How should this verse from the Koran be viewed?

Question

3:151

We shall cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve, becuase they joined others in worship with Allah, for which he had sent no authority; their abode will be Fire and how evil is the abode of the Zalimun (polytheists and wrongdoers).


First let us disect the meaning in this verse.Basically, they are calling Christians in this verse non believers , as they say the Christians are polytheists, because they believe Jesus was divine.

Hence the "joined others in worship with no authority". It goes on to say that the Christians will live in hell ( fire, capitalized to Fire ) and how evil the Christians are, as well as the people who are wrongdoers.

The Koran then categorizes Christians with rapists, murders, etc. ( wrongdoers)

This verse is a clear threat to Christians, that they will terrorize them if they dont believe in Islam.

Can anyone explain it any differently?

Thanks !

Answer 1

Wow.

Answer 2

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is a classic example of some ignorant person who hates Islam and used the most far-fetched interpretation of a verse to get others to belive that Islam is a violent religion. This verse is quite easy to interpret. Islam is a monotheistic religion. Worshipping another diety besides Allah is wrong and why would you want to do that. This quote is simply saying those who believe in multiple gods will get their punishment in the hereafter for not believing in the One and Only God.

You're interpretation is severely wrong. How in the world does the Quran categorize Christians with rapists and murderers when the Quran clearly says Christians and Jews are people of the book and believers:

2:62. Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe in Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.

5:65. If only the People of the Book had believed and been righteous, We should indeed have blotted out their iniquities and admitted them to gardens of bliss.

66. If only they had stood fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that was sent to them from their Lord, they would have enjoyed happiness from every side. There is from among them a party on the right course: but many of them follow a course that is evil.

THESE VERSES FROM THE QURAN EXPLICITLY CONTRADICT YOUR INTERPRETATION; THEREFORE, YOUR INTERPRETATION IS WRONG. sorry, had to right in caps because you probably would just skipped over my answer since i proved you wrong with verses form the Quran.

Answer 3

First off, there is no mention of Christianity in this verse. Mohammed himself considered Jesus a prophet, not a diety, and I don't think he ever said Christians were polytheists (if you find such a verse in the Koran, let me know). The God of the Koran is the same God of the Christians and the Jews, duly acknowledged by Mohammed.

Another way of interpreting this verse is, at the time it was written, the worship of Allah was being combined with the worship of other Gods. Polytheism was very common at the time the Qu'ran was written, and it's quite likely that some groups were just adding Allah to their pantheon of other gods.

There are similar prohibitions in the Old Testament and the new Testament - including the commandent "Thou shalt have no other God before me." Believe it or not, one single God was once a revolutionary concept.

This verse is not a clear threat to Christians, although some people could interpret it that way.

Answer 4

Ok. At first sight, it does seem to be a call to arms. But when you look at it closely, you'll see that nowhere in the verse does it say anything remotely like "go and kill Christians." All it says is that "we" are to "cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve." It is possible to do that without murdering people. If you were to preach the Muslim message to non-muslims, for instance, you might create terror by describing the agonies of Hell, or the misery & loneliness of a life without Allah. But to use this passage as a mandate to go out and kill nonbelievers would be a blatant abuse of the meaning of this text.

There is one curious thing about this verse that grabbed me, though. The particular offense here is not disbelief, but worshipping Allah in spite of that disbelief - pretending to be a Muslim, if you will. I'm wondering if this verse somehow applies to the special exception of captured Christians who pretend to be Muslims just to earn favor with their captors? Again, though, it's hard to tell from just the one verse.

Answer 5

Actually, it's not much different than what the Old Testament says about those who don't believe. And the attitude of it categorizing Christians with rapists and murderers, etc... do you know how many times I've seen Fanatics of any religion do that very thing?
Now, not saying Christians are evil (though I truly believe some are)... but ALL mainstream religions do this. It's how they get converts. Have you seen a religion yet that says "This is 100% True... but, ya know, those other religions, they have some truth too... they're not bad ppl... for heathens"... Come on... LOL

Answer 6

Your interpretation of the text is very misleading. You are explaining the passage in a very ignorant way. It says nothing of Christians in the test or jews. This text is targeted towards those who belive in dieties and multiple gods. The worship of dieties is seen as a sin in all three major religions. Where did you get your interpretation from. This is why you have extremisim, individuals focusing on a quote such as this and altering it into a statement that works well with their best interset. Don't read to much into it. It's plain and simple, the worship of one god is what should be practiced. By the way to all who think that Allah is some individual muslims worship, All allah means is God in arabic.

Answer 7

My Friend, the Prophet of ISLAM never fought the Christians directly for beginners. The people he was fighting who were all polytheists, mind you, were Arabs from his own tribe and or his nation, they all spoke Arabic and the Prophet never went outside of Arabia. He fought a few of the Jewish tribes that sided with his pagan cousins, but he also had friendships with many of his Jewish neighbors and residents of Medina, the city where he lived. YOU generalize it too much.

YOU should really find out that the Quran says in 2:62 that Christians who do good, who believe in God have nothing to fear or to regret. This is again repeated in 5:69.

The following verse makes a distinction between polytheists and Christians very clearly:

[5.82] Certainly you will find the most violent of people in enmity for those who believe (to be) the Jews and those who are polytheists, and you will certainly find the nearest in friendship to those who believe (to be) those who say: We are Christians; this is because there are priests and monks among them and because they do not behave proudly.

May be you are Jewish..lol.

Answer 8

Yes, the passage is one example of dysfunctional doctrine. Thankfully not all Muslims are pig headed. In Christianity many horrible things were done in the name of God. Mainly they were justified via the Old Testament. The Old Testament calls for the burning of witches, the stoning of those preaching any other god, genocide, slavery, forcing daughters to marry rapists, chopping off of hands, etc. There is plenty of dysfunction to go around. One big difference is the Catholic Church does not have the same power it use too, hence it has become more benign. Unfortunately the clerics have tremendous social power over the people and government. If you are moderate to liberal in your Islamic views you stand a good chance of being a target for the more violent members in the Muslim communities. It is not only Christians that get attacked.

Answer 9

Were you not hugged enough as a child? First of all, the Holy Qur'an addresses Jews and Christians respectfully as the 'people of the book' and secondly, I don't really see the word Christian in these verses. Are you related to Hitler? Is your middle name Adolf? The Holy Qur'an says that the 'people of the book' will enter Allah's mercy for doing good and being just with a few other faiths.

Answer 10

I think its debatable whether the Koran is pointing an evil finger at Christians alone. I think the Quran points its fickled finger of fate at all non-muslims. Jesus is only a mere "Prophet" in Islam, like Abraham, Issac, and...hmmm Muhammad. But notice how Muhammad is the Islamists "main man", and seems to risen to godlike status?

I view that particular verse in the Quran as par for the course. We know the Quran was written by a warlord anyways, so what should one expect to read from it?

Answer 11

I don't understand how the Qua ran also says that Jesus will come back someday to judge and not believe He's the son of God? Who else would have that authority if not the Son?