Muĥammad (peace be upon him),and the fact that the Qur’ān confirmed what remained with them of their truerevelations. By contrast, those goodly and honest individuals acknowledged all thatopenly. The Qur’ān records all their denials and points out their deviation andcorruption. However, the Qur’ān also includes clear statements of the beliefs of thepeople of earlier revelations, such as: “When Jesus came with all evidence of the truth, hesaid: I have now come to you with wisdom, and to make clear to you some of that on whichyou are at variance. Hence, fear God and pay heed to me. God is indeed my Lord and yourLord; so worship Him alone: this is a straight way!’ But factions from among them began tohold divergent views. Woe, then, to the evildoers for the suffering [they will endure] on apainful day!” (43: 63-65) “They broke up their unity, through their own wickedness, onlyafter knowledge was given to them. And but for a word that had already gone forth from yourLord, [postponing a decision] until an appointed term, all would have been decided betweenthem. Those who inherited the Scriptures after them are now in grave doubt.” (42: 14) “It wassaid to them: Dwell in this city and eat of its food whatever you may wish, and say: “Lord,relieve us of our burden,” and enter the gate in humility. We will forgive you your sins, andWe will richly reward those who do good. ‘But the wrongdoers among them substituted otherwords for those which they had been given. Therefore We let loose against them a scourgefrom heaven in requital for their wrongdoing. Ask them about the town which stood by thesea: how its people profaned the Sabbath. Each Sabbath their fish appeared before them84