بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
والصلاة والسلام على رسوله الامين
Allah Most High answers one of the excuses put forward by the Jews for disbelieving in the Prophet Muhammad (sall Allahu alaihi wasallam):
اَلَّذِیۡنَ قَالُوۡۤا اِنَّ اللّٰہَ عَہِدَ اِلَیۡنَاۤ اَلَّا نُؤۡمِنَ لِرَسُوۡلٍ حَتّٰی یَاۡتِیَنَا بِقُرۡبَانٍ تَاۡکُلُہُ النَّارُ ؕ قُلۡ قَدۡ جَآءَکُمۡ رُسُلٌ مِّنۡ قَبۡلِیۡ بِالۡبَیِّنٰتِ وَ بِالَّذِیۡ قُلۡتُمۡ فَلِمَ قَتَلۡتُمُوۡہُمۡ اِنۡ کُنۡتُمۡ صٰدِقِیۡنَ
Those who say, ‘Allah has charged us not to believe in any Messenger until he bring us an offering which fire devours.’ Say, ‘There have already come to you Messengers before me with clear Signs and with that which you speak of. Why, then, did you kill them, if you are truthful?’
(Surah 3:183)
It is implied that the objection of the Jews is unwarranted. There was never any covenant in which they were only required to accept someone’s claim to being a Messenger of God if he showed them the particular sign of fire coming down from heaven to consume a sacrifice or offering upon an altar. But He does acknowledge and confirm the fact that there were Messengers who came in the past who did indeed display this heavenly sign of fire coming down from heaven consuming a sacrifice or offering.
According to the Hebrew Bible there are four instances in which fire miraculously consumed a sacrifice or offering: as a sign for the Prophets Moses and Aaron (Leviticus 9:24), for Gideon (Judges 6:21), for King David (1 Chronicles 21:26) and for the Prophet Elijah (1 Kings 18:38). However, there are numerous other true Prophets who appeared in the past, in Israel, who did not display this particular sign but who displayed other manifest signs and miracles attesting to their being true Messengers of God.
Although none of the Prophets about whom the Hebrew Bible says fire miraculously consumed their offerings were murdered, there is the possibility that some other Prophets sent to Israel were indeed murdered despite displaying that particular sign. Or it may be that the Ayah is general in stating that Prophets came to them with clear signs – other than the sign of fire consuming the sacrifice – yet they were murdered.
In this context the Bayyinaat (clear signs) refer to spectacular miracles which apparently defy rationality or the known natural laws. So while the covenant which the Jews allege was made was in fact never made, the general idea that one should only believe in someone as a Messenger of God if he displays some spectacular miracle or sign is a more reasonable position - but it backfires on the Jews considering that they rejected and even murdered some of those Prophets who did bring such spectacular signs and performed great miracles. And while it is not narrated that the Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم displayed the sign of fire coming down from heaven to consume a sacrifice, he did display many other great miracles and signs proving that he was a true Messenger of God. Despite that, the Jews opposed him bitterly and on several occasions attempted to murder him.
ReplyDeleteIn his commentary on this Ayah (3:183), the astray antichrist G.A. Parwez implied that the sign of fire consuming a sacrifice miraculously did not actually occur in the past:
ReplyDelete"According to you, they also did what you now ask me to do but instead of believing in them you tried to kill them" (Exposition of the Quran p.138)