وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ لَمَن يُؤْمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ خَٰشِعِينَ لِلَّهِ لَا يَشْتَرُونَ بِـَٔايَٰتِ ٱللَّهِ ثَمَنًۭا قَلِيلًا ۗ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ لَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ سَرِيعُ ٱلْحِسَابِ
And indeed, among the People of the Scripture are those who believe in Allah and what was revealed to you and what was revealed to them, [being] humbly submissive to Allah. They do not exchange the verses of Allah for a small price. Those will have their reward with their Lord. Indeed, Allah is swift in account.
Introduction
This is āyah 199 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)
(And lo! of the People of the Scripture there are some who believe in Allah�) [3:199]. Said Jabir ibn �Abd Allah, Anas, Ibn �Abbas and Qatadah: �This was revealed about the Negus. When the latter died, Gabriel, peace be upon him, informed the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, about his death on the same day he died. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to his Companions: �Go out and perform the prayer of the dead on one of your brothers who died in a different land�. They asked him: �Who is he?� And he told them it was the Negus. Then the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, went out to the Baqi� and all that was between Medina and the land of Abyssinia was revealed to him such that he saw the bed of the Negus. He performed the prayer of the dead, uttering the expression Allahu akbar [Allah is the greatest] four times, and requested forgiveness for him. He then told his Companions: �Request forgiveness for him!� The hypocrites commented: �Look at this one, performing the prayer of the dead on a foreign Christian Abyssinian whom he has never seen and who does not even follow his religion�. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed this verse�. Abu�l-Fadl Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn �Abd Allah ibn Yusuf informed us> Abu �Amr Muhammad ibn Ja�far ibn Matar (by dictation)> Ja�far ibn Muhammad ibn Sinan al-Wasiti> Abu Hani� Muhammad ibn Bakkar al-Bahili> al-Mu�tamir ibn Sulayman> Humayd> Anas who reported that the Prophet of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said to his Companions: �Get up and perform the prayer of the dead on your brother the Negus�. Some of them said to others: �He is asking us to pray on a non-believer from Abyssinia!� And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (And lo! of the People of the Scripture there are some who believe in Allah�). Mujahid, Ibn Jurayj and Ibn Zayd stated that this was revealed about all the believers of the people of the Book.
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
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