Ahl Al-Kitāb

Ahl Al-Kitāb احلل الكتاب.
Lit. “The people of the book.” A term used in the Qur’an for Jews and Christians, as believers in a revealed religion, or scripture(book).

Jews and Christians who were supposed to be the guardians of the “book”, or holy scripture, but the Qur’ran on the whole regards them as unworthy because of their intentional denial of the revelation of Muhammad. It further states that the Christians and Jews manipulated their “book” in their opposition to Muhammad.

 

Based on Hughes, Dictionary of Islam, Encyclopaedia of the Quran