Surah 4. An-Nisaa, Ayah 46
| مِنَ الَّذِينَ هَادُوا يُحَرِّفُونَ الْكَلِمَ عَنْ مَوَاضِعِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَاسْمَعْ غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ وَرَاعِنَا لَيًّا بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ وَطَعْنًا فِي الدِّينِ ۚ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا وَاسْمَعْ وَانْظُرْنَا لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَهُمْ وَأَقْوَمَ وَلَٰكِنْ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا |
| Transliteration | : | min 'alladhena haado yuh.arrifon al- kalim can mawaad.ic -hi wa- yaqolon samicnaa wa- cas.aynaa wa- ismac ghayr musmac wa- raaci -naa layy(an) bi- alsinah -him wa- t.acn(an) fe ad- den wa- law 'anna -hum qaalo samicnaa wa- at.acnaa wa- ismac wa- unz.ur -naa la- kaana khayr(an) la- -hum wa- aqwam wa- laakin lacana -hum 'allaah bi- kufr -him fa- laa yu'minon 'illaa qalel(an) |
| Pickthall | : | Some of those who are Jews change words from their context and say: "We hear and disobey; hear thou as one who heareth not" and "Listen to us!" distorting with their tongues and slandering religion. If they had said: "We hear and we obey; hear thou, and look at us" it had been better for them, and more upright. But Allah hath cursed them for their disbelief, so they believe not, save a few. |
| 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,"59 and, "Hearken thou unto us, [O Muhammad]" - thus making a play with their tongues, and implying that the [true] Faith is false.60 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.61 |
| Malik | : | Among the Jews there are some who take the words out of their context and utter them with a twist of their tongues to slander the true Deen (faith) and say: "We hear and we disobey;" and "Hear, may you (O Muhammad) hear nothing!" And "Ra'ina" (an ambiguous word meaning: "listen, may you become deaf," or "our shepherd," or "in judeo-Arabic language conveying the sense of "our evil one"). If only they had said: "We hear and we obey;" and "Hear us;" and "Unzurna ("look upon us," or " pay attention to us"): it would have been better for them and more proper. Due to all this Allah has cursed them for their unbelief. In fact with the exception of a few, they have no faith. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Of the Jews there are those who displace words from their (right) places and say: "We hear and we disobey"; and "Hear what is not heard": and "Ra`ina"; with a twist of their tongues and a slander to faith. If only they had said: "We hear and we obey"; and "Do hear"; and "Do look at us": it would have been better for them and more proper; but Allah hath cursed them for their unbelief; and but few of them will believe. 565 566 |
Note - 59Cf. 2:93. The 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.
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Note - 60Lit., "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.
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Note - 61See surah {2}, note [74].
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Note - 565See ii. 93, n. 98. A trick of the Jews was to twist words
and expressions, so as to ridicule the most solemn
teachings of Faith. Where they should have said, "We hear
and we obey," they said aloud, "We hear," and whispered,
"We disobey." Where they should have said respectfully,
"We hear," they added in a whisper, "May you not hear,"
by way of ridicule. Where they claimed the attention of
the Prophet, they used an ambiguous word apparently
harmless, but in their intention disrespectful.
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Note - 566See ii. 104, n. 106. "Raina" if used respectfully in the
Arabic way, would have meant "Please attend to us." With
a twist of their tongue, they suggested an insulting
meaning, such as "O thou that takest us to pasture!" or
in Hebrew, "Our bad one!"
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Cf. 2:93. The 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. |
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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. |
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See ii. 93, n. 98. A trick of the Jews was to twist words and expressions, so as to ridicule the most solemn teachings of Faith. Where they should have said, "We hear and we obey," they said aloud, "We hear," and whispered, "We disobey." Where they should have said respectfully, "We hear," they added in a whisper, "May you not hear," by way of ridicule. Where they claimed the attention of the Prophet, they used an ambiguous word apparently harmless, but in their intention disrespectful. |
