Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:159
Indeed, those who conceal what We sent down of clear proofs and guidance after We made it clear for the people in the Scripture - those are cursed by Allah and cursed by those who curse,
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنْـزَلْنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَالْهُدَى مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا بَيَّنَّاهُ لِلنَّاسِ فِي الْكِتَابِ
(Indeed, those who conceal what We have sent down of clear proofs and guidance, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book)
Abū Jaʿfar said: By His saying "Indeed, those who conceal what We have sent down of clear proofs (al-bayyināt)" He means the scholars of the Jews and their rabbis, and the scholars of the Christians, because of their concealing from the people the matter of the Prophet ﷺ, and their refraining from following him, while they found him described with them in the Torah and the Gospel.
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And "the clear proofs (al-bayyināt)" which Allah sent down: that is what was made clear concerning the matter of the prophethood of the Prophet ﷺ, his mission and his description, in the two Books concerning which Allah, exalted be His remembrance, has reported that the people find his description therein.
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And the Exalted, praised be His remembrance, means by "the guidance (al-hudā)" what He clarified to them of His matter in the Books which He sent down upon their prophets. Thus the Exalted, praised be His remembrance, said: Indeed, those who conceal from the people what We have sent down in their Books of clarification regarding the matter of the Prophet ﷺ and his prophethood, and the soundness of the religious community (milla) with which I have sent him and its truthfulness — such that they do not inform them about it, and do not make public what I have clarified of it for the people and made plain to them, in the Book which I sent down to their prophets — أُولَئِكَ يَلْعَنُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَلْعَنُهُمُ اللاعِنُونَ * إِلا الَّذِينَ تَابُوا (those are the ones whom Allah curses and whom the cursers curse * except those who repent), the verses. As:—
2370 — Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: and Yūnus ibn Bukayr related to us — and Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us — both of them together said: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad, the freedman of Zayd ibn Thābit, related to me, saying: Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, or ʿIkrima, related to me, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Muʿādh ibn Jabal, brother of the Banū Salima, and Saʿd ibn Muʿādh, brother of the Banū ʿAbd al-Ashhal, and Khārija ibn Zayd, brother of the Banū al-Ḥārith ibn al-Khazraj, asked a group of the Jewish rabbis — Abū Kurayb said: about what is in the Torah, and Ibn Ḥumayd said: about a portion of what is in the Torah — but they concealed it from them and refused to inform them about it. Then Allah, exalted be His remembrance, sent down concerning them: "Indeed, those who conceal what We have sent down of clear proofs and guidance, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book, those are the ones whom Allah curses and whom the cursers curse."
2371 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the saying of Allah: "Indeed, those who conceal what We have sent down of clear proofs and guidance" — he said: they are the People of the Book.
2372 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
2373 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning His saying: "Indeed, those who conceal what We have sent down of clear proofs and guidance" — he said: they concealed Muḥammad ﷺ, while they found him described with them, and they concealed him out of envy and malice.
2374 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "Indeed, those who conceal what We have sent down of clear proofs and guidance, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book" — those are the People of the Book; they concealed Islam, which is the religion of Allah, and they concealed Muḥammad ﷺ, while they found him described with them in the Torah and the Gospel.
2374m — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "Indeed, those who conceal what We have sent down of clear proofs and guidance, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book" — they claim that a man of the Jews had a friend among the Anṣār, named Thaʿlaba ibn Ghanama. He said to him: "Do you find Muḥammad with you [in the Scripture]?" He said: "No!" — He [al-Suddī] said: Muḥammad is "the clear proofs".
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا بَيَّنَّاهُ لِلنَّاسِ فِي الْكِتَابِ
(after We have made it clear for the people in the Book)
[Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, praised be His remembrance, means by His saying "after We have made it clear for the people"] a portion of the people, for the knowledge of the prophethood of the Prophet ﷺ, his description and his mission was only with the People of the Book and with no one else. Them the Exalted, praised be His remembrance, meant by His saying "for the people in the Book", and He means by it: the Torah and the Gospel.
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And this verse, even though it was sent down concerning a specific group of people, is nevertheless intended for every concealer of knowledge whose clarification to the people Allah, the Exalted, has made obligatory.
That is similar to the report transmitted from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, that he said:
2375 — "Whoever is questioned about knowledge that he possesses and conceals it, a bridle of fire will be placed upon him on the Day of Resurrection."
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And Abū Hurayra used to say what:—
2376 — Naṣr ibn ʿAlī al-Jahḍamī related to us, saying: Ḥātim ibn Wardān related to us, saying: Ayyūb al-Sakhtiyānī related to us, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: Were it not for a verse in the Book of Allah, I would not have related anything to you! And he recited: "Indeed, those who conceal what We have sent down of clear proofs and guidance, after We have made it clear for the people in the Book, those are the ones whom Allah curses and whom the cursers curse."
2377 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥakam related to me, saying: Abū Zurʿa Wahb Allāh ibn Rāshid related to us, on the authority of Yūnus, who said: Ibn Shihāb said: Ibn al-Musayyab said: Abū Hurayra said: Were it not for two verses which Allah sent down in His Book, I would not have related anything: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنْـزَلْنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ (Indeed, those who conceal what We have sent down of clear proofs) to the end of the verse, and the other verse: وَإِذْ أَخَذَ اللَّهُ مِيثَاقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ لَتُبَيِّنُنَّهُ لِلنَّاسِ (And when Allah took the covenant of those who were given the Book: you shall surely make it clear to the people) to the end of the verse [Surah Āl ʿImrān: 187].
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: أُولَئِكَ يَلْعَنُهُمُ اللَّهُ وَيَلْعَنُهُمُ اللاعِنُونَ (159)
(those are the ones whom Allah curses and whom the cursers curse)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, praised be His remembrance, means by His saying "those are the ones whom Allah curses": these who conceal what Allah has sent down concerning the matter of the Prophet ﷺ, his description and the matter of his religion — that it is the truth — after Allah had made it clear to them in their Books; He curses them on account of their concealing it and their refraining from making it clear to the people.
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And "the curse (al-laʿna)" is a verbal noun, from "laʿana-hu Allāh" (Allah cursed him), in the meaning of: He removed him, drove him away and cast him out. The original meaning of "al-laʿn" is: the driving away, as al-Shammākh ibn Ḍirār said, when he mentioned a watering place at which he had arrived:
"I flushed the sandgrouse from it and drove away therefrom the standing-place of the wolf, like the driven-away man (al-laʿīn)."
He means: the standing-place of the driven-away wolf. And "al-laʿīn" is a qualifier of "the wolf", for he only meant: the standing-place of the driven-away and expelled wolf, like the [driven-away] man.
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The meaning of the verse is then: they are the ones whom Allah removes from Himself and from His mercy, and the cursers ask their Lord to curse them, for the cursing by the children of Adam and the rest of the creatures of Allah, when they curse, is that they say: "O Allah, curse him", since the meaning of "al-laʿn" is what we have described of removal and driving away.
We have only said that the cursing by the cursers is what we have described — namely their asking their Lord to curse them, and their saying: "May Allah curse him" or "May the curse of Allah be upon him" — because:—
2378 — Muḥammad ibn Khālid ibn Khidāsh and Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm both related to me, they said: Ismāʿīl ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: "those are the ones whom Allah curses and whom the cursers curse" — [they are] the animals. He said: When the year becomes barren and dry, the animals say: "This is because of the sinners among the children of Adam; may Allah curse the sinners among the children of Adam!"
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Then the exegetes differed concerning whom Allah, the Exalted, praised be His remembrance, meant by "the cursers". Some of them said: He meant by it the crawling creatures of the earth and its vermin.
Mention of who said that:
2379 — Muḥammad ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: The crawling creatures of the earth curse them, and whatever Allah wills of beetles and scorpions, saying: "The rain is withheld from us because of their sins."
2380 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid: "those are the ones whom Allah curses and whom the cursers curse" — he said: the crawling creatures of the earth, the scorpions and the beetles, they say: "The rain is withheld from us because of the sins of the children of Adam."
2381 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Ḥakkām related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid: "and whom the cursers curse" — he said: the vermin and the crawling creatures of the earth curse them, saying: "The rain has been withheld from us because of the sins of the children of Adam."
2382 — Mushrif ibn Abān al-Khaṭṭāb al-Baghdādī related to us, saying: Wakīʿ related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of ʿIkrima, concerning His saying: "those are the ones whom Allah curses and whom the cursers curse" — he said: everything curses them, even the beetles and the scorpions, saying: "The rain is withheld from us because of the sins of the children of Adam."
2383 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "and whom the cursers curse" — he said: the cursers are the animals.
2383m — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: "and whom the cursers curse" — [they are] the animals; they curse the sinners among the children of Adam when Allah withholds the rain from them because of the sins of the children of Adam; then the animals come out and curse them.
2384 — Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Muslim ibn Khālid informed me, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying: "those are the ones whom Allah curses and whom the cursers curse" — [they are] the animals: the camels, the cattle and the sheep and goats; they curse the sinners among the children of Adam when the earth is struck by drought.
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If someone were to say to us: What is the basis of those who directed the explanation of His saying "and whom the cursers curse" toward the view that the cursers are the beetles, the scorpions and the like of the vermin of the earth, while you know that when one [in Arabic] forms the plural of what belongs to the genus of animals and not to the children of Adam, one forms the plural without "the yāʾ and nūn" and without "the wāw and nūn", but one forms the plural with "the tāʾ" and what differs from what we have mentioned, so that one says "al-lāʿināt" and the like?
Then it is answered: Even though it is so, it belongs to the custom of the Arabs that when they describe something of the animals or otherwise — whose plural is regularly formed with "the tāʾ" and not in the form of the plural of the male children of Adam — with that which belongs to the attributes of humans, they form its plural like the plural of their men, as the Exalted, praised be His remembrance, said: وَقَالُوا لِجُلُودِهِمْ لِمَ شَهِدْتُمْ عَلَيْنَا (And they will say to their skins: Why did you testify against us?) [Surah Fuṣṣilat: 21] — He let their address proceed according to the model of the address of the children of Adam, since they spoke to them and they spoke to them; and as He said: يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ (O ants, enter your dwellings) [Surah al-Naml: 18]; and as He said: وَالشَّمْسَ وَالْقَمَرَ رَأَيْتُهُمْ لِي سَاجِدِينَ (and the sun and the moon, I saw them prostrating to me) [Surah Yūsuf: 4].
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Others said: Allah, the Exalted, praised be His remembrance, meant by His saying "and whom the cursers curse" the angels and the believers.
Mention of who said that:
2385 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "and whom the cursers curse" — he said: He says: the cursers are of the angels of Allah and of the believers.
2386 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: "and whom the cursers curse" — [they are] the angels.
2387 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, who said: "the cursers" are of the angels of Allah and the believers.
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Others said: He means by "the cursers" everything except the children of Adam and the jinn.
Mention of who said that:
2388 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "and whom the cursers curse" — he said: al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib said: Indeed, when the disbeliever (kāfir) is placed in his grave, an animal comes to him whose two eyes are like copper cauldrons, with an iron rod with it; it strikes him a blow between his shoulders, whereupon he screams, and nothing hears his voice but it curses him, and nothing remains but it hears his voice, except the two heavily-burdened kinds: the jinn and mankind.
2389 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His saying: "those are the ones whom Allah curses and whom the cursers curse" — he said: The disbeliever (kāfir), when he is placed in his pit, is struck with a blow of a forging-hammer, whereupon he gives a scream that is heard by everything except the two heavily-burdened kinds, the jinn and mankind; and nothing hears his scream but it curses him.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: The most correct of these views in our opinion is the view of the one who said: "the cursers" are the angels and the believers. For Allah, the Exalted, praised be His remembrance, described the disbelievers with the attribute that the curse which descends upon them is only from Allah, the angels and mankind together, for the Exalted, praised be His remembrance, said: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَمَاتُوا وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ أُولَئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ لَعْنَةُ اللَّهِ وَالْمَلائِكَةِ وَالنَّاسِ أَجْمَعِينَ (Indeed, those who disbelieve and die while they are disbelievers, upon them is the curse of Allah, the angels and mankind together). Likewise, the curse which Allah, the Exalted, praised be His remembrance, has reported descends upon the other group — those who conceal what Allah has sent down of clear proofs and guidance, after He had made it clear for the people — is the curse of Allah and the curse of those of whom He has reported that their curse descends upon those who disbelieved and died while they were disbelievers; and they are "the cursers", for both groups are together people of disbelief (kufr).
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As for the view of the one who said that "the cursers" are the beetles, the scorpions and the like of the crawling creatures of the earth and its vermin: that is a view whose truth cannot be established except by a report from Allah that such belongs to their doing, whereby the proof is established; and concerning that there is no report from the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, such that it could be said that it is indeed so.
And since that is so, the correct thing in what they have said is to say: The proof from the apparent meaning of the Book of Allah is present, contrary to [the view of] the exegetes, and that is what we have described. For if it is permissible that the animals and the rest of the creatures of Allah curse those who conceal what Allah has sent down in His Book of the description of the Prophet ﷺ, his characteristics and his prophethood, after they had knowledge of it, and along with them curse all the wrongdoers — then it is nevertheless not permissible to testify with certainty that Allah meant by "the cursers" the animals, the vermin and the crawling creatures of the earth, except by a report that cuts off the excuse. And concerning that there is no report, while the apparent meaning of the Book of Allah which we have mentioned indicates the contrary.
