the just ruling; and that is what drove him to seek judgment from the tāghūt (illegitimate authority) without the slightest concern for how this flies in the face of faith. This, in turn, proves that his profession of belief was a lie, and whoever behaves as he did falls under the same verdict.

Relevance of the report to the chapter: resorting to a source of judgment other than the law of Allah nullifies belief in Allah and in His scriptures.

Lessons derived from the report:

1. One must submit disputes to the law of Allah.
2. Seeking judgment from anything other than the Divine law negates faith.
3. The report unmasks the hypocrites, showing that they are worse than the Jews.
4. It is forbidden to take bribes; doing so is a trait ascribed to the Jews, and the Prophet ﷺ cursed both the one who gives and the one who receives a bribe.