The Story of the People of the Sabbath and a Discussion of Some of the Jews' Deceptions

The Shaykh : The story of the Jewish People of the Sabbath, when Allah forbade them hunting on the Sabbath, is that they did not endure the ruling of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Our Lord said in the Noble Qur'an: Allah the Exalted said regarding us and regarding all the nations that came before us: "He has made lawful to you the game of the land and the sea." The Jews used to catch fish in the seas as well. So, due to a wrong from the Jews, Allah said to them: "Do not work on the Sabbath." This ruling has remained with the Jews until today, but with deception, because that is the nature of the Jews. You know that they have a holiday on the Sabbath with no work. Those who were in the time of Musa (peace be upon him)—Allah punished them because of their killing of the prophets without right—were told: "Do not work, do not hunt on the Sabbath." They endured this ruling for as long as Allah willed. Then the Jews' patience ran out, and the greed and material avarice for which they are cited as an example overcame them. So what did they do to hunt, while it could be said that in appearance they did not hunt? They went to the bays where the fish and whales came to them, as in the Qur'an: in thousands, in tons. The reason for explaining this animal phenomenon makes us feel that Allah (Mighty and Majestic), as He said truthfully in the Noble Qur'an: guided the fish to the method of securing their sustenance. When the Jews were working on the Sabbath, the fish and whales did not come in crowds or groups to the bays, because there was hunting and disruptive activity by humans there. So where did they go? To the open seas. Even now, we see how fishermen go out in boats and cast their nets in the open seas, because whales rarely come to the edges. It is true that they are animals, but they also know their interest; they stay away from harm. So when hunting was forbidden to the Jews on the Sabbath, the whales came to them in tons to the bays where they used to hunt, which was of no use to them for food. The hearts of the Jews flew with greed, so they did not endure the ruling of Allah. What did they do on the Sabbath? They blocked the bays with nets, and that was all. They did not hunt on the Sabbath; they did not hunt. But on the morning of Sunday, they found tons of fish trapped there, compensating for what they missed on the Sabbath. So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) cursed them because of this deception regarding the hunting of fish. They did not hunt on the Sabbath in reality; linguistically, they placed the nets, but they did not hunt and did not catch the fish. However, they caught them on Sunday. So all the roads lead to the mill; they reached what was forbidden to them by the way of placing nets in front of the bays, so that on the morning of Sunday there was no way for the fish to go to the open seas, and they took them in tons. So they were cursed. This is one type of the deceptions of the Jews. The second type is also a reminder for Muslims so that they do not fall into what the former Jews and others fell into. He (peace and blessings be upon him) said in the authentic hadith: And indeed, when Allah forbids the eating of something, He forbids its price." The fat is lawful, but due to a wrong from those who became Jews, We forbade them the good things that were made lawful for them. When Allah forbade them working on the Sabbath, you know how they deceived this prohibition. They made lawful what Allah had forbidden with the slightest deception. Then Allah forbade them, when they slaughtered animals whose meat is eaten, such as sheep, camels, and cows—these naturally have fats—that it was not permissible for them to benefit from these fats. "Allah cursed the Jews; the fats were forbidden to them." So what did they do? They took these fats and put them in pots and lit a fire underneath them until they melted and took a specific shape, as you know, and solidified after being taken off the fire. And they used to sell it. What were they selling? In their opinion, they were not selling the fat that Allah had forbidden, why? Because the shape changed. That is why we say: changing the shape for the sake of eating, when it is the same fat that Allah forbade, is the same in all its chemical properties, as they say today, and in all its legal properties, but the shape changed. Does this shape change the original ruling in the Shari'ah? The answer is no, because the consideration is for the outcomes. What is the benefit of changing the shape when it is still fat? So it is forbidden, and they deceived what Allah had forbidden.