أَمْ تَقُولُونَ إِنَّ إِبْرَٰهِـۧمَ وَإِسْمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِسْحَـٰقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَٱلْأَسْبَاطَ كَانُوا۟ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَـٰرَىٰ ۗ قُلْ ءَأَنتُمْ أَعْلَمُ أَمِ ٱللَّهُ ۗ وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن كَتَمَ شَهَـٰدَةً عِندَهُۥ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ ۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ 140
Translations
Or do you say that Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the Descendants were Jews or Christians? Say, "Are you more knowing or is Allāh?" And who is more unjust than one who conceals a testimony he has from Allāh? And Allāh is not unaware of what you do.
Transliteration
Am taqulūna inna Ibrāhīma wa-Ismā'īla wa-Isḥāqa wa-Ya'qūba wa-al-asbāṭa kānū hūdan aw naṣārā. Qul a-antum a'lamu ami-allāh. Wa-man aẓlamu mimman katama shahādatan 'indahu mina-allāh. Wa-mā allāh bighāfilin 'ammā ta'malūn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah rebukes the Jewish and Christian communities of Medina for falsely claiming that the ancient prophets—Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob, and the Twelve Tribes—were adherents of Judaism or Christianity. The Qur'an asserts that these prophets were Muslims (submitters to God's will) who lived before these religions were formally established. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi emphasize that the ayah challenges the arrogant appropriation of the patriarchs' legacy and warns against concealing testimony about the truth of God's revelation, which constitutes a grave injustice.
Revelation Context
This ayah was revealed in Medina during the period of intensive interaction and disputes with the Jewish tribes of Medina, particularly regarding claims of religious superiority and the true nature of Abraham's faith. It responds directly to Jewish and Christian polemics that attempted to claim the ancient prophets exclusively for their respective traditions, a common point of contention in early Islamic Medina.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a true believer (Muslim) and was not of the polytheists' (Sahih Bukhari 3445). Additionally, the hadith in Sahih Muslim regarding concealing knowledge relates to the second part of the ayah: 'Whoever conceals knowledge will be brought back on the Day of Judgment wearing a bridle of fire' (Sahih Muslim 2674).
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that arrogantly claiming historical or religious figures exclusively for one's own tradition while distorting their true faith is a form of injustice and deception that God is never unaware of. It reminds believers to reject sectarian pride and recognize that all genuine prophets submitted to God's will, and to bear honest witness to truth rather than conceal it for worldly gain or tribal loyalty.