Quran Garden

What happens when words are used cleverly, or distorted entirely?  Today, you'll hear the story of a one-eyed tailor whose work sparks a poetic jab, an Imam who outsmarts a governor's curse, and greetings that seem peaceful but hide deadly meaning.  Each tale reveals just how powerful and dangerous words can be when people carry ill intentions.

Session 626

Chapter 4

Verse 46

Among the Jews are those who pervert words from their places and say, "We hear and disobey," and "Hear without listening!" and "R?‘in?," twisting their tongues and reviling the faith.  Had they said, "We hear and obey," and "Listen" and "Unzurn?," it would have been better for them, and more upright.  But Allah has cursed them for their faithlessness, but for a few, scarcely do they believe. (Chapter 4:Verse 46)

At the beginning of this chapter, An-Nisaa, God speaks about the first human, Adam, who was created from a single soul, and from it, his mate, Eve.  Then, from Adam and Eve came countless men and women.  This abundance of creation ensures the continuation of the human mission as God's representatives on earth.  However, it is not merely about numbers, but about building strong societies grounded in high values.  Thus, Allah cautioned us against neglecting orphans.  We are commanded to care for them and safeguard their property until they reach maturity.  God taught us to entrust the mature orphan with their wealth on the one hand, and to fully take on the responsibility of managing the wealth of the mentally challenged on the other.  He also spoke about inheritance, so we can fairly pass on the wealth to the next generation.

All this for the purpose of building a complete system of life so we can properly carry the mission of representing Allah on earth.  More importantly, God discussed marriage as the foundation for healthy children and a sound society.  Reproduction does not fulfill its purpose unless it is the reproduction of the strong, morally grounded individuals.  As for the morally bankrupt, their numbers have no value.  So if there is an orphan among us, we care for them.  And if there are mentally challenged, we manage their wealth.  Such an environment nurtures strong children who grow to carry the mission forward into the next generation; a generation that receives a fair inheritance as the Lord instructed and who know how to choose a spouse.  God says,

Worship Allah and do not ascribe any partners to Him, and be good to your parents, to relatives, orphans, the needy, neighbors near and far,  the companion by your side, travelers in need, and to those whom your right hands possess.  Surely, God does not like arrogant, boastful people.  (Chapter 4: Verse 36)

Now, God reminds us of the actions of the Jews, as an example of a nation that was entrusted with heavenly scriptures.  Receiving and accepting heavenly teachings is one thing; properly implementing them is quite another.  Many people would gladly accept God's teachings, yet cannot bring themselves to live by them.  Instead, they choose to exchange His teachings for worldly gain as the following Aya illustrates,

Did you not see those who were given a portion of the Book, purchasing misguidance and wanting you to be misguided from the way?  (Chapter 4: Verse 44)

This is the tangible reality.  Allah does not bore you with declarative statements or dry legal jargon.  Instead, He brings you real-life examples from people like you warning: Beware of acting like them.  He says, "Among the Jews are those who pervert words from their places." To pervert words is to distort them by using a word that has multiple meanings or two words that sound alike but carry vastly different, possibly opposing, meanings.  This is often meant to mock the listener or misguide them.  For example, some of the Jews of Medina used to greet our beloved Muhammad with, "Al-s?m 'alaykum!" which sounds a lot like, "Al-s?lam 'alaykum!" but means death to you rather than peace. 

Another example is the word "r?‘in?'", which comes from caring for and watching over someone.  What the Jews of Medina meant was (ru‘?nah), which alludes to foolish impulsiveness.  We say, leave the words that bear two meanings and cut off the path of evil, so the listener does not have to guess whether your intentions are good or evil. 

A man went to a tailor to have a new garment made.  The tailor had only one eye, having lost the other in an accident.  When the customer received the garment, he hated it and decided to let everyone know who sewed this awful piece for him.  Similar to writing a bad online review in our time, the customer expressed his complaint through a line of poetry, saying:

Amr tailored this garment for me; would that fate had made his two eyes alike.

What did he mean?  Did he wish his bad eye would regain its sight so he could do better work?  Or for his good eye to go blind as punishment?  That is a perversion of words. 

In another story, a Umayyad governor approached a prominent Imam at the mosque with a bold demand: he wanted the Imam to ascend the pulpit and curse Ali ibn Abi Talib, the beloved cousin of the Prophet.  The Imam politely declined, saying, "Please excuse me from this task." The governor, growing impatient, insisted and threatened, "No!  You must do it."

Reluctantly, the Imam stepped onto the pulpit, faced the congregation, and spoke: "Your governor has demanded that I curse Ali ibn Abi Talib, from the household of our Messenger Muhammad.  So join me, and let us all curse him together." The governor, realizing too late, rushed forward and shouted, "Come down and say nothing!" He now understood that the Imam had used words with double meanings.  While the governor wanted everyone to curse Ali, may God be pleased with him, the Imam's clever phrasing had turned it around.  The crowd, led by the Imam, had effectively cursed the governor instead.

This brings us back to the verse.  God says, "Among the Jews are those who pervert words from their places." I want you to pay attention to the Quranic style, for it carries layers of meaning.  The phrase, "Among the Jews are those who pervert words from their places," goes deeper than it may seem.  It implies that they had the original words, fully understood the meanings of their scriptures, and knew exactly where each of God's teachings belonged.  Yet they made a conscious decision to remove them from their rightful place, intentionally distorting and perverting the words.

Two Jewish residents of Medina, a woman and a man from very prominent families, committed adultery.  Feeling the social pressure, the Rabbis who adjudicated the matter wanted to conceal the ruling in the Torah, which is stoning.  So, they resorted to trickery and suggested that the families go to the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.  They went to him to circumvent the Torah and find a socially acceptable solution, as stoning was too harsh for their elites.  When the Jewish group sat with Prophet Muhammad, they said, "O Messenger of God, judge between these people." He, peace be upon him, replied: "Don't you have a clear ruling for this matter in the Torah?  I will judge according to your scripture." They reluctantly replied: "That would be fair." He asked: "Which of you has the most knowledge of the Torah?" They named Abdullah bin Suriya.  He was brought forth and given the section of the Torah that Prophet Muhammad had specified.  Bin Suriya began to read, but when he reached the verse about stoning, he covered it with his hand and skipped ahead.  A companion named Abdullah bin Salam said, "O Messenger of God, did you see him covering the verse with his hand!?" Ibn Salam moved the man's hand and revealed the hidden verse about stoning. 

God says, "Among the Jews are those who pervert words from their places and say, 'We hear and disobey.'" When you lift God's sacred speech from its rightful place and misuse it to serve your whim, you turn the truth into falsehood and leave the words as strangers cut off with no place of their own.

Now that you've heard how words can inspire, mislead, or even outsmart a governor, imagine what your words can do!  Use your powers for good, and write QuranGarden a positive review.  Who knows?  Your kind words might inspire millions to listen.