A Practice the Quran Says Christians Invented

Al-Hadid states that God gave Jesus' followers compassion and mercy, then adds that 'monasticism, they innovated it, We did not prescribe it for them, only seeking the pleasure of God, but they did not observe it as it should be observed' (57:27), a verse classical commentary reads as distinguishing the sincere devotional impulse behind Christian monastic life from monasticism itself, which the surah describes as a human institution rather than a divine command, while still crediting many who adopted it with genuine intent. The verse became a point of reference in later Islamic writing contrasting Islam's general rejection of celibate withdrawal from ordinary life with the ascetic traditions it recognises in other communities.

Classical exegetes read the verse's closing clause, that its practitioners did not observe monasticism properly even by its own terms, as a specific criticism rather than a blanket dismissal, and some commentators connect the passage to reports of the Prophet discouraging his own companions from adopting comparably severe asceticism, preferring a model of engaged family and communal life. The passage is frequently cited in interfaith discussion as an example of the Quran naming and evaluating a specific practice of another religious community directly, rather than addressing Christianity only in general doctrinal terms.