Tafsir of Surah Aal Imran - Verse 117

Virtues of the People of the Scriptures Who Embrace Islam

Muhammad bin Ishaq and others, including Al-Awfi who reported it from Ibn Abbas, said;"These Ayat were revealed about the clergy of the People of the Scriptures who embraced the faith. For instance, there is Abdullah bin Salam, Asad bin Ubayd, Tha`labah bin Sa`yah, Usayd bin Sa`yah, and so forth.

This Ayah means that those among the People of the Book whom Allah rebuked earlier are not at all the same as those among them who embraced Islam.Hence Allah's statement,

لَيْسُواْ سَوَاء ...

Not all of them are alike."Therefore, these two types of people are not equal, and indeed, there are believers and also criminals among the People of the Book, just as Allah said,

... مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ أُمَّةٌ قَآئِمَةٌ ...

a party of the People of the Scripture stand for the right,for they implement the Book of Allah, adhere to His Law and follow His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

Therefore, this type is on the straight path,

... يَتْلُونَ آيَاتِ اللّهِ آنَاء اللَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ

they recite the verses of Allah during the hours of the night, prostrating themselves in prayer.They often stand in prayer at night for Tahajjud, and recite the Qur'an in their prayer.

يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ

They believe in Allah and the Last Day; they enjoin Al-Ma`ruf and forbid Al-Munkar; and they hasten in (all) good works; and they are among the righteous. (3: 114)This is the same type of people mentioned at the end of the Surah;

وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَمَن يُؤْمِنُ بِاللّهِ وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ خَاشِعِينَ لِلّهِ

And there are, certainly, among the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians), those who believe in Allah and in that which has been revealed to you, and in that which has been revealed to them, humbling themselves before Allah. (3:199)Allah said here,

وَمَا يَفْعَلُواْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَلَن يُكْفَرُوْهُ ...

And whatever good they do, nothing will be rejected of them;meaning, their good deeds will not be lost with Allah. Rather, He will award them the best rewards.

... وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالْمُتَّقِينَ

for Allah knows well the Muttaqin (the pious).for no deed performed by any person ever escapes His knowledge, nor is any reward for those who do good deeds ever lost with Him.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ...

Surely, those who disbelieve,Allah mentions the disbelieving polytheists:

... لَن تُغْنِيَ عَنْهُمْ أَمْوَالُهُمْ وَلاَ أَوْلاَدُهُم مِّنَ اللّهِ شَيْئًا ...

neither their properties nor their offspring will avail them against Allah,meaning, nothing can avert Allah's torment and punishment from striking them.

... وَأُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

They are the dwellers of the Fire, therein they will abide.

The Parable of What the Disbelievers Spend in This Life

Allah gave a parable for what the disbelievers spend in this life, as Mujahid, Al-Hasan and As-Suddi said.

مَثَلُ مَا يُنْفِقُونَ فِى هِـذِهِ الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا كَمَثَلِ رِيحٍ فِيهَا صِرٌّ

(The likeness of what they spend in this world is the likeness of a wind of Sir;) a frigid wind, as Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and others have said. `Ata' said that Sir, means, `cold and snow.' Ibn `Abbas and Mujahid are also reported to have said that Sir means, `fire'. This latter meaning does not contradict the meanings we mentioned above, because extreme cold weather, especially when accompanied by snow, burns plants and produce, and has the same effect fire has on such growth.

أَصَابَتْ حَرْثَ قَوْمٍ ظَلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَأَهْلَكَتْهُ

(It struck the harvest of a people who did wrong against themselves and destroyed it) 3:117, by burning. This Ayah mentions a calamity that strikes produce that is ready to harvest, destroying it by burning and depriving its owner of it when he needs it the most. Such is the case with the disbelievers, for Allah destroys the rewards for their good deeds in this life, just as He destroyed the produce of the sinner because of his sins. Both types did not build their work on firm foundations,

وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَـكِنْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ

(And Allah wronged them not, but they wronged themselves.)

In verse 110, it was said that among the people of the Book there are those who believe, yet most of them are disbelievers. Details appear in the present verse which gives a complementary profile of those who believed from among the people of the Book, and by becoming Muslims, they adopted the distinguishing hallmarks of the Faith that go to make believers the best of communities.

Soon after praising those who had embraced Islam from among the people of the Book, the text censures those of them who did not embrace Islam and insisted on retaining their stance of disbelief, not realizing that their wealth and their children will be unable to save them from the punishment of Allah and Hell shall be their eternal abode.

Verse 117 declares through a similitude that disbelievers simply waste what they spend in this worldly life, for belief in Islam is a pre-condition in order that such spendings be acceptable with Allah, of whatever sort they may be. The similitude stresses the fact that disbelievers inflict this injustice upon themselves when their spendings go to waste in this world and remain rewardless in the Hereafter. If they were not to wrong themselves, if they were to embrace Islam, they would have been like other Muslims who, on suffering a worldly loss, are compensated by Allah through reward and forgiveness of sins, as reported in ahadith.

The love of wealth and children becomes an obstacle to accepting a religion, which entails all kinds of sacrifices. And adherence to God’s religion is not a matter of engaging in hollow pretences of piety carried out in the public eye. Just as a gust of chill air ravages the whole harvest, so will the tempest of the Last Day (qiyamah) render valueless all such ostentatious acts. There were some among the Jews who believed in the Prophet Muhammad. And a few God-fearing people are more precious in the eyes of God than a host of ungodly people. But merely being a member of a community formed of one race in the name of a prophet, is not enough to earn one salvation. What is actually required of an individual is that he binds himself by a covenant with God. By ‘covenant’ is meant faith—the sacred bond between God and man. That is to say, personal actions and not community relationship make one deserving of God’s mercy and blessings. All the responsibilities that faith implies are included in this pledge. Remembering God in one’s solitude, worshipping Him, leading one’s life keeping in view the Hereafter, enjoining goodness upon the people around one, discouraging people from committing evil, working unstintingly for the cause of God—all such actions fulfill the divine covenant. Those who follow such a course are upright people in the eyes of God. God has full knowledge of their actions, for which He will reward them, and He will greatly honour them on the Day of Judgement.