Transliteration:( Minal lazeena haadoo yuharrifoonal Kalima 'am mawaadi'ihee wa yaqooloona sami'naa wa 'asainaa wasma' ghaira musma'inw wa raa'inaa laiyam bi alsinatihim wa ta'nan fiddeen; wa law annahum qaaloo sami'naa wa ata'naa wasma' wanzurnaa lakaana khairal lahum wa aqwama wa laakil la' a'nahumul laahu bikufrihim falaa yu'minoona illaa qaleela )
"Among the Yahud are those who distort words from their (proper) places [169] and say, 'We have heard and we disobey,' and 'You listen to us,' but do not make us listen. They twist their tongues [170] and taunt in faith [171]. And if they had said instead, 'We hear and obey,' and 'Hear our talks and look at us' [172], it would have been better for them and more upright [173]. But Allah has accursed them, so they believe not, except for a little [174]."
Context:
Some Yahud like Refaiah bin Zaid and Malik bin Hasham used to:
Pretend to listen to the Holy Prophet ﷺ, saying “We heard,”
But internally harbored disobedience and contempt.
They would sarcastically say:
"We hear you," but mean, "Don’t let us hear more."
Their tone and behavior exposed their hatred and hypocrisy,
prompting this verse’s revelation.
They would use the word "RAINA", which means:
“Attend to us” in Arabic,
But when twisted slightly, it resembles “RA’EENA” (meaning foolish, or shepherd in a derogatory tone).
From this, we learn:
Ambiguous or double-meaning words with the potential to be misinterpreted or misused must not be used, especially in regard to Allah or His Messenger ﷺ.
These Yahud would:
Deliberately insult the Prophet ﷺ in coded language,
Then boast among themselves, mocking his prophethood and insight.
They would say:
“If he ﷺ was a true Prophet, he would have understood what we really meant.”
This teaches:
Mocking the knowledge of the Prophet ﷺ is equivalent to mocking the religion of Allah,
Hence Allah declared them taunters of religion.
Even today’s disrespectful people should take heed from this.
Instead of "RAINA", they should have said:
"UNZOORNA" — meaning “Please look at us” —
a phrase free from any negative implications.
This shows:
The importance of using respectful and unambiguous words when addressing the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
This verse teaches:
Showing respect to the Prophet ﷺ brings personal benefit,
While disrespecting him results in loss and disgrace.
Their rejection of the Prophet ﷺ invalidates their faith:
Believing only in Allah without accepting His Messengers is not true faith.
Even Shaytan believes in Allah but remains a disbeliever.
Alternatively:
Some of them believed only in their past Prophets,
But denial of the final Prophet Muhammad ﷺ renders their belief incomplete and invalid.
The tafsir of Surah Nisa verse 46 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Nisa ayat 44 which provides the complete commentary from verse 44 through 46.
(4:46) Among those who have become Jews[72] there are some who alter the words from their context,[73] and make a malicious play with their tongues and seek to revile the true faith. They say: ‘We have heard and we disobey’ (sami’na wa ‘asayna),[74] ‘Do hear us, may you turn dumb’ (isma’ ghayr musma’)[75] and ‘Hearken to us’ (ra’ina). It would indeed have been better for them and more upright if they had said: ‘We have heard and we obey’ (sami’na wa ata’na)[76] and: ‘Do listen to us, and look at us (with kindness)’ (wa isma’ wa unzurna). But Allah has cursed them because of their disbelief. Scarcely do they believe.
72. It is to be noted that this expression means ‘they became Jews’, rather than ‘they were Jews’. For, originally, they were nothing but Muslims, just as the followers of every Prophet are Muslims. Only later on did they become merely ‘Jews’.
73. This signifies three things. First, that they tampered with the text of the Scripture. Second, that they misinterpreted the Scripture and thereby distorted the meanings of the verses of the Book. Third, that they came and stayed in the company of the Prophet (peace be on him) and his Companions and listened to the conversations which took place there, then went among other people and misreported what they had heard. They did this with the malicious intent of bringing the Muslims into disrepute and thereby preventing people from embracing Islam.
74. When the ordinances of God are announced to them, they loudly proclaim: Yes, we have heard’, (sami’na), but then they whisper: ‘And we disobeyed’ (‘asayna). Or else they pronounce ata’na (‘we obey’) with such a twist of the tongue that it becomes indistinguishable from ‘asayna.
75. Whenever they wanted to say something to the Prophet (peace be on him) they would say, ‘isma” (listen), but added to this the expression, ‘ghayr musma” which had several meanings. It could either be a polite expression, meaning that he was worthy of such deep respect that one should say nothing to his dislike or it could have a malicious implication, meaning that he did not deserve to be addressed by anybody. It also meant the imprecation: ‘May God turn you deaf.’
76. For an explanation of this see (Surah Al-Baqarah, ayat 104) note 108.
[190]- See footnote to 2:104. [191]- Or "except with little belief."
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