is quran anti-semitic?
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peace be upon you,
i have doubts on the quran again!!! when the quran states
518 And the Jews and the Nazarenes said "We are God's children, and His loved ones." Say "Then why does He punish you for your sins?" No, you are merely humans from what He has created. He forgives whom He pleases, and He punishes whom He pleases. And to God is the sovereignty of heavens and Earth and all that is in-between, and to Him is the destiny.
541 O messenger, do not be saddened by those who increase in disbelief from among those who said "We believe" with their mouths while their hearts did not believe. And from among the Jews, there are those who listened to lies; they listened to people who never came to you; they distort the words from their context, and they say "If you are given this, then take it, but if you are given anything different, then beware!" And whoever God wants to test, then you will not possess anything for him against God. These are the ones whose hearts God did not want to cleanse; in this world they will have humiliation, and in the Hereafter they will have a great retribution.
544 We have sent down the Torah, in it is guidance and a light; the prophets who have submitted judged with it for those who are Jews, as well as the Rabbis, and the Priests, for what they were entrusted of God's Scripture, and they were witness over. So do not fear the people but fear Me; and do not purchase with My revelations a cheap price. And whoever does not judge with what God has sent down, then these are the rejecters.
551 O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Nazarenes as allies, for they are allies to one another; and whoever takes them as such from amongst you is one of them. God does not guide the wicked people.
564 And the Jews said "The hand of God is tied-down!" Their hands will be tied-down, and they will be cursed for what they have said. No, His hands are wide open spending as He wills. And for many of them, what has been sent down to you will increase them in rebellion and rejection; and We have cast between them animosity and hatred until the Day of Resurrection. Every time they ignite the fire of war, God puts it out; and they seek to make corruption in the land; and God does not like the corrupters.
569 Surely those who believe; and those who are Jewish, and the Sabians, and the Nazarenes, whomever of them believes in God and the Last Day and does good work; then they will have nothing to fear nor will they grieve.
582 You will find the people with the greatest animosity towards those who believe are the Jews and those who have set up partners; and you will find the closest in affection to those who believe are those who said "We are Nazarenes;" that is because amongst them are Priests and Monks, and they are not arrogant.Chapter 6
6146 And for the Jews We have forbidden all that have claws; and from the cattle and the sheep We forbade their fat except what is attached to the back, or entrails, or mixed with bone. That is a punishment for their rebellion, and We are truthful.Chapter 9
930 The Jews said "Ezra is God's son," and the Nazarenes said "The Messiah is God's son." Such is their utterances with their mouths, they imitate the sayings of those who rejected before them. God will fight them. They are deluded from the truth!Chapter 13
1317 He sent down water from the sky, so valleys flowed according to their capacity, and the flood produces foam. And from what they burn to smelt jewelry or goods is produced a similar foam. It is in such a manor that God strikes the falsehood with the truth. As for the foam, it passes away, and as for what benefits the people, it remains in the Earth. It is such that God puts forth the examples.Chapter 16
16118 And for those who are Jews, We forbade what We narrated to you before. We did not wrong them, but it was themselves they used to wrong.Chapter 20
2087 They said "We did not break the promise by our own will, but we were loaded down with the jewelry of the people so we cast them down, and it was such that the Samarian suggested."Chapter 22
2217 Surely those who believe; and those who are Jewish, and the Sabians, and the Nazarenes, and the Majoos; and those who have set up partners; God will separate between them on the Day of Resurrection. For God is witness over all things.Chapter 35
3512 Nor are the two seas the same. One is fresh and palatable, good to drink, while the other is salty and bitter. And from each of them you eat tender meat, and you extract jewelry to wear. And you see the ships sailing through them, seeking His provisions; and perhaps you may be appreciative.Chapter 62
626 Say "O you who are Jewish, if you claim that you are God's chosen, to the exclusion of all other people, then you should long for death if you are truthfulwhy does the quran have a negative connotation against the Jews? they only believe in God Alone? they do not worship Uzair, in fact who is Uzair? but the quran is accurate when it states that the christians worship Jesus. does the quran say that the jewish nation will not be given respite/national status until the judgement day? is that what fighting over israel is all about. how are the Jews hypocrite, how is it a proof that most of Jews are hypocrites? in fact the torah is older than the bible and the quran.
why does society treat Jews as if they are outcasts, not only in the muslim world but sometimes in the "secular" world as well. historically the crusades were fought by the Christians and the major religious conflicts in this world are/were muslims and christians. the quran doesn't criticize much about the christians as much as it criticizes the Jews. why does this phrase still exist today, "it's the Jews fault". have they committed a worldwide moral crime in the past that they are still criticized for it? if the new generation is still stereotyped and criticezed for the crimes of their forefathers, then when will the human reason arrive to grow from it? in the hadith, hypocrites were equated with jews, and that's reasonable within the hadith only, why the quran?
peace, rifat
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Salam,
I'm not going to go back over each verse at this point in answer to your question. But I will share some things that may help you understand why the Quran may be speaking of some Jews and how they strayed.
I would like to also add that a lot of the verses quoted above will make sense if you read the tanakh also called the Old Testament (in Hebrew).Please note that the following are generalizations of Judaism. There are many sects and diverse beliefs among the Jews as with any belief system.
Most Jews also follow something called "Talmud" which is rabbanical literature on how to interpret the Old Testament. It is not found inside the old testament or the bible at all. A lot of Jews will look to the Talmud for instructions on how they should celebrate festivals, pray and just about every other religious aspect.
Sound familiar? It reminds me of haddith.
So instead of following the word of Allah and worshipping him alone, and following Allah's instructions a lot of Jews follow the Jewish equivalent of the Muslim haddith. They look to the "rabbis" to tell them what to do and not to do and will almost dismiss the laws of God in some cases.
This could be what some of the verses are speaking of.
Jewish and Hebrew history is in the old testament. And as the English KJV translation of the Hebrew states "they were a stiff necked people."Please note that not ALL Jews are talked of. Usually there is a qualifier such as "most" or "some."
I believe in the Torah, Psalms, Quran and Injeel and believe that we are to follow all of them. And that they all say the same thing.
The only thing that complicates matters is when people start saying "well, this means this not what it says..." or "my rabbi/priest/imam says that we should do such and such...." If you stick to the words in the original languages there are no differences in the books.
Jews were not the ones spoken of in the Old testament by the way. They are descendants of bani Israel and had adopted their own methods and ways of belief. This is why Yeshua/Isa was not accepted by them. He stressed the importance of following the Torah and quoted scripture that they were not able to handle.
If we would only not make differences in the messengers we would see that the message is always the same.
Salam,
Arnab -
Salam,
518 And the Jews and the Nazarenes said "We are God's children, and His loved ones." Say "Then why does He punish you for your sins?" No, you are merely humans from what He has created. He forgives whom He pleases, and He punishes whom He pleases. And to God is the sovereignty of heavens and Earth and all that is in-between, and to Him is the destiny.
This first verse isn't a criticism moreso bringing those Jews who think they're special down from their pedestal, if anything it's an ayah of equality.
Also as Arnab said
Please note that not ALL Jews are talked of. Usually there is a qualifier such as "most" or "some."
There's usually some qualifier, on top of 'most' and 'some' - a lot of the verses are condemnations of certain practises or beliefs, and a final point some of these condemnations are directed at a specific community at a specific place and time so this adds the contextual aspect.
Taking this last point at heart, no-one ever claims the Qur'an is anti-Arab (except that guy who was mistranslating A'rab), Anti Desert Arab etc because they all understand that the condemnations of these communities such as the perished Arabs were directed at a specific group in a specific time and place.
Hope this helps
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it still doesn't answer my question of who was uzaire? and why does allah equate him with the jews.
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Peace "mr. humble",
There has been a confusion in terminlogy here. I always thought Jews meant NECESSARILY those who follow "judaism" but this is not so. Jews also refers to just a race and not all Jews beleive in "Judaism". The Quran condemns those religious Rabbis whove lead the ppl astray just as it condemns any form of priesthood. Plz refer to 262. GOD Bless! -
Salam everyone,
551 O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Nazarenes as allies, for they are allies to one another; and whoever takes them as such from amongst you is one of them. God does not guide the wicked people.
I have never known what to make out from this particular verse. Does God tell me I should not be friends with Jews and Christians, "allies" as in a person who associates or cooperates with another; supporter? Friends are allies, so if I am friends (allies) to them Jews and Nazarenes (Christians), I am "one of them", "the wicked people"??
Peace.
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Salam everyone,
551 O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Nazarenes as allies, for they are allies to one another; and whoever takes them as such from amongst you is one of them. God does not guide the wicked people.
I have never known what to make out from this particular verse. Does God tell me I should not be friends with Jews and Christians, "allies" as in a person who associates or cooperates with another; supporter? Friends are allies, so if I am friends (allies) to them Jews and Nazarenes (Christians), I am "one of them", "the wicked people"??
Peace.
You should put the verse in a war context. It is like for example during the Cold War someone advises USA not to take China as an ally/guardian against USSR because the two of them are Communist allies.
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Salam everyone,
551 O you who believe, do not take the Jews and the Nazarenes as allies, for they are allies to one another; and whoever takes them as such from amongst you is one of them. God does not guide the wicked people.
I have never known what to make out from this particular verse. Does God tell me I should not be friends with Jews and Christians, "allies" as in a person who associates or cooperates with another; supporter? Friends are allies, so if I am friends (allies) to them Jews and Nazarenes (Christians), I am "one of them", "the wicked people"??
Peace.549-50 And that you should judge between them by what Allah has revealed, and do not
follow their low desires, and be cautious of them, lest they seduce you from part of what
Allah has revealed to you; but if they turn back, then know that Allah desires to afflict them
on account of some of their faults; and most surely many of the people are transgressors.
Is it then the judgment of (the times of) ignorance that they desire? And who is
better than Allah to judge for a people who are sure?551 O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.
This verse doesn?t talk about your daily life but as the last part and previous verses shows that it talks about taking guidance from them and also it talks on the government and political level. People who themselves are not rightly guided cannot indeed guide you. This is what is said that do not take them as your guiding friends because they will lead you astray. Only if you judge according to what Allah has revealed, you are indeed the guided one. See also
2.257 Allah is the Protector of those who have faith from the depths of darkness He
will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith the patrons are the evil ones from
light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be companions of the
fire, to dwell therein (For ever).4119 and whoever takes the Satan for a guardian rather than Allah he indeed shall suffer a manifest loss.
This is how I understand it.
Peace all, Hamsa
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Peace bro Rifat,
Please see the following link about Ezra (Uzair)
http//www.islamic-awareness.org/Quran/Contrad/External/ezra.html
Only The God can be the source of law, not a human; doesn't accepting Ezra as source of law and following his man made laws, elevating him to the status of God or son of God ?
"He is regarded and quoted as the type of person most competent and learned in the Law (Ber. R. xxxvi.). The Rabbis associate his name with several important institutions. It was he who ordained that three men should read ten verses from the Torah on the second and fifth days of the week and during the afternoon ("Minah" service on Sabbath (B. . 82a); that the "curses" in Leviticus should be read before Shabu'ot, and those in Deuteronomy before Rosh ha-Shanah (Meg. 31b; see Bloch, "Die Institutionen des Judenthums," i. 1, pp. 112 et seq., Vienna, 1879). He ordained also that courts be in session on Mondays and Thursdays; that garments be washed on these days; that garlic be eaten on the eve of Sabbath; that the wife should rise early and bake bread in the morning; that women should wear a girdle (B. K. 82a; Yer. Meg. iv. 75a); that women should bathe (B. . 82a); that pedlers be permitted to visit cities where merchants were established (B. . 82a; see Bloch, l.c. p. 127); that under certain contingencies men should take a ritual bath; that the reading at the conclusion of the benedictions should be "min ha-'olam we-'ad ha'olam" (from eternity to eternity against the Sadducees; see Bloch, l.c. p. 137). His name is also associated with the work of the Great Synagogue (Meg.17b). He is said to have pronounced the Divine Name (Yhwh) according to its proper sounds (Yoma 69b), and the beginnings of the Jewish calendar are traced back to him (Beah 6a; Rashi, ad loc.)."
The above from JewishEncyclopedia.com
http//www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=578&letter=E
Doesn't giving Ezra the authority to ban marriages of Jews to non Jews and forcing Israelites to abandon their non-Jewish wives, and allowing him to add his man made words to God's words, elevating him to the status of son of God ?
"Relation to the Book of Ruth
According to many scholars, the Book of Ruth was originally a part of the Book of Judges, but was later made into a separate book. Its opening verse explicitly places it during the time period of the Judges, and its language and description seem to make the authorship contemporary with that period.
On the other hand, the message of the book, which shows acceptance of marrying converts to Judaism, has been used to suggest that the book was written during the early days of the Persian period. At that time, Ezra condemned intermarriages and, according to his eponymous book, forced the Israelites to abandon their non-Jewish wives who did not convert. According to this theory, the Book of Ruth was written in response to Ezra's reform, and in defense of these marriages. However, it has also been suggested that Ruth was written in response to critics of King David, who contested his qualifications as a Jew due to his Moabite ancestry.
Place in editing the Torah and Bible
According to Rabbinic Jewish tradition, Ezra collected and arranged some relatively minor books that today form part of the canon of the Hebrew Bible. Traditional Jewish sources do not mention any process of fundamental editing or redacting of the Humash, or Five Books of Moses. Rather, the aggada suggests that Ezra and the Men of the Great Assembly edited such works as Daniel, Esther and Ezekiel (Bava Batra 14b). The Deuterocanonical book of II Esdras (the Apocalypse of Ezra, which is also known as IV Ezra) tells us that Ezra wrote 94 Books in 40 days; 24 of those Books were to distributed among the people and the other 70 were to given to the wise alone.
According to some Biblical scholars, Ezra did play a fundamental role in the compilation of nearly all parts of the Hebrew Bible, including the Five Books of Moses. According to this theory, the documentary hypothesis, Ezra is thought to have interspersed various primary texts with occasional additions of his own that were intended to help reconcile apparent contradictions among the original texts. Discussion of the merits of the documentary hypothesis can be found in works by Rabbi David Weiss Halivni such as Revelation Restored Divine Writ and Critical Responses (Westview Press, 1997), and Peshat and Derash Plain and Applied Meaning in Rabbinic Exegesis (Oxford University Press, 199, as well as in works such as "Who Wrote the Bible?" (Harper San Francisco, 1997 reprint) by Richard Elliot Friedman."
The above from Wikipedia
http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ezra
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551 O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he amongst you that turns to them (for friendship) is of them. Verily Allah guideth not a people unjust.
This verse doesn?t talk about your daily life but as the last part and previous verses shows that it talks about taking guidance from them and also it talks on the government and political level. People who themselves are not rightly guided cannot indeed guide you. This is what is said that do not take them as your guiding friends because they will lead you astray. Only if you judge according to what Allah has revealed, you are indeed the guided one. See also
This is how I understand it.
Peace all, Hamsa
Salam Hamsa,
I don't really think it mentions guidance, the last part of the verse, "he who turns to them (for friendship) is of them" you have actually highlighted as friendship. There is some difference however betweens friendship and guidance, whilst they are not mutually exclusive, there is a distinction to be made, since you can have friends who don't give any guidance and you can attain guidance from those who aren't your friends, such as teachers, authors of books, the wise, elderly and knowledgeable.
My translation of the Quran that I'm reading is by Yusof Ali and I believe the translation is identical to that of the verse you've given. Yusof Ali though does not mention guidance in his translation of this verse, that much is clear. He does however mention friendship in parenthesis, thus I think we should be looking at the context of this from a "friendship" point of view more so than guidance. Though for the sake of clarity can a native Arabic speaker please look at the semantics of this particular word and verse in question and give us your opinion.
Sure this can be viewed also in a government and political level like you said, but there is not much ambiguity in "he who turns to them (for friendship) is of them." Though personally I think it talks more about daily life than political dimensions since it is quite specific "O ye who believe! take not the Jews and the Christians for your friends and protectors". I don't think however this means who should avoid anyone who is Christian or Jewish. I agree with the way you put it, those who are not rightly guided cannot guide you. But I think I see it slightly differently, because I believe that not all friends really care about guiding you and not all those who claim to be Christians and Jews are really practicing their faith, or are really religiously inclined. The ones who do have a vested interest in guiding you and are practicing Christian and Jews, well have you met the types? I don't count people who are Christian missionaries and Christian evangelicals fanatically determined to bring me to the way of Christ as my friends, I think the Holy Quran is clear with this warning, I think it is in this context. To take your example of its implications to politics and governance we should note that the verse mentions "They are but friends and protectors to each other". We do see Christian evangelicals worldwide supporting Zionism and the right wing Orthodox Jews in their quest for a pure Jewish homeland and state. Evangelical Americans are unambiguous whom they support in the issue of Palestine, America is now seen to have lost its role as an unbiased mediator, having outright bias for Israel. Like it says in the Holy Quran, they are friends and protectors to each other.
This is how I understand it.
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Salaam,
I will quote Maxq as he explained it good enough for me to repeat it
It would be worthwhile stating here that the word Auuliyaa does not mean "friend" or "ally" but "protector" or "leader"
It is saying that it is YOUR responsibility to protect your way of life... do not expect from other communities or people who do not believe in what you believe that they will safeguard the system of God. It is a logical and pragmatic statement, not a sentimental one.
Same thing has been said in 923
O ye who believe! take not for protectors your fathers and your brothers if they love infidelity above faith; if any of you do so, they do wrong.
It is not asking you to stay away from Jews and Christians, but to appreciate the fact that they believe in a different ideology... this appreciation will help you to mingle better and at the same time help you in preserving what you believe in.
The Quran talks for 80% from a deen point of view, meaning, from a System point of view, not a personal view. To many people forget the Quran is mainly and foremost a constitution for a society, and only on a few things a guide for the individual. Because of this, they confuse Political and State matters for personal lives ones.
The word Auuliyaa comes from Walee, meaning Protector and Defender
971 And the believers, both men and women, are colleagues/protectors/defenders one of another. They enjoin the doing of Right and forbid the doing of Wrong (The distinction between right and wrong will never be arbitrary. The Qur?an is the eternal Criterion of what is right and what is wrong 2185). Together, they help establish the Divine System, and set up the Just Economic Order of Zakat.
'Awliy'u=root Waliya=to be close, near, follow, be up to
auliya=defenders
walin=defender/protector/friend/helping friend/nearest ones/benefactor
yatawalla=he protects/defends/deals friendlyI believe all forms of the root Walee in the Quran refer to a Protector/Defender and not a 'Friend'. And thus 551 refers to that we cannot accept Christians and Jews as part of the Government or live in a System which they have created unless we have no choice.
As expressed in this verse
328 (Those who reject the Laws of such an Omnipotent Creator, will not support the Divine Ideology) Let not the believers take non-believers for their supporters instead of (their fellow) believers. If a believer did that, he would have nothing to do with God. Exempted are those who are forced to be saved from persecution. God warns you of His Law of Cause and Effect, and to God is the ultimate Journeying.
This is also one of the major points that Islam is not a mere personal religion, but a System for a society.
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Salam Alen,
Salam.
I think the Jews did not respect the sabath and now we are here they are punished and we can't do anything about it.
Peace.
Just out of curiosity, does this mean that you observe the Sabbath? Because by making a statement like the one above, you believe that people were punished by Allah for not observing the Sabbath, then that would mean that you believe that it should be observed.
For the record I do belive this and I do observe the Sabbath every Saturday.
Salam,
Arnab -
Salam Taj,
Thank you for posting that link. I follow the Torah, Psalms, Injeel and Quran as closely as I am able and I do not see a difference in what has been revealed to the messengers. Indeed the Quran itself (in my humble opinion) is not about Prophet Muhammads different battles and trials while on earth (as many footnotes in various Quran's would have you believe). The Quran is a continuation of the Torah, Psalms and Injeel and it is very clear.
I think most of the discussion you posted was sometimes based on mis-understanings of the Torah. We cannot read the Torah in any translation we must read the Torah in Hebrew to understand it fully. Once you read each Kitaab in its original semitic language You will find no differences between the four.My understanding after long research and carefully studying the four books in their original languages is that I am to observe the Sabbath. I can not find in the Quran where it says that the Sabbath is no longer to be followed.
Salam,
Arnab -
Peace Arnab,
Salam Taj,
Thank you for posting that link. I follow the Torah, Psalms, Injeel and Quran as closely as I am able and I do not see a difference in what has been revealed to the messengers. Indeed the Quran itself (in my humble opinion) is not about Prophet Muhammads different battles and trials while on earth (as many footnotes in various Quran's would have you believe). The Quran is a continuation of the Torah, Psalms and Injeel and it is very clear.
I think most of the discussion you posted was sometimes based on mis-understanings of the Torah. We cannot read the Torah in any translation we must read the Torah in Hebrew to understand it fully. Once you read each Kitaab in its original semitic language You will find no differences between the four.
My understanding after long research and carefully studying the four books in their original languages is that I am to observe the Sabbath. I can not find in the Quran where it says that the Sabbath is no longer to be followed.
Salam,
ArnabWhat do you usually do? How do you act in order to be observing of the Sabbath? What are the rituals involved?
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Salam Taj,
It's all clearly explained in Hebrew in The Torah. It's very simple but people like to complicate it.
Salam,
Arnab -
Peace Arnab,
Salam Taj,
It's all clearly explained in Hebrew in The Torah. It's very simple but people like to complicate it.
Salam,
ArnabThank you for the reply but you haven't answered my question!!
You are not one of those people who complicate things. You have read/studied the Torah well enough it seems. That is a bonus.So I am asking you again
what is it that you usually do? How do you act in order to be observing of the Sabbath? What are the rituals involved?
I hope that in your next post, you will tell me about how you observe the Sabbath.Thanks