Surah Al-Maeda, Verse 69 and 70

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*Surah Al-Maeda, Verse 69:*

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالصَّابِئُونَ وَالنَّصَارَىٰ مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

Surely, those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah, in His Messenger Muhammad [Blessings and Peace of Allāh be upon him] and all that was revealed to him from Allah), those who are the Jews and the Sabians and the Christians, - whosoever believed in Allah and the Last Day, and worked righteousness, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

#COMMENTARY

Here, as in Sūra Al-Baqara (chapter 2, verse 62), the Glorious Qur-ān underscores the importance of true and genuine faith, which is to be judged by a sincere belief in Almighty Allāh and man's accountability to Him backed by a righteous conduct rather than by mere forms or labels. At both the places it repudiates the false claims of the People of the Book that they had a special relationship with Almighty Allāh for they were the children of Abraham; that they were a chosen people with special privileges, and no matter what they did, their high status would remain unaffected. Here this false notion is refuted and the people of the Book are being reminded that it is through sincere belief and righteous conduct rather than pretentious claims that man can win his Lord's pleasure and achieve ultimate success. The verse does not purport to lay down an exhaustive list of the articles of faith. Nor does it seek to spell out the essentials of a genuine belief in Allāh, which has no meaning unless it is accompanied by belief in His Prophets for it is through their agency alone that we know Allāh's Will and can abide by it in our practical lives. This is especially true of His final Prophet, Muhammad (Blessings and Peace of Allāh be upon him) whose message is universal, and not confined to any particular group or section of humility. Belief in the Prophethood of Muhammad (Blessings and Peace of Allāh be upon him) is thus an integral part and a logical corollary of belief in Allāh. Moreover, it is also an essential test of genuineness of such belief. This becomes clear when the verse is read in conjunction with other relevant verses of the Glorious Qur-ān.

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*Surah Al-Maeda, Verse 70:*

لَقَدْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ رُسُلًا كُلَّمَا جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ بِمَا لَا تَهْوَىٰ أَنفُسُهُمْ فَرِيقًا كَذَّبُوا وَفَرِيقًا يَقْتُلُونَ

Verily, We took the covenant of the Children of Israel and sent them Messengers. Whenever there came to them a Messenger with what they themselves desired not - a group of them they called liars, and others among them they killed.