^{Surah Name:} Al-Baqarah ^Meaning: The Cow

Key Points

Surah Al-Baqarah

Secrets Of Revelation

The Jews assert,... in their differences, on the Day of Judgement.

The Jews claim that the religion of the Christians is baseless and deny the Prophethood of Prophet 'Isa^-AS and do not believe in Bible as a Divine Book. The Christians, in retaliation, deny the religion of Prophet Musa^-AS and the Torah. They say that the Jews believe in a baseless ideology; whereas both are the People of the Book, and all Divine Scriptures hold the same basic precepts. These Books corroborate one another and explain the same beliefs about Unity of Allaah^-SWT, the Prophethood, the Akhirah and the Day of Judgment. So both the groups, in fact, deny their own Book. Thus the idolaters and the infidels got an opportunity to deny the Divine Scriptures, rejected both of them and bragged that idolatry was the real religion.

The Final Prophet^-SW has provided enough logical and historical evidence to separate the truth from falsehood, so now no new Prophet, or a new Divine Book will be sent after him^-SW. So the only course of action left is that on the Day of Judgment, Allaah^-SWT will practically arbitrate between these groups, and their differences will be resolved. These pretenders of righteousness in this world do not even care that they have caused Allaah^-SWT's sanctuaries to be deserted.

And who is more wicked... and a grave punishment in the Hereafter.

Who would do greater wrong than the idolaters who barred the entry of the Holy Prophet^-SW into Ka'abah and proved a hurdle as long as they could. Just recall the history of the forefathers of these Jews and Christians. Whosoever got an opportunity attacked the other, destroying the sanctuaries. They did not spare even Bait al-Maqdas. After the advent of Islam, not only that the masaajid are void of their Sujud (because of non-conversion) but also they are raising all sorts of doubts to misguide those on the right path, who are a source of activity in the masaajid. The sanctity of a masjid demands that whosoever enters therein must feel that he is standing before Allaah^-SWT, humble and overawed.

As far as the sanctity, and the etiquettes to be observed in a masjid are concerned all masaajid deserve equal amount of respect. Disrespecting any masjid would tantamount to insulting Inviolable Baitullaah or the Masjid-e-Nabwi or the Bait al-Maqdas, although the special status and exalted level of these masaajid is unique in its own way. One Salat offered in Makkah earns the rewards of one hundred thousand Salat, while those offered in the Masjid-e-Nabwi at Madinah and in Bait al-Maqdas earn the reward of fifty thousand Salat. On the other hand, all actions leading to the desolation of masaajid or causing hindrance in worship and Allaah^-SWT's Zikr therein are unlawful and prohibited. To stop someone from going to the masjid is an obvious offence, though making noise in the masjid, or playing music loudly in the neighbourhood or even reciting Qura'an and practising Allaah^-SWT's Zikr loudly enough to distract those busy in worship are also forbidden. However, if there is none other offering his Salat, loud Zikr and recitation are permitted.

Similarly, all aspects pertaining to the desolation of a masjid are prohibited. Not only the demolition but also any dispute, which would bar the worshippers from going there, would fall in this category. Besides, there is a serious warning for those who have stopped going to the masaajid, which though not overt but is certainly a covert act to the desolation of the masaajid. The fact that Allaah^-SWT does not allow the non-believers even to step into His masaajid is in reality repudiating their claim that they will be His guests in Paradise.

Today the situation is that if you counsel someone to offer Salat, he says that Allaah^-SWT is Merciful and will forgive by His Grace and that he has seen enough of those who do so. Well! There is at least one difference between a, person who offers Salat, and the one who does not. The former performs Sajdah before Allaah^-SWT five times a day, while the latter is not allowed to attend to His Court. This is the Divine Mercy; when He is Kind to someone He grants him the opportunity to obey Him, and the disobedient not only wrongs himself, but also contributes in a way, to a certain degree, to the desolation of the masaajid. Such people are disgraced in this world, no matter what wealth or children they have, these will only add to their miseries; and for them awaits a big punishment in the Akhirah.

To Allaah^-SWT belong the East and the West...for Allaah^-SWT is Infinite, All-Knowing

The People of the Book tried their best to exploit the change of Qiblah from Bait al-Maqdas to Makkah to create doubts over the Prophethood. They argued that if the Prophet^-SW of Islam were genuine, he would have fixed the correct Qiblah from the very beginning, and also what would be the fate of their Salat offered for sixteen months facing Bait al-Maqdas? Allaah^-SWT revealed the answer that Muslims neither worship Bait al-Maqdas, nor K'abah, but they obey Him, when He ordered them to turn their faces towards the former they did that, and switched over to the latter when so directed. Allaah^-SWT is not confined to any direction or place, but He is present everywhere! He is the Knower of everything, and has fixed a particular direction for many good reasons. For example, this fixation has imbued a certain level of discipline in the entire Islamic world. In the absence of a Qiblah, Muslims gathering for Salat would have turned to different directions leading to chaos and disunity. There may be many more reasons like this in His Infinite Knowledge. However, if a Muslim is placed in a situation that he does not know the direction of Qiblah, he may offer his Salat facing in the direction of his choosing and even if it is subsequently discovered that his guess was wrong, his Salat is considered valid. There is no need for repetition. For any further details about Qiblah, celebrated works on Islamic Jurisprudence may be consulted.

And they say,... Everything is subservient to Him.

Just see how dishonest they are! The Books they claim to believe in have been interpolated with their own fabricated beliefs. Every Divine Book reveals the Purity of Allaah^-SWT but Jews and Christians claim that Allaah^-SWT has children. They nominate Prophet 'Uzair^-AS and Prophet 'Isa^-AS as the sons of Allaah^-SWT respectively, whereas He is above every need, and has no equal in any way. Firstly to be a father one becomes dependant upon so many needs; a wife for instance and then raising children involves so many worries. While Allaah^-SWT is far too exalted, free on any such needs.

And then, the children inherit the character traits of the father; a human being will give birth to a human child, and an animal to an animal. A buffalo will not bear a cow and vice versa, so much so that a tiny plant will have leaves, colour and the peculiar taste of its adult tree. If Allaah^-SWT had children, they too would have Divine Attributes, He would then neither be One without any partners, nor pure. And there will be many gods, may be smaller or less powerful but they would be gods alright. The Divine Books of the Bani Israil clearly reveal the sanctity of Allaah^-SWT. In fact all the Divine Scriptures have declared, in no uncertain terms, that He is the only One and everything belongs to Him. Everyone and everything presents itself humbly before Him ; He can remove or sustain anyone or anything; no one can dare speak before Him. He created everything from the scratch when it was He Alone, and nothing else existed. He created the heavens and the earth. His Powers are unlimited and He is Omnipotent. Everyone is under His direct Command. He is Eternal and so are His Attributes. His Knowledge is Absolute, free from the bounds of time, past or future; everything is present before Him. Indeed He is so Powerful that when He wishes to do something, He directly commands it to 'Be' and it is, it may be unseen for His Creation, but not for Him, as everything is present before Him .

Belief of Bida' Contradicted

The belief of Bida' means that Allaah^-SWT's knowledge is not Absolute, rather when something has happened and its results are visible, only then Allaah^-SWT comes to know about it. All those who ascribe this enormity towards Allaah^-SWT are as ignorant as those groups of infidels mentioned above. Can such a being, who knows a thing only after it has occurred, be accepted as free of any want? Someone who is dependent in knowing the things that happen can never be expected to be independent in executing anything himself. The misguided sects coined this nonsense because without such a belief there was no way out but to accept the superiority of the Companions^-RAU. They were praised in Torah and Bible. And the revelation of the Qura'an over a period of twenty-three years testified them as exemplary people who won Allaah^-SWT's Pleasure and who must be followed by the coming Muslim generations. The saboteurs of Islam coined the belief of Bida' and said that the Holy Prophet^-SW's Companions^-RAU were, no doubt, very good but they changed soon after his^-SW passing away as there was no more communication in the form of revelation. As if Allaah^-SWT was unaware of this situation. Then why believe in such a helpless and powerless Allaah^-SWT? (May He forgive us!)

This indeed is the denial of the Qura'an under the cover of acceptance, because all the preceding Divine Books testify that Allaah^-SWT is not dependent on anyone or anything that He is Absolute and this is the basis of the faith. The People of the Book, leave alone the ignorant, have indeed gone astray.

And those who... Our revelations clear, for those who (firmly) believe.

They complain that Allaah^-SWT neither speaks to them nor sends a sign, nor any evidence. These ignorant do not understand that if everyone could speak to Allaah^-SWT directly, there would be no test or trial, and no one would defy Him or want to leave His Presence.

The singular honour of directly speaking to Allaah^-SWT is gifted only to the Prophets^-AS and no one else can attain it by way of worship, or striving in His cause. And the best amongst the rewards promised in the Akhirah are the conversation with, and the observation of Allaah^-SWT! It is a characteristic of Paradise promised to the believers. Nevertheless, every non-believer too, upon witnessing Allaah^-SWT's Majesty on the Day of Resurrection, will beg: "O Allaah^-SWT! Give me another chance to return to the world and see how I obey You."

If the unseen is disclosed to people in this worldly life then there can be no trial or test. The ignorant consider themselves to be at par with the Prophets^-AS in status! Infact the infidels preceding them too made such wild statements. And it is a strange phenomenon that the basic themes of the critics today are the same as those of the non-believers centuries ago. The reason is that their hearts are identical in terms of disbelief and wrongdoing, which is why they hold similar opinions. Whenever anyone opts for the wrong path a connection between him and the Satan is immediately established.

The Wonders of Connection

As this connection with Satan strengthens, it culminates into faithlessness, which has its own levels. The type of disbelief one harbours, he starts repeating the words of a preceding non-believer of that level. Just as every sacred word invokes a particular Divine Blessing, the words of eminent non-believers also invoke a certain level of Divine Wrath. The Satan strives hard to make every non-believer repeat such words as were once uttered by the world-class non-believers, so that he may also qualify for the same Divine Wrath as they did. Similarly a person heading in the direction of piety attains a special connection of some level, with noble spirits. "Fana fi Shaikh", "Fana fi Rasul", and "Fana fi Allaah” are the stations of the Sufi Path. Those blessed with Fana fi Rasul cultivate a deep-hearted link with the Holy Prophet^-SW and begin to spread the light of his teachings, working like instruments. This is because of the connection developed by their Qulub termed as Nisbat.

The objections raised by the non-believers are not due to any shortcomings in expounding the expounding of truth but because of their inner connection with the non-believers of the past. Allaah^-SWT's Revelations are clearly substantiated, with manifest evidence in favour of the Messengership of Prophet Muhammad^-SW and the authenticity of the Qura'an. But these can only benefit those who seek the truth and peace of mind. The mere critic does not benefit at all. One has to be at least a seeker of something in order to attain it; criticism is of no avail.

Indeed We have sent... you will not be asked about the dwellrs of the Fire.

Allaah^-SWT raised the Holy Prophet^-SW with truth and revealed clear signs for its demonstration. For the People of the Book, clear signs are available in their Books. For those infidels who wish to believe, the conduct of the Holy Prophet^-SW, his appearance, his miracles, his teachings and his prophecies are all beacon-lights. The duty of the Holy Prophet^-SW is to convey glad tiding to all those who believe, and to warn the non-believers and the antagonists against the consequences ultimately leading to Hell. If after all the counselling they still prefer to choose the path of denial, it should not grieve him. Praise be to Allaah^-SWT! What grace and kindness, that His Prophet^-SW, instead of feeling hatred towards the non-believers, grieves over their indulgence in disbelief. He feels sorry that a human being has gone astray and will burn in Hell forever. Just imagine how kind and affectionate would he be towards the believers! Allaah^-SWT comforts the Holy Prophet^-SW that someone who opts for the wrong path is himself responsible and no one else is to blame.

Relationship with non-Believers

As for unity with the Jews and Christians, they will never be happy unless the Holy Prophet^-SW submits to their beliefs and rituals, which is impossible. This highlights the fact that all those who have deep-rooted friendship with misguided sects, also have the element of misguidance in themselves. Otherwise the combination of truth and falsehood is impossible. Although in matters like service or trade etc. there can be an interaction, yet a cordial relationship is only possible when there is some thing mutually common in the character. So whenever these Jews or Christians approach the Holy Prophet^-SW with this intention, they should be clearly told that he right path is the one shown by Allaah^-SWT. And O Prophet^-SW! If you after having definite knowledge about Divine Revelations adopt the rituals and belies of non-believers, you will find no friend or helper against Allaah^-SWT. Therefore, no importance is to be given to any one against Divine Commands. A violation on the part of Holy Prophet^-SW was inconceivable. The object of addressing him is to emphasize the point that whosoever no matter how highly placed, adopts the rituals of the non-believers in order to prove his friendship and to please them, cannot escape Divine Punishment even if he calls all of them to his rescue. This applies to personal relationship and not to the duties of the Government. A Muslim ruler has to protect the rights of the non-believers too because they are his subjects.

Those, to whom We have given the Book... who reject it, they are the losers.

However, those from amongst the People of the Book, who study the Divine Book revealed to them with sincerity, without altering it and to seek guidance from it, looking keenly for do's and don'ts, are guided to the Prophet^-SW of Islam and the final Divine Book. The correct method of reciting a Divine Book is to ponder over its meaning in order to attain the Barakah and enlighten the heart, so that one can accept its Commandments and follow them wholeheartedly. If the attitude is one of picking up objections, such a person will never be guided to the faith. Rather, he will resort to denial and thus deprive himself of both the faith and the promised rewards.