3-72 And a party of the People of the Book say: Avow belief in that which has been revealed to those who believe, in the first part of the day, and disbelieve in the latter part of it, perhaps they may turn back.
وَقالَت طائِفَةٌ مِن أَهلِ الكِتابِ آمِنوا بِالَّذي أُنزِلَ عَلَى الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَجهَ النَّهارِ وَاكفُروا آخِرَهُ لَعَلَّهُم يَرجِعونَ (۷۲)
3-72a: وَجهَ النَّهارِ – Because وَجهَ (face) is the part of the body that comes first, so it is widely used for the part of a thing that comes first and is at its beginning. (R). So, the meaning of وَجهَ النَّهارِ is اول النَّهارِ (the first part of the day).
The Jewish trick to hypocritically profess Islam: There are several ways this verse has been interpreted. One meaning is to profess Islam in the morning and to deny it in the later part of the day. It is said that a group of Jews strategized to bring disrepute to Islam by getting a group from among them to hypocritically profess Islam in the morning and then in the evening to say that they reject Islam because they did not find any truth in it. The meaning of لَعَلَّهُم يَرجِعونَ would then be that this would encourage the Muslims to do likewise because it would lead the Muslims to think that the Ahle Kitab have no enmity with Islam since they joined its rank and only disassociated because they did not find any truth in it. So, they will find this compelling, and it would encourage them to revert to disbelief. This strategy, they thought, would be particularly efficacious to undermine the reputation of Islam that once a person becomes a Muslim, the person never apostatizes. Testimony of this reputation exists in the recorded conversation of the Roman Emperor, Heraclius with Abu Sufian. When Heraclius asked Abu Sufian: ھَلۡ یَرتَدُّ اَحَدٌّ مِنۡہُمۡ سُخۡطَةً لِدِیۡنِهِ بَعۡدَ ان یدخل فیه (Does anyone from them gets disappointed and apostatizes after joining the faith?). Abu Sufian’s reply was in the negative. This is a great testimonial to the truth of Islam that the number of apostates is rare to nonexistent despite the torture and great difficulties that the early Muslims faced. It is because of this steadfastness that the Ahle Kitab kept on devising such stratagems to discredit Islam. It amounts to an admission of failure to argue the issues of faith rationally. When they saw Islam succeeding on all fronts, they resorted to these secretive plans in the hope of perhaps eradicating Islam in this way. Even in the present times, the Ahle Kitab keep on coming up with such schemes to destroy Islam.
Another explanation: Abu Muslim gives another explanation of this verse. According to him, the meaning of avow belief in the first part of the day and disbelieve in the latter part is to hypocritically agree with the Muslims, but to adhere steadfastly to their faith and on returning to their own kinsfolk to disavow the earlier agreements with the Muslims. This interpretation is in consonance with what is stated elsewhere: وَإِذا لَقُوا الَّذينَ آمَنوا قالوا آمَنّا وَإِذا خَلَوا إِلىٰ شَياطينِهِم قالوا إِنّا مَعَكُم إِنَّما نَحنُ مُستَهزِئونَ (And when they meet those who believe, they say, We believe; and when they are alone with their devils, they say: Surely we are with you, we were only mocking). This explanation of the verse is also correct and suits the context. A number of people from the Ahle Kitab had hypocritically joined Islam with the explicit purpose of defaming Islam.
The trickery of disuniting Muslims regarding the injunctions of Islam: A third interpretation of this verse is attributed to Ism who states: معناہ تفریق احکام الاسلام الیٰ قسمین و ذالك انه قال بعضہم لبعض ان کذبتموہ فی جمیع ما جاء به حق صقوہ فی بعض و کذبوہ فی بعض لیحملوا کلامکم علیٰ لانصاف فیقبلوا قولکم و یرجعوا من دین الاسلام و الرغبته فيه (Some of them said to the others: The injunctions of Islam should be divided into two groups because some of what he has brought is obviously true and if you call all of it false, people will consider you a liar. Accept and back him in certain things and call other things false so that people may consider your judgement based on justice and accept your verdict, and thereby refrain from getting influenced by Islam and will ultimately reject it) (G). Some Christians in order to appear fair minded say that certainly Prophet Muhammad was initially truthful and desired to eradicate idol worship, but afterwards he got mixed up in mundane matters and a new religion was created that shed much blood in unjust wars. In the present times, there is another stratagem of Christian priests who publish a fictitious conversation between a Christian and a Muslim and show the Muslim in poor light by assigning weak arguments to the Muslim. Christian controversialists have been resorting to such cunning stratagems in the past and this continues into the present. They poise as friends but act as enemies. This is a warning for Muslims.
3-73 And believe not but in him who follows your religion.a Say: True guidance — Allah’s guidance — is that one may be given the like of what you were given; or they would prevail on you in argument before your Lord. Say: Grace is surely in Allah’s hand. He gives it to whom He pleases. And Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.b
3-74 He specially chooses for His mercy whom He pleases. And Allah is the Lord of mighty grace.
وَلا تُؤمِنوا إِلّا لِمَن تَبِعَ دينَكُم قُل إِنَّ الهُدىٰ هُدَى اللَّهِ أَن يُؤتىٰ أَحَدٌ مِثلَ ما أوتيتُم أَو يُحاجّوكُم عِندَ رَبِّكُم ۗ قُل إِنَّ الفَضلَ بِيَدِ اللَّهِ يُؤتيهِ مَن يَشاءُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ واسِعٌ عَليمٌ (۷۳)
يَختَصُّ بِرَحمَتِهِ مَن يَشاءُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ ذُو الفَضلِ العَظيمِ (۷۴)
3-73a: Statement of Ahle Kitab continued: This is the remainder of the statement of Ahle Kitab. The purport of believing in only him who follows your religion is that only an Israeli messenger should be followed. Since a group was being prepared from among the Ahle Kitab to profess belief in the morning and deny it later, or to profess that some articles of the new faith are correct, they were warned that their real belief should only vest in Israeli prophets. This was an attempt to stop members of this hypocritical group from renegading to the other side. The Islamic sharia abrogates some provisions of the Mosaic dispensation and hence the reminder to follow only an Israelite prophet. This statement of theirs is consistent with what is said in the previous chapter: وَإِذا قيلَ لَهُم آمِنوا بِما أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ قالوا نُؤمِنُ بِما أُنزِلَ عَلَينا وَيَكفُرونَ بِما وَراءَهُ (And when it is said to them, Believe in that which Allah has revealed, they say: We believe in that which was revealed to us. And they deny what is besides that…) (2:91).
The stratagems of Jews to sidestep the prophecy of a prophet like Moses: There are a number of ways in which the statement: قُل إِنَّ الهُدىٰ هُدَى اللَّهِ أَن يُؤتىٰ أَحَدٌ مِثلَ ما أوتيتُم أَو يُحاجّوكُم عِندَ رَبِّكُم has been interpreted, but there are two interpretations which fit the context without any ambiguity. The first interpretation is that قُل إِنَّ الهُدىٰ هُدَى اللَّهِ is a parenthetical statement, and the following : أَن يُؤتىٰ أَحَدٌ مِثلَ ما أوتيتُم أَو يُحاجّوكُم عِندَ رَبِّكُم is a continuation of the statement of Ahle Kitab, which is then responded to by stating: قُل إِنَّ الفَضلَ بِيَدِ اللَّهِ. So when the Jews taught their people لا تُؤمِنوا إِلّا لِمَن تَبِعَ دينَكُم (Believe not but in him who follows your religion), they further added: و لا أَن يُؤتىٰ أَحَدٌ مِثلَ ما أوتيتُم أَو يُحاجّوكُم عِندَ رَبِّكُم . Thus, (قُل إِنَّ الفَضلَ بِيَدِ اللَّهِ stays as a parenthetical statement, and the meaning of the rest of the statement becomes: The real guidance is Allah’s guidance and their (Muslim’s) frivolities will not amount to much). That is, do not believe that another person will be given the like of the sharia that was given to the Jews. They are, therefore, urged not to believe in the prophecy given in Deuteronomy 18:15 because if the Jews accepted the prophecy of a “Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee,” then the Muslims will get an opportunity to contend with the Jews. See 2-76a where it is shown that the meaning of “argument before your Lord” is کتابه و حکمه, and also see the same note for the meaning of يُحاجّوكُم . The personal pronoun in يُحاجّوكُم refers to أَحَدٌ which implies a plurality meaning the Muslims or Bani Ishmael which is indicated by أَحَدٌ . This interpretation is fully in consonant with what is mentioned in Surah Al-Bakarah 2:76 about what the Jewish rabies tell their congregants: أَتُحَدِّثونَهُم بِما فَتَحَ اللَّهُ عَلَيكُم لِيُحاجّوكُم بِهِ عِندَ رَبِّكُم (Do you talk to them of what Allah has disclosed to you that they may contend with you by this before your Lord). Thus, the advice being given to the Jews by their elders is that when you meet with Muslims do not admit that there is any prophecy about “like unto thee”, otherwise Muslims will get armed with a strong argument against you.
Second interpretation: In this interpretation, the text from قُل إِنَّ الهُدىٰ to عِندَ رَبِّكُم is a response to the Jewish stand of لا تُؤمِنوا إِلّا لِمَن تَبِعَ دينَكُم . If such is the case, then الهُدىٰ will be the noun for إِنَّ and هُدَى اللَّهِ will be the substitute for الهُدىٰ. Thus, Allah commands that the following response be given to the Jews who urge their followers to believe only in those who follow the Mosaic dispensation: True guidance (whish is Allah’s guidance) is that whatever was given to you O Ahle Kitab, that is the Mosaic dispensation, the like of that be given to another because the prophecy already exists with you that a Prophet like Moses will be raised. Hence it is necessary that the like of what is given to you, that is the Mosaic dispensation, should be given to another or else (if this is not so) the Muslims will be able to contend with you regarding this prophecy (and they will prevail. This prevalence is indicated by the word يُحاجّوكُم or such words can be understood such as: فید حض حجتکم because the context requires it).
In both the interpretations, the indication is to that grand prophecy for which the Ahle Kitab have no response. This prophecy was made by Moses and was reaffirmed by all the prophets of Bani Israel. Even Jesus accepted that a Prophet like Moses would be raised which is mentioned in Deuteronomy 18:15-18. What else can be the meaning of a prophet like unto Moses except that just as a dispensation was given to Bani Israel through Moses, similarly a dispensation would be given for the whole world through a Prophet from Bani Ishmael. Although many prophets were raised in Bani Israel, none of them claimed to be the like of Moses. Even Jesus did not make such a claim. As is proven by John 1:21, the Jews were awaiting three prophets – the return of Elijah, which was fulfilled by John the Baptist, the coming of the Messiah which was fulfilled Jesus and the Promised Prophet. Neither Jesus nor John claimed to be the Promised Prophet and no Israeli prophet could make such a claim because not only that Prophet had to be from Bani Ishmael but also according to the prophecy it was necessary that he should be given a dispensation like that of Moses. The distinction that Moses enjoys from among all the prophets of Israel is that he brought a new and lasting dispensation and the reference of a Prophet like unto Moses can be to nothing else except that the Promised Prophet would also bring a new and lasting dispensation. The Quran therefore responds to the objection from Jews that they would only accept a prophet who followed their religion by drawing their attention to the fact that according to this prophecy it is necessary that a dispensation like that given to Moses be given to another. Their insistence that they would only follow a Prophet who followed their religion is clearly wrong in the light of this prophecy.
Prophethood is not confined to one nation: The statements that follow: قُل إِنَّ الفَضلَ بِيَدِ اللَّهِ يُؤتيهِ مَن يَشاءُ and يَختَصُّ بِرَحمَتِهِ مَن يَشاءُ are also a response to the same objection of the Jews. Prophethood is here described as فَضلَ (blessing) and blessing is not specific to a particular nation. It is a munificence that Allah can grant to whoever He pleases. If this part of the verse is compared with Al-Bakarah 2:105, it will be seen that the objection and response given here is very similar though differently worded from the response given there. The objection was stated there: ما يَوَدُّ الَّذينَ كَفَروا مِن أَهلِ الكِتابِ وَلَا المُشرِكينَ أَن يُنَزَّلَ عَلَيكُم مِن خَيرٍ مِن رَبِّكُم (Neither those who disbelieve from among the people of the Book, nor the polytheists, like that any good should be sent down to you from your Lord), and the response is given as: وَاللَّهُ يَختَصُّ بِرَحمَتِهِ مَن يَشاءُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ ذُو الفَضلِ العَظيمِ (And Allah chooses whom He pleases for His Mercy; and Allah is the Lord of mighty grace).
3-75 And among the People of the Book there is he who, if thou entrust him with a heap of wealth, would pay it back to thee; and among them is he who, if thou entrust him with a dinar would not pay it back to thee, unless thou kept on demanding it. This is because they say there is no blame on us in the matter of the unlearned people and they forge a lie against Allah while they know.a
وَمِن أَهلِ الكِتابِ مَن إِن تَأمَنهُ بِقِنطارٍ يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيكَ وَمِنهُم مَن إِن تَأمَنهُ بِدينارٍ لا يُؤَدِّهِ إِلَيكَ إِلّا ما دُمتَ عَلَيهِ قائِمًا ۗ ذٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُم قالوا لَيسَ عَلَينا فِي الأُمِّيّينَ سَبيلٌ وَيَقولونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الكَذِبَ وَهُم يَعلَمونَ (۷۵)
3:75a: ما دُمتَ عَلَيهِ قائِمًا – Some have taken its meaning literally and say it means to keep watch over them continuously and not to let them out of sight. This is unnecessarily restrictive, and the purport is to demand and to pressurize as Qatadah has stated: اصله ان الطالب للشئ یقوم به و التارك له یقعد عنہ.(The actual meaning of this metaphor is that the demander who bears in mind the terms of the favor is said to stand by it, and the one who gives up on the terms and becomes lazy is said to sit down) (Qt). A similar metaphor is found in the Quran: أُمَّةٌ قائِمَةٌ (3:113) and the purport is: عاملة بامراللّٰه and means an upright party.
سَبيلٌ – It means all means necessary whether fair or foul to reach an objective (R). The meaning here is there is no way they can reach us, that is there is no blame on us.
The equitable attitude of Islam towards the Ahle Kitab: Islam has been very fair with Ahle Kitab despite its dangerous enmity and its incessant attempts to destroy Islam. While the wickedness and mischief of the Ahle Kitab has been mentioned, an admission is also made that there are some good people in them. Here along with a mention of their dishonesty and unreliability, an acknowledgement is made that there are some pious people among them who can be trusted with even a mound of gold. This is meant to be a lesson for Muslims that it is not right to label an entire nation as bad on account of some evil persons among them. If some evil person is called out because of wickedness, the good aspects of that person, if any, should also be acknowledged. Further, all persons should be treated equitably without regard to religion, nationality, ethnicity or color and goodness and justice should be equally meted to all.
The real theme here is about religious matters and prophecies but some worldly matters are also mentioned. This goes to show how Quran blends faith and temporal issues together. In this verse, whereas on the one hand the Ahle Kitab have been accused that their moral condition is so bad that in worldly matters they cannot be trusted even with one dinar then how can they be trusted in religious matters of safeguarding their Book and prophecies, and on the other hand the Muslims have been made to understand that their claim to be on the right path in the matter of faith is hollow if they are not just and trustworthy in matters of the world. So, in this verse the Quran after mentioning a simple matter of trust pivots to a spiritual matter and states: إِنَّ الَّذينَ يَشتَرونَ بِعَهدِ اللَّهِ وَأَيمانِهِم ثَمَنًا قَليلً (Those who take a small price for the covenant of Allah and their own oaths) (3:77) will face difficulties as stated in the following verses. In this way, Quran has attempted to tell the Muslims that there is no spirituality without treating others fairly.
What is meant by unlettered: Commentators have disagreed a little about what is meant by unlettered. According to some, it means all the Arabs and the reference is to the treatment of Arabs by the Ahle Kitab prior to Islam. Others have said that what is meant are the Muslims. The Ahle Kitab had dealings with the unbelievers but with the advent of Islam, some of their clients became Muslims and the Ahle Kitab confiscated their assets with them and made the excuse that since these people have apostatized, their clients have no claim against them. Both these narrations are mentioned in Ibn Jarir’s commentary. The words, however, are general and the address in إِن تَأمَنهُ (If thou entrust) is also general and the reason is that the Ahle Kitab considered themselves superior to the Arabs and therefore did not consider their rights to be equal to theirs. Accordingly, in another place their claim is mentioned: نَحنُ أَبناءُ اللَّهِ وَأَحِبّاؤُهُ (We are the sons of Allah and His beloved Ones) and hence they considered others not to be their equals with equal rights. This incorrect impression persists to this day that they consider other nations to have less rights than those of Christians or European nations. This shows that the European nations despite their superficial veneer of civilization are in a degraded condition from which they can only be rescued by the high principles of Islam which teaches بلیٰ من اوفیٰ بعھدہٖ that covenants must be fulfilled regardless of whether they are with a white or colored person, with a scholar or an illiterate person, with a coreligionist and fellow citizen or with another religionist and a foreigner. Similar instructions hold for trusts. When the Holy Prophet declared a general amnesty for blood feuds, revenges, and rights of the Pre-Islamic period, he also gave instructions about trusts: الا الامانة فانھا مودّاة الی البر و الفجر that the specific fulfilment of the conditions of a trust are sacrosanct and are not vitiated, and regardless of whether the beneficiary of the trust is good or evil the trust must be discharged. Because trusts and covenants include the full gambit of all kinds of responsibilities, the lesson is imparted that whether the responsibilities are with respect to pious or evil persons, to oldsters or youngsters, they must be fulfilled. There is a narration about Ibn Abbas that a person once asked him whether they could take small things like a chicken, goat etcetera from the house of a non-Muslim citizen? He replied this is similar to the argument of the Ahle Kitab: لَيسَ عَلَينا فِي الأُمِّيّينَ سَبيلٌ (there is no blame on us because of the action of the unlearned) . If the unbelievers play jizya, it is prohibited for anyone to demand more from their belongings except that they may donate something voluntarily.
3-76 Yea, whoever fulfils his promise and keeps his duty — then Allah surely loves the dutiful.a
بَلىٰ مَن أَوفىٰ بِعَهدِهِ وَاتَّقىٰ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ المُتَّقينَ (۷۶)
3-76a: This small verse shows the expansiveness of Islamic teachings. The topic under discussion is trust but to bring the discharge of all kinds of responsibilities, attention is first brought to bear on the fulfilment of promises, and then on keeping one’s duty. Everyone understands what a promise is. A responsibility that one takes on publicly becomes a promise. But there seems to be a pointer in the requirement of keeping duty towards more finer matters that have to do with trust. Included in the discharge of a trust is the fulfilment of all rights that are a person’s responsibility as a trustee whether they form part of a promise or not. Thus, whether it is an announced promise or a responsibility towards anybody that delves on a person because of trust, it is incumbent on that person to discharge those promises and trusts. This is how one becomes the beloved of Allah. Because the station of keeping duty is so high that fulfilment of promises falls within its ambit, so in the end it is considered enough to say that Allah loves the dutiful. Among these promises is also included the promise made with Allah, the fulfilment of which requires that one observes His commands which one accepts publicly by becoming a believer. Accordingly, the covenant with Allah is discussed next in the verses that follow.
3-77 Those who take a small price for the covenant of Allah and their own oaths — they have no portion in the Hereafter, and Allah will not speak to them, nor will He look upon them on the day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them, and for them is a painful chastisement.a
إِنَّ الَّذينَ يَشتَرونَ بِعَهدِ اللَّهِ وَأَيمانِهِم ثَمَنًا قَليلًا أُولٰئِكَ لا خَلاقَ لَهُم فِي الآخِرَةِ وَلا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلا يَنظُرُ إِلَيهِم يَومَ القِيامَةِ وَلا يُزَكّيهِم وَلَهُم عَذابٌ أَليمٌ (۷۷)
3-77a: This verse narrates the fate of those who make covenants with Allah and take oaths of fealty but fail to live up to them. These are a people who first profess faith and even take oaths to prove their sincerity but then do not care for their covenants and oaths when it comes to reaping small worldly benefits or to pursuing their physical desires. By ثَمَنًا قَليلًا is meant متاع الدنیا قلیل and the purport is that they trade their covenant for petty worldly gain.
Pacts with Christians: The implied addresses are primarily the Christians with whom the controversy is continuing in this surah. The Christian power at the time was not as significant as it is now, and the statement is prophetical pertaining to a future time. All the present-day Christian nations consider pacts and covenants to be no more than wastepaper or strategic tools to achieve their purpose. Five things are mentioned about their outcome. First, they will have no part in the Hereafter as their focus is on this world’s wealth and power. Their entire focus is on this world and all their efforts are for it as well. Second, Allah will not talk to them in this world and in the next. Communion with Allah in this world occurs by creating a bond of nearness with Him, and communion in the next world is a result of the same effort. Third, Allah will not look at them, meaning these folks will be worthless in His eyes. The meaning of not looking at someone or not paying any attention to someone is that such a person is of no consequence. Fourth, that Allah will not purify them of their sins. How can belief in atonement purify one of sins? In fact, it creates an incentive to commit sins. Fifth, as a final consequence of this focus only on worldly matters, it is that they will suffer a painful chastisement.
3-78 And there is certainly a party of them who lie about the Book that you may consider it to be (a part) of the Book while it is not (a part) of the Book; and they say, It is from Allah, while it is not from Allah; and they forge a lie against Allah whilst they know.
وَإِنَّ مِنهُم لَفَريقًا يَلوونَ أَلسِنَتَهُم بِالكِتابِ لِتَحسَبوهُ مِنَ الكِتابِ وَما هُوَ مِنَ الكِتابِ وَيَقولونَ هُوَ مِن عِندِ اللَّهِ وَما هُوَ مِن عِندِ اللَّهِ وَيَقولونَ عَلَى اللَّهِ الكَذِبَ وَهُم يَعلَمونَ (۷۸)
3-78a: يَلوونَ أَلسِنَتَهُم – أَلسِنَةِ is the plural of لسان and the meaning of يَلوونَ أَلسِنَتَهُم بِالكِتابِ according to Mujahid is یحرفونه (IJ) that is they tamper with the Book. The literal meaning of الَّلیّ (a verbal noun from یلوون ) is فَتۡلُ الحَبۡل which is putting the twirls in a rope. However, لَوّیٰ لسانه is a metaphor whose meaning according to Raghib is: کَنَایَةٌ عَنِ الۡکَذِبِ و تخرصِ الحدیث that is, lies and indirect and allusive language. The literal meaning of twisting the tongue is not meant here, but instead the meaning is tampering with the Book or falsifying statements about the Book. Further, the meaning of لَوَّیت عَنۡهُ الۡخَبَر is similar and is described as اخبرته به علےٰ غیر وجھه (LA) that is providing information contrary to the real state. The meaning of للوّ and الَّیَ is الباطل that is false. Just as الحوّ and الحیّ is at times used for الحق that is true.
The tampering of the Book of Allah by the Ahle Kitab is clearly mentioned here which has earlier been indicated indirectly by stating that they did not discharge their trust. Similarly, Surah Bakarah also states that the Ahle Kitab tamper with the text of the Book of Allah: يَكتُبونَ الكِتابَ بِأَيديهِم ثُمَّ يَقولونَ هٰذا مِن عِندِ اللَّهِ (…write the Book with their own hands and then say, This is from Allah) (2:70). Here the mention is of tampering in the reading of the Book, and the purport is that they read some passages and falsely attribute them to Allah so that the Muslims may consider them to be part of the Book whereas they are not part of the Book, that is, these passages are not to be found even in the tampered state of Books that exist with them. Then they claim these passages to be from Allah whereas they are not. There are two things here that are specifically and separately negated. First, these passages are not from the Book. Second, they are not from Allah. It clearly appears from it that even the entire Book is not مِن عِندِ اللَّهِ (from Allah), that is the Book as it exists is already a tampered version, and now additional tampering is being introduced in its reading. The word Book precedes مِن عِندِ اللَّهِ because the mention in يَلوونَ أَلسِنَتَهُم بِالكِتابِ is about fabricating things which are not in the Book and this is negated first. Some commentators have taken the Book to mean the Torah and مِن عِندِ اللَّهِ to mean the Books of prophets that predated the Torah (G)
3-79 It is not meet for a mortal that Allah should give him the Book and the judgment and the prophethood, then he should say to men: Be my servants besides Allah’s; but (he would say): Be worshippers of the Lord because you teach the Book and because you study (it);
ما كانَ لِبَشَرٍ أَن يُؤتِيَهُ اللَّهُ الكِتابَ وَالحُكمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ ثُمَّ يَقولَ لِلنّاسِ كونوا عِبادًا لي مِن دونِ اللَّهِ وَلٰكِن كونوا رَبّانِيّينَ بِما كُنتُم تُعَلِّمونَ الكِتابَ وَبِما كُنتُم تَدرُسونَ (۷۹)
3-79a: وَلٰكِن كونوا – The implied structure is وَلٰكِن یقول كونوا۔.
رَبّانِيّينَ – It is the plural of ربانی . According to Mufradat, ربانی (Divine; from God) is either attributed to ربان (skipper; captain) in the same way that عطشان (thirsty) is attributed to سکران (drunk; intoxicated) or it is attributed to ربّ. If ربّ is taken as a verbal noun in the sense of bringing up or rearing, then ربانی is that scholar ربّ who nourishes knowledge اَلّذِیۡ یُربّ الۡعِلۡم or he who rears himself with knowledge اَلّذِیۡ یُربُّ نَفۡسَه‘ بالۡعِلۡمِ (R). Raghib states that these two complement each other because a person who nourishes himself with knowledge also nourishes knowledge and vice versa. According to some, it is attributed to ربّ when the purport is Allah and it is similar to calling someone الٰھی (R) that is, someone devoted to Allah, and it will mean مقبلا الیٰ معرفة الا له وطاعته (G) that is one who progresses towards a greater knowledge and obedience of Allah. For this reason, some have taken ربانی to mean scholars or jurists and some others have taken it to mean a sage or a righteous person. Ali is reported to have said: انا ربانی ھٰذہِ الاُمةِ (I am the rabbani of the Muslim nation). When Ibn Abbas died, Ibn Hanifa remarked: مات ربانی ھٰذہِ الاُمةِ . A hadith in Bukhari states: الذی یربی الناس بصغار العلم قبل کبارھا (Rabbani is that (theologian) who teaches the easy things of knowledge before its hard things). There is a subtle blow to the Christian doctrine in the use of the word ربانی in that a person can be one who strives towards God but cannot be God.
تَدرُسونَ – The meaning of درس الدّار is بقی اثرھا (its effect persisted) (R). For this reason, the meaning of دَرَسۡتُ الۡعِلۡم is تَنَاوَلۡتُ اَثَرَہٗ (R ) that is, took its influence. Because critical examination of knowledge taken from each other is the basis of recension which creates a lasting effect. Hence the meaning of درس is recension. The mention of recension quite apart from education is to emphasize its importance.
Tampering by Christians: In the overall discussion of alteration of the Book, an important misrepresentation is mentioned. Some sayings have been imputed to Jesus which make it appear as if his teaching included that he was God although there are prevalent in Christian sources many of his statements in which he states that God has sent him and he professes that he is a servant of God. It is accordingly stated in this verse that it is not meet for a mortal to say to serve him besides Allah and to accept him as God. On the contrary, his teaching will be to become worshippers of the Lord, or to progress in becoming near to God or to become scholars or jurists. This statement is made in the context of Christians who have taken Jesus for God on the basis of metaphorical references and have not textualized his statements. If they reflect, they will understand that if the term son of God appears in some statements of Jesus, he clarifies his use of this expression by saying that he is not blameworthy for calling himself the son of God because the elders of Israel were referred to as gods. Clearly the Jesus intent is that just as metaphorically and figuratively the elders are referred to as gods, similarly, he is metaphorically and figuratively referring to himself as son of God. However, a nation arose that neither stepped towards proximity with God, nor did they use scholarly and juristic wisdom but instead resorted to literalism and attributed the belief to Jesus that he taught that he is God and to serve him.
The learned worshippers of the Lord are the like of and inheritors of prophets: The verse states that be worshippers of the Lord ( ربانی ) because you teach the Book and study it. This goes to show that the status of ربانی is higher than mere teaching and studying the Book. Similarly, it has been stated about scholars of the Quran that they are: العلماء ورثة الانبیاء (scholars are the inheritors of prophets), and further it has been said of them: علماء امتی کانبیاء بنی اسرئیل (Scholars of my ummat are like the prophets of Israel).
Verse indicates reference to Jesus: Jesus and all other Messengers like him are stated to have been given three things: Book, authority and prophecy. This goes to show that all prophets necessarily receive a Book and are arbitrators. The meaning of حکم is authority to arbitrate, that is the prophet independently wields the authority to decree matters which he does under guidance from Divine revelation. In another place, eighteen prophets are mentioned and it is added: أُولٰئِكَ الَّذينَ آتَيناهُمُ الكِتابَ وَالحُكمَ وَالنُّبُوَّةَ (These are they to whom We gave the Book and authority and prophecy) (6:89).
3-80 Nor would he enjoin you to take the angels and the prophets for lords. Would he enjoin you to disbelieve after you submit?
وَلا يَأمُرَكُم أَن تَتَّخِذُوا المَلائِكَةَ وَالنَّبِيّينَ أَربابًا ۗ أَيَأمُرُكُم بِالكُفرِ بَعدَ إِذ أَنتُم مُسلِمونَ (۸۰)
3-80a: وَلا يَأمُرَكُم – يَأمُرَ is in the accusative case because يَقولَ (in the previous verse) has a conjunction and لا is for emphasis. So, the structure of the passage becomes: ما كانَ بَشَرٍ أَن ۔۔۔۔ يَقولَ ۔۔۔۔۔ وَلا ان يَأمُرَكُم .
The impression of the Najrand delegation that the Holy Prophet claimed Divinity: According to some narrations, it appears that when the Holy Prophet tried very hard to make them understand, they said: اتریدان نعبدك و نتخذك ربا (Do you want that we should serve you and make you our Lord?) . The Holy Prophet replied: معاذ اللّٰه . They probably thought the Holy Prophet’s strong advocacy against the Divinity of Christ may be because he wanted to be recognized as Divine himself. What else could be his motive? In this verse, Allah has stated that it is not fitting for any prophet to say to the people to take prophets or angels as gods because prophets come to make the people totally obedient to God. Serving anyone else or accepting any other god is unbelief which would completely negate their mission and so why would any prophet do that? There is also an indication in this verse that if it is meet for any prophet to do what is indicated in this verse then there should have been some other prophet as well in this world who had similar teaching. Except for some doubtful passages imputed to Jesus, is there any other prophet whose sayings can be shown to be similar? When such a plethora of prophets came into this world, and none gave a teaching like the Christian beliefs, it follows that it is not proper to impute such teachings to Jesus.
Bayan-ul-Quran 