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Al [Imran 3: 107–11
Those whose faces have turned dark will be told: “Did you fall into unbelief after you had been blessed with belief? Taste, then, chastisement for your unbelief.” (107) And those whose faces have turned bright, they will be in the mercy of Allah, and therein they shall abide. (108) These are the messages of Allah which We recite to you in all truth, and Allah desires no wrong to the people of the world. (109) To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth, and to Allah are all matters referred for decision.
(110) You are now the best nat ion brought for th for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah. Had the People of the Book26 believed, it were better for them. Some of them are believers but most of them are transgressors. (111) They will not be able to harm you except for a little hurt, and if they fight against you they will turn their backs (in flight), and then they will not be succoured. ▶
26 “People of the Book” refers here to the Children of Israel.
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Al [Imran 3: 112–14
(112) Wherever they were, they were covered with ignominy, except when they were pro- tected by either a covenant with Allah or a covenant with men.27 They are laden with the burden of Allah’s wrath, and humiliation has been pitched upon them; all this because they rejected the Signs of Allah and slew the Prophets without right, and because they wantonly disobeyed and used to transgress.
(113) Yet all are not alike among the People of the Book: there are upright people who recite the messages of Allah in the watches of the night and prostrate themselves in worship. (114) They believe in Allah and in the Last Day and enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and hasten to excel each other in doing good. These are among the righteous. ▶
27 If the Jews have ever enjoyed any measure of peace and security anywhere in the world they owe it to the goodwill and benevolence of others rather than to their own power and strength. At times Muslim governments granted them havens of refuge while at others non-Muslim powers extended protection. Similarly, if the Jews ever emerged as a power it was due not to their intrinsic strength but to the strength of others. Similar is the status of the present-day Jewish state called Israel which came into being with the active support of the U.S.A., Britain and U.S.S.R.
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Al [Imran 3: 115–19
(115) Whatever good they do shall not go unappreciated. Allah fully knows those who are pious. (116) As for those who denied the Truth, neither their possessions nor their children will avail them against Allah. They are the people of the Fire, and therein they shall abide. (117) The example of what they spend in the life of this world is like that of a wind accompanied with frost which smote the harvest of a people who wronged themselves, and laid it to waste. It is not Allah Who wronged them; rather, it is they who wronged themselves.
(118) Believers! Do not take for intimate friends those who are not of your kind. They spare nothing to ruin you; indeed they long for you to suffer. Their hatred is clearly manifest in what they say, and what their breasts conceal is even greater. Now We have made Our messages clear to you; if only you can understand (the danger of their intimacy)! (119) Lo! It is you who love them but they do not love you even though you believe in the scriptures. ▶
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Al [Imran 3: 120–3
When they meet you they say: “We believe,” but when they are by themselves they bite their fingers in rage at you. Say: “Perish in your rage.” Allah knows even what lies hidden in their breasts. (120) If anything good happens to you, they are grieved; if any misfortune befalls you, they rejoice. Yet if you remain steadfast and mindful of Allah their designs will not cause you any harm. Allah surely encompasses all that they do.
(121) (O Messenger, remind the Muslims of the occasion) when you went forth from your home at early dawn (to the battlefield of Uhud) and placed the believers in battle arrays. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
(122) And recall when two groups from among you were inclined to flag although Allah was their Protector; it is in Allah that the believers should put their trust. (123) For sure Allah helped you at Badr when you were utterly weak. Beware, then, of Allah; perhaps you will be thankful.
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Al [Imran 3: 124–9
(124) And recall when you said to the believers: “Will it not suffice you that your Lord will aid you by sending down three thousand angels?” (125) If you are steadfast and mindful of God, even though the enemy should suddenly fall upon you, your Lord will help you with five thousand marked angels. (126) Allah has reminded you of this only as a glad tiding to you and to let your hearts be at rest. Help can only come from Allah, the All-Mighty, the All-Wise. (127) (Allah provided this aid to you) in order that He may cut asunder a part of those who disbelieved or frustrate them so that they retreat in utter disappointment.
(128) (O Messenger), you have no part of the authority to decide whether He will accept their repentance or chastise them, for they surely are wrong-doers. (129) What- ever is in the heavens and the earth belongs to Allah. He forgives whom He wills, and chastises whom He wills. ▶
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Al [Imran 3: 130–5
Allah is indeed All-Forgiving, Most Compassionate.28
(130) Believers! Do not devour interest, doubled and redoubled, and be mindful of Allah so that you may attain true success, (131) and do have fear of the Fire which awaits those who deny the Truth, (132) and obey Allah and the Messenger, that mercy be shown to you. (133) And hasten to the forgiveness of your Lord and to a Paradise as vast as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the God-fearing (134) who spend in the way of Allah both in affluence and hardship, who restrain their anger, and forgive others. Allah loves such good-doers. (135) These are the ones who, when they commit any indecency or wrong themselves, instantly remember Allah and implore forgiveness for their sins – for who will forgive sins save Allah? – and do not wilfully persist in the wrong they had committed. ▶
28 When the Prophet was injured in the Battle of Uhud he uttered words of imprecation against the unbelievers: “How can a people that injures its own Prophet attain salvation?” These verses are in response to that utterance.
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Al [Imran 3: 136–40
(136)