Quran Garden

Session 402

Chapter 3

Verse 75

A continuation

Among the People of the Book are some who, if you entrust them with a weight of treasure, they will return it to you intact; and among them are some who, if you entrust them with one gold coin, will not return it unless you keep insisting on its return. That is because they claim, "We have no responsibility toward the unlettered people." Thus they speak lies in attribution to God, and do so knowingly. (Chapter 3: Verse 75)

At the beginning of the verse, Allah sheds light on the Jews and Christians distinguished with honesty and integrity.  The phrase "and among them are some who, if you entrust them with one gold coin, will not return it unless you keep insisting on its return" highlights the opposite side of the spectrum.  You cannot entrust some individuals even with a single coin because, if you do not repeatedly ask for it back, you may never get it.    

The reason behind such dishonesty comes from the mouths of the corrupt: they claim, "We have no responsibility toward the unlettered people." In other words, they have a double standard when dealing with people.  At the time of our beloved Muhammad, the Jews of Medina used to treat the Arabs –especially the unlettered– from among their customers differently, often denying their rights.  

The word "unlettered" is translated from the Arabic origin الأميون (Umiyoon).  The root الأم (Um) means "the mother."  Here are the different meanings the word الأميون (Umiyoon) carries.

First, it is used to refer to the gentiles , that is, the people who were not Jewish or Christian. Second, it refers to a person who had no education, because he or she is like the day they were born out of their mothers.  God says:

It is God Who brought you out of your mothers' wombs knowing nothing and gave you hearing and sight and minds so that you might be thankful. (16:78)

Lastly, الأميون (Umiyoon) means the people of Mecca, because Mecca was considered the mother of all cities, or Umm Al-Qura.

Here we ask: who established the system for the People of the Book to treat people differently? Is it OK to deceive illiterate people? Do you cheat others based on their education, religion, or place of birth? What ethics permit honoring the contract of a Jewish customer while violating that of the non-Jews? Is it acceptable to charge interest on loans to non-Jews, while lending interest-free to Jewish borrowers?  All of the above transactions are unfair and are surely against the teachings of the Torah, the Gospel, and all heavenly religions.

God, on the other hand, is fair to people regardless of their faith.  He says:  

God commands you to deliver trusts to those entitled to them and, when you judge between people, to judge with justice. How excellent is what God exhorts you to do; assuredly, God is All-Hearing, All-Seeing. (4:58)

Thus, the People of the Book who cheat others and then claim, "We have no responsibility toward the unlettered people" are acting against what Allah preached in the Torah and Gospel.  Their excuses result from the distortions, omissions, and modifications perpetrated against God's sacred books.  He says:

So woe to those who write something down with their own hands and then claim, "This is from God," in order to make some small gain. Woe to them for what their hands have written! Woe to them for all that they have earned! (2:79)

In other words, the corrupt among the clergy added to the Bible that which was not a part of it and then believed their own lies.  Allah does not classify humans into two classes, one of Jews or Christians that deserves to be treated fairly and a second class of gentiles who have no rights.  They should have known better or looked up to the Quran for how to treat others. 

In the Quran, Allah did not issue a single ruling that includes all Jews and Christians; instead, He treated the righteous among them fairly, regardless of their faith.  The people who put faith above all were recognized in the phrase, "Among the People of the Book are some who, if you entrust them with a weight of treasure, they will return it to you intact." And those who put worldly material desires above all were also documented in the phrase, "And among them are some who, if you entrust them with one gold coin, will not return it unless you keep insisting on its return."   

For this reason, the righteous among the Jews and Christians knew that Islam brought the truth.  Had Islam painted all with a single brush, then fair-minded people would have said, "We are upright and honest; why would a heavenly religion attack us?" But Islam came to do justice and give each person his or her due right.  Allah, the Lord of Muhammad, Jesus, and Moses, wants all people to deal with each other fairly.  The value of trust far outweighs any material gain. 

The People of the Book in Medina who betrayed the trust of their faith forgot the fact that our beloved Muhammad gained fame for his trustworthiness well before the advent of Islam.  Even the disbelieving enemies of Muhammad trusted him to safe-keep their valuables while they traveled.   

All the religious legislations that differentiate between people when fulfilling trusts are human fabrications.  God says, "They speak lies in attribution to God, and do so knowingly." It might have been acceptable for them to say, "These laws are from us.  We choose to treat our tribe fairly and cheat others." Instead, they intentionally attributed such injustices to God and debased their religion.  More shocking is the fact that such corrupt clergy were also aware of the punishment they will receive for lying about God.  He says:

There are some who twist the Scripture with their tongues to make you think that what they say is part of the Scripture when it is not; they say that it is from God when it is not; they attribute lies to God, and they know it. (3:78)