وَ اِذْ And when اَخَذَ took اللّٰهُ Allah مِیْثَاقَ covenant النَّبِیّٖنَ (of) the Prophets لَمَاۤ Certainly, whatever اٰتَیْتُكُمْ I (have) given you مِّنْ of كِتٰبٍ (the) Book وَّ حِكْمَةٍ and wisdom ثُمَّ then جَآءَكُمْ comes to you رَسُوْلٌ a Messenger مُّصَدِّقٌ confirming لِّمَا that which مَعَكُمْ (is) with you لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ you must believe بِهٖ in him وَ لَتَنْصُرُنَّهٗ ؕ and you must help him قَالَ He said ءَاَقْرَرْتُمْ Do you affirm وَ اَخَذْتُمْ and take عَلٰی on ذٰلِكُمْ that (condition) اِصْرِیْ ؕ My Covenant قَالُوْۤا They said اَقْرَرْنَا ؕ We affirm قَالَ He said فَاشْهَدُوْا Then bear witness وَ اَنَا and I (am) مَعَكُمْ with you مِّنَ among الشّٰهِدِیْنَ the witnesses فَمَنْ Then whoever تَوَلّٰی turns away بَعْدَ after ذٰلِكَ that فَاُولٰٓىِٕكَ then those هُمُ they الْفٰسِقُوْنَ (are) the defiantly disobedient اَفَغَیْرَ So is (it) other than دِیْنِ (the) religion اللّٰهِ (of) Allah یَبْغُوْنَ they seek وَ لَهٗۤ While to Him اَسْلَمَ (have) submitted مَنْ whatever فِی (is) in السَّمٰوٰتِ the heavens وَ الْاَرْضِ and the earth طَوْعًا willingly وَّ كَرْهًا or unwillingly وَّ اِلَیْهِ and towards Him یُرْجَعُوْنَ they will be returned 3. Ali 'Imran Page 61 قُلْ Say اٰمَنَّا We believed بِاللّٰهِ in Allah وَ مَاۤ and what اُنْزِلَ (is) revealed عَلَیْنَا on us وَ مَاۤ and what اُنْزِلَ was revealed عَلٰۤی on اِبْرٰهِیْمَ Ibrahim وَ اِسْمٰعِیْلَ and Ismail وَ اِسْحٰقَ and Ishaq وَ یَعْقُوْبَ and Yaqub وَ الْاَسْبَاطِ and the descendents وَ مَاۤ and what اُوْتِیَ was given مُوْسٰی (to) Musa وَ عِیْسٰی and Isa وَ النَّبِیُّوْنَ and the Prophets مِنْ from رَّبِّهِمْ ۪ their Lord لَا Not نُفَرِّقُ we make distinction بَیْنَ between اَحَدٍ any مِّنْهُمْ ؗ of them وَ نَحْنُ and we لَهٗ to Him مُسْلِمُوْنَ (are) submissive وَ مَنْ And whoever یَّبْتَغِ seeks غَیْرَ other than الْاِسْلَامِ [the] Islam دِیْنًا (as) religion فَلَنْ then never یُّقْبَلَ will be accepted مِنْهُ ۚ from him وَ هُوَ and he فِی in الْاٰخِرَةِ the Hereafter مِنَ (will be) from الْخٰسِرِیْنَ the losers كَیْفَ How یَهْدِی (shall) guide اللّٰهُ Allah قَوْمًا a people كَفَرُوْا (who) disbelieved بَعْدَ after اِیْمَانِهِمْ their belief وَ شَهِدُوْۤا and (had) witnessed اَنَّ that الرَّسُوْلَ the Messenger حَقٌّ (is) true وَّ جَآءَهُمُ and came to them الْبَیِّنٰتُ ؕ the clear proofs وَ اللّٰهُ And Allah لَا (does) not یَهْدِی guide الْقَوْمَ the people الظّٰلِمِیْنَ [the] wrongdoers اُولٰٓىِٕكَ Those جَزَآؤُهُمْ their recompense اَنَّ that عَلَیْهِمْ on them لَعْنَةَ (is the) curse اللّٰهِ (of) Allah وَ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةِ and the Angels وَ النَّاسِ and the people اَجْمَعِیْنَۙ all together خٰلِدِیْنَ (They will) abide forever فِیْهَا ۚ in it لَا Not یُخَفَّفُ will be lightened عَنْهُمُ for them الْعَذَابُ the punishment وَ لَا and not هُمْ they یُنْظَرُوْنَۙ will be reprieved اِلَّا Except الَّذِیْنَ those who تَابُوْا repent مِنْۢ from بَعْدِ after ذٰلِكَ that وَ اَصْلَحُوْا ۫ and reform[ed] themselves فَاِنَّ Then indeed اللّٰهَ Allah غَفُوْرٌ (is) Oft-Forgiving رَّحِیْمٌ Most Merciful اِنَّ Indeed الَّذِیْنَ those who كَفَرُوْا disbelieved بَعْدَ after اِیْمَانِهِمْ their belief ثُمَّ then ازْدَادُوْا they increased كُفْرًا (in) disbelief لَّنْ never تُقْبَلَ will be accepted تَوْبَتُهُمْ ۚ their repentance وَ اُولٰٓىِٕكَ and those هُمُ they الضَّآلُّوْنَ (are) those who have gone astray اِنَّ Indeed الَّذِیْنَ those who كَفَرُوْا disbelieve[d] وَ مَاتُوْا and died وَ هُمْ while they كُفَّارٌ (are) disbelievers فَلَنْ then never یُّقْبَلَ will be accepted مِنْ from اَحَدِهِمْ any one of them مِّلْءُ full الْاَرْضِ earth ذَهَبًا (of) gold وَّ لَوِ [and] (even) if افْتَدٰی he offered as ransom بِهٖ ؕ it اُولٰٓىِٕكَ Those لَهُمْ for them عَذَابٌ (is) a punishment اَلِیْمٌ painful وَّ مَا and not لَهُمْ (will be) for them مِّنْ from نّٰصِرِیْنَ۠ any helpers
(3:81) And recall when Allah took a covenant from the Prophets: 'This is the Book and the Wisdom which I have given you. But should a Prophet come to you confirming that which is already with you, you shall believe in him and shall help him.69 So saying, Allah asked: 'Do you agree and accept to take up the burden of the covenant?' They answered: 'We agree,' He said: 'Then bear wirness; and I will be with you among the witness.
(3:82) Then whosoever shall turn away from this covenant they are the transgressors.70
(3:83) Do they now seek a religion other than prescribed by Allah even though all that is in the heavens and the earth is in submission to Him71 - willing or unwillingly - and to Him all shall return?
(3:84) Say: 'We believe in Allah and what was revealed to us and what was revealed to Abraham and Ishmael and to Issac and Jacob and his descendents, and the teachings which Allah gave to Moses and Jesus and to other Prophets. We make no distinction between any of them72 and to Him do we submit.
(3:85) And whoever seeks a way other than this way a submission (Islam), will find that it will not be accepted from him and in the Life to come he will be among the losers.
(3:86) How can Allah guide people who once believed, after they received clear signs and affirmed that the Messenger was a true one, lapsed into disbelief.73 Allah does not guide the wrong-doers.
(3:87) The recom- pense for their wrong-doing is that the curse of Allah and of the angels and of all men shall upon them.
(3:88) Thus shall they abide. Neither shall their chastisement be granted nor shall they be granted any respite.
(3:89) But those who repent and mend their ways shall be excepted for indeed Allah is Forgiving, All-Compassionate.
(3:90) Those who relieved and have har-dened in their disbelief after once believing,74 their (pretence to) repentance shall not be accepted. Indeed such men have altogether strayed.
(3:91) Truly those who disbelieved and died as unbelievers, not even an earth full of gold will be accepted from them as ransom. For such people there is painful chastisement; and none shall come to their help.
69. A party of the People of the Book would fain lead you astray, whereas in truth they lead none astray except themselves, but they do not realize it.
70. People of the Book! Why do you reject the signs of Allah even though you yourselves witness them?60
71. The basic principle characterizing the universe, in other words the religion of the universe and of every part of it, is Islam; insofar as the universe is in a state of total obedience and service to the Will of God. Here people are asked if they would follow a way of life different from Islam though they are part of the universe which is characterized by submission to God (islam).
72. They are told that it is not the habit of Muslims either to believe in Prophets and disbelieve in others or to affirm to the truth of some call others false. Muslims are free from narrow prejudices and chauvinistic loyalties. The true attitude of Muslims is to bear witness to truth of every Messenger of God, irrespective of where and when he appears.
73. This is a repetition of the statement made earlier, namely that the Jewish rabbis of Arabia in the time of the Prophet (peace be on him) knew, and sometimes even testified to verbally, that Muhammad was a true Prophet and that his teachings were the same as those of the earlier Prophets. (See for instance Qur'an 2: 89 - Ed.) Their subsequent attitude - namely that of rejection and opposition - was the outcome of prejudice and intransigence, born out of their centuries-old hostility to the Truth.
74. They were not content with just rejecting the call to the Truth but stood in vehement opposition and hostility to it and spared no efforts in obstructing people from following the way of God. They created doubts, spread misgivings, sowed the seeds of distrust and engaged in the worst conspiracies and machinations in order to frustrate the mission of the Prophet (peace be on him).