Surah Qasas ayat 53 Tafsir Quran 28:53

﴿وَإِذَا يُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ قَالُوا آمَنَّا بِهِ إِنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّنَا إِنَّا كُنَّا مِن قَبْلِهِ مُسْلِمِينَ﴾
[ القصص: 53]

28:53 And when it is recited to them, they say, "We have believed in it; indeed, it is the truth from our Lord. Indeed we were, [even] before it, Muslims [submitting to Allah]."

And when it is recited to them the Qur’ān they say ‘We believe in it. It is indeed the Truth from our Lord. Lo! even before it we had submitted’ we affirmed God’s Oneness.

When it is recited to them they express their thoughts in words. They say: We do acknowledge Allahs divine discourse represented in the Quran for it reflects the divine truth notwithstanding that long before the Quran We conformed to Islam

The Believers among the People of the Book Allah tells us that the pious scholars among the People of the Book believe in the Qur'an, as He says: الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَـهُمُ الْكِتَـبَ يَتْلُونَهُ حَقَّ تِلاَوَتِهِ أُوْلَـئِكَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ ( Those to whom We gave the Book recite it as it should be recited, they are the ones who believe therein ) ( 2:121 ). وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَـبِ لَمَن يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ خَـشِعِينَ للَّهِ ( And there are, certainly, among the People of the Scripture, those who believe in Allah and in that which has been revealed to you, and in that which has been revealed to them, humbling themselves before Allah ) ( 3:199 ). قُلْ ءَامِنُواْ بِهِ أَوْ لاَ تُؤْمِنُواْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهِ إِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ يَخِرُّونَ لِلاٌّذْقَانِ سُجَّدًا - وَيَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَآ إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولاً ( Verily, those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in humble prostration.
And they say: "Glory be to our Lord! Truly, the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled." ) ( 17:107-108 ) وَلَتَجِدَنَّ أَقْرَبَهُمْ مَّوَدَّةً لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ الَّذِينَ قَالُواْ إِنَّا نَصَارَى ( And you will find the nearest in love to the believers those who say: "We are Christians.
" ) until: فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشَّـهِدِينَ ( so write us down among the witnesses ) ( 5:82-83 ).
Sa`id bin Jubayr said, "This was revealed concerning seventy priests who were sent by An-Najashi ( ruler of Ethiopia ).
When they came to the Prophet , he recited to them: يس - وَالْقُرْءَانِ الْحَكِيمِ ( Ya Sin.
By the Qur'an, full of wisdom. ) ( 36:1-2 ) until he completed the Surah.
They began to weep, and they embraced Islam.
These other Ayat were revealed concerning them: الَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَـهُمُ الْكِتَـبَ مِن قَبْلِهِ هُم بِهِ يُؤْمِنُونَ - وَإِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ قَالُواْ ءَامَنَّا بِهِ إِنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّنَآ إنَّا كُنَّا مِن قَبْلِهِ مُسْلِمِينَ ( Those to whom We gave the Scripture before it, they believe in it.
And when it is recited to them, they say: "We believe in it.
Verily, it is the truth from our Lord.
Indeed even before it we have been from Muslims." ) meaning, `even befor e the Qur'an came we were Muslims, i.e., we believed in One God and were sincerely responding to Allah's commands.' أُوْلَـئِكَ يُؤْتُونَ أَجْرَهُم مَّرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُواْ ( These will be given their reward twice over, because they are patient, ) means, those who have this characteristic -- that they believed in the first Book and then in the second.
Allah says: بِمَا صَبَرُواْ ( because they are patient, ) meaning, in their adherence to the truth, for taking such thing upon oneself is not easy for people.
It was reported in the Sahih from the Hadith of `Amir Ash-Sha`bi from Abu Burdah that Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«ثَلَاثَةٌ يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ: رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ آمَنَ بِنَبِيِّهِ ثُمَّ آمَنَ بِي، وَعَبْدٌ مَمْلُوكٌ أَدَّى حَقَّ اللهِ وَحَقَّ مَوَالِيهِ،وَرَجُلٌ كَانَتْ لَهُ أَمَةٌ، فَأَدَّبَهَا فَأَحْسَنَ تَأْدِيبَهَا، ثُمَّ أَعْتَقَهَا فَتَزَوَّجَهَا»
( There are three who will be given their reward twice: a man among the People of the Book who believed in his Prophet then believed in me; a slave who fulfills his duty towards Allah and towards his master; and a man who has a slave woman and educates her and teaches her good manners, then he frees her and marries her. ) Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Umamah said: "On the day of the Conquest of Makkah I was walking alongside the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as he was riding, and he said some very beautiful words, including the following:
«مَنْ أَسْلَمَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابَيْنِ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَهُ مَا لَنَا وَعَلَيْهِ مَا عَلَيْنَا وَمَنْ أَسْلَمَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ وَلَهُ مَا لَنَا وَعَلَيْهِ مَا عَلَيْنَا»
( Whoever among the people of the two Books becomes Muslim, he will have his reward twice, and he has the same rights and duties as we do.
Whoever among the idolators becomes Muslim will have one reward, and he has the same rights and duties as we do. )" Allah's saying: وَيَدْرَءُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ ( and repel evil with good, ) means, they do not respond to evil in kind, rather they forgive and overlook. وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ ( and spend out of what We have provided for them. ) meaning, `from the lawful provision that We have given them, they spend on their families and relatives as they are required to do, and they pay Zakah and give voluntary charity.' وَإِذَا سَمِعُواْ اللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُواْ عَنْهُ ( And when they hear evil vain talk, they withdraw from it ) meaning, they do not mix with the people who indulge in such talk, rather they do as Allah says: وَإِذَا مَرُّواْ بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّواْ كِراماً ( and if they pass by some evil vain talk, they pass by it with dignity ) ( 25:72 ). وَقَالُواْ لَنَآ أَعْمَـلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَـلُكُمْ سَلَـمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لاَ نَبْتَغِى الْجَـهِلِينَ ( and they say: "To us our deeds, and to you your deeds.
Peace be to you.
We seek not (the way of ) the ignorant.") means, if some foolish person speaks to them in a foolish manner and says something to which it does not befit them to respond, they turn away from him and do not respond in kind with ugly speech.
They never say anything but good words.
Allah says of them that they say: لَنَآ أَعْمَـلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَـلُكُمْ سَلَـمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لاَ نَبْتَغِى الْجَـهِلِينَ ( To us our deeds, and to you your deeds.
Peace be to you.
We seek not (the way of ) the ignorant.) meaning, `we do not seek the way of the ignorant and we do not like it.'

(28:53) and when it is recited to them, they say, "We have believed in it: this is indeed the Truth from our Lord: we were Muslims even before this. " *73

And when it is recited to them, meaning

*73) That is, " Even before this we were believers in the Prophets and the Divine Books.
Therefore, we had no other Faith than Islam and we have believed in that Book too, which this Prophet has brought from Allah.
Thus, no change has occurred in our religion: we were Muslims before even as we are Muslims now. "
This saying clearly indicates that Islam is not the name of the Faith brought by the Holy Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him ) and the term " Muslim " is not only applicable to his.
followers, but Islam has been the Faith of all the Prophets since the very beginning and their followers were Muslims in every age.
These Muslims became disbelievers only when they refused to acknowledge a true Prophet who came afterwards.
But no interruption occurred in the Islam of those people who believed in the former Prophet and also affirmed faith in the Prophet who succeeded him.
They continued to be Muslims as they had been Muslims before.

It is strange that even some learned men also have failed to comprehend this fact, and this clear verse also could not satisfy them.
`Allama Suyuti wrote a treatise on the subject that the term " Muslim " was only reserved for the followers of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ( may Allah's peace be upon him ).
Then, as he himself says, when this verse came before him he was stunned: he prayed to God that He guide him in the matter.
At last, instead of revising his opinion he stuck to it even more firmly and gave several interpretations of the verse, each to which is more meaningless than the other.
For example, one of his interpretations is: " We were Muslims even before this " means: We intended to become Muslims even before the revelation of the Qur'an, because we had been foretold by our Scriptures that it would come, and we hadthe intention that when it came we would accept Islam." Another interpretation is: "In this sentence, the word bi-hi after muslimin is omitted, implying: We believed in the Qur'an beforehand, because we expected it would come, and had believed in it in anticipation.
Therefore, we were Muslims, not because we believed in the Torah and the Gospels, but because we had believed in the Qur'an as Allah's Word even before its revelation." The third interpretation is: "It had been divinely destined for us that we would accept Islam on the advent of the Holy Prophet and the revelation of the Qur'an; therefore, we were Muslims even before this." None of these interpretations bears any impress that Divine help had become available for the right understanding of this verse.

The fact is that the Qur'an has expressed this fundamental principle not only here, but at scores of other places also that the real Way of life is only Islam ( submission to AIIah ), and in God's universe there can be no other way of life than this for His creatures.
Since the beginning of the creation every Prophet who came for the guidance of mankind brought this very Way of Life: the Prophets themselves have always been Muslims, and they impressed upon their followers also to live as Muslims, and all their followers who submitted to the Divine Command brought by the Prophets, were also Muslims in every age.
Consider the following few verses for instance:
( 1 ) Indeed, Islam is the only rightway of life in the sight of Allah. " ( Al-'Imran: 19 )
( 2 ) " Whoever adopts any other than this way of submission ( Islam ), it will not be accepted from him. " ( Al-i-`imran: 85 )
( 3 )" My reward is with Allah, and I have been commanded to believe like a Muslim. " ( Yunus: 72 )
About Prophet Abraham and his descendants it has been said:
( 4 ) " When his Lord said to him, 'Surrender', he promptly responded, 'I have surrendered to the Lord of the universe ( and become a Muslim )'.
He also enjoined on his children to follow the same way.
Jacob also did the same and his last will to his sons was: 'O my children, AIIah has chosen the same way of life for you.
Hence, remain Muslims up to your last breath.' ( Dare you deny this? ) Were you present at the time when Jacob was on the point of death ? He asked his children, `Whom will you worship after me?' They all answered, `We will worship the same One AIIah Whom you, your forefathers Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac acknowledged as their Allah and to Him we all surrender as Muslims'. " ( Al-Baqarah: 133 ) ( 5 ) " Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a Muslim, sound in the Faith. " ( AI-i-`Imran: 67 ) Prophets Abraham and Ishmael themselves prayed:
( 6 ) " Lord, make us Thy Muslims and raise from our offspring a community which should also be Muslim ( submissive to Thy will ). " ( AI-Baqarah: 128 ).
In connection with the story of the Prophet Lot it has been said:
( 7 ) " We did not find in it any house of the Muslims except one. " ( AdhDhariyat: 36 ) The Prophet Joseph prayed to Allah:
( 8 ) " Let me die as a Muslim, and join me with the righteous in the end. " ( Yusuf: 101 ) Prophet Moses says to his people:
( 9 ) " O my people, if you sincerely believe in Allah, put your trust in Him, if you are Muslims. " ( Yunus: 84 )
The real religion of the Israelites was not Judaism but Islam as was known to their friends and foes alike.
That is why the last words that Pharaoh said while drowning were:
( 10 ) " I have believed that there is no god but the real God in Whom the children of Israel have believed, and I am of the Muslims. " ( Yunus:90 )
Islam was the Way of life of all the Israelite Prophets:
( 11 ) " Indeed, We sent down the Torah wherein was Guidance and Light: thereby aII the Prophets, who were Muslims, judged the cases of those who had become Jews. " ( Al-Ma'idah: 44 ).

The same was the Prophet Solomon's way of life.
So when the queen of Sheba believed in him, she said.

( 12 ) " I submit myself ( as a Muslim ) with Solomon to AIIah, Lord of the wands. " ( An-Naml: 44 ).
And the same was the religion of the disciples of the Prophet Jesus:
( 13 ) " And when I inspired the disciples to believe in Me and My Messenger, they said: `We believe and bear witness that we are Muslims'. " ( AlMa'idah: 111 ).
In this connection, if somebody expresses the doubt that the Arabic words " lslam " and " Muslims " could not have been used in different languages and countries, it would obviously be a foolish objection.
For the real thing is not the Arabic words but the meaning in which they are used in Arabic.
In fact, what has been stressed in the above-cited verses is that the real Way of life sent by God was neither Christianity nor Mosaicism nor Muhammadanism, but to surrender to the Divine Commands taught by the Prophets and the Scriptures, and whoever adopted this Way anywhere and at any time in the world, is the follower of the same universal, eternal and everlasting true Way of Life.
For those who have adopted this Way consciously and sincerely, it is no change of the faith to believe in Jesus after Moses and in Muhammad after Jesus( may Allah's peace be upon all of them ), but a natural and logical demand following the same real Way of life ( Islam ).
Contrary to this, those people who got into the Prophets' communities without due understanding or were born in them, and for whom nationalistic and racial and tribal prejudices were the religion, became mere Jews or Christians, and on the advent of the Holy Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him ) their ignorance was exposed.
For by refusing to believe in the Last Prophet of Allah, they not only refused to ,remain Muslims in the future but also proved that they were not " Muslims " even before: they had been charmed by the personality of a Prophet or Prophets, or had taken blind conformity to their forefathers for religion.

 

The Believers among the People of the Book Allah tells us that the pious scholars among the People of the Book believe in the Qur'an, as He says: الَّذِينَ آتَيْنَـهُمُ الْكِتَـبَ يَتْلُونَهُ حَقَّ تِلاَوَتِهِ أُوْلَـئِكَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ ( Those to whom We gave the Book recite it as it should be recited, they are the ones who believe therein ) ( 2:121 ). وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَـبِ لَمَن يُؤْمِنُ بِاللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ خَـشِعِينَ للَّهِ ( And there are, certainly, among the People of the Scripture, those who believe in Allah and in that which has been revealed to you, and in that which has been revealed to them, humbling themselves before Allah ) ( 3:199 ). قُلْ ءَامِنُواْ بِهِ أَوْ لاَ تُؤْمِنُواْ إِنَّ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْعِلْمَ مِن قَبْلِهِ إِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ يَخِرُّونَ لِلاٌّذْقَانِ سُجَّدًا - وَيَقُولُونَ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَآ إِن كَانَ وَعْدُ رَبِّنَا لَمَفْعُولاً ( Verily, those who were given knowledge before it, when it is recited to them, fall down on their faces in humble prostration.
And they say: "Glory be to our Lord! Truly, the promise of our Lord must be fulfilled." ) ( 17:107-108 ) وَلَتَجِدَنَّ أَقْرَبَهُمْ مَّوَدَّةً لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ الَّذِينَ قَالُواْ إِنَّا نَصَارَى ( And you will find the nearest in love to the believers those who say: "We are Christians.
" ) until: فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشَّـهِدِينَ ( so write us down among the witnesses ) ( 5:82-83 ).
Sa`id bin Jubayr said, "This was revealed concerning seventy priests who were sent by An-Najashi ( ruler of Ethiopia ).
When they came to the Prophet , he recited to them: يس - وَالْقُرْءَانِ الْحَكِيمِ ( Ya Sin.
By the Qur'an, full of wisdom. ) ( 36:1-2 ) until he completed the Surah.
They began to weep, and they embraced Islam.
These other Ayat were revealed concerning them: الَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَـهُمُ الْكِتَـبَ مِن قَبْلِهِ هُم بِهِ يُؤْمِنُونَ - وَإِذَا يُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ قَالُواْ ءَامَنَّا بِهِ إِنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّنَآ إنَّا كُنَّا مِن قَبْلِهِ مُسْلِمِينَ ( Those to whom We gave the Scripture before it, they believe in it.
And when it is recited to them, they say: "We believe in it.
Verily, it is the truth from our Lord.
Indeed even before it we have been from Muslims." ) meaning, `even befor e the Qur'an came we were Muslims, i.e., we believed in One God and were sincerely responding to Allah's commands.' أُوْلَـئِكَ يُؤْتُونَ أَجْرَهُم مَّرَّتَيْنِ بِمَا صَبَرُواْ ( These will be given their reward twice over, because they are patient, ) means, those who have this characteristic -- that they believed in the first Book and then in the second.
Allah says: بِمَا صَبَرُواْ ( because they are patient, ) meaning, in their adherence to the truth, for taking such thing upon oneself is not easy for people.
It was reported in the Sahih from the Hadith of `Amir Ash-Sha`bi from Abu Burdah that Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «ثَلَاثَةٌ يُؤْتَوْنَ أَجْرَهُمْ مَرَّتَيْنِ: رَجُلٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ آمَنَ بِنَبِيِّهِ ثُمَّ آمَنَ بِي، وَعَبْدٌ مَمْلُوكٌ أَدَّى حَقَّ اللهِ وَحَقَّ مَوَالِيهِ،وَرَجُلٌ كَانَتْ لَهُ أَمَةٌ، فَأَدَّبَهَا فَأَحْسَنَ تَأْدِيبَهَا، ثُمَّ أَعْتَقَهَا فَتَزَوَّجَهَا» ( There are three who will be given their reward twice: a man among the People of the Book who believed in his Prophet then believed in me; a slave who fulfills his duty towards Allah and towards his master; and a man who has a slave woman and educates her and teaches her good manners, then he frees her and marries her. ) Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Umamah said: "On the day of the Conquest of Makkah I was walking alongside the Messenger of Allah ﷺ as he was riding, and he said some very beautiful words, including the following: «مَنْ أَسْلَمَ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابَيْنِ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ مَرَّتَيْنِ وَلَهُ مَا لَنَا وَعَلَيْهِ مَا عَلَيْنَا وَمَنْ أَسْلَمَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ وَلَهُ مَا لَنَا وَعَلَيْهِ مَا عَلَيْنَا» ( Whoever among the people of the two Books becomes Muslim, he will have his reward twice, and he has the same rights and duties as we do.
Whoever among the idolators becomes Muslim will have one reward, and he has the same rights and duties as we do. )" Allah's saying: وَيَدْرَءُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ ( and repel evil with good, ) means, they do not respond to evil in kind, rather they forgive and overlook. وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ ( and spend out of what We have provided for them. ) meaning, `from the lawful provision that We have given them, they spend on their families and relatives as they are required to do, and they pay Zakah and give voluntary charity.' وَإِذَا سَمِعُواْ اللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُواْ عَنْهُ ( And when they hear evil vain talk, they withdraw from it ) meaning, they do not mix with the people who indulge in such talk, rather they do as Allah says: وَإِذَا مَرُّواْ بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّواْ كِراماً ( and if they pass by some evil vain talk, they pass by it with dignity ) ( 25:72 ). وَقَالُواْ لَنَآ أَعْمَـلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَـلُكُمْ سَلَـمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لاَ نَبْتَغِى الْجَـهِلِينَ ( and they say: "To us our deeds, and to you your deeds.
Peace be to you.
We seek not (the way of ) the ignorant.") means, if some foolish person speaks to them in a foolish manner and says something to which it does not befit them to respond, they turn away from him and do not respond in kind with ugly speech.
They never say anything but good words.
Allah says of them that they say: لَنَآ أَعْمَـلُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَـلُكُمْ سَلَـمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ لاَ نَبْتَغِى الْجَـهِلِينَ ( To us our deeds, and to you your deeds.
Peace be to you.
We seek not (the way of ) the ignorant.) meaning, `we do not seek the way of the ignorant and we do not like it.'

( And when it is recited unto them ) and when the Qur’an is recited to them expositing the attributes and description of Muhammad ( pbuh ) ( they say: We believe in it ) we believe in Muhammad ( pbuh ) and in the Qur’an. ( Lo! it is the Truth from our Lord. Lo! even before it ) before the recitation of the Qur’an to us ( we were of those who surrender (unto Him )) we were of those who believe in Muhammad ( pbuh ) and the Qur’an.

And when it is recited to them, they say: "We believe in it. Verily, it is the truth from our Lord. Indeed even before it we have been from those who submit themselves to Allah in Islam as Muslims (like 'Abdullah bin Salam and Salman Al-Farisi, etc.).

Page 392 English transliteration