Name
This Surah takes its name from v. 33. Al-i-Imran, like the
names of many other surahs, is merely a name to distinguish it
from other surahs and does not imply that the family of Imran
has been discussed in it.
The Period of Revelation
This Surah consists of four discourses The first discourses
:-
The first discourse (vv. 1-32) was probably revealed soon
after the Battle of Badr.
The second discourse (vv. 33-63) was revealed in 9 A. H. on
the occasion of the visit of the deputation from the Christians
of Najran.
The third discourse (vv. 64-120) appears to have been
revealed immediately after the first one.
The fourth discourse (vv. 121-200) was revealed after the
Battle of Uhd.
Subject
Though these discourses were revealed at different periods
and on different occasions, they are so inter-linked and so
inter-connected iii regard to their aim, object and central
theme that they make together one continuous whole. This Surah
has been especially addressed to two groups-the people of the
Book (the Jews and the Christians) and the followers of Muhammad
(Allah's peace be upon him).
The message has been extended to the Jews and the Christians
in continuation of the invitation in Al-Baqarah, in which they
have been admonished for their erroneous beliefs and evil morals
and advised to accept, as a remedy, the Truth of the Quran. They
have been told here that Muhammad (Allah's peace be, upon him)
taught the same right way of life that had been preached by
their own Prophets; that it alone was the Right Way, the way of
Allah; hence any deviation from it will be wrong even according
to their own Scriptures.
The second group, the Muslims, who had been declared to be
the best Community in Al-Baqarah and appointed torch-bearers of
the Truth and entrusted with the responsibility of reforming the
world, have been given additional instructions in continuation
of those given in the preceding Surah. The Muslims have been
warned to learn a lesson from the religious and moral
degeneration of the former communities and to refrain from
treading in their footsteps. Instructions have also been given
about the reformative work they had to perform. Besides this,
they have been taught how to deal with the people of the Book
and the hypocrites who were putting different kinds of
hindrances in the way of Allah. Above all, they have been warned
to guard against those weaknesses which had come to the surface
in the Battle Uhd.
Background
The following is the background of the Surah:
- The Believers had met with all sorts of trials and
hardships about which they had been forewarned in Al- Baqarah.
Though they had come out victorious in the Battle of Badr,
they were not out of danger yet. Their victory had aroused the
enmity of all those powers in Arabia which were opposed to the
Islamic Movement. Signs of threatening storms had begun to
appear on all sides and the Muslims were in a perpetual state
of fear and anxiety. It looked as if the whole Arabian world
around the tiny state of Al- Madinah -- which was no more than
a village state at that time -- was bent upon blotting out its
very existence. This state of war was also adversely affecting
its economy, which had already been badly disturbed by the
influx of the Muslim refugees from Makkah.
- Then there was the disturbing problem of the Jewish clans
who lived in the suburbs of Al-Madinah. They were discarding
the treaties of alliance they had made with the Holy Prophet
after his migration from Makkah. So much so that on the
occasion of the Battle of Badr, these people of the Book
sympathized with the evil aims of the idolaters, in spite of
the fact that their fundamental articles of the Faith --
Oneness of Allah, Prophethood, Life-after- death -- were the
same as those of the Muslims. After the Battle of Badr, they
openly began to incite the Quraish and other Arab clans to
wreak their vengeance on the Muslims. Thus those Jewish clans
set aside their centuries-old friendly and neighborly
relations with the people of Al-Madinah. At last when their
mischievous actions and breaches of treaties became
unbearable, the Holy Prophet attacked the Bani- Qainu-qa'a,
the most mischievous of all the other Jewish clans who had
conspired with the hypocrites of Al-Madinah and the idolatrous
Arab clans to encircle the Believers on all sides. The
magnitude of the peril might be judged from the fact that even
the life of the Holy Prophet himself was always in danger.
Therefore his Companions slept in their armors during that
period and kept watch at night to guard against any sudden
attack, and whenever the Holy Prophet happened to be out of
sight even for a short while, they would at once set out in
search of him.
- This incitement by the Jews added fuel to the fire which
was burning in the hearts of the Quraish and they began to
make preparations to avenge the defeat they had suffered at
Bad. A year after this an army of 3,000 strong marched out of
Makkah to invade Al-Madinah and a battle took place at the
foot of Mount Uhd. The Holy Prophet came out of Al-Madinah
with one thousand men to meet the enemy. While they were
marching to the battle-field, three hundred hypocrites
deserted the army and returned to Al- Madinah, but there still
remained a small band of hypocrites among the seven hundred
who accompanied the Holy Prophet. They played their part and
did their worst to create mischief and chaos in the ranks of
the Believers during the Battle. This was the first clear
indication of the fact that within the fold of the Muslim
Community there was quite a large number of saboteurs who were
always ready to conspire with the external enemies to harm
their own brethren.
- Though the devices of the hypocrites had played a great
part in the set-back at Uhd, the weaknesses of the Muslims
themselves contributed no less to it. And it was but natural
that the Muslims should show signs of moral weakness for they
were a new community which had only recently been formed on a
new ideology and had not as yet got a thorough moral training.
Naturally in this second hard test of their physical and moral
strength, some weaknesses came to the surface. That is why a
detailed review of the Battle of Uhd was needed to warn the
Muslims of their shortcomings and to issue instructions for
their reform. It should also be noted that this review of the
Battle is quite different from the reviews that are usually
made by generals on similar occasions.
Subject: Guidance
This Surah is the sequel to, Al-Baqarah and the invitation
therein is continued to the people of the Book. In Al- Baqarah
the Jews were pointedly invited to accept the Guidance and in
this Surah the Christians have particularly been admonished to
give up their erroneous beliefs and accept the Guidance of the
Quran. At the same time, the Muslims have been instructed to
nourish the virtues that may enable them to carry out their
obligations and spread the Divine Guidance.
Topics and their Interconnection
In these introductory verses, the fundamental truths about
Allah, Revelation and Life-after-death have been reiterated to
serve as fitting preliminaries, leading to the main topics
discussed in the Surah. 1 - 32
This discourse is particularly addressed to the Christians
and invites them to accept Islam. It clears Jesus and his mother
not only from the stigma maliciously set upon them by the Jews,
but also refutes the erroneous Christian creed of the Divinity
of Jesus which had been formulated because of his miraculous
birth. For this purpose the instances of John the Baptist to a
barren woman and an extremely aged man and that of Adam without
father and mother have been cited to show that there is nothing
in the birth of Jesus without a father to entitle him to
Divinity. 33 - 65
In these verses the people of the Book, the Jews, have been
invited to give up their sinister ways and accept the divine
Guidance. At the same time the Muslims have been warned to be on
their guard against their malicious intentions, erroneous ways
and absurd objections. 66 - 101
The Muslims have been instructed to learn lessons from the
history of the people of the Book and also to guard themselves
against their machinations, and to prepare and train themselves
to establish virtue and eradicate evil. 102 - 120
In this portion, a review of the Battle of Uhd has been mad
to teach and reassure the Muslims that the machinations of their
enemies could do them no harm, if they would practise restraint
and fortitude and have fear of Allah. It has been pointed out
that the set-back they had suffered was due to the lack of some
moral qualities and the existence of some evils. Since the main
cause of the defeat was the greed of the archers, guarding the
pass, the taking of interest has been prohibited to eradicate
this evil. 121 - 175
The main theme of the verses 109 - 120 has been
resumed to reassure and encourage the Muslims against the
dangerous plots of their enemies. 175 - 189
This is the conclusion of the Surah and is not directly
connected with the verses immediately preceding it but with the
theme of the Surah as a whole. 190 - 200