Website: www.aaiil.uk

The “People of the Book” destined to accept the truth despite opposition

Friday Khutba by Dr Zahid Aziz, for Lahore Ahmadiyya UK, 19 June 2026

“And among the People of the Book are those who believe in Allah and (in) what has been revealed to you (O Muslims) and (in) what has been revealed to them, humbling themselves before Allah — they do not take a small price for the messages of Allah. These it is that have their reward with their Lord. Surely Allah is Swift to take account!” — ch. 3, Āl ‘Imrān, v. 199

وَ اِنَّ مِنۡ اَہۡلِ الۡکِتٰبِ لَمَنۡ یُّؤۡمِنُ بِاللّٰہِ وَ مَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ اِلَیۡکُمۡ وَ مَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ اِلَیۡہِمۡ خٰشِعِیۡنَ لِلّٰہِ ۙ لَا یَشۡتَرُوۡنَ بِاٰیٰتِ اللّٰہِ ثَمَنًا قَلِیۡلًا ؕ اُولٰٓئِکَ لَہُمۡ اَجۡرُہُمۡ عِنۡدَ رَبِّہِمۡ ؕ اِنَّ اللّٰہَ سَرِیۡعُ الۡحِسَابِ ﴿۱۹۹﴾

This verse is the last but one in chapter 3 of the Holy Quran. It is generally taken to be referring only to those from among the Jews and Christians — who are called in the Quran as the People of the Book — that had accepted Islam during the life of the Holy Prophet Muhammad. It is surprising though that they are still called in this verse as being from among the People of the Book, even though by becoming Muslims they are no longer in the category which the Quran calls as “the People of the Book”. To explain this, we may say that this verse may mean that there are persons among Jews and Christians who are inwardly and in their hearts Muslims, while still belonging to their own religions. There have been such persons in Western countries who, due to their circumstances and society, had difficulty in openly declaring their faith in Islam, but they believed in its truth and even acted upon its teachings as far as their environment allowed. One such man was Lord Stanley of Alderley, in the county of Cheshire here in the UK, who passed away in 1903 during the life of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. At his death, Maulana Muhammad Ali wrote:

“That the late Henry Edward John Stanley, third Baron Stanley of Alderley, was a sincere and devout Muslim, was known to very few men. Readers of the Safwat-ul-Itbar (Travels of Sheikh Muhammad Bairam Fifth of Tunis), however, knew very well that Lord Stanley had long been a sincere believer in the principles of Islam. But his faith was not limited to a profession by word of mouth. The author of the Safwat-ul-Itbar relates incidents which show how deeply Islam had entered into his heart. He found him not only regular in the five daily prayers, but also constant at tahajjud (the midnight prayers); and what is still more wonderful, he found him very humble in his prayers, and far above most born Muslims. When he talked of the Holy Prophet, it was with profound love and deep respect that he mentioned or named him. … Who could imagine that such a sincere and devout worshipper of the true God was living in the heart of Christendom?” (The Review of Religions, February 1904)

This Lord Stanley was considered as a part of the Christian community. In fact, at his death it was revealed in the British press how much he had financially supported churches in need of restoration and provided monetary help for the relief of poor Christian clergymen and vicars. This was acknowledged in his death news in The Times, and in a letter to The Times a Christian vicar wrote in some detail about how Lord Stanley had helped him and the churches in his area. He ended his letter as follows:

“He would never allow me to make any public acknowledgment of his liberality during his lifetime. … I feel certain that many of the Welsh clergy besides myself will greatly deplore the loss of such a friend” (The Times, 19 Dec. 1903, p. 13).

 Another interpretation of this verse is that when it says that “And among the People of the Book are those who believe in Allah and (in) what has been revealed to you and (in) what has been revealed to them …”, it means not people who actually and knowingly accept Islam, but those Jews and Christians who accept some of the principles taught by Islam without knowing that Islam teaches those principles. They accept them through logic and knowledge, or because Islam’s teachings appeal to the human mind, heart and sense of natural justice. This interpretation is supported by some earlier verses in this chapter 3. After condemning the wrongs of the People of the Book, it says:

“They are not all alike. Of the People of the Book some are upright — they recite Allah’s messages in the night-time and they adore (Him). They believe in Allah and the Last Day, and they enjoin good and forbid evil and hasten in (doing) good deeds. And those are among the .righteous. And whatever good they do, they will not be denied it. And Allah knows those who keep their duty.” (3:113–115)

It is obvious that this is not a description of those Jews and Christians who had embraced Islam. The opening words “they are not all alike” clearly show that it is a description of those who were still Jews and Christians. Also, these simple words reject any idea of prejudice against a community. When you are prejudiced against a community as a whole and you bear malice against it, you say: They are all the same, they are all bad. Similarly, the words near the end, “whatever good they do, they will not be denied it” can only be about those people who are not Muslims. The question only arises in the case of non-Muslims, as to whether Allah will accept their good deeds or reject their good deeds because they are not Muslims. All the good points listed here are possible for the “People of the Book” to do while still following their own religions. Reciting Allah’s messages here does not mean reading the Quran but receiving inspiration from their own scriptures that are recognised by Islam as having been revealed by God. They can adore God, and passages enabling them to adore God can be found readily in their own scriptures. They can believe in God and the Last Day in accordance with their own scriptures. They know what good and evil are, and it is very similar to the concepts of good and evil as held by Muslims.

The opening of the verse I recited at the beginning, “And among the People of the Book are those who believe in Allah and (in) what has been revealed to you (O Muslims) and (in) what has been revealed to them”, may also indicate that the believers in the earlier books of God, before the Quran came, can be led to find the truth of Islam if they sincerely and truly follow their own books. This verse says about them: “they do not take a small price for the messages of Allah”. Just as few verses earlier the Quran says about their religious leaders:

“And when Allah took a covenant from those who were given the Book: You shall explain it to people and shall not hide it. But they threw it behind their backs and took a small price for it. And evil is what they buy.” (3:187)

What is this “small price for the messages of Allah” which the bad ones took but the good ones did not take? It means to put your worldly interests and desires, and your petty national prejudices, before your duty to follow and teach the truth and to be sincere, fair and just. When Allah sent His books through His prophets, He directed their followers to hold on firmly to those books, and as stated here, to teach the books to their people with explanation. But the religious leaders found it in their interests to hide what the book taught and to neglect it. They made religion into a money-making business or a platform for getting power over people or gaining popularity and acclaim among the ignorant. It was not only the Quran which condemned this but various prophets of the Bible had themselves already condemned the religious leaders of their own people for doing this. Jesus said to the Jewish religious leaders of his time:

“you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition” (Matthew, 15:6)

and:

“You have let go of the commands of God and are holding on to human traditions … you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like that. (Mark 7:8, 13)

If we notice carefully, this hiding of the Book of God, throwing it behind your back and taking a small price for it, as mentioned in the Quran, and the nullifying of the word of God for the sake of holding on to human traditions, as mentioned by Jesus, is exactly what the religious leadership of the Muslims has been doing for centuries. So the Quran, by mentioning the corruption of the religious leaders of the People of the Book, has warned that the same would take place among the Muslims.

Turning back to the verse I recited at the beginning, “And among the People of the Book are those who believe in Allah and (in) what has been revealed to you (O Muslims) and (in) what has been revealed to them, humbling themselves before Allah …” (3:199), Maulana Muhammad Ali writes in his Urdu commentary of the Quran that this verse contains also a prophecy that in the distant future many Christians in powerful and dominant Western countries will accept Islam. He points to two earlier verses in support of this conclusion. Three verses before this verse the Quran says to the Holy Prophet:

“Do not let control in the land, of those who disbelieve, deceive you.” (3:196)

This statement, the Maulana writes, points to the time when nations of Christian origin and affiliation will have power and rule all over the world, including over the Muslim world, thus creating the misimpression even among Muslims that Islam has reached failure and defeat in the world. But at that very time, many people from among those nations ruling the world will become true Muslims. The other earlier verse he points to addresses Muslims as follows:

“You will certainly be tried in your property and your persons. And you will certainly hear from those who have been given the Book before you and from the idolaters much abuse. And if you are patient and keep your duty, surely this is an affair of great resolution.” (3:186)

This, says Maulana Muhammad Ali, refers to the later history of the Muslims, when they lost their countries, rule, independence and wars. This was their suffering in terms of their properties and lives. Also, at the same time, they faced campaigns of bitter criticism and attacks upon Islam itself, especially from the People of the Book, with abusive literature against Islam and the Holy Prophet, containing the most vile allegations, being spread all over the world. This verse, after telling Muslims of their sufferings at the hands of their opponents, prescribes the solution which is that Muslims must remain patient in distress. They must not react or hit out in rash, ill thought out and emotional ways, but instead resolve firmly to remain patient in presenting the true message of their religion. It will be because of receiving that message, that the People of the Book will come to believe in Allah and in the Quran.

Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad founded the Ahmadiyya Movement to take the message of Islam to the ruling and powerful nations of Christian origin in a reasoned and peaceful way, without fighting them physically to gain any worldly victory. The Lahore Ahmadiyya elders then carried forward his mission and presented a picture of Islam to attract the human mind and heart of the modern world. May Allah make that mission successful, ameen.

Website: www.aaiil.uk