5-12 And certainly Allah made a covenant with the Children of Israel, and We raised up among them twelve chieftains. And Allah said: Surely I am with you. If you keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate and believe in My messengers and assist them and offer to Allah a goodly gift, I will certainly cover your evil deeds, and cause you to enter Gardens wherein rivers flow. But whoever among you disbelieves after that, he indeed strays from the right way.a
وَلَقَدۡ أَخَذَ ٱللَّهُ مِيثَـٰقَ بَنِىٓ إِسۡرَٲٓءِيلَ وَبَعَثۡنَا مِنۡهُمُ ٱثۡنَىۡ عَشَرَ نَقِيبً۬اۖ وَقَالَ ٱللَّهُ إِنِّى مَعَڪُمۡۖ لَٮِٕنۡ أَقَمۡتُمُ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَيۡتُمُ ٱلزَّڪَوٰةَ وَءَامَنتُم بِرُسُلِى وَعَزَّرۡتُمُوهُمۡ وَأَقۡرَضۡتُمُ ٱللَّهَ قَرۡضًا حَسَنً۬ا لَّأُڪَفِّرَنَّ عَنكُمۡ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمۡ وَلَأُدۡخِلَنَّڪُمۡ جَنَّـٰتٍ۬ تَجۡرِى مِن تَحۡتِهَا ٱلۡأَنۡهَـٰرُۚ فَمَن ڪَفَرَ بَعۡدَ ذَٲلِكَ مِنڪُمۡ فَقَدۡ ضَلَّ سَوَآءَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ (١٢)
5-12a: نَقِيبً۬ – Is derived from نَقۡب which means to bore a hole, and نَقِيبً۬ is one who researches and investigates the condition of a nation (R). The purport here is a leader who knows the state of a nation.
عَزَّرۡتُمُوهُمۡ وَأَقۡرَ – تعزیر is spoken of help that is rendered with reverence, and تعزیر also means to give punishment because punishment is correctional in nature. Something that is correctional is a help of a sort because it stops one from doing things that are harmful. A hadith of the Holy Prophet is also in the same sense: انْصُرْ أَخَاكَ ظَالِمًا أَوْ مَظْلُومًا (Help your brother whether he is the oppressor or oppressed).When asked how could one help someone who is the oppressor, the Holy Prophet replied by stopping him from oppression (R).
This verse mentions the breach of covenant by the Jews and Christians. Muslims are told about two kinds of covenants and by way of an example, the Quran mentions two previous nations, the Jews and Christians, who violated their covenant. The Jews are mentioned in the first two verses, but details of their transgressions are deferred to the next section, while the rest of this section is devoted to the violations of the Christians.
The land of Canaan and the Israelite chiefs: The covenant that is referred here is the covenant to be obedient to God’s commands. Twelve chiefs were appointed from among the Israelites and were told to find out the conditions in the land of Canaan. The reference to the land with rivers is also to the land of Canaan: And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: Send thou men. That they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel (Numbers 13:1-2), and then from verses 13:4-15 the names of the twelve are given. On return from their reconnaissance, the chiefs reported: We came unto the land wither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it (Numbers 13:27).
5-13 But on account of their breaking their covenant We cursed them and hardened their hearts. They alter the words from their places and neglect a portion of that whereof they were reminded. And thou wilt always discover treachery in them excepting a few of them — so pardon them and forgive. Surely Allah loves those who do good (to others).a
فَبِمَا نَقۡضِہِم مِّيثَـٰقَهُمۡ لَعَنَّـٰهُمۡ وَجَعَلۡنَا قُلُوبَهُمۡ قَـٰسِيَةً۬ۖ يُحَرِّفُونَ ٱلۡڪَلِمَ عَن مَّوَاضِعِهِۦۙ وَنَسُواْ حَظًّ۬ا مِّمَّا ذُكِّرُواْ بِهِۦۚ وَلَا تَزَالُ تَطَّلِعُ عَلَىٰ خَآٮِٕنَةٍ۬ مِّنۡہُمۡ إِلَّا قَلِيلاً۬ مِّنۡہُمۡۖ فَٱعۡفُ عَنۡہُمۡ وَٱصۡفَحۡۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ (١٣)
5-13a: قَـٰسِيَة – قَسۡوَۃ means the hardness of the heart (R). Hardness of the heart is that the remembrance of Allah has no effect on the heart, as has been stated elsewhere: فَوَيۡلٌ۬ لِّلۡقَـٰسِيَةِ قُلُوبُہُم مِّن ذِكۡرِ ٱللَّهِۚ (So woe to those whose hearts are hardened against the remembrance of Allah) (39:22).
خَآٮِٕنَةٍ۬ – Here it appears as a verbal noun, that is treachery. In another place, it is stated: يَعۡلَمُ خَآٮِٕنَةَ ٱلۡأَعۡيُنِ (He knows the dishonesty of eyes) (40:19) or that it is a big dishonest party (R).
نسیان – For نسیان in the sense of forsaking see 2:44a.
Muslims have been warned that the Ahl Kitab will act treacherously towards them. Even so, they are commanded to keep on forgiving them. For distortion see 2:75a.
5-14 And with those who say, We are Christians, We made a covenant, but they neglected a portion of that whereof they were reminded so We stirred up enmity and hatred among them to the day of Resurrection. And Allah will soon inform them of what they did.a
وَمِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّا نَصَـٰرَىٰٓ أَخَذۡنَا مِيثَـٰقَهُمۡ فَنَسُواْ حَظًّ۬ا مِّمَّا ذُڪِّرُواْ بِهِۦ فَأَغۡرَيۡنَا بَيۡنَهُمُ ٱلۡعَدَاوَةَ وَٱلۡبَغۡضَآءَ إِلَىٰ يَوۡمِ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِۚ وَسَوۡفَ يُنَبِّئُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِمَا ڪَانُواْ يَصۡنَعُونَ (١٤)
5-14a: أَغۡرَيۡنَا – The meaning of غری is to attach to a thing or to cling to a thing. Hence the meaning of أَغۡرءٌ means to attach with something (R).
The meaning of a covenant with the Christians is the commands that were given to them. The Gospels are a witness to this as there are commands in the Sermon on the Mount with regards to what to do and what not to do. They were commanded to follow the shariah, to offer prayer, to fast and to act justly and equitably with others.
Mutual animosity among the Christians: Jews were cursed, that is were removed far from Divine blessings, for breaking the covenant and were made homeless wanderers. The punishment for Christians for breaking the covenant is mentioned as mutual enmity and hatred. Another interpretation is that the enmity and hatred refers to that between Jews and Christians who will be inimical towards each other till Doomsday. The first interpretation is preferable although the physical reality is that both interpretations ring true to this day, and the truthfulness of the words of the Quran will keep on manifesting forever. Because the concern of the Christian nations is only to collect worldly wealth and they give short shrift to higher moral values, hence they keep on planning against one another. Another thing learnt from this verse is that there will be Christians till end times and their mutual enmity will also remain till then. The idea that a time will come when everyone will be a Muslim is negated by this verse.
5-15 O People of the Book, indeed Our Messenger has come to you, making clear to you much of that which you concealed of the Book and passing over much. Indeed, there has come to you from Allah, a Light and a clear Book,a
يَـٰٓأَهۡلَ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبِ قَدۡ جَآءَڪُمۡ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمۡ ڪَثِيرً۬ا مِّمَّا ڪُنتُمۡ تُخۡفُونَ مِنَ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبِ وَيَعۡفُواْ عَن ڪَثِيرٍ۬ۚ قَدۡ جَآءَڪُم مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ نُورٌ۬ وَڪِتَـٰبٌ۬ مُّبِينٌ۬ (١٥)
5-15a: This verse shows that the Holy Prophet is for the Ahl Kitab as well. The Ahl Kitab concealed the prophecies and the teachings of their Book. Both can be meant here. By passing over much can mean the Holy Prophet forgiving them for their many mischievous acts against him.
5-16 Whereby Allah guides such as follow His pleasure into the ways of peace, and brings them out of darkness into light by His will, and guides them to the right path.
يَهۡدِى بِهِ ٱللَّهُ مَنِ ٱتَّبَعَ رِضۡوَٲنَهُ ۥ سُبُلَ ٱلسَّلَـٰمِ وَيُخۡرِجُهُم مِّنَ ٱلظُّلُمَـٰتِ إِلَى ٱلنُّورِ بِإِذۡنِهِۦ وَيَهۡدِيهِمۡ إِلَىٰ صِرَٲطٍ۬ مُّسۡتَقِيمٍ۬ (١٦)
5-17 They indeed disbelieve who say: Surely, Allah — He is the Messiah, son of Mary. Say: Who then could control anything as against Allah when He wished to destroy the Messiah, son of Mary, and his mother and all those on the earth? And Allah’s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is between them. He creates what He pleases. And Allah is Possessor of power over all things.a
لَّقَدۡ ڪَفَرَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ هُوَ ٱلۡمَسِيحُ ٱبۡنُ مَرۡيَمَۚ قُلۡ فَمَن يَمۡلِكُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ شَيۡـًٔا إِنۡ أَرَادَ أَن يُهۡلِكَ ٱلۡمَسِيحَ ٱبۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ وَأُمَّهُ ۥ وَمَن فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ جَمِيعً۬اۗ وَلِلَّهِ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَمَا بَيۡنَهُمَاۚ يَخۡلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدِيرٌ۬ (١٧)
5-17a: Without accepting the death of Jesus, the doctrine of his Divinity cannot be fully refuted: The core belief of Christianity is first stated here that Jesus is God and those who subscribe to this are stated to be disbelievers. After this, a cogent argument is given to refute the Divinity of Jesus. The common way this is understood is that if God decides to destroy Jesus and his mother Mary then there is none who can prevent Him from doing so. There can be no greater foolish argument than this because it assumes that Jesus is still alive. So, when a people take this as an attribute of Divinity, the response from the Muslim side would be that God will kill him when He so desires and there is nothing you will be able to do to save him. When one believes that Jesus is alive for the last two thousand years, without the need for food or water and his body does not age, then these attributes lift him out of the class of humans and gives him Divine attributes. So, we have already conceded to the Christians that Jesus is higher than humans, because humans need food and water to exist, but Jesus does not, humans age but Jesus does not, and these are attributes of Divinity. Then our argument becomes that undoubtedly Jesus has these attributes for now but when God intends, He will kill him. Hence, he is not God. Can any rational person, even for a moment, consider this to be an argument against the Christian belief of the Divinity of Jesus? In addition, if Jesus has not died till now, then his mother has also been put in the same class because the same word إِنۡ أَرَادَ (when he intends) is used for her, meaning that the intention has not been carried out. In addition, all the people are in the same class too. Thus, from the time of Jesus there has been no Divine intention to destroy those on earth (مَن فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ ). So, neither Jesus, nor his mother, nor any other human has died.
The death of Jesus has been advanced as an argument here, and this argument could not be advanced if Jesus was alive at the time of the revelation of the Quran. Perforce one must accept that at the time of the revelation of the Quran, Jesus had died, just as his mother had died and others on earth had kept dying. Because the intent to destroy is for an act that has positively occurred, hence إِنۡ (if) is not conditional but has the meaning of اَذ (when). The reading, therefore, is: When God made the intention. There are other similar examples in the Quran such as: لَتَدۡخُلُنَّ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدَ ٱلۡحَرَامَ إِن شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ ءَامِنِينَ (You shall certainly enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah pleases, in security) (48:27), and ٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ إِن ڪُنتُم مُّؤۡمِنِينَ (Keep your duty to Allah if you are believers) (5:112). Similarly, there is a statement of the Holy Prophet: و اِنّا ان شاء اللّٰه بکم للاحقون (And I, God willing, will follow you). Here because of the certainty that the act will occur, إِنۡ is used in the sense of اَذ .
The statement in this verse is in the past tense but adopting the aorist tense in فَمَن يَمۡلِكُ is not objectionable. Where the action is continuous, the aorist is used for the past, as in: يَحۡكُمُ بِہَا ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَسۡلَمُواْ (By it did the prophets who submitted themselves (to Allah) judge …) (5:44); and in: فَرِيقً۬ا ڪَذَّبُواْ وَفَرِيقً۬ا يَقۡتُلُونَ (…some(of them) they called liars and some they (even) sought to kill) (5:70), and as in: وَكَذَٲلِكَ نُرِىٓ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ مَلَكُوتَ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ (And thus did We show Abraham the kingdom of the heavens and the earth…) (6:75). In this verse, فَمَن يَمۡلِكُ (who then could control anything) is necessary because Allah’s intention about those on the earth will keep on occurring in the future as has been happening in the past. That is even now whenever Allah decides to destroy those on the earth, who can combat that or who can save another.
In short, the argument against the Divinity of Jesus runs as follows: When Allah decided to kill Jesus, who was able to save him. When he decided to kill the other people on earth, who was able to save them. Even now, when he decides to kill those on earth, who can save them. In addition, by bringing مَن فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ (all those on earth) with the mention of Jesus and Mary, it is made clear that in their own time, they were also part of those on earth and were human like other humans who remained on earth and when Allah desired, they were killed. So, this verse too is a definitive argument for the death of Jesus. If there is no argument for the death of Jesus, then there is no argument against the Divinity of Jesus, and this is definitely not so.
When mention is made about killing مَن فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ , it is also stated: يَخۡلُقُ مَا يَشَآءُ (He creates what He pleases), that is as He kills people, He also replaces them with new births.
5-18 And the Jews and the Christians say: We are the sons of Allah and His beloved ones. Say: Why does He then chastise you for your sins? Nay, you are mortals from among those whom He has created.a He forgives whom He pleases and chastises whom He pleases. And Allah’s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth and what is between them, and to Him is the eventual coming.
وَقَالَتِ ٱلۡيَهُودُ وَٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰ نَحۡنُ أَبۡنَـٰٓؤُاْ ٱللَّهِ وَأَحِبَّـٰٓؤُهُ ۥۚ قُلۡ فَلِمَ يُعَذِّبُكُم بِذُنُوبِكُمۖ بَلۡ أَنتُم بَشَرٌ۬ مِّمَّنۡ خَلَقَۚ يَغۡفِرُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَآءُۚ وَلِلَّهِ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ وَمَا بَيۡنَهُمَاۖ وَإِلَيۡهِ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ (١٨)
5-18a: The Jews and Christian claim of sonship: It is stated here that the Christians and Jews claim to be the sons of God and His beloved. The term son of God is found both in the Torah and the Gospel. Accordingly, it is stated in Torah: And thou shalt say unto Pharoah, Thus saith the Lord, Israel is my son, even my first-born (Exodus 4:22), and in Jeremiah: For I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn (31:9), and in the Gospel: Blessed are the peacemakers for they shall be called the children of God (Matthew 5:9). So, the claim of son of God is present in the Torah and the Gospel for the Jews and Christians but the claim of being the beloved of God is by way of result, that is the Jews and Christians say that because we are the sons of God and there is a loving relationship between father and son, so we are the beloved of God. The claim of being the chosen ones from among the creation is made by the Jews on the basis of being the progeny of Israel and that by the Christians on the basis of belief in atonement. It is, therefore, stated that they get punished for their sins over here just as the rest of the humankind and hence their claim of a special relationship of sonship and love cannot be so. The term son of God is not used either in the Torah for being the progeny of Israel or in the Gospel for belief in atonement but it is used because of good deeds and a high level of sincerity when the scriptures were revealed. Having abandoned those traits, they now have no right to claim any special relationship. The Christians claim that the original sin of Adam has been vitiated by the atonement 0f Jesus, even though the punishment prescribed in the Gospel for the sin of Adam is that man will toil for his earnings and the woman will give birth in pain. These punishments still exist. Even today, the white Christians consider themselves better than other nations as if no other nation can achieve the status that they have achieved in Europe.
5-19 O People of the Book, indeed Our Messenger has come to you explaining to you after a cessation of the messengers, lest you say: There came not to us a bearer of good news nor a warner. So indeed a bearer of good news and a warner has come to you. And Allah is Possessor of power over all things.a
يَـٰٓأَهۡلَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ قَدۡ جَآءَكُمۡ رَسُولُنَا يُبَيِّنُ لَكُمۡ عَلَىٰ فَتۡرَةٍ۬ مِّنَ ٱلرُّسُلِ أَن تَقُولُواْ مَا جَآءَنَا مِنۢ بَشِيرٍ۬ وَلَا نَذِيرٍ۬ۖ فَقَدۡ جَآءَكُم بَشِيرٌ۬ وَنَذِيرٌ۬ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدِيرٌ۬ (١٩)
5-19a: فَتۡرَةٍ۬ – Tranquility after hustle, gentleness after severity, weakness after strength is called فتور (R), and the period of فَتۡرَةٍ۬ is the intervening time between two prophets or two messengers in which there is no God appointed caller to the truth (LA). After the Holy Prophet, there is no period of فَتۡرَةٍ۬ because calling to truth is now the duty of the followers of the Holy Prophet and there will be no more messengers because the need of a messenger has been perfectly fulfilled in the person of the Holy Prophet.
There is a period of six hundred years before the ministry of the Holy Prophet in which no prophet appeared in the world. A hadith is witness to the accuracy of this statement: لم یکن بینی و بینه نبی , (There has been no prophet between me and him (Jesus)). World history also testifies to this.
Prophet between Jesus and the Holy Prophet: Some commentators have written that there were three Israeli prophets, and one non Israeli prophet by the name of Khalid bin Sanan in Arabia during the intervening period between Jesus and the Holy Prophet. So, the word prophet is used for them merely as an analogy. Accordingly, the three Israeli prophets who are supposed to be referred in إِذۡ أَرۡسَلۡنَآ إِلَيۡہِمُ ٱثۡنَيۡنِ (When We sent to them two,…) (36:14) are clearly admitted to be messengers of Jesus and the word messenger is used for them as a metaphor. As far as Khalid bin Sanan is concerned, he is either before Jesus or the word is used metaphorically for him as well because of some predictions he made. (There is a mention that the daughter of Khalid bin Sanam visited the Holy Prophet. If Khalid bin Sanan preceded Jesus, then the lady who visited the Holy Prophet was a descendent of Khalid Bin Saman as accepted by some researchers. Alternatively, if she was the real daughter, then Khalid bin Sanam was not a prophet and merely made some prophecies based on which he was metaphorically called a prophet). Jesus is the final national prophet. In the period intervening between Jesus and the Holy Prophet, spiritual darkness enveloped the world. The Holy Prophet established monotheism once again in the world and on this basis, he is Adam the second because he established the spiritual life for humanity in the world. This is the point towards which the attention of the Christians and others is drawn here.
Bayan-ul-Quran 