Al-Qur'an Surah Ali 'Imran Verse 78

Mufti Taqi Usmani

Among them there is indeed a group who twist their tongues while (reading) the Book, so that you may deem it to be from the Book, while it is not from the Book. They say, “It is from Allah”, while it is not from Allah; and they tell lies about Allah knowingly.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

There are some among them who distort the Book with their tongues to make you think this ˹distortion˺ is from the Book—but it is not what the Book says. They say, “It is from Allah”—but it is not from Allah. And ˹so˺ they attribute lies to Allah knowingly.

Ruwwad Translation Center

And there are some among them who alter the Scripture with their tongues, so that you may think it is part of the Scripture, while it is not part of the Scripture; and they say, “It is from Allah,” while it is not from Allah. And they tell lies about Allah knowingly.

A. J. Arberry

And there is a sect of them twist their tongues with the Book, that you may suppose it part of the Book, yet it is not part of the Book; and they say, 'It is from God,' yet it is not from God, and they speak falsehood against God, and that wittingly.

Abdul Haleem

There are some who twist the Scripture with their tongues to make you [people] think that what they say is part of the Scripture when it is not; they say it is from God when it is not; they attribute lies to God and they know it.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

And verily among them, are a party who pervert the Book with their tongues, that ye might deem it of the Book whereas it is not of the Book. And they say it is from God; whereas it is not from Allah, and they forge a lie against Allah while they know.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

There is among them a section who distort the Book with their tongues; (As they read) you would think it is a part of the Book, but it is no part of the Book; and they say, "That is from Allah," but it is not from Allah; It is they who tell a lie against Allah, and (well) they know it!

Abul Ala Maududi

And there is a party among them who twist their tongues while reciting the Book to make you think that it is part of the Book when in fact it is not. They say: 'It is from Allah', when in fact it is not from Allah. They falsely fix a lie upon Allah, and do so wittingly.

Ahmed Ali

Among them is a section which distorts in reading the Scripture in a way that though it sounds like the Scripture, in fact it is not; yet they say it is from God, when they know it is not; and they lie about God, and knowingly.

Ahmed Raza Khan

And amongst them are some who distort (change words of) the Book with their tongues, so that you may think that this also is in the Book whereas it is not in the Book; and they say, “This is from Allah” whereas it is not from Allah; and they fabricate lies against Allah, whereas they know.

Ali Quli Qarai

There is a group of them who alter their voice while reading out a text [that they have themselves authored], so that you may suppose it to be from the Book, though it is not from the Book, and they say, ‘It is from Allah,’ though it is not from Allah, and they attribute lies to Allah, and they know [it].

Ali Ünal

And among them is a party twisting (the words of) the Book with their tongues (during their reading in order to distort its meaning), so that you may suppose it part of the Book, when it is not part of the Book; and they say it is from God’s Presence, when it is not from God’s Presence. They speak lies in attribution to God, and do so knowingly.

Amatul Rahman Omar

There are some among them who twist their tongues while reciting their Scripture that you may think that (what they recite) is a part of the Scripture, whilst it is no part of the Scripture and they say, `This is from Allâh,´ whereas it is not from Allâh. They tell a lie in the name of Allâh deliberately.

English Literal

And that from them (is) a group (E) (who) twist/turn/distort (misconstruct with) their tongues with The Book, so that you think/suppose it (is) from The Book, and it is not from The Book, and they say: "It (is) from at God". And it is not from at God, and they say on God the lie/falsehood and they are knowing.

Faridul Haque

And amongst them are some who distort (change words of) the Book with their tongues, so that you may think that this also is in the Book whereas it is not in the Book; and they say, “This is from Allah” whereas it is not from Allah; and they fabricate lies against Allah, whereas they know.

Hamid S. Aziz

It is not possible for a man to whom Allah has given the Scripture and the Wisdom and the Prophethood, that then he should say to men, "Be you servants of mine rather than of Allah;" but (what he said was) "Be you rather faithful servants of the Lord in teaching the Scripture of what you learn.”

Hilali & Khan

And verily, among them is a party who distort the Book with their tongues (as they read), so that you may think it is from the Book, but it is not from the Book, and they say: "This is from Allah," but it is not from Allah; and they speak a lie against Allah while they know it.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

Those who take a small price for the covenant of Allah and their own oaths -- they have no portion in the Hereafter, and Allah will not speak to them, nor will He look upon them on the day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them, and for them is a painful chastisement.

Mohammad Habib Shakir

Most surely there is a party amongst those who distort the Book with their tongue that you may consider it to be (a part) of the Book, and they say, It is from Allah, while it is not from Allah, and they tell a lie against Allah whilst they know.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

And lo! there is a party of them who distort the Scripture with their tongues, that ye may think that what they say is from the Scripture, when it is not from the Scripture. And they say: It is from Allah, when it is not from Allah; and they speak a lie concerning Allah knowingly.

Muhammad Sarwar

A group among the People of the Book when reading the Bible, deliberately mispronounce words in order to change their meaning, try to show that what they have read is from the true Bible. In fact, what they have read is not from the true Bible. They say, "What we read is from God." In reality, it is not from God. They knowingly ascribe false statements to God.

Qaribullah & Darwish

And there is a sect among them who twist their tongues with the Book, so you will think it is from the Book, whereas it is not from the Book. They say: 'This is from Allah' whereas it is not from Allah. And they knowingly tell lies against Allah.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

And verily, among them is a party who distort the Book with their tongues, so that you may think it is from the Book, but it is not from the Book, and they say: This is from Alla0h, but it is not from Alla0h؛ and they speak a lie against Alla0h while they know it.

Wahiduddin Khan

There are some among them who distort the Book by the way they speak to make you think that what they say is from the Book, whereas it is not. They say it is from God whereas it is not. Thus they tell a lie about God and they know it.

Talal Itani

And among them are those who twist the Scripture with their tongues, that you may think it from the Scripture, when it is not from the Scripture. And they say, “It is from God,” when it is not from God. They tell lies and attribute them to God, knowingly.

Tafsir jalalayn

And there is a group, a party, of them, the People of the Scripture, like Ka`b b. al-Ashraf, who twist their tongues with the Book, altering it by reciting it not according to the way in which it was revealed, but according to the way in which they have distorted it, as in the case of the descriptions of the Prophet (s) and other similar matters; so that you may suppose it, such distortion, as part of the Book, that God revealed; yet it is not part of the Book; and they say, `It is from God', yet it is not from God, and they speak falsehood against God, while they know, that they are liars.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

The Jews Alter Allah's Words

Allah says;

وَإِنَّ مِنْهُمْ لَفَرِيقًا يَلْوُونَ أَلْسِنَتَهُم بِالْكِتَابِ لِتَحْسَبُوهُ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنَ الْكِتَابِ

وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ



And verily, among them is a party who distort the Book with their tongues, so that you may think it is from the Book, but it is not from the Book, and they say;This is from Allah, but it is not from Allah,

Allah states that some Jews, may Allah's curses descend on them, distort Allah's Words with their tongues, change them from their appropriate places, and alter their intended meanings. They do this to deceive the ignorant people by making it appear that their words are in the Book of Allah. They attribute their own lies to Allah, even though they know that they have lied and invented falsehood.

Therefore, Allah said,

..
وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى اللّهِ الْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ



and they speak a lie against Allah while they know it.

Mujahid, Ash-Sha`bi, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and Ar-Rabi bin Anas said that,
يَلْوُونَ أَلْسِنَتَهُم بِالْكِتَابِ
(who distort the Book with their tongues), means,

"They alter them (Allah's Words)."

Al-Bukhari reported that Ibn Abbas said that;

the Ayah means they alter and add although none among Allah's creation can remove the Words of Allah from His Books, they alter and distort their apparent meanings.

Wahb bin Munabbih said,

"The Tawrah and the Injil remain as Allah revealed them, and no letter in them was removed. However, the people misguide others by addition and false interpretation, relying on books that they wrote themselves. Then,
وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ اللّهِ
(they say;"This is from Allah," but it is not from Allah;). As for Allah's Books, they are still preserved and cannot be changed."

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded this statement.

However, if Wahb meant the books that are currently in the hands of the People of the Book, then we should state that there is no doubt that they altered, distorted, added to and deleted from them. For instance, the Arabic versions of these books contain tremendous error, many additions and deletions and enormous misinterpretation. Those who rendered these translations have incorrect comprehension in most, rather, all of these translations.

If Wahb meant the Books of Allah that He has with Him, then indeed, these Books are preserved and were never changed