Verse:163 Commentary The detailed discussion of the events contained in the above verses have been produced in Surah Al-Baqarah (under verses 58-60). Those interested may refer to those verses for details.

The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has been asked to warn the Israelites present in his time by reminding them the events related in these verses. The events referred to in these verses are clear and require no explanation. Verse:164 Commentary - - - Verse:165 Commentary - - - Verse:166 Commentary - - - Verse:167 Commentary The first two verses (167 and 168) have referred to the two punishments given to the Israelites. Firstly, Allah will keep sending up to the Day of Doom, some individuals or groups of people who will punish and bring disgrace to them. In fact, this is what has been happening to them up to this day. They had been dominated and disdainfully treated by others as has been recorded by history. We may not be in doubt about their present government in a part of Palestine, as it is a common knowledge that the state of Israel is, in fact, a part of the world powers, created by them for their political objectives against the Muslim Ummah. They are still ruled over and dominated by the colonial powers. It is, in fact, a military base of America. The day these powers stop providing them with their aid they shall not be able to maintain their existence for long. Verse:168 Commentary The second punishment has been mentioned in verse 168. That is, Jewish populace has been cut into fragments scattered in all the parts of the world they could not integrate themselves into a solid nation. The phrase وَقَطَّعْنَاهُمْ فِي الْأَرْ‌ضِ أُمَمًا "And we divided them on the earth as separate communities". has refered to this fact. The Arabic word قَطَّعْنَا signifies breaking into pieces. While the word اُمَم is plural of Ummah, which means 'a group', 'a party'. The verse means that Allah has divided them into fragments making them scattered on the earth.

This indicates that being integrated in a whole, or having an entity as a nation is a blessing of Allah while getting disorganized into parts separated from each other is a punishment from Him. The Muslims have always enjoyed the blessing of having their own entity, and being recognized as an organized people in the world. Starting right from Madinah in the time of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم up to this day they have their own independent rule in various parts of the earth. The presence of Islamic countries from the Far East to the West is an obvious proof of this fact.

Their present state in Palestine should not cause any doubt as they have to come together in a place in the last age according to the prophecies made by the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم . He informed us in authentic Traditions that Prophet ` Isa (علیہ السلام) shall come down to the earth from heavens before the end of the world, and all the Christians shall embrace Islam. He shall fight a war against the Jews and put them to death. The culprits of Allah are not summoned through police, or other agencies; they are driven to their place of death by the causes created by the will of Allah.

The Prophet ` Isa (علیہ السلام) (Jesus) is to descend from heavens in the land of Syria. He shall fight war with the Jews. The Prophet Isa (علیہ السلام) has been saved the trouble of seeking the Jews in different parts of the world by causing them to gather in Palestine. As to their present political power and sovereignty in the State of Israel, it is a delusion which beguiles only those who are not conversant with the world politics. The so called 'State of Israel' is, in fact, a common camp ground of the big powers like America, Russia, and England. It depends upon the aid of its masters for its existence. It has to serve the aims and objectives of its Masters. They are still living in real servitude, and are deprived of their free rule in true sense of the word.

The Holy Qur'an has informed us of their disgrace and distress up to the end of time in these words:

وَإِذْ تَأَذَّنَ رَ‌بُّكَ لَيَبْعَثَنَّ عَلَيْهِمْ إِلَىٰ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ مَن يَسُومُهُمْ سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ ۗ إِنَّ رَ‌بَّكَ لَسَرِ‌يعُ الْعِقَابِ

"And when your Lord declared that he would surely keep sending till the Day of Doom, those who inflict upon them an evil punishment."

History has recorded that they have been continually persecuted by one people or another right from the time of the Prophet Sulayman (علیہ السلام) to the present age. Their imprisonment by Nebuchadnezzar and persecution at the hands of subsequent kings, then their defeat and ignominious fate at the hands of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and his Caliph ` Umar al-Faruq ؓ 1, are obvious example of this fact.

1. The recent persecution of the Jews at the hands of Hitler in the second world war is a fresh example of this Qur'anic declaration. (Translator)

The second phrase of this verse is this:

مِّنْهُمُ الصَّالِحُونَ وَمِنْهُمْ دُونَ ذَٰلِكَ

"Some of them are righteous, and some of them are other-wise".

The righteous people among them are those who followed the commandments of the Torah faithfully and did not try to distort them as others did. The people termed as 'otherwise' include infidels and those who obstinately disobeyed their prophets and even killed them. The terms 'righteous' and 'otherwise' may also refer to the people who believed in the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and followed the Qur'anic guidance after it's revelation. Opposed to them are those believing in the Torah as the word of Allah, disobeyed it or distorted its commandment and thus sold out their eternal salvation for petty gains of this world. The last phrase of this verse has said:

وَبَلَوْنَاهُم بِالْحَسَنَاتِ وَالسَّيِّئَاتِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْ‌جِعُونَ

"And we tested them with good happenings and bad happenings so that they might return."

The "good happenings" refer to their state of prosperity, comfort and ease while 'bad happenings' has reference either to their various persecutions and calamities faced by them throughout their history, or it may have referred to some period of famine coming upon them as punishment. Both the methods of testing their obedience were used in their case. Prosperity and wealth were given to them to see if they show their gratefulness to their Lord. When they were a failure in this test, they were made to undergo many punishments already discussed in the foregoing verses.

Their perversion of thought and practice had gone to such extent that in the time of prosperity they said:

إِنَّ اللَّـهَ فَقِيرٌ‌ وَنَحْنُ أَغْنِيَاءُ

"Allah is poor and we are rich." (3:181)

while in times of their destitution they said: يَدُ اللَّـهِ مَغْلُولَةٌ "Allah's hand is shackled." (5:64) Another implication of the verse is that prosperity or poverty, happiness or suffering are sent as a test to mankind in order to judge the faith and love of the created for the Creator. Both, prosperity and suffering should be of no real concern to the men of under-standing, as they are temporary and have to end.

It is, therefore, not wise to show arrogance for one's prosperity or being dejected for one's impoverishment. A Persian poet said:

نہ شادی داد سامانے نہ غم آورد نقصانے

بہ پیش ھمت ماھرچہ آمد بود مہمانے

"Neither happiness awarded us with real benefit nor did

sorrow make us weep. Both came as guests to our resolute spirit." Verse:169 Commentary The verse 169 has said:

فَخَلَفَ مِن بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ وَرِ‌ثُوا الْكِتَابَ يَأْخُذُونَ عَرَ‌ضَ هَـٰذَا الْأَدْنَىٰ وَيَقُولُونَ سَيُغْفَرُ‌ لَنَا وَإِن يَأْتِهِمْ عَرَ‌ضٌ مِّثْلُهُ يَأْخُذُوهُ

"Then, after them came a generation, who inherited the Book, taking to the mundane stuff of this world and saying: 'We shall be forgiven.' And if there comes to them similar stuff, they would take to it (again).

The Arabic word خَلْفٌ is a past tense of خِلَافَہ signifying a deputy or a person trusted with one's work in one's absence.

The second word used here is خَلْفُ with the merged sound of the second letter ل Lam, generally denoting a deputy who is marked with wickedness, as opposed to the good practices of his elders. The word وَرِ‌ثُوا is a derivative of ورَاثَۃ that is, inheritance. The next word is عَرَ‌ض meaning something bought with money. Sometimes, it is used just for something possessed. The use of this word for money indicates that anything owned in this world is temporary, because this word, as an antonym of 'Jauhar' (substance), is used for an object which requires something else to show its existence like colour which requires another thing to show itself. The word اَدنی 'has been derived from دُنوُ which denotes nearness or lack of distance. The word دُنیا is a feminine gender of this word. The word اَدنی may also be taken to be a derivative of دَنَاَءۃ which signifies disgrace. In this case the word shall refer to something disgraced.

The verse implies that there were two groups of people among the early Jews, the righteous and the wrong-doers. The people coming in later generations who inherited the Torah, however, acted opposite to their elders and made the Book an object of trading or a means of their earning. They used to manipulate and distort the text of the Torah for some money offered to them for this purpose. Moreover, "they said: وَيَقُولُونَ سَيُغْفَرُ‌ لَنَا "We shall be forgiven". In spite of committing as great a sin as distorting the text of the Book of Allah, they claimed their forgiveness by Allah. They are warned of this error in the very next sentence. saying: وَإِن يَأْتِهِمْ عَرَ‌ضٌ مِّثْلُهُ يَأْخُذُوهُ 'If there comes to them similar stuff they would take to it (again)." That is to say, they are in such a state of perversion that in case they are offered money for changing another text, they shall readily accept it. The verse has implied that forgiveness of Allah is always there to those who are mindful of their error and turn to their Lord in repentance showing their remorse over what they have done, and making firm promise of not repeating the same mistake again. Being persistent in their sinful acts and claiming their forgiveness is sheer self deception. The next part of the verse puts a question to them, whether they were not made to enter a covenant with Allah that they shall never say anything but truth about Allah. Yes, they read this pledge in their Book. This is nothing but their impudence and obstinacy that stops them from realizing the truth of the Hereafter which is exclusively the fate of those who fear Allah. Verse:170 Commentary The preceding verse (169) contained a mention of a covenant made with the religious leaders of the Israelites in particular, that they shall not make any changes in the Torah and shall not ascribe to Allah anything but the truth. It has already been mentioned that they violated this pledge and distorted the contents of the Torah for petty amounts of money. This verse is an extension of the same theme. It says that there are some among their religious leaders who are truth-fully following the commands of the Torah and are firmly adhering to its guidance. They established the Salah as was required. The verse has provided with an assurance to such people that they shall not be deprived of their reward. That is, those who have been true to their faith and fulfilled its demands are righteous people among them.

There are some points of discussion related to this verse. The term 'Book' most probably refers to the Torah. Another possibility is that it refers to all the heavenly books of Allah like Torah, Injil and the Qur'an. Another point to be noted is that merely keeping the book of Allah and showing respect to it without following its' commandments does not fulfill the very object of its revelation. It is why the verse has used the word يُمَسِّكُونَ "Hold fast", in place of يَأْخُذُونَ or یَقرَؤنَ "those who take it or read it. Holding fast the Book requires to follow all it's injunctions and commands.

The next thing we note in this verse is that out of a large number of doctrines of the Torah the verse has made mention of "establishing 'Salah' only. This is because the Salah is the most significant and purposeful act among the precepts enjoined by Allah. This is, in fact, the most basic and quintessential way of expressing one's faith in, and obedience to, Allah. Offering the Salah regularly makes one capable of being regular in other worships more willingly and with more ease. The Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم has termed the Salah as being the pillar of Islam. The whole edifice of Islam rests on it. Whoever has erected it properly has built the whole structure of his faith on a stronghold. Any one not regular in Salah, is of no worth to Allah, even if he is seen reciting His name all the times and has unusual visions and does extraordinary acts. Verse:171 Commentary The next verse (171) described another incident of the Israelites when they were forced to promise their obedience to the law of the Torah. It has also been mentioned in the Surah al-Baqarah. The Arabic word نَتَقنَا signifies drawing or lifting up. In the Surah al-Baqarah the word رَفَعنَا has been used which denotes the act of raising up. Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ has therefore, taken the word نَتَقنَا to signify raising high. The Arabic word ظُلَّہ 'Zullah' means a sunshade or a canopy.

The verse refers to the time when the Prophet Musa (علیہ السلام) came back from the mount of Sinai with the book of Torah. They found therein many injunctions which they thought were difficult for them, to follow. They started showing their unwillingness for obeying those commandments. Allah commanded the Archangel Jibra'i1 (علیہ السلام) to raise the Mount of Sinai upon their town. The area of this town is reported to have been three square miles. When the mount of Sinai was hanged over their heads they fell down prostrating themselves out of fear and promised their obedience to the Law of Moses (the Torah). The future events, however, witnessed their deviation from the Law every now and again.

No compulsion in Faith

The above incident gives rise to a question. Why the Israelites were forced to make a promise of their obedience while the Holy Qur'an has declared لَا إِكْرَ‌اهَ فِي الدِّينِ "There is no compulsion in Faith?" (2:256) The answer is quite simple. None of the disbelievers has ever been forced to accept faith, nor any one is allowed to use force for this purpose. However, those who have already entered the covenant of faith out of their free will and, later, deviate from the commandments of Allah just for avoiding their commitments, shall essentially be forced to abide by the rules and regulations of the Law. In case of deviation from their duty they must be held liable to punishments prescribed by the Law. This is what exactly happened in this incident. They had already believed in Allah and in His Prophet and had entered the covenant of Faith. What they did was to deny from obeying the Law of the Torah and rightly were forced to fulfill their commitment.