3. Aal-i-Imraan

Verily God has heard the saying of those namely the Jews who said ‘Indeed God is poor and we are rich’ they said this when the verse who is he that will lend God a good loan Q. 2245 was revealed adding that ‘If God were truly rich He would not be asking us for loans’. We shall write down We shall order that it be written what they have said in the scrolls containing their deeds so that they will be requited for it a variant reading for active naktubu ‘We shall write’ has the passive yuktabu ‘it shall be written’ and We shall write down their slaying read accusative qatlahum or nominative qatluhum the prophets without right and We shall say naqūlu also read yaqūlu meaning God shall say to them by the tongue of the angels in the Hereafter ‘Taste the chastisement of the Burning the Fire.

When they are thrown into the Fire it will be said to them That punishment is for what your hands have sent before ‘hands’ are used to designate a human being because most actions are performed with them; for God is never unjust towards His servants’ punishing them without them having sinned.

Those alladhīna an adjectival qualification of the previous alladhīna ‘those who’ Q. 3181 same who said to Muhammad (s) ‘God has already made covenant with us in the Torah that we should not believe in any messenger accepting his truthfulness until he bring us an offering to be devoured by fire’ and so we will not believe in you until you bring us this offering namely of grazing livestock or other kind of animal one offers in sacrifice to God. If it is accepted a white fire will come down from the heaven and consume it otherwise it will remain as it is. Such a covenant was made with the Children of Israel but not in the case of Jesus and Muhammad. God exalted be He says Say to them in rebuke ‘messengers have come to you before me with clear proofs with miracles and with that which you said messengers such as Zachariah and John but you slew them the address here is for those living at the time of our Prophet Muhammad (s) even though the deed was their forefathers’ for they their descendants are content with it. Why did you slay them then if you are truthful?’ about the fact that you would believe if it the offering were brought to you.

But if they deny you so were denied messengers before you who came bearing clear proofs miracles and the Scriptures such as the scrolls of Abraham and the Illuminating the lucid Book that is the Torah and the Gospel a variant reading establishes the prefixed preposition bā’ in both words sc. bi’l-zubur wa-bi’l-kitāb l-munīr ‘with the Scriptures and with the Illuminating Book’ so be patient as they were.

Every soul shall taste of death; you shall surely be paid in full your wages the requital of your deeds on the Day of Resurrection. Whoever is moved away distanced from the Fire and admitted to Paradise will have triumphed he will have attained his ultimate wish. Living in the life of this world is but the comfort of delusion; of inanity enjoyed for a little while then perishing.

You shall surely be tried la-tublawunna the final nūn nominative indicator has been omitted because two nūn letters would otherwise succeed one another as has been the plural person indicator wāw where two unvocalised consonants have come together in other words you shall surely be tested in your property through the duties imposed thereupon and through the damages that affect them; and in your selves through the obligations of worship and through calamities and you shall hear from those who were given the Scripture before you the Jews and the Christians and from those who are idolaters from among the Arabs much hurt in the way of insult slander and their flirting with your women; but if you are patient through this and fear God — surely that is true resolve that is it is one of those things regarding which one must necessarily have firm resolve.

And mention when God made covenant with those who had been given the Scripture that is the pledge taken from them in the Torah ‘You shall expound it read tubayyinunnahu or yubayyinunnahu ‘they shall expound it’ the Book to people and not conceal it’ read taktumūnahu ‘you shall not conceal it’ or yaktumūnahu ‘they shall not conceal it’. But they rejected it they discarded the covenant behind their backs and so they did not act in accordance with it and bought with it they took in its place a small price of this world from the debased among them enjoying supremacy over them in knowledge and they concealed it lest it the supremacy escape them; how evil is what they have bought how evil is this purchase of theirs!

Do not reckon that lā tahsabanna or read lā yahsabanna ‘let them not reckon’ those who rejoice in what they have brought that is in what they have done by leading people astray and who love to be praised for what they have not done in the way of adherence to the truth being themselves misguided — do not reckon them fa-lā tahsabannahum is for emphasis in the case of both readings above secure in a place where they can escape from the chastisement in the Hereafter; but instead they shall be in a place of wherein they shall be tortured and that is Hell; there shall be a painful chastisement for them in it alīm means mu’lim ‘painful’. If one reads yahsabanna ‘let them not reckon’ the two direct objects of the first h-s-b verb would be indicated by the two direct objects of the second h-s-b verb; but if one reads tahsabanna ‘do not reckon’ then only second direct object would be omitted.

To God belongs the kingdom of the heavens and of the earth the storehouses of rain sustenance vegetation and so forth and God has power over all things including the punishing of disbelievers and the saving of believers.

Surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the marvels contained in them and in the alternation of night and day coming and going increasing and diminishing there are signs indications of God’s power for people of pith for people possessing intellects.