Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:50
And [I have come] confirming what was before me of the Torah and to make lawful for you some of what was forbidden to you. And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, so fear Allah and obey me.
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 His word: And confirming what was before me of the Tawrāt, and that I may make lawful for you a part of what was forbidden to you
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted be His praise, means by this: and because I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, and I have come to you as a confirmer of what was before me of the Tawrāt. For this reason "confirming" (muṣaddiqan) stands in the accusative as an adverbial clause of state ("ḥāl") relating to I have come to you.
And what indicates that it stands in the accusative on the basis of His word I have come to you, and not as a conjunction (ʿaṭf) with His word honourable, is His word: "what was before me of the Tawrāt." For if it were a conjunction with His word honourable, then the statement would have been: and confirming what was before him of the Tawrāt, and that he may make lawful for you a part of what was forbidden to you.
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And it was said only: "and confirming what was before me of the Tawrāt," because ʿĪsā, the blessings of Allah be upon him, was a believer in the Tawrāt, acknowledging it, and that it is from Allah. And so are all the prophets: they confirm all that was before them of the books of Allah and His messengers, even though some of the rulings of their legislations (sharāʾiʿ) differed, on account of the difference that Allah established between them therein. Along with this, ʿĪsā – according to what has reached us – was someone who acted according to the Tawrāt and contradicted nothing of its rulings, except for that which Allah lightened for its people in the Injīl of what had been imposed strictly upon them, such as:-
7111 - Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Karīm related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn Maʿqil related to me: that he heard Wahb ibn Munabbih saying: indeed, ʿĪsā followed the legislation of Mūsā ﷺ, and he kept the Sabbath and faced Jerusalem. And he said to the Children of Isrāʾīl: I have not called you to contradict a single letter of what is in the Tawrāt, except to make lawful for you a part of what was forbidden to you, and to lay off from you the heavy burdens (al-āṣār).
7112 - Bishr related to me, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "and confirming what was before me of the Tawrāt and that I may make lawful for you a part of what was forbidden to you." What ʿĪsā brought was milder than what Mūsā brought. In what Mūsā brought, the flesh of camels and the belly-fat (al-thurūb) were forbidden to them, and some kinds of birds and fish.
7113 - 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 word: "and confirming what was before me of the Tawrāt and that I may make lawful for you a part of what was forbidden to you." He said: what ʿĪsā brought was milder than what Mūsā brought. He said: there was forbidden to them in what Mūsā brought from the Tawrāt the flesh of camels and the belly-fat, and by the tongue of ʿĪsā He made that lawful for them; and fat was forbidden to them, and it was made lawful for them in what ʿĪsā brought; and concerning some kinds of fish, and some kinds of birds that have no spurs (ṣīṣiya), and concerning some matters that He had forbidden them and imposed strictly upon them – about these ʿĪsā came to them with the lightening of them in the Injīl. Thus what ʿĪsā brought was milder than what Mūsā brought, the blessings of Allah be upon him.
7114 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, concerning His word: "and that I may make lawful for you a part of what was forbidden to you." He said: the flesh of camels and the fats. When ʿĪsā was sent, he made these lawful for them; and he was sent to the Jews, and they differed and became divided.
7115 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn al-Zubayr: "and confirming what was before me of the Tawrāt" – that is: what preceded me of it – "and that I may make lawful for you a part of what was forbidden to you" – that is: I inform you that it was forbidden to you, and you left it, and then He made it lawful for you as a lightening for you, so that you may attain its ease and be delivered from its consequences (of sin).
7116 - Muḥammad ibn Sinān related to me, saying: Abū Bakr al-Ḥanafī related to us, on the authority of ʿAbbād, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: "and that I may make lawful for you a part of what was forbidden to you." He said: matters had been forbidden to them, and ʿĪsā came to them to make lawful for them what was forbidden to them, seeking thereby their gratitude.
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The explanation of His word: And I have come to you with a sign from your Lord
Abū Jaʿfar said: He means by this: and I have come to you with a proof and a lesson from your Lord, by which you know the reality of what I say to you, such as:-
7117 - 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: "and I have come to you with a sign from your Lord." He said: that which ʿĪsā made clear to them of all matters, and what his Lord gave him.
7118 - 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: "and I have come to you with a sign from your Lord" – what ʿĪsā made clear to them of all matters.
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And He means by His word "from your Lord": from your Lord.
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The explanation of His word: So fear Allah and obey me (3:50).
Abū Jaʿfar said: He means by this: and I have come to you with a sign from your Lord, by which you know with certainty my truthfulness in what I say – "so fear Allah," O community of the Children of Isrāʾīl, in what He has commanded you and forbidden you in His Book that He sent down to Mūsā, and so fulfil His covenant that you have concluded with Him therein – "and obey me," in that to which I have called you, of believing me in what my Lord and your Lord has sent me with to you; so worship Him, for to that He has sent me to you, and with the making lawful of a part of what was forbidden to you in your Book. And that is the straight path, and the firm guidance in which there is no crookedness, such as:-
7119 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar ibn al-Zubayr: "so fear Allah and obey me; indeed, Allah is my Lord and your Lord" – as a disavowal of what they say about him – he means: what the Christians say about him – and as an argument in favour of his Lord against them – "so worship Him; this is a straight path," that is: this is that to which I have brought you and with which I have come to you.