Transliteration:( Fakhalafa min ba'dihim khalfunw warisul Kitaaba ya'khuzoona 'arada haazal adnaa wa yaqooloona sayughfaru lanaa wa iny ya'tihim 'aradun misluhoo ya'khuzooh; alam yu'khaz 'alaihim meesaaqul Kitaabi an laa yaqooloo 'alal laahi illal haqqa wa darasoo maa feeh; wad Daarul Aakhirtu khairul lil lazeena yattaqoon; afalaa ta'qiloon )
386. By this is meant Yahud present during the time of the Holy Prophet ﷺ who abused the knowledge of the Tauraat after acquiring it.
387 By this is meant they would take bribes in order to change the laws of Religion, they were issuing false issues. However, printing and selling the QUR'AAN, and receiving a salary for teaching the QUR'AAN is not included in this issue.
388.This tells us that it is an act of infidelity to use Allah Almighty as an agent of security in matters of dealing. There is a hope of Faith in Him, this was attaching security to Almighty Allah. In hope man strives to repent for his sins, security emboldens him to commit more sins. Remember, that to commit sins thinking that you will repent tomorrow is also attaching a type of security to Allah Almighty.
389. There wasn't a single judge amongst the Yahud who was not accepting bribery. Others were reprimanding them for it, but at the death of these judges when they were appointed to this post they, too, would start accepting bribes.Â
390. By this is meant that these unfortunate wretches had read in the Tauraat that those who remained steadfast on sins would not be forgiven. After knowing this they are still firm in accepting bribery saying that this, sin would also be forgiven by Allah Almighty. This is a deliberate and wilful accusation on Allah Almighty. It should be remembered, that every minor sin if continued unabated turns into a major sin. Says Allah Almighty: "And do not persist knowing in what they have done." (S3: V135) From this we can understand that the sin of the learned in comparison to the ignorant is far more serious and dangerous because usually when the learned commit a sin they try to justify it as a permissible act. On seeing this his followers then join in the sin.
 391. This tells us that death, grave, Day of Qiyamah, Pulsiraat and all other future happenings are blessings from Allah Almighy to the pious servants but a punishment to the evil doers.
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The tafsir of Surah Al-A’raf verse 169 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah A’raf ayat 168 which provides the complete commentary from verse 168 through 170.
(7:169) Then others succeeded them who inherited the scriptures, and yet kept themselves occupied in acquiring the goods of this world and kept saying: We shall be forgiven.’ And when there comes to them an opportunity for acquiring more of those goods, they seize it.[129] Was not the covenant of the Book taken from them that they would not ascribe to Allah anything but the truth? And they have read what is in the Book[130] and know that the abode of the Hereafter is better for the God-fearing.[131] Do you not understand?
129. The Jews knowingly commit sins in the belief that being God’s chosen people they will necessarily be pardoned and spared God’s punishment. As a result of this misconception, they neither repent nor refrain from committing sins. How unfortunate the Jews are! They received the Scriptures which could have made them leaders of all mankind. But they were so petty-minded that they aspired to nothing higher than paltry worldly benefits. Thus even though they had the potential of becoming the upholders of justice and righteousness across the world they ended up merely as worshippers of this world.
130. The people of Israel know well that the Torah does not unconditionally assure them salvation. They have never been promised by God or any of His Prophets that they will attain deliverance no matter what they do. Therefore they have absolutely no right to ascribe to God something which He never told them. What makes their crime even worse is that their claim to unconditional salvation constitutes a sacrilege of their covenant with God whereby they pledged never to attribute any false statement to God.
131. The above verse has two renderings. It may be either translated as above or it may be rendered thus: ‘For the righteous, only the home in the Hereafter is the best.’ Going by the first rendering, the verse means that salvation is not the exclusive privilege of a particular person or a family. It is absolutely out of the question that one will attain deliverance even if one commits sins, simply on account of being a Jew. A little reflection will help one realize that only the righteous and God-fearing will be rewarded in the Hereafter. In the light of the second rendering, only the unrighteous prefer worldly, gains to reward in the Hereafter. As for the righteous, they are conscious of the importance of the Hereafter and hence forego worldly benefits for the sake of reward in the Next World.
[414]- i.e., unlawful gains and pleasures. [415]- i.e., a similar temptation.
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