Surah An-Nisa' 4:160
ﲠ ﲡ ﲢ ﲣ ﲤ ﲥ ﲦ ﲧ ﲨ ﲩ ﲪ ﲫ ﲬ ﲭ
For wrongdoing on the part of the Jews, We made unlawful for them [certain] good foods which had been lawful to them, and for their averting from the way of Allah many [people],
Tafsir of An-Nisa' 4:160-161
Tafsir
Mafatih al-Ghayb
Verse range: 4:160-161
| An-Nisa (The Women): (160-161) So because of the wrongdoing of those who...
The Almighty, after detailing the disgraces of the Jews' actions and the ugliness of the disbelievers' deeds, followed this by mentioning the severity of the punishment He inflicted upon them in this world and the Hereafter.
The severity in this world was that Allah prohibited for them good things (tayyibat) that were previously permissible, as He stated elsewhere: "And upon those who were Jews We forbade every animal with an undivided hoof; and of the cattle and sheep We forbade them the fat thereof, except that which was on their backs or in their intestines or mixed with bone." (Al-An'am: 146).
Then, the Almighty clarified what serves as the cause necessitating these severe restrictions.
Know that the types of sins are confined to two categories: injustice towards creation, and turning away from the true religion.
The injustice towards creation is alluded to by His saying: {And for their hindering many from the way of Allah} (An-Nisa: 160).
Furthermore, despite this, they are extremely eager to acquire wealth. Sometimes they obtain it through usury (riba), even though they were forbidden from it. Other times, it is through bribery, which is intended by His saying: {And their taking of people's wealth by falsehood} (An-Nisa: 161). This is similar to His saying: "They are listeners to falsehood, consumers of the illicit (suht)." (Al-Ma'idah: 43).
These four [hindering from Allah's path, taking wealth by falsehood, usury, and bribery/illicit gain] are the sins that necessitate the severity upon them in this world and the Hereafter.
The severity in this world is what we previously mentioned: the prohibition of good things upon them. As for the severity in the Hereafter, it is what is meant by His saying: {And We have prepared for the disbelievers among them a painful punishment} (An-Nisa: 161).
The Almighty, after describing the way of the disbelievers and the ignorant among the Jews, then described the way of the believers among them.
**{But those among them who are firm in knowledge, and the believers, believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you, and [especially] those who establish the prayer and those who give zakāh and those who believe in Allah and the Last Day—those We will give a great reward.}** (An-Nisa: 162)