69 Preface إِنَّ الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَالَّذينَ هادوا وَالصّابِئونَ وَالنَّصارىٰ مَن آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَاليَومِ الآخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صالِحًا فَلا خَوفٌ عَلَيهِم وَلا هُم يَحزَنونَYusuf AliThose who believe (in the Qur-ān), those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Sabians and the Christians,- any who believe in God and the Last Day, and work righteousness-1 on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.Here, as in Sūrat al Baqarah (2:62), the Qur-ān underscores the importance of true and genuine faith, which is to be judged by a sincere belief in God and man’s accountability to Him backed by righteous conduct rather than by mere forms or labels. In both places it repudiates the false claims of the People of the Book that they had a special relationship with God for they were the children of Abraham; that they were a chosen people with special privileges, and no matter what they did, their high status would remain unaffected. Here this false notion is refuted and the People of the Book are being reminded that it is through sincere belief and righteous conduct rather than pretentious claims that man can win his Lord’s pleasure and achieve ultimate success. The verse does not purport to lay down an exhaustive list of the articles of faith. Nor does it seek to spell out the essentials of a genuine belief in God, which has no meaning unless it is accompanied by belief in His Prophets for it is through their agency alone that we know God’s Will and can abide by it in our practical lives. This is especially true of His final Prophet, Muḥammad (peace be on him) whose message is universal, and not confined to any particular group or section of humanity. Belief in the Prophethood of Muḥammad (peace be on him) is thus an integral part and a logical corollary of belief in God. Moreover, it is also an essential test of genuineness of such belief. This becomes clear when the verse is read in conjunction with other relevant verses of the Qur-ān. See, for instance, 4:170, 5:16, 21, 7:157, 158, 21:107, 25:1, 33:40, 61:6. See also 2:40, 3:31-32. 4:150-151. (Eds.).