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سُورَةُ النِّسَاءِ · 4:51
MedinanRevelation order ٩٢Juzʾ ٥Page ٨٦

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُوا۟ نَصِيبًۭا مِّنَ ٱلْكِتَٰبِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْجِبْتِ وَٱلطَّٰغُوتِ وَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ أَهْدَىٰ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ سَبِيلًا

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Saheeh International · EN

Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture, who believe in superstition and false objects of worship and say about the disbelievers, "These are better guided than the believers as to the way"?

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Bio

Introduction

This is āyah 51 of Sūrat An-Nisaa (The Women), the 92nd sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 5. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.

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Bio

Revelation & occasion

Asbāb al-Nuzūl
Period
Medinan
Order revealed
92 of 114
Surah
An-Nisaa (4)
Occasion of revelation · Al-Wahidi

(Hast thou not seen those unto whom a portion of the Scripture hath been given, how they believe in idols and false deities�) [4:51]. Muhammad ibn Ibrahim ibn Muhammad ibn Yahya informed us> his father> Muhammad ibn Ishaq al-Thaqafi> 'Abd al-Jabbar ibn al-'Ala'> Sufyan> 'Amr>> 'Ikrimah who said: �When Huyayy ibn Akhtab and Ka'b al-Ashraf went to the people of Mecca they were asked: 'You are people of Scripture and ancient knowledge, so tell us about us and Muhammad?' 'What do you have to do with Muhammad?' he said. They said: 'We slaughter high-humped camels, give milk on top of water for others to drink, we assist those who are wronged, we do not severe ties of kinship and give water to the pilgrims and our religion is ancient while Muhammad's religion is new'. The Jews said: 'Rather, you are better than him and more guided in your way'. And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (Hast thou not seen those unto whom a portion of the Scripture hath been given, how they believe in idols and false deities) up to His words, exalted is He, (� and he whom Allah hath cursed, thou (O Muhammad) wilt find for him no helper) [4:52]�. The commentators of the Qur'an said: �After the Battle of Uhud, Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf went to Mecca, accompanied by seventy riders, in order to ally themselves with Quraysh against the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and break the covenant which they had with Allah's Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace. Ka'b was the guest of Abu Sufyan while the other Jews were accommodated in the houses of Quraysh. The people of Mecca said: 'Your are people of Scripture and Muhammad has a Scripture and we are not completely sure that this is a scheme that you devised. So if you want us to go along with you, you have to prostrate to these two idols and believe in them', hence Allah's saying (they believe in idols and false deities). Ka'b then said to the people of Mecca: 'Let there be thirty of us and thirty of you; we shall all go to the Ka'bah and cling to it and promise the Lord of the House that we will do our best to fight Muhammad'.

Commentary

Tafsir

4 works

Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Have you not seen those who claim sanctity for themselves? Nay, but Allah sanctifies whom He wills, and they will not be dealt with injustice even equal to the extent of a 'Fatīl' (49)Look, how they invent a lie against Allah, and enough is that as a manifest sin (50)Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture? They believe in Jibt and Taghut and say to those who disbelieve, "These people are better guided on the way, " than the believers (51)They are those whom Allah has cursed, and he whom Allah curses, you will not find for him (any) helper (52) Chastising and Cursing the Jews for Claiming Purity for Themselves and Believing in Jibt and Taghut Al-Hasan and Qatadah said, "This Ayah, أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ يُزَكُّونَ أَنفُسَهُم (Have you not seen those who claim sanctity for themselves?) was revealed about the Jews and Christians when they said, 'We are Al…
Provenance

Chains of transmission

Oral — isnād

  1. ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation

    Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.

  2. 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation

    Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.

  3. TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation

    Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.

Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.

Written — the manuscript record

  1. ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation

    The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).

  2. 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation

    Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.

  3. Modern printModern printawaiting curation

    The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.

A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.

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Provenance

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