Muhammad and The Jews — Page 118
with grief, and to enter the mosque (The Temple) as they entered it the first time, and to destroy all they conquered with their destruction. 8. It may be that your Lord will now have mercy on you; but if you return (to your previous state), We too will return, and We have made hell a prison for the disbelievers. 9. Surely, this Qur 0 an guides to what is most right; and gives to the believers who do good deeds the glad tiqings that they shall have a great reward. 10. And that for those who do not believe in what is to come later we have prepared a grievous punishment. 11. And man asks for evil as he should ask for good; and man is hasty. In these verses of the Bani Jsrff'il the use of the personal pronoun in the second person is highly significant. Lammens after an examina- tion of early sources has rightly pointed out that there were no Jews in Meccal, and there is general consensus that the verses are definitely Meccan. 2 These verses do not point towards an Apostle looking forward to be accepted by the Jews. They also do not indicate an active controversy between the Apostle and the Jews. It is a general statement without polemics. A later verse on the subject is clear. And we prepared for the children of Israel a blessed abode, and We provided them with all manner of good things. They differed not in anything till true knowledge came to them. Surely thy Lord will judge between them on the day of Judgment concerning that in which they differed. (Yiinus, 93). Muir, Noldeke and Grimme3 are in agreement with Zamakhshari 4 , and al-Bayc;Iawi 5 that it is a Meccan sftrah. Wherry calls it "undoubtedly of Meccan origin"6 and goes on to say that "the know- ledge intended here is that of the Qur. ,an, and the allusion is to the rejection of Mul)ammad by the Jews". 7 1 Supra, Chapter I. $ahi(1 al-Bukhari, Kitlib al-Tafsir, Vol. II, p. 103 (lbn Mas""iid's report that Bani Isra 0 il, Al-Ka/if and Maryam belong to early Meccan period). Zamakhshari, Vol. II, p. 436. Bay<;liiwi, Vol. II, p. 532. lbn Kathir, Vol. VI, p. 49. Wherry, Vol. III, pp. 52-53. Richard Bell, Introduction to the Qur 0 an (Edinburgh, 1970) p. 207. 3 See Bell, p. 207. ~ Zamakhshari, Vol. II, p. 225. Al-Bay<;Iawi, Vol. I, p. 407. 6 Wherry, p. ~321. 7 Ibid. , p. 338.