أَوَلَا يَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّونَ وَمَا يُعْلِنُونَ ﴿77﴾ وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا أَمَانِيَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ ﴿78﴾ فَوَيْلٌ لِلَّذِينَ يَكْتُبُونَ الْكِتَابَ بِأَيْدِيهِمْ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَذَا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ لِيَشْتَرُوا بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا فَوَيْلٌ لَهُمْ مِمَّا كَتَبَتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَوَيْلٌ لَهُمْ مِمَّا يَكْسِبُونَ ﴿79﴾

﴾77﴿ Awalaa ya'lamoona annal laaha ya'lamu maa yusirroona wa maa yu'linoon
﴾78﴿ Wa minhum ummiyyoona laa ya'lamoonal kitaaba illaaa amaaniyya wa in hum illaa yazunnoon
﴾79﴿ Fawailul lillazeena yaktuboonal kitaaba bi aidihim summa yaqooloona haazaa min 'indil laahi liyashtaroo bihee samanan qaleelan fawailul lahum mimmaa katabat aydeehim wa wailul lahum mimmaa yaksiboon

﴾77﴿ Do they not know that indeed Allah knows what they conceal and what they reveal
﴾78﴿ And among them are unlettered people who know nothing of the Book except wishful beliefs (without understanding), and they do nothing but assume.
﴾79﴿ So woe to those who write the Book with their own hands, then say, “This is from Allah,” so they may exchange it for a small price (a worldly gain). So woe to them for what their hands have written, and woe to them for what they earn (through it).

[77] This is a warning regarding the previous corruptions—whether they come from the senior scholars or the hypocrites. It is also a refutation of associating partners with Allah in knowledge (shirk fī al-ʿilm) and an affirmation that Allah possesses complete and all-encompassing knowledge.
[78] This verse refers to the third group: the unlettered common people (ummiyyūn) who blindly follow the desires of their religious leaders. There are two possible interpretations of this verse: First interpretation: These common people have no understanding of the Book at all. In practice, they follow the desires of the scholars, who have fabricated baseless religious ideas. And in belief, they follow speculation and guesswork. According to this meaning, (ʾamāniyy) refers to the made-up desires and wishes of the scholars, and (illā) is an interrupted exception (istithnāʾ munqaṭiʿ)—meaning: they know nothing except vain hopes (not real knowledge). Second interpretation: It refers to those scholars who know the words of the Book but have no understanding of its meanings. They follow conjecture in place of clear evidence. According to this meaning, (ʾamāniyy) refers to recitation of the words without understanding the meaning, and (illā) is a connected exception (istithnāʾ muttaṣil)—meaning: they know nothing except mere recitation.
[79] This verse refers to the fourth group—those who engage in verbal distortion (taḥrīf lafẓī). Three of their major sins are mentioned in this verse: Fabricating rulings and writing them with their own hands, Falsely attributing those writings to Allah, Earning worldly gain from the ignorant masses in exchange for false religious claims. Because of these three sins, “woe (wayl)” is mentioned three times. “Wayl” means destruction, and some say it refers to a deep valley, a fire, or a volcanic mountain, but these meanings are not established by authentic hadiths. What is certain is that “wayl” expresses a severe threat of punishment.