The Quranic text and Ali’s version
لَتَجِدَنَّ
أَشَدَّ النَّاسِ
عَدَاوَةً
لِّلَّذِينَ
آمَنُواْ الْيَهُودَ
وَالَّذِينَ
أَشْرَكُواْ
...
5:82. Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans;
... وَلَتَجِدَنَّ أَقْرَبَهُمْ مَّوَدَّةً لِّلَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ الَّذِينَ قَالُوَاْ إِنَّا نَصَارَى...
and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say: "We are Christians:"
C789. The meaning is not that they merely call themselves Christians, but that they were such sincere Christians that they appreciated Muslim virtues, as did the Abyssinians to whom Muslim refugees went during the persecution in Makkah. (R).
... ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ مِنْهُمْ قِسِّيسِينَ وَرُهْبَانًا ...
because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world,
C790. Qissis: I have translated as "devoted to learning," following the Commentators. it seems to be a foreign word, possibly Abyssinian rather than Syriac, as the reference seems to be to the Abyssinian Christians.
Their real devotion to learning and the renunciation of the world by the Monastic Orders are contrasted with the hypocrisy and arrogance of the Pharisees and Scribes.
... وَأَنَّهُمْ لاَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ ﴿٨٢﴾
and they are not arrogant.
وَإِذَا
سَمِعُواْ
مَا أُنزِلَ
إِلَى الرَّسُولِ
...
5:83. And when they listen to the revelation received by the Messenger,
... تَرَى أَعْيُنَهُمْ تَفِيضُ مِنَ الدَّمْعِ مِمَّا عَرَفُواْ مِنَ الْحَقِّ ...
thou wilt see their eyes overflowing with tears, for they recognize the truth:
... يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشَّاهِدِينَ ﴿٨٣﴾
they pray:
"Our Lord! we believe; write us down among the witnesses.
وَمَا
لَنَا
لاَ نُؤْمِنُ
بِاللّهِ وَمَا
جَاءنَا مِنَ
الْحَقِّ...
5:84. "What cause can we have not to believe in Allah and the truth which has come to us,
... وَنَطْمَعُ أَن يُدْخِلَنَا رَبَّنَا مَعَ الْقَوْمِ الصَّالِحِينَ ﴿٨٤﴾
seeing that we long for our Lord to admit us to the company of the righteous?"
فَأَثَابَهُمُ
اللّهُ بِمَا
قَالُواْ جَنَّاتٍ
تَجْرِي مِن
تَحْتِهَا
الأَنْهَارُ
خَالِدِينَ
فِيهَا...
85. And for this their prayer hath Allah rewarded them with gardens, with rivers flowing underneath, their eternal home.
... وَذَلِكَ جَزَاء الْمُحْسِنِينَ ﴿٨٥﴾
Such is the recompense of those who do good.
Muslim rejoicing at the victory of Heraclius and his Christian armies was great.
Despite the many controversies that had taken place between the followers of
Muhammad and those who believed in Jesus, their friendly and fraternal
relationships continued to be strong throughout the life of the Prophet. It was
otherwise with the relationships of Muslims and Jews. There had been an armistice followed by alienation and war with consequences so disastrous and bloody that the Jews had to be moved out of the Arabian Peninsula altogether. The Qur'an confirms the bond of friendship between Muslims and Christians and denounces the enmity of the Jews. It advises the Muslims, "You will find greater enmity to the believers among those who are Jews and idolaters; but you will find greater friendliness among those who say, `We are Christians.' For they, especially the monks and priests among them, do not take to false pride."[Qur'an, 5:82] Indeed Christianity [ source – Haykal, Muhammad p 15]