Al 'Imran: (183) Those who said, "Indeed..."

Know that this is the second objection raised by the disbelievers against the prophethood of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Their argument was: "Allah has made a covenant with us in the Torah that we will not believe any messenger until he brings us a sacrifice that the fire consumes." You, O Muhammad, have not done that! Therefore, you must not be among the prophets. This explains the connection of the verse. There are several issues concerning this verse.

Issue 1: The Context of the Sacrifice

Ibn Abbas said that this verse was revealed concerning Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, Ka'b ibn Asad, Malik ibn al-Sayf, Wahb ibn Yahuda, Zayd ibn al-Tabub, Finhas ibn Azura, and others. They came to the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and said: "O Muhammad, you claim to be the Messenger of Allah and that He has sent down a book to you. Yet, in the Torah, Allah covenanted with us not to believe any messenger until he brings us a sacrifice that the fire consumes, and the fire has a light sound, descending from the sky. If you bring this to us, we will believe you." So, this verse was revealed.

Ata said: The Children of Israel used to slaughter for Allah, take the best parts of the meat and place them in the middle of a house with an open roof. The Prophet would stand inside the house supplicating his Lord, while the Children of Israel stood outside around the house. Then, a white fire with a light sound, without smoke, would descend and consume all that sacrifice.

Know that scholars have two opinions regarding the claim made by the Jews about this condition:

The First Opinion (That of al-Suddi): This condition was indeed mentioned in the Torah, but with an exception. Allah stated in the Torah: "Do not believe anyone who claims to be a prophet until he brings you a sacrifice consumed by fire, except for the Messiah and Muhammad (peace be upon them). If they come, believe them, for they will come without a sacrifice consumed by fire." Al-Suddi said this custom remained until the mission of the Messiah (peace be upon him), after which it was lifted and ceased.

The Second Opinion: The claim of this condition is a lie attributed to the Torah. This is supported by several points:

1. If this were true, the miracle of every prophet would have been this specific sacrifice. It is known that this was not the case; the miracles of Moses (peace be upon him) before Pharaoh were things other than this sacrifice.
2. The descent of this fire consuming the sacrifice was a miracle, just like all other miracles. There would be no benefit in specifying and singling out this particular miracle. Rather, once a decisive miracle appeared through Muhammad (PBUH), belief in his prophethood became obligatory, whether this specific miracle appeared or not.
3. Either it must be said that the Torah stated that a claimant to prophethood, even if he brings all miracles, will not be accepted unless he brings this specific miracle, OR it must be said that the Torah stated that a claimant to prophethood must present a miracle, whether that miracle is the fire descending or something else.
   • The first possibility is false, because under that premise, bringing all other miracles would not prove truthfulness. If other miracles can be rejected, then this specific miracle can also be rejected.
   • The second possibility implies that belief is contingent upon the appearance of any miracle, not this specific one. Therefore, stipulating this particular miracle would be pointless and absurd.

Thus, based on what we have mentioned, this objection is entirely invalid. And Allah knows best.

Issue 2: Grammatical Position of {Those who said}

There are several possibilities for the grammatical position of the relative pronoun {الذين} (Those who):

1. Genitive Case (Jar): Al-Zajjaj suggested this. It functions as an adjective describing the slaves mentioned in the preceding context (implied, as in "Allah is not unjust to His slaves, those who said...").
2. Nominative Case (Raf' by Implied Subject): The implied meaning is: "Allah has heard the saying of those who said, 'Indeed, Allah is poor,' and the saying of those who said, 'Indeed, Allah has made a covenant with us...'"
3. Nominative Case (Raf' by Initial Subject): The meaning is: "They are those who said that."

Issue 3: The Meaning of Qurban

Al-Wahidi, may Allah have mercy on him, said: Al-Qurban (sacrifice) is the good deed by which one draws near to Allah. Its origin is the verbal noun (masdar) from the verb qaruba (to draw near), like kufraan (disbelief) or khusraan (loss). It is then used to name the thing offered for drawing near. This is supported by the Prophet's saying to Ka'b ibn 'Ujrah: "O Ka'b, fasting is a shield, and prayer is a qurban," meaning, by them one draws near to Allah and seeks intercession for needs.

Know that Allah answered this objection by saying: Say, "Messengers have certainly come to you before me with clear signs and with what you said. Then why did you kill them, if you were truthful?"

There are several issues concerning this response:

Allah clarified through these proofs that they demanded this miracle not out of a desire for guidance, but out of obstinacy. This is because the ancestors of these Jews demanded this miracle from previous prophets, such as Zechariah, Jesus, and John (peace be upon them). When those prophets displayed this miracle, the Jews still sought to kill Zechariah and John, and they claim to have killed Jesus (peace be upon him) as well. This indicates that those people demanded this miracle from those prophets out of obstinacy; otherwise, they would not have sought to kill them.

Furthermore, the later generations approve of the actions of their predecessors and affirm everything they did. This implies that these current people are also obstinate in demanding this miracle from Muhammad (PBUH). If their demand for this miracle is established as being out of obstinacy rather than a search for guidance, then it is not incumbent upon Allah's wisdom to grant their request, especially since Muhammad (PBUH) had already presented numerous miracles. This answer sufficiently addresses the objection.

Allah said: {قد جاءكم رسل} (Messengers have certainly come to you), and did not say {جاءتكم رسل} (feminine verb form), because the verb is treated as masculine when the feminine subject precedes it.

What is meant by {وبالذى قلتم} (and with what you said) is what they demanded from him: the sacrifice consumed by fire.

Know that Allah did not say: "Messengers have certainly come to you before me with what you said." Rather, He said: {قد جاءكم رسل من قبلى بالبينات وبالذى قلتم} (Messengers have certainly come to you before me with clear signs AND with what you said).

The benefit of including both is this: The people claimed that Allah made belief in prophethood conditional upon the appearance of the sacrifice consumed by fire. If the Prophet (PBUH) had only told them, "Previous prophets brought this sacrifice," it would not necessarily compel them to acknowledge their prophethood, because it is possible that bringing this sacrifice was a condition for prophethood, not a cause for it. A condition is something whose absence necessitates the absence of the conditioned thing, but its presence does not necessitate the presence of the conditioned thing. Thus, if this were the extent of the argument, the obligation to believe would not be established.

However, by saying: {قد جاءكم رسل من قبلى بالبينات وبالذى قلتم}, the obligation to believe is established. Because when they brought the Bayyināt (clear signs), they fulfilled the cause for belief. And when they brought this Qurban, they fulfilled the condition. When both were present, acknowledging their prophethood became obligatory. Therefore, if Allah had not mentioned {جاءكم بالبينات} (He came to you with clear signs), the obligation to believe would not have been established against them. And Allah knows best.

If they deny you, then messengers before you were denied, who came with clear signs, and with the Psalms, and with the clarifying Scripture. Every soul will taste death. And only on the Day of Resurrection will you be paid your wages in full. And whoever is drawn away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise - he has certainly succeeded. And the worldly life is not but the enjoyment of delusion.