Al-Mā’idah 5:14
The verse
And with those who say: "Lo! we are Christians," We made a covenant, but they forgot a part of that whereof they were admonished. Therefor We have stirred up enmity and hatred among them till the Day of Resurrection, when Allah will inform them of their handiwork. — Marmaduke Pickthall
The issue
This verse tells us that Allah mandated that Christians enter into a covenant with
him. Al-Rāzī clarifies that this covenant was the belief in Muhammad; however, when
Christians broke the covenant, Allah declared, “...we excited amongst them enmity and
hatred till the resurrection day [Day of Judgment].”
As documented in the Islāmic commentaries, this part of this verse—“we excited
amongst them enmity and hatred”—means “agitated them.” Scholars have also said that this declaration means, “We adhered to them (enmity)” or “We adhered to them
animosity and hatred.”
The verse clearly states that Allah created animosity and hatred among Christians,
but the commentators are divided as to whether the animosity is between Jews and
Christians or among the Christians themselves.
Question: Is it appropriate to portray Allah as the “creator of animosity” among people?
Arabic text of this item
تذكر الآية أن الله أخذ ميثاقاً من المسيحيين. ويوضح الرازي أن الميثاق هو الإيمان بمحمد، فعندما أخلوا بالميثاق، أوقع الله: <بَيْنَهُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاء إِلَى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ>.
وجاء في التفاسير:
<فَأَغْرَيْنَا بَيْنَهُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَالْبَغْضَاء>: أي: «هيَّجنا وقيل ألصَقْنا بهم»، وقيل: «ألصقنا الْعَدَاوَة وَالْبَغْضَاء».
تصرح الآية، بشكل لا لبس فيه، أن الله أوجد العداوة والبغضاء بين المسيحيين، ولكن المفسرين منقسمون حول ما إذا كانت العداوة قد وقعت بين اليهود والمسيحيين أو بين المسيحيين فيما بينهم.
والسؤال: هل من اللائق تصوير الله كـ-(خالقَ العداوة بين الناس)؟
Sources cited
- الرازى 11: 194.
- القرطبي 7: 384.
- الزمخشري 2: 217، الرازي 11: 193.