Children of Israel Blame God During Hardship

In the Quran, Allah presents a profound lesson on how humans can fall into negative assumptions about God when life feels constrained and worldly hopes remain unfulfilled. The verse states:

وَقَالَتِ ٱلْيَهُودُ يَدُ ٱللَّهِ مَغْلُولَةٌ ۚ غُلَّتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَلُعِنُوا۟ بِمَا قَالُوا۟ ۘ بَلْ يَدَاهُ مَبْسُوطَتَانِ يُنفِقُ كَيْفَ يَشَآءُ

“[The Jews] said, ‘Allah’s hand is tied.’ Rather, their hands are tied, and they are cursed for what they said. No, His hands are outstretched; He spends as He wills.” (Surah Al-Ma’idah, verse 64)

According to Tafsir Ath-Thabari and Tafsir Ibn Kathir, the phrase ‘Allah’s hand is tied’ is not literal but an Arabic expression meaning that God is perceived as withholding His blessings or being stingy.

In a narration cited by Ibn Kathir, the statement was made by a Jew named Phinehas during economic hardship and a perceived loss of glory. They measured God’s mercy solely through material abundance. When life became difficult, they blamed God instead.

Allah responded by saying:

غُلَّتْ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَلُعِنُوا۟ بِمَا قَالُوا۟

“Rather, their hands are tied, and they are cursed for what they said.”

Scholars explain that it is not Allah’s mercy that is restricted, but their own hearts. Their arrogance, envy, and negative assumptions about God blocked them from blessings.