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You bring forth the living out of the dead, and You bring the dead out of the living, and You grant livelihood to whomever You will beyond all reckoning.”
(28) The believers may not take the unbelievers for their allies in preference to the believers. Whoever does this has nothing to do with Allah unless he does so in order to protect himself from their wrongdoing.5 Allah warns you to beware of Him for to Allah is the ultimate return.6 (29) Say: “Whether you conceal what is in your hearts or disclose it, Allah knows it. ▶
5 This means that it is lawful for a believer, helpless in the grip of the enemies of Islam and in imminent danger of severe wrong and persecution, to keep his faith concealed and to behave in such manner as to create the impression that he is on the same side as his enemies. A person whose Muslim identity is discovered is permitted to adopt a friendly attitude towards the unbelievers in order to save his life. If he considers himself incapable of enduring the excess to which he may be subjected, he may even state that he is not a believer.
6 One may resort to prudent concealment of faith (taqiyah) in order to save one’s life. This concealment should, however, remain within reasonable limits. The most one is permitted to do is to save one’s life and property without jeopardizing either the interests of Islam or the Muslim community as a whole, and without causing loss of life and property to other Muslims. One must never allow saving one’s own life to lead to the propagation of unbelief at the expense of Islam and to the dominance of unbelievers over Muslims.
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Al [Imran 3: 30–4
Allah knows all that is in the heavens and in the earth and He has power over everything.” (30) The Day is approaching when every soul shall find itself confronted with what- ever good it has done and whatever evil it has wrought. It will then wish that there be a wide space between it and the Day! Allah warns you to beware of Him; He is Most Tender towards His servants.
(31) (O Messenger), tell people: “If you indeed love Allah, follow me, and Allah will love you and will forgive you your sins. Allah is All- Forgiving, All-Compassionate.” (32) Say: “Obey Allah and obey the Messenger.” If they turn away from this then know that Allah does not love those who refuse to obey Him and His Messenger.
(33) Truly Allah chose Adam and Noah and the descendants of Abraham and of [Imran7 above all mankind (34) (for His Messengership) – a people alike and the seed of one another. ▶
7 [Imran was the father of Moses and Aaron, and has been mentioned in the Bible as Amram.
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Al [Imran 3: 35–7
Allah is All-Hearing, All- Knowing (35) (He also heard) when [Imran’s woman8 said: “O Lord! Behold, unto You do I vow that the child in my womb is to be devoted to Your exclusive service. Accept it, then, from me. Surely You alone are All-Hearing, All- Knowing.” (36) But when she gave birth to a female child, she said: “O Lord! I have given birth to a female” – and Allah knew full well what she had given birth to – “and a male is not the same as a female. I have named her Mary and commit her and her offspring to You for protection from Satan, the accursed.” (37) Thereupon her Lord graciously accepted Mary and vouchsafed to her a goodly growth and placed her in the care of Zechariah.
Whenever Zechariah visited her in the sanctuary, he found her provided with food. ▶
8 If “[Imran’s woman” is interpreted as the wife of [Imran, this [Imran must be different from the [Imran just mentioned. He would rather be the father of Mary who was probably called [Imran. If this expression, however, is interpreted to mean “a woman of the house of [Imran,” it would mean that the mother of Mary belonged to that tribe.
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Al [Imran 3: 38–41
He asked her: “Mary, how did this come to you?” She said: “It is from Allah. Allah provides sustenance to whom He wills beyond all reckoning.” (38) Then Zechariah prayed to his Lord: “O Lord! Grant me from Yourself out of Your grace the gift of a goodly offspring, for indeed You alone heed all prayers.” (39) As he stood praying in the sanctuary, the angels called out to him: “Allah gives you good tidings of John (Yahya), who shall confirm a command9 of Allah, shall be outstanding among people, utterly chaste, and a Prophet from among the righteous.” (40) Zechariah exclaimed, “My Lord! How shall I have a son when old age has overtaken me and my wife is barren?” He said: “Thus shall it be;10 Allah does what He wills.” (41) Zechariah said: “O my Lord! Appoint a Sign for me.” ▶
9 The “command from Allah” here signifies Jesus (peace be on him). His birth took place as the result of an extraordinary command from God and in an unusual manner, hence he is designated as “the command” or “word” from Allah.
10 Here it is being stressed that God would grant Zechariah a son despite his old age and the barrenness of his wife.
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Al [Imran 3: 42–5
The angel said: “The Sign for you shall be that you shall not speak to people for three days except by gesture. Remember your Lord and extol His glory by night and by day.”
(42) Then came the time when the angels said: “O Mary! Behold, Allah has chosen you, and has made you pure, and has exalted you above all the women in the world. (43) O Mary! Remain devout to your Lord, and prostrate yourself in worship, and bow down with those who bow down (before Him).”
(44) (O Muhammad), We reveal to you this account from a realm which lies beyond the reach of your perception for you were not with them when they drew lots with their pens11 about who should be Mary’s guardian, and you were not with them when they disputed about it.
(45) And when the angels said: “O Mary! Allah gives you the glad tidings of a command from Him: his name shall be Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary. ▶
11 They drew lots to decide who should be the guardian of Mary, whose mother had consecrated her to the service of God in the Temple.
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Al [Imran 3: 46–9
He shall be highly honoured in this world and in the Next, and shall be one of those near stationed to Allah. (46) And he shall speak to people in the cradle and also later when he grows to maturity and shall indeed be among the right- eous.” (47) She said: “O my Lord!
