The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 71
PT. 3 ĀL-E-‘IMRĀN "invoke the curse of Allah on those who lie. '350 "62:7, 8. CH. 3 350. Important Words: let us) نبتهل pray fervently) is derived from J4. They say al i. e. he left him to his own will; or he left him to himself; he cursed him. means, he prayed or supplicated humbly and earnestly and fervently, with energy and effort. als means, he cursed him, being also cursed by the latter. also means, the act of invoking God's curse on each other, i. e. on whichever party is the wrongdoer (Aqrab & Lane). our people and your) انفسنا و انفسكم people). The words are the plural of ✓ and mean: (1) our souls and your souls; (2) ourselves and yourselves; (3) our people and your people; (4) our co-religionists and your co- religionists (Lane). See also 2:55 and 3:29. Here, as the context shows, the fully discussed and the members of the deputation were found to be still insisting on their false doctrine, the Holy Prophet, in obedience to the Divine command contained in the present verse, invited them as a last resort to join him in a sort of prayer contest technically known as aloto i. e. invoking the curse of God on the holders of false beliefs. As, however, the Christians did not appear to be sure of their ground, they declined to accept the challenge, thus indirectly admitting the falsity of their doctrine (Zurqānī, Khamīs & Bayān under 3:3). On this occasion, the Holy Prophet brought out ‘Alī, Fāṭimah, Hasan and Ḥusain (Khamis & Zurqānī) as well as Abu Bakr, ‘Umar, 'Uthman and others ('Asākir) in the field and is reported to have said: "If the Christians had accepted the words give the last-mentioned meaning. challenge of als and agreed to pray Commentary: The present discussion on Christian doctrines with which this Surah began has been brought to a close in this verse. The reference, as mentioned above, is to the Christian deputation from Najrān which consisted of sixty persons and was headed by their chief, 'Abdul-Masīḥ, known as Al-'Aqib. They met the Holy Prophet in his Mosque and the discussion on the doctrine of the divinity of Jesus continued at some length. When the question had been 511 to God to send His punishment on the lying party, God would have surely destroyed the liars before a year had passed" (Bukhārī, Muslim & Tirmidhi). It may be noted that the prayer contest known as al is in the nature of seeking God's arbitration in fundamental religious differences. When other methods of settlement fail, the parties approach Almighty God to decide between them according to His eternal scheme of helping the righteous and destroying