The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 85
PT. 3 ĀL-E-‘IMRĀN 'We agree;' He said, 'Then bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses. '370 370. Important Words: (covenant from the people through the Prophets) literally means, Covenant of the Prophets. According to Arabic usage, the expression lit. Allah took the covenant) ميثاق النبيين a of the Prophets) may refer either to a covenant which the Prophets of God entered into with Him, or to covenant which God took from the people through their Prophets. In this verse, the words are used in the latter sense, which is supported by another reading of as reported by Ubayy bin Ka'b and ‘Abdullāh bin ,meaning ميثاق الذين أوتوا الكتاب. Masud, i. e the covenant of those who were given the Book (Muḥīt). This rendering is supported by the words that follow, i. e. and then there comes to you a Messenger fulfilling what is with you, because it was to the people and not to their Prophets that the Messenger of God came. The meaning given above gains further support from the fact that as other Prophets were dead at the time of the Holy Prophet, they could naturally render him no help and there was thus no sense in taking any covenant from them to this effect. Commentary: This verse is considered to apply to other Prophets in general and to the Holy Prophet in particular. Both applications are correct. The verse lays down a general rule. The advent of every Prophet takes place in 525 CH. 3 fulfilment of certain prophecies made by a previous Prophet in which he enjoins his followers to accept the next Prophet when he makes his appearance. If the Prophet comes in fulfilment of the prophecies con- tained in the scriptures of one people only, as was the case with Jesus and other Israelite Prophets, then only that people are bound to accept and help him; but if the scriptures of all religions predict the coming of a Prophet, as in the case of the Holy Prophet, then all nations are bound to accept him. The Holy Prophet appeared in fulfilment of the prophecies not only of the Israelite Prophets (Isa. 21:13- 15. Deut. 18:18; 33:2. John 14:25, 26; 16:7-13) but also of the Aryan seers and Buddhist and Zoroastrian sages. We have the following prophecy in Dasātīr, the sacred Scripture of the Parsis: "When the people of Iran will begin to do such, (i. e. evil) deeds, there shall appear from among the Arabs a man whose followers shall abolish the crown, the throne, the kingdom, and the religion of Iran. The headstrong shall become humble and a house without idols shall take the place of idol-houses and fire- temples, and to it shall they turn their faces in worship" (Safrang Dasātīr, p. 188, Sirājī Press, Delhi). The words are too clear to need comment. A similar prophecy is found in Jāmāspī,