وَمِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا نَصَـٰرَىٰٓ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَـٰقَهُمْ فَنَسُوا۟ حَظًّا مِّمَّا ذُكِّرُوا۟ بِهِۦ فَأَغْرَيْنَا بَيْنَهُمُ ٱلْعَدَاوَةَ وَٱلْبَغْضَآءَ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ ۚ وَسَوْفَ يُنَبِّئُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَصْنَعُونَ 14
Translations
And from those who say, "We are Christians" We took their covenant; but they forgot a portion of that of which they were reminded. So We caused among them animosity and hatred until the Day of Resurrection. And Allāh is going to inform them about what they used to do.
Transliteration
Wa-mina alladhīna qālū innā nāsāra akhadhna mīthāqahum fa-nasū hazzān mimmā dhukkirū bihi fa-aghraylna baynahumul-'adāwata wal-baghdhā'a ilā yawmi al-qiyāmati wa-sawfa yunabbī'uhumu Allāhu bimā kānū yasna'ūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah addresses the Christians (Nasara) who were given a covenant to follow the teachings revealed to them, yet they neglected and forgot portions of what they were reminded of, particularly regarding the message of the final Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. As a consequence of their abandonment of the covenant, Allah caused enmity and hatred to arise among them until the Day of Judgment, and He will inform them of their deeds. Classical scholars like Al-Tabari and Ibn Kathir emphasize that this division among Christians resulted from their rejection of divine guidance and distortion of their original scripture.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah Al-Ma'idah (5), a Medinan chapter revealed in the later period of the Prophet's life when interactions with Christian communities were more prevalent. The context of verses 5:12-18 deals with the covenants made with the Children of Israel and Christians, and their subsequent violations and departures from divine truth. This particular ayah references the fractured state of Christian communities and their internal theological disputes.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet ﷺ said: 'My ummah will split into seventy-three sects, all of them in the Fire except one' (Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2641). This relates thematically to how divisions arise when people abandon divine guidance, similar to the Christian communities mentioned in this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
When communities neglect the teachings and reminders they have been given, internal division and enmity naturally follow as a consequence of their own choices. This serves as a warning for Muslims to vigilantly guard the Quran and Sunnah, maintain unity on the basis of authentic Islamic principles, and avoid the fate of previous communities who abandoned their covenant with Allah.
Related Ayahs
وَقَالَتِ ٱلْيَهُودُ وَٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰ نَحْنُ أَبْنَـٰٓؤُا۟ ٱللَّهِ وَأَحِبَّـٰٓؤُهُۥ ۚ قُلْ فَلِمَ يُعَذِّبُكُم بِذُنُوبِكُم ۖ بَلْ أَنتُم بَشَرٌ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقَ ۚ يَغْفِرُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَلِلَّهِ مُلْكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ وَمَا بَيْنَهُمَا ۖ وَإِلَيْهِ ٱلْمَصِيرُ
But the Jews and the Christians say, "We are the children of Allāh and His beloved." Say, "Then why does He punish you for your sins?" Rather, you are human beings from among those He has created. He forgives whom He wills, and He punishes whom He wills. And to Allāh belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, and to Him is the [final] destination.
قَالَ ٱللَّهُ هَـٰذَا يَوْمُ يَنفَعُ ٱلصَّـٰدِقِينَ صِدْقُهُمْ ۚ لَهُمْ جَنَّـٰتٌ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَآ أَبَدًا ۚ رَّضِىَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا۟ عَنْهُ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْفَوْزُ ٱلْعَظِيمُ
Allāh will say, "This is the Day when the truthful will benefit from their truthfulness." For them are gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever, Allāh being pleased with them, and they with Him. That is the great attainment.
مَا جَعَلَ ٱللَّهُ مِنۢ بَحِيرَةٍ وَلَا سَآئِبَةٍ وَلَا وَصِيلَةٍ وَلَا حَامٍ ۙ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ يَفْتَرُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ ۖ وَأَكْثَرُهُمْ لَا يَعْقِلُونَ
Allāh has not appointed [such innovations as] baḥīrah or sā’ibah or waṣīlah or ḥām. But those who disbelieve invent falsehood about Allāh, and most of them do not reason.
قُلْ يَـٰٓأَهْلَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لَا تَغْلُوا۟ فِى دِينِكُمْ غَيْرَ ٱلْحَقِّ وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوٓا۟ أَهْوَآءَ قَوْمٍ قَدْ ضَلُّوا۟ مِن قَبْلُ وَأَضَلُّوا۟ كَثِيرًا وَضَلُّوا۟ عَن سَوَآءِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ
Say, "O People of the Scripture, do not exceed limits in your religion beyond the truth and do not follow the inclinations of a people who had gone astray before and misled many and have strayed from the soundness of the way."