Al-Qur'an Surah Ali 'Imran Verse 119

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Look, you are the ones who love them and they do not love you. You believe in all the books; (On the other hand,) when they meet you, they say, “We believe”, and when they are alone, they bite their finger-tips out of rage against you. Say, “May you perish in your rage.” Surely, Allah is All-Aware of what lies in the hearts.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

Here you are! You love them but they do not love you, and you believe in all Scriptures. When they meet you they say, “We believe.” But when alone, they bite their fingertips in rage. Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “˹May you˺ die of your rage!” Surely Allah knows best what is ˹hidden˺ in the heart.

Ruwwad Translation Center

O you [believers], you are those who love them but they do not love you, even though you believe in all the Scriptures. When they meet you, they say, “We believe,” but when they are alone, they bite their fingertips against you in rage. Say, “May you die in your rage.” Allah is All-Knowing of what is in the hearts.

A. J. Arberry

Ha, there you are; you love them, and they love you not; you believe in the Book, all of it, and when they meet you they say, 'We believe,' but when they go privily, they bite at you their fingers, enraged. Say: 'Die in your rage; God knows the thoughts in the breasts.'

Abdul Haleem

This is how it is: here you are, you love them, but they do not love you; you believe in all the Scriptures and when they meet you, they say, ‘We believe,’ but when they are alone, they bite their fingertips in rage at you. [Prophet], say, ‘Die of rage [if you wish]!’ God knows exactly what is in everyone’s hearts.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

Lo! it is you who love them whereas they love you not, and you believe in the Book, all of it. When they meet you, they say: we believe. And when they are alone, they bite their fingertips at you in rage. Say thou: die in your rage. Verily Allah is Knower of that which is in the breasts.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Ah! ye are those who love them, but they love you not,- though ye believe in the whole of the Book. When they meet you, they say, "We believe"; But when they are alone, they bite off the very tips of their fingers at you in their rage. Say; "Perish in your rage; Allah knoweth well all the secrets of the heart."

Abul Ala Maududi

Lo! It is you who love them but they do not love you even though you believe in the whole of the (heavenly) Book. When they meet you they say: 'We believe', but when they are by themselves they bite their fingers in rage at you. Say: 'Perish in your rage.' Allah knows even what lies hidden in their breasts.

Ahmed Ali

Just think! You hold them as your friends but they do not, even though you believe in all the Scriptures. When they meet you they say: "We believe;" but when they are alone they bite their fingers in rage. Say: "Die of your rage. God is aware of the secrets of the hearts."

Ahmed Raza Khan

Listen! It is you who love them and they do not love you, whereas the fact is that you believe in all the Books; when they meet you they say, “We believe”; and when they are alone they chew their fingers at you with rage; say, “Die in your frenzy!” Allah knows well what lies within the hearts.

Ali Quli Qarai

Ah! You are the ones who bear love towards them, while they do not love you, though you believe in all the Books. When they meet you, they say, ‘We believe,’ but when they are alone, they bite their fingertips at you out of rage. Say, ‘Die of your rage!’ Indeed Allah knows well what is in the breasts.

Ali Ünal

You are such (frank, clear-hearted) people that you love them (even those who are enemies to you), but they do not love you; and you believe in the whole of the Book (without making any distinction between the verses, and believe in all of the God-revealed Books). When they meet you they say (hypocritically), "We believe;" but when they find themselves alone, they gnaw their fingers in rage against you. Say (to them, O Messenger): "Perish in your rage!" Assuredly, God has full knowledge of what lies hidden in the bosoms.

Amatul Rahman Omar

Behold! You are those who love them while they do not love you, though you believe in every (Divine) Book, in the whole of it. And when they meet you they say, `We believe,´ and when they are alone they bite their finger-tips out of rage against you. Say, `Perish in your rage. Surely, Allâh knows the inmost secrets of your hearts.´

English Literal

Here you are, those (who) love/like them, and they do not love/like you, and you believe with The Book, all of it, and (when) they met you, they said: "We believed." And if they were alone/together they bit on you the fingertips from the anger/rage . Say: "Die with your anger/rage, that God (is) knowledgeable with (what is) in the chests (innermosts)."

Faridul Haque

Listen! It is you who love them and they do not love you, whereas the fact is that you believe in all the Books; when they meet you they say, “We believe”; and when they are alone they chew their fingers at you with rage; say, “Die in your frenzy!” Allah knows well what lies within the hearts.

Hamid S. Aziz

If good luck touches you it is bad for them, but if bad luck befalls you they rejoice therein; yet if you are patient and fear, their tricks shall not harm you. Lo, Allah is surrounding what they do.

Hilali & Khan

Lo! You are the ones who love them but they love you not, and you believe in all the Scriptures [i.e. you believe in the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel), while they disbelieve in your Book, the Quran]. And when they meet you, they say, "We believe". But when they are alone, they bite the tips of their fingers at you in rage. Say: "Perish in your rage. Certainly, Allah knows what is in the breasts (all the secrets)."

Maulana Mohammad Ali

O you who believe, take not for intimate friends others than your own people: they spare no pains to cause you loss. They love that which distresses you. Vehement hatred has already appeared from out of their mouths, and that which their hearts conceal is greater still. Indeed We have made the messages clear to you, if you understand.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

Lo! you are they who will love them while they do not love you, and you believe in the Book (in) the whole of it; and when they meet you they say: We believe, and when they are alone, they bite the ends of their fingers in rage against you. Say: Die in your rage; surely Allah knows what is in the breasts.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

Lo! ye are those who love them though they love you not, and ye believe in all the Scripture. When they fall in with you they say: We believe; but when they go apart they bite their finger-tips at you, for rage. Say: Perish in your rage! Lo! Allah is Aware of what is hidden in (your) breasts.

Muhammad Sarwar

There are people whom you love, but they do not love you, despite your belief in all the (heavenly) Books. On meeting you They proclaim belief on meeting you, but in private, bite their fingers at you in anger. Tell them, "Perish in your rage! God knows well what is in everyone's hearts".

Qaribullah & Darwish

There you are loving them, and they do not love you. You believe in the entire Book. When they meet you they say: 'We, believe' But when alone, they bite their fingertips at you out of rage. Say: 'Die in your rage! Allah has knowledge of what is in your chests'

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Lo! You are the ones who love them but they love you not, and you believe in all the Scriptures. And when they meet you, they say, "We believe." But when they are alone, they bite their Anamil at you in rage. Say: "Perish in your rage. Certainly, Allah knows what is in the breasts (all the secrets). "

Wahiduddin Khan

It is you who love them, but they do not love you; you believe in all the revealed Books. When they meet you, they say, "We believe," but when they are alone, they bite their fingertips with rage. Say, "Die of rage!" God is aware of what your hearts contain.

Talal Itani

There you are, you love them, but they do not love you, and you believe in the entire scripture. And when they meet you, they say, “We believe;” but when they are alone, they bite their fingers in rage at you. Say, “Die in your rage; God knows what is within the hearts.”

Tafsir jalalayn

Lo (h, `lo!', is for calling attention [to something]), there you are, O believers, you love them, on account of their kinship and their [pretence of] friendship towards you, but they love you not, since they oppose you in religion; you believe in the Book, all of it, that is to say, in the Books, all of them, but they do not believe in your Book, and when they meet you they say, `We believe,' but when they are alone, they bite at you their fingertips, in rage, in extreme fury at what they see of your mutual affection; the biting of the fingertips is used to figuratively express the severity of rage, even if there be no biting involved. Say; `Perish in your rage, that is, be this way until the end of your lives, for you shall not see what will please you; God knows what is in the breasts', what is in the hearts, including that which these conceal.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

هَاأَنتُمْ أُوْلاء تُحِبُّونَهُمْ وَلَا يُحِبُّونَكُمْ

O! You are the ones who love them but they love you not,

meaning, O believers! You like the hypocrites because you think they are believers, for they pretend to be so, but they do not like you publicly or secretly.

وَتُوْمِنُونَ بِالْكِتَابِ كُلِّهِ

And you believe in all the Scriptures,

meaning, you have no doubt in any part of Allah's Book, while the hypocrites have deep doubts, confusion and reservations about it.

Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn Abbas said that,
وَتُوْمِنُونَ بِالْكِتَابِ كُلِّهِ
(and you believe in all the Scriptures),

means, you believe in your Book, their Book, and the previous Books, while the hypocrites disbelieve in your Book, and this is why they deserve that you dislike them instead of them disliking you.

Ibn Jarir collected this statement.

وَإِذَا لَقُوكُمْ قَالُواْ امَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْاْ عَضُّواْ عَلَيْكُمُ الَانَامِلَ مِنَ الْغَيْظِ

And when they meet you, they say, "We believe." But when they are alone, they bite their Anamil at you in rage.

Qatadah stated that,
Anamil, means the tips of the fingers.

This is the behavior of the hypocrites who pretend to be believers and kind when they are with the believers, all the while concealing the opposite in their hearts in every respect. This is the exact situation that Allah describes,
وَإِذَا خَلَوْاْ عَضُّواْ عَلَيْكُمُ الَانَامِلَ مِنَ الْغَيْظِ
(But when they are alone, they bite their Anamil at you in rage) and rage is extreme anger and fury.

Allah said to them,

قُلْ مُوتُواْ بِغَيْظِكُمْ إِنَّ اللّهَ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ



Say;"Perish in your rage. Certainly, Allah knows what is in the breasts (all the secrets)."

for no matter how much you envy the believers and feel rage towards them, know that Allah shall perfect His favor on His believing servants, complete His religion, raise high His Word and give dominance to His religion. Therefore, O hypocrites, die in rage.

إِنَّ اللّهَ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ
(Allah knows what is in the breasts),

Allah has perfect knowledge of what you conceal in your hearts and chests and in the rage, envy and hatred you have against the believers. Allah will punish you for all this in this life, and they will have the good that you dislike for them. In the Hereafter, you will suffer severe torment in the Fire where you will remain for eternity.

Thereafter, Allah said