Can Jews/Christians follow their scriptures?
Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,
As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh. (May Allah's
Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)
One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:
Brother Burhan,
As salamu alaikum. I got the following attachment from a friend
and I hope, inshaallah you will be able to give a
satisfactorily answers. I myself am also curious to know them, especially the
first one from Surah Al Ma'idah,
verse 69 (identical to Sura Bakarah,
verse 62). I am puzzled by the Present tense usage, like it says about Jews,
Christians and Sabians who follow their scripture and
it says that they will be rewarded and they have no reason to grief. The usage
of present tense ( the word 'follow') may
give a hint that Jews and Christians and Sabians, if
they follow their scripture, they will be in Heaven. So they don't need to
convert to Islam. Had the verse used the word "followed" (instead of
"follow") in the past tense form, then there would not have been any
difficulty to understand it.
I look forward to getting your reply. Please also reply the 2nd
question in the attachment.
Sincerely,
(A brother in Islam)
(There
may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum
does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from
our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)
Answer:
Can Jews/Christians follow their scriptures?
In the
name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness.
Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray,
none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no
person, no grave, no prophet, no imam,
no dai,
nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that
Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verse 69:
69 Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those
who follow the Jewish (Scriptures), and the Sabian,s
and the Christians; any who believe in Allah and the Last Day and work
righteousness on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.
And again, Allah Says in Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verse 62:
62 Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and
those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures), and the Christians, and the Sabians, and who believe in Allah and the last day and work
righteousness shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear
nor shall they grieve.
Your
Question: I am puzzled by the Present tense usage, like it says about Jews,
Christians and Sabians who follow their scripture and
it says that they will be rewarded and they have no reason to grief. The usage of
present tense ( the word 'follow') may give a hint that
Jews and Christians and Sabians, if they follow their
scripture, they will be in Heaven. So they don't need to convert to Islam.
Beloved
brother in Islam, first and foremost to understand any Aayah
of the Quran, one must read and study the context in
which the Aayah or Surah
was revealed; only then would one get the perfect understanding of the context
and the content of the subject and guidance intended.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Maidah verses 67-70:
67 O Messenger! Proclaim the (Message) which hath been sent to thee
from thy Lord. If thou didst not, thou
wouldst not have fulfilled and proclaimed His mission: and Allah will defend
thee from men (who mean mischief). For Allah guideth not those who reject
faith.
68 Say: "O People of the Book! Ye have no ground to stand upon,
unless ye stand fast by the Law the Gospel and all the Revelation that has come
to you from your Lord." It is the
Revelation that cometh to thee from thy Lord that increaseth
in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy. But sorrow thou not over (these) people
without Faith.
69 Those who believe (in the Qur'an), those
who follow the Jewish (Scriptures), and the Sabians,
and the Christians; any who believe in Allah and the Last Day and work
righteousness on them shall be no fear nor shall they grieve.
70 We took the Covenant of the Children of Israel and sent them our
Messengers. Every time there came to
them a Messenger with what they themselves desired not, some (of these) they
called impostors, and some they (go so far as to) slay.
Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 2 Surah Baqarah verses 62-64:
62 Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and
those who follow the Jewish (Scriptures), and the Christians, and the Sabian, and who believe in Allah and the last day and work
righteousness shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear
nor shall they grieve.
63 And remember We took your (from the Jews)
covenant and We raised above you (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai)
(saying): "Hold firmly to what We have given you and bring (ever) to
remembrance what is therein; perchance ye may fear Allah."
64 But ye (the Jews) turned back thereafter had it not been for the
Grace and Mercy of Allah to you ye had surely been among the lost.
What is
said in the context of the above various Aayahs of
the Quran, is that the people who received the
Scriptures before the Quran, claimed to have Divine
Guidance and refused to follow the Revelations that were being revealed to
Prophet Mohamed (saws)! Allah Declares the
Truth in the Quran about their actions and their
beliefs, that in truth they did not follow any of the Divine Revelations, even
though they claimed to do so! Allah
Declares: “Every time there came to them a Messenger with what they
themselves desired not, some (of these) they called impostors, and some they
(go so far as to) slay.” (5:70).
These
People of the Book, claimed their association with the
Books and the Prophets of Allah, but over time had changed and altered the true
teachings and the Revelations to suit their own desires! Had they truly followed their Divine Books,
they would have found therein the command of their Prophets to obey and follow
the Last and Final Revelation that was to come to the Last and Final Messenger
of Allah Subhanah, Mohamed ar-Rasool
Allah (saws). But these obstinate
transgressors neither followed their own Divine Books (even though they claimed
to do so!), nor followed what was to be the Last and Final Revelation of the Quran; but they insisted on following their desires and
their whims and fancies for worldly gains!
Thus in
the above Aayahs of the Glorious Quran, Allah Subhanah
turns the tables on them and challenges them about the authenticity of their
claims that they followed their Scriptures, when in Truth, the All Knowing
declares them to be liars!
The other
clear Message which Allah Declares in the above Aayahs
is that in the Just Court of Allah Subhanah, it does
not matter what group, sect,
or name one gives himself; what matters in that
Your Question: The usage of present tense ( the
word 'follow') may give a hint that Jews and Christians and Sabians,
if they follow their scripture, they will be in Heaven. So they don't need to
convert to Islam.
Prior to
the Revelation of the
Last and Final Testament of the Quran,
those who had indeed believed and followed their Scriptures in their original
Revelations, and did righteous good deeds according to their Revelations; they
would indeed be successful.
But at
the time of the Revelation of the Quran, the
originality of the prior Divine Scriptures had absolutely lost their
authenticity due to the alterations and changes, and their verbal belief and
some amount of their self-invented rituals would not construe them as true
believers simply because they claimed to be associated with the former
Scriptures!
One of
the obligatory conditions of ‘emaan’ or faith is to
believe in absolutely each and every Divine Book, and each and every Messenger
of Allah Subhanah; and one who denies even one of the
Divine Books or one of the thousands of Prophets of Allah Subhanah,
leaves the fold of ‘emaan’ or faith! Thus if there is any who denies the
appointment of Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws) as the
Last and Final Messenger of Allah, or denies the Quran
as the Last and Final Testament of the Lord of the Worlds, will not fulfill the
conditions laid out by Allah Subhanah for ‘emaan’, and will thus be amongst the losers on the Day of
Judgment.
After the
Revelation of the Quran, ‘emaan’
and ‘good righteous deeds’ can only be done if the Last and Final Messenger of
Allah, Mohamed ar-Rasool Allah (saws) and the
Revelation revealed to him is believed and followed. Allah Subhanah has
clearly and openly Declared His this very Decision in
several places in the Glorious Quran:
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 5 Surah Al Maidah verse 3: Today I
(Allah) have perfected your deen for you and
completed my Blessing on you, and approved Islam as your way of life.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah
Ale-Imran verse 19: Indeed, Islam in the ONLY right way of life in the
sight of Allah.
Allah says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale-Imran verse 85: And
whoever adopts any other than this way of Islam, that way shall not be accepted from
him and in the Hereafter; he shall be
among the losers.
Whatever
written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance,
and whatever of error is of me. Allah
Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.
Your Brother in Islam,
Burhan
Wister