Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 146

The Jews know that the Prophet is True, but they hide the Truth

Allah states that the scholars of the People of the Scripture know the truth of what Allah's Messenger ﷺ was sent with, just as one of them knows his own child, which is a parable that the Arabs use to describe what is very apparent. Similarly, in a Hadith, Allah's Messenger ﷺ said to a man who had a youngster with him:

«ابْنُكَ هَذَا»

؟ قَالَ: نَعَمْ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ أَشْهَدُ بِهِ

(Is this your son) He said, "Yes, O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! I testify to this fact." Allah's Messenger ﷺ said:

«أَمَا إِنَّهُ لَا يَجْنِي عَلَيْكَ وَلَا تَجْنِي عَلَيْه»

(Well, you would not transgress against him nor would he transgress against you.)

According to Al-Qurtubi, it was narrated that `Umar said to `Abdullah bin Salam (an Israelite scholar who became a Muslim), "Do you recognize Muhammad ﷺ as you recognize your own son" He replied, "Yes, and even more. The Honest One descended from heaven on the Honest One on the earth with his (i.e., Muhammad's) description and I recognized him, although I do not know anything about his mother's story."

Allah states next that although they had knowledge and certainty in the Prophet , they still:

لَيَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ

(conceal the truth.)

The Ayah indicates that they hide the truth from the people, about the Prophet , that they find in their Books,

وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

(while they know it. ) Allah then strengthens the resolve of His Prophet and the believers and affirms that what the Prophet came with is the truth without doubt, saying:

الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ فَلاَ تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الْمُمْتَرِينَ

((This is) the truth from your Lord. So be you not one of those who doubt.)

Verses 144 and 145 have told us how the People of the Book اھل الکتاب knew in their hearts that a divine commandment itself had instituted the Baytullah بیت اللہ as the Qiblah قبلہ of the Muslims, and yet denied this fact in public. Now, the two present verses show that their conduct towards the Holy Prophet ﷺ was equally dishonest and malicious.

The Torah and the Evangel had already foretold the coming of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، and set down the signs and indications which should help the people to recognize him. On the basis of the irrefutable evidence provided by their own Sacred Books, the Jews and the Christians knew him to be the promised Last Prophet ﷺ ، but many of them refused to acknowledge him as such out of sheer obstinacy.

Let us add a word or two in order to explain the simile employed here by the Holy Qur'an - that of man recognizing his own son without any doubt or ambiguity. As everyone knows, in bringing two terms into comparison with each other, a simile does not involve in this analogy all the aspects of these two terms, but only those which should be relevant to the occasion. So, in considering the present simile one should not allow one's imagination to roam far afield, and bring under discussion even those cases which happen to be illegitimate. For, the present simile intends to make a very simple and obvious point - since the son grows from infancy to manhood normally under the eyes of his parents, his face or general appearance is quite sufficient for his father to recognize him without any doubt or hesitation. The Jews and the Christians enjoyed the same kind of facility - or even certainty - in being able to recognize the Last Prophet ﷺ . So, to persist in denying him was as dishonest as refusing to recognize one's own son should normally be.

And it was just this kind of gross dishonesty that the People of the Book were indulging in. Some of them, while denying the truth themselves, even tried to keep it concealed from others, although they knew fully well that this particular truth (that is to say, the new injunction with regard to the Qiblah قبلہ) had been established by Revelation from Allah Himself.

The phrase, "The Truth is from your Lord", can also be interpreted in a general sense as providing a definition of the nature of truth - namely, that alone is truth which comes from Allah. One who has understood this fact can never allow himself to be in doubt with regard to this particular truth or to any other which has been revealed to a prophet by Allah.

Not until the Prophet Muhammad received divine revelation on a particular matter, did he change the pattern of previous prophets. Faithful to this principle, he initially made Jerusalem his prayer direction, or the qiblah, for prophets since the time of Solomon had prayed in that direction. The coming of Islam signalled the removal of the Jews from their position as torch-bearers of the true faith. The true faith had also to be separated and made distinct from Jewish tradition, so that it could appear in a new and unmistakably pure form. For this reason the Prophet eagerly awaited instructions to change the qiblah. In the second year after his emigration to Madinah, he received the commandment. The prophets who hailed from among the Jewish people had been informed that one day God would alter the qiblah, and they had passed the knowledge on to the Jews. It was something, therefore, that Jewish theologians should have expected. Yet only a few of them, such as ‘Abdullah ibn Salam and Mukhairiq, confirmed the authenticity of this commandment and acknowledged that God had revealed the truth through the Prophet Muhammad. The reason for the majority’s refusal to follow the Prophet was the fact that they were used to behave as they wished. They had certain romantic notions about the special position occupied by their own people, and they had made these the bedrock of their life and creed. Those who give free rein to their own desires will never follow the path of reason. In their perversity, they want the kind of satisfaction from the denial of God’s signs, which God would have wished them to derive from their acceptance.