Sūrat Āl ʿImrān
Section 8 of 22 · Surah Studies · Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
The Covenant Taken from the Prophets
Allah (swt) then states one thing here in particular. He mentions that We have taken a covenant with all the prophets — including the prophets of the Banū Isrāʾīl and others — that if…
وَإِذْ أَخَذَ ٱللَّهُ مِيثَـٰقَ ٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ لَمَآ ءَاتَيْتُكُم مِّن كِتَـٰبٍ وَحِكْمَةٍ ثُمَّ جَآءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ مُّصَدِّقٌ لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ لَتُؤْمِنُنَّ بِهِۦ وَلَتَنصُرُنَّهُۥ ۚ قَالَ ءَأَقْرَرْتُمْ وَأَخَذْتُمْ عَلَىٰ ذَٰلِكُمْ إِصْرِى ۖ قَالُوٓا۟ أَقْرَرْنَا ۚ قَالَ فَٱشْهَدُوا۟ وَأَنَا۠ مَعَكُم مِّنَ ٱلشَّـٰهِدِينَ
“When Allah made the prophets enter into a covenant: (saying) “If I give you a book and wisdom, then comes to you a messenger verifying what is with you, you shall have to believe in him, and you shall have to support him.” He said, “Do you affirm and accept my covenant in this respect?” They said, “We affirm.” He said, “Then, bear witness, and I am with you among the witnesses.”” (3:81)
This is verse 81, where Allah says that We took a covenant from all the prophets: We have given you a Book, and wisdom, and so forth; if thereafter a messenger comes to you confirming everything that you stand for, then you shall certainly believe in him — you shall bring faith in him, and you shall assist him. That refers to Muhammad (peace be upon him). It was in fact in their books. Every prophet was made to take that covenant, and that is why there are passages in the Testament, the Old Testament and elsewhere, that allude to Muhammad (peace be upon him) — and not only there, but in many other books that claim to be divine. Allah is saying, in effect: if this was the case with your own prophets, why do you not listen?
The Jews, it should be understood, are the earliest of the three. They were meant to move on to the following of ʿĪsā (peace be upon him), but they did not; they stayed where they were, when what was then required was to follow ʿĪsā (peace be upon him). Those who did follow him, alḥamdulillāh. After ʿĪsā (peace be upon him), the religion in its turn became altered and confused, and many problems crept in. So Allah sent Muhammad (peace be upon him), and everyone should then have updated and upgraded to Islam. But they did not. They remained on the earlier versions; they have not upgraded to the latest version, and the earlier versions are no longer supported. Those versions are no longer supported. The latest version is Islam, and it will remain until the Day of Judgement. That is the discussion here.