Tafseer of The Women · An-Nisaa · 4:60
Have you not seen those who claim to have believed in what was revealed to you, [O Muhammad], and what was revealed before you? They wish to refer legislation to Taghut, while they were commanded to reject it; and Satan wishes to lead them far astray.
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 words: أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يَزْعُمُونَ أَنَّهُمْ آمَنُوا بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَتَحَاكَمُوا إِلَى الطَّاغُوتِ وَقَدْ أُمِرُوا أَنْ يَكْفُرُوا بِهِ وَيُرِيدُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَنْ يُضِلَّهُمْ ضَلَالًا بَعِيدًا (60) (Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you and in what was sent down before you? They wish to seek judgment from the ṭāghūt, although they have been commanded to disbelieve in it; and Satan wishes to lead them far astray) (4:60)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, exalted be His praise, means by this: "Have you not seen," O Muḥammad, with your heart, so that you know — those who claim that they gave faith to what has been sent down to you of the Book, and those who claim that they believed in the Books sent down before you? In their dispute they wish to seek a judicial ruling from the ṭāghūt — that is, from someone whom they venerate, upon whose pronouncement they rely, and with whose judgment they are satisfied instead of the judgment of Allah — "although they have been commanded to disbelieve in it," that is: although Allah has commanded them to reject what the ṭāghūt to whom they seek judgment brings to them; so they abandoned the command of Allah and followed the command of Satan — "and Satan wishes to lead them far astray," that is: that Satan wishes to turn these people who seek judgment from the ṭāghūt away from the path of truth and guidance, and to make them deviate from it into a far error — that is: to make them swerve severely away from it.
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And it has been mentioned that this verse was sent down concerning a man of the hypocrites who summoned a man of the Jews, in a dispute that existed between them, to go to one of the soothsayers to judge between them, while the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was in their midst.
*Mention of who said that:
9891 — Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to me, saying: ʿAbd al-Wahhāb related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir concerning this verse: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you and in what was sent down before you? They wish to seek judgment from the ṭāghūt," he said: There was a dispute between a man of the Jews and a man of the hypocrites. The hypocrite called for going to the Jews, because he knew that they accepted bribes, and the Jew called for going to the Muslims, because he knew that they did not accept bribes. They agreed to seek judgment from a soothsayer of the Juhayna, and Allah sent down concerning that this verse: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you," until He reached وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا (and submit themselves completely).
9892 — Ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Dāwūd related to us, on the authority of ʿĀmir concerning this verse: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you," and he mentioned something similar — and he added: Allah sent down: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you," by which the hypocrites are meant — "and in what was sent down before you," by which the Jews are meant — "they wish to seek judgment from the ṭāghūt," that is: from the soothsayer — "although they have been commanded to disbelieve in it," the command of these in his Book, and the command of those in his Book, to disbelieve in the soothsayer.
9893 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Dāwūd, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, who said: There was a dispute between a man who claimed that he was a Muslim and a man of the Jews. The Jew said: I summon you to judgment before the people of your religion — or he said: before the Prophet — because he knew that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did not accept bribes in judging. They fell into disagreement and agreed to go to a soothsayer in the Juhayna. He said: Then there was sent down: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you," by which the man of the Anṣār is meant — "and in what was sent down before you," by which the Jew is meant — "they wish to seek judgment from the ṭāghūt," to the soothsayer — "although they have been commanded to disbelieve in it," that is: the command of these in his Book and the command of those in his Book. And he recited: "and Satan wishes to lead them far astray," and he read: فَلَا وَرَبِّكَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ حَتَّى يُحَكِّمُوكَ فِيمَا شَجَرَ بَيْنَهُمْ (But no, by your Lord, they do not believe until they make you judge concerning that which has arisen in dispute between them) until وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا (and submit themselves completely).
9894 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: al-Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān related to us, on the authority of his father, who said: Ḥaḍramī claimed that a man of the Jews had embraced Islam, and that between him and a man of the Jews there was a dispute over a right. The Jew said to him: Go to the Prophet of Allah. He knew that he would judge against him. He said: He refused, and they went to a man of the soothsayers and sought judgment from him. Allah said: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you and in what was sent down before you? They wish to seek judgment from the ṭāghūt."
9895 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning His words: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you and in what was sent down before you," the verse, until He reached "far astray": We were told that this verse was sent down concerning two men: a man of the Anṣār who was called "Bishr," and a man of the Jews, because of a dispute that existed between them over a right. They fell into dispute with each other and sought a ruling from a soothsayer in Medina to judge between them, and they abandoned the Prophet of Allah ﷺ. Allah, Mighty and Exalted, censured that — and we were told that the Jew called him to go to the Prophet ﷺ to judge between them, and he knew that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ would not wrong him. But the man of the Anṣār kept refusing him, while he claimed that he was a Muslim, and called him to go to the soothsayer. Then Allah, sanctified and exalted, sent down what you hear, and He censured that in the one who claimed that he was a Muslim, and in the Jew who belonged to the People of the Book, and He said: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you," until His words صُدُودًا (in aversion).
9896 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you and in what was sent down before you? They wish to seek judgment from the ṭāghūt," he said: There were people of the Jews who had embraced Islam, and some of them had become hypocrites. In the time of ignorance (jāhiliyya) there were the Qurayẓa and the Naḍīr: when a man of the Banū al-Naḍīr was killed, and the Banū Qurayẓa had killed him, they killed one of them in retaliation. But when a man of the Banū Qurayẓa was killed, and the Naḍīr had killed him, they gave his blood-money (diya): sixty wasq of dates. When people of the Banū Qurayẓa and the Naḍīr embraced Islam, a man of the Banū al-Naḍīr killed a man of the Banū Qurayẓa, and they sought judgment from the Prophet ﷺ. The Naḍīrī said: O Messenger of Allah, we used to give them the blood-money in the time of ignorance, so we give them that today as well. But the Qurayẓa said: No, we are your brothers in lineage and religion, and our blood is equal to your blood; but you used to dominate us in the time of ignorance, and now Allah has brought Islam! Then Allah sent down, reproaching them for what they had done, and He said: وَكَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهَا أَنَّ النَّفْسَ بِالنَّفْسِ [Sūrat al-Māʾida: 45] (And We prescribed for them therein that a soul is for a soul), and He reproached them. Then He mentioned the word of the Naḍīrī: "We gave them in the time of ignorance sixty wasq, and we killed of them without them killing us," and He said: أَفَحُكْمَ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ يَبْغُونَ [Sūrat al-Māʾida: 50] (Do they then desire the judgment of ignorance?). And the Naḍīrī was taken and he was killed in retaliation for his companion. Then the Naḍīr and the Qurayẓa boasted against each other: the Naḍīr said: We are nobler than you! And the Qurayẓa said: We are nobler than you! And they entered Medina, going to Abū Burda, the soothsayer of the Aslam tribe. The hypocrite of the Qurayẓa and the Naḍīr said: Go to Abū Burda, that he may decide in a contest of honor between us! But the Muslims of the Qurayẓa and the Naḍīr said: No, rather, the Prophet ﷺ decides between us; so come to him! But the hypocrites refused, and they went to Abū Burda and asked him. He said: Make the morsel large — that is: make the stake large — and they said: For you ten wasq. He said: No, rather, one hundred wasq, my blood-money, for I fear that I may grant the Naḍīr the victory and then the Qurayẓa kill me, or that I may grant the Qurayẓa the victory and then the Naḍīr kill me! They refused to give him more than ten wasq, and he refused to judge between them. Then Allah, Mighty and Exalted, sent down: "they wish to seek judgment from the ṭāghūt" — and that is Abū Burda — "although they have been commanded to disbelieve in it," until His words وَيُسَلِّمُوا تَسْلِيمًا (and submit themselves completely).
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And others said: "the ṭāghūt" in this place is Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf.
*Mention of who said that:
9897 — 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 words: "they wish to seek judgment from the ṭāghūt, although they have been commanded to disbelieve in it," and "the ṭāghūt" was a man of the Jews who was called Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf. When they were called to what Allah had sent down and to the Messenger to judge between them, they said: No, we summon you to judgment before Kaʿb! That is His words: "they wish to seek judgment from the ṭāghūt," the verse.
9798 — 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 words of Allah: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you and in what was sent down before you," he said: A man of the hypocrites and a man of the Jews disputed with each other. The hypocrite said: Let us go to Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf. And the Jew said: Let us go to the Prophet ﷺ. Then Allah, sanctified and exalted, said: "Have you not seen those who claim," the verse, and the verse that follows it was likewise revealed concerning them.
9899 — 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: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you," and he mentioned the like of it — except that he said: And the Jew said: Let us go to Muḥammad.
9900 — Al-Muthannā related to us, 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 concerning His words: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you and in what was sent down before you," until His words "far astray," he said: There were two men of the companions of the Prophet ﷺ between whom there was a dispute, one a believer and the other a hypocrite. The believer called him to go to the Prophet ﷺ, and the hypocrite called him to go to Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf. Then Allah sent down: وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ تَعَالَوْا إِلَى مَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ وَإِلَى الرَّسُولِ رَأَيْتَ الْمُنَافِقِينَ يَصُدُّونَ عَنْكَ صُدُودًا (And when it is said to them: Come to what Allah has sent down and to the Messenger, you see the hypocrites turning away from you in complete aversion).
9901 — 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 concerning His words: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you and in what was sent down before you? They wish to seek judgment from the ṭāghūt," he said: A man of the believers and a man of the Jews disputed with each other. The Jew said: Let us go to Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf. And the believer said: Let us go to the Prophet ﷺ. Then Allah said: "Have you not seen those who claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you," until His words "in aversion" — Ibn Jurayj said: "they claim that they believe in what has been sent down to you," he said: the Qurʾān — "and in what was sent down before you," he said: the Tawrāt. He said: There is between the Muslim and the hypocrite a right, and the Muslim calls him to go to the Prophet ﷺ to be brought for judgment before him, but the hypocrite refuses and calls him to go to the ṭāghūt — Ibn Jurayj said: Mujāhid said: "the ṭāghūt" is Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf.
9902 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn ibn al-Faraj, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd ibn Sulaymān informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His words: "they wish to seek judgment from the ṭāghūt," that is Kaʿb ibn al-Ashraf.
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And we have already expounded the meaning of "the ṭāghūt" in a place other than this, and therefore we are averse to repeating it.