Surat Al Baqarah (168-178)

{يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ كُلُواْ مِمَّا فِي الأَرْضِ حَلاَلاً طَيِّباً وَلاَ تَتَّبِعُواْ خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ} [البقرة: 168]

168- O people, eat of that which Allah made lawful for you on earth. These lawful foods will not cause the body to be sick and do not cause the mind to be lost. Do not follow the devils and their ways that they used to mislead those who were before you such as forbidden what Allah has made lawful and render lawful what is prohibited. Verily, Satan is a clear and a manifest enemy to the people who have knowledge of you and Allah has warned you against him.

 

{إِنَّمَا يَأْمُرُكُمْ بِالسُّوءِ وَالْفَحْشَاء وَأَن تَقُولُواْ عَلَى اللّهِ مَا لاَ تَعْلَمُونَ} [البقرة: 169]

169- Verily, Satan commands you only what is sins, evil matters, Major Sins, and to say falsely against Allah what you do not know such as that He prohibited something while you do not know that He forbad it.

 

{وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّبِعُوا مَا أَنزَلَ اللّهُ قَالُواْ بَلْ نَتَّبِعُ مَا أَلْفَيْنَا عَلَيْهِ آبَاءنَا أَوَلَوْ كَانَ آبَاؤُهُمْ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ شَيْئاً وَلاَ يَهْتَدُونَ} [البقرة: 170]

170- If the polytheists and the People of the Scriptures are asked to follow the Book of Allah that He sent down to His Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him], they will say: We shall not follow it, but rather we will follow what we found our fathers following because they were better than us.

Do they follow them even if they do not understand anything or are not guided to the truth? Do they follow even if they are negligent, ignorant, and straying?

 

{وَمَثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ كَمَثَلِ الَّذِي يَنْعِقُ بِمَا لاَ يَسْمَعُ إِلاَّ دُعَاء وَنِدَاء صُمٌّ بُكْمٌ عُمْيٌ فَهُمْ لاَ يَعْقِلُونَ} [البقرة: 171]

 

171- The example of those who disbelieve, in terms of their error, straying, ignorance, and not thinking in what has been sent to them of signs and Ayahs, is like animals that do not understand what is said to them. When their shepherd calls uponor yelled at them, they would not understand but they will listen to his tone and the echo of his voice.

They are deaf to hear the truth, dumb to speak of it, and blind to see its way even if they have organs of perception as long as they do not benefit from. They do not understand a thing because they do not reflect on the Ayahs and facts and do not consider what they see of the clear signs and beneficial matters.

 

{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ كُلُواْ مِن طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَاشْكُرُواْ لِلّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ} [البقرة: 172]

172- O people who believe, eat of the tasty lawful foods that Allah has provided you with and be grateful to Allah for that if you indeed worship Him truly. Certainly, gratefulness is part of worship, and it is one of the reasons of accepting it and getting reward for it.

 

{إِنَّمَا حَرَّمَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَيْتَةَ وَالدَّمَ وَلَحْمَ الْخِنزِيرِ وَمَا أُهِلَّ بِهِ لِغَيْرِ اللّهِ فَمَنِ اضْطُرَّ غَيْرَ بَاغٍ وَلاَ عَادٍ فَلا إِثْمَ عَلَيْهِ إِنَّ اللّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ} [البقرة: 173]

 

173- Take the rulings of the lawful and the prohibition from Allah, the Creator and the Provider for He does not render anything lawful but it is indeed good. On the other side, He does not prohibit something but it is evil and contains harm.

He prohibited to you to eat of the dead animals that have not been slaughtered except fish and lycos. Likewise, He prohibited you to drink blood and eat pork whether pigs are slaughtered or died as well as all animals that were slaughtered for other than Allah at idols, graves, etc.

Those who are forced by necessity to eat of that mentioned and did not find any lawful food, there is no harm to eat of it without wilful disobedience nor transgressing due limits: Without giving preference to himself in this state of necessity to another compelled person in the same state nor eating more than he needs. Then, Allah will forgive the unlawful foods that the compelled has eaten. Verily, Allah is All-Merciful when He rendered that lawful in the state of necessity.

 

{إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنْزَلَ اللهُ مِنَ الكِتَابِ وَيَشْتَرُونَ بِهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا أُولَئِكَ مَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِي بُطُونِهِمْ إِلَّا النَّارَ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ اللهُ يَوْمَ القِيَامَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ} [البقرة: 174]

174- Surly, those who have concealed the description of Muhammad [peace be upon him] that Allah has sent down in their Scriptures, especially the Jews, in order not to lose their nobility and leadership before the Arabs, and used to receive their souvenirs and gifts as a glorification to their status and knowledge, used to accept bribes in return for rendering things lawful or prohibiting what is lawful. They feared to show the description of the Prophet [peace be upon him] for fear that people may follow him and leave them aside, so they concealed that to maintain their status and for the low price they used to take for a great matter. Thus, they sold out their religion for a few pennies and they were losers.

They shall eat a blazing fire in their stomachs on the Day of the Recompense as a retribution for what they had taken in return for concealing the truth. Allah shall not talk to them because He is angry at them and shall not praise them, but rather shall punish them severely and painfully.

 

{أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُا الضَّلَالَةَ بِالهُدَى وَالعَذَابَ بِالمَغْفِرَةِ فَمَا أَصْبَرَهُمْ عَلَى النَّارِ} [البقرة: 175]

175- Verily, they have purchased error for the truth and sold guidance at the price of error when they concealed the news of the Prophet [peace be upon him] in their Scriptures and refused to follow their Scriptures. They satisfied with disbelief, denial, and concealment. Then, they sold forgiveness and purchased torment. How strange they are! How keen they are to destruction, getting into Hell, and having patience to Hell when they followed the reasons to that and competed to achieve them willingly.

 

{ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّ اللهَ نَزَّلَ الكِتَابَ بِالحَقِّ وَإِنَّ الَّذِينَ اخْتَلَفُوا فِي الكِتَابِ لَفِي شِقَاقٍ بَعِيدٍ} [البقرة: 176]

176- They deserved all that torment because Allah did not reveal His Books to His Prophet out of vain and did not take the covenants from the nations without account but rather He did it truly and out of responsibility. So, who refused, betrayed, denied, and concealed deserved the torment and Hell-Fire.

Those are the people who differed about the Scriptures, so they believed in some and disbelieved in the others. They also interpreted some of its Ayahs and then described the Qur'an with untrue descriptions. Verily, they are in great disparity and away from the truth and that demands to cast them in the severest torment.

 

{لَيْسَ البِرَّ أَنْ تُوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ المَشْرِقِ وَالمَغْرِبِ وَلَكِنَّ البِرَّ مَنْ آَمَنَ بِاللهِ وَاليَوْمِ الآَخِرِ وَالمَلَائِكَةِ وَالكِتَابِ وَالنَّبِيِّينَ وَآَتَى المَالَ عَلَى حُبِّهِ ذَوِي القُرْبَى وَاليَتَامَى وَالمَسَاكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ وَالسَّائِلِينَ وَفِي الرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ الصَّلَاةَ وَآَتَى الزَّكَاةَ وَالمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَاهَدُوا وَالصَّابِرِينَ فِي البَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ وَحِينَ البَأْسِ أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا وَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ المُتَّقُونَ} [البقرة: 177]

177- When Allah commanded the Muslims first to turn their faces towards Baytul-Maqdis in Jerusalem then commanded them to turn their faces towards the Ka`bah, that was difficult to a group of the People of Scriptures and some Muslims as well. He explained in this great Ayah that the important thing is submission, obedience, and compliance to the commands of Allah.

The goal of turning the faces towards East and West is neither the direction itself nor doing some movements. The virtue of these things cannot be empty of motives and the obedience of the Commander. The virtue and all good are embodied in the authentic and true faith, obedience to Allah, and submission to His Command that gives value and acceptance for these actions. First, you have to believe in Allah [Glory be to Him] truly and deeply. Second, you have to believe in the Last Day and the Retribution and Reckoning that therein. Third, you have to believe in the bliss and torment. Fourth, you have to believe in His Soldiers, the angels, who are Whose messengers between Him and His Servants. Finally, you have to believe in the revealed Books from Allah to His Messenger as guidance to His Servants and the most important and the last Book is the Qur'an that abrogated all prior Scriptures. You have to believe in all prophets and messengers of Allah; including the seal of Prophets, Muhammad [peace be upon him], without distinction between them as the People of the Scriptures did.

True believers are those who spend their monies while they love them and have the desire for them. Though they love it, they give them to their families, relatives, the orphans who have lost their fathers while they were weak and young; the needy who cannot find their daily sustenance; the wayfarers who have lost their allowances while being far away from their countries, and those who ask people due to need and necessity. Fi Al Riqab means the slaves who want to be free and do not find enough money to free themselves from their masters.

True believers are those who keep on their acts of worship such as performing the prescribed Salah with its conditions and pillars, and pay the Zakah of their monies. They have to keep their promises and do not break them or betray as the hypocrites and those who act like them do.

they have to be of the patient when something befalls him such as poverty or sickness as well as in the battlefield and when they meet their enemies.

those who were characterized with these qualities are the truthful with their Lord concerning their faith. They have followed the truth, searched for piety, achieved goodness; kept away from unlawful matters, major sins, and all vile acts; and did the required acts of obedience in compliance to the commands of Allah and out of fear of Him.

 

{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ القِصَاصُ فِي القَتْلَى الحُرُّ بِالحُرِّ وَالعَبْدُ بِالعَبْدِ وَالأُنْثَى بِالأُنْثَى فَمَنْ عُفِيَ لَهُ مِنْ أَخِيهِ شَيْءٌ فَاتِّبَاعٌ بِالمَعْرُوفِ وَأَدَاءٌ إِلَيْهِ بِإِحْسَانٍ ذَلِكَ تَخْفِيفٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ فَمَنِ اعْتَدَى بَعْدَ ذَلِكَ فَلَهُ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ} [البقرة: 178]

178- O you who believed, I have imposed upon you the rule of observing similarity and equality in terms of intentional killing. A killer should be killed in the way he killed the murdered. A free person should be killed for a free one, a slave should be killed for a slave, and a female should be killed for a female: that is to establish equity among people.

Some tribes of the Pre-Islamic Period used to demand that a man to be killed for a woman; when a slave is killed, they asked for a free person to be killed, and when a mean person is killed they asked for a noble person to be killed for him out of haughtiness and avenge. So, this noble ayah explained the rulings for retaliation that each type should be retaliated by its own kind such as a female for a female. The ayah did not mention that one kind should be killed for another. This ruling has been explained in details by the ayah, later on the Sunnah mentioned that a male may be killed for a female in terms of equality in religion, a Muslim should not be killed for a disbeliever nor a free person for a slave.

If the family of the killed have forgiven and overlooked their right of retaliation as if they asked for Diyah [blood-money] instead of retaliation, which is the amount of money which should be given to him for their killed person, that will be a nice and reasonable exchange. Let the killer pay the blood money beneficently and generously without giving less value and without delay.

The legislation of blood money is a mercy from Allah to this nation while the legislation in the prior religions was to forgive or to have your retaliation and there was no blood money.

If it happens that a killer has been killed after paying the blood money or even accepting it, the doer shall have a painful torment from Allah.