Surah Al-Ma’idah >> Currently viewing Surah Al-Ma’idah Ayat 68 (5:68)

Surah Al-Ma’idah Ayat 68 in Arabic Text

قُلۡ يَـٰٓأَهۡلَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ لَسۡتُمۡ عَلَىٰ شَيۡءٍ حَتَّىٰ تُقِيمُواْ ٱلتَّوۡرَىٰةَ وَٱلۡإِنجِيلَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكُم مِّن رَّبِّكُمۡۗ وَلَيَزِيدَنَّ كَثِيرٗا مِّنۡهُم مَّآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ طُغۡيَٰنٗا وَكُفۡرٗاۖ فَلَا تَأۡسَ عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ
Qul yaaa Ahlal Kitaabi lastum ‘alaa shai’in hattaa tuqeemut Tawraata wal Injeela wa maaa unzila ilaikum mir Rabbikum; wa layazeedanna kaseeram minhum maa unzila ilaika mir Rabbika tugh yaananw wa kufran falaa taasa ‘alal qawmil kaafireen

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 68

Sahih International
Say, “O People of the Scripture, you are [standing] on nothing until you uphold [the law of] the Torah, the Gospel, and what has been revealed to you from your Lord.” And that which has been revealed to you from your Lord will surely increase many of them in transgression and disbelief. So do not grieve over the disbelieving people.

Yusuf Ali
Say: “O People of the Book! ye have no ground to stand upon unless ye stand fast by the Law, the Gospel, and all the revelation that has come to you from your Lord.” It is the revelation that cometh to thee from thy Lord, that increaseth in most of them their obstinate rebellion and blasphemy. But sorrow thou not over (these) people without Faith.

Abul Ala Maududi
Say to them: ‘People of the Book! You have no solid ground to stand on unless you establish the Torah and the Gospel and all that had been revealed to you from your Lord. Indeed the message revealed to you from your Lord will aggravate insurgence and unbelief in many of them. So do not grieve for those who disbelieve.

Muhsin Khan
Say (O Muhammad SAW) “O people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians)! You have nothing (as regards guidance) till you act according to the Taurat (Torah), the Injeel (Gospel), and what has (now) been sent down to you from your Lord (the Quran).” Verily, that which has been sent down to you (Muhammad SAW) from your Lord increases in many of them their obstinate rebellion and disbelief. So be not sorrowful over the people who disbelieve.

Pickthall
Say O People of the Scripture! Ye have naught (of guidance) till ye observe the Torah and the Gospel and that which was revealed unto you from your Lord. That which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) from thy Lord is certain to increase the contumacy and disbelief of many of them. But grieve not for the disbelieving folk.

Dr. Ghali
Say, “O Population of the Book, you are up to nothing until you keep up the Tawrah and the Injil and whatever has been sent to you from your Lord.” And indeed what has been sent down to you (The prophet Muhammad) from your Lord will definitely increase many of them in ordinance and disbelief, so do not feel sad for the disbelieving people.

Abdel Haleem
Say, ‘People of the Book, you have no true basis [for your religion] unless you uphold the Torah, the Gospel, and that which has been sent down to you from your Lord,’ but what has been sent down to you [Prophet] from your Lord is sure to increase many of them in their insolence and defiance: do not worry about those who defy [God].

Muhammad Junagarhi
آپ کہہ دیجیئے کہ اے اہل کتاب! تم دراصل کسی چیز پر نہیں جب تک کہ تورات وانجیل کو اور جو کچھ تمہاری طرف تمہارے رب کی سے طرف اتارا گیا ہے قائم نہ کرو، جو کچھ آپ کی جانب آپ کے رب کی طرف سے اترا ہے وه ان میں سے بہتوں کو شرارت اور انکار میں اور بھی بڑھائے گا ہی، تو آپ ان کافروں پر غمگین نہ ہوں

Quran 5 Verse 68 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Al-Ma’idah ayat 68, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(5:68) Say to them: ‘People of the Book! You have no solid ground to stand on unless you establish the Torah and the Gospel and all that had been revealed to you from your Lord.[97] Indeed the message revealed to you from your Lord will aggravate insurgence and unbelief in many of them.[98] So do not grieve for those who disbelieve.


97. By ‘establishing the Torah and the Gospel’ is meant observing them honestly and making them the law of life.

It should be noted here that the Scriptures which comprise the Bible consist of two kinds of writings. One was composed by the Jewish and Christian authors themselves. The second consists of those portions which have been recorded as either the injunctions of God or as the utterances of Moses, Jesus and other Prophets. Such portions are those in which it has been categorically stated that God said so and so, or that a particular Prophet said so and so. If we were to exclude the portions belonging to the first category and carefully study those belonging to the second we would notice that their teachings are not perceptibly different from those of the Qur’an. It is true that the second category has not altogether escaped the tamperings of translators, scribes and exegetes, and the errors of oral transmitters. Nevertheless, one cannot help feeling that the teachings embodied in the second category call man to the same pure monotheism as the Qur’an, that they propound those very beliefs propounded by the Qur’an and that they direct man to the same way of life as that to which the Qur’an seeks to direct him. Hence, had the Jews and the Christians adhered to the teaching attributed in their Scriptures to God and the Prophets they would certainly have become a truth-loving and truth-oriented group of people and would have been able to see in the Qur’an that very light which illuminates the earlier divine Scriptures. There would then have been no question of their abandoning their religion in order to follow the Prophet (peace be on him). To follow him would have caused neither break nor discontinuity; they would simply have gone one stage further along the same road.

98. Instead of reflecting on this seriously and dispassionately, they were seized by a fit of intransigence which intensified their opposition.

Ibn-Kathir

68. Say: “O People of the Scripture! You have nothing till you act according to the Tawrah, the Injil, and what has (now) been sent down to you from your Lord (the Qur’an).” Verily, the revelation that has come to you from your Lord makes many of them increase in rebellion and disbelief. So do not grieve for the people who disbelieve. 69. Surely, those who believe, and those who are the Jews and the Sabians and the Christians, whosoever believed in Allah and the Last Day, and worked righteousness, on them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.


There is no Salvation Except through Faith in the Qur’an

Allah says: O Muhammad, say,

﴿يَـأَهْلَ الْكِتَـبِ لَسْتُمْ عَلَى شَىْءٍ﴾

(O People of the Scripture! You have nothing…) meaning no real religion until you adhere to and implement the Tawrah and the Injil. That is, until you believe in all the Books that you have that Allah revealed to the Prophets. These Books command following Muhammad and believing in his prophecy, all the while adhering to his Law. Before, we explained Allah’s statement,

﴿وَلَيَزِيدَنَّ كَثِيراً مِّنْهُم مَّآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ طُغْيَـناً وَكُفْراً﴾

(Verily, the revelation that has come to you from your Lord makes many of them increase in rebellion and disbelief.)

﴿فَلاَ تَأْسَ عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَـفِرِينَ﴾

(So do not grieve for the people who disbelieve), Do not be sad or taken aback by their disbelief. Allah said next,

﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ﴾

(Surely, those who believe) referring to Muslims,

﴿وَالَّذِينَ هَادُواْ﴾

(those who are the Jews) who were entrusted with the Tawrah,

﴿وَالصَّـبِئُونَ﴾

(and the Sabians. ..) a sect from the Christians and Magians who did not follow any particular religion, as Mujahid stated. As for the Christians, they are known and were entrusted with the Injil. The meaning here is that if each of these groups believed in Allah and the Hereafter, which is the Day of Judgement and Reckoning, and performed good actions, which to be so, must conform to Muhammad’s Law, after Muhammad was sent to all mankind and the Jinns. If any of these groups held these beliefs, then they shall have no fear of what will come or sadness regarding what they lost, nor will grief ever affect them. We discussed a similar Ayah before in Surat Al-Baqarah ﴿2:62﴾.

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