[6364] Abu Yazid al-Qaratisi informed us in what he wrote to me, Asbagh ibn al-Faraj narrated to us, saying: I heard 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ibn Aslam regarding Allah's saying: "They distort the words from after their places," not placing them upon what Allah revealed. He said: "And these are all Jews, some of them are from others."

His saying, the Almighty: "They say: If you are given this, take it."

[6365] Abu Sa'id al-Ashajj narrated to us, Mu'awiyah narrated to us, from al-A'mash, from 'Abd Allah ibn Murrah, from al-Bara', who said: The Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, passed by a Jew who had been blackened and scourged. He summoned them and said: "Is this how you find the prescribed punishment (Hadd) for the adulterer in your Book?" They replied: "No." He then summoned a man from among their scholars. They said: "Had you not implored us by this, we would not have informed you. The punishment for the adulterer in our Book is stoning, but it became frequent among our nobility; so whenever we caught a nobleman, we would let him go, and whenever we caught a weak person, we would carry out the punishment upon him. So we said: 'Come, let us agree upon something that we shall carry out upon the noble and the humble alike.' So we established blackening [the face] and lashing in place of stoning." The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said: "O Allah, I am the first to revive a command that they have caused to die." He then ordered him, and he was stoned. Then Allah, the Almighty, revealed: "O Messenger, let not those who hasten in disbelief grieve you," up to His saying: "If you are given this, take it." He says: "Approach Muhammad, and if he gives you a legal opinion (fatwa) for blackening and lashing, then accept it, but if he gives you a legal opinion for stoning, then beware."

[6366] Hajjaj ibn Hamzah narrated to us, Shababah narrated to us, Warqa' narrated to us, from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid, regarding His saying: "If you are given this, take it," meaning: If it agrees with you, then take it. The Jews say this to the hypocrites.

His saying, the Almighty: "And if you are not given it, then beware."

[6367] My father narrated to us, al-Humaydi narrated to us, Sufyan narrated to us, Zakariyya narrated to us, from al-Sha'bi, from Jabir: They say: If you are given this lashing, take it, and if you are not given it, then beware of the stoning.

[6368] My father narrated to us, Salih narrated to us, Mu'awiyah ibn Salih narrated to me, from 'Ali ibn Abi Talhah, from Ibn 'Abbas regarding: "And if you are not given it, then beware," he says: If Muhammad commands you what you are already upon, then accept it, and if he contradicts you, then beware of him.

[6369] Hajjaj ibn Hamzah narrated to us, Shababah narrated to us, Warqa' narrated to us, from Ibn Abi Najih, from Mujahid, regarding His saying: "And if you are not given it, then beware," meaning: If it does not agree with you, then beware. The Jews say this to the hypocrites.