Sura 3, al-Imran, Medina 89

The Quranic text & Ali’s versopm

لَيْسُواْ سَوَاء مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ أُمَّةٌ قَآئِمَةٌ ...

3: 113. Not all of them are alike:

of the People of the book are a portion that stand (for the right);

3: 113

Asad [But] they are not all alike: among the followers of earlier revelation there are upright people [note 85], who recite God’s messages throughout the night, and prostrate themselves [before Him].

Yusuf Ali Not all of them are alike: of the People of the book are a portion that stand (for the right); they rehearse the signs of Allah all night long and then prostrate themselves in adoration.

Pickthall They are not all alike. Of the People of the Scripture there is a staunch community who recite the revelations of Allah in the night season, falling prostrate (before Him).

Transliteration Laisu_ sawa_'(an), min ahlil kita_bi ummatun qa_'imatuy yatlu_na a_ya_tilla_hi a_na_'al laili wa hum yasjudu_n(a).

[ Ruby’s note – The Quran is acknowledging the righteousness of people belonging to other faiths. Their uprightness and their reciting the messages of God [from other Scriptures, Torah, Bible. By the expression “recite God’s messages” the Quran is also validating the Torah and other scriptures.]

[Asad’s note 84 -….obviously refers …..both Jews and the Christians.]

[Asad’s note 85 – Lit., “an upright community”: a reference to those among the followers of the Bible who are truly believers (cf. the last sentence of verse 110 above) and observe the “bond with God and with men” (verse 112).]

[ Ali’s notes:

436 Cf. iii. 21, n. 363. (3.112): 363 Right; haqq has many shades of meaning; (1) right, in the sense of having a right to something; (2) right, in the sense of straight conduct, as opposed to wrong; (3) truth; (4) justice. All these shades are implied here. (3.21) ]

437 In Islam we respect sincere faith and true righteousness in accordance with the Qur-An and Sunnah. This verse, according to Commentators, refers to those People of the Book who eventually embraced Islam. (3.113) ]

[ Ruby’s note – I think earlier commentators understanding about this is wrong. The way this verse is structured it clearly indicates the People of the Book who did not convert to Islam at that time: It starts with the phrase “not all of them are alike”, these “them” or “they” means people in different camp of faith and not among the follower of the Prophet. ]

[ Ruby’s note – The Quran is acknowledging the righteousness of people belonging to other faiths. Their uprightness and their reciting the messages of God [from other Scriptures, Torah, Bible. By the expression “recite God’s messages” the Quran is also validating the Torah and other scriptures.]