Surah Al-Ma'idah, Ayah 78

Allah Cursed the Disbelievers Among the Children of Israel

Allah states that He has cursed the disbelievers among the Children of Israel long ago, and revealed this fact to His Prophets Dawud and `Isa, son of Maryam. He cursed them because they disobeyed Allah and transgressed against His creatures. Al-`Awfi reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "They were cursed in the Tawrah, the Injil, the Zabur (Psalms) and the Furqan (Qur'an)." Allah then states that during their time, their habit was that,

كَانُواْ لاَ يَتَنَـهَوْنَ عَن مُّنكَرٍ فَعَلُوهُ

(They used not to forbid one another from the evil they committed.) They did not forbid each other from committing sins and the prohibitions. Allah chastised them for this behavior, so that their behavior would not be imitated. Allah said,

لَبِئْسَ مَا كَانُواْ يَفْعَلُونَ

(Vile indeed was what they used to do.)

Hadiths that Order Enjoining Righteousness and Forbidding Evil

There are many Hadiths that order enjoining righteousness and forbidding evil. Imam Ahmad recorded that Hudhayfah bin Al-Yaman said that the Prophet said,

«وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ، لَتَأْمُرُنَّ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ، وَلَتَنْهَوُنَّ عَنِ الْمُنْكَرِ، أَوْ لَيُوشِكَنَّ اللهُ أَنْ يَبْعَثَ عَلَيْكُمْ عِقَابًا مِنْ عِنْدِهِ، ثُمَّ لَتَدْعُنَّهُ فَلَا يَسْتَجِيبَ لَكُم»

(By He in Whose Hand is my soul! You will enjoin righteousness and forbid evil, or Allah will send a punishment on you from Him. Then, you will supplicate to Him, but He will not accept your supplication.) At-Tirmidhi also recorded it and said, "This Hadith is Hasan." Muslim recorded that Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«مَنْ رَأَى مِنْكُمْ مُنْكَرًا فَلْيُغَيِّرْهُ بِيَدِهِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِلِسَانِهِ، فَإِنْ لَمْ يَسْتَطِعْ فَبِقَلْبِهِ، وَذلِكَ أَضْعَفُ الْإِيمَان»

(He among you who witnesses an evil, let him change it with his hand, if he cannot do that, then by his tongue, if he cannot do even that, then with his heart, and this is the weakest faith.) Abu Dawud said that Al-`Urs, meaning Ibn `Amirah, said that the Prophet said,

«إِذَا عُمِلَتِ الْخَطِيئَةُ فِي الْأَرْضِ كَانَ مَنْ شَهِدَهَا فَكَرِهَهَا، وَقَالَ مَرَّةً فَأَنْكَرَهَا كَانَ كَمَنْ غَابَ عَنْهَا، وَمَنْ غَابَ عَنْهَا فَرَضِيَهَا كَانَ كَمَنْ شَهِدَهَا»

(When sin is committed on the earth, then whoever witnesses it and hates - (once he said): forbids it, will be like those who did not witness it. Whoever was absent from it, but agreed with it, will be like those who witness it.) Only Abu Dawud recorded this Hadith. Abu Dawud recorded that one of the Companions said that the Prophet said,

«لَنْ يَهْلِكَ النَّاسُ حَتَّى يَعْذِرُوا أَوْ يُعْذِرُوا مِنْ أَنْفُسِهِم»

(The people will not perish until they do not leave -or- have any excuse for themselves.) Ibn Majah recorded that Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ gave a speech once and said,

«أَلَا لَا يَمْنَعَنَّ رَجُلًا هَيْبَةُ النَّاسِ أَنْ يَقُولَ الْحَقَّ إِذَا عَلِمَه»

(Behold! Fear from people should not prevent one from saying the truth if he knows it.) Abu Sa`id then cried and said, "By Allah! We have seen some errors, but we feared (the people)." Another Hadith that Abu Sa`id narrated states that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«أَفْضَلُ الْجِهَادِ كَلِمَةُ حَقَ عِنْدَ سُلْطَانٍ جَائِر»

(The best Jihad is a word of truth proclaimed before an unjust ruler.) Recorded by Abu Dawud, At-Tirmidhi, and Ibn Majah. At-Tirmidhi said, "Hasan Gharib from this route of narration." Imam Ahmad recorded that Hudhayfah said that the Prophet said,

«لَا يَنْبَغِي لِمُسْلِمٍ أَنْ يُذِلَّ نَفْسَه»

(It is not required of the Muslim that he humiliate himself.) They said, `How does one humiliate himself" he said;

«يَتَعَرَّضُ مِنَ الْبَلَاءِ لِمَا لَا يُطِيق»

(He takes on trials that he is not capable of enduring. ) This was recorded by At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, and At-Tirmidhi said, "This Hadith is Hasan Sahih Gharib."

Censuring the Hypocrites

Allah said,

تَرَى كَثِيراً مِّنْهُمْ يَتَوَلَّوْنَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ

(You see many of them taking the disbelievers as their friends.) Mujahid said that this Ayah refers to the hypocrites. Allah's statement,

لَبِئْسَ مَا قَدَّمَتْ لَهُمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ

(Evil indeed is that which they have sent forward before themselves;) by giving their loyalty and support to the disbelievers, instead of the believers. This evil act caused them to have hypocrisy in their hearts and brought them the anger of Allah, that will remain with them until the Day of Return. Allah said;

أَن سَخِطَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ

(for that (reason) Allah is wrath with them) because of what they did. Allah next said that,

وَفِى الْعَذَابِ هُمْ خَـلِدُونَ

(in torment they will abide) on the Day of Resurrection. Allah's statement,

وَلَوْ كَانُوا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْلهِ والنَّبِىِّ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مَا اتَّخَذُوهُمْ أَوْلِيَآءَ

(And had they believed in Allah, and in the Prophet and in what has been revealed to him, never would they have taken them as friends.) meaning, had they sincerely believed in Allah, His Messenger and the Qur'an, they would not have committed the evil act of supporting the disbelievers in secret and being enemies with those who believe in Allah, the Prophet and what was revealed to him,

وَلَـكِنَّ كَثِيراً مِّنْهُمْ فَـسِقُونَ

(but many of them are rebellious). disobedient to Allah and His Messenger and defiant of the Ayat of His revelation that He sent down.

لَتَجِدَنَّ أَشَدَّ النَّاسِ عَدَاوَةً لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ الْيَهُودَ وَالَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُواْ وَلَتَجِدَنَّ أَقْرَبَهُمْ مَّوَدَّةً لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ الَّذِينَ قَالُواْ إِنَّا نَصَارَى ذلِكَ بِأَنَّ مِنْهُمْ قِسِّيسِينَ وَرُهْبَاناً وَأَنَّهُمْ لاَ يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ

The Sad End of Bani Isra'Il

Mentioned in the second verse (78) is the sad end of those from the Bani Isra'il who were involved in this error of excess and deficiency. On them fell the curse of Allah Almighty. Firstly, it came through the tongue of Sayyidna Dawud (علیہ السلام) as result of which they were transformed into swines. Then, this curse fell upon them through the tongue of Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہ السلام) the temporal effect of which was that they were transformed into monkeys. Some commentators have pointed out that the reference to the curse mentioned here as coming through only two prophets is because the context so requires. But, the fact is that the casting of curse on them began with Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) and ended at the Last among Prophets ﷺ . Thus, the curse which overtook those, who were hostile to prophets or were guilty of acting excessively by making prophets sharers in Divine at-tributes, was wished verbally by four prophets one after the other.

In the last two verses (80, 81), the cultivation of deep friendship with disbelievers has been prohibited as its outcome is disastrous. It may also be indicative of the possibility that the deviation of Bani Isra'il was a result of their close friendly collaboration with disbelievers which may have affected their ways adversely and finally became the cause of their fall into the abyss.

In the eyes of Jesus’s early disciples ‘Jesus was a man who was from God.’ They considered him a human being and a prophet. When his religion spread out from Syria, it had to encounter the philosophy of Egypt and Greece. Such persons accepted Christianity and entered the Christian fold as were under the influence of the philosophic thought of the time. As a result of internal causes and external factors, a new era began in Christianity when efforts were made to describe Christianity in the prevalent philosophic style of the times. In the civilized world of those days, the philosophers of Egypt and Greece were dominant. Their thinking greatly influenced the intelligentsia of those days. The Greek philosophers had formed an imaginary concept of the universe. They used to interpret reality on three levels—existence, life and knowledge. Christian theologians were themselves impressed by these ideas and wanted to attract the intellectuals of the times towards Christianity. They tried, therefore, to mould their religion on the lines of current thinking. They offered an interpretation of Christianity which directly related it in essence to the aforesaid three levels. They hoped that in so doing the people could equate Christianity with their own way of thinking and accordingly accept it. They said that religious reality also manifested itself in the ‘Trinity’. ‘Existence’ was the ‘Father’, ‘Life’ was the ‘son’ and ‘knowledge’ was the ‘Holy Spirit’. In order to complete the religion thus interpreted, many ideas were imported into it, for example, the belief that Jesus was the embodied manifestation of kalam (word). After the descent of Adam every human being had become a sinner and God’s son had to atone for this by acquiescing in his own crucifixion, etc. In this way, in the fourth century A.D., having been moulded to fit Egyptian, Greek and Roman concepts, what is now known as Christianity came into being.