“O People of the Book! Come to a word that is equitable between us and you - that we will not worship except Allah and not associate anything with Him and not take one another as lords instead of Allah.” — Quran 3:64
This is one of the verses of the Quran in which Allah honours Jews and Christians with the title “People of the Book”, recognising the original validity of their religions. Islam teaches that the Old and New Testaments of the Bible are versions of revelations that came down to the Prophets Moses and Jesus ﷺ, and have been changed over the years. Jews and Christians are called to join Muslims in the worship of the One God, and in following the guidance of the Quran, which has been preserved exactly as revealed to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.
In some verses in The Quran Allah mentions ‘Jews’, and in others ‘The Children of Israel’. The difference between these two is significant, and helps clarify the Islamic perspective on Judaism. ‘The Children of Israel’ refers to the descendants of Prophet Jacob ﷺ - addressing them as a lineage or race rather than as followers of a religion. A biblical story relates that Jacob ﷺ was given the name Israel, and his descendants became known as the ‘The Children of Israel’, or simply ‘Israelites’ (Genesis 32:28). The term ‘Jews’, on the other hand, refers to those who follow Judaism as a religion, irrespective of whether they are ethnic descendants of the Israelites. To put it simply, “The difference between The Children of Israel and Jews is that The Children of Israel are a race and not a religion whereas Judaism is a religion and not a race.” (Islamweb)
There is a marked difference in the way Allah mentions The Children of Israel and Jews:
“O Children of Israel, remember My favour that I have bestowed upon you and that I preferred you over all others.” — Quran 2:47
“And never will the Jews or the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion.” — Quran 2:120
In the first verse, Allah addresses the Children of Israel directly, recalling their ‘preferred’ or ‘chosen’ status. In the second verse, however, Jews are referred to indirectly, and no mention is made of them being preferred. This difference is found throughout the Quran, and clarifies the fact that Jews are not actually God’s ‘chosen people’: Allah preferred the _ethnic group _known as The Children of Israel over others, not the followers of the religion of Judaism.
The preference given by Allah to the Children of Israel came with certain conditions:
“And remember when We took a covenant from the children of Israel (stating), “Worship none but Allah; be kind to parents, relatives, orphans and the needy; speak kindly to people; establish prayer; and pay charity.” But you (Israelites) turned away - except for a few of you - and were indifferent.” — Quran 2:83
This covenant developed into the religion of Judaism over many years. It was enshrined in the Torah - the five books of Moses ﷺ - also known as the written law. The written law in the Torah is accompanied by the oral law, said to be passed down from Moses ﷺ to the Children of Israel, and then from rabbis to students. The oral law was recorded over the centuries and forms the Talmud, completed around 600 CE, which has formed the basis of Jewish law ever since.
The Children of Israel are often criticised in the Quran for not keeping their covenant with Allah. Allah makes it clear that even those who were given the chosen status were required to earn their right to it through worship and good deeds. Similar criticisms are made of the People of the Book’s claims to be preferred by God:
“The Jews and the Christians say, ‘We are the children of Allah and His beloved.’ Say, ‘Then why does He punish you for your sins?’ Rather, you are human beings from among those He has created. He forgives whom He wills, and He punishes whom He wills.” — Quran 5:18
The consistent message in the Quran is that divine favour is earned through having the correct faith and doing good deeds; it is not inherited through ethnicity, or obtained through simply following a particular religion. All human beings are called to recognise this truth by embracing Islam, performing good deeds, and rejecting racism. As Allah says:
O humanity! Indeed, We created you from a male and a female, and made you into peoples and tribes so that you may know one another. Surely the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous among you. Allah is truly All-Knowing, All-Aware. (49:13)