Surah Al-Ma’idah >> Currently viewing Surah Al-Ma’idah Ayat 47 (5:47)

Surah Al-Ma’idah Ayat 47 in Arabic Text

وَلۡيَحۡكُمۡ أَهۡلُ ٱلۡإِنجِيلِ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ فِيهِۚ وَمَن لَّمۡ يَحۡكُم بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ فَأُوْلَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلۡفَٰسِقُونَ
Walyahkum Ahlul Injeeli bimaaa anzalal laahu feeh; wa mal lam yahkum bimaaa anzalal laahu fa ulaaa’ika humul faasiqoon

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 47

Sahih International
And let the People of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed – then it is those who are the defiantly disobedient.

Yusuf Ali
Let the people of the Gospel judge by what Allah hath revealed therein. If any do fail to judge by (the light of) what Allah hath revealed, they are (no better than) those who rebel.

Abul Ala Maududi
Let the followers of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein, and those who do not judge by what Allah has revealed are the transgressors.

Muhsin Khan
Let the people of the Injeel (Gospel) judge by what Allah has revealed therein. And whosoever does not judge by what Allah has revealed (then) such (people) are the Fasiqun (the rebellious i.e. disobedient (of a lesser degree) to Allah.

Pickthall
Let the People of the Gospel judge by that which Allah hath revealed therein. Whoso judgeth not by that which Allah hath revealed: such are evil-livers.

Dr. Ghali
And let the Population (Or: the Family) of the Injil (The Book revealed to Isa “Jesus”, of which the extant Gospel is a corruption) judge according to what Allah has sent down therein. And whoever does not judge according to what Allah has sent down, then those are they (who are) the immoral.

Abdel Haleem
So let the followers of the Gospel judge according to what God has sent down in it. Those who do not judge according to what God has revealed are lawbreakers.

Muhammad Junagarhi
اور انجیل والوں کو بھی چاہئے کہ اللہ تعالیٰ نے جو کچھ انجیل میں نازل فرمایا ہے اسی کے مطابق حکم کریں اور جو اللہ تعالیٰ کے نازل کرده سے ہی حکم نہ کریں وه (بدکار) فاسق ہیں

Quran 5 Verse 47 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Al-Ma’idah ayat 47, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(5:47) Let the followers of the Gospel judge by what Allah has revealed therein, and those who do not judge by what Allah has revealed are the transgressors.[77]


77. Here three judgements are issued against those who do not judge in accordance with the Law revealed by God. The first is that they are kafir (unbelievers); the second, that they are zalim (wrong-doers); and the third, that they are fasiq (transgressors). This clearly means that one who, in disregard of God’s commandments and of the Laws revealed by Him, pronounces judgements according to man-made laws (whether made by himself or by others) is guilty of three major offences. First, his act amounts to rejecting the commandment of God, and this rejection is equivalent to kufr (infidelity, unbelief). Second, his act is contrary to justice, for only the laws made by God are in complete accord with the dictates of justice. Any judgement in contravention of God’s injunctions amounts, therefore, to committing injustice (zulm). Third, when he enforces either his own or anyone else’s law in disregard of the Laws of his Lord he steps out of the fold of subjection and obedience, and this constitutes fisq (transgression).

Kufr, zulm and fisq are essential elements in deviation from God’s commandments. One finds them wherever there is deviation from the commandment of God. There is variation in the degree of deviation and hence in the degree of these three offences. Whoever passes judgement on something in opposition to an injunction of God, believing that injunction to be false, and holds either his own or anyone else’s judgement to be sound, is an unbeliever (kafir), wrong-doer (zalim) and transgressor (fasiq). A man who is convinced that the injunctions of God are right but makes judgements contrary to them in practice is not an unbeliever in the sense that he ceases to remain a member of the Islamic community, but he is guilty of adulterating his faith by blending it with kufr, zulm and fisq. In the same manner, those who deviate from the injunctions of God in all matters are unbelievers, wrong-doers and transgressors. For those who are obedient in some respects and disobedient in others, the blending of faith and submission to God with the opposite attributes of unbelief, wrong-doing and transgression in their lives will be exactly in proportion to the mixture of their obedience to and their deviation from God’s commands.

Some commentators have attempted to restrict the application of these verses to the People of the Book alone. The verses, however, hardly lend themselves to such a restrictive interpretation. The best answer to such a restrictive interpretation has been given by the Companion Hudhayfah. When someone told him that these verses related merely to the Israelites, meaning that the unbelievers, wrong-doers and transgressors were only the Jews who passed judgement contrary to the injunctions revealed by God, Hudhayfah remarked: ‘What good brothers these Israelites are to you! Whatever is bitter goes to them; whatever is sweet comes to you. Nay, by God, you will follow their way, your steps following theirs.’

Ibn-Kathir

The tafsir of Surah Maidah verse 47 by Ibn Kathir is unavailable here.
Please refer to Surah Maidah ayat 46 which provides the complete commentary from verse 46 through 47.

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