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Tafsir

Scholarly commentary explaining a verse — its context, its meaning and how the scholars have understood it.

Al-Baqarah 2:174

Word by word

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَيَشْتَرُونَ بِهِۦ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا ۙ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ مَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِى بُطُونِهِمْ إِلَّا ٱلنَّارَ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

Indeed, they who conceal what Allāh has sent down of the Book and exchange it for a small price - those consume not into their bellies except the Fire. And Allāh will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them. And they will have a painful punishment.

Ibn Kathir (Abridged) English Ma'arif al-Qur'an English Tafsir Muyassar Arabic Tafsir Ibn Kathir Arabic All sources

Ibn Kathir (Abridged)

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Criticizing the Jews for concealing what Allah revealed

Allah said:إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْكِتَـبِ(Verily, those who conceal what Allah has sent down of the Book.) Meaning the Jews who concealed their Book's descriptions of Muhammad ﷺ, all of which testify to his truth as a Messenger and a Prophet. They concealed this information so that they would not lose authority and the position that they had with the Arabs, where they would bring them gifts, and honor them. The cursed Jews feared that if they announced what they know about Muhammad ﷺ, then the people would abandon them and follow him. So they hid the truth so that they may retain the little that they were getting, and they sold their souls for this little profit. They preferred the little that they gained over guidance and following the truth, believing in the Messenger and having faith in what Allah was sent him with. Therefore, they have profited failure and loss in this life and the Hereafter.

As for this world, Allah made the truth about His Messenger known anyway, by the clear signs and the unequivocal proofs. Thereafter, those whom the Jews feared would follow the Prophet , believed in him and followed him anyway, and so they became his supporters against them. Thus, the Jews earned anger on top of the wrath that they already had earned before, and Allah criticized them again many times in His Book. For instance, Allah said in this Ayah (2:174 above):إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَآ أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ مِنَ الْكِتَـبِ وَيَشْتَرُونَ بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيًلا(Verily, those who conceal what Allah has sent down of the Book, and purchase a small gain therewith (of worldly things).) meaning, the joys and delights of this earthly life. Allah said:أُولَـئِكَ مَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ إِلاَّ النَّارَ(...they eat into their bellies nothing but fire,) meaning, whatever they eat in return for hiding the truth, will turn into a raging fire in their stomachs on the Day of Resurrection.

Similarly, Allah said:إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَأْكُلُونَ أَمْوَلَ الْيَتَـمَى ظُلْماً إِنَّمَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِى بُطُونِهِمْ نَاراً وَسَيَصْلَوْنَ سَعِيراً(Verily, those who unjustly eat up the property of orphans, they eat up only fire into their bellies, and they will be burnt in the blazing Fire!) (4:10)Also, reported in an authentic Hadith is that Allah's Messenger ﷺ said:«الَّذِي يَأْكُلُ أَوْ يَشْرَبُ فِي آنِيةِ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ إنَّمَا يُجَرْجِرُ فِي بَطْنِهِ نَارَ جَهَنَّم»(Those who eat or drink in golden or silver plates are filling their stomachs with the fire of Jahannam (Hell).)Allah said:وَلاَ يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللَّهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَـمَةِ وَلاَ يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ(Allah will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor purify them, and theirs will be a painful torment.)This is because Allah is furious with them for concealing the truth. They thus deserve Allah's anger, so Allah will not look at them or purify them, meaning that He will not praise them but will cause them to taste a severe torment.

Then, Allah said about them:أُوْلَـئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُاْ الضَّلَـلَةَ بِالْهُدَى(Those are they who have purchased error for guidance.)Hence, they opposed the guidance, that is, not announcing the Prophet's description they find in their Books, the news about his prophecy and the good news of his coming which the previous Prophets proclaimed, as well as following and believing in him. Instead, they preferred misguidance by denying him, rejecting him and concealing his descriptions that were mentioned in their Books. Allah said:وَالْعَذَابَ بِالْمَغْفِرَةِ(...and torment at the price of forgiveness,) meaning, they preferred torment over forgiveness due to the sins they have committed. Allah then said:فَمَآ أَصْبَرَهُمْ عَلَى النَّارِ(So how bold they are (for evil deeds which will push them) to the Fire.)Allah states that they will suffer such severe, painful torment that those who see them will be amazed at how they could bear the tremendous punishment, torture and pain that they will suffer. We seek refuge with Allah from this evil end.

RAllah's Statement:ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ نَزَّلَ الْكِتَـبَ بِالْحَقِّ(That is because Allah has sent down the Book (the Qur'an) in truth. ) means, they deserve this painful torment because Allah has revealed Books to His Messenger Muhammad ﷺ, and the Prophets before him, and these revelations bring about truth and expose falsehood. Yet, they took Allah's signs for mockery. Their Books ordered them to announce the truth and to spread the knowledge, but instead, they defied the knowledge and rejected it. This Final Messenger ـ Muhammad ـ called them to Allah, commanded them to work righteousness and forbade them from committing evil. Yet, they rejected, denied and defied him and hid the truth that they knew about him. They, thus, mocked the Ayat that Allah revealed to His Messengers, and this is why they deserved the torment and the punishment. This is why Allah said here (2:176):ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللَّهَ نَزَّلَ الْكِتَـبَ بِالْحَقِّ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُواْ فِى الْكِتَـبِ لَفِى شِقَاقٍ بَعِيدٍ(That is because Allah has sent down the Book (the Qur'an) in truth.

And verily, those who disputed about the Book are far away in opposition.)

Ma'arif al-Qur'an

Mufti Muhammad Shafi

Mentioned in the earlier verses were unlawful things which are tangible. Now, the verses that follow take up the intangible deeds that have been made unlawful. These are evil deeds, inner and outer. For instance, religious scholars among the Jews were addicted to giving out false verdicts in favour of people who bribed them. They would go to the limit of distorting the verses of the Torah to suit the desire of their client. In this, there is a veiled warning given to the ` ulama', the religious scholars of the community of the Last of the prophets, that they should keep away from such practices and never fall short in disclosing the true injunctions of Allah for any material reason or vested interest of their own.

Earning money against the Faith

There is no doubt that people who conceal the contents of the Book of Allah and in return for this breach of trust, collect insignificant worldly gains are simply eating fire. When comes the Qiyamah (Doomsday), Allah Almighty will not speak to them affectionately, nor will He purify them by forgiving their sins. Their punishment will be terrible for they are the kind of people who, during their mortal life, chose to abandon guidance and adopt error, and in the Hereafter, they missed forgiveness and became deserving of punishment. They must be very courageous in that they are all set to go into Hell. All these punishments to them are because they elected to stray away from the Book of Allah, something so clear and true. It is evident that they must be victims of serious intransigence and are far out in schism, as a result of which they can expect to deserve a matching punishment.

Verse 175 tells us that a person who changes the injunction of Shari'ah in his greed for worldly gains, he should know that these worldly gains he consumes are like embers of fire he is storing in his stomach because that is the ultimate end of his deeds. Some perceptive ` Ulama' have said that unlawful wealth is, in reality, the very fire of Hell, even though we do not sense it as such during our lifetime in the mortal world, but once one dies, his or her deeds will appear in the form of fire.

Tafsir Muyassar

Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Saudi Arabia

إن الذين يُخْفون ما أنزل الله في كتبه من صفة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم وغير ذلك من الحق، ويحرصون على أخذ عوض قليل من عرض الحياة الدنيا مقابل هذا الإخفاء، هؤلاء ما يأكلون في مقابلة كتمان الحق إلا نار جهنم تتأجج في بطونهم، ولا يكلمهم الله يوم القيامة لغضبه وسخطه عليهم، ولا يطهرهم من دنس ذنوبهم وكفرهم، ولهم عذاب موجع.

Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

يقول تعالى : ( إن الذين يكتمون ) [ مما يشهد له بالرسالة ] ( ما أنزل الله من الكتاب ) يعني اليهود الذين كتموا صفة محمد صلى الله عليه وسلم في كتبهم التي بأيديهم ، مما تشهد له بالرسالة والنبوة ، فكتموا ذلك لئلا تذهب رياستهم وما كانوا يأخذونه من العرب من الهدايا والتحف على تعظيمهم إياهم ، فخشوا لعنهم الله إن أظهروا ذلك أن يتبعه الناس ويتركوهم ، فكتموا ذلك إبقاء على ما كان يحصل لهم من ذلك ، وهو نزر يسير ، فباعوا أنفسهم بذلك ، واعتاضوا عن الهدى واتباع الحق وتصديق الرسول والإيمان بما جاء عن الله بذلك النزر اليسير ، فخابوا وخسروا في الدنيا والآخرة ; أما في الدنيا فإن الله أظهر لعباده صدق رسوله ، بما نصبه وجعله معه من الآيات الظاهرات والدلائل القاطعات ، فصدقه الذين كانوا يخافون أن يتبعوه ، وصاروا عونا له على قتالهم ، وباءوا بغضب على غضب ، وذمهم الله في كتابه في غير موضع . من ذلك هذه الآية الكريمة : ( إن الذين يكتمون ما أنزل الله من الكتاب ويشترون به ثمنا قليلا ) وهو عرض الحياة الدنيا ( أولئك ما يأكلون في بطونهم إلا النار ) أي : إنما يأكلون ما يأكلونه في مقابلة كتمان الحق نارا تأجج في بطونهم يوم القيامة .

كما قال تعالى : ( إن الذين يأكلون أموال اليتامى ظلما إنما يأكلون في بطونهم نارا وسيصلون سعيرا ) [ النساء : 10 ] وفي الحديث الصحيح عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم أنه قال : " الذي يأكل أو يشرب في آنية الذهب والفضة ، إنما يجرجر في بطنه نار جهنم " .وقوله : ( ولا يكلمهم الله يوم القيامة ولا يزكيهم ولهم عذاب أليم ) وذلك لأنه غضبان عليهم ، لأنهم كتموا وقد علموا ، فاستحقوا الغضب ، فلا ينظر إليهم ولا يزكيهم ، أي يثني عليهم ويمدحهم بل يعذبهم عذابا أليما .وقد ذكر ابن أبي حاتم وابن مردويه هاهنا [ الحديث الذي رواه مسلم أيضا من ] حديث الأعمش ، عن أبي حازم ، عن أبي هريرة عن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم : " ثلاثة لا يكلمهم الله ، ولا ينظر إليهم ولا يزكيهم [ ولهم عذاب أليم ] شيخ زان ، وملك كذاب ، وعائل مستكبر " .

Tafsir is provided for educational reference. Paragraph breaks are added for readability — the wording of each commentary is unchanged. For religious guidance, consult a qualified scholar.