Surah al-Ma'idah (The Table) 5 : 67

Overview (Verses 67 - 68)
 
These verses begin a passage which further exposes the reality of the people of earlier Scriptures, particularly the Jews and Christians. It highlights their deviant beliefs and evil deeds and establishes the basis of the relationship that may exist between them and the Prophet and the Muslim community, outlining the duties of the Prophet and the Muslims in dealing with them. The passage also states a number of basic principles of faith and of the actions the Muslim community should take against deviant beliefs.
 
God addresses the Prophet giving him the task of conveying everything that has been revealed to him by His Lord, keeping nothing for himself and delaying nothing for any particular reason or circumstance. If he does not act on His instructions, even though he may be motivated by the desire to avoid conflict, he would not be delivering His message. Part of what the Prophet has been commanded to convey, was to tell the people of earlier revelations that they had nothing to stand on unless they implemented the Torah, the Gospel, and what had been revealed to them by their Lord. He was to make this statement in the clearest and most decisive of terms.
 
Moreover, the Prophet was also to declare that by going back on their covenant with God and by killing prophets, the Jews had rejected the faith and become unbelievers. The Christians did likewise, by claiming that Jesus Christ, son of Mary, was God Himself, and by stating that God was one of a trinity. The Prophet was also to declare that Jesus, (peace be upon him), warned the Children of Israel against associating partners with God. Moreover, God has denied access to Heaven to all those who ascribe partners to Him. He was further to declare that the Children of Israel have been cursed by both David and Jesus, because of their transgression.
 
The passage ends with an expose of the people of earlier revelations’ attitude when they supported the idolaters against the Muslims. It declares that this came about as a result of their lack of belief in God and the Prophet. They are called upon to believe in what has been revealed to Muĥammad, (peace be upon him). Otherwise, they will be unbelievers. We will now look at the verses in this passage in detail.
 
A Vital Proclamation to Deliver God’s Message
 
Messenger, proclaim what has been revealed to you by your Lord. For, unless you do it fully, you will not have delivered His message. God will protect you from all men. God does not guide those who reject faith. Say: People of earlier revelations! You have no ground to stand upon unless you observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which has been revealed to you by your Lord. That which is revealed to you by your Lord is bound to make many of them even more stubborn in their arrogance and disbelief. But do not grieve for unbelieving folk. Those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Sabians, and the Christians — anyone who believes in God and the Last Day and does what is right shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Verses 67-9)
 
The Prophet is given clear instructions to convey all that has been revealed to him by His Lord, allowing no room for any reservations as he declares the truth. Otherwise, he would not be fulfilling his duty as a Messenger entrusted with conveying God’s message. It is God who will protect him against all mankind. Whoever enjoys God’s protection has nothing to fear from other humans, powerless as they are.
 
In matters of faith, the word of truth must always be clear and decisive, and must be stated in full. Let anyone who opposes it say what he may, and let its enemies do what they can; the true word of faith will never make concessions for people’s desires. It must be stated clearly so that it penetrates into people’s hearts with power. It is a fact of life that when the word of truth is stated clearly, it is immediately well received by people willing to accept the faith. When it is surrounded with equivocation, it cannot win those reluctant hearts which are the very target of the advocates of faith. Hence, clarity is essential in faith advocacy.
 
“God does not guide those who reject faith.” (Verse 67) If so, let the word of truth be clear, decisive, and final. The truth is accepted by a heart which is open, responsive. It is not accepted as a result of patting the shoulders of those who do not possess such qualities.
 
A powerful and decisive approach to the statement of truth does not have to be harsh or overbearing. God has commanded His Messenger (peace be upon him) to call all mankind to the path of his Lord using wisdom and goodly exhortation and advice. There is no contradiction between Qur’ānic directives. Wisdom, goodly advice and exhortation are not contrary to clarity and decisiveness in stating the truth. The method of conveying something, however, is different from what is being conveyed. The requirement here is not to resort to equivocation in stating the full truth about faith and not to seek a middle way with people who do not accept it. There can be no compromise when it comes to the essence of faith.
 
Right from the very early days of his Islamic call, the Prophet employed wisdom and kindly advice in conveying his message, but he made it clear that there could be no compromise in faith. He was commanded to say: “Unbelievers, I shall not worship what you worship.” (109: 1-2) He never suggested to anyone that he was simply after minor amendments to their beliefs. Instead, he told them that their beliefs were totally false and that his faith was the whole truth. He proclaimed the truth in its fullness, using a kindly and gentle approach.
 
In this sūrah, his duty is stated clearly: “Messenger, proclaim what has been revealed to you by your Lord. For, unless you do it fully, you will not have delivered His message. God will protect you from all men. God does not guide those who reject faith.” (Verse 67)
 
It appears from the general context that what is meant here is that the Prophet would confront the people of the Scriptures with what they truly were. He would, thus, be telling them that they had no faith and indeed had nothing to stand on until they implemented the Torah and the Gospel and what had been revealed to them by their Lord. As such, their claims that they followed Scriptures and that they had a faith were false. “Say: People of earlier revelations! You have no ground to stand upon unless you observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which has been revealed to you by your Lord.” (Verse 68)
 
At that time, when the Prophet was ordered to have such a confrontation with them, they used to recite their holy books and they claimed to be Jews or Christians and that they were believers. The orders given to the Prophet recognise nothing of these claims. Faith is not a word or a verbal statement or books that are recited or chanted, nor is it a quality that is passed on from parents to children. Faith is a way of life including personal beliefs, formal worship, and another important type of worship which is fulfilled through conducting all aspects of human life in accordance with faith. Since the people of the Scriptures did not establish their faith on such firm foundations, God’s Messenger was ordered to confront them with the fact that they had no faith and that they had nothing to stand on.
 
The first practical result of implementing the Torah, the Gospel and what was revealed to the people of earlier revelations was the acceptance of the faith conveyed by the Prophet Muĥammad (peace be upon him). God had made a covenant with them to believe in every messenger He sends, and to give that messenger all their support. Their books, the Torah and the Gospel, included references and descriptions of the Prophet Muĥammad, as God, the most truthful of speakers, states. Hence, they would not be implementing the Torah and the Gospel and what was revealed to them by their Lord, (whether this phrase means the Qur’ān as some commentators say, or other Scriptures such as the Psalms, revealed to David), unless they followed the new faith which endorsed all that they had and superseded it. Unless the Prophet confronted them with these facts, he would not have conveyed the message entrusted to him by his Lord.
 
God was certainly aware that to confront them with this decisive truth would make many of them grow in their arrogance and disbelief. That, however, did not prevent the Prophet from making such a confrontation, feeling no sorrow at their increased arrogance and deviation. It was Divine wisdom that he should proclaim the word of the truth, and allow it to produce its effect on people’s hearts. This would provide anyone who follows right guidance with the truth. “That which is revealed to you by your Lord is bound to make many of them even more stubborn in their arrogance and disbelief. But do not grieve for unbelieving folk.” (Verse 68)
 
By giving these instructions to the first advocate of the Divine faith, God delineated the method of advocacy and explained His purpose behind choosing this method. God also comforts His Messenger so that he does not grieve over what happens to those who reject the truth and grow even more stubborn in their arrogance and disbelief. They deserve their miserable end because their hearts cannot tolerate the word of truth. Hence, it is better to confront them with it in order to help their reality surface.
 
When the Truth is Advocated by the Few
 
These two verses with which the passage opens bring us back to the question of the possibility of forging an alliance or a relationship of patronage between Muslims and those who received revelations from God. We need to look afresh at this question in the light of the task assigned to God’s Messenger of delivering His message in full and the expected result of his endeavours. This is expected to mean that many of them will grow even more stubborn in their arrogance and disbelief.
 
We find first of all that God Himself states that the people of earlier revelations have nothing to stand on until they have implemented the Torah and the Gospel and all that was revealed to them by their Lord. In other words, they have nothing to stand on until they have adopted the final religion as a logical consequence of their implementation of their Scriptures. This is made absolutely clear by calling on them, in several places in the Qur’ān, to believe in God and the Prophet. Hence, in their present status, they cannot be described as followers of a Divine faith and they do not have a religion acceptable to God. God knows that confronting them with this fact will cause many of them to be even more stubborn in their arrogance and in their disbelief. Nevertheless, God has commanded His Messenger to confront them with this fact in the frankest of manners, feeling no regrets as a result of what it may cause.
 
If we are to consider God’s word in this matter to be final, as it clearly is, then there is no way that we can consider the people of earlier revelations as people of faith with whom Muslims can have a relationship of mutual support against atheists and atheism, as advocated by deluded people and those who delude them. It is not open for a Muslim to change what God has stated: “It is not open for a believer, man or woman, once God and His Messenger have made judgement on a certain matter, to have any choice in that matter.” (33: 36) God’s word remains valid for all time, unchanged by circumstances. Nor are we permitted to modify our attitude in order to prevent the likely outcome of confronting them with this fact, which is bound to make them even more aggressive against us. It is not open to us to try to gain favour with them by acknowledging that they have a faith which is acceptable to us. Nor can we support them in defending their faith against atheism in the same way as we defend our own faith, the only one acceptable to God, against atheism.
 
God’s instructions do not mark out such a route for us to fallow. Indeed, He neither accepts from us such a recognition of the beliefs of the people of earlier revelations, nor does He forgive us such an alliance or the concept on which it relies. When we choose for ourselves something other than He has chosen for us, we are in effect recognising deviant concepts as a Divine faith, akin to our own. But it is God who says that the people of earlier revelations have nothing to stand on until they observe the Torah, the Gospel and that which has been revealed to them by their Lord. It is sufficient for us to look at their situation to realise that they do nothing of the sort.
 
Those who claim to be Muslims but do not put into practice what their Lord has revealed to them are in the same position as those people of earlier revelations: they have nothing to stand on. Any person who wants to be a true Muslim must implement God’s message in his life, and must follow this through with a clear address to those who do not follow suit, telling them that they have nothing to stand on until they have implemented their faith. Their claims to be religious are refuted by the One who has sent down the religion. Total clarity in this matter is imperative. It is also the duty of a Muslim who has implemented God’s message in this life to call on such people to embrace Islam anew. To claim to be a Muslim merely by word of mouth or by belonging to a Muslim family signifies little. It does not give the claimant any endorsement to his assertion that he follows the Divine faith.
 
When either group have accepted faith and implemented it in their lives, a Muslim may forge out a relationship of patronage and support with them to defend faith against atheists and atheism. Without such a condition, all other attempts are futile.
 
Faith is not merely a banner or a slogan or something we inherit from our parents. It is a fact instilled in people’s consciences and has practical implementation in life. It is a belief held deeply in a person’s heart, combined with acts of worship, and a code of living. Divine faith must have all these elements. People do not follow Divine religion unless all these aspects are equally present in their hearts and minds 4s well as in their lives generally. Any other situation is an exercise in self-delusion which no true Muslim attempts. A Muslim must always make this fact plain and establish his relationship wit people on its basis. He should not worry over the consequences because it is God who protects and it is God who denies true guidance to unbelievers.
 
An advocate of faith would not have conveyed what God has revealed and would not have made God’s argument plain to mankind unless he explained to them the nature of faith in full, describing to them their own situation as it is, in all frankness, without hesitation. Indeed, he may do them a disservice, if he does not tell them that they have nothing to stand on and that all their beliefs and practices are false. He must tell them that he is calling on them to accept something totally different from what they have, and that they have to make a total departure from their concepts, systems and values. It is right that people should know from an advocate of faith where they stand in relation to the truth he is calling on them to accept, “so that he who would perish might perish in clear evidence of the truth and that he who would live might live in clear evidence of the truth. “ (8: 42)
 
When an advocate of faith minces his words and does not make the essential difference that separates the falsehood people follow and the truth to which he is calling them absolutely clear, he actually deceives them and causes them harm. Such equivocation does not tell people exactly what they are called upon to accept or what they are required to do. Moreover, such an advocate does not fulfil his duty of conveying what God requires of him.
 
Gentility in calling on people to come to God is confined to the approach an advocate of the truth employs, but not to the truth he is conveying to them. The approach may be modified according to circumstances, employing wisdom and kindly admonition, provided that the truth is stated completely and in full clarity.
 
Some of us may consider that the people of earlier revelations have the largest following and the greatest material power. Similarly, those who follow pagan faiths in various parts of the world number hundreds of millions, and have their say in international affairs. Some are also bound to see that the advocates of materialistic, atheist creeds command numerical strength and destructive power. On the other hand, they see that those who describe themselves as Muslims have nothing to boast of, simply because they do not implement the Book God has revealed to them. They may, thus, be overawed, feel unable to put a decisive word of truth to mankind’s straying majority. They may think it useless to tell all those groups that they have nothing to stand on as also explain to them the’ religion of the truth.
 
But this is not the proper approach. Jāhiliyyah, or the state of ignorance of the truth, remains the same even though it may be widespread throughout the whole world. It does not matter what people follow. They continue to be in error, unless they follow the true faith. The duty of an advocate of the truth remains the same, and cannot be changed simply because those who have gone astray are too numerous or because falsehood appears too strong. Falsehood remains without foundation. The call to the truth should be resumed in the same fashion as it started: it must declare to all mankind that they have nothing to stand on. It must be clear to us that we now face a situation similar to that faced by God’s Messenger, (peace be upon him), when God addressed him with these words: “Messenger, proclaim what has been revealed to you by your Lord. For, unless you do it fully, you will not have delivered His message. God will protect you from all men. God does not guide those who reject faith. Say: People of earlier revelations! You have no ground to stand upon unless you observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which has been revealed to you by your Lord.” (Verses 67-8)