Surah 98. Al-Bayyinah

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Verses [Section]: 1-8[1]

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Quran Text of Verse 1-898. Al-Bayyinahبِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِلَمْNotیَكُنِwereالَّذِیْنَthose whoكَفَرُوْاdisbelievedمِنْfromاَهْلِ(the) Peopleالْكِتٰبِof the Bookوَ الْمُشْرِكِیْنَand the polytheistsمُنْفَكِّیْنَto be abandonedحَتّٰیuntilتَاْتِیَهُمُ(there) comes to themالْبَیِّنَةُۙthe clear evidence رَسُوْلٌA MessengerمِّنَfromاللّٰهِAllahیَتْلُوْاrecitingصُحُفًاpagesمُّطَهَّرَةًۙpurified فِیْهَاWhereinكُتُبٌ(are) writingsقَیِّمَةٌؕcorrect وَ مَاAnd notتَفَرَّقَbecame dividedالَّذِیْنَthose whoاُوْتُواwere givenالْكِتٰبَthe Bookاِلَّاuntilمِنْۢfromبَعْدِafterمَاwhatجَآءَتْهُمُcame (to) themالْبَیِّنَةُؕ(of) the clear evidence وَ مَاۤAnd notاُمِرُوْۤاthey were commandedاِلَّاexceptلِیَعْبُدُواto worshipاللّٰهَAllahمُخْلِصِیْنَ(being) sincereلَهُto Himالدِّیْنَ ۙ۬(in) the religionحُنَفَآءَuprightوَ یُقِیْمُواand to establishالصَّلٰوةَthe prayerوَ یُؤْتُواand to giveالزَّكٰوةَthe Zakahوَ ذٰلِكَAnd thatدِیْنُ(is the) religionالْقَیِّمَةِؕthe correct اِنَّIndeedالَّذِیْنَthose whoكَفَرُوْاdisbelieveمِنْfromاَهْلِ(the) Peopleالْكِتٰبِ(of) the Bookوَ الْمُشْرِكِیْنَand the polytheistsفِیْ(will be) inنَارِ(the) Fireجَهَنَّمَ(of) Hellخٰلِدِیْنَabiding eternallyفِیْهَا ؕthereinاُولٰٓىِٕكَThoseهُمْtheyشَرُّ(are the) worstالْبَرِیَّةِؕ(of) the creatures اِنَّIndeedالَّذِیْنَthose whoاٰمَنُوْاbelieveوَ عَمِلُواand doالصّٰلِحٰتِ ۙrighteous deedsاُولٰٓىِٕكَthoseهُمْtheyخَیْرُ(are the) bestالْبَرِیَّةِؕ(of) the creatures 98. Al-Bayyinah Page 599جَزَآؤُهُمْTheir rewardعِنْدَ(is) withرَبِّهِمْtheir LordجَنّٰتُGardensعَدْنٍ(of) Eternityتَجْرِیْflowمِنْfromتَحْتِهَاunderneath themالْاَنْهٰرُthe riversخٰلِدِیْنَwill abideفِیْهَاۤthereinاَبَدًا ؕforeverرَضِیَ(will be) pleasedاللّٰهُAllahعَنْهُمْwith themوَ رَضُوْاand they (will be) pleasedعَنْهُ ؕwith HimذٰلِكَThatلِمَنْ(is) for whoeverخَشِیَfearedرَبَّهٗ۠his Lord

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Translation of Verse 1-8In the name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.

(98:1) Those who disbelieved¹ – be they from the People of the Book or from those who associated² others with Allah in His Divinity – will not desist from unbelief until the Clear Proof should come to them;³

(98:2) a Messenger⁴ from Allah, reciting from Purified Scrolls;⁵

(98:3) in writings wherein are scriptures, absolutely true and unerring.

(98:4) Nor did those to whom the Book had been given split up until after the Proof (of the Right Way) had come to them.⁶

(98:5) Yet all that they had been commanded was that they serve Allah, with utter sincerity, devoting themselves exclusively to Him, and that they establish Prayer and pay Zakah. That is the Right Faith.⁷

(98:6) Those who disbelieved⁸ – be they from among the People of the Book or among those who associated others with Allah in His Divinity– shall be in the Fire, and will abide in it. They are the worst of creatures.⁹

(98:7) But those that believe and work righteous deeds, they are the best of creatures.¹⁰

(98:8) Their recompense lies with their Lord: Gardens of eternity beneath which rivers flow; therein they shall dwell, forever and ever. Allah is well-pleased with them, and they are well-pleased with Him. All this is for him who fears his Lord.¹¹

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Commentary

1. Unbelief employed here in a very broad sense, encompassing all the forms and attitudes betraying unbelief. For example, some did not believe in Allah at all. Others believed in Him, though not.as the One True God. Rather, they ascribed partners with Allah in His being, attributes and powers and accordingly they worshipped His associates. Some did believe in monotheism yet they also committed polytheism as well. Some rejected Messengers and refused to take them as their guides. Some recognized only a few Messengers while rejecting others. Some of them refused to believe in the doctrine of the Hereafter. In sum, they professed and practiced numerous forms of unbelief. The opening verse is not to be misconstrued in the sense that some of them were not unbelievers. Rather, it is asserted that the two groups committed unbelief. (i) The People of the Book and (ii) the polytheists. The same stylistic feature marks Verse 30 of Surah al-Hajj. The message of the verse is loud and clear: “Those who disbelieved — be they from the People of the Book or from those who associated others with Allah in His divinity — will not desist from unbelief.”

2. Notwithstanding their indulgence in disbelief, both of these groups are mentioned separately. The People of the Book did possess and believe in their Scriptures, no matter how corrupted these were. The polytheists were, however, not adherents of any Messenger or Scripture. At several places, the Qur’an speaks of polytheism committed by the People of the Book. For example, Christians are indicted for saying: “Allah is one of the Three” (al-Ma’idah 5: 73), for their ascribing divinity to the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon him) in Verse 17 of al-Ma‘idah and for their belief in him as the son of God, (al-Tawbah 9: 30). However, the Qur’an nowhere dubs the People of the Book as polytheists. Rather, they are always addressed as the People of the Book, or as the ones to whom the Book was given or as Jews and Christians. For whilst they essentially believed in monotheism, they nonetheless indulged in polytheism. In contrast to them, polytheists are branded as mushrik (those who associate others with Allah in His divinity). They were Basically polytheists and rejected monotheism altogether. Not Only are two different terms used for these two groups, Shariah also commands that a distinction be maintained between the two. For example, the slaughter of animals by the People of the Book is lawful for Muslims, as long as they invoke only the name of God and slaughter the animal properly. Likewise, Muslim males are allowed to marry women from the People of the Book. As opposed to this, both these practices are unlawful with regard to polytheists.

3. Only clear proof could drive them away from unbelief, proof that would demonstrate to them the error of their unbelief and convincingly show them guidance. This does not mean to say that after the appearance of this ‘clear proof all of them desisted from unbelief. However, until the appearance of that clear proof it was unthinkable that they would ever desist from it. If they persist even after proof, they will be solely responsible for their error. For, then, they will not be able to complain about the absence of any divine guidance specifically addressing them. The same truth is articulated in the Qur’an elsewhere:

It rests with Allah alone to show you the right way. (al-Nahl 16: 9)

Surely it is for Us to show the right way. (al-Layl 92: 12)

(O Muhammad), We have revealed to you as We revealed ° to Noah and the Prophets after him... These Messengers were sent as bearers of glad tidings and as warner’s so that after sending Messengers people may have no plea against Allah. (al-Nisa’ 4: 163 and 165)

People of the Book! After a long interlude during which no Messengers appeared there has come to you Our Messenger to elucidate the teaching of the true faith lest you say: “No bearer of glad tidings and no warner has come to us.” For now there indeed has come to you a bearer of glad tidings and a warner. (al-Maidah 5: 19)

4. The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself is paraded here as the clear proof. That he is the Messenger of Allah is unmistakably proved by the following: the tremendous distinction between his pre- and post-Prophetic life; his presentation of the Qur’an, notwithstanding him being an unlettered person; the transformation in the lives of believers coming under the influence of his teachings and training; his instructing people in sound beliefs and excellent morals and manners; his perfect directive for leading life; the absence of any discrepancy between his words and deeds, and finally his resolve in the face of stiff opposition.

5. “Scrolls” is the Qur’anic term for the Scriptures sent down to Messengers. These are described as “purified” in that these do not contain anything false, evil or impure. The meaning of “Purified Scrolls” assumes more sense as one makes a comparative study of the Qur’an, the Bible and other holy books. The latter are marred by such contents as run counter to truth, common sense and morality, though these occasionally contain some truths. This comparative study persuades one of the purity of the Qur’an all the more.

6. The People of the Book had for long been victims of a great many errors. As a consequence, they were split into several sects. This was not because of any inadequacy in Allah’s arrangements to guide them. It was rather because they followed erroneous ways after Allah had made true guidance available to them. Hence, they themselves were responsible for wallowing in such misguidance. As their Scriptures were tampered with, Allah sent down as a clear proof His Messenger along with the perfect Scripture. The unbelievers do not have any reason for their persisting in error. They are responsible for their error, after Allah has made true guidance available to them. This declaration also recurs also in the following Qur’anic passages: al-Baqarah 2: 213 and 253; Al ‘Imran 3: 19; al-Ma’idah 5; 44-50; Yunus 10: 93; al-Shura 42: 13-15 and al- Jathiyah 45: 16-18. It will be helpful to study the above along with the explanatory notes on these passages.

7. The true faith preached now by the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is the same presented earlier by the Messengers and Scriptures of the People of the Book. They were never asked to profess any unsound belief or practice any evil. They deviated from the true faith and split into several sects. True faith consists in serving Allah alone, in shunning any association with Him and in turning wholly to Him, in establishing Prayer and in paying Zakah. The same truth features in Towards Understanding the Qur’an, Vol. II, al-A’‘raf 7: n. 19, pp. 18-19; Vol. IV, Yunus 10: nn. 108-109, pp. 71-73; Vol. VIII, al-Rum 30: nn. 43-47, pp. 98-100 and al-Zumar 39: 3-4. The term al-din al-qayyim used in this verse is taken by some Qur’anic scholars to mean “the faith of the righteous people”. Some point to its intensive form. In our opinion, however, its translation is “the right faith”.

8. Their disbelief consists in lying about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Those People of the Book and polytheists who reject him, notwithstanding his being a clear proof of the truth and his presentation of the purified scrolls to them, will meet the terrible end which is described in the following verses.

9. These unbelievers are the worst of creatures. They are worse than animals in that the latter are not endowed with any rational faculty. Perversely, they deny the truth notwithstanding their ability to see reason.

10. They are superior to all other creatures, including even angels. For the latter cannot disobey, while they obey Allah despite their ability to do otherwise.

11. The reference here is to the believer who leads life while fearing Allah at every step. He shuns all that might incur His displeasure. Accordingly, he will be amply rewarded and Allah will be well pleased with him.