What does it mean to be the “chosen people”? And what does it mean from the Islamic perspective? It means that from the 70 nations of the world, God chose the Children of Israel (Jacob) to give the Covenant of the Torah. It also says in Deuteronomy 28 that if they followed this covenant, they would be blessed. So it was a conditional covenant. It means that if you CHOOSE to follow the covenant of the Torah, then you are the Chosen of God. So essentially what it means is that the nation of Israel was chosen for the covenant of the Torah, but if an Israelite (Jew) does not abide by that covenant, then there is nothing chosen about that individual. It is the nation that was chosen. It is up to the individual to choose to follow the covenant and be blessed or ignore the covenant.
It is the same with Islam. Just because you are born of Muslim parents, does not make you the beloved of Allah, you have to choose to follow the Covenant of the Qur’an to be the beloved of Allah.
There are quite a few ayah
in the Qur’an that do quite explicitly say that the Children of Israel were the
Chosen People of God. Let us look at a
few of those:
Qur'an 2:47, "O Children of Israel! Call to mind My favour
which I bestowed on you and that I preferred you to all others (for my
Message)".
Qur'an 3:33, "Allah did choose Adam and Noah, the family of
Abraham, and the family of 'Imran (Maryam's father) above all
people."
Qur'an 5.020: "Remember Moses said to his people: "O my
people! Call in remembrance the favour of Allah unto you, when He produced
prophets among you, made you kings, and gave you what He had not given to any
other among the peoples."
Qur'an
6:84-87,
"We gave him (Abraham) Isaac, and Jacob: all We guided and before him, We
guided Noah, and among his progeny David, Solomon, Ayub, Joseph, Moses, and
Aaron :Thus do We reward those who do good. And Zakariya and Yahya, and Jesus
and Elias: all in the ranks of righteous. And Isma'il and Elisha and Jonah
(Yunus) and Lut. And to all we gave favour above the nations. (To them)
and to their fathers, and progeny and brethren (the Bani Israel): We chose
them, and we guided them to a straight way."
Qur'an
29:27,
"And We gave (Abraham) Isaac and Jacob, and ordained among his progeny
Prophethood and Revelation, and We granted him his reward in this life; and he
was in the Hereafter (of the company) of the Righteous."
Qur'an 44:32, "And We chose them (Bani Israel) aforetime
above the nations, knowingly."
Qur'an 45:16, "And verily we gave the Children of Israel the Scripture and the Command and the Prophethood, and provided them with good things and favoured them above (all) peoples;"
Qur'an 57:26, "And We verily sent Noah and Abraham and placed
the prophethood and the scripture among their seed, and among them there is he
who goeth right, but many of them are evil-doers."
Qur’an 2.122: “O Children of Israel! Call to mind the special favour which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you to all others (for My Message).”
Qur’an 7:137: “And We made a people, considered weak (and of no account), inheritors of lands in both east and west, - lands whereon We sent down Our blessings. The fair promise of thy Lord was fulfilled for the Children of Israel, because they had patience and constancy, and We leveled to the ground the great works and fine buildings which Pharaoh and his people erected (with such pride).”
Now in the Hebrew Bible
where the Children of Israel are described as the chosen people:
Deu 7:6 For
thou [art] an holy people unto the LORD thy God: the LORD thy God hath chosen
thee to be a special people unto himself, above all people that [are] upon the
face of the earth.
Deu 14:2 For
thou [art] an holy people unto the LORD thy God, and the LORD hath chosen
thee to be a peculiar people unto himself, above all the nations that [are]
upon the earth.
1Ch 16:13 O ye
seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
Psa 33:12
Blessed [is] the nation whose God [is] the LORD; [and] the people [whom] he
hath chosen for his own inheritance.
Psa 89:3 I have
made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,
Psa 105:6 O ye
seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen.
Psa 106:5 That
I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of
thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance.
Psa 135:4 For
the LORD hath chosen Jacob unto himself, [and] Israel for his peculiar
treasure.
Isa 41:8 But
thou, Israel, [art] my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of
Abraham my friend.
Isa 41:9 [Thou]
whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called thee from the chief
men thereof, and said unto thee, Thou [art] my servant; I have chosen
thee, and not cast thee away.
Isa 43:10 Ye
[are] my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen:
that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I [am] he: before me there
was no God formed, neither shall there be after me.
Isa 43:20 The
beast of the field shall honour me, the dragons and the owls: because I give
waters in the wilderness, [and] rivers in the desert, to give drink to my
people, my chosen.
Isa 44:1 Yet
now hear, O Jacob my servant; and Israel, whom I have chosen:
Exd 19:6 And ye
shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These
[are] the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Isa 42:6 I the
LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep
thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
Isa 49:6 And he
said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up
the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give
thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my
salvation unto the end of the earth.
Gen 17:19 And
God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his
name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting
covenant, [and] with his seed after him.
Psa 105:10 And
confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, [and] to Israel [for] an everlasting
covenant: