The Appearance of the Jews in the Holy Quran (part one)
Abstract
The Jewish are considered to be the long-standing enemies of Islam, and they waged war against the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and embarked on various conspiracies with the polytheists and infidels of Quraysh. Even now, while centuries have passed since the mission of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), the Jews are one of the intransigent enemies of the Islamic world.
The Jewish nation is one of the most important peoples whose undesirable qualities, beliefs and wrong actions are mentioned in many verses of the Holy Quran, and Quran condemns and rebukes them, and also reminds them of their positions against the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the Muslims. By carefully examining the verses of the Quran and historical reports, one can understand the hostile positions and sabotage of the People of the Book, especially the Jews, against Islam. Undoubtedly, accurate knowledge of this people is an undeniable necessity due to the dangers they pose to Islam and Muslims.
Ever since Islam rose with the mission of the Prophet of Islam (peace be upon him) and raised the banner of truth and took up the banner of fighting falsehood, the Jews have risen to the occasion and laid the foundation for the withering away of truth.
This hostility and enmity will continue to this day; indeed, as long as a star shines in the sky of the truth of Islam. It is obvious that those who have even a particle of the nature of seeking truth will never oppose the truth and will not argue with it.
“فِطْرَةَ اللَّهِ الَّتِى فَطَرَ النَّاسَ عَلَيْهَ.“Translation: “(Be steadfast) in the nature of Allah upon which He has created people.” [1]
But those who, due to stubbornness, selfishness, lust and worldliness, trampled on this pure divine nature and made opposition to the truth the mainstay of their work, renew this struggle every day, sometimes through armed struggle, and at other times through hypocritical behavior, and one day through economic warfare, and always have a cultural struggle on their agenda.
The noteworthy point here is that if we think correctly and pay attention to the heart of the matter, and on the other hand, if we study the Jews with their records from religious texts, especially the Quran and history, we will see their hands in the midst of conspiracies, and hostile positions and sabotage are among the long-standing practices of this nation.
In this article, we will first give a brief history of the Jews for the sake of the readers’ better understanding, and then we will examine the image of the Jews in the Quran.
History of the Jewish nation
Like the Arabs and Assyrians, the Jews are of Semitic origin, and their lineage goes back to the son of Prophet Noah (peace be upon him), Sam, and they are considered part of the Hebrews and reach Ibrahim (peace be upon him). The greatness and glorious past of Ibrahim (peace be upon him) caused Christianity and Judaism to consider him as one of their own, and the Quran calls this dispute a useless dispute and says: “مَا کَانَ إِبْراهیمُ یَهُودِیًّا وَلا نَصْرانِیًّا وَلکِنْ کانَ حَنیفاً مُسْلِماً وَما کانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِکینَ.“Translation: “Ibrahim was neither a Jew nor a Christian; rather, he was a righteous and obedient man and was not a polytheist.” [2]
Ibrahim (peace be upon him) was born in the city of Ur of the Chaldeans in the east of Babylon, south of Mesopotamia, and at the age of seventy-five, he migrated to Canaan with his wife Sarah and some others, and Allah blessed him with two sons at the age of over 90. First, he had “Ismael” (peace be upon him) from “Hagar” (peace be upon him), and a few years later, he had Isaac (peace be upon him) from his wife Sarah (peace be upon him), and Isaac later had two twin sons, one of whom he named “Esau” (meaning “hairy”); because at the time of his birth, his body had a lot of hair, and the other was named “Jacob” (Jacob) (meaning “pursuer”); because he was born behind Esau. Jacob (peace be upon him) later had 12 sons, and the story of Joseph (peace be upon him) came about. Years later, Jacob (peace be upon him) migrated to Egypt, eager to meet Joseph (peace be upon him). During this migration, some people accompanied Jacob (peace be upon him) and went from Canaan to Egypt, where the children of Jacob (peace be upon him), who became known as the “Children of Israel”, lived a comfortable life in Egypt. The life of the Children of Israel was formed in Egypt. The first experience of the rule of the Children of Israel dates back to the time of the ministry and rule of Joseph (peace be upon him), and in light of this, the Egyptians and the children of Jacob, who were formed into twelve tribes, lived a good life and gradually made progress in various sciences and arts and became familiar with different cultures. This was a brief reference to the formation of the Children of Israel. [3]
The birth of Moses (peace be upon him) was a turning point in the fate of the Children of Israel
After the death of Joseph (peace be upon him), the native Egyptians felt concerned about the situation of the immigrants from the Children of Israel and were worried about their rule. They tried in various ways to prevent their rule and in some way exploited and subjected them to despicable work and under their control; because they were immigrants; therefore, the Pharaohs and their rulers did not refrain from any kind of harassment and abuse against the Children of Israel; especially when “Ramses II”, who is known as “Pharaoh” in the literature of the Quran, came to power, he took many of the Children of Israel into slavery. The predictors told him: A son of the Children of Israel will come to power and will destroy your rule and kingdom. Pharaoh gave the order with all cruelty, they killed the sons of the Children of Israel, they ripped open the bellies of pregnant women, they created a gap and separation between the men and women of the Children of Israel, and they took many women as slaves. The Quran beautifully explains this matter: “وَإِذْ قالَ مُوسَی لِقَوْمِهِ اذْکُرُوا نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ عَلَیْکُمْ إِذْ أَنْجَاکُمْ مِنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ یَسُومُونَکُمْ سُوءَالْعَذَابِ وَیُذَبِّحُونَ أَبْنَاءَکُمْ وَیَسْتَحْیُونَ نِسَاءَکُمْ وَفِی ذلِکُمْ بَلَاءٌ مِنْ رَبِّکُمْ عَظِیمٌ.“Translation: “And (remember) when Moses said to his people: “Remember the favor of Allah upon you when He delivered you from the people of Pharaoh, who were continually tormenting you, slaughtering your sons and letting your women live. And in that was a great trial from your Lord.” [4]
But the will of Allah Almighty was something else. In these difficult circumstances, one of the Israelites named Imran, who had married his cousin, had a child whose mother had hidden him from the eyes of the spies for a while (about three months). But since it was impossible to continue this secrecy, he placed his child in a chest and entrusted him to the waves of the Nile River by divine inspiration. The waves of the river carried the newborn to Pharaoh’s palace. It is said that Pharaoh’s wife took him from the water and felt love for the child. She insisted and convinced Pharaoh to keep the child and gave him the name “Moses”, which in Hebrew means “taken from the water”. By this divine sign, his life was saved from death and it was decided that he should be entrusted to a woman from the women of the Israelites. Since he did not breastfeed any woman, Moses’ sister, who was nearby, said: “I will guide you to a woman who will breastfeed this child.” Moses’ mother As a nanny, she nursed him and the Qur’an says: This was our work that we did not let him take the breast of any woman and returned her to her mother:“وَحَرَّمْنا عَلَیْهِ الْمَراضِعَ مِنْ قَبْلُ فَقالَتْ هَلْ أَدُلُّکُمْ عَلی أَهْلِ بَیْتٍ یَکْفُلُونَهُ لَکُمْ وَهُمْ لَهُ ناصِحُونَ * فَرَدَدْناهُ إِلی أُمِّهِ کَیْ تَقَرَّ عَینُهَا وَ لا تَحْزَنَ وَلِتَعْلَمَ أَنَّ وَعْدَ اللَّهِ حَقٌّ وَلکِنَّ أَکْثَرَهُمْ لا یَعْلَمُونَ.“Translation: “And We had forbidden him before that (milk) all the nursing mothers (so that he would not take the breast of any woman), so (his sister came and) said: Shall I guide you to a family who will take care of him for you and be kind to him?” So We returned him to his mother so that she might be happy and not grieve and know that the promise of Allah is true, but most of the people (who are deprived of insight) do not know.” [5]
Hazrat Moses (peace be upon him) grew up in the lap of the enemy and one day in the city he saw a Copt fighting with a tribe, that is, an Egyptian with a Bani Israelite, and that Bani Israelite asked Moses (peace be upon him) for help, and Moses (peace be upon him) fought and the Egyptian was killed; Therefore, Moses (peace be upon him) was forced to flee Egypt and went to Midian and married the daughter of the Prophet Shoaib and became a shepherd. After reaching the required age, he was given special favor by Allah and became a possessor of knowledge and wisdom. In the land of “Towa”, he heard the word of Allah from a tree and was sent as a prophet. [6] And he was given the mission to take the Children of Israel out of Egypt. [7]
The Holy Quran mentions many miracles for Moses (peace be upon him), and Moses (peace be upon him) even took action to guide Pharaoh: “اِذْهَبْإِلیفِرْعَوْنَإِنَّهُطَغی“ Translation: “Go to Pharaoh, for he has transgressed (against Allah).” [8]
And it also states the same thing in Surah Al-A’raf:“ثُمَّ بَعَثْنا مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ مُوسی بِآیاتِنا إِلی فِرْعَوْنَ وَمَلاَئِهِ فَظَلَمُوا بِها فَانْظُرْ کَیْفَ کانَ عاقِبَةُ الْمُفْسِدینَ.“Translation: “Then, after the previous prophets, We sent Moses with Our signs to Pharaoh and his chiefs, but they denied him. So consider what was the end of the corrupters and the criminals”. [9]
In Egypt, Moses (peace be upon him) gathered the Children of Israel with the help of his brother, and united them, brought their residential areas close together, established their communication with each other, and ensured that they would have no problems in communal worship. He gave them good news about the future, saying that Allah had promised that you would be victorious. [10]
3. Jan Nas, Tarikh Jame’e Idyan, translated by Ali Asghar Hikmat, fourth edition, pp. 491-490; Afif Abdul Fattah Tabara, The Face of the Jews in the Quran, translated by Seyyed Mahdi Ayatollahi, Jahan Ara Publications, pp. 27-28, 393-394.
4. Surah Ibrahim, verse: 6.
5. Surah Al-Qasas, verse: 12-13.
6. These matters are narrated in various verses of the Quran; such as: Surah Al-Qasas verses: 14-15; Surah Taha verses: 11-12.
7. Wajdi Encyclopedia quoted from: Seyyed Ali Akbar Qureshi, Tafsir Ahsan Al-Hadith, Islamic Research Unit of the Be’ath Foundation, first edition, 1366, vol. 1, p. 106.
8. Surah Taha, verse: 24.
9. Surah Al-A’raf, verse: 103.
10. Mughniyah, Muhammad Jawad, Al-Kashif, Vol. 6, p. 51, Dar al-Ilm Lal-Mala’in, third edition, 1981.
