Translation:
Have you ˹O Prophet˺ not seen those who were given a portion of the Scriptures yet believe in idols and false gods and reassure the disbelievers19 that they are better guided than the believers?
Have you ˹O Prophet˺ not seen those who were given a portion of the Scriptures yet believe in idols and false gods and reassure the disbelievers19 that they are better guided than the believers?
Translation:
Have you not turned Your vision to those who were given a portion 572 of the Book? they believe in sorcery and Evil, 573 and say to the Unbelievers that they are better guided in the (right) way Than the believers!
Have you not turned Your vision to those who were given a portion 572 of the Book? they believe in sorcery and Evil, 573 and say to the Unbelievers that they are better guided in the (right) way Than the believers!
Commentary:
572 Cf. 3:23 and n. 366. The phrase also occurs in 4:44 .
573 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 MadTn ah were intriguing against the Prophet. The Jews had taken much to sorcery, magic, divination, and such superstitions, (Cf. 16:51 ).
Translation:
Art thou not aware of those who, having been granted their share of the divine writ, [now] believe in baseless mysteries and in the powers of evil, 69 and maintain that those who are bent on denying the truth are more surely guided than those who have attained to faith?
Art thou not aware of those who, having been granted their share of the divine writ, [now] believe in baseless mysteries and in the powers of evil, 69 and maintain that those who are bent on denying the truth are more surely guided than those who have attained to faith?
Commentary:
69 The word al-jibt - rendered by me as "baseless mysteries" - is probably, as the Lisan al-Arab points out, of non-Arabic origin. It denotes, according to some authorities, "something which is worthless in itself" or "something in which there is no good" (Qamus, Baydawi); according to others, it signifies "enchantment" (Umar ibn al-Khattab, Mujahid and Sha'bi as quoted by Tabari; also Qamus); others, again, interpret it as "anything that is worshipped instead of God" (Zamakhshari), and consequently apply it also to idols and idol-worship (Qamus, Lisan al-Arab) and - according to a Tradition quoted by Abu Da'ud - to all manner of superstitious divination and soothsaying as well. Taking all these interpretations into account, al-jibt may be defined as "a combination of confusing ideas (dijl), fanciful surmises (awham) and fictitious stories (khurafat)" (Manar V, 157) - in other words, abstruse mysteries without any foundation in fact. - As regards the expression "the powers of evil" (at-taghut), it seems to refer here to superstitious beliefs and practices - like soothsaying, foretelling the future, relying on "good" and "bad" omens, and so forth - all of which are condemned by the Qur’an. See also surah 2, verse 256.
69 The word al-jibt - rendered by me as "baseless mysteries" - is probably, as the Lisan al-Arab points out, of non-Arabic origin. It denotes, according to some authorities, "something which is worthless in itself" or "something in which there is no good" (Qamus, Baydawi); according to others, it signifies "enchantment" (Umar ibn al-Khattab, Mujahid and Sha'bi as quoted by Tabari; also Qamus); others, again, interpret it as "anything that is worshipped instead of God" (Zamakhshari), and consequently apply it also to idols and idol-worship (Qamus, Lisan al-Arab) and - according to a Tradition quoted by Abu Da'ud - to all manner of superstitious divination and soothsaying as well. Taking all these interpretations into account, al-jibt may be defined as "a combination of confusing ideas (dijl), fanciful surmises (awham) and fictitious stories (khurafat)" (Manar V, 157) - in other words, abstruse mysteries without any foundation in fact. - As regards the expression "the powers of evil" (at-taghut), it seems to refer here to superstitious beliefs and practices - like soothsaying, foretelling the future, relying on "good" and "bad" omens, and so forth - all of which are condemned by the Qur’an. See also surah 2, verse 256.
19 i.e., the polytheists.