أَوَلَمْ يَكُن لَّهُمْ ءَايَةً أَن يَعْلَمَهُۥ عُلَمَـٰٓؤُا۟ بَنِىٓ إِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ 197
Translations
And has it not been a sign to them that it is recognized by the scholars of the Children of Israel?
Transliteration
Awa lam yakun lahum ayatun an ya'lamahu ulama'u bani Isra'il
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah presents the knowledge of the Jewish scholars regarding the Quran as a sign of its divine origin. The verse argues that the Quran's recognition by knowledgeable people of the Children of Israel—who possessed knowledge of previous scriptures and could identify authentic divine speech—serves as compelling evidence for its authenticity. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari interpret this as referring to those Jewish and Christian scholars who studied the Torah and Gospel and found in the Quran confirmation of what came before, thus affirming Muhammad's prophethood.
Revelation Context
This ayah appears in Surah Ash-Shu'ara, which addresses the Meccan disbelievers' rejection of the Quran and Muhammad's message. The broader context of this surah focuses on responses to various objections against the Quran's divine origin. This particular ayah points to the testimony of People of the Book as evidence of the Quran's truth, acknowledging that scholarly recognition across communities serves as a powerful validation.
Related Hadiths
The principle reflected here relates to the hadith in which the Prophet (ﷺ) mentions scholars among the People of the Book who recognized him, such as those referenced in Sahih Bukhari regarding Abdullah ibn Salam, a Jewish scholar who accepted Islam after recognizing the Quran's alignment with Torah prophecies.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah teaches that truth is recognizable across different communities of learned people when they approach scripture without prejudice. For believers today, it reinforces that the Quran's miraculous nature is not limited to Arabs but accessible to sincere scholars of any background who study it with intellectual honesty.