Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:75

(And a party of them used to hear the word of Allah, then they would distort it) That is, a faction of their ancestors, the rabbis, would hear the Word of Allah and interpret it with a corrupt interpretation to suit their desires. This is the view held by Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them) and the majority, who hold that their distortion consisted of substituting words of their own invention, as they did regarding the descriptions of the Prophet (may Allah exalt and grant him peace). It is reported that one of his descriptions in their scriptures was that he was "fair-complexioned, of medium height," so they changed it to "dark-complexioned, tall." They also changed the verse regarding stoning to "smearing with soot" and "blackening the face," as recorded in al-Bukhari.

It is also said: The intent by "the Word of Allah" is what they heard at Mount Sinai; thus, the "party" refers to a group among those seventy. Al-Kalbi narrated that they asked Moses (peace be upon him) to let them hear the speech of Allah (Exalted be He). He told them: "Bathe and wear clean garments." They did so, and Allah (Exalted be He) let them hear His speech. Then they said, "We heard," but it is said elsewhere that they added: "If you are able to perform these things, then perform them; and if you wish, do not perform them." In this account, the distortion is an addition.

It is not hidden that what they fabricated bears witness to its own corruption, for they linked the command to ability and the prohibition to desire, and these two do not correspond. It is as if they intended by the command something non-obligatory, in the sense of: "Do it if you wish, and if you wish, do not." This is what the learned scholar implied; his purpose was to clarify the origin of their corrupt distortion, so it does not contradict that the lack of correspondence serves as proof of its corruption. The implication of this narration is that they heard the speech of Allah (Exalted be He) without an intermediary, just as Moses (peace be upon him) heard it. However, the verified position is that they did not hear it without an intermediary, and that this is exclusive to him (peace be upon him).

It is also said: The intent is the revelation sent down upon our Prophet (may Allah exalt and grant him peace). A group of Jews would hear it and then distort it, intending to insert into the religion that which is not of it, thereby causing contradiction in its rulings. (But Allah refuses except to perfect His light.) Al-A'mash read it as (kallama Allah - "Allah spoke to").

(After they had understood it) Meaning, after they had grasped and comprehended it, and its authenticity was not doubtful to them. The ma is an infinitive particle (masdariyyah), meaning "after their understanding of it." The pronoun in "understood it" ('aqaluhu) refers to the Word of Allah. It is also said that ma is a relative pronoun (mawsulah) and the pronoun refers back to it, but this is far-fetched.

(While they know) The object of the knowledge is omitted; it means: they know they are following falsehood and lying, or they know the punishment inherent in that distortion. In this lies the perfection of their condemnation, and by this explanation, the illusion of redundancy with what was mentioned after "after they had understood it" is dispelled. The essence of the verse is to deem unlikely any hope that faith would emerge from these low-life people, given that their rabbis and leaders were in this hideous state. Undoubtedly, these ones are worse in character and have less discernment than their ancestors. Or, it is a deeming unlikely of any hope for the faith of these disbelievers who distort, along with their ancestors who did so in the time of their prophet, for they have a precedent in this. By this, any doubt that might cross one's mind—as to how the audacity of some of them to distort necessitates despair in the faith of the rest—is dispelled.