The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 343
PT. 6 AL-MĀ'IDAH judges not by that which Allah has sent down, these it is who are the disbelievers. 676 CH. 5 وَكَتَبْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ فِيهَا أَنَّ النَّفْسَ بِالنَّفْسِ And therein We prescribed. 46 وَالْعَيْنَ بِالْعَيْنِ وَالْأَنْفَ بِالْأَنْفِ for them: A life for a life, and an eye for an eye, and a nose for a 676. Important Words: ✓ (godly people). See 3:80. (learned men) is the plural of ie. he made it حبره They say حبر beautiful; or he made him happy; or he treated him with honour. (hibr) or (habr) means, a learned man of the Jews; or any learned man; a good or righteous man (Lane & Aqrab). (were required to preserve) is in the passive voice being formed from. They say abi. e. he kept it or preserved it or guarded it or protected it; or he prevented it from perishing or becoming lost. (in the active voice) means, he asked him to keep or guard or preserve it from perishing or becoming lost; or he asked him to be careful of, or attentive to, it; or he placed it with him to preserve or guard or take care of it; or he entrusted him with it or gave it to him in trust (Lane). Commentary: In this verse the Quran brings home to the Jews the charge mentioned in the previous verse. When even the Prophets of God who followed Moses were required to judge according to the Torah, who are they to refuse to refer their disputes to it? The words, Therefore fear not men but fear Me, and barter not My Signs 783 for a paltry price, mean that the referring by the Jews of their disputes to the Holy Prophet meant that they no longer looked upon the Torah as the revealed Word of God, and also that they had complete faith in the honesty, truthfulness and justice of the Holy Prophet. If such was the case, and there were also clear prophecies in their Scriptures bearing witness to his truth, then their refusal to believe in him showed that they feared men more than they feared God. Moreover, the rejection of the Holy Prophet meant not only the rejection of those prophecies but of Moses himself, who brought the Book which contains those prophecies. It is also clear from this verse that it is not necessary for every Prophet to bring a new Law and not to be the follower of another Prophet or Book. The Prophets that appeared among the Jews after Moses, including Jesus, brought no new Law but followed Moses and acted upon the Law that was revealed to him. Says the verse, By it did the Prophets, who were obedient to Us, judge for the Jews. The Prophets who judged the Jews by the Torah were obviously subject to the Law of the Torah and had no Law of their own.