Quran Universe
2:79

فَوَيۡلٞ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكۡتُبُونَ ٱلۡكِتَٰبَ بِأَيۡدِيهِمۡ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَٰذَا مِنۡ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ لِيَشۡتَرُواْ بِهِۦ ثَمَنٗا قَلِيلٗاۖ فَوَيۡلٞ لَّهُم مِّمَّا كَتَبَتۡ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَوَيۡلٞ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكۡسِبُونَ

Fawaylun lillatheena yaktuboona alkitaba biaydeehim thumma yaqooloona hatha min AAindi Allahi liyashtaroo bihi thamanan qaleelan fawaylun lahum mimma katabat aydeehim wawaylun lahum mimma yaksiboona

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.

Word by word
  1. فَوَيۡلٞSo woe
  2. لِّلَّذِينَto those who
  3. يَكۡتُبُونَwrite
  4. ٱلۡكِتَٰبَthe book
  5. بِأَيۡدِيهِمۡwith their (own) hands
  6. ثُمَّthen
  7. يَقُولُونَthey say
  8. هَٰذَاThis
  9. مِنۡ(is)
  10. عِندِfrom
  11. ٱللَّهِAllah
  12. لِيَشۡتَرُواْto barter
  13. بِهِۦwith it
  14. ثَمَنٗا(for) a price
  15. قَلِيلٗاۖlittle
  16. فَوَيۡلٞSo woe
  17. لَّهُمto them
  18. مِّمَّاfor what
  19. كَتَبَتۡhave written
  20. أَيۡدِيهِمۡtheir hands
  21. وَوَيۡلٞand woe
  22. لَّهُمto them
  23. مِّمَّاfor what
  24. يَكۡسِبُونَthey earn
Al-Baqarah · 2:79Madinah

They wrote it themselves and sold it as Allah's word.

Putting Allah's name on your own words

The trade
write it by handtheir own words
label it
this is from Allah
for
a small pricethis world
What it cost them
a little profitwhat they earned
woe twice overfor writing, for earning

A third group did worse. They wrote their own words and said: this is from Allah, to sell it for a small price. Al-Hasan said the small price is this world and all it holds. Ibn Abbas told Muslims not to ask such people, since they had the Quran, fresh and unchanged.

You want people to do something, so you say Islam requires it, though you are not sure. You want to win a family argument, so you invent a hadith. Putting Allah's name on your own opinion is a heavy thing. Say I think, when you only think.

It is fine to say Islam says so if it helps people behave.

Claiming Allah said what He did not say is one of the gravest lies.

Try this

Next time you are tempted to say Islam says, check if you are sure. If not, say I think instead.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 2:78)

And there are among them (Jews) 'Ummyyun (unlettered) people, who know not the Book, but they trust upon Amani (false desires) and they but guess (78)Then woe to those who write the book with their own hands and then say, "This is from Allah," to purchase with it a little price! Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for that they earn thereby (79)

The Meaning of 'Ummi'

Allah said,

وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ

(And there are among them Ummyyun people) meaning, among the People of the Book, as Mujahid stated. Ummyyun, is plural for Ummi, that is, a person who does not write, as Abu Al-'Aliyah, Ar-Rabi', Qatadah, Ibrahim An-Nakha'i and others said. This meaning is clarified by Allah's statement,

 لَا يَعْلَمُونَ الْكِتَابَ

(Who know not the Book) meaning, are they not aware of what is in it.

Ummi was one of the descriptions of the Prophet ﷺ because he was unlettered. For instance, Allah said,

وَمَا كُنتَ تَتْلُو مِن قَبْلِهِ مِن كِتَابٍ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ إِذًا لَّارْتَابَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ

(Neither did you (O Muhammad ﷺ) read any book before it (this Qur'an) nor did you write any book (whatsoever) with your right hand. In that case, indeed, the followers of falsehood might have doubted)(29:48).

Also, the Prophet ﷺ said,

إِنَّا أُمَّةٌ أُمِّيَّةٌ لَا نَكْتُبُ وَلَا نَحْسِبُ، الشَّهْرُ هٰكَذَا وَهٰكَذَا وَهٰكَذَا

(We are an Ummi nation, neither writing nor calculating. The (lunar) month is like this, this and this (i.e. thirty or twenty-nine days.)

This Hadith stated that Muslims do not need to rely on books, or calculations to decide the timings of their acts of worship. Allah also said,

هُوَ الَّذِي بَعَثَ فِي الْأُمِّيِّينَ رَسُولًا مِّنْهُمْ

(He it is Who sent among the Ummiyyin ones a Messenger (Muhammad ) from among themselves)(62:2).

The Explanation of Amani

Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn 'Abbas said that Allah's statement,

إِلَّا أَمَانِيَّ

(But they trust upon Amani) means, "It is just a false statement that they utter with their tongues." It was also said that Amani means 'wishes and hopes'. Mujahid commented, "Allah described the Ummiyyin as not understanding any of the Book that Allah sent down to Musa, yet they create lies and falsehood." Therefore, the word Amani mentioned here refers to lying and falsehood. Mujahid said that Allah's statement,

وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ

(And they but guess) means, "They lie." Qatadah, Abu Al-'Aliyah and Ar-Rabi' said that it means, "They have evil false ideas about Allah."

Woe unto Those Criminals among the Jews

Allah said,

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ الْكِتَابَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَٰذَا مِنْ عِندِ اللَّهِ لِيَشْتَرُوا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا

(Then Waylun (woe) to those who write the book with their own hands and then say, "This is from Allah," to purchase with it a little price!).

This is another category of people among the Jews who called to misguidance with falsehood and lies about Allah, thriving on unjustly amassing people's property. 'Waylun (woe)' carries meanings of destruction and perishing, and it is a well-known word in the Arabic language. Az-Zuhri said that 'Ubadydullah bin 'Abdullah narrated that Ibn 'Abbas said, "O Muslims! How could you ask the People of the Book about anything, while the Book of Allah (Qur'an) that He revealed to His Prophet ﷺ is the most recent Book from Him and you still read it fresh and young? Allah told you that the People of the Book altered the Book of Allah, changed it and wrote another book with their own hands. They then said, 'This book is from Allah,' so that they acquired a small profit by it. Hasn't the knowledge that came to you prohibited you from asking them? By Allah! We have not seen any of them asking you about what was revealed to you." This Hadith was also collected by Al-Bukhari. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said, "The little amount here means this life and all that it contains."

Allah's statement,

فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ

(Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for that they earn thereby) means, "Woe to them because of what they have written with their own hands, the lies, falsehood and alterations. Woe to them because of the property that they unjustly acquired." Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn 'Abbas commented,

فَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم

(Woe to them), "Means the torment will be theirs because of the lies that they wrote with their own hands,

وَوَيْلٌ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ

(And woe to them for that they earn thereby), which they unjustly acquired from people, be they commoners or otherwise."