Commentary

The Moral Loss of Jews

In the first verse (62) cited above, mentioned there is the moral depravation and self-destructive attitude of many Jews so that people who know that may take a lesson and stay away from such deeds, as well as from causes that lead to them.

Though, this was generally the condition of Jews, but they also had some good people among them. It is to exclude them that the Qur'an has used the word: کَثِیرًا ` kathiran' (many). As for aggression and eating of the unlawful, these are though included under the sense of ` sin', yet they have been particularly mentioned, distinctly, in order to lay emphasis on the ruin these two kinds of sins bring on one and all. (Al-Bahr Al-Muhit)

According to Ruh al-Ma'ani, by using the expression ` racing towards sin' about these people, the Holy Qur'an has given the hint that they are chronic subjects of these evil traits and the evil deeds they do have become fixed habits with them, so ingrained that they (automatically) move in that direction, even without intention.

This tells us that a good or bad deed when done many times repeatedly becomes a part and parcel of the inmost being of a person, almost a skill or drive or a fixed habit, after which, there remains no exertion or hesitation in doing what one does. This was the limit reached by Jews in pursuing their evil traits. To highlight it, it was said: يُسَارِ‌عُونَ فِي الْإِثْمِ (They race towards sin). The same thing applies to prophets and men of Allah in the case of their good traits. About them too, the Holy Qur'an has used the same expression when it says: يُسَارِ‌عُونَ فِي الخیراتِ (They race towards good deeds - 3:114).