—so that the hearer is led to imagine one expression while the speaker intends something else (1), just as the Jews used to twist their tongues in the greeting of salām to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ (2). This is the first of the two kinds of twisting.

The second kind is twisting the meaning: corrupting it, interpreting the wording contrary to the speaker’s intent (3), forcing upon it what he never meant (4), or omitting part of what he did mean (5), and the like. Concerning this, the Exalted says: “And if you distort or turn away, Allah is ever Aware of what you do” (135).

Since a witness is required to deliver testimony exactly as it is—neither concealing it nor altering it—turning away parallels concealing, while twisting parallels changing and replacing.

So reflect (6) on the treasures of knowledge contained in this verse.

The intended point is that the duty without which faith is not complete—in fact, without which the very name of faith does not apply—is to receive the revealed texts with acceptance, to make them manifest, and to invite people to them, rather than sometimes meeting them with turning away (7) and at other times with twisting. The Exalted says: “It is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that …”