Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:51

(Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Scripture, [who] believe in Jibt and Taghut?)

This is an expression of astonishment at another state of theirs, and a description of them by that which is in the place of the relative clause (silah), in order to intensify the condemnation and confirm the astonishment. A similar example has preceded.

The verse was revealed—as reported from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them)—regarding Huyayy ibn Akhtab and Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf among a group of Jews. They set out to Makkah after the Battle of Uhud to form an alliance with the Quraish against the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and to break the treaty that existed between them and the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). Ka'b stayed with Abu Sufyan, who provided him with good lodging, and the Jews stayed in the quarters of Quraish.

The people of Makkah said: "You are people of the Scripture, and Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is also a man of Scripture. We cannot be sure that this is not a deception on your part. If you want us to go out with you, then prostrate to these two idols and believe in them." They did so.

Then Ka'b said: "O people of Makkah, let thirty of you come forth and thirty of us; let us press our chests against the Ka'bah and swear to the Lord of the House that we shall exert our utmost effort in fighting Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace)." They did so. When they finished, Abu Sufyan said to Ka'b: "You are a man who reads the Scripture and has knowledge, while we are unlettered and do not know. Which of us is better guided and closer to the truth, we or Muhammad?"

Ka'b said: "Present your religion to me." Abu Sufyan said: "We slaughter the best camels for the pilgrims, provide them with milk, entertain the guest, release the captive, maintain kinship ties, maintain the House of our Lord, and circumambulate it. We are the people of the Sanctuary, while Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) has abandoned the religion of his forefathers, severed kinship ties, abandoned the Sanctuary, and our religion is ancient while Muhammad's religion is new."

Ka'b said: "By Allah, you are better guided in your path than that upon which Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) is." Thereupon, Allah the Almighty revealed this verse.

Jibt is originally a name for an idol, then it was used for everything worshipped besides Allah the Almighty. It is also said that its origin is Jibs, which—as al-Raghib said—is the despicable one in whom there is no good, and its seen was changed to a ta as in the saying of 'Amr ibn Yarbu': "The evil of the nat," meaning the people (nas). Qutrub went along with this. Taghut is applied to every falsehood, whether an object of worship or otherwise.

Al-Faryabi and others reported from Umar ibn al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "The Jibt is the sorcerer, and the Taghut is the devil." Ibn Jarir reported from Mujahid through various chains the same, and through a chain from Abu al-Layth from him, he said: "The Jibt is Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf, and the Taghut is the devil who appeared in the form of a human." From Sa'id ibn Jubayr: "The Jibt is the sorcerer in the Abyssinian language, and the Taghut is the soothsayer (kahin)." Ibn Humayd reported from Ikrimah that the Jibt is the devil in the Abyssinian language and the Taghut is the soothsayer. This is one narration from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with both of them). In another narration: The Jibt is Huyayy ibn Akhtab and the Taghut is Ka'b ibn al-Ashraf. In another: The Jibt is the idols and the Taghut are those who stand before them, spreading lies on their behalf to lead people astray.

The meaning of "believing in them" is either confirming them as gods and associating them in worship with Allah the Almighty, or obeying them and agreeing with them upon the falsehood they possess. As for the shared aspect between the two meanings, such as reverence for example, the primary meaning is the first one; meaning, they confirm the divinity of these two falsehoods, associate them in worship with the True God, and prostrate to them.

(And they say about those who disbelieve): That is, because of them and regarding them; the lam is not the connector of the verb "say," otherwise it would have been said "you are" instead of His saying: (these)—meaning the disbelievers of the people of Makkah—(are better guided in [their] way than those who believe), meaning: more upright in religion and more guided in path.

It is said: The apparent meaning is that they used the superlative indiscriminately without intending the meaning of comparison, or they said it by way of mockery because of their disbelief. The inclusion of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his followers under the title of "the believers" is not from the side of the speakers, but from the side of Allah the Almighty, defining them by the beautiful description and proving the error of those who preferred over them those who are characterized by the most heinous of vices.