Fatwa

Misquoting Verses

Question

I saw a poster where it said: “Respect and honour all human beings irrespective of their religion, color, race, sex, language, status, property, birth, profession, job and so on”. A reference of “Quran 17/70” was at the bottom. Is there such a verse in the Quran?

If not, is it permissible to use an interpretation of a verse’s general message, and not a direct translation of the entire ayah and give reference to the ayah without stating that it’s an interpretation and not a direct translation?

Answer

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.

There is no such verse in the Holy Quran. The meaning may be sound, but it is wrong to falsely attribute something to the Holy Quran. It could also be detrimental to one’s faith. Rather, the proper reference must be put of either a book, author or speaker so that none can misconstrue the message to be a Quranic verse.

And Allah Ta’āla Knows Best

Mufti Bilal Pandor

Concurred by
Mufti Muhammad Patel

Darul Iftaa Mahmudiyyah
Lusaka, Zambia

www.daruliftaazambia.com