2-284 To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. And whether you manifest what is in your minds or hide it, Allah will call you to account according to it. So He forgives whom He pleases and chastises whom He pleases. And Allah is Possessor of power over all things.a
لِّلَّهِ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَمَا فِى ٱلۡأَرۡضِۗ وَإِن تُبۡدُواْ مَا فِىٓ أَنفُسِڪُمۡ أَوۡ تُخۡفُوهُ يُحَاسِبۡكُم بِهِ ٱللَّهُۖ فَيَغۡفِرُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَآءُۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ ڪُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدِيرٌ (٢٨٤)
2-284a: This is the last section of the chapter and summarizes its main subject, namely the expansiveness of the religion of Islam which requires belief in all prophets, and the glad tidings of success given in the prayer: فَٱنصُرۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡڪَـٰفِرِينَ . The promise of success in the beginning of the chapter and the prayer for help at the end gives the same good news.
Some commentators consider the part from إِن تُبۡدُواْ مَا فِىٓ أَنفُسِڪُمۡ to the end of the verse as abrogated. There are two narrations from Ibn Umar in Bukhari which indicate abrogation, but it appears from the narration in Ibn Jarir that Ibn Umar was not convinced of its abrogation because he, Ibn Umar, used to weep profusely when he recited this verse. When this was mentioned in the presence of Ibn Abbas, he said, “May Allah have mercy on them. It is abrogated by the succeeding verse.” This indicates that Ibn Abbas was supportive of the idea that this part of the verse was abrogated. But it appears from another narration in Ibn Jarir that Ibn Abbas was not convinced of its abrogation. On this basis, Ibn Jarir himself has denied the abrogation of this verse.
Surah Al-Amran repeats the same command: In Surah Al-Amran, there is a verse that essentially repeats what is voiced here: The verse states: قُلۡ إِن تُخۡفُواْ مَا فِى صُدُورِڪُمۡ أَوۡ تُبۡدُوهُ يَعۡلَمۡهُ ٱللَّه (Say: Whether you hide what is in your hearts or manifest it, Allah knows it.) (3:29). The words يَعۡلَمۡهُ ٱللَّه in Al-Amran have the same connotation as يُحَاسِبۡكُم بِهِ ٱللَّه in Al-Baqarah. If these words are abrogated by لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ (Allah imposes not…) (2:286), then what is the need to repeat an abrogated command? The opinion about the abrogation of this part of the verse is based on a narration that upon the revelation of this verse the Companions submitted to the Holy Prophet that what this verse required was beyond their ability, and then the verse لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ was revealed. In actuality, the narration negates abrogation rather than supports it because it does not state that the Holy Prophet said that the earlier part is abrogated. However, the second verse لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ makes the meaning of the first verse clear.
The use of abrogation among the Companions: The real purport of the verse لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ is to clarify that the meaning of the so-called abrogated verse is not what some of the Companions took it to mean. Allah does not command anything that is beyond the ability of humans as clearly stated in the second verse. It appears that verses that brought clarity to the meaning of other verses were figuratively referred to by the Companions as abrogating the earlier verses. This term unfortunately gave birth to the totally erroneous concept about abrogation. Accordingly, this idea is also expressed in Ruh al-Maani: ان المراد من النسخ البیان و الیضاح المراد مجازا. The narration of Ibn Abbas in Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal clarifies this issue. The narration states that when this verse: …إِن تُبۡدُواْ was revealed, a thought arose in people’s mind that had never arisen before (and in another narration it is stated that the people were very sorrowful because they felt that they did not have the ability), and so the Holy Prophet said: قولو اسمعنا و اطعنا و سلمنا فا لقی ٱللَّه الایمان فی قلوبہم (Say: We hear and we obey and we accept; so Allah put belief into their hearts). And then … ءَامَنَ ٱلرَّسُولُ was revealed. This shows that even before the revelation of the second verse, the Companions understood the real import of the first verse and Allah put belief in their hearts, and then ءَامَنَ ٱلرَّسُولُ was revealed. The statement of the Holy Prophet اسمعنا و اطعنا shows that there is nothing beyond one’s ability. It is important to remember that the companions used the word نسخ (abrogation) in the sense of bringing clarity. In other words, an erroneous interpretation of a verse in their minds was abrogated, and not that the words of the verse were abrogated.
Calling to account for manifest and hidden things: Now if we ponder on the meaning of the verse, it becomes even clearer that no part of the verse is abrogated. Allah will call to account for things that are concealed in the heart and those made manifest. It is obvious that the thing which is concealed in the heart is something that one has full intention of doing but he hides it so that people may not get to know about it. A stray thought that flits through a person’s mind cannot be said to be a thing concealed in the heart. Those who were perturbed by this verse were the ones who thought that they would be responsible for any stray thought that came into their mind. This was obviously not the intention as the Holy Prophet made them understand with his words: سمعنا و اطعنا and لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ further explains it. This interpretation is confirmed from what is stated in other parts of the Quran that the responsibility is for intentions that are harbored in the heart and not for random thoughts or insinuations that may come to a person’s mind and are dispelled. Such thoughts are exempt from responsibility. Thus, in Surah Najam, it is stated: إِلَّا ٱللَّمَمَۚ (…but the passing idea) (53:32). One is held responsible for ideas that are backed by firm intentions as is stated in: بما کسبت قلوبکم and بما تعمّدت قلوبکم ۔ Further, accountability for all actions is not the same, and in فَيَغۡفِرُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ Allah informs us that there are many things which He forgives. A narration of Abu Hurairah quoted both by Bukhari and Muslim states that the Holy Prophet said that Allah says that when one resolves to do a bad deed, do not write it down against him, but if he acts on it, it should be written down as one bad deed; if he resolves to do something good but does not do it, it should be written as one good deed, but if he does it, it should be written as ten good deeds. This is how expansive the mercy of Allah is.
The first part of the verse narrates the omnipotence of Allah and the second part speaks of His complete and perfect knowledge. These are the two things from which belief in requital takes root.
2-285 The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. They all believe in Allah and His angels and His Books and His messengers. We make no difference between any of His messengers. And they say: We hear and obey; our Lord, Thy forgiveness (do we crave), and to Thee is the eventual course.a
ءَامَنَ ٱلرَّسُولُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡهِ مِن رَّبِّهِۦ وَٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَۚ كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَتِهِۦ وَكُتُبِهِۦ وَرُسُلِهِۦ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيۡنَ أَحَدٍ۬ مِّن رُّسُلِهِۦۚ وَقَالُواْ سَمِعۡنَا وَأَطَعۡنَاۖ غُفۡرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيۡكَ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ (٢٨٥)
2-285a: غُفۡرَانَكَ – غُفۡرَانَ – is a verbal noun from غفر . See 2-199a for its meaning. Further see 2-285c. The word نسالك is understood before غُفۡرَانَكَ but to give the full sense of نسالك غُفۡرَانَكَ, the translation puts (…do we crave…) in bracket.
Belief in all the prophets: At the start of this chapter, attention is drawn to the expansiveness of Islam in the statement: يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ (…believe in that which has been revealed to thee and that which was revealed before thee). During the middle of the chapter, it is stated: وَمَآ أُوتِىَ ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمۡ (…and in that which was given to the prophets from their Lord) (2-136), indicating thereby that Muslims believe not only in Abraham, Moses, and Jesus but also in whatever is given to any prophet wherever in the world. Further, وَمَآ أُوتِىَ ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمۡ specifies what is included in مَآ أُنزِلَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ , that is, only those things are included in مَآ أُنزِلَ that were given to the prophets by their Lord. This thus excludes revelation to non-prophets, several instances of which are met with in the Quran. The word كُتُبِهِۦ in this verse gives further clarity to what is meant by مَآ أُنزِلَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ and مَآ أُوتِىَ ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمۡ . These are scriptures that were given to prophets by their Lord. Similarly, مَآ أُنزِلَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ explains كُتُبِهِۦ وَرُسُلِهِۦ and shows that what is meant are those Messengers that previously sojourned on this earth and their Books, and not anyone to come afterwards. If there was any possibility of a Messenger coming after the Holy Prophet, the restriction of مِن قَبۡلِكَ would not be imposed.
2-286 Allah imposes not on any soul a duty beyond its scope. For it, is that which it earns (of good), and against it that which it works (of evil).a Our Lord, punish us not if we forget or make a mistake. Our Lord, do not lay on us a burden as Thou didst lay on those before us.b Our Lord, impose not on us (afflictions) which we have not the strength to bear. And pardon us! And grant us protection!c And have mercy on us! Thou art our Patron, so grant us victory over the disbelieving people.d
لَا يُكَلِّفُ ٱللَّهُ نَفۡسًا إِلَّا وُسۡعَهَاۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتۡ وَعَلَيۡہَا مَا ٱكۡتَسَبَتۡۗ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذۡنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوۡ أَخۡطَأۡنَاۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحۡمِلۡ عَلَيۡنَآ إِصۡرً۬ا كَمَا حَمَلۡتَهُ ۥ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِنَاۚ رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلۡنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِۦۖ وَٱعۡفُ عَنَّا وَٱغۡفِرۡ لَنَا وَٱرۡحَمۡنَآۚ أَنتَ مَوۡلَٮٰنَا فَٱنصُرۡنَا عَلَى ٱلۡقَوۡمِ ٱلۡڪَـٰفِرِينَ (٢٨٦)
286a: يُكَلِّفُ – is from کَلف and the meaning of کَلَّفَه‘ is giving an order that would be laborious.
إِلَّا وُسۡعَهَاۚ – The meaning of وُسۡع is expansive. Another meaning is the perception of not having the ability or power to perform a task.
Hard work is very satisfying: If the alternative sense of وُسۡع is adopted, the meaning is that the rigor Allah puts on His servants is less than what would render them powerless. If the first sense is adopted, the meaning is that the fruit of the rigor that Allah imposes on His servant gives the person increased capacity to work or gives the person paradise (R). This implies that things that appear to be painful or rigorous are the ones that expand one’s capabilities. The same idea is expressed elsewhere in the Quran as in: إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرً۬ا (With difficulty is surely ease) (94:6) and يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ بِڪُمُ ٱلۡيُسۡرَ (Allah desires ease for you, and He desires not hardship for you) (2-185).
كَسَبَتۡ – اکتسبت – Although كَسۡب and اکتساب are both used for good and bad, here كَسۡب is used for good and اکتساب for bad as is apparent from the use of لَهَا and عَلَيۡہَا . The difference between them is that كَسۡب can be for oneself or for another, and اکتساب is only for oneself. For this reason, some commentators consider كَسَبَتۡ to mean good actions that one does for others, that is, whatever is done keeping in mind the good of another. In any case لَهَا is a source of benefit, and whatever is done just for oneself is عَلَيۡہَا and over time this becomes pernicious.
2-286b: تُؤَاخِذۡنَآ – The word مؤَاخِذَة which is the verb form of اخذ is used for the requital of sin because it carries a sense of reward and punishment and comparison. This is spoken of those who accepted the bounties of Allah but in comparison showed little gratitude.
إِصۡر – The literal meaning is burden or to tie securely. A derived meaning is the burden of sin because of breaking a covenant (LA). It is reported in a hadith that a king is ظل اللّٰه (shadow of Allah) on earth if he does good and there is reward for him and it is incumbent on his people to be grateful, and when he acts badly, he has to bear the burden of sin (إِصۡر) (LA), for breaking the covenant that exists between the ruler and the ruled.
2-286c: ٱغۡفِرۡ – Here and in many other places in Quran, the meaning of غَفۡر is specifically protection from committing sin (See 2-199a) because forgiveness from the punishment of sins previously committed is already mentioned in وَٱعۡفُ عَنَّا . The first priority is to gain safety from committed sins and this is requested in عفو and the next priority is to safeguard from committing sins in future, and this is requested in غَفۡر . This explains the logical sequence of keeping عفو first and غَفۡر second. Wherever عفو and غَفۡر are mentioned together in the Quran, عفو is mentioned first because this is an inferior level and غَفۡر comes afterwards. Even where the عُفُوّ and غَفُور attributes of Allah are mentioned together, عُفُو is mentioned first and غَفُور second. For examples see 4:43. 4:99, 22:60, 58:2. This provides clear evidence that Quran takes the meaning of عفو to be somewhat more than غَفۡر . And since عفو is the term used for erasing sins, that is, forgiveness from the punishment of sins, hence the meaning of غَفۡر at such places is only safeguarding from sins as is shown in 2-199a with evidence from the lexicon. In this verse, the mention is first of عفو, second of غَفۡر and third of رحَمۡ and the three words correspond respectively with the three previous sentences. Thus, عفو is the prayer asking for forgiveness in response to لَا تُؤَاخِذۡنَآ or مواخزہ , غَفۡر is the prayer seeking protection from committing sins or breaking covenants, and رحَمۡ is the prayer corresponding to protection against bearing burdens. Similarly, in Surah Al-Amran there is a prayer: فَٱعۡفُ عَنۡہُمۡ وَٱسۡتَغۡفِرۡ لَهُمۡ وَشَاوِرۡهُمۡ فِى ٱلۡأَمۡرِۖ (So pardon them and ask protection for them, and consult them in important matters). This prayer is for a section of Muslims who deserted the battlefield, and the Holy Prophet is asked to pray for their forgiveness or عفو, then he is ordered to ask for their protection, that is for غَفۡر , so that they may be protected from sin in the future, and finally he is ordered to include them in his consultation, which is a matter of great honor for them. In summary, wherever عفو and غَفۡر occur together, the meaning of غَفۡر is simply protection from sin.
2-286d: The excellence of the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah in the Hadith: According to a hadith in Bukhari, the Holy Prophet said that whoever prays as taught in the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah, they are sufficient for the person. A hadith in the Musnad of Ahmad ibn Hanbal states that the last two verses of Surah Baqarah were previously not given to any prophet. Muslim and Nasai contain hadith that the Holy Prophet was given the glad tidings that Fatihah and the last two verses of Baqarah are light which had not been given to any prophet before. The excellence of Fatihah was already mentioned before. The excellence of these two verses is that whereas one describes the expansiveness of Islam and that of the hearts of Muslims in that they are required to believe in all prophets and not consider any as their enemy, the other verse teaches a Muslim to pray that he will never compromise with unbelief and evil and urges him to keep praying to be victorious against such forces. There is a need for Muslims of today to use this prayer to their advantage.
Three special things in this prayer: First, there is an aspect of humility in the admission that humans can forget and make mistakes. The prayer to counter this shortcoming requests to be forgiven rather than punished for it. A prayer like this is a reprimand that one should not be careless lest a command of Allah is forgotten and further that one should be very careful and alert in fulfilling the commandments of Allah so that mistakes are avoided. However, for inadvertent forgetfulness or mistakes, the prayer pleads to be saved from the consequences of such lapses. The second prayer is for protection against the burden imposed by non-fulfilment of covenants. This implies that the opposition to the injunctions of Allah should not reach a level of breach of covenant, like the breaches of covenants made by previous nations. If the first prayer is for safeguard from the consequences of inadvertent forgetfulness and mistakes, the second prayer is for safeguard from the bad consequences of deliberate transgressions. The third prayer is a plea to be saved from distress and overpowering difficulties that befall a person not because of actions but as fate decreed by Allah. Allah does not impose religious prescriptions whose burden one cannot bear, but fate sometimes deals a person a hand that totally crushes them. The third prayer is a plea not to be subjected to such a burden. In the face of these three situations, three prayers are taught. A plea for عفو or forgiveness for the evil consequences of forgetfulness and mistakes that as humans one is likely to make; a plea for غَفۡر or protection from intentionally committing a sinful act, and a plea for mercy to be safeguarded against the vagaries of fate that at times dump adversities that overpower a person. The final objective of all this is to position one so that Allah’s help may assist them against the unbelieving people.
The real aim and object of this surah is to make the Muslims a living and successful nation: The surah is ended with this sacred prayer which also discloses the aim and object of the surah, just as it was disclosed at the start of the surah, namely that the purpose is to show the Muslims the way to success. The surah starts with a promise of success, then discloses the means and methods that need to be adopted for success, and in the end draws attention to prayer so that besides treading on the path disclosed for success, resort should also be made to God through prayer. Every word of this surah manifests the aim of this surah, namely, to make Muslims a living and successful nation.
Bayan-ul-Quran 