The third sūra is justly famous for offering the first substantial passage on ‘Īsā – the quranic Jesus. Just as the second sūra opens with a long passage that takes issue with the Jews, so here fundamental Christian beliefs about Jesus are challenged.

The tone of this passage is also polemical. It frequently speaks about, or directly addresses, the “People of the Book.” In several verses we learn that the audience is disputing the preaching of the messenger (vv. 20, 61, 65–66, 73). According to Muslim tradition, the first eighty or so verses of the sūra were first recited to (or about) a delegation of Christians from Najrān who came to Medina to make terms with the messenger (Sīra, 270–77).

The second half of the sūra turns its focus to “you who believe,” with commands to obey both Allah and the messenger. An extended passage (vv. 121–80) calls to mind a battle scene. Muslim tradition has associated many verses with two battles in its story of Islamic origins. In fact, the name given to one of the battles, Badr, appears only here (v. 123).

For Christians, the claims made in this sūra are very serious. The claims confuse or deny the biblical witness to the deity and death of Jesus. They also seem to give God a partisan role in human battle. The Quran similarly takes its claims very seriously. According to Muslim tradition, after making claims about Jesus the Quran calls for an Elijah-like confrontation: call down the curse of Allah on whoever is lying about Jesus (v. 61).