Ali 'Imran 164: Vow to that; the mu’min have received the great Grace of Allah, who has sent down a Prophet from amongst them, who recites Allah’s verses, who purifies them and who teaches them the Book and the wisdom. But before that, they were clearly in error.

A. Metin Saruhan · 16 February 2022 · Misinterpreted Verses

The misinterpretation

Surely, Allah conferred a great favor on the believers by sending a Prophet from among themselves who recited the verses of Allah to them, purified them (from evil and disbelief) and taught them the Book and wisdom. Whereas before, they were in manifest error.

The right translation

Vow to that; the mu’min have received the great Grace of Allah, who has sent down a Prophet from amongst them, who recites Allah’s verses, who purifies them and who teaches them the Book and the wisdom. But before that, they were clearly in error.

Explanation

This is where this verse goes wrong: Allah has bestowed a great favor on the believers. The truth is: They have received the great favor of Allah.

As we have always said, our Lord has sent the Holy Qur'an as a mercy to the worlds. Whoever takes this Qur'an as a companion and judges by it, they will receive the mercy of our Lord because they fulfill the command of our Lord. Those who turn their backs leave themselves in darkness.

In this case, since our Lord does not discriminate between His servants, and since He sends people into the world to show what kind of a person they are, our Lord has mercy on the believer and does not discriminate other servants from the believer. He has sent His mercy to everyone. But whoever is worthy of this mercy, they will surely benefit from the light of this mercy with the justice of our Lord in degrees.

What is said in the video

164. to the verse, Surah Al Imran, verse 164, on page 70. Truly, by a prophet from among them who recites to them the verses of Allah, who purifies them of evil and disbelief, who teaches them the Book and wisdom – by sending such a prophet Allah has bestowed on the believers a great favour. Whereas before that they were in manifest error. Yes. Verse 164.

Now look, where is the mistake here? Truly, by a prophet from among them who recites the verses of Allah, who of evil and disbelief purifies them, who teaches them the Book and wisdom – by sending such a prophet, those who believed and became believers attained Allah's great favour. So what does it say here?

And who purifies them of disbelief, who teaches them the Book and wisdom – by sending a prophet Allah has bestowed a great favour on the believers, it says. Here it makes a distinction between people. The Muslim is a believer too. Why? You did not put Islam under the attribute of believer either. To the believer, it says, look. Now pay attention to the rendering. Who purifies them of evil and disbelief, who teaches them the Book and wisdom – by sending a prophet – at the beginning it's been rendered strangely. What does it say? Truly, a prophet from among them who recites to them the verses of Allah, who purifies them of evil and disbelief.

Look how well it says it now. This part is right. Who purifies them. And after this it goes astray. By sending a prophet who teaches them the Book and wisdom, Allah has bestowed on the believers a great favour. So now it has made a nice distinction. It has made a distinction between Islam and believer. Or it made a distinction between people, non-Muslims and so on, and brought it to the believers. That's why they say the Qur'an came down to the believers, to the Muslims; that's where it comes from. Whereas before that they were in manifest error. Now we will read the fully correct version of this.

Truly, by a prophet from among them who recites the verses of Allah, who of evil and disbeliefs purifies them, purifies them, who teaches them the Book and wisdom – by sending such a prophet, those who believed and became believers – how beautiful – those who believed and became believers attained Allah's great favour, whereas before that they were not in manifest error. Indeed: before the Prophet no one knew the verses of Allah, but their faith was strong. When Allah Almighty sent them the truth, they at once believed and became believers. Now, is that the same as this? Is the rendered one the same as this?

Yes.