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253
۞ تِلكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلنا بَعضَهُم عَلىٰ بَعضٍ ۘ مِنهُم مَن كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ ۖ وَرَفَعَ بَعضَهُم دَرَجاتٍ ۚ وَآتَينا عيسَى ابنَ مَريَمَ البَيِّناتِ وَأَيَّدناهُ بِروحِ القُدُسِ ۗ وَلَو شاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقتَتَلَ الَّذينَ مِن بَعدِهِم مِن بَعدِ ما جاءَتهُمُ البَيِّناتُ وَلٰكِنِ اختَلَفوا فَمِنهُم مَن آمَنَ وَمِنهُم مَن كَفَرَ ۚ وَلَو شاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقتَتَلوا وَلٰكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفعَلُ ما يُريدُ

Muhammad Asad

Some of these apostles have We endowed more highly than others: among them were such as were spoken to by God [Himself], and some He has raised yet higher.'1 And We vouchsafed unto Jesus, the son of Mary, all evidence of the truth, and strengthened him with holy inspiration.2 And if God had so willed, they who succeeded those [apostles] would not have contended with one another after all evidence of the truth had come to them; but [as it was,] they did take to divergent views, and some of them attained to faith, while some of them came to deny the truth. Yet if God had so willed, they would not have contended with one another: but God does whatever He wills.3
  • This appears to be an allusion to Muhammad inasmuch as he was the Last Prophet and the bearer of a universal message applicable to all people and to all times. By "such as were spoken to by God" Moses is meant (see the last sentence of 4: 164).
  • The mention, in this context, of Jesus by name is intended to stress the fact of his having been a prophet, and to refute the claims of those who deify him. For an explanation of the term ruh al-qudus (rendered by me as "holy inspiration"), see note 71 on verse 87 of this surah.
  • Once again - as in verse 213 above - the Qur'an alludes to the inevitability of dissension among human beings: in other words, it is the will of God that their way to the truth should be marked by conflicts and trial by error.