113. " the jews said: ` the christians rest on naught ',
and the christians said:
` the jews rest on naught '; yet they (both) recite the (same) book.
even so, similar to their sayings, spoke those who know not.
allah will judge between them on the day of judgement in what they
differ."
occasion of revelation :
some of the commentators have narrated
from ibn abbas that
when a group of christians who were from najran were attending a
gathering of the prophet's (p.b.u.h.), some of the jewish scholars were
there, too. these two groups began disputing with each other before
the prophet (p.b.u.h.). rafi`-ibn-harmalah, one of the jews, turned to
the christians and said that their religion was based on naught. thus,
he was rejecting the prophethood of jesus (a.s.) and his divine book.
then, a man from among the christians from najran, too, replied to
him with a similar expression and said that the religion of the jews was
based on naught. thus, he also rejected both the prophethood of
moses (a.s.) and the turah. it was at that time that the above verse
was revealed and reproached both groups for their fabricated
statements. 1
commentary :
exclusivity, the fruit of ignorance
in the previous verse, we became
acquainted with a portion of the
proofless claims of a group of the jews and the christians. the verse
under discussion indicates that when a proofless claim comes forth, it
results in exclusivity and then leads to contradiction.
" the jews said: ` the christians rest on naught ' ,
and christians said:
` the jews rest on naught '; ..."
the phrase: ` rest on naught ' may mean
that they have no rank
and honour with allah; or their belief is not a thing worthwhile.
then, to complete the above idea, it adds:
"...yet they (both) recite the (same) book. ..."
that is, with the divine book that they
have in their hands which
can guide them toward the right path concerning these problems, it is
surprising that they say such words which originate from nowhere
except prejudice and enmity.
then the qur'an continues saying:
"...even so, similar to their sayings, spoke those who know not."
(although these are the people of the book
and those are pagans or
idolaters.)
this verse introduces ignorance as the origin of bigotry and
prejudice, because ignorant people are always shut in their own worlds
and do not accept other than that which they know. they seriously
believe only in the faith that they have been acquainted with from their
early childhood, even if it is false or superstitious. therefore, they put
aside everything other than that which they believe.
at the end of the verse, it says:
"...allah will judge between them on the day of
judgement
in what they differ."
it is in the hereafter where the facts
will be entirely evident and
the proof and references of all things will become perfectly manifest.
none will be able to deny what is right and, thus, there will remain no
dispute. yes, one of the special characteristics of the resurrection day
is that all disagreements will come to an end.
by the way, the above verse reminds muslims that although the
followers of these religions have stood against them and rejected islam,
therefore, they need not be worried because the jews and christians do
not verify even themselves. each of them nullifies the other and, in
principle, ignorance is the origin of bigotry and bigotry is the source of
exclusivity.