Quran 2:135 — Surah Al-Baqara Ayah 135 | Arabic, Translation & Tafsir

تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌۭ قَدْ خَلَتْ ۖ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ و...

2:135

Al-Baqara

قُولُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْ...

وَقَالُوا۟ كُونُوا۟ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَٰرَىٰ تَهْتَدُوا۟ ۗ قُلْ بَلْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَٰهِۦمَ حَنِيفًۭا ۖ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ

Wa qaaloo koonoo Hoodan aw Nasaaraa tahtadoo; qul bal Millata Ibraaheema Haneefanw wa maa kaana minal mushrikeen

They say, "Be Jews or Christians [so] you will be guided." Say, "Rather, [we follow] the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth, and he was not of the polytheists."

Related Tafsir

Ibn Kathir

The Claim of Guidance by the People of the Book

Muhammad bin Ishaq reported that Ibn `Abbas said that `Abdullah bin Suriya Al-A`war said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, "The guidance is only what we (Jews) follow. Therefore, follow us, O Muhammad, and you will be rightly guided." Also, the Christians said similarly, so Allah revealed,

وَقَالُواْ كُونُواْ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَـرَى تَهْتَدُواْ

(And they say, "Be Jews or Christians, then you will be guided.") Allah's statement,

قُلْ بَلْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَهِيمَ حَنِيفًا

(Say (to them O Muhammad ), "Nay, (we follow) only the religion of Ibrahim, Hanif) means, "We do not need the Judaism or Christianity that you call us to, rather,

مِلَّةَ إِبْرَهِيمَ حَنِيفاً

((we follow) only the religion of Ibrahim, Hanif) meaning, on the straight path, as Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi and `Isa bin Jariyah stated. Also, Abu Qilabah said, "The Hanif is what the Messengers, from beginning to end, believed in.")

View Full Tafsir: The Claim of Guidance by the People of the BookAyahs 135–135

“You will most certainly follow the ways of those who came before you, arm’s length by arm’s length, forearm’s length by forearm’s length, hand span by hand span, until even if they entered a hole of a mastigure (lizard) you will enter it too.” They said: “O Messenger of Allah, (do you mean) the Jews and the Christians?” He said: “Who else?”

Sahih Muslim #6616Abu Sa'id al-Khudri reported Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) as saying:

You would tread the same path as was trodden by those before you inch by inch and step by step so much so that if they had entered into the hole of the lizard, you would follow them in this also. We said: Allah's Messenger, do you mean Jews and Christians (by your words)" those before you"? He said: Who else (than those two religious groups)?

Sahih al-Bukhari #3310Narrated Abu Sa`id:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "You will follow the wrong ways, of your predecessors so completely and literally that if they should go into the hole of a mastigure, you too will go there." We said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! Do you mean the Jews and the Christians?" He replied, "Whom else?" (Meaning, of course, the Jews and the Christians.)

Sahih al-Bukhari #7042Narrated Abu Sa`id Al-Khudri:

The Prophet (ﷺ) said, "You will follow the ways of those nations who were before you, span by span and cubit by cubit (i.e., inch by inch) so much so that even if they entered a hole of a mastigure, you would follow them." We said, "O Allah's Messenger (ﷺ)! (Do you mean) the Jews and the Christians?" He said, "Whom else?"

Sunan Ibn Majah #3357It was narrated that Abu Hurairah attributed to the Prophet (ﷺ):

“The Jews and the Christians do not dye (their hair), so differ from them.”