2. Al-Baqarah Page 33 سَلْ Ask بَنِیْۤ (the) Children اِسْرَآءِیْلَ (of) Israel كَمْ how many اٰتَیْنٰهُمْ We gave them مِّنْ of اٰیَةٍۭ (the) Sign(s) بَیِّنَةٍ ؕ clear وَ مَنْ And whoever یُّبَدِّلْ changes نِعْمَةَ Favor اللّٰهِ (of) Allah مِنْۢ from بَعْدِ after مَا [what] جَآءَتْهُ it (has) come to him فَاِنَّ then indeed اللّٰهَ Allah شَدِیْدُ (is) severe الْعِقَابِ in [the] chastising زُیِّنَ Beautified لِلَّذِیْنَ for those who كَفَرُوا disbelieve[d] الْحَیٰوةُ (is) the life الدُّنْیَا (of) the world وَ یَسْخَرُوْنَ and they ridicule مِنَ [of] الَّذِیْنَ those who اٰمَنُوْا ۘ believe[d] وَ الَّذِیْنَ And those who اتَّقَوْا fear (Allah) فَوْقَهُمْ (they will be) above them یَوْمَ (on the) Day الْقِیٰمَةِ ؕ (of) Resurrection وَ اللّٰهُ And Allah یَرْزُقُ provides مَنْ whom یَّشَآءُ He wills بِغَیْرِ without حِسَابٍ measure كَانَ Was النَّاسُ mankind اُمَّةً a community وَّاحِدَةً ۫ single فَبَعَثَ then raised up اللّٰهُ Allah النَّبِیّٖنَ [the] Prophets مُبَشِّرِیْنَ (as) bearers of glad tidings وَ مُنْذِرِیْنَ ۪ and (as) warners وَ اَنْزَلَ and sent down مَعَهُمُ with them الْكِتٰبَ the Book بِالْحَقِّ in [the] truth لِیَحْكُمَ to judge بَیْنَ between النَّاسِ [the] people فِیْمَا in what اخْتَلَفُوْا they differed فِیْهِ ؕ [in it] وَ مَا And (did) not اخْتَلَفَ differ[ed] فِیْهِ in it اِلَّا except الَّذِیْنَ those who اُوْتُوْهُ were given it مِنْۢ from بَعْدِ after مَا [what] جَآءَتْهُمُ came to them الْبَیِّنٰتُ the clear proofs بَغْیًۢا (out of) jealousy بَیْنَهُمْ ۚ among themselves فَهَدَی And guided اللّٰهُ Allah الَّذِیْنَ those who اٰمَنُوْا believe[d] لِمَا regarding what اخْتَلَفُوْا they differed فِیْهِ [in it] مِنَ of الْحَقِّ the Truth بِاِذْنِهٖ ؕ with His permission وَ اللّٰهُ And Allah یَهْدِیْ guides مَنْ whom یَّشَآءُ He wills اِلٰی to صِرَاطٍ a path مُّسْتَقِیْمٍ straight اَمْ Or حَسِبْتُمْ (do) you think اَنْ that تَدْخُلُوا you will enter الْجَنَّةَ Paradise وَ لَمَّا while not یَاْتِكُمْ (has) come to you مَّثَلُ like (came to) الَّذِیْنَ those who خَلَوْا passed away مِنْ from قَبْلِكُمْ ؕ before you مَسَّتْهُمُ Touched them الْبَاْسَآءُ [the] adversity وَ الضَّرَّآءُ and [the] hardship وَ زُلْزِلُوْا and they were shaken حَتّٰی until یَقُوْلَ said الرَّسُوْلُ the Messenger وَ الَّذِیْنَ and those who اٰمَنُوْا believed مَعَهٗ with him مَتٰی When نَصْرُ [will] (the) help اللّٰهِ ؕ (of) Allah (come) اَلَاۤ Unquestionably اِنَّ [Indeed] نَصْرَ help اللّٰهِ (of) Allah قَرِیْبٌ (is) near یَسْـَٔلُوْنَكَ They ask you مَا ذَا what یُنْفِقُوْنَ ؕ۬ they (should) spend قُلْ Say مَاۤ Whatever اَنْفَقْتُمْ you spend مِّنْ of خَیْرٍ good فَلِلْوَالِدَیْنِ (is) for parents وَ الْاَقْرَبِیْنَ and the relatives وَ الْیَتٰمٰی and the orphans وَ الْمَسٰكِیْنِ and the needy وَ ابْنِ and (of) السَّبِیْلِ ؕ the wayfarer وَ مَا And whatever تَفْعَلُوْا you do مِنْ of خَیْرٍ good فَاِنَّ So indeed اللّٰهَ Allah بِهٖ of it عَلِیْمٌ (is) All-Aware 2. Al-Baqarah Page 34 كُتِبَ Is prescribed عَلَیْكُمُ upon you الْقِتَالُ [the] fighting وَ هُوَ while it كُرْهٌ (is) hateful لَّكُمْ ۚ to you وَ عَسٰۤی But perhaps اَنْ [that] تَكْرَهُوْا you dislike شَیْـًٔا a thing وَّ هُوَ and it خَیْرٌ (is) good لَّكُمْ ۚ for you وَ عَسٰۤی and perhaps اَنْ [that] تُحِبُّوْا you love شَیْـًٔا a thing وَّ هُوَ and it شَرٌّ (is) bad لَّكُمْ ؕ for you وَ اللّٰهُ And Allah یَعْلَمُ knows وَ اَنْتُمْ while you لَا (do) not تَعْلَمُوْنَ۠ know
(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.
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.