47. MENTION OF THE ALTERATIONS AND SUBSTITUTIONS MADE BY THE PEOPLE OF THE SCRIPTURE IN THEIR RELIGION
As for the Jews, Allah had sent down to them the Tawrah, by the hand of Moosa, son of ‘Imran, and it was as Allah says: {Then, We gave Moosa the Book (the Tawrah), to complete (Our Favor) upon those who would do right, and explaining all things in detail} (Soorah Al-An‘am 6:154) and He, Most High, says, {Verily, We did send down the Tawrah (to Moosa), therein was guidance and light, by which the Prophets, who submitted themselves to Allah’s Will, judged the Jews. And the rabbis and the priests (too judged the Jews by the Tawrah after those Prophets) for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah’s Book, and they were witnesses thereto. Therefore fear not men but fear Me (O, Jews) and sell not My Verses for a miserable price. And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the kafiroon (i.e. disbelievers of a lesser degree, as they do not act on Allah’s Laws)} (Soorah Al-Ma’idah 5:44). They used to judge by them and they held fast to them for a while, but then they began to distort them, alter them, misconstrue them and declare things that were not from them, as Allah, Most High, says, {And verily, among them is a party who distort the Book with their tongues (as they read), so that you may think it is from the Book, but it is not from the Book, and they say, “This is from Allah,” but it is not from Allah; and they speak a lie against Allah while they know it} (Soorah Ali ‘Imran 3:78). So Allah, Most High, informs us that they explained it, misconstrued it and quoted things out of context – and there is no disagreement in this matter among the scholars, i.e. that they interpreted its meanings freely (according to their whims) and attributed false implications to it, such as when they changed the ruling of stoning to flogging and blackening of the face with charcoal, without altering the word for stoning in it. In addition, when an eminent person among them committed theft, they would overlook his offense, but when a weak or unimportant person among them committed theft, they would inflict the prescribed punishment on him, in spite of the fact that they were commanded to inflict all prescribed punishments on the eminent and the lowly, without distinction.
As for their alteration of its wordings, some said that it means that all of the words were altered. Others said that the whole of the Tawrah was not altered and they cited as evidence the Words of Allah: {But how do they come to you for decision while they have the Tawrah, in which is the (plain) Decision of Allah} (Soorah Al-Ma’idah 5:43) and: {Whom they find written with them in the Tawrah (Deuteronomy, xviii, 15) and the Injeel (Gospel) (John xiv, 16) – he commands them to implement al-ma‘roof (i.e. Islamic Monotheism and all that Islam has ordained); and forbids them from al-munkar (i.e. disbelief, polytheism of all kinds, and all that Islam has forbidden); he allows them as lawful at-tayyibat ([i.e. everything good and lawful] as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.)} (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:157) and also: {Say (O, Muhammad), “Bring here the Tawrah and recite it, if you are truthful.”} (Soorah Ali ‘Imran 3:93).
And there is the story of the stoning, as confirmed in the Saheehain, on the authority of ‘Abdullah Ibn ‘Umar (May Allah be pleased with him), in Saheeh Muslim, on the authority of Al-Bara’ Ibn ‘Azib (May Allah be pleased with him), of Jabir ibn ‘Abdillah (May Allah be pleased with him) and in the Sunan, on the authority of Abu Hurairah (May Allah be pleased with him) and others, when they sought judgment from the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) with regard to the case of the Jew and the Jewess who committed adultery, A Jew and a Jewess were brought to the Messenger of Allah on a charge of committing an illegal sexual intercourse. The Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) asked them. “What is the legal punishment (for this sin) in the Tawrah.” They replied, “We blacken their faces with charcoal and flog them.” So the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) ordered them to bring the Tawrah. The Tawrah was brought, and ‘Abdullah ibn Sooria (one of the Jews) put his hand over the Verse of ar-rajm (stoning to death) and started reading what preceded and what followed it. On that, the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) said to the Jew, “Lift up your hand.” So he lifted his hand and in it (the Tawrah) was the Verse of ar-rajm. The Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) then ordered that the two (sinners) be stoned to death and he said, “O, Allah! I am the first one to revive Your Commandment after they (the Jews) had suppressed it.” And in Abu Dawood’s Sunan, it was stated that they placed a cushion for the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) who sat on it and said, “Bring the Tawrah.” They brought it. Then he withdrew the cushion from beneath him and placed the Tawrah on it saying, “I believe in you and in Him Who revealed you.” Some of them said that he stood for it, but I have not read its sanad. And Allah knows better.
Many of the religious scholars and others have said that the tawatur of the Tawrah was cut off during the era of Bukhtunassar, and that none remained who had memorised it except Uzair (Ezra (Peace be upon him)). But Uzair (Peace be upon him) was a Prophet and was thus protected from error (by Allah) and tawatur up to a person who is protected from error is sufficient. Although it was said that it was not mutawatir up to him. But after him came Zakariyya, Yahya and ‘Eesa (peace be upon them all) – and all of them held fast to the Tawrah; now if it had not been authentic and valid, they would not have depended on it, since they were Prophets, protected from error. In addition, Allah, Most High, has stated in the Revelation sent down to His Messenger, Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets – may the Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him and upon all of the Prophets – which rebukes the Jews for their evil intentions, because they turned away from that which they knew to be true (i.e. the Tawrah) and which they were commanded to follow, in favor of seeking judgment from the Messenger of Allah (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), even though they rejected what he had brought. But in reality, they were seeking a judgment that concurred with their heresy, i.e. flogging and blackening of the face, which was contrary to what Allah had Commanded them to do. And they said, “If he rules that you should flog them and blacken their faces, then accept it, and on the Day of Resurrection, when you stand before Allah, you will be able to plead in your defence that you were given a ruling by a Prophet. But if he does not make this ruling for you, then beware of accepting it from him.” So Allah, Most High, rebuked them for their evil intention, which was prompted by the desire to attain a corrupt objective, and accorded with their own inclinations and desires, not the true Religion, which is why Allah, Most High, says, {But how do they come to you for decision while they have the Tawrah, in which is the (plain) Decision of Allah; yet even after that, they turn away. For they are not (really) Believers. Verily, We did send down the Tawrah (to Moosa), therein was guidance and light, by which the Prophets, who submitted themselves to Allah’s Will, judged the Jews. And the rabbis and the priests (too judged the Jews by the Tawrah after those Prophets) for to them was entrusted the protection of Allah’s Book, and they were witnesses thereto. Therefore fear not men but fear Me (O, Jews) and sell not My Verses for a miserable price. And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed, such are the kafiroon (i.e. disbelievers – of a lesser degree, as they do not act on Allah’s Laws} (Soorah Al-Ma’idah 5:43,44). This is why, when the Prophet (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) ruled that they be stoned, he said, “O, Allah! I am the first one to revive Your Commandment after they (the Jews) had suppressed it.” He asked them what caused them to do this and why they had abandoned Allah’s Command which was in their hands. They replied: “Unlawful sexual intercourse had become widespread among our nobles and we were unable to enforce the legal punishment against them, so we used to stone the weak among us. So we said, “Let us resort to a just solution between the noble and the humble,” so we agreed that we would flog them and blacken their faces.” This was a part of their distortion, substitution, alteration and false interpretation. They only altered the meaning, not the wording of ar-rajm, which they left in their Scripture, as proven by the hadeeth whose authenticity is agreed upon by Al-Bukhari and Muslim. This is why some claimed that the substitution only occurred in the meanings and that the wordings remained, and that is a proof against them, for if they had implemented what was in their Scripture in full, it would have led them to follow the truth and to obey the Messenger, Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him), as He, Most High, says, {Those who follow the Messenger, the Prophet, who can neither read nor write (i.e. Muhammad) whom they find written with them in the Tawrah (Deuteronomy xviii, 15) and the Injeel (John xiv, 16) – he commands them for al-ma‘roof; and forbids them from al-munkar he allows them as lawful at-tayyibat , and prohibits them as unlawful al-khaba’ith (i.e. all evil and unlawful as regards things, deeds, beliefs, persons, foods, etc.), he releases them from their heavy burdens (of Allah’s Covenant), and from the fetters that were upon them} (Soorah Al-A‘raf 7:157). And He, Most High, says, {And if only they had acted according to the Tawrah, the Injeel, and what has (now) been sent down to them from their Lord (the Qur’an), they would surely have gotten provision from above them and from underneath their feet. There are from among them people who are on the right course (i.e. they act on the revelation and believe in Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be upon him) like ‘Abdullah Ibn Salam).} (Soorah Al-Ma’idah 5:66). And He, Most High, says, {Say (O, Muhammad), “O, people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians)! You have nothing (as regards guidance) till you act according to the Tawrah, the Injeel, and what has (now) been sent down to you from your Lord (the Qur’an).” Verily, that which has been sent down to you (O, Muhammad) from your Lord increases in many of them their obstinate rebellion and disbelief} (Soorah Al-Ma’idah 5:68). And this is the opinion, i.e. the one which states that the substitution only occurred in the meanings and not in the wordings, was expressed by Al-Bukhari, on the authority of ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbas (May Allah be pleased with him) at the end of his Saheeh and he acknowledged it and did not reject it. Al-Fakhr Ar-Razi also related it in his Tafseer, on the authority of most of the religious scholars.
I say: As for what is in their hands of the Arabic translation of the Tawrah, no rational person doubts that substitution has occurred in it, that many of its wordings have been distorted and that stories have been changed, along with wordings and that obvious and clear additions and omissions have occurred. In addition, it contains manifest lies and many monstrous errors. As for what they recite with their mouths and write down with their pens, we are not privy to it, but it is presumed that they are lying, treacherous and make many fabrications against their Messengers and their Scriptures.
As for the Christians, their four Gospels, narrated by way of Mark, Luke, Matthew and John, contain more contradictions, additions and omissions and more monstrous disparities than the Tawrah and contradict the rulings of the Tawrah and the Injeel in many matters. They have legislated many things in it according to their own will, including praying to the East, for there is no evidence for it and no command to do it in any place in the four Gospels. Likewise, their embellishment of their churches with pictures and images is without foundation, as is their abandonment of circumcision and their transfer of their fast from the spring season and their lengthening of it to fifty days. In addition, they eat pork and have instituted something totally without foundation, which is monasticism, involving the abandonment of marriage for those who wish to devote themselves to worship and they have declared it unlawful for them. And their priests have laid down three hundred and eighteen laws for them. All of these things were innovated and fabricated by them during the era of Constantine, son of Constantius, builder of Constantinople. He reigned three hundred years after the time of ‘Eesa (Peace be upon him).
By Ibn Katheer
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