تِلْكَ الرُّسُلُ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ مِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَلَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَفَعَ بَعْضَهُمْ دَرَجَاتٍ وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقْتَتَلَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ وَلَكِنِ اخْتَلَفُوا فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ آمَنَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَفَرَ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقْتَتَلُوا وَلَكِنَّ اللَّهَ يَفْعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ ﴿۲۵۳﴾ يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنْفِقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ قَبْلِ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَا بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌ وَلَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَالْكَافِرُونَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ ﴿۲۵۴﴾
﴾253﴿ Tilkar Rusulu faddalnaa ba'dahum 'alaa ba'd; minhum man kallamal laahu wa rafa'a ba'dahum darajaat; wa aatainaa 'Eesab na Maryamal baiyinaati wa ayyadnaahu bi Roohil Qudus; wa law shaaa'al laahu maqtatalal lazeena mimba'dihim mim ba'di maa jaaa'athumul baiyinaatu wa laakinikh talafoo faminhum man aamana wa minhum man kafar; wa law shaaa'al laahu maq tataloo wa laakinnallaaha yaf'alu maa yureed
﴾254﴿ Yaa ayyuhal lazeena aamanoo anfiqoo mimmaa razaqnaakum min qabli ai yaatiya yawmul laa bai'un feehee wa la khullatunw wa laa shafaa'ah; walkaa firoona humuz zaalimoon
﴾253﴿ These messengers—We chose some of them above others.
Among them are those to whom Allah spoke, and He raised some of them in rank many degrees.
And We gave Jesus (peace be upon him), the son of Mary, clear miracles and supported him with the Pure Spirit.
And if Allah had willed, those who came after them would not have fought one another after clear proofs had come to them.
But they differed—some believed and some disbelieved.
And if Allah had willed, they would not have fought one another. But Allah does what He wills.
﴾254﴿ O believers, spend from what We have provided you before there comes a Day (of Judgment) in which there will be no trade, nor friendship, nor intercession (for the disbelievers).
And it is the disbelievers who are truly the wrongdoers.
[253] The connection of this verse to the previous one is that messengers were sent to repel corruption.
The difference in their ranks is due to their varying levels of dedication to striving in the path of Allah (jihad), and such differences are called superiority (tafāḍul), not division.
It is permissible to acknowledge differences in rank among prophets based on clear evidence.
“Baʿḍahum darajāt” refers unanimously to the Prophet Muhammad (May Allah bless him and give him peace).
“And We gave ʿĪsā, son of Mary” highlights the status of Jesus (peace be upon him) as a rebuttal to the Jews who rejected him as a messenger, and to the Christians who claim him as divine or the son of God.
“Walaw shāʾa Allāh mā-qtatal…”—this fighting arose from differences in religion, not from differences in prophetic ranks.
The verse mentions this conflict twice: once referring to those closer to the time of the prophets, and again to those who came after.
Thus, the verse clarifies that the cause of conflict is religious disagreement, not the differing ranks of the prophets.
[254] From this verse to the end of the fourth section of the Surah, the topic is spending in the way of Allah (infāq fī sabīlillāh).
This section has four themes. The first theme runs from this verse to verse 261, where the concept of spending for the sake of Allah is established.
Then follow ten evidences for tawḥīd (the Oneness of Allah) based on His divine attributes.
Next, two groups of people are mentioned, followed by three parables related to them.
The intended meaning of infāq here is spending for jihad, and this is an obligation.
“Min qabli an yaʾtiya yawmun” refers to the Day of Judgment, but can also refer to the moment of death.
“Lā bayʿun” rejects the belief held by some Jews and Christians that transactions or deals could benefit them in the Hereafter.
“Wa lā khullatun wa lā shafāʿah” (no friendship and no intercession) means that these will not be available for disbelievers, as indicated by the context and also by verse 67 of Surah al-Zukhruf.