Abstract:

The Qur’an criticises the People of the Book in some places severely. Nevertheless, this harsh language aims the inappropriate and misguided thoughts rather than individuals. In addition, Qur’anic criticism directed at those who identified themselves as Jews and Christians but misinterpreted and distorted their own religion. Furthermore, they applied this distorted version of their understanding to their religious life. Briefly, the rationale behind the Qur’anic criticism lies in their usage of their misguided thoughts as means for their enmity towards Islam. The Qur’an makes it clear that not all the People of the Book are same. It says that there are good people among them who accept the Qur’an and the Prophet (pbuh). The People of the Book, who had these attributes, existed during the time of the revelation of the Qur’an as well as they exist today. In this article we are going to deal with the Qur’anic evaluation of the People of the Book from positive and negative aspects. We will refer to the verses where the People of the Book are being criticised. By the same token, we will try to explain couple of verses where the People of the Book are being praised

Keywords: