Aal-i-Imraan (The Family of Imraan)

19. "Verily the (true) religion with Allah is Islam, and those whom (formerly) the Book had been given to did not differ but after the knowledge (of the truth) had come to them, through envy of each other. And whoever disbelieves in Allah's Signs, then, verily, Allah is quick in reckoning."

The spirit of religion is the very submission to Allah. Next to the statement of the Unity of Allah, the Qur'an refers to the oneness of religion, and says:

"Verily the (true) religion with Allah is Islam..."

Thus, the true religion with Allah is surrender or the submission of the self of adherent to the Will or Command of Allah. The spirit of religion, in fact, in any time and period, is not anything but submission to Divine Will:

"...and those whom (formerly) the Book had been given to did not differ..."

The objective purpose of the verse is the Jews and the Christians whose discord was that they rejected Islam.

"...but after the knowledge (of the truth) had come to them..." When they comprehended that the religion of Islam was rightful, the followers of Jesus (as) believed in trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost), and the Jews said: "Ezra is God's Son."

Thus; both of them differed in the prophet hood of the Prophet (S) although they had studied the epithets and specialities of the Prophet (S) in their Books (the Torah and the Evangel) and recognized them completely. They knew very well that Muhammad (S) was the Messenger of Allah and was His Apostle.

"... through envy of each other..."