The Qur’an’s View of the Jews

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Antisemitism is deeply embedded within the Qur’an and Islamic tradition. The Qur’an’s treatment of Jews is consistent and unambiguous: those who do not accept that Muhammad is a prophet and become Muslims are untrustworthy schemers who hate the Muslims and try to frustrate their plans whenever and wherever they can. That the Qur’an’s picture of the Jews does not include the blood libel or the claim that they secretly control the world does not exonerate the Qur’an or Islam in their traditional formulations and interpretations from charges of a deep and abiding Jew-hatred.

Islam’s most common prayer, the Fatihah (Opening), is also the first chapter of the Qur’an. In it, the believer asks Allah: “Guide us to the straight path, the path of those whom you have favored, not of those who have earned your anger, or of those who have gone astray.” (Qur’an 1:6-7) In an Islamic tradition, Muhammad states that “the Jews are those who Allah is angry with.” Those who have gone astray, he adds, are the Christians.

One way in which the Jews have incurred Allah’s anger is by twisting the message that he sent them through the prophets. In the Qur’an, the biblical prophets and Jesus Christ are all Muslims who taught Islam. The Qur’an says of itself that it simply confirms what they taught before. When the teachings of Judaism and Christianity have not corresponded to those of Islam, Muslims throughout the history of Islam have charged that this is because the Jews and Christians have tampered with their scriptures in order to efface their Islamic content, creating the religions of Judaism and Christianity in the process.

The Qur’an appears generously to promise salvation to the Jews and other non-Muslims: “Indeed, those who believe, and those who are Jews, and Christians, and Sabeans, whoever believes in Allah and the last day and does right, surely their reward is with their Lord, and no fear will come upon them, neither will they grieve.” (2:62)

This apparent generosity is, however, illusory. Islamic tradition makes it clear that the Jews and other non-Muslims only enter paradise because they have accepted that Muhammad was a prophet and become Muslims. The renowned medieval Islamic scholar Ibn Kathir explains: “After Allah described the condition—and punishment—of those who defy His commands, fall into His prohibitions and transgress set limits by committing prohibited acts, He stated that the earlier nations who were righteous and obedient received the rewards for their good deeds. This shall be the case, until the Day of Judgment.”

Being “righteous and obedient,” however, meant becoming Muslim: “Therefore, whoever follows the unlettered Messenger and Prophet shall acquire eternal happiness and shall neither fear from what will happen in the future nor become sad for what has been lost in the past.” The “unlettered Prophet” is Muhammad. Ibn Kathir adds later that “Allah does not accept any deed or work from anyone, unless it conforms to the Law of Muhammad that is, after Allah sent Muhammad. Before that, every person who followed the guidance of his own Prophet was on the correct path, following the correct guidance and was saved.”

In the Qur’an, accordingly, the biblical prophets, as Muslims, curse the Jews for their rejection of the true religion: “Those among the children of Israel who went astray were cursed by the tongue of David, and of Jesus, son of Mary. That was because they rebelled and used to transgress.” (5:78) They knew that Muhammad was speaking the truth, but obstinately concealed the fact: “Is it ever so that when they make a covenant, a party of them sets it aside? The truth is, most of them do not believe. And when a messenger from Allah comes to them, confirming what is with them, a faction of those who have received the book cast the book of Allah behind their backs, as if they did not know.” (2:100-101)

Allah gave the Jews their law, says the Qur’an, because of their evildoing; presumably, if they had behaved better, not as many restrictions would have been placed upon them: “Because of the wrongdoing of the Jews, we forbade them good things which had been lawful for them, and because they kept many people from Allah’s way, and for their taking usury when they were forbidden to take it, and of their devouring people’s wealth by means of false pretenses, we have prepared for those among them who disbelieve a painful doom.” (4:60-1)

As the Muslims are the appointed executors of Allah’s wrath (cf. Qur’an 9:14-15), many of them are working assiduously even now to bring Jews that painful doom.

Photo credit: Habib M’henni at Wikimedia Commons (public domain)