Al-Baqarah: (113) And the Jews said, "The Christians are not..."

Know that when the Almighty gathered them [the People of the Book] in the previous report, He separated them in this verse, clarifying the statement of each faction concerning the other, and how each sect denies the religion of the other. Herein lie several issues:

The First Issue: His saying, {The Christians are not upon anything}

This means they are not upon anything sound or valid. This is a great hyperbole, similar to the saying, "less than nothing." A parallel is His saying, {Say, "O People of the Book, you are not upon anything until you establish the Torah"} (Al-Ma'idah: 68).

If one asks: How could they say this when both factions affirmed the Creator and His attributes? That statement contains a benefit. We answer with two perspectives:

1. Because when they combined that good statement with a false one, the reward for the first was nullified, as if they had not brought forth that truth.
2. This general statement is restricted to the matters in which they differed, which pertain to the realm of prophethoods.

The Second Issue

It is narrated that when the delegation of Najrān came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him), the Jewish rabbis came to them. They debated until their voices were raised. The Jews said: "You are not upon anything of religion," and they disbelieved in Jesus (peace be upon him) and the Gospel. The Christians said the like to them, disbelieving in Moses (peace be upon him) and the Torah.

The Third Issue

They differed concerning whom Allah Almighty intended: were they those present from the time of Jesus's mission, or those present in the time of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)? The apparent truth is that there is no explicit evidence for this in the text. However, it is preferable to apply it to all Jews and all Christians after the mission of Jesus (peace be upon him). This is not obligatory because what is narrated regarding the reason for the verse—that a Jew addressed the Christians with this—does not necessitate that the verse intends only that specific instance, if it can be applied generally. His saying, {And the Jews said, "The Christians are not upon anything"} implies generality. So, what is the justification for restricting it? It is known from the way of Jews and Christians that this has always been the statement of each faction regarding the other.

As for His saying, {while they recite the Book}, they said this is a haal (a circumstantial adverb), and al-Kitāb (the Book) refers to the genus. Meaning, they said that while their condition was that they were people of knowledge and recitation of the Books. It is incumbent upon one who carries the Torah or the Gospel or any other Book of Allah and believes in it not to disbelieve in the rest, because each of the two Books confirms the other and testifies to its truth. The Torah confirms Jesus (peace be upon him), and the Gospel confirms Moses (peace be upon him).

As for His saying, {Likewise said those who do not know}, this implies that those previously mentioned must be knowledgeable for this distinction to be valid. Thus, the Almighty clarified that if those possessing knowledge and recitation engage in such disagreement, what then is the state of those who do not know?

Know that this exact incident has occurred among the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), where every sect disbelieves in the other despite their agreement on reciting the Qur'an. Then, they differed concerning who "those who do not know" are, in several ways:

1. They are the Arab disbelievers who said the Muslims are not upon anything. The Almighty clarified that if the statement of the Jews and Christians, who read the Books, is not to be accepted or heeded, then the statement of the Arab disbelievers is even more deserving of being ignored.
2. If we apply {And the Jews said, "The Christians are not upon anything"} to those present in the time of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), then we apply {Likewise said those who do not know} to the obstinate deniers, and the reverse is also possible.
3. His saying {And the Jews said, "The Christians are not upon anything"} is applied to their scholars, and {Likewise said those who do not know} is applied to their common folk, distinguishing between their elite and their masses. The first interpretation is closer, because all Jews and Christians are included in the verse, so whoever is distinguished from them by saying {Likewise said those who do not know} must be someone else.

As for His saying, {So Allah will judge between them}, there are four interpretations:

1. Al-Hasan said: He will declare them all liars and admit them to the Fire.
2. The judgment of recompense for the oppressor who accuses the oppressed of falsehood.
3. He will show them clearly who enters Paradise and who enters the Fire, which is the view of Al-Zajjāj.
4. He will judge between the truthful and the false regarding what they differed upon. And Allah knows best.

< 7 > {And who is more unjust than one who prevents the mosques of Allah from the mention of His name therein and seeks their ruin? Those people are not to enter them except in fear. For them in this world is disgrace, and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment.} <