5:41
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I am looking for opinioins on this
"O Messenger! let not those grieve you who strive together in hastening to unbelief from among those who say with their mouths We believe, and their hearts do not believe, and from among those who are Jews; they are listeners for the sake of a lie, listeners for another people who have not come to you; they alter the words from their places, saying If you are given this, take it, and if you are not given this, be cautious; and as for him whose temptation Allah desires, you cannot control anything for him with Allah. Those are they for whom Allah does not desire that He should purify their hearts; they shall have disgrace in this world, and they shall have a grievous chastisement in the hereafter."
Qur'an 541
If I were a hadith-follower, I would say that it refers to people who take the Qur'an out of context and ascribe their own meanings such that what the Qur'an does not explicitly forbid (e.g. tattoos, pig's fat, heavy metal music etc.) they allow. It reminded me of the hadith "predicting" people who would rely only on the Qur'an for prohibition (though the hadith itself is against the Qur'an by claiming that Muhammad (SAW) was given the Qur'an and "something like it".
Many thanks,
Peace. -
Salam,
"O messenger, do not be saddened by those who increase in disbelief from among those who said 'We believe' with their mouths while their hearts did not believe. And from among those who are Jewish, there are those who listened to lies; they listened to people who never came to you; they distort the words from their context, and they say 'If you are given this, then take it, but if you are given anything different, then beware!' And whoever God wants to test, then you will not possess anything for him against God. These are the ones whose hearts God did not want to cleanse; in this world they will have humiliation, and in the Hereafter they will have a great retribution."
I see this is a very direct refrence to those who today are followers of Hadith. They a) listen to liars who claimed to have heard or seen the prophet do this or that, b) they distort the Quran out of context (e.g. obey the messenger), c) they then tell their followers, "only follow this way - the hadith, and beware to follow any other way".
Those who follow the Quran do not listen to lies nor accept the testimony of anyone outside the Quran, nor would they dare to take the words out of context and then tell people - follow such and reject all else.
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I was thinking about it and the meaning took a while to sink in. I am doing a commentary on all ayat relevant to Qur'an-alone VS Sunni VS Shia (using only the Qur'an of course). On a second reading I think that 541 refers to those who target a specific ayah (e.g. 555 for Shia or 95 for non-Muslims) and apply it for all time to advance their interests.
According to the Shakir translation they are listeners ON BEHALF of the people who have not seen the Prophet (SAW), and thus I get my interpretation (although yours works as well). There is also a difference between "and if you are not given this" and "but if you are given anything different" which alters the meaning, though yours makes it easier to explain (it is convenient). However, if we do the sole logical thing and think in terms of specific ayat (in which peace etc. may not be proclaimed because of its specific context) then we can relate it to people who twist the Qur'an for their own ends. 555 is an excellent example, as is 434, 95 etc..
Peace.
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Here is another translation that may give additional insight...
541 - O you, the Messenger "Let not those hypocrites who impel themselves heedlessly to infidelity grieve you at heart; their words and thoughts do not together accord. They declare they have conformed to Islam when in fact their hearts entertain positive unbelief. Nor should you grieve over those of the Jews who are attentive hearers to falsehood which the demagogic rabbins had purposed that they know. Furthermore, they lend their ears to those among them who never had audience of you, who translocation the words of the Sacred Scriptures to alter the intended sense of Allah?s words, and they use their authority to instruct their listeners to accept only the Scriptural passages they discoursed them, and to reject and beware of all else. But the fact is that he whom Allah has justly intended to close his heart?s ears and his mind?s eyes; you shall not be able to provide him with an alternative of Allah?s decision. These and such persons are they whom Allah has declined to cleanse their hearts and minds from moral and spiritual defilement. They must expect disgrace and humiliation here below, and unremitting punishment hereafter.
