nourishing both body and heart, feed on what is unlawful, unlike those who eat what is lawful and accept only the truth. This condemns anyone who is taken in by lies and accepts them, or prefers them because they accord with his desires. This includes accepting corrupt doctrines, for they are falsehoods—especially when one also accepts them for compensation, whether it comes from someone in authority, an endowment, futūh, a gift, a wage, or anything else. This resembles His saying:

“Indeed, many of the rabbis and monks consume people’s wealth unjustly and turn people away from the path of Allah.”

. . . (1)

The people of religious innovation and wickedness who believe the lies fabricated about Allah, His Messenger, and His rulings, and those who obey created beings in disobedience to the Creator.

Similar to this is His saying:

“Shall I inform you upon whom the devils descend? They descend upon every sinful liar. They pass on what they hear, and most of them are liars.”

They descend only upon a wicked liar, bringing what has been heard, in which a thousand lies are mixed with a single word of truth. He thus becomes an avid listener to falsehood from those who eavesdrop by stealth.

Then He said in the surah:

“Why do the godly scholars and rabbis not forbid them from sinful speech and consuming unlawful gain?”

Sinful speech, listening to falsehood, and consuming unlawful gain are practices that ordinarily go hand in hand. Judges have a particular share in these practices. For if a judge