ٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَٰهُمُ ٱلْكِتَٰبَ يَتْلُونَهُۥ حَقَّ تِلَاوَتِهِۦٓ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِۦ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْخَٰسِرُونَ
“Those unto whom We have given the Scripture, who read it with the right reading, those believe in it. And whoso disbelieveth in it, those are they who are the losers.” — M. M. Pickthall
Taberî9-10. c.✓ Citation verified
Taberî transmits the disagreement among exegetes regarding the identity of those mentioned in the phrase 'those to whom We have given the Book recite it as it ought to be recited'; according to Qatada, they are the Companions of the Prophet, while according to Ibn Zayd, they are the scholars of the Children of Israel who believed in the Torah and confirmed Muhammad. Taberî prefers Ibn Zayd's view based on contextual evidence (the verses before and after mentioning the People of the Book) and states that the verse concerns the people of the Torah and the Gospel. He also explains through narrations that the phrase 'reciting it as it ought to be recited' means reading the Book while accepting its permissible things as permissible and its forbidden things as forbidden, without distorting it.
وهذا القول أولى بالصواب من القول الذي قاله قتادة؛ لأن الآيات قبلها مضت بأخبار أهل الكتابين، وتبديل من بدل منهم كتاب الله، وتأولهم إياه على غير تأويله، وادعاؤهم على الله الأباطيل.
Zemahşerî12. c.✓ Citation verified
Zamakhsharī addresses several distinct points in this passage: he notes that the expression beginning with 'ad' is interpreted in terms of meaning, and that the phrase in the verse refers to disbelievers who have reached the extreme in transgression. He also poses the question of whether temporary marriage (mut'a) is prohibited based on this verse, and argues that this is not evidence by saying that when the marriage contract is valid, the woman married through mut'a would also fall under the category of 'wives' (azwaj). Finally, he transmits different views regarding what 'dhikr' (remembrance) is (the five daily prayers, all obligations, the Qur'an, jihad alongside the Prophet).
فإن قلت : هل فيه دليل على تحريم المتعة ؟ قلت : لا ؛ لأن المنكوحة نكاح المتعة من جملة الأزواج إذا صح النكاح
Fahreddin er-Râzî12-13. c.✓ Citation verified
In this text, al-Razī transmits multiple views regarding the phrase 'those given the Book': according to some, these are those who have suffered loss in their own trade (exchanging what remains for what perishes); according to others, they are those who deny the tawhīd and resurrection that the Prophet brought; according to al-Kalbī, it refers to struggle (jihad); according to other views, it is the Qur'an itself or reflection and contemplation upon it. Additionally, as a second main view, he mentions that those given the Book are believers from among the Jews who believed in the Prophet, because after the mention of the evil state of the previous people, those who did not distort the Torah and recognized Muhammad's prophethood from it are praised. The text also presents rational proofs that guidance and misguidance are only from Allah, and explains that the word 'recitation' (tilāwa) can mean both reading and actually following.
أي في تجارتهم حيث باعوا الشريف الباقي بالخسيس الفاني وقيل : هم الخاسرون في إنكار ما قال به رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من التوحيد والبعث . وقال الكلبي : الجهاد
Kurtubî13. c.✓ Citation verified
Al-Qurṭubī transmits in this verse that 'reciting it' in the phrase 'those to whom We have given the Book recite it as it ought to be recited' means following the Book correctly and adhering to it, making what it commands lawful and what it forbids unlawful, and acting upon its contents. He also mentions that there is disagreement regarding whether the pronoun 'yata'allamūnahu' refers to the Prophet or the Book, and that some have interpreted this as Jews and Christians who knew about the Prophet but were obstinate.
فقيل : يتبعونه حق إتباعه باتباع الأمر والنهى فيحللون حلاله ويحرمون حرامه ويعملون بما تضمنه قاله عكرمة
İbn Kesîr14. c.✓ Citation verified
According to Ibn Kathīr, the phrase in this verse regarding reciting the Book as it ought to be recited is explained as accepting its permissible things as permissible and its forbidden things as forbidden, reading it as Allah revealed it, not distorting the words from their places, and acting upon the clear verses while believing in the ambiguous ones. He also mentions that in some narrations this characteristic refers to certain people from among the People of the Book or the Companions of the Prophet, while in others it refers to those who ask Allah for paradise in the verses about mercy and seek refuge in Him from punishment in the verses about punishment.
قال ابن مسعود والذي نفسي بيده إن حق تلاوته أن يحل حلاله ويحرم حرامه ويقرأه كما أنزله الله ولا يحرف الكلم عن مواضعه ولا يتأول منه شيئا على غير تأويله
Beydâvî13. c.✓ Citation verified
According to al-Baydāwī, the 'those given the Book' in this verse are the believers among the People of the Book; they truly recite the Book by keeping away from distortion, respecting its wording, pondering its meaning, and implementing its requirements. The phrase 'recite it' in the verse is an understood predicate, and the actual news is in the part that follows; or the referent of the relative clause means the believers among the People of the Book, who unlike those who distort it, believe through their own scriptures. Those who disbelieve by distorting the Book and denying what confirms it are the ones who have truly made a losing bargain by exchanging faith for disbelief.
الكتاب يريد به مؤمني أهل الكتاب يتلونه حق تلاوته بمراعاة اللفظ عن التحريف والتدبر في معناه والعمل بمقتضاه، وهو حال مقدرة والخبر ما بعده
Comparison
Common ground
Taberî, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr, and al-Baydāwī all understand 'reciting the Book as it ought to be recited' not merely as reading but as accepting its permissible things as permissible and its forbidden things as forbidden while acting upon it and not distorting it; moreover, most exegetes connect the phrase 'those to whom We have given the Book' with believers from among the People of the Torah and Gospel who confirmed the Prophet.
Differences
While Taberî prefers Ibn Zayd's view using contextual (siyāq-sibāq) evidence, Ibn Kathīr arranges narrations without making a definitive choice; al-Baydāwī attempts to determine the referent of the relative clause through grammatical and syntactic analysis; Zamakhsharī and al-Razī shift the discussion to rhetorical, juridical (temporary marriage), and theological matters (guidance-misguidance, the multivalence of recitation), thereby redirecting it to a different axis.
Historical context
While Taberî, an early exegete, focuses on a narration and context-based preference, in later periods Zamakhsharī and al-Razī foreground linguistic and rhetorical analysis along with juridical-theological investigations; al-Qurṭubī and Ibn Kathīr maintain the narration-heavy approach, while al-Baydāwī offers a more systematic synthesis through grammatical-based interpretation; the fundamental framework of meaning has largely remained constant, while methodological emphases have diversified over time.
Modern connection
These different readings remind us that truly 'understanding' a text is not merely about reading it, but about genuinely comprehending it and putting it into practice. The unity of knowledge with sincerity, and the responsibility of transmitting knowledge without distorting it, can be considered valuable principles in today's educational and social communication environments. Furthermore, the transmission of different interpretations together with respect can serve as an example of a tolerant and multi-voiced reading culture.
AI analysis — not a fatwa or ruling, not yet reviewed by a scholar