"As for those who… kill the prophets unjustly and kill those who advocate justice among the people…" (Quran 3:21)

Published in January 23, 2017

Translated by Ahmed Fathy

He said to us: I shall not understand or believe that some prophets of God got killed!

We said to him: If you believe in the Quran, you must believe that this had occurred.

He said: Why?

We said: Because God asserts this fact many times in the Quranic text: many disbelievers among the Israelites in the past had killed some prophets of God: "… They were struck with humiliation and poverty, and incurred wrath from God. That was because they rejected God's revelations and wrongfully killed the prophets. That was because they disobeyed and transgressed." (2:61).

He said: What is meant by humiliation here?

We said: It was the punishment they deserved because of their disbelief and wrongly killing prophets.

He said: How did this humiliation occur?

We said: Historically, the Israelites established a kingdom ruled first by David and Solomon, but after their death, polytheistic notions and corrupt tenets crept over the faith of the Jews after some time, and such disbelief in God's Word has been always linked with aggression and corruption. When God sent them some prophets, some of them got killed by the Jews, and the humiliation they were punished with was when their kingdom collapsed and the gentile occupiers humiliated them severely in many ways.   

He said: Why do not you name those killed prophets?

We said: Their names and stories are not mentioned by God in the Quran, and we are not to invent or fabricate stories about them, since this is unknown/unseen events and God has chosen not to give details of this in the Quranic text. It is very wrong to tackle such a topic and inventing details or myths about that subject, as this would be insulting to God as well. Sadly, this insult has been committed by imams who authored the traditional books of the Middle Ages, related to the so-called fiqh, interpretation, exegesis, Sunna, hadiths, etc.

He said: If some prophets were killed by some Jewish  persons, why the whole Israelite tribes were punished for it by humiliation? Does this contradict the Quranic rule: "…No burdened soul carries the burdens of another…" 17:15)?  

We said: As all of them were punished, this means they participated in the same sins; God does not make injustice to anyone: "…Your Lord is not unjust to anyone." (18:49); "… Your Lord is not unjust to the servants." (41:46). God the Omniscient knows all deeds of all people, including Jews of that era, and He says about them: "Cursed were those who disbelieved from among the Israelites by the tongue of David and Jesus son of Mary. That is because they rebelled and used to transgress. They used not to prevent one another from the wrongs they used to commit. Evil is what they used to do." (5:78-79); "…and they incurred wrath from God, and were stricken with misery. That is because they rejected God's revelations, and killed the prophets unjustly. That is because they rebelled and committed aggression." (3:112).    

He said: What does it meant to kill the prophets ''unjustly''? was it OK to kill them ''justly''?! People think that all prophets are very good persons and can never have deserved to be killed for any reason!

We said: Prophets are human beings who can err and can be good/right; hence, maybe some of them sinned, committed polytheistic acts, or killed. If a prophet did kill, retribution was justly due by having him killed: "…and that you do not kill the soul which God has sanctified-except in the course of justice. All this He has enjoined upon you, so that you may understand." (6:151); "And do not kill the soul which God has made sacred, except in the course of justice. If someone is killed unjustly, We have given his next of kin certain authority. But he should not be excessive in killing, for he will be supported." (17:33).  

He said: Why does God describe them as disbelievers and aggressors in this verse: "… They were struck with humiliation and poverty, and incurred wrath from God. That was because they rejected God's revelations and wrongfully killed the prophets. That was because they disobeyed and transgressed." (2:61)?

We said: Disbelief in God's word in one's heart and mind sometimes lead to aggression and murder, and this is disbelief in terms of behavior combined with the one in terms of faith. 

He said: But you said that God says in the Quran many times that some disbelievers among the Israelites killed some prophets. Are there any other verses that support this?

We said: Yes. "But for their violation of their covenant, and their denial of God's revelations, and their killing of the prophets unjustly, and their saying, "Our minds are closed." In fact, God has sealed them for their disbelief, so they do not believe, except for a few." (4:155).

He said: What is the additional detail here?

We said: Their violation of their covenant with God.

He said: What are the items of that covenant made with the Jews?

We said: They are mentioned in these verses: "We made a covenant with the Israelites: "Worship none but God; and be good to parents, and relatives, and orphans, and the needy; and speak nicely to people; and pray regularly, and give alms." Then you turned away, except for a few of you, recanting." (2:83); "God received a pledge from the Israelites, and We raised among them twelve chiefs. God said, "I am with you; if you perform the prayer, and pay the alms, and believe in My messengers and support them, and lend God a loan of righteousness; I will remit your sins, and admit you into Gardens beneath which rivers flow. But whoever among you disbelieves afterwards has strayed from the right way."" (5:12). The same commands are addressed to Quran-believing people: "Worship God, and ascribe no partners to Him, and be good to the parents, and the relatives, and the orphans, and the poor, and the neighbor next door, and the distant neighbor, and the close associate, and the traveler, and your servants. God does not love the arrogant showoff." (4:36). 

He said: These verses are related to the Israelites before the advent of Islam and the revelation of  the Quran; had any of them in the 7^th century Arabia committed the same sin of violating the covenant like their ancestors? 

We said: The Israelites included real believers among 1) the forerunners and 2) those who mixed good deeds and bad ones, and disbelievers whom some of them were aggressors; see 3:113-115, 3:199, 4:162, and 5:66. This division applies to Muslims: see 35:32. The Quranic word/term ''Jews'' refers only to a faction of the Israelites that were disbelieving aggressors. The mistake committed by imams/authors of traditional books among the Muhammadans was that the thought that the Quranic term ''Jews'' would be synonymous with the term ''Israelites''. The term ''Jews'' include those minority that committed aggressions against Muhammad and early believers in Yathreb and they used to believe in Taghut (i.e., aggression + devilish creeds) and (Gypt) which is the Quranic term (see 4:51) referring to the Ancient Egyptian creeds, and this made them believe that Osir (who was Osiris, the Ancient Egyptian god of death) is a son of God (see 9:30).      

He said: Did the aggressive Jews exist during the lifetime of Muhammad in Yathreb?  

We said: Yes, and God says the following about their disobedience, after reminding them of the covenant made with their ancestors: "Because of their breaking their pledge, We cursed them, and made their hearts hard. They twist the words out of their context, and they disregarded some of what they were reminded of. You will always witness deceit from them, except for a few of them. But pardon them, and overlook. God loves the doers of good." (5:13). The command to Muhammad to pardon them imply that they were a minority that harmed early believers in the Yathreb city-state.

He said: How did these Jews violate the covenant?

We said: God says the following about their civil strife that using a sham religious pretext and their covenant: "And We made a covenant with you: "You shall not shed the blood of your own, nor shall you evict your own from your homes." You agreed, and were all witnesses. But here you are, killing your own, and expelling a group of your own from their homes-conspiring against them in wrongdoing and hostility. And if they come to you as captives, you ransom them, although it was forbidden to you. Is it that you believe in part of the Scripture, and disbelieve in part? What is the reward for those among you who do that but humiliation in this life? And on the Day of Resurrection, they will be assigned to the most severe torment. God is not unaware of what you do." (2:84-85). This means that their ears including the victorious side driving the defeated party out of their homes and taking them as hostages, using a sham religious pretext: this is disbelief in terms of faith and behavior: disbelief plus aggression, just like Wahabis of today.    

He said: The biography of Muhammad by Ibn Ishaq never mentioned civil strife within Jews of Arabia at the time, right?

We said: Ibn Ishaq was an imposter who wrote his book during the Abbasid Era, while fabricating most of events written in his book, and he intentionally ignores many events that occurred during Muhammad's lifetime mentioned in the Quran. if it had not been for the Quran, we would not have known anything about those events.

He said: Maybe Ibn Ishaq did not mention the Jewish civil strife in Arabia because this had nothing to do with the Yathreb city-state of Muhammad.

We said: You are wrong because the Quran tells us a lot about stories related to the Israelites and the Quranic text addresses them; they were part of the history of Muhammad, and their aggressive ones waged war against Muhammad.

He said: Did they indeed commit military aggression against Muhammad in Yathreb?

We said: Yes. God says the following about their aggressive nature linked to their disbelief in God as they ascribe falsehoods to Him: "The Jews say, "God's hand is tied." It is their hands that are tied, and they are cursed for what they say. In fact, His hands are outstretched; He gives as He wills. Certainly, what was revealed to your from your Lord will increase many of them in defiance and blasphemy. And We placed between them enmity and hatred, until the Day of Resurrection. Whenever they kindle the fire of war, God extinguishes it. And they strive to spread corruption on earth. God does not love the corrupters." (5:64). God has called them to repent and adhere to piety in 5:65-66.

He said: What about their military aggression against Yathreb in particular?

We said: The Jews near Yathreb allied themselves to some Christians there and attacked Yathreb, and the Quranic legislations prohibits allying oneself to such aggressors during such war, as hypocrites inside Yathreb allied themselves to these aggressors: "O you who believe! Do not take the Jews and the Christians as allies; some of them are allies of one another. Whoever of you allies himself with them is one of them. God does not guide the wrongdoing people. You will see those in whose hearts is sickness racing towards them. They say, "We fear the wheel of fate may turn against us." But perhaps God will bring about victory, or some event of His making; thereupon they will regret what they concealed within themselves." (5:51-52).

He said: Such military aggression is never mentioned in the book by Ibn Ishaq.

We said: Yes, and we should believe the Quran that asserts such events, not Ibn Ishaq, or any other author, about that topic.

He said: Yet, Wahabis use 5:51-52 to incite hatred toward People of the Book (Jews + Christians) of today worldwide, as we read, watch, and hear in all Wahabi media and mosques, as they prohibit anyone to befriend the West.

We said: Prohibition in 5:51-52 is related to ally oneself to aggressive ones who waged war against one's homeland. 5:51-52 talk clearly about a certain event that occurred in the Yathreb city-state in the 7^th century Arabia. Wahabis intentionally ignore these verses: "As for those who have not fought against you for your religion, nor expelled you from your homes, God does not prohibit you from dealing with them kindly and equitably. God loves the equitable. But God prohibits you from befriending those who fought against you over your religion, and expelled you from your homes, and aided in your expulsion. Whoever takes them for friends-these are the wrongdoers." (60:8-9). Wahabis follow the footsteps of aggressive Jews who deified Osir and blasphemed against God. 

He said: Are there any other verses proving that aggressive Jews killed some prophets of God?

We said: Yes. The Quran reminds them of their blasphemies and how their ancestors killed some prophets unjustly in this verse: "God has heard the statement of those who said, "God is poor, and we are rich." We will write down what they said, and their wrongful killing of the prophets; and We will say, "Taste the torment of the burning."" (3:181).

He said: The grave sin of killing prophets was committed by their ancestors, but what about our modern times now?

We said: "As for those who defy God's revelations, and kill the prophets unjustly, and kill those who advocate justice among the people-promise them a painful retribution." (3:21)

He said: What is the additional point here?

We said: This verse tackles all eras and locations, about those who murder the preachers and callers for justice among people anytime anywhere.

He said: But there are no longer any prophets now!

We said: Sure thing. But after prophets were murdered in the previous eras, preachers and caller s for justice are being murdered now in modern times.

He said: Does murdering those preachers like the sin of killing prophets unjustly?

We said: Yes, as we discern from 3:21. Remember that justice is the higher value and aim of all celestial, divine messages of God: "We sent Our messengers with the clear proofs, and We sent down with them the Book and the Balance, that humanity may uphold justice…" (57:25). The true Islamic call of Truth based on the Quran alone goes on after the death of Muhammad. God commanded Muhammad to say the following: "Say, "This is my way; I invite to God, based on clear knowledge-I and whoever follows me. Glory be to God; and I am not of the polytheists."" (12:108).

He said: What would you say now as a last word?

We said: It is we who ask you: God says the following about the aggressive Jews of the past in Arabia: "…Certainly, many of them will increase and add to what was revealed to your from your Lord, in defiance and disbelief. And We placed between them enmity and hatred, until the Day of Resurrection. Whenever they kindle the fire of war, God extinguishes it. And they strive to spread corruption on earth. God does not love the corrupters." (5:64); do not you see that this applies now to all Wahabis, from the terrorist MB to ISIS?

He said: We will not respond to that question; I fear they will kill me, for they always kill those who advocate justice among the people!