Chapter 3: Surat Aal-'Imran (The House 'Imran), verse 118-120

Translation:

Believers, do not make friends with any but your own people. They will spare no pains to corrupt you. They desire nothing but your ruin. Their hatred is evident from what they utter with their mouths, but greater is the hatred which their breasts conceal. We have made plain to you Our revelations. Strive to understand them. See how you love them and they do not love you. You believe in the entire Book. When they meet you they say: 'We, too, are believers.' 'May you perish in your rage! God has knowledge of your innermost thoughts.' When you are blessed with good fortune they grieve: but when evil befalls you they rejoice. If you persevere and guard yourselves against evil, their machinations will never harm you. God has knowledge of all their actions.  (118-120)

Commentary:

‘Muslims had accepted the same divine faith which was brought by the Jews, the former People of the Book. The religion of both in actual fact, in terms of actual reality, was one, but the Jews turned such a dire enemy to Muslims that Muslims did not deserve, even when possessing all goodness and virtue, in their eyes (of Jews) of even one good phrase in their (Muslims) favor (that is far from doing any good) turn the Jews would not even utter a good word for the Muslims. When Muslims were harmed because of any reason they were happy in their hearts. They did not consider Muslims even to be deserving of sympathy on humanitarian grounds. The reason being that the Jews had formed a self styled religion by attributing it to the Israelite Prophets. It was due to this self-styled religion that they had been enjoying the position of leadership among the Public. In a true religion of God all attention remains centered towards God whereas in self-styled religion people’s attention is diverted to the founders and commentators of religion (i.e. the Pope, the priest) such people never tolerate the call of true religion because this amounts to displacing them of their position of eminence. When such a situation takes place, the true believers should avoid from negative reaction and hold on entirely to the path of patience and taqwa (God-fearing), sabr, patience entails holding fast to truth in all eventuality, and taqwa entails regarding God, and no other, to be the only decisive power. If Muslims give proof of this kind of positive attitude, no enmity, however great, can harm them. However, along with this Muslims should become realists. They should be able to discriminate between their enemies and friends so that no one could exploit them because of their being sincere and unselfish.

(The presence of) love in the hearts of Muslims for the Jews and lack of love in the heart of Jews for Muslims show who are on truth and who are not. God is all mercy and justice. God is the Creator and Sustainer of all human beings, so whoever finds God in the real sense of the word, his heart is opened for all God’s creatures. All human beings to him become equally the family of God. He begins to like for everyone what he likes for himself. But those who have not found God in the real sense of the word, those who have not subordinated their will to the will of God; those who live only on the plane of their own self the life’s possession are their personal and communal interests. This mentality makes them an enemy to everyone who appear against their interests who is not a member of their community. In spite of believing in God they tend to forget that this world is made by God, as such no strategy/planning can be effective here without the will of God.

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