Al-Qur'an Surah Al-Baqarah Verse 87

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Indeed, We gave Mūsā the Book, and after him We sent messengers, one following the other; and We gave clear signs to ‘Īsā, the son of Maryam (Jesus, the son of Mary), and supported him with the Holy Spirit. Then, how is it that every time a prophet came to you with what does not meet your desires, you grew arrogant? So, you gave the lie to a group (of the messengers) and killed others.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Indeed, We gave Moses the Book and sent after him successive messengers. And We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs and supported him with the holy spirit.[[ The holy spirit is Gabriel, a mighty angel created from light, whose main duty is to communicate Allah’s messages to prophets.]] Why is it that every time a messenger comes to you ˹Israelites˺ with something you do not like, you become arrogant, rejecting some and killing others?

Ruwwad Translation Center

We gave Moses the Scripture and sent a succession of messengers after him. We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Is it that every time a messenger comes to you [O Israelites] with something against your desires, you become arrogant; some of them you rejected, and others you killed?

A. J. Arberry

And We gave to Moses the Book, and after him sent succeeding Messengers; and We gave Jesus son of Mary the clear signs, and confirmed him with the Holy Spirit; and whensoever there came to you a Messenger with that your souls had not desire for, did you become arrogant, and some cry lies to, and some slay?

Abdul Haleem

We gave Moses the Scripture and We sent messengers after him in succession. We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. So how is it that, whenever a messenger brings you something you do not like, you become arrogant, calling some impostors and killing others?

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And assuredly We vouchsafed unto Musa the Book and We followed him up by the apostles after him, and unto 'lsa, son of Maryam, We vouchsafed evidences and aided him with the Holy Spirit. Then so often as there came unto you an apostle with that which your souls desired not, ye waxed stiff necked; and some ye belied and some ye slew?

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

We gave Moses the Book and followed him up with a succession of messengers; We gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and strengthened him with the holy spirit. Is it that whenever there comes to you a messenger with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride?- Some ye called impostors, and others ye slay!

Abul Ala Maududi

And We gave Moses the Book and sent after him a train of Messengers in succession. Then We sent Jesus, son of Mary, with clear Signs and supported him with the Holy Spirit. Then how is it that whenever a Messenger came to you wish that which did not suit your lusts, you grew rebellious against him, and repudiated some and slew others.

Ahmed Ali

Remember We gave Moses the Book and sent after him many an apostle; and to Jesus, son of Mary, We gave clear evidence of the truth, reinforcing him with divine grace. Even so, when a messenger brought to you what did not suit your mood you turned haughty, and called some imposters and some others you slew.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And indeed We gave Moosa (Moses) the Book and subsequent to him, sent Noble Messengers one after another – and We gave Eisa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), clear proofs and supported him with the Holy Spirit; so when a Noble Messenger from Allah comes to you bringing what you yourselves do not desire, you grow arrogant; so you disbelieve in a group of the Prophets and another group of Prophets you slay!

Ali Quli Qarai

Certainly, We gave Moses the Book and followed him with the apostles, and We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, manifest proofs and confirmed him with the Holy Spirit. Is it not that whenever an apostle brought you that which was not to your liking, you would act arrogantly; so you would impugn a group [of them], and slay a[nother] group?

Ali Ünal

(That is their just deserts. For) We assuredly granted Moses the Book, and after him sent succeeding Messengers (in the footsteps of Moses to judge according to the Book, and thus We have never left them without guides and the light of guidance.) And (in the same succession) We granted Jesus son of Mary the clear proofs of the truth (and of his Messengership), and confirmed him with the Spirit of Holiness. Is it (ever so) that whenever a Messenger comes to you with what (as a message and commandments) does not suit your selves, you grow arrogant, denying some of them (the Messengers) and killing others?

Amatul Rahman Omar

Indeed, We gave Moses the Scripture and sent Messengers after him in successive series. We also gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear arguments and strengthened him with the blessed word of God. (Is it not then unjust on your part that) whenever a Messenger came to you (O Jews!) with that (teaching) which did not suit your fancies, you behaved arrogantly? You belied some (Messengers) while others you seek to kill (even now).

English Literal

And We had given/brought Moses The Book and We sent from after him with the messengers, and Wegave/brought Jesus Mary`s son, the evidences and We supported him with the Holy/Sanctimonious Soul/Spirit , so if whenever a messenger came to you with what yourselves do not desire you become arrogant, so a group you denied and a group you kill .

Faridul Haque

And indeed We gave Moosa (Moses) the Book and subsequent to him, sent Noble Messengers one after another - and We gave Eisa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), clear proofs and supported him with the Holy Spirit; so when a Noble Messenger from Allah comes to you bringing what you yourselves do not desire, you grow arrogant; so you disbelieve in a group of the Prophets and another group of Prophets you slay!

Hamid S. Aziz

We gave Moses the Book and We followed him up with other apostles, and We gave Jesus the son of Mary manifest signs and aided him with the Holy Spirit. Do you then, every time an apostle comes to you with what your souls love not, scorn him with pride, and charge some with lying and slay others?

Hilali & Khan

And indeed, We gave Musa (Moses) the Book and followed him up with a succession of Messengers. And We gave 'Iesa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), clear signs and supported him with Ruh-ul-Qudus [Jibrael (Gabriel)]. Is it that whenever there came to you a Messenger with what you yourselves desired not, you grew arrogant? Some, you disbelieved and some, you killed.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And We indeed gave Moses the Book and We sent messengers after him one after another; and We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear arguments and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. Is it then that whenever there came to you a messenger with what your souls desired not, you were arrogant? And some of you gave the lie to and others you would slay.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

And most certainly We gave Musa the Book and We sent apostles after him one after another; and We gave Isa, the son of Marium, clear arguments and strengthened him with the holy spirit, What! whenever then an apostle came to you with that which your souls did not desire, you were insolent so you called some liars and some you slew.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And verily We gave unto Moses the Scripture and We caused a train of messengers to follow after him, and We gave unto Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs (of Allah's sovereignty), and We supported him with the Holy spirit. Is it ever so, that, when there cometh unto you a messenger (from Allah) with that which ye yourselves desire not, ye grow arrogant, and some ye disbelieve and some ye slay?

Muhammad Sarwar

We gave the Book to Moses and made the Messengers follow in his path. To Jesus, the son of Mary, We gave the miracles and supported him by the Holy Spirit. Why do you arrogantly belie some Messengers and murder others whenever they have brought you messages that you dislike?

Qaribullah & Darwish

To Moses We gave the Book and after him We sent other Messengers. We gave (Prophet) Jesus, the son of Mary, veritable signs, and supported him with the Spirit of Purity (Gabriel). Will you then become proud whenever any Messenger comes to you with that which does not suit your fancies, and you belied some (Prophet Jesus) and killed others!

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And indeed, We gave Musa the Book and followed him up with a succession of Messengers. And We gave `Isa, the son of Maryam, clear signs and supported him with Ruh-il-Qudus. Is it that whenever there came to you a Messenger with what you yourselves desired not, you grew arrogant Some you disbelieved and some you killed.

Wahiduddin Khan

To Moses We gave the Book and sent a succession of messengers after him. We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear signs and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit. But, whenever a messenger came to you with something which you did not desire, you grew arrogant, calling some liars and slaying others.

Talal Itani

We gave Moses the Scripture, and sent a succession of messengers after him. And We gave Jesus son of Mary the clear proofs, and We supported him with the Holy Spirit. Is it that whenever a messenger comes to you with anything your souls do not desire, you grew arrogant, calling some impostors, and killing others?

Tafsir jalalayn

And We gave Moses the Scripture, the Torah, and after him We sent successive messengers, that is, We sent them one after another, and We gave Jesus son of Mary the clear proofs, that is, the miracles of bringing the dead back to life and healing the blind and the leper, and We confirmed him, We strengthened him, with the Holy Spirit (the expression rh al-qudus is an example of annexing [in a genitive construction] the noun described to the adjective [qualifying it], in other words, al-rh al-muqaddasa), that is, Gabriel, [so described] on account of his [Jesus's] sanctity; he would accompany him [Jesus] wherever he went; still you refuse to be upright, and whenever there came to you a messenger, with what your souls did not desire, [did not] like, in the way of truth, you became arrogant, you disdained to follow him (istakbartum, `you became arrogant', is the response to the particle kullam, `whenever', and constitutes the interrogative, and is meant as a rebuke); and some, of them, you called liars, such as Jesus, and some you slay?, such as Zachariah and John (the present tenses [of these verbs] are used to narrate the past events [as though they were events in the present], in other words, `[and some] you slew').

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Arrogance of the Jews who denied and killed Their Prophets

Allah described the insolence of Children of Israel, their rebelliousness, defiance and arrogance towards the Prophets, following their lusts and desires.

Allah says;

وَلَقَدْ اتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَقَفَّيْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِ بِالرُّسُلِ


And indeed, We gave Musa the Book and followed him up with a succession of Messengers.

Allah mentioned that He gave Musa the Book, the Tawrah, and that the Jews changed, distorted, and defied its commands, as well as altered its meanings.

Allah sent Messengers and Prophets after Musa who followed his law, as Allah stated,

إِنَّأ أَنزَلْنَا التَّوْرَاةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ

الَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُواْ لِلَّذِينَ هَادُواْ وَالرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالاٌّحْبَارُ بِمَا اسْتُحْفِظُواْ مِن كِتَـبِ اللَّهِ وَكَانُواْ عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَاءَ

Verily, We did reveal the Tawrah (to Musa), therein was guidance and light, by which the Prophets, who submitted themselves to Allah's will, judged for the Jews. And the rabbis and the priests (too judged for the Jews by the Tawrah after those Prophets), for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah's Book, and they were witnesses thereto. (5;44)

This is why Allah said here,
وَقَفَّيْنَا مِن بَعْدِهِ بِالرُّسُلِ
(And Qaffayna him with Messengers).

As-Suddi said that Abu Malik said that;
Qaffayna means, "Succeeded",

while others said, "Followed".

Both meanings are plausible, since Allah said,

ثُمَّ أَرْسَلْنَا رُسُلَنَا تَتْرَى

Then We sent Our Messengers in succession. (23;44)

وَاتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ

And We gave `Isa, the son of Maryam, clear signs and supported him with Ruh-il-Qudus.

Thereafter, Allah sent the last Prophet among the Children of Israel, `Isa the son of Mary, who was sent with some laws that differed with some in the Tawrah.

This is why Allah also sent miracles to support `Isa. These included;

bringing the dead back to life,

forming the shape of birds from clay and blowing into them, after which they became living birds by Allah's leave,

healing the sick and foretelling the Unseen, as Ibn Abbas stated.

Allah also aided him with Ruh Al-Qudus, and that refers to Jibril.

All of these signs testified to the truthfulness of `Isa and what he was sent with. Yet, the Children of Israel became more defiant and envious of him and did not want to differ with even one part of the Tawrah, as Allah said about `Isa,

وَلاٌّحِلَّ لَكُم بَعْضَ الَّذِي حُرِّمَ عَلَيْكُمْ وَجِيْتُكُمْ بِأَيَةٍ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ

And to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden to you, and I have come to you with a proof from your Lord. (3;50)

Hence, the Children of Israel treated the Prophets in the worst manner, rejecting some of them and killing some of them.

All of this occurred because the Prophets used to command the Jews with what differed from their desires and opinions. The Prophets also upheld the rulings of the Tawrah that the Jews had changed, and this is why it was difficult for them to believe in these Prophets. Therefore, they rejected the Prophets and killed some of them.

Allah said,

أَفَكُلَّمَا جَاءكُمْ رَسُولٌ بِمَا لاأَ تَهْوَى أَنفُسُكُمُ اسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ

Is it that whenever there came to you a Messenger with what you yourselves desired not, you grew arrogant!
Jibril is Ruh Al-Qudus

The proof that Jibril is the Ruh Al-Qudus is the statement of Ibn Mas`ud in explanation of this Ayah.

This is also the view of Ibn Abbas, Muhammad bin Ka`b, Ismail bin Khalid, As-Suddi, Ar-Rabi bin Anas, Atiyah Al-`Awfi and Qatadah.

Additionally, Allah said,

نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الاٌّمِينُ

عَلَى قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُنْذِرِينَ

Which the trustworthy Ruh (Jibril) has brought down. Upon your heart (O Muhammad) that you may be (one) of the warners. (26;193-194)

Al-Bukhari recorded Aishah saying that;

the Messenger of Allah erected a Minbar in the Masjid on which Hassan bin Thabit (the renowned poet) used to defend the Messenger of Allah (with his poems).

The Messenger of Allah said,

اللَّهُمَّ أَيِّدْ حَسَّانَ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ كَمَا نَافَحَ عَنْ نَبِيِّك

O Allah! Aid Hassan with Ruh Al-Qudus, for he defended Your Prophet.

Abu Dawud recorded this Hadith in his Sunan as did At-Tirmidhi who graded it Hasan Sahih.

Further, Ibn Hibban recorded in his Sahih that Ibn Mas`ud said that the Prophet said,

إِنَّ رُوحَ الْقُدُسِ نَفَثَ فِي رُوعِي أَنَّهُ لَنْ تَمُوتَ نَفْسٌ حَتَّى تَسْتَكْمِلَ رِزْقَهَا وَأَجَلَهَا فَاتَّقُوا اللهَ وَأَجْمِلُوا فِي الطَّلَب
Ruh Al-Qudus informed me that no soul shall die until it finishes its set provisions and term limit. Therefore, have Taqwa of Allah and seek your sustenance in the most suitable way.
The Jews tried to kill the Prophet

Allah said,

فَفَرِيقاً كَذَّبْتُمْ وَفَرِيقاً تَقْتُلُونَ



Some you disbelieved and some you kill.

Az-Zamakhshari commented on Allah's statement,

"Allah did not say `killed' here, because the Jews would still try to kill the Prophet in the future, using poison and magic."

During the illness that preceded his death, the Prophet said,

مَا زَالَتْ أَكْلَةُ خَيْبَرَ تُعَاوِدُنِي فَهذَا أَوَانُ انْقِطَاعِ أَبْهَرِي

I kept feeling the effect of what I ate (from the poisoned sheep) during the day of Khyber, until now, when it is the time that the aorta will be cut off (meaning when death is near).

This Hadith was collected by Al-Bukhari and other