وَعَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ هَادُوا۟ حَرَّمْنَا مَا قَصَصْنَا عَلَيْكَ مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَمَا ظَلَمْنَـٰهُمْ وَلَـٰكِن كَانُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ 118
Translations
And to those who are Jews We have prohibited that which We related to you before. And We did not wrong them [thereby], but they were wronging themselves.
Transliteration
Wa 'ala alladhīna hādū harramnā mā qasashnā 'alayka min qablu wa mā zalamnāhum wa lākin kānū anfusahum yazlimūn
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the dietary restrictions (halal and haram) that Allah imposed upon the Jewish people as mentioned earlier in the Quran and Torah. The ayah emphasizes that Allah did not wrong the Jews by imposing these restrictions; rather, they wronged themselves by transgressing against Allah's commandments and not adhering to His laws. Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi note that this verse clarifies that divine punishment or restrictions are always just, and any suffering results from human disobedience and transgression.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in the Meccan surah An-Nahl, which discusses various divine signs and blessings. The context references previously mentioned prohibitions given to the Jewish people (as discussed in Surah Al-An'am 6:146), establishing that the restrictions placed upon them were divine justice, not divine cruelty. This is part of a broader Quranic theme comparing the laws given to different communities.
Related Hadiths
The concept relates to the general principle in Hadith Qudsi: 'My servants, I have forbidden oppression (zulm) for Myself and have made it forbidden among you, so do not oppress one another' (Sahih Muslim 2577). Additionally, the Quran addresses self-inflicted harm through disobedience in multiple contexts, supporting the theme of personal responsibility.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that restrictions and difficulties in life often stem from our own choices and disobedience rather than from injustice on Allah's part, reminding us to examine our actions and take responsibility for our spiritual condition rather than blaming external circumstances.
Related Ayahs
وُجُوهٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ خَـٰشِعَةٌ
[Some] faces, that Day, will be humbled,
فَكَيْفَ إِذَا جَمَعْنَـٰهُمْ لِيَوْمٍ لَّا رَيْبَ فِيهِ وَوُفِّيَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَّا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ
So how will it be when We assemble them for a Day about which there is no doubt? And each soul will be compensated [in full for] what it earned, and they will not be wronged.
قَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ حَقَّ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلْقَوْلُ رَبَّنَا هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ ٱلَّذِينَ أَغْوَيْنَآ أَغْوَيْنَـٰهُمْ كَمَا غَوَيْنَا ۖ تَبَرَّأْنَآ إِلَيْكَ ۖ مَا كَانُوٓا۟ إِيَّانَا يَعْبُدُونَ
Those upon whom the word will have come into effect will say, "Our Lord, these are the ones we led to error. We led them to error just as we were in error. We declare our disassociation [from them] to You. They did not used to worship [i.e., obey] us."
لِيُكَفِّرَ ٱللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ أَسْوَأَ ٱلَّذِى عَمِلُوا۟ وَيَجْزِيَهُمْ أَجْرَهُم بِأَحْسَنِ ٱلَّذِى كَانُوا۟ يَعْمَلُونَ
That Allāh may remove from them the worst of what they did and reward them their due for the best of what they used to do.