Surah Al-Imran Ayat 183 in Arabic Text
English Translation
Here you can read various translations of verse 183
[They are] those who said, “Indeed, Allah has taken our promise not to believe any messenger until he brings us an offering which fire [from heaven] will consume.” Say, “There have already come to you messengers before me with clear proofs and [even] that of which you speak. So why did you kill them, if you should be truthful?”
They (also) said: “Allah took our promise not to believe in an messenger unless He showed us a sacrifice consumed by Fire (From heaven).” Say: “There came to you messengers before me, with clear Signs and even with what ye ask for: why then did ye slay them, if ye speak the truth?”
To those who say: ‘Allah has directed us that we accept none as Messenger until he makes an offering that the fire will consume’, say: ‘Other Messengers came to you before me with clear signs, and with the sign you have mentioned. So why did you slay them, if what you say is true?
Those (Jews) who said: “Verily, Allah has taken our promise not to believe in any Messenger unless he brings to us an offering which the fire (from heaven) shall devour.” Say: “Verily, there came to you Messengers before me, with clear signs and even with what you speak of; why then did you kill them, if you are truthful?”
(The same are) those who say: Lo! Allah hath charged us that we believe not in any messenger until he bring us an offering which fire (from heaven) shall devour. Say (unto them, O Muhammad): Messengers came unto you before me with miracles, and with that (very miracle) which ye describe. Why then did ye slay them? (Answer that) if ye are truthful!
The ones who said, “Surely Allah has covenanted (with) us that we (should) not believe any Messenger until he comes up to us with an all-sanctified sacrifice to be eaten (up) by fire.” Say, “Messengers even before me already came to you with supreme evidences and with that which you said. Why then did you kill them in case you are sincere?”
To those who say, ‘God has commanded us not to believe in any messenger unless he brings us an offering that fire [from heaven] consumes,’ say [Prophet], ‘Messengers before me have come to you with clear signs, including the one you mention. If you are sincere, why did you kill them?’
یہ وه لوگ ہیں جنہوں نے کہا کہ اللہ تعالیٰ نے ہمیں حکم دیا ہے کہ کسی رسول کو نہ مانیں جب تک وه ہمارے پاس ایسی قربانی نہ ﻻئے جسے آگ کھا جائے۔ آپ کہہ دیجئے کہ اگر تم سچے ہو تو مجھ سے پہلے تمہارے پاس جو رسول دیگر معجزوں کے ساتھ یہ بھی ﻻئے جسے تم کہہ رہے ہو تو پھر تم نے انہیں کیوں مار ڈاﻻ؟
Quran 3 Verse 183 Explanation
For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Imran ayat 183, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.
Ala-Maududi
(3:183) To those who say: ‘Allah has directed us that we accept none as Messenger until he makes an offering that the fire will consume’, say: ‘Other Messengers came to you before me with clear signs, and with the sign you have mentioned. So why did you slay them, if what you say is true?[129]
129. The Bible mentions at several places that the token of Divine acceptance of a person’s sacrificial offering was the appearance of a mysterious fire which consumed the offering. (See Judges 6: 20-1 and 13: 19-20; 2 Chronicles 7: 1-2.) The Bible does not state, however, that the consuming fire was an indispensable token of prophethood and that anyone not endowed with that miracle could not be a Prophet. The Jews in discussing the claim of Muhammad (peace be on him) to be a Messenger of God brought up the question of this miraculous sign, and used it as a pretext for denying that claim. There was even clearer evidence of the Jews’ hostility to Truth: they had not hesitated to murder a number of Prophets who had been endowed with the miracle of consuming fire. The Bible mentions, for example, the Prophet Elijah who had challenged the worshippers of Ba’l to sacrifice a bull, promising that he too would sacrifice a bull. He stated that the offering of the one who was truthful would be consumed by the miraculous fire. The confrontation took place before a large crowd and it was Elijah’s sacrifice which was consumed by the fire. This so antagonized the Ba’1-worshipping Queen that the henpecked King decided to put the Prophet Elijah to death. Elijah was forced to leave his homeland and take refuge in the mountains of Sinai. (See 1 Kings 18 and 19.) The Jews are told in effect: ‘How dare you ask for the miracle of the consuming fire when in the past you have not even refrained from murdering Prophets who performed that miracle?’
Ibn-Kathir
The tafsir of Surah Imran verse 183 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Imran ayat 181 which provides the complete commentary from verse 181 through 184.
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