We have a welcome break. We will not encounter another “O Children of Israel” until we arrive at verse 122. Jews are mentioned in this section only when Allah needs to warn the believers against their treachery.
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Be Not Like the People of the Book
2:109 “Many of the People of the Book wish they might restore you as unbelievers, after you have believed, in the jealousy of their souls, after the truth has become clear to them. Yet pardon and be forgiving, till Allah brings His command. Truly Allah is powerful over everything.”
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Muhammad wanted the new Muslims in Medina to avoid debating with their Jewish neighbours, lest they be led astray and persuaded to reject his message. Bide your time, as I have a plan.
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That plan, as we saw before, ended very badly for the “People of the Book”. The suggested pardoning and forgiving was temporary, waiting for the opportune occasion, when Muhammad could rid himself of the Jews.
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In the meantime, 2:110 “And perform the prayer, and pay the poor tax. Whatever good you shall forward to your souls’ account, you shall find it with Allah. Surely Allah sees the things you do.”
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2:111 is 2:94 “who gets to go to heaven” re-stated, with a variation, adding the Christians to this exclusive club:
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“And they say, ‘None shall enter Paradise except that they be Jews or Christians.’ Such are their fancies. Say: ‘Produce your proof, if you speak truly.’”
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2:112 “Nay, but whosoever submits his will to Allah, being a good-doer, his wage is with his Lord, and no fear shall be on them, neither shall they grieve.”
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Submit your will to Muhammad’s, and everything will be great.
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Jews and Christians Argue, and Allah Will Decide
Back to Jews and Christians, Muhammad advises the Believers that each group claims that the other’s belief is unfounded.
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2:113 “The Jews say, ‘The Christians stand not on anything’. The Christians say, ‘The Jews stand not on anything’. Yet they recite the Book. So too the ignorant say the like of them. Allah shall decide between them on the Day of Resurrection touching their differences”.
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Here Muhammad tells his followers that although the Jews and Christians read the same book, they do not really understand what they are reading, and they also claim that the others do not understand. Allah, on the other hand, does, and he will resolve all differences on The Day.
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Jews and Christians do not read the same books. Jews do not read the Gospels. Christians read some Hebrew texts that are considered Deutero-canonical in Judaism. And judging by the poor understanding of Scripture as evident in the Quran, there is no escaping the conclusion that it is the authors of the Quran who do not understand what is written in the Book.
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It is so easy for the ignorant to dismiss the work of the learned.
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The background for 2:113 is, according Ibn Ishaq (Sira:380), an alleged dispute which took place before Muhammad between the Christians of Najran, a Christian city south of Mecca, and the “Jewish Rabbis” of Medina.
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Ibn Ishaq’s conclusion is “… the Jews deny Jesus though they have the Torah in which Allah required them by the word of Musa to hold Jesus true; while the Gospel is what Jesus brought, in confirmation of Musa and the Torah he brought from Allah: so each one denies what is in the hand of the other.”
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Why the Christians would come all the way from Najran to have a debate with Jews before Muhammad, Ibn Ishaq doesn’t say.
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Muslims Banned from Allah’s Sanctuary in Mecca
In 2:114 Muhammad expresses his anger at the Meccans who did not let him enter the Allah’s houses of worship in Mecca to pray:
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“And who is more unjust than he who prevents from the mosques of Allah, so that His name should be remembered in them, and strives to ruin them? These, it was not proper for them that they should have entered them except in fear. They shall meet with disgrace in this world, and they shall have great chastisement in the hereafter.”
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Allah assures us that the Meccan pagans will pay for it. And pay they did.
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This was during Muhammad’s 6th year in Medina, when the treaty of Hudaybiya was struck, after Muhammad failed attempt to enter Mecca on a pilgrimage to Allah’s house of worship, to perform the pagan rites practiced for centuries in the region, and later introduced into Islam by Muhammad.
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At that time, Allah still was to the Quraysh of Mecca the top god in their pantheon, the Ka’bah, and they wouldn’t let Muhammad near him. The Hudaybiya truce, although made for 10 years, was breached in its second year by Muhammad, when the opportunity arose to attack Mecca again.
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Since then, Hudaybiya is a model for Islamic military strategy: sign a peace treaty when you cannot possibly defeat your enemy, then break it as soon as you think that prospects for achieving military success have improved.
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Getting on with instructions to the Believers in the principles of the faith, in 2:115-117 Muhammad reiterates some biblical doctrines: East and west (that is, the whole world), belongs to Allah, Allah did not have a son (contrary to what the Unbelievers claim), and Allah created all things “by decree”, that is, saying: “Be”.
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The Unbelievers Demand Proof
2:118-119 were handed down from Allah to Muhammad in reply to one Rafi’, a “Jewish Rabbi” who annoyed Muhammad with questions (end of Sira:380):
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“If you are the apostle from Allah as you say, then ask Allah to speak to us so that we may hear his voice”.
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Allah replies (2:118-119): “And they that know not say, ‘Why does Allah not speak to us? Why does a sign not come to us?’ So spoke those before them as these men say; their hearts are much alike. Yet We have made clear the signs unto a people who are sure We have sent you with the truth, good tidings to bear, and warning. You will not be questioned regarding the inhabitants of Hell.”
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Allah’s answer is somewhat unsatisfactory: He produced signs (miracles) for people who are sure, that is, sure in their belief. But verse 118 deals with the people who are not sure, who “know not”, and who require a sign that will help them strengthen their faith.
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Allah does not care for these people. He will just send them to Hell. Remember, he has a large quota to fill. Those who ask too many difficult questions are trouble makers, who usually end up dead, or are made to disappear.
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Here, “questioned regarding the inhabitants of Hell” means be liable, or called to account on their behalf. You have carried out your duty, and you are not responsible for their disbelief. Muhammad wins similar immunity from Allah in a few other places in our surah and in the Quran.
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2:120 “The Jews and the Christians will not accept you until you follow their religions.
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Say: ‘Allah’s guidance is the true guidance.’ If you follow their caprices, after the knowledge that has come to you, you shall have in Allah neither protector nor helper.”
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It is not clear who “you” is in the first sentence: Muhammad, or his audience. Either way, it is a false allegation. In the second part, Muhammad says to his followers: my god will abandon me and I will lose my immunity if I follow these religions.
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Allah says (2:121): “Those to whom We have given the Book and who read it as it should be read, they believe in it. And those who disbelieves in it, they shall be the losers.”
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They will be lost, disappear. Reading the Book as it should be read means not as the Jews or Christians read it, but as Muslims should.
