يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اُوْتُوا الْكِتٰبَ اٰمِنُوْا بِمَا نَزَّلْنَا مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ مِّنْ قَبْلِ اَنْ نَّـطْمِسَ وُجُوْهًا فَنَرُدَّهَا عَلٰٓى اَدْبَارِهَاۤ اَوْ نَلْعَنَهُمْ كَمَا لَعَنَّاۤ اَصْحٰبَ السَّبْتِ وَكَانَ اَمْرُ اللّٰهِ مَفْعُوْلًا (47) اِنَّ اللّٰهَ لَا يَغْفِرُ اَنْ يُّشْرَكَ بِه وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُوْنَ ذٰ لِكَ لِمَنْ يَّشَآءُ وَمَنْ يُّشْرِكْ بِاللّٰهِ فَقَدِ افْتَـرٰۤى اِثْمًا عَظِيْمًا (48) اَلَمْ تَرَ اِلَى الَّذِيْنَ يُزَكُّوْنَ اَنْفُسَهُمْ بَلِ اللّٰهُ يُزَكِّىْ مَنْ يَّشَآءُ وَلَا يُظْلَمُوْنَ فَتِيْلًا (49)
Quran Ayah Data not found….for Surah:4, Ayah:47 and Translation:24
Quran Surah:4 Ayah:47-49
“O you who have been given theBook, believe in what We haverevealed confirming what is with you,before We rub off faces and turn them shaped like their backs, or lay a curse upon them, as We cursed the People of the Sabbath. Whatever Allah orders is destined to occur. Surely, Allah does not forgive that a partner is ascribed to Him, and He forgives anything short of that for whomsoever He wills. Whoever ascribes a partner to Allah commits a terrible sin. Have you not seen those whoclaim sanctity for themselves? In fact,Allah sanctifies whom He wills, andthey shall not be wronged even to themeasure of a thread of a date-stone.” (Surah Al-Nisa: 47-49)
Thtough the verses appearing above, Allah, the Almighty addressed the People of Book and brought home to them some substantial facts. First and foremost thing they are demanded is to believe in the last Book, the Holy Qura’n, the only way to salvation, revealed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ, since all the rest of previous books and scriptures have been subject to rejection.
On this point, what we need to consider is that what value other books and the points of guidance containing in them can carry while even the previous scriptures revealed before the Holy Qura’n have been subject to the rejection by Allah, the Almighty? In fact, they deserve first to be rejected. Hence, it is not allowed for a true believer to seek any guidance from any other Book rather than the Holy Qura’n. if one believs not in the Hly Quran and Allah after he clearly understands this reality, Allah, the Almighty admonisheds and warns him to be rubbed off his face and meet Allah’s curse like those of who violated the respect of Saturday.
Asfor the reasonof warning against the rubbing off faces, Allah, the Almighty bestowed the humanbeing with important parts of body like eyes, ears, nose and brain so that he , with the help of them – can realize the facts and distinguish between right and wrong. But, if he fails to do so, it means that he is no more worthy of possessing these valuable bounties and better he is deprived of all of them as a punishment of being rubbed off faces.
Secondly, what these verses aim at revealing to us is that believing not in the Holy Qura’n and Allah, the Almighty despite His commandment; it amountsto disbelief and infidelity whereas, it is the same sin that will never be forgiven even if Allah forgives all other sins if He wishes, since it amounts to challengeHis absolute person. Taking for instance, if a s son tells his father that he is not his real father, rather, he regards another one to be his father or a servant tells his master that he is not his master and ascribes anyone to be his master rather than him or a wife tells her husband that she does not regard him to be her husband and thus falls in love to someone else, call all of them afford this insulting things? Obviously, not at all.Then how can Allah, the Almighty, the Absolute One, bear all these things to be attributed to Him? In other words, one slanders Allah, the Almighty in this way which is certainly a gravest sin and never will be spared.
The reason for describing the heinousness of perpetrating the sin of infidelity and disbelief and the refutation of its forgiveness addressing the people of Book is that they would consider themselves to be Allah’s children and dear ones to Him andthus took their entry into Paradise for granted. The same mentality and notion of the people of book has been mentioned in the following verse as:
اَلَمْ تَرَ اِلَى الَّذِيْنَ يُزَكُّوْنَ اَنْفُسَھُمْ ۭ بَلِ اللّٰهُ يُزَكِّيْ مَنْ يَّشَاۗءُ
“Have you not seen those who claim sanctity for themselves? In fact, Allah sanctifies whom He wills”
Thus, it aims at conveying the fact to them that living in such vain hopes guarantees no salvation nor ones entry into Paradise, rather it requires professing belief in Allah, His Messenger and complying by His commandments. Thus, it was the third fact brought to them through the verses mentioned above.
Let’s pause here for a while and ponder on the fact either if it is not the same case with us that though we make claims to profess our faith in the Holy Qura’n and Allah, the Almighty, but when it comes to abiding by its commandment, we opt to follow other’s rules and regulations. Only if it is the case, it does mean that we too are caught up in a whirling vortex of disbelief and infidelity without coming out of which our salvation is impossible.
Similarly, we need to ponder over it from another angle as to make sure if even we, first like the people of Book, in the name of Muslims, consider ourselves to be selected ones of Allah and unbiased belief in the entry in Paradise anyhow. If it is the case, we also may deserve being cursed with rubbing off our faces and inflicted with Allah’s curse upon us (as also done to the previous nations). What would happen if we also are not forgiven just like them? May Allah, the Almighty protect us against it!