(part 1 of 2): The Semites, a Chosen People
Today there is a huge outcry among certain groups who claim that the Quran is anti-Semitic, which has even led to some of its translations by various school districts in the United States were banished from America.
[1] We read in the Jewish Encyclopedia about the definition of anti-Semitism:
“The term ‚ anti-Semitism ‚ has its origin in ethnological theory that Jews, as Semites, are absolutely different from the Aryan or Indo-European peoples and that they never merge with them can. The word suggests that Jews are not fought because of their religion, but because of their race characteristics. ”[2]
It becomes immediately clear after this statement that the Quran is not anti-Semitic at all, and that the verses that the Jews rebuked refer to certain transgressions that they have made in relation to their religion and not to the origin of their race.
Who are the Semites?
In the Bible, the most general term for the Semites is that they are all descendants of Sem, one of Noah’s three sons, either the first or the last in Bible scholar disagreements, but always the first. [3] It was in the house of Sems where the Shekinah [4] lived and he was highlighted in the Bible with so much more praise and praise. „… it is clear that according to the classification in the Bible, Arabs, Babylonians, Assyrians, Aramaeans and Hebrews, or the descendants of Sem, are considered Semites.“ [5] Modern scholars place more emphasis on linguistic ancestry, conclude Abyssinians, Phoenicians, Canaanites, Hebrews, Moabites and Edomites to the above with.
In whatever context we discuss this, the Arabs, like the Hebrews (and thus the Jews), are clearly Semites. Therefore, if one said that the Quran was anti-Semitic, tantamount to the Quran degrading the entire Semitic race, that would include the Arabs, something improbable, because Allah preferred these two through His prophets.
In the rabbinic texts of the Jews, the Sems priesthood passed to Abraham, and from this passage of the priesthood, the Jews assume that they are the chosen people and claim to be the owners of the countries of Canaan, in what is today Palestine. Just as they claim that Shekinah passed to Abraham and his descendants, particularly to Isaac, and therefore the privilege that God gave to the Semites, especially to them, more specifically, to the Israelites, the descendants of Israel, also applies as Isaac, son of Abraham known.
The Semites, a “Chosen People”
Instead of calling the Israelites an inferior race, the Quran confirms their favored position among humanity. And because of the immense sacrifice Abraham was willing to bring and his prayers to God to call prophets among his descendants, God chose his children for the prophecy. Abraham called his Lord:
“And we gave him (Abraham) Isaac and Jacob; and we led each right, as we had previously guided Noah and his descendants David, Salamo, Job, Joseph, Moses, and Aaron. This is how We reward those who do good. And (We led) Zacharias, John, Jesus and Elias; they were all righteous. And (We ran) Ismael, Elisa, Jonas and Lot; and We distinguished each of them among the peoples; and also some of their fathers and their descendants and their brothers: we chose them and guided them on the straight path. That is the guidance of God; with it he directs from His servants whom He wants. But if they had worshiped (somewhat) differently, truly, all their actions would have been fruitless for them. These are to whom We gave scripture and wisdom and prophecy … ”(Quran 6: 83-87) The Israelites are a chosen people because God called prophets from them. The Quran mentions this favor in numerous places and reminds the Israelites.
“O children of Israel! Remember my grace with which I gave you grace and (remember) that I preferred you to all worlds. ” (Quran 2:47, 2: 122)
“And truly, We gave Scripture and government and prophecy to the children of Israel, and We provided them with good things and preferred them to the people.” (Quran 45:16)
God favored them with numerous blessings apart from the prophets, such as that He provided them with heavenly food – manna and salva. [6]
„O children of Israel, We saved you from your enemies, and made a covenant with you on the right side of the mountain and sent down manna and quail (Salwa) on you.“ (Quran 20:80)
God saved them from Pharaoh’s enslavement by sending Moses to lead them through the Red Sea to live in the “Blessed Land” of Canaan.
“And We gave the people who were considered weak to inherit the eastern parts of the country and the western parts that We had blessed. And the gracious word of your Lord was fulfilled on the children of Israel because they were patient; and we destroyed everything that Pharaoh and his people created and what high buildings they had built. ” (Quran 7: 137)
This preference, which was given to the Israelites, was not due to the superiority of their race, as already mentioned, but rather because of the great sacrifices of Abraham and because of his supplications, which God heard, and this preference was passed on to the Israelites as long as they clinging to the covenant they made with God.
“Verily, God had made a covenant with the children of Israel; and We raised twelve leaders from them. And God said: „See, I am with you, if you do the prayer and pay the Zakat and believe in My messengers and support them and give God a good loan, then I will pay off your misdeeds and lead you to gardens in which Streams flow. But if you fall back into unbelief, you have strayed from the right path. ” (Quran 5:12)
Footnotes:
[1] CAIR distributes Quran banned as anti-Semitic. By Art Moore © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com. (http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=44543).
[2] Anti-Semitism. Gotthard German. The Jewish Encyclopedia (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view_friendly.jsp?artid=1603&letter=A).
[3] Shem. Emil G. Hirsch, Ira Maurice Price, Wilhelm Bacher, M. Seligsohn. The Jewish Encyclopedia (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=592&letter=S).
[4] A word that expresses the „presence of God“, on which the scholars disagree about how real this is meant. Shekinah. Kaufmann Kohler, Ludwig Blau. The Jewish Encyclopedia (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=588&letter=S).
[5] Anti-Semitism. Gotthard German. The Jewish Encyclopedia (http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/view_friendly.jsp?artid=1603&letter=A)
[6] Also in Exodus 16.
(part 2 of 2): clinging to the covenant
God’s favor is related to the Keeping the Commandments
As mentioned earlier, God’s favor was with the Israelites as long as they kept the covenant that God had made with them. This fact is also confirmed by the Jews themselves: “Because of the acceptance of the Torah, Jews have a special status in the eyes of God; but we lose that status if we give up the Torah. ”[1]
From this we understand that God’s favor is neither an aspect of race nor is it binding for all eternity. His favor belongs rather to those who keep His orders. An Israelite who does not keep the commandments is not included in this favor.
The Jews broke the covenant with God:
God mentions in numerous places in the Quran that the Jews have broken the covenant that God made with them with many offenses they have committed in their religion. These offenses of going astray and worshiping others besides God, an act that broke the first of the ten commandments [2], up to changing and falsifying the Torah at your discretion [3]. By God’s grace, He continued to send them prophets to guide them. Instead of following the prophets that God sent them, when he brought something that displeased the rabbis, they rejected and even killed him. This surely increased to disbelief in God, and because of this, the favor that God had for the Jews was removed. God says in the Quran:
“Humiliation is mandatory for them wherever they are hit unless they are safe (because of) their connection with God or with people. And they incur the wrath of God, and poverty is prescribed for them because they denied God’s signs and unjustly murdered the prophets. This happens because they were stubborn and violators. ” (Quran 3: 112)
The Bible also speaks of the fact that the Jews killed the prophets of God; in 1 Thessalonians 2:15 and again in Acts 7:52. We also read in Romans 11: 3 that the prophet Elijah proclaimed against the Israelites.
„Lord, they killed your prophets and broke your altars, and I am left alone and they are after my life.“
One of the greatest offensives was the rejection of Jesus, a clear sign and miracle that was sent to the Jews. It was through this prophet that God’s favor towards the Jews as a people was replaced by His anger and curse. The only Jews who remained „chosen“ were those who followed Jesus: the Nazarene Christians [4].
Are Christians the chosen people of God?
The fact is that, unlike the Jews, Christians and Muslims agree that God’s love is not limited to a particular chosen race, but to those who keep His covenant. Although Jesus was sent to the Jews, [5] Christianity has always seen itself as a religion for all peoples. Therefore, anyone who accepts the teachings of Jesus deserves the love of God and His grace and favor, and anyone who rejects them is banished to hellfire.
This is a point that Muslims agree with, but the problem is that Christians do not really follow Jesus‘ teachings, as he instructed his disciples to keep the commandments of the Jews, the most important of which is that only God alone is adorable. The worship of Jesus and the divinity they attribute to him is one of the reasons why they too deserve the wrath of God and not His favor.
Blame other peoples
As already mentioned, when we analyze the verses in which the Jews are blamed in the Quran, we see that they deal with certain orders that they have broken and certain punishments that have been imposed on them. This criticism is not only limited to the Jews, but in Quran and Sunnah it is clearly extended to all those who have not obeyed God’s orders in the course of history, including the Muslims. God says about a Muslim who deliberately kills another Muslim:
“And who deliberately kills a believer, his reward is hell, in which he remains forever. God will be angry with him and dismiss him and give him a heavy punishment. ” (Quran 4:93)
This is how we recognize that these strict verses from the Quran are addressed to those who disregard God’s commands and not to certain races or peoples. Accordingly, the only people chosen and favored by God is the pious of every nation, and not a particular race or people. Jews, Christians and everyone else who was sincere in their religion and their original teachings will enter paradise, as God Himself says:
“Truly, those who believe, and the Jews, the Christians and the Sabeans, who are in God and believe the last day and do good – these have their wages with their Lord and they will neither be afraid nor sad. ” (Quran 2:62)
But those who have not followed God’s orders in their religion and who do not believe in Islam, whose fate is hell. This is because Islam is the only religion that God will accept after the last revelation to Prophet Muhammad, God’s blessings and peace be upon him.
“Verily, those who disbelieve among the people of the Book and the idolaters will be in the fire of hell; they will stay in it forever; these are the worst of the creatures. ”(Quran 98: 6)
Footnotes:
[1] (http://www.jewfaq.org/gentiles.htm)
[2] Exodus 32, Quran 7: 148
[3] Quran 2:75
[4] Acts 24: 5: Tertullus called Paul „the leader of the Nazarene sect“, although the Nazarene church originally presided over John the Righteous, Bishop of Jerusalem.
[5] Matthew 15:24: “He replied, ‚I am only sent to the lost sheep of Israel.’”
Source: https://www.islamland.com/deu/articles/ist-der-quran-antisemitisch