The Light of the Quran (sura Al-baqarah (the Cow)

Verses 204-205-206

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(204) وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يُعْجِبُكَ قَوْلُهُ فِي الْحَيوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيُشْهِدُ اللّهَ عَلَى مَا فِي قَلْبِهِ وَهُوَ أَلَدُّ الْخِصَامِ

(205) وَإِذَا تَوَلَّى سَعَى فِي الأَرْضِ لِيُفْسِدَ فِيِهَا وَيُهْلِكَ الْحَرْثَ وَالنَّسْلَ وَاللّهُ لاَ يُحِبُّ الفَسَادَ

(206) وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُ اتَّقِ اللّهَ أَخَذَتْهُ الْعِزَّةُ بِالإِثْمِ فَحَسْبُهُ جَهَنَّمُ وَلَبِئْسَ الْمِهَادُ

204. " And among people is he whose speech in the life of this world causes you to wonder, and he calls on Allah to witness as to what is in his heart, yet he is the most violent of adversaries."

205. " And when he turns back, he strives to cause mischief on the earth, and to destroy the tilth and the stock. But Allah does not love mischief."

206. " And when it is said to him, ' Fear Allah ', pride drives him towards sin. So Hell shall be sufficient for him and it is an evil abode indeed."

Occasion of Revelation:

These verses were revealed about a man by the name of 'Ukhnos-ibn-Shariq. He was a handsome man and of attractive speech. He pretended to the friendship of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) and showed himself a Muslim. Whenever he went to the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) , he expressed his Faith to him and, though he was a hypocrite, he took an oath that he loved the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) and had believed in God. The Messenger of Allah spoke with him warmly and treated him with his kindness and affection.

When there came a conflict between the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) and the members of the Thaqif Tribe, that man took Muslims by surprise and killed their beasts. He burnt their farming crops.

some other commentators have said that he passed by a farm belonging to Muslims and set its agricultural crops on fire. He

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hamstringed their beasts, too, and, thereby, made his hidden hypocrisy manifest. Then, the above verses were revealed.

Commentary:

As mentioned in the occasion of revelation, the verse points to the hypocrisy of some mischief-makers and warns the Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) against them. It says:

" And among people is he whose speech in the life of this world causes you to wonder, and he calls on Allah to witness as to what is in his heart, yet he is the most violent of adversaries." There are some people who, with their smooth tongue, express Faith and indulge in plausible talk with many oaths. But, the same persons are the most harmful enemies and hostile ones against Islam; and, hiddenly they stir up quarrels and cause all sorts of mischief: they spoil the crops of the farms, strive to waste and defame the believing men and the religion of the Truth.

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Allah uncovers their tricks and makes their interiors manifest for His Messenger that they try in the path of making mischief. If they were true in their statements, they would not cast mischief and destruction, because everybody knows that Allah does not love mischief. " And when he turns back, he strives to cause mischief on the earth, and to destroy the tilth and the stock. But Allah does not love mischief." There may come forth this question that why the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) treated such people kindly. The reason was for that he was commissioned to accept the statements of all people as long as they did not show the contrary status. And such should be that, of course. Some commentators have said that the purpose of the phrase /wa'i¶a tawalla/ " And when he turns back " at the beginning of the second verse may have been in the sense of ' government ', since the term /tawalla/ derived from the root /wilayat/ means government. Taking this consideration, the commentary of this verse is such: ' when the

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hypocrites take the government in their control, they begin making mischief and destruction and stretching oppression and transgression amongst people. Then as the result of the spread of oppression and cruelty, the cities and societies turn to ruin and the lives and properties of people will be in danger. These wicked people are so that when they are prohibited from doing disgrace, their fanaticism and obstinacy will be excited, then, they not only do not hearken to the advices of the benevolent advisers but, with their own specific pride, increase their wickedness and evil actions. Such people cannot be controlled save with the Fire of Hell.

" And when it is said to him, ' Fear Allah ', pride drives him towards sin. So Hell shall be sufficient for him and it is an evil abode indeed." In fact, this verse is a hint to one of other characteristics of hypocrites which is a stable zeal and a harsh pride and obstinacy that drive them to the limits of the greatest evil:

"...pride drives him towards sin. ..."

In contrast to this group, there are the believing people who, under the government of Faith, are apart from this hideous and dangerous quality.

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(207) وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْرِي نَفْسَهُ ابْتِغَاء مَرْضَاتِ اللّهِ وَاللّهُ رَؤُوفٌ بِالْعِبَادِ

207. " And among people is he who sells his self to seek the pleasure of Allah; and Allah is affectionate unto His (faithful) servants."

Commentary:

Ibn-i-Abil-Hadeed, one of the scholars of the Sunni schools who lived in the seventh century A.H., has cited in his famous book, Sharh-i-Nahjul-Balaqah (the Explanation of the statements of Imam 'Ali (a.s.)) , that the commentators totally had said that the above verse was revealed about and in the praise of Ali-ibn-Abi-Talib after that he readily slept in the bed of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) on the night known as Laylat-ul-Mabit.(1) This idea is in wide scale famous so that none can deny it but a pagan or a crazy one.

The explanation of the event precisely is such that the pagans of Mecca decided to elect one person from each tribe to kill the Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) all together in order to prevent the rise of Bani-Hashim tribe in vengeance for his bloodshed. They thought, in that way, they could be free from the Prophet's Call. But the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) became aware of their hostile plot before it was too late. Then, 'Ali-ibn-Abi-Talib (a.s.) accepted readily to sleep in the Prophet's bed so that he (p.b.u.h.) could get out of Mecca safely.

As soon as Ali (a.s.) slept in that bed instead of the holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) , the Providence questioned His two dear angels, Gabriel and Michael, which of them was ready to be devoted to the other, but neither of them was ready to do that. So, the Lord told them to watch then how 'Ali-ibn-Abi-Talib (a.s.) was ready to devote his soul for the Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) .

Many of the Muslim scholars have confessed to the above fact. The Late 'Allamah Amini has mentioned the names of such scholars in

(1) Sharh-i-Nahjul-Balaqah, vol. 13, p. 262, Egypt Edition, 1961

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his famous book: Al-Qadir, vol. 2, p. 48, including Musnad-i-Imam Ahmad Hanbal, vol. 1, p. 348.

It is cited in Atyab-ul-Bayan Fi Tafsir-il-Qur'an that the book called Q­ayat-ul-Maram has narrated twenty traditions, nine of which are through the Sunnite scholars and eleven of them are narrated through Shi'ah scholars, denoting that the verse under discussion was revealed on the virtue of Ali-ibn-Abi-Talib (a.s.) on Laylat-ul-Mabit i.e. the night when he (a.s.) slept in the Prophet's bed and the Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) migrated to Medina. ( 1)

One of the books written in the third century A.H. entitled: Tarikh-i-Tabari, vol. 2, p. 373 has explained the description of the event of Laylat-ul-Mabit, the night in which 'Ali (a.s.) slept in the bed of the Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) . This event is also explained in Tarikh-i-Ya'qubi, vol. 2, p. 39.

Ibn-i-Abil-Hadeed expresses in Sharh-i-Nahjul-Balaq­ah, vol. 4, p. 73 that Mu'awiyah payed four thousand Dirhams in order that it would be said by people that the above holy verse was revealed upon the virtue of Ibn-i-Muljam.

Some of the books from both Sunni and Shi'ah schools, which have vividly considered the revelation of this verse upon the virtue of 'Ali-ibn-Abi-Talib (a.s.) , are as follows: 'Ihya'-u-'Ulum-id-Din, vol. 3, p.238 by Q­azali;Tathkirat-ul-Khawas, by Sebt-ibn-Jauzi Hanafi; As-Sirat-un-Nabawiyyah Ibn-i-Husham, vol. 2, p. 291, by Ibn-i-Husham; As-Sirat-ul-Halabiyyah, vol. 2, p. 29, printed in Maktabat-ut-Tijariyat-ul-Kubra, Egypt, by Halabi; Al-Fusul-ul- Muhimmah, by Ibn-i-Sabbaq­ Maliki.

Explanations:

1- Sometimes it happens that an evil person says something which seems wonderful : " And among people is he whose speech... causes you to wonder, ..." (the Qur'an, 2: 204) ; but, in comparison with that, a true believer does something that causes the world to wonder:

(1) Atyab-ul-Bayan, vol. 2, p. 386

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" And among people is he who sells his self..."

2- The most profitable bargain is the one that a person sells his best property, his soul, to Allah, his Creator. Such a bargain is done neither for Paradise nor for being safe from the Fire of Hell, but it is merely performed for gaining His pleasure :

"...to seek the pleasure of Allah; ..."

3- This is important that a person ventures his self and puts his soul in danger on the way of Allah by going forward towards the danger with no fear of it, whether the one confronts that danger or not. Regarding to the occasion of revelation, the praise is for the one who exposes his soul in the process of sale although there happens no adventure.

4- The love and affection of Allah is the best reward. Allah has ordinarily assigned a definite reward for every action in the Qur'an, but in this verse, instead of expressing any sorts of reward, it simply says Allah is affectionate:

"...and Allah is affectionate unto His (faithful) servants."

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(208) يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ ادْخُلُواْ فِي السِّلْمِ كَآفَّةً وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ

(209) فَإِن زَلَلْتُمْ مِّن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءتْكُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ فَاعْلَمُواْ أَنَّ اللّهَ عَزِيزٌ حَكِيمٌ

208. " O' you who have Faith! enter you all into submission (to Allah in being in peace) , and follow not the footsteps of Satan, for he is a manifest foe for you. "

209. " But if you slip after clear arguments have come to you, then know that Allah is the Mighty, the Wise. "

Occasion of Revelation:

It is narrated from 'Akramah that this verse was revealed about the Jews who had converted to Islam, such as: 'Abdullah-ibn-Salam, Tha'labat-ibn-Salam, Ibn-i-Yamin, Asad and Asid (the sons of Ka'b) , Shu'bat-ibn-Amr, Bahira-Rahib, Sa'id-ibn-Amr, and Ghays-ibn-Zayd. They went to the Messenger of Allah (p.b.u.h.) and asked him to allow them to glorify Saturday and recite the Torah; and, similar to the custom in the Age of Ignorance, to avoid consuming the milk and meat of camel . (1)

Commentary:

The worldly peace is possible only under the Shadow of Faith. The Qur'anic words /silm/ and /salam/ in lexicon mean 'peace' and 'quietness'. So, this verse invites all the believes to peace, and in view of the fact that it addresses the believers, the verse means that peace can come into existence only with the existence of Faith. Thus, war and anxiety cannot be removed only by relying on mere human made rules and laws based on material affairs. Then, it is only by the use of the spiritual power of Faith that human beings, in spite of all their

(1) Qur'an-il-Hakim, Persian translation, by Muhammad Khajawi, p. 263

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differences, can live peacefully and in fellowship together when they, consequently, may form a worldly government. " O' you who have Faith! enter you all into submission (to Allah in being in peace) , ..."

It is evident that material affairs such as: language, race, wealth, geographical region, and social classes are totally the origin of separation and dispersion. They cannot provide the real worldly peace which needs a firm circle of connection between the hearts of human beings in the world. This linking circle is only Faith in Allah which is beyond those differences. Therefore, a certain worldly peace without Faith is impossible; the same manner that the inner peace and tranquillity in the unity of a person and in his spiritual environment, without having a true Faith, is impossible.

" ... and follow not the footsteps of Satan, ..."

As it was formerly mentioned, the Satanic temptations and deviations usually come forth gradually and , according to the meanings of the Qur'an, each of them is counted as the following of a step of Satan.(1) Here, this fact is stated again that deviation from the right and following the stimuli of enmity, hypocrisy, fighting and blood-shedding usually begin from slight and simple stages. Believing people should be aware of their advent in order to stop them. There is a proverb common among Arab people which says: Verily, a destructive fight begins with a slap.

"... for he is a manifest foe for you. " The enmity of Satan against human kind is not something hidden or unknown. Satan has decided and sworn to behave inimically towards man since the beginning of the creation of Adam, and does his best to settle this enmity among the human race. Yet, as it has been described before, this opposition and hostility can not harm the true believers but it is a secret alongside the path of spiritual development.

* * * *

" But if you slip after clear arguments have come to you, ... "

(1) The Qura'n, 2: 168; 6: 142; 24:21

160 The path is clear; the program is clear; and the destination is also clear; so, there is no room for falling for the temptations of Satan. Yet, if you deviate from the straight path and go astray while you have all of these clear reasons in hand, it will be your own fault. Thus, do know that Allah is both 'Mighty' , so that no one can flee from His justice, and 'Wise' so that He judges nothing unjustly.

" ... then know that Allah is the Mighty, the Wise. "

Explanations:

Another interpretation of the verse says: this verse indicates that the Holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) through this revelation was informed of what will happen to those who joined the ranks of Islam for some interest of their own or other. It is clearly stated in this verse that those who backslide after adopting the faith, may not foolishly imagine that their going astray is going to affect in the least, the cause of God or would cause any inconvenience to the cause of those who believe in God. Those who go astray, need not be arrogant as to imagine that they will defeat God's Power or Wisdom. The loss will be of those who go astray and not in the least of anybody else.

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(210) هَلْ يَنظُرُونَ إِلاَّ أَن يَأْتِيَهُمُ اللّهُ فِي ظُلَلٍ مِّنَ الْغَمَامِ وَالْمَلآئِكَةُ وَقُضِيَ الأَمْرُ وَإِلَى اللّهِ تُرْجَعُ الأمُورُ

210. " Are they waiting for aught but Allah should come to them in the shadows of clouds, with the angels? The matter has (already) been decided; and to Allah is the reversion of all affairs. "

Commentary:

In this verse Prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.) is addressed, where the Lord, following the previous subject, remarks whether all these available signs and clear evidences and ordinances are not enough to protect people from deviation and being safe from the grips of their obvious foe, (Satan) .

Do the followers of Satan's command, besides having all those clear signs, expect that Allah accompanied with the angels, should come unto them in canopies (1) of cloud and yield them some evidences more clear than the present ones? This is impossible, because Allah is not substance. Suppose this impossible happening becomes possible, what is the use of it when it is not needed? " Are they waiting for aught but Allah should come to them in the shadows of clouds, with the angles? ... "

It is in the case that the whole matter is decreed and determined, and nothing has remained undone. " ... The matter has (already) been decided; ..." And the destination of everything is to Allah, thus the end of all affairs is unto Him.

" ... and to Allah is the reversion of all affairs. " Therefore, the apparently interrogative sentence at the beginning of the verse, in meaning, is a negative question which means such a

(1) The term /zulal/ is the plural form of /zullah/ meaning: 'awning, sun-shade, canopy, tent... , or whatever that produces shade' . Thus, the phrase /zulalin min-al-qa­mam/ means: 'canopies of clouds'.

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thing cannot happen. (This is besides that, as we said, the occurrence of this impossible action is not necessary, because all the means of guidance have sufficiently been provided for the human race) . So, according to this interpretation, there is nothing hidden in the meaning of the verse; and, therefore, the words of it have exactly and totally been commented on.

But, some of commentators have not taken the initial sentence of the verse as a positive interrogation with a negative sense. They have considered it a kind of warning against the sinners and those who follow the temptations of Satan, (a threat causing worldly punishment or the punishment of the world to come) . In this case, the meaning of the verse will be as follows:

Are such people, with those unbecoming deeds and behaviour of theirs, awaiting for the command of Allah and His angels (of wrath) to come upon them for their punishment and put them in the chastisement of this world or the coming world, and put an end to their affairs? Of course, their deeds have no fruit for them but this very mentioned one indeed.

It is also worthy to note the explanation by al-'Allamah as-Sayyid Muh¤ammad H¤usayn at-T¤abataba'i in Al-Mizan Commentary, vol. 3, pp. 152, 153 (English version) , about the verse under discussion where it says:

It is self-evident truth, which is also proved by the Qur'an and the sunnah, that attributes of the body connot be used for Allah, nor can He be described with adjectives of transient things. No such word, phrase of sentence can be used for Him which implies transience, need, deficiency or want. Allah says: Nothing whatsoever (is there) like the like of Him. (42:11) ; and Allah is He Who is Self-sufficient (35:15) ; Allah is the Creator of everything. (39:62) There are numerous such verses; and all of them are confirmed and decisive ones to which the ambiguous verses should be referred. It is these confirmed verses which guide us towards the correct interpretation of the ambiguous ones. If any verse apparently attributes to Allah and action or a characteristic of transient things, then it must be referred to the confirmed verses and interpreted in a way which is not below His dignity nor opposed to His

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beautiful names.

Now here is a verse which attributes the action of 'coming' to Allah. A few other verses also have used this word for Him. And comes your Lord with the angels arrayed in ranks (89:22) ; then came upon them Allah from whence they did not expect (59:2) ; so Allah came upon their structure from the foundations (16:26) . In all such verses, it is necessary to interpret them with such meaning which are worthy of Divine sublimity. We may give them the meaning of, let us say, sending His chastisement upon them or surrounding them with His power of wrath. Accordingly, the meaning of 'Allah should come to them' in this verse shall be: 'Allah should surround them with His power for enforcing His decree on them'.

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