wamin ahli l-kitābi man in tamanhu biqinṭārin yu-addihi ilayka wamin'hum man in tamanhu bidīnārin lā yu-addihi ilayka illā mā dum'ta ʿalayhi qāiman dhālika bi-annahum qālū laysa ʿalaynā fī l-umiyīna sabīlun wayaqūlūna ʿalā l-lahi l-kadhiba wahum yaʿlamūna
Translation
And among the People of the Scripture is he who, if you entrust him with a great amount [of wealth], he will return it to you. And among them is he who, if you entrust him with a [single] coin, he will not return it to you unless you are constantly standing over him [demanding it]. That is because they say, "There is no blame upon us concerning the unlearned."133 And they speak untruth about Allāh while they know [it].
Notes
[133] The Jews do not consider it a sin to cheat or lie to a gentile or a pagan.
Verse 75 of Surah Ali ’Imran (3:75), a Medinan surah, is in juz 3, on page 59 of the mushaf. Read it in Arabic with its transliteration, translations and tafsir, and listen to it recited by 71 reciters.
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Tafsir of verse 75
Al-Mukhtasar
There are some People of the Scripture who, if you hand over a large amount of wealth, will honour the trust. On the other hand, there are some of them who, if you trust them with a small amount, will not return the trust unless you persistently demand it from them. That is because they wrongly claim that there is no sin on them for any crime they commit against the Arabs or if they consume the wealth of the Arabs, since Allah has permitted that for them. They say such lies knowing that it is a false attribution to Allah.
And among the People of the Book are some who, if you entrust with a heap of gold, will return it to you; yet there are others who, if you entrust with a single coin of gold, will not return it to you unless you keep standing over them. This is because they say, “We are under no obligation towards the Gentiles32.” And they tell lies about Allah knowingly.
Notes
[32] The Jews do not consider it a sin to cheat or lie to a gentile, i.e., a non-Jew.
Among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) is he who, if entrusted with a Qintâr (a great amount of wealth, etc.), will readily pay it back; and among them there is he who, if entrusted with a single silver coin, will not repay it unless you constantly stand demanding, because they say: "There is no blame on us to betray and take the properties of the illiterates (Arabs)." But they tell a lie against Allâh while they know it.
Among the People of the Scripture there is he who, if thou trust him with a weight of treasure, will return it to thee. And among them there is he who, if thou trust him with a piece of gold, will not return it to thee unless thou keep standing over him. That is because they say: We have no duty to the Gentiles. They speak a lie concerning Allah knowingly.
Among the People of the Book are some who, if entrusted with a hoard of gold, will (readily) pay it back; others, who, if entrusted with a single silver coin, will not repay it unless thou constantly stoodest demanding, because, they say, "there is no call on us (to keep faith) with these ignorant (Pagans)." but they tell a lie against Allah, and (well) they know it.
And among the followers of the Book there are some such that if you entrust one (of them) with a heap of wealth, he shall pay it back to you; and among them there are some such that if you entrust one (of them) with a dinar he shall not pay it back to you except so long as you remain firm in demanding it; this is because they say: There is not upon us in the matter of the unlearned people any way (to reproach); and they tell a lie against Allah while they know.
And of the population of the Book is he who, in case you put in his custody a hundred- weight, (Literally: a Kantar) will pay it back to you; and of them is he who, if you put in his custody one dinar, will not pay it back to you, except as long as you are upright over him. (Or: over it) That (is) so because they said, "There is no way over us as to the common folk." (i.e., the illiterates or the Gentiles) And they say lies against Allah, and they know (that).
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.
