يٰۤـاَيُّهَا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا لَا تَـتَّخِذُوا الَّذِيۡنَ اتَّخَذُوۡا دِيۡنَكُمۡ هُزُوًا وَّلَعِبًا مِّنَ الَّذِيۡنَ اُوۡتُوا الۡكِتٰبَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِكُمۡ وَالۡـكُفَّارَ اَوۡلِيَآءَ ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللّٰهَ اِنۡ كُنۡتُمۡ مُّؤۡمِنِيۡنَ
وَ اِذَا نَادَيۡتُمۡ اِلَى الصَّلٰوةِ اتَّخَذُوۡهَا هُزُوًا وَّلَعِبًا ؕ ذٰ لِكَ بِاَنَّهُمۡ قَوۡمٌ لَّا يَعۡقِلُوۡنَ
قُلۡ يٰۤـاَهۡلَ الۡـكِتٰبِ هَلۡ تَـنۡقِمُوۡنَ مِنَّاۤ اِلَّاۤ اَنۡ اٰمَنَّا بِاللّٰهِ وَمَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ اِلَـيۡنَا وَمَاۤ اُنۡزِلَ مِنۡ قَبۡلُ ۙ وَاَنَّ اَكۡثَرَكُمۡ فٰسِقُوۡنَ
قُلۡ هَلۡ اُنَـبِّئُكُمۡ بِشَرٍّ مِّنۡ ذٰ لِكَ مَثُوۡبَةً عِنۡدَ اللّٰهِ ؕ مَنۡ لَّعَنَهُ اللّٰهُ وَغَضِبَ عَلَيۡهِ وَجَعَلَ مِنۡهُمُ الۡقِرَدَةَ وَالۡخَـنَازِيۡرَ وَعَبَدَ الطَّاغُوۡتَ ؕ اُولٰٓـئِكَ شَرٌّ مَّكَانًا وَّاَضَلُّ عَنۡ سَوَآءِ السَّبِيۡلِ
Translation
(5:57) Believers! Do not take for your allies those who make a mockery and
sport of your faith, be they those given the Book before you or other unbelievers.
Fear Allah if you indeed believe. (5:58) And when you call for Prayer, they take it for a mockery and sport.89
That is because they are a people who do not understand.90 (5:59) Say to them: 'People of the Book! Do you hate us for anything else
except that we believe in Allah, and in the teaching which has been revealed
to us and in the teaching which was revealed before? Indeed most of you are
transgressors.' (5:60) Then say to them: 'Shall I tell you about those whose retribution
with Allah is even worse? They are the ones whom Allah has cursed, and who incurred
His wrath and some of whom were changed into apes and swine, and who served
the false deities. Such have an even worse rank and have strayed farther away
from the right path.91
Commentary
89. When they hear the call to Prayer the unbelievers make fun of it by mimicry,
pervert its words to ridicule it, and utter disparaging and taunting remarks
about it.
90. These are merely acts of stupidity on the part of unbelievers. Had they
not been ignorant and foolish they would not have stooped to such base tactics,
despite their significant differences with the Muslims on religious questions.
After all, can any reasonable person be happy to see the people who call to
the worship of God be ridiculed and mocked?
91. This alludes to the Jews whose history shows that they were subjected,
over and over again, to the wrath and scourge of God. When they desecrated the
law of the Sabbath the faces of many of them were distorted, and subsequently
their degeneration reached such a low point that they took to worshipping Satan
quite openly. The purpose of saying all this is to draw attention to their criminal
boldness while they had sunk to the lowest level of evil, transgression and
moral decadence, they vigorously opposed all those who, thanks to their faith,
lived a truly pious and righteous life.
↕
