are the transgressors.”
(83) Do they now seek a religion other than that pre- scribed by Allah and this despite all that is in the heavens and the earth is in submission to Him – willingly or unwillingly – and to Him all shall return? (84) Say: “We believe in Allah and what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and to Isaac and Jacob and his descendants, and the teachings which Allah gave to Moses and Jesus and to other Prophets. We make no dis- tinction between any of them; and to Him do we submit.” ▶
the Prophet (peace be on him) neither informed his followers of the advent of any future Prophet nor did he direct them to believe in the prophethood of any such Prophet. On the contrary, he has been pronounced khatam al-nabiyin (the seal of the Prophets), meaning the last of them by the Qur’an. Several traditions from the Prophet (peace be on him) confirm that he categorically declared that no Prophet would come after him.
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Al [Imran 3: 85–90
(85) And whoever seeks a way other than this way of sub- mission – Islam – will find that it will not be accepted from him and he will be among the losers in the Life to Come.
(86) How can Allah guide a people who once believed, and after they had received Clear Signs and affirmed that the Messenger was a true one, they lapsed into disbelief? Allah does not guide the wrong- doers. (87) The recompense for their wrong-doing is that the curse of Allah and of the angels and of all men shall be upon them. (88) Thus shall they abide. Neither shall their chastisement be lightened nor shall they be granted any respite. (89) But for those who repent and mend their ways Allah is indeed Most Forgiving, Most Compassionate. (90) Those who disbelieved after having believed and then hardened in their disbelief,22 their (pretence to) repentance shall not be accepted. ▶
22 These opponents of the Truth were not content with just rejecting the call to the Truth but stood in vehement opposition and hostility to it and spared no efforts to obstruct people from following the way of God. They created doubts, spread misgivings, sowed seeds of distrust and engaged in the worst conspiracies and machinations to frustrate the mission of the Prophet (peace be on him).
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Al [Imran 3: 91–3
Such have utterly gone astray. (91) Truly those who embraced unbelief and died as un- believers, not even the whole earth full of gold will be accepted from them as ransom. For such there is painful chastisement; and none shall come to their help.
(92) You shall not attain righteousness until you spend (for the sake of Allah) out of what you love. Allah knows whatever you spend.
(93) All food (that is lawful in the Law revealed to Muhammad) was lawful to the Children of Israel,23 except what Israel made unlawful to himself before the revelation of the Torah. Tell them: “Bring the Torah and recite any passage of it if you are truthful.” ▶
23 The Jewish rabbis found no grounds to criticize the fundamental teachings of the Prophet (peace be on him) for there was no difference between the teachings of the previous Prophets and that of the Arabian Prophet on matters which constitute the core of religion. They, therefore, raised objections about the details of the religious law. The first objection was that the Prophet (peace be on him) had declared lawful a number of things which had been reckoned as unlawful since the time of the ancient Prophets. What is said here is to refute that objection. The Jews also raised the objection that the direction of Prayer had been changed from Jerusalem to the Ka[bah. The verses that follow address this objection.
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Al [Imran 3: 94–7
(94) Those who forge lies against Allah despite this are the wrong-doers. (95) Say: “Whatever Allah has said is true. Follow, then, the way of Abraham in total devotion to Allah. He was not among those who associate others with Allah in His Divinity.”
(96) Behold, the first House (of Prayer) established for mankind is the one at Bakkah: it is full of blessing and is a centre of guidance for the whole world. (97) In it there are Clear Signs24 and the station of Abraham; whoever enters it becomes secure. Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to Allah by all who can make their way to it. ▶
24 Here it is stressed that there are several Clear Signs which prove that the Makkan sanctuary enjoys God’s blessing and has been chosen by Him as His sanctuary. Even though it is located in the middle of wide expanses of desert God has seen to it that its inhabitants enjoy a satisfactory living. Although the rest of Arabia was plunged into chaos and disorder for about two and a half thousand years, peace and tranquillity reigned in both the precincts and environs of the Ka[bah. Thanks to the Ka[bah the entire Arabian peninsula enjoyed four months of peace and order every year. These were the sacred months when people went on Pilgrimage. Moreover, barely a half century before the revelation of these verses, people had seen how Abrahah, the Abyssinian invader, fell prey to God’s scourge when he attacked Makkah to destroy the Ka[bah. At the time when the Qur’an was revealed, this incident was known to everybody in Arabia. Its memory was fresh and many eye-witnesses were still alive at the time of the Prophet (peace be on him).
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Al [Imran 3: 98–102
As for those who refuse to follow His command, surely Allah stands in need of no one in the whole universe.
(98) Say: “People of the Book! Why do you reject the Signs of Allah when Allah is witness to all that you do?” (99) Say: “People of the Book! Why do you hinder believers from the Way of Allah, seeking that they follow a crooked way, even though you yourselves are witness to its being the Right Way?” Allah is not heedless of what you do.
(100) Believers! Were you to obey a party of those who were given the Book, they might cause you to renounce the Truth after you have attained to faith. (101) How can you disbelieve when you are the ones to whom the Signs of Allah are recited and when His Messenger is in your midst? Whoever holds fast to Allah will certainly be guided to the Straight Way.
(102) Believers! Fear Allah as He should be feared, and see that you do not die save in submission to Allah. ▶
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Al [Imran 3: 103–6
(103) Hold fast together to the cable of Allah,25 and be not divided. Remember the bless- ing that Allah bestowed upon you: you were once enemies, then He brought your hearts together, so that through His blessing you became brothers. You stood on the brink of a pit of fire and He delivered you from it. Thus Allah makes His Signs clear to you that you may be guided to the Right Way.
(104) And from amongst you there must be a party who will call people to all that is good and will enjoin the doing of all that is right and will forbid the doing of all that is wrong. It is they who will attain true success. (105) Do not be like those who fell into factions and became opposed to one another after Clear Signs had come to them. A mighty chastisement awaits them (106) on the Day when some faces will turn bright and other faces will turn dark. ▶
25 The expression “cable