which was revealed before me, and to allow unto you
as lawful, part of that which hath been forbidden
you:[52] and I come unto you with a sign from your
Lord; therefore fear God, and obey me. Verily
God is my Lord, and your Lord: therefore serve
him. This is the right way. But when Jesus
perceived their unbelief, he said, Who will be my
helpers towards God? The apostles[53] answered,
We will be the helpers of God; we believe in God,
and do thou bear witness that we are true believers.
O Lord, we believe in that which thou has sent down,
and we have followed thy apostle; write us down therefore
with those who bear witness of him. And the Jews
devised a stratagem against him; but God devised a
stratagem against them; and God is the best deviser
of stratagems. When God said, O Jesus, verily
I will cause thee to die, and I will take thee up
unto me,[54] and I will deliver thee from the unbelievers;
and I will place those who follow thee above the unbelievers,
until the day of resurrection: then unto me shall
ye return, and I will judge between you of that concerning
which ye disagree. Moreover, as for the infidels,
I will punish them with a grievous punishment in this
world, and in that which is to come; and there shall
be none to help them. But they who believe, and
do that which is right, he shall give them their reward;
for God loveth not the wicked doers. These signs
and this prudent admonition do we rehearse unto thee.
Verily the likeness of Jesus in the sight of God is
as the likeness of Adam: he created him out of
the dust, and then said unto him, Be; and he was.
This is the truth from thy Lord; be not therefore
one of those who doubt: and whoever shall dispute
with thee concerning him, after the knowledge which
hath been given thee, say unto them, Come, let us
call together our sons, and your sons, and our wives,
and your wives, and ourselves, and yourselves; then
let us make imprecations, and lay the curse of God
on those who lie. Verily this is a true history:
and there is no God but God; and God is most mighty,
and wise. If they turn back, God well knoweth
the evil-doers. Say, O ye who have received the
scripture, come to a just determination between us
and you; that we worship not any except God, and associate
no creature with him; and that the one of us take
not the other for lords, beside God. But if they
turn back, say, Bear witness that we are true believers.
O ye to whom the scriptures have been given, why do
ye dispute concerning Abraham, since the Law and the
Gospel were not sent down until after him? Do
ye not therefore understand? Behold ye are they
who dispute concerning that which ye have some knowledge
in; why therefore do ye dispute concerning that which
ye have no knowledge of? God knoweth, but ye
know not. Abraham was neither a Jew, nor a Christian;
but he was of the true religion, one resigned unto
God, and was not of the number of the idolaters.
Verily the men who are the nearest of kin unto Abraham,