Tafseer of The Table · Al-Maaida · 5:79
They used not to prevent one another from wrongdoing that they did. How wretched was that which they were doing.
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: "They did not restrain one another from the abomination that they committed. How evil was that which they used to do!" (5:79)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise be mentioned, says: These Jews, whom Allah has cursed, "did not restrain one another," he says: they did not cease from the abomination (munkar) that they committed, and one did not forbid it to another. And by "the abomination" are meant the sins by which they disobeyed Allah.
The explanation of the words is therefore: They did not cease from the abomination that they performed; "how evil was that which they used to do!" And this is an oath of the Exalted, whose praise be mentioned. He says: I swear: how evil was the deed that they used to perform, in their failure to cease from the acts of disobedience to Allah, the Exalted, whose praise be mentioned, and in their committing of the things He forbade, and their killing of the prophets of Allah and His messengers, as in:
12313 - Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: "They did not restrain one another from the abomination that they committed," their souls did not restrain themselves, after they had fallen into unbelief (kufr).
