Surah Al-Baqarah 2:142-147 - Quran Translation Commentary

142. The foolish people will say: “What has turned¹⁶² them away from the Qibla¹⁶³, which they formerly observed”? Tell them: “To Allah belong both East and West; He guides whom He wills to the straight¹⁶⁴ way.”

143. Thus¹⁶⁵ We have made you ‘Ummat-e- Vasat’ (a balanced community¹⁶⁶) so that you may be witness to all the communities of the world and the Messenger a witness¹⁶⁷ to you. And we had appointed the (former) Qibla you were observing, only as a test (to find out) those who followed the Messenger from those who turn on their heels¹⁶⁸. Indeed it was a hard (test) but for those whom Allah had guided¹⁶⁹ and it was not Allah’s purpose that your faith should be in vain¹⁷⁰, for Allah is most surely full of kindness, Most Merciful towards mankind¹⁷¹.

144. (O Prophet!) We have seen the turning of your face to heaven over and over again¹⁷² We will (therefore) turn you (in prayer) towards a Qibla which you like (so much). So turn your face towards the Masjid-e Haram¹⁷³ (Sacred Mosque) and you (O Muslims!) wherever you may be, turn your faces (in prayers) towards it. And indeed those who have received the scripture know that this (commandment about the change of Qibla) is truly from their Lord¹⁷⁴. And Allah is not unaware of what they’ are doing (in spite of this).

145. And even if you were to show all kinds of signs to the people of the Book, they would still not adopt your Qibla; nor are you going to adopt their Qibla; nor indeed will any of them follow another’s Qibla¹⁷⁵. If you, after the knowledge¹⁷⁶ that has reached you, were to follow their desires, then surely you would be among the wrongdoers

146. (Of course) The people of the Scripture recognise this as clearly as they recognise their own sons¹⁷⁷; but some of them conceal the Truth knowingly.

147. This is the Truth from your Lord, so be not in doubt.¹⁷⁸

Commentary

162. Qibla is the name of the place or the House towards which worshippers keep their faces while offering prayers (salat), For various reasons, Islam has fixed a Qibla for offering prayers. The necessity of offering prayers according to the method fixed by Allah requires that there should be discipline and order in the prayer; there should also be uniformity in the ranks formed while offering prayer; and Qibla should become the centre of their attention and their ultimate Goal.

163.The Prophet (p.b.u.h.) used to offer prayers in Madina for sixteen or seventeen months after migration facing Bait-ul-Maqdis (Jerusalem). Afterwards it was ordained that the Muslims should face Masjid-e-Haram in Macca. This verse is in reply to the criticism of the Jews about the change of Qibla. The Jews objected to the change of Qibla because Jerusalem was their Qibla also.

164.This is a reply to the criticism made by the people of the Book. Allah is neither partial to the East nor to the West, for all the sides or directions belong to Allah. However, the House or the Direction which He fixed for facing while offering prayers should be unhesitatingly accepted as the Qibla, for by following His commands only people can get Guidance

It is therefore clear that those people who, on account of religious prejudices are not prepared to make Macca as their Qibla and face it while offering prayers are those on whom the gates of Allah’s Guidance are closed, because such an attitude is an act of blind fanaticism and not the following of the Truth.

So far as the people with Faith are concerned, for them the direction itself has no importance. What is important for them is that it is the command of Allah. If He had previously fixed Baitul- Maqdis as the Qibla and subsequently fixed Macca as the Qibla, there should be no hesitation in following the new command. Accordingly, the companions of the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) did not hesitate even for the moment for changing their Qibla. When one group of Muslims was informed of this change while they were offering prayers, they turned their faces towards the new Qibla right during the prayer This event took place in a mosque in Madina, which even today is known as ‘Masjid-ul-Qiblatain’ (the mosque of two Qiblas).

It may be pointed out that the Qibla of both the Jews and Christians was Bait-ul-Maq-dis (Jerusalam). However, subsequently the Christians, probably on account of the fact that Mary had sat for meditation in the East side of Jerusalem, made Eastern side as their Qibla and probably in retaliation the Jews made the Western side as their Qibla Islam did not fix East or West as its Qibla but fixed Masjid-e-Haram as its Qibla regardless of the direction in which it may fall.

165. As We guided you in the matter of Qibla and favoured you with the Qibla of Ibrahim, similarly We have favoured you by granting the prayer of Ibrahim and making you a justly balanced community so that you may become witnesses in favour of Islam.

166. “Ummat-e-Vasat “or Justly-balanced Ummah means the community which follows moderation and deserves to be called the best Ummah or the best people or community on account of its character and conduct. The title of the Justly-balanced people has been conferred on the Muslims because they are following the correct path of Faith and the system which is based on moderation. It is on this ground that they deserve to be called the best people of all.

In fact it is the demotion of the Bani Israel from the high office of the leadership of the world and the announcement of the leadership of the Muslim people who follow the Qibla of Ibrahim and who are the followers of the highway of Islam.

167. This is a statement regarding the duty imposed on the justly-balanced Ummah. Previous to this Allah had appointed Bani Israel for the leadership of the world but they made changes in their religion and turned away from the true Faith and thus lost the path of moderation. And therefore it was the greatest need of the mankind that Allah create a people who will observe moderation, obey His laws and be witnesses in favour of the True Faith (Deen-e-Haq).

Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), who is the last prophet from Allah, communicated Allah’s Guidance to the Muslim Ummah in its perfect and complete form. And now it is the responsibilty of this Ummah to present this message from Allah to every country, in every age and in every language. On the Day of the Judgment when the people will appear in the Court of Allah, the prophet will give evidence that he communicated Allah’s Guidance or Religion to the Muslim Ummah as it was revealed to him and the Muslim Ummah will have to give evidence whether they had conveyed this Guidance or this Faith to the World exactly in the same form and spirit in which it reached them.

168. That is: the permission granted to you for facing Bait-ul-Maqdis (Jerusalem) “while offering prayer (Salat) was only temporary and it was given with the set purpose of testing which of the people were the followers of the old tradition. It may be remembered that as long as the prophet was in Macca he used to offer prayer (Salat) facing the House of Kaaba. But when he migrated to Madina, he used to keep his face towards Bait-ul-maqdis for sixteen to seventeen months, till the command to turn the face towards Ka’aba was revealed. Baitul- Maqdis is in the north of Madina and the House of Ka’aba is in the south of Madina.

169. The change of Qibla was an acid test. As long as Bait-ul-Maqdis was the Qibla, it was a hard test for the Arabs as it was against their nationalism and when Masjid-e-Haram in Macca was fixed as the Qibla, it was a test for the Bani Israel as it was against their nationalism and ancestral custom. In this way only those persons remained with the prophet who were true believers in Allah. It is obvious that giving up religious customs and traditions is not easy.Those who have sincerity for Allah and his prophet certainly receive guidance with the grace of Allah.

170. That is: this test was not meant to cause the people to forsake their Faith or to suggest that their Faith was in vain. The purpose was to distinguish the good and sincere followers of the faith from the hypocrites and to develop and promote the latent qualities of those who were sincere in their belief. The test is an expression of Allah’s attributes of Mercy and Kindness.

171. Here two attributes of Allah are mentioned: Rawoof and Rahim. The attribute of being Rawoof signifies the power to remove evil and that of Rahim of the power of positive benediction. It is therefore a pointer to the fact that Allah by this test wants to purify His believers from their defects and to equip them with good qualities.

172. Although after migration to Madina, the prophet (p.b.u.h.) used to face Baitul-Maqdis (Jerusalem) in prayer, he used to look towards heavens waiting for the Divine Command for a change over to the Qibla of Ibrahim It reflects his eagerness to turn his face towards Kaaba in his prayer.

173. Masjid-e-Haram or The Sacred Mosque is the mosque in Macca in the middle of which is situated the House of Ka’aba. The House of Ka’aba was built by Ibrahim about four thousand years ago. The Sacred Mosque was very small in the time of the prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) In later years it was being extended off and on. And now it has been extended to such an extent that today about five lakh people can offer prayers at one time. Even this huge mosque is found to be inadequate during the days of the Hajj. In this Mosque prayer is offered facing the House of Ka’aba.

174. The Jews knew well that the House of Allah or the House of Ka’aba is the Qibla of Ibrahim and they also knew about the prophecy of the Torah that the last prophet would be from the progeny of Ismail. Further, they knew that with the efforts of this prophet the Muslim Ummah would be raised. They also knew that the House of Ka’aba was the centre and Qibla of the children of Ismail, although they used to conceal these facts because of their jealousy and prejudice. It may be pointed out that the House of Ka’aba was built first and the sacred place of Soloman (Haikale Sule-mani) was built by Sulaiman some hundreds of years after that.

175. This is an allusion to the Jews and the Christians. These two peoples also did not agree about following a uniform Qibla. The Christians have fixed the Eastern Side of Jerusalem as their Qibla and the Jews have fixed; the Western Side though both originally accepted the Bait-ul- Maqdis as their Qibla. Obviously, they could not be expected to accept Masjide-e-Haram as their Qibla.

176. In the original, the word used is Al-Ilm”, which here means the Real knowledge, Allah alone can reveal. In this verse a warning is given that it is an evil act to ignore the Guidance of Quran and to follow , in any matter, the dictates of personal desires whether justified by custom and traditions or introduced as unauthorized innovations.

177. This is an Arabic idiom, which means that they knew full well and most certainly that fixing of Ka’aba as the Qibla of muslims by the prophet was based on Truth.

178 . Apparently the addressee is the prophet, but actually the warning is meant for the general people.