Surah Al-Maeda, Verse 13 and 14

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*Surah Al-Maeda, Verse 13:*

فَبِمَا نَقْضِهِم مِّيثَاقَهُمْ لَعَنَّاهُمْ وَجَعَلْنَا قُلُوبَهُمْ قَاسِيَةً يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ عَن مَّوَاضِعِهِ وَنَسُوا حَظًّا مِّمَّا ذُكِّرُوا بِهِ وَلَا تَزَالُ تَطَّلِعُ عَلَىٰ خَائِنَةٍ مِّنْهُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِّنْهُمْ فَاعْفُ عَنْهُمْ وَاصْفَحْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُحْسِنِينَ

So because of their breach of their covenant, We cursed them, and made their hearts grow hard. They change the words from their (right) places and have abandoned a good part of the Message that was sent to them. And you will not cease to discover deceit in them, except a few of them. But forgive them, and overlook (their misdeeds). Verily, Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (good-doers - see V. 2:112).

#COMMENTARY

Cursed them: that means that because of the breach of their Covenant, Allāh withdrew His overflowing Grace from them. The withdrawal of Grace made their hearts grow hard in two ways:

1. They were no longer protected from assaults of evil, and 

2. They became impervious even to the message of forgiveness and mercy which is open to all Allāh's creatures.

Israel, when it lost Allāh's grace as above, began to sin against truth and religion in three ways:

1. They began to misuse Scripture itself, by either taking words out of their right meaning, or applying them to things for which they were never meant; 

2. In doing so, they conveniently forgot a part of the Message and purpose of Allāh: and

3. They invented new deceits to support the old ones.

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*Surah Al-Maeda, Verse 14:*

وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّا نَصَارَىٰ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَهُمْ فَنَسُوا حَظًّا مِّمَّا ذُكِّرُوا بِهِ فَأَغْرَيْنَا بَيْنَهُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاءَ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَسَوْفَ يُنَبِّئُهُمُ اللَّهُ بِمَا كَانُوا يَصْنَعُونَ

And from those who call themselves Christians, We took their covenant, but they have abandoned a good part of the Message that was sent to them. So We planted amongst them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection (when they discarded Allah's Book, disobeyed Allah's Messengers and His Orders and transgressed beyond bounds in Allah's disobedience), and Allah will inform them of what they used to do.

#COMMENTARY

The Christian Covenant may be taken to be the charge which Jesus gave to his disciples, and which the disciples accepted, to welcome Ahmad (Qur-ān chapter lxi, verse 6). Glimpses of this are to be found in the Gospel of St. John even as it exists now (John chapter xv, verse 26 & chapter xvi, verse 7). It is those who call themselves "Christians" who reject this. True Christians have accepted it. The enmity between those two call themselves Christians and the Jews will continue till the Last Day.

The change from the First Person in the beginning of the verse to the Third Person here illustrates the change from the personal relationship of the Covenant, to the impersonal operation of justice at judgement.