What did those who wrote the Scripture with their own hands gain from altering and distorting the Books after their revelation? And does the word "to sell" (بيع) in the noble verse (So woe to those who write the Scripture with their own hands, then say, "This is from Allah," in order to exchange it for a small price) mean that they used to sell those distorted books to earn profits from them?

In the verse, Allah Almighty warns those who distort the Scripture and alter the laws of woe and torment on the Day of Judgment, because they changed it by adding and subtracting and falsely attributed that to Allah. Their purpose was to gain the fleeting trifles of this worldly life, and this is manifested in several matters:

1. Worldly Prestige: The Jewish rabbis feared the loss of their leadership and status after the advent of the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, so they altered his description in the Torah and concealed the glad tidings about him. 2. Meager Wealth: Some rabbis wrote books with their own hands and sold them to the ignorant, claiming they were from Allah, in order to obtain a small price. 3. Pleasing the Public and Usurping Knowledge: Some of them changed religious rulings to conform to the whims of the public, or they composed trivial books and attributed them to Allah so that they could gain prominence and appear as scholars while being ignorant.