Women (Al-Nisa’) النساء 155–158
155
فَبِمَا نَقْضِهِم مِّيثَاقَهُمْ وَكُفْرِهِم بَآيَاتِ اللّهِ وَقَتْلِهِمُ الأَنْبِيَاء بِغَيْرِ حَقًّ وَقَوْلِهِمْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ بَلْ طَبَعَ اللّهُ عَلَيْهَا بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلاَّ قَلِيلاً
But they broke their covenant; and they rejected the signs of God; and put the prophets to death without justification, and said, ‘Our hearts are sealed.’ It is God who has sealed their hearts, on account of their denial of the truth. Except for a few of them, they have no faith.
156
وَبِكُفْرِهِمْ وَقَوْلِهِمْ عَلَى مَرْيَمَ بُهْتَانًا عَظِيمًا
They denied the truth and uttered a monstrous slander against Mary.
157
وَقَوْلِهِمْ إِنَّا قَتَلْنَا الْمَسِيحَ عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ رَسُولَ اللّهِ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَـكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُواْ فِيهِ لَفِي شَكٍّ مِّنْهُ مَا لَهُم بِهِ مِنْ عِلْمٍ إِلاَّ اتِّبَاعَ الظَّنِّ وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ يَقِينًا
They declared, ‘We have put to death the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary, the Messenger of God.’ They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it only seemed to them [as if it had been so]. And those who differ in this matter are in doubt concerning it. They have no definite knowledge about it, but only follow mere conjecture. But they certainly did not kill him.
158
بَل رَّفَعَهُ اللّهُ إِلَيْهِ وَكَانَ اللّهُ عَزِيزًا حَكِيمًا
God raised him towards Himself. God is almighty and wise.
No class discussions published for this verse group yet.
(a) The Jews had Scriptures revealed to them in which they were asked to surrender to the will of God in this world, in return for which God would grant them Paradise in the next. They forgot the first part and came to regard the second part as their birthright. All kinds of rot set in among the Jewish community. Moreover, they were so greatly convinced of the notion that salvation was their birthright that they considered it unnecessary to acknowledge the new Prophet. They would say ironically, ‘Our hearts are sealed.’ This not only showed their inability to acknowledge the new Prophet, but also their conviction that, whatever their misconduct with the Prophet, their salvation was not going to be endangered. (a) Those who suffer from false convictions are emboldened to commit all kinds of crimes. They have no qualms about breaking the divine covenant to which they are bound by their belief in God. Despite clear arguments from God they are not willing to mend their ways. One who calls upon them to accept the truth exposes their ungodly ways, so they do not hesitate to perpetrate any kind of aggression against him. They will go even to the extent of false calumny against the dayee in order to dishonour him. The Jews went so far as to try to kill the Prophet Jesus and then boasted, ‘We have put to death the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary.’ However, whatever plots these people may hatch against the dayee, they can never succeed. God’s power and his immutable system of nature is always there to support His envoys. Despite all plots and all opposition, they receive every kind of divine succour until they have completed the divine mission. Those who opt for an antagonistic attitude to the call of the truth have their very capacity to accept the truth taken away by God, until one day they are brought as criminals before the divine court by the angels.