Al-Baqara 2:79 · The Cow · Arabic, translation, recitation

Other English translations

Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+

"So woe to those who write something down with their own hands and then claim, ‘This is from God,’ in order to make some small gain. Woe to them for what their hands have written! Woe to them for all that they have earned!"

Pickthall (classic)+

"Therefore woe be unto those who write the Scripture with their hands and then say, "This is from Allah," that they may purchase a small gain therewith. Woe unto them for that their hands have written, and woe unto them for that they earn thereby."

Yusuf Ali (classic)+

"Then woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, and then say:"This is from Allah," to traffic with it for miserable price!- Woe to them for what their hands do write, and for the gain they make thereby."

Tafsīr · classical commentary

Ibn Kathir

Abridged English, public domain

The Meaning of `Ummi

Allah said,

وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ

(And there are among them Ummyyun people) meaning, among the People of the Book, as Mujahid stated. Ummyyun, is plural for Ummi, that is, a person who does not write, as Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi`, Qatadah, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i and others said. This meaning is clarified by Allah's statement,

لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ الْكِتَـبَ

(Who know not the Book) meaning, are they not aware of what is in it.

Ummi was one of the descriptions of the Prophet because he was unlettered. For instance, Allah said,

وَمَا كُنتَ تَتْلُو مِن قَبْلِهِ مِن كِتَـبٍ وَلاَ تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ إِذاً لاَّرْتَـبَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ

(Neither did you (O Muhammad ) read any book before it (this Qur'an) nor did you write any book (whatsoever) with your right hand. In that case, indeed, the followers of falsehood might have doubted) (29:48).

Also, the Prophet said,

«إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ لَا نَكْتُبُ وَلَا نَحْسِبُ، الشَّهْرُ هكَذَا وَهكَذَا وَهكَذَا»

(We are an Ummi nation, neither writing nor calculating. The (lunar) month is like this, this and this (i.e. thirty or twenty-nine days.)

This Hadith stated that Muslims do not need to rely on books, or calculations to decide the timings of their acts of worship. Allah also said,

هُوَ الَّذِى بَعَثَ فِى الأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولاً مِّنْهُمْ

(He it is Who sent among the Ummiyyin ones a Messenger (Muhammad ) from among themselves) (62:2).

The Explanation of Amani

Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn `Abbas said that Allah's statement,

إِلاَّ أَمَانِىَّ

(But they trust upon Amani) means, "It is just a false statement that they utter with their tongues." It was also said that Amani means `wishes and hopes'. Mujahid commented, "Allah described the Ummiyyin as not understanding any of the Book that Allah sent down to Musa, yet they create lies and falsehood." Therefore, the word Amani mentioned here refers to lying and falsehood. Mujahid said that Allah's statement,

وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلاَّ يَظُنُّونَ

(And they but guess) means, "They lie." Qatadah, Abu Al-`Aliyah and Ar-Rabi` said that it means, "They have evil false ideas about Allah."

Woe unto Those Criminals among the Jews

Allah said,

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ الْكِتَـبَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَـذَا مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ لِيَشْتَرُواْ بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلاً

(Then Waylun (woe) to those who write the book with their own hands and then say, "This is from Allah," to purchase with it a little price!).

This is another category of people among the Jews who called to misguidance with falsehood and lies about Allah, thriving on unjustly amassing people's property. `Waylun (woe)' carries meanings of destruction and perishing, and it is a well-known word in the Arabic language. Az-Zuhri said that `Ubadydullah bin `Abdullah narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, "O Muslims! How could you ask the People of the Book about anything, while the Book of Allah (Qur'an) that He revealed to His Prophet is the most recent Book from Him and you still read it fresh and young Allah told you that the People of the Book altered the Book of Allah, changed it and wrote another book with their own hands. They then said, `This book is from Allah,' so that they acquired a small profit by it. Hasn't the knowledge that came to you prohibited you from asking them By Allah! We have not seen any of them asking you about what was revealed to you." This Hadith was also collected by Al-Bukhari. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "The little amount here means this life and all that it contains."

Allah's statement,

فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُمْ مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُمْ مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ

(Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for that they earn thereby) means, "Woe to them because of what they have written with their own hands, the lies, falsehood and alterations. Woe to them because of the property that they unjustly acquired." Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn `Abbas commented,

فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُمْ

(Woe to them), "Means the torment will be theirs because of the lies that they wrote with their own hands,

وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُمْ مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ

(And woe to them for that they earn thereby), which they unjustly acquired from people, be they commoners or otherwise."

Всевышний пригрозил грешникам, которые искажают Священные Писания и утверждают, что вымышленные ими стихи были ниспосланы Аллахом. Они распространяют ложь и скрывают истину, делая это сознательно, в надежде приобрести мирские блага, которые останутся ничтожными, если даже собрать воедино их всех от первого до последнего. Они используют свою ложь в качестве силка, охотясь за чужим имуществом. При этом они поступают с людьми несправедливо дважды. Во-первых, они вводят их в заблуждение относительно их религии. Во-вторых, они несправедливо присваивают себе их имущество, руководствуясь не истинными предписаниями, а чудовищной ложью. Они совершают более тяжкое преступление, нежели грабители, воры и прочие преступники. Именно поэтому Аллах пригрозил подвергнуть их наказанию за то, что они искажают Писание, распространяя ложь, и приобретают имущество запретным путем. Слова «горе им» являются суровым предупреждением и означают, что их ожидают страдания и печаль. Шейх-уль-ислам Ибн Теймийя в толковании пяти последних аятов сказал: «Аллах упрекнул тех, кто переставлял местами слова Священных Писаний, и это порицание также распространяется на тех, кто пытается обосновать лживую ересь текстами Священного Корана и Сунны. Аллах упрекнул тех, кто не обладает знанием о Писании, а лишь следует пустым мечтам. Это распространяется и на тех, кто отказывается размышлять над Кораном и довольствуется простым произношением его слов, а также на тех, кто сочиняет произведения, противоречащие писанию Аллаха, пытается опровергнуть истинную религию и приписывает свои ошибочные воззрения Аллаху. Такие люди называют свои воззрения шариатом и религией, смыслом Корана и Сунны, представлениями праведных предков и великих богословов, основными воззрениями мусульманской религии, исповедовать которые мусульмане обязаны в целом и в частности. Это порицание также распространяется на тех, кто скрывает знания о Коране и Сунне, дабы никто не мог опровергнуть истину, которую он провозглашает. Так часто поступают люди, потакающие собственным желаниям. В целом, к ним можно отнести рафидитов, а в частности - многих мусульман, называющих себя последователями тех или иных богословов».