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

Key Points

Surah Al-Baqarah

Secrets Of Revelation

O Prophet^-SW! Ask the Bani Israil and see their history; how they were blessed with innumerable clear signs by Allaah^-SWT through His Prophets^-AS, aimed at their reformation. But when they rebelled and ignored the clear signs, they were subjected to various punishments. It is the Divine Law that wherever a blessing especially that of His Guidance, is not valued by a person, he is deprived of Allaah^-SWT's Mercy and qualifies for His Punishment, which indeed is very severe. Just as His Mercy is boundless, so is the severity of His Punishment beyond human understanding. May Allaah^-SWT protect us. Now when a person deliberately ignores Divine Guidance, the standard of his likes and dislikes changes automatically. He is captivated by his desires and all his efforts are focused at pursuing mundane pleasures, while he thinks that he is striving in the right direction.

Waywardness Mars Discrimination Between Good And Evil

a wayward person ultimately reaches a point where he believes that those who sacrifice short lived material pleasures for the sake of eternal bliss and Akhirah are foolish. He ridicules them and says that it is nonsensical to needlessly bind oneself by so many restrictions and not to enjoy the comforts of life. But his thinking is mere ignorance. The fact is that this existence is temporary, whereas the Akhirah is eternal even though in this world also tranquillity and comforts are only for the believer as he leads a life closest to nature. The life of the non-believers, on the other hand is entangled in unnatural rituals and customs and they do not perceive the truth. For them the criteria of happiness are only wealth, a beautiful house, fine clothing and good food. They will see for themselves in the Akhirah how much better off were the believers in terms of provisions. When the non-believers would be drowned in Divine perdition, the believers would be enjoying the blessings in Paradise. Allaah^-SWT is all-Powerful; He bestows at His Will.

By virtue of its creation mankind was one nation having the same ideology and beliefs. But when the horizon of its needs expanded, the difference in interests gave rise to varying ideologies. This coupled with individual temperaments led to many opinions, resulting in utter confusion in which each was adamant to uphold his own. Allaah^-SWT's mercy came to the rescue and He raised His Messengers^-AS who drew a line between right and the wrong. These Messengers^-AS gave glad tidings to the obedient and warned the other group of dire consequences in the form of Allaah^-SWT's Wrath.

Allaah^-SWT sent His Messengers^-AS with Books to establish justice and resolve the differences amongst the people. But inspite of this and the clear ordinances, people did not follow the teachings of the Prophets^-AS out of arrogance and remained deprived. However, Allaah^-SWT eased out the lives of those who submitted to guidance and pulled them out of the quagmire of disputation. He blessed them with the straight path, as it is He Who guides whosoever He chooses.

Only Two Nations In Terms Of Beliefs

The Qura'an has divided mankind into two nations on the basis of their beliefs and ideology. So long as the mankind held the same ideology and beliefs they remained one nation. The word Ummah here denotes the unity of beliefs, although literally it stands for a people uniting for any reason, geographical or chronological. The difference under discussion here is ideological. Therefore, here it stands for a nation united ideologically. According to some scholars mankind remained one nation in the era of Prophet Aadam^-AS and his^-AS children while others allude that it refers to those saved after the Deluge in Nuh^-AS’s time.

These explanations may be correct, but the Qura'an's way of expression denotes that mankind basically did not bring disputes along but as a result of interaction, various methods were adopted to satisfy personal preferences and needs. Each individual naturally considered his opinion as correct, but Allaah^-SWT's Messengers^-AS were raised to spell out the Divine Criteria for right and the wrong. Only those people did not benefit from their teachings, who had lost the capability to accept the truth and destroyed themselves out of sheer arrogance. One of the effects of arrogance is that it strips the temperament of its capacity to comprehend the truth. Such people can never be convinced. This must not, however, discourage those who propagate truth. They must carry on their work with sincerity and complete devotion being the seekers of Allaah^-SWT's Pleasure and being hopeful of admission to Paradise, a manifestation of His Pleasure. This grand pursuit naturally demands grand sacrifice and hard work. To prove worthy of rewards one has to have some performance to his credit to satisfy the Divine Law of cause and effect. A look at the lives of the believers gone by shows that they were put through so many trials that not only they but also their Prophets^-AS cried out; “When will Allaah^-SWT's Help come?” and they were assured that it was near.

Struggle, Prerequisite To Rewards

It can be deduced here that struggle is a pre requisite in the Divine System. It is, however, not necessary that the effort be voluntary. Even the imposed one is beneficial. The greatest benefit of struggle is Allaah^-SWT's nearness and freedom from all hopes on anyone save Him. If a person puts himself through hardships for the sake of fame or attaining any excellence it is not the struggle for the Divine reward but a grave sin. The hardships faced by Allaah^-SWT's people are, in fact, an excuse for the elevation of their status. In this context the Holy Prophet^-SW is reported to have said: “The most to suffer amongst mankind are the Prophets^-AS ”.

Praying to Allaah^-SWT, when in trouble, is not against complete trust. Rather, crying for His help with humility and awe is the consequence of struggle and an evidence of His nearness. And a struggle undertaken voluntarily has its own terms and conditions which must be kept in mind. For example, spending for Allaah^-SWT's Pleasure is a form of struggle, but squandering wealth is not. Again, spending must be out of the wealth earned lawfully and in the prescribed order of priority, i.e. on parents, relatives, orphans, needy and the wayfarers. Of course this discussion pertains to voluntary charity but where parents are impoverished and are in need of food and medicine, the charity by the son in refugee camps, under the flashing cameras, is not acceptable.

Secondly, the charity money spent must belong to the person spending it and not that the creditors are given a tough time and the debtor is busy giving away alms. He must first pay off his debts. In short, the charity money ought to be personal, lawful and spent purely for seeking Allaah^-SWT's pleasure. Only then will the entire effort be fruitful. To attain higher stations through struggle Jihad has been enjoined upon the Muslims.

Jihad comprises both aspects of the struggle, voluntary as well as imposed. Although outwardly it may seem difficult and unpleasant, yet it is quite possible that something apparently unpleasant may be very beneficial indeed. It is also possible that things attractive outwardly may be in reality very harmful. To perceive the realities of things is outside the pale of human understanding. It is a Divine Attribute and only He is Aware of the realities of things. Praise be to Him! It must, therefore, be remembered that whatever befalls a believer is always a blessing and a reward from Allaah^-SWT and is for his betterment, no matter how harsh the ordeal may appear. On the contrary whatever a non-believer receives, is indeed a punishment, whether in the form of affluence or power.

Jihad basically is obligatory, but it is a collective obligation. It means that if one group is engaged in Jihad, it is sufficient for the rest, but if the task demands more manpower then it becomes obligatory for all the Muslims in the vicinity. Similarly its scope extends out to the Muslims of the entire world if need be.