PA daily cites Quran: Jews were Muhammad's worst enemies
“Hatib ibn Abi Balta'ah, may Allah’s grace be upon him, one of the greatest companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon Him, was present at [the Battle of] Badr (in 624 CE, a key early Muslim victory) and was one of the Messengers of the revered Prophet, as well as one of the best archers in battle.
He was sent by the Prophet, peace be upon Him, to Cyrus [of Alexandria], leader of the Copts in Egypt, and Hatib said of this meeting: ‘I told Cyrus: “Before you, there was a man who claimed to be the supreme ruler (an allusion to Firaoun, the Pharaoh who appears in the Quran), and Allah punished him in this world and in the next, and was revenged through him and later took revenge on him. Learn a lesson from your peer and do not act in a way that he learns a lesson from you.” Cyrus did not get angry, but gave an answer [befitting] a wise man with experience in life. Cyrus said: “We have our religion and will not forsake it unless it is for something even better.” I said: “We are calling you to the religion of Allah, Islam, for the Prophet Muhammad, peace and prayer be upon Him, called the people [to convert to Islam], and the most aggressive towards Him were the Quraish (Muhammad’s tribe which rejected him as a prophet), [and] the ones most hostile to Him were the Jews, and the ones closest to Him were the Christians.’”
[This Hadith (sayings and practices attributed to Islam's Prophet Muhammad)
alludes to Sura 5.82 of the Quran: “Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, ‘We are Christians...’”] [trans. Yusuf Ali]
He was sent by the Prophet, peace be upon Him, to Cyrus [of Alexandria], leader of the Copts in Egypt, and Hatib said of this meeting: ‘I told Cyrus: “Before you, there was a man who claimed to be the supreme ruler (an allusion to Firaoun, the Pharaoh who appears in the Quran), and Allah punished him in this world and in the next, and was revenged through him and later took revenge on him. Learn a lesson from your peer and do not act in a way that he learns a lesson from you.” Cyrus did not get angry, but gave an answer [befitting] a wise man with experience in life. Cyrus said: “We have our religion and will not forsake it unless it is for something even better.” I said: “We are calling you to the religion of Allah, Islam, for the Prophet Muhammad, peace and prayer be upon Him, called the people [to convert to Islam], and the most aggressive towards Him were the Quraish (Muhammad’s tribe which rejected him as a prophet), [and] the ones most hostile to Him were the Jews, and the ones closest to Him were the Christians.’”
[This Hadith (sayings and practices attributed to Islam's Prophet Muhammad)
alludes to Sura 5.82 of the Quran: “Strongest among men in enmity to the believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans; and nearest among them in love to the believers wilt thou find those who say, ‘We are Christians...’”] [trans. Yusuf Ali]