Are the Priests amongst the Pious or the Oppressive Ones?
Brief description of the dubiety
The Christian priests have been both praised and condemned in the Holy Quran. In verse 82 of Surah al-Maidah, they have been introduced as being far from arrogance and conceit in comparison to the Jews and the polytheists. However, in verse 34 of Surah al-Tawbah, they are considered to be amongst those who oppress people and deserve a divine punishment. Is it possible for someone to be both praised and condemned, or be amongst both the good and the bad?
Detailed description of the dubiety
Contradictory Verses
The verse in which the Christian priests have been praised
In verse 82 of Surah al-Maidah, it has been revealed that: “Surely You will find the most hostile of all people towards the faithful to be the Jews and the polytheists, and surely you will find the nearest of them in affection to the faithful to be those who say ‘We are Christians.’ That is because there are priests and monks among them, and because they are not arrogant.” The Jews and polytheists differ from the Christians. While comparing them, Allah explains that the most obstinate enemies of the believers are the Jews and the polytheists, but He considers the Christians to be the kindest people towards the Muslims. The reason for this closeness in kindness is the presence of priests and monks among them, who are far from arrogance and conceit. Therefore, this verse praises the priests.
Verses in which the Christian priests have been condemned and referred to as the biggest disbelievers
In verse 34 of Surah al-Tawbah, it has been revealed that: “O you who have faith! Indeed many of the scribes and monks wrongfully eat up the people’s wealth, and bar [them] from the way of Allah. Those who treasure up gold and silver, and do not spend it in the way of Allah, inform them of a painful punishment” One of the heinous and distasteful acts of the Christian priests was plundering the people’s wealth and hindering them from the true path of divine guidance. The Holy Quran has shown disgust to this reality and considers them deserving of a divine punishment.
Following the theme of this verse, another verse was revealed. In verse 27 of Surah al-Hadeed, it says: “Then We followed them up with Our apostles and We followed [them] with Isa, the son of Mariam, and We gave him the Evangel, and We put kindness and mercy into the hearts of those who followed him. But as for monasticism, they innovated it - We had not prescribed it for them - only seeking Allah’s pleasure. Yet they did not observe it with due observance. So We gave to the faithful among them their [due] reward, but many of them are transgressors.” That which has been specifically mentioned is the deviation which took form in Christianity, and that is monasticism, whose followers took their own course. They were in pursuit of Allah’s satisfaction, but they chose a bad course that was undeserving of divine reward.
Summary
In verse 82 of Surah al-Maidah, the Christian priests have been mentioned and in comparison with the Jews and the polytheists, have been praised and introduced as being far from arrogance and conceit. Meanwhile, in other verses such as Surah al-Tawbah, verse 34, these same people have been introduced as possessing hideous beliefs and actions such as oppressing people and closing the way to Allah, and thus they deserve divine punishment. The themes of these verses are not in concordance with one another because it is not possible for the Christian priests to be praised in one place, yet be condemned in another.
A summarized response
Not all of the priests are good and not all of them are bad, and therefore none of the verses consider all of the priests to be either good or bad unanimously. As a result, those from amongst them who have been praised by Allah are those who were not recognised as oppressors, and were not among those who fell under the realm of being worthy of divine punishment and retribution.
A detailed response
Premise
Proving contradiction is dependent on the irreconcilability between two reports
If there are different reports in regards to one event, then the only time that it can be said that there is a contradiction between the reports is when there is no possibility of reconciliation between them. In reality, contradiction means the impossibility of resolution; i.e. the existence of one of the things means the negation of the other instance. For example, the two sentences ‘the weather is cold now’ and ‘the weather is hot now’ are contradictory and unable to be reconciled because the first sentence (‘the weather is cold now’) negates the weather being hot. In reality, it negates the very thing that is mentioned in the second sentence. The second sentence (‘the weather is hot now’) also negates the first sentence, i.e. the weather being cold. Only one of these two sentences can be correct and there is no possibility of reconciliation between them. In such an instance, the reports are contradictory. However, if one report does not negate another report, and there is a possibility of reconciliation between the reports, then it cannot be called contradictory. For example, if it is said in one sentence that “Most vendors bring in counterfeit goods;” and in another sentence it is said that: “Some vendors used to bring original goods” – then these two sentences can be reconciled with each other because one of them considers most vendors to be the sellers of counterfeit goods, and the other says that only some of them are the sellers of original goods. The only instance in which they would be considered as contradictory is if both of the sentences were reported in regards to all of the vendors collectively.
Verse in Surah al-Maidah does not praise all of the priests
In order to correctly understand verse 82 of Surah al-Maidah, it is necessary to pay attention to the expressions used in this verse of the Holy Quran. The part regarding the priests in this verse is as such: “...That is because there are priests and monks among them, and because they are not arrogant.” Attention must be paid to the fact that this verse has not explained it in this way that ‘the priests that are amongst the Christians are good people,’ rather the expression of this verse is in this way that: ‘there are good priests amongst the Christians.’ From the first expression, it would mean that all of the priests among the Christians are good; however, the Holy Quran has not said it in this way. On the contrary, the expression of the Holy Quran is the second case, and this interpretation is correct in situations where only a part of the priests are good. Therefore, it is not mentioned in the Holy Quran that all of the priests are in possession of positive characteristics - such as a lack of arrogance. For example, there are good commanders in the army, as well as bad commanders. If it said: “In the army, there are only good commanders,” then it would imply that all of the commanders of the army are good. However, verse 82 of Surah al-Maidah has not praised all of the priests unanimously.
Verse 34 of Surah al-Tawbah has condemned most of the priests, but not all of them
The part in relation to the priests in verse 34 of Surah al-Tawbah is as such: “O you who have faith! Indeed many of the scribes and monks wrongfully eat up the people’s wealth, and bar [them] from the way of Allah. Those who treasure up gold and silver, and do not spend it in the way of Allah, inform them of a painful punishment.” In this verse, the expression “...Indeed many of the scribes and monks...” has been used. Therefore, this verse clearly states that not all of the priests are being described here; rather, the larger part of them are being singled out.
Explanation of the non-contradiction between the two verses
With due attention to that which has been explained, these two verses have no contradiction with each other and are reconcilable. Verse 82 of Surah al-Maidah only praises a group of the priests, not all of them; and verse 34 of Surah al-Tawbah clearly condemns most of the priests. These two expressions are in agreement with one another and from the two verses together, it can be understood that the Holy Quran considers most of the priests to be bad, and only a small fraction of them are considered to be good.
Common example
It is explained in a sentence that “amongst the doctors in this area, a good doctor can be found.” In opposition, it is explained in another sentence that “most of the doctors in this area are not suitable.” These two sentences are not in contradiction with one another because the first sentence only states the existence of some good doctors, and it does not introduce all of the doctors as good. Whereas the second sentence considers most of the doctors of that area as being unsuitable, but this does not contradict the first statement.