Surah Baqarah (26-29)

 

Qur’anic Exegesis

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi /

 Shehzad Saleem

 

 

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَسْتَحْيِي أَنْ يَضْرِبَ مَثَلًا مَا بَعُوضَةً فَمَا فَوْقَهَا فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا فَيَعْلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ الْحَقُّ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فَيَقُولُونَ مَاذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِهَذَا

[This is a similitude of Paradise1 and] Allah2 is not ashamed to cite the similitude of a mosquito or something even more inferior [in order to explain a reality]3. Then those who believe know that it is a truth from their Lord; and those who disbelieve say: ‘What

مَثَلًا يُضِلُّ بِهِ كَثِيرًا وَيَهْدِي بِهِ كَثِيرًا وَمَا يُضِلُّ بِهِ إِلَّا الْفَاسِقِينَ  الَّذِينَ يَنقُضُونَ عَهْدَ اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مِيثَاقِهِ وَيَقْطَعُونَ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَنْ يُوصَلَ وَيُفْسِدُونَ فِي الْأَرْضِ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمْ الْخَاسِرُونَ(26-7)

كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنتُمْ أَمْوَاتًا فَأَحْيَاكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ

does Allah mean by this similitude?’4 [In this way] He misleads many by it, and many He leads to the right path; and in reality He only misleads by it such5 rebellious6 who break7 Allah’s covenant after  making it, and who sever what Allah has directed to join8, and [in such a manner] do mischief on earth.9 It is these who are in loss [both in this world and in that to come]. (26-7)

[O People]10! How can you deny Allah11 whereas you were

إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ  هُوَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاءِ فَسَوَّاهُنَّ سَبْعَ سَمَاوَاتٍ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ(28-9)

dead and He gave you life; then it is He who gives death to you and it is He who will again bring you to life; and again to Him will you be returned12. It is He13 Who has created for you all things that are in the earth; then He turned to the sky14 and made seven skies and He is aware of all things. (28-9)

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Researcher’s Companion

 

I Meaning & Morphology (الصرف و اللغة)

 

1. ‘اَلْفَاسِقْ’

Contrary to its meaning of ‘disobedient’ as a term in Islamic Jurisprudence, it has been used in the Qur’an to denote a person who is ‘arrogantly defiant’ and ‘one who does not accept the authority of God’.

 

2. ‘ثُمَّ’

The particle ‘ثُمَّ’ is not always used for describing a sequence. It is also used for enlisting things without reference to any sequence between them. In the words of Imam Razi:

 

ثالثها: وهو الجواب الصحيح أن قوله: «ثم» ليس للترتيب ههنا وإنما هو على جهة تعديد النعم، مثاله قول الرجل لغيره: أليس قد أعطيتك النعم العظيمة ثم رفعت قدرك ثم دفعت الخصوم عنك، ولعل بعض ما أخره في الذكر قد تقدم فكذا ههنا والله أعلم.

Thirdly, and this [to me] is the right view that ‘ثُمَّ’ in this verse is not used for tartib (sequence); it is used to enumerate the favours of Allah. For example, when a person says to another: ‘Have I not bestowed great favours on you, then enhanced your honour, then rid you of your enemy’; in this statement, there is all the possibility that the thing enumerated at the end might have actually occurred the foremost in time.1

 

Thus, in the expression ‘…ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاءِ’, it is not necessary to conclude that the Almighty fashioned out the skies once he had made the earth.

 

II Syntax & Declensions & (النحو و الاعراب)

 

1. Declension of ‘بَعُوضَةً’

‘بَعُوضَةً’ is a permutative (بَدَل) of ‘مَثَلًا مَا’, which itself is an object of ‘يَضْرِبَ’.

 

2. Declension of ‘مَثَلًا’

In the expression ‘مَاذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِهَذَا مَثَلًا’, the word ‘مَثَلًا’ is an accusative of state (حَال) from the demonstrative pronoun‘بِهَذَا’. Some commentators2 regard it to be a‘تَمْيِيْز’ (specification that removes an ambiguity). Preference to the former declension owes to the fact that there is no ambiguity that needs to be removed by bringing ‘مَثَلًا’ as a ‘تَمْيِيْز’; the expression ‘مَاذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِهَذَا’ lucidly conveys the meaning ‘what does Allah intend by this’ – ie., by this example.

 

3. Declension of ‘سَبْعَ’

‘سَبْعَ’ is an accusative of state of ‘هُنَّ’ from the verb ‘فَسَوَّى’. ‘هُنَّ’ refers to ‘السَّمَاءِ’, which is a generic noun and hence can be referred to by a plural pronoun as well.

 

4. The Status of ‘مَا’ in ‘مَثَلًا مَا’

The particle ‘مَا’ occurs to emphasize the indefinite noun ‘مَثَلًا’ just like the ‘مَا’ in‘قَلِيْلاً مَا’ and ‘كَثِيْراً مَا’.

 

 

III Style & Eloquence (الاساليب و البلاغة)

 

1. Parenthetical Sentence

Verses 26-27 are two parenthetical sentences that occur in the discourse (ref. 1) to warn the addressees of a contingent matter. The discourse from verse 28 then takes up what was being discussed earlier and proceeds from where it was interrupted by these parenthetical sentences.

 

2. Tadmin (تَضْمِيْن)

i. In the expression ‘ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى إِلَى السَّمَاءِ’, since the preposition ‘إِلَى’ does not collocate with the verb ‘اسْتَوَى’, there exists a Tadmin in the verb: it encompasses the meaning of another verb which collocates with ‘إِلَى’. Thus the implied meaning is: ‘ثُمَّ اسْتَوَى وَ تَوَجِّهَ إِلَى السَّمَاءِ’

ii. In the expression ‘فَتَابَ عَلَيْهِ’, on similar reasons as above, there exists a Tadmin.The implied meaning is ‘فَتَابَ وَ اَقْبَلَ عَلَيْهِ’.

 

 

IV. Exegesis and Explanation (الشرح و التفسير)

 

1. The implication of  وَيَقْطَعُونَ مَا أَمَرَ اللَّهُ بِهِ أَنْ يُوصَلَ

It is evident from the following verse that the above expression refers to severing blood relationships:

 

فَهَلْ عَسَيْتُمْ إِنْ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ أَنْ تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ وَتُقَطِّعُوا أَرْحَامَكُمْ(22:47)

Then, is it to be expected of you, if you were put in authority, that you will spread disorder in the land, and break your ties of kith and kin? (47:22)