The Quran

Preface

يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا كونوا أَنصارَ اللَّهِ كَما قالَ عيسَى ابنُ مَريَمَ لِلحَوارِيّينَ مَن أَنصاري إِلَى اللَّهِ ۖ قالَ الحَوارِيّونَ نَحنُ أَنصارُ اللَّهِ ۖ فَآمَنَت طائِفَةٌ مِن بَني إِسرائيلَ وَكَفَرَت طائِفَةٌ ۖ فَأَيَّدنَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا عَلىٰ عَدُوِّهِم فَأَصبَحوا ظاهِرينَ

Yusuf Ali

O ye who believe! Be ye helpers of God:¹ As said Jesus the son of Mary,² to the Disciples, “Who will be my helpers to (the work of) God.” Said the disciples, “We are God’s helpers!” then a portion of the Children of Israel believed, and a portion disbelieved: But We gave power to those who believed, against their enemies, and they became the ones that prevailed.³

If we seek God’s help, we must first help God’s Cause, i.e., dedicate ourselves to Him entirely and without reserve. This was also the teaching of Jesus, as mentioned in this verse. As found in the New Testament, the metaphor used is that of the Cross. “Then said Jesus to his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matt. 16:24).
See 3:52, and n. 392; and for the Biblical reference, see the last note. The names of the twelve Disciples will be found in Matt. 10:2-4.
A portion of the Children of Israel -the one that really cared for the Truthbelieved in Jesus and followed his guidance. But the greater portion of them were hard hearted, and remained in their beaten track of formalism and false racial pride. The majority seemed at first to have the upper hand when they thought they had crucified Jesus and killed his Message. But they were soon brought to their senses. Jerusalem was destroyed by Titus in A.C. 70 and the Jews have been scattered ever since. “The Wandering Jew” has become a byword in many literatures. On the other hand, those who followed Jesus permeated the Roman Empire, brought many new races within their circle, and through the Roman Empire, Christianity became the predominant religion of the world until the advent of Islam. So is it promised to the people of Islam: they must prevail if they adhere to the Truth. Badr (A.H. 2) was a landmark against Pagan Arabia: Qadisiyah (A.H. 14) and Mada'in (A.H. 16) against the might of Persia: Yarmuk (A.H. 15) against the might of the Byzantine Empire in Christian Syria; and Heliopolis (A.H. 19) against the same Empire in Christian Egypt and Africa. These were symbols in external events. The moral and spiritual landmarks are less tangible, and more gradual, but none the less real. Mark how the arrogance and power of Priesthood have been quelled; how superstition and belief in blind Fate have been checked; how the freedom of human individuals has been reconciled with the sanctity of marriage in the Law of Divorce, how the civil position of women has been raised; how temperance and sobriety have been identified with religion; what impetus has been given to knowledge and experimental science; and how economic reconstruction has been pioneered by rational schemes for the expenditure and distribution of wealth.