Tafseer of The Stories · Al-Qasas · 28:48
But when the truth came to them from Us, they said, "Why was he not given like that which was given to Moses?" Did they not disbelieve in that which was given to Moses before? They said, "[They are but] two works of magic supporting each other, and indeed we are, in both, disbelievers."
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 word of Allah, the Exalted, explained: فَلَمَّا جَاءَهُمُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ عِنْدِنَا قَالُوا لَوْلا أُوتِيَ مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى أَوَلَمْ يَكْفُرُوا بِمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى مِنْ قَبْلُ قَالُوا سِحْرَانِ تَظَاهَرَا وَقَالُوا إِنَّا بِكُلٍّ كَافِرُونَ (48)
Allah, the Exalted—exalted be His mention—says: When to these people, to whom before you, O Muḥammad, no warner had come—and We had sent you to them as a warner—there came الْحَقُّ مِنْ عِنْدِنَا , that is, Muḥammad ﷺ with the message of Allah to them, they said in their rebellion against Allah and continuing in their error: "Why was this one who has been sent to us—Muḥammad ﷺ—not given the like of what Mūsā ibn ʿImrān was given of the Book?" Allah, the Blessed and Exalted—exalted be His mention—says to His Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: "Say, O Muḥammad, to your people of Quraysh who say to you لَوْلا أُوتِيَ مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى : have the Jews who know this argument not already, before you, denied that which Mūsā was given?"
And in line with what we have said about this, the exegetes also spoke.
* Mention of those who said this:
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 on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: "The Jews instructed Quraysh to ask Muḥammad for the same as Mūsā was given." Allah says to Muḥammad ﷺ: "Say to Quraysh that they should say to them: have they not also denied what Mūsā was given?"
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: قَالُوا لَوْلا أُوتِيَ مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى —he said: the Jews instructed Quraysh. Then he mentioned something similar. قَالُوا سَاحِرَانِ تَظَاهَرَا .
The reciters of the Qurʾān differed in the reading of this. Most of the reciters of Medina and Baṣra read: "waqālū sāḥirāni taẓāharā"—in the meaning: have they not also denied that which Mūsā was given, and did they not say of him and of Muḥammad ﷺ, according to the opinion of some interpreters, or according to the opinion of others of Mūsā and Hārūn (peace be upon them both), and according to the opinion of yet others of ʿĪsā and Muḥammad: "Two sorcerers who support one another"? Most of the reciters of Kūfa read: قَالُوا سِحْرَانِ تَظَاهَرَا —in the meaning that they, according to the opinion of some exegetes, intended the Torah and the Furqān (the Criterion), and according to the opinion of others the Gospel and the Furqān.
The exegetes differed in its interpretation in proportion to the difference of the reciters in their reading.
* Mention of those who said that by the two sorcerers who support one another were intended Muḥammad and Mūsā ﷺ:
Sulaymān ibn Muḥammad ibn Maʿdī Karib al-Ruʿaynī related to us, saying: Baqiyya ibn al-Walīd related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥamza, who said: I heard Muslim ibn Yasār relate on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the word of Allah "sāḥirāni taẓāharā"—he said: Mūsā and Muḥammad.
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of Abū Ḥamza, who said: I heard Muslim ibn Yasār say: I asked Ibn ʿAbbās about this verse "sāḥirāni taẓāharā"—he said: Mūsā and Muḥammad.
Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Abū Ḥamza, on the authority of Muslim ibn Yasār, that Ibn ʿAbbās read "sāḥirāni" and said: Mūsā and Muḥammad (peace be upon them both).
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Kaysān Abū Ḥamza, on the authority of Muslim ibn Yasār, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās—likewise.
* Of those who said: Mūsā and Hārūn (peace be upon them both):
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 on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah "sāḥirāni taẓāharā"—he said: the Jews said it concerning Mūsā and Hārūn.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: قَالُوا سِحْرَانِ تَظَاهَرَا —a statement of the Jews concerning Mūsā and Hārūn (peace be upon them both).
Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Hushaym related to us, saying: Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid informed us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr and Abū Razīn, that one of them read "sāḥirāni taẓāharā" and the other "siḥrāni". The one who read "siḥrāni" said: the Torah and the Gospel. And the one who read "sāḥirāni" said: Mūsā and Hārūn.
And others said: by the two sorcerers they intended ʿĪsā and Muḥammad ﷺ.
* Mention of those who said this:
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Abū Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning his word "sāḥirāni taẓāharā"—he said: ʿĪsā and Muḥammad—or he said: Mūsā ﷺ.
* Mention of those who said that by it they intended the Torah and the Furqān (the Criterion), and turned the interpretation toward the reading of the one who read "siḥrāni taẓāharā":
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word "siḥrāni taẓāharā"—he says: the Torah and the Qurʾān.
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: قَالُوا سِحْرَانِ تَظَاهَرَا —he means: the Torah and the Furqān (the Criterion).
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning his word قَالُوا سِحْرَانِ تَظَاهَرَا —he said: the Book of Mūsā and the Book of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
* Mention of those who said that by it they intended the Torah and the Gospel:
Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Ḥumayd al-Aʿraj, on the authority of Mujāhid—he said: I was sitting beside Ibn ʿAbbās while he was seeking refuge between the Cornerstone and the Maqām. I said: how do you read—"siḥrāni" or "sāḥirāni"? He gave me no answer. ʿIkrima said: "sāḥirāni." And I thought that if he disapproved of it, he would make it known to me. Ḥumayd said: I met ʿIkrima afterwards and mentioned that to him, and said: how did he read it? He said: he read "siḥrāni taẓāharā"—that is: the Torah and the Gospel.
* Mention of those who said that by it they intended the Furqān (the Criterion) and the Gospel:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: ʿUbayd related to us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, that he read سِحْرَانِ تَظَاهَرَا —they mean the Gospel and the Furqān (the Criterion).
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning his word قَالُوا سِحْرَانِ تَظَاهَرَا —the enemies of Allah—the Jews—said that concerning the Gospel and the Furqān (the Criterion). And whoever read "sāḥirāni" means by it: Muḥammad and ʿĪsā ibn Maryam.
Abū Jaʿfar said: the more correct of the two readings on this point is, in our opinion, the reading of the one who read قَالُوا سِحْرَانِ تَظَاهَرَا —in the meaning: the Book of Mūsā, which is the Torah, and the Book of ʿĪsā, which is the Gospel.
And we said that this is the more correct of the two readings, because the discourse before it dealt with the Book—that is His word قَالُوا لَوْلا أُوتِيَ مِثْلَ مَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَى —and what follows after it likewise deals with the Book, namely His word: فَأْتُوا بِكِتَابٍ مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ هُوَ أَهْدَى مِنْهُمَا أَتَّبِعْهُ . Therefore what stands between them fits the mention of the Book rather than the mention of something else. And since that is the more preferable reading, it is clear that the meaning of the sentence is: "Say, O Muḥammad, to your people of Quraysh who said about what Mūsā and what you were given of the Book: have these Jews not, before this, denied the Book that Mūsā was given? And did they not say about what Mūsā was given of the Book and what you were given: two sorceries that support one another?"
And His word: وَقَالُوا إِنَّا بِكُلٍّ كَافِرُونَ —Allah, the Exalted—exalted be His mention—says: and the Jews said: we disbelieve in every Book on earth—Torah, Gospel, Psalms, and Furqān (the Criterion).
And in line with what we said about this, some exegetes spoke, while others contradicted them in it.
* Mention of those who said as we said:
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 on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his word إِنَّا بِكُلٍّ كَافِرُونَ —they said: we are also disbelievers in what Muḥammad has been brought.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: وَقَالُوا إِنَّا بِكُلٍّ كَافِرُونَ —the Jews likewise said: we are also disbelievers in what Muḥammad has been brought.
And others said: rather its meaning is: and they said: we are disbelievers in both Books—the Furqān (the Criterion) and the Gospel.
* Mention of those who said this:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaḥyā ibn Wāḍiḥ related to us, saying: ʿUbayd related to us, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: وَقَالُوا إِنَّا بِكُلٍّ كَافِرُونَ —he says: the Gospel and the Qurʾān.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning his word وَقَالُوا إِنَّا بِكُلٍّ كَافِرُونَ —they mean: the Gospel and the Furqān (the Criterion).
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: وَقَالُوا إِنَّا بِكُلٍّ كَافِرُونَ —he said: they are the People of the Book. He says: in both Books—the Torah and the Furqān (the Criterion).
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning his word وَقَالُوا إِنَّا بِكُلٍّ كَافِرُونَ —what Mūsā brought and what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ brought.
