Tafsir of Surah An-Nisa' - Verse 53

The Envy and Miserly Conduct of the Jews

Allah asked the Jews if they have a share in the dominion. That is merely a statement of rebuke, since they do not have any share in the dominion. Allah then described them as misers,

فَإِذاً لاَّ يُؤْتُونَ النَّاسَ نَقِيراً

(Then in that case they would not give mankind even a Naqir.) Meaning, if they had a share in the sovereignty and dominion, they would not give anyone anything, especially Muhammad , even if it was the speck on the back of a date-stone, which is the meaning of Naqir according to Ibn `Abbas and the majority of the scholars. This Ayah is similar to another of Allah's statements,

قُل لَّوْ أَنتُمْ تَمْلِكُونَ خَزَآئِنَ رَحْمَةِ رَبِّى إِذًا لأمْسَكْتُمْ خَشْيَةَ الإِنفَاقِ

(Say: "If you possessed the treasure of the mercy of my Lord, then you would surely withold it out of fear of spending it.) meaning, for fear that what you have might end, although there is no such possibility here. This only demonstrates their greedy and stingy nature. This is why Allah said,

وَكَانَ الإنْسَـنُ قَتُورًا

(And man is ever Qatur) meaning Bakhil (stingy). Allah then said,

أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَآ ءَاتَـهُمُ اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ

(Or do they envy men for what Allah has given them of His Bounty) referring to their envy of the Prophet for the great prophethood that Allah entrusted him with. Their envy made them reject him, because he was an Arab and not from the Children of Israel. At-Tabarani recorded that Ibn `Abbas said that,

أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ

(Or do they envy men) means, "We are the worthy people, rather than the rest of the people." Allah said,

فَقَدْ ءَاتَيْنَآ ءَالَ إِبْرَهِيمَ الْكِتَـبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَءَاتَيْنَـهُمْ مُّلْكاً عَظِيماً

(Then, We have already given the family of Ibrahim the Book and Al-Hikmah, and conferred upon them a great kingdom.) meaning, We gave the prophethood to the tribes of the Children of Israel, who are among the offspring of Ibrahim and sent down the Books to them. These Prophets ruled the Jews with the prophetic tradition, and We made kings among them. Yet,

فَمِنْهُمْ مَّنْ ءَامَنَ بِهِ

(Of them were (some) who believed in it;) referring to Allah's favor and bounty (Prophets, Books, kingship),

وَمِنْهُمْ مَّن صَدَّ عَنْهُ

(and of them were (some) who rejected it) by disbelieving in it, ignoring it, and hindering the people from its path, although this bounty was from and for them, the Children of Israel. They disputed with their own Prophets; so what about you, O Muhammad , especially since you are not from the Children of Israel Mujahid said,

فَمِنْهُمْ مَّنْ ءَامَنَ بِهِ

(Of them were (some) who believed in him,) "Muhammad ,

وَمِنْهُمْ مَّن صَدَّ عَنْهُ

(and of them were (some) who rejected him.)" Therefore, O Muhammad, the rejection of you because of their disbelief is even more severe and they are even further from the truth that you brought them. This is why Allah threatened them,

وَكَفَى بِجَهَنَّمَ سَعِيراً

(and enough is Hell for burning (them).), meaning, the Fire is a just punishment for them because of their disbelief, rebellion and defiance of Allah's Books and Messengers.

Linked with previous verses, the description of Jewish traits of character continues in the present verses as well.

The Jews, thinking that they belonged to the race of prophets, projected their community as a sacred one. In consequence, they laid claim to honour and privilege which they justified by the invention of numerous stories and parables. By their own lights, everyone who was Jewish by faith was destined for deliverance and would not be consigned to the fire of Hell. Clearly, their lives were dominated by wishful thinking. The Quranic statement that ‘it is indeed God who purifies whoever He pleases’ rejects such notion that ‘those who consider themselves pure’ are actually and necessarily so. It clarifies that no one may have honour and privilege on the basis of his links with a race or community; these things depend on the divine law of justice. One who, adhering to the divine law, proves himself deserving of honour, will have honour confered upon him, but one who, by his actions, fails to do so, will never be honoured—no matter which race or community he belongs to. The belief in community-based salvation, whether created by the Jews or any other group, is totally without foundation. To invent such a belief and associate it with God is an attempt to associate falsehood with Him. He has never imparted such teaching. God does not discriminate between people on the basis of group, community or race. Such discrimination is a great injustice, whereas God dispenses absolute justice: He does not deal unjustly with anyone. When decadence sets in among the People of the Book, its adherents begin to live a life of wishful thinking instead of following the commands of God. This leads to superstition gaining ground. What can be achieved only through the performance of good deeds, they attempt to gain through sorcery, false beliefs and communion with evil spirits. Such deviators consider religion as a matter of ‘sacred words’ and ‘special relations with saintly personages,’ which may bring miraculous results merely by pronouncing those words or practising the relevant rituals. They continue to pay lip service to religion, but in practice, they follow the path of Satan.