Surat Al Baqarah (278-286)

{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللهَ وَذَرُوا مَا بَقِيَ مِنَ الرِّبَا إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِنِينَ} [البقرة: 278]

278- O believers, fear Allah, obey His Orders, and abandon dealing in usury if you truly believe in Allah and in the lawful and prohibition that He legislated for you.

 

 

{فَإِنْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُوا فَأْذَنُوا بِحَرْبٍ مِنَ اللهِ وَرَسُولِهِ وَإِنْ تُبْتُمْ فَلَكُمْ رُءُوسُ أَمْوَالِكُمْ لَا تَظْلِمُونَ وَلَا تُظْلَمُونَ} [البقرة: 279]

279- If you do not stop dealing in usury, wait for the wrath of Allah and surly you shall face a war from Allah and His Messenger!

This statement bears scary intimidation, severe threat, and a terrible wrath from the Compeller of heavens and the earth in which He threatens those who do not stop dealing in usury with punishment and killing.

It is a worldly and otherworldly punishment. We have explained the otherworldly punishment earlier but as for the worldly punishment, the usurer would be asked to repent this terrible act and if he does not, he shall be punished. Likewise, should the other groups and categories do such as tellers, bankers and so on. It is a great responsibility borne by the ruler in particular. When the Messenger of Allah [peace be upon him] opened Makkah for Islam, he commanded to prohibit all types of usury that was made during the Pre-Islamic Period of Ignorance. The people who care for the delicate meanings said: The war of Allah is Hell Fire [in the Hereafter], whereas the war of the Prophet of Allah is fighting by sword [in the world].

If you repent, go back to the right, and cease your dealing in usury, you shall have the capital of your monies without reducing anything of them or adding something to them.

 

{وَإِنْ كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَى مَيْسَرَةٍ وَأَنْ تَصَدَّقُوا خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ} [البقرة: 280]

 

280- If the debtor is insolvent and cannot repay his debts, he shall be given a respite until he is able to pay your money and the debtors should not do as the usurers do by adding extra value to the money when the indebted is unable to pay.

If you overlooked those monies, remitted them by the way of charity, and forgave the insolvent, it would be better for you. That is if you only know the great reward that awaits you because of your kind act with the insolvent.

 

{وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا تُرْجَعُونَ فِيهِ إِلَى اللهِ ثُمَّ تُوَفَّى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَا كَسَبَتْ وَهُمْ لَا يُظْلَمُونَ} [البقرة: 281]

 

281- Fear Allah as should be and wait for that Day on which you shall be returned to Him when you leave the world and the money you had. He shall reckon you for what you have earned, whether lawful or unlawful. He warns you against His Punishment as He exhorts you to obtain His Reward. None shall be oppressed on that Day because the one who reckons is Allah.

On that Day, the usurers shall terribly regret and wish that they had given up their rights, spent, and done righteous acts. The livings read and hear; if they have eyes with which they see, and ears with which they hear.

 

{يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا إِذَا تَدَايَنْتُمْ بِدَيْنٍ إِلَى أَجَلٍ مُسَمًّى فَاكْتُبُوهُ وَلْيَكْتُبْ بَيْنَكُمْ كَاتِبٌ بِالعَدْلِ وَلَا يَأْبَ كَاتِبٌ أَنْ يَكْتُبَ كَمَا عَلَّمَهُ اللهُ فَلْيَكْتُبْ وَلْيُمْلِلِ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِ الحَقُّ وَلْيَتَّقِ اللهَ رَبَّهُ وَلَا يَبْخَسْ مِنْهُ شَيْئًا فَإِنْ كَانَ الَّذِي عَلَيْهِ الحَقُّ سَفِيهًا أَوْ ضَعِيفًا أَوْ لَا يَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ يُمِلَّ هُوَ فَلْيُمْلِلْ وَلِيُّهُ بِالعَدْلِ وَاسْتَشْهِدُوا شَهِيدَيْنِ مِنْ رِجَالِكُمْ فَإِنْ لَمْ يَكُونَا رَجُلَيْنِ فَرَجُلٌ وَامْرَأَتَانِ مِمَّنْ تَرْضَوْنَ مِنَ الشُّهَدَاءِ أَنْ تَضِلَّ إِحْدَاهُمَا فَتُذَكِّرَ إِحْدَاهُمَا الأُخْرَى وَلَا يَأْبَ الشُّهَدَاءُ إِذَا مَا دُعُوا وَلَا تَسْأَمُوا أَنْ تَكْتُبُوهُ صَغِيرًا أَوْ كَبِيرًا إِلَى أَجَلِهِ ذَلِكُمْ أَقْسَطُ عِنْدَ اللهِ وَأَقْوَمُ لِلشَّهَادَةِ وَأَدْنَى أَلَّا تَرْتَابُوا إِلَّا أَنْ تَكُونَ تِجَارَةً حَاضِرَةً تُدِيرُونَهَا بَيْنَكُمْ فَلَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ أَلَّا تَكْتُبُوهَا وَأَشْهِدُوا إِذَا تَبَايَعْتُمْ وَلَا يُضَارَّ كَاتِبٌ وَلَا شَهِيدٌ وَإِنْ تَفْعَلُوا فَإِنَّهُ فُسُوقٌ بِكُمْ وَاتَّقُوا اللهَ وَيُعَلِّمُكُمُ اللهُ وَاللهُ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٌ}

282- O you who believe, if you deal with one another with deferred transactions, write them down because it is more appropriate to record them as will be mentioned later.

Let the scribe who write down your dealings be just and upright and he should not add or omit something of the debt.

The one who knows how to write should not refuse to write when asked, for he should write down to fulfill the due right of the knowledge that he has received from Allah.

The indebted should tell about the debt that he should pay to be written. He should fear Allah in his saying, be truthful about the debt, do not reduce anything of it, and should mention the conditions of debt as well as its due time.

If the indebted is fool and does not know how to manage his or her affairs, weak, young, insane, or cannot dictate and explain the amount of debt and its conditions for a defect, ignorance, or any other reason, let his guardian speak on his or her behalf with right and justice.

Bring two upright witnesses to witness your contract, from the people whom you are pleased with their uprightness. If your witnesses are not two men, bring one man and two women in order that one of them will remind the other when she forgets because women are always busy with their family business and housework, and they are away from business and contracts, so a woman will remind the other of the circumstances of the subject.

When witnesses are called to testify, they should respond.

Do not get board to write down debts and their due times, whether the money are little or great, writing debts are appropriate for the witnesses and more confirming to them when they see their handwritings or signatures. If they did not write the debt, they probably would not remember it. It will end up the doubt of lying and false allegation that may lead to conflict between the two contractors.

If the sale is present in one session, there is no harm not to write it down to facilitate the commercial operations, and witnesses should testify on that.

The command here is for guidance and not binding according to the majority of scholars.

The same ruling goes for the command of writing down the debt, as mentioned in the beginning of the Ayah. It is a mandatory and desirable command and not obligatory according to the majority of jurists because of other proofs that were mentioned in this concern. However, writing down the debt is better and more appropriate as was mentioned in the Ayah. The debtor should be cautious to that because if it happened that he had not write down the debt and something bad happened, he should blame no one but himself.

A scribe should not harm any of the debtors or the indebted by writing down something unlike that was dictated to him.

The witness should not harm anyone by telling false testimony in contradiction to that which he saw or heard or even conceal the testimony.

The scribe and the witness are not forced to write or witness if they abstained to write or witness. If they refused to write or witness, they should not be jeopardized to harm by the two contractors for any controversial reason.

Fear Allah in your transactions, follow His Command, and be firm on it for Allah teaches you the rulings that contain interests for you. Indeed, Allah knows the realities of things, their interests, and their consequences and nothing of your actions is hidden from Him.

 

{وَإِنْ كُنْتُمْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ وَلَمْ تَجِدُوا كَاتِبًا فَرِهَانٌ مَقْبُوضَةٌ فَإِنْ أَمِنَ بَعْضُكُمْ بَعْضًا فَلْيُؤَدِّ الَّذِي اؤْتُمِنَ أَمَانَتَهُ وَلْيَتَّقِ اللهَ رَبَّهُ وَلَا تَكْتُمُوا الشَّهَادَةَ وَمَنْ يَكْتُمْهَا فَإِنَّهُ آَثِمٌ قَلْبُهُ وَاللهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ عَلِيمٌ} [البقرة: 283]

283- If you are traveling and there is no scribe to write to you the contract of your sale and debt, let a prosthetic mortgage takes possession of the pledge, the right holder.

However, if some of you trusted one another and the creditor did not take a mortgage, the indebted should pay back the debt to the creditor who entrusted him. The indebted should fear Allah and does not reduce or increase the debt.

Do not conceal the testimony when the case is submitted to the court because it is a trust should be rendered. Whoever conceals the testimony transgresses the proper limits and commits a sin. However, concealing the testimony is like falsifying it, so there is no difference between concealing it or delivering it falsely.

Allah knows what you conceal in your hearts and He shall retribute each one with that he deserves, whether good or bad.

 

{للهِ مَا فِي السَّمَاوَاتِ وَمَا فِي الأَرْضِ وَإِنْ تُبْدُوا مَا فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُمْ بِهِ اللهُ فَيَغْفِرُ لِمَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَاللهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ} [البقرة: 284]

284- To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that on the earth. He [Glory be to Him] is All-Acquainted with all that therein, knows exactly its movements, whether that thing is hidden or small, and He is an Expert of your own selves, whether you show what is in yourselves  publicly or conceal it. He shall reckon you for that, then forgives whomever He wants or tortures whomever He wants. Nothing disables Him and He is All-Able to fulfill whatever He wants.

This Ayah contains an extreme intimidation and a scary warning because the accountability for bad acts of the hearts are not in favor of human souls, no matter how pious they are, because such acts can not be avoided. This matter prompted the Companions [may Allah be pleased with them] to question the Prophet of Allah [peace be upon him] about that out of their piety and their strong faith. They said to him: "We were commanded to do acts that we can afford such as Salah, fasting, Jihad, and charity, but we cannot afford the acts that ware mentioned in the Ayah that was revealed to you."

Hence, the Messenger of Allah [peace be upon him] warned them to be like the People of the Scriptures or even say what they had said before: [We heard and disobeyed]. Allah commanded them to say: [We heard and obeyed, we seek Your Forgiveness, O our Lord, to You is the final destination].

When they said that, the following Ayah was revealed abrogating the current Ayah, in which Allah says: [O our Lord, put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear.] Thereupon, their Lord responded to them and said: "I have done," as was reported in Sahih Muslim and others.

It was reported in the Hadith that was narrated by Al Bukhari and others: "Allah has forgiven the evil thoughts that occur to the minds of my followers, as long as such thoughts are not put into action or uttered."

The Ayah contains a reminder for the believers of what they possibly can be held accountable for in order that they increase their obedience, behave themselves, keep up to purify themselves, and always seek pardon and forgiveness from Him. The following Ayah contains a statement of the favors of Allah on them; among which He forgave what they had done before.

 

{آَمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آَمَنَ بِاللهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ المَصِيرُ} [البقرة: 285]

285- Prophet Muhammad [peace be upon him] and the believers believed firmly and comprehensively: they believed in the One True God, in the angles whom Allah and the Messenger mentioned, in the revealed Scriptures, and in all Messengers; and did not believe in only some of them as the Jews and the Christians had done. All Messengers are servants of Allah, truthful, and received revelation of their Lord.

They all submissively and believingly said: "We heard Your Command, O Lord, grasped it well, and obeyed the command. O Our Lord, forgive our sins and mistakes. Verily, to You is our return on the Day of Reckoning. We have no refuge or shelter against You but in You and there is no escape of Your Punishment except through Your Forgiveness.

 

{لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِنْ نَسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِنَا رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا أَنْتَ مَوْلَانَا فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى القَوْمِ الكَافِرِينَ} [البقرة: 286]

286- Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity, so no one is commanded with something of which he is not capable. Each soul shall have the reward of what it has done and it will be punished for the evil it committed.

They said: O our Lord, forgive and pardon us if we have left a command or committed a prohibited matter by mistake; not on purpose, forgot to do the right matter or did not know about it.

It was reported in the authentic Hadith that was previously mentioned that Allah answered the supplications of His Believing Servants in this regard and said: "Yes."

They said: O our Lord, do not burden us with a heavy work as you commanded the past nations, such as the Children of Israel, who used to disobey the orders of Allah, thus, Allah punished them by imposing more commands of hardships on them.

They supplicated saying: O our Lord, forgive our faults and mistakes, and pardon the sins and evil acts that we committed because no one shall forgive them but You. Have mercy upon us and guard us with Your Care and Perseverance for You are our Guardian and Helper. We shall seek Your Help and shall not rely on anyone but You. Provide us with aid and victory over those infidels who denied Your Religion, denied Your Oneness, disbelieved in the message of Your Prophet, and associated partners with You in worship. Provide us with victory for you are the best Helper.

Thereupon, Allah responded to them.

The last two Ayahs of this great Surah contain abundant goodness for those who recite them frequently and there are many Hadiths reported in their favor; of them is the saying of the Prophet [peace be upon him]: "Whoever recites the last two Ayahs of Surat Al Baqarah at night, that will be sufficient for him.” Narrated by Al Bukhari, Muslim and others.

The meaning is: they will be sufficient for him and a person is no need to offer another voluntary Salah at that night or they will be sufficient for him against harm. That is because these two Ayahs contain a comprehensive belief, praising to the Companions for their submissiveness to Allah, imploring Him, returning to Him, and the response that they received from Allah for their supplications. 

••••

Of the great virtues of this Surah is the Prophet's saying: "The devil flees from a house in which Surat Al Baqarah is recited." Narrated by Muslim and others.