Author: sftwr2020

2-148    And everyone has a goal to which he turns (himself), so vie with one another in good works.^a Wherever you are, Allah will bring you all together. Surely Allah is Possessor of power over all things.^b

وَلِكُلٍّ۬ وِجۡهَةٌ هُوَ مُوَلِّيہَا‌ۖ فَٱسۡتَبِقُواْ ٱلۡخَيۡرَٲتِ‌ۚ أَيۡنَ مَا تَكُونُواْ يَأۡتِ بِكُمُ ٱللَّهُ جَمِيعًا‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدِيرٌ۬ (١٤٨)

2-148a: لِكُلٍّ۬ – By لِكُلٍّ۬ is meant every nation or every follower of a religion or every person.

وِجۡهَةٌ – وَجۡه means aim or object and جِھَةَ and وِجھَة means purpose, and in reality جِھَةَ and وِجھَة is the thing towards which one turns ones attention (R).

ٱسۡتَبِقُواْ – سَبۡق means to go/come before or ahead of, that is to precede. And استباق  means تسابق, that is to go ahead of another. Besides its use to describe the relative position of walkers, it is also used in vying with one another, as in, for example, piety. In ٱلسَّـٰبِقُونَ ٱلسَّـٰبِقُونَ as in many other places it means to vie with one another (R).

This section gives the rationale for having one qiblah and why the Kabah was appointed as the qiblah. Just as the Muslims have a physical qiblah, they also have a spiritual qiblah. Every nation has an established objective, but it is confined to the material world only. The Muslims, however, are advised to vie in charity and piety, and to establish this as the goal of their life. More literally, its meaning is that every nation has set a goal for itself. The Muslims should strive towards the qiblah which by virtue of being the real center of monotheism makes Muslims the rightful claimants to all kind of good and pious deeds. Just as associating partners with Allah is the root cause of all evil, monotheism gives birth to all kinds of virtue. If لِكُلٍّ۬ is taken to refer to an individual, the meaning is that every person will have to face a direction during prayer, and without uniformity in the direction of prayer, it is not possible for all of them to focus on the same goal. So, by establishing a uniform direction of prayer for Muslims around the world, the foundation was laid for their unity and solidarity – adherence to which results in many virtues. In reality the unanimous acceptance of one qiblah is the foundation of the universal brotherhood of Islam. It is stated in the hadith precisely for this reason that: لا تکفر اھل قبلتك (Do not call a follower of your qibla an unbeliever).

Muslims do not worship the Kabah: The sanctity of the Kabah in the hearts of Muslims is because of its position as the center of monotheism, and as the center of the unity of mankind. Some short-sighted opponents interpret this sanctity as worship of the Kabah, and object on this ground. However, to hold something sacred is entirely different from worshipping it. There are three essential elements in worship. First, to be so overcome by the greatness of the thing so as to devote full attention to it. Second, to praise and glorify it. Third, to pray and ask favors from it. When Muslims face the Kabah in prayer, there is not even a hint of these elements in their mind. They acclaim Allah to be the greatest, and sometimes stand in reverence with hands folded, sometimes bow to Him and sometimes prostrate before Him. They praise and glorify Allah, the Most High, and whatever they ask, they ask from their real Master. In their prayer, there is not a hint of the greatness of the Kabah, nor is their attention focused on it, nor do they praise  or glorify the Kabah, nor do they ask for anything from the Kabah. Hence it is ignorant and prejudiced to call simply facing the direction of the Kabah during prayer, worshipping. Further, the Muslim prayer was the same even when the Muslims prayed in the direction of Bait ul Muqaddas with the Kabah behind them. Did they then worship Bait ul Muqaddas?

Interestingly, even the polytheists of Makkah never worshipped the Kabah despite the great reverence they had for it. They worshipped the idols that they placed in the Kabah, but never the structure itself. Even the Black Stone, which is kissed, was never an object of worship in Arabia. This is an unhewn stone and they never considered it an object of worship nor did they pray for their needs from it. They did kiss it while circumambulating and Muslims do that too. But that is merely a sign of love because that stone was placed there as a sign. This is the stone about which David indicates in his Psalms, “The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner. This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.” (Psalms 118:22-23). This is the unhewn stone that is mentioned in Daniel, “Forasmuch as thou sawest that the stone was cut out of the mountain without hands,…” (Daniel 2:45). Scrutinizing all the sacred scriptures shows that this unhewn stone can only be a metaphorical indication of Bani Ishmael. The rejection of Jesus by the Jews was not an unusual occurrence. Similar rejection was faced by all the prophets. But Bani Israel, who remained rulers for a period of time, totally refuted Bani Ishmael, and even went to the extent of expelling them, as far as they were concerned, from the Abrahamic covenant. They were not only expelled from their country to a desert but were considered by the Israelites as refuted for good. This was the stone [Bani Ishmael] which was rejected by the builders [Bani Israel] and the Black Stone memorializes this history. Kissing the stone symbolizes it becoming the corner stone.  Jesus in the parable of the vineyard has also hinted about this when he says that when the owner of the vineyard comes, he will hand the vineyard to another husbandman. What is this vineyard?  It is the kingdom of God that Jesus himself described while further clarifying the parable in these words: “Jesus said unto them, ‘Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same has become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes? Therefore, I say unto you, the kingdom of God shall be taken from you, and given to a nation bringing forth the fruits thereof. And whoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken: but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder) (Mathew 21:42-44). Here Jesus clearly tells Bani Israel that the Kingdom of God will be taken from them and given to another nation. Which nation? The nation whose identification is the stone is the one the builders rejected, namely Bani Ishmael. The Black Stone is kissed to indicate this truth.

2:148b: The Kabah as the qibla creates unity: There are three possible meanings here: wherever you are, Allah will gather you in one place, Allah will cause you to die, or Allah will direct your prayers in the same direction (Bd). فیات بکم مجازعن جعل الصلٰوة متحدة الجہة (RM). In light of the context, the last meaning is most appropriate. Accordingly, whether Muslims are in the east, west, north or south, regardless of where they are scattered, when they face the direction of the one Kabah, there will be uniformity in their prayers and unity among themselves.

Although manifestly what has been stated here is that wherever Muslims are their prayer will be in the same direction, there is also a great prophecy associated with this. It is that wherever in the world Muslims may be, Allah will create with this uniformity in praying a unity among the Muslims. A distinguishing characteristic of Islam is that, unlike the other religions, it breaks the boundaries of nationality and ethnicity and unites the Muslims wherever they may be.

2-149    And from whatsoever place thou comest forth, turn thy face towards the Sacred Mosque. And surely it is the truth from thy Lord. And Allah is not heedless of what you do.

2-150    And from whatsoever place thou comest forth turn thy face towards the Sacred Mosque.^a And wherever you are turn your faces towards it, so that people may have no plea against you except such of them as are unjust — so fear them not and fear Me^b — and that I may complete My favour to you and that you may go aright.^c

  وَمِنۡ حَيۡثُ خَرَجۡتَ فَوَلِّ وَجۡهَكَ شَطۡرَ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِ‌ۖ وَإِنَّهُ ۥ لَلۡحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ‌ۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعۡمَلُونَ (١٤٩)

 وَمِنۡ حَيۡثُ خَرَجۡتَ فَوَلِّ وَجۡهَكَ شَطۡرَ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِ‌ۚ وَحَيۡثُ مَا كُنتُمۡ فَوَلُّواْ وُجُوهَڪُمۡ شَطۡرَهُ ۥ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَيۡكُمۡ حُجَّةٌ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ مِنۡہُمۡ فَلَا تَخۡشَوۡهُمۡ وَٱخۡشَوۡنِى وَلِأُتِمَّ نِعۡمَتِى عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَلَعَلَّكُمۡ تَہۡتَدُونَ (١٥٠)

2-150a: The rationale for repeating the command to face the Kabah three times: The command, And from whatsoever place thou comest forth turn thy face towards the Sacred Mosque is repeated three times. First in verse 144, next in verse 149, and for the third time here, but its purpose is different each time. The first time, the purpose is to give assurance that the Kabah will not remain in the possession of idol worshippers, Muslims will be made its guardians. So, it was permissible to face in the direction of the Kabah. Verse 148 informs that the real purpose of one qiblah is to create unity, and the command is repeated that wherever you may be, turn your face towards the Kabah and try to achieve the real purport. The third time, it is repeated here to turn your face towards the Kabah so that people may have no plea against you. The turning of the face towards the the Kabah was to fend off criticism as to why the prophet, who came in fulfilment of Abraham’s prayer did not have his qiblah facing where Ishmael was left as a sign. Accordingly, it is clearly stated in verse 151 that he is the prophet who is the response to Abraham’s prayer.

2-150b: The objection of the Ahl e Kitab that Kabah was made the qiblah to ally the Arabs: إِلَّا here is used to create an exception. The meaning is that there is no rational objection left for the people to make, and a sound rebuttal is given to all of them, but those who are unjust will not stop their carping. Or the meaning is that if they still object then they are unjust. The Jews of the time used to say, and the Christians say to this day, that making the Kabah the qiblah was to ally the Arabs. This is said of a man who eliminated, with no vestiges left, many centuries of idol worship, boozing, gambling, fornication, internecine wars, and evil traditions. Was it difficult for him to make the Arabs relinquish the Kabah? The answer is a resounding no. As a matter of fact, he prayed with his back towards the Kabah for a full year and a half and there was not even a murmur of disapproval. All the Muslims prayed likewise, and there was no let up in the advancement of Islam during this period. Thus, this objection is without any merit.

The first and last house for the worship of Allah: The second reason mentioned for turning your face to Kabah is so that Allah may complete his favors on you, and you may be perfectly guided. God had knowledge that all these things were associated with the Kabah, the first house for the worship of Allah on this earth. The first house was designated as the last qiblah. The place from which mankind scattered to all parts of the world and now this was to be the place where it was to gather again. Makkah can also be considered the center of the earth because Arabia is situated in the middle of the Old World. The world had forgotten the Kabah and the unity of God. Holy Prophet brought both of them back.

2-151    Even as We have sent among you a Messenger from among you, who recites to you Our messages and purifies you and teaches you the Book and the Wisdom and teaches you that which you did not know.^a

  كَمَآ أَرۡسَلۡنَا فِيڪُمۡ رَسُولاً۬ مِّنڪُمۡ يَتۡلُواْ عَلَيۡكُمۡ ءَايَـٰتِنَا وَيُزَكِّيڪُمۡ وَيُعَلِّمُڪُمُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلۡحِڪۡمَةَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُم مَّا لَمۡ تَكُونُواْ تَعۡلَمُونَ (١٥١)

2:151a: The Prophet sent in fulfilment of Abraham’s prayer and the Abrahamic qibla: The Prophet came in fulfilment of the prayer of Abraham Therefore it was befitting that the Kabah, the house that Abraham built be established as the qibla for the Muslims. Accordingly, the statement made here is in the same words used in the prayer of Abraham described earlier. The indication here is that Abraham’s prayer was accepted and in fulfilment thereof, a Prophet was sent. It was necessary that the House he had built be declared the qiblah, so that the Muslims may become the bearers of truth to the world. Accordingly, stated after discussing the objections to the change of the qibla, was لِّتَڪُونُواْ شُہَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ (…that you may be bearers of witness to the people).

2-152    Therefore glorify Me, I will make you eminent, and give thanks to Me and be not ungrateful to Me.^a

فَٱذۡكُرُونِىٓ أَذۡكُرۡكُمۡ وَٱشۡڪُرُواْ لِى وَلَا تَكۡفُرُونِ (١٥٢)

2-152a: ٱذۡكُرُونِىٓ – The meaning of ذکر   is حفظ الشئ (T), that is to remember something. This is done in two ways: one is to remember by the tongue and the other is to remember in the heart. Each one of these can take two forms: one is to remember after forgetting and the second is to remember all the time (R). The meaning of ذکر is also ثناء that is, to praise, and also شرف that is, to honor, exalt or dignify (T). ذکر as a reminder is used in إِنَّهُ ۥ لَذِكۡرٌ۬ لَّكَ وَلِقَوۡمِكَ (And surely it is a reminder for thee and thy people) (43:44) and in the latter sense ذکر is used in  صٓ‌ۚ وَٱلۡقُرۡءَانِ ذِى ٱلذِّكۡرِ (Truthful God! By the Quran possessing eminence) (38:1). ٱلذِّكۡرِ  is also a name for the Quran. The meaning here of ٱذۡكُرُونِىٓ is for a person to praise and extol Allah and to spread the Word of God in His creation, andأَذۡكُر is Allah’s response in the form of bestowing him with honor. Just as the Quran states the punishment for evil by using the same words for which see 2:15a, it has stated the reward of doing good also in the same words; the intention is to give reward for the remembrance of Allah. The meaning of کفر here is ungratefulness or hiding of favors. See 2:7a.

Muslims can achieve greatness by propagating the Word of Allah: Muslims are advised to mention Allah, that is to spread His name throughout the world, and if this is done, Allah will make them great. But if the Muslims conceal this great favor, then they are liable to be punished. Accordingly, the next section is divided into two parts. One-part deals with how to face the difficulties attendant upon spreading guidance, and the other part deals with concealing guidance. One wishes that the Muslims could understand that to achieve greatness, it is necessary for them to implement this Divine advice and make propagating Islam the major objective of their life.    

2-142  The fools among the people will say: “What has turned them from their qiblah which they had?” Say: The East and the West belong only to Allah; He guides whom He pleases to the right path.^a

۞ سَيَقُولُ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ مِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَا وَلَّٮٰهُمۡ عَن قِبۡلَتِہِمُ ٱلَّتِى كَانُواْ عَلَيۡهَا‌ۚ قُل لِّلَّهِ ٱلۡمَشۡرِقُ وَٱلۡمَغۡرِبُ‌ۚ يَہۡدِى مَن يَشَآءُ إِلَىٰ صِرَٲطٍ۬ مُّسۡتَقِيمٍ۬ (١٤٢)

2-142a:   قِبۡلةَ – It is derived from مقابلة  which is the situation of one person standing in front of another (R). Accordingly, two persons who stand opposite each other, each is the قِبۡلَه of the other (IJ). The opposite of this is دِبۡرة , which is spoken of a thing that is behind. In common parlance قِبۡلَه means the direction or point towards which one turns his face in prayer.

Change of Qiblah: This verse marks the beginning of the subject that is known as the Change of Qiblah, that is the declaration of the Kabah in Makkah as the qiblah instead of the Bait ul Muqaddas (Holy Temple) in Jerusalem. The connection of this subject with the previous verses is obvious because the narration there is about Abraham and the Kabah. However, it is possible to interpret the words of Quran in another way as well.

Hadith about the change of Qiblah: There are narrations in the authentic hadith about the change of qiblah. In the Bukhari there are several narrations, each with several versions about the change of qiblah. Thus, Abdullah bin Dinar narrates on the authority of Hazrat Ibn Umar that people were saying their morning prayer in the mosque at Qubah when a person informed them that the command has been given to face in the direction of Kabah and the people turned their face from Syria to Makkah while in the middle of their prayer. This narration has been repeated five times in different ways by Imam Bukhari in the Kitab al-Tafsir. Bara bin Azib narrates that after coming to Madinah, the Holy Prophet prayed facing the Bait ul Muqaddas in Jerusalem for sixteen or seventeen months before the Prophet was commanded to face Kabah in prayers. This narration has also been repeated two times in different ways. There is a narration by Anas bin Malik in which he says: “None remains of those who prayed facing both qiblas (that is, Jerusalem and Makkah) except myself”. This is further supported by a narration of Hazrat Umar reported in Kitab al-Tafsir in Bukhari under the heading: وَٱتَّخِذُواْ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ مُصَلًّ۬ى‌. The narration states that Hazrat Umar said that there were three times when revelation supported his view, and the first of these is that Hazrat Umar said to the Holy Prophet: یا رسول اللّٰه لِو اتخذت من مقام ابراھیم مصلّٰے  (If you make the place of Abraham, that is the Kabah, the direction for prayer). In the presence of so many hadith narratives, it cannot be denied that the Holy Prophet initially faced Bait ul Muqaddas (Holy Temple) in Jerusalem while praying. It was sixteen or seventeen months after emigration that the direction of prayer was changed towards Kabah as a result of specific revelation.

Change of qiblah did not occur twice: Those who are under the impression that the change in qiblah occurred twice are clearly mistaken. There is no support for it either in the Quran or in an authentic hadith. It appears that even in Makkah the Holy Prophet prayed facing Bait-ul-Muqaddas, but there it was possible for him to keep both Kabah and Bait-ul-Muqaddas in front of him, which he did. However, when he came to Madinah, it was not possible to do this because if he faced Bait ul Muqaddas, the Kabah was at his back. He, therefore, desired that the direction of prayer be towards Kabah because of its association with Abraham. But because Bait-ul-Muqaddas was the qiblah of the previous prophets, so the Holy Prophet kept the same qiblah until Divine revelation changed the direction of prayer.

Revelation was not a product of the Prophet’s desires: This also proves that the source of revelation was not the desires of the Prophet’s heart because it could not be that the Prophet desired that the qiblah should be Kabah, but there should be no revelation for sixteen or seventeen months effecting a change.

The meaning of مَا وَلَّٮٰهُمۡ : What was the intention behind this change of qiblah? The rationale for this is explained a little further on. However, it remains to be seen whether the words مَا وَلَّٮٰهُمۡ actually refer to the change of qiblah. This is a separate question. These words can also be interpreted to mean: What made the Muslims change the qiblah that they had previously, that is Bait-ul-Muqaddas. This interpretation is a clear reference to the change of qiblah. The interpretation can also be: What made the Muslims turn away from the qiblah that the prophets (who were referred by name shortly before) observed, that is Bait-ul-Muqaddas. This statement does not necessarily mean a change of qiblah. A third interpretation can be: What made the Muslims run away from the qiblah that they had, that is Kabah. This would be a reference to emigration (hijra) and the meaning would be that when their qiblah was Kabah why did they run away from there. The response that is given in the words لِلَّهِ ٱلۡمَشۡرِقُ وَٱلۡمَغۡرِبُ (to Allah belongs whatever is in the east and west) shows, in respect of the last interpretation, that the emigration of the Muslims in no way negates Kabah as the qiblah because Allah is the possessor of both the east and the west and He will make them the master of Kabah as well. If the first two meaning are adopted, then the meaning of لِلَّهِ ٱلۡمَشۡرِقُ وَٱلۡمَغۡرِبُ would be that Allah has no special connection with any specific direction and all directions are His. There is no harm if Bait ul Muqaddas was the qiblah at one time and the Kabah is the qiblah now. However, it was necessary that the qiblah of the last prophet be the first House established on earth for the worship of Allah. And this is what is hinted in the words صِرَٲطٍ۬ مُّسۡتَقِيمٍ۬   (the straight path). Or the meaning may be that this right information, namely that Allah has no special connection with any direction, was given to the Muslims.

2-143   And thus We have made you an exalted nation that you may be the bearers of witness to the people and (that) the Messenger may be a bearer of witness to you.^a And We did not make that which thou wouldst have to be the qiblah but that We might distinguish him who follows the Messenger from him who turns back upon his heels. And it was indeed a hard test except for those whom Allah has guided.^b Nor was Allah going to make your faith to be fruitless. Surely Allah is Compassionate, Merciful, to the people.^c

وَكَذَٲلِكَ جَعَلۡنَـٰكُمۡ أُمَّةً۬ وَسَطً۬ا لِّتَڪُونُواْ شُہَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ شَهِيدً۬ا‌ۗ وَمَا جَعَلۡنَا ٱلۡقِبۡلَةَ ٱلَّتِى كُنتَ عَلَيۡہَآ إِلَّا لِنَعۡلَمَ مَن يَتَّبِعُ ٱلرَّسُولَ مِمَّن يَنقَلِبُ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيۡهِ‌ۚ وَإِن كَانَتۡ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلَّا عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ هَدَى ٱللَّهُ‌ۗ وَمَا كَانَ ٱللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَـٰنَكُمۡ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِٱلنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ۬ رَّحِيمٌ۬ (١٤٣)

 2-143a: وَسَطً۬ا – وسط is the middle part of a thing, and sometimes a superior and noble thing that is removed from either extremes is also called وسط (R). Accordingly, the meaning of الوسط in Bukhari is given as العدل (to act justly). And Ibn Jarir has written that in the terminology of the Arabs, the expression وسط means the best people and it is such a group that is meant here. This group has achieved the most elevated rank by shunning the extremes.

    شُہَدَآءَ – For the meaning of شہید see 2-23a. Imam Raghib has written that by شُہَدَآءَ are meant such people who when they hear a thing remain cognizant of it. The meaning of to be a witness can also be to carry the knowledge that they have gained from the Prophet to others. From this perspective, the meaning of شُہَدَآءَ can be a purifier and also a leader or imam. This is the meaning here.

An indication of the termination of prophethood in the subject of the qiblah: The word كَذَٲلِكَ points to the subject of the last verse, namely that the Kabah is the center of true monotheism and by appointing it as qiblah or direction of prayer, God has communicated that this prophet is the last prophet and his followers will now be the propagators of religious knowledge and the real leaders and imams of the world, just as the messenger of Allah is their leader and imam. The statement in the end: وَيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ شَهِيدً۬ا‌ (the Messenger may be a witness to you) clearly conveys that the leader, chief, and purifier of all the teachers of piety and purifiers of souls in the world will now be Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah. And thus, all these teachers being subservient to the same leader will be the torch bearers of the unity of nations and the oneness of humanity.

The excellence of Holy Prophet’s followers: This verse also points out the excellence of the Holy Prophet’s companions. Nay, of all the true followers of Prophet Muhammad. The work that was previously done by prophets would now be done by his followers. An alternative explanation of كَذَٲلِكَ is that just as God has given a lesson in moderation by requiring all to pray in one direction for the sake of unity although He has no special connection with any direction, the entire teachings of Islam that God has given are one of moderation so that the Muslims may be the leaders in the world for all times.

2-143b: Change of qiblah – a test: There can be two ways to interpret: وَمَا جَعَلۡنَا ٱلۡقِبۡلَةَ ٱلَّتِى كُنتَ عَلَيۡہَآ (And We did not make that which thou wouldst have to be the qiblah). One interpretation is that: We did not make what you wanted the qibla so that those who are true may be distinguished from those who are false. This implies that the Kabah was made the qiblah after a long period in which the Bait-ul-Muqaddas was the qiblah in order to test the people. The meaning of جَعَلۡنَا here is similar to جَعَلۡنَا in: وَمَا جَعَلۡنَا ٱلرُّءۡيَا ٱلَّتِىٓ أَرَيۡنَـٰكَ إِلَّا فِتۡنَةً۬ لِّلنَّاسِ (And We made not the vision which We showed thee but a trial for men), that is Allah did not command that the vision should become a trial. Similarly, Allah did not command that Bait-ul-Muqaddas should be the qiblah. There is no revelation in the Quran nor is there a hadith that the Holy Prophet had faced Bait-ul-Muqaddas as a result of a Divine command. But after the emigration to Madinah, the Holy Prophet had to choose between Bait-ul-Muqaddas and Kabah, and he chose to face in the direction of Bait-ul-Muqaddas and have the Kabah at his back. Allah let this situation persist for a long period and did not change it by revelation. The rational for this, as stated later, was to make this a test. The second interpretation can be that كُنتَ be taken in the sense of صرت and the meaning would be that: We have not made this which you follow now as the qiblah but for this reason. In which case the reference is to the Kabah. And the meaning of كُنتَ عَلَيۡہَآ  can also be معتقد لاستقبالہا , that is on which you had firmly set thy heart that it should be the your qiblah (Rz).

Know in the sense of distinguish: The meaning of لِنَعۡلَمَ has been taken as to distinguish one thing from another because علم (knowledge) is also used in the sense of تمیز (distinguish) particularly when it is followed by من which is used for distinguishing (AH). Some have taken علم in the sense of رویة (IJ) that is to see who is like this and who is like that. And رویة suits the context here because it is the post event Divine knowledge that has an equivalency with رویة.

Allah’s knowledge about people is of two types: One type is knowledge about an event when it is still in the future and unknown, and the second is the knowledge that occurs after an event has taken place. It is only when the event has occurred that reward and punishment can be meted out. In this part of the verse, the purpose of the change in qiblah is given as the distinction between those that are genuine and those that are fake.

A true faith requires testing through examination: If those who are sincere and those who are insincere remain mixed then the real purpose of religion is not achieved. So, Allah creates certain situations to test the genuineness of people. This test was not an insignificant one. As long as the Holy Prophet stayed in Makkah, the qiblah was Bait-ul-Muqaddas although the inhabitants of the city were at that time primarily polytheists who revered the Kabah but had no reverence for Bait ul Muqaddas. But when he came to Madinah where there was a sizable population of Jews, the Kabah became the qiblah.so that only those persons should become Muslims who were convinced in their heart about the truthfulness of Islam and had the mettle that no trial would make them waiver in their faith. Another purpose in the change of qiblah was that the qiblah is not an object of worship. If that was so, then the qiblah should have been the same from the beginning because the commandments regarding Divine unity had been given right at the beginning. Further, the Kabah is made the qiblah when the real bad times had already passed. If the Kabah had been made the qiblah right from the beginning, then perhaps the people of Arabia may have joined the Holy Prophet thinking that they were joining a faith based on their ancestral tenets. But not only was the Kabah not declared the qiblah at the beginning, but for seventeen months in Madinah, the Muslims were made to stand with their backs toward the Kabah in their prayers. The purpose was to make it clear that it is not an object of worship.

2-143c: إِيمَـٰنَ – The meaning of إِيمَـٰنَ here according to a narration of Ibn Abbas in Bukhari is صلٰوة and the connotation is that prayers that were conducted facing Bait ul Muqaddas were not wasted because prayer is for Allah and does not have any such relation with the qiblah that if it is not offered facing the qiblah it would not count. Once again, this negates the idea that qiblah is the real purpose of prayer as has been wrongly supposed by some opponents of Islam. There is also an indication in the use of the word إِيمَـٰنَ that qiblah is not something that creates any shortcoming in faith.

رَءُوفٌ۬ – There is a high degree of mercy implied in its meaning. God in His kindness bestows favors on His servants on His own. (LA). And رأفة from which it is derived is more special than mercy and a thing with greater tenderness. (LA).

2-144    Indeed We see the turning of thy face to heaven, so We shall surely make thee master of the qiblah which thou likest; turn then thy face towards the Sacred Mosque. And wherever you are turn your faces towards it.^a And those who have been given the Book certainly know that it is the truth from their Lord. And Allah is not heedless of what they do.^b

      قَدۡ نَرَىٰ تَقَلُّبَ وَجۡهِكَ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ‌ۖ فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبۡلَةً۬ تَرۡضَٮٰهَا‌ۚ فَوَلِّ وَجۡهَكَ شَطۡرَ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِ‌ۚ وَحَيۡثُ مَا كُنتُمۡ فَوَلُّواْ وُجُوهَكُمۡ شَطۡرَهُ ۥ‌ۗ وَإِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ لَيَعۡلَمُونَ أَنَّهُ ٱلۡحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمۡ‌ۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا يَعۡمَلُونَ (١٤٤)

2-144a: تَقَلُّبَ وَجۡهِكَ فِى ٱلسَّمَآءِ‌ۖ – تَقَلُّبَ is from قلب and its meaning is to turn repeatedly. Here it is in the sense of الٰی – وجه – Attention or face – The meaning of repeatedly turning the attention or face towards heaven is to supplicate before Allah or to await the decision of an affair from Allah. But the meaning here is not the expectation of a command to make Kabah the qiblah because that command had already been given and the objections to it had already been answered. But this awaiting or attention or supplication is for Muslims to gain possession from the unbelievers of the Kabah, which had now been made the qiblah, so that they could purify the Kabah from idols placed in it by the polytheists of Makkah.

فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ – ولَّیته کذا means he made him a guardian or possessor of a thing (R, RM). This is the meaning here, and not We shall turn you [to a qiblah] because this is about the future, and the command about turning to face the qiblah had already been given. ولّی (infinitive تولَّیته ) means he set anyone over, entrusted anyone with the governance of a province or management of an affair. Sometimes, it is used in the sense of prosperity or luck, as in فولّ وجھك (turn your face) or لکل وجھة ھو مولّیھا (to turn attention in this direction) and sometimes in the sense of coming back or return as in: ثم ولّیتم مدبرین یا ماولّھم عن قبلتھم

شَطۡرَ – It is used to denote the half or middle of a thing but here the meaning is direction (R).

ٱلۡحَرَام‌ۚ – The meaning of حَرَامِ‌ۚ is  الممنوع منه  that which is forbidden either by Allah as in: وَحَرَٲمٌ عَلَىٰ قَرۡيَةٍ أَهۡلَكۡنَـٰهَآ   (And it is forbidden to a town which We destroy…), (where the imputation is that the Divine law is such that the dead do not come back to earth) or that which is not allowed by virtue of shariat, or an order that has to be obeyed, or because of being a subject or by virtue of the dictate of intelligence. And حَرَم  is called حرم because in accordance with the spirit of Allah’s command, there are things in it which are forbidden which are permissible in other circumstances (R). محروم is also from the same root because a person who has been made unable to acquire certain things is deprived (محروم) from them.

ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِ‌ۚ – It is the name of that vast enclosure in which the Kabah is situated. This enclosure is two hundred and fifty steps in length and about two hundred steps in width and the Kabah is sited almost in the middle of it. The Kabah is eighteen steps in length and fourteen feet in width. The Black Stone is embedded in its north-western corner. Sometimes, the whole حَرَم is referred to as ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِ‌ۚ which would include Makkah, and the plains of Minnah and Arafat – the whole area being one in which it is prohibited to fight, carry arms, hunt, or to cut grass (except اذخر ). Examples of this usage are: لِمَن لَّمۡ يَكُنۡ أَهۡلُهُ ۥ حَاضِرِى ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِ‌ۚ  (This is for him whose family is not present in the Sacred Mosque) (2:196) and لَا تُقَـٰتِلُوهُمۡ عِندَ ٱلۡمَسۡجِدِ ٱلۡحَرَامِ حَتَّىٰ يُقَـٰتِلُوكُمۡ فِيهِ  (And fight not with them at the Sacred Mosque until they fight with you in it) (2:191).

The trusteeship of Kabah: Kabah had been declared as the qiblah, but despite being the center of monotheism it was full of idols. The Holy Prophet must have, therefore, contemplated as to how and when this center of monotheism would be purified of this filth. Hence Allah provided an assurance that he would be made the trustee of Kabah as he desired. The statement immediately after that, فَوَلِّ وَجۡهَكَ (turn then thy face) does not imply that this command is only now being given as that would make the passage meaningless for it would read: We will turn your face towards this qiblah, so you too turn your face. In reality, the real purpose of the statement is to dispel the misgiving about the presence of idols in Kabah and so the Holy Prophet is told not to worry as he would be made its trustee and this center of monotheism will stay in the hands of those believing in the unity of God. Hence the command is given to pray in the direction of Kabah without any misgivings. This also evidences that no non-Muslim can now be the trustee of the Kabah.

2-144b: The Holy Prophet’s genuineness had become apparent to the Followers of the Book: There were prophecies in the scriptures of the People of the Book whose fulfilment they awaited. There was a promise with Ishmael from among the children of Abraham. Ishmael was left in Arabia. There was no other structure called Bethel or Beit El except in Arabia, that is no other house besides the Kabah has been called as Beit Ullah or House of God. There was a distinct connection of this House with Abraham and there were many memorials evidencing his association with the place. So, when the promised Prophet of Abraham’s prayer came, it was necessary that his qiblah should be Kabah. Further, because the Jews were aware that the promised Prophet was to appear in Arabia, they had settled in large numbers in Arabia before the advent of the Holy Prophet. Even to this day, the name of Arabia is clearly mentioned in the Jewish prophecies. Accordingly, in Isaiah 21:13 after “The oracle concerning Arabia”, there is a clear prophecy regarding the Holy Prophet’s flight from Makkah to Madinah. There were so many clear prophecies about the genuineness of the Holy Prophet that their hearts could not deny his truthfulness.

2-145    And even if thou shouldst bring to those who have been given the Book every sign they would not follow thy qiblah, nor canst thou be a follower of their qiblah, neither are they the followers of each other’s qiblah. And if thou shouldst follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to thee, then thou wouldst indeed be of the wrongdoers.^a

وَلَٮِٕنۡ أَتَيۡتَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ بِكُلِّ ءَايَةٍ۬ مَّا تَبِعُواْ قِبۡلَتَكَ‌ۚ وَمَآ أَنتَ بِتَابِعٍ۬ قِبۡلَتَہُمۡ‌ۚ وَمَا بَعۡضُهُم بِتَابِعٍ۬ قِبۡلَةَ بَعۡضٍ۬‌ۚ وَلَٮِٕنِ ٱتَّبَعۡتَ أَهۡوَآءَهُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلۡعِلۡمِ‌ۙ إِنَّكَ إِذً۬ا لَّمِنَ ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ (١٤٥)

2-145a: Qiblah here stands for religion because this was a manifest and clear sign of the faith. And in the hadith لا تکفر اھل قبلتك there is an indication to the same effect. The statement, “neither are they the followers of each other’s qiblah,” is evidenced by the fact that among the followers of Moses, the qiblah of the Jews was different from the qiblah of the Samaritans. The qiblah of the Jews was Bait ul Muqaddas while the Christians declared their qiblah to be east. Despite many disputes among the Muslims, there has never been any dispute about the qiblah nor about the basic tenets of Islam.

2-146    Those whom We have given the Book recognize him as they recognize their sons. And a party of them surely conceal the truth while they know.^a

 ٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيۡنَـٰهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ يَعۡرِفُونَهُ ۥ كَمَا يَعۡرِفُونَ أَبۡنَآءَهُمۡ‌ۖ وَإِنَّ فَرِيقً۬ا مِّنۡهُمۡ لَيَكۡتُمُونَ ٱلۡحَقَّ وَهُمۡ يَعۡلَمُونَ (١٤٦)

 2-146a: The recognition of the Holy Prophet by the People of the Book: The truthfulness of the Holy Prophet had become evident to the People of the Book by virtue of the prophecies given in their Books, but they refused to accept him merely on account of envy that he was not an Israelite. In another place, the Quran states: فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُم مَّا عَرَفُواْ ڪَفَرُواْ بِهِ (…when there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it.) (2:89). All marks of identification had been clearly manifested leaving nothing to doubt. Accordingly, they recognized him as the Promised Prophet in the same way that a person recognizes his own son, or by أَبۡنَآءَهُمۡ is meant the prophets of Israel, and the meaning would be that the same signs are present here as the signs by which they recognized the Israelite prophets.

2-147    The truth is from thy Lord, so be thou not of the doubters.^a

ٱلۡحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّكَ‌ۖ فَلَا تَكُونَنَّ مِنَ ٱلۡمُمۡتَرِينَ (١٤٧)

2:147a: ٱلۡمُمۡتَرِينَ –  مِرۡیَة means to vacillate in an affair as in among others: فَلَا تَكُن فِى مِرۡيَةٍ۬ مِّن لِّقَآٮِٕهِ (…so doubt not the meeting with Him) (32:23). And the meaning of امتراء is المُحاجَّةُ فِیۡمَا فیه مِرۡیَةٌ, that is a dispute about something in which there is doubt.

              The addressee here are the opponents because it had just been stated that these People of the Book know that: أَنَّهُ ٱلۡحَقُّ مِن رَّبِّهِمۡ‌ۗ (certainly it is from their Lord). So now it is stated that this is the truth from their Lord and hence they should stop contending and accept the truth. Or the address is general, but even in that case the addressee are the opponents.

2-130    And who forsakes the religion of Abraham but he who makes a fool of himself. And certainly We made him pure in this world and in the Hereafter he is surely among the righteous.^a

وَمَن يَرۡغَبُ عَن مِّلَّةِ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ إِلَّا مَن سَفِهَ نَفۡسَهُ ۥ‌ۚ وَلَقَدِ ٱصۡطَفَيۡنَـٰهُ فِى ٱلدُّنۡيَا‌ۖ وَإِنَّهُ ۥ فِى ٱلۡأَخِرَةِ لَمِنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ (١٣٠)

2-130a: يَرۡغَبُ –  رغب connotes expansiveness, and  رغبة – رغبیٰ -رغب  means expansiveness of intention. If the relative pronoun of رغب is الیٰ  or فی then the meaning is wish or desire as in:  إِنَّآ إِلَىٰ رَبِّنَا رَٲغِبُونَ (surely to our Lord we make petition) (68:32) and if the relative pronoun is عن the meaning is a change of wish or desire as in this verse (R).

سَفِهَ نَفۡسَهُ – سفه is spoken of a person whose body weight is light and is also used for dim wittedness as a result of lack of intelligence and نَفۡسَهُ is the object of the verb. سَفِهَ نَفۡسَهُ was in reality سَفِهَ نَفۡسُه (R), or نَفۡسَهُ is used as the polite form.

ٱصۡطَفَيۡنا – The root of اصفیٰ is صفو means pure, and the meaning of اصطفاء is to take the part which is pure. Allah’s اصطفاء is of two types: One is to keep a person free from adulteration and impurities and secondly to choose someone and to make him saintly and respected. Our Prophet’s name is مصطفےٰ because he was born free of all impurities and adulterations.

The real characteristic of Abrahamic faith: Because the holiness of Abraham is well established in many faiths, the real feature of the Abrahamic faith is mentioned here and it is stated that if he is accepted as a shared personality, then the differences in the principles of faith can be easily settled. To reject this, is to tread against the basic principle of one’s own faith.

2-131    When his Lord said to him, Submit, he said: I submit myself to the Lord of the worlds.^a

إِذۡ قَالَ لَهُ ۥ رَبُّهُ ۥۤ أَسۡلِمۡ‌ۖ قَالَ أَسۡلَمۡتُ لِرَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (١٣١)

2-131a: A practical principle: The basic and most practical feature of the Abrahamic faith is mentioned first. Namely, it is to submit completely to the will of God, and not to care for any worldly wealth, respect, fame, ease, and even one’s life when it comes to obeying the commands of Allah. The mention of the nurturing of the Lord of the worlds along with submission is to show that it is God’s creation that benefits from submission. In other words, the idea that is expressed in one place as:أَسۡلَمَ وَجۡهَهُ ۥ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحۡسِنٌ۬  (…submits himself entirely to Allah and he is the doer of good) (2:112) is here expressed as: أَسۡلَمۡتُ لِرَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (I submit myself to the Lord of the worlds).

The elevated position of a Muslim: What is submission? It is declared here as the fundamental principle of Abrahamic faith. Perfect submission as meant by the word Islam demands that one must not bow before any other thing whether it is greed for worldly wealth and honor or whether it is the fear of any power below God. One who performs his duty even in the presence of all kinds of temptations and difficulties is a Muslim in the real sense of the word. This is the highest status to which one can rise.

2-132    And the same did Abraham enjoin on his sons, and (so did) Jacob: O my sons, surely Allah has chosen for you (this) religion, so die not unless you are submitting ones.^a

وَوَصَّىٰ بِہَآ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمُ بَنِيهِ وَيَعۡقُوبُ يَـٰبَنِىَّ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ ٱصۡطَفَىٰ لَكُمُ ٱلدِّينَ فَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسۡلِمُونَ (١٣٢)

2-132a: وَصَّىٰ  – The meaning of وَصَّیة  is to present something to another along with a homily requiring him to act upon it as instructed. (R). It does not require this to be done immediately on summoning the person or be done when a person is dying.

 يَعۡقُوب – Jacob is the name of Abraham’s grandson, the son of Isaac. His other name is Israel. According to the Bible, Isaac’s two sons, Esau and Jacob, were born as twins in such a manner that at birth, Jacob’s hand was holding the heel of Esau, the first born. It was for this reason that he was named Yaqub (Jacob in English). The blessings promised to Isaac were fulfilled exclusively in the progeny of Jacob and Bani Israel is the progeny of Jacob.

Abraham’s firm stand on monotheism: The objective of this verse is to show how highly devoted Abraham was to the oneness of God. The advice that he gave to his children as his final will and testament was to hold firmly to the oneness of God and this advice influenced his future generations. Jacob gave this same advice to his sons. This evidences that the testament of prophets is about matters of faith. These holy individuals come into the world to establish piety and this is their legacy and bequest. They do not leave an inheritance of goods and wealth. It is for this reason that Mukhbar Sadiq stated: ما ترکناہ صدقة  

2-133    Or were you witnesses when death visited Jacob, when he said to his sons: What will you serve after me? They said: We shall serve thy God and the God of thy fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac, one God only, and to Him do we submit.^a

 أَمۡ كُنتُمۡ شُہَدَآءَ إِذۡ حَضَرَ يَعۡقُوبَ ٱلۡمَوۡتُ إِذۡ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعۡبُدُونَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِى قَالُواْ نَعۡبُدُ إِلَـٰهَكَ وَإِلَـٰهَ ءَابَآٮِٕكَ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ وَإِسۡمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِسۡحَـٰقَ إِلَـٰهً۬ا وَٲحِدً۬ا وَنَحۡنُ لَهُ ۥ مُسۡلِمُونَ (١٣٣) 

2-133a: ابَآ – is the plural of اب and it means father. But, like اُمّ, the use of اَبۡ is widespread, being employed for everything that is the cause of bringing something into existence or is the means of reforming or manifesting a thing (R). A paternal uncle and father are referred together as اَبَوعن ; as too are father and grandfather, and also father and mother. Here Ishmael, who was the paternal uncle of Jacob, has been included in آباء .

إِسۡحَـٰقَ – Isaac is the name of the second son of Abraham born from his wife Sarah.

That the word  عبادت (service) is used in this verse, points to the truth that worship is through service and actions.

2-134    Those are a people that have passed away; for them is what they earned and for you what you earn; and you will not be asked of what they did.

تِلۡكَ أُمَّةٌ۬ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ‌ۖ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتۡ وَلَكُم مَّا كَسَبۡتُمۡ‌ۖ وَلَا تُسۡـَٔلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُواْ يَعۡمَلُونَ (١٣٤)

خَلَتۡ – When خلٰی is used in the context of time, it means مضیٰ و ذحب, that is, they have passed away (R). In other words, their connection with this world is terminated and they have passed on for their meeting with God.

All the prophets are one nation: In this verse, all prophets and holy persons are called one nation because they all followed the same path, even though there may be minor differences in the law they brought. But since the reference here is to the practical principles of Islam, and all prophets certainly adhered to the same fundamental principles, they are called here one nation. By stating that this is a nation that has passed away, the intention is to convey that their actions (that is, the actions of the previous prophets) cannot help them now, even though they are the progeny of those prophets.

2-135    And they say: Be Jews or Christians, you will be on the right course. Say: Nay, (we follow) the religion of Abraham, the upright one, and he was not one of the polytheists.^a

وَقَالُواْ ڪُونُواْ هُودًا أَوۡ نَصَـٰرَىٰ تَہۡتَدُواْ‌ۗ قُلۡ بَلۡ مِلَّةَ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ حَنِيفً۬ا‌ۖ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ (١٣٥)

2-135a:حَنِيفً۬  – is from the root حنف which means one who is inclining to a right state or tendency (R). The opposite of that is جنف which means going astray from righteousness. So حَنِيفً۬ signifies sticking to the right state.

The real beliefs of the Abrahamic faith: Having narrated the fundamental practical principle of the Abrahamic faith, the fundamental belief principle of the Abrahamic faith is narrated: complete abstinence from any association with Allah. But before doing that, it narrates what the opponents were alleging. The Jews state that salvation is achieved by adopting the Jewish beliefs while the Christians state that guidance results from adopting the Christian faith. In response, it is stated that both these faiths have inclined to associating partners with Allah. The fundamental foundation from the point of view of faith must be the acceptance of the unity of Allah free from the adulteration of any association.

2-136    Say: We believe in Allah and (in) that which has been revealed to us, and (in) that which was revealed to Abraham, and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes, and (in) that which was given to Moses and Jesus, and (in) that which was given to the prophets from their Lord, we do not make any distinction between any of them and to Him do we submit.^a

   قُولُوٓاْ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡنَا وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَىٰٓ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ وَإِسۡمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِسۡحَـٰقَ وَيَعۡقُوبَ وَٱلۡأَسۡبَاطِ وَمَآ أُوتِىَ مُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَمَآ أُوتِىَ ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ مِن رَّبِّهِمۡ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيۡنَ أَحَدٍ۬ مِّنۡهُمۡ وَنَحۡنُ لَهُ ۥ مُسۡلِمُونَ (١٣٦)

2-136a: أَسۡبَاطِ – is the plural of سِبۡط which means tribe, that is a group of people who are the descendants of a common ancestor. This word has particularly been used for the progeny of Israel because each one of the twelve sons of Israel became the progenitor of a tribe.

نُفَرِّقُ   – تفریق is an intensive form of فرق . The meaning of not making a distinction between the prophets is to say they must all be accepted. It does not mean that they are all of the same spiritual status because the Quranic statement فَضَّلۡنَا بَعۡضَهُمۡ عَلَىٰ بَعۡضٍ۬‌ۘ  (…some of these messengers to excel others) (2:253) contradicts such an assumption.

أَحَدٍ۬ – When the word أَحَدٍ۬ (‘one’) is negated, it carries the plural sense. Hence not making the distinction is applied to أَحَدٍ۬

Comprehensiveness of the religion of Islam: This verse not only mentions the fundamental religious article of belief in the unity of God but also mentions the comprehensiveness of the true and perfect religion by stating that this fundamental principle of belief in one God is not just specific to the Abrahamic nation.

All the prophets of the world subscribed to the same religion: The fundamental principle of all the prophets of the world was the same. Hence a Muslim believes in all the prophets because all of them subscribed to the same principle and were charged to accomplish the same purpose. In this verse, first the four great prophets are mentioned, that is Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob, followed by a mention of all the Israelite prophets in the word أَسۡبَاطِ . This is followed by Moses, the greatest prophet of the Jews, and then Jesus, the prophet of the Christians. Finally, by stating مَآ أُوتِىَ ٱلنَّبِيُّونَ  (…that which was given to the prophets), it is made clear that there were other prophets in the world besides those from the Abrahamic and Mosaic systems. Their message was the same and we consider those prophets to be true as well.

Commentary on مَآ أُنزِلَ مِنۡ قَبۡلِك : This term which was used at the start of the Quran is elaborated here to mean revelation granted to previous prophets regardless of the nation that they belonged to.

2-137    So if they believe as you believe, they are indeed on the right course; and if they turn back, then they are only in opposition. But Allah will suffice thee against them; and He is the Hearing, the Knowing.^a

   فَإِنۡ ءَامَنُواْ بِمِثۡلِ مَآ ءَامَنتُم بِهِۦ فَقَدِ ٱهۡتَدَواْ‌ۖ وَّإِن تَوَلَّوۡاْ فَإِنَّمَا هُمۡ فِى شِقَاقٍ۬‌ۖ فَسَيَكۡفِيڪَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ‌ۚ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡعَلِيمُ (١٣٧)

2-137a: شِقَاقٍ۬ – is form شق which means a split or cleavage as in: ثُمَّ شَقَقۡنَا ٱلۡأَرۡضَ شَقًّ۬ا  (Then cleave the earth, cleaving (it) asunder) (80:26). And شِقَّة is said of a part that has separated.  شِقَاقٍ is derived from it and means opposition. In other words, the شق (cleavage) in شِقَاقٍ۬ has taken the form of opposition. And شِق  in the sense of toil or distress is also used in the Quran as in: إِلَّا بِشِقِّ ٱلۡأَنفُسِ  (but with distress to yourself) (16:7).

سَيَكۡفِيڪَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ – The meaning of کفایة is to remedy a difficulty and to gain ones wish or objective. And the meaning of this phrase is کفاك اللّٰه شرھم , that is Allah will save you from their mischief and escort you to your goal and their opposition will not harm you any.

Islam does not call any holy person a fabricator: What is narrated here is that those who do not believe in such a clear and comprehensive faith can only be the ones who are enemies of the truth. To accept such a religion that considers all the prophets of the world righteous is in accordance with rationality and justice. Islam does not call any holy person a liar and fabricator. If they do not accept this righteous principle, then one should understand that they are simply stuck on opposing the truth. Their opposition should just be ignored, and God will protect the Holy Prophet and his followers from their mischief.

2-138    (We take) Allah’s color, and who is better than Allah at coloring, and we are His worshippers.^a

صِبۡغَةَ ٱللَّهِ‌ۖ وَمَنۡ أَحۡسَنُ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ صِبۡغَةً۬‌ۖ وَنَحۡنُ لَهُ ۥ عَـٰبِدُونَ (١٣٨)

2-138a: صِبۡغَةَ – Literally صِبۡغَةَ means color, but here, religion is implied because just as cloth is affected by color, religion brings about a change in the mentality of a person and gives its own color to a person’s views. Some take it to mean nature or temperament. Al-Mufradat states that the term صِبۡغَةَ ٱللَّهِ indicates a thing that Allah created in humans specifically, that is intelligence, which distinguishes humans from animals. In Taj-ul-Arus, however, the meaning of صِبۡغَةَ is religion and every path that takes one close to Allah. It is stated in the Quran: وَصِبۡغٍ۬ لِّلۡأَڪِلِينَ (…and relish for the eaters) (23:20) where the meaning is relish or gravy. The rite of baptism where a baby is dipped in water is called صِبۡغَةَ or اصطباغ (R).

Comparison of the religion of Islam with Christian baptism: By likening the religion of Islam to صِبۡغَةَ or coloring, the verse encourages a comparison between Islamic coloration and the Christian اصطباغ or baptism. In the religion of Islam there is divine baptism that colors a person with the ideal that all prophets are righteous; in Christianity there is human baptism by water with the fundamental principle that there is none righteous in the world except the Messiah. A religion that declares everyone to be fabricators cannot succeed. صِبۡغَةَ ٱللَّهِ is in the accusative case (with the vowel fathah at the end and not the vowel dammah). There are three possible reasons for this. (1) it may be the object of امَنَّا (We believe) in امَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ which is at the beginning of verse 136, (2) To urge the necessity of acquiring the coloring of Allah, (3) Some say it is a substitute for ملة ابراھیم  occurring at the end of verse 135, so that the meaning is that صِبۡغَةَ ٱللَّهِ is what ملة ابراھیم  was.  

2-139    Say: Do you dispute with us about Allah, and He is our Lord and your Lord, and for us are our deeds and for you your deeds; and we are sincere to Him?^a

  قُلۡ أَتُحَآجُّونَنَا فِى ٱللَّهِ وَهُوَ رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّڪُمۡ وَلَنَآ أَعۡمَـٰلُنَا وَلَكُمۡ أَعۡمَـٰلُكُمۡ وَنَحۡنُ لَهُ ۥ مُخۡلِصُونَ (١٣٩) 

2-139a: The difference between خالص and صافی : ۥ مُخۡلِصُونَ- خالص and صافی are similar and mean free of any adulteration. But صافی is unadulterated from inception and خالص is that which gets purified later (R). The اخلاص or purity of the Muslims is that they are not blameworthy like the Jews for claiming a filial relationship with God and the Christians for innovating the Trinity (R). In another place it is said: مُخۡلِصِينَ لَهُ ٱلدِّينَ  (…sincere to Him in obedience) (98:5), that is those whose obedience is unadulterated. This is the meaning here, those who in their belief and obedience are sincere to Allah and keep their belief free from all kinds of adulteration and dross.

The extensiveness of God’s nurturing: All the nations of the world with one exception limit the nurturing of Allah to their own people. Only Islam puts forward the concept of God who is ربنا  and ربکم . These attributes mean that He nurtures all, Muslims, and also the Christians and Jews, who are opposing Islam. Here they are addressed, and reminded that He is their Lord and nurturer as well. This is, in other words, the definition of رَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (The Lord of the Worlds).

Muslims taught to sympathize with their enemies: Simultaneously, the Muslims were given the lesson that their God is also the Lord of those who oppose their religion. It therefore becomes incumbent on a Muslim, to create the open heartedness which has real sympathy and well wishes even for enemies because a Muslim who worships Allah and thereby tries to inculcate His attributes in him is تخلق با خلاق اللّٰه (to have nature like the nature of Allah). This is a very difficult stage to reach. But the Book that teaches the lesson of ربنا و ربکم  (our Lord and your Lord) envisions its followers to reach this stage. This is the example seen in the lives of the Holy Prophet and his companions. They manifested love and kindness to enemies by forgiving them for their past cruelties. In the term لَنَآ أَعۡمَـٰلُنَا وَلَكُمۡ أَعۡمَـٰلُكُمۡ (for us are our deeds and for you your deeds;), Allah teaches that real success depends on actions. Good deeds are urged but a reminder is given that the unadulterated ways of doing good are to be found only in Islam. A nation whose deeds are only for Allah is definitely successful in the end because obedience and actions are born out of belief. This is the reason for mentioning it here.

2-140    Or do you say that Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes were Jews or Christians?^a Say: Do you know better or Allah? And who is more unjust than he who conceals a testimony that he has from Allah? And Allah is not heedless of what you do.

أَمۡ تَقُولُونَ إِنَّ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ وَإِسۡمَـٰعِيلَ وَإِسۡحَـٰقَ وَيَعۡقُوبَ وَٱلۡأَسۡبَاطَ كَانُواْ هُودًا أَوۡ نَصَـٰرَىٰ‌ۗ قُلۡ ءَأَنتُمۡ أَعۡلَمُ أَمِ ٱللَّهُ‌ۗ وَمَنۡ أَظۡلَمُ مِمَّن كَتَمَ شَهَـٰدَةً عِندَهُ ۥ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ‌ۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعۡمَلُونَ (١٤٠) 

2:140a: Christian doctrine of atonement and previous prophets: The Quran here alleges that the Jews and Christians hold that previous prophets were Jews or Christians, that is, they followed the beliefs that they preach. This charge is based on facts. Even today, the Christians hold that the previous prophets believed in the Christian belief of atonement because without it salvation is not possible. There can be no greater injustice than to distort the fundamental teachings of belief in one God and righteousness of all previous prophets in the light of clear testimony to the contrary. The same applies to the Jews. They claim that only adoption of the Jewish law can save man. By virtue of being the children of prophets, they considered themselves exempt from the importance of action.

2-141    Those are a people that have passed away; and for them is what they earned and for you what you earn; and you will not be asked of what they did.^a

تِلۡكَ أُمَّةٌ۬ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ‌ۖ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتۡ وَلَكُم مَّا كَسَبۡتُمۡ‌ۖ وَلَا تُسۡـَٔلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُواْ يَعۡمَلُونَ (١٤١)

 2-141a: Because pure actions are the result of right beliefs, it is reiterated that the actions of past generations cannot benefit them.

2-122    O Children of Israel, call to mind My favor which I bestowed on you and that I made you excel the nations.^a

يَـٰبَنِىٓ إِسۡرَٲٓءِيلَ ٱذۡكُرُواْ نِعۡمَتِىَ ٱلَّتِىٓ أَنۡعَمۡتُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ وَأَنِّى فَضَّلۡتُكُمۡ عَلَى ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (١٢٢)

2-122a: Bani Israel addressed three times: This is the third time that Bani Israel is addressed. First they were reminded of their present situation and told that by accepting the Holy Prophet, they will gain respectability in the world. The second time, they were reminded of the time of Moses and the period after that, and the prophecies made by Moses and the prophets of Bani Israel. The third time, they are reminded of the time before Moses and the promise made to Abraham, and this is the verse’s connection with the previous subject. Addressing them thrice and reminding them of the initial promises completes the arguments regarding Bani Israel.

2-123    And be on your guard against a day when no soul will avail another in the least, neither will any compensation be accepted from it, nor will intercession profit it, nor will they be helped.

 وَٱتَّقُواْ يَوۡمً۬ا لَّا تَجۡزِى نَفۡسٌ عَن نَّفۡسٍ۬ شَيۡـًٔ۬ا وَلَا يُقۡبَلُ مِنۡہَا عَدۡلٌ۬ وَلَا تَنفَعُهَا شَفَـٰعَةٌ۬ وَلَا هُمۡ يُنصَرُونَ (١٢٣)

2-124    And when his Lord tried Abraham with certain commands he fulfilled them. He said: Surely I will make thee a leader of men.^a (Abraham) said: And of my offspring? My covenant does not include the wrongdoers, said He.^b

وَإِذِ ٱبۡتَلَىٰٓ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ رَبُّهُ ۥ بِكَلِمَـٰتٍ۬ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ‌ۖ قَالَ إِنِّى جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامً۬ا‌ۖ قَالَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِى‌ۖ قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهۡدِى ٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ (١٢٤)

2:124a: ٱبۡتَلَىٰٓ  – is a derivation of بلیٰ for which see 2:49a. Imam Raghib explains there are two connotations of اَبۡلیٰ and اِبۡتَلَىٰٓ. First is to know the condition and state of a person and the second is to manifest the goodness and defects of a person. Sometimes the objective is to manifest both these connotations and sometimes just one. But when Allah is the subject, it is only the second connotation that is meant, viz the manifestation of goodness and defects because God is aware of the state of a person (R). The real purpose of اِبۡتَلَىٰٓ (or test) is to manifest the virtues or defects of a person; the state of a person must be known to be able to say anything about the goodness and sinfulness of a person. The meaning of اِبۡتَلَىٰٓ according to the rule established in 2:15a is also the same; the real purpose is to show the excellence of Prophet Abraham.       ,

إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ is an Aramaic name. He is the patriarch of two great nations, the Bani Israel and Bani Ishmael. His period is probably around 2300 B.C. and he is considered as a great prophet by the Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Even the unbelievers of Arabia held him in similar high esteem. Because it is proven that the Bible has been tampered with, some speculate that Abraham is not a historical personality.

Connection with Arabia: However, the traditions of Arabs, Abraham’s connection with Arabia and his signs in the Grand Mosque Kabbah, are sufficient to dispel any such speculation.

كَلِمَـٰتٍ۬ – The meaning of كَلِمَـٰتٍ۬  is explained in 2:37a. By كَلِمَـٰتٍ۬ اللّٰه is meant the orders of Allah (R). There is a tradition from Ibn Abbas that these are thirty orders describing the attributes of believers. Ten of these orders are found in Surah Al-Baraat, ten in Surah Al-Ahzab and ten in Surah Al-Maarij (RM).

اتم (to complete, conclude, finish) – The تمام of a thing is when its perfection reaches a stage of independence from anything outside it. In another place, it is stated وَإِبۡرَٲهِيمَ ٱلَّذِى وَفَّىٰٓ (And (of) Abraham who fulfilled (commandments)) (53:37). Here, a little further on, it is stated: إِذۡ قَالَ لَهُ ۥ رَبُّهُ ۥۤ أَسۡلِمۡ‌ۖ قَالَ أَسۡلَمۡتُ لِرَبِّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ  (When his Lord said to him, Submit, he said, I submit to the Lord of the worlds) (2:131).

إِمَامً – is from اَمَّ whose meaning is he resolved or intended. And إِمَامً is one who is followed whether it is a person whose word or action is followed, or a book or something else, and whether it is right or wrong (R). This word has also been used for evil leaders in the Quran as in: وَجَعَلۡنَـٰهُمۡ أَٮِٕمَّةً۬ يَدۡعُونَ إِلَى ٱلنَّارِ (And We made them leaders who call to the Fire) (28:41) and يَوۡمَ نَدۡعُواْ ڪُلَّ أُنَاسِۭ بِإِمَـٰمِهِمۡ‌ۖ  (On the day when We shall call every people with their leader) (17:71). The meaning of إِمَامً is, in this verse, also taken to mean a book.

The perfection of Abraham’s soul by the orders of Allah: Before the mention of the covenant with Abraham, the greatness of Abraham is mentioned, who is considered perfectly righteous by three nations – Jews, Christians, and the polytheists of Arabia. The first set of commandments given to him were for his own self. When he fulfilled these, he was made Imam, that is a leader for others. This shows that a prophet is perfectly obedient to the commandments of Allah and it is for this reason that he is made a leader for other people. The Muslims were made شُہَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ (witness to the people) (2:143), that is a leader of other nations but when they became oblivious of their soul, they seized to be deserving of becoming a leader for others.

2-124b ذُرِّيَّتِى – ذُرِّيَّة actually means young progeny but is also spoken for both young and adult offspring. It is derived from ذرأ which means to create and, in the derivation, hamza has been abandoned or it has been derived from ذرّ which means to scatter (R).

Abrahamic covenant: Because the real purpose here is to recall the Abrahamic covenant, the covenant regarding the children of Abraham is indicated in this verse. The scripture of Abraham has been lost but the Book of Genesis in the scripture of Moses still has some narrations about Abraham and the covenant regarding his children. The narrative in the Bible is spread over several chapters but is expressed here in a few meaningful words, each one of which incorporates all the wisdom that is contained in the Book of Genesis.

Quran has not been taken from the Bible because it corrects the Bible: These few words in the Quran stand in the place of several chapters in the Bible. The Quran states: “My covenant does not include the wrongdoers”, that is, Abraham’s children too will be made leaders in the world, given honor, and be blessed, but if they incline to wrongdoings then they will cease to be the recipient of this promise. This is a wise and true statement, but it is missing in the Bible. The Biblical statement is quite general: “…thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Genesis 22:17 and 18). It therefore becomes obvious that the statements of Quran have not been taken from the Bible because the Quranic statements correct the words of Bible. This verse is also a warning for the Muslims that if they indulge in wrongdoing, then they too will be deprived of the promised blessings of Allah.

Both Ishmael and Isaac are included in the Abrahamic covenant: The use of the word مِن ذُرِّيَّتِى  (my offspring), shows clearly that both Ishmael and Isaac are included in the promise. The Bible also proves this though the Jews and Christians deny it. Accordingly, even before the birth of Ishmael and Isaac, it was stated to Abraham: “And I will make thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing. And I will bless them that bless thee,…” (Genesis 12:2 and 3). Here the words “I will bless them” are worthy of some reflection because it is the Muslims who bless Abraham five times in their prayer with the salutation: کما بارکت علےٰ ابراهِییم و علیٰ اٰل ابراهِییم . Then there is the promise made with Hagar: “I will multiply thy seed exceedingly, that it shall not be numbered for multitude” (Genesis 16:10). Then specifically about Ishmael it is stated: “And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation.” (Genesis 17:20). The same covenant made with Abraham to bless him is repeated specifically for Ishmael. Thus, Bible gives the lie to Christians and Jews who do not include Ishmael in the Abrahamic covenant.

Historical evidence on the inclusion of Ishmael in the Abrahamic covenant: From a historical viewpoint, just as the Abrahamic covenant is seen to be true for Bani Israel it is also seen to be true for Bani Ishmael. The first condition of this covenant is: “This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.” (Genesis 17:19). The second condition of the covenant is: “And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession;” (Genesis 17:8). Just as the Bani Israel circumcise their male children and thus keep up this sign of the Abrahamic covenant, the Bani Ishmael, that is the Arabs, also circumcise their male children to uphold the sign of the Abrahamic covenant. This sign is not found in any other nation of the world. Even more significant is that with the advent of Prophet Muhammad, who was the fulfillment of the real promise of the Abrahamic covenant, a nation was born who by virtue of being his spiritual children will keep this part of the covenant till doomsday. The second part of the Abrahamic covenant is that the land of Canaan would be given to his progeny for all times to come. However, this land has changed hands between, first the Jews, then the Muslims, then the Christians which shows that at different periods, one or other of these nations was the real upholder of the Abrahamic covenant. The Christians tried to wrest control of Jerusalem from the Muslims during the Crusades, but they were finally unsuccessful and in this way the Muslims once again gained control of Jerusalem after about a century. Apparently, this land has once again slipped out of the control of Muslims, but it is possible that Allah may bring about the circumstances that this land reverts to the Muslims or that the Muslims may get control of it.

Jerusalem lost twice by each of the two rightful heirs: In the history of Israel, the Jews lost possession of Jerusalem twice. They lost possession of Jerusalem to the Babylonians first but were resettled there when Cyrus defeated the Babylonians. After the advent of Jesus, Jerusalem was destroyed a second time by Romans who later converted to Christianity. Similarly, the Muslims conquered Jerusalem the first time by force and took possession of it from the Christians. It may be ordained, that for the second time the Muslims may gain possession of Jerusalem by conversion of the occupying nation to Islam.

2-125    And when We made the House a resort for men and a (place of) security.^a And: Take ye the Place of Abraham for a place of prayer.^b And We enjoined Abraham and Ishmael, saying: Purify My House for those who visit (it) and those who abide (in it) for devotion and those who bow down (and) those who prostrate themselves.^c

وَإِذۡ جَعَلۡنَا ٱلۡبَيۡتَ مَثَابَةً۬ لِّلنَّاسِ وَأَمۡنً۬ا وَٱتَّخِذُواْ مِن مَّقَامِ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ مُصَلًّ۬ى‌ۖ وَعَهِدۡنَآ إِلَىٰٓ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ وَإِسۡمَـٰعِيلَ أَن طَهِّرَا بَيۡتِىَ لِلطَّآٮِٕفِينَ وَٱلۡعَـٰكِفِينَ وَٱلرُّڪَّعِ ٱلسُّجُودِ (١٢٥)

2-125a: ٱلۡبَيۡتَ – بیت is that place which gives shelter to a person at night because the meaning of بات is to spend or pass the night and the meaning of بَیت is consulted or worked at night, as in: بَيَّتَ طَآٮِٕفَةٌ۬ مِّنۡہُمۡ (a party of them plan by night) (4:81). When ٱلۡبَيۡتَ occurs by itself, the meaning is  ٱلۡبَيۡتَ اللّٰه (the house of Allah), that is Khanna Kabah.

The first house of worship in the world: The Quran calls it: أَوَّلَ بَيۡتٍ۬ وُضِعَ لِلنَّاسِ (…the first house appointed for men…) (3:96), that is the first house of worship. In another place, it has been called: الۡبَيۡتِ ٱلۡعَتِيقِ  (the Ancient House) (22:29). Besides these two names, the fact that it came to be known widely as ٱلۡبَيۡتَ gives a clear indication that this house was to achieve such a unique distinction in this world as has never been accorded to any other house.

مَثَابَةً۬  – It is derived from ثوب which means to revert to its former state (R). Its root is the same as the root of ثواب and مثوبة etcetera, and مَثَابَةً۬  is that place which people revert to again and again. According to some, its meaning is the place where people get together after splitting (T). Both the meanings are equally applicable to Khanna Kabah because people will be reverting to it for Haj till the end of times and because after dissensions split the religions of the world, this was the site where they were brought together, and it became the means of uniting mankind.

اْ مِن – It is an action noun. It is used as a superlative, and the meaning is a place of peace.

Muir’s testimony on the antiquity of Kabah: ٱلۡبَيۡتَ or بَيۡتَ اللّٰه  or Khanna Kabah is that holy house whose reputation and respect in Arabia dates back from such ancient times that it is difficult to determine when it began. Sir William Muir, an opponent of Islam, accepts the ancient origin and writes: “A very high antiquity must be assigned to the main features of the religion of Mecca…Diodorus Siculus, writing about half a century before our era, says of Diodorus Siculus, writing about half a century before our era, says of Arabia washed by the Red Sea, ‘there is, in this country, a temple greatly revered by the Arabs.’ These words must refer to the Holy House of Mecca, for we know of no other which ever commanded such universal homage…Tradition represents the Kabah as from time immemorial the scene of pilgrimage from all quarters of Arabia:- from Yemen and Hadhramaut, from shores of the Persian Gulf, the deserts of Syria, and the distant environs of Hira and Mesopotamia, men yearly flocked to Mecca. So extensive a homage must have had its beginnings in an extremely remote age”.

Beit-al in the Bible and what it means: There is also a reference in the Bible to a Beit-al which has a connection with Abraham, but the Bible description of its locale is not reliable as it is colored with later ideas. There is today only one location, and it has always been just one location, which has been called Beit-al or بَيۡتَ اللّٰه and that is Khanna Kabah.

Two prophecies about the Kabah: There are two prophecies about the Kabah here as well. First, that people will keep on gathering here till the end of time. It will never be abandoned, nor destroyed, nor will any earthly power be able to prevent people from gathering here, and people will gather here after splitting. The second is that it will forever be an abode of peace. Accordingly, its name is حرم (sanctuary). In another place, it is stated: أَوَلَمۡ يَرَوۡاْ أَنَّا جَعَلۡنَا حَرَمًا ءَامِنً۬ا وَيُتَخَطَّفُ ٱلنَّاسُ مِنۡ حَوۡلِهِمۡ‌  ( See they not that We have made a sacred territory secure, while men are carried off by force from around them?) (29:67), that is, although wars may wage day and night all around it and there may be no peace for the people in general, but there will be complete peace in the Kabah and no one will dare disturb its peace. The warring nature of the Arabs resulted in a constant state of conflict, but Allah ingrained such deep respect in them for this holy house that their blood thirsty nature never manifested within its precincts. This is an act of God, otherwise it is impossible for such a large country to unite behind this principle and to stop hostilities even in the heat of a conflict when even civilized nations do not cease hostilities when they are climaxing to a victory.

Khanna Kabah will never be possessed by its enemies: In calling it a place of peace, there is also a prophecy that its enemies will never be able to gain its possession and it will continue to be in the custody of those who honor and respect it. This is how it has been from the beginning. Even though it was at one stage in the control of polytheists, but they too respected it with all their heart. When a Christian monarch invaded Arabia with the intention of destroying the Kabah, he along with his army were destroyed. There are hadith that narrate that antichrist and plague will never enter it.

2-125b:  مَّقَامِ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ : There is a well known place within the precincts of the Kabah where a monument stands that is called Maqam Ibrahim. This monument is eight feet tall and has six pillars. Two rakahs of prayer are offered here after circumambulating the Kabah. There is a difference of opinion regarding what is meant by مَّقَامِ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ here. According to some, it means the rites of Haj, some take it to mean Arafat, Muzdalifah etcetera, some take it to mean the whole Haram (sanctuary), and some take it to mean the Khanna Kabah itself, and the last is the correct view.

 مُصَلًّ۬ى – It is the name for the place where prayer is offered but metaphorically it is the Kiblah that is meant here (RM).

The command to make Kabah the Qiblah (direction of prayer): The Muslims have been commanded here to pray in the direction of the Kabah. Some have said that what is meant is to say two rakah of prayers at the Maqam Ibrahim, some have taken it to mean remembering Allah, that is doing zikar, at Muzdalifah, Arafat etcetra. But according to a hadith in Bukhari, this verse was revealed when Hazrat Umar submitted to the Holy Prophet: لو ٱتَّخِذُت مِن مَّقَامِ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمَ مُصَلًّ۬ى‌  (If you only make Maqam Ibrahim as the place of prayer). This surah was revealed in Madinah and so it is obvious that Hazrat Umar did not mean that the Holy Prophet should proceed to Makkah to say two rakahs of prayer or to do zikr in Muzdalifah or Arafat because the Muslims were not allowed by the unbelievers in Makkah to perform Hajj at that time. Hazrat Umar’s request could therefore only mean that Khanna Kabah should be made the Qibla. The Holy Prophet at the time was offering prayers facing Jerusalem. This explanation fits the context as well because when it was stated that the Khanna Kabah will be the meeting place where those split would gather and it would be an abode of peace, it seems appropriate to mention that it should be the direction of prayer, that is the Qiblah. The criticisms that were levelled against this are answered beginning with: سَيَقُولُ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ .

2-125c: عَهِدۡنَآ إِلَىٰٓ – عَھِد فلانٌ الٰی فلانٍ means that an agreement was presented and its safeguard was stressed (R). If there is  صله الٰی with the عہد then its meaning is to give a command.

 إِسۡمَـٰعِيلَ – This is the name of the eldest son of Abraham who was born from his wife Hagar. Although the Bible refers to her as a handmaid, she was from the royal family of Egypt. She has probably been referred to as a handmaid out of some sense of racial superiority. The name إِسۡمَـٰعِيلَ was given to him because it was foretold by an angel to his mother as has been mentioned in the Bible. The name is a combination of سمع and ایل which means Allah, the Most High, has heard.

Ishmael and Hagar were left in Makkah at the command of God: Abraham was commanded by Allah to leave Ishmael and his mother at another locale. According to the Bible, Abraham did this at the behest of his wife Sarah but an authentic hadith contradicts this as it states that when Hagar asked Abraham if Allah had commanded him, he said yes. Clear testimony of the Quran supports the version of hadith in the following words: رَّبَّنَآ إِنِّىٓ أَسۡكَنتُ مِن ذُرِّيَّتِى بِوَادٍ غَيۡرِ ذِى زَرۡعٍ عِندَ بَيۡتِكَ ٱلۡمُحَرَّمِ  (Our Lord, I have settled a part of my offspring in a valley unproductive of fruit near Thy Sacred House) 14:37. Bible states that they were left in Paran. Christians consider this to be a jungle of Syria but events prove this supposition to be incorrect. Not only does the Quran contradict this but it is an established fact that the Arabs are the progeny of Ishmael which no Christian can deny. Accordingly, Kedar, the name of an elders on of Ishmael, (Genesis 25:13) is used as a synonym for the Arab nation in the Bible. (See Psalms 10:5, Isaiah 42:11, and 60:7 etcetera).

Arabs as the progeny of Ishmael: The traditions of Arabs provide conclusive testimony that Ishmael came to Arabia. There is a memorial of Ishmael in the Khana Kabah and the mounds of Safa and Marwah are a memorial to Hagar. Not only do the Arabs claim to be the progeny of Ishmael but their recorded genealogies trace their ancestry all the way back to Ishmael.

طَهِّرَا – The meaning of تطھیر includes both purifying externally and internally. The meaning of طَهِّرَا here is cleansing the filth of worshipping idols and associating others with Allah.

طَّآٮِٕفِينَ – طائف is from طوف  which means to walk around a thing. So طَّآٮِٕفِينَ are those who come with the objective of circumambulating the Kabah.

عَـٰكِفِينَ –  عاکف is from عکوف which means to turn ones attention to something and to a develop a relationship with it by virtue of respect for it (R). The word اعتکاف is also its derivation, which is the name of the practice of staying in the mosque during the last ten days of Ramzan. Some people have interpreted عَـٰكِفِينَ as meaning the residents of Makkah but the implication is only those who sit down to worship. While in the state of circumambulating, a pilgrims is طائف , while worshiping he is عاکف, while bowing he is راکع (plural رکع ), in the state of prostration, he is ساجید (plural سجود).

Purifying Kabah: Abraham and Ishmael have been commanded here to purify the Kabah which indicates that the Kabah was already there but idols had been placed in it as was done in the era prior to the Holy Prophet. And the meaning of تطھیر is in fact, to purify from idols and to eliminate idol worship and polytheism. However, its complete purification was destined to be performed at the hands of the Holy Prophet. Abraham and Ishmael also rebuilt the Kabah as is mentioned further on.

2-126    And when Abraham said: My Lord, make this a secure town and provide its people with fruits, such of them as believe in Allah and the Last Day.^a He said: And whoever disbelieves, I shall grant him enjoyment for a short while, then I shall drive him to the chastisement of the Fire. And it is an evil destination.^b

 وَإِذۡ قَالَ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمُ رَبِّ ٱجۡعَلۡ هَـٰذَا بَلَدًا ءَامِنً۬ا وَٱرۡزُقۡ أَهۡلَهُ ۥ مِنَ ٱلثَّمَرَٲتِ مَنۡ ءَامَنَ مِنۡہُم بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأَخِرِ‌ۖ قَالَ وَمَن كَفَرَ فَأُمَتِّعُهُ ۥ قَلِيلاً۬ ثُمَّ أَضۡطَرُّهُ ۥۤ إِلَىٰ عَذَابِ ٱلنَّارِ‌ۖ وَبِئۡسَ ٱلۡمَصِيرُ (١٢٦)

2-126a: بَلَدًا – بَلَد is a space with a defined boundary the dwellers of which gather and live in good fellowship (R). Just as the wordٱلۡبَيۡتَ  when used independently means Khanna Kabah, the word  ٱلۡبَلَدِ when used independently means Makkah, as in لَآ أُقۡسِمُ بِہَـٰذَا ٱلۡبَلَدِ  (Nay, I call to witness this city) (90:1).

Abraham’s prayer for Makkah: Abraham’s prayer is for three things. The first is to make this place into ٱلۡبَلَد, that is a city, because although Khanna Kabah was there but there were no dwellings. The second was to make the city peaceful and the third was to make fruits available for dwellers in this baren land. This prayer made in a land without water or a blade of grass testifies to the great faith that Abraham had in divine power. Today all kinds of fruits are available in Makkah. But the prayer was confined to believers, that is Abraham wanted only believers to dwell in Makkah.

2-126b: امتع – متاع is achieving a profit that extends for a period (R). Hence the meaning of اُمَتِّعُهُ is, will allow them to operate profitably for a period. That is, unbelief will not stay forever.

أَضۡطَرّ – أَضۡطَرّار is to get a person into a thing that is damaging for him. أَضۡطَرّار can be from external causes such as to be defeated and rendered powerless or from internal causes such as hunger etcetera (R). For further clarification see 2-173b.

 مَصِيرُ – The meaning of صِیر is شق , that is to cleave or rend asunder and صار means to move from one state to another. And مَصِيرُ is that final stage when a person who is moving from one stage to another finally reaches that final stage (R).

Prophecy about the elimination of unbelief from Arabia: God’s blessings in the form of worldly provisions are equally for believers and non-believers, hence the verse states that worldly provisions would be given both to believers and non-believers. However, for the unbelievers, these provisions are only for a few days, that is only in this life but they will be deprived of the fruits of the next world which are the result of actions. Or by few days is meant that unbelief will ultimately be erased from the land as actually happened with the advent of the Holy Prophet.

2-127    And when Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House: Our Lord, accept from us; surely Thou art the Hearing, the Knowing.^a

وَإِذۡ يَرۡفَعُ إِبۡرَٲهِـۧمُ ٱلۡقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ ٱلۡبَيۡتِ وَإِسۡمَـٰعِيلُ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلۡ مِنَّآ‌ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡعَلِيمُ (١٢٧) 

2-127a: قَوَاعِدَ – It is the plural of قَاعِدَہ whose meaning is foundation and it is derived from قعد which means to sit (R).

 تَقَبَّلۡ – It is derived from قبل which means the first, and the meaning of قَبِلَ is he accepted as in لَا يُقۡبَلُ مِنۡہَا شَفَـٰعَةٌ۬ (…neither will intercession be accepted from them…) (2:48) and لَا يُقۡبَلُ مِنۡہَا عَدۡلٌ۬  (…neither will any compensation be accepted from it…) (2:123). And the meaning of تَقَبُّلۡ is to accept something with the inclination of reward, as for example to accept a sacrifice, as in: أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ ٱلَّذِينَ نَتَقَبَّلُ عَنۡہُمۡ أَحۡسَنَ مَا عَمِلُو (These are t   hey from whom We accept the best of what they do…) (46:16), فَتَقَبَّلَهَا رَبُّهَا بِقَبُولٍ حَسَنٍ۬ (So her Lord accepted her with a goodly acceptance …) (3:37) and إِنَّمَا يَتَقَبَّلُ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلۡمُتَّقِينَ  (Allah accepts only from the dutiful) (5:27).

ٱلسَّمِيعُ –  سمع is the power of hearing and also the act of hearing (R). And سمیع as an attribute of Allah has the meaning of سامع that is one who hears. However, His hearing, unlike the hearing of humans, is not dependent on having ears or instruments of hearing (T). This property of non-dependence pervades all His attributes.

The building of Khanna Kabah by Abraham: This verse provides the information that Abraham and Ishmael built the Khanna Kabah. However, this does not contradict the fact that Khanna Kabbah was present before them because Quran, Hadith and history itself provides testimony that this was the first house made for the worship of Allah (See 125a).

Khanna Kabah was built and rebuilt five times: Because the first guide and teacher of righteousness was Adam, Khanna Kabah was first built by him. The second time it was built by Abraham and Ishmael. The third time it was rebuilt by the Quraish shortly before the prophethood of Holy Prophet. The Black Stone was put in place by him. After this, it was built two more times. Once it was made by Abdullah bin Zubair and once by Hajaj. So in all it was built five times, twice before the Holy Prophet and twice after him, and once during his lifetime. No other building got builders like the one Khanna Kaba got.

The laborers of Khanna Kabah: The temple in Jerusalem was made by Solomon. The people who worked as laborers to build the Khanna Kabah include Abraham, Ishmael and the Holy Prophet who are the pride of humanity. Neither the temple at Jerusalem nor any other building has ever had laborers like these.

2-128    Our Lord, and make us both submissive to Thee, and (raise) from our offspring, a nation submissive to Thee, and show us our ways of devotion and turn to us (mercifully); surely Thou art the Oft-returning (to mercy), the Merciful.^a

رَبَّنَا وَٱجۡعَلۡنَا مُسۡلِمَيۡنِ لَكَ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّتِنَآ أُمَّةً۬ مُّسۡلِمَةً۬ لَّكَ وَأَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبۡ عَلَيۡنَآ‌ۖ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ (١٢٨)

2-128a: مُسۡلِمَيۡنِ – It is the dual form of مسلم . For the meaning of اسلام see 112a. Muslim is called a Muslim because he dedicates himself to seeking the pleasure of Allah, or because he gets protection from being a slave of Satan or because he becomes fully subservient to the truth (R).

 أُمَّةً۬ – The meaning of اُمّ is mother but its use is very widespread. Anything that is the root cause for the presence of, or rearing of, or reforming of, or for its origin is called اُمّ .   And the meaning of أُمَّةً۬ is any party that is united around a particular affair whether that affair happens to be religious, or a place, or a period and whether that affair is involuntary or voluntary (R). Its plural is اُمم. In the terminology of the shariah أُمَّةً۬ is a party united around a common faith.

أَرِ – The word رؤیة  is not just confined in its meaning to perception with the eye but also includes perception or comprehension through apprehension, imagination, or reflection or comprehension through use of intellect.

مَنَاسِكَ – It is the plural of مَنۡسِك or مَنۡسَك. And the real meaning of نُسُك is worship or extreme devotion. مَنَاسِكَ is particularly used for the rites of Hajj because one has to go above and beyond the normal requirements of worship. And مَنۡسَك is the place where Allah is worshipped and effort is made to achieve nearness to Him. Halal meat is called نسیکة. It is stated in Al-Nihayah that نُسُك are those commands given by the Shariah and ورع those things that are forbidden by the Shariah.

Two affairs indicated in this prayer: This prayer indicates two affairs. One is to أُمَّةً۬ مُّسۡلِمَةً۬  that would bring to fulfilment the prayers of Abraham. It is a strange fact that there is only one nation that is called أُمَّةً۬ مُّسۡلِمَةً۬  although all the prophets were مسلم . When this verse was revealed, there were only a limited number of Muslims who had fled their homes and taken refuge in another place. Their enemies were bent on annihilating them. So, this verse was prophetical. Today, by the Grace of God the أُمَّةً۬ مُّسۡلِمَةً۬  is spread all over the globe.

The rites of pilgrimage were established by Abraham: The second thing that is indicated is that the rites of Hajj were established through Abraham and Ishmael. These rites of Hajj have stayed the same for thousands of years. These are not polytheistic rites but were established by the great ancestor of the monotheists.

2-129    Our Lord, and raise up in them a Messenger from among them who shall recite to them Thy messages and teach them the Book and the Wisdom, and purify them. Surely Thou art the Mighty, the Wise.^a

رَبَّنَا وَٱبۡعَثۡ فِيهِمۡ رَسُولاً۬ مِّنۡہُمۡ يَتۡلُواْ عَلَيۡہِمۡ ءَايَـٰتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلۡحِكۡمَةَ وَيُزَكِّيہِمۡ‌ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ ٱلۡعَزِيزُ ٱلۡحَكِيمُ (١٢٩)

2:129a: يُزَكِّي – زکا is a spoken of a field in which there is growth and blessings are obtained from it andنفس  تُزۡکِیَة is to expand your soul through charity and bestowing blessings and the verb تزکیه is attributed to the person because it is gained with effort as in: قَدۡ أَفۡلَحَ مَن زَكَّٮٰهَا  (He indeed is successful who causes it to grow) (91:9) and sometimes it is attributed to God because in reality, He is موزکی as stated in وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُزَكِّى مَن يَشَآءُ (…but Allah purifies whom He pleases)(24:21) and sometimes it is attributed to the prophet because he is the intermediary and it is his teachings and example which purify, as is the case in this verse.

يُعَلِّمُ – The difference between اعلام and تعلیم is that اعلام is specific to imparting quick information, that is to communicate swiftly or to give the knowledge about a thing once, while تعلیم is associated with lectures and augmentation of knowledge until a lasting impression is left on the mind of the learner. And some have said that تعلیم is to make the mind aware of imagining the essence and spiritual quality of a thing (R).

Knowledge of the Book, as distinct from its recitation, is the work of the Messenger: Here a distinction has been made between reading the Book ( يَتۡلُواْ عَلَيۡہِمۡ ءَايَـٰتِكَ ) and gaining knowledge of it (يُعَلِّمُهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ ). By تعلیم is meant making aware of its meaning and one of the duties of the Messenger is to explain the sense and significance of the text to the believers. Those who consider the work of the Messenger to be merely giving a reading of the Book are sadly mistaken.

 حِكۡمَةَ – It is derived from   حکم whose real meaning is stopped for reform, and حِكۡمَةَ is to find the truth through knowledge and intellect (R). The meaning of حِكۡمَةَ has been taken here to mean sunnat (the tradition of the Prophet), knowledge of religion, and Fiqh (Islamic Law) (IJ). It is obvious that حِكۡمَةَ is something apart from the Book and this something is also taught by the Messenger. This something is what is called sunnat, that is the details of shariat because that is the other thing that the Messenger teaches.

ٱلۡعَزِيزُ – It is one of the attributive names of Allah. عِزّة is that state of a person that saves him from being overcome. So ٱلۡعَزِيزُ is He who is overpowering and none has power over Him.

Abraham’s prayer: The Holy Prophet in reference to this prayer of Abraham stated: انا دعوة ابی ابریھیم  (I am the prayer of my father Abraham), that is the acceptance of this prayer manifested itself through me.

The effect of this prayer: This prayer also shows that sometimes Allah manifests the effect of the prayer many thousands of years after the prayer. The lesson in this that the welfare and betterment of the world is not the work of a day. Gigantic tasks require a long term.

The purification of the Muslim nation is by way of prophecy: The Quran reminded the world of this prayer when neither the Muslim Ummah nor its teachings and purification existed. There were only a few Muslims whose lives were under danger, and the whole of the Arabian peninsula was filled with polytheism, sinfulness and impiety. This prayer was then fulfilled in such a way that not only the whole of Arabia became part of the Muslim Ummah but the Muslim Ummah spread through many countries, and they were purified in such a manner that they became the purifiers of the world and they were given such a Book and wisdom that they became the teachers of the whole world. A little further on, this meaning is further expounded by stating:  لِّتَڪُونُواْ شُہَدَآءَ عَلَى ٱلنَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ ٱلرَّسُولُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ شَهِيدً۬ا‌ۗ  (2:143), that is that the result of the Holy Prophet’s teachings and purification is that you have become eligible to be teachers and purifiers of the world and this is why you have been made the leader of men.

The four duties of the Messenger: Four duties of the Messenger are mentioned here. The first is to recite the verses that have been revealed to him to the Ummah. Second, to teach the Book that is being revealed to him to his followers. Third, teaches them wisdom, that is those finer points that are revealed to him through Wahi Khafi (Divine inspiration). Fourth, to act as the role model and to purify them from filth through his spiritual prowess. A person who does not perform these four functions is not a Messenger.

       Divinely ordained saints: Certainly, saints and other persons from the Ummah perform these duties in some sense. But they recite the verses that were revealed to the Holy Prophet, and they teach the Book that was revealed to the Holy Prophet, the wisdom that they impart is also borrowed from the Messenger and their spiritual prowess is also obtained from this Messenger that they follow.

2-113    And the Jews say, The Christians follow nothing (good), and the Christians say, The Jews follow nothing (good), while they recite the (same) Book. Even thus say those who have no knowledge, like what they say. So Allah will judge between them on the day of Resurrection in that wherein they differ.^a

وَقَالَتِ ٱلۡيَهُودُ لَيۡسَتِ ٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰ عَلَىٰ شَىۡءٍ۬ وَقَالَتِ ٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰ لَيۡسَتِ ٱلۡيَهُودُ عَلَىٰ شَىۡءٍ۬ وَهُمۡ يَتۡلُونَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ‌ۗ كَذَٲلِكَ قَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَعۡلَمُونَ مِثۡلَ قَوۡلِهِمۡ‌ۚ فَٱللَّهُ يَحۡكُمُ بَيۡنَهُمۡ يَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ فِيمَا كَانُواْ فِيهِ يَخۡتَلِفُونَ (١١٣)

2-113a There is truth in every religion according to Quranic teachings: The explanation of how to achieve salvation is now followed by expounding that it should not be said about any religion that there is no truth in it. The Jews and the Christians claim to follow the same Book, that is the Bible, but even so state out of envy that the other religion has no truth in it. It is the work of uneducated persons to say that all other religions are entirely false and without any goodness when they put forward the genuineness of their religion. There is no doubt that complete salvation is only achievable by perfect devotion and obedience to Allah and making the doing of good to the creatures of Allah as the objective of life. Nevertheless, there is some truth in all religions.

There is no punishment for wrong beliefs in this world: God does not immediately punish people for wrong beliefs in this world, that is, it is not the case that at the slightest indiscretion Allah will instantaneously destroy them or put them in some other trouble. Whatever shortcomings remain because of wrong beliefs would only be fully manifested in the Hereafter, and the ways for rectifying those shortcomings would be made available there. In the next verse, it is stated that those who hinder people from places of worship and cause them to be deserted would be disgraced in this world as well.

2-114    And who is more unjust than he who prevents (men) from the mosques of Allah, from His name being remembered therein, and strives to ruin them? (As for) these, it was not proper for them to enter them except in fear. For them is disgrace in this world, and theirs is a grievous chastisement in the Hereafter.^a

وَمَنۡ أَظۡلَمُ مِمَّن مَّنَعَ مَسَـٰجِدَ ٱللَّهِ أَن يُذۡكَرَ فِيہَا ٱسۡمُهُ ۥ وَسَعَىٰ فِى خَرَابِهَآ‌ۚ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ مَا كَانَ لَهُمۡ أَن يَدۡخُلُوهَآ إِلَّا خَآٮِٕفِينَ‌ۚ لَهُمۡ فِى ٱلدُّنۡيَا خِزۡىٌ۬ وَلَهُمۡ فِى ٱلۡأَخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ۬ (١١٤)

2-114a مَسۡجِد It is a place for prostration, that is it is the name of a place of worship (T). The Bait-ul-Muqaddas (Al-Aqsa mosque) has been called مَسۡجِد. Although of general applicability to places of worship, the word is specifically used for the place of worship of Muslims, as in: لَّهُدِّمَتۡ صَوَٲمِعُ وَبِيَعٌ۬ وَصَلَوَٲتٌ۬ وَمَسَـٰجِدُ يُذۡڪَرُ فِيہَا ٱسۡمُ ٱللَّهِ ڪَثِيرً۬ا‌ۗ  (…cloisters, and churches, and synagogues, and mosques in which Allah’s name is much remembered, would have been pulled down) (22:40).

 خراب – It is the opposite of عمارة (to build).

خزی  – To be put in a position of humility either because of one’s own actions or the actions of others (R). Ultimate failure in their attempt to keep people from mosques is a humility of sorts, as is also being subdued by those whom they opposed.

Stopping people from worshipping Allah results in punishment in this world: In the first verse of this section, mention is made of differences in beliefs and it is stated that the final resolution of that will only take place in the Hereafter. In this verse, it is stated that those who exceed the limit in their mischievous behavior and go to the extent of stopping people from worshipping in mosques and strive to see them deserted are liable for punishment in this world. Just as the Jews and Christians mutually stated the religion of the other was devoid of any redeeming qualities, they also endeavored to stop the other from their places of worship and developed such enmity that they tried to exterminate the other whenever they had the power. It is in the same context that efforts to stop people from mosques is mentioned. But by putting it in the background of the enmity with the Holy Prophet, it is prophesied that such efforts will fail.

By mosque is meant the Masjid Haram: By mosque here is meant Masjid Haram because it is the center of all the mosques of the world. The fate of Jews and Christians is also included in this prophecy because they became the allies of the unbelievers of Makkah when the latter debarred the Holy Prophet from Masjid Haram. Just as it was stated in the first verse that truth should not be denied in any faith, it is stated here that the followers of all religions should be granted freedom of worship.

Muslims debarring Muslims from mosques: During the time of the Holy Prophet it was the unbelievers who prevented Muslims from mosques, but today Muslims stop their brother Muslims from praying in mosques and Muslims of a particular sect do not allow Muslims from other sects to enter into their mosques. The result is that Muslims are in a state of disgrace in the world.

Punishment in this world is evidence of punishment in the next world: The punishment in this world is preliminary to the punishment in the next world and a testament to it. When these verses were revealed, it was not in the wildest dreams of the opponents of Islam that their power and strength would be destroyed, and they would have to face disgrace. But in a very short period, this unlikely scenario unfolded, and the disgrace suffered by the Jews and other opponents of Islam is a great sign of the truth of the Quran.

2-115    And Allah’s is the East and the West, so whither you turn thither is Allah’s purpose. Surely Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.^a

وَلِلَّهِ ٱلۡمَشۡرِقُ وَٱلۡمَغۡرِبُ‌ۚ فَأَيۡنَمَا تُوَلُّواْ فَثَمَّ وَجۡهُ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ وَٲسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ۬ (١١٥)

2-115a ثَمَّ It is an adverb of place and indicates a distant place.

وَٲسِعٌ – سَعَة is largeness whether of place, wealth or action. وَٲسِعٌ is one of the attributive name of Allah and bears testimony to the largeness of His power, wealth, knowledge, mercy and favors as in: وَرَحۡمَتِى وَسِعَتۡ كُلَّ شَىۡءٍ۬ (My mercy encompasses all things) (7:156), and in: وَسِعَ رَبِّى ڪُلَّ شَىۡءٍ عِلۡمًا‌  (My Lord comprehends all things in His knowledge) (6:80) (R).

Solace given to Muslims on being stopped from visiting Kabah: Some commentators have understood the narration here to refer to the Kiblah, although the context does not warrant it, and have considered this to be the annulment of Bait-ul-Muqaddas as the kiblah [the direction Muslims pray] and some have considered it annulled by فولّ وجھك . But there is no mention of kiblah in this verse. However, in the last verse it was stated that Muslims were being stopped from mosques and worship of Allah, so in this verse, the Muslims have been condoled that if they have been prevented from visiting the Sacred Mosque then they should know that Allah’s attention is not only focused on the Sacred Mosque and if they truly submit, that is be true Muslims, then wherever they go, Allah’s attention will follow them. Further, as prophesied in the preceding verse, those who stop people from mosques, that is the opponents of Islam, are destined ultimately for failure.

Tidings of victory: This verse further clarifies that Muslims will dominate and they will not only be given full control over the mosques from which they are debarred but also that they would be given so many victories that whichever direction they turn, success and victory shall be their lot and thither will also be Allah’s attention with them. To Allah belongs the East and the West and the great consolation given to us in this is that the God who made Islam dominant in the East during a period in the past will now make Islam dominant in the West as well.

2-116    And they say: Allah has taken to Himself a son — glory be to Him ! Rather, whatever is in the heavens and the earth is His. All are obedient to Him.^a

وَقَالُواْ ٱتَّخَذَ ٱللَّهُ وَلَدً۬ا‌ۗ سُبۡحَـٰنَهُ ۥ‌ۖ بَل لَّهُ ۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۖ كُلٌّ۬ لَّهُ ۥ قَـٰنِتُونَ (١١٦)

2-116a وَلَدً۬ is in the meaning of مولود that is, one who was born. It is used for young and old and both as singular and plural. An adopted child is also called وَلَد as in: نَتَّخِذَهُ ۥ وَلَدً۬ا (R).

The use of the word وَلَد as a metaphor: وَلَد is also used in a metaphorical sense as in ارض البلقاء تلد الزعفران   (Saffron is produced in the land of Bilqah). Another expression is as follows: اللیالی حبالی لیس یدری مایلدن (The nights are pregnant; nobody knows what is to be manifested from them). A saying goes: صحبة فلان ولادت للخیر (The company of so and so is beneficent) (T). تولید is also used as rearing. A hadith states that Allah had said to Jesus: انا ولّدتك which means “I have nurtured you”. The Christians thought it as وَلَد (son) and misrepresented it (T).

قَـٰنِتُونَ – قنوت is making obedience with humility incumbent upon oneself and it is also used to mean just humility and also just obedience (R).

The foundation of Christian belief: The Christian belief is mentioned here. Most of the discussion in this surah is with respect to the errors of the Jews and to some extent about the Christian beliefs. In Al-Imran the discussion is mostly about the Christians and to a lesser extent about the Jews. However, to complete the discussion, the real foundation of the Christian faith has been mentioned, namely the sonship of Jesus because the concept of salvation rests on the sonship of Jesus.

Belief in the sonship of Jesus: The Christians say that the Quran has attributed the belief of اتخاذ ولد (taken a son) to the Christians whereas they consider Jesus to be ابن (son). The difference is that the word ولد  is used only where a genuine filial relationship exists whereas ابن can be used even in a metaphorical sense. The Quran has used both the words, as in: وَقَالَتِ ٱلنَّصَـٰرَى ٱلۡمَسِيحُ ٱبۡنُ ٱللَّهِ “And the Christians say: The Messiah is the son of Allah.” (9:30), but for the most part اتخاذ ولد is used in the description of this belief because the purpose is to point to the irrationality of this belief.

The son of God by way of metaphor: It is obvious that if the Christians consider Jesus to be son of God metaphorically, then this word has been used metaphorically for others as well. Israel has been called God’s son even His firstborn (Exodus 4:22). And the Messiah says: Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God (Mathew 5:9) and then says: But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven. (Mathew 5:44,45). This implies that every person can become the son of God or can be called so by becoming righteous.

Testimony of the Gospel that Messiah was metaphorically called son of God: The Gospel provides testimony that Jesus used this word for himself in the same permissible sense as has been used for others. Accordingly, when the Jews said to him that they will stone him for uttering blasphemes and for calling himself God, Jesus replied: Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came…Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified; because I said, I am the Son of God? (John 10:33-36). There is nothing special about Jesus if it is accepted that metaphorically he is the Son of God. But if something special must be attributed to Jesus, as the Christians claim, then he must become the real son of God. That is why the Quran has attributed اتخاذ اللّٰه ولد to them, and for this reason has rebutted their contention by saying: وَلَمۡ تَكُن لَّهُ ۥ صَـٰحِبَةٌ۬ (He has no consort) (6:101). A real son cannot be born without a female consort and the Christians do not accept that God has a wife.

The doctrine of Sonship invariably results in acceptance of certain shortcomings in God: Wherever this grave mistake in the Christians doctrine is mentioned in the Quran, it is followed by the word سبحان  in respect of the glory of Allah, the Most High. The meaning of سبحان is that He is free from any defects or shortcomings. There is a manifest defect in the sonship doctrine in that just as a father is dependent on the son, God is dependent on His son. Further, one would have to accept even a shortcoming in the attribute of Allah because the need for a son is said to be that the Father is just but does not have mercy and the son has mercy. This implies that God’s attributes are imperfect because He lacks an important thing like mercy. Hence the reply is given that a belief that imputes a defect in God cannot be correct.

The relationship of being created is greater than the relationship of sonship: After this, it is stated that everything in the heaven and the earth are His and all are obedient to Him. The doctrine of sonship is again contradicted here by saying that God is the creator and master of everything, and all are obedient to Him. In contrast, a father is neither the creator nor the master of the son, and nor can a son be perfectly obedient to the father. Thus, when a relationship already exists between God and His creation which is greater than the relationship between father and son, it is fruitless to manufacture a son.

2-117    Wonderful Originator of the heavens and the earth!^a And when He decrees an affair, He says to it only, Be, and it is.^b

بَدِيعُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۖ وَإِذَا قَضَىٰٓ أَمۡرً۬ا فَإِنَّمَا يَقُولُ لَهُ ۥ كُن فَيَكُونُ (١١٧)

2-117a The meaning of بدع or ابداع is to create something the pattern or like of which did not exist before, and when the word is used for Allah, the meaning is to create a thing without an instrument, matter, and consideration of time and place (R). And بدعت (innovation) is to introduce something new in the shariah.

The creator who is not dependent on matter for creation cannot be dependent on a son: This verse again contradicts the doctrine of sonship as has been clearly stated elsewhere: بَدِيعُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۖ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لَهُ ۥ وَلَدٌ۬ وَلَمۡ تَكُن لَّهُ ۥ صَـٰحِبَةٌ۬‌ۖ وَخَلَقَ كُلَّ شَىۡءٍ۬‌ۖ وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَىۡءٍ عَلِيمٌ۬ (Wonderful Originator of the heavens and the earth! How could He have a son when He has no consort? And He created everything, and He is the Knower of all things) (6:101). Proposing that God has a son is ascribing a weakness to Him because God stands in no need of any instrument or matter for creation and these would be required for the creation of a son. In addition, it is not correct that oneness does not create plurality because God is an intentioned Being who plans and directs and has complete power over everything – and is not like a lifeless law.

2:117b قَضَىٰٓ – The meaning of قضاء is to decide an affair either by word or by action, and اعلام , that is, to inform or sever an order is also called قضاء . So, the meaning of قَضَىٰٓ أَمۡرً۬ا is that when He determines an affair or when He decides to issue a decree. The difference between قضاء and قضدر  is that the meaning of قضاء is to measure and the meaning of قضدر is to issue an order on something or to cancel it (R), or قضدر is to measure and قضاء is to enforce it. Thus, every affair before قضاء i.e. its enforcement is in the state of قضدر i.e. measurement. It is stated that once the Holy Prophet was passing by a cave where a landslide was about to take place. He quickly ran away from it. Somebody remarked: اتفر من قضاء اللّٰه (Are you running away from the قضاء of Allah), the Prophet replied: افر من قضاء اللّٰه الٰیٰ قضدر اللّٰه    (I am running from the قضاء of Allah towards the قضدر of Allah).

The order كُن (Be): Those who espouse that matter is not created often question as to who the order of “Be” is given. The answer is obvious that the order is given to the affair or thing which already exists in the knowledge of Allah because before قضاء is قدر and the thing to which the order is given is already in the estimation of Allah although it has no physical existence. That matter is created has already been shown by using the word بَدِيعُ (originator). The information being imparted here is that Allah will bring about that which is not considered possible for humans. There is nothing impossible for Him, and it is wrong to estimate the unlimited power of Allah by considering the limited power of man.

2-118    And those who have no knowledge say: Why does not Allah speak to us or a sign come to us? Even thus said those before them, the like of what they say. Their hearts are all alike. Indeed We have made the messages clear for a people who are sure.^a

     وَقَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَعۡلَمُونَ لَوۡلَا يُكَلِّمُنَا ٱللَّهُ أَوۡ تَأۡتِينَآ ءَايَةٌ۬‌ۗ كَذَٲلِكَ قَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ مِن قَبۡلِهِم مِّثۡلَ قَوۡلِهِمۡ‌ۘ تَشَـٰبَهَتۡ قُلُوبُهُمۡ‌ۗ قَدۡ بَيَّنَّا ٱلۡأَيَـٰتِ لِقَوۡمٍ۬ يُوقِنُونَ (١١٨) 

2:118: يُوقِنُونَ – The meaning of یقین has already been explained in 2:4b. The Taj al-Arus states that یقین is the removal of doubt through research and knowledge. So, the meaning of ایقن or یوقن  is to gain knowledge about an affair and to research the matter until it is found correct without any doubt, and not to accept it without a test of rationality. قَوۡمٍ۬ يُوقِنُونَ means those people who act according to the power of conviction inherent in them, just as by قوم یعقلون  are meant people who act rationally in accordance with their intelligence. To act according to conviction means that when one finds something to be correct after researching it, then one acts on it and small doubts do not arise in one’s heart. A common reason why many people fail to find the right way is because they do not have the courage of their conviction or fail to act upon it and keep embroiled in small doubts.

The objection to God not talking with common people: After narrating a mistake of the Christians, mention is made of a mistake made by common people. Their demand is that God should talk to them just as he talks to His messengers. Another reference to this is made elsewhere in the Quran, where it is said: حَتَّىٰ نُؤۡتَىٰ مِثۡلَ مَآ أُوتِىَ رُسُلُ ٱللَّ (…till we are given the like of that which Allah’s messengers are given) (6:124).

Demand for the sign of punishment: If God does not talk to them then He should send upon them a great sign.اٰیة   has been used as a common noun to show God’s majesty, and the meaning is that a destructive punishment should befall them, as has been clearly mentioned in another place: فَلۡيَأۡتِنَا بِـَٔايَةٍ۬ ڪَمَآ أُرۡسِلَ ٱلۡأَوَّلُونَ  (so let him bring to us a sign such as the former (prophets) were sent (with)) (21:5). Their demand thus is, that when the Quran repeatedly mentions the destruction of former people, then why is it that the same sign of destruction does not befall them. The answer to both these things is given in the next verse.

2-119  Surely We have sent thee with the Truth as a bearer of good news and as a warner, and thou wilt not be called upon to answer for the companions of the flaming Fire.^a

إِنَّآ أَرۡسَلۡنَـٰكَ بِٱلۡحَقِّ بَشِيرً۬ا وَنَذِيرً۬ا‌ۖ وَلَا تُسۡـَٔلُ عَنۡ أَصۡحَـٰبِ ٱلۡجَحِيمِ (١١٩)

2:119a For the meaning of بِٱلۡحَقِّ see 2:42a. The meaning of بِٱلۡحَقِّ here can be in accordance with the dictates of wisdom, that is you have been sent because of the presence of a dire need, or it can also be that you have been sent with the truth because the thing that the Messenger brings is the truth.

بَشِير – Is the one who gives good news (بشارت ) and for بشارت see 2:97a. The greatest good news that prophets bring is that the real perfection of humans is achieved by developing close relations with God.

نَذِيرً – The meaning of نَذِيرً is منذر , that is one who warns. (For the meaning of انذار see 2:6a). The warning is in the form of alerting people about a dire end.

جَحِيمِ – It is derived from جحمة which word is used to indicate the severe heat from the flames of fire.

With whom does God speak?  The reply to the first verse is given here. One of the questions raised is why does Allah not talk to them. This question is answered by stating that Allah has sent the Prophet as a bearer of good news with the truth, and the good news is that by following the Prophet, one can obtain nearness to Allah, and God will speak to one who has obtained nearness to Him. Allah the Most High is holy; how can He talk to impure persons who are immersed in all kinds of vice. If they want to benefit from the role of the Prophet as a bearer of good news, then they should follow him.

Destructive punishment as a sign: The second question raised is why a destructive punishment does not befall them as was inflicted on previous nations. The answer to this is given by stating that the Prophet is sent precisely to warn them of such a punishment. If they do not heed, the punishment will follow in the end. The last thing that is stated is that it is not the Prophet’s responsibility to bring them to the right path.

2-120  And the Jews will not be pleased with thee, nor the Christians, unless thou follow their religion. Say: Surely Allah’s guidance — that is the (perfect) guidance. And if thou follow their desires after the knowledge that has come to thee thou shalt have from Allah no friend, nor helper.^a

وَلَن تَرۡضَىٰ عَنكَ ٱلۡيَہُودُ وَلَا ٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَہُمۡ‌ۗ قُلۡ إِنَّ هُدَى ٱللَّهِ هُوَ ٱلۡهُدَىٰ‌ۗ وَلَٮِٕنِ ٱتَّبَعۡتَ أَهۡوَآءَهُم بَعۡدَ ٱلَّذِى جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلۡعِلۡمِ‌ۙ مَا لَكَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مِن وَلِىٍّ۬ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ (١٢٠)

2:120a ملة – The root of ملة is from اَمۡلَلۡتُ الکتاب  that is I dictated the book. The Quran states:  وَلۡيُمۡلِلِ ٱلَّذِى عَلَيۡهِ ٱلۡحَقُّ (And let him who owes the debt dictate,…) (2:282). And ملة is like religion, that is, the path that Allah has made known through his prophets so that they may achieve nearness to Allah through it.

The difference between ملة and دین :  The difference between دین and ملة is that ملة is appended only to the founder prophet of a religion, as in  ابراھیم ملة or داتبعت ملة اٰبائ . And this word is not appended or related with Allah or an individual follower of a religion, but it can be used collectively for a nation as is done here in مِلَّتَہُمۡ‌ۗ . And دین is appended with God or   as a possessive noun as in دین اللّٰه  or دینی . And ملة is spoken in the sense of the path that Allah has told us about and دین which means obedience is spoken in relation to someone who adheres to that path (R).

أَهۡوَآءَ – It is the plural of ھَوَی which means the inclination of a person towards lust or desires (R). The real meaning of ھَوَی is to make an intention whether for something good or bad (T). However, it is mostly used for sinful or low desires.

عِلم-  Its meaning is ادراك الشئ بحقیقته (R). It is the perception of the reality of a thing whether the perception is of its nature and in that case it is transitive towards an object as in: لَا تَعۡلَمُونَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ يَعۡلَمُهُمۡ (you know not; Allah knows them) (8:60) or whether there is only this command that there is another thing present or not present for this, as in: فَإِنۡ عَلِمۡتُمُوهُنَّ مُؤۡمِنَـٰتٍ۬ (Then if you know them to be believers) (60:10). A division of عِلم that can be made is based upon whether it is theoretical or practical.

      Theoretical  عِلم is  one which is considered complete when the learning is finished as for example gaining knowledge of existing things in the universe. Practical عِلم , on the other hand, is not complete without action as for example the knowledge of worship. There is another division of عِلم that is based on whether it is acquired by deliberation and reflection or by listening (R). Here أَهۡوَآءَ  is contrasted with عِلم to show that real religion is rational and scientific and its ordainments are not devoid of proof. It has laws and rules; silly prattle cannot be classed as religion.

Islam is a rational and perfect guide: Every person is addressed here and it is stated that the Jews and Christians do not reflect on the veracities contained in Islam and how it has taken religion to perfection. They are pleased only with a person who adopts their religion. But what is their religion? It is named أَهۡوَآءَ (vain desires). They have injected their vain desires into their religion. In contrast, Islam is full of knowledge and highly scientific. It has explained all the ordinances of religion with great clarity, has established their mutual relationships and provided arguments for their veracity. Islam is called ٱلۡهُدَىٰ‌ۗ , that is, a complete and perfect guide. How can a Muslim abandon this complete guide just to please the Jews and Christians? In the present times, many people abandon the pure ordinances of Islam merely to please the Christians and follow whatever the Christians say, when, in fact, their effort should have been to please Allah the One and only God.

2-121    Those to whom We have given the Book follow it as it ought to be followed. These believe in it. And whoever disbelieves in it, these it is that are the losers.^a

ٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيۡنَـٰهُمُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ يَتۡلُونَهُ ۥ حَقَّ تِلَاوَتِهِۦۤ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِهِۦ‌ۗ وَمَن يَكۡفُرۡ بِهِۦ فَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡخَـٰسِرُونَ (١٢١)

2:121a By ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ is meant the Quran.

Mujahid states that the meaning of يَتۡلُونَهُ ۥ حَقَّ تِلَاوَتِهِۦۤ is یعملون به حق عمله , that is, they act upon it as it should be acted upon. For the meaning of تلاوت see 2:44a.

The need for action after gaining perfect knowledge: This section dealt with the perfection of the Quran. This was detailed clearly in the previous verse, and now in the last verse of the section, attention is drawn to the need for acting on it, and thus a sharp contrast is set up with the Jews and Christians who do not act on their scriptures. It is stated that complete guidance can only be useful if it is acted upon, and the people to whom this Book is given, that is the companions of the Holy Prophet, follow it and act on it as it should be acted upon. The phrase أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِهِۦ‌ۗ (These believe in it) affirms that real belief is acting upon the guidance.

The companion’s unparalleled adherence to the Quran: The example of the companions is unique in that no other nation has followed their scripture in the way in which the companions followed the Quran. After spending thousands of years immersed in evil, and vile rites and customs, they became cleansed with each revelation of the Quran as if these evils had never existed among them. There was not a single ordinance of the Quran that they did not adopt immediately after its revelation.

The current state of Muslims: It can be said without exaggeration about the Muslims of today that although they are called Muslims, there is not a single ordinance of the Quran that they follow, barring a few Muslims who may be trying to adhere to their faith. Today, the Muslims, from a practical standpoint, will be counted among those about whom it is said: مَن يَكۡفُرۡ بِهِۦ فَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡخَـٰسِرُونَ (whoever disbelieves in it, these are the losers) because when they do not pay their dues by practicing what they profess, they cannot be included in أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِهِۦ‌ۗ (These believe in it).  

2-104    O you who believe, say not Ra‘i-na and say Unzur-na, and listen. And for the disbelievers there is a painful chastisement.^a

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تَقُولُواْ رَٲعِنَا وَقُولُواْ ٱنظُرۡنَا وَٱسۡمَعُواْ‌ۗ وَلِلۡڪَـٰفِرِينَ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ۬ (١٠٤)

2:104a رَٲعِنَا –  راعَ – Is derived from رعۡی which means to protect. Accordingly, a hadith states: کُلّکم راعٍ , So the meaning of رَٲعِنَا is listen to us.

ٱنظُرۡنَا – نَظَر is the turning of the eyes to see something. Sometimes, the connotation is to ponder or investigate, and further نَظَر is also used in the sense of to wait (R). The meaning of نظُرۡنَا here is to wait for us or give us some time so that we may understand what you are saying.

The mischievousness of the Jews: The prohibition to use رَٲعِنَا is explained elsewhere as being the result of the Jews saying: رَٲعِنَا لَيَّۢا بِأَلۡسِنَتِہِمۡ  (Rai-na, distorting with their tongues) so that they actually said رعن (ra’ina) instead of رَٲعِنَا . The word رعن is derived from رعونت which means he is foolish or stupid or unsound in intellect. This was a relatively minor act among the troublesome acts of the Jews and shows that they missed no opportunity to mock, and boast about pranking the Muslims. The Muslims were stopped from using the word, not because they used it with bad intentions, but because the Jews took advantage of such things. The lesson here is to avoid that which, though not bad intentioned, may have a bad result.

The opposition of the Jews was not well intentioned: The connection of the subject in this section with that in the previous one is apparent. Both sections deal with the mischievousness of the Jews. The nature of the mischief is different in the two cases. The previous section dealt with the secret councils and their plans to destroy Islam. This section deals with how the Jews mocked the Muslims during ordinary interactions. The mockery shows that the Jews were not well intentioned. Sometimes opposition can be well intentioned, but the opposition of the Jews was clearly mischievous, and this is the reason for the mention of their plans and mockery.

2-105    Neither those who disbelieve from among the people of the Book, nor the polytheists, like that any good should be sent down to you from your Lord. And Allah chooses whom He pleases for His mercy; and Allah is the Lord of mighty grace.^a

مَّا يَوَدُّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ مِنۡ أَهۡلِ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ وَلَا ٱلۡمُشۡرِكِينَ أَن يُنَزَّلَ عَلَيۡڪُم مِّنۡ خَيۡرٍ۬ مِّن رَّبِّڪُمۡ‌ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يَخۡتَصُّ بِرَحۡمَتِهِۦ مَن يَشَآءُ‌ۚ وَٱللَّهُ ذُو ٱلۡفَضۡلِ ٱلۡعَظِيمِ (١٠٥)

2-105a يَوَدُّ – وَدّ is to love something and to wish for it to happen, and the word can be used for either of the meanings.

أَهۡلِ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ – The أَهۡلِ of a person are those with whom he has a connection through relationship, religion or some other commonality such as an industry or house so that they can be identified as a union or group (R). So by أَهۡلِ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ means those  grouped around a common scripture. Since the word كِتَـٰبِ  is variously used in the Quran to refer to the revelation of Moses, Jesus, and sometimes to the revelation of all prophets, the reference to أَهۡلِ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ stands sometimes for Jews, sometimes for Christians, and sometimes for both. In fact, just as there is a generality in the use of the word book depending upon the context, so too the term أَهۡلِ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ may have a generic sense in some cases.

خَيۡرٍ – خَیر  is a thing that everybody wishes for (R). The meaning here is revelation from God (RM).

رَحۡمَتِهِۦ – رَحۡمة is tenderness following a favor felt by a person on whom mercy is shown. Sometimes, it is used only for tenderness and sometimes only for favor. And رَحۡمة from Allah is solely the name for His reward and favors (R).

ٱلۡفَضۡلِ – فضل is a stage above moderation, but where the context is ذم (to disparage or censure) the word that is used is فُضول (useless or worthless). The use of the word فضل is generally in the context of مدح (praise) and any gift that is not required to be given by a giver is called فضل (R). This is the context in which فضل is used here. Sometimes, however, it is used for things that are attained by effort as, for example, wealth, station in life and strength (R).

The words خَیر – رَحۡمة and فضل used here all point to the revelation granted to the Holy Prophet.

2-106    Whatever message We abrogate or cause to be forgotten, We bring one better than it or one like it.^a Knowest thou not that Allah is Possessor of power over all things?

  مَا نَنسَخۡ مِنۡ ءَايَةٍ أَوۡ نُنسِهَا نَأۡتِ بِخَيۡرٍ۬ مِّنۡہَآ أَوۡ مِثۡلِهَآ‌ۗ أَلَمۡ تَعۡلَمۡ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدِيرٌ (١٠٦)

2-106a نَنسَخۡ – The meaning of نسَخۡ is to nullify one thing by another. This word is also used in the sense of writing or evidence, and just for abolish. It is also used to connote the abolishment of one thing and the confirmation of another. This last sense is how the word has been used here, that is, the abolishment of one order by another that comes after (R). And نسَخۡ کتاب is used to mean the writing of a book, and in this sense the word استنساخ is used in the Quran instead of نسَخۡ as in: إِنَّا كُنَّا نَسۡتَنسِخُ مَا كُنتُمۡ تَعۡمَلُونَ (Surely We wrote what you did) (45:29). And  نُسخة means a writing as in: وَفِى نُسۡخَتِہَا هُدً۬ى (…and in the writing thereof was guidance…) (7:154).

اٰیة – The well known meaning of اٰیة is العلامة الظاھرۃ that is, a manifest sign, but Taj al-Arus states the meaning as: الاٰیة الرسالة و تستعمل بمعنی الدلیل و المعجزہ , that is, its meaning is messengership or Divine message, and it is also used in the sense of a cogent argument and miracle. It is stated after the mention of Adam: فَإِمَّا يَأۡتِيَنَّكُم مِّنِّى هُدً۬ى (Surely there will come to you a guidance from Me,…) (2:38) and whoever follows the Divine guidance will have no fear nor shall they grieve. In comparison to this, it is stated: وَٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَكَذَّبُواْ بِـَٔايَـٰتِنَآ (And those who disbelieve and reject Our messages) (2:39). The clear meaning here of اٰیة is Divine messages. Similarly, in surah Yasin, it is stated: وَمَا تَأۡتِيہِم مِّنۡ ءَايَةٍ۬ مِّنۡ ءَايَـٰتِ رَبِّہِمۡ إِلَّا كَانُواْ عَنۡہَا مُعۡرِضِينَ (And there comes to them no message of the messages of their Lord but they turn away from it) (36:46) where Ruh al-Maani explains the meaning of ءَايَـٰتِ as الکتب المنزلة , that is, those scriptures that were revealed by God. It is this expansive meaning that is meant here.

Jewish objection as to why the Moses sharia was abrogated: What is meant here by the ءَايَـٰتِ being repealed or forgotten? The context here is that the Jews do not believe in the Quran because it was not revealed to Bani Israel. If the Promised Prophet was from the Israelite, then the sharia of Moses would not have been fully repealed. This is the issue that the Quran answers here. Accordingly, the first verse of this section draws attention once again to the real subject, which is that the followers of the Book are averse to revelation coming to the Muslims from amongst the Bani Ishmael.

How is this sharia the like of Moses’s sharia: Allah states here that the sharia of Moses stands repealed or forgotten and instead He gave humanity a better sharia or one like it. The term better or like it was employed because some of the commandments stay the same but a great majority of its teachings are better than the sharia of Moses. The sharia of Moses was for one nation, and one time; conversely, this sharia is for all nations, for all times to come. Further, revelation about nuanced matters was not revealed in the sharia of Moses but because thinking had matured at the time of the Prophet, nuanced issues could be revealed. Another explanation of بِخَيۡرٍ۬ مِّنۡہَآ أَوۡ مِثۡلِهَآ‌ۗ  can be that in reality, this sharia is better than that of Moses, but in the prophecy, it isbeen called the “like of” by virtue of being a new sharia as in the prophecy given in Deuteronomy 18:18.

The reason why the abrogation here refers to previous scriptures and not to verses of the Quran: There can be no doubt from the context that the abrogation referred to here is to the previous scriptures and not to Quranic verses. But some commentators have taken this verse to mean the abrogation of some verses of the Quran by others. Such an interpretation is completely contrary to the context. There is no verse here, neither before nor after, that has been abrogated by another or that abrogates another. Further there is no evidence that at the time of the revelation of this verse, any verse was later considered abrogated. It is meaningless, therefore, to have raised the subject of repeal of certain Quranic verses when such a situation had not yet arisen. This second rationale is a definitive argument that the reference here is to the abrogation of previous scriptures and not of Quranic verses.

 A miracle of the Quran is that the Holy Prophet never forgot it: The third definitive argument is that along with نسَخۡ (abrogate), the verse also mentions نُنسِهَا نَأۡتِ  (cause to be forgotten). But about the Quran it is definitively stated that: سَنُقۡرِئُكَ فَلَا تَنسَىٰٓ (We shall make thee recite so thou shalt not forget) (87:5). This is followed by: إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ ٱللَّ (Except what Allah please). This does not mean, however, that he will forget some parts, because the passage then becomes meaningless as it would read: We shall make thee recite so that thou shalt not forget but thou wilt forget. Even an ordinary person would not converse like this, leave alone ascribing this to Quran which is a Book of great wisdom. The meaning of إِلَّا مَا شَآءَ ٱللَّ is very clear. That is, there are things that the Holy Prophet forgets, but that Allah will teach him the Quran in a way that he will never forget. And the facts bear this out. Surahs as long as twenty rukus were revealed to the Prophet in one go and never once did he forget a word of it. Even if it is supposed that the Holy Prophet had a lapse of memory, how is it possible that it could be forgotten by all those who memorized the Quran as it was being revealed, and who decidedly were few initially but whose numbers grew to several hundred in Madinah. If one of the persons who memorized the Quran forgot a word during recitation, another would immediately correct him. Even today, if some reciter of the Quran makes a mistake in recitation during prayer, there is immediately a correction by one standing behind. Even beyond this, not only was each verse memorized but it was also written. Who could erase this inscription; neither is there any reference here to any erasure. The only reference here is about forgetting. It is true that there were commandments in previous scriptures which were erased and forgotten with the passage of time. It is with reference to this that the verse speaks of the abrogation of previous scriptures. The reference is not to the abrogation of verses of the Quran.

There is no report of abrogation that can be traced back to the Holy Prophet: The question that remains is whether any verse of the Quran stands abrogated? Some traditions imply so but none of these narrations can be traced back to the Holy Prophet, that is, there is no report that the Holy Prophet ever said that a verse stands abrogated. If the theory of abrogation is correct at least one report traceable to the Holy Prophet would exist.

The saying of a companion is not evidence for abrogation: When the Holy Prophet did not term any verse as abrogated and it is established that the Holy Prophet stated with his own mouth that every verse of the Quran was to be acted upon, then a mere statement of a companion is not sufficient to consider any verse as abrogated. The saying of a companion is no argument, leave alone being considered sufficient to abrogate a verse.

Contradictions in the tradition of abrogation: Traditions of abrogation are often contradictory. One companion may report that a certain verse is abrogated, while another companion reports the same verse is not abrogated. These contradictions make the theory of abrogation very shakey.

The chain of narrations is weak for reports of abrogation: The third thing is that the chains of narration for reports of abrogation are unreliable. Accordingly, Tabarsi states: الروایات فی النسخ کلھا ضعیفة

Great disparity in the number of verses abrogated: There is discrepancy in the how many verses people claim to be abrogated. Some say five while some say several hundred.  Such disparity arises because when someone was unable to reconcile one verse with another verse in the Quran, one of the supposedly irreconcilable verse was declared as abrogated.

It is against the teachings of Quran to consider verses irreconcilable and declare them abrogated: The abrogation theorists do not even consider whether the verse they abrogate are of later revelation or not. To declare verses as abrogated instead of reconciling them is to admit contradictions in the Quran, whereas the Quran presents the conformability of the whole as a proof of its genuineness: وَلَوۡ كَانَ مِنۡ عِندِ غَيۡرِ ٱللَّهِ لَوَجَدُواْ فِيهِ ٱخۡتِلَـٰفً۬ا ڪَثِيرً۬ا (And if it were from any other than Allah, they would have found in it many discrepancy) (4:82). If we accept contradictions in the Quran then it is not عِندِ ٱللَّهِ (from Allah). If there is no discrepancy then there is no need for abrogation. It will be shown at the relevant places in the Quran that where some consider abrogation on account of irreconcilability, it is possible to reconcile the verses. In short, the theory of abrogation of verses in the Quran is totally false, and the reference in this verse is to the abrogation of the shariah in previous scriptures.

2-107    Knowest thou not that Allah’s is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and that besides Allah you have not any friend or helper?^a

أَلَمۡ تَعۡلَمۡ أَنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَهُ ۥ مُلۡكُ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٲتِ وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ‌ۗ وَمَا لَڪُم مِّن دُونِ ٱللَّهِ مِن وَلِىٍّ۬ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ (١٠٧)

2:107a The indication here in the word مُلۡكُ is to the grant of prophethood for which see 102a. In another place, it is stated: فَقَدۡ ءَاتَيۡنَآ ءَالَ إِبۡرَٲهِيمَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ وَٱلۡحِكۡمَةَ وَءَاتَيۡنَـٰهُم مُّلۡكًا عَظِيمً۬ا  (We have given to Abraham’s children the Book and the Wisdom, and We have given them a grand kingdom) (4:54). The pronoun “thou” refers to the addressed people generally as is apparent from the use of the plural tense afterwards.

2-108  Rather you wish to put questions to your Messenger, as Moses was questioned before. And whoever adopts disbelief instead of faith he indeed has lost the right direction of the way.^a

أَمۡ تُرِيدُونَ أَن تَسۡـَٔلُواْ رَسُولَكُمۡ كَمَا سُٮِٕلَ مُوسَىٰ مِن قَبۡلُ‌ۗ وَمَن يَتَبَدَّلِ ٱلۡڪُفۡرَ بِٱلۡإِيمَـٰنِ فَقَدۡ ضَلَّ سَوَآءَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ (١٠٨)

2:108a Disrespectful questioning by the Jews: The Jews are addressed here. By رَسُولَكُمۡ is meant “the prophet sent to you”. It was the Jews who questioned disrespectfully as is very clearly stated elsewhere: يَسۡـَٔلُكَ أَهۡلُ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ أَن تُنَزِّلَ عَلَيۡہِمۡ كِتَـٰبً۬ا مِّنَ ٱلسَّمَآءِ‌ۚ فَقَدۡ سَأَلُواْ مُوسَىٰٓ أَكۡبَرَ مِن ذَٲلِكَ (The People of the Book ask thee to bring down to them a Book from heaven; indeed they demanded of Moses a greater thing, than that) (4:53). The meaning of “adopts disbelief instead of faith” means to leave belief for disbelief as the Jews did.

2-109  Many of the people of the Book wish that they could turn you back into disbelievers after you have believed out of envy fromدthemselves, after truth has become manifest to them. But pardon and forgive, till Allah bring about His command. Surely Allah is Possessor of power over all things.^a

وَدَّ ڪَثِيرٌ۬ مِّنۡ أَهۡلِ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ لَوۡ يَرُدُّونَكُم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ إِيمَـٰنِكُمۡ كُفَّارًا حَسَدً۬ا مِّنۡ عِندِ أَنفُسِهِم مِّنۢ بَعۡدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ ٱلۡحَقُّ‌ۖ فَٱعۡفُواْ وَٱصۡفَحُواْ حَتَّىٰ يَأۡتِىَ ٱللَّهُ بِأَمۡرِهِۦۤ‌ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ ڪُلِّ شَىۡءٍ۬ قَدِيرٌ۬ (١٠٩)

حَسَدً۬ا – حسد is to wish for the end of a well-deserved blessing that has been bestowed on another and sometimes includes an effort to bring it to an end (R). One who makes an effort to get a similar blessing is called غبطه , and according to one tradition: اَلۡمُؤمِنُ یَغۡبِطُ وَالمُنَافِقُ یَحۡسُدُ , that is, a believer makes an effort to get a similar blessing but a hypocrite is jealous. In the Nihayah it states that حَسَد is to wish for the diminishing of somebody else’s blessings and to desire the same blessings for oneself while غَبۡطis to just desire the same blessings as someone else has without wishing theirs’s to diminish. A saying in the Hadith states: لا حسد الا فى اصفحوا. The meaning of صفح includes forsaking reproach and this is even more than forgiving (R).

Jews consider idol worship to be better than monotheism: Here it states that the waywardness of the Jews reached the stage where they desired the Muslims to revert to unbelief. Their wish was out of envy because otherwise they should have considered a religion of monotheism better than a religion of idol worship. In another place, the Quran quotes the People of the Book saying about the Makkan unbelievers: هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ أَهۡدَىٰ مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ سَبِيلاً  (These are better guided in the path than those who believe) (4:51). The Jews and the Makkan unbelievers had the common objective of extirpating Islam. They wanted the Muslims to revert from Islam and so waged wars against the Muslims. The Quran states: وَلَا يَزَالُونَ يُقَـٰتِلُونَكُمۡ حَتَّىٰ يَرُدُّوكُمۡ عَن دِينِڪُمۡ إِنِ ٱسۡتَطَـٰعُواْ‌ۚ  (And they will not cease fighting you until they turn you back from your religion, if they can) (2:217).

Muslims practice forgiveness in wars: The essence of Allah bringing about His command or order is that the kingship of Islam be established. Here it states that they (the Jews and Makkan unbelievers) will not desist till this happens but nevertheless the Muslims should comport themselves with forgiveness and compassion. The battles the Muslims fought were for defense of self and Islam. They never fought to seek revenge. This attitude of forgiveness and clemency prevailed both during the battle and after their victory. After the capture of Makkah, the forgiveness of the Makkans in the words of  لَا تَثۡرِيبَ عَلَيۡكُمُ ٱلۡيَوۡمَ‌ۖ  (No reproof be against you this day) (12:92) was in compliance with this verse. To consider this verse abrogated is sheer folly.

2-110    And keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate. And whatever good you send before for yourselves, you will find it with Allah. Surely Allah is Seer of what you do.^a

وَأَقِيمُواْ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُواْ ٱلزَّڪَوٰةَ‌ۚ وَمَا تُقَدِّمُواْ لِأَنفُسِكُم مِّنۡ خَيۡرٍ۬ تَجِدُوهُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ‌ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ بِمَا تَعۡمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ۬ (١١٠)

2:110a Prayer as a curative: The Muslims prayed prior to this order but the motive for an order is not necessarily that people acted contrary to it before the order was issued. The previous verses refer to the difficulties being confronted by Muslims at the hands of the People of the Book whose efforts were directed at making the Muslims renounce their religion. The palliative suggested for these difficulties is to pray and give zakat. Prayer is the best curative for difficulties as a person turns to Allah for help, but a person cannot reach his full potential by prayer alone unless it is accompanied by sympathy for fellow human beings in the form of zakat. In the end, it is stated that prayer is not for the benefit of Allah but it is the worshipper who benefits from it. Nothing is wasted; everything is preserved with Allah.

2-111    And they say: None shall enter the Garden except he who is a Jew or the Christians . These are their vain desires. Say: Bring your proof if you are truthful.^a

وَقَالُواْ لَن يَدۡخُلَ ٱلۡجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَن كَانَ هُودًا أَوۡ نَصَـٰرَىٰ‌ۗ تِلۡكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمۡ‌ۗ قُلۡ هَاتُواْ بُرۡهَـٰنَڪُمۡ إِن ڪُنتُمۡ صَـٰدِقِينَ (١١١) 

2-111a From بَرِہ (Became lighted) بُرۡهَـٰنَ is an argument that enlightens the claim and is strong, and assuredly true (R).

 إِلَّا مَن كَانَ هُودًا أَوۡ نَصَـٰرَىٰ – The plural of ھود is ھاد. for which see 62a. Both Jews and Christians are included in قَالُو and this is an abridgement of two sentences into one. That is, the Jews say that none will enter paradise except Jews and the Christians say that none will enter paradise except Christians. As is manifest from verse 113, this statement of theirs is termed امانی (their desire) or a false claim and they are asked to produce testimony in support thereof. The Jews claim that there is no salvation without the scriptural law of Moses while the Christians claim that there is no salvation without belief in atonement; but no argument supports either contention.

Quran provides evidence for every claim: Because the Jews and the Christians do not have testimony to verify their beliefs, the Christians are forced into an untenable situation where their belief system does not require rationality to explain spiritual beliefs. The Jews also present religion as requiring blind conformity. In contrast, Islam uses enlightened arguments. Further, Islam presents supporting arguments for every claim.

2-112    Nay, whoever submits himself entirely to Allah and he is the doer of good (to others), he has his reward from his Lord, and there is no fear for such nor shall they grieve.^a

بَلَىٰ مَنۡ أَسۡلَمَ وَجۡهَهُ ۥ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحۡسِنٌ۬ فَلَهُ ۥۤ أَجۡرُهُ ۥ عِندَ رَبِّهِۦ وَلَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا هُمۡ يَحۡزَنُونَ (١١٢)

2-112a أَسۡلَمَ –  Is derived from سَلٰم which means to remain protected against manifest and hidden calamities, and the meaning of اِسلام is to enter a state of peace and security, and the meaning of: اسۡلَمۡتُ اِلشیٔ اِلٰی فلانً is I gave the thing to the other. In shariah, اِسلام is used in two ways. One is verbal declaration and this is lesser than ایمان but the overt ordinances of Islam begin to apply as in: قُل لَّمۡ تُؤۡمِنُواْ وَلَـٰكِن قُولُوٓاْ أَسۡلَمۡنَا (Say: You believe not, but say, We submit) (49:14), and the second is to state verbally with firm conviction in the heart, combined with actions and faithfulness, that is, to fulfill the promise, and to surrender oneself fully to Allah in respect of all things that are Divinely decreed. (R). It is this second meaning that is applicable here.

وجه – is the face. Because face is the first appearance of a person and is the most distinguished part of the manifested body, the word is used for everything that comes forward, apparent, and for every distinguished thing and its commencement. Sometimes وجه is used to mean the thing itself, and sometimes it means attention (R).

Salvation is a result of actions and not just words: The Jews and the Christians claim nobody except them enters paradise. In the previous verse, this claim was rebutted as being without any evidence and so in this verse, it is stated that religion is not lip service but is a system of actions; only such enter paradise who adopt this system of actions. Mere professions are not sufficient to take one to paradise. The lesson for Muslims in this is firstly that a mere profession of faith in Islam is not sufficient to take them to paradise unless they exert the maximum effort to follow the system of actions that the religion prescribes, and secondly it apprises the Jews and Christians that the actions that takes one to God are not to be found in them anymore.

The actions that take one to paradise: What method grants one paradise? Devoting one’s attention fully to the obedience of Allah and dedicating oneself wholeheartedly to Allah. It is not to divorce oneself from the world, but to obey Allah in a way that benefits humanity and serves humankind. Complete obedience to Allah resulting in the perfection of one’s own soul and service to humanity is a part of making life more complete. These are the pillars of a true faith and these pillars are perfected in Islam.

Freedom from fear and grief: In the end it is stated: وَلَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَيۡهِمۡ وَلَا هُمۡ يَحۡزَنُونَ which means that the paradise granted in the Hereafter begins in this world. The nature of this worldly paradise is that a person achieves freedom from fear and grief. For details of this see 2-38b. When people practice complete obedience to Allah, Satan becomes obedient to them, and they are not afraid of falling a prey to his insinuations. Further, the time of such people is spent in doing acts that benefit humanity, and they do not grieve about the past. To achieve this stage, where one is free from the slavery of sin, where Satan is made obedient, and where one is fully engaged in the welfare of humanity, is the paradise of this world, and it is a testimony to the paradise of the Hereafter.

2-97      Say: Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel^a — for surely he revealed it to thy heart by Allah’s command, verifying that which is before it and a guidance and glad tidings for the believers.^b

قُلۡ مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّ۬ا لِّجِبۡرِيلَ فَإِنَّهُ ۥ نَزَّلَهُ ۥ عَلَىٰ قَلۡبِكَ بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّهِ مُصَدِّقً۬ا لِّمَا بَيۡنَ يَدَيۡهِ وَهُدً۬ى وَبُشۡرَىٰ لِلۡمُؤۡمِنِينَ (٩٧)

2:97a جبریل – A saying in Bukhari by Akramah states that جبریل (Gabriel),  میکال (Michael) and  اسرافیل (Raphael) all have the meaning of عبداللّٰه (servant of Allah). The meaning of جبر or میك or سراف is عبد (servant) and  ایل has the meaning of  اللّٰه (Allah). But جبریل can be a compound word from جبر and اٰئل . The meaning of جبر is to reform something through dominance and so a sultan or king is also called جبر. And اٰئل is from اَوۡل  , that is oft-returning.  So جبریل is the one who returns again and again like a king who desires to reform.

Gabriel and the Jews: Several hadith of great reliability seem to indicate that during the time of the Holy Prophet, the Jews considered Gabriel to be their enemy. According to Bukhari, Abdullah bin Salam stated before the Holy Prophet: ذاك عدو الیھود من الملائکة  and this is further underscored in some narrations that consider Gabriel to be ملك التشدید والعذاب (the angel of hardships and punishment).

Revelation brought by Gabriel: The Bible indicates that Gabriel is the angel that brings revelation. Accordingly, a verse in Daniel states: And I heard a man’s voice between the banks of Ulai, which called, and said, “Gabriel make this man understand the vision.” (Daniel 8:16). The same is also apparent from Luke 1:19-26. Similarly, the Quran states that Gabriel brought revelation to the Holy Prophet, as in this verse. The Hadith establishes that Gabriel and the Holy Prophet mutually recited the Quran during the month of Ramadan, and Bukhari it shows that the same angel who brought revelation to the Holy Prophet brought revelation to Moses as well. See the statement of Waraqah in the book, کیف کان بدء الوحی (How Revelation Started) where he said: ھذا الناموس الذی نزل اللّٰه علٰی موسٰی  . It appears that the Jews started associating punishment with Gabriel because whenever he brought revelation to prophets, the Jews rejected it because of their hard-heartedness and were punished for their rejection. They imputed this punishment to Gabriel.

2:97b: نَزَّلَهُ – The difference made between تنزیل and انزال is that تنزیل is used in situations where the revelation comes in parts or where the idea is to signal the revelation of chapters and verses of the Quran in succession, one after the other, whereas انزال  is used more generically (R).

قلب – The literal meaning of قلب is to turn a thing from one state to another (R). The heart is called قلب because it turns the blood around or because it changes one’s thinking. The meaning of قلب is also the reality or essence of a thing (T). The hadith states: الالکل شئ قلب و قلب القران یٰس  (Everything has a heart and the heart of Quran is the chapter Ya-Sin). Here, Ibn Kathir interprests the meaning of قلب as the essence or core.

The meaning of revelation to the heart: In comparison with the physical heart of the body, the soul has a heart which is the center of a person’s spirituality, and this is the heart mentioned here. This heart receives revelation. Some take نَزَّلَهُ ۥ عَلَىٰ قَلۡبِكَ to mean جعل قلبك متصفابا خلاق القران (Shaped your heart with the virtues of the Quran).

اذن – The ear is called اُذُن . And اِذن or اذان is a thing that is listened to and the words signify knowledge because knowledge is gained from listening. And, in a thing, اذن is to give knowledge that it is permitted. Hence by اللّٰه اذن is meant His intention and His action. Where اذن is used in the sense of knowledge, it is knowledge that reflects the will of God. Hence, اذن has a very specific meaning while علم to indicate knowledge is generic.

بشری – The manifest or outer side of leather is called بَشَرَة while its inner side is called اَدَمَة . It is with reference to this that humans are calledبَشَر . And بشریٰ   and بشارة refers to news that makes one happy (R), because it makes the skin of the face expand [as in a smile].

Bringing of revelation by Gabriel to the Holy Prophet: Gabriel brought revelation to the prophets as is apparent from the Bible (See previous note), but the Jews mistakenly considered Gabriel to be an angel of punishment. Hence it became necessary, when Gabriel is mentioned in the revelation, to clarify that just as Gabriel brought revelation to previous prophets, he also brings revelation to the heart of the Holy Prophet. This revelation verifies the previous revelations and is good news for those who accept it. Gabriel is, therefore, not an angel of punishment, but the bringer of guidance and good news.

2-98      Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers and Gabriel and Michael, then surely Allah is an enemy to disbelievers.

مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّ۬ا لِّلَّهِ وَمَلَـٰٓٮِٕڪَتِهِۦ وَرُسُلِهِۦ وَجِبۡرِيلَ وَمِيكَٮٰلَ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَدُوٌّ۬ لِّلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ (٩٨)

عَدُوًّ۬- The meaning of عَدۡو is to transgress, that is to go beyond all limits, and to have no agreement. If the discord is with respect to the heart, it means عَداوَة  and معاودة , that is enmity, if it is with respect to walking, then it isعَدۡو(running or racing), if it is with respect to a particular affair or with respect to disturbance in the court, then it is عُدۡوان andعَدۡو, that is aggression or wrongdoing. عَدُوًّ۬ , that is an enemy, may be of two types: One who is intentional and objective in his enmity, as in: مِن قَوۡمٍ عَدُوٍّ۬ لَّكُمۡ  (…a tribe hostile to you…) (4:92), and the other who has no intention or plan, but creates a condition that causes harm similar to that caused by an enemy, as the statement of Abraham about idols: فَإِنَّہُمۡ عَدُوٌّ۬ لِّىٓ إِلَّا رَبَّ ٱلۡعَـٰلَمِينَ (Surely they are an enemy to me, but not (so) the Lord of the worlds, or as stated: إِنَّ مِنۡ أَزۡوَٲجِكُمۡ وَأَوۡلَـٰدِڪُمۡ عَدُوًّ۬ا لَّڪُمۡ  (…surely of your wives and your children there are enemies to you…) (64:14). It is from this perspective that Allah is the enemy of the unbelievers, that is, He will treat them as such, or that they will be at the receiving end of His punishment.

It is stated here that enmity with Gabriel is enmity with Allah and His angels. Michael is specifically mentioned because the Jews considered Michael to be their friend. Accordingly, it is stated in Daniel: “And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people” (Daniel 12:1). Whoever acts with enmity toward Allah and the angels, then Allah too treats that person accordingly.

The meaning of Allah’s enmity: Allah does not harbor enmity against anybody. The use of the word is only to signify the punishment for enmity that would be meted out to them. For the use of this word see 15a.

2-99      And We indeed have revealed to thee clear messages, and none disbelieve in them except the transgressors.

وَلَقَدۡ أَنزَلۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ ءَايَـٰتِۭ بَيِّنَـٰتٍ۬‌ۖ وَمَا يَكۡفُرُ بِهَآ إِلَّا ٱلۡفَـٰسِقُونَ (٩٩)

فاسق – They are called فاسق here because a covenant had been taken from them regarding the last prophet. This covenant is mentioned more clearly in the next verse. For the meaning of فاسق see 26b.

2-100    Is it that whenever they make a covenant, a party of them cast it aside? Nay, most of them have no faith.

2-101    And when there came to them a messenger from Allah verifying that which they have, a party of those who were given the Book threw the Book of Allah behind their backs as if they knew nothing.^a

أَوَڪُلَّمَا عَـٰهَدُواْ عَهۡدً۬ا نَّبَذَهُ ۥ فَرِيقٌ۬ مِّنۡهُم‌ۚ بَلۡ أَكۡثَرُهُمۡ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ (١٠٠)

 وَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمۡ رَسُولٌ۬ مِّنۡ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ۬ لِّمَا مَعَهُمۡ نَبَذَ فَرِيقٌ۬ مِّنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ ڪِتَـٰبَ ٱللَّهِ وَرَآءَ ظُهُورِهِمۡ كَأَنَّهُمۡ لَا يَعۡلَمُونَ (١٠١)

2:101a: نَبَذَ – نَبَذَ is to discard a thing whose worth and value is not appreciated (R). It is further elucidated that these people did not even care about the book of God, the Torah, in which the covenant to accept the Holy Prophet was stated.

2-102    And they follow what the devils fabricated against the kingdom of Solomon.^a And Solomon disbelieved not,^b but the devils disbelieved, teaching men enchantment.^c And it was not revealed to the two angels in Babel, Harut and Marut.^d Nor did they teach (it to) anyone, so that they should have said, We are only a trial, so disbelieve not.^e But they learn from these two (sources)^f that by which they make a distinction between a man and his wife.^g And they cannot hurt with it anyone except with Allah’s permission.^h And they learn that which harms them and profits them not. And certainly they know that he who buys it has no share of good in the Hereafter.ⁱ And surely evil is the price for which they have sold their souls, did they but know!

وَٱتَّبَعُواْ مَا تَتۡلُواْ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينُ عَلَىٰ مُلۡكِ سُلَيۡمَـٰنَ‌ۖ وَمَا ڪَفَرَ سُلَيۡمَـٰنُ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ كَفَرُواْ يُعَلِّمُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ ٱلسِّحۡرَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَى ٱلۡمَلَڪَيۡنِ بِبَابِلَ هَـٰرُوتَ وَمَـٰرُوتَ‌ۚ وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنۡ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَآ إِنَّمَا نَحۡنُ فِتۡنَةٌ۬ فَلَا تَكۡفُرۡ‌ۖ فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنۡهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِۦ بَيۡنَ ٱلۡمَرۡءِ وَزَوۡجِهِۦ‌ۚ وَمَا هُم بِضَآرِّينَ بِهِۦ مِنۡ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ وَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مَا يَضُرُّهُمۡ وَلَا يَنفَعُهُمۡ‌ۚ وَلَقَدۡ عَلِمُواْ لَمَنِ ٱشۡتَرَٮٰهُ مَا لَهُ ۥ فِى ٱلۡأَخِرَةِ مِنۡ خَلَـٰقٍ۬‌ۚ وَلَبِئۡسَ مَا شَرَوۡاْ بِهِۦۤ أَنفُسَهُمۡ‌ۚ لَوۡ ڪَانُواْ يَعۡلَمُونَ (١٠٢)

2:102a تَتۡلُواْ ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينُ عَلَىٰ – The use of the word تلی or تلاوت is specific to prescriptions in the revelation of Allah. See 44a. One meaning of تلی علیه would be that he read out to him, as in: يَتۡلُواْ عَلَيۡہِمۡ ءَايَـٰتِهٖ  . It is obvious that this cannot be the meaning here because the devils did not recite anything to the kingdom of Solomon. Hence, another meaning is meant here. The meaning of یتلوا علیٰ فلان is یَکۡذبُ عَلیه , that is, they lied about it or they made a false imputation against him. In other words, they imputed false things to Solomon to seem that they were from God.

مُلۡكِ – مُلۡكِ and all other words derived from the same root have a sense of power and vehemence in their meaning (T). مُلك is to order the confiscation of something and to put it to one’s own use, and in ordinary parlance it means kingship. The meaning here is prophethood as stated by Mujahid in the commentary of the verse:  ٱللَّهُمَّ مَـٰلِكَ ٱلۡمُلۡكِ (O Allah, Owner of the Kingdom) (3:26). Solomon’s real kingdom was his prophethood.

Solomon son of David: His period was around 977 BC. No other Israelite ruler matched his reign for splendor and glory and the extent of his empire. He was a prophet as well as a king.

The false imputation of the Jews against Solomon: After explaining how the Jews, with the advent of the Holy Prophet, turned their back on the Book of Allah, it is now explained that instead of following the Book of Allah, the Jews had started following the falsehoods that the mischievous and seditious people were falsely imputing to Solomon to fool the populace, and to destroy the truth in this way. Many falsehoods were attributed to Solomon by the Jews. Unfortunately, the Muslims also adopted some of these fables which include the magic of Solomon and the images of Solomon. By ٱلشَّيَـٰطِينَ is meant the people who imputed such falsehoods to Solomon.   

2:102b Solomon’s unbelief and polytheism in the Bible: This statement is made in the Quran because a section of the Jews had developed so much malice against Solomon that they imputed unbelief and polytheistic practices to Solomon and these charges made their way into the Bible. Accordingly, it is stated in 1 Kings, “For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods; and his heart was not perfect with the Lord his God,” (11:4). Further on, it is stated that Solomon did evil in the sight of the Lord and the Lord was angry with him.

The Bible’s text tampered and its rectification by the Quran: While this is definitive proof that Biblical text is tampered with as evidenced by the immoral actions purportedly committed by a prophet, it is also proof that the Quran is a guardian over the previous scriptures in that it exposes their errors. Even Christian researchers agree that this narration in the Bible is incorrect. Accordingly, the Encyclopedia Biblica states: “That Solomon had a number of wives, both Israelite and non-Israelite, is probable enough, but he did not make alters for all of them, nor did he himself combine the worship of his wives’ gods with that of Yahwe.” The majesty of the Quran can be gauged from the fact that it’s original writings that came from an unlettered person who had not read the Bible are vindicated by research, while the Bible’s narration is proven erroneous. It follows that the Quran does not plagiarize from the Bible but instead corrects the errors of the Bible.

2:102c ٱلسِّحۡرَ – ٱلسِّحۡرُ الحِّداعُ و تَخۡیِیۡلَاتٌ لا حقیۡة لھا (magic is deception and an illusion and devoid of reality) (R). Jauhri describes magic as: کل ما لطف و دق ما خذہ فھو سحر (A matter whose reality is subtle and exquisite is سحر (magic)). A hadith states: ان من البیان لسحرا (some eloquent speech is as effective as magic), meaning thereby that the speech attracts the hearts of the people towards the proposition of the speaker. By the devils teaching the people magic is meant putting deceptive ideas in the minds of people and getting them to make dishonest statements that have no basis in truth. Even today, the devils teach similar things to people. The meaning of سحر as a basic transformation of nature, as commonly considered by people, has no basis in fact.

What is stated here is that the devils, meaning mischievous people, spread malicious lies about Solomon. The Jews act upon them. Secondly, they follow the magic which is taught by people who are themselves troublemakers. The next verse explains to whom they impute these statements.

 2:102d بَابِلَ – بَابِلَ was an ancient and large city which was the capital city of Iraq for a long time. It was situated on the banks of River Euphrates and its ruins can still be found on both banks of the river. It was the capital of Iraq even prior to 2300 BC. Historians state that the city wall around it was 55 miles long. At the time of Nebuchadnezzar, it was at its zenith but later it was destroyed.

 مَآ أُنزِلَ – Theمَآ   in مَآ أُنزِلَ  is used in the sense of negativing the statement as stated by Ibn Jarir because angels have never been sent physically into the world as Messengers, leave alone receiving magic from on High.

The Jews took the story of Harut and Marut from the Iranians: The Jews had a relationship with the Iranians, and used this relationship to instigate the Iranians against Islam. It was from the Iranians that they had taken the story of Harut and Marut. It was a widespread belief among the Iranians, as Sale has written, that there were two angels, Harut and Marut, in Babel who had received some revelation and that they taught people magic. Accordingly, Allah, the Most High, has negated two things here. First are those things that were attributed to Solomon, it is stated that he did not disbelief. Second the tale of Harut and Marut and the idea that they received some magic through revelation. It is stated that the Jews followed magical practices under the pretext that they were revealed to two angels Harut and Marut. It is here refuted that magic was revealed to the two angels Harut and Marut.

The opinion of researchers on Islam about the story of Harut and Marut: The nonsensical stories about Harut and Marut that some researchers wrote can be traced back to a certain extent to the Magians or the Jews. The Quran and Hadith are free from such frivolities. Imam Razi after describing these stories opines that these tales are sinful and vile. Shahab Iraqi writes that whoever believes that Harut and Marut are two angels who were punished because of their liaison with Zohra (Venus) is a disbeliever in Allah because the angels are innocent and cannot disobey Allah. Ruh al-Maani states that none of these tales can be verified to have originated from Prophet Muhammad. One wishes that Islamic books had been free from such frivolous stories that a rational person cannot accept. In short, those with knowledge regard these tales as vile.

2:102e The makers of the Harut and Marut tale also say that the two angels are hanging head down in a well and that they teach magic to people. However, they preface their teaching by telling the people that they are a trial and that they should not become unbelievers by learning magic from them. The Quran has condemned the learning of magic by calling it the work of the devil. Muslims should avoid such useless activities.

2:102f The personal pronoun مِنۡهُمَا  points to both the sources that had been mentioned previously, that is, the sinful talks imputed to Solomon although he had no connection with them, and secondly, the magic that was reputedly revealed to Harut and Marut.

2:102g In this one sentence, the reality of the full plan that was being hatched against the Holy Prophet is explained. There is only one society outside of religion that creates a distinction between men and women, that is, men can become its members but not women and that is Freemasonry. So, this verse informs that efforts are being made to destroy Islam by Freemasons, that is, secret societies. This is hinted in the next few words, and that the Jews in collaboration with the Freemasons are making secret plans against the Holy Prophet.

2:102h Secret plans against Islam: Here it is told that their purpose is to harm Islam and the Holy Prophet, but they will be unsuccessful in harming them. In another place in the Quran, it is stated that the People of the Book make secret plans to harm the believers: إِنَّمَا ٱلنَّجۡوَىٰ مِنَ ٱلشَّيۡطَـٰنِ لِيَحۡزُنَ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَلَيۡسَ بِضَآرِّهِمۡ شَيۡـًٔا إِلَّا بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّ (Secret counsels are only of the devil that he may cause to grieve those who believe, and he can hurt them naught except with Allah’s permission) (58:10). In both places the words are similar. So, in these words too, there is a hint about the secret plans that the Jews were making in collaboration with the Freemasons to kill the Holy Prophet.

The reality of Freemasons: The Freemasons are a society that has existed since ancient times. It is thought to be founded during the time of Solomon. Freemasons do not disclose their condition to anybody nor what they learn. The control of this society in this age is in the hands of nations that have political dominance over the world and its final goal is Christianity. Some ignorant Muslims also get trapped in their net and ruin their faith and belief.

Four things are disclosed here. First, there are some fiendish people who are making secret plans. Second, they find the rationale for this activity by imputing it to prophets (Solomon) and angels (Harut and Marut). Third that these plans are being made by those who differentiate between men and women, that is, Freemasons. Fourth, that their objective is to destroy Islam but they will not be able to harm it.

The reason for harm to believers: إِلَّا بِإِذۡنِ ٱللَّهِ‌ۚ  is in the form of استثنائے منقطع , that is a new statement starts after it. The meaning, therefore, is that they will not be able to harm the believers, but that the believers may suffer harm only if Allah permits. The need to provide this exception here is that Allah has stated His law that the believers will suffer from some difficulties, and something of fear and hunger and loss of property and lives and fruits, because without such struggle, believers cannot achieve perfection. So the enemies will be unsuccessful in their secret plans to harm, that is to destroy [Islam or kill the Prophet] but some harm may befall the believers in line with Allah’s plan to take them to perfection.

2:102i خَلَـٰقٍ۬ – خَلق is to create, that is the external form, while خُلق implies traits of character, that is, the internal form. And خلاق is the excellence that one achieves with his خُلق , that is the qualities of his character. For this reason, its meaning has become pleasure and delight, or share (R).

The fate of the planners: It is made clear here that not only would the Jews not be able to harm the Holy Prophet but that these things would be a source of harm to the Jews. They will not be able to benefit from them, but on the contrary would suffer loss. Accordingly, their plans against Islam ultimately resulted in their destruction and banishment from their homes.

2-103    And if they had believed and kept their duty, reward from Allah would certainly have been better; did they but know!^a

وَلَوۡ أَنَّهُمۡ ءَامَنُواْ وَٱتَّقَوۡاْ لَمَثُوبَةٌ۬ مِّنۡ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ خَيۡرٌ۬‌ۖ لَّوۡ كَانُواْ يَعۡلَمُونَ (١٠٣)

2:103a مَثُوبَةٌ۬ – مَثُوبَةٌ۬ and ثواب are both from ثوب which means for a thing to return to its original real self. And مَثُوبَةٌ۬ or ثواب is used to mean reward for an action. The derivation is on the grounds that it is as if the same action is returned (R).

This verse introduces belief in the Quran and in this way provides a connection with the next section which mentions the magnificence of the Quran and the need to believe in because it abrogates the shariah or laws of the previous scriptures.

2-87      And We indeed gave Moses the Book and We sent messengers^a after him one after another; and We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear arguments and strengthened him with the Holy Spirit.^b Is it then that whenever there came to you a messenger with what your souls desired not, you were arrogant? And some you gave the lie to and others you would slay.^c

وَلَقَدۡ ءَاتَيۡنَا مُوسَى ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ وَقَفَّيۡنَا مِنۢ بَعۡدِهِۦ بِٱلرُّسُلِ‌ۖ وَءَاتَيۡنَا عِيسَى ٱبۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ ٱلۡبَيِّنَـٰتِ وَأَيَّدۡنَـٰهُ بِرُوحِ ٱلۡقُدُسِ‌ۗ أَفَكُلَّمَا جَآءَكُمۡ رَسُولُۢ بِمَا لَا تَہۡوَىٰٓ أَنفُسُكُمُ ٱسۡتَكۡبَرۡتُمۡ فَفَرِيقً۬ا كَذَّبۡتُمۡ وَفَرِيقً۬ا تَقۡتُلُونَ (٨٧)

2:87a قَفَّيۡنَا – The meaning of قفا is the back, and the meaning of قفیته is kept this behind that.

ٱلرُّسُلِ – is the plural of رسول , and رسول is he who is the bearer of speech or a message (R). The word رسول cannot be applied in its true sense unless there is a message.

The use of رسول in a metaphorical sense: Allah’s رسول are they who bring a message from Allah for his creation, but in a metaphorical sense, it is permissible to use the word for others as well, as in: يَـٰٓأَيُّہَا ٱلرُّسُلُ كُلُواْ مِنَ ٱلطَّيِّبَـٰتِ (O ye messengers, eat of the good things) (23:51) where messengers include the Holy Prophet and his holy companions (see Al Mufradat of Raghib). Similarly, the word مُرۡسل has been used metaphorically for the apostles of Jesus: وَٱضۡرِبۡ لَهُم مَّثَلاً أَصۡحَـٰبَ ٱلۡقَرۡيَةِ إِذۡ جَآءَهَا ٱلۡمُرۡسَلُونَ (And set out to them the parable of the people of the town when apostles came to it) (36:13). Thus, the application of this word metaphorically, and not literally, to the mujadideen who are ordained for the Muslim nation is permissible. This word is particularly used for angels, who are intermediaries between Allah and His creation, and prophets, who bring some message from God for His creatures. It is also used for an envoy or emissary, as in: جَاعِلِ ٱلۡمَلَـٰٓٮِٕكَةِ رُسُلاً (Maker of the angels, messengers) (35:1) and فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُ ٱلرَّسُولُ (So when the messenger came to him) (12:50).

2:87b:  The chain of prophets in Bani Israel: The chain of prophets that came to Bani Israel is referred to as a favor to them. The first and last prophets of this line, Moses and Jesus, are mentioned while the intermediate prophets are left out. The Book mentioned here is the book of sharia or religious law given to Moses. This sharia remained basically the same for all the prophets. However, the prophets slightly modified it according to the needs and requirements of their time as, for example, stated about Jesus elsewhere in the Quran:  وَلِأُحِلَّ لَڪُم بَعۡضَ ٱلَّذِى حُرِّمَ عَلَيۡڪُمۡ   (…and I allow you part of that which was forbidden to you) (3:50).

It is necessary for a prophet to bring guidance: Accordingly, the Quran states that Jesus was given the Gospel and David the Psalms. It is mentioned at the end of the verse that they, the Bani Israel, rejected whatever the prophets brought to them. This shows that every prophet brought some guidance that people refused to accept. The guidance mentioned is different from clear arguments, that is miracles or prophecies. Miracles and prophecies are merely for support and corroboration.

عِيسَى – the base is عیس and is of the measure فعلی  (LA). The Arabs call a camel اَعۡیس whose whiteness has some darkness in it. And  ماء الفحلis called عَیۡس and it is possible that the word may be derived from it (R). But according to some lexicologists, this word is non-Arabic although in Syriac, this word is not عیسٰی but الیسوع and in the gospel, the name is یسوع  which means lord or blessed (RM).

مریم – The meaning of مریم  in Aramaic is maid-servant or female worshipper but مریم , according to Qamus al-Muhit (Dictionary), is an Arabic word and describes a woman التی تحب محادثة الرجال و لا تفجر

بینات – is the plural of بینة which is derived from بان (made manifest), and its meaning is a clear argument whether intellectual or perceptible (R). It includes miracles, prophecies, and arguments.

رُوحِ ٱلۡقُدُسِ‌ – It is stated in Al-Mufradat that رُوحِ (spirit) is used in the sense of نفس (soul) and is also used for the most eminent angels; in particular Gabriel who has been mentioned as رُوحِ ٱلۡقُدُسِ‌ (Holy Spirit) and رُوحِ الامین (Trustworthy  Spirit). The Quran, the word of God, has also been called رُوحِ as in: وَكَذَٲلِكَ أَوۡحَيۡنَآ إِلَيۡكَ رُوحً۬ا مِّنۡ أَمۡرِنَا‌ۚ  (And thus did We reveal to thee an inspired Book) (42:52), because it gives life [to the spiritually dead]. Some interpret رُوحِ ٱلۡقُدُسِ‌ here to mean Gabriel and some the Gospel (IJ).

The reason for the title Ibn Maryam (Son of Mary): The name Issa (Jesus) in the Quran has been supplemented with an extension Ibn Maryam (Son of Mary). This moniker is an estoppel to show the Christians that the person that they take for God and consider sinless was the son of a woman, and their scripture states: “He which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?” (Job 15:14). Further, according to the Christian belief, it is woman who brought sin to the earth and not man, because a woman made Adam eat the forbidden fruit. How can Jesus be distinguished from other men as sinless in the light of this belief when he had a mother? When, as the Christians believe, the real sinner was Eve and her original sin continues in her progeny, how can Mary be exempt from it? Quite apart from this, the renown that Jesus’ mother enjoys in the world is far greater than that of her husband, and on this basis too, it is preferable to identify Jesus with her, just as the Fatamids were identified with Hazrat Fatimah because of her virtue.

The relationship of the Holy Spirit (Ruh-ul-Qudus) with Jesus: The relationship of the Holy Spirit with Jesus is the same as that of the Holy Spirit with all other prophets. In fact, even the believers are assisted by the Holy Spirit, as stated in the Quran with reference to the Companions of the Holy Prophet: أَيَّدَهُم بِرُوحٍ۬ مِّنۡهُ (…strengthened them with a Spirit from Himself) (58:22). Similarly, it is stated in a hadith: اللّٰھم اید حسان بروح القدس (O Allah! Help Hassan with the Holy Spirit).   The clear arguments and the assistance with the Holy Spirit is mentioned in reference to Jesus because the Jews considered him impure and denied his signs and assistance by the Holy Spirit.

2:87c   The Jew’s habitually rejected and killed prophets: The reason for this narration is to emphasize that the enmity of the Jews toward the Holy Prophet is not because they find his arguments unconvincing but because they became so hardhearted that they persistently denied  God’s prophets and even planned to murder them. Thus, by using كَذَّبۡتُمۡ in the past tense and تَقۡتُلُونَ in the present tense, the idea is expressed that even now they are bent on killing a prophet. In fact they made their best effort to do so and would have succeeded had God not saved him. Accordingly, it is stated in the Ruh al-Maani: اِنکم الاٰن فیه فانکم حول قتل محمد صلی اللّٰه علیه و سلّم و لو لا انی اعصمه لقتلتموہ . It appears very clearly from this, that the word kill can be used where there is an active pursuit to kill a person or when means are put together to do so though the person has not been killed.

2-88      And they say: Our hearts are repositories. Nay, Allah has cursed them on account of their unbelief; so little it is that they believe.

وَقَالُواْ قُلُوبُنَا غُلۡفُۢ‌ۚ بَل لَّعَنَہُمُ ٱللَّهُ بِكُفۡرِهِمۡ فَقَلِيلاً۬ مَّا يُؤۡمِنُونَ (٨٨)

2:88a – غُلۡفُۢ is the plural of غُلۡف or اَغۡلف which means a thing that is under a covering. What is meant is under the covering of the knowledge of the Torah or it is the plural of غلاف , that is, their hearts are by themselves a covering of knowledge or a repository of knowledge (R). In other words, they are full of knowledge and have no need to learn anything from the Quran.

لعن – The literal meaning of لعن is to expel someone because of displeasure and to distance from him greatly. Allah’s displeasure, on the Day of Judgment means receiving punishment. His displeasure in this world means being cut off from Allah’s mercy and help and guidance (R). In a verse of the poet Shamakh bin Zarar, as follows: مقام الذءب کالرجل اللعین  the words الرجل اللعین mean a person who has been cast far away (IJ).

 فَقَلِيلاً۬ مَّا – ما is added as an extension to قلیل for purpose of emphasis, meaning very little.

Covering over the heart: The stance of the Jews was that their hearts are covered so that the preaching of the Holy Prophet has no impact on them. In another place, the same stance is expressed as: قُلُوبُنَا فِىٓ أَڪِنَّةٍ۬ مِّمَّا تَدۡعُونَآ إِلَيۡهِ (Our hearts are under coverings from that to which thou callest us) (41:5), that is, there is a natural covering over their heart, or that their hearts are already so full of wisdom that there is nothing that they can learn from the Holy Prophet. The response given to this is that the actual reason is that the Jews have been distanced from Divine Mercy and Guidance, and hence, they do not heed but a little.

2-89      And when there came to them a Book from Allah verifying that which they have, and aforetime they used to pray for victory against those who disbelieved — but when there came to them that which they recognized, they disbelieved in it; so Allah’s curse is on the disbelievers.^a

وَلَمَّا جَآءَهُمۡ كِتَـٰبٌ۬ مِّنۡ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ مُصَدِّقٌ۬ لِّمَا مَعَهُمۡ وَكَانُواْ مِن قَبۡلُ يَسۡتَفۡتِحُونَ عَلَى ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ فَلَمَّا جَآءَهُم مَّا عَرَفُواْ ڪَفَرُواْ بِهِۦ‌ۚ فَلَعۡنَةُ ٱللَّهِ عَلَى ٱلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ (٨٩)

2:89a  يَسۡتَفۡتِحُونَ – استفتاٰح is from فتح and one of its meaning is that the Jews used to supplicate God by asking for the advent of the Holy Prophet. The meaning may also be that they wanted information about the advent and sometimes they enquired about it from other people and sometimes they tried to deduce it from books, or that they asked for dominance over other nations through this means (R). And يَسۡتَفۡتِحُونَ can also mean یفتحون (Bd), that is, that the Jews would give the news about the last prophet to the idol worshippers.

Bani Israel and the Promised Prophet: The Jews entered a covenant with Moses that they would believe in the Promised Prophet and as a result, God will make them an honored nation (See Deuteronomy 18:15-19 and 28:1). However, when through the rejection of previous prophets, the Bani Israel became a maligned nation, they began to supplicate for the advent of the Promised Prophet so that they may have mastery over the unbelievers. But when that Book was revealed authenticating that which was revealed to them before, the most important sign of the Last Prophet being that he would validate the previous prophets sent to the world, they rejected him.

The identification of the Promised Prophet: Stated here is that they recognized the truth of the Holy Prophet because very clear and obvious signs of the Holy Prophet’s truthfulness were made manifest to them. The Holy Prophet claimed to be the like of Prophet Moses, a claim that had not been made by any other prophet. The Holy Prophet verified all the previous prophets and this was something that no previous prophets had done.

The denial of this Promised Prophet meant getting distanced from God. It was only by obeying his guidance that they would have been able to find the way to access God. When they rejected the Prophet, they doomed themselves to be distanced from God, that is, they brought the curse of God on themselves.

2-90      Evil is that for which they sell their souls — that they should deny that which Allah has revealed, out of envy that Allah should send down of His grace on whomsoever of His servants He pleases; so they incur wrath upon wrath. And there is an abasing chastisement for the disbelievers.

  بِئۡسَمَا ٱشۡتَرَوۡاْ بِهِۦۤ أَنفُسَهُمۡ أَن يَڪۡفُرُواْ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ بَغۡيًا أَن يُنَزِّلَ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضۡلِهِۦ عَلَىٰ مَن يَشَآءُ مِنۡ عِبَادِهِۦ‌ۖ فَبَآءُو بِغَضَبٍ عَلَىٰ غَضَبٍ۬‌ۚ وَلِلۡكَـٰفِرِينَ عَذَابٌ۬ مُّهِينٌ۬ (٩٠)

بِئۡسَ – is derived from بؤس which means severe and disgusting and بِئۡسَ is indicates a contemptible and censorial place, just as نعم is used for every praiseworthy place (R). بائس  and باسأ are from the same root.

بَغۡيًا – The meaning of بغی is a desire to deviate from the mean (R). And بغی is used both in a blame worthy and a praiseworthy sense, but mostly it is used in a place of opprobrium. The meaning of بغی here is envy (R).

 مُّهِينٌ۬ – is a verbal noun from اَھان and ھوان is of two types. One is to create humility in oneself and is spoken for a praiseworthy station without any opprobrium being attached to it, as in يَمۡشُونَ عَلَى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ هَوۡنً۬ا (…walk on the earth in humility) (25:63) and in a hadith: المؤمن ھَیّن لَیّن (A believer is humble and pleasant). The other use of the word is when a person in a dominant position tries to humiliate another (R). This is a dishonorable situation and being in the position of being governed by others is by itself ignominious and a humiliating punishment.

Jews envy of the Holy Prophet: The reason rejection is mentioned in the last verse is explained here as being envy for Allah bestowing His favor on a nation other than Bani Israel. This is further explained in the next verse as them saying that they would only believe in what is revealed to Bani Israel. The mention of wrath twice in “wrath upon wrath” is because they already incurred wrath and now by rejecting the Holy Prophet they incurred more wrath. The humiliating and dishonorable punishment is that they would remain governed and subordinate to others.

2-91      And when it is said to them, Believe in that which Allah has revealed, they say: We believe in that which was revealed to us. And they deny what is besides that, while it is the Truth verifying that which they have. Say: Why then did you kill Allah’s prophets before (this) if you were believers?^a

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ بِمَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ قَالُواْ نُؤۡمِنُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ عَلَيۡنَا وَيَكۡفُرُونَ بِمَا وَرَآءَهُ ۥ وَهُوَ ٱلۡحَقُّ مُصَدِّقً۬ا لِّمَا مَعَهُمۡ‌ۗ قُلۡ فَلِمَ تَقۡتُلُونَ أَنۢبِيَآءَ ٱللَّهِ مِن قَبۡلُ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤۡمِنِينَ (٩١)

2:91a Why was it necessary for a prophet to come from outside Bani Israel: The Bani Israel’s position was that if revelation came to a non-Israelite they would not accept it. They are first told in this revelation that it verifies the previous revelation that came to them, as was prophesied to be an identifying characteristic of the Promised Prophet. Second, their claim that they would have accepted this Prophet if he had been from Bani Israel, is debunked because they had previously killed prophets that were from Bani Israel. The first rebuttal also points out that if this Prophet had not come from outside the Bani Israel, then the prophecies in their scriptures would have been falsified because the prophecies required a prophet to come from the brethren of Bani Israel, that is Bani Ishmael, and Arabia is mentioned by name. Further, the like of Moses could not have been from the successors of Moses, and it was necessary for the Promised Prophet to be from outside the Bani Israel who would bring a new and complete sharia.

2-92      And Moses indeed came to you with clear arguments, then you took the calf (for a god) in his absence and you were wrongdoers.^a

وَلَقَدۡ جَآءَڪُم مُّوسَىٰ بِٱلۡبَيِّنَـٰتِ ثُمَّ ٱتَّخَذۡتُمُ ٱلۡعِجۡلَ مِنۢ بَعۡدِهِۦ وَأَنتُمۡ ظَـٰلِمُونَ (٩٢)

2:92a The narration of the Bani Israelite rejection is repeated here, and it is emphasized that they were guilty of committing polytheism even in the time of Moses when they made and worshipped the image of a calf.

2-93      And when We made a covenant with you and raised the mountain above you: Take hold of that which We have given you with firmness and obey. They said: We hear and disobey.^a And they were made to imbibe (the love of) the calf into their hearts on account of their disbelief.^b Say: Evil is that which your faith bids you if you are believers.

وَإِذۡ أَخَذۡنَا مِيثَـٰقَكُمۡ وَرَفَعۡنَا فَوۡقَڪُمُ ٱلطُّورَ خُذُواْ مَآ ءَاتَيۡنَـٰڪُم بِقُوَّةٍ۬ وَٱسۡمَعُواْ‌ۖ قَالُواْ سَمِعۡنَا وَعَصَيۡنَا وَأُشۡرِبُواْ فِى قُلُوبِهِمُ ٱلۡعِجۡلَ بِڪُفۡرِهِمۡ‌ۚ قُلۡ بِئۡسَمَا يَأۡمُرُڪُم بِهِۦۤ إِيمَـٰنُكُمۡ إِن كُنتُم مُّؤۡمِنِينَ (٩٣) 

2:93a ٱسۡمَعُو – The literal meaning of سمع is to hear but in addition to hearing, the word is used in the Quran sometimes to mean understand, and sometimes to mean obey (R). Here the meaning is to understand or obey because that is the purpose of hearing a command.

Verbally professing faith and disobedience in practice: Despite entering a firm covenant, the Bani Israel are charged with violating it so grossly that it was almost as if they overtly stated they would not obey it. In reality, they said سَمِعۡنَا , we have heard with their mouth and عَصَيۡنَا , we disobey, which they said in their heart or they said “we hear” with their tongue and “we disobey” with their actions. Such is the condition of Muslims today. They say that they believe in the Quran, but their actions belie their words.

2:93b  أُشۡرِبُواْ  – شرب indicates drinking water or other fluids (R). The analogy of drinking water is used when something totally penetrates and seeps through the system just as water reaches every pore of the body on drinking. The meaning of imbibe the calf means to imbibe the love of the calf (R): the disease of polytheism that the Bani Israel exhibited by worshipping the calf is still within them.

Rectification of a mistake in the Torah: In the Torah it states that the calf was burnt and its ashes were strewn in water and the Bani Israel were made to drink that mixture (Exodus 32:20). But this is baseless. The extension of  فِى قُلُوبِهِمُ (into their hearts) makes it clear that the Jews adopted a wrong meaning which resulted in distorting the meaning. The Quran states in another place that the ashes were strewn in the river لَّنُحَرِّقَنَّهُ ۥ ثُمَّ لَنَنسِفَنَّهُ ۥ فِى ٱلۡيَمِّ نَسۡفًا (We will certainly burn it, then we will scatter it in the sea) (20:97).

2-94      Say: If the abode of the Hereafter with Allah is specially for you to the exclusion of the people, then invoke death if you are truthful.^a

قُلۡ إِن كَانَتۡ لَڪُمُ ٱلدَّارُ ٱلۡأَخِرَةُ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ خَالِصَةً۬ مِّن دُونِ ٱلنَّاسِ فَتَمَنَّوُاْ ٱلۡمَوۡتَ إِن ڪُنتُمۡ صَـٰدِقِينَ (٩٤)

2:94a Mutual imprecation with the Jews: The meaning of invoking death is to imprecate for the death of the party that is lying. Just as the Christians were called for a duel by imprecation in Surah Al-Imran, the Jews are called upon here for a kind of mutual imprecation. The meaning is as narrated by Ibn Abbas: ادعوا بالموت علیٰ ای الفریقین اکذب (Pray for death on the party that is on the side of fabrication). If the Bani Israel are the beloved in the sight of Allah, as they claim, Allah will certainly accept their prayer. The next verse states that they will never have the courage to do that because of their evil actions.

Desire for death: Some commentators take the desire for death to mean the death of the believer so that the meaning is that a believer is not afraid to die but the Jews were afraid of death. However, this interpretation does not fit the text and the Quran supports the first meaning. Even a renowned commentator like Ibn Abbas interprets in accordance with the first meaning.

2-95      And they will never invoke it on account of what their hands have sent on before, and Allah knows the wrongdoers.

وَلَن يَتَمَنَّوۡهُ أَبَدَۢا بِمَا قَدَّمَتۡ أَيۡدِيہِمۡ‌ۗ وَٱللَّهُ عَلِيمُۢ بِٱلظَّـٰلِمِينَ (٩٥)

2-96      And thou wilt certainly find them the greediest of men for life, (greedier) even than those who set up gods (with God). One of them loves to be granted a life of a thousand years, and his being granted a long life will in no way remove him further off from the chastisement. And Allah is Seer of what they do.^a

وَلَتَجِدَنَّہُمۡ أَحۡرَصَ ٱلنَّاسِ عَلَىٰ حَيَوٰةٍ۬ وَمِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَشۡرَكُواْ‌ۚ يَوَدُّ أَحَدُهُمۡ لَوۡ يُعَمَّرُ أَلۡفَ سَنَةٍ۬ وَمَا هُوَ بِمُزَحۡزِحِهِۦ مِنَ ٱلۡعَذَابِ أَن يُعَمَّرَ‌ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بَصِيرُۢ بِمَا يَعۡمَلُونَ (٩٦) 

2:96 a أَحۡرَصَ – is an intensive form of حریص and حرص means to desire something very strongly (R).

أَشۡرَكُو – شِرۡکَة is a thing of which there are two or more. There are two types of شرک in religion. The first type is the great شرک which is associating someone with Allah and the second is the minor شرک which is to bear in mind that someone other than Allah will favor you in a matter (R). A hadith states: الشرك فی امتی اخفی من دبیب النمل علی الصفا , that is, shirk (polytheism) in this ummat (nation) is even more imperceptible than [the footprints of] ants that have passed over a clean surface.

بَصِيرُۢ – Eye is called بَصَر as is the power of seeing. The power of perception in the heart is called بَصِيۡرةۢ and also بَصَر  (R). اَلۡبَصِیۡر  (The Seeing) is an attributive name of Allah, and it means that He sees everything whether manifest or hidden without any seeing aid. بَصَر is His attribute by which the perfect qualities of all things are manifested (T).

مُزَحۡزِحِ – زَحۡزَحَ – is from زحّ which means removing a thing from its place.

يُعَمَّرُ – عِمارة  means to inhabit, that is the opposite of uninhabited. For this reason, عَمۡرا and عُمُر is the period in which the body is inhabited by life. And the word عَمۡر appears in an oath as in: لَعَمۡرُكَ إِنَّہُمۡ لَفِى سَكۡرَتِہِمۡ (By thy life! They blindly wander on…). And تعمیر from which یُعمّر is the aorist tense and means to grant life (R).

Life of a thousand years: It is narrated here that one will find the Jews greedy for the life of this world more than any other people, even more than the polytheists. While some consider the term polytheists to simply mean polytheists because they do not believe in being raised after death. some commentators take the reference to polytheists to particularly mean the Magi who, according to Ibn Jarir would bless someone sneezing by saying, “Live for a thousand years.” According to Ibn Abbas, the reference here is to non-Arabs. It is also possible that a new narration is started with: مِنَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَشۡرَكُواْ‌ۚ  (Those who set up gods (with God)), and the mention of the polytheists may be to the polytheists from among the People of the Book, that is, the Christians who are compared with the Jews. The meaning then is that the Jews are no doubt greedy for the life of this world having been enamored by it, but that their polytheistic brothers, that is the Christians, desire a life of a thousand years.

The Christian opposition of Islam: The meaning of a life of thousand years in this Surah may be to a thousand-year life of a nation opposed to Islam, as has been stated elsewhere: لَّبِثۡتُمۡ إِلَّا يَوۡمً۬ا (You tarried but a day) (20:104) and a day with God is the measure of a thousand earth days. The meaning would then be that even if the Christian opposition to Islam lasted for a thousand years and even if they prevailed, they would not be able to escape punishment.

2-83      And when We made a covenant with the Children of Israel: You shall serve none but Allah. And do good to (your) parents, and to the near of kin and to orphans and the needy, and speak good (words) to (all) men, and keep up prayer and pay the poor-rate. Then you turned back except a few of you, and you are averse.^a

وَإِذۡ أَخَذۡنَا مِيثَـٰقَ بَنِىٓ إِسۡرَٲٓءِيلَ لَا تَعۡبُدُونَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ وَبِٱلۡوَٲلِدَيۡنِ إِحۡسَانً۬ا وَذِى ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَٱلۡيَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلۡمَسَـٰڪِينِ وَقُولُواْ لِلنَّاسِ حُسۡنً۬ا وَأَقِيمُواْ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُواْ ٱلزَّڪَوٰةَ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيۡتُمۡ إِلَّا قَلِيلاً۬ مِّنڪُمۡ وَأَنتُم مُّعۡرِضُونَ (٨٣)

2:83a احسان  – حُسن is that which causes happiness or that which one is inclined to by rationality, desire or senses. In the Quran, it is mostly used to indicate that which is intellectually likable (R). By حسن here is meant a good word. And احسان can describe actions as in good knowledge and good deeds. In a hadith احسان is described as worshipping Allah as if you are seeing Him, or at least as if He is seeing you. Its most common use is doing good to another; that is a person’s goodness becomes transitive.

ذِى ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ    – قرب  (nearness; closeness) may be in several ways – through relationship, as implied here, as through a parent, closeness in terms of time or place, closeness of status, as in من المقربین , closeness because of a favor, that is, care as in إِنَّ رَحۡمَتَ ٱللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ۬ مِّنَ ٱلۡمُحۡسِنِينَ (Surely the mercy of Allah is nigh to the doers of good. (7:56)), and closeness of divine power as in نَحۡنُ أَقۡرَبُ إِلَيۡهِ مِنۡ حَبۡلِ ٱلۡوَرِيدِ (We are nearer to him than his life vein (50:16)) (R). However, closeness can also be in terms of knowledge.

ٱلۡيَتَـٰمَىٰ – is the plural of یتیم (orphan) and the meaning of یُتۡم is separation, that is to cut. An یتیم (orphan) in the Arabic culture is a person whose father dies before they are mature (R). Unique things are also called یتیم , as in دُرَّة یتیمة (unique pearl).

تَوَلَّيۡتُمۡ  – The root of  تولّٰی is ولی  meaning nearness. When its relative pronoun is عن , whether explicit or implicit, as here, then its meaning is to shrink from or to become distant (R).

مُّعۡرِضُونَ – اعرض is derived from عرض which is the opposite of long and its use extends to things that are not part of the body, as in: فَذُو دُعَآءٍ عَرِيضٍ۬ (…he is full of lengthy supplications) (41:51). The meaning of  اعرض منه is, he turned away from it. The distinction made between تولّٰی and اعرض is that تولّٰی means went back to where he came from, that is, turned his back, and اعرض means left the path and went off in the direction of its width, that is, not only leaving the truth but adopting falsehood.

Commandments of the Torah: When the taking of covenant was first mentioned, details were left out. Some details are provided here with regards to commandments given. These commandments are core principles. The worship of One true God and the doing of good to God’s creation. The Torah laid great stress on the Oneness of Allah and to reinforce this message, a notification style is adopted. After this, stress is laid on goodness to parents, then relatives, then orphans, then the needy and then people at large. Two practical ways of fulfilling these commandments are then given – prayer and charity. These directives are all found in the Torah. For the worship of One God see Exodus 20:3, for respecting parents see 20:12, for near of kin see Deuteronomy 15:11, for orphans see Deuteronomy 26:12, for the needy see Deuteronomy 15:11, for people at large see the beginning of Exodus chapter 23, for prayer see Deuteronomy 13:4, for charity see Exodus 23:10-11, and Leviticus 25:6-11.

2-84      And when We made a covenant with you: You shall not shed your blood, nor turn your people out of your cities; then you promised and you bear witness.^a

  وَإِذۡ أَخَذۡنَا مِيثَـٰقَكُمۡ لَا تَسۡفِكُونَ دِمَآءَكُمۡ وَلَا تُخۡرِجُونَ أَنفُسَكُم مِّن دِيَـٰرِكُمۡ ثُمَّ أَقۡرَرۡتُمۡ وَأَنتُمۡ تَشۡہَدُونَ (٨٤) 

2:84a The command not to wage war against their own nation: The Arabian Jews are directly addressed here because this matter is specifically pertinent to them. Mention is made of one significant violation of their covenant. The intent is also to particularly draw the attention of Muslims to this. By “not shed your blood” is meant not to wage war against your own nation. This command is in Exodus 20:13. By “turn your people out of your cities” is meant either not to covet gaining possession of their brethren’s houses, for which see Exodus 20:17 or internecine warfare, the natural consequence of which would be that some people would have to leave their houses.

2-85      Yet you it is who would slay your people and turn a party from among you out of their homes, backing each other up against them unlawfully and exceeding the limits. And if they should come to you as captives you would ransom them, whereas their turning out itself was unlawful for you. Do you then believe in a part of the Book and disbelieve in the other? What then is the reward of such among you as do this but disgrace in the life of this world, and on the day of Resurrection they shall be sent back to the most grievous chastisement. And Allah is not heedless of what you do.^a

ثُمَّ أَنتُمۡ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ تَقۡتُلُونَ أَنفُسَكُمۡ وَتُخۡرِجُونَ فَرِيقً۬ا مِّنكُم مِّن دِيَـٰرِهِمۡ تَظَـٰهَرُونَ عَلَيۡهِم بِٱلۡإِثۡمِ وَٱلۡعُدۡوَٲنِ وَإِن يَأۡتُوكُمۡ أُسَـٰرَىٰ تُفَـٰدُوهُمۡ وَهُوَ مُحَرَّمٌ عَلَيۡڪُمۡ إِخۡرَاجُهُمۡ‌ۚ أَفَتُؤۡمِنُونَ بِبَعۡضِ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبِ وَتَكۡفُرُونَ بِبَعۡضٍ۬‌ۚ فَمَا جَزَآءُ مَن يَفۡعَلُ ذَٲلِكَ مِنڪُمۡ إِلَّا خِزۡىٌ۬ فِى ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَا‌ۖ وَيَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰٓ أَشَدِّ ٱلۡعَذَابِ‌ۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَـٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعۡمَلُونَ (٨٥)

2:85a تَظَـٰهَرُونَ – تظاھُر is helping each other and is derived from ظَھر meaning back. Thus, mutual helpers are such that each has the other’s back.

اثم – اِثم and اَثَام are those acts that hold back one from doing acts of goodness. There is an element of procrastination in its real meaning (R). There is praise for اِثم in the Hadith: ما حاك فی صدرك , that is, a thing that leaves an impression and is firmly established internally, and it is added with it: وکرھتان یطلع الناس علیه (and you disapprove that others should learn about it).

عُدۡوَٲنِ – is from عدو meaning to transgress. Sometime this transgression is by the heart and is called عداوت or معاودت  Sometimes it is in walking and is called عَدۡو , that is brisk walking, and sometimes it is in an affair as a result of not following a middle course and is called عُدوان. The difference between اِثم and عُدۡوَٲنِ is that اِثم is an action where the effect is confined to the individual himself while عُدۡوَٲنِ is being unjust to another. The behavior of the Jews by virtue of disobedience to the commands of God is اِثم and by virtue of being unjust to their brothers is عُدۡوَٲنِ.

اساری  – is the plural of اسیر or the plural of اَسریٰ which is the plural of اسیر .The meaning of اسیر is to tie with a chain, and any person who is caught, whether bound by chain or not is اسیر .

تُفَـٰدُوا – The meaning of فداء and فِدَی is to spend some money to get out of a troublesome situation (R).

ٱلدُّنۡيَا‌ – is derived from دنوّ which means near, and دنیا is the near life or near profit in contrast with the Hereafter.

ٱلۡقِيَـٰمَةِ – قیام – is derived from قام یقوم . It becomes قیامة by the addition of ھا , and its meaning is for a person to stand up only once and for this to happen all of a sudden, an element of sorrow and warning are added to it (R). And قیامة is the day of resurrection when people will stand before the Ever-Living Sustaining One (T).

Three Doomsdays – کبریٰ (Great),  وسطیٰ (Middle) and  صغریٰ (Small). It is stated under the word ساعتہ  (Hour) in Al-Mufradat that there are three Hours which spell the Doom: کبریٰ the raising of people for requital,  وسطیٰ the passing of a generation, as in the hadith where the Holy Prophet said to Abdullah bin Anees on seeing him: ان یَطُلۡ عُمُر ھذا الغلام لم یَمُتۡ حتی تقوم الساعُتہ  (If the life of this boy is long, he will not die till Doomsday); accordingly, it is narrated that he was the last of the Companions to die, and صغریٰ that occurs with the death of each individual.

Participation of Jews in the tribal fights of Aws and Khazraj: There were two major tribes in Madinah – Aws and Khazraj, and the two were in a state of perpetual conflict with each other. Two major tribes of the Jews, Bani Nazir and Bani Quraizah, aligned themselves on opposite sides in this conflict, the former with Aws and the latter with Khazraj. Thus, united with their ally, they killed their own brethren and forced them from their houses. When one of the sides in the conflict captured prisoners of war from the other side, the two tribes would jointly contribute to ransom the prisoners. The Quran accuses them of this, and states that the result of fighting their own people, creating mischief, and evicting their own brethren would be that they would become disgraced in the world. Further, they should not hope for paradise in the next world for they would be punished even more severely than they had been on earth.

The example of the Jews was a warning to the Muslims not to indulge in internecine wars: The narration of the Jews is meant as a warning for the Muslims, but the Muslims followed in the footsteps of the Jews. The events described here became a prophecy for the events of the Muslims. If Muslims in one part of the world are injured in a war, Muslims in the other parts contribute to help them. On the other hand, Muslim countries often plan to destroy other Muslim countries, sometimes in alliance with others and sometimes on their own. On the one hand, Muslims in collaboration with the Christians destroyed the Islamic caliphate, and on the other they demonstrated and appealed for its establishment.  

The description of a Muslim: This narration about the Jews underscores that regardless of what the conditions are, it is not permissible for Muslims to wage war against each other, to shed Muslim blood and capture other Muslim kingdoms. A Hadith states: المسلم من سلّم المسلمون من لسانه و یدہ . A Muslim is one who does not hurt another Muslim either by his hand or by his tongue. Hurting by hand includes murder, looting wealth and seizing the countries of other Muslims. Hurting by tongue includes defaming, abusing, and calling other Muslims unbelievers. Through internecine wars, and rebellions, Muslims have dishonored themselves and continue on a path of destruction.

Decrees of excommunication wrecking the nation: When Muslim nations lost their sovereignty, they kept on the path of destruction by excommunicating each other. Even now, religious scholars and leaders are not concerned with spreading Islam or appropriately responding to criticisms levelled against Islam. Instead their favorite pastime remains declaring other Muslims unbelievers.

2-86      These are they who buy the life of this world for the Hereafter, so their chastisement shall not be lightened, nor shall they be helped.^a

أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱشۡتَرَوُاْ ٱلۡحَيَوٰةَ ٱلدُّنۡيَا بِٱلۡأَخِرَةِ‌ۖ فَلَا يُخَفَّفُ عَنۡہُمُ ٱلۡعَذَابُ وَلَا هُمۡ يُنصَرُونَ (٨٦)

2:86 a The narration now turns to the people who violated the covenant. A new revelation came for their guidance and if they had accepted this guidance, then their punishment would be averted and they would be helped, but since they rejected it for the sake of this worldly life, this will not happen now.

2-72      And when you (almost) killed a man, then you disagreed about it. And Allah was to bring forth that which you were going to hide.

2-73      So We said: Smite him with it partially. Thus Allah brings the dead to life, and He shows you His signs that you may understand.^a

وَ اِذۡ قَتَلۡتُمۡ نَفۡسًا فَادّٰرَءۡتُمۡ فِيۡهَا ^ط

وَاللّٰهُ مُخۡرِجٌ مَّا كُنۡتُمۡ تَكۡتُمُوۡنَۚ‏ ﴿۷۲﴾     

فَقُلۡنَا اضۡرِبُوۡهُ بِبَعۡضِهَا ^ط كَذٰلِكَ يُحۡىِ اللّٰهُ الۡمَوۡتٰى ۙ وَيُرِيۡکُمۡ اٰيٰتِهٖ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿۷۳﴾

 2:73a  قَتَلۡتُمۡ – As has been accepted in the explanation of يَقۡتُلُوۡنَ النَّبِيّٖ the meaning of قَتَلۡتُمۡ here is either that they created all those circumstances that can put an end to life or that as far as they were concerned they had killed him but some impediment prevented death. See 2:61c.

ادّٰرَءۡتُمۡ – It is derived from درء (turning away; driving back, repelling) and is in the measure of تفاعلتم whose base is تدارأتم (IJ) and the meaning of درء is نشوز (disobedience) is to quarrel and to disagree (T). In a hadith about Khulah (divorce initiated by wife), the meaning of درء in اذا کان الدرء من قبلھا, is taken to be opposition and disobedience. Hence the meaning of ادّٰرَءۡتُمۡ have been taken as اختلفتم و تنازعتم, that is, you disagreed and quarreled (IJ-RM). درء is also used in the sense of دفع (avert), examples of which appear elsewhere in the Quran as in: وَيَدۡرَؤُا عَنۡهَا الۡعَذَابَ (And it shall avert the chastisement from her…) (24:8) and فَادۡرَءُوۡا عَنۡ اَنۡفُسِكُمُ الۡمَوۡتَ (Avert death from yourselves…) (3:168).

Another incident to compare with the incident of cow slaughter: It is possible that the reference here may be to the command in Deuteronomy 21:1-9 wherein it is sated that when the identity of a murderer is unknown, a heifer that has not been under the yoke should be slaughtered and hands washed over it. However, just as all the events from verse 67 in the last section appear to be separate events, this seems to be a separate event. It is not related to the slaughter of the cow but is another incident that compares with it. There are many references in the Quran to acts of stubbornness [by the Bani Israel]. So, when the previous section was ended with the reluctance shown in slaughtering a cow, this verse asks them to contemplate and compare with it an event in which they showed no reluctance in killing a great man.

The reference in قَتَلۡتُمۡ نَفۡسًا is to the killing of a prophet: Some commentators opine that that the killing refers to a paternal nephew who killed his uncle so that he could marry his daughter and thereby inherit his uncle’s property. These kinds of murders are commonplace in nations. If such an event took place, there was no need to mention it in the Quran. Circumstantial evidence indicates that this refers to the killing of a prophet. First, the Bani Israel were charged with committing two crimes – the ungratefulness of the signs of Allah and the killing of prophets. Several examples of the former charge were given but no example of the second charge had been mentioned. Second, the deliberate vagueness used in expressing نَفۡسًا as a common noun is an indication of greatness, thereby showing that the reference is to the [well-known] killing of a great man. Third, the whole nation cannot be held liable for an ordinary murder, but a whole nation can be charged for the murder of a prophet. If a nephew had murdered an uncle, charging the whole nation for it would be meaningless. However, if a prophet is slain, then the charge against the whole nation is correct, because the Quran has rendered nations liable for the killing of their prophets. This circumstantial evidence indicates that the mention here is to the killing of a prophet.

The prophet referred to is Jesus: There are a few more facts worthy of consideration here. The first one is that after having killed him, as far as they were concerned, there was some disagreement among them as is manifested by the words: فَادّٰرَءۡتُمۡ فِيۡهَا  (then you disagreed about it). Second, they were not successful in their murderous attempt as shown by the statement: And Allah was to bring forth that which you were going to hide. The only incident in the history of Bani Israel of such a killing or an attempted killing in which there was disagreement and the killing was that of a prophet is the crucifixion of Jesus and none other.

The attempted killing of Jesus: In another place, the Quran states: وَّقَوۡلِهِمۡ اِنَّا قَتَلۡنَا الۡمَسِيۡحَ  عِيۡسَى ابۡنَ مَرۡيَمَ (And for their saying: We have killed the Messiah, Jesus, son of Mary) (4:157) but it is stated: وَمَا قَتَلُوۡهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوۡهُ وَلٰـكِنۡ شُبِّهَ لَهُمۡ (…and they killed him not, nor did they cause his death on the cross, but he was made to appear to them as such) (4:157), and then it is stated: وَاِنَّ الَّذِيۡنَ اخۡتَلَـفُوۡا فِيۡهِ لَفِىۡ شَكٍّ مِّنۡهُ‌ (And certainly those who differ therein are in doubt about it) (4:157). So, on the one hand, the circumstantial evidence indicates that the narrated event pertains to a prophet, and on the other, it is manifest that a prophet whose killing was disputed and whose killing was not successful is Messiah, on him be peace. Thus, there is an exposition in these verses of the non-temperate behavior of the Bani Israel. On the one hand, they showed so much prevarication in slaughtering a cow, and on the other, there is so much boldness in killing a great prophet. There is also an indication pointing towards Jesus as the subject in the verse by stating immediately after: ثُمَّ قَسَتۡ قُلُوۡبُكُمۡ مِّنۡۢ بَعۡدِ ذٰلِكَ (Then your hearts hardened after that,…) (2:74) and it is proven from the Quran: فَطَالَ عَلَيۡهِمُ الۡاَمَدُ فَقَسَتۡ قُلُوۡبُهُمۡ (…but time was prolonged for them, so their hearts hardened) (57:16). This shows that the narrated incident is one that occurred after the lapse of a long time after Moses.

Quran commentates on itself: Certain sections of the Quran commentate on other sections. The incidents narrated here are repeated in Surah Al-Nisa. In verse 153 there is the demand to see God and a mention of making the [golden] calf. In verse 154, the making of the covenant is mentioned along with the command to enter the city obediently, and not to violate the Sabbath. Verse 155 comments on their violation of the covenant and the killing of prophets. All this is congruent with what is mentioned here in Surah Baqara. The difference is that there are a lot more details here as compared to Surah Al- Nisa where the same events are mentioned but with brevity. Verse 157 of Surah Al-Nisa mentions the unsuccessful attempt to kill Jesus and the dispute that followed. Thus, what was only indicated here briefly, has been expressed in more detail in Surah Al-Nisa. This is the perfection of Quran that although these two surahs were revealed many years apart, the brevity in one surah has been amplified in another, and what had been dealt with in detail previously was mentioned only briefly in recounting the events. This comparison is a further testimony that the indication given here is to the attempted killing of Jesus.

What is meant by اضۡرِبُوۡهُ بِبَعۡضِهَا (Smite him with it partially): The personal pronoun in اضۡرِبُوۡهُ refers to نفس (man) because sometimes the personal pronoun for نفس (man) by virtue of the meaning is masculine. The pronoun in بَعۡضِهَا refers to the verb kill. The meaning therefore becomes to kill him in certain aspects, that is, the act of killing should not be completed on him. Accordingly, it is accepted in Bahr al-Muhit that the pronoun in the verbal noun بَعۡضِهَا refers to killing.

Jesus and the events of crucifixion: The truth is that the act of killing was not completed on the Messiah. The period for which Jesus stayed on the Cross was three hours and a person cannot die by crucifixion in that amount of time. The bones of the two thieves who were crucified at the same time as Jesus were broken but Jesus’ bones were not broken. This is what is conveyed by: اضۡرِبُوۡهُ بِبَعۡضِهَا (Smite him with it partially) and کذٰلك یحی اللّٰه الموتٰی (Thus Allah brings the dead to life) that this is how God kept the person alive who was considered to be dead and brought him back to life. And by the statement: يُرِيۡکُمۡ اٰيٰتِهٖ لَعَلَّكُمۡ تَعۡقِلُوۡنَ (He shows you His signs that you may understand), it is impressed on Bani Israel that just as Jesus, who appeared dead to them, was brought back to life by Allah because his mission was the glorification of Allah’s name, they too will be granted life by Allah although they are a dead nation if they adopt the glorification of His word.

2-74      Then your hearts hardened after that, so that they were like rocks, rather worse in hardness. And surely there are some rocks from which streams burst forth; and there are some of them which split asunder so water flows from them; and there are some of them which fall down for the fear of Allah. And Allah is not heedless of what you do.^a

ثُمَّ قَسَتۡ قُلُوۡبُكُمۡ مِّنۡۢ بَعۡدِ ذٰلِكَ فَهِىَ كَالۡحِجَارَةِ اَوۡ اَشَدُّ قَسۡوَةً ^ط وَاِنَّ مِنَ الۡحِجَارَةِ لَمَا يَتَفَجَّرُ مِنۡهُ الۡاَنۡهٰرُ‌ؕ وَاِنَّ مِنۡهَا لَمَا يَشَّقَّقُ فَيَخۡرُجُ مِنۡهُ الۡمَآءُ‌ؕ وَاِنَّ مِنۡهَا لَمَا يَهۡبِطُ مِنۡ خَشۡيَةِ اللّٰهِ ^ط وَمَا اللّٰهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعۡمَلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿۷۴﴾ 

2:74a قَسَتۡ – حجر قاس is a hard stone. Hence the meaning of قسوت is hardness of the heart.

اَوۡ (and) here has the meaning of بل (rather).

The hard heartedness of the Bani Israel: Their hard heartedness is first compared with that of stone, but notwithstanding, hope is held out and reasons given for not being despondent. When streams can burst forth from rocks, then why cannot streams of knowledge burst forth from the hard hearts of Bani Israel that would benefit the whole world. A grade below these are those from whom only a little water flows out after splitting. These are those whose beneficence is not widespread and there are some among them that provide no benefit to others but at least garner some benefit for themselves by bowing before the glory of Allah.

The case of Muslims: The history of Bani Israel is a map of the history of Muslims. Even more than drawing the attention of Bani Israel, it is the Muslims who are reminded here that despite their hard heartedness, they should not lose hope. As is stated elsewhere: اَلَمۡ يَاۡنِ لِلَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡۤا اَنۡ تَخۡشَعَ قُلُوۡبُهُمۡ لِذِكۡرِ اللّٰهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الۡحَـقِّۙ وَلَا يَكُوۡنُوۡا كَالَّذِيۡنَ اُوۡتُوا الۡكِتٰبَ مِنۡ قَبۡلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيۡهِمُ الۡاَمَدُ فَقَسَتۡ قُلُوۡبُهُمۡ‌ؕ َ‏ (Has not the time yet come for the believers that their hearts should be humble for the remembrance of Allah and the Truth that is revealed, and that they should not be like those who were given the Book before, but time was prolonged for them so their hearts hardened). (57:16). There is an indication even here that a nation can progress after their hard heartedness by acquiring knowledge.

2-75      Do you then hope that they would believe in you, and a party from among them indeed used to hear the word of Allah, then altered it after they had understood it, and they know (this).^a

  اَفَتَطۡمَعُوۡنَ اَنۡ يُّؤۡمِنُوۡا لَـكُمۡ وَقَدۡ كَانَ فَرِيۡقٌ مِّنۡهُمۡ يَسۡمَعُوۡنَ کَلَامَ اللّٰهِ ثُمَّ يُحَرِّفُوۡنَهٗ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِ مَا عَقَلُوۡهُ وَهُمۡ يَعۡلَمُوۡنَ‏ ﴿۷۵﴾

2:75a  تَطۡمَعُوۡنَ – طمع is the yearning of the soul for a thing that one likes (R). Its use is normally for base desires, but its meaning is also رجا, that is, to hope for something (T).

کَلَامَ اللّٰهِ – کَلَامَ is from کلم for which see 2:57a and کَلَامَ is a string of words organized according to their underlying meanings (R). Thus, words that make no meanings or meanings without words is not called کَلَامَ . So, کَلَامَ اللّٰهِ are words that convey a meaning. The belief that only the sense is cast into the heart of a person when revelation is received is incorrect according to the definition of کَلَامَ.

حَرِّفُوۡنَ – It is derived from تحریف حرف whose meaning is edge or boundary and the meaning of تحریف is alteration and change (T). The alteration and change can be either in words or meaning, but primarily it is taken to mean alteration of words. This is the generally accepted opinion and it is supported by the following verse of the Quran which comes a little later:      يَكۡتُبُوۡنَ الۡكِتٰبَ بِاَيۡدِيۡهِمۡ ^ق ثُمَّ يَقُوۡلُوۡنَ هٰذَا مِنۡ عِنۡدِ اللّٰهِ(…write the Book with their hands then say, This is from Allah) (2:79). It is obvious the alteration is in words. So, in the context of this verse, the alteration referred to is in words.

Alteration in the text of the Bible: One of the many marvels of the Quran is its claim that the Bible had been altered when the world was unaware of it. Today, fourteen hundred years later, the Christian Biblical researchers admit that the Bible has been altered. Who gave this knowledge to an unlettered man when no one was familiar even with the concept of alteration?

Answer to why Torah and Gospel retain their names even after alteration: Christians have some objections to the charge of alteration. If these Books were altered and not in their original form then why does the Quran still refer to them as the Torah and Gospel instead of giving them a new name? This is an absurd objection because there is no need to change the name of a book because of alteration. The second objection is why does the Quran call upon their adherents to follow these altered scriptures? The answer is that this is the minimalist demand made to Jews and Christians that they should at least follow what is in their hands and which they consider to be the words of God. Otherwise all their claims will ring hollow as is stated in: قُلۡ يٰۤـاَهۡلَ الۡـكِتٰبِ لَسۡتُمۡ عَلٰى شَىۡءٍ حَتّٰى تُقِيۡمُوا التَّوۡرٰٮةَ وَالۡاِنۡجِيۡلَ (Say: O People of the Book, you follow no good till you observe the Torah and the Gospel) (5:68).

How does the Quran verify the earlier Books: The third objection is that Quran verifies these scriptures. The meaning of verification has been discussed above, that is, by fulfilling the prophecies in these scriptures, it evidences the truthfulness of these prophecies. Or at a maximum, it verifies their fundamentals. If the Quran is a verifier of all the padding in these scriptures, why would it then contradict their false ideas? Another objection is why does the Quran call them a light and a guide? It is because despite the alterations, there is still light and guidance in these scriptures. The prophecies in themselves are a light and give guidance. Now when the alterations are a proven fact, it can be asked  as to why Jesus did not understand that alterations had been made to the Torah. What was not made manifest to Jesus by Allah was made manifest to the Holy Prophet ذٰ لِكَ فَضۡلُ اللّٰهِ يُؤۡتِيۡهِ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ  (That is Allah’s grace; He grants it to whom He pleases) (62:4).

The admission of a Bible commentator regarding the alteration of the text: Reproduced below is the admission of a Bible commentator that the text of the Bible has been altered. This commentator is Rev. Dummelow who has written a complete commentary on the Bible in one volume. He admits that the Books of Moses were not written by Moses but were put together from the original writings with omissions and additions.

Examples of alterations in the Pentateuch: Rev. Dummelow states: “On close examination, however, it must be admitted that the Pentateuch reveals many features inconsistent with the traditional view that in its present form it is the work of Moses. For instance, it may be safely granted that Moses did not write the account of his own death in Dt 34. The statement in Dt 1:1 that Moses spoke these words beyond Jordan is evidently made from the standpoint of one living in Canaan, which Moses never did”.

After giving many such examples, the Reverend gives the following summary, “A careful examination has led many scholars to the conviction that the writings of Moses formed only the rough material or purport of the material, and that in its present form it is not the work of one man, but a compilation made from previously existing documents”.

Difference in the language of Jesus and that of Gospels: The text of the New Testament or the Gospels is still more unreliable. The same author says: “  To begin with, the writers of the Gospels report in Greek…the sayings of Jesus Christ, who for the most part probably spoke Aramaic…Not even in later centuries do we find that scrupulous regard for the sacred text which marked the transmission of the Old Testament.. A copyist would sometimes put in not what was in the text, but what he thought ought to be in it. He would trust a fickle memory, or he would even make the text accord with the views of the school to which he belonged”.

Many examples of alterations in the present-day Bible can be given: These alterations are well recognized, and many new commentaries accept this fact, but this is not the place to give all the details. Verse 21 of Mathew Section17, “Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting”, has been removed from the Revised edition. In Section 19 of the same gospel, when a person addresses Jesus as the Good Master, and Jesus replies, “Why callest thou me good? There is none good but one, that is, God”. In the Revised Standard Version, this has been changed to: “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good”. (Mathew 17:19). Rev. Dummelow while commenting on Mark 17:10 writes “The author of Mathew altered the text slightly, to prevent the reader from supposing that Christ denied that He was good.”  The same author admits that verses nine to twenty are later additions. When the gospel by Marks was found after a long period, it turned out to be incomplete. These verses were added to complete the gospel. The alterations in the Bible are now proven beyond any doubt and this provides testimony to the perfection of the Quran which stated this fact when the world had no knowledge of it. At the time, neither any Jew knew of this nor any Christian, but today this is an accepted fact. This is a clear proof of the Divine origin of the Quran.

2-76      And when they meet those who believe they say, We believe, and when they are apart one with another they say: Do you talk to them of what Allah has disclosed to you that they may contend with you by this before your Lord? Do you not understand?

وَاِذَا لَـقُوۡا الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا قَالُوۡآ اٰمَنَّا ^ج وَاِذَا خَلَا بَعۡضُهُمۡ اِلٰى بَعۡضٍ قَالُوۡآ اَ تُحَدِّثُوۡنَهُمۡ بِمَا فَتَحَ اللّٰهُ عَلَيۡكُمۡ لِيُحَآجُّوۡكُمۡ بِهٖ عِنۡدَ رَبِّكُمۡ ^ط اَفَلَا تَعۡقِلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿۷۶﴾

فَتَحَ – فَتَحَ  means to do away with chains and shackles like opening the door. Then it is also spoken about opening of knowledge and blessings. And the meaning of فتح علیه is he was given knowledge of it (R).

يُحَآجُّوۡكُمۡ   – Is the intention to perform pilgrimage (and in religious terminology, it is specific to the pilgrimage to Kabah). And حُجَّة means an argument that makes the purpose clear in a straightforward way. And مُحَا جَّة means two persons who are trying to refute each other’s arguments.

Jew hypocrites and prophecies about the coming of the Holy Prophet: When the hypocrites among the Jews interacted with the Muslims, they would say that they accepted the Holy Prophet and that there were prophecies about him in their Books, but when they would come to their religious scholars (here they are called بَعۡضُهُمۡ   whereas near the beginning of this Surah, they are called شَيٰطِيۡنِهِمۡۙ ), they would ask them why they were disclosing the prophecies to the Muslims because it gave the Muslims an argument with which they could accuse the Jews. The reply to this is given in the next verse that God knows everything, and the hiding of prophecies would be of no avail to them. This goes to show that prophecies regarding the appearance of the Holy Prophet were commonplace during his time.

2-77      Do they not know that Allah knows what they keep secret and what they make known?

2-78      And some of them are illiterate; they know not the Book but only (from) hearsay, and they do but conjecture.^a

 اَوَلَا يَعۡلَمُوۡنَ اَنَّ اللّٰهَ يَعۡلَمُ مَا يُسِرُّوۡنَ وَمَا يُعۡلِنُوۡنَ‏ ﴿۷۷﴾

وَ مِنۡهُمۡ اُمِّيُّوۡنَ لَا يَعۡلَمُوۡنَ الۡكِتٰبَ اِلَّاۤ اَمَانِىَّ وَاِنۡ هُمۡ اِلَّا يَظُنُّوۡنَ‏ ﴿۷۸﴾

  2:78a اُمِّيُّوۡنَ – It is the plural of اُمّی  and اُمّی is also spoken of a person who is unlettered, and the meaning is attributed to اُم , that is, mother because the person is intellectually in the same condition as he was when he left the mother’s womb and did not make any attempt to gain knowledge (RM) or because women initially were deprived of learning, and the people of Arabia are also called اُمّی , that is, belonging to اُمّ القرٰی (R) because اُمّ القرٰی is the name of Makkah. The reference here can be either to unlettered Jews or Jews that were settled in Arabia.   

اَمَانِىَّ – It is the plural ofاُمۡنِیّة  and is derived from منی which means destiny or to estimate. And منی meaning semen is also derived from the same root. It is so called because it estimates i.e. determines the kind of animal that will be reproduced (R). تمنّی which means to wish or desire is also derived from it because that too in reality is the estimation of a thing in one’s heart. And the word تمنّی is generally spoken about things that have no reality (R). And اُمۡنِیَّة is the condition which is created in a person as a result of تمنّی (desire for things that have no reality). And because falsehood is a concept that has no reality, hence تمنّی has become synonymous with the origin or fountainhead of falsehood, that is, falsehood is born from تمنّی (R). Mujahid has taken the meaning of تمنّی here as falsehood on this basis. Some have taken تمنّی to mean reading without knowing the meaning of words.

In the mention of the Jews is a hint for Muslims to gain knowledge: The condition of the Muslims in these times is such that they consider it sufficient to read the Quran without knowing the meaning. A time came upon the Jews that the common people became quite ignorant of religion and they accepted whatever their religious scholars and rabbis said. Quranic teachings stand against the idea that religious knowledge should only be the preserve of a special class of people. It desires that every person should endeavor to gain knowledge for himself so that he may not blindly follow others and be able to have insight of his own. One of the responsibility of the Holy Prophet was: يُعَلِّمُهُمُ الۡكِتٰبَ وَالۡحِكۡمَةَ  (teach them the Book and the Wisdom) and the Holy Prophet taught the Book and the Wisdom to all his companions and not to any special group. This was the reason that an uneducated nation became the torchbearer of knowledge to the whole world. In this regard, Muslims presently are in a sorry state. They are not only lacking in all fields of knowledge and are steeped in superstitions but also their temporal and religious leaders do not like them to benefit from the various fields of knowledge because this would jeopardize their false leadership.

2-79      Woe! then to those who write the Book with their hands then say, This is from Allah; so that they may take for it a small price. So woe! to them for what their hands write and woe! to them for what they earn.^a

فَوَيۡلٌ۬ لِّلَّذِينَ يَكۡتُبُونَ ٱلۡكِتَـٰبَ بِأَيۡدِيہِمۡ ثُمَّ يَقُولُونَ هَـٰذَا مِنۡ عِندِ ٱللَّهِ لِيَشۡتَرُواْ بِهِۦ ثَمَنً۬ا قَلِيلاً۬ ^ط  فَوَيۡلٌ۬ لَّهُم مِّمَّا ڪَتَبَتۡ أَيۡدِيهِمۡ وَوَيۡلٌ۬ لَّهُم مِّمَّا يَكۡسِبُونَ (٧٩)

 2:79a The last verse dealt with the general public, while this verse deals with the religious scholars. When the general public became ignorant of what was in their scriptures, the scholars got a great opportunity to make alterations. This verse provides definitive testimony to alteration in the text of the Bible. The last part of the verse points to the wrongdoings of the scholars.

2-80      And they say: Fire will not touch us but for a few days. Say: Have you received a promise from Allah? Then Allah will not fail to perform His promise. Or do you speak against Allah what you know not?^a

وَقَالُواْ لَن تَمَسَّنَا ٱلنَّارُ إِلَّآ أَيَّامً۬ا مَّعۡدُودَةً۬   قُلۡ أَتَّخَذۡتُمۡ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ عَهۡدً۬ا فَلَن يُخۡلِفَ ٱللَّهُ عَهۡدَهُ ۥۤ‌ۖ أَمۡ تَقُولُونَ عَلَى ٱللَّهِ مَا لَا تَعۡلَمُونَ (٨٠) 

Claim of Jews and Christians that the punishment will be only for a few days: The Jews said that they would be punished only for forty days, and some even said it would be only for seven days. Sale says that it is the firmly accepted belief of Jews that no Jew, regardless of how evil he is, will stay in hell for more than eleven months or a year. The Christians have further extended this concept and believe that Jesus was cast into hell for three days and this atones all their sins. However, there is no evidence of any such command given by Allah. On the contrary, even Gospels require actions as a necessary condition for salvation. In Matthew 7:22-23, Jesus says to those who profess miracles in his name, “Depart from me, ye that work iniquity”. So, salvation is not for the evil doers.

2-81      Yea, whoever earns evil and his sins beset him on every side, those are the companions of the Fire; therein they abide.^a

2-82      And those who believe and do good deeds, these are the owners of the Garden; therein they abide.^a

بَلَىٰ مَن كَسَبَ سَيِّئَةً۬ وَأَحَـٰطَتۡ بِهِۦ خَطِيٓـَٔتُهُ ۥ فَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلنَّارِ‌ۖ هُمۡ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ (٨١)

وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَعَمِلُواْ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ أَصۡحَـٰبُ ٱلۡجَنَّةِ‌ۖ هُمۡ فِيہَا خَـٰلِدُونَ (٨٢)

2:81a سَيِّئَةً۬ – It is derived from سوء  which means a thing which brings sorrow to a person whether in earthly matters or in the afterlife and whether that state occurs to the soul or the body or externally such as by the loss of wealth or station in life (R). And سَيِّئَةً۬ is an evil action which is the opposite of حسنة, that is goodness. Every سَيِّئَةً۬ (evil) and حسنة is of two types: First, that which is in accordance with the demands of rationality and sharia, and that is what is meant here. And second حسنة is spoken of a thing that is agreeable to one’s temperament, that is, a thing that pleases and lightens one’s disposition, and that which burdens a person is spoken of as سَيِّئَةً۬ (R). These words have been used in this sense at many places in the Quran.

خَطِيٓـَٔتُهُ ۥ – It is derived from خطاء whose real meaning is: العدول عن الجھة that is, to move aside from the right direction, and this can happen in several ways: to make an intention for a thing that is not commendable and then to act on it. This is a full-fledged error. A person will be called to account for it, and this is what is meant here. Second type is where the intention of a person is commendable but the action that is committed happens to be contrary to the intention. This is a خطاء (error) about which it is said: دفع عن امتی الخطاء والنسیان یا من اجتہد فاخطاء فله اجر  that is, a person who does ijtihad (exercises judgment or interprets Islamic law) and the ijtihad turns out to be erroneous, he still gets a reward for it (R). This is what is meant in:إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوۡ أَخۡطَأۡنَا‌ (we forget or make a mistake) (2:286). The difference that Imam Raghib has made between سَيِّئَةً۬ and خَطِيٓـَٔتُهُ ۥ is that خَطِيٓـَٔتُهُ ۥ is generally spoken about an action that by itself was not the intent.

Confronting evil: The use of the word كَسَبَ with evil, shows that when a person commits to an evil life, he gets surrounded by evil on all sides and can then find no way out of it.

The power of good is stronger than that of evil: A person who confronts evil does not get trapped by it and ultimately succeeds in ridding himself of evil. Although the attraction for evil may appear strong but in reality, it is weak. The power of goodness is stronger because human nature is the helper of goodness. Hence, whenever there is a confrontation between good and evil, good will always prevail.