Anwar Al-Quran

Verses 5–15

2. Al-Baqara · The Cow

Madinan286 verses

أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ عَلَىٰ هُدًۭى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ وَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ

2:5Those follow their Lord’s guidance and it is they who are the felicitous.

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ

2:6As for the faithless, it is the same to them whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not have faith.1

خَتَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِمْ ۖ وَعَلَىٰٓ أَبْصَٰرِهِمْ غِشَٰوَةٌۭ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌۭ

2:7Allah has set a seal on their hearts and their hearing, and there is a blindfold on their sight, and there is a great punishment for them.34

وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَبِٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْءَاخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤْمِنِينَ

2:8Among the people are those who say, ‘We have faith in Allah and the Last Day,’ but they have no faith.

يُخَٰدِعُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّآ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ

2:9They seek to deceive Allah and those who have faith, yet they deceive no one but themselves, but they are not aware.

فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌۭ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضًۭا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْذِبُونَ

2:10There is a sickness in their hearts; then Allah increased their sickness, and there is a painful punishment for them because of the lies they used to tell.

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا تُفْسِدُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ

2:11When they are told, ‘Do not cause corruption on the earth,’ they say, ‘We are only reformers!’

أَلَآ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَشْعُرُونَ

2:12Behold! They are themselves the agents of corruption, but they are not aware.

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ ءَامِنُوا۟ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓا۟ أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ

2:13And when they are told, ‘Believe like the people who have believed,’ they say, ‘Shall we believe like the fools who have believed?’ Behold! They are themselves the fools, but they do not know.

وَإِذَا لَقُوا۟ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ قَالُوٓا۟ ءَامَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوْا۟ إِلَىٰ شَيَٰطِينِهِمْ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّا مَعَكُمْ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُسْتَهْزِءُونَ

2:14When they meet the faithful, they say, ‘We believe,’ but when they are alone with their devils, they say, ‘We are with you; we were only deriding [them].’

ٱللَّهُ يَسْتَهْزِئُ بِهِمْ وَيَمُدُّهُمْ فِى طُغْيَٰنِهِمْ يَعْمَهُونَ

2:15It is Allah who derides them, and leaves them bewildered in their rebellion.

Tafsir

Commentary on this passage

1.Three kinds of people are mentioned here. The first kind are those who believe, pray and give charity. The second are absolute deniers. They are immune to every kind of exhortation. Their hearts are sealed and eyes veiled. They are deaf and cannot hear the voice of truth, dumb because they do not express the words of belief, blind because they do not see the signs of truth. No goodness can be expected from them. The third kind of people are the hypocrites. They are bold enough to say they believe but a disease remains in their hearts. Their verbal expression of faith itself causes them to be fooled by themselves. And this disease keeps increasing day by day. They call corruption by the name of reform and consider the believers fools because by severing relations with infidels they have closed the channel of worldly benefits. The purpose of explaining the three genres of people is that man may evaluate himself and see where he stands.

2.The actual practice of hypocrites in all times had been to talk of faith and belief in the company of believers and then to laugh upon it when they return to their own people. Although Allah has refuted their attitude by Slating that they belong to neither this group nor that. So that they-realize their folly and feel a sort of remorse. A feeling that cannot be comprehended except by those who have experienced it. It must be clarified, however, that even the believer has to follow a double policy sometimes and feel this kind of sorrow. The difference is that a hypocrite belongs to the group of infidels and taunts the believers whereas a believer uses deceit in Taqayyah (dissimulation) to mislead the infidels during war, etc. A careful study of Quranic verses will make one aware 6 of the difference between the hypocrites and believers who practice Taqayyah.

Footnotes

Explanations of words and phrases in these verses

  1. 1

    Kufr (disbelief) is the opposite of Eimaan (belief) - ‘kufr’ means ‘to hide’. The disbeliever hides the truth hence he is called thus. A Muslim is also a denier (kafir) of Taghoot (false deities).

  2. 2

    Style- To inform in the style of warning. It is commonly used to warn against the divine chastisement.

  3. 3

    Khatama means to place a seal. To seal a heart, to make it incapable of accepting the truth.

  4. 4

    Azaab (chastisement) means to prohibit. Divine chastisement refrains one from committing sins. The verses of Quran use four terms in connection with the hypocrites. Maa Yasha’roon - Laa Yasha’roon (they do not even realize). Laa Ya‘lamon (they are ignorant) - Ya’mehoon (they are stumbling in disobedience), Maa Kaanoo Mohtadeen (they are not of the guided ones). All of these terms are applicable to different circumstances. “They do not realize’ refers to the fact that the hypocrite fools himself and is unmindful of his deviation. “They are ignorant’ refers to the lack of knowledge of truth. ‘They are stumbling in disobedience’ means they are groping in darkness. ‘They are not of the guided ones’ refers to the exchange of this world with the hereafter.