Islam > Hadiths > The noble qur an and qur anic sciences > The Noble Qur'an and Qur'anic Sciences
Authenticity grade : AuthenticUpdated on 24 September 2026 at 12:34 AM
📖 2 min readعَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ: كَانَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ يَقْرَؤُونَ التَّوْرَاةَ بِالْعِبْرَانِيَّةِ، وَيُفَسِّرُونَهَا بِالْعَرَبِيَّةِ لِأَهْلِ الْإِسْلَامِ، فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللهِ صَلَّى اللهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ: «لَا تُصَدِّقُوا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ وَلَا تُكَذِّبُوهُمْ، وَقُولُوا: {آمَنَّا بِاللهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْنَا} [البقرة: 136] الْآيَةَ».
Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The People of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew and expound on it in Arabic to the Muslims. So, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Neither believe nor disbelieve the People of the Book but say: {We believe in Allah and what has been sent down to us.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 136]."
The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) warned his Ummah not to get deceived by what the People of the Book report in their books. The Jews, during the Prophet's lifetime, used to read the Torah in Hebrew, the language of the Jews, and expound on it in Arabic. So, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: Neither believe nor disbelieve the People of the Book. This applies to things that are not known to be true or false.
In fact, Allah Almighty commanded us to believe in the Qur’an revealed to us and the Book revealed to them. But there is no way in which we can know whether what they relate to us from these books is true or false, unless our Shariah clarifies whether it is true or false. Hence, we should stop, neither believing them, lest we may become their partners in what they distorted, nor disbelieving them, lest their statement may be right, and thus we will be denying what we were commanded to believe in. And Allah Almighty commanded the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) that we should say: {We believe in Allah and what has been sent down to us; and what was sent down to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the descendants [of Jacob]; and what was given to Moses and Jesus; and what was given to the prophets from their Lord.
We make no distinction between any of them, and to Him we have submitted.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 136]
Categories : Rules and Principles of Exegesis · Pre-Islamic Scriptures