Al-Baqarah (204-214)
Qur’anic Exegesis
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi /
Shehzad Saleem
In the previous verses, the Companions (rta) of the Prophet (sws) have been directed to offer the sacred duty of Hajj and to fight the Quraysh if they stop them from doing so.
وَمِنْ النَّاسِ مَنْ يُعْجِبُكَ قَوْلُهُ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيُشْهِدُ اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا فِي قَلْبِهِ وَهُوَ أَلَدُّ الْخِصَامِ وَإِذَا تَوَلَّى سَعَى فِي الْأَرْضِ لِيُفْسِدَ فِيهَا وَيُهْلِكَ الْحَرْثَ وَالنَّسْلَ وَاللَّهُ لَا يُحِبُّ الْفَسَادَوَ إِذَا قِيلَ لَهُ اتَّقِ اللَّهَ أَخَذَتْهُالْعِزَّةُ بِالْإِثْمِ
[You have to fight those who stop you from this worship of H~ajj] and [here unfortunately among you] there are some whose conversation does please you in the life of this world1: they even make God witness to what is in their hearts2; whereas, in fact, they
فَحَسْبُهُ جَهَنَّمُ وَلَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ (204-6)
وَمِنْ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَشْرِي نَفْسَهُ ابْتِغَاءَ مَرْضَاةِ اللَّهِ وَاللَّهُ رَءُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ (207)
يَاأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ كَافَّةً وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ
are the deadliest among the enemies3 . [This is what they say in front of you, but] no sooner do they leave you than they hastento spread disorder in the land and ravish crops and destroy generations [of man]4, and [you well know that] God does not like disorder. When they are asked: ‘Have fear of God’, with an inclination towards sin, their arrogance prevents them [from doing so]5. So sufficient for them is Hell, an evil abode6. (204-6)
And there are others among these very people who would give away their lives in order to find favour with God. [It is these who are forgiven by the Almighty if they err] and it is to such people that God is compassionate. (207)
[These two diverse attitudes should not persist, so] believers7,
لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُبِينٌفَإِنْ زَلَلْتُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْكُمْ الْبَيِّنَاتُ فَاعْلَمُوا أَنَّ اللَّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ (208 -9)
submit all of you8 to God [with one attitude] and do not follow in Satan’s footsteps; he is your inveterate foe. If you lapse even after these open warnings9 that have come to you, you should know that God is mighty and wise10. (208-9)
هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُمْ اللَّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِنْ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ وَقُضِيَ الْأَمْرُ وَإِلَى اللَّهِ تُرْجَعُ الْأُمُورُ سَلْ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ كَمْ آتَيْنَاهُمْ مِنْ آيَةٍ بَيِّنَةٍ وَمَنْ يُبَدِّلْ نِعْمَةَ اللَّهِ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
[In spite of the fact that they have been revealed the truth in its ultimate form] are they only waiting for God and His angels to come down to them in the shadow of clouds and their fate be settled then? [But this is not the way of God] and all such affairs rest with God. Ask the Israelites11 how many a manifest sign We bestowed upon them [but to no avail], and [in reality], those who change God’s gift [of guidance with deviance] after it is bestowed on them [cannot save themselves from the grasp of God] because God is stern in retribution. For these disbelievers, the life of this world has been decked with attractions. [When they are warned of its fate], they scoff at the believers12, whereas
الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنْ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَاللَّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ (210-12)
كَانَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ اللَّهُ النَّبِيِّينَ مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنذِرِينَ وَأَنزَلَ مَعَهُمْ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِيمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ وَمَا اخْتَلَفَ فِيهِ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ أُوتُوهُ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمْ الْبَيِّنَاتُ بَغْيًا بَيْنَهُمْ فَهَدَى اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لِمَا
those who fear God shall be above them on the Day of Judgement. [This is the blessing of the Almighty for them] and God gives boundlessly to whom He intends13 . (210-12)
[They present differences among people as a pretext for their hypocrisy14. They should know that initially] mankind was once
اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ مِنْ الْحَقِّ بِإِذْنِهِ وَاللَّهُ يَهْدِي مَنْ يَشَاءُ إِلَى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ(213)
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُمْ مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ مَسَّتْهُمْ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّى يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَى نَصْرُ اللَّهِ أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ(214)
one community. [Then differences surfaced between them]. So God sent forth prophets as bearers of glad tidings and as warners, and with these He sent down His Book as the decisive truth so that it may settle these differences between men. And the fact is that only those differed to whom it was given, after very clear signs had come to them because of malice for one another. So God guided by the backing of His grace those who believed [in the Qur’an]15 in all these differences regarding the truth, and God guides whom He intends [according to His law] to the straight path.16(213)
[These Hypocrites think that all the hardships that they face should be overcome by the help of God without they being entrusted with any responsibility to do deal with them. Listen!] do you suppose that you would go to Paradise even though you have not encountered the circumstances which were encountered by people before you [to whom Messengers were similarly sent]? Affliction and hardships befell them; and so shaken were they that the Messenger and those of faith who were with him cried out: ‘When comes the help of God?’ [At that time, the glad tidings were given]: Listen! God’s help is ever near.17 (214)
convinced about its veracity. Believers are granted success after they are made to pass through certain very trying circumstances. Here, the aforementioned Hypocrites are prodded that in the past also the Almighty’s help came after the believers successfully assailed the period of trial and now also it will come in a similar fashion.
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The Researcher’s Companion
I Meaning & Morphology (الصرف و اللغة)
i. Al-‘Izzah (الْعِزَّةُ)
The word ‘al-‘izzah (الْعِزَّةُ) literally means ‘prestige’. It is used in the Qur’an in this meaning in many verses. See for example 4:139, 10:65 and 35:10.
Here the word is used in another shade: it is used to connote a person’s over blown consciousness to prestige. This consciousness if confined to limits is indeed a quality. However, if it exceeds all bounds, it manifests itself in the form of pride and arrogance. Ibn Manzur refers to this very shade of meaning by citing ‘الرفعة و الامتناع’ as one of the entries under ‘izzah (عِزَّةُ).1
In the following verse, the word is explicitly used in this shade:
بَلْ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا فِي عِزَّةٍ وَشِقَاقٍ (2:38)
In fact, the disbelievers are imbued with arrogance and dissension. (38:2)
ii Idhn (اذن)
The Qur’an has introduced a new shade in the original meaning of this word. Originally, it means ‘permission’. However, when the permission of God is granted to believers to do good, then this opportunity is actually a reward from Him to the believers and as such, mere permission now encompasses His backing and support. The Arabic word ‘توفيق’ (Tawfiq) is perhaps the best equivalent to it when used such.
The Qur’an has used the word in this sense in the following verse as well2:
وَاللَّهُ يَدْعُو إِلَى الْجَنَّةِ وَالْمَغْفِرَةِ بِإِذْنِهِ وَيُبَيِّنُ آيَاتِهِ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ (2: 221)
And Allah beckons by His Grace to the Garden [of Bliss] and forgiveness, and makes His Signs clear to mankind that they may receive admonition. (2:221)
Consequently, Zamakhshari, while referring to this usage writes:
>بِإِذنِهِ< بتيسير الله وتوفيقه للعمل الذي تستحق به الجنة والمغفرة
‘بِإِذنِهِ’ means: with the facility and backing of the Almighty for deeds that make a person worthy of Paradise and [of His] forgiveness.3
iii. The Particle ‘ب’ in ‘الْعِزَّةُ بِالْإِثْمِ أَخَذَتْهُ’
The particle ‘ب’ in ‘بِالْإِثْمِ’ has been interpreted as ‘مصاحبة’ (musahabah: companionship) by the author and accordingly the expression has been translated as: ‘with an inclination towards sin, their arrogance prevents them [from fearing Allah]’. This, of course, means that primarily the expression is ‘أَخَذَتْهُ الْعِزَّةُ’.
‘اخذه الشئ’ means: ‘ذالك اعتراه’.
Most commentators regard the particle ‘ب’ in this expression as ‘تعديه’ (ta‘diyyah:transitivity) for the verb ‘اخذ’. In this case, the meaning of the expression ‘الْعِزَّةُ بِالْإِثْمِ أَخَذَتْهُ’ would be: ‘arrogance impels him towards sin’. This latter interpretation, has not been preferred here for the following reasons:
a. The real thing that prevents a person from fearing Allah is arrogance. This is fully bought out if this interpretation is adopted.
b. The verb ‘اخذ’ is already a transitive verb. Although transitive verbs can be made doubly transitive by a particle of transitivity (as the other interpretation suggests), yet in the presence of a better interpretation this seems needless.
II Declensions & Syntax (النحو و الاعراب)
i. Alladu’l-Khisam (‘أَلَدُّ الْخِصَامِ’)
The word ‘خِصَامِ’ is both a plural noun (singular: خَصْم) and a verbal noun (مصدر). Since generally the annexure of the superlative form is towards a plural noun rather than towards a verbal noun, its former status is preferred here.
ii. Kafah (‘كَافَّةً’)
‘كَافَّةً’ (Kafah) is in the accusative form of ‘حال’ from the antecedent in ‘ادْخُلُوا’. Some exegetes have taken it to be an accusative form of ‘حال’ from the abstract noun ‘السِّلْمِ’. Although the latter is not incorrect, yet conventionally like ‘جَميعا’ and ‘قَاطِبَة’, it expresses the ‘حال’ of plural entities. Hence the preference.
III Eloquence & Style (الاساليب و البلاغة)
i. Hal yanzuruna illa an ya’tiyahumullahu (هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُمْ’‘اللَّهُ …)
Just as the particle of exception ‘إِلَّا’ (illa) comes after particles of negation to encompass as well as to confine what is implied, it also comes after variuos particles of interrogation like ‘هَلْ’ (hal) for similar reasons. Thus if the expression ‘وَ مَا تُنْفِقُونَ ِالاّ ِابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِ الله’ means: ‘You spend only to obtain the pleasure of Allah’4, the expression ‘هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَأْتِيَهُمْ اللَّهُ …’ means: ‘Are they only waiting for Allah to appear…’.
Consequently, there is no need to say (as grammarians generally do5) that the particle ‘هَلْ’ (hal) in such cases denotes negation6. It denotes its own ma‘ruf (conventional) meaning of interrogation.
ii. Ellipses (حذف) after ‘كَانَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً’
The word ‘فَاخْتَلَفُوا’ (fakhtalafu: then they differed) is suppressed after the words ‘كَانَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً’ (kana al-nasu ummatan wahidatan: mankind was once one community ). The subsequent words ‘لِيَحْكُمَ بَيْنَ النَّاسِ فِيمَا اخْتَلَفُوا فِيهِ’ (li yahkuma bayn al-nasi fima ikhtalafu fih: so that it [—the Book—] may settle these differences of men) bear evidence to this suppression.
In the following verse, which is very similar to this one, this very word appears:
وَمَا كَانَ النَّاسُ إِلَّا أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَاخْتَلَفُوا (10 :19)
Mankind was once one community. Then they differed. (10:19)
Here, obviously, it could not have been suppressed because it is not understood to be present.
IV Names and Loci (الاعلام و الاماكن)
i. Bani Isra’il
The descendants the Prophet Abraham’s son, the Prophet Isaac (sws) are called the Bani Isra’il (literally: the Children of Israel)7. They have been named after the Isaac’s son, Prophet Jacob (sws), who was called ‘Israel’. While commenting upon their origins, Daryabadi writes:
‘Children of Israel’ is the national designation of the Jews. Israel was the name borne by their ancestor, Jacob, the father of ‘the twelve tribes,’ a son of Isaac, and a grandson of Abraham (on all of whom be peace!). This nation of priests, patriarchs and prophets, perhaps the most remarkable people in ancient history, blessed of their Lord, always great in the realm of religion and faith, and mighty and glorious for long periods in the affairs of the world, had migrated in their thousands, after the capture of Jerusalem by the Romans under Titus, into Arabia, and had settled in and around Madinah long before the advent of the holy Prophet (sws). The whole of the north-eastern Arabia was dotted over by their colonies, and many of the Arab pagans, in the course of time, had come to adopt their ways and their faith. In the third century of the Christian era an Arabian tribe, even so remote as in the south of the Peninsula, was led to adopt the Jewish faith. As proud possessors of the book and the Divine Law, and even more as adepts in crude occult sciences and magical crafts, these Arab Jews were in the early days of Islam, in effect, intellectually the dominating masters of the country. In matters religious and divine, they were the trusted advisers of the unlettered pagans and their acknowledged superiors. Jewish legends, Jewish tenets and Jewish feats of exorcism were by now popular knowledge throughout Arabia. The ‘idolatry of Arabia’, to use the words of Muir, had formed a compromise with Judaism, and had imbibed many of its legends and perhaps many of its tenets. It was the Jews, again, who had been long predicting a new redeemer, and had been keenly looking for him. This helps to explain the extent of attention they receive in the Qur’an, and the long series of admonitions, warning and exhortations addressed to them. In the domain of religion, they were always the foremost; in Arabia, contemporaneous with Islam, their importance stood specially high.8