Surah 10. Yunus, Ayah 94

I.e. the Jews and the Christians. The "reading" is here a metonym for belief, namely, in the Bible, which - notwithstanding the fact that its text has been corrupted in the course of time - still contains clear references to the advent of the Prophet Muhammad and thus, by implication, to the truth of the divine message revealed through him. In its wider sense, the above verse alludes to the unbroken continuity of man's religious experience and to the fact, frequently stressed in the Qur'an, that every one of God's apostles preached one and the same basic truth. (See in this connection the second paragraph of 5:48 and the corresponding notes [66] and [67].)

Some of the commentators assume that verses {94} and {95} are addressed to the Prophet Muhammad - an assumption which is highly implausible in view of the admonition (in verse {95}), "Be not among those who are bent on giving the lie to God's messages": for it is obvious that God's chosen Prophet was never in danger of falling into such a sin. Consequently, Razi interprets these two verses as being addressed to man in general, and explains the reference to "what We have bestowed upon thee from on high" in the sense given in my rendering. This interpretation makes it clear, moreover, that the above passage is closely connected with verses {57-58}, which speak of the guidance vouchsafed to mankind through the ultimate divine writ, the Qur'an.

Allah's Truth is all one, and even in different forms men sincere in Religion recognise the oneness. So sincere Jews like 'Abdullah ibn Salam, and sincere Christians like Waraqa or the Nestorian monk Bahira, were ready to recognise the mission of Muhammad Al-Mustafa. "The Book" in this connection is Revelation generally, including pre-Islamic revelations.

Cf. iii. 60 and n. 399.