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Sura 4
Aya 46
46
مِنَ الَّذينَ هادوا يُحَرِّفونَ الكَلِمَ عَن مَواضِعِهِ وَيَقولونَ سَمِعنا وَعَصَينا وَاسمَع غَيرَ مُسمَعٍ وَراعِنا لَيًّا بِأَلسِنَتِهِم وَطَعنًا فِي الدّينِ ۚ وَلَو أَنَّهُم قالوا سَمِعنا وَأَطَعنا وَاسمَع وَانظُرنا لَكانَ خَيرًا لَهُم وَأَقوَمَ وَلٰكِن لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِكُفرِهِم فَلا يُؤمِنونَ إِلّا قَليلًا

Muhammad Asad

Among those of the Jewish faith there are some who distort the meaning of the [revealed] words, taking them out of their context and saying, [as it were,] "We have heard, but we disobey," and, "Hear without hearkening,"1 and, "Hearken thou unto us, [O Muhammad]" - thus making a play with their tongues, and implying that the [true] Faith is false.2 And had they but said, "We have heard, and we pay heed," and "Hear [us], and have patience with us," it would indeed have been for their own good, and more upright: but God has rejected them because of their refusal to acknowledge the truth - for it is in but few things that they believe.3
  • Cf. 2:93. figure of speech "hear without hearkening" addressed, as it were, by the Jews to themselves, describes their attitude towards both their own scriptures and the message of the Qur'an.
  • Lit., "making a thrust (ta'n) against the Faith" - i.e., attributing to it a fundamental defect. The saying "Hearken thou unto us" is meant to convey the conviction of the Jews that they had nothing to learn from the teaching propounded by the Prophet Muhammad, and that he should rather defer to their views on religious matters. See, in this connection, their assertion, "Our hearts are already full of knowledge", in 2:88.
  • See surah 2, verse 88.