Surah 2

Surah 2:253

"Those are the messengers – We have favored some of them over others. (There were) some of them to whom God spoke, and some of them He raised in rank. And We gave Jesus, son of Mary, the clear signs, and supported him with the holy spirit. If God had (so) pleased, those who (came) after them would not have fought each other, after the clear signs had come to them. But they differed, and (there were) some of them who believed and some of them who disbelieved. If God had (so) pleased, they would not have fought each other. But God does whatever He wills."
Allah Honored Some Prophets Above Others Verses 2:253
Show Full Scripture Context (2:253) — 1 Verse
Verse 253

۞تِلۡكَ ٱلرُّسُلُ فَضَّلۡنَا بَعۡضَهُمۡ عَلَىٰ بَعۡضٖۘ مِّنۡهُم مَّن كَلَّمَ ٱللَّهُۖ وَرَفَعَ بَعۡضَهُمۡ دَرَجَٰتٖۚ وَءَاتَيۡنَا عِيسَى ٱبۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ ٱلۡبَيِّنَٰتِ وَأَيَّدۡنَٰهُ بِرُوحِ ٱلۡقُدُسِۗ وَلَوۡ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا ٱقۡتَتَلَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِهِم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا جَآءَتۡهُمُ ٱلۡبَيِّنَٰتُ وَلَٰكِنِ ٱخۡتَلَفُواْ فَمِنۡهُم مَّنۡ ءَامَنَ وَمِنۡهُم مَّن كَفَرَۚ وَلَوۡ شَآءَ ٱللَّهُ مَا ٱقۡتَتَلُواْ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَفۡعَلُ مَا يُرِيدُ

Those are the messengers – We have favored some of them over others. (There were) some of them to whom God spoke, and some of them He raised in rank. And We gave Jesus, son of Mary, the clear signs, and supported him with the holy spirit. If God had (so) pleased, those who (came) after them would not have fought each other, after the clear signs had come to them. But they differed, and (there were) some of them who believed and some of them who disbelieved. If God had (so) pleased, they would not have fought each other. But God does whatever He wills.

Allah states that He has honored some Prophets to others. For instance, Allah said,

And indeed, We have preferred some of the Prophets above others, and to Dawud We gave the Zabur (Psalms)} [17:55].

In the Ayah above, Allah said,

argument, such as the incident mentioned in the Hadith. The Hadith indicates that it is not up to creation to decide which Prophet is better, for this is Allah's decision. The creation is only required to submit to, obey and believe in Allah's decision.

Allah's statement,

And We gave 'Isa, the son of Maryam, clear signs }

refers to the proofs and unequivocal evidences that testify to the truth that 'Isa delivered to the Children of Israel, thus testifying that he was Allah's servant and His Messenger to them.

And supported him with Ruh-il-Qudus}
meaning Allah aided 'Isa with Jibril, peace be upon him. Allah then said,

If Allah had willed, succeeding generations would not have fought against each other, after clear Verses of Allah had come to them, but they differed - some of them believed and others disbelieved. If Allah had willed, they would not have fought against one another. }

meaning all this happened by Allah's decree, and this is why He said next,

But Allah does what He wills.}

About this Source & Scholarly Authority (Tafsir Ibn Kathir)

Universal Sunni Consensus: Tafsir al-Qur'an al-Azim by Hafiz Ibn Kathir (701–774 AH / 1301–1373 AD) is universally regarded across all major schools of Sunni Islam (traditional, Salafi, Ash'ari) as the most authoritative classical exegesis. It is prized because it relies on Tafsir bil-Ma'thur—interpreting the Quran using the Quran itself, authentic Hadiths of Prophet Muhammad, and recorded statements of the early Companions (Sahabah).

Standard English Edition: This text is from the standard 10-volume English abridgment published by Dar-us-Salam Publications (supervised by Shaykh Safiur-Rahman Al-Mubarakpuri), which is the official, most widely distributed English Quranic commentary in mosques and Islamic libraries worldwide today.