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wa-qālū kūnū hūdan ʾaw naṣārā tahtadū qul bal millata ʾibrāhīma ḥanīfan wa-mā kāna mina l-mushrikīna
They say, ‘Be either Jews or Christians, that you may be [rightly] guided.’ Say, ‘No, rather, [we will follow] the creed of Abraham, a Hanif, and he was not one of the polytheists.’
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Al-Baqarah, Verses 135-137
And they said: ‘Be Jews or Christians, you shall be guided aright’. Say: ‘Nay! Rather the creed of Abraham, the upright; and he was not of those who associate partners to Allah’. (2:135)
Say: ‘We have believed in Allah and that which has been sent down to us, and (in) what was sent down to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob and the tribes; and (in) that which was given to Moses and Jesus and (in) that which was given to all prophet from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit’. (2:136)
If then they believe in what you believe, they indeed are guided (aright); but if they turn away, then they are clearly in schism; Allah will suffice you against them; He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (2:137)
Occasion of Revelation
Upon the occasion of revelation of these verses it is narrated from Ibn Abbas that some of the Jewish scholars and some Christians from Najran were disputing with the Muslims. Each of these two groups considered their own creed more superior than the other’s regarding the Truth, then they negated each other. The Jews said that their prophet, Moses (‘a), was superior and their Book, the Torah, was the best. The Christians, on the other hand, had the same claim. They said Jesus (‘a) was the best guide and the Evangel was the best among the heavenly Books.
Even though they could not settle their own disputes between themselves, the followers of both creeds invited the Muslims to their own religion. The above verses were revealed and answered them both.2
Only Our Creed Is True!
Egoism and self-conceit usually cause one to think that Truth is exclusively his own and therefore, he considers others wrong. This very person, consequently, tries to divert others to his own way of seeing things, as the Qur’an through the first verse of the above verses says:
And they said: ‘Be Jews or: Christians, you shall be guided aright’... (2:135)
Tell them that distorted religions can never be the source of guidance, but:
...Say: ‘Nay! Rather the creed of Abraham, the upright; and he was not of those who associate partners to Allah’. (2:135)
The true believers in pure Faith are those who follow the pure Monotheistic creed, i.e. the Monotheism which has never been tainted with any form of polytheism. The most important basic principle for recognizing the pure religion from the corrupted ones is by keeping in mind this very perfect creed of Monotheism. Islam instructs us not to make distinction between the divine prophets and to respect their religions totally because the fundamental principles of all Divine religions are entirely the same. Moses (‘a) and Jesus (‘a) reinstituted the pure (hanif) doctrine of Abraham (‘a), which is to live and die with faith in the One True God.
They believed in the non-polytheistic creed of Abraham (‘a), the pure Monotheist, although their religions were later contaminated with polytheism by their ignorant followers. The Jews, though they taught Unity, went after false gods, and the Christians invented the trinity or borrowed it from pagans. (Of course, if they search for the pureness of truth, they will realize that there is no difference between what their prophets preached and what was brought forth by Islam and that they, in performing their duties today, should follow the divine creed of Islam which has come down from the direction of Allah for this Age).
Concerning the statements of the Muslims’ opponents, the next verse enjoins the followers of Islam thus:
Say: ‘We have believed in Allah and that which has been sent down to us, and (in) what was sent down to Abraham, Ismail, Isaac, Jacob and the tribes; and (in) that which was given to Moses and Jesus and (in) that which was given to all prophets from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him do we submit’. (2:136)
Self-conceit and tribal or racial prejudices should never lie at the root of our accepting some of the prophets and rejecting the others. They were all Divine teachers who spent their lives training and guiding people in different eras of time. Their aim was only to guide human beings towards pure Unity, Truth, and Justice, although each of them had some particular duties and special qualifications related to their own specific periods of time. Then it adds:
If then they believe in what you believe, they indeed are guided (aright) but if they turn away, then they are clearly in schism... (2:137)
If they do not mix their racial and tribal problems, and the likes of them, with the religion, and formally accept all the prophets, they are also guided, otherwise they have put away the truth and followed the wrong. The term / siqaq / originally means ‘cleft, conflict, and fight’ and, here, it has been rendered into ‘blasphemy’, and sometimes into ‘misleading’, or ‘separation from Truth and tending to falsehood’, all of which, in fact, basically point back to the same fact.
Some of the commentators have cited that when the former verse was revealed whereby Jesus (‘a) was mentioned in a row with some other prophets, some of the Christians said that they did not agree with that statement because Jesus (‘a) was not like other prophets; he was the son of God. The last verse of the above verses was sent down3 and warned them that they were misguided and they were in schism. However, at the end of the verse, it encourages the Muslims not to be afraid of the plots of enemies; saying:
...Allah will suffice you against them; He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (2:137)
Explanation: The Oneness of The Prophets’ Invitation
On several occasions, the Holy Qur’an points out that there is no difference between the prophets of Allah because all of them had received the revelation from one single Source and pursued one goal. Therefore, the Qur’an enjoins the Muslims to respect all of the Divine prophets equally. But, as it was stated before, this exhortation does not conflict with the idea that every new religion sent down from Allah abrogates the former religions and Islam is the last religion in the world.
Of course, no religion on earth, except Islam, has ever demanded of its adherents to believe equally in the truthfulness and flawless godliness, sinless purity of conduct and character of the other apostles of Allah and in the other sacred scripts as the revealed Word of Allah. This command in Islam was given because the Divine Apostles were like some teachers and everyone of them instructed the human race as one class. It is evident that when the period and the course of one class finishes, the trainees will be promoted to another teacher, to a class of a higher degree.
Therefore, all nations are to fulfill the requirements given by the last prophet of their times, which is the last stage of the development of the religion in their period of time. This statement will never contrast the rightfulness of the invitations of other prophets.
Who Were ‘Asbat ‘?
The term / sebt / originally means: ‘stretching, or expanding of something easily’. A tree is sometimes called ‘sabat ‘because its branches expand freely. The leading lexicologists expressly declare that / sebt / the plural of which is / asbat / include sons’ children and daughters’ children.4 The meaning of the term / asbat /, here is the groups and tribes of Israelites who came forth from Jacob’s twelve sons, and, since there were some prophets among them, in the above verse they are counted among those upon whom the Divine verses have been sent down.
So, the objective meaning of the term, here, is the tribe of Israelites or the tribes of Jacob’s children who consisted of some prophets, not all the children of Jacob. Some of those children were not entirely eligible to be prophets because they committed sin in their dealings with their own brother. The Arabic term / hanif / is based on / hanaf / with the meaning ‘orthodox, true’, or ‘inclined from misguidance to right opinion’. So, those pure monotheists who turn away from polytheism and incline to this basic principle are called ‘Hanif’.
It is also for this reason that one of the meanings of / hanif / is ‘true, straight’. This explanation makes it clear that the meaning offered by the commentators for the term / hanif / such as Hajj, the pilgrimage to the Ka’bah, adhering to truth, following Abraham (‘a), and the pureness of deeds, are all reflections of that inclusive meaning and each of them is an example of it.
Footnotes