Transliteration:( Wa laa talbisul haqqa bilbaatili wa taktumul haqqa wa antum ta'lamoon )
82. In this verse the word 'truth' refers to the praiseworthy qualities of the Holy Prophet ?mentioned in the Tauraat which the Jewish scholars tried to conceal. Not only is the Holy Prophet the embodiment of truth, but so are his beautiful qualities as well as those who become connected with him.
42. And mix not truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth while you know (the truth). 43. And perform As-Salah, and give Zakah, and bow down along with Ar-Raki`in.
Allah forbade the Jews from intentionally distorting the truth with falsehood and from hiding the truth and spreading falsehood,
(And mix not truth with falsehood, nor conceal the truth while you know (the truth)).
So Allah forbade them from two things; He ordered them to make the truth known, as well as explaining it. Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn `Abbas mentioned the Ayah,
(And mix not truth with falsehood) and said; “Do not mix the truth with falsehood and the facts with lies.” Qatadah said that,
(And mix not truth with falsehood) means, “Do not mix Judaism and Christianity with Islam,
(while you know (the truth).) that the religion of Allah is Islam, and that Judaism and Christianity are innovations that did not come from Allah.” It was reported that Al-Hasan Al-Basri said similarly.
Also, Muhammad bin Ishaq narrated that Ibn `Abbas said that,
(nor conceal the truth while you know (the truth).) means, “Do not hide the knowledge that you have of My Messenger and what he was sent with. His description, which you know about, can be found written in the Books that you have.”
It is possible that it means, “..although you know the tremendous harm that this evil will cause people, misguiding them and leading them to the Fire, because they will follow the falsehood that you mixed with the truth in your claims.”
(And perform As-Salat and give Zakah, and bow down along with Ar-Raki`in.)
Muqatil said, “Allah’s statement to the People of the Book,
(And perform As-Salah) commands them to perform the prayer behind the Prophet ,
(and give Zakah) commands them to pay the Zakah to the Prophet , and
(and bow down along with Ar-Raki`in) commands them to bow down with those who bow down among the Ummah of Muhammad . Allah therefore commands the People of the Book to be with, and among the Ummah of Muhammad .” In addition, Allah’s statement,
(And bow down along with Ar-Raki`in) means, “And be among the believers performing the best deeds they perform, such as, and foremost, the prayer.” Many scholars said that this Ayah (2:43) is proof for the obligation of performing the prayer in congregation (for men only). I will explain this ruling in detail in Kitab Al-Ahkam Al-Kabir, Allah willing.
(2:42) Do not confound Truth by overlaying it with falsehood, nor knowingly conceal the Truth.[58]
58. For the proper understanding of this verse we need to recall that in the time of the Prophet the Jews of Arabia were more learned than the Arabs. In fact, there were some Jewish scholars of Arabia whose fame had spread even beyond the confines of that land. For this reason the Arabs tended to be intellectually overawed by them. In addition, the influence of the Jews had become pervasive and profound by virtue of the pomp and pageantry of their religious rites, and the magical crafts and feats of exorcism for which they were famous. The people of Madina, in particular, were greatly under the spell of the Jews. These Jews made on them the sort of impression generally created on ignorant neighbours by a better educated, more refined and more conspicuously religious group.
It was natural in such circumstances that, when the Prophet began to preach his message, the ignorant Arabs should approach the Jews and ask their opinion of the Prophet and his teachings, particularly as the Jews also believed in Prophets and Scriptures. We find that this inquiry was often made by the Makkans, and continued to he addressed to the Jews after the Prophet arrived in Madina.
In reply to this query, however, the Jewish religious scholars never told the candid truth. It was impossible for them to say that the doctrine of monotheism preached by Muhammad was incorrect, that there was any error in his teachings regarding the Prophets, the Divine Scriptures, the angels and the Next Life and that there was any error in the principles of moral conduct which the Prophet propounded. At the same time, however, they were not prepared to make a straightforward affirmation of the truth of his teachings. In short, they neither categorically denied the Truth nor were prepared to accept it with open hearts.
Instead, they tried to plant insidious doubts in the minds of everybody who enquired about the Prophet and his mission. They sought to create one misgiving after another, disseminated new slanders, and tried to engage people’s minds in all kinds of hypothetical problems so as to keep them in a state of doubt and uncertainty. They also tried to raise controversial issues which might keep people, including the followers of the Prophet, entangled in sterile debate. It is this attitude of the Jews to which the Qur’an alludes when it asks them not to overlay the truth with falsehood, not to suppress and conceal it by resorting to false propaganda and mischievous campaigns of slander, and not to attempt to deceive the world by mixing truth with falsehood.
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