2:79 Al-Baqara (The Cow)

توعد تعالى المحرفين للكتاب, الذين يقولون لتحريفهم وما يكتبون: { هَذَا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ } وهذا فيه إظهار الباطل وكتم الحق, وإنما فعلوا ذلك مع علمهم { لِيَشْتَرُوا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا } والدنيا كلها من أولها إلى آخرها ثمن قليل، فجعلوا باطلهم شركا يصطادون به ما في أيدي الناس, فظلموهم من وجهين: من جهة تلبيس دينهم عليهم, ومن جهة أخذ أموالهم بغير حق, بل بأبطل الباطل, وذلك أعظم ممن يأخذها غصبا وسرقة ونحوهما، ولهذا توعدهم بهذين الأمرين فقال: { فَوَيْلٌ لَهُمْ مِمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ } أي: من التحريف والباطل { وَوَيْلٌ لَهُمْ مِمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ } من الأموال، والويل: شدة العذاب والحسرة, وفي ضمنها الوعيد الشديد. قال شيخ الإسلام لما ذكر هذه الآيات من قوله: { أَفَتَطْمَعُونَ } إلى { يَكْسِبُونَ } فإن الله ذم الذين يحرفون الكلم عن مواضعه, وهو متناول لمن حمل الكتاب والسنة, على ما أصله من البدع الباطلة. وذم الذين لا يعلمون الكتاب إلا أماني, وهو متناول لمن ترك تدبر القرآن ولم يعلم إلا مجرد تلاوة حروفه، ومتناول لمن كتب كتابا بيده مخالفا لكتاب الله, لينال به دنيا وقال: إنه من عند الله, مثل أن يقول: هذا هو الشرع والدين, وهذا معنى الكتاب والسنة, وهذا معقول السلف والأئمة, وهذا هو أصول الدين, الذي يجب اعتقاده على الأعيان والكفاية، ومتناول لمن كتم ما عنده من الكتاب والسنة, لئلا يحتج به مخالفه في الحق الذي يقوله. وهذه الأمور كثيرة جدا في أهل الأهواء جملة, كالرافضة, وتفصيلا مثل كثير من المنتسبين إلى الفقهاء.

وقوله تعالى "فويل للذين يكتبون الكتاب بأيديهم" ثم يقولون "هذا من عند الله ليشتروا به ثمنا قليلا" الآية. هؤلاء صنف آخر من اليهود وهم الدعاة إلى الضلال بالزور والكذب على الله وأكل أموال الناس بالباطل والويل والهلاك والدمار وهي كلمة مشهورة في اللغة: وقال سفيان الثوري عن زياد بن فياض سمع أبا عياض يقول: ويل صديد في أصل جهنم. وقال عطاء بن يسار: الويل واد في جهنم لو سيرت فيه الجبال لماعت. وقال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا يونس بن عبدالأعلى أخبرنا ابن وهب أخبرني عمرو بن الحارث عن دراج عن أبي الهيثم عن أبي سعيد الخدري عن رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - قال: "ويل واد في جهنم يهوي فيه الكافر أربعين خريفا قبل أن يبلغ قعره" ورواه الترمذي عن عبدالرحمن بن حميد عن الحسن بن موسى عن ابن لهيعة عن دراج به وقال هذا حديث غريب لا نعرفه إلا من حديث ابن لهيعة "قلت" لم ينفرد به ابن لهيعة كما ترى ولكن الآفة ممن بعده وهذا الحديث بهذا الإسناد مرفوع منكر والله أعلم. قال ابن جرير حدثنا المثنى حدثنا إبراهيم بن عبدالسلام حدثنا صالح القشيري حدثنا علي بن جرير عن حماد بن سلمة عن عبدالحميد بن جعفر عن كنانة العدوي عن عثمان بن عفان - رضي الله عنه - عن رسول الله - صلى الله عليه وسلم - "فويل لهم مما كتبت أيديهم وويل لهم مما يكسبون" قال "الويل جبل في النار" وهو الذي أنزل في اليهود لأنهم حرفوا التوراة زادوا فيها ما أحبوا ومحوا منها ما يكرهون ومحوا اسم محمد - صلى الله عليه وسلم - من التوراة ولذلك غضب الله عليهم فرفع بعض التوراة فقال تعالى "فويل لهم مما كتبت أيديهم وويل لهم مما يكسبون" وهذا غريب أيضا جدا وعن ابن عباس الويل المشقة من العذاب وقال: الخليل بن أحمد الويل شدة الشر وقال سيبويه ويل لمن وقع في الهلكة وويح لمن أشرف عليها وقال الأصمعي الويل تفجع والويل ترحم وقال: وغيره الويل الحزن وقال الخليل وفي معنى ويل ويح وويش وويه وويك وويب ومنهم من فرق بينها وقال بعض النحاة إنما جاز الابتداء بها وهي نكرة لأن فيها معنى الدعاء ومنهم من جوز نصبها بمعنى ألزمهم ويلا "قلت" لكن لم يقرأ بذلك أحد وعن عكرمة عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما "فويل للذين يكتبون الكتاب بأيديهم" قال هم أحبار اليهود وكذا قال سعيد عن قتادة هم اليهود وقال سفيان الثوري عن عبدالرحمن بن علقمة سألت ابن عباس - رضي الله عنه - عن قوله تعالى فويل للذين يكتبون الكتاب بأيديهم قال: نزلت في المشركين وأهل الكتاب وقال: السدي كان ناس من اليهود كتبوا كتابا من عندهم يبيعونه من العرب ويحدثونهم أنه من عند الله فيأخذوا به ثمنا قليلا وقال الزهري أخبرني عبيدالله بن عبدالله عن ابن عباس أنه قال: يا معشر المسلمين كيف تسألون أهل الكتاب عن شيء وكتاب الله الذي أنزله على نبيه أحدث أخبار الله تقرءونه غضا لم يشب وقد حدثكم الله تعالى أن أهل الكتاب قد بدلوا كتاب الله وغيروه وكتبوا بأيديهم الكتاب وقالوا هو من عند الله ليشتروا به ثمنا قليلا أفلا ينهاكم ما جاءكم من العلم عن مساءلتهم ولا والله ما رأينا منهم أحدا قط سألكم عن الذي أنزل عليكم رواه البخاري من طرق عن الزهري وقال الحسن بن أبي الحسن البصري: الثمن القليل الدنيا بحذافيرها. وقوله تعالى "فويل لهم مما كتبت أيديهم وويل لهم مما يكسبون" أي فويل لهم مما كتبوا بأيديهم من الكذب والبهتان والافتراء وويل لهم مما أكلوا به من السحت كما قال الضحاك عن ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما فويل لهم يقول فالعذاب عليهم من الذي كتبوا بأيديهم من ذلك الكذب وويل لهم مما يكسبون يقول مما يأكلون به الناس السفلة وغيرهم.

The Meaning of `Ummi

Allah said,

وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ

(And there are among them Ummyyun people) meaning, among the People of the Book, as Mujahid stated. Ummyyun, is plural for Ummi, that is, a person who does not write, as Abu Al-`Aliyah, Ar-Rabi`, Qatadah, Ibrahim An-Nakha`i and others said. This meaning is clarified by Allah's statement,

لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ الْكِتَـبَ

(Who know not the Book) meaning, are they not aware of what is in it.

Ummi was one of the descriptions of the Prophet because he was unlettered. For instance, Allah said,

وَمَا كُنتَ تَتْلُو مِن قَبْلِهِ مِن كِتَـبٍ وَلاَ تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ إِذاً لاَّرْتَـبَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ

(Neither did you (O Muhammad ) read any book before it (this Qur'an) nor did you write any book (whatsoever) with your right hand. In that case, indeed, the followers of falsehood might have doubted) (29:48).

Also, the Prophet said,

«إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ لَا نَكْتُبُ وَلَا نَحْسِبُ، الشَّهْرُ هكَذَا وَهكَذَا وَهكَذَا»

(We are an Ummi nation, neither writing nor calculating. The (lunar) month is like this, this and this (i.e. thirty or twenty-nine days.)

This Hadith stated that Muslims do not need to rely on books, or calculations to decide the timings of their acts of worship. Allah also said,

هُوَ الَّذِى بَعَثَ فِى الأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولاً مِّنْهُمْ

(He it is Who sent among the Ummiyyin ones a Messenger (Muhammad ) from among themselves) (62:2).

The Explanation of Amani

Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn `Abbas said that Allah's statement,

إِلاَّ أَمَانِىَّ

(But they trust upon Amani) means, "It is just a false statement that they utter with their tongues." It was also said that Amani means `wishes and hopes'. Mujahid commented, "Allah described the Ummiyyin as not understanding any of the Book that Allah sent down to Musa, yet they create lies and falsehood." Therefore, the word Amani mentioned here refers to lying and falsehood. Mujahid said that Allah's statement,

وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلاَّ يَظُنُّونَ

(And they but guess) means, "They lie." Qatadah, Abu Al-`Aliyah and Ar-Rabi` said that it means, "They have evil false ideas about Allah."

Woe unto Those Criminals among the Jews

Allah said,

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ الْكِتَـبَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَـذَا مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ لِيَشْتَرُواْ بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلاً

(Then Waylun (woe) to those who write the book with their own hands and then say, "This is from Allah," to purchase with it a little price!).

This is another category of people among the Jews who called to misguidance with falsehood and lies about Allah, thriving on unjustly amassing people's property. `Waylun (woe)' carries meanings of destruction and perishing, and it is a well-known word in the Arabic language. Az-Zuhri said that `Ubadydullah bin `Abdullah narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, "O Muslims! How could you ask the People of the Book about anything, while the Book of Allah (Qur'an) that He revealed to His Prophet is the most recent Book from Him and you still read it fresh and young Allah told you that the People of the Book altered the Book of Allah, changed it and wrote another book with their own hands. They then said, `This book is from Allah,' so that they acquired a small profit by it. Hasn't the knowledge that came to you prohibited you from asking them By Allah! We have not seen any of them asking you about what was revealed to you." This Hadith was also collected by Al-Bukhari. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "The little amount here means this life and all that it contains."

Allah's statement,

فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُمْ مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُمْ مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ

(Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for that they earn thereby) means, "Woe to them because of what they have written with their own hands, the lies, falsehood and alterations. Woe to them because of the property that they unjustly acquired." Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn `Abbas commented,

فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُمْ

(Woe to them), "Means the torment will be theirs because of the lies that they wrote with their own hands,

وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُمْ مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ

(And woe to them for that they earn thereby), which they unjustly acquired from people, be they commoners or otherwise."

So woe a severe chastisement to those who write the Scripture with their hands that is fabricating it themselves then say ‘This is from God’ that they may sell it for a small price of this world these are the Jews the ones that altered the description of the Prophet in the Torah as well as the ‘stoning’ verse and other details and rewrote them in a way different from that in which they were revealed. So woe to them for what their hands have written of fabrications and woe to them for their earnings by way of bribery rishan plural of rishwa.

Allah reminds the Jews that He is omniscient, and knows what they try to keep concealed as well as what they say or do openly. So, it would make no difference at all, if the hypocrites tried to conceal their infidelity from the Muslims, or the other group, not to disclose the verses of the Torah which speak of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . For, Allah Himself has, on different occasions, informed the Muslims in the Holy Qur'an as to the hypocrisy of certain Jews and as to the testimony of the Torah also.

Verse 77 deals with the educated ones among the Jews, while Verse 78 speaks of those who were unlettered. These men had no knowledge of the Torah, and were even deficient in their understanding. Then, the Jewish scholars did not give them correct or proper information about their religion. No wonder, their minds were stuffed only with baseless superstitions which they found very pleasant and flattering.

Since the dishonesty of their scholars was the real cause of their superstitiousness, the crime of the former was greater than that of the latter. So, Verse 79 turns to the Jewish scholars. They were greedy and self-seeking, and in order to please the people for receiving money and respect from them, they used to misrepresent divine injunctions, going so far as to change the words of the Torah or distort the sense, pretending all the while that this was just what Allah had said or meant. The Verse 79 announces a grievous punishment for these two sins - distorting the Word of Allah and earning money by doing so.

A doctrinal point

Verse 78 says that the illiterate Jews follow their Zann ظن ، that is to say, their fancies or conjectures. Some people do not pay any attention to the context in which the word has been used here, and come to the erroneous conclusion that it is not legitimate to accept or follow any view or injunction based on Zann ظن ، which they always translate as "a fanciful supposition." This, no doubt, is one of the lexical meanings of the word, but only one. Let us explain that the Holy Qur'an uses the word Zann ظن in three ways:

(1) To signify perfect certitude -"Those who are certain that they are going to meet their Lord" (2:46). (2) To signify the greatest likelihood - "And he said to him whom he thought was the more likely of the two to be released from the prison" (12:42). (3) To signify a mere fanciful supposition - as in the present verse. The Zann ظن which the Holy Qur'an prohibits us to follow is that of the third kind. This verse condemns the Jews for having followed this kind of Zann ظن which consists in a fanciful opinion that is not supported by a respectable argument or goes against a valid one. On the contrary, it is necessary to follow the Zann ظن of the first two kinds. When certain ahadith or certain arguments and conclusions in the Shari` ah are described as resting on Zann ظن ، it is done according to the second signification of the word. One cannot avoid this kind of Zann ظن in any sphere of life, and the Shari` ah requires us to accept and follow it. Certain verses of the Holy Qur'an, of course, condemn those who follow their Zann ظن ، but to apply this condemnation to all the possible cases, and to use such verses for rejecting all the legitimate arguments and injunctions of the Shariah based on Zann ظن is to betray one's ignorance of the Holy Qur'an.

(Therefore woe be unto those who write the Scripture with their hands and then say, �This is from Allah��) [2:79]. This was revealed about those who had changed the description of the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, and altered his traits. Al-Kalbi mentioned, through the above-mentioned chain of transmission: �They had changed the description of Allah�s Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, in their Scripture. They made him white and tall while the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace, was brown and of medium height. They had said to their followers and companions: �Look at the description of the prophet who will be sent at the end of time; his description does not match that of this [man]�. The Jewish rabbis and doctors used to gain some worldly benefits from the Jewish people and so they were afraid of losing this gain if they were ever to show the real description. It is for this reason that they had changed it�.