themselves suffered and for which they had become notorious.
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sustenance would have been showered over them from above and would have risen from beneath their feet. Some among them certainly keep to the Right Path, but many of them do things that are evil.
(67) O Messenger! Deliver what has been revealed to you from your Lord, for if you fail to do that, you have not fulfilled the task of His messengership. Allah will certainly protect you from the evil of men. Surely Allah will not guide the unbelievers (to succeed against you). (68) Say to them: “People of the Book! You have no solid ground to stand on unless you establish the Torah and the Gospel and all that had been revealed to you from your Lord.” Indeed the Message revealed to you from your Lord will lead to the aggravation of insurgence and unbelief in many of them. So do not grieve for those who disbelieve. (69) (Know well, none has an exclusive claim to the Truth.) For all those who believe in Allah and in the Last Day and do good deeds – whether they are Muslims or Jews or Sabaeans or Christians – neither fear shall fall upon them, ▶
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nor shall they have any reason to grieve.43
(70) We took a covenant from the Children of Israel and sent to them many Messengers. But whenever any Messenger brought to them something that did not suit their desires, they gave the lie to some of them and killed the others, (71) thinking that no harm would come from it. Thus they became blind and deaf (to the Truth). Thereafter Allah turned towards them in gracious forgiveness; but many of them became even more deaf and blind (to the Truth). Allah sees all that they do.
(72) And surely they dis- believed when they said: “Christ, the son of Mary, is indeed God”; whereas Christ had said: “Children of Israel! Serve Allah, Who is your Lord and my Lord.” Allah has forbidden Paradise to those who associate anything with Him in His Divinity and their refuge shall be the Fire. No one will be able to help such wrong-doers.
43 For further explanation see Surah al-Baqarah 2: 62, n. 26 above.
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(73) Those who said: “Allah is one of the Three,” certainly they disbelieved, for there is no god save the One God. And if they do not give up this claim, all who have disbelieved among them shall be subjected to painful chastisement. (74) Will they not, then, turn to Allah in repentance, and ask for His forgiveness? Allah is All- Forgiving, All-Compassionate.
(75) The Messiah, son of Mary, was no more than a Messenger, before whom many Messengers have passed away; and his mother adhered wholly to truthfulness, and they both ate food (as other mortals do). See how We make Our signs clear to them; and see where they are turning away!44
(76) Say: “Do you serve, instead of Allah, that which has no power either to harm or benefit you, ▶
44 In these few words the Christian doctrine of the Divinity of Jesus Christ is repudiated. The true nature of the Messiah is clear from the indications given here: he was merely a human being, he was one born from the womb of a woman, who had a known genealogy, who possessed a physical body, who was subject to all the limitations of a human being and had all the attributes characteristic of human beings. Jesus slept, ate, felt the discomfort of heat and cold and was so human that he was even tested by Satan. How could any reasonable person believe that such a being was either God or a partner or associate of God in His Godhead?
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whereas Allah alone is All- Hearing, All-Knowing?” (77) Say: “People of the Book! Do not exceed the proper limits in your religion at the cost of Truth, and do not follow the caprices of the people who strayed before, and caused others to go astray, and strayed far away from the Right Path.”
(78) Those of the Children of Israel who took to unbelief have been cursed by the tongue of David and Jesus, the son of Mary, for they rebelled and exceeded the bounds of right. (79) They did not forbid each other from committing the abominable deeds they committed.45 Evil indeed was what they did. (80) And now you can see many of them taking the unbelievers (instead of the believers) for their allies. Indeed they have sent forth evil for themselves. Allah is angry with them, and they shall abide in chastisement. ▶
45 The corruption of any nation begins with the corruption of a few individuals. If the collective conscience of that nation is alive, the pressure of public opinion keeps the people in check and prevents the nation as a whole from becoming corrupted. But if instead of censuring such individuals, the nation leaves them free to behave corruptly, the corruption that was originally confined to a few persons continues to spread till it engulfs the whole nation. It was this which ultimately caused the degeneration of Israel.
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(81) For had they truly believed in Allah and the Messenger and what was sent down to him, they would not have taken the unbelievers (instead of believers) for their allies. But many of them have altogether rebelled against Allah.
(82) Of all people you will find the Jews and those who associate others with Allah in His Divinity to be the most hostile to those who believe; and you will surely find that of all people they who say: “We are Christians,” are closest to feeling affection for those who believe. This because there are worshipful priests and monks among them, and because they are not arrogant. (83) And when they hear what has been revealed to the Messenger you see that their eyes overflow with tears because of the Truth that they recognize and they say: “Our Lord! We do believe; write us down, therefore, with those who bear witness (to the Truth). (84) And why should we not believe in Allah and the Truth which has come down to us when we do fervently desire that our Lord should include us among the righteous?” ▶
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(85) So Allah rewarded them for these words with the Gardens beneath which rivers flow so that they would abide there forever. Such is the reward of the people who do good. (86) Those who disbelieved and gave the lie to Our Signs are rightfully
