Surah Al-Baqarah 2:104-112 - Quran Translation Commentary

(2:104) O believers,²¹¹ do not say "ra’ina" (while addressing the Prophet). Say, "unzurna,"²¹² and listen (to him carefully).²¹³ A painful chastisement awaits the unbelievers.

(2:105) The unbelievers do not like it at all - neither the people of the Book,²¹⁴ nor the pagans - that anything good should be sent down to you by your Lord. But it is Allah who chooses for His mercy whom He will. Allah indeed is infinitely Bountiful.²¹⁵

(2:106) We do not abrogate a verse, or cause it to be forgotten, but substitute with one better than it or similar to it.²¹⁶ Have you not known that Allah has power over all things?

(2:107: Have you not known that to Allah belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth? And besides Allah you have neither a protector nor helper.

(2:108) Do you want to make demands on your Prophet the way demands were made on Musa aforetime?²¹⁷ He who exchanges belief for unbelief has indeed lost the right path.²¹⁸

(2:109) Many of the people of the Book aspire to make you unbelievers after you have believed²¹⁹ out of jealousy rising in their hearts²²⁰ even after the truth has become apparent to them. Forgive them, and overlook,²²¹ until Allah sends His command.²²² Indeed Allah has power over all things.²²³

(2:110) And offer Prayers (assiduously and spiritedly), pay the zakah, and whatever good you send forward for yourselves, you shall find it with your Lord.²²⁴ Verily, Allah is aware of all that you do.

(2:111) And they say, ‘None shall enter Paradise except he who is (according to the Jews) a Jew or (according to the Christians) a Christian.' These are their illusions.²²⁵ Tell them, ‘Bring your proof if you be true (in your claim).'

(2:112) Nay indeed, whosoever submits himself to Allah,²²⁶ and he is sincere,²²⁷ his reward is with his Lord. No fear shall be on them, neither shall they grieve.²²⁸

Commentary

211. A literal translation would be "O ye who have believed," or, "O you who have attained to faith."

"This is the first instance of the usage of this expression which has occurred 89 times in the Qur'an, and implies in its structure that the faith residing in the hearts of those thus addressed ought to respond with obedience and submission (Sabuni).

212. "Ra`ina" of the original means "listen to us," "but the term, innocent in itself, was turned by a little twist in pronunciation into a word of reproach and insult by the Jews when addressing the holy Prophet," (Majid) hence the Muslims were forbidden the use of the term while addressing the Prophet and ordered to employ another term "unzurna" which means "look upon us," or "pay attention to us," and which could not be given the same twist.

Mawdudi writes: "When the Jews visited the Prophet they tried to vent their spite by using ambiguous expressions in their greetings and conversations. They used words which had double meanings, one innocent and the other offensive.... Ostensibly they maintained the decorum of respect and courtesy while sparing no underhand means to insult the Prophet.... They used the expression ra`ina, which meant 'kindly indulge us'.... It was possible, however, for the expression to be used with quite a different shade of meaning. In Hebrew, for instance, there is a word similar to it which means: 'Listen, may you become deaf.' In the same language it also means arrogant, ignorant and fool. In actual conversation it was also used on occasions when one wanted to say: 'If you listen to me, I will listen to you.' When it was pronounced with a slight twist of the tongue it turned into ra`ina, meaning our shepherd."

Ibn Kathir comments: In this verse Allah has forbidden us from following the ways of the unbelievers: either in deeds or in words... The Prophet is reported to have said in a hadith of Ahmad (also in Majma` al Zawa'id: H. b. Ibrahim): « بُعِثْتُ بِالسَّيْفِ حَتَّى يُعْبَدَ اللَّهُ لاَ شَرِيكَ لَهُ وَجُعِلَ رِزْقِى تَحْتَ ظِلِّ رُمْحِى وَجُعِلَ الذِّلَّةُ وَالصَّغَارُ عَلَى مَنْ خَالَفَ أَمْرِى وَمَنْ تَشَبَّهَ بِقَوْمٍ فَهُوَ مِنْهُمْ » رواه أحمد وفيه عبد الرحمن بن ثابت وثقه ابن المديني وغيره وضعفه أحمد وغيره،وبقية رجاله ثقات - مجمع الزوائد ومنبع الفوائد . "I have been commissioned with the sword with the Doomsday close at hand, so that Allah alone, who has no partners, may be worshipped. My sustenance has been placed under the shadow of my spear; and humiliation and subordination has been written upon him who will oppose my mission. And he who imitated a people is one of them."

213. So that you may not have to make him repeat what he has said. The expression, 'and listen' could also mean: listen to him with the intention to obey unlike the Jews who said to their Prophet "we have heard, but we will not obey" (Zamakhshari).

214. "In contradistinction to the idolaters, Islam gives this name, 'the people of the Book' to the Jews and Christians on account of their possessing, in a falsified form though, divine books of revelation, and grants them a privileged position" (Majid).

215. "So He can be as Gracious to the descendants of Isma`il as He has been to the race of Israel" (Majid).

216. "This refers to the objections raised by the opponents of Islam to the abrogation of certain laws and their replacement by others during the early days of Islam. The main objectors were the Jews. Their objective was not to know the truth but to cast doubt on the Divine origin of the Qur'an. In refutation God states that He being the Absolute Sovereign has unlimited authority both to abrogate previous injunctions and to cause people to forget the injunctions He wants them to forget" (Mawdudi).

Ibn Kathir comments: To raise such objections is disbelief. In addition, there is no basis in reason for such objection, for Allah orders what He wishes, and He acts as He wills. Moreover, abrogation has also occurred in previous revelations. For instance, it was lawful for the sons of Adam to marry their sisters. Later it was declared unlawful. Again, it was lawful for the children of Israel to have two sisters as wives at one time, until the Mosaic law prevented it. And again, Allah ordered Ibrahim to slaughter his son, but later abrogated the commandment.

Majid writes: "There is nothing to be ashamed of in the doctrine of certain laws, temporary or local, being superseded or abrogated by certain other laws, permanent and universal, and enacted by the same Law giver, especially during the course of promulgation of that law. The course of Qur'anic Revelation has been avowedly gradual. It took about 23 years to finish and complete the Legislation. Small wonder, then, that certain minor laws, admittedly transitory, were replaced by certain others, lasting and eternal....It must be, however, clearly understood that the doctrine of abrogation applies to 'law' only, and even there to those of minor or secondary importance. Beliefs, articles of faith, principles of law, narratives, exhortations, moral precepts, and spiritual verities, none of these is at all subject to abrogation or repeal."

Qurtubi relates the following. Once when `Ali (ra) entered the mosque he found a man addressing the people. He enquired what the man was doing. He was told he was admonishing. `Ali said: "He is not admonishing the people. He wants to be known that he is so and so, son of so and so." Then he ordered the man to be presented to him. When he came he asked him if he knew which verses of the Qur'an abrogated others. The man said he did not. `Ali told him to get out of the mosque and never to engage himself in this kind of activity again.

Thanwi points out: The verse carries the implication that what descends upon a man (causing losses) without him being its cause will be replaced by something similar or better. So let him not grieve over it.

It might also be pointed out that just as abrogation occurred, it also happened that a verse, or more, or a whole chapter was revealed and then, when the contingency was over, was removed from the people's memory (Au.). It is reported by Ubayy b. Ka`b and `A'isha (ra) that surah al Ahzab was originally as long as surah al Baqarah (until a large portion of it was erased from memory) Qurtubi.

As for the contingency itself, the scholars are agreed that in its early days Islam was passing through special circumstances which required very special laws. They were repealed once those very special circumstances disappeared. However, Islam is now well established. Neither an abrogation nor repeal is now allowable (Au.).

217. The rendering into English of the original "tas'alu" as "make demand" is in keeping with the later part of the verse which condemns it as an act of disbelief, and refers to, according to one report, the demand of the unbelievers on the Prophet to bring down a Book right in front of their eyes from the heavens (Ibn `Abbas). This is also Ibn Kathir's preferred meaning.

Nonetheless, Ibn Kathir himself, as well as some other commentators have applied the verse to instances of the Companions seeking from the Prophet minor details of the law. Allah (swt) forbade them in words (5: 110): يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَسْأَلُوا عَنْ أَشْيَاءَ إِنْ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ تَسُؤْكُمْ وَإِنْ تَسْأَلُوا عَنْهَا حِينَ يُنَزَّلُ الْقُرْآَنُ تُبْدَ لَكُمْ [المائدة/101] 'O believers, question not concerning things which, if they were revealed to you, would vex you. But if you ask about them while the Qur'an is being revealed, they will be revealed to you.' The Prophet (saws) also instructed his Companions not to ask him too many questions. A hadith (of Muslim) says the Prophet (saws) told them: « ذَرُونِى مَا تَرَكْتُكُمْ فَإِنَّمَا هَلَكَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ بِكَثْرَةِ سُؤَالِهِمْ وَاخْتِلاَفِهِمْ عَلَى أَنْبِيَائِهِمْ مَا نَهَيْتُكُمْ عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا وَمَا أَمَرْتُكُمْ فَائْتُوا مِنْهُ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ » "Let me alone so long as I leave you alone. Those who went before you were destroyed because of excessive questioning and their disputations with their Prophets. So, when I forbid a thing, avoid it and when I order you to do a thing, go ahead and do it to the extent possible." Accordingly the Companions asked him few questions. Bara' bin `Azib says: "A year would pass and I could not ask the Prophet about something I wanted to, in awe of him. We used to wish that a Bedouin would appear (and question him about things we did not have the courage to ask, since the Bedouins were unlikely to know that the Qur'an had frowned upon questioning)."

218. "Lit., 'whoever takes a denial of the truth in exchange for belief' i.e., whoever refuses to accept the internal evidence of the truth of the Qur'anic message and demands, instead, an 'objective' proof of its divine origin (Manar I, 416f.) that which was 'asked of Moses aforetime' was the demand of the children of Israel to 'see God face to face' (cf. 2:55)." Asad

219. It is related that Finhas b. `Azura', Zayd b. Qays and some other Jews met Hudhayfa b. Al Yaman, and `Ammar b. Yasir after the battle of Uhud. They taunted the latter: "Can you not see what has befallen you? If you had been in the right you would not have been defeated. Come and join us in our religion. It will be a better religion for you, since we are better guided than you." `Ammar replied: "What do you think about the breaking of an oath?" They said: "A terrible thing." He said: "Then I have given an oath that I'll never forsake Muhammad in my life." The Jews said: "This man has turned a Sabe'i (so leave him alone)." Then Hudhayfa said: "As for me, I am quite satisfied with Allah as my Lord, Islam as my religion, the Qur'an as my guide, Ka`ba as my qiblah, and believers as my brothers." When the two returned to the Prophet, he told them: "You spoke rightly and you have attained success." It was then that this verse was revealed: "Many of the unbelievers aspire...." (Razi and others).

220. The word used in the original for "jealousy" is "hasad." There are two kinds of hasad. One in which a man desires that the person endowed with something good be dispossessed of it. Such jealousy is prohibited in Islam. Says a hadith about this kind of hasad (Razi): فَإِنّ الْحَسَدَ يَأْكُلُ الْحَسَنَاتِ كما تَأْكُلُ النّارُ الْحَطَبَ "Hasad eats away good deeds as (fast as) fire eats away wood." The other is the kind in which a person becomes desirous of obtaining a thing after having seen it in, or with, another person, but has no rancorous feeling toward him nor does he wish the dispossession of the thing by the person envied. This is permissible. A hadith sahih says (Qurtubi): « لاَ حَسَدَ إِلاَّ فِى اثْنَتَيْنِ رَجُلٌ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ الْقُرْآنَ فَهْوَ يَتْلُوهُ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ وَآنَاءَ النَّهَارِ ، وَرَجُلٌ آتَاهُ اللَّهُ مَالاً فَهْوَ يُنْفِقُهُ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ وَآنَاءَ النَّهَارِ » - صحيح البخارى "Hasad is not allowed except of two persons: One, he whom Allah gave the (gift of) the Qur'an and he stands with it before his Lord day and night; second, a man whom Allah (swt) gave wealth and he spends of it day and night."

Imam Razi has devoted about eight pages discussing kinds, causes and treatment of hasad.

221. "Forgive them and overlook" are not the best words for "f`afu" and "isfahu"; for "the first implies a forgiving (behind which there is no vindictiveness), while the second term implies the removal of all ill feelings from the heart concerning the person being forgiven" Qurtubi. Thus "safh" is a higher state of "`afw."

222. The new orders that Allah (swt) had promised were issued a few years later when He revealed (9: 5): فَاقْتُلُوا الْمُشْرِكِينَ حَيْثُ وَجَدْتُمُوهُمْ [التوبة/5] "Therefore, slay the idolaters (of Arabia) wherever you find them" (Ibn Kathir), and (9: 29): قَاتِلُوا الَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَلَا بِالْيَوْمِ الْآَخِرِ وَلَا يُحَرِّمُونَ مَا حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَلَا يَدِينُونَ دِينَ الْحَقِّ مِنَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ حَتَّى يُعْطُوا الْجِزْيَةَ عَنْ يَدٍ وَهُمْ صَاغِرُونَ [التوبة/29] "Fight those who do not believe in Allah (swt) and the Last Day, and do not forbid what Allah (swt) and His Messenger have forbidden such men as practice not the religion of Truth, of those who have been given the Book until they pay the tribute of hand and have been humbled" Ibn Kathir and Ibn Jarir.

223. That is, He who has power over all things will either forgive them or guide them to Islam (Ibn Jarir).

224. A hadith says: أنّ العبد إذا مات قال الناس ما خَلَّف وقالت الملائكة ما قدّم "When a man dies people enquire about what he left behind, while the angels ask about what he sent forward."

But the above hadith could not be located in major works (Au.).

Bukhari and Nasa'i, report: أيُّكم مالُ وارثه أحبُّ إليه من ماله؟ قالوا : يا رسول الله ، ما منا أحدٌ إلا مالُه أحبُّ إليه؛ قال : فإن مالَه ما قدّم ومال وارثه ما أخّر The Prophet (saws) asked, "To which of you is the wealth of his inheritors dearer than his own wealth?" The Companions replied, "To none of us is the wealth of his inheritors dearer than his own." The Prophet said, "But your wealth is that which a man sends forward. And the wealth of the inheritors is that which he leaves behind.'"

It is reported of `Umar (ra) that when he visited the graveyard of Baqi` al Gharqad he addressed the dead in the following words, السلام عليكم أهلَ القبور ، أخبارُ ما عندنا أن نساءكم قد تزوّجن ، ودُوركم قد سُكنت ، وأموالكم قد قُسمت . فأجابه هاتف : يابن الخطاب أخبار ما عندنا أن ما قدّمناه وجدناه ، وما أنفقناه فقد ربِحناه ، وما خلّفناه فقد خسرناه . "Peace upon you, people of the graves! The news from us is that your women have remarried; your houses have been occupied; and your wealth has been distributed." A voice replied, "O `Umar b. al Khattab! Our news is that whatever we sent forward, we have found it; what we spent, we have profited from it; and what we left, we lost it!" (Qurtubi).

225. Nothing materializes from dreams. A hadith says: سنن الترمذى الْكَيِّسُ مَنْ دَانَ نَفْسَهُ وَعَمِلَ لِمَا بَعْدَ الْمَوْتِ وَالْعَاجِزُ مَنْ أَتْبَعَ نَفْسَهُ هَوَاهَا وَتَمَنَّى عَلَى اللَّهِ ». قَالَ هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ "Intelligent is the man who takes account of himself and works for the Hereafter. And weak is the man who follows his base desires and fastens hopes (of forgiveness) on his Lord" (Razi).

The hadith is in Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah, with the former declaring it Hasan (Au.).

226. "Lit., "who surrenders his face unto God." Since the face of a person is the most expressive part of his body, it is used in classical Arabic to denote one's whole personality, or whole being. This expression, repeated in the Qur'an several times, provides a perfect definition of islam, which derived from the root verb aslama, "he surrendered himself" means "self surrender [to God]": and it is in this sense that the terms islam and muslim are used throughout the Qur'an" (Asad).

227. It is sincerity on which depends the weight and worth of an act. Allah (swt) will not accept anything that is not purely for Him. The very first hadith in Bukhari says: إِنَّمَا الأَعْمَالُ بِالنِّيَّاتِ "Actions are by intentions." That is, actions will be judged by the intentions behind them. Another hadith (of Muslim: Au.) says: إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى صُوَرِكُمْ وَأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَلَكِنْ يَنْظُرُ إِلَى قُلُوبِكُمْ وَأَعْمَالِكُمْ "Allah does not look at your faces or wealth. He looks at your hearts and deeds."

Intention

What Imam Razi has written here can be summed up as follows: When an ignorant man hears about intention and how important it is to be of good intentions, he says to himself, (sometimes actually uttering the words), 'I intend to please Allah by this act ... of trade, or commerce,’ or whatever he is engaged in. This is an error; for intentions cannot be made this way. Intentions are something that spring forth from the bottom of the heart in a spontaneous response to one's actions, without recourse to a choice. A full stomached man cannot say for instance, 'I intend to be hungry,' and be actually hungry the next moment. That cannot happen. Rather, he will have to work the means that produce the desire in one's heart for food. Right intentions therefore, also need to be produced through the conviction of the heart and mind. This can be brought about by the knowledge of the rewards, punishments and consequences that result from the deeds, as well as from the knowledge, deep seated in the soul, that it is Allah alone who has all the power, who can reward and punish, and none else can do that besides Him. The stronger this conviction, gained by means of knowledge, the purer the intentions.

228. Thus the verse lays down a rule for salvation. It does not lie in being a Jew, a Christian, or a Muslim. It lies in total submission to Allah and in leading a righteous life in accordance with the dictates of Revelation. Quite unmindful of this rule, the Jews, Christians and Muslims, all lead a life of sin with total disregard of the Hereafter, and yet fasten hope on their Lord that they will be ushered into Paradise simply because of the fact that they are Jews, Christians or Muslims (Ma`arif).