Jew – Chosen People
2. Surah al-Baqara, Medina 87
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
يَا
بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ
اذْكُرُواْ
نِعْمَتِيَ
الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ
عَلَيْكُمْ
...
2: 122. O Children of Israel!
call to mind the special favor which I bestowed upon you,
... وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ ﴿١٢٢﴾
and that I preferred you to all others (for my message).
وَإِذْ
قَالَ إِبْرَاهِيمُ
رَبِّ اجْعَلْ
هَـَذَا بَلَدًا
آمِنًا...
2: 126. And remember Abraham said:
"My Lord, make this a City of Peace,
C127. The root salama in the word Islam implies (among other ideas) the idea of Peace, and therefore when Makkah is the city of Islam, it is also the City of Peace.
The same root occurs in the latter part of the name Jerusalem, the Jewish City of Peace. When the day of Jerusalem passed (see verse 134 or 141 below).
Makkah became the "New Jerusalem" - or rather the old and original "City of Peace" restored and made universal.
... وَارْزُقْ أَهْلَهُ مِنَ الثَّمَرَاتِ مَنْ آمَنَ مِنْهُم بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ...
and feed its people with fruits, such of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day."
C128. The territory of Makkah is barren and rocky, compared with, say Taif, a city 70-75 miles east of Makkah . A prayer for the prosperity of Makkah therefore includes a prayer for the good things of material life. (R).
... قَالَ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَأُمَتِّعُهُ قَلِيلاً ...
He said: "(Yea), and such as reject faith, for a while will I grant them their pleasure,
... ثُمَّ أَضْطَرُّهُ إِلَى عَذَابِ النَّارِ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ ﴿١٢٦﴾
but will soon drive them to the torment of fire, an evil destination (indeed)!"
Asad’s Version:
2: 122 O Children of Israel! Remember those blessings fo mine whith which I graced you, and how I favored you above all other people;……….a Day when …..nor shall intercession be of any use…..
[ it meant in the past, then they were favored]
2: 124 And [remember this] when his sustainer tried Abraham by commandments and the latter fulfilled them, He said: “Behold, I shall make thee a leader of men.” Abraham asked: “and of my offspring as well?”
[God] answered: ‘My covenant does not embrace the evildoers.”
[Asad note 101: …..refutes the contention of the children of Israel that by virtue of their descent form Abraham, whom God made “a leader of men”, the yare “God’s chosen people”…..]
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4. Sura an-Nisa
Medina 92 [Hijra 4]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
أَلَمْ
تَرَ إِلَى
الَّذِينَ
يُزَكُّونَ
أَنفُسَهُمْ...
4: 49. Hast thou not turned thy vision to those who claim sanctity for themselves?
C570. The sanctimonious or self-sanctified people are the farthest from sanctity or purity, which can only proceed from Allah. They cannot play with Allah's Truth and yet go on claiming to be guided and purified or justified by Allah.
Their falsehood in itself condemns them: no further proof is needed of their selfishness and evil.
... بَلِ اللّهُ يُزَكِّي مَن يَشَاء ...
Nay, but Allah doth sanctify whom He pleaseth
... وَلاَ يُظْلَمُونَ فَتِيلاً ﴿٤٩﴾
but never will they fail to receive justice in the least little thing.
C571. Literally, the small skin in the groove of a date stone, a thing of no value; fatila.
انظُرْ
كَيفَ يَفْتَرُونَ
عَلَى اللّهِ
الكَذِبَ ...
4: 50. Behold! how they invent a lie against Allah!
... وَكَفَى بِهِ إِثْمًا مُّبِينًا ﴿٥٠﴾
but that by itself is a manifest sin!
4: 49
Asad Are you not aware of those who consider themselves pure? [note 66] Nay, but it is God who causes whomever He wills to grow in purity; and none shall be wronged by as much as a hair’s breadth. [note 67]
Pickthall Hast thou not seen those who praise themselves for purity? Nay, Allah purifieth whom He will, and they will not be wronged even the hair upon a date stone.
Transliteration Alam tara ilal lazina yuzakku_na anfusahum, balilla_hu yuzakki may yasya_'u wa la_ yuzlamu_na fatila_(n).
4: 50
Asad Behold how they attribute their own lying inventions to God – than which there is no sin more obvious. [note 68]
Pickthall See, how they invent lies about Allah! That of itself is flagrant sin.
Transliteration Unzur kaifa yaftaru_na'alalla_hil kazib(a), wa kafa_ bihi ismam mubina_(n).
[[ Ali’s notes - 570 The sanctimonious or self-sanctified people are the farthest from sanctity or purity, which can only proceed from Allah. They cannot play with Allah's Truth and yet go on claiming to be guided and purified or justified by Allah. Their falsehood in itself condemns them: no further proof is needed of their selfishness and evil. (4.49)
571 Literally, the small skin in the groove of a date stone, a thing of no value; fatil. (4.49) ]]
[[ Asad’s notes - 66 – I.e., the Hews, who consider themselves to be “God’s chosen people” and , therefore, a priori destined for God’s grance, and the Christians, who believe in Jesus’ “vicarious atonement” for the sins of mankind. There is also an obvious connection between this observation and the reference to “shirk” in the preceding verse, inasmuch as the Jews and the Christians, while not actually believing in the existence
of any deity apart from God, ascribe divine or semi-divine qualities, in varying degrees, to certain human beings: the Christians by their elevation of Jesus to the status of a manifestation of God in human form and their open worship of a hierarchy of saints, and the Jews by their attribution of law-giving powers to the great Talmudic scholars whose legal verdicts are supposed to override, if need be, any ordinance of the scriptures (cf. in this respect 9:31). It goes without saying that this condemnation applies also to those Muslims who have fallen into the sin of worshipping saints and according them something of the reverence which is due to God alone. Consequently, the expression “those who consider themselves pure” comprises, in this context, all who think of themselves as believing in the One God (simply because they do not consciously worhip a plurality of deities) but are, nevertheless, guilty of the sin of “shirk” in the deeper sense of this term.]]
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17. [al-Israa, Mecca 50 ]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
وَقُلْنَا مِن
بَعْدِهِ لِبَنِي
إِسْرَائِيلَ
اسْكُنُواْ
الأَرْضَ...
17: 104. And We said thereafter to the Children of Israel, "Dwell securely in the land (of promise)":
C2313. The Israelites were taken to the Promised Land in Palestine, and they established their own kingdom there, but they forfeited Allah's favour by their sins and backslidings and will have to answer like all souls by the law of personal responsibility at the Day of Judgment.
...فَإِذَا جَاء وَعْدُ الآخِرَةِ جِئْنَا بِكُمْ لَفِيفًا ﴿١٠٤﴾
but when the second of the warnings came to pass, We gathered you together in a mingled crowd.
C2314. The second of the warnings:
- the first was probably that mentioned above, in 17:5 and
- the second that mentioned in 17:7 (middle).
When this second warning due to the rejection of Jesus came to pass, the Jews were gathered together in a mingled crowd.
Some Commentators understand the second warning to be the Day of Judgment, the Promise of the Hereafter. (R).
Other Versions:
17: 104
Pickthall And We said unto the Children of Israel after him: Dwell in the land; but when the promise of the Hereafter cometh to pass we shall bring you as a crowd gathered out of various nations.
Yuksel’s Version:
Relating Back to the Beginning of the Chapter
17:104 We said after him to the Children of Israel: "Dwell in the land, then, when the time of the second promise comes, We will bring you all together as a mixed crowd."*
Transliteration Wa qulna_ mim ba'dihi li bani isra_'ila-skunul arda fa iza_ ja_'a wa'dul a_khirati ji'na_ bikum lafifa_(n).
[[Ruby’s note – Does this mix crowd means different ethnicity? Two thousand years ago, the Jews people were more homogenous as to their ethnicity. In two thousand years they spread out in the world and became different in ethnicity. In Israel today there are many different ethnic Jews. May be that is what is meant here?]
[[ Yuksel’s notes - 017:104 Compared to their small population, the Jewish influence is immense in its global platform, financially, politically and culturally. Disproportional to their population, Jews have exhibited astonishing examples in both good and bad, in both success and blunder, and they have enjoyed a vivid presence in world politics for millennia. This explains why the Quran mentions them so frequently both in negative (3:71; 4:46; 5:78-82; 5:60-65; 7:166) and positive terms (2:47,62; 3:33; 5:20).
After being subjected to genocide and atrocious tortures by Europian fascist forces, Jews were scattered around the world as immigrants. Yet, they did not disappear from the global scene or take centuries to recover, as many other nations would do. A prophecy of the Old Testament, Deuteronomy 30:4-20 was fulfilled. Not surprisingly, with the help of the major powers of the time, they were able to establish their own independent state in 1948, soon after their almost utter annihilation; a state not in Germany, but in their historical land, which has once again become the focal point of a global conflict, stirring the world by showcasing human aggression, greed, hatred, cruelty, racism, and terror. As it seems, some are determined to use any means possible to get the promised lands of their ancestors (Genesis 12:1-3; Deuteronomy 1:6-8; 30:4-5; Joshua 1:1-5), while disregarding the warnings and conditions related to the promise (Joshua 1:6-7; Deuteronomy 16:18-20; 30:15-20; 31:16-17). A question regarding the promised land: since Arabs too are the children of Abraham, why aren't they considered to be the subject of this Biblical promise? If the Bible discriminated against the children of Ishmael, then what was their crime?]]