The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
الَّذِينَ
آتَيْنَاهُمُ
الْكِتَابَ
يَتْلُونَهُ
حَقَّ تِلاَوَتِهِ
أُوْلَـئِكَ
يُؤْمِنُونَ
بِهِ...
2: 121. Those to whom We have sent the book study it as it should be studied; they are the ones that believe therein;
... وَمن يَكْفُرْ بِهِ فَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْخَاسِرُونَ ﴿١٢١﴾
those who reject faith therein, the loss is their own.
C 121. The argument now proceeds on another line. Ye People of the Book who go back to Abraham! not only is your claim to exclusive knowledge of Allah false and derogatory to the Lord of All the Worlds. If you must appeal to Abraham, he was also the progenitor of the Arab race through Ismail. Indeed Abraham and Ismail together built the House of Allah in Makkah (long before the Temple of Jerusalem was built). They purified it and laid the foundation of the universal religion, which is summed up in word Islam, or complete submission to the Will of Allah. Abraham and Ismail were thus true Muslims. Whence then your rancour against Islam?
Historically the House of Allah at Makkah must have been far more ancient place of worship than the Temple of Jerusalem. Arab tradition connects various places in and around Makkah with the name of Abraham and identifies the well of Zamzam with the well in the story of the child Ismail.
Arab tradition also refers the story of the Sacrifice to Ismail and not to Isaac, therein differing from the Jewish tradition in Gen, 22:1-19. (R).
Others version:
2: 121
Asad Those unto whom We have vouchsafed the divine writ [and who] follow it as it ought to be followed – it is they who [truly] believe in it; whereas all who choose to deny its truth – it is they, they who are the losers!
Pickthall Those unto whom We have given the Scripture, who read it with the right reading, those believe in it. And whoso disbelieveth in it, those are they who are the losers.
Transliteration Allazina a_taina_humul kita_ba yatlu_nahu_ haqqa tila_watih(i), ula_'ika yu'minu_na bih(i), wa may yakfur bihi fa ula_'ika humul kha_siru_n(a).
[ Ruby – The divine Book [kitab (singular)] is indicating all divine Books or Scriptures that were revealed in collective form, that is why it is singular. I believe it is not meant only for the Quran here. It is in singular form because the Kitab that is meant here is the Word of God or His Messages which is One and the same Message, the essence of the Message never changed. That is why it is said in 41:43 (And as for thee, O Prophet ) nothing is being said to thee but what was said to all (of God’s ) Apostles before thy time.”, “ you are just a messenger, many other messenger were there..”
All divine Books are part of that universal Message from God and that Message is meant here and that is why this is singular in form. Then the next expression literally means is ‘to recite in Truth’ but the real meaning is comprehension of the Truth. One’s attempt should be to search Truth in these Books. This search needs to originate in sincere desire to know and understand God’s Message and not to challenge and be unreasonable with it.
It is that came from God, if one sincerely read these even with distortions and human manipulation down the ages, one would find Truth in any of these Books. Therefore, a sincere and keen heart is the essence here to receive Guidance and Truth.]
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