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:

A friend of my mailed me these translations. Unfortunately I don’t have very in-depth knowledge of the holy Qur’an [and I’m ashamed of it every day of my life].

So, if you have time then please help me understand what this Surah tells us or try to teach us. I’ve read this many times and could not able to understand.

With regards,

In the name of Allah Most Gracious Most Merciful Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say: "We are Christians:"
because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world and they are not arrogant.
( Surah AL-MAEDA , Ayat # 82 )

(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:

Jews strongest in enmity

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.

Ref: Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans;

In the above Aayah of the Holy Quran, The All-Knowing, All-Wise Lord declares and warns the believers that amongst all the people in the world who oppose and have hatred towards the believers and the Mission of Islam would be first and foremost the Jews, and then the ‘mushriks’ or polytheists. And as with every Revelation of the Glorious Quran, the declaration and warning of the All Knowing Lord is as true today, as it was at the time of the Revelation.

It is not the Muslims who hold a hatred towards the Jews and the polytheists, but in the above Aayah, Allah Subhanah has given a prior warning to the believers of the condition of the hearts of the Jews and the mushriks towards the muslims and the Mission of Islam; for Allah Subhanah is indeed aware of the even the deepest secrets of the hearts.

Ref: and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say: "We are Christians:" because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world and they are not arrogant.
And amongst all the non-believers, the closest and most sympathetic towards the believers and the Mission of Islam would be the people who call themselves the ‘Nasaras’ or the ‘Helpers’; which is a synonym the Glorious Quran has used to call the true Christians who sincerely believed in the Mission of Prophet Isa (a.s.).

Again, the Revelation, as with every Aayah of the Glorious Quran, is as true today as it was when it was being revealed. If one simply looks at the people who have reverted to Islam, one would find that the maximum number of them would be originally of the Christian faith. Some of the greatest scholars and orators of the Muslim world today are reverts from Christianity, namely: Brother Yusuf Islam of the UK, Brother Siraj Wahhaj of New York, Brother Hamza Yusuf of San Francisco, Brother Bilaal Philips of USA, etc.

If one looks at the condition of the people of the world today, it would seem that there is a severe conflict between the Christian and Muslim world; but if one studies the problem in-depth, one would realize that it is actually the Jewish influence in the Christian world which is the real cause of their conflict with the Muslim world!

Although most of the people who call themselves Christians today have left the original teachings of Prophet Isa (a.s.), if one finds the three qualities, or even one of the three qualities mentioned in the above Aayah, one would see that these Christians would be understanding, if not sympathetic towards the Cause of Islam:

Those amongst them who are devoted to learning (the Truth)

Those amongst them who have truly renounced the world (some of their priests)

And those amongst them who are not arrogant.

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