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Notes on the Gospel according to Matthew, Chapter 5

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بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ   The fifth chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew contains the first portion of the Sermon on the Mount, which also takes up the next chapter and a half.   Portions of this chapter of Matthew are similar to the Sermon on the Plain in the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to Luke.   However, much of Jesus ( a.s. ) is reported to have said is found only in this chapter of Matthew.   As Muslims, our understanding of the teachings of Jesus ( a.s. ) are taken in the light of the Qur’an and the hadits and in many places, there are marked differences from how a Christian would understand it.     This chapter is one of the most discussed and analysed of the New Testament.   No chapter was more often cited by the early scholars of the Church.   It still holds true today.   Like much of the rest of the Gospel, the source of the fifth chapter of Matthew is uncertain.   It contains only a handful of parallels with the Gospel according to Mark, fr