Mutual Excommunication of Jews and Christians

The Qur’an considers the religion of Abraham (a.s.) as the criterion of reason and growth, and turning away from it as a sign of foolishness. The Jews and Christians, by distancing themselves from the monotheistic religion of Abraham, contaminated it with their own polytheism and self-serving innovations. Then, foolishly, they introduced this distorted faith as the divine and true religion, and condemned other religions and nations as invalid. The Jews considered Judaism as the only path to salvation, and the Christians regarded Christianity as the sole way of salvation: “They say, ‘Be Jews or Christians, then you will be guided.’” This statement does not mean that Jews and Christians, without negating each other, were saying that one of these two sects is saved (all against all), but rather it means that the Jews said: “Be Jews and nothing else” and the Christians said: “Be Christians and nothing else” (sum against sum). Therefore, according to the Jews, non-Jews are not saved or destined for Paradise, whether Christian or Muslim. And according to the Christians, non-Christians are not saved or destined for Paradise: “And they say, ‘None will enter Paradise except one who is a Jew or a Christian.’ That is [merely] their wishful thinking”(425), whether Jewish or Muslim. Thus, each of these two groups monopolized Paradise for themselves.

The detail of this summary and evidence that each of the Jews and Christians excommunicated and considered the other as corrupt and false is a verse in which the judgment of each of these two sects regarding the falsehood of the other is separately recounted: “The Jews say, ‘The Christians have nothing [true] to stand on,’ and the Christians say, ‘The Jews have nothing to stand on’”(426).

Did they hold this view and ignorant, crude prejudice towards Islam as well?

This means that each of the two groups, Jews and Christians, just as they excommunicated and considered the other as false, also deemed Muslims as condemned to falsehood, as God the Exalted said: The Jews will not be pleased with you until you abandon Islam and become Jewish, and the Christians will not be satisfied with you unless you submit to their faith and become Christian: “And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion”(427). The entrenchment of this prejudice among the People of the Book was such that God the Exalted said to the Noble Prophet: No matter what proof, sign, or miracle you bring to them, they will not accept it and will not believe in you, just as they do not believe in each other: “And if you brought to those who were given the Scripture every sign, they would not follow your direction. Nor will you follow their direction. Nor would they follow one another’s direction”(428).

The basis of such statements and beliefs among the People of the Book is ignorant prejudice, not proof, for they not only consider themselves superior to Muslims, but despite having a share of the heavenly book, they have accepted idols and false deities (jibt wa ṭāghūt) and consider the polytheists better and more civilized than Muslims: “Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture, who believe in idols and false deities and say about the disbelievers, ‘These are better guided than the believers as to the way’?”(429). The People of the Book’s intention of guidance regarding the polytheists is not guidance to Paradise and the like, for the polytheists do not believe in the principle of resurrection and the Day of Judgment to enter Paradise. The meaning of guidance here is human civilization and material and worldly progress.