Tafseer of The Poets · Ash-Shu'araa · 26:197
And has it not been a sign to them that it is recognized by the scholars of the Children of Israel?
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.
His statement: أَوَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ آيَةً أَنْ يَعْلَمَهُ عُلَمَاءُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ — Allah, Whose praise is exalted, says: "Is it not for those who turn away from what comes to you, O Muḥammad, of the remembrance of your Lord, a proof that you are the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds, that its reality and its correctness are known by the scholars of the Children of Israel?" It has been said that by "the scholars of the Children of Israel" in this place is meant: ʿAbdallāh ibn Salām and those like him, from among those of the Children of Israel who had believed in the Prophet ﷺ in his time.
* Mention of who said this: *
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement أَوَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ آيَةً أَنْ يَعْلَمَهُ عُلَمَاءُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ : he said: "ʿAbdallāh ibn Salām was among the scholars of the Children of Israel, and he was among the best of them, and he believed in the Book of Muḥammad ﷺ. So Allah said to them: 'Is it not for them a proof that the scholars and the best of the Children of Israel know it?'"
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both of them — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His statement عُلَمَاءُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ : he said: "ʿAbdallāh ibn Salām and others of their scholars."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: أَوَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ آيَةً — Muḥammad said: أَنْ يَعْلَمَهُ he said: "that he recognizes it." عُلَمَاءُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ . Ibn Jurayj said, Mujāhid said: "the scholars of the Children of Israel: ʿAbdallāh ibn Salām and others of their scholars."
Al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His statement أَوَلَمْ يَكُنْ لَهُمْ آيَةً أَنْ يَعْلَمَهُ عُلَمَاءُ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ : he said: "Is it not for the Prophet ﷺ a proof, a sign, that the scholars of the Children of Israel knew that they had found him recorded with them?"
