Tafheem ul Quran
Surah 2 Al-Baqarah, Ayat 211-216
سَلۡ بَنِىۡٓ اِسۡرَآءِيۡلَ كَمۡ اٰتَيۡنٰهُمۡ مِّنۡ اٰيَةٍۢ بَيِّنَةٍ ؕ وَمَنۡ يُّبَدِّلۡ نِعۡمَةَ اللّٰهِ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِ مَا جَآءَتۡهُ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ شَدِيۡدُ الۡعِقَابِ
﴿2:211﴾
زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِيۡنَ كَفَرُوا الۡحَيٰوةُ الدُّنۡيَا وَيَسۡخَرُوۡنَ مِنَ الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا ۘ وَالَّذِيۡنَ اتَّقَوۡا فَوۡقَهُمۡ يَوۡمَ الۡقِيٰمَةِ ؕ وَاللّٰهُ يَرۡزُقُ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ بِغَيۡرِ حِسَابٍ
﴿2:212﴾
كَانَ النَّاسُ اُمَّةً وَّاحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ اللّٰهُ النَّبِيّٖنَ مُبَشِّرِيۡنَ وَمُنۡذِرِيۡنَ وَاَنۡزَلَ مَعَهُمُ الۡكِتٰبَ بِالۡحَـقِّ لِيَحۡكُمَ بَيۡنَ النَّاسِ فِيۡمَا اخۡتَلَفُوۡا فِيۡهِ ؕ وَمَا اخۡتَلَفَ فِيۡهِ اِلَّا الَّذِيۡنَ اُوۡتُوۡهُ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِ مَا جَآءَتۡهُمُ الۡبَيِّنٰتُ بَغۡيًا ۢ بَيۡنَهُمۡۚ فَهَدَى اللّٰهُ الَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا لِمَا اخۡتَلَفُوۡا فِيۡهِ مِنَ الۡحَـقِّ بِاِذۡنِهٖ ؕ وَاللّٰهُ يَهۡدِىۡ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ اِلٰى صِرَاطٍ مُّسۡتَقِيۡمٍ
﴿2:213﴾
اَمۡ حَسِبۡتُمۡ اَنۡ تَدۡخُلُوا الۡجَـنَّةَ وَ لَمَّا يَاۡتِكُمۡ مَّثَلُ الَّذِيۡنَ خَلَوۡا مِنۡ قَبۡلِكُمۡؕ مَسَّتۡهُمُ الۡبَاۡسَآءُ وَالضَّرَّآءُ وَزُلۡزِلُوۡا حَتّٰى يَقُوۡلَ الرَّسُوۡلُ وَالَّذِيۡنَ اٰمَنُوۡا مَعَهٗ مَتٰى نَصۡرُ اللّٰهِؕ اَلَاۤ اِنَّ نَصۡرَ اللّٰهِ قَرِيۡبٌ
﴿2:214﴾
يَسۡـئَلُوۡنَكَ مَاذَا يُنۡفِقُوۡنَ ؕ قُلۡ مَآ اَنۡفَقۡتُمۡ مِّنۡ خَيۡرٍ فَلِلۡوَالِدَيۡنِ وَالۡاَقۡرَبِيۡنَ وَالۡيَتٰمٰى وَالۡمَسٰكِيۡنِ وَابۡنِ السَّبِيۡلِؕ وَمَا تَفۡعَلُوۡا مِنۡ خَيۡرٍ فَاِنَّ اللّٰهَ بِهٖ عَلِيۡمٌ
﴿2:215﴾
كُتِبَ عَلَيۡکُمُ الۡقِتَالُ وَهُوَ كُرۡهٌ لَّـكُمۡۚ وَعَسٰۤى اَنۡ تَكۡرَهُوۡا شَيۡـئًا وَّهُوَ خَيۡرٌ لَّـکُمۡۚ وَعَسٰۤى اَنۡ تُحِبُّوۡا شَيۡـئًا وَّهُوَ شَرٌّ لَّـكُمۡؕ وَاللّٰهُ يَعۡلَمُ وَاَنۡـتُمۡ لَا تَعۡلَمُوۡنَ
﴿2:216﴾
(2:211) Ask the Children of Israel how many Clear Signs We gave them! And
when a people tamper with Allah’s bounty after it has been bestowed on them
– then indeed Allah is severe in punishment.229 (2:212) Worldly life has been made attractive to those who have denied the
Truth. Such men deride the men of faith, but the pious shall rank higher than
them on the Day of Resurrection. As for worldly livelihood, Allah grants it
to whomsoever He wills without measure. (2:213) In the beginning mankind followed one single way. (Later on this
state ended and differences arose.) Then Allah sent forth Prophets as heralds
of good tidings for the righteous and as warners against the consequences of
evil-doing. He sent down with them the Book embodying the Truth so that it might
judge among people in their disputes. And those who innovated divergent ways
rather than follow the Truth were none other than those who had received the
knowledge of the Truth and clear guidance; and they did so to commit excesses
against each other.230 So by His leave Allah directed the believers
to the Right Way in matters on which they disagreed. Allah guides whomsoever
He wills onto a Straight Way. (2:214) Do you suppose231 that you will enter Paradise untouched
by the suffering endured by the people of faith who passed away before you?
They were afflicted by misery and hardship and were so convulsed that the Messenger
and the believers with him cried out: “When will Allah’s help arrive?” They
were assured: “Behold, Allah’s help is close by.” (2:215) People ask you what they should spend. Say: “Whatever wealth you
spend let it be for your parents and kinsmen, the orphans, the needy and the
wayfarer; Allah is aware of whatever good you do.” (2:216) Fighting is ordained upon you and it is disliked by you; it may well
be that you dislike a thing even though it is good for you, and it may well
be that you like a thing even though it is bad for you. Allah knows and you
do not know.
Notes
229. There are two reasons why this query is addressed to the Children of
Israel. In the first place, a group of living human beings provide a better
source of instruction and admonition than mute archaeological findings. In the
second place, the Israelites were a people who, having been endowed with Scripture
and prophethood, were entrusted with the leadership of the world. By falling
prey to worldliness, hypocrisy and other errors of belief and conduct they subsequently
lost God's favour. A people entrusted with the task of universal leadership
could derive no better lesson from another people than this one.
230. When ignorant people attempt to trace the history of 'religion' they
tend to the view that man began his life in the darkness of polytheisrn and
that in the course of time, corresponding to man's progress, this darkness gradually
receded and light increased till man arrived at monotheism.
The Qur'anic version, however, proclaims that man began his life in full light
of the Truth. God revealed this Truth to the very first man He created, one
to whom He intimated the right way of life for man. Thereafter the human race
remained on the Right Way for some time and lived as one community. Later, however,
people invented deviating ways. This did not happen because Truth had not been
communicated to them. The cause was rather that some people wilfully sought
to acquire privileges, benefits and advantages beyond their legitimate limits,
and thus subjected others to injustices. It was in order to enable people to
overcome this corruption that God sent His Prophets. These Prophets were not
sent to found separate religions in their own names and bring new religious
communities into existence. Rather the purpose of the Prophets was to illuminate
before people the Truth which they had allowed to be lost, and once again make
them into one community.
231. In between this verse and the one above comes a whole story which has
been left untold, a story which is alluded to in the present verse and which
is mentioned in some detail in the Makkan surahs of the Qur'an (these were revealed
earlier than the present surah). The point emphasized here is that whenever
the Prophets came into the world they, and their followers, were confronted
with severe resistance from those in rebellion against God. At grave risk to
themselves they strove to establish the hegemony of the true religion over the
false ways of life. To follow this religion has, therefore, never been easy;
it is not merely a matter of declaring one's faith and then sitting back in
ease and comfort. On the contrary, the profession of faith has always demanded
that one should strive to establish the religion, which one has adopted as one's
faith, as a living reality and that one should spare no effort in undermining
the power of the Devil who seeks to resist it.