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Oh ye that believe! believe in God and
in His prophet, and in the book which He hath revealed to His prophet, and in
the book which He revealed from before; and whoever
disbelieves in God, and in His angels, and in His books, and in His prophets,
and in the last day, verily he hath wandered into a wide error.
This is a distinct command, which the follower of the
Corân holds to proceed from God, directing every believer to believe not
only in the Book brought by Mahomet, but likewise in the Books or Scriptures
revealed before it; and whoever disbelieveth in them, or in any part
thereof, (
أي ومن كفر بشي من ذلك
—Baidhâwi) is declared to have wandered into wide and
dangerous error.
"Believe in God and in His Prophet, and in the Book which He hath
revealed to His prophet, and in the Book which He revealed from before; that
is, Be steadfast in the faith thereof, and perpetually rest thereupon, and
believe in it with your hearts as ye believe in it with your lips;—or believe
with a comprehensive faith which shall embrace all the Scriptures and Apostles,
for the faith of a part is as no faith at all."
آمنوا بالله ورسوله والكتاب الذي نزل على رسوله والكتاب الذي أنزل من قبل أثبتوا على الأيمان بذلك ودوموا عليه وآمنوا به بقلوبكم كما آمنتم بلسانكم أو آمنوا إيماناً عاما يعم الكتب والرسل فإن الإيمان بالبعض كلا أيمان
—Baidhâwi.
As to the parties addressed Baidhâwi has the following commentary:—"The
Moslems are here addressed; or the hypocrites; or the believers from among the
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TESTIMONY TO THE HOLY SCRIPTURES |
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people of the Book, according to the following
tradition. Ibn Sallâm and his companions said,— 'Oh prophet of God! we
believe in thee, and in thy Book, and in Moses, and the Tourât, and Ezra, and
we disbelieve in all besides.' Then was this text revealed, viz.,—BELIEVE,
&C."
خطاب للمسلمين أو المنافقين أو للمؤمنين من أهل
الكتاب إذ روي ان ابن سلام وأصحابه قالوا يا رسول الله انا نؤمن بك وبكتابك وبموسى
والتوراة وعزيز ونكفر بما سواه فنزلت آمنوا الخ
Whatever was the occasion of the passage, or whoever the particular parties
addressed, the command is as universal and absolute as can be imagined. It
intimates that God requires a belief in all the inspired Scripture, that
is, not only in the Corân, but also in all the sacred books revealed before the
Corân, those namely which are constantly referred to, as "with," or
in the hands of, the Jews and Christians. The Jew is not to reject the Christian
Scriptures:— the Christian is to receive not only the Jewish and Christian
Scriptures but also the Corân;— the Moslem is to believe not only in the
Corân, but in the Jewish and Christian Scriptures likewise. If he does
not, he is declared to be in a wide and dangerous error.
What then are we to say of those Moslems in the present day who reject and
disbelieve those Scriptures, and of the dangerous state in which they are
declared by the Corân to be!
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