عن أبي هريرة رضي الله عنه قال: كان أهل الكتاب يقرؤون التوراة بالعبرانية، ويفسرونها بالعربية لأهل الإسلام، فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم: "لا تصدقوا أهل الكتاب ولا تكذبوهم، وقولوا: {آمنا بالله وما أنزل إلينا}" [البقرة: 136] الآية.
[صحيح] - [رواه البخاري]
المزيــد ...

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The People of the Book used to read the Torah in Hebrew and expound it in Arabic to the Muslims. So, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Neither believe nor disbelieve the People of the Book, but say: {We believe in Allah and what has been sent down to us.} [Surat al-Baqarah: 136]"
Sahih/Authentic. - [Al-Bukhari]

Explanation

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: The People of the Book - meaning the Jews - used to read the Torah in Hebrew, the language of the Jews, and explain it to Muslims in Arabic. So, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) said: Neither believe the People of the Book, nor disbelieve them; i.e., do not adopt their statements and explanations, whether they are consistent with the reality or not. You should rather adopt what your Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) informed you, while also believing what Allah Almighty revealed to all messengers (peace be upon them). This applies even if what they tell us is probably true, because it may include something true and you disbelieve it and something false and you believe it - which is wrong. The Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) did not intend to prohibit us from disbelieving them in what our Shariah declares to be wrong or believing them in what our Shariah declares to be true. We should say: {We believe in Allah and what has been sent down to us} [Surat al-Baqarah: 136]. He recited the verse in full. This is the ruling on the Isra’iliyyāt (texts of Jewish sources).

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Benefits from the Hadith

  1. We may relate the Jewish narrations, without believing or denying them.
  2. We should not believe or disbelieve the People of the Book, lest their statement may include true things and we deny them or false things and we believe them.