upon the raised part of their foreheads (1), and so do the Rāfida.
The Jews do not offer the greeting of peace sincerely; they merely say:
“May sām—meaning death—be upon you.”
The Rāfida do likewise.
(2 The Jews distorted the Torah, and likewise the Rāfida distorted the Quran. 2)
(2)
The Jews were hostile toward Gabriel, saying:
“He is our enemy.”
Likewise, the Rāfida said:
“Gabriel erred in delivering the revelation.”
The Jews deem it lawful to take people’s wealth. Allah has informed us that they said:
{We have no obligation toward the Gentiles.}
[Surah Āl Imrān: 75]
Likewise, the Rāfida [deem the wealth of every Muslim lawful to take] (3).
(4 [The Jews deem the blood of every Muslim lawful to shed, and so do the Rāfida. The Jews regard cheating people as permissible, and so do the Rāfida.] 4)
(4).
(1) “They prostrate during the Fajr prayer [upon] the *kundura*”: This is the reading found in all the manuscripts, but the phrase does not appear in *al-Iqd al-Farīd*. *Lisān al-Arab* states: “The *kundura* of the ground is a hard, elevated part. A falcon’s *kundura* is the perch prepared for it from wood or dried clay. The word is borrowed and is not Arabic.” Most likely, the phrase means that the Jews prostrate on their foreheads—that is, on the protruding part of their faces. Labīd says (*Sharh Dīwān Labīd*, p. 183, ed. Dr. Ihsān Abbās, Kuwait, 1962):
“He feels for the cloths in his resting place with both hands,
like a Jew at prayer.”
The commentary states: “Regarding his words, ‘like a Jew at prayer,’ Abū al-Hasan al-Tūsī said: ‘It is as though he were a Jew praying off to one side and prostrating on his forehead.’ Al-Baghdādī said: ‘He prostrates on the side of his face.’”
(2) The passage marked (2–2) occurs earlier in A, L, and B.
(3) The text enclosed in square brackets is omitted from N and M. L reads: “They deem it lawful to shed the blood of every Muslim.”
(4) The passage marked (4–4) is omitted from N.