وَ مِنَ And of النَّاسِ the people مَنْ (are some) who یَّقُوْلُ say اٰمَنَّا We believed بِاللّٰهِ in Allah وَ بِالْیَوْمِ and in the Day الْاٰخِرِ [the] Last وَ مَا but not هُمْ they بِمُؤْمِنِیْنَ ۘ (are) believers (at all) یُخٰدِعُوْنَ They seek to deceive اللّٰهَ Allah وَ الَّذِیْنَ and those who اٰمَنُوْا ۚ believe[d] وَ مَا and not یَخْدَعُوْنَ they deceive اِلَّاۤ except اَنْفُسَهُمْ themselves وَ مَا and not یَشْعُرُوْنَ ؕ they realize (it) فِیْ In قُلُوْبِهِمْ their hearts مَّرَضٌ ۙ (is) a disease فَزَادَهُمُ so has increased them اللّٰهُ Allah مَرَضًا ۚ (in) disease وَ لَهُمْ and for them عَذَابٌ (is) a punishment اَلِیْمٌۢ ۙ۬ painful بِمَا because كَانُوْا they used (to) یَكْذِبُوْنَ [they] lie وَ اِذَا And when قِیْلَ it is said لَهُمْ to them لَا (Do) not تُفْسِدُوْا spread corruption فِی in الْاَرْضِ ۙ the earth قَالُوْۤا they say اِنَّمَا Only نَحْنُ we مُصْلِحُوْنَ (are) reformers اَلَاۤ Beware اِنَّهُمْ indeed they هُمُ themselves الْمُفْسِدُوْنَ (are) the ones who spread corruption وَ لٰكِنْ [and] but لَّا not یَشْعُرُوْنَ they realize (it) وَ اِذَا And when قِیْلَ it is said لَهُمْ to them اٰمِنُوْا Believe كَمَاۤ as اٰمَنَ believed النَّاسُ the people قَالُوْۤا they say اَنُؤْمِنُ Should we believe كَمَاۤ as اٰمَنَ believed السُّفَهَآءُ ؕ the fools اَلَاۤ Beware اِنَّهُمْ certainly they هُمُ themselves السُّفَهَآءُ (are) the fools وَ لٰكِنْ [and] but لَّا not یَعْلَمُوْنَ they know وَ اِذَا And when لَقُوا they meet الَّذِیْنَ those who اٰمَنُوْا believe[d] قَالُوْۤا they say اٰمَنَّا ۖۚ We believe[d] وَ اِذَا But when خَلَوْا they are alone اِلٰی with شَیٰطِیْنِهِمْ ۙ their evil ones قَالُوْۤا they say اِنَّا Indeed, we مَعَكُمْ ۙ (are) with you اِنَّمَا only نَحْنُ we مُسْتَهْزِءُوْنَ (are) mockers اَللّٰهُ Allah یَسْتَهْزِئُ mocks بِهِمْ at them وَ یَمُدُّهُمْ and prolongs them فِیْ in طُغْیَانِهِمْ their transgression یَعْمَهُوْنَ they wander blindly اُولٰٓىِٕكَ Those الَّذِیْنَ (are) the ones who اشْتَرَوُا bought الضَّلٰلَةَ [the] astraying بِالْهُدٰی ۪ for [the] guidance فَمَا So not رَبِحَتْ profited تِّجَارَتُهُمْ their commerce وَ مَا and not كَانُوْا were they مُهْتَدِیْنَ guided-ones 2. Al-Baqarah Page 4 مَثَلُهُمْ Their example كَمَثَلِ (is) like (the) example الَّذِی (of) the one who اسْتَوْقَدَ kindled نَارًا ۚ a fire فَلَمَّاۤ then, when اَضَآءَتْ it lighted مَا what حَوْلَهٗ his surroundings ذَهَبَ took away اللّٰهُ Allah بِنُوْرِهِمْ their light وَ تَرَكَهُمْ and left them فِیْ in ظُلُمٰتٍ darkness[es] لَّا (so) not یُبْصِرُوْنَ (do) they see صُمٌّۢ Deaf بُكْمٌ dumb عُمْیٌ blind فَهُمْ so they لَا not یَرْجِعُوْنَ ۙ [they] will not return اَوْ Or كَصَیِّبٍ like a rainstorm مِّنَ from السَّمَآءِ the sky فِیْهِ in it (are) ظُلُمٰتٌ darkness[es] وَّ رَعْدٌ and thunder وَّ بَرْقٌ ۚ and lightning یَجْعَلُوْنَ They put اَصَابِعَهُمْ their fingers فِیْۤ in اٰذَانِهِمْ their ears مِّنَ from الصَّوَاعِقِ the thunderclaps حَذَرَ (in) fear (of) الْمَوْتِ ؕ [the] death وَ اللّٰهُ And Allah مُحِیْطٌۢ (is) [the One Who] encompasses بِالْكٰفِرِیْنَ the disbelievers یَكَادُ Almost الْبَرْقُ the lightning یَخْطَفُ snatches away اَبْصَارَهُمْ ؕ their sight كُلَّمَاۤ Whenever اَضَآءَ it flashes لَهُمْ for them مَّشَوْا they walk فِیْهِ ۙۗ in it وَ اِذَاۤ and when اَظْلَمَ it darkens عَلَیْهِمْ on them قَامُوْا ؕ they stand (still) وَ لَوْ And if شَآءَ had willed اللّٰهُ Allah لَذَهَبَ He would certainly have taken away بِسَمْعِهِمْ their hearing وَ اَبْصَارِهِمْ ؕ and their sight اِنَّ Indeed اللّٰهَ Allah عَلٰی (is) on كُلِّ every شَیْءٍ thing قَدِیْرٌ ۠ All-Powerful
(2:8) There are some who say: “We believe in Allah and in the Last Day,” while in fact they do not believe.
(2:9) They are trying to deceive Allah and those who believe, but they do not realize that in truth they are only deceiving themselves.11
(2:10) There is a disease in their hearts and Allah has intensified this disease.12 A painful chastisement awaits them for their lying.
(2:11) Whenever they are told: “Do not spread mischief on earth,” they say: “Why! We indeed are the ones who set things right.”
(2:12) They are the mischief makers, but they do not realize it.
(2:13) Whenever they are told: “Believe as others believe,”13 they answer: “Shall we believe as the fools have believed?”14 Indeed it is they who are the fools, but they are not aware of it.
(2:14) When they meet the believers, they say: “We believe,” but when they meet their evil companions (in privacy),15 they say: “Surely we are with you; we were merely jesting.”
(2:15) Allah jests with them, leaving them to wander blindly on in their rebellion.
(2:16) These are the ones who have purchased error in exchange for guidance. This bargain has brought them no profit and certainly they are not on the Right Way.16
(2:17) They are like him who kindled a fire, and when it lit up all around him, Allah took away the light (of their perception) and left them in utter darkness where they can see nothing.
(2:18) They are deaf, they are dumb, they are blind;17 they will never return (to the Right Way).
(2:19) Or they are like those who encounter a violent rainstorm from the sky, accompanied by pitch-dark clouds, thunder-claps and flashes of lightning: on hearing thunder-claps they thrust their fingers into their ears in fear of death. Allah encompasses these deniers of the Truth.18
(2:20) It is as if the lightning would snatch their sight; whenever it gleams a while for them they walk a little, and when darkness covers them they halt.19 If Allah so willed, He could indeed take away their hearing and their sight.20 Surely Allah is All-Powerful.
11. These people delude themselves that their hypocritical behaviour will profit them when in fact it will prove harmful both in this world and the Next. A hypocrite may be able to fool people for a while, but it does not last long; his hypocrisy is ultimately seen through. As for the Next Life, it is obvious that his claim to be a true believer is contradicted by his own actions and is thus quite worthless.
12. ' Disease' here refers to the disease of hypocrisy. The statement that 'Allah has intensified this disease' means that He does not punish the hypocrites immediately but allows them to indulge in their hypocrisy and exult in the success of their ruses. This feeling of success intensifies their hypocrisy.
13. They are being asked to become Muslims in the same manner as others of their community became Muslims
14. They think that those people who sincerely embraced Islam and thereby exposed themselves to all kinds of trials and persecutions, and confronted risks and dangers, were merely fools. To them it seems sheer folly to invite the hostility of the entire land merely for the sake of Truth and righteousness. In their view, wisdom consists not in bothering oneself with the distinction between truth and falsehood, but in remaining concerned only with one's own interests.
15. 'Satan' in Arabic means refractory, rebellious and headstrong, and is used for both human beings and jinn. Although this word is generally used in the Qur'an for the satans amongst the jinn, it is also used occasionally for human beings possessing satanic characteristics. The context generally explains whether the word 'satan' refers to jinn or to human beings. In this particular case the word 'satans' refers to those influential leaders of the time who were in the vanguard of opposition and hostility to Islam
16. This means that two opposite effects emerged when a true servant of God radiated the light which made it possible to distinguish true from false and right from wrong, and made the straight way distinct from the ways of error. To those endowed with true perception, all truths became evident. But those who were almost blinded by the worship of their animal desires perceived nothing.
The expression, 'Allah took away the light of their perception' should not create the impression that these people were not responsible for their stumbling into darkness. Only those who do not seek the Truth, who prefer error to guidance and who are adamantly disinclined to pursue the Truth despite its luminosity, are deprived, by God, of the light of their perception. God simply enables such people to do what they wish.
17. They have become deaf to hear, dumb to utter and blind to perceive the truth.
18. By thrusting their fingers into their ears they temporarily deceive themselves into believing that they can escape the catastrophic end that awaits them. However, they cannot escape that end since God with all His might, encompasses them.
19. The first parable refers to those hypocrites who disbelieved completely but had become Muslims merely, to further their worldly interests. The second parable refers to those who were prone to doubt and hesitation or whose faith was weak; who believed in the Truth but not to the extent of exposing themselves to hardships for its sake. The 'violent rainstorm' here alludes to Islam, which came to the world as a blessing. 'Pitch-dark clouds, thunder and lightning' refer to trials, tribulations and difficulties which confronted the Islamic movement, owing to the violent opposition and resistance of those committed to Ignorance. The last part of the parable portrays the state of mind of the hypocrites. They move a little ahead when circumstances seem favourable, but when either difficulties cloud the horizon, or when they are given directives which run counter to their desires or inherited prejudices, they are seized with alarm and come to a halt.
20. Just as God has completely deprived the first category of hypocrites of their 'light of perception', He could have rendered these other hypocrites totally blind and deaf. But it is not God's way to deprive anyone of sight and hearing while he is willing to see and hear. Hence, God allowed them to retain their sight and hearing to the extent they were prepared to see and hear the Truth.