When Scholars Forge Scripture: The Triple "Woe" of Divine Condemnation
When Scholars Forge Scripture: The Triple "Woe" of Divine Condemnation
Quran 2:79 delivers a sharp warning against falsifying revelation, emphasizing truth, justice, and consequences of deception.
The Arabic Text
فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ الْكِتَابَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَٰذَا مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ لِيَشْتَرُوا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا ۖ فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ
Transliteration
Fa-waylun lilladhīna yaktubūna l-kitāba bi-aydīhim thumma yaqūlūna hādhā min ʿindi Llāhi li-yashtarū bihī thamanan qalīlan fa-waylun lahum mimmā katabat aydīhim wa-waylun lahum mimmā yaksibūn
Simple English Translation
"So woe to those who write the "scripture" with their own hands, then say, 'This is from Allah,' in order to exchange it for a small price. Woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they earn."
Full Explanation in Easy English
This verse delivers one of the Quran's most severe condemnations, targeting those who commit the ultimate act of religious fraud: fabricating lies and attributing them directly to Allah for worldly gain. It serves as the climax of the critique against the corrupt scholars of the past.
1. The Past: The Ultimate Corruption – Forgery in Allah's Name
The Grave Accusation: This goes beyond misinterpretation or concealment. It accuses some of the learned among the People of the Book of physically writing falsehoods with their own hands and then brazenly claiming these fabrications were divine revelation.
The Motive – A "Small Price": They did this "to exchange it for a small price." This "price" includes:
Worldly gain: Money, status, and power from pleasing rulers or wealthy patrons.
Social influence: Maintaining authority over the ignorant masses by creating man-made laws or altering divine ones to suit their desires.
Tribal pride: Changing prophecies or laws to favor their own lineage or tribe.
The Double "Woe" (Wayl): The curse of "Wayl" is repeated three times—a severe, comprehensive condemnation for:
The act of writing the forgery.
The content of what they wrote.
The "earnings" (the worldly gains and sins) they acquired through this deception.
In the past, this identified the root of scriptural corruption: intentional, profit-driven forgery by those entrusted with preserving the truth.
2. The Present: Modern Forms of Writing "Scripture" with Our Hands
For Muslims today, the warning is not about altering the Quran's text (Allah has promised its protection), but about the spirit of this sin in our religious discourse and authority:
Fabricating Religious Narratives:
Inventing or propagating weak/fabricated Hadith (mawdu'at) and presenting them as the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) to support a personal opinion, political agenda, or cultural practice.
Creating "Islamic" rulings from personal opinion (ra'y) or modern ideologies (capitalism, feminism, nationalism) and presenting them as derived from the Quran and Sunnah.
The "Small Price" Today: Selling religious integrity for:
Social Media Clout: Gaining followers and likes by sharing sensational but unverified "Islamic" content.
Financial Donations: Preaching a softened, pleasing version of Islam to secure funding from certain audiences.
Political Power: Justifying the actions of a ruler or government by twisting religious texts, or conversely, promoting extremism using fabricated justifications.
Cultural Validation: Altering the presentation of Islam to make it palatable to secular norms, thereby gaining acceptance in certain circles.
Attributing to Allah What He Did Not Say: This is the core sin. It happens whenever someone says, "Islam says..." or "Allah wants..." about something that is actually their own desire, culture, or innovation (bid'ah), not the clear text of the Quran and authentic Sunnah.
Today, this verse asks everyone who speaks about Islam: Are you conveying Allah's message faithfully, or are you "writing with your own hands"—crafting a version of Islam that sells for a little bit of fame, money, or popularity?
3. The Future: The "Woe" of the Hereafter
The triple "Wayl" is a direct warning about the eternal future consequences of this sin:
"Woe" (Wayl) is a Word of Punishment: In the Quran, Wayl is often associated with the punishment of Hellfire. For example, "And woe that Day to the deniers!" (77:15). This is not a minor warning; it points to a dire outcome in the Hereafter.
Accountability for Every "Written" Lie: On the Day of Judgment, they will be confronted with what their hands wrote and the falsehood they attributed to Allah. Their own forgery will be evidence against them.
The Earnings Are Poisoned: Every bit of worldly gain, status, and influence they acquired through this deception will become a source of regret and a multiplier of their punishment. The "small price" they sold their faith for will incur an infinite, eternal debt.
For the future, this verse teaches that the most dangerous people are not the ignorant, but the corrupt "scholars" who mislead others by dressing up lies in divine clothing. Their punishment will be severe because their crime corrupts the very path of salvation for others. For the rest of us, it is a command to verify what we hear and to hold those who speak for Islam to the highest standard of integrity.
Summary for a Contemporary Audience
Imagine a food safety officer, trusted to protect the public, who personally prints fake "100% Pure" labels and slaps them on poisoned cans to sell them for a quick profit. The crime is not just the fraud, but the betrayal of trust and the direct harm caused.
Your takeaway: The Quran is the pure, protected "label" from Allah. The greatest religious crime is to create a counterfeit label—be it a fabricated hadith, a self-serving fatwa, or a cultural distortion—and claim "This is from Allah" to gain some worldly advantage. As a Muslim, your duty is to:
Seek knowledge from verified, authentic sources.
Reject any "Islamic" teaching that seems to serve a worldly agenda more than it serves the clear text.
Hold accountable those who speak in the name of the religion.
Do not buy the "small price" of this world by selling or accepting corrupted goods in the name of faith. The Wayl—the utter ruin—for that trade is not small; it is eternal.