Section 7: Capernaum: the first disciples and healings

On 3:52

On the interpretation of His words: Then when Jesus perceived unbelief from them, he said: “Who are my helpers towards God?” The disciples said: “We are the helpers of God. We believe in God, and bear witness that we are Muslims” (3:52)

Abū Jaʿfar said: By His words, Majestic is His praise, Then when Jesus perceived unbelief from them, He means: when Jesus found unbelief from them.

“Perceiving” (al-iḥsās) is finding; from this is the saying of God, Mighty and Majestic: Do you perceive any one of them? (19:98).

As for al-ḥass, without the alif, it is annihilation and killing; from this is His saying: when you were slaying them by His leave (3:152).

Al-ḥass is also tenderness and softness of heart; from this is the saying of al-Kumayt⁸:

Does he who weeps over the dwelling hope that it will feel tenderness for him,

or that the copious water of his tears will make the dwelling weep?

By his words “that it will feel tenderness for him” (an taḥissa lahu) he means: that it will soften towards him.

So the interpretation of the passage is: When Jesus found from the Children of Israel, to whom God had sent him, denial of his prophethood, rejection of his word, and a turning away from the command of God to which he summoned them, he said: Who are my helpers towards God? By that He means: Jesus said: Who are my helpers against those who reject the proof of God, who turn away from His religion and who deny the prophethood of His prophet, towards God, Mighty and Majestic?

By His words towards God (ilā Allāh) He means: with God (maʿa Allāh).

It was fitting to say ilā Allāh in the sense of “with God” only because it is the custom of the Arabs, when they join one thing to another and then wish to speak of the two together by the joining of one with the other once it has been joined to it, that they sometimes put ilā (“to”) in the place of maʿa (“with”); and sometimes you speak of the two with maʿa. So you say: “al-dhawd ilā al-dhawd ibil” (“a small herd to a small herd is a herd of camels”), meaning: when you join a small herd to a small herd, they become a herd of camels. But when one thing is merely with another, they do not express it with ilā, nor do they put ilā in the place of maʿa.

It is not permissible to say “So-and-so arrived, and ilayhi (‘to him’) was wealth,” meaning “and with him was wealth”.

In agreement with what we have said concerning the interpretation of His words Who are my helpers towards God? spoke a number of the people of interpretation.

Those who said this

(7120) Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us: Asbāṭ related to us, from al-Suddī, concerning His words Who are my helpers towards God?: he says: with God.

(7121) Al-Qāsim related to us: al-Ḥusayn related to us: Ḥajjāj related to me, from Ibn Jurayj: Who are my helpers towards God?: he says: with God.

As for the reason Jesus (peace be upon him) sought the help of those of the disciples whose help he sought, there is a difference about it among the people of knowledge.

• Some of them said: the reason for that was what:

(7122) Mūsā ibn Hārūn related it to me: ʿAmr related to us: Asbāṭ related to us, from al-Suddī: When God sent Jesus and commanded him to make the call, the Children of Israel banished him and expelled him, so he and his mother went out wandering through the land. He lodged in a village with a man who gave them hospitality and treated them well. That city had a tyrannical, oppressive king. One day that man came home with worry and grief having fallen upon him, and he entered his house while Mary was with his wife. Mary said to her: “What is the matter with your husband? I see that he is sorrowful!” She said: “Do not ask!” She said: “Tell me! Perhaps God will relieve his distress.” She said: “We have a king who imposes on every man among us a day on which he must feed him and his soldiers and give them wine to drink; and if he does not do it, he punishes him. Today his turn has come, the day on which the king wants us to prepare the feast for him, and we have no means for that!” She said: “Then tell him not to worry, for I shall instruct my son to pray for him, and that will be taken care of.” Mary spoke to Jesus about it. Jesus said: “Mother, if I do that, evil will come of it.” She said: “Do not mind that, for he has treated us well and honoured us!” Jesus said: “Then tell him: when the time draws near, fill your cooking-pots and your large jars with water, then inform me.” He said: When he had filled them he informed him, and Jesus prayed to God, and what was in the pots turned into meat, broth and bread, and what was in the jars into wine the like of which people had never seen, and he had it set out as food.⁹ When the king came he ate, and when he drank the wine he asked: “Where is this wine from?” He said to him: “It is from such-and-such a land.” The king said: “But my wine is brought to me from that land, and it is not like this!” He said: “It is from another land.” When he gave the king confused answers, the king pressed him hard, so he said: “Then I shall tell you: I have a young man who asks God for nothing but that He gives it to him; he prayed to God, and He turned the water into wine.” The king said – he had a son whom he wished to make his successor, but who had died some days before, and who had been the dearest of all creatures to him – he said: “A man who prayed to God until He turned water into wine will surely be answered if he asks that my son be brought back to life!” So he summoned Jesus and spoke to him, and asked him to pray to God to bring his son back to life. Jesus said: “Do not do it, for if he lives, evil will come of it.” The king said: “I do not care; so long as I see him, I do not care what happens.” Jesus (peace be upon him) said: “If I bring him back to life, will you let me and my mother go wherever we wish?” The king said: “Yes.” So he prayed to God and the boy lived. When the people of his kingdom saw that he had come back to life, they called one another to arms and said: “This man has devoured us, and now that his death has drawn near he wants to make his son his successor so that he may devour us as his father devoured us!” So they fought one another, and Jesus and his mother departed, and a Jew accompanied them. The Jew had two loaves and Jesus had one loaf. Jesus said to him: “Share with me.” The Jew said: “Yes.” But when he saw that Jesus had only one loaf, he regretted it. When the two slept, the Jew set about trying to eat the loaf; whenever he ate a morsel Jesus would say to him: “What are you doing?” and he would say: “Nothing!” and throw it down, until he had finished the whole loaf. When morning came, Jesus said to him: “Bring your food!” He brought one loaf. Jesus said to him: “Where is the other loaf?” He said: “I had only one.” Jesus said nothing to him about it. They set off and passed by a shepherd with sheep, and Jesus called out: “O owner of the sheep, give us a sheep from your flock to slaughter.” He said: “Yes; send your companion to take it.” Jesus sent the Jew, and he brought the sheep; they slaughtered it and roasted it. Then he said to the Jew: “Eat, but do not break any bone.” The two of them ate, and when they had eaten their fill, Jesus cast the bones into the skin, then struck it with his staff and said: “Rise, by God’s leave!” The sheep rose up bleating, and he said: “O owner of the sheep, take your sheep.” The shepherd said to him: “Who are you?” He said: “I am Jesus son of Mary.” He said: “You are the sorcerer!” and fled from him. Jesus said to the Jew: “By Him who brought this sheep back to life after we had eaten it, how many loaves did you have?” He swore that he had had only one loaf. Then they passed by an owner of cattle, and Jesus called out and said: “O owner of the cattle, give us a calf from these cattle of yours to slaughter.” He said: “Send your companion to take it.” He said: “Go, O Jew, and bring it.” He went and brought it. He slaughtered it and roasted it while the owner of the cattle looked on, and Jesus said to him: “Eat, but do not break any bone.” When they had finished, he cast the bones into the skin, then struck it with his staff and said: “Rise, by God’s leave!” It rose up lowing, and he said: “Take your calf.” He said: “And who are you?” He said: “I am Jesus.” He said: “You are the arch-sorcerer!” and then fled from him. The Jew said: “O Jesus, you brought it back to life after we had eaten it!” Jesus said: “Then by Him who brought the sheep back to life after we had eaten it, and the calf after we had eaten it, how many loaves did you have?” He swore by God that he had had only one loaf. The two went on until they came down to a village; the Jew lodged in its upper part and Jesus in its lower part. The Jew took a staff like the staff of Jesus and said: “Now I shall raise the dead!” The king of that city was gravely ill, and the Jew went about calling: “Who wants a physician?” until he came to the king of that village and was told of his ailment. He said: “Bring me in to him and I shall cure him; and if you see that he has died, I shall bring him back to life.” He was told: “The king’s ailment has defeated the physicians before you; there is no physician who treats him and whose remedy fails to restore anything to him but that he orders him crucified.” He said: “Bring me in to him, for I shall cure him.” He was brought in to him, and he took hold of the king’s leg and beat him with his staff until he died; then he kept beating him with his staff while he was dead, saying: “Rise, by God’s leave!” He was seized to be crucified. Word reached Jesus, and he came to him when he had already been raised upon the wooden beam, and said: “What do you think: if I bring your companion back to life for you, will you let me have my companion?” They said: “Yes.” So God brought the king back to life for Jesus, and he rose, and the Jew was taken down. He said: “O Jesus, you of all people have laid the greatest debt of gratitude upon me; by God, I shall never part from you.” Jesus said – according to what Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn ibn Mūsā related to us: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us: Asbāṭ related to us, from al-Suddī – to the Jew: “I adjure you by Him who brought the sheep and the calf back to life after we had eaten them, and brought this man back to life after he had died, and brought you down from the trunk after you had been raised upon it to be crucified: how many loaves did you have?” He said: He swore by all of this that he had had only one loaf. He said: “No matter!” The two went on until they passed by a treasure which the wild beasts and the animals had dug up. The Jew said: “O Jesus, to whom does this wealth belong?” Jesus said: “Leave it, for it has owners who will perish over it.” The soul of the Jew kept hankering after the wealth, but he was loath to disobey Jesus, so he went on with Jesus. Four men passed by the wealth, and when they saw it they gathered around it. Two said to their two companions: “Go and buy us food and drink, and beasts on which we may carry this wealth.” The two men went and bought beasts and food and drink, and one of them said to his companion: “What do you say to our putting poison in our two companions’ food, so that when they eat it they die, and the wealth is between me and you?” The other said: “Yes!” and they did so. The other two said: “When they bring us the food, let each of us rise against his man and kill him, so that the food and the beasts will be between me and you.” When the two came with their food, the other two rose and killed them, then sat down to the food and ate of it, and died. Jesus was informed of that, and he said to the Jew: “Bring it out so that we may divide it.” He brought it out, and Jesus divided it into three. The Jew said: “O Jesus, fear God and do not wrong me; it is only me and you! What are these three?” Jesus said to him: “This is for me, this is for you, and this third is for the owner of the loaf.” The Jew said: “If I tell you who the owner of the loaf is, will you give me this wealth?” Jesus said: “Yes.” He said: “I am he.” Jesus said: “Take my share, your share and the share of the owner of the loaf; it is your share in this world and the next.” When he had loaded it up and walked a little way with it, the earth swallowed him up. Jesus son of Mary went on, and passed by the disciples while they were catching fish, and said: “What are you doing?” They said: “We are catching fish.” He said: “Will you not come along, so that we may catch men?” They said: “And who are you?” He said: “I am Jesus son of Mary.” So they believed in him and went along with him. That is the saying of God, Mighty and Majestic: “Who are my helpers towards God?” The disciples said: “We are the helpers of God. We believe in God, and bear witness that we are Muslims”.

(7122m) Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to us: Abū Bakr al-Ḥanafī related to us, from ʿAbbād ibn Manṣūr, from al-Ḥasan, concerning His words Then when Jesus perceived unbelief from them, he said: “Who are my helpers towards God?” – the verse – he said: He sought help, and the disciples helped him, and he prevailed over them.

• Others said: the reason Jesus sought the help of those whose help he sought was that those against whom he sought the help of the disciples had wanted to kill him.

Those who said this

(7123) Al-Qāsim related to us: al-Ḥusayn related to us: Ḥajjāj related to me, from Ibn Jurayj, from Mujāhid: Then when Jesus perceived unbelief from them: he said: They disbelieved and wanted to kill him, and that was when he sought the help of his people: he said: “Who are my helpers towards God?” The disciples said: “We are the helpers of God”.

“Helpers” (al-anṣār) is the plural of naṣīr, just as al-ashrāf is the plural of sharīf and al-ashhād is the plural of shahīd.

As for “the disciples” (al-ḥawāriyyūn), the people of interpretation differ about the reason for which they were named ḥawāriyyūn.

• Some of them said: they were so named because of the whiteness of their garments.

Those who said this

(7124) Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd al-Muḥāribī related to me: Among what my father related, he said: Qays ibn al-Rabīʿ related to us, from Maysarah, from al-Minhāl ibn ʿAmr, from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, who said: They were named “the ḥawāriyyūn” only because of the whiteness of their garments.

• Others said: they were so named because they were fullers who whitened garments.

Those who said this

(7125) Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, from ʿĪsā, from Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Abū Arṭāh, who said: “The ḥawāriyyūn” are the washermen who whiten (yuḥawwirūn) garments, that is, wash them.

• Others said: they are the elect of the prophets and their chosen ones.

Those who said this

(7126) Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to us: Ibn ʿUlayyah related to us, from Rawḥ ibn al-Qāsim, that Qatādah mentioned a man from among the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said: He was one of the ḥawāriyyūn. It was said to him: Who are the ḥawāriyyūn? He said: Those who are fit for the caliphate.

(7127) I was told, from al-Minjāb: al-Ḥusayn related to us: Bishr related to us, from ʿUmārah, from Abū Rawq, from al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His words when the disciples said (5:112): he said: the chosen ones of the prophets.

Abū Jaʿfar said: The most apt of the sayings we have mentioned concerning the meaning of “the ḥawāriyyūn” is the saying of those who said: “They were so named because of the whiteness of their garments, and because they were washermen.”

That is because al-ḥawar among the Arabs is intense whiteness, and for this reason the food called ḥuwwārā¹⁰ is named ḥuwwārā because of its intense whiteness; and from it a man whose eyeballs are intensely white is called aḥwar, and a woman ḥawrāʾ. It may well be that the disciples of Jesus were named by what we have mentioned, because they whitened garments and were fullers; then they became known through their companionship of Jesus and his choosing them for himself as companions and helpers, so that this name attached to them and came into use, until every close associate of a man from among his companions and helpers came to be called his ḥawārī. For this reason the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:

(7128) “Every prophet has a ḥawārī, and my ḥawārī is al-Zubayr.”

– meaning his close associate. The Arabs may also call women whose dwellings are in the villages and towns ḥawāriyyāt, and they are so named only because of the prevalence of whiteness in them. From this is the saying of Abū Jaldah al-Yashkurī¹¹:

So tell the fair town-women to weep for others than us,

for none weep for us but the barking dogs.

By His words The disciples said He means: these men whose description is what we have mentioned, their whitening of garments, said: We believe in God, we affirm the truth of God; and bear witness, you, O Jesus, that we are Muslims.

Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a report from God, Mighty and Majestic, that Islam is His religion with which He sent Jesus and the prophets before him, not Christianity and not Judaism; and it is an exoneration from God of Jesus from those who adopted Christianity and professed it as their religion, just as He exonerated Abraham from all religions other than Islam. And it is an argument advanced by God, exalted be His mention, on behalf of His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) against the delegation of Najrān, as:

(7129) Ibn Ḥumayd related to us: Salamah related to us, from Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq, from Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn al-Zubayr: Then when Jesus perceived unbelief from them and hostility, he said: “Who are my helpers towards God?” The disciples said: “We are the helpers of God. We believe in God” – and this is their saying by which they attained favour from their Lord – and bear witness that we are Muslims”, not as these people say who dispute with you about him – meaning the delegation of the Christians of Najrān.

On 3:53

On the interpretation of His words: Our Lord, we believe in what You have sent down, and we follow the Messenger, so write us down among those who bear witness (3:53)

Abū Jaʿfar said: This is a report from God, Mighty and Majestic, about the disciples, that they said: Our Lord, we believe, that is: we affirm the truth, in what You have sent down, meaning: in what You have sent down of Your Book upon Your prophet Jesus; and we follow the Messenger, meaning by that: we have become the followers of Jesus in Your religion with which You sent him, and his helpers in the truth with which You sent him to Your servants. And His words so write us down among those who bear witness: He says: so record our names together with the names of those who bore witness to the truth, acknowledged Your oneness before You, affirmed the truth of Your messengers, and followed Your command and Your prohibition; so place us in their number and together with them in the honour with which You honour them, and settle us in their station, and do not make us among those who disbelieved in You, barred others from Your path, and opposed Your command and Your prohibition.

By this He, Majestic is His praise, makes known to His creation the path of those whose words and deeds He approved, so that they may follow in their track and pursue their way, and thereby reach the like of what they reached of the degrees of His honour; and by it He gives the lie to those who adopted creeds other than the Muslim creed of pure monotheism (al-ḥanīfiyya al-muslima) in their claim concerning the prophets of God that they followed something other than it; and by it He argues against the delegation of the people of Najrān who disputed with the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him): that the saying of those among the followers of Jesus with whom God was pleased was contrary to their saying, and their way other than their way, as:

(7130) Ibn Ḥumayd related to us: Salamah related to us, from Ibn Isḥāq, from Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn al-Zubayr: Our Lord, we believe in what You have sent down, and we follow the Messenger, so write us down among those who bear witness, that is: such was their saying and their faith.

Read this commentary with the other passages on its own page.

On 3:50-52

And confirming (3:50), conjoined to His words “and a messenger”, what was before me of the Torah, and to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you, of meats and fats. Abū ʿUbayda said: by “some” He meant “all”, meaning all of what was forbidden to you; “some” may be mentioned while “all” is meant, as in the saying of Labīd:

One who abandons places when I am not pleased with them,

or else death takes hold of some of the souls;

meaning: all of the souls.

His words, Exalted: And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, meaning the signs that have been mentioned; He put it in the singular only because they are all one kind in their indication of his message. So fear God and obey me.

His words, Exalted: Then when Jesus perceived (aḥassa) from them disbelief (3:52): that is, “found”—this was said by al-Farrāʾ; Abū ʿUbayda said: “knew”; and Muqātil said: “saw” from them disbelief, and they wished to kill him, he sought help against them and said, “Who are my helpers towards God?” Al-Suddī said: The cause of that was that when God, Mighty and Majestic, sent Jesus (peace be upon him) to the Children of Israel and commanded him to summon them, the Children of Israel banished him and drove him out. So he and his mother went out wandering through the land, and he lodged in a village with a man who entertained them both as guests and treated them kindly. That city had a tyrant who transgressed all bounds. One day that man came home anxious and sorrowful and entered his house while Mary was with his wife. Mary said to her: “What is the matter with your husband? I see him dejected.” She said: “Do not ask me.” She said: “Tell me; perhaps God will relieve his distress.” She said: “We have a king who imposes on each man among us one day on which he must feed him and his troops and give them wine to drink, and if he does not do it, he punishes him. Today is our turn, and we have not the means for it.” She said: “Then tell him not to be anxious, for I will instruct my son and he will pray for him, and that will be taken care of.” So Mary spoke to Jesus (peace be upon him) about that. Jesus said: “If I do that, evil will come of it.” She said: “Do not mind that, for he has treated us kindly and honoured us.” Jesus (peace be upon him) said: “Then tell him: when the time draws near, fill your cooking-pots and your jars with water, then let me know.” He did that, and Jesus (peace be upon him) prayed to God, Exalted, and the water of the pots turned into broth and meat, and the water of the jars into wine the like of which people had never seen. When the king came he ate, and when he drank the wine he said: “Where is this wine from?” He said: “From such-and-such a land.” The king said: “But my wine is from that land, and it is not like this.” He said: “It is from another land.” When the matter became confused for the king and he pressed him hard, he said: “Then I will tell you: I have a lad who does not ask God for anything but He gives it to him, and he prayed to God and turned the water into wine.” Now the king had a son whom he wished to make his successor, but he had died some days before that, and he was the dearest of creatures to him. So he said: “A man who prayed to God until He turned water into wine will surely be answered so that he brings my son to life.” He summoned Jesus and spoke to him about that. Jesus said: “Do not do it, for if he lives, evil will come of it.” The king said: “I do not care—shall I not see him?” Jesus said: “If I bring him to life, will you let me and my mother go wherever we wish?” He said: “Yes.” So he prayed to God, and the boy lived. When the people of his kingdom saw that he had come to life, they rushed to arms and said: “This man has devoured us, and now, when his death draws near, he wishes to make his son successor over us so that he may devour us as his father devoured us.” So they fought one another, and Jesus and his mother went away. He passed by the disciples while they were fishing, and said: “What are you doing?” They said: “We are catching fish.” He said: “Will you not come along, so that we may catch men?” They said: “And who are you?” He said: “I am Jesus son of Mary, the servant of God and His messenger. Who are my helpers towards God?” So they believed in him and set off with him.

His words, Exalted: “Who are my helpers towards (ilā) God?” Al-Suddī and Ibn Jurayj said: “with God, Exalted”. The Arabs say “the small herd to the small herd makes a herd of camels”, meaning “with the small herd”; and as God, Exalted, said: and do not consume their wealth to your wealth (4:2), that is, with your wealth. Al-Ḥasan and Abū ʿUbayda said: ilā has the sense of “in” (fī), that is, “who are my supporters in God”, that is, for the sake of God and in His path. And it was said: ilā is in its proper place, its meaning being: who will join his support to the support of God for me? They differed concerning the disciples (al-ḥawāriyyūn). Mujāhid and al-Suddī said: they were fishermen who caught fish; they were called ḥawāriyyūn because of the whiteness of their garments. And it was said: they were sailors. Al-Ḥasan said: they were fullers; they were named thus because they used to whiten (yuḥawwirūna) garments, that is, bleach them. ʿAṭāʾ said: Mary handed Jesus (peace be upon him) over to various trades, and the last to whom she handed him over were the disciples, who were fullers and dyers. She handed him over to their chief so that he might learn from him. A quantity of garments had accumulated with him, and a journey came up for him, so he said to Jesus: “You have learnt this craft, and I am going out on a journey from which I will not return for ten days. Here are people’s garments of different colours, and I have marked each one of them with a thread of the colour in which it is to be dyed, so you must have finished them by the time I arrive.” And he departed. Jesus boiled up a single vat in a single colour, put in all the garments, and said: “Be, by God’s leave, as I wish you to be.” The disciple arrived while all the garments were in the vat, and said: “What have you done?” He said: “I have finished them.” He said: “Where are they?” He said: “In the vat.” He said: “All of them?” He said: “Yes.” He said: “You have ruined those garments!” He said: “Get up and look.” Then Jesus took out a red garment, a yellow garment and a green garment, until he had taken them out in the colours that he had wanted. The disciple began to marvel, and knew that this was from God, and said to the people: “Come and look!” So he and his companions believed in him, and they are the disciples. Al-Ḍaḥḥāk said: they were called ḥawāriyyūn because of the purity of their hearts. Ibn al-Mubārak said: they were named thus because of the mark of worship and its light that was upon them. The root of ḥawar among the Arabs is intense whiteness; one says “a man aḥwar” and “a woman ḥawrāʾ“, meaning with intensely white eyes. Al-Kalbī and ʿIkrima said: the ḥawāriyyūn are the chosen ones, and they were the chosen ones of Jesus (peace be upon him); they were twelve men. Rawḥ ibn al-Qāsim said: I asked Qatāda about the disciples, and he said: they are those who are fit for succession. From him too it is reported that he said: the disciples are the ministers. Al-Ḥasan said: the disciples are the helpers; and the ḥawārī is the helper. In the speech of the Arabs specifically, the ḥawārī is the man whom one calls upon for help in whatever befalls one.

ʿAbd al-Wāḥid ibn Aḥmad al-Malīḥī informed us: Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Nuʿaymī informed us: Muḥammad ibn Yūsuf informed us: Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl informed us: al-Ḥumaydī informed us: Sufyān informed us: Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir informed us, who said: I heard Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh (may God be pleased with them both) say: The Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) called upon the people on the day of the Trench, and al-Zubayr answered the call; then he called upon them again, and al-Zubayr answered the call. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Every prophet has a ḥawārī, and my ḥawārī is al-Zubayr.”

Sufyān said: the ḥawārī is the helper. Maʿmar said: Qatāda said: The ḥawāriyyūn are all of Quraysh: Abū Bakr, ʿUmar, ʿUthmān, ʿAlī, Ḥamza, Jaʿfar, Abū ʿUbayda ibn al-Jarrāḥ, ʿUthmān ibn Maẓʿūn, ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn ʿAwf, Saʿd ibn Abī Waqqāṣ, Ṭalḥa ibn ʿUbayd Allāh and al-Zubayr ibn al-ʿAwwām (may God be pleased with them all).

The disciples said, “We are the helpers of God,” the supporters of the religion of God and of His messenger; “we have believed in God, and bear witness,” O Jesus, “that we are Muslims (those who submit).”

On 3:53

“Our Lord, we have believed in what You have sent down” (3:53), of Your Book, “and we have followed the Messenger,” Jesus, “so write us among the witnesses,” those who bore witness to the truthfulness of Your prophets. ʿAṭāʾ said: with the prophets, because every prophet is a witness over his community.

Ibn ʿAbbās (may God be pleased with them both) said: with Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his community, because they bear witness for the messengers that they delivered the message.

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On 3:52

His words, Exalted: So when Jesus perceived unbelief from them (3:52), that is, from the Children of Israel. “Perceived” (aḥassa) means he knew and found, so said al-Zajjāj. Abū ʿUbaydah said: the meaning of “aḥassa” is he recognised, and the root of that is finding a thing by the sense (ḥāssah). Perception (iḥsās) is knowledge of a thing; God, Exalted, said: Do you perceive any one of them? (19:98). Al-ḥass is killing; God, Exalted, said: when you were slaying them by His leave (3:152). From this is the ḥadīth concerning locusts: “when the cold kills them.”

unbelief from them, that is, unbelief in God. It was said: he heard from them the word of unbelief. Al-Farrāʾ said: they intended to kill him.

he said: Who are my helpers towards God? He sought help against them. Al-Suddī, al-Thawrī and others said: the meaning is “with God”, so “towards” (ilā) has the meaning of “with”, as in His words, Exalted: and do not consume their property along with your property (4:2), that is, with. And God knows best. Al-Ḥasan said: the meaning is, who are my helpers on the way to God, because he called them to God, Mighty and Majestic. It was said: the meaning is, who will join his help to the help of God, Mighty and Majestic. On these two views “towards” retains its ordinary sense, and this is the good view. His seeking help was so that he might be protected by it from his people and proclaim the call openly, according to al-Ḥasan and Mujāhid. This is God’s way with His prophets and His friends. Lot said: Would that I had power against you, or could take refuge in a strong support (11:80), that is, a clan and companions who would help me. The disciples said: We are the helpers of God, that is, the helpers of His prophet and His religion. The disciples (ḥawāriyyūn) are the companions of Jesus (peace be upon him), and they were twelve men, so said al-Kalbī and Abū Rawq. There is disagreement as to why they were named thus. Ibn ʿAbbās said: they were named thus for the whiteness of their garments, and they were fishermen. Ibn Abī Najīḥ and Ibn Arṭāh: they were fullers, and were named thus because they whitened garments. ʿAṭāʾ said: Mary handed Jesus over to various trades, and the last to whom she gave him was the disciples, who were fullers and dyers. The master of Jesus wished to travel, and he said to Jesus: I have many garments of different colours, and I have taught you dyeing, so dye them. So Jesus heated a single vat and put all the garments into it, and said: Be, by God’s leave, as I wish of you. The disciple came back while all the garments were in the vat, and when he saw them he said: You have ruined them. Then Jesus drew out a red garment, a yellow one and a green one, and so on, each garment in the dye that had been written upon it; the disciple marvelled and knew that this was from God, and he called the people to him and they believed in him; these are the disciples. Qatādah and al-Ḍaḥḥāk: they were named thus because they were the elect of the prophets; the two of them mean because of the purity of their hearts. It was said: they were kings; that is because the king prepared food and invited the people to it, and Jesus was at a bowl which did not diminish; the king said to him: Who are you? He said: Jesus son of Mary. He said: I shall leave this kingdom of mine and follow you. So he went off with those who followed him along with him, and these are the disciples; so said Ibn ʿAwn. The root of ḥawar in the language is whiteness: ḥawwartu al-thiyāb, I whitened the garments; al-ḥuwwārā of food is what has been whitened, that is, bleached; iḥwarra, it became white; and the whitened bowl (al-jafnah al-muḥawwarah) is the one whitened with hump-fat. Al-ḥawārī is also the helper; the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Every prophet has a disciple (ḥawārī), and my disciple is al-Zubayr.” Al-ḥawāriyyāt are women, for their whiteness. The poet said:

So tell the fair women to weep for other than us, / and let none weep for us but the barking dogs.

On 3:53

His words, Exalted: Our Lord, we believe in what You have sent down (3:53), that is, they say: Our Lord, we believe.

in what You have sent down, meaning in Your Book and in the judgement of Yours that You have made manifest.

and we follow the Messenger, meaning Jesus.

so write us down among the witnesses, meaning the community of Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him); this is from Ibn ʿAbbās. The meaning is: record our names along with their names and make us of their number. And it has been said: the meaning is, write us down among those who have borne witness to Your prophets that they spoke the truth.

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On 3:52-54

He, Exalted, says: And when Jesus perceived (3:52), that is, sensed from them a resolve upon disbelief and persistence in error, he said: Who are my helpers towards God? (3:52). Mujāhid said: that is, who will follow me towards God? Sufyān al-Thawrī and others said: who are my helpers along with God? The statement of Mujāhid is closer.

The apparent meaning is that he intended: who are my helpers in calling to God? As the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say in the seasons of the pilgrimage, before he emigrated: “Who is a man who will give me shelter so that I may convey the words of my Lord? For Quraysh have prevented me from conveying the words of my Lord.” Until he found the Anṣār, who sheltered him and supported him, and he emigrated to them, and they comforted him and protected him from black and red alike. Likewise Jesus son of Mary: a group of the Children of Israel answered his call, believed in him, backed him and supported him, and followed the light that was sent down with him. For this reason He, Exalted, said, informing of them: The disciples said: We are the helpers of God; we believe in God, so bear witness that we are Muslims. Our Lord, we believe in what You have sent down, and we follow the Messenger, so write us among the witnesses (3:52-53). The disciples (al-ḥawāriyyūn): it was said that they were fullers (qaṣṣārūn); and it was said that they were so named for the whiteness of their garments; and it was said: fishermen. The correct view is that the ḥawārī is the helper, as is established in the two Ṣaḥīḥs: that when the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) called upon the people on the day of the Confederates, al-Zubayr answered the call; then he called upon them, and al-Zubayr answered; then he called upon them, and al-Zubayr answered; and he said: “Every prophet has a disciple (ḥawārī), and my disciple is al-Zubayr.”

Ibn Abī Ḥātim said: Abū Saʿīd al-Ashajj related to us: Wakīʿ related to us: Isrāʾīl related to us, from Simāk, from ʿIkrimah, from Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words so write us among the witnesses (3:53): he said: with the community of Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him). This is a good chain.

Then He, Exalted, said, informing of the chiefs of the Children of Israel, regarding what they intended of assassinating Jesus (peace be upon him), and of intending harm and crucifixion against him, when they conspired against him and denounced him to the king of that age, who was an unbeliever. They reported to him that here was a man who was leading people astray, turning them from obedience to the king, corrupting the subjects, and separating father from son, and other such things that they hung round their own necks and falsely accused him of, and that he was the child of an adulteress, until they stirred up the king’s anger, and he sent in search of him those who would seize him, crucify him and make an example of him. When they surrounded his house and thought that they had got hold of him, God delivered him from their midst and raised him from the skylight of that house to heaven, and God cast his likeness upon a man who was with him in the house. When those people entered, they took him, in the darkness of the night, to be Jesus (peace be upon him), so they seized him, humiliated him and crucified him, and placed thorns upon his head. This was part of God’s plotting against them, for He saved His Prophet and raised him from among them, and left them wandering blindly in their error, believing that they had got hold of their quarry; and God lodged in their hearts a hardness and an obstinacy against the truth that clings to them, and bequeathed to them an abasement that will not leave them until the Day of Mutual Calling. For this reason He, Exalted, said: And they plotted, and God plotted; and God is the best of plotters (3:54).

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On 3:33-64

3:33. This verse was revealed when the Jews said: We are upon the religion of Adam, Muslims. So God sent down Indeed God chose Adam: He elected Adam for Islam; and Noah: for Islam; and the family of Abraham: the children of Abraham, for Islam; and the family of ʿImrān: Moses and Aaron, for Islam; above the worlds: the people of their age. And it is said that ʿImrān was not the father of Moses and Aaron.

3:34. Offspring, one from another: some of them upon the religion of others, and some of them born of others; and God is All-Hearing: of the saying of the Jews, “We are the sons of God and His beloved ones, upon His religion”; All-Knowing: of their punishment, and of who is upon His religion.

3:35. And remember, O Muḥammad, when the wife of ʿImrān said: Ḥannah, the mother of Mary; My Lord, I have vowed to You: I have made over to You; what is in my womb, consecrated: as a servant for the sanctuary of Jerusalem (Bayt al-Maqdis); so accept it from me; indeed You are the All-Hearing: of supplication; the All-Knowing: of the answer, and of what is in my womb.

3:36. Then when she delivered her: gave birth to her, and behold, she was a girl; she said: My Lord, I have delivered her, a female: I have given birth to her, a girl; and God knows best what she delivered: what she gave birth to; and the male is not: in service and in the matter of nakedness (ʿawra); like the female: like the girl; and I have named her Mary, and I seek refuge for her with You: I place her under Your protection and guard her by You; and her offspring: if she should have offspring; from Satan the accursed: the damned.

3:37. So her Lord accepted her with a gracious acceptance: that is, He dealt graciously with her, so that He accepted her in place of a boy; and made her grow in a goodly growth: He nourished her in worship, through the years and the months and the days and the hours, with a goodly nourishment; and Zachariah took charge of her: he took her to himself to raise her; whenever Zachariah entered upon her in the sanctuary: meaning her chamber in which she used to worship; he found with her provision: the fruit of winter in summer, such as sugar-cane, and the fruit of summer in winter, such as grapes; he said: O Mary, whence comes this to you?: from where do you have this, out of its season?; She said: It is from God: Gabriel brought it to me; indeed God provides for whom He wills: He gives to whom He wills, in its season and out of its season; without reckoning: without measure and without stint.

3:38. There: at that; Zachariah prayed: and hoped; to his Lord; he said: My Lord, grant me: give me; from Yourself: from Your presence; a goodly offspring: a righteous child; indeed You are the Hearer of prayer: the Answerer of prayer.

3:39. Then the angels called him: meaning Gabriel; while he stood praying in the sanctuary: in the place of worship; that God gives you glad tidings of John: of a son to be named John; confirming a Word from God: Jesus son of Mary, that he comes to be by a word from God, created without a father; and a master: forbearing in the face of ignorance; and chaste: he had no desire for women; and a prophet from among the righteous: from among the messengers.

3:40. He said: My Lord: Zachariah said to Gabriel: O my master; how shall I have a boy: from where shall I have a child; when old age has reached me: when old age has overtaken me; and my wife is barren: sterile, she does not bear; He said: Gabriel; Thus: as I have told you; God does what He wills: as He wills.

3:41. He said: Zachariah; My Lord: that is, O my Lord; appoint for me a sign: a mark of my wife’s pregnancy; He said: Your sign: your mark of your wife’s pregnancy; is that you shall not speak to people: you will not be able to speak to people; for three days: without being dumb; except by gesture: except by a movement of the lips, the eyebrows, the eyes and the hands; and it is said, except by writing on the ground; and remember your Lord: with the tongue and the heart; much: in every state; and glorify Him in the evening and the early morning: pray in the morning and in the evening as you used to pray.

3:42. And when the angels said: meaning Gabriel; O Mary, indeed God has chosen you: it is said, He elected you for Islam and worship; and purified you: from unbelief, polytheism and impurities; and it is said, He saved you from being killed; and chosen you: elected you; above the women of the worlds: the women of your age, by the birth of Jesus.

3:43. O Mary, be devout to your Lord: obey your Lord, in gratitude for that; and it is said, prolong the standing in prayer, in gratitude to your Lord; and prostrate and bow: its meaning is, bow and prostrate, by bowing and prostrating; with those who bow: with the people of prayer.

3:44. That: this which I have related of the account of Mary and Zachariah; is of the tidings of the unseen: of the reports of what is hidden from you, O Muḥammad; which We reveal to you: He says, We send Gabriel to you with it; and you were not with them: meaning with the rabbis; when they cast their pens: into the running water; as to which of them should take charge: should take; of Mary: to raise her; and you were not with them: in their presence; when they disputed: argued with proofs over the raising of Mary.

3:45. When the angels said: meaning Gabriel; O Mary, indeed God gives you glad tidings of a Word from Him: of a son who will come to be by a word from God, created; whose name is the Messiah: he is called the Messiah because he travels (yasīḥ) through the lands; and it is said, the Messiah means the king; Jesus son of Mary, eminent in this world: he has rank and station in this world among people; and the Hereafter: and in the Hereafter, with God, he has rank and station; and of those brought near: to God, in the Garden of Eden.

3:46. And he will speak to people in the cradle: in the lap, at forty days old: “I am the servant of God and His Messiah”; and in maturity: after thirty years, with prophethood; and of the righteous: of the messengers.

3:47. She said: My Lord: Mary said to Gabriel: O my master; how shall I have a child: from where shall I have a boy, a child; when no man has touched me: neither lawfully nor unlawfully; He said: Gabriel; Thus: as I have told you; God creates what He wills: as He wills; when He decrees a matter: when He wills to create a child from you without a father; He only says to it, Be, and it is: a child without a father.

3:48. And He will teach him the Book: the books of the prophets; and it is said, writing; and the Wisdom: the lawful and the unlawful; and it is said, the wisdom of the prophets before him; and the Torah: in his mother’s womb; and the Gospel: after his coming forth from his mother’s womb.

3:49. And a messenger: after thirty years; to the Children of Israel: and when he came to them he said: I have come to you with a sign: with a mark; from your Lord: of my prophethood. They said: And what is the mark? He said: I create: I fashion; for you from clay the likeness of a bird: the semblance of a bird; then I breathe into it: like the breathing of a sleeper; and it becomes a bird: it turns into a bird that flies between heaven and earth; by God’s leave: by God’s command. So he fashioned for them a bat, and they said: This is sorcery; have you anything else? He said: Yes. And I heal: I make sound; the blind from birth: he who has never ceased to be blind; and the leper: likewise; and I give life to the dead by God’s leave: by the greatest name of God, “O Living, O Self-Subsisting”. When he had done that, they said: This is sorcery; have you anything else? He said: Yes. And I inform you: I tell you; of what you eat: morning and evening; and what you store up: what you put away from the morning meal for the evening meal, and from the evening meal for the morning meal; in your houses. Indeed in that: in what I have told you; is a sign: a mark; for you: of my prophethood; if you are believers: assenting.

3:50. And confirming: and I have come to you in agreement, in the profession of God’s oneness, in religion; what was before me of the Torah: what was before me of the Torah and the rest of the scriptures; and to make lawful for you: to grant you licence and make clear to you; some of that which: the making lawful of some of that which; was forbidden to you: such as the flesh of camels, the fat of cattle and sheep, the Sabbath, and other things. And I have come to you with a sign: with a mark; from your Lord; so fear God: so be in awe of God in what He has commanded you, and turn to Him in repentance; and obey me: and follow my command and my religion.

3:51. Indeed God is my Lord: He is my Lord; and your Lord, so worship Him: so declare Him One; this: the profession of His oneness; is a straight path: an upright religion with which He is pleased, and it is Islam.

3:52. Then when he perceived: knew; Jesus, from them, unbelief: and saw from them killing, when they wanted to kill him; and it is said, “he perceived” means he heard from them the repetition of unbelief; he said: Jesus; Who are my helpers: who are my supporters; towards God: with God, against His enemies; the disciples said: his chosen ones, the fullers (al-qaṣṣārūn), and they were twelve men; We are the helpers of God: your supporters, with God, against His enemies; we believe in God, and bear witness: know, you, O Jesus; that we are Muslims: acknowledging God with worship and the profession of His oneness.

3:53. Our Lord: O our Lord; we believe in what You have sent down: of the Book, meaning the Gospel; and we follow the Messenger: the religion of the Messenger, Jesus; so write us down among the witnesses: so make us among the foremost, the first ones, who bore witness before us; and it is said, so make us of the community of Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

3:54. And they schemed: they intended, meaning the Jews, the killing of Jesus; and God schemed: God intended the killing of their companion Qaṭyānūs¹²; and God is the best of schemers: the strongest of those who intend; and it is said, the most excellent of those who contrive.

3:55. When God said: O Jesus, I am going to take you and raise you: this is an advancing and a postponing in the order of words; He says: I am going to raise you; to Myself, and purify you: deliver you; from those who disbelieve: in you; and make those who follow you: who follow your religion; above those who disbelieve: in proof and in victory; until the Day of Resurrection: then I am going to take you, seizing you in death after the descent; and it is said, taking your heart away from love of this world; then to Me is your return: after death; and I shall judge between you: I shall decide between you; in that wherein you: in religion; used to differ: used to dispute.

3:56. As for those who disbelieve: in God and His Messenger Muḥammad, and in Jesus; I shall punish them with a severe punishment in this world: by the sword and the poll-tax (jizya); and the Hereafter: by the Fire; and they shall have no helpers: none to ward off from them the punishment of God in this world and the Hereafter.

3:57. And as for those who believe: in God, the Book, and the Messenger Muḥammad, and in Jesus; and do righteous deeds: between themselves and their Lord, sincerely; He will pay them in full: He will give them in abundance; their rewards: their recompense in the Garden on the Day of Resurrection; and God does not love the wrongdoers: the polytheists, for their wrongdoing and their polytheism.

3:58. That: which I have related, O Muḥammad, of the account of Jesus; We recite to you: We send down Gabriel to you with it; of the signs: He says, of the verses of the Qur’an, with command and prohibition; and the wise Reminder: the one made firm with the lawful and the unlawful; and it is said, in agreement with the Torah and the Gospel; and it is said, the Preserved Tablet.

3:59. Then He made clear the creation of Jesus without a father, because of the words of the delegation of the Banū Najrān: “Bring us a proof from the Qur’an for your claim that Jesus is not the son of God.” So God said: Indeed the likeness of Jesus: the likeness of the creation of Jesus; with God: without a father; is as the likeness of Adam; He created him from dust: without father or mother; then He said to him: to Jesus; Be, and he was: a child without a father.

3:60. The truth: it is the true report; from your Lord: that Jesus was not God, nor His son, nor His partner; so do not be of the doubters: of those who doubt what I have made clear to you of the creation of Jesus without a father.

3:61. Then He mentioned the dispute of the delegation of the Banū Najrān with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), after it had been made clear to them that his likeness with God is as the likeness of Adam; they said: It is not as you say, that Jesus was not God, nor His son, nor His partner. So God said: Then whoever argues with you concerning him: whoever disputes with you concerning him, concerning Jesus; after what has come to you of knowledge: of the clear exposition that Jesus was not God, nor His son, nor His partner; say: Come, let us call our sons: let us bring out our sons; and your sons: bring out, you, your sons; and our women: let us bring out our women; and your women: bring out, you, your women; and ourselves: let us come out ourselves; and yourselves: come out, you, yourselves; then let us pray earnestly: let us humbly implore and strive in supplication; and invoke: and lay; the curse of God: in what is between us; upon the liars: against God concerning Jesus.

3:62. Indeed this: which I have related, O Muḥammad, of the account of Jesus and of the delegation of the Banū Najrān; is the true narrative: the true report, that Jesus was not God, nor His son, nor His partner; and there is no god but God: without child and without partner; and indeed God is the Mighty: in vengeance against him who does not believe in Him; the Wise: God commanded that none other than He be worshipped; and it is said, the Judge (al-ḥakam): He decreed against them the mutual cursing (mulāʿana), but they turned away from it and did not go out to the mutual cursing with the Prophet (upon him be blessings and peace), because they knew that they were liars and that Muḥammad was a truthful prophet, sent, whose description and attributes are in their scripture.

3:63. So God said: Then if they turn away: from your call to the mutual cursing with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him); then indeed God is All-Knowing of the corrupters: of the Christians of the Banū Najrān.

3:64. Then He called them to the profession of God’s oneness and said: Say: O People of the Book, come to a word: “There is no god but God”; equitable: just; between us and you, that we worship none but God: that we declare none One but God; and associate nothing with Him: of created beings; and that none of us take others as lords: that none of us obey any of the chiefs in disobedience to God; besides God. But they refused that too, so God said: Then if they turn away: turn aside and withdraw from the profession of God’s oneness; then say: Bear witness: know, you; that we are Muslims: acknowledging Him with worship and the profession of His oneness.

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On 3:52

And when Jesus perceived (3:52), came to know, disbelief from them, and they wished to kill him, he said: Who will be my helpers, my supporters, going towards God, that I may aid His religion? The disciples said: We are God’s helpers, the supporters of His religion. They were the chosen companions of Jesus, the first to believe in him, and they were twelve men; [the name is] from al-ḥawar, which is pure whiteness; and it was said that they were fullers who whitened (yuḥawwirūn) garments, that is, bleached them. We believe, we have faith, in God; and bear witness, O Jesus, that we are submitters.

On 3:53

Our Lord, we believe in what You have sent down (3:53) of the Gospel, and we follow the Messenger, Jesus; so write us down with those who bear witness to You with respect to Your oneness and to Your Messenger with respect to his truthfulness.

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On 3:52

His words, Exalted: Then when Jesus perceived (3:52), the verse.

Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Abī Ḥātim recorded, from Ibn Jurayj, concerning His words Then when Jesus perceived unbelief from them (3:52): He said: They disbelieved and wanted to kill him; that is when he sought the help of his people, and that is when He says: so a party of the Children of Israel believed and a party disbelieved (61:14).

Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Abī Ḥātim recorded, from Mujāhid: Who are my helpers unto God? (3:52). He said: Who will follow me unto God?

Ibn Jarīr recorded, from al-Suddī: Who are my helpers unto God? (3:52). He says: with God.

His words, Exalted: The disciples said (3:52), the verse.

Al-Firyābī, ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Abī Ḥātim recorded, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: They were called the disciples (ḥawāriyyūn) only because of the whiteness of their garments; they were fishermen.

ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd and Ibn Jarīr recorded, from Abū Arṭāh, who said: The disciples were the washermen who whiten (yuḥawwirūn) garments, that is, wash them.

Ibn Abī Ḥātim recorded, from al-Ḍaḥḥāk, who said: The disciples were the washermen; in Nabataean it is hawwārī, and in Arabic, al-muḥawwar (the whitened).

ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd recorded, from al-Ḍaḥḥāk, who said: The disciples were fullers; Jesus passed by them and they believed in him and followed him.

Ibn Jarīr, Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Abī Ḥātim recorded, from Qatādah, who said: The disciples are those who are fit for succession.¹³

Ibn Jarīr and Ibn Abī Ḥātim recorded, from al-Ḍaḥḥāk, who said: The disciples are the chosen ones (aṣfiyāʾ) of the prophets.

Ibn Mardawayh recorded, from Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: The disciples are the chosen ones of the prophets.

ʿAbd al-Razzāq and Ibn Abī Ḥātim recorded, from Qatādah, who said: The ḥawārī is the minister (wazīr).

Ibn Abī Ḥātim recorded, from Sufyān ibn ʿUyaynah, who said: The ḥawārī is the helper.

Al-Bukhārī, al-Tirmidhī and Ibn al-Mundhir recorded, from Jābir ibn ʿAbd Allāh, from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), who said: “Every prophet has a disciple (ḥawārī), and my disciple is al-Zubayr.”

Ibn Abī Dāwūd recorded in al-Maṣāḥif, from Asīd ibn Yazīd, who said: “And bear witness that we are Muslims” (wa-shhad bi-annanā muslimūn) (3:52) is in the codex (muṣḥaf) of ʿUthmān in three letters.¹⁴

On 3:53-54

His words, Exalted: Our Lord, we believe (3:53), the verse.

Al-Firyābī, ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Abū al-Shaykh, al-Ṭabarānī and Ibn Mardawayh recorded, from Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words so write us down among the witnesses (3:53): He said: With Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and his community; for they bore witness for him that he had conveyed the message, and they bore witness for the messengers that they had conveyed it.

ʿAbd ibn Ḥumayd and Ibn al-Mundhir recorded, by way of al-Kalbī, from Abū Ṣāliḥ, from Ibn ʿAbbās: so write us down among the witnesses (3:53). He said: With the Companions of Muḥammad (peace and blessings be upon him).

Ibn Mardawayh recorded, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī, that the Messenger of God (peace and blessings be upon him) used to say when he had finished his prayer: “O God, I ask You by the right of those who ask of You, for those who ask of You have a right upon You, that whatever servant or handmaid among the people of the land and the sea whose call You have accepted and whose supplication You have answered, You make us partners in the good of what they ask of You, and that You grant well-being to us and to them, and accept from us and from them, and pardon us and them; for we believe in what You have sent down and we follow the Messenger, so write us down among the witnesses.” And he used to say: “No one of His creatures speaks these words but that God makes him a partner in the supplication of the people of their land and the people of their sea, so that it encompasses them all while he remains in his place.”

Ibn Jarīr recorded, from al-Suddī, who said: The Children of Israel besieged Jesus and nineteen men of the disciples in a house. Jesus said to his companions: “Who will take on my likeness and be killed, and Paradise shall be his?” One of them took it on, and Jesus was taken up to heaven. That is His words: And they schemed, and God schemed; and God is the best of schemers (3:54).

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On 3:52

Then at that point the factions of the Children of Israel differed concerning Jesus: among them were those who believed in him and followed him, and among them were those who disbelieved in him, denied him and accused his mother of indecency, like the Jews. Then when Jesus perceived disbelief from them, and their agreement upon rejecting his call, he said, summoning the Children of Israel to support him: Who are my helpers towards God? The disciples said, that is, the helpers: We are the helpers of God; we believe in God, so bear witness that we are Muslims (3:52). This was one of God’s favours upon them and upon Jesus, in that He inspired these disciples to believe in him, to submit to his obedience and to support His messenger.

On 3:53

Our Lord, we believe in what You have sent down and we follow the Messenger. This is a complete commitment to faith in all that God has sent down and to obedience to His messenger. So write us down among those who bear witness (3:53): to You, of Your oneness; to Your prophet, of his messengership; and to Your religion, that it is true and right.

Read this commentary with the other passages on its own page.