أَمْ تَقُولُونَ إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطَ كَانُوا هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى قُلْ أَأَنْتُمْ أَعْلَمُ أَمِ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ كَتَمَ شَهَادَةً عِنْدَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿۱۴۰﴾ تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُمْ مَا كَسَبْتُمْ وَلَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿۱۴۱﴾
﴾140﴿ Am taqooloona inna Ibraaheema wa Ismaa'eela wa Ishaaqa wa Ya'qooba wal asbaata kaanoo Hoodan aw Nasaaraa; qul 'a-antum a'lamu amil laah; wa man azlamu mimman katama shahaadatan 'indahoo minallaah; wa mallaahu bighaafilin 'ammaa ta'maloon
﴾141﴿ Tilka ummatun qad khalat lahaa maa kasabat wa lakum maa kasabtum wa laa tus'aloona 'ammaa kaano ya'maloon
﴾140﴿ Do you say that Abraham (peace be upon him), Ishmael (peace be upon him), Isaac (peace be upon him), Jacob (peace be upon him), and his descendants were Jews or Christians? Say: Are you more knowledgeable or is Allah? And who is more unjust than one who conceals knowledge that has come to him from Allah? And Allah is not unaware of what you do.
﴾141﴿ This is a group who has certainly passed away. Theirs is what they earned, and yours is what you earn, and you will not be questioned about what they used to do.
[140] This is the seventh warning, referring to how they falsely attributed incorrect religions to the prophets (peace and blessings be upon them). (أَمِ اللَّهُ) means: the testimony of Allah is that all the prophets (peace be upon them) followed the religion of Abraham, which was pure monotheism, as mentioned in Surah Al-Imran, verse 95. (شَهَادَةً عِنْدَهُ) refers to Allah’s testimony for Abraham (peace be upon him) being upright in faith, and likewise for the final Messenger following the religion of Abraham. This truth was concealed by the Jews and Christians, and thus they are extremely unjust.
[141] This is a refutation of their pride in their forefathers. Previously, in verse 134, the prophets were meant by “forefathers,” but here other elders are intended. Similarly, in that verse, the refutation was against the claim of salvation based on the deeds of their ancestors, while here, the refutation is against their pride solely in their lineage to great ancestors.