Surah Al Imran 3:65
ﱻ ﱼ ﱽ ﱾ ﱿ ﲀ ﲁ ﲂ ﲃ ﲄ ﲅ ﲆ ﲇ ﲈ ﲉ ﲊ
O People of the Scripture, why do you argue about Abraham while the Torah and the Gospel were not revealed until after him? Then will you not reason?
Tafsir of Al Imran 3:65
Tafsir
Mafatih al-Ghayb
Verse range: 3:65
Surah Al 'Imran: (65) O People of the Scripture...
Issue: The Jews claimed that Abraham was upon their religion, and the Christians claimed he was upon theirs.
Refutation: Allah refuted this by pointing out that the Torah and the Gospel were revealed after Abraham. How can it be logically conceived that he was Jewish or Christian?
Objection Raised: If this logic is applied, it must also apply to Muslims, as Muslims claim Abraham was upon the religion of Islam, and Islam was revealed long after him.
If Muslims mean that Abraham was upon the foundations (Usul) of the religion that Muslims follow now, then why can't the Jews argue that Abraham was Jewish in the sense that he followed the religion of the Jews, and the Christians argue he was Christian in the sense that he followed the religion of the Christians? In this interpretation, the later revelation of the Torah and Gospel does not negate him being Jewish or Christian, just as the later revelation of the Qur'an does not negate him being Muslim.
The Answer (Al-Razi's Response):
- The Qur'an's Testimony: The Qur'an explicitly states that Abraham was a Hanif (upright monotheist) and a Muslim. The Torah and the Gospel do not state that Abraham was Jewish or Christian. This distinction is clear.
- Regarding Christians: It is evident that Christians are not upon the religion of Abraham because Jesus (the Messiah) did not exist in Abraham's time. Therefore, worshipping Jesus could not have been legislated in Abraham's era. Engaging in the worship of Jesus was necessarily a contradiction to the religion of Abraham.
- Regarding Jews: It is established that Allah had commandments and obligations for people before Moses (peace be upon him). These obligations must have been conveyed by a human messenger, who must have been supported by miracles, otherwise, people would not be obligated to accept his message.
- Therefore, there were prophets and specific laws before Moses.
- When Moses arrived, either he confirmed those previous laws or brought new ones.
- If he confirmed them, Moses was not the originator of that law but rather like a jurist confirming the law of those before him. The Jews do not accept this premise.
- If he brought a new law superseding the previous one, he affirmed the concept of abrogation (Naskh).
- The necessity of accepting the possibility of abrogation is established. However, the Jews deny the validity of abrogation.
- Thus, it is proven that the Jews are not upon the religion of Abraham.
Conclusion: The claims of the Jews and Christians that Abraham was Jewish or Christian are refuted. This is the meaning intended by the verse.
{Here you are—those who argued about that of which you have some knowledge, but why do you argue about that of which you have no knowledge? And Allah knows while you know not. Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a monotheist [Hanif], a Muslim. And he was not of the polytheists. Indeed, the people most surely related to Abraham are those who followed him, and [also] this Prophet and those who have believed. And Allah is the protector of the believers.}