Al-Qur'an Surah Ali 'Imran Verse 64

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Say, “O people of the Book, come to a word common between us and between you, that we worship none but Allah, that we associate nothing with Him and that some of us do not take others as Lords instead of Allah.” Then, should they turn back, say, “Bear witness that we are Muslims.”

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “O People of the Book! Let us come to common terms: that we will worship none but Allah, associate none with Him, nor take one another as lords instead of Allah.” But if they turn away, then say, “Bear witness that we have submitted ˹to Allah alone˺.”

Ruwwad Translation Center

Say, “O people of the Book, come to a common term between us and you, that we worship none but Allah and associate no partners with Him, and that we do not take one another as lords besides Allah.” But if they turn away, say, “Bear witness that we are Muslims [submitting to Allah].”

A. J. Arberry

Say: 'People of the Book! Come now to a word common between us and you, that we serve none but God, and that we associate not aught with Him, and do not some of us take others as Lords, apart from God.' And if they turn their backs, say: 'Bear witness that we are Muslims.'

Abdul Haleem

Say, ‘People of the Book, let us arrive at a statement that is common to us all: we worship God alone, we ascribe no partner to Him, and none of us takes others beside God as lords.’ If they turn away, say, ‘Witness our devotion to Him.’

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Say thou: O people of the Book! come to a word common between us and between you; that we shall worship none save Allah's and that we shall not associate aught with Him, and that none of you shall take others as Lords beside Allah. Then if they turn away, say: bear witness that verily we are Muslims.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Say; "O People of the Book! come to common terms as between us and you; That we worship none but Allah; that we associate no partners with him; that we erect not, from among ourselves, Lords and patrons other than Allah." If then they turn back, say ye; "Bear witness that we (at least) are Muslims (bowing to Allah's Will).

Abul Ala Maududi

Say: 'People of the Book! Come to a word common between us and you: that we shall serve none but Allah and shall associate none with Him in His divinity and that some of us will not take others as lords beside Allah.' And if they turn their backs (from accepting this call), tell them: 'Bear witness that we are the ones who have submitted ourselves exclusively to Allah.'

Ahmed Ali

Tell them: "O people of the Book, let us come to an agreement on that which is common between us, that we worship no one but God, and make none His compeer, and that none of us take any others for lord apart from God." If they turn away you tell them: "Bear witness that we submit to Him."

Ahmed Raza Khan

Say (O dear Prophet Mohammed – peace and blessings be upon him), “O People given the Book(s)! Come towards a word which is common between us and you, that we shall worship no one except Allah, and that we shall not ascribe any partner to Him, and that none of us shall take one another as lords besides Allah”; then if they do not accept say, “Be witness that (only) we are Muslims.”

Ali Quli Qarai

Say, ‘O People of the Book! Come to a common word between us and you: that we will worship no one but Allah, that we will not ascribe any partner to Him, and that some of us will not take some others as lords besides Allah.’ But if they turn away, say, ‘Be witnesses that we have submitted [to Allah].’

Ali Ünal

Say (to them, O Messenger): "O People of the Book, come to a word common between us and you, that we worship none but God, and associate none as partner with Him, and that none of us take others for Lords, apart from God." If they (still) turn away, then say: "Bear witness that we are Muslims (submitted to Him exclusively)."

Amatul Rahman Omar

Say, `O people of the Scripture! let us agree to a proposition common to us both that we worship none but Allâh and that we associate no partner with Him and that some of us shall not hold others as lords besides Allâh.´ But if they turn away (refusing) say, `Bear witness that we are the only submitting ones (to one God).´

English Literal

Say: "You people (of) The Book, come to a word equal/straight, between us and you, that we do not worship except God, and we do not share/make partners with Him a thing, and (we) do not take some of us, some (as) lords from other than God." So if they turned away, so say: "Witness/testify with that (we are) submitters/surrenderers/Moslems."

Faridul Haque

Say (O dear Prophet Mohammed - peace and blessings be upon him), “O People given the Book(s)! Come towards a word which is common between us and you, that we shall worship no one except Allah, and that we shall not ascribe any partner to Him, and that none of us shall take one another as lords besides Allah”; then if they do not accept say, “Be witness that (only) we are Muslims.”

Hamid S. Aziz

O people of the Book, why do you dispute about Abraham, when the Torah and the Gospel were not revealed until after him? What! Do you not understand?

Hilali & Khan

Say (O Muhammad SAW): "O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians): Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah. Then, if they turn away, say: "Bear witness that we are Muslims."

Maulana Mohammad Ali

But if they turn away, then surely Allah knows the mischief-makers.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

Say: O followers of the Book! come to an equitable proposition between us and you that we shall not serve any but Allah and (that) we shall not associate aught with Him, and (that) some of us shall not take others for lords besides Allah; but if they turn back, then say: Bear witness that we are Muslims.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Say: O People of the Scripture! Come to an agreement between us and you: that we shall worship none but Allah, and that we shall ascribe no partner unto Him, and that none of us shall take others for lords beside Allah. And if they turn away, then say: Bear witness that we are they who have surrendered (unto Him).

Muhammad Sarwar

(Muhammad), say to the People of the Book, "We must come to a common term. Let us worship no one except God, nor consider anything equal to Him, nor regard any of us as our Lord besides God." However, if they turn away from (the Truth), tell them, "Bear witness that we have submitted ourselves to the will of God."

Qaribullah & Darwish

Say: 'People of the Book, let us come to a common word between us and you that we will worship none except Allah, that we will associate none with Him, and that none of us take others for lords besides Allah' If they turn away, say: 'Bear witness that we are Muslims'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Say: "O people of the Scripture: Come to a word that is just between us and you, that we worship none but Allah the same, and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah." Then, if they turn away, say: "Bear witness that we are Muslims."

Wahiduddin Khan

Say, "People of the Book, let us come to a word common to us that we shall worship none but God and that we shall associate no partner with Him and that none of us shall take others, besides God, for lords." And if they turn away, say, "Bear witness that we have submitted to God."

Talal Itani

Say, “O People of the Book, come to terms common between us and you: that we worship none but God, and that we associate nothing with Him, and that none of us takes others as lords besides God.” And if they turn away, say, “Bear witness that we have submitted.”

Tafsir jalalayn

Say; `O People of the Scripture!, Jews and Christians, come now to a word agreed upon (saw', is the verbal noun, meaning mustawin amruh, `[a word] regarding which the matter is upright') between us and you, and it is, that we worship none but God (all is [made up of] an-l, `that...not') and that we do not associate anything with Him, and do not take each other for lords, beside God', as you have taken rabbis and monks; and if they turn their backs, in rejection of God's Oneness, say, you to them; `Bear witness that we have submitted', [that we are of] those who affirm the Oneness of God.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

Every Person Knows about Tawhid

This Ayah includes the People of the Book, the Jews and Christians, and those who follow their ways.

قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْاْ إِلَى كَلَمَةٍ

Say;"O people of the Scripture! Come to a word."

`Word' - in Arabic - also means a complete sentence, as evident from this Ayah. Allah described this word as being one,

سَوَاء بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ

that is the same between us and you,

an honest and righteous word that is fair to both parties.

Allah then explained this word,

أَلاَّ نَعْبُدَ إِلاَّ اللّهَ وَلَا نُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْيًا

that we worship none but Allah (Alone), and that we associate no partners with Him,

we worship neither a statue, cross, idol, Taghut (false gods), fire or anything else. Rather, we worship Allah Alone without partners, and this is the message of all of Allah's Messengers.

Allah said,

وَمَأ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ نُوحِى إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ أَنَاْ فَاعْبُدُونِ

And We did not send any Messenger before you but We revealed to him (saying);"None has the right to be worshipped but I (Allah), so worship Me (Alone and none else)." (21;25)

and,

وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُواْ الْطَّـغُوتَ

And verily, We have sent among every Ummah a Messenger (proclaiming);"Worship Allah (Alone), and avoid (or keep away from) Taghut (all false deities)." (16;36)

Allah said next,

وَلَا يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضاً أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللّهِ

"and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah."

Ibn Jurayj commented,

"We do not obey each other in disobedience to Allah."

فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَقُولُواْ اشْهَدُواْ بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ



Then, if they turn away, say;"Bear witness that we are Muslims."

if they abandon this fair call, then let them know that you will remain in Islam as Allah has legislated for you.

We should mention that the letter that the Prophet sent to Heraclius reads,

"In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

From Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, to Heraclius, Leader of the Romans;

peace be upon those who follow the true guidance. Embrace Islam and you will acquire safety, embrace Islam and Allah will grant you a double reward. However, if you turn away from it, then you will carry the burden of the peasants,

and,

قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْاْ إِلَى كَلَمَةٍ

فَإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ فَقُولُواْ اشْهَدُواْ بِأَنَّا مُسْلِمُونَ


"O people of the Scripture;Come to a word that is the same between us and you, that we worship none but Allah (Alone), and that we associate no partners with Him, and that none of us shall take others as lords besides Allah."

Then, if they turn away, say;"Bear witness that we are Muslims."" (3;64)

Muhammad bin Ishaq and other scholars said that;

the beginning of Surah Al Imran, and more than eighty verses thereafter; were revealed about the delegation of Najran.

Az-Zuhri stated that;

the people of Najran were the first people to pay the Jizyah (tax money paid to the Muslim State). However, there is no disagreement that the Ayah that ordained the Jizyah (9;29) was revealed after the Fath (conquering Makkah, and therefore, after the delegation of Najran came to Al-Madinah).

So, how can this Ayah (3;64) be contained in the Prophet's letter to Heraclius before the victory of Makkah, and how can we harmonize between the statements of Muhammad bin Ishaq and Az-Zuhri

The answer is that the delegation of Najran came before Al-Hudaybiyyah (before the victory of Makkah), and what they paid was in lieu of the Mubahalah; not as Jizyah.

The Ayah about the Jizyah was later revealed, and its ruling supported what occurred with the Najran people.

In support of this opinion, we should mention that in another instance, the ruling on dividing the booty into one - fifth (for the Prophet) and four-fifths (for the fighters) agreed with the practice of Abdullah bin Jahsh during the raid that he led before Badr.

An Ayah later on upheld the way Abdullah divided the booty. Therefore, it is possible that the Prophet wrote this statement (Say, "O People of the Scripture. ..") in his letter to Heraclius before the Ayah was revealed. Later on, the Qur'an agreed with the Prophet's statement, word by word.

It is also a fact that the Qur'an was revealed in agreement with what Umar said regarding the captured disbelievers at Badr, the Hijab (Muslim woman code of dress), refraining from performing prayer for the hypocrites, and regarding his statements;

وَاتَّخِذُواْ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَهِيمَ مُصَلًّى

And take you the Maqam (place) of Ibrahim as a place of prayer. (2;125)

and,

عَسَى رَبُّهُ إِن طَلَّقَكُنَّ أَن يُبْدِلَهُ أَزْوَجاً خَيْراً مِّنكُنَّ

It may be if he divorced you (all) that his Lord will give him instead of you, wives better than you. (66;5