Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary * - Translations’ Index
Translation of the meanings Ayah: (82) Surah: Al-Mā’idah
۞ لَتَجِدَنَّ أَشَدَّ ٱلنَّاسِ عَدَٰوَةٗ لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱلۡيَهُودَ وَٱلَّذِينَ أَشۡرَكُواْۖ وَلَتَجِدَنَّ أَقۡرَبَهُم مَّوَدَّةٗ لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّا نَصَٰرَىٰۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّ مِنۡهُمۡ قِسِّيسِينَ وَرُهۡبَانٗا وَأَنَّهُمۡ لَا يَسۡتَكۡبِرُونَ
(82) [1237]You ˹Muhammad˺ will find the bitterest of people in their enmity to Believers are the Jews and those who Associate, while you will find the nearest in affection towards the Believers are those who declare themselves Christians. That is because among them are ˹sincere˺ priests and monks[1238] and that they do not disdain ˹the Truth˺.
[1237] Here, the preceding lengthy argumentation with the People of the Book is rounded off. The Prophet (ﷺ) is told of the reality of the matter in assertive terms: while those who have vested interest in Denying, seeing that the new Message clashes with their worldly gains and benefits will declare nothing but acrimony towards it and thus will never admit the Truth, those who are purer in Faith, being humble and sincere disciples of the Scripture (qissisīn/priests) and/or strict appliers of its dictates (ruhbān/monks), will open up their hearts to the Truth, admit it willingly and bear witness to it.
[1238] The reason being that the former (priests) are devoted to learning while the latter (monks) are those who have renounced the world and lead ascetical lives (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī). One such godly scholar was Waraqah Ibn Nawfal; ʿĀ’ishah (i) in the hadith of the beginning of waḥy (revelation) said: “When the Prophet (ﷺ) went back to ˹his wife˺ Khadījah ˹after receiving the first Message via Gabriel (عليه السلام)˺ with a trembling heart˺ she took him along to Waraqah Ibn Nawfal, who had become Christian reading the Evangel in Arabic. He asked him: “What do you see?” When he told him, Waraqah said: “This is the nomos (al-nāmūs) that Allah sent down to Moses. Would your day ˹of hardship˺ come upon me, I shall surely stand firmly by your side!” (al-Bukhārī: 3392, Muslim: 160).
[1238] The reason being that the former (priests) are devoted to learning while the latter (monks) are those who have renounced the world and lead ascetical lives (cf. al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī). One such godly scholar was Waraqah Ibn Nawfal; ʿĀ’ishah (i) in the hadith of the beginning of waḥy (revelation) said: “When the Prophet (ﷺ) went back to ˹his wife˺ Khadījah ˹after receiving the first Message via Gabriel (عليه السلام)˺ with a trembling heart˺ she took him along to Waraqah Ibn Nawfal, who had become Christian reading the Evangel in Arabic. He asked him: “What do you see?” When he told him, Waraqah said: “This is the nomos (al-nāmūs) that Allah sent down to Moses. Would your day ˹of hardship˺ come upon me, I shall surely stand firmly by your side!” (al-Bukhārī: 3392, Muslim: 160).
Arabic explanations of the Qur’an:
Translation of the meanings Ayah: (82) Surah: Al-Mā’idah
Translation of the Meanings of the Noble Qur'an - English Translation - Dr. Waleed Bleyhesh Omary - Translations’ Index
Translation of the meanings of the Noble Qur’an into English - in progress - translated by Dr. Walid Bleihesh Al-Omari.