ٱلْبَقَرَة : ١٣٥

  • وَقَالُواْ And they said
  • كُونُواْ Be
  • هُودًا Jews
  • أَوۡ or
  • نَصَٰرَىٰ Christians
  • تَهۡتَدُواْۗ (then) you will be guided
  • قُلۡ Say
  • بَلۡ Nay
  • مِلَّةَ (the) religion
  • إِبۡرَٰهِـۧمَ (of) Ibrahim
  • حَنِيفٗاۖ (the) upright
  • وَمَا and not
  • كَانَ he was
  • مِنَ of
  • ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ those who associated partners (with Allah)
They say, "Be Jews or Christians [so] you will be guided." Say, "Rather, [we follow] the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth, and he was not of the polytheists."1
Footnotes
1 - Those who associate others with Allāh in worship.
And they say, 'Be Jews or Christians (the particle aw is for detail; the first of these is the saying of the Medinan Jews, while the second is that of the Christians of Najraan), and you shall be guided'. Say, to them: 'Nay, we follow, rather the creed of Abraham, a haneef (haneefan is a circumstantial qualifier referring to Ibraaheema, that is to say, one that inclines away from all other religions to the upright religion); and he was not of the idolaters'.