Surat Al `Imran (101-110)

{وَكَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ وَأَنْتُمْ تُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ آَيَاتُ اللهِ وَفِيكُمْ رَسُولُهُ وَمَنْ يَعْتَصِمْ بِاللهِ فَقَدْ هُدِيَ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ} [آل عمران: 101]

101- And how would you disbelieve, while to you are recited the Ayahs of Allah, see the signs coming down, and among you is His Messenger (Muhammad peace be upon him); his miracles are present before your eyes and all that help you to have strong faith and keep you firm? Disbelief is away from you as long as you take your knowledge from the Glorious Book and as long as you do not listen to the People of the Scriptures and the vanities of the infidels. Verily, those who hold with the way of Allah and rely on Him truly, He shall guide them to His Straight Path, make them firm on faith, and make them do the right actions.

{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ} [آل عمران: 102]

102- O you who believe! Fear Allah (by doing all that He has ordered and by abstaining from all that He has forbidden) as He should be feared. Obey Him, be thankful to Him, and remember Him always, fight for His Sake as should be, be firm on that, keep your Islam in all your conditions in order to die as Muslims (with complete submission to Allâh) because whoever keeps hold of something, he shall die holding it and would be resurrected as such on the Day of the Recompense.

Many Qur'an commentators adopted the view that this Ayah was abrogated by Allah's Saying: {Fear Allah as much as you can.} As for those commentators who did not adopt that view, they said: The meaning is to fear Allah as should be as long as that is in your capacity.

Ibn `Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: The Ayah was not abrogated but the meaning of {as should be} is to fight in the way of Allah as should be, should not fear any one, be righteous, and deal with people justly even if the right is against themselves, their fathers, and their children.

{وَاعْتَصِمُوا بِحَبْلِ اللهِ جَمِيعًا وَلَا تَفَرَّقُوا وَاذْكُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللهِ عَلَيْكُمْ إِذْ كُنْتُمْ أَعْدَاءً فَأَلَّفَ بَيْنَ قُلُوبِكُمْ فَأَصْبَحْتُمْ بِنِعْمَتِهِ إِخْوَانًا وَكُنْتُمْ عَلَى شَفَا حُفْرَةٍ مِنَ النَّارِ فَأَنْقَذَكُمْ مِنْهَا كَذَلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ اللهُ لَكُمْ آَيَاتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ} [آل عمران: 103]

103- Hold firm with covenant of Allah and in the Qur'an which Allah revealed to you and with which you were guided. Be brothers, united, and love one another. Do not disagree like the Jews and the Christians did, lest you separate and hate one another like they did. Remember the favor of Allah upon you when you were enemies, killing one another in continuous wars, so He combined between your hearts by this true religion and you became loving brothers by its favor and blessing. You aid one another, treat one another kindly, and bestow mercy upon one another after you were about to enter Hell Fire because of your disbelief, but He rescued you by this religion, guided you to faith, and saved you from Hell. Allah explains to you His Signs to be firm on guidance and strengthen your faith.

{وَلْتَكُنْ مِنْكُمْ أُمَّةٌ يَدْعُونَ إِلَى الخَيْرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ المُنْكَرِ وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ المُفْلِحُونَ} [آل عمران: 104]

104- Let there arise out of you a group of people inviting to all that is good (Islâm), enjoining Al Ma‘rûf (i.e. Islâmic Monotheism and all that Islâm orders one to do) and forbidding Al Munkar (polytheism and disbelief and all that Islâm has forbidden). They should call to virtue, truth, and justice, and forbid vice, falsehood, and oppression. It is not an easy mission because you will clash with people's natures, desires, benefits, and interests. Those who do this hard mission shall be of the successful and winners.

Ibn Kathir said: The meaning of this Ayah is there should be a group of people in the Ummah (the nation of Islam) to do that mission, although this mission is obligatory on every individual in the nation as was reported in Sahih Muslim, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "He who amongst you sees something abominable should modify it with the help of his hand; and if he has not strength enough to do it, then he should do it with his tongue, and if he has not strength enough to do it, (even) then he should (abhor it) from his heart, and that is the least of faith."

{وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ تَفَرَّقُوا وَاخْتَلَفُوا مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ البَيِّنَاتُ وَأُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ} [آل عمران: 105]

105- Do not be like the previous nations, such as the People of the Scriptures and others who differed and disagreed with one another despite the proofs that were presented against them and despite the clear proofs they have. Consequently, their punishment was defeat, humiliation, trial, and fighting one another in the world and their punishment shall be a great torment on the Day of the Recompense as retribution to their turning away from the religion of Allah, therefore, do not be like them lest you may be inflicted by the same punishment.

{يَوْمَ تَبْيَضُّ وُجُوهٌ وَتَسْوَدُّ وُجُوهٌ فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ اسْوَدَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ أَكَفَرْتُمْ بَعْدَ إِيمَانِكُمْ فَذُوقُوا العَذَابَ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَكْفُرُونَ} [آل عمران: 106]

106- On the Day of the Recompense, the faces of the people of faith and good shall be bright, full of joy and happiness, and shiny, whereas the faces of the disbelievers and the hypocrites will be black and miserable because of sadness, worry, and distress. It will be said to the hypocrites and the apostate from the people of disbelief and hypocrisy whose faces turned into black: Have you disbelieved after you had tasted the taste of faith and known the truth? Then, taste the torment as retribution to your disbelief and preferring the falsehood to the truth.

{وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ ابْيَضَّتْ وُجُوهُهُمْ فَفِي رَحْمَةِ اللهِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ} [آل عمران: 107]

107- As for those whose faces became bright and shinny, rejoicing with good, they shall enter the Paradise of Allah and stay there forever; in uninterrupted joy and happiness.

{تِلْكَ آَيَاتُ اللهِ نَتْلُوهَا عَلَيْكَ بِالحَقِّ وَمَا اللهُ يُرِيدُ ظُلْمًا لِلْعَالَمِينَ} [آل عمران: 108]

108- These matters are proofs and clear signs which We send down to you, O Prophet of Allah with truth and justice in order that people would be careful about what they take and what they leave. Verily, Allah does not want to impose hardship or oppress people because He is the Just judge, however, if they oppressed themselves and disbelieved, they would throw themselves into destruction.

{وَللهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ وَإِلَى اللهِ تُرْجَعُ الأُمُورُ} [آل عمران: 109]

109- Allah does not need the obedience of anyone and the worship of people does not increase His Kingdom or decrease it if He gives or withholds. He is All-Rich, wit wide dominance, he has the heavens and the earth, and everything shall return to Him because He is the Controller and Disposer of all things. So, a person should think about his fate and obey his Lord in order to succeed and receive a good reward.

{كُنْتُمْ خَيْرَ أُمَّةٍ أُخْرِجَتْ لِلنَّاسِ تَأْمُرُونَ بِالمَعْرُوفِ وَتَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ المُنْكَرِ وَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللهِ وَلَوْ آَمَنَ أَهْلُ الكِتَابِ لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ مِنْهُمُ المُؤْمِنُونَ وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الفَاسِقُونَ} [آل عمران: 110]

110- O nation of Islam, you are the best nation and the most beneficent to people where you command the people with good, spread the truth and justice, exhort to virtues and good morals; forbid deniable acts, vice, and bad morals; and believe in Allah, the One; you worship Him and do not associate anything with Him.

If the People of the Scriptures (the Jews and the Christians) believed (as you did) in what was sent down to Muhammad (peace be upon him), were guided to the truth, abandoned polytheism and disbelief, it would be better for them in their world and their Hereafter. However, a few of them did that but most of them kept to aberrance and disbelief. They preferred lewdness and disobedience, and did not keep the promise of Allah with His Prophets which is their commandment to their nations to follow the unlettered Prophet and aid him.

It was mentioned that Allah's saying: {You are the best nation} was meant only for the era of the Prophet (peace be upon him, whereas other scholars said that the Ayah is general. They said: The correct is the Ayah is general for the entire nation; each century shall be assessed through its people and the best century is the century to which the Prophet (peace be upon him) was sent. This nation preceded the other nations and gained that excellence because of the Prophet (peace be upon him) because he is the best person among Allah's Creation and the most honorable Prophet. Allah sent him with complete legislation which no prophet or messenger had been given before.

I said: The matter which shows that this nation is connected with enjoining with good, forbidding of evil, and believing in Allah is the Ayah itself, thus if this nation does not enjoin good and forbid evil, it will not have this virtue. Allah knows the best!