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

(2:142) Soon the fools²⁸⁴ among the people will say, ‘What has turned these (Muslims) away from the qiblah they were facing earlier?'²⁸⁵ Tell them, ‘To Allah belong the East and the West. He guides whom He will to a straight path.'²⁸⁶

(2:143) Thus We have appointed you a justly balanced nation²⁸⁷ that you might be a witnesses to the people and the Prophet a witness to you.²⁸⁸ And We did not appoint the qiblah which you were observing but to distinguish between him who follows the Messenger and him who turns on his heels;²⁸⁹ although, this was a hard thing indeed save for those whom Allah guided.²⁹⁰ And Allah was not such as to allow your faith go wasted.²⁹¹ Truly Allah is Most Kind, Most Merciful.²⁹²

(2:144) We have seen your face (O Prophet) turning (oft) towards the heavens.²⁹³ We will surely turn you toward the qiblah (that is) dear to you. So turn your face (during Prayers) in the direction of the Holy Mosque.²⁹⁴ And wherever you may be (O Muslims) turn your faces in its direction.²⁹⁵ Those who have been given the Book know that this is the truth from your Lord.²⁹⁶ And Allah is not unaware of the things they do.

(2:145) Yet, were you to bring the people of the Book all the signs, they will never follow your qiblah, nor are you going to follow their qiblah;²⁹⁷ nor any of them is going to follow the qiblah of the others. And, were you to follow their caprice, after the knowledge has come to you, surely you will be of the evildoers.

(2:146) Those unto whom We have given the Book recognize him (Muhammad) as well as they recognize their offsprings.²⁹⁸ Yet a party of them knowingly suppresses the Truth.

(2:147) The Truth is from your Lord²⁹⁹, so be not of the doubters.

Commentary

284. It may be noted that a word arising from the same root "safiha" (he fooled himself) has been used here as was used in verse 130 which said, 'And who will turn away from the religion of Ibrahim save him who is a fool unto himself?'

285. A hadith in Bukhari reports Bara' ibn al `Azib as saying: "For sixteen or seventeen months after leaving Makkah the Prophet continued to offer prayers at Madinah facing Jerusalem. But it was his wish that the Holy Makkan Mosque be declared the qiblah. (Finally, the command came) and the first prayers that he offered facing the new qiblah was the after noon Prayers (`asr). A person who had prayed behind him passed by another mosque and found the congregation bowing in Prayers. He cried out: 'I swear by Allah that I have prayed with the Prophet (saws) facing Makkah.' Upon this the congregation turned around (one hundred and eighty degrees) to the new qiblah while still in prayer. Some Muslims had died before the qiblah was changed, so we didn't know what to think of them, (whether their prayers were valid or not). So Allah revealed, 'Allah was not such as to waste away your faith.'" (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir and others, based on a hadith in Bukhari, Muslim and others).

According to other reports, the Prophet (saws) used to pray in Makkah in such a way as to keep both the Holy Mosque as well as Jerusalem before him, but the two being on the opposite sides in Madinah such an arrangement was not possible. Therefore, he had to choose Jerusalem.

Imam Ahmad has reported a hadith of `A'isha which says that the Prophet said: إِنَّهُمْ لاَ يَحْسُدُونَا عَلَى شَىْءٍ كَمَا يَحْسُدُونَا عَلَى يَوْمِ الْجُمُعَةِ الَّتِى هَدَانَا اللَّهُ لَهَا وَضَلُّوا عَنْهَا وَعَلَى الْقِبْلَةِ الَّتِى هَدَانَا اللَّهُ لَهَا وَضَلُّوا عَنْهَا وَعَلَى قَوْلِنَا خَلْفَ الإِمَامِ آمِينَ "The people of the Book do not envy us over anything the way they envy us over (three things): Friday, to which Allah guided us and they missed it, the qiblah to which we have been guided and which they missed, and 'amin' behind the imam (in the Prayers)" Ibn Kathir.

"From the incident of the change in qiblah is derived the principle that the Qur'an abrogates the Sunnah, as in this case the earlier orientation during prayers was based on Sunnah that the Qur'an abrogated. Also, the reliance of the Companions on a single reporter for changing their qiblah proves the validity of the principle in Islamic Law that ahadith of the 'aahaad' type have sufficient legal value" (Qurtubi).

"Aahaad" ahadith are those that have a single narrator (a Companion) at the end of the chain of narrators, the number of subsequent narrators being of no consequence (Au.).

286. This is the first answer to the objection raised by the unbelievers and the substance of the answer is: 'Who are you to object? It is Allah to whom belongs the Kingdom of the heaven and the earth. He orders as He will. His servants' duty is to obey as ordered and not to question' (Ibn Kathir, Thanwi).

Furthermore, Ibn Kathir says, it is our duty to obey the commands and turn to the direction He orders. If He orders us to change the direction several times a day, then, as His slaves and servants we should comply with the orders.

Wisdom behind the Qiblah

Mufti Shafi` Deobandi has the following to state in explanation of the appointment of a qiblah for this community: It is commonly known that the strength of any collective system depends on the unity of its individuals. Excessive individualism is destructive to collective causes. Nations have tried to use race, lineage, country, geographical area, color or language as the basis of unity. But these are not things of choice. A white man cannot become black. A Pakistani cannot undergo re-birth as an African. Therefore, these kinds of factors cannot be used as a basis to unite a very large number of people. In fact, they are the dividing factors. Islam has not tried to unite people on the basis of factors over which they have no control. So too, it has not tried to impose those factors of unity that go against their love of freedom and an innate dislike of restrictions. It has also not tried to do so on the basis of principles that are against human reason and aspirations. For instance, it did not recommend a common dress code, rather, left it to the choice of the people, only delineating limits of exposure of the body. Islam unites the people on the basis of faith and belief. And to strengthen the unity it has taken simple measures that are possible for everyone to observe without inconvenience and at no cost - whether they be villagers or townsmen, Indian or English. One such factor of unity is the direction to be observed during the five daily prayers (Ma`arif, abridged).

287. Literally, "wasat" is the middle. Incidentally, this Surah has 286 verses. One half of that is 143, which is the verse in which this term "wasat" occurs (Au.).

"Wasat" is, according to me, the "justly balanced," since this ummah is between two excesses of the Jews and Christians. The Jews cried lies to their Prophets, killed them and corrupted the Holy Scriptures sent to them, while the Christians declared Jesus the son of God, and invented priesthood. There is a hadith which corroborates this meaning. It is also the opinion of Abu Sa`id al Khudri, Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah and others" (Ibn Jarir).

Asad writes: "...the community that keeps an equitable balance between extremes and is realistic in its appreciation of man's nature and possibilities, rejecting both licentiousness and exaggerated asceticism. In tune with its oft repeated call to moderation in every aspect of life, the Qur'an exhorts the believers not to place too great an emphasis on the physical and material aspects of their lives, but postulates, at the same time, that man's urges and desires relating to this 'life of the flesh' are God willed and, therefore, legitimate. On further analysis, the expression 'a community of the middle way," (Asad's translation of 'wasat': Au.), might be said to summarize, as it were, the Islamic attitude towards the problem of man's existence as such: a denial of the view that there is an inherent conflict between the spirit and the flesh, and a bold affirmation of the natural, God willed unity in this twofold aspect of human life. This balanced attitude, peculiar to Islam, flows directly from the concept of God's oneness and, hence, of the unity of purpose underlying all His creation: and thus, the mention of the 'community of the middle way' at this place is a fitting introduction to the theme of the Ka`bah, a symbol of God's oneness."

Shafi` Deobandi adds: This Ummah is justly balanced in every aspect of its existence.

a) In faith and belief: between the extremes of the Jews and Christians, (as pointed out by Ibn Jarir above).

b) In matters of worship: as against the other nations who either neglected it altogether, or went to extremes of shutting themselves in monasteries, Muslims follow the middle path and pray five times a day devoting the rest of the time to worldly affairs.

c) In matters of culture and civilization: as against other nations who take care to preserve the lives of animals and plants, but fail to protect the lives of human beings, Muslims are very mindful of the human rights at every level of interaction.

d) Economy: An even distribution of wealth in Muslim society is the best example of how they are justly balanced against other people among whom either private ownership is frowned upon or the whole society is engaged in nothing but accumulation of wealth (Abridged).

Thanwi adds: Judging by the way they react to the injunction about the qiblah, the Muslims are justly balanced from this angle also. That is, neither such dim wits that they cannot appreciate the wisdom behind the command concerning the qiblah, even when explained, nor such theorists as to refuse to follow the command without knowing the wisdom.

Another possible meaning is that "wasat" stands for "the best," as used in the Qur'an is several places. For example, to describe the "salat al `asr" the Qur'an used the words: "salat al wusta." The Prophet (saws) has also used this term in this sense in several ahadith. For example, he called Quraysh the "wasat" of the Arab tribes" (Ibn Kathir).

288. "Shuhada'": In his characteristic style of seeking the meaning of the Qur'an from the Qur'an, Shanqiti writes: "It has not been stated here whether the Prophet (saws) will be a witness in this world or in the Hereafter. It has been made clear elsewhere that it is in the Hereafter that he will be a witness. Allah (swt) said (4: 41): فَكَيْفَ إِذَا جِئْنَا مِنْ كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ بِشَهِيدٍ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَى هَؤُلَاءِ شَهِيدًا [النساء/41] 'How will (it be, O Prophet) when We will bring forth a witness in the Hereafter, from every nation and will bring you forth a witness against them?'"

Ibn Jarir, as well as Ibn Kathir, (whose reports are based on those of Bukhari and Tirmidhi) state the following:

Abu Sa`id al Khudri reports the Prophet (saws) as having said: قالَ رَسُولُ الله صلى الله عليه وسلم "يُدْعَى نُوحٌ فَيُقَالُ هَلْ بَلّغْتَ؟ فَيَقُولُ نَعَمْ، فَيُدْعَى قَوْمُهُ فَيُقَالُ: هَلْ بَلّغَكُمْ؟ فَيَقُولُونَ: مَا أَتَانَا مِنْ نَذِيرٍ وَمَا أَتَانَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ. فَيُقَالُ: مَنْ شُهُودُكَ؟ فيقولُ: محمّدٌ وَأمّتُهُ، قالَ فَيُؤْتَى بكُمْ تَشْهَدُونَ أَنّهُ قَدْ بَلّغَ فَذَلِكَ قَوْلُ الله تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالَى {وَكَذَلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمّةً وَسَطاً لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيداً}". (قال أبو عيسى: هذا حديثٌ حسنٌ صحيحٌ).‏ "On the Day of Judgment Nuh will be asked to appear before the people and will be asked, 'Did you convey the Message that you were entrusted with?' He will say, 'I did.' Then the people to whom he was sent will be asked: 'Did he convey the Message?' They will say, 'No warner none at all ever came to us.' So Nuh will be asked, 'Do you have a witness?' He will say, 'Yes, Muhammad and his followers.' This is the meaning of the verse, 'Thus We have made you a justly balanced people so that you may be witnesses to the people and the Prophet a witness to you.'" Another version adds that the Muslims will be asked, 'How can you say that (the Message was delivered)?' They will say, 'On the basis of the Revelation (the Qur'an) reaching us confirming that the Message was delivered.'

Ibn Jarir and Ibn Kathir also add: Another report of Abu Sa`id al Khudri, recorded by Ibn Marduwayh and Ibn Abi Hatim says that the Prophet (saws) said, "أنا وأُمتي يوم القيامة على كوم مشرفين على الخلائق ما من الناس أحد إلا ودَّ أنه منا، وما من نبي كذبه قومه إلا ونحن نشهد أنه قد بلغ رسالة ربه عزّ وجلّ" (رواه ابن مردويه عن جابر بن عبد الله( . "I and my followers will be on a raised platform on the Day of Judgment looking down upon the people (and the proceedings). There will be no one but wishing to be with us. And there will be no Messenger who will be given the lie but we will bear witness that he conveyed the Message."

The report could not be traced in major works (Au.).

Both Ibn Jarir and Ibn Kathir (with some modifications) add the following: It is also reported that, once a group of people were with the Prophet (saws) in a graveyard burying a man from Banu Salamah, when someone remarked, 'He was the best of them,' then he went on to count some of his virtues. The Prophet (saws) said, 'It has become due.' On another occasion when they were burying a man from Banu Haritha someone said, 'He was an evil man,' and went on to mention some of his evil deeds. The Prophet (saws) said, 'It has become due.' He was asked what he meant by that remark. He said, 'Allah (swt) has said: "...so that you might be witness to the people."' That is, Paradise became due because Muslims bore witness to the man's goodness, and the opposite also (Au.). Ibn Kathir says that according to Hakim, the hadith is "sahih" by the standards of Bukhari and Muslim].

(Bukhari's version is as follows: Au.): عَنْ ثَابِتٍ عَنْ أَنَسٍ - رضى الله عنه - قَالَ مُرَّ عَلَى النَّبِىِّ - صلى الله عليه وسلم - بِجَنَازَةٍ ، فَأَثْنَوْا عَلَيْهَا خَيْرًا فَقَالَ « وَجَبَتْ » . ثُمَّ مُرَّ بِأُخْرَى فَأَثْنَوْا عَلَيْهَا شَرًّا - أَوْ قَالَ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ - فَقَالَ « وَجَبَتْ » . فَقِيلَ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ ، قُلْتَ لِهَذَا وَجَبَتْ ، وَلِهَذَا وَجَبَتْ ، قَالَ « شَهَادَةُ الْقَوْمِ ، الْمُؤْمِنُونَ شُهَدَاءُ اللَّهِ فِى الأَرْضِ » Ibn Kathir also narrates from Bukhari and Nasa'i: On a similar occasion during his caliphate, `Umar related the Prophet's words: « مَا مِنْ مُسْلِمٍ يَشْهَدُ لَهُ ثَلاَثَةٌ إِلاَّ وَجَبَتْ لَهُ الْجَنَّةُ ». قَالَ قُلْنَا وَاثْنَانِ قَالَ « وَاثْنَانِ ». قَالَ وَلَمْ نَسْأَلْ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- عَنِ الْوَاحِدِ. قَالَ أَبُو عِيسَى هَذَا حَدِيثٌ حَسَنٌ صَحِيحٌ. "Any Muslim about whom four of you bear good testimony will be sent to Paradise." He was asked, "What if three (of us bear the testimony)." He said, "Even if three." Then someone said, "If two (of us bear the testimony)?" He said, "Even two." After that no one enquired about one.

In yet another hadith the Prophet (saws) said, يُوشِكُ أَنْ تَعْرِفوا أَهْلَ الْجَنَّةِ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ). قَالُوا: بْمَ ذَاكَ؟ يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ! قَالَ (بِالثَّنَاءِ الْحَسَنِ وَالثَّنَاءِ السَّيِّءِ. أَنْتُمْ شُهَدَاءُ اللهِ، بَعْضُكمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ (في الزوائد: إسناده صحيح. رجال ثقات) "It is hoped that you will know the good ones among you from the evil ones." He was asked, "How would that be O Messenger of Allah?" He answered, "Through your praise of some as virtuous and condemnation of others as the corrupt. You are Allah's witnesses on the earth" (Ibn Kathir, from Ibn Majah).

However, according to Dahhak, it is those of this "ummah" who follow the guidance that will be the witnesses, and not just everyone (Ibn Jarir).

289. What is meant by the words: 'We did not appoint....but to distinguish' is that the "people might know," since Allah has foreknowledge of things to happen. Further, this applies to every such statement in the Qur'an. For example, وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُمْ حَتَّى نَعْلَمَ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ مِنْكُمْ وَالصَّابِرِينَ وَنَبْلُوَ أَخْبَارَكُمْ [محمد/31] 'And We will try you in order that We know the mujahedeen and those that persevere among you.' What is meant by the words: "So that We know" is "so that the people might know" (Qurtubi).

290. It was a hard thing because the pagans said, 'Muhammad seems to be confused. Probably he thinks we are better guided, and it is possible he will revert to our ancestral religion.' The hypocrites said, 'What's wrong with Muhammad? Sometimes he asks us to pray in one direction and at other times in another direction!' Many abandoned Islam. Some Muslims began to ask about those that had died praying in the direction of Jerusalem. But true Muslims remained steadfast and emerged from the test successful (Ibn Jarir).

Mawdudi writes: "One purpose of this change in the direction of Prayer was to find out who was blinkered by the irrational prejudices and chained by chauvinistic attachment to land and blood, and who, having liberated himself from those bonds, was capable of rising to the heights and grasping the Truth.

"On the one hand were the Arabs who were steeped in their national and racial arrogance. For them, taking Jerusalem as the direction by their Prayer (as originally practiced by the Prophet) was too hard a blow to their national vanity to be accepted with equanimity. On the other hand, the Jews were essentially no different. They, too, were obsessed with racial pride so that it was difficult for them to accept any other than the direction of Prayer which they had inherited from the past. How could the people whose hearts were full of such idols respond to the call of the Messenger of God? Hence, God saw to it that the worshippers of such idols were distinguished from the genuine worshippers of God by first fixing Jerusalem as the direction of Prayer. This was bound to alienate all those who had worshipped the idol of Arabianism. Later, the fixing of the Ka`bah as the direction of Prayer led to the alienation of those who were engrossed in the worship of the idol of Israel. Thus there were left with the Prophet (saws) only those who truly worshipped none but the One True God."

291. Apart from the interpretation that "faith" here alludes to "salah," an additional meaning is that Allah was not such as to waste away your consistency in faith considering the fact that you did not doubt and did not waver (Zamakhshari).

292. "Al Ra'uf": Though "ra'fah" has the same meaning as "rahmah," it expresses greater intensity of kindness" (Qurtubi).

Ibn Kathir comments: Bukhari has recorded a hadith which reports that, عَنْ عُمَرَ بْنِ الْخَطَّابِ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَدِمَ عَلَى النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ سَبْيٌ فَإِذَا امْرَأَةٌ مِنْ السَّبْيِ قَدْ تَحْلُبُ ثَدْيَهَا تَسْقِي إِذَا وَجَدَتْ صَبِيّاً فِي السَّبْيِ أَخَذَتْهُ فَأَلْصَقَتْهُ بِبَطْنِهَا وَأَرْضَعَتْهُ فَقَالَ لَنَا النَّبِيُّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ أَتُرَوْنَ هَذِهِ طَارِحَةً وَلَدَهَا فِي النَّارِ قُلْنَا لَا وَهِيَ تَقْدِرُ عَلَى أَنْ لَا تَطْرَحَهُ فَقَالَ لَلَّهُ أَرْحَمُ بِعِبَادِهِ مِنْ هَذِهِ بِوَلَدِهَا.‏ The Prophet saw a woman prisoner searching for her child. Every time she found a child she would grasp it, hugged it and began to breast feed it. He asked his Companions, "Do you think she will throw her child into the fire, if she has the power not to do so?" We answered, "Of course not, if she has the choice not to throw it." The Prophet (saws) said: "By Allah, Allah (swt) is kinder to His creations than this woman is to her child."

293. Knowing that since the leadership had been taken away from the Children of Israel, it was only a matter of time when their qiblah would be abandoned in favor of the qiblah of Ibrahim, the Prophet (saws) used to turn often toward the heavens in anticipation of orders to reorient himself toward the Ka`bah in Prayers.

Note also that although the order concerning the change in qiblah was expected and would have come anyway, Allah (swt) put it in such words as if to sound that the order was following the Prophet's desire. This demonstrates the regard the Prophet (saws) enjoys with Allah (Au.).

294. Ibn `Abbas has reported the Prophet (saws) as having said: "The Holy House is the qiblah of those in the Holy Mosque. The Holy Mosque is the qiblah of those in the Haram (the Holy Precincts around the Holy Mosque). And the Haram is the qiblah of the Muslims all over the world (Qurtubi).

This report could not be traced in major works.

The 'Holy Mosque' refers to the sanctuary invested with holiness and sanctity: in the centre of which the Ka`bah is located.

Mawdudi remarks: "To turn one's face in the direction of the Ka`bah does not mean that wherever a man might be he should turn to the Ka`bah with absolute accuracy. It would obviously be extremely difficult for everyone to comply with such an order. Hence the order is to turn in the direction of the Ka`bah rather than to the Ka`bah itself. ... We may pray in the direction which appears correct... However, if a man is either at a place where it is difficult to determine the direction of the Ka`bah or if he is in a position where it is difficult to maintain the correct direction (e.g. when travelling on a train, a boat, or an aero plane), he may pray in the direction which seems correct, or in whatever direction it is possible for him to face. If he then comes to know the correct direction while he is in the state of Prayer he should turn his face in that direction."

295. "'A bird's eye view of the Moslem world at the hour of prayer would present the spectacle of a series of concentric circles of worshippers radiating from the Ka`bah at Makkah and covering an ever widening area from Sierra Leone to Canton and from Tobolsk to Cape Town' (Hitti, History of the Arabs, pp.130 131)" Majid.

296. According to Suddi and Ibn Zayd, when the Prophet (saws) began to pray facing the Ka`bah, the Jews said that if he had remained on their qiblah, they could have felt reassured that he was the Promised Messenger and, consequently, would have followed him. Allah (swt) then revealed: 'Those who have been given the Book know that this is the right (command) from your Lord. And Allah is not unaware of the things they do' (Ibn Jarir).

297. "'In fact, the subsequent command to Muslims to face in their prayers a central point common to them alone has powerfully contributed to that distinctive feeling of unity to this day, in spite of so many differences and sectarian dissensions, binds the Muslims together into one single ummah and makes them realize that they are a group of their own, different from the rest of the world. It is impossible to over estimate this feeling of unity' (AS I. p. 60)" Majid.

298. According to Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah, Suddi, Rabi`, Ibn Zayd, Ibn Jurayj, it is the fact of the Ka`bah being the right qiblah (of the Final Messenger) that the Jews and Christians knew as clearly as they knew their offspring (Ibn Jarir). However, others believe that the allusion is to the Prophet. That is, they recognize the Prophet (saws) as being from God, as clearly as they recognize their offspring. Hence, it is reported that `Umar asked `Abdullah ibn Salam if he knew the Prophet better than he knew his offspring. He said, 'Yes. And more certainly.' `Umar asked him, how he could say that?' He replied, 'The Trustworthy from the heavens (Jibril) came down to the Trustworthy on the earth (Muhammad) with signs undeniable; whereas I cannot be so sure of my child's mother" (Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi, Alusi).

It is said that the answer pleased `Umar so much that he kissed `Abdullah on the forehead (Zamakhshari).

Majid adds : "'There is no room to doubt,' says a Christian biographer of the Prophet, `that a section of the Jews not only hinted, before the Prophet, but even affirmed that he was that Prophet who the Lord their God should raise up unto them of their brethren' (Muir, p. 98)."

299. According to Qatadah and Mujahid it is Muhammad (saws) who is alluded to by the word: "al haqq" (the Truth) of this verse (Ibn Jarir). According to Ibn Kathir it is what Muhammad (saws) has brought.