About Quran 3.28. Tafsir, quoted in The critical qur’an: explained from key islamic commentaries and contemporary historical research. (2021). . Bombardier Books.
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If you [Muslims] are under their [infidels] authority, fearing for yourselves, behave loyally to them, with your tongue, while harboring inner animosity for them. Allah has forbidden believers from being friendly or on intimate terms with the infidels in place of believers except when infidels are above them [in authority]. In such a scenario, let them act friendly towards them.
— Al-Tabari
What It Means
This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "If you [Muslims] are under their [infidels] authority, fearing for yourselves, behave loyally to them, with your tongue, while harboring inner animosity for them. Allah has forbidden believers from being friendly or on intimate terms with the infidels in place of believers except when infidels are above them [in authority]. In such a scenario, let them act friendly towards them." in the context of "About Quran 3.28. Tafsir, quoted in The critical qur’an: explained from key islamic commentaries and contemporary historical research. (2021). . Bombardier Books." to mean that wisdom is timeless.
Source: Wikiquote: "Al-Tabari" (Quotes)
The 'What it means' explanation text was generated by Google Gemini Flash (accessed January 18, 2026). https://gemini.google.com/app
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About Al-Tabari
Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazid al-Ṭabarī (/ˈtɑːbəri/; Persian: محمد بن جریر طبری, Arabic: أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري) (224–310 AH; 839–923 AD) was an influential Persian scholar, historian and exegete of the Qur'an from Amol, Tabaristan (modern Mazandaran Province of Iran), who composed all his works in Arabic. Today, he is most famous for his expertise in Qur'anic exegesis and Islamic jurisprudence but he has been described as "an impressively prolific polymath. He wrote on such subjects as world history, poetry, lexicography, grammar, ethics, mathematics, and medicine." Al-Tabari's madhhab school flourished among Sunni ulama for two centuries after his death before it eventually became extinct. It was usually designated by the name Jariri.
About Al-Tabari
Abū Jaʿfar Muḥammad ibn Jarīr ibn Yazid al-Ṭabarī (/ˈtɑːbəri/; Persian: محمد بن جریر طبری, Arabic: أبو جعفر محمد بن جرير بن يزيد الطبري) (224–310 AH; 839–923 AD) was an influential Persian scholar, historian and exegete of the Qur'an from Amol, Tabaristan (modern Mazandaran Province of Iran), who composed all his works in Arabic. Today, he is most famous for his expertise in Qur'anic exegesis and Islamic jurisprudence but he has been described as "an impressively prolific polymath. He wrote on such subjects as world history, poetry, lexicography, grammar, ethics, mathematics, and medicine." Al-Tabari's madhhab school flourished among Sunni ulama for two centuries after his death before it eventually became extinct. It was usually designated by the name Jariri.
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