Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:78
Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of David and of Jesus, the son of Mary. That was because they disobeyed and [habitually] transgressed.
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 discourse on the explanation of His statement: Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam. That was because they were disobedient and used to transgress (5:78).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ: say to these Christians whose character the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, has described: do not exceed the bounds, so that you say concerning the Masīḥ something other than the truth, and do not say concerning him what the Jews said, those whom Allah cursed by the tongue of His prophets and messengers, Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam.
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And Allah's cursing of them by their tongue was as follows:
12298 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, he said: my father related to me, he said: my uncle related to me, he said: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his statement: "Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam" — he said: they were cursed by every tongue: they were cursed in the time of Mūsā in the Tawrāt, and they were cursed in the time of Dāwūd in the Zabūr, and they were cursed in the time of ʿĪsā in the Injīl, and they were cursed in the time of Muḥammad ﷺ in the Qurʾān.
12299 - Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, he said: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, his statement: "Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam", he says: they were cursed in the Injīl by the tongue of ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam, and they were cursed in the Zabūr by the tongue of Dāwūd.
12300 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Khuṣayf, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam", he said: they mingled with them after the prohibition in their commercial dealings, whereupon Allah struck the hearts of some of them against one another, and so they were cursed by the tongue of Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam.
12301 - Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Mujāhid: "Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam", he said: they were cursed by the tongue of Dāwūd and became apes, and they were cursed by the tongue of ʿĪsā and became swine.
12302 - Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Ibn ʿAbbās said, concerning his statement: "Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel", by every tongue they were cursed: in the time of Mūsā in the Tawrāt, and in the time of Dāwūd in the Zabūr, and in the time of ʿĪsā in the Injīl, and they were cursed by the tongue of Muḥammad ﷺ in the Qurʾān. Ibn Jurayj said: And others said: "Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of Dāwūd" — in his time, so they were cursed by his supplication. He said: Dāwūd passed by a group of them while they were in a house, and he said: "Who is in the house?" They said: "Swine." He said: "O Allah, make them swine!" And so they became swine. He said: Then his cursing befell them, and ʿĪsā called out against them and said: "O Allah, curse whoever has lied against me and against my mother, and make them despised apes!"
12303 - Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, his statement: "Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel" — the verse — Allah cursed them by the tongue of Dāwūd in his time, and made them despised apes — and in the Injīl by the tongue of ʿĪsā, and made them swine.
12304 - Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn Bazīʿ related to me, he said: Abū Miḥṣan Ḥuṣayn ibn Numayr related to us, on the authority of Ḥuṣayn — namely: Ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān — on the authority of Abū Mālik, who said: "Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of Dāwūd", he said: they were transformed into apes by the tongue of Dāwūd, and into swine by the tongue of ʿĪsā.
12305 - Yaʿqūb related to me, he said: Hushaym related to us, he said: Ḥuṣayn informed us, on the authority of Abū Mālik, the same.
12306 - Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Muḥammad al-Muḥāribī related to us, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Musayyab, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAmr ibn Murra, on the authority of Sālim al-Afṭas, on the authority of Abū ʿUbayda, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Indeed, a man of the Children of Israel, when he saw his brother in a sin, would forbid him from it only half-heartedly, and when the next day came, what he had seen from him did not prevent him from being his table-companion, his comrade, and his drinking-companion. When He saw that from them, He struck the hearts of some of them against one another, and He cursed them by the tongue of their prophet Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam — "That was because they were disobedient and used to transgress". He said: By Him in whose hand my soul is, you shall surely enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and you shall surely seize the hand of the wrongdoer, and you shall surely bend him forcefully toward the truth — or else Allah will strike the hearts of some of you against one another, and will curse you as He cursed them.
12307 - Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: al-Ḥakam ibn Bashīr ibn Salmān related to us, he said: ʿAmr ibn Qays al-Mulāʾī related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Badhīma, on the authority of Abū ʿUbayda, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, who said: When the wrong spread among the Children of Israel, the man began to meet the man and say: "O you, fear Allah!" But then that did not prevent him from eating and drinking with him. When Allah saw that from them, He struck the hearts of some of them against one another, and then He sent down upon them a Book: "Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam. That was because they were disobedient and used to transgress. They did not forbid one another the wrong that they committed; how evil was that which they used to do." And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was reclining, and he sat up straight and said: By no means, by Him in whose hand my soul is, until you bend the wrongdoer forcefully toward the truth.
12308 - ʿAlī ibn Sahl al-Ramlī related to us, he said: al-Muʾammal ibn Ismāʿīl related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, he said: ʿAlī ibn Badhīma related to us, on the authority of Abū ʿUbayda, I suspect: on the authority of Masrūq, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Indeed, the Children of Israel — when the wrong became apparent among them — the man began to see his brother, his neighbor, and his companion in the wrong, and he forbade it to him, but then that did not prevent him from being his table-companion, his drinking-companion, and his fellow. Then Allah struck the hearts of some of them against one another, and they were cursed by the tongue of Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam — "That was because they were disobedient and used to transgress", up to transgressors (fāsiqūn). ʿAbd Allāh said: And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was reclining, and he sat himself up straight, and he became angry and said: No, by Allah, until you seize the hand of the wrongdoer and bend him forcefully toward the truth.
12309 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Ibn Mahdī related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Badhīma, on the authority of Abū ʿUbayda, who said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Indeed, the Children of Israel — when corruption occurred among them — the man would see his brother in doubtful conduct and forbid it to him, and when the next day came, what he had seen from him did not prevent him from being his table-companion, his drinking-companion, and his comrade. Then Allah struck the hearts of some of them against one another, and the Qurʾān was sent down upon them, and He said: "Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam", until He came to but many of them are transgressors. He said: And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was reclining and sat up, and he said: No, until you seize the hand of the wrongdoer and bend him forcefully toward the truth.
12310 - Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Abū Dāwūd — he said: he dictated it to me — he said: Muḥammad ibn Abī al-Waḍḍāḥ related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Badhīma, on the authority of Abū ʿUbayda, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, the same.
12311 - Hannād ibn al-Sarī related to us, he said: Wakīʿ related to us — and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: my father related to us — on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Badhīma, who said: I heard Abū ʿUbayda say: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, and he mentioned something similar — except that they both said in their narration: And the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was reclining and sat himself up straight, and then said: By no means, by Him in whose hand my soul is, until you seize the hand of the wrongdoer and bend him forcefully toward the truth.
12312 - Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning his statement: "Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam", he said, he said: they were cursed in the Injīl and in the Zabūr — and he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: Indeed, the millstone of faith has begun to turn, so turn with the Qurʾān wherever it turns, [for it... Allah is ready with what He has imposed therein]. [And indeed, Ibn Marḥ (?)] was a community of the Children of Israel, they were people of justice, who enjoined what is right and forbade what is wrong, whereupon their people seized them and sawed them apart with saws and crucified them on the wood; and there remained of them a remnant, yet they were not content until they involved themselves with the kings and sat together with them, and then they were not content until they ate with them. Then Allah struck those hearts against one another and made them one. That is the statement of Allah, the Exalted: "Cursed were those who disbelieved among the Children of Israel by the tongue of Dāwūd" up to: "That was because they were disobedient and used to transgress". What was their disobedience? He said: They did not forbid one another the wrong that they committed; how evil was that which they used to do.
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The explanation of the words is therefore: Allah cursed those who disbelieved — among the Jews — in Allah, by the tongue of Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam; and, by Allah, their forefathers were cursed by the tongue of Dāwūd and ʿĪsā, the son of Maryam, because they were disobedient to Allah and opposed His command — "and used to transgress", that is to say: and they used to overstep His limits.
