Ali 'Imran 3:19–25

Din دین and Islam اسلام : An Explanation of the Two words:

The word, Din (دین) has more than one meaning in the Arabic language, one of them being 'the way'. In the terminology of the Qur'an, the word, Din دین is used to stand for principles and injunctions which are common to all prophets (علیہم السلام) from Sayyidna Adam (علیہ السلام) to the last of the prophets, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ . The words, 'shari'ah (شریعہ) or 'al-minhaj' (المنھاج) or the word, 'madhhab' (مذھب) from among the later-day terms, are used to cover subsidiary injunctions, which have been different during different ages and different communities. The Holy Qur'an says:

شَرَ‌عَ لَكُم مِّنَ الدِّينِ مَا وَصَّىٰ بِهِ نُوحًا

Allah made you follow the same religion with which He bound Nuh (and other prophets) - 42:13.

This tells us that the دین din of all our blessed prophets (علیہم السلام) was one and the same, that is, belief in the most perfect Being and Attributes of Allah, in His being free of all shortcomings and- that He alone is worthy of worship, believing in this from the depth of one's heart and confirming it verbally; belief in the Day of Judgment, in the final reckoning of deeds, the reward and the punishment and in Paradise and Hell and in every prophet and messenger sent by Him and in all command-ments and injunctions brought by them, believing all this in one's heart and confirming such belief verbally as well.

Now the real meaning of the word, اسلام Islam is to submit oneself to Allah and be obedient to His commands. Given this meaning, those who believed in the prophets and messengers of their time and were obedient to the commands of Allah they brought to them, were all entitled to be called Muslims, and their religion was Islam. It was in this sense of the word that Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) said: وَأُمِرْ‌تُ أَنْ أَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُسْلِمِين I have been commanded that I be from among the Muslims 10:72) and therefore, Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) described himself and his community as Muslims when he said: رَ‌بَّنَا وَاجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْنِ لَكَ وَمِن ذُرِّ‌يَّتِنَا أُمَّةً مُّسْلِمَةً لَّكَ (Our Lord, make us Muslims, the submitting ones to Thee, and from our progeny a community of Muslims submitting to Thee - 2:128). And it was in this very sense of the word that the disciples of Sayyidna 'Isa (علیہ السلام) said: وَاشْهَدْ بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ (And bear witness that we are Muslims - 3:52)

Sometimes this word is applied particularly to the din دین and Shari` ah, the religion and the law brought finally by the last among the prophets, Sayyidna Muhammad al-Mustafa ﷺ This law abrogated all previous ways in religion and this shall sustain right through the Day of Judgment. Given this meaning of the word Islam, it becomes particular to the religion brought by the prophet of Islam and to the large community of his followers. In a well-known hadith of Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) ، the Holy Prophet ﷺ has explained Islam in this very manner.

The word, الاسلام 'Al-Islam' as it appears in the verse here carries the likelihood of both meanings. If the first meaning is taken, it would mean that the only religion -acceptable with Allah is Islam, that is, becoming obedient in complete submission to the commands of Allah, believing in all prophets of all times and in whatever commandments they brought, by acting accordingly. Although, the religion brought by Hadhrat Muhammad ﷺ has not been specially identified here, yet, in pursuance of the general rule, once the last among the line of prophets had been sent, the belief and practice of all injunctions he brought becomes binding, and inclusive under this rule. As such, the outcome will be that the religion acceptable during the period of Sayyidna Nuh (علیہ السلام) was what he brought; during the period of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) ، what he brought. Similarly, the Islam of the period of Sayyidna Musa was what came in the form of the tablets of Torah and the teachings of Moses and the Islam of the period of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) was what came as Injil and the teachings of Jesus (علیہ السلام) ، At the end of this chain of prophets, the Islam of the period of Sayyidna Muhammad ﷺ the last among the prophets (علیہم السلام) ، shall be what took shape on the pattern given by the Qur'an and Sunnah.

Now if we take the second meaning of Islam, that is, the Sharl'ah the way and law brought by the last of the prophets the verse would come to mean that in this period of time only that religion of Islam which is true to the teachings of the noble Prophet ﷺ is the one acceptable. No doubt, previous religions too, during their age of currency, were known as Islam, but they are now abrogated. So, the end-result is the same both ways, that is, during the age of every prophet, the religion acceptable in the sight of Allah is that particular Islam which conforms to the revelation and teachings credited to that prophet. No religion, other than this, even if it be a previously abrogated one, is acceptable and certainly not deserving of being called "Islam" at a later stage. The Shari` ah of Sayyidna Ibrahim (علیہ السلام) was the Islam of his times. When the time of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) came, the abrogated laws of that code did not remain the Islam of his time. Similarly, any laws of Moses (علیہ السلام) abrogated during the time of Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) were not to be labeled as Islam any more. It is exactly like this when laws and injunctions of previous religious codes were abrogated during the time of the Last of the prophets ﷺ ، they no more remained valid as Islam. Therefore, whatever meaning of Islam is taken, general or particular, in relation to the community being addressed by the Holy Qur'an, the outcome of both is nothing but that, following the appearance of the noble Prophet ﷺ ، the only religion which shall be deserving of the Surah 'Al-` Imran 3.18-19 name, Islam, will be the one that conforms to the قُرآن and the teachings of the blessed recipient of revelations and that alone shall be acceptable in the sight of Allah. Since no other religion is acceptable to Allah, it cannot become a source of salvation either. This subject has appeared in the Holy Qur'an in many verses separately. The exact words used in one such verse are: وَمَن يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ‌ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَن يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ That is, whoever seeks a religion other than Islam, it will not be accepted from him (and what is done under its dictates shall be wasted).

Salvation in our times depends on Islam:

Even good deeds and morals from a non-Muslim are not acceptable.

These verses have very clearly hit at the root of the atheistic approach which endeavours to bracket Islam and disbelief (kufr) on the same footing in the name of tolerance preached by Islam, thereby claiming that every faith of the world Judaism, Christianity, even paganism can each become the source of salvation, on condition that its followers perform good deeds and observe good morals. This is a veiled attempt to demolish a principle of Islam and to prove that reality Islam is nothing of substance. It is something limpid and imaginary which could be moulded to fit into whatever religion one chooses, even if it is kufr or disbelief The verses of the Holy Qur'an, those appearing here and a large number of others, have very explicitly stressed that the light and darkness cannot be the same. Similarly, it is grossly absurd and impossible that Allah would like disobedience to and rebellion against Him just as He likes obedience and submission. Whoever denies even one basic principle of Islam, he is, without any shadow of doubt, a rebel to Allah and the enemy of how impressing he may appear in his other deeds and formal morality. Salvation in the Hereafter depends, first of all, on obedience to Allah and His Messenger. Whoever remains deprived of it, not one of his deeds is credible. The Holy Qur'an says for such people:

فَلَا نُقِيمُ لَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَزْنًا

We shall not assign weight to their deeds on the Day of Judgment - 18:105.

In verse 19: وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَهُمُ الْعِلْمُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ after declaring that 'the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam', the text moves on to explain why the people of the Book went about disputing the prophethood of Sayyidna Muhammad ﷺ ، and challenging Islam as false. They did this, not because they had any doubts in this connection for they knew the truth of the matter through their own scriptures, but because they were scared of losing their ground against 'Muslims. So, it was their malice towards Muslims, their love for power and influence and their arrogant self-image as traditional leaders which drove them to these altercations.

Finally, it was said: وَمَن يَكْفُرْ‌ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ سَرِ‌يعُ الْحِسَابِ that is, 'whoever denies the verses of Allah (as the people of the Book did), then, Allah is swift at reckoning'. The swiftness of this reckoning can be well imagined as it starts initially soon after death when man passes into the state known as 'barzakh برزخ '. But the detailed accounting for one's deeds shall take place on the Day of Judgment when he will have to account for his doings in the minutest detail. Then, the penchant for disputing truth will be exposed. The people who denied the truth will discover their worth and the punishment it calls for shall become known to them.

The Surah began with the confirmation of Divine Oneness and the refutation of Trinity. Answered here are argumentations in which the disbelievers and deniers among the people of the Book persist - even after the truth of Islam has been proved conclusively. The advice against such ongoing. and unnecessary disputations is that the acceptance or rejection of disputers should be of no use to a believer who simply has to declare that he and those with him have entered the fold of Islam being in no doubt about its truth. The Holy Prophet ﷺ was entrusted with the mission of calling the people of the Book, the Jews and Christians, and the disbelievers of Arabia to submit to Allah and embrace Islam which will be for their own good for they will be on the right path. In case they continue to maintain their hostile attitude, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has been comforted here by saying that his duty is only limited to conveying the message of Allah and His commandments. That the message does not seem to get across to them, as they elect to reject rather than accept, should really not be a matter of concern for him. This is something Allah will take care of in His own way for He is in full sight of what His servants are doing.

In the earlier part of the Surah, the text mostly beamed at the Christians. In verse 20, 'those who have been given the Book' includes both Christians and Jews. Now, verses 21-22 here, talk about some of the unusual doings of Jews. Ruh al-Ma'ani while commenting on this verse reports a hadith from the Holy Prophet ﷺ as narrated by Ibn Abi Hatim ؓ . While explaining this verse, he said that Bani Isra'i1 slew forty three prophets at one and the same time. One hundred and seventy pious, elders stood up asking them to uphold justice. They slew them as well on the same day. (Bayan a1-Qura'n)

In verse 21, 'those who disbelieve the verses of Allah' refers to Jews who did not believe in the Injil انجیل and the Qur'an. 'Slay the Prophets (علیہم السلام) unjustly means that they know that they are doing so without justice. 'Those who bid justice' are people who teach moderation in deeds and morals.

Because of this whole set of their terrible deeds, verse 22 says that all their good deeds have gone waste both here and there, and when they are punished, they will find no one to assist them.

While dealing with the subject of Jews, as in verses 21-22, the text goes on to censure a particular claim of theirs in the present verse. The address is to the Holy Prophet ﷺ and the reference is to the Torah given to the Jews who would have found it enough for them if they were really looking forward to guidance. But they elect to be in-different because they say and believe that the fire of Hell will not touch them except for a few days, after which, according to their supposition, they would be forgiven. This, it has been said, is self-deception caused by what they have been forging for themselves like their belief that they were the progeny of prophets and therefore, they will escape punishment in the fire of Hell.

Jews contended that they had worshipped the calf for 40 days and so they will incur punishment, if any, for the same period only.