۞ لَيْسُوا۟ سَوَآءًۭ ۗ مِّنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ أُمَّةٌۭ قَآئِمَةٌۭ يَتْلُونَ ءَايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ ءَانَآءَ ٱلَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ
They are not [all] the same; among the People of the Scripture is a community standing [in obedience], reciting the verses of Allah during periods of the night and prostrating [in prayer].
Introduction
This is āyah 113 of Sūrat Aal-i-Imraan (Family of Imran), the 89th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 4. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 89 of 114
- Surah
- Aal-i-Imraan (3)
(They are not all alike�) [3:113]. Ibn �Abbas and Muqatil said: �When �Abd Allah ibn Salam, Tha�labah ibn Sa�yah, Usayd ibn Sa�yah, Asad ibn �Ubayd and other Jews embraced Islam, the Jewish rabbis said: �Only the evil amongst us believed in Muhammad, for had they been among our best they would not have abandoned the religion of their forefathers�. They also said to them: �You incurred a great loss when you have exchanged the religion of your forefathers with another religion�. Allah then revealed this verse (They are not all alike)�. Said Ibn Mas�ud: �This was revealed regarding the nightfall prayer which is performed by the Muslims but not by the people of the Book�. Abu Sa�id Muhammad ibn �Abd al-Rahman al-Ghazi informed us> Abu �Amr Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Hiri> Ahmad ibn �Ali ibn al-Muthanna> Abu Khaythamah> Hashim ibn al-Qasim> Shayban> �Asim> Zirri> Ibn Mas�ud who said: �The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, delayed the time of the nightfall prayer. When he came out to lead the prayer, he found people waiting for the prayer. He said: �There is no one among the adherents of other religions who is remembering Allah, exalted is He, at this hour except you�. And Allah, exalted is He, revealed these verses (They are not all alike. Of the People of the Scripture there is a staunch community who recite the revelations of Allah in the night season�) up to His saying (Allah is Aware of those who ward off (evil)) [3:115]�. Sa�id ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Nuh informed us> Abu �Ali ibn Ahmad al-Faqih> Muhammad ibn al-Musayyab> Yunus ibn �Abd al-A�la> �Abd Allah ibn Wahb> Yahya ibn Ayyub> Ibn Zahr> Sulayman> Zirr ibn Hubaysh> �Abd Allah ibn Mas�ud who said: �One night, the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, did not come out. He was at one of his relatives or wives. He did not come to us to lead the night prayer until one third of the night had elapsed. When he came and found some of us lying down and some praying, he gave us the good news, saying: �None of the people of the book perform this prayer�. And the verse (They are not all alike. Of the People of the Scripture there is a staunch community who recite the revelations of Allah in the night season, falling prostrate (before Him)) was revealed�.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
Community resources
No community resources for this verse yet.