Q: What is the overall theme of this passage, and why does it intensify compared to earlier verses?
A: This section continues the direct admonition of the Children of Israel but sharpens its focus considerably. While earlier verses addressed their general history of disobedience, this passage zeroes in on a specific, recurring pattern: their rejection and mistreatment of the very prophets sent for their own reform. It culminates in identifying the root disease underlying all their failures — an arrogant, tribal preference for their own biases over divine truth, a trait the Quran links back to Iblis himself.
Q: What does Verse 87 accuse the Children of Israel of, and what was the core reason for their behavior?
وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَقَفَّيْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِ بِالرُّسُلِ ۖ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ ۗ أَفَكُلَّمَا جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ بِمَا لَا تَهْوَىٰ أَنفُسُكُمُ اسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ فَفَرِيقًا كَذَّبْتُمْ وَفَرِيقًا تَقْتُلُونَ
“And We did certainly give Moses the Scripture and followed him with the messengers. And We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear proofs and supported him with the Pure Spirit. But is it not that every time a messenger came to you with what your souls did not desire, you were arrogant? And a party you denied, and another party you killed.”
A: Verse 87 presents the ultimate indictment. God reminds them that He did not abandon them after Moses — He sent a continuous chain of prophets, culminating in Jesus, who was granted clear miracles and supported by the Holy Spirit (Gabriel). Yet their response was consistently hostile. The core reason the Quran identifies is telling: “every time a messenger came to you with what your souls did not desire.” The prophets challenged their tribal arrogance, class interests, and corrupt practices. Out of that arrogance (istakbartum), they either denied the prophets or, in the gravest crime, killed them.
Q: In Verse 88, they say “Our hearts are wrapped.” What does this mean, and how does the Quran respond?
وَقَالُوا قُلُوبُنَا غُلْفٌ ۚ بَل لَّعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَقَلِيلًا مَّا يُؤْمِنُونَ
“And they say, ‘Our hearts are wrapped.’ Rather, Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so little is it that they believe.”
A: When confronted with truth, they offered this as an excuse — claiming their hearts were naturally sealed or incapable of understanding. The Quran firmly rejects this. The sealing of their hearts is not a natural condition they were born with; it is a curse from God that resulted from their own persistent, willful disbelief (kufr). Their rejection was a conscious choice, not an incapacity. That is why genuine belief from them is described as rare.
Q: Verse 89 describes a remarkable act of betrayal. What happened?
وَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمْ كِتَابٌ مِّنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَهُمْ وَكَانُوا مِن قَبْلُ يَسْتَفْتِحُونَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُم مَّا عَرَفُوا كَفَرُوا بِهِ ۚ فَلَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ عَلَى الْكَافِرِينَ
“And when there came to them a Book from Allah confirming that which was with them – and before they used to pray for victory against those who disbelieved – but when there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it. So the curse of Allah will be upon the disbelievers.”
A: This verse highlights what Maududi considers a profound hypocrisy. The Jewish scholars of Medina were well acquainted with prophecies about a coming prophet in their own scriptures. Before the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ arrived, they even used to invoke his impending appearance as a kind of threat against the pagan Arabs, praying for victory through him. Yet when that very Prophet came — clearly matching the descriptions they recognized — they rejected him. The reason? He was not from Israelite lineage. This exposed that their loyalty was to tribe, not to truth. Willful rejection after clear knowledge of this kind, the Quran declares, invites God’s curse.
Q: What “wretched trade” does Verse 90 describe, and what was the real motive behind it?
بِئْسَمَا اشْتَرَوْا بِهِ أَنفُسَهُمْ أَن يَكْفُرُوا بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ بَغْيًا أَن يُنَزِّلَ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ عَلَىٰ مَن يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ ۖ فَبَاءُوا بِغَضَبٍ عَلَىٰ غَضَبٍ ۚ وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ
“How wretched is that for which they sold themselves – that they would disbelieve in what Allah has revealed, out of resentment that Allah would send down His grace upon whom He wills of His servants. So they returned with wrath upon wrath. And for the disbelievers is a humiliating punishment.”
A: The verse uses the metaphor of a disastrous transaction: they “sold” their souls for the worst possible price, which was rejecting God’s revelation. The Quran names the real motive precisely — baghyan, meaning resentment or envy. They could not tolerate that God would bestow the final, universal prophethood upon an Arab from the line of Ishmael rather than from their own people. They had considered prophethood their exclusive inheritance. This tribal chauvinism amounted to making their lineage an idol before God. The consequence is “wrath upon wrath” — their long history of rejecting prophets had already accumulated divine anger, and rejecting the final Prophet added to it. Their punishment will fittingly be one of humiliation.
Q: In Verse 91, they claim to believe in what was revealed to them. How does the Quran expose this claim as hollow?
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ آمِنُوا بِمَا أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ قَالُوا نُؤْمِنُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ عَلَيْنَا وَيَكْفُرُونَ بِمَا وَرَاءَهُ وَهُوَ الْحَقُّ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا مَعَهُمْ ۗ قُلْ فَلِمَ تَقْتُلُونَ أَنبِيَاءَ اللَّهِ مِن قَبْلُ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
“And when it is said to them, ‘Believe in what Allah has revealed,’ they say, ‘We believe only in what was revealed to us.’ And they disbelieve in what came after it, while it is the truth confirming that which is with them. Say, ‘Then why did you kill the prophets of Allah before, if you are indeed believers?’”
A: They claim to believe only in the Torah and reject any subsequent revelation. The Quran turns their own history against them: if they were truly believers in the Torah and the God who gave it, why did they kill the prophets God sent them? Their actions expose the truth — their “belief” was never sincere submission to God’s ongoing will. It was a tribalist claim of ownership over a scripture, not genuine faith.
Q: What do Verses 92 and 93 add to this argument?
وَلَقَدْ جَاءَكُم مُّوسَىٰ بِالْبَيِّنَاتِ ثُمَّ اتَّخَذْتُمُ الْعِجْلَ مِن بَعْدِهِ وَأَنتُمْ ظَالِمُونَ
“And Moses certainly came to you with clear proofs; then you took the calf in worship after him, while you were wrongdoers.”
وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ الطُّورَ خُذُوا مَا آتَيْنَاكُم بِقُوَّةٍ وَاسْمَعُوا ۖ قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَأُشْرِبُوا فِي قُلُوبِهِمُ الْعِجْلَ بِكُفْرِهِمْ ۚ قُلْ بِئْسَمَا يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِهِ إِيمَانُكُمْ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤْمِنِينَ
“And when We took your covenant and raised over you the mount, saying, ‘Take what We have given you with strength and listen.’ They said instead, ‘We hear and disobey.’ And their hearts absorbed the worship of the calf because of their disbelief. Say, ‘How wretched is that which your faith enjoins upon you, if you should be believers.’”
A: These verses establish that this pattern of rejecting truth is not recent but historically ingrained. Verse 92 recalls the worship of the golden calf — their foundational act of betrayal committed almost immediately after receiving the greatest proof through Moses and the Torah. Verse 93 goes deeper, revealing their inner state at Sinai. When they accepted the covenant under the terrifying sight of the raised mountain, their outward submission concealed an inner rebellion. The Quran captures their true sentiment as “We hear and disobey” (sami’na wa ’asayna). Because of this inherent disbelief, love for the calf — symbolizing base desires and materialism — became absorbed (ushribu) into their very hearts. Their faith was a hollow shell, and the Quran mocks it accordingly: “How wretched is that which your faith enjoins upon you.”
Q: Verses 94–96 issue a challenge about the Hereafter. What is the logic of this challenge?
قُلْ إِن كَانَتْ لَكُمُ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ عِندَ اللَّهِ خَالِصَةً مِّن دُونِ النَّاسِ فَتَمَنَّوُا الْمَوْتَ إِن كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
“Say, ‘If the home of the Hereafter with Allah is exclusively for you and not for other people, then wish for death, if you should be truthful.’”
وَلَن يَتَمَنَّوْهُ أَبَدًا بِمَا قَدَّمَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ ۚ وَاللَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالظَّالِمِينَ
“But they will never wish for it, ever, because of what their hands have put forth. And Allah is Knowing of the wrongdoers.”
وَلَتَجِدَنَّهُمْ أَحْرَصَ النَّاسِ عَلَىٰ حَيَاةٍ وَمِنَ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا ۚ يَوَدُّ أَحَدُهُمْ لَوْ يُعَمَّرُ أَلْفَ سَنَةٍ وَمَا هُوَ بِمُزَحْزِحِهِ مِنَ الْعَذَابِ أَنْ يُعَمَّرَ ۚ وَاللَّهُ بَصِيرٌ بِمَا يَعْمَلُونَ
“And you will surely find them the most greedy of people for life – even more than those who associate others with Allah. One of them wishes that he could be granted a life of a thousand years. But it would not remove him from the punishment that he should be granted a long life. And Allah is Seeing of what they do.”
A: The challenge is sharp and logical. They claimed exclusive right to Paradise, believing only they were destined for God’s favour. The Quran responds: if you truly believe this, then wish for death right now — hasten to that exclusive bliss you claim awaits you. Verse 95 answers for them: they will never wish for it, because their own conscience, burdened by what their hands have committed, testifies against them. They know the truth inwardly. Verse 96 then delivers a striking psychological observation — they are in fact the most intensely attached to worldly life, even more so than polytheists, driven by a deep fear of the reckoning to come. Even living a thousand years would not save them from the consequences of their deeds. Their desperate clinging to life is, Maududi notes, a symptom of their spiritual sickness.
Q: Why does Verse 97 specifically mention Gabriel, and what was the claim being refuted?
قُلْ مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِيلَ فَإِنَّهُ نَزَّلَهُ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ وَهُدًى وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
“Say, ‘Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel – it is none but he who has brought it down upon your heart by permission of Allah, confirming that which was before it and as guidance and good tidings for the believers.’”
A: Some Jewish scholars had spread the slander that the revelation came through an evil angel, or that Gabriel was their enemy. The Quran addresses this directly: Gabriel is simply the agent of God’s will. He brought the Quran down upon the Prophet’s heart by God’s permission, confirming the scriptures that came before it and serving as guidance and glad tidings for believers. Hostility toward Gabriel, therefore, is not a theological nicety — it is hostility toward divine guidance itself.
Q: How does Verse 98 bring the entire passage to a close?
مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّلَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَجِبْرِيلَ وَمِيكَالَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَدُوٌّ لِّلْكَافِرِينَ
“Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers and Gabriel and Michael – then indeed, Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers.”
A: This verse delivers the ultimate conclusion. Rejecting the messengers, the angels, and the instruments of revelation is not a dispute with intermediaries — it amounts to declaring enmity with God Himself. And the response is solemn and symmetrical: God, in turn, is the enemy of such disbelievers. Maududi draws the circle closed here: their attitude mirrors that of Iblis, who refused to honor Adam out of arrogance about his own origin. They refuse to honor the final Prophet out of arrogance about their lineage. In both cases, pride of origin was placed before obedience to God — and in both cases, the result was the same: becoming an enemy of God.
Q: What is the overarching lesson Maududi draws from this entire passage?
A: Maududi identifies five interlocking points. First, the Children of Israel had a consistent historical pattern of rejecting or killing prophets whose message threatened their comforts. Second, their core sin was baghya — resentful tribal chauvinism that made the tribe itself an idol before God. Third, their claims of faith were exposed as hollow, contradicted both by their actions and by their extreme, fear-driven love of worldly life. Fourth, their arrogance is the spiritual inheritance of Iblis — refusing to submit because of pride in one’s own origins. Fifth, by rejecting the final revelation and its bearer, they had chosen their side in the cosmic struggle, making God their enemy. This sustained, logical, and historical argument concludes the case against them and prepares the ground for the lessons that follow for the believers.
Messages from Quran 