Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:44
Indeed, We sent down the Torah, in which was guidance and light. The prophets who submitted [to Allah] judged by it for the Jews, as did the rabbis and scholars by that with which they were entrusted of the Scripture of Allah, and they were witnesses thereto. So do not fear the people but fear Me, and do not exchange My verses for a small price. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed - then it is those who are the 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 explanation of the statement of Allah, exalted is His mention: إِنَّا أَنْـزَلْنَا التَّوْرَاةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا النَّبِيُّونَ الَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُوا لِلَّذِينَ هَادُوا ("Indeed We sent down the Torah, in which is guidance and light; by it the prophets who had submitted [to Allah] judged for those who were Jews") (5:44).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted says, praised is His mention: We sent down the Torah, in which is the exposition of that about which these Jews asked you concerning the judgment regarding the married adulterers (the muḥṣanūn). = "and light" — He says: in it is the clarity of what was obscure to them, and the illumination of the judgment that was confused for them. = "by it the prophets who had submitted judged" — He says: one judges with the judgment of the Torah in it, that is to say: in that about which the judgment of the Prophet ﷺ was sought concerning the affair of the adulterers. = "the prophets who had submitted", and they are those who submitted to the judgment of Allah and acknowledged it.
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Allah, exalted is His mention, intended by this specifically our Prophet Muḥammad ﷺ, in his judgment regarding the married adulterers of the Jews with stoning (rajm), and in his equating between the blood of the slain of [the tribe] al-Naḍīr and [that of] Qurayẓa with respect to retaliation (qiṣāṣ) and blood-money (diya). And the prophets before Muḥammad likewise judged with that which is in it of the judgment of Allah, as:
12006 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn told me, he said: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal told us, he said: Asbāṭ told us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "We sent down the Torah, in which is guidance and light; by it the prophets who had submitted judged" — that means the Prophet ﷺ.
12007 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh told us, he said: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ told us, he said: Saʿīd told us, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: It was related to us that the Prophet of Allah ﷺ, when this verse was sent down, used to say: "We judge over the Jews and over all others of the adherents of the religions."
12008 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, who said: A man of [the tribe] Muzayna told us, while we were with Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, who said: A man of the Jews and a woman committed fornication (zinā). Then they said to one another: "Let us go to this prophet, for he is a prophet who was sent with alleviation [of burdens]. If he gives us a ruling other than stoning, then we will accept it and appeal to it before Allah, and say: 'It is a ruling (futyā) of one of your prophets!'" He said: Then they came to the Prophet ﷺ, while he was sitting in the mosque amid his companions, and they said: "O Abū al-Qāsim, what do you say about a man and a woman of them who have committed fornication?" He spoke no word to them, until he came to their house of study (bayt midrāsihim). He stood at the door and said: "I adjure you by Allah, Who sent down the Torah to Mūsā, what do you find in the Torah for the one who commits fornication when he is married (muḥṣan)?" They said: "He is smeared with black [ash] (yuḥammam), set upon a donkey in disgrace (yujabbah), and flogged." = And "al-tajbīh" entails that the two adulterers are set upon a donkey with their backs against each other, and are thus paraded around. = A young man [of them] kept silent. When [the Prophet ﷺ] saw him keeping silent, he pressed him with the adjuration. He said: "O Allah, since You adjure us: we find in the Torah the stoning (rajm)!" Then the Prophet ﷺ said: "What was the first thing by which you treated the command of Allah lightly?" He said: "A man from the relatives of one of our kings committed fornication, and the stoning was deferred for him [i.e. it was not carried out on him]. Thereafter a man of the common people committed fornication, and they wished to stone him, but his people prevented that and said: 'Do not stone our man, until you bring your man [that earlier one] and stone him!' Thus they reached a mutual settlement among themselves regarding this [substitute] punishment." The Prophet ﷺ said: "Indeed, I judge according to what is in the Torah!" Then he gave the command concerning them both, and they were stoned. = Al-Zuhrī said: It reached us that this verse was sent down concerning them: "We sent down the Torah, in which is guidance and light; by it the prophets who had submitted judged", and the Prophet was among them [the prophets].
12009 - Al-Qāsim told us, he said: al-Ḥusayn told us, he said: Ḥajjāj told me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿIkrima, [concerning] his statement: "by it the prophets who had submitted judged" — the Prophet ﷺ and the prophets before him, they judge with the truth that is in it.
12010 - Al-Muthannā told us, he said: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn told us, he said: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of ʿAwf, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, [concerning] his statement: "by it the prophets who had submitted judged" — that means the Prophet ﷺ. = "for those who were Jews" — that means the Jews. So judge between them and do not fear them.
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The explanation of the statement of Allah, exalted is His mention: وَالرَّبَّانِيُّونَ وَالأَحْبَارُ بِمَا اسْتُحْفِظُوا مِنْ كِتَابِ اللَّهِ وَكَانُوا عَلَيْهِ شُهَدَاءَ ("and the rabbis (al-rabbāniyyūn) and the scholars (al-aḥbār), by virtue of what was entrusted to them of the Book of Allah, and they were witnesses thereto") (5:44).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted says, praised is His mention: And one judges with the Torah and its ordinances which Allah sent down in it, in every age — in accordance with what He commanded to judge by — together with the prophets who had submitted: = "the rabbis and the scholars".
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And "al-rabbāniyyūn" is the plural of "rabbānī", and they are the learned, the wise, those who have insight into the governing of the people, the managing of their affairs and the tending of their interests. = And "al-aḥbār", they are the learned.
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We have already set forth the meaning of "al-rabbāniyyūn" previously with its proof-texts, and the statements of the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) about it.
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As for "al-aḥbār": it is the plural of "ḥabr", and it is the scholar who thoroughly masters a matter. From this is derived that Kaʿb was called "Kaʿb al-Aḥbār". And al-Farrāʾ used to say: The most of what I heard the Arabs say as the singular of "al-aḥbār" is "ḥibr", with a kasra on the "ḥāʾ".
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And some of the exegetes said: By "al-rabbāniyyūn and al-aḥbār" here are meant the two sons of Ṣūriyā, who before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ confirmed the judgment of Allah, exalted is His mention, in the Torah concerning the married adulterers.
The mention of who said that:
12011 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn told me, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal told us, he said: Asbāṭ told us, on the authority of al-Suddī, who said: There were two men of the Jews, brothers, who were called the two sons of Ṣūriyā. They had followed the Prophet ﷺ, but had not converted to Islam, and they had given him a covenant that they would not be asked by him about anything in the Torah without informing him of it. One of them was a rabbānī (rabbi) and the other a ḥabr (scholar). They followed the Prophet ﷺ only to learn from him. He summoned them and questioned them, and they reported to him how the matter had been when the eminent one committed fornication and the poor one committed fornication, and how they had altered [the judgment]. Then Allah sent down: إِنَّا أَنْـزَلْنَا التَّوْرَاةَ فِيهَا هُدًى وَنُورٌ يَحْكُمُ بِهَا النَّبِيُّونَ الَّذِينَ أَسْلَمُوا لِلَّذِينَ هَادُوا ("We sent down the Torah, in which is guidance and light; by it the prophets who had submitted judged, for those who were Jews") — by this is meant the Prophet ﷺ. = "and the rabbis and the scholars", they are the two sons of Ṣūriyā, "for those who were Jews". Then He mentioned the two sons of Ṣūriyā and said: "and the rabbis and the scholars, by virtue of what was entrusted to them of the Book of Allah, and they were witnesses thereto."
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Abū Jaʿfar said: And the correct view of the statement on this, in my opinion, is that one says: Allah, exalted is His mention, reported that the Torah was judged by among the prophets who were Muslims for the benefit of the Jews, as well as by the rabbis among His creatures and the scholars. It is possible that by this were meant the two sons of Ṣūriyā and others, except that under the apparent meaning of the revelation fall the Muslims among the prophets, as well as every rabbi and scholar. There is in the apparent meaning of the revelation no indication that a particular [group] of the rabbis and scholars is meant by it, nor has any proof arisen for that to which one must submit. So every rabbi and scholar falls under the verse according to the apparent meaning of the revelation.
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And in accordance with what we have said about the explanation of "al-aḥbār" the exegetes have spoken.
The mention of who said that:
12012 - Sufyān ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: my father told us, on the authority of Salama, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: "al-rabbāniyyūn" and "al-aḥbār", [they are] their reciters (qurrāʾ) and their jurists (fuqahāʾ).
12013 - Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: Ḥafṣ told us, on the authority of Ashʿath, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: "al-rabbāniyyūn and al-aḥbār", [they are] the jurists and the learned.
12014 - Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: Ibn ʿUyayna told us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "al-rabbāniyyūn", [they are] the learned jurists, and they are above "al-aḥbār".
12015 - Bishr told us, he said: Yazīd told us, he said: Saʿīd told us, on the authority of Qatāda: "al-rabbāniyyūn", [they are] the jurists of the Jews. = "and al-aḥbār", [they are] their learned ones.
12016 - Al-Qāsim told us, he said: Sunayd ibn Dāwūd told us, he said: Ḥajjāj told me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿIkrima: "and the rabbis and the scholars", they all judge with the truth that is in it.
12017 - Yūnus told me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said: "al-rabbāniyyūn", [they are] the governors (al-wulāt). = "and al-aḥbār", [they are] the learned.
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As for His statement: "by virtue of what was entrusted to them of the Book of Allah" — the meaning of it is: the prophets who had submitted judge with the judgment of the Torah, and the rabbis and the scholars — that is to say the learned — by virtue of that the knowledge of which was entrusted to them of the Book of Allah, which is the Torah.
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And the "bāʾ" in His statement "by virtue of what was entrusted to them" is connected with "al-aḥbār".
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As for His statement: "and they were witnesses thereto" — that means: that the rabbis and the scholars, by virtue of that which was entrusted to them of the Book of Allah, judge with the Torah together with the prophets who had submitted, for the benefit of those who were Jews; and they were witnesses of the judgment of the prophets who had submitted for the benefit of those who were Jews, [witnesses] that they judged over them according to the Book of Allah which He sent down to His prophet Mūsā, and according to His decree concerning them, as:
12018 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd told me, he said: my father told me, he said: my uncle told me, he said: my father told me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "and they were witnesses thereto" — that means the rabbis and the scholars; they are the witnesses for Muḥammad ﷺ concerning what he said, [namely] that it is the truth that has come from Allah, and that he is the prophet of Allah, Muḥammad. The Jews came to him and he judged between them with the truth.
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The explanation of the statement of Allah, exalted is His mention: فَلا تَخْشَوُا النَّاسَ وَاخْشَوْنِ وَلا تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِي ثَمَنًا قَلِيلا ("So do not fear the people, but fear Me, and do not sell My signs for a small price") (5:44).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted says, praised is His mention, to the learned of the Jews and their scholars: Do not fear the people in carrying out My judgment with which I have judged over My servants, and in executing it over them as I have commanded, for they are not able to harm you or benefit you except with My permission. And do not conceal the stoning which I have made in the Torah the judgment over the married adulterers, but fear Me above every one of My creatures, for benefit and harm are in My hand; and fear My punishment when you hide what is entrusted to you of My Book. As:
12019 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn told me, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal told us, he said: Asbāṭ told us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "So do not fear the people, but fear Me" — He says: Do not fear the people, such that you hide what I have sent down.
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As for His statement: "and do not sell My signs for a small price" — He says: And do not take, for refraining from judging according to the signs of My Book which I sent down to Mūsā, O scholars, any contemptible recompense. = And that is "the small price". And the Exalted, praised is His mention, intended only to forbid them to consume the unlawful gain (al-suḥt) by distorting the Book of Allah and altering His judgment from what He has decreed concerning the married adulterers, as well as other judgments which they exchanged out of greed for bribes, as:
12020 - Yūnus told me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: "and do not sell My signs for a small price", he said: Do not consume the unlawful gain (al-suḥt) in exchange for [concealing] My Book. = And another time he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: "and do not sell My signs for a price", he said: Do not accept a bribe for it.
12021 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn told us, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal told us, he said: Asbāṭ told us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "and do not sell My signs for a small price", [that means:] and do not accept a small desire [gain] in exchange for concealing what I have sent down.
* * *
The explanation of the statement of Allah, exalted is His mention: وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ ("And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers (al-kāfirūn)") (5:44).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted says, praised is His mention: And whoever conceals the judgment of Allah which He sent down in His Book and made the judgment among His servants, and then keeps it hidden and judges with something else — like the judgment of the Jews over the married adulterers by means of al-tajbīh (parading around in disgrace) and al-taḥmīm (smearing with black), and their concealing of the stoning, and like their decree concerning some of their slain with a full blood-money and concerning others with half the blood-money, and concerning the eminent ones with retaliation (qiṣāṣ) and concerning the lowly ones with blood-money, while Allah has equated them all in the judgment over them in the Torah — = "they are the ones who are the disbelievers" — He says: These who did not judge according to what Allah sent down in His Book, but exchanged and altered His judgment, and concealed the truth which He sent down in His Book, "they are the disbelievers" — He says: they are those who covered the truth which it was their duty to disclose and make clear, and which they veiled from the people and in place of which they showed them something else and judged with it, for the sake of the unlawful gain (suḥt) which they accepted from them for it.
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And the exegetes have differed about the explanation of "the disbelief (al-kufr)" in this place.
Some of them said in accordance with what we have said about it, namely that by it are meant the Jews who distorted the Book of Allah and altered His judgment.
The mention of who said that:
12022 - Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: Abū Muʿāwiya told us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Murra, on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, concerning His statement: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْـزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ ("And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the wrongdoers") [Surah Al-Māʾidah: 45], وَمَنْ لَمْ يَحْكُمْ بِمَا أَنْـزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ ("And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the corrupt (al-fāsiqūn)") [Surah Al-Māʾidah: 47] — they all pertain to the disbelievers.
12023 - Al-Muthannā told me, he said: Isḥāq told us, he said: Muḥammad ibn al-Qāsim told us, he said: Abū Ḥayyān told us, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, who said: The three verses that are in "al-Māʾida" — "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers" = "they are the ones who are the wrongdoers", "they are the ones who are the corrupt" — none of them concerns the adherents of Islam; they pertain to the disbelievers.
12024 - Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: my father told us, on the authority of Abū Ḥayyān, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", and "the wrongdoers" and "the corrupt", he said: These verses were sent down concerning the People of the Book.
12025 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā told us, he said: al-Muʿtamir ibn Sulaymān told us, he said: I heard ʿImrān ibn Ḥudayr say: People of the Banū ʿAmr ibn Sadūs came to Abū Mijlaz and said: "O Abū Mijlaz, what is your judgment on the statement of Allah: 'And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers' — is it true?" He said: "Yes!" They said: "'And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the wrongdoers' — is it true?" He said: "Yes!" They said: "'And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the corrupt' — is it true?" He said: "Yes!" He said: Then they said: "O Abū Mijlaz, do these [the rulers] then judge according to what Allah has sent down?" He said: "It is their religion to which they adhere, and of it they testify, and to it they call; and if they neglect anything of it, they know that they have committed a sin!" They said: "No, by Allah, but you are merely afraid!" He said: "You are more inclined to this than I am! I do not see [it so], but you see this so and do not feel burdened by it; yet it was sent down concerning the Jews and the Christians and the adherents of polytheism" — or something similar.
12026 - Al-Muthannā told me, he said: Ḥajjāj told us, he said: Ḥammād told us, on the authority of ʿImrān ibn Ḥudayr, who said: A group of the Ibāḍiyya was sitting with Abū Mijlaz. He said: Then they said to him: "Allah says: 'And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers', 'they are the ones who are the wrongdoers', 'they are the ones who are the corrupt'!" Abū Mijlaz said: "They [the commanders] act according to what they know — that is to say the commanders — and they know that it is a sin!" He said: "And this verse was sent down only concerning the Jews!" The Christians [meant: they] said: "Indeed, by Allah, you know the same as what we know, but you fear them!" He said: "You are more inclined to this than we are! As for us, we do not know what you know!" [They] said: "But you do know it, yet it restrains you from carrying out your affair out of fear of them!"
12027 - Ibn Bashshār told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān told us, he said: Sufyān told us = and Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: my father told us, on the authority of Sufyān = on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, on the authority of Abū al-Bakhtarī, on the authority of Ḥudhayfa, concerning His statement: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", he said: "What good brothers the Banū Isrāʾīl are for you, if for you is every sweet [thing] and for them every bitter [thing]! Indeed, you will tread their path to the length of a sandal-strap (qadā al-shirāk)."
12028 - Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: my father told us, on the authority of Abū Ḥayyān, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", and "the wrongdoers" and "the corrupt", he said: These verses were sent down concerning the People of the Book.
12029 - Hannād ibn al-Sarī told us, he said: Wakīʿ told us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, on the authority of Abū al-Bakhtarī, who said: It was said to Ḥudhayfa: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers" — then he mentioned something similar to the narration of Ibn Bashshār, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān.
12030 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, on the authority of Abū al-Bakhtarī, who said: A man asked Ḥudhayfa about these verses: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", "they are the ones who are the wrongdoers", "they are the ones who are the corrupt". Then it was said: "Does that pertain to the Banū Isrāʾīl?" He said: "What good brothers the Banū Isrāʾīl are for you, if for them is every bitter [thing] and for you every sweet [thing]! By no means, by Allah, you will tread their path to the length of a sandal-strap!"
12031 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of a man, on the authority of ʿIkrima, who said: These verses pertain to the People of the Book.
12032 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh told us, he said: Yazīd told us, he said: Saʿīd told us, on the authority of Qatāda, [concerning] his statement: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers" — it was related to us that these verses were sent down concerning the slain of the Jews who was from among them.
12033 - Al-Qāsim told us, he said: al-Ḥusayn told us, he said: Ḥajjāj told me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿIkrima, [concerning] his statement: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", and "the wrongdoers" and "the corrupt" — [they pertain] to the People of the Book, all of them, because of what they neglected of the Book of Allah.
12034 - Al-Qāsim told us, he said: al-Ḥusayn told us, he said: Abū Muʿāwiya told me, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Murra, on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, who said: A Jew was led past the Prophet ﷺ who had been smeared with black and flogged. He summoned them and said: "Is this how you find the prescribed punishment (ḥadd) for the one who commits fornication?" They said: "Yes!" Then he summoned a man of their learned ones and said: "I adjure you by Allah, Who sent down the Torah to Mūsā, is this how you find the prescribed punishment for the adulterer in your Book?" He said: "No, and had you not adjured me by this, I would not have told you. We find in our Book that his punishment is the stoning (rajm), but it [fornication] became frequent among our eminent ones, and so we let the eminent one go free when we seized him, and carried out the punishment over the lowly one when we seized him. Then we said: 'Come, let us jointly agree on the smearing with black and the flogging in place of the stoning.'" Then the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "O Allah, indeed I am the first to revive Your command when they had caused it to die!" And he gave the command concerning him, and he was stoned. Then Allah sent down: يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ لا يَحْزُنْكَ الَّذِينَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْكُفْرِ ("O Messenger, let them not grieve you who hasten into disbelief") up to His statement: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", that means the Jews. "They are the ones who are the wrongdoers", that means the Jews. "They are the ones who are the corrupt", [that pertains] to all disbelievers.
12035 - Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā told me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", he said: Whoever judges according to his book which he wrote with his own hand, and neglects the Book of Allah, and claims that this book of his is from Allah, he has committed disbelief.
12036 - Hannād told us, he said: Abū Muʿāwiya told us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Murra, on the authority of al-Barāʾ ibn ʿĀzib, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, something similar to the narration of al-Qāsim on the authority of al-Ḥasan — except that Hannād in his narration said: Then we said: "Come, let us jointly agree on something which we carry out over the eminent and the weak", and so we agreed on the smearing with black and the flogging in place of the stoning — and the rest of the narration is like the narration of al-Qāsim.
12037 - Al-Rabīʿ told us, he said: Ibn Wahb told us, he said: Ibn Abī al-Zinād told us, on the authority of his father, who said: We were with ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUtba ibn Masʿūd, and a man mentioned in his presence: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the wrongdoers", "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the corrupt". Then ʿUbayd Allāh said: "Indeed, by Allah, many of the people explain these verses in a manner in which they were not sent down, whereas they were sent down only concerning two tribes of the Jews." Then he said: "They are [the tribes] Qurayẓa and al-Naḍīr, and that was because one of the two parties had fought the other and overcome it before the arrival of the Prophet ﷺ in Medina, until they made peace and agreed that for every slain person whom the mighty [party] would kill of the lowly [party], the blood-money would be fifty wasq, and for every slain person whom the lowly [party] would kill of the mighty [party], the blood-money would be one hundred wasq. Thus they gave them [more] out of fear and out of submission to injustice. Then the Prophet ﷺ arrived while they were in that state, and both parties were humbled by the arrival of the Prophet ﷺ, while the Prophet ﷺ had not yet gained power over either of them. While they were in that state, the lowly [party] killed a slain person of the mighty [party]. The mighty [party] said: 'Give us one hundred wasq!' The lowly [party] said: 'Has this ever occurred among two tribes whose religion is one and whose land is one, that the blood-money of the one is double the blood-money of the other? We gave you this only out of fear of you and out of submission to injustice; let us then make Muḥammad ﷺ arbiter between us.' Thus they both agreed to make the Prophet ﷺ arbiter between them. Then the mighty [party] deliberated among themselves, and they feared that the Prophet ﷺ would not give them, from their adversaries, double of what they gave to their adversaries. So they sent in secret their brothers of the hypocrites (al-munāfiqīn) to the Prophet ﷺ and said to them: 'Ascertain for us the opinion of Muḥammad ﷺ: if he gives us what we want, then we make him arbiter, and if he does not give it to us, then we are on our guard and do not make him arbiter!' The hypocrite went to the Prophet ﷺ, and Allah, exalted is His mention, informed the Prophet ﷺ about everything that they intended by that matter." = ʿUbayd Allāh said: Then Allah, exalted is His mention, sent down concerning them: يَا أَيُّهَا الرَّسُولُ لا يَحْزُنْكَ الَّذِينَ يُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْكُفْرِ ("O Messenger, let them not grieve you who hasten into disbelief") — all these verses, until He reached: وَلْيَحْكُمْ أَهْلُ الإِنْجِيلِ بِمَا أَنْـزَلَ اللَّهُ فِيهِ ("And let the people of the Gospel judge according to what Allah has sent down in it") up to "the corrupt". = ʿUbayd Allāh recited that verse by verse, and explained it as it was sent down, until he was finished [with] explaining it for them in the verses. Then he said: By this were meant only the Jews, and concerning them was this description sent down.
* * *
And some of them said: By "the disbelievers (al-kāfirīn)" are meant the adherents of Islam, by "the wrongdoers (al-ẓālimīn)" the Jews, and by "the corrupt (al-fāsiqīn)" the Christians.
The mention of who said that:
12038 - Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: my father told us, on the authority of Zakariyyā, on the authority of ʿĀmir, who said: "The disbelievers" was sent down concerning the Muslims, "the wrongdoers" concerning the Jews, and "the corrupt" concerning the Christians.
12039 - Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: Ibn Yamān told us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī al-Safar, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, who said: "The disbelievers", [that pertains] to the Muslims, "the wrongdoers" to the Jews, and "the corrupt" to the Christians.
12040 - Ibn Wakīʿ and Abū al-Sāʾib and Wāṣil ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā told us, they said: Ibn Fuḍayl told us, on the authority of Ibn Shubruma, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, who said: One verse [pertains] to us, and two verses to the People of the Book: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers" [pertains] to us, and concerning them: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the wrongdoers", and "the corrupt" [pertains] to the People of the Book.
12041 - Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: my father told us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Jābir, on the authority of ʿĀmir, like the narration of Zakariyyā on his authority.
12042 - Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Ṣamad ibn ʿAbd al-Wārith told us, he said: Shuʿba told us, on the authority of Ibn Abī al-Safar, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", he said: This [pertains] to the Muslims. "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the corrupt", he said: [concerning] the Christians.
12043 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm told me, he said: Hushaym told us, he said: Zakariyyā ibn Abī Zāʾida informed us, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, who said concerning these verses that are in "al-Māʾida": "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", he said: [That pertains] to us, the adherents of Islam. = "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the wrongdoers", he said: [That pertains] to the Jews. = "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the corrupt", he said: [That pertains] to the Christians.
12044 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Mahdī told us, he said: Sufyān told us, on the authority of Zakariyyā ibn Abī Zāʾida, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī concerning His statement: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", he said: The first [verse] was sent down concerning the Muslims, the second concerning the Jews, and the third concerning the Christians.
12045 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Zakariyyā, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, something similar.
12046 - Hannād told us, he said: Yaʿlā told us, on the authority of Zakariyyā, on the authority of ʿĀmir, something similar.
* * *
And others said: Rather, by this was meant: a disbelief beneath [true] disbelief, a wrongdoing beneath [true] wrongdoing, and a corruption beneath [true] corruption.
The mention of who said that:
12047 - Muḥammad ibn Bashshār told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān told us, he said: Sufyān told us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, [concerning] his statement: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the wrongdoers", "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the corrupt", he said: A disbelief beneath [true] disbelief, a corruption beneath [true] corruption, and a wrongdoing beneath [true] wrongdoing.
12048 - Ibn Bashshār told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān told us, he said: Ḥammād ibn Salama told us, on the authority of Ayyūb, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, something similar.
12049 - Al-Muthannā told me, he said: al-Ḥajjāj told us, he said: Ḥammād told us, on the authority of Ayyūb ibn Abī Tamīma, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Abī Rabāḥ, something similar.
12050 - Hannād ibn al-Sarī told us, he said: Wakīʿ told us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, something similar.
12051 - Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: my father told us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ, something similar.
12052 - Hannād told us, he said: Wakīʿ told us = and Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: my father told us = on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Saʿīd al-Makkī, on the authority of Ṭāwūs: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", he said: It is not a disbelief that causes one to depart from the religious community (al-milla).
12053 - Hannād told us, he said: Wakīʿ told us = and Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: my father told us = on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Maʿmar ibn Rāshid, on the authority of Ibn Ṭāwūs, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", he said: It is therein a [form of] disbelief, but it is not disbelief in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers.
12054 - Al-Ḥasan told me, he said: Abū Usāma told us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Ibn Ṭāwūs, on the authority of his father, who said: A man said to Ibn ʿAbbās concerning these verses: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down" — whoever does this, has he then committed disbelief? Ibn ʿAbbās said: When he does that, it is therein a [form of] disbelief, but it is not like the one who commits disbelief in Allah and the Last Day, and in this and that.
12055 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Ibn Ṭāwūs, on the authority of his father, who said: Ibn ʿAbbās was asked about His statement: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers." He said: It is therein a [form of] disbelief. = Ibn Ṭāwūs said: And it is not like the one who commits disbelief in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers.
12056 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Ṭāwūs: "they are the ones who are the disbelievers", he said: A disbelief that does not cause one to depart from the religious community. = He said: And ʿAṭāʾ said: A disbelief beneath [true] disbelief, a wrongdoing beneath [true] wrongdoing, and a corruption beneath [true] corruption.
* * *
And others said: Rather, these verses were sent down concerning the People of the Book, but they are intended for all people, their Muslims and their disbelievers.
The mention of who said that:
12057 - Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm, who said: These verses were sent down concerning the Banū Isrāʾīl, and He has made [them] for this community [of Islam] a thing of approval by them.
12058 - Ibn Wakīʿ told us, he said: my father told us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", he said: It was sent down concerning the Banū Isrāʾīl, and He has made it for you a thing of approval.
12059 - Ibn Bashshār told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān told us, he said: Sufyān told us, on the authority of Manṣūr, on the authority of Ibrāhīm concerning this verse: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", he said: It was sent down concerning the Banū Isrāʾīl, and then He made it for these [the Muslims] a thing of approval.
12060 - Al-Muthannā told me, he said: ʿAmr ibn ʿAwn told us, he said: Hushaym informed us, on the authority of ʿAwf, on the authority of al-Ḥasan concerning His statement: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", he said: It was sent down concerning the Jews, and it is binding upon us.
12061 - Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm told me, he said: Hushaym told us, he said: ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Abī Sulaymān informed us, on the authority of Salama ibn Kuhayl, on the authority of ʿAlqama and Masrūq: that they both asked Ibn Masʿūd about the bribe. He said: It belongs to the unlawful gain (al-suḥt). He said: Then they both said: [Does that also apply] in the judgment [adjudication]? He said: That is disbelief (al-kufr)! Then he recited this verse: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers."
12062 - Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn told me, he said: Aḥmad ibn Mufaḍḍal told us, he said: Asbāṭ told us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down", he says: And whoever does not judge according to what I have sent down, but neglects it deliberately and does wrong while he knows [that it is wrong], he belongs to the disbelievers.
* * *
And others said: The meaning of it is: And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, while he denies it. As for "the wrongdoing (al-ẓulm)" and "the corruption (al-fisq)": that applies to the one who acknowledges it [but does not judge according to it].
The mention of who said that:
12063 - Al-Muthannā told me, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ told us, he said: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ told me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, [concerning] his statement: "And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, they are the ones who are the disbelievers", he said: Whoever denies what Allah has sent down, he has committed disbelief. And whoever acknowledges it but does not judge according to it, he is a wrongdoer (ẓālim), a corrupt one (fāsiq).
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the most correct of these statements in my opinion is the statement of the one who said: These verses were sent down concerning the disbelievers among the People of the Book, because the verses that come before and after them were sent down concerning them, and they are meant by them. These verses form the connection of the report about them, so that they are a report about them is the most correct.
* * *
If now a speaker says: But Allah, exalted is His mention, generalized the report about it concerning all who do not judge according to what Allah has sent down; how then have you made it into something specific?
Then it is answered: Allah the Exalted generalized the report about it concerning a people who denied the judgment of Allah, with which He judged in His Book, and He reported about them that they, by their neglect of the judgment — in the manner in which they neglected it — are disbelievers. And likewise is the statement concerning everyone who does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, while he denies it: he is a disbeliever in Allah, as Ibn ʿAbbās said, because his denial of the judgment of Allah, after his knowledge that He has sent it down in His Book, is equivalent to his denial of the prophethood of His prophet, after his knowledge that he is a prophet.
