3.64 – People of the Book! Come to a word (which is) common between us and you
Here the Quran directly addresses the “People of the Book” for the first time in its canonical progression. In this and the following fifty verses, the expression “People of the Book” appears eleven times, including half of the direct appeals in the Quran. Many readers will understand this expression in the positive sense of communities that have the scriptures. But the majority of the thirty plus occurrences of “People of the Book” in the Quran appear in polemical passages. See a discussion of the Quran’s approach to the People of the Book at 98.1.
Verse 64 became quite famous in 2007 when a group of Muslims posted a statement on the internet proposing dialog with Christians on the basis of “a common word.” Many Christians greatly appreciated the initiative.
In the long history of Muslim interpretation of the Quran, however, this verse was understood rather as a call to Christians to worship no other than Allah, to ascribe no partner to Allah, and to take no other as Lord beside Allah. Many commentaries charge Christians with failing in all three areas because of Christian belief in the deity and Lordship of Jesus. See the analysis of the Quran’s denials of the deity of ‘Īsā at 43.59. See also my article, “ ‘A Common Word’ in Qur’ānic Context and Commentary,”.
Though this verse is explicitly addressed to the “People of the Book,” it uses the language of associating (“do not associate [anything] with him”). This indicates that the Quran’s accusation of “associating” includes a broader range of meaning than merely “idolatry,” as A. J. Droge translates it.