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Sura 5
Aya 44
44
إِنّا أَنزَلنَا التَّوراةَ فيها هُدًى وَنورٌ ۚ يَحكُمُ بِهَا النَّبِيّونَ الَّذينَ أَسلَموا لِلَّذينَ هادوا وَالرَّبّانِيّونَ وَالأَحبارُ بِمَا استُحفِظوا مِن كِتابِ اللَّهِ وَكانوا عَلَيهِ شُهَداءَ ۚ فَلا تَخشَوُا النّاسَ وَاخشَونِ وَلا تَشتَروا بِآياتي ثَمَنًا قَليلًا ۚ وَمَن لَم يَحكُم بِما أَنزَلَ اللَّهُ فَأُولٰئِكَ هُمُ الكافِرونَ

Muhammad Asad

Verily, it is We who bestowed from on high the Torah, wherein there was guidance and light. On its strength did the prophets, who had surrendered themselves unto God, deliver judgment unto those who followed the Jewish faith;1 and so did the [early] men of God and the rabbis, inasmuch as some of God's writ had been entrusted to their care;2 and they [all] bore witness to its truth. Therefore, [O children of Israel,] hold not men in awe, but stand in awe of Me; and do not barter away My messages for a trifling gain:3 for they who do not judge in accordance with what God has bestowed from on high are, indeed, deniers of the truth!
  • Implying that the Law of Moses (the Torah) was intended only for the children of Israel, and was never meant to have universal validity.
  • The expression "some of God's writ (kitab)" implies that the Torah did not exhaust the whole of God's revelation, and that more was yet to be revealed. For an explanation of the term rabbaniyun, see surah 3, note 62.
  • I.e., for the illusory feeling of superiority based on the spurious belief that the children of Israel are "God's chosen people" and, therefore, the sole recipients of God's grace and revelation. The "messages" referred to in this sentence relate to the Qur'an as well as to the Biblical prophecies concerning the advent of Muhammad.