Correspondingly...

Correspondingly, it carries the following meaning to the Holy Prophet (S): Convey, and fear not the Jews or the Christians. We will protect you against them. They will be too short to injure you. Neither Sunnis nor do the Shi`ah admit such interpretation. The Verse thus adds nothing new about the Jews and Christians since the danger caused by them had been removed before the revelation of the Verse.

From this cause, it is important to understand whether the place of the Verse has been as original as it was revealed or one of the Sahabah intruded to put it in this very position. We, the Shi`ah, deny clearly any supposition claiming any form of distortion in the Holy Qur’an. Yet, reports have asserted that some of the Sahabah had pursued personal inferences in choosing the places of some Verses. Accordingly, the place of the Verse had been subjectively, if not unintentionally, chosen.

’ Opinions The following six opinions are the most common among the various theses related to the Verse and assumed by Sunni exegetes. Yet, a seventh Sunni opinion accords the Shi`ah’s interpretation. First Opinion The Verse was revealed in the preliminary stage of the Holy Prophet (S)’s Divine Mission. When the Lord ordered him to convey the message, he hesitated; he abstained or showed drawback. Hence, the Lord loomed and relieved. Only then, the Holy Prophet (S) conveyed.

This proposes that the Verse was revealed twenty-three years before the revelation of Surah of al-Ma`idah. As if he deterred it, al-Shafi`i (Kitab al-Umm 4/168) uses ‘it is said’ before the reference to this opinion: …It is said that when Archangel Gabriel first conveyed to the Holy Prophet (S) the mission of promulgating for the new religion, he hesitated and feared that people would belie him. Hence, Almighty Allah revealed, ‘O Apostle!

Deliver what has been revealed…’ Although many objections are aroused against this claim, we may content with the following; it is contrary to the order of the Verse. It is also inadmissible to accept such an accusation of abstinence or hesitation in carrying the Lord’s Messages so as to avoid accusation of lying or injury or killing. Qur’anic texts have attested that the Holy Prophet (S) exerted all possible efforts for conveying his Lord’s mission.