Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:81
And [recall, O People of the Scripture], when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, [saying], "Whatever I give you of the Scripture and wisdom and then there comes to you a messenger confirming what is with you, you [must] believe in him and support him." [Allah] said, "Have you acknowledged and taken upon that My commitment?" They said, "We have acknowledged it." He said, "Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word: وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ النَّبِيِّينَ لَمَا آتَيْتُكُمْ مِنْ كِتَابٍ وَحِكْمَةٍ ثُمَّ جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مُصَدِّقٌ لِمَا مَعَكُمْ لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهِ وَلَتَنْصُرُنَّهُ (And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets: "Whatever I have given you of Scripture and wisdom, and thereafter a messenger comes to you confirming what you possess, you shall surely believe in him and you shall surely aid him") (3:81).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted be His praise — means thereby: And remember, O People of the Book, "when Allah took the covenant (mīthāq) of the prophets," that is to say: when Allah took the covenant of the prophets — and "their covenant" is that which they bound themselves to concerning obedience to Allah in what He commanded and forbade them.
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We have already set forth, sufficiently, the fundamental meaning of "the covenant" (al-mīthāq), together with the disagreements of the exegetes concerning it. (28)
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— "whatever I have given you of Scripture and wisdom" (lammā ātaytukum min kitābin wa-ḥikmatin), (29): herein the reciters differed concerning the reading of that passage.
Most of the reciters of the Ḥijāz and Iraq read it ( لَمَا آتَيْتُكُمْ ) with a fatḥa on the "lām" of "lammā," except that they differed in the reading of "ātaytukum."
Some of them read: "ātaytukum" in the singular.
Others read it: (ātaynākum) in the plural.
* * *
Then the Arabic philologists differed when it was read thus.
A group of the grammarians of Basra said: The "lām" which stands with "mā" at the beginning of the sentence is "the lām of inception (lām al-ibtidāʾ)," as in the saying of one: "Verily, Zayd (la-Zaydun) is more excellent than you," for "mā" is a noun and what comes after it is its subordinate clause, (30) and the "lām" which stands in "you shall surely believe in him and you shall surely aid him" (la-tuʾminunna bihi wa-la-tanṣurunnahu) is the lām of the oath (lām al-qasam), as though He said: "By Allah, you shall surely believe in him" — He confirms this at the beginning of the sentence and at the end of it, as one says: "Well then, by Allah, if you had come to me &; 6-551 &; it would have been thus and thus," and sometimes one may omit it. Thus He confirmed in "you shall surely believe in him" with the lām at the end of the sentence. (31) And sometimes one may omit it and makes the predicate (khabar) of "whatever I have given you of Scripture and wisdom" to be "you shall surely believe in him," as: "Verily, by ʿAbdullāh, by Allah, you shall surely come to him." (32) He said: And if you wish, you make the predicate of "mā" to be "a Scripture," whereby is meant: what I have given you is a Scripture and wisdom — and then "min" is redundant.
* * *
A group of the grammarians of Kufa declared all of this incorrect and said: The "lām" which is placed at the beginning of a conditional sentence (jazāʾ) is answered with the answers of oaths. One says: "Verily, whoever rises, him I shall surely give something (la-man qāma la-ātiyannahu)," "and verily, whoever rises — how good he is (la-man qāma mā aḥsana)." (33) So when "mā" or "lā" falls in the answer thereto, one knows that the lām is not a reinforcement of the first, because "mā" and "lā" are set in its place, so that it becomes as the first, (34) and it is the answer to the first. He said: And as for His word "whatever I have given you of Scripture and wisdom" in the sense of the omission of "min" — that is an error. For the "min" that is inserted and omitted does not fall in the positions of nouns. He said: And neither does it fall in an affirmative statement; it falls only in negation, interrogation, and condition. (35)
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Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct of the opinions concerning the interpretation of this verse — according to the reading of him who reads it with a fatḥa on the "lām" — is that His word "lammā" has the meaning of "whatever (la-mahmā)," and that "mā" is a conditional particle to which the "lām" has been added, and that the verb thereby was placed in the form "faʿala" (the past tense), (36) and then &; 6-552 &; it was answered with that with which oaths are answered, so that the first "lām" became an oath, since it was received by the answer to the oath.
* * *
Others read it: ( لِمَا آتَيْتكُمْ ) with a kasra on the "lām" of "limā," and that is the reading of a group of the people of Kufa.
* * *
Then those who read it thus differed concerning its interpretation.
Some of them said: Its meaning, when it is read thus, is: And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets on account of that which I have given you — so "mā" according to this reading has, with them, the meaning of "that which (alladhī)." And the interpretation of the sentence is then: And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets for the sake of that which He gave them of Scripture and wisdom — "and thereafter a messenger came to you," that is to say: and if thereafter a messenger comes to you, namely: the mention of Muḥammad in the Torah — "you shall surely believe in him," that is to say: your belief in him shall surely be, on account of that which is with you in the Torah of the mention of him.
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Others among them said: The interpretation thereof, when it is read with a kasra on the "lām" of "limā," is: And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets, for the sake of that which He gave them of wisdom. Then they made His word "you shall surely believe in him" to be a part of the taking, namely the taking of the covenant, as one says in common speech: "I took your covenant that you shall surely act." For the taking of the covenant is equivalent to making one swear. So that the interpretation of the sentence according to him who proclaims this opinion reads: And when Allah made the prophets swear, for the sake of that which He gave them of Scripture and wisdom, that they — when a messenger comes to them confirming what they possess — shall surely believe in him and shall surely aid him.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct of the two readings therein is the reading of him who reads: "And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets: whatever I have given you (lammā ātaytukum)," with a fatḥa on the "lām." For Allah — mighty and exalted — took the covenant of all the prophets to confirm every messenger whom He sent to His creatures, with that with which He sent him to them, whether it was one to whom He gave a Scripture or one to whom He gave no Scripture. And that is because it is not permissible to describe even a single one of Allah's prophets — mighty and exalted — and His messengers as one for whom it was permissible to deny even a single one of His messengers. Since that &; 6-553 &; is so, and since it is known that among them are those upon whom the Scripture was sent down and among them are those upon whom the Scripture was not sent down, it is clear that the reading of him who reads this: "limā ātaytukum" with a kasra on the "lām," in the meaning of: for the sake of that which I have given you of Scripture — has no intelligible basis, except upon a far-fetched interpretation and a deep, contrived derivation.
* * *
Then the exegetes differed concerning those whose covenant was taken, to believe in him who came to them from among Allah's messengers, confirming what he had with him.
Some of them said: Allah thereby took only the covenant of the People of the Book, not of their prophets. And they adduced, in support of the correctness of their opinion, His word: "you shall surely believe in him and you shall surely aid him." They said: It is only the communities to which the messengers were sent that were commanded to believe in Allah's messengers and to aid them against whoever opposed them. As for the messengers, there is no basis for commanding them to aid anyone, for they are precisely those who require aid against whoever opposes them among the disbelievers (kufara) of the children of Adam. As for them: they do not aid the disbelievers in their disbelief and do not help them. They said: And when there is none other than they and than the disbelieving communities, who then is it that aids the prophet, so that his covenant is taken to aid him?
Mention of who said that:
7323 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word: "And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets: whatever I have given you of Scripture and wisdom," he said: This is an error of the scribe, and in the reading of Ibn Masʿūd it reads: "And when Allah took the covenant of those to whom the Scripture was given." (37)
&; 6-554 &;
7324 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
7325 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning His word: "And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets," he says: And when Allah took the covenant of those to whom the Scripture was given; and thus al-Rabīʿ used to read it: "And when Allah took the covenant of those to whom the Scripture was given" — it is only the People of the Book. (38) He said: And thus too Ubayy ibn Kaʿb used to read it. Al-Rabīʿ said: Do you not see that He says: "and thereafter a messenger comes to you confirming what you possess, you shall surely believe in him and you shall surely aid him"? He says: you shall surely believe in Muḥammad ﷺ and you shall surely aid him. He said: they are the People of the Book.
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Others said: Rather, those whose covenant He took thereby are the prophets themselves, not their communities.
Mention of who said that:
&; 6-555 &;
7326 — Al-Muthannā and Aḥmad ibn Ḥāzim related to me, both of them saying: Abū Nuʿaym related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ḥabīb, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Allah took the covenant of the prophets only with respect to their people.
7327 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Ibn Ṭāwūs, on the authority of his father, concerning His word: "And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets," that they would confirm one another.
7328 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: Al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Ibn Ṭāwūs, on the authority of his father, concerning His word: "And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets: whatever I have given you of Scripture and wisdom, and thereafter a messenger comes to you confirming what you possess" — the verse — he said: Allah took the covenant of the first of the prophets, that he would surely confirm and surely believe in that with which the last of them would come.
7329 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh ibn Hāshim related to us, saying: Sayf ibn ʿUmar informed us, (39) on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of Abū Ayyūb, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, who said: Allah — mighty and exalted — sent no prophet, from Adam and whoever came after him, but that He took from him the covenant concerning Muḥammad: that if he were sent while he (the prophet) was alive, he would surely believe in him and surely aid him — and He commanded him to take the covenant from his people. Thus He said: "And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets: whatever I have given you of Scripture and wisdom," the verse.
7330 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, His word: "And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets: whatever I have given you of Scripture," the verse: this is a covenant that Allah took from the prophets, that they would confirm one another and that they would convey the Scripture of Allah and His messages. Thus the prophets conveyed the Scripture of Allah and His messages to their people, and He took from them — in that which their messengers conveyed to them — that they would believe in Muḥammad ﷺ, confirm him, and aid him.
&; 6-556 &;
7331 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets: whatever I have given you of Scripture and wisdom," the verse. He said: Allah — mighty and exalted — never sent a prophet since the time of Nūḥ, but that He took his covenant that he would surely believe in Muḥammad and surely aid him if he should arise while he (the prophet) was alive, and that He took from his people that they would believe in him and surely aid him if he should arise while they were alive.
7332 — Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Kabīr ibn ʿAbd al-Majīd Abū Bakr al-Ḥanafī related to us, saying: ʿAbbād ibn Manṣūr related to us, saying: I asked al-Ḥasan concerning His word: "And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets: whatever I have given you of Scripture and wisdom," the whole verse, he said: Allah took the covenant of the prophets: that the last of you would surely convey the first of you, and that you would not differ.
And others said: The meaning thereof is: that He took the covenant of the prophets and their communities — whereby He sufficed with the mention of the prophets in place of the mention of their communities, because in the mention of the taking of the covenant of him who is followed there lies an indication that it was taken from the followers as well, for the communities are the followers of the prophets. (40)
Mention of who said that:
7333 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad, on the authority of ʿIkrima or on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Then He mentioned what He had taken from them — namely from the People of the Book — and from their prophets of covenant, concerning the confirmation of it — namely the confirmation of Muḥammad ﷺ — when he should come to them, and their acknowledgment thereof against themselves. Thus He said: "And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets: whatever I have given you of Scripture and wisdom," to the end of the verse. (41)
7334 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Yūnus ibn Bukayr related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad, the mawlā of Zayd ibn Thābit, related to me, saying: Saʿīd &; 6-557 &; ibn Jubayr or ʿIkrima related to me, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, the same.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct of these opinions therein is the opinion of him who said: The meaning thereof is: the report concerning Allah's taking of the covenant of His prophets, that they would confirm one another, and the taking by the prophets of the covenant of their communities and followers in the manner of that which their Lord had taken from them, namely the confirmation of Allah's prophets and messengers in that with which they came to them — for the prophets, peace be upon them, were sent to their communities precisely for that. And none of those who confirm the messengers has claimed that a prophet was sent to a community with the denial of even a single one of Allah's prophets — mighty and exalted — and His proofs among His servants; rather, they are all — even though a portion of the communities denies some of Allah's prophets by rejecting their prophethood — agreed that whoever has proven a true prophethood, it is obligatory upon them to confirm him. That is a covenant which they all acknowledge.
* * *
And there is no basis for the statement of him who claims that the covenant was taken only from the communities, not from the prophets. For Allah — mighty and exalted — has reported that He took that from the prophets, so that it is equal whether one says: "their Lord did not take that from them," or says: "He did not command them to convey what was charged to them," while Allah — mighty and exalted — has expressly stated that He commanded them to convey it; for both are reports from Allah concerning them: the one that He took from them, and the other that He commanded them. So if doubt about the one is permissible, then it is permissible about the other too.
* * *
As for that which al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas adduced — that by this verse the People of the Book are meant — on the basis of His word: "you shall surely believe in him and you shall surely aid him," that is no proof of the correctness of what he said. For the prophets were a part commanded to confirm others, and the confirmation by a part of them of another part is an aiding of a part of them to another part.
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Then they differed concerning those who are meant by His word: "and thereafter a messenger comes to you confirming what you possess, you shall surely believe in him and you shall surely aid him."
Some of them said: Those who are meant thereby are the prophets; their covenants were taken that they would confirm one another &; 6-558 &; and aid him. And we have already mentioned the report concerning that, from whoever said it. (42)
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And others said: They are the People of the Book; they were commanded to confirm Muḥammad ﷺ when Allah should send him, and to aid him, and their covenant was taken in their books to that effect. And we have already mentioned the report concerning that as well, from whoever said it. (43)
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And others said — among those who said: Those who are meant by Allah's taking of their covenant in this verse are the prophets — His word: "and thereafter a messenger comes to you confirming what you possess" is meant for the People of the Book.
Mention of who said that:
7335 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, saying: Ibn Ṭāwūs informed us, on the authority of his father, concerning His word: "And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets: whatever I have given you of Scripture and wisdom," he said: Allah took the covenant of the prophets that they would confirm one another, and then He said: "and thereafter a messenger comes to you confirming what you possess, you shall surely believe in him and you shall surely aid him," he said: this part of the verse concerns the People of the Book; Allah took their covenant that they would believe in Muḥammad and confirm him.
7336 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to me, on the authority of his father, saying: Qatāda said: Allah took from the prophets their covenant: that they would confirm one another, and that they would convey the Scripture of Allah and His message to His servants. Thus the prophets conveyed the Scripture of Allah and His messages to their people, and they took the covenants of the People of the Book — in their book, in that which their messengers conveyed to them —: that they would believe in Muḥammad ﷺ, confirm him, and aid him.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct of the opinions therein according to us, in the interpretation of this verse, is: that all of this is a report from Allah — mighty and exalted — concerning His prophets, that He took their covenant to that effect, and imposed upon them the duty of calling their communities &; 6-559 &; to it (44) and acknowledging it. For the beginning of the verse is a report from Allah — mighty and exalted — concerning His prophets, that He took their covenant, and then He described that to which He took their covenant and said: it is thus and it is so.
And we say only that that of which Allah reported that He took to that effect the covenants of His prophets, the prophets also took to that effect the covenants of their communities, because they were sent to call Allah's servants to the obedience of that to which they themselves were commanded to obedience, namely the confirmation of Allah's messengers, as we have set forth before.
* * *
Abū Jaʿfar said: The interpretation of the verse is thus: And remember, O assembly of the People of the Book, when Allah took the covenant of the prophets: whatever I have given you, O prophets, of Scripture and wisdom, and thereafter a messenger from Me comes to you confirming what you possess, you shall surely believe in him — He says: you shall surely confirm him — and you shall surely aid him.
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And al-Suddī said concerning that what follows here:
7337 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, His word: "whatever I have given you," he says to the Jews: I took the covenant of the prophets concerning Muḥammad ﷺ, and he is the one who is mentioned in the Scripture that is with you.
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The interpretation thereof according to the opinion of al-Suddī which we have mentioned is thus: And remember, O assembly of the People of the Book, when Allah took the covenant of the prophets with that which I have given you, O Jews, of Scripture and wisdom. (45)
This opinion of al-Suddī would have been an interpretation with some basis, (46) had the revelation been "with that which I have given you (bimā ātaytukum)"; but the revelation is with the lām: "whatever I have given you (lammā ātaytukum)." And it is not permissible in the language of any Arab to say: "Allah took the covenant of the prophets lammā ātaytukum" in the meaning of: bimā ātaytukum (with that which I have given you).
* * *
&; 6-560 &;
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word: قَالَ أَأَقْرَرْتُمْ وَأَخَذْتُمْ عَلَى ذَلِكُمْ إِصْرِي قَالُوا أَقْرَرْنَا (He said: Have you affirmed and taken upon that My burden (iṣrī)? They said: We have affirmed) (3:81).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted be His praise — means thereby: And when Allah took the covenant of the prophets with what has been mentioned, He said — exalted be His mention — to them: Have you affirmed the covenant which you have bound yourselves to before Me, (47) namely that when a messenger from Me comes to you confirming what you possess, "you shall surely believe in him and you shall surely aid him," "and have you taken upon that My burden"? He says: and have you — upon that which you have bound yourselves to before Me, namely belief in the messengers who come to you with the confirmation of what you have with you from Me, and the fulfilling of their aid — taken "My burden (iṣrī)"? He means: My covenant and My charge, and have you accepted that from Me and affirmed it.
* * *
And "the taking (al-akhdh)" is here the acceptance and the affirmation, derived from their saying: "the one in authority took the pledge of allegiance from him (akhadha al-wālī ʿalayhi al-bayʿa)," in the meaning of: he pledged allegiance to him, accepted his authority, and affirmed it.
* * *
And we have already set forth the meaning of "the burden (al-iṣr)," together with the disagreements of those who differ concerning it, and the correct of the statement therein, before this, in a manner that absolves us of repetition in this place. (48)
* * *
And the "fāʾ" was omitted from His word: "He said: Have you affirmed (qāla a-aqrartum)," because it is the beginning of a new sentence, in the manner that we have already set forth in comparable cases. (49)
* * *
&; 6-561 &;
As for His word: "They said: We have affirmed (qālū aqrarnā)," thereby He means: The prophets whose covenant Allah took with what is mentioned in this verse said: We have affirmed that which You have imposed upon us, namely belief in Your messengers whom You send, confirming what we have with us of Your books, and the aiding of them.
* * *
The statement concerning the interpretation of His word: قَالَ فَاشْهَدُوا وَأَنَا مَعَكُمْ مِنَ الشَّاهِدِينَ (He said: Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses) (3:81).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted be His praise — means thereby: Allah said: Then bear witness, O prophets, of that to which I have taken your covenant, namely belief, in the sense of the confirmation of My messengers who come to you with the confirmation of what you have with you of Scripture and wisdom, and of the aiding of them — against yourselves and against your followers among the communities, since you have taken their covenant to that effect — and I am with you among the witnesses against you and against them concerning that. As:
7338 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbdullāh ibn Hāshim related to us, saying: Sayf ibn ʿUmar informed us, (50) on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of Abū Ayyūb, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib, concerning His word: "He said: Then bear witness," he says: Then bear witness against your communities concerning that — "and I am with you among the witnesses," against you and against them.
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[The footnotes (28–50) of the printed edition concern text-critical remarks about differences between the manuscript (al-makhṭūṭa) and the printed edition (al-maṭbūʿa), references to earlier passages, and biographical notes on the transmitters. In particular, footnote 37 refutes at length the misunderstanding that the statement of Mujāhid ("this is an error of the scribe") would point to a falsification of the Qurʾān; al-Suddī and the editor explain that Mujāhid meant only that the reading of Ibn Masʿūd corresponded to the final presentation (al-ʿarḍa al-akhīra), and that the Qurʾān is transmitted by oral transmission and not by what is written. Footnote 39 mentions that the transmitter Sayf ibn ʿUmar al-Tamīmī, author of the book on the Ridda and the Conquests, was deemed weak by the ḥadīth critics and even accused of zandaqa.]
