سُوْرَةُ النِّسَآءِ
Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 46
مِّنَ ٱلَّذِينَ هَادُوا۟ يُحَرِّفُونَ ٱلْكَلِمَ عَن مَّوَاضِعِهِۦ وَيَقُولُونَ سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا وَٱسْمَعْ غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ وَرَٰعِنَا لَيًّۢا بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ وَطَعْنًا فِى ٱلدِّينِ ۚ وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ قَالُوا۟ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا وَٱسْمَعْ وَٱنظُرْنَا لَكَانَ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ وَأَقْوَمَ وَلَـٰكِن لَّعَنَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُفْرِهِمْ فَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا ﴿46﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Among those who are Jews, there are some who displace words from (their) right places and say: "We hear your word (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and disobey," and "Hear and let you (O Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) hear nothing." And Râ‘ina with a twist of their tongues and as a mockery of the religion (Islâm). And if only they had said: "We hear and obey", and "Do make us understand," it would have been better for them, and more proper; but Allâh has cursed them for their disbelief, so they believe not except a few.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
مِّنَ
mina
Of
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
those who
هَادُوا۟
hādū
are Jews
يُحَرِّفُونَ
yuḥarrifūna
they distort
ٱلْكَلِمَ
l-kalima
the words
عَن
ʿan
from
مَّوَاضِعِهِۦ
mawāḍiʿihi
their places
وَيَقُولُونَ
wayaqūlūna
and they say
سَمِعْنَا
samiʿ'nā
We hear[d]
وَعَصَيْنَا
waʿaṣaynā
and we disobey[ed]
وَٱسْمَعْ
wa-is'maʿ
and "Hear
غَيْرَ
ghayra
not
مُسْمَعٍۢ
mus'maʿin
to be heard
وَرَٰعِنَا
warāʿinā
and "Raina
لَيًّۢا
layyan
twisting
بِأَلْسِنَتِهِمْ
bi-alsinatihim
[with] their tongues
وَطَعْنًۭا
waṭaʿnan
and defaming
فِى
fī
[in]
ٱلدِّينِ ۚ
l-dīni
the religion
وَلَوْ
walaw
And if
أَنَّهُمْ
annahum
[that] they
قَالُوا۟
qālū
(had) said
سَمِعْنَا
samiʿ'nā
We hear[d]
وَأَطَعْنَا
wa-aṭaʿnā
and we obey[ed]
وَٱسْمَعْ
wa-is'maʿ
and "Hear
وَٱنظُرْنَا
wa-unẓur'nā
and look (at) us
لَكَانَ
lakāna
surely it (would) have been
خَيْرًۭا
khayran
better
لَّهُمْ
lahum
for them
وَأَقْوَمَ
wa-aqwama
and more suitable
وَلَـٰكِن
walākin
[And] but
لَّعَنَهُمُ
laʿanahumu
cursed them
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
Allah
بِكُفْرِهِمْ
bikuf'rihim
for their disbelief
فَلَا
falā
so not
يُؤْمِنُونَ
yu'minūna
they believe
إِلَّا
illā
except
قَلِيلًۭا
qalīlan
a few
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
46. Among the Jews are some who distort the words of the Book from their proper places [77.1], and they say, twisting their tongues and mocking the religion: "We hear and disobey," and "Hear, but may you not be heard," and "Ra‘ina." If instead they had said, "We hear and obey," and "Listen," and "Look upon us" [78], it would have been better and more proper for them. But Allah has cursed them for their disbelief, so only a few of them will believe.
[77۔ الف] The Torah was revealed in the Hebrew language, but the original Torah was lost twice. Then reliance was placed on its translations in different languages. Nowadays, the collection of the Torah and the Gospel is called the Holy Bible. The part of the Torah is called the Old Testament and the part of the Gospel is called the New Testament. In addition to alterations, many interpolated subjects have also been included in them, from which it is clear that this text cannot be revealed. As is evident from the following passages:
1. "So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." [ كتاب استثناء باب 34] From this passage, it is clear that this is not part of the divine book but an interpolated subject that was included in the Bible long after the death of Sayyiduna Musa.
2. "And the children of Israel journeyed, and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder." [كتاب پيدائش باب 35، آيت 21] This passage is interpolated because Ader is the name of the tower that was at the gate of the city of Jerusalem, and it was built several hundred years after the death of Sayyiduna Musaؑ.
3. "And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah." [كتاب گنتي باب 21، آيت 3] This passage is also not revealed because this incident occurred not only after Sayyiduna Musaؑ but even after Sayyiduna Yushaؑ. For Musaؑ did not even reach Canaan in his lifetime. How could the towns have been declared forbidden? In response, most of the scholars of the People of the Book say that these sentences are interpolations and were added by Sayyiduna Uzairؑ, but Sayyiduna Uzairؑ did not explicitly state that this is his speech. Moreover, from the continuity of the text, it also appears that this speech is connected. These are places that are historically proven to be incorrect, but most of the passages of the Bible are such that they do not appear to be the word of Allah, but rather the word of someone else. For example:
4. The Book of Exodus, chapter 2, verse 11, is as follows: "And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown..." Consider whether this appears to be the word of Allah or that of a biographer? Similarly, in the same book and the same chapter, verse 15 is as follows: "Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh..." In short, there are countless verses in these books from which it is clear that they cannot be the word of Allah, nor are they the words of the Prophets, but it appears that a biographer recorded these events long after. Then even these were included in the Holy Book.
[78]
The Mischief of the Jews:
Those Jews who used to come to the gatherings of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, three types of their actions are mentioned in these verses. One is that when they heard a divine command, they would loudly say ﴿سَمِعْنَا﴾, but in a low voice or in their hearts, they would say ﴿عَصَيْنَا﴾ (meaning, we will not accept). Or they would twist the word ﴿اَطَعْنَا﴾ with their tongues and pronounce it in such a way that instead of ﴿اَطَعْنَا﴾, it would be understood as ﴿عَصَيْنَا﴾. (2) ﴿اِسْمَعْ﴾ (Listen to us), that is, when something was not clear to them and they needed to ask something, they would say ﴿اِسْمَعْ﴾ and at the same time say ﴿غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ﴾ in their hearts (meaning, may you not hear, or may you become deaf). (3) And sometimes, instead of ﴿اِسْمَعْ﴾, they would say ﴿رَاعِنَا﴾ and twist their tongues to say ﴿رَاعِيْنَا﴾ (our shepherd). Then among themselves, they would also say that if he were truly a Prophet, he would surely have been informed of our words. Thus, Allah Almighty informed the Muslims of their mischief and wickedness, and also made it clear that those who have become so firm in their misguidance and stubbornness, it is futile to expect them to believe—except whom Allah wills.
[77۔ الف] The Torah was revealed in the Hebrew language, but the original Torah was lost twice. Then reliance was placed on its translations in different languages. Nowadays, the collection of the Torah and the Gospel is called the Holy Bible. The part of the Torah is called the Old Testament and the part of the Gospel is called the New Testament. In addition to alterations, many interpolated subjects have also been included in them, from which it is clear that this text cannot be revealed. As is evident from the following passages:
1. "So Moses, the servant of the Lord, died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And He buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." [ كتاب استثناء باب 34] From this passage, it is clear that this is not part of the divine book but an interpolated subject that was included in the Bible long after the death of Sayyiduna Musa.
2. "And the children of Israel journeyed, and pitched his tent beyond the tower of Eder." [كتاب پيدائش باب 35، آيت 21] This passage is interpolated because Ader is the name of the tower that was at the gate of the city of Jerusalem, and it was built several hundred years after the death of Sayyiduna Musaؑ.
3. "And the Lord hearkened to the voice of Israel, and delivered up the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their cities: and he called the name of the place Hormah." [كتاب گنتي باب 21، آيت 3] This passage is also not revealed because this incident occurred not only after Sayyiduna Musaؑ but even after Sayyiduna Yushaؑ. For Musaؑ did not even reach Canaan in his lifetime. How could the towns have been declared forbidden? In response, most of the scholars of the People of the Book say that these sentences are interpolations and were added by Sayyiduna Uzairؑ, but Sayyiduna Uzairؑ did not explicitly state that this is his speech. Moreover, from the continuity of the text, it also appears that this speech is connected. These are places that are historically proven to be incorrect, but most of the passages of the Bible are such that they do not appear to be the word of Allah, but rather the word of someone else. For example:
4. The Book of Exodus, chapter 2, verse 11, is as follows: "And it came to pass in those days, when Moses was grown..." Consider whether this appears to be the word of Allah or that of a biographer? Similarly, in the same book and the same chapter, verse 15 is as follows: "Now when Pharaoh heard this thing, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from the face of Pharaoh..." In short, there are countless verses in these books from which it is clear that they cannot be the word of Allah, nor are they the words of the Prophets, but it appears that a biographer recorded these events long after. Then even these were included in the Holy Book.
[78]
The Mischief of the Jews:
Those Jews who used to come to the gatherings of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, three types of their actions are mentioned in these verses. One is that when they heard a divine command, they would loudly say ﴿سَمِعْنَا﴾, but in a low voice or in their hearts, they would say ﴿عَصَيْنَا﴾ (meaning, we will not accept). Or they would twist the word ﴿اَطَعْنَا﴾ with their tongues and pronounce it in such a way that instead of ﴿اَطَعْنَا﴾, it would be understood as ﴿عَصَيْنَا﴾. (2) ﴿اِسْمَعْ﴾ (Listen to us), that is, when something was not clear to them and they needed to ask something, they would say ﴿اِسْمَعْ﴾ and at the same time say ﴿غَيْرَ مُسْمَعٍ﴾ in their hearts (meaning, may you not hear, or may you become deaf). (3) And sometimes, instead of ﴿اِسْمَعْ﴾, they would say ﴿رَاعِنَا﴾ and twist their tongues to say ﴿رَاعِيْنَا﴾ (our shepherd). Then among themselves, they would also say that if he were truly a Prophet, he would surely have been informed of our words. Thus, Allah Almighty informed the Muslims of their mischief and wickedness, and also made it clear that those who have become so firm in their misguidance and stubbornness, it is futile to expect them to believe—except whom Allah wills.
