51 Preface أَلَم تَرَ إِلَى الَّذينَ أوتوا نَصيبًا مِنَ الكِتابِ يُؤمِنونَ بِالجِبتِ وَالطّاغوتِ وَيَقولونَ لِلَّذينَ كَفَروا هٰؤُلاءِ أَهدىٰ مِنَ الَّذينَ آمَنوا سَبيلًاYusuf AliHast thou not turned Thy vision to those who were given a portion1 of the Book? they believe in sorcery and Evil,2 and say to the Unbelievers that they are better guided in the (right) way Than the believers!Cf. 3:23 and n. 366. The phrase also occurs in 4:44.The word I have translated Sorcery is jibt, which may mean divination, sorcery, magic, or any false object of belief or worship, such as an idol. The word I have translated Evil (here and in 2:256) is Taghut, which means the evil one, the one who exceeds all bounds, Satan; or it may refer to some idol worshipped by the Pagan Arabs, with whom the Jews of Medīna were intriguing against the Prophet. The Jews had taken much to sorcery, magic, divination, and such superstitions, (Cf. 16:51).