Translated by

see the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and he invited them to surrender to Allah. One of them 
said: ‘We have surrendered to Allah before you’. He said: ‘You lie! Three things prevent you from 
surrendering to Allah: your prostration before the cross, your claim that Allah has a son and your 
consumption of wine’. They said: ‘What do you say about Jesus?’ The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him 
peace, did not answer. But then this verse was revealed (This (which) We recite unto thee is a revelation 
and a wise reminder… Lo! the likeness of Jesus with Allah is as the likeness of Adam) up to Allah’s saying (… 
say (unto him): Come! We will summon our sons and your sons…). Then the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless 
him and give him peace, challenged them to summon Allah’s curse upon the one who is lying amongst them 
(Mula‘anah). The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, went and brought al-Hasan, al-
Husayn, Fatimah and all his family and children, peace be upon them. When the two Christians left, one of 
them said to the other: ‘Consent to pay the Jizyah and do not agree to summon Allah’s curse on the liar’. 
They went back and said: ‘We agree to pay the Jizyah and abstain from summoning Allah’s curse on the liar’ 
”. ‘Abd al-Rahman ibn al-Hasan al-Hafiz informed us among that which he gave us permission to narrate 
from him> Abu Hafs ‘Umar ibn Ahmad al-Wa‘iz> ‘Abd Allah ibn Sulayman ibn al-Ash‘ath> Yahya ibn Hatim 
al-‘Askari> Bishr ibn Mihran> Muhammad ibn Dinar> Dawud ibn Abi Hind> al-Sha‘bi> Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah 
who said: “The delegation of the people of Najran came to see the prophet, Allah bless him and give him 
peace. The deputy chief and the master spoke with the Prophet and he invited them to surrender to Allah. 
They said: ‘We have surrendered to Him before you’. He said: ‘You lie! And if you wish I will inform you 
about that which prevents you from surrendering to Allah’. They said: ‘Do inform us!’ He said: ‘It is the love 
of the cross, the consumption of wine and pork’. Then he challenged them to summon Allah’s curse upon 
the liar amongst them. They promised to come and see him in the evening. The Messenger of Allah, Allah 
bless him and give him peace, went and brought Fatimah, al-Hasan and al-Husayn whose hands he held, 
then he sent for the two men. But they refused to come and see him and agreed to pay a levied tax. The 
Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said then: ‘By Him Who has sent me with the truth, had they 
agreed to summon Allah’s curse on the liar, fire would have rained on the valley [where the delegation of 
Najran had camped]’. Then the following verse was revealed about them ((unto him): Come! We will 
summon our sons and your sons…)”. Al-Sha‘bi said: “our sons refer to al-Hasan and al-Husayn and our 
women refers to Fatimah, while ourselves refers to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be well pleased with one and 
all”.  
 
[3:68]
 
 
(Lo! those of mankind who have the best claim to Abraham are those who followed him, and this Prophet…) 
[3:68]. Said Ibn 'Abbas: “The leaders of the Jews said: 'By Allah, O Muhammad, you know that we have the 
better claim to Abraham's religion than you or anybody else; and you know that he was a Jew. You are only 
resentfully envious!' And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”. Al-Kalbi also related from Abu Salih 
that Ibn 'Abbas said - and the same is reported by 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Ghanm from the Companions of the 
Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and this was also mentioned by Muhammad ibn 
Ishaq ibn Yasar, such that the wordings of their narrations are mixed up with each other - : “When Ja'far ibn 
Abi Talib and his fellow companions migrated to Abyssinia and settled there and the Messenger of Allah, 
Allah bless him and give him peace, migrated to Medina which was followed by the Battle of Badr, the 
Quraysh called for a meeting in Dar al-Nadwah and said: 'We have to exact revenge for those of us who 
were killed at Badr from the Companions of Muhammad who are with the Negus. Collect, therefore, some 
money and gift it to the Negus and he will give you in exchange your people who are staying with him. For 
this mission, select two of your men who are known for their good judgement'. And so they sent 'Amr ibn al-
'As and 'Umarah ibn Abi Mu'ayt with gifts, tanned skins and other things. They sailed across the sea to 
Abyssinia. When they entered in on the Negus, they prostrated themselves and greeted him. They said: 'Our 
people are grateful to you and want to give you sincere advice for they wish you good. They have sent us to 
you to warn you about the people who came to you because they represent a liar who has emerged 
amongst us, claiming he is Allah's Messenger. None of us, except fools, followed him. We had made it very 
hard on them and drove them away to the canyons of our land. No one was allowed to go to them, and 

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none of them was allowed to leave; they were destroyed by hunger and thirst. When things got tough, he 
sent you his cousin to corrupt your religion, kingdom and subjects. So beware of them and hand them over 
to us to suffice you their matter'. They also said to him: 'The proof for what we say is that they will not 
prostrate to you or greet you with the greeting with which people greet you, out of repulsion from your 
religion and way of life'. The Negus summoned them, and when they came, Ja'far shouted at the door: 'The 
party of Allah asks your permission to enter'. Upon hearing them, the Negus said: 'Order the crier to repeat 
what he said'. When Ja'far repeated what he said, the Negus said: 'Indeed, let them enter with Allah's 
assurance and safety'. 'Amr ibn al-'As looked at his companion and said: 'Do you not see how they refer 
unintelligently to the party of Allah?' They did not like at all what they had heard. The Companions entered 
but did not prostrate themselves to the Negus. 'Amr ibn al-'As said: 'Do you not see how too proud they are 
to prostrate themselves before you?' The Negus asked them: 'What prevents you from prostrating 
yourselves before me and greeting me with the greeting with which I am greeted by people from all over 
the world?' They said: 'We only prostrate ourselves to Allah Who created and made you king. What you 
mentioned was our salutation when we used to worship idols. Allah then sent among us a true Prophet who 
commanded us to greet by means of a greeting which is pleasing to Allah, the greeting of peace, the 
greeting of the inhabitants of Paradise'. The Negus knew that what he said was the truth and that it was 
mentioned in the Torah and the Gospel. He said: 'Who is the caller who was seeking permission for the party 
of Allah to enter?' Ja'far identified himself and then spoke. He said: 'You are a king among the kings of the 
people of this earth, as you are of the people of the Book. Abundant talk and injustice will not do with you, 
and I would like to answer you on behalf of my companions. Command one of these men to speak and let 
the other one listen so that you can hear our dialogue'. 'Amr said to Ja'far: 'You speak!' Ja'far said to the 
Negus: 'Ask this man: are we slaves or freemen? If we are runaway slaves, then by all means do return us 
to our masters'. The Negus asked: 'Are they slaves or freemen?' He said: 'They are respected freemen!' The 
Negus said: 'They have escaped from slavery'. Ja'far said: 'Ask them: have we shed any blood without any 
legitimate right for retaliation to be exacted from us?' 'Amr said: 'They have not shed even a single drop of 
blood'. Ja'far added: 'Ask them: have we wrongfully taken the property of any people which we are now 
asked to give back?' The Negus said: 'O 'Amr! I will pay it back even if it is a kantar'. 'Amr said: 'They have 
not taken even one kerat'. The Negus said: 'In that case, what do you want from them?' 'Amr said: 'We 
were all following one religion, the religion of our forefathers, but they left that and followed a different 
religion while we continue to follow it. Their people have therefore sent us so that you hand them over to 
us'. The Negus asked: 'What is the religion which you had previously followed and the one you are following 
now? Tell me the truth!' Ja'far said: 'The religion which we used to follow and which we have now 
abandoned is the religion and matter of Satan; we used to disbelieve in Allah, glorious and majestic is He, 
and worship stones. As for the religion to which we have reverted, it is Allah's religion, Islam, which was 
brought to us by a Messenger from Allah who also brought a Scripture like the Scripture brought by Jesus; in 
fact both Scriptures agree with one another'. The Negus said: 'O Ja'far! You have mentioned a very serious 
matter; be deliberate!' The Negus then ordered that the bells be rang by which he summoned all his priests 
and monks. When they all gathered, he said: 'I implore you by Allah Who revealed the Gospel to Jesus: is 
there any mention of a prophet sent by Allah in the interval between the advent of Jesus and the Day of 
Judgement?' They said: 'Yes, by Allah! Jesus has given the good news of his advent. He said: whoever 
believes in this prophet believes in him and whoever disbelieves in this prophet disbelieves in him'. The 
Negus turned to Ja'far and said: 'What does this man say, command and forbid you?' Ja'far said: 'He recites 
unto us the Book of Allah, enjoins good, forbids evil, commands good treatment of one's neighbours, 
keeping ties with one's kin, showing goodness toward orphans and he also commands us to worship Allah 
alone without any associate'. The Negus said: 'Recite to us some of what he used to recite to you'. Ja'far 
recited to Him Surah the Spider and Surah the Byzantines. The eyes of the Negus and those with him 
[among his subjects] overflowed with tears. They said: 'O Ja'far, give us more of this wholesome speech'. 
Ja'far read Surah the Cave. At this point, 'Amr wanted to provoke the Negus. He said: 'They slander Jesus 
and his mother!' The Negus asked: 'What do they say about Jesus and his mother?' Ja'far read to them 
Surah Mary and when he recited the section which mentions Jesus and his mother, the Negus picked up a 
fragment from a tooth pick (Siwak) - so small that it could get into one's eye-and said: 'By Allah! Jesus did 
not add to what you have said more than this [i.e. the fragment that he picked]'. He then turned toward 
Ja'far and his companions and said: 'Go wherever you want in my land. You are safe. Whoever insults or 
harms you will face a penalty. Receive the good news and do not be afraid. Today, no harm shall ever befall 
the party of Abraham'. 'Amr asked: 'And who are the party of Abraham?' He said: 'They are these people 
and the leader who sent them here as well as all those who follow them'. The idolaters denied this and 

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claimed that it was them who were following the religion of Abraham. The Negus returned the money that 
'Amr and his companion had gifted him, saying: 'Your gift is a bribe, so take it back. Allah has appointed me 
as a king and did not take a bribe from me'. Ja'far said: 'And we left. We lived in a good land with 
honourable neighbours'. Allah, glorious and majestic is He, revealed to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless 
him and give him peace, in Medina about their dispute regarding Abraham (Lo! those of mankind who have 
the best claim to Abraham are those who followed him) i.e. those who follow his religion and way, (and this 
Prophet) i.e. Muhammad, Allah bless him and give him peace, (and those who believe (with him) and Allah 
is the Protecting Guardian of the believers)”. Abu Hamid Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Warraq informed us> Abu 
Ahmad Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Jazari> 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Hatim> Abu Sa'id al-Ashajj> Waki'> 
Sufyan ibn Sa'id> his father> Abu'l-Duha> 'Abd Allah who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless 
him and give peace, said: “Every prophet has supporters from among other prophets, and my support is my 
forefather and my Lord's intimate friend Abraham”. He then recited: (Lo! those of mankind who have the 
best claim to Abraham are those who followed him, and this Prophet). 
 
[3:69]
 
 
(A party of the People of the Scripture long to make you go astray…) [3:69]. This was revealed about 
Mu‘adh ibn Jabal and Hudhayfah [ibn al-Yaman] and ‘Ammar ibn Yasir when the Jews called them to 
embrace their religion. This story has already been mentioned in Surah the Cow.  
 
[3:72]
 
 
(And a party of the People of the Scripture say: Believe in that which hath been revealed unto those who 
believe…) [3:72]. Al-Hasan and al-Suddi said: “Twelve rabbis from the Jews of Khaybar and the town of 
‘Uraynah conspired with each other, saying: ‘Pretend to join the religion of Muhammad at the beginning of 
the day and declare your disbelief in it at the end of the day. Say: ‘We have looked in our Scriptures and 
consulted our scholars and found that Muhammad is not genuine; it is clear to us now that he is lying and 
that his religion is false’. If you do this, his Companions will doubt their religion. They will say: these are 
people of the Book and they are more knowledgeable than us. They will then abandon their religion and 
embrace yours’. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse, thus informing His Prophet Muhammad, 
Allah bless him and give him peace, and the rest of the believers”. Mujahid, Muqatil and al-Kalbi said: “This 
was revealed regarding the qiblah when it was changed toward the Ka‘bah. The Jews found it hard to accept 
that they were opposed, and so Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf and his companions said: ‘Believe in that which was 
revealed to Muhammad regarding the matter of the Ka‘bah, pray toward it at the beginning of the day and 
then disbelieve in the Ka‘bah and return toward your qiblah at the end of the day. They might then say: 
these are people of the Book and they know better than us. They might then return to our qiblah’. Allah, 
exalted is He, warned His Prophet from the scheming of these people and informed him about what they 
were conspiring; He revealed (And a party of the People of the Scripture say…)”.  
 
[3:77]
 
 
(Lo! those who purchase a small gain at the cost of Allah’s covenant and their oaths…) [3:77]. Abu Bakr 
Ahmad ibn al-Hasan al-Qadi informed us> Hajib ibn Ahmad> Muhammad ibn Hammad> Abu Mu‘awiyah> al-
A‘mash> Shaqiq> ‘Abd Allah who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, 
said: “Whoever makes an oath knowing well that he is lying in order to usurp the property of another 
Muslim, Allah will be angry with him when he meets Him”. Then al-Ash‘ath ibn Qays said: “By Allah, this was 
revealed about me. There was a land between me and a Jew, but he denied that I was its owner. And so I 
took him to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, who asked me: ‘Do you have a proof?’ I said: 
‘no!’ He then asked the Jew: ‘Will you swear [that the land is yours]?’ I said: O Messenger of Allah! If he 
swears that the land is his, I will lose my property. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (Lo! those who 
purchase a small gain at the cost of Allah’s covenant and their oaths…)”. This was narrated by Bukhari from 
‘Abdan from Abu Hamzah from al-A‘mash. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Mihrajani informed us> 
‘Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Muhammad al-Zahid> Abu’l-Qasim al-Baghawi> Muhammad ibn Sulayman> 
Salih ibn ‘Umar> al-A‘mash> Shaqiq> ‘Abd Allah who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him 
and give him peace, said: “Whoever lies in his oath in order to usurp a property, Allah will be angry with him 
when he will meet Him”. “Then Allah, exalted is He, revealed: (Lo! those who purchase a small gain at the 

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cost of Allah’s covenant and their oaths…) up to the end of the verse. Al-Ash‘ath ibn Qays came and asked: 
‘What is it that Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman is relating to you?’ We said: ‘Such-and-such’. He said: ‘This verse was 
revealed about me. I reported to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, a dispute that 
I had with another man and so he asked me: ‘do you have a proof’. I said: ‘No!’ He said: ‘Then the man 
should swear’. I said: ‘So let him swear’. The Messenger, peace be upon him, said: ‘Whoever lies in his oath 
in order to usurp a property, Allah will be angry with him when he will meet Him’. And so Allah, exalted is 
He, revealed (Lo! those who purchase a small gain at the cost of Allah’s covenant and their oaths)’ ”. This 
was narrated by Bukhari from Hajjaj ibn Minhal from Abu ‘Awanah; and it was also narrated by Muslim from 
Abu Bakr ibn Abi Shaybah from Waki‘ and also from Ibn Numayr from Abu Mu‘awiyah; and all these 
narrators reported from al-A‘mash. Abu ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Shadhyakhi informed us> Muhammad ibn ‘Abd 
Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Zakariyya> Muhammad ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman al-Faqih> Muhammad ibn Yahya> 
‘Abd al-Razzaq> Sufyan> Mansur and al-A‘mash> Abu Wa’il> ‘Abd Allah who reported that the Messenger of 
Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: “No man makes a false oath to seize a property which does 
not belong to him except that Allah will be angry with him when he meets Him. Allah, exalted is He, then 
revealed (Lo! those who purchase a small gain at the cost of Allah’s covenant and their oaths…)”. He said: 
“Then al-Ash‘ath came while ‘Abd Allah was in the process of relating to them the narration, and said: ‘This 
was revealed about me and another man with whom I had a dispute regarding a well. The Prophet, Allah 
bless him and give him peace, asked me: ‘Do you have proof [that this well is yours]?’ I replied that I did 
not. He said: ‘Then let the man swear for you’. I said: ‘Let him swear’. And then the verse (Lo! those who 
purchase a small gain at the cost of Allah’s covenant and their oaths) was revealed’ ”. ‘Amr ibn Abu ‘Amr al-
Muzakki informed us> Muhammad ibn al-Makki> Muhammad ibn Yusuf> Muhammad ibn Isma‘il Bukhari> 
‘Ali ibn ‘Abd Allah> Hushaym> al-‘Awwam ibn Hawshab> Ibrahim ibn ‘Abd al-Rahman> ‘Abd Allah ibn Abi 
Awfa who reported that a man was selling a merchandise in the market place and swore that he was selling 
it for a price lower than the price with which he bought it, just to make one Muslim man buy it from him. As 
a result of which, Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Lo! those who purchase a small gain at the cost of Allah’s 
covenant and their oaths…). Said al-Kalbi: “Due to scarcity of foodstuff, some poor Jewish scholars went to 
seek help from Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf in Medina. Ka‘b asked them: Is there anything in your Scripture which 
indicates that this man is Allah’s Messenger?’ They said: ‘Yes! Do you not find the same?’ He said: ‘No, I 
don’t!’ They said: ‘Well, we bear witness that he is Allah’s servant and Messenger’. Ka‘b said: ‘Allah has 
deprived you of much good, you came to me and I really wanted to be good to you and to clothe your 
dependents. But Allah has deprived you and deprived your dependents’. They said: ‘We only thought that he 
is the man. Give us some respite until we meet him’. They went and wrote down a description which was 
different than that of the Prophet [Allah bless him and give him peace, as was in their Scripture]. After 
which they met the Prophet of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, spoke with him and asked him 
some questions. They went back to Ka‘b and said: ‘We had thought that he was Allah’s Messenger but when 
we met him we realised that he does not fit the description that we had and found that his description is 
different’. They got out the new description which they wrote down and showed it to Ka‘b. Ka‘b was very 
happy with them. He fed them and spent on them. Because of this Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”. 
Said ‘Ikrimah: “This verse was revealed about Rafi‘ and Kinanah ibn Abu’l-Huqayq as well as Huyayy ibn 
Akhtab, and other Jewish chiefs. They had concealed Allah’s covenant with them in the Torah regarding 
Muhammad, Allah bless him and give him peace, which they had changed with their own hands and wrote 
instead something different in order not to miss the gains and earning they procured from their followers”.  
 
[3:79]
 
 
(It is not (possible) for any human being unto whom Allah had given the Scripture…) [3:79]. Al-Dahhak and 
Muqatil said: “This was revealed about the Christians of Najran due to their worship of Jesus. His saying 
(…for any human being…) refers to Jesus and (…had given the Scripture…) refers to the Gospel”. And 
according to the narration of al-Kalbi and ‘Ata’, Ibn ‘Abbas said: “Abu Rafi‘ the Jew and the head of the 
Christians of Najran said: ‘O Muhammad! Do you want us to worship you and take you as our Lord?’ The 
Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘Allah forbid that other than Allah Himself be 
worshipped or that we be commanded to worship other than Allah. This is not what Allah has sent me for 
nor did He command me with this’. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse”. Said al-Hasan: “I heard 
that a man said: ‘O Messenger of Allah! [Is it enough that] we greet you as we greet each other? Should we 
not prostrate to you?’ He said: ‘One ought not to prostrate to anyone besides Allah. Rather, do honour your 
Prophet, and give people their due’. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed this verse”.  

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[3:83]
 
 
(Seek they other than the religion of Allah…) [3:83]. Said ibn ‘Abbas: “The people of the two Scriptures [the 
Jews and the Christians] went to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, to settle a 
dispute regarding Abraham's religion, for one of these parties claimed that they had the best claim to his 
religion. The Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: ‘None of the parties has anything to do with 
the religion of Abraham’. But this statement angered both parties. They said: ‘By Allah, we do not accept 
your judgement nor are we going to follow your religion!’ Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (Seek they 
other than the religion of Allah…)”. 
 
[3:86]
 
 
(How shall Allah guide a people who disbelieved after their belief…) [3:86]. Abu Bakr al-Harithi informed us> 
Abu Muhammad ibn Hayyan> Abu Yahya 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad> Sahl ibn 'Uthman> 'Ali ibn 
'Asim> Khalid and Dawud> 'Ikrimah> Ibn 'Abbas who reported that a man from the Helpers renounced his 
religion and joined the idolaters, and Allah, exalted is He, revealed (shall Allah guide a people who 
disbelieved after their belief) up to His saying (Save those who afterward repent…) (3:89). His people sent 
him these verses and when they were read to him, he said: “By Allah, my people are not telling a lie about 
the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, nor is the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him