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Surah An-Nisa, verse 51: meaning and tafsir
أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ نَصِيبًا مِّنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْجِبْتِ وَٱلطَّٰغُوتِ وَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ أَهْدَىٰ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ سَبِيلًا ٥١
Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture, who believe in idols[37] and Tāghoot [i.e., false gods][38], and they say to the disbelievers that they are more guided than the believers[39]?
Translation of the meanings: Rowwad Translation Center — version 1.0.19 · QuranEnc.com
[37] al-Jibt: all sorts of false things and everything that is worshiped besides Allah.
[38] al-Tāghūt: taken from ṭughyān, i.e. transgression and wrongdoing. All that transgresses against Allah. Anyone who condones being worshiped besides Allah is a ṭāghūt.
[39] Ibn ‘Abbās (رضي الله عنهما) reported: “When (the Jewish scholar) Ka‘b ibn al-Ashraf came to Makkah, the Quraysh asked him: “You are the best of the people of Madinah and their master. Aren’t you?” He replied: “Yes!” They then said: “What do you think of this sonless outcast (meaning Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) claiming that he is better than us when we are the custodians of pilgrims and the caretakers of the House of Allah!” He said: “You are indeed better than him!” Then the following verses were revealed: “Indeed, your hater is the one cut off”, (108: 3) and (5: 51- 52)”. [Al-Nasā’ī, Al-Sunan al-Kubrā: 11707; Ibn Ḥibbān: 6572]
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Al-Mukhtasar: Abridged Explanation of the Quran
Tafsir Center for Quranic Studies · QuranEnc.com
51. Do you not know, O Messenger, and wonder at the state of the Jews – who Allah gave a portion of knowledge – that believe in all sorts of false gods, and flatter the idolaters, saying that they are more rightly guided than the Companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Quran text: Tanzil Project (Tanzil Quran Text, Uthmani v1.1, CC BY 3.0). The translation and tafsir are quoted word for word, unchanged, from the Noble Quran Encyclopedia, QuranEnc.com, each credited to its source. Details on our sources page. These texts are quoted exactly as published; no answer is written by AI. Quran Chat does not issue fatwas.