Quran Garden

Session 430

Chapter 3

Verses 100 & 101

O you who believe!  Were you to obey a party of those who were given the Book, they would turn you, after your faith, into disbelievers.  (Chapter 3: Verse 100)

In the previous verses, Allah addressed the People of the Book who turned their back on their faith and disregarded the scriptures.  They knew the truth yet deliberately went against it.  And, as if that were not enough, they spent their time dragging others away from God's path.  Thus, in this verse, Allah turns to the believers to warn them: some of the People of the Book will not rest as long as you are committed to God. 

Here, we should take a moment to appreciate heavenly fairness.  Note that Allah specified "a party of those who were given the Book." In other words, He identified a group of troublemakers and did not paint all the Jews and Christians with the same brush.  Amongst them are people of integrity and honesty who are keen on following the truth.  Islam is a religion without prejudice: it does not discriminate against people.  It only discriminates against specific behaviors. 

The phrase "they would turn you, after your faith, into disbelievers" does not necessarily mean that such people would prevent you from entering Islam or ask you to abandon your faith.  Sometimes matters are more dangerous because the enemies of faith often try to corrupt your beliefs and keep you away from implementing God's teachings.  In other words, they try to distract the believers from God's path.  He asks:

How can you disbelieve when God's revelations are being recited to you, and His Messenger is living among you?  Whoever holds firmly to God will be guided to the straight path.

(Chapter 3: Verse 101)

There is a story behind this verse.  Before Islam, the Jews of Medina controlled many levers of power.  They had economic control because they managed their wealth well, so whoever needed a loan would seek a Jewish lender.  They were superior in knowledge because they alone were connected to the heavens via the Torah, while the vast majority of the people of Mecca and Medina were illiterate pagans.  Lastly, the Jews of Medina were experienced warriors and weapon makers.  They lived in fortresses and controlled the arms supply to the surrounding Arab tribes.  In short, they held economic, religious, and military leadership.  Sadly, such powers were often used to deepen the divide between the warring Arab tribes, especially the Aws and the Khazraj.  This guaranteed poverty, the constant need for loans, and endless weapons purchases.  

All of this was turned upside down when Islam came.  Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, unified the Arab tribes and ended their fighting.  God says in the 103^rd verse of Al-Imran:

Remember Allah's blessing to you when you were enemies, and He joined your hearts together so that you became brothers by His blessing.  You were on the brink of a pit of the fire, and He rescued you from it.

Almost overnight, the Jews of Medina lost their economic superiority and weapons trade.  More importantly, the Quran connected the Muslims strongly to the heavens, depriving the Jews of their knowledge advantage.  The battle of Badr, where a small number of Muslims defeated the much larger army of Quraysh, cemented the power shift away from Medina's Jewish leaders.  Naturally, they wanted to restore the old order, so they devised a plan to reignite the animosity between the Aws and the Khazraj. 

When Shas ibn Qais, a Jewish leader, saw the light of love and faith shine on the faces of the once warring Arab tribes and said, "By God, we must shove them back to hatred and enmities.  We will not have peace as long as they are unified."  Shas sent a young man to attend a gathering between the Aws and Khazraj.  The young man brought up the day of Bu'aath - a bloody battle between the two tribes - and reminisced about the Aws' victory.  He recited poems glorifying the battle and the victors.  It did not take long for the feelings of tribalism and zealotry to resurface, followed by accusations and shouting.  The Arabs started yelling, "Weapons, grab your weapons!" And thus, the plot was successful.  When the news reached Muhammad, he rushed to the meeting and saw his companions on the verge of fighting.  He, peace be upon him, scolded them, "How dare you revert to tribalism and ignorance while I am among you!  God has honored you with Islam, brought civility and love, and removed the traditions of ignorance from your ranks." Prophet Muhammad's words fell heavy on their hearts.  They dropped their weapons, started crying, and embraced one another.  The companions later said, "There has never been a day so ugly at its beginning yet so lovely at its end."   

From this story, we learn that words can be a very powerful weapon.  The Jews of Medina had realized that they could use the old conflict between the Arab tribes to ignite hatred and create chaos and violence.  They understood that physical actions are realized through three stages.  The first stage is the feelings within oneself that can be hidden or dormant.  The second is the thoughts and reactions to words -this is the stage where others can influence a person-.  And the last stage is physical action.  

The Aws and Khazraj had latent feelings of tribalism from decades of war and conflict.  These feelings were brought to the surface through the poems and provocations of the young Jewish man.  After that, it did not take much for weapons to be drawn. 

Prophet Muhammad deescalated the situation and guided his companions back to calm and reason.  First, he reversed the physical action and had them put away their weapons.  Second, the Prophet's words, "How dare you revert to tribalism and ignorance while I am among you!" reminded them of their newly-found peace.  And lastly, the feelings of love and brotherhood returned as they embraced each other. 

Our beloved Muhammad taught us how to control our emotions and restrain anger.  It is a valuable lesson you can use when faced with a stressful situation.  He, peace be upon him, said, "The strong man is not the one who wrestles and overpowers others.  The strong man is the one who controls himself when angry."