If you thought we were done talking about Muhammad’s hatred of Jews last week, I apologize. Jew hatred is a recurring theme in the Quran and Muhammad basically tries to find every reason under the sun to hate the Jews. However, all it boils down to is the fact that the Jews rejected him and refused to believe the Quran is the word of Allah. So, let’s read these verses (sorry it’s a longer one, guys):
87 Indeed, We gave Moses the Scripture and sent Messengers after him in successive series. We also gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear arguments and strengthened him with the blessed word of God. (Is it not then unjust on your part that) whenever a Messenger came to you (O Jews!) With that (teaching) which did not suit your fancies, you behaved arrogantly? You belied some (Messengers) while others you seek to kill (even now). 88 They said, “Our hearts are storehouse of knowledge (so that we stand in no need of further teaching).” Rather Allah has deprived them of His mercy for their disbelief, with the result that little they believe. 89 And (now) when there has come to them the glorious Book from Allah, fulfilling that (Prophecy) which is already with them and previous to that they had been praying for victory over those who disbelieved, yet when that (long awaited Prophet and the Quran) came to them which they recognized (also to be the truth), they disbelieved in it. (And because of this rejection) the disapproval of Allah is the due for the disbelievers. 90 Evil is that thing they have sold themselves for that they should reject that (source of guidance) which Allah has revealed, grudging that Allah should send down His grace on such of His servants as He pleases. Thus, they have incurred (His) displeasure after displeasure. There awaits these disbelievers a humiliating punishment. 91 When it is said to them, “Believe in that (-the Quran) which Allah has sent down.” They say, “We believe only in that (- the Torah) which has been sent down to us.” And they deny everything other than that (and which has since been revealed); though it (-the Quran) is the lasting truth and corroborates that which is already with them (in their own Scriptures). Say, “Why, then, did you seek to kill the Prophets of Allah in former times if you were (real) believers (in the former Scriptures)?” 92 Moses did come to you with clear arguments, yet you took to the (worship of) the calf in his absence and you were not justified in doing so. 93 And (recall) when We took a covenant from you, (while you had encamped at the foot of Sinai) with (the summits of) the Mount towering above you, (and We had said,) “Hold fast to that which we have given you and obey.” (But) those (of you who were given this commandment) said, “We hear and we disobey.” Their hearts were, in fact, permeated with (the love of) the calf (worship) due to their disbelief. Say, “Evil is the way to which your faith leads you, if you are believers at all.” 94 Say, “If the last Abode with Allah is especially reserved for you excluding all other people, then invoke death (upon yourself standing against the Prophet of Islam) if you are on the right.” 95 But never shall they invoke it, on account of that which their own hands have sent before. Allah knows these wrongdoers very well. 96 And you shall of course find them the greediest of all people for (this base) life and even more (greedy) than those who set up equals (to God). Each one of them would love to be granted a life of a thousand years, yet his being spared for a long life shall, by no means keep him away from the punishment. And Allah is Watchful of all their doings.
I’m sorry with how much suffering I have put y’all through with this massive passage. Please understand that I’m doing this to keep things in context and if I were to break this passage up into more bite-sized chunks, it would make even less sense than it already does.
With that said, time to get to dissecting the passage.
Verse 87 sets two things up that we should keep in mind. First, it calls Jesus the Son of Mary, which I want you all to remember next month when we talk about why Jesus isn’t just a man. Second (and more importantly), there’s the accusation that sets up the rest of this passage that the Jews keep killing the prophets.
Just like with last time, it would be dishonest to say that the Jews don’t have a tumultuous history with God. Even Jesus called Jerusalem “the city that kills the prophets” because of how many prophets they rejected and punished. However, because the god of the Quran is actually Muhammad’s maniacal imaginary friend who retcons himself when convenient, naturally the Quran makes it very clear that Allah sees this as completely unforgivable, hence verse 88.
Once again, I want you to keep in mind that in this same passage, verse 91 affirms the Bible’s inerrancy. Thus, Allah retcons himself because if the Scriptures are his word, then he lied through prophets like Hosea when he basically said that he would not forsake his chosen people, Israel. But don’t worry guys! The Quran totally is the sequel to the Scriptures that confirms everything that came before it (verse 89)!
From there, we move onto the Golden Calf incident and finally to Allah demanding that Jews invoke death upon themselves for rejecting Muhammad if they are correct and calls them all greedy.
Ignoring the slander of calling them greedy (which you should all understand why that’s wrong) for a second, let’s take a look at the accusation that the Jews rejected Muhammad because of arrogance. This is completely false when you look at history. The Jews largely rejected Muhammad not because they were stubborn, but because every sign pointed to him being a false prophet. The prophecies that he was trying to use to get the Jews and Christians to accept him never applied to him and they knew that. The miracles he tried to perform were all fake. Furthermore, they were not comfortable with the political changes he wanted to bring, so they rejected him. This entire passage is literally just slander to justify holy war against the Jews.
Lastly, going back to the part where the Quran calls them greedy, while there are greedy Jews (they are humans, too, with their own sins and foibles), this doesn’t apply to the whole Jewish race. The only reason why I think Muhammad makes this claim is because the Jews in Medina happened to be the richest traders in the area. Thus, they would’ve been economically powerful allies. But because they didn’t accept Muhammad, that’s why he labels them all as greedy. And, unfortunately, because this is the Quran and is considered the word of Allah, this has contributed to the lasted hatred between Muslims and Jews to this day.
Until next time,
M.J.
The Tanuki Corner 
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