Ali 'Imran · Madani · ayah 78 of 200

Ali 'Imran 3:78

وَإِنَّ مِنْهُمْ لَفَرِيقًا يَلْوُۥنَ أَلْسِنَتَهُم بِٱلْكِتَـٰبِ لِتَحْسَبُوهُ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَيَقُولُونَ هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ وَمَا هُوَ مِنْ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ وَيَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ ٱلْكَذِبَ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ

“And indeed, there is among them a party who alter the Scripture with their tongues so you may think it is from the Scripture, but it is not from the Scripture. And they say, "This is from Allāh," but it is not from Allāh. And they speak untruth about Allāh while they know.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Some twist their tongues as they recite so that their own words sound like scripture, and knowingly claim it comes from Allah.

A reflection

Words dressed in the cadence of revelation

At a family gathering, an uncle recites a line in the slow, rising cadence of Quran recitation. The elders nod gravely. It is not an ayah. It is a proverb he half remembers, delivered in a borrowed voice.

The ayah describes the deliberate version of this. 'They twist their tongues with the Book', it says, 'so that you think it is from the Book'. It is not. The verb yalwūna has a physical picture. One lexicon gives the root as bending a thing aside: twisting a hand, turning a head. Another pictures twisting a rope. The Arabs even contrasted ḥayy, plain speech, with layy, twisted speech that no one can follow.

A classical commentator explains how the twisting worked. They twisted their tongues as they read, turning the reading from what was revealed to what they had altered. A concise commentary names the subject: the description of the Prophet ﷺ in their scripture. The sound of revelation was kept. The meaning was bent.

That is why the trick worked. People trust a familiar cadence. The holy tone carries authority before anyone checks the words.

This is a warning for every speaker who uses religious language. A sermon, a post, a voice note can borrow the music of the Quran while saying something the Quran never said. And it is a warning for listeners. Do not let the voice decide for you. Ask, gently but clearly: where is that written? The truth does not mind being checked. Only the twisted rope does.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.