they rejected the Signs of Allah and slew the Prophets without right, and because they wantonly disobeyed and used to transgress.
(113) Yet all are not alike among the People of the Book: there are upright people who recite the messages of Allah in the watches of the night and prostrate themselves in worship. (114) They believe in Allah and in the Last Day and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and hasten to excel each other in doing good. These are among the righteous. ▶
27 If the Jews have ever enjoyed any measure of peace and security anywhere in the world they owe it to the goodwill and benevolence of others rather than to their own power and strength. At times Muslim governments granted them havens of refuge while at others non-Muslim powers extended protection. Similarly, if the Jews ever emerged as a power it was due not to their intrinsic strength but to the strength of others. Similar is the status of the present-day Jewish state called Israel which came into being with the active support of the U.S.A., Britain and U.S.S.R.
124
Al [Imran 3: 115–19
(115) Whatever good they do shall not go unappreciated. Allah fully knows those who are pious. (116) As for those who denied the Truth, neither their possessions nor their children will avail them against Allah. They are the people of the Fire, and therein they shall abide. (117) The example of what they spend in the life of this world is like that of a wind accompanied with frost which smote the harvest of a people who wronged themselves, and laid it to waste. It is not Allah Who wronged them; rather, it is they who wronged themselves.
(118) Believers! Do not take for intimate friends those who are not of your kind. They spare nothing to ruin you; indeed they long for you to suffer. Their hatred is clearly manifest in what they say, and what their breasts conceal is even greater. Now We have made Our messages clear to you; if only you can understand (the danger of their intimacy)! (119) Lo! It is you who love them but they do not love you even though you believe in the scriptures. ▶
125
Al [Imran 3: 120–3
When they meet you they say: “We believe,” but when they are by themselves they bite their fingers in rage at you. Say: “Perish in your rage.” Allah knows even what lies hidden in their breasts. (120) If anything good happens to you, they are grieved; if any misfortune befalls you, they rejoice. Yet if you remain steadfast and mindful of Allah their designs will not cause you any harm. Allah surely encompasses all that they do.
(121) (O Messenger, remind the Muslims of the occasion) when you went forth from your home at early dawn (to the battlefield of Uhud) and placed the believers in battle arrays. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
(122) And recall when two groups from among you were inclined to flag although Allah was their Protector; it is in Allah that the believers should put their trust. (123) For sure Allah helped you at Badr when you were utterly weak. Beware, then, of Allah; perhaps you will be thankful.
126
Al [Imran 3: 124–9
(124) And recall when you said to the believers: “Will it not suffice you that your Lord will aid you by sending down three thousand angels?” (125) If you are steadfast and mindful of God, even though the enemy should suddenly fall upon you, your Lord will help you with five thousand marked angels. (126) Allah has reminded you of this only as a glad tiding to you and to let your hearts be at rest. Help can only come from Allah, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. (127) (Allah provided this aid to you) in order that He may cut asunder a part of those who disbelieved or frustrate them so that they retreat in utter disappointment.
(128) (O Messenger), you have no part of the authority to decide whether He will accept their repentance or chastise them, for they surely are wrong-doers. (129) What- ever is in the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah. He forgives whom He wills, and chastises whom He wills. ▶
127
Al [Imran 3: 130–5
Allah is indeed All-Forgiving, Most Compassionate.28
(130) Believers! Do not devour interest, doubled and redoubled, and be mindful of Allah so that you may attain true success, (131) and do have fear of the Fire which awaits those who deny the Truth, (132) and obey Allah and the Messenger, that mercy be shown to you. (133) And hasten to the forgiveness of your Lord and to a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the God-fearing (134) who spend in the way of Allah both in affluence and hardship, who restrain their anger, and forgive others. Allah loves such good-doers. (135) These are the ones who, when they commit any indecency or wrong themselves, instantly remember Allah and implore forgiveness for their sins – for who will forgive sins save Allah? – and do not wilfully persist in the wrong they had committed. ▶
28 When the Prophet was injured in the Battle of Uhud he uttered words of imprecation against the unbelievers: “How can a people that injures its own Prophet attain salvation?” These verses are in response to that utterance.
128
Al [Imran 3: 136–40
(136) They shall be recom- pensed by forgiveness from their Lord and by Gardens beneath which rivers flow; there they shall abide. How good is the reward of those who earnestly labour! (137) Many eras have passed before you. Go about, then, in the land and behold the end of those who rejected (the directives and commands of Allah), calling them lies. (138) This is a plain exposition for mankind, and a guidance and admonition for the God-fearing.
(139) Do not, then, lose heart or grieve: for you shall surely gain the upper hand if you are believers. (140) If you have suffered a wound the people opposed to you have suffered a similar wound.29 These are vicissitudes of time which We deal out in turn among people so that Allah might mark out those who truly believe ▶
29 This alludes to the Battle of Badr. The purpose is to point out to the Muslims that if the unbelievers were not demoralized by the setback they suffered at Badr then the Muslims should not be disheartened by the setback they suffered in the Battle of Uhud.
129
Al [Imran 3: 141–4
and select from among you those who really bear witness (to the Truth):30 for Allah does not love the wrong-doers, (141) and He makes men go through trials in order that He might
