Surah Baqarah (8-16)
Qur’anic Exegesis
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi /
Shehzad Saleem
وَمِنْ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَبِالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ وَمَا هُمْ بِمُؤْمِنِينَ يُخَادِعُونَ اللَّهَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّا أَنفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ فِي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمْ اللَّهُ مَرَضًا وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ بِمَا كَانُوا يَكْذِبُونَ وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا
And among these people1 are [the Hypocrites from the Jews]2 who say: ‘We have professed faith in Allah and in the Last day’3, but in reality they do not have faith in anything4. They want to
تُفْسِدُوا فِي الْأَرْضِ قَالُوا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ أَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمْ الْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَكِنْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ آمِنُوا كَمَا آمَنَ النَّاسُ قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَا آمَنَ السُّفَهَاءُأَلَا إِنَّهُمْ هُمْ السُّفَهَاءُ وَلَكِنْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ وَإِذَا لَقُوا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا قَالُوا
deceive both Allah and the believers5, but indeed they only deceive themselves, and realize it not6! In their hearts was the disease [of jealousy], and Allah [now] has increased their disease7further. And because they have been lying, there is a grievous penalty for them. When it is said to them: ‘make not mischief in the earth [by adopting this attitude]’8they say: ‘Why, we are only reformers!’9Of a surety, they are the ones who make mischief, but they realize it not. When it is said to them: ‘Accept faith as these people10[before you] have accepted faith’, they [vainly] say: ‘Shall we accept faith as these fools accepted faith?’ – Listen, they themselves are fools, but they do not know. Andwhen they meet the Muslims, they say: ‘We have accepted’11but when they are
آمَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْا إِلَى شَيَاطِينِهِمْ قَالُوا إِنَّا مَعَكُمْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُسْتَهْزِئُونَ اللَّهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ وَيَمُدُّهُمْ فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ أُوْلَئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوْا الضَّلَالَةَ بِالْهُدَى فَمَا رَبِحَتْ تِجَارَتُهُمْ وَمَا كَانُوا مُهْتَدِينَ(2: 8-16)
alone with their evil ones12, they say: ‘We are with you, we were only jesting’. Allah jests with them and [according to His law] gives them respite13in their arrogance such that they are wandering about. It is these who have given prerference14to error over guidance so their deal has yielded absolutely no profit for them, and neither have they been able to find a way out15. (2:8-16)
Researcher’s Companion
I. Meaning & Morphology (الصرف و اللغة)
1. ‘مَرَضٌ’
The word ‘مَرَضٌ’ is generally used in the Qur’an in two connotations: hypocrisy and jealousy. Here it is evident from the context that the latter sense is most appropriate. As the surah progresses, it will become evident that the Jews were very jealous of the fact that a Prophet (sws) had come from the Ismaelites and not from among them.
2. ‘شَيَاطِينِهِمْ’
It is evident from the context that the word ‘شَيَاطِينِهِمْ’ connotes the leaders of the rejecters among the Jews. (See ref. 12)
3. ‘اشْتَرَوْا’
The word ‘اشْتَرَوْا’ (they bought) in 2:15 is obviously used in the figurative sense. When we buy something, we actually give preference to it over the money that one uses for purchasing it. Thus, the meaning ‘to give preference to something’ is incorporated in the word, as is pointed out by Ghamidi in ref. 14. Consequently, Qurtubi, while referring to this usage says that it is used in the same way as ‘اِسْتَحَبُّوا’ is in: ‘الْعَمَى عَلَى الْهُدَى فاسْتَحَبُّوا’ (41:1)1.
II Syntax & Declensions & (النحو و الاعراب)
1. ‘مَنْ’ in ‘وَمِنْ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ’
The word ‘مَنْ’ is used for both singular and plural entities. Here it is obvious that it is used for the latter.
2. ‘ال’ in ‘النَّاسِ’
The ‘ال’ in ‘النَّاسِ’ is for ‘عِهد’. ‘النَّاسِ’ refers to those who rejected the Book of God in its entirety. So, the words ‘… وَمِنْ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ’ refer to one category of rejecters. Another category has already been referred to in verse 7 by the words ‘…إِنَّ الَّّّذِينَ كَفَرُوا’.
3. Relationship of ‘فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ’
Verse 15 reads:
اللَّهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ وَيَمُدُّهُمْ فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ
The expression ‘فِي طُغْيَانِهِمْ’ can be related to ‘َيَمُدُّهُمْ’ or to ‘يَعْمَهُونَ’. If the former construction is preferred, ‘يَعْمَهُونَ’ would be ‘حَال’ and the meaning would be: ‘God increases them in their arrogance, such that they wander about’. If the latter construction is preferred, the meaning would be ‘God gives them respite and they wander in their arrogance’. The author has preferred the former construction, as has Farahi 2. Both give the same reason: ‘مَدَّ ه فِيهِ’ is a more commonly used expression.
III Style & Eloquence (الاساليب و البلاغة)
1. Subtle Choice of Words
Verse 9 reads:
يُخَادِعُونَ اللَّهَ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّا أَنفُسَهُمْ
While ‘يُخَادِعُونَ’3 means to ‘to try to deceive, ‘يَخْدَعُونَ’ means ‘to deceive’. The former is used with God because man can only strive to deceive God: he can never succeed. Hence this usage is very apt. On the other hand, ‘يَخْدَعُونَ’, is appropriately used for ‘humans’ because one may succeed in deceiving them.
2. Tadmin in ‘خَلَوْا إِلَى’
The inappropriateness of the preposition with the verb in the expression ‘خَلَوْا إِلَى’ shows that the verb encompasses another verb within its meaning. Taking this aspect into consideration, the implied meaning is إِلَى شَيَاطِينِهِمْذَهَبُوْاوَالْمُسْلِمِيْنمِنْ خَلَوْا’. Farahi points out the implied meaning with the words ‘ذَهَبُوْا اِلِيْهِمْ فَخَلَوْا مَعَهُمْ’.4
IV. Exegesis and Explanation (الشرح و التفسير)
1. Verses 8-16
Most commentators opine that these verses refer to the hypocrites among the Muslims. Ghamidi differs with them and says that they actually refer to a group among the Jews who wanted to adopt a policy of compromise. Like some of their counterparts, they had not opted to openly reject Islam; rather they wanted to strike some compromise between it and own their religion.
The basic reason why they cannot be called hypocrites is the following verse:
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ آمِنُوا كَمَا آمَنَ النَّاسُ قَالُوا أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَا آمَنَ السُّفَهَاءُ
When it is said to them: ‘Accept faith as these people [before you] have accepted faith’, they [vainly] say: ‘Shall we accept faith as these fools accepted faith?’
Hypocrites feign to be Muslims while rejecting Islam in their hearts. On the other hand, this verse speaks of open rejection. People who openly reject Islam thus cannot be termed as hypocrites.