The Virtues Of Heifer Verses. Surah Al-Baqarah sentence 151 - 162

Inna has been translated as "surely.

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Kufr in Arabic stands for covering or concealing a thing. Hence the "tiller" That is, those who recognized the truth, knew it, understood it, but refused to acknowledge, rather worked against it. To such it is alike whether you warn them or not. They will not believe. Theirs is a well considered decision, which they are not going to alter. Although it cannot be said of anyone with certainty that he is a kafir , since faith is hidden deep in the hearts, those will have to be treated as kuffar who do not announce their faith in Islam. Although the verse is general in application, it is specific in the case of someone whose sentence of punishment has already been passed, and who is, in Allah's knowledge, of those who will die on disbelief.

That is, anything that the Prophet spoke of, whether it be concerning some act enjoined upon the Muslims, or simply an information such as concerning Heaven and Hell, and which has come to the Muslims through a report that cannot be doubted for its veracity, such as, a hadith of mutawatir status, then, its rejection is tantamount to kufr Au.

Majid writes, "'Heart' in the Qur'an, as in the Bible, is the seat of all emotional, intellectual and volitional life, and the center of all moral and spiritual functions" Majid. Similar to the "reaction" to every "action" in the physical world, the sealing of the heart and hearing, and the covering of the eyes of the kuffar , is a result of their persistent disbelief after the truth became evident to them.

In the words of Asad, it is, "… a reference to the natural law instituted by God, whereby a person who persistently adheres to false beliefs and refuses to listen to the voice of truth gradually loses the ability to perceive the truth, 'so that finally, as it were, a seal is set upon his heart' Raghib. It is those who will not believe that are condemned to judicial blindness which portends the more awful punishment of Hell. If he repents, gives up the sin, and seeks forgiveness, his heart is cleansed. But if he adds sins , then the black marks add up until they cover the entire heart.

This is the raan that Allah the Praiseworthy spoke of in verse No indeed; but that which they have been earning has rusted their hearts. It must not be imagined that since Allah has informed us about them that they will never embrace the truth, it means that it has been predetermined that way, and, therefore, they must be excused for their continued state of disbelief. Rather, it is similar to a doctor pronouncing about a man that he will not recover from an illness, because he is in such an advanced state of the disease.

It cannot be said that the lack of recovery is because of the doctor's pronouncement. Rather, it is the fact of the man so fatally affected that evoked the doctor's pronouncement Thanwi. With reference to the use of the textual word, "the people" , Qurtubi writes that according to the Sufiya': These are the hypocrites. This kind cropped up with the Prophet's migration to Madinah. It was here, after thirteen hard years at Makkah, that by Allah's grace and mercy Islam gained a foothold, and the hearts of the local people were softened for it, who either embraced the message, or adopted a neutral position.

Almost no heathen tribe of the city indulged as a whole in active antagonism. As a result, there was sufficient peace and security in the city and its surroundings to allow the Muslims to carry out their religious duties with freedom. With stability achieved, Madinah was slowly developing into a religious state with the Prophet at its head, and Islam was beginning to emerge as a force to reckon with. But there were some in Madinah who did not appreciate these developments. They were encouraged by the Jews.

These were the elements of the pagan society that stood to lose something by the growth of Islam; if not anything else, then, their personal influence and popularity. However, during the first few years it was not clear to them as to how the Madinans and the adjoining tribes would respond to the Islamic message, and whether the Makkans would tolerate the growth of a parallel state.

It seemed very likely that a power struggle would ensue, but it was unclear as to who would emerge victorious: These disaffected elements therefore decided to play a safe game. They were to outwardly profess faith in Islam but try to undermine it secretly: Qushayr and Judd b. Qays, who, when they met the faithful assured them of their own faith in Islam saying: Hypocrisy Ibn Kathir writes: After the first four verses of this chapter, which describe the believers, and the following two, which describe the unbelievers, Allah Most High now speaks of the hypocrites who profess Islam but conceal disbelief.

But, since their case is unclear and confusing to most people, He described them in greater detail speaking at length of the traits that are the signs of hypocrisy. As for the definition of nifaq hypocrisy , it is to manifest good while concealing evil. There are two kinds of it: This is because the deeds of a hypocrite contradict his utterances, and his internal state contradicts the external state. It is in the Madinan chapters that their characteristics were described because there was no hypocrisy in Makkah. In fact, it was just the opposite there i.

Allah Most High described them in detail so that the believers may not be deceived by their appearances, leading to the spread of corruption which would happen if they did not avoid their company, under the impression that they were believers like them. It is a matter of great evil that the corrupt should be allowed to pass as the pious. Ibn Kathir's quote ends here.

As against this universally accepted definition of hypocrisy, a contemporary scholar has stated: Although the first signs of hypocrisy had appeared during the last phase of the Prophet's life in Makkah, the nature of that hypocrisy was different. The kind of 'hypocrites' found then were those who, while recognizing the truth of Islam and claiming to believe in it, were not prepared to sacrifice their material interests, run the risk of severing the relationship which bound them to others, and who shrank from the persecution and trial which used to afflict all those who responded to the call of Truth.

The Qur'an says about those who had concealed their faith and remained in Makkah, i. Thus, we see that the Qur'an calls them believers mu'minun and not hypocrites. Ibn Kathir's commentary on this particular verse is: Those are meant who were living among the Makkans but who concealed their faith from them for fear of persecution. In fact, far from alluding hypocrisy to them, it is the Prophet saws himself who had advised many at Makkah to conceal their faith. When Abu Dhar ra embraced Islam, the Prophet asked him to return to his tribe and remain with them concealing his faith until Islam commanded power.

Yasir, the Prophet went even further and advised him to conceal faith and utter kufr. They have been forced into this battle. Therefore, if anyone encounters someone from Banu Hashim, let him not kill him. Hisham, let him not kill him. If you are true in your word, Allah will reward you. True, Allah revealed a verse 4: In any case, the very next verse there clarifies that in situations where a person cannot migrate because of overwhelming difficulties, there is no sin upon him.

Sayyid Qutb rightly defends those who concealed their faith in Makkah. Commenting on the verse which was sent down when one of the Companions accompanying a detachment sent by the Prophet fell upon a man in the enemy territory, and killed him despite the fact that he had greeted them with the Islamic greeting: Qurtubi ; he writes: He reminds them of His grace by which He cleansed their hearts and guided them to loftier goals, so that they could not think of returning to battles and wars with loot and plunder as their intention, as was their wont in the days of ignorance.

He impresses upon them His favor in that He prescribed for them the limits and bounds, and has given them a system that organizes their affairs. So, let not the final verdict be influenced by the first impulses of anger , as it used to be during the days of jahiliyyah. This man too, who was killed, used to conceal his faith from his people, but disclosed it to the Muslims by greeting them in the manner of Islamic greeting.

There was no need for anyone to resort to hypocrisy in Makkah since the Muslims were weak there. On the contrary, there were people who concealed their faith but confessed to iman in their private talks. The scholars have said therefore, including Ahmad b. Hanbal, that there was no hypocrisy in Makkah. Hypocrisy appeared in Madinah. However, there was weakness of faith on the part of some people at Makkah, which Allah termed as sickness marad , as stated in a Makkan chapter It was necessary to point out the error in the definition because, on the one side, appearing as it does in a tafsir work, it might sound as having the sanction of Islam, while the fact is that no scholar of any repute is reported to be of the opinion that those in Makkah fitting the new definition were hypocrites.

On the other hand, such insidious attacks are likely to create ill feeling for those who are the very criteria of faith. The Prophet has said in a well known hadith of Ibn Majah: All of them will be in Fire, except one. But they deceive not anyone but themselves That is, they think that they will be able to hoodwink Allah as easily as they are able to hoodwink the faithful.

In a hadith the Prophet saws is reported to have said:. He who deceives Allah is deceived by Him, and in fact , deceives himself, only if he knew. So Allah caused increase in their disease For them is a painful chastisement 30 , because they used to lie. There is an indication in this verse that the hearts also are prone to diseases, as the Sufiya say Thanwi. They are curable, but if they harden their hearts, they soon pass into the category of those who deliberately reject light. Addressing them he said: And, "Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!

This happened when against their wishful belief that Islam is a passing wind that will blow for a while and then be gone, and that its banner will only flutter for a brief spell and then it would be all quiet again, they witnessed growth in the power of Islam, and victory after victory coming its way. This increased their envy and hatred toward Islam and weakened their hearts, which became prone to diseases.

It could also mean that as Allah revealed more of His guidance, they failed to profit from it, because of their original disbelief , and thus their hearts only increased in sickness Zamakhshari, condensed. They deserve to be doubly punished, because, unlike the ordinary unbelievers who openly announce their disbelief, they try to deceive Allah on one hand and the believers on the other. Their punishment however has been delayed till the Day of Judgment although they, being a dangerous element in the Muslim polity, deserve punishment in this life itself.

This deferment of punishment at the hands of the believers is because of the doubt with regard to their faith. It is not possible for the believers to say for sure about any one of them, however manifest his hypocrisy, that true faith does not reside in his heart. They earn therefore, the benefit of doubt and are spared punishment in this world. In the Hereafter however they will receive punishment greater than the ordinary unbelievers.

The Prophet knew the hypocrites through revelation, and so did some of his Companions by their own judgment. But it was the fear of people alleging that the Prophet was killing his own men, which could adversely affect the cause of Islam, that restrained him from taking measures against them; although, on their part they were bold enough to even attempt at his life. In fact, he was restrained by Allah Himself. He said in a hadith reported by Bukhari and Muslim: As for what they conceal in their hearts , Allah will hold them to account" Au.

The scholars say that believers are of two kinds: Indeed, He detests him and treats him as His enemy. He loves and befriends everyone about whom He knows he will die on faith. Again, the unbelievers are also of two kinds: He who will be punished is the one who died on disbelief. Allah detests him and is angry with him. In contrast, he who would not be punished is the one who died on good faith. Allah does not detest him nor is angry with him, rather loves him and will befriend him. And we also say that Allah was angry with Iblis even when he was worshipping Allah, because of the disbelief on which he was going to die.

Whoever disobeyed Allah on earth, or enforced it upon others , corrupted the lands. Proper development and improvement of the earth and its environment lies in obedience of Allah' Ibn Kathir. What they meant is, from this unique position we are working at reconciliation between the two groups: Muslims and the people of the Book Ibn Kathir. By their blind arrogance they depress the good and encourage the evil" Yusuf Ali. This implies that the Companions are a criterion for all those who will follow them in Islam.

They can measure their faith and deeds against those of the Companions One possible reason why the generic noun the people has been used is to say that if there are any people worth calling people, it is the believers. The unbelievers, because of their disability to discern between the right and wrong, are like animals Kashshaf. That is, when the hypocrites were told by the Muslims to believe in Allah, His angels, revelations, messengers, resurrection and reckoning, Heaven and Hell, and all that the rest of the believers were told to have faith in, and do as they were ordered by Allah and His Messenger, they said in reply, ' Shall we believe as the fools have believed?

First they mistook vice for virtue vide verse 11 and now they are mistaking virtue for vice" Thanwi, Majid's tr. Majid quotes from Lane: The words, "Allah is mocking with them," draw the following commentary from In Jarir: The question arises as to how exactly will Allah mock at them? The answer is, it will be done in the manner described elsewhere They who will remain outside will call them i.

The Deluder Satan deluded you concerning Allah. Today no ransom shall be accepted from you, nor from those who disbelieved. Your refuge is the Fire, it is your companion now ; an evil homecoming! For example, He said at another place 4: To take another example, Allah said Thus, the expressions are common, but their meanings are different. To take another example, Allah swt said 2: They will begin to move toward the door. When they reach the door, it will be shut in their faces.

The believers, reclining on their couches in Paradise, will laugh at them. This is what alluded to when Allah said Have the unbelievers been rewarded for what they were doing? But when he reaches the door, it will be shut in his face. Then another door will be opened from which he will be invited.

He will again drag himself toward it in great pain and injury. But as he nears, the door will be shut. A third one will be opened. This will go on until the hypocrite will not respond to the call. I also will laugh at your calamity: I will mock when your fear cometh. That is, they chose error and misguidance, so right guidance was held back from them. Ibn Jarir also reports Qatadah as saying: But it never pays in the end. If we compare such a man to a trader, he loses in the bargain" Yusuf Ali. When it had lit all about him, Allah took away their light and left them in darknesses, unable to perceive.

For ease of understanding, we shall first take up the first two verses together 17 and 18 and then its parts. Ibn Jarir is the source: But they put off that light by acting in disbelief and hypocrisy. Thus he saved himself and his world with the help of his utterance. As for the "light," Mujahid says it is what the hypocrite sees of the truth of Islam by virtue of his being in the company of the believers, and "darkness," what he misses to see of it when he seeks the company of unbelievers.

That is, it is to the truth that they are deaf, dumb and blind. They can neither hear it being described, make inquiries about it because of their dumbness, nor can they perceive it if shown because of their blindness Alusi. Shanqiti supports this view by quoting another verse Razi says about the two verses 17 and Commenting upon the words " the likeness of him who kindled a fire " in which the singular form is used 'him' as against the plural in "Allah took away 'their' light" , Thanwi says that it is because normally it is one man who kindles a fire.

It is when it lights up the surrounding that other people gather around it. Commenting upon the term "their light" in the verse 'Allah took away their light' , Thanwi says Allah put it that way because there are others on the same path for whom the path remains illuminated. It is only hypocrites who lost the perception Tibyan and Bayan. Alusi has another point with regard to the "lightning" and the "darkness. They simply adopt certain "appearances" and therefore do not taste the sweetness, nor get the feeling in the heart that they should.

Ultimately, they give up in despair. It is because nar fire consists of two elements: Now, He took away the noor. Consider, if He took away the noor , He took away all" condensed. Another tafsir of the words: They press their fingers in their ears against the thunderclaps, in terror of death. But Allah has encompassed the unbelievers. Verses 17 and 18 describe one kind of hypocrites: Verses 19 and 20 describe the other kind that has not been able to make up its mind. This kind is neither here nor there, neither believers nor unbelievers. One of them were rejecters of faith outright and only managed to disguise their views and beliefs.

The parable in the vv. The other class was not so definite in its rejection of the faith. They wavered, swinging to and fro, like modern 'skeptics. The "darkness" zulumat refers to the doubts, denial and sickness of the heart. Therefore, when they heard of the threats they tried to ignore them and pretend that they had not heard: But since the fear did not rest on a powerful belief , they tried to brush it away from their minds but could not. Some other commentators believe however that it is " iman" and Islam that have been alluded to by the words " violent outburst. Whenever it lights up their surrounding they advance therein, but when it throws darkness over them, they halt.

After quoting several authorities, what Ibn Jarir has to say can be summarized in the following manner: It bedazzles them whenever it burst forth, a situation that has been described in the words: Those victories resulted in the spoils of war pouring in. That vastly increased the prosperity of the Muslims. Peace and security also followed. When those things happened, the hypocrites began to walk in their light. Those events as if 'lit up their surroundings. But, when 'it throws darkness upon them,' that is, when the events were not so bright and encouraging, or, when they found that their allegiance to Islam was not paying them, or a personal misfortune struck them, then their doubts resurfaced, and they fell back on their disbelief which they had carried with them all along.

This attitude of belief and obedience to the demands of Islam, when it met with victories, and of doubts, disbelief and abandoning of its ordinances, when it did not, has been described by the Qur'an elsewhere in the following words If good befalls him, he is at rest in it, but if a trial befalls him, he turns completely over. Whenever their faith gets activated, they feel themselves well disposed to Islam and begin to follow its dictates in earnest.

But when doubts attack them, their hearts get darkened, leaving them stagnated in bewilderment. There will be some who will receive light which will reach the distance of a mile for him, or less, or more. There will be others whose light will alternatively go on and off. There will be some others on the Bridge sirat who will move in kind of fits and starts because of their poor light ; while there will be some whose light will be completely off. These will be the pure hypocrites who had not a grain of faith in their hearts. It is about them that Allah Most High said at another place It will be said , 'Glad tidings for you today!

And left them in total blindness. But He is giving them respite in order that they may correct themselves. But Qadir has an intensive signification, and 'signifies he who does what he wills, according to what wisdom requires, not more nor less; and therefore this epithet is applied to none but God' Lane's Lexicon.

The components of this Message are a belief in the unity of God, and a belief in the messengership of Muhammad on him be peace! And these two grand and central truths are now formally presented in this verse and the three succeeding verses. To believe in Him and His unity the Holy Qur'an commands us as well as persuades us. In this verse are elements both of command and persuasion happily blended" Majid. That is, He created you " out of nothing, and not simply evolved you out of something pre existing. Nor has man, as claimed by pantheists, emanated from God.

The very idea of man bowing before an 'earth god' is monstrous" Majid. Firaash is a resting place Qatadah: Whatever its exact form and figure, this description of the earth, that it is for all living creatures a huge something to walk upon, to stand upon, to sit upon, or to lie upon, is an ideal one, which we all can admire, but none can improve. All that the Qur'an is saying is that Allah has made it a place on which man can rest.

What better way can there be of describing the atmosphere that envelops the earth, shielding it from the bombardment of hundreds and thousands of small and big meteorites, which burn at impact, than to say it is a canopy? Without this roof over our heads, the millions of tons of space debris would have made life impossible on earth.

Further, with its ozone layer, this protective roof prevents the entry of ultraviolet rays, which, if they were to penetrate in unrestricted quantities, would destroy all life on earth Au. By this second heaven in this verse the allusion is to the clouds Ibn Kathir. The heaven has been called heaven because of it being high and lofty. In Arabic, everything that is high and lofty is called samaa'. Hence, the roof of a building is its heaven. Ibn Kathir quotes another verse from the Qur'an Majid was not unaware of course, that the Qur'an has thrown hints at many scientific truths that were to come to light centuries later.

He could not have been unaware also, that although the Qur'an was revealed at a time when man was still groping in the dark, it does not contain a single idea that is contradictory to a proven scientific fact. See his preface to the Urdu version. What he meant by the above is that the Qur'an is not a book of science per se Au. That is, do not suggest and accept equals, rivals or compeers from among the creations of Allah in whose obedience you disobey your Lord: Do not say things such as, for example: Allah's Compeers Asad remarks: Now either you do it yourself, or I will present them to the people.

I am afraid that if you did it, I will be punished or the earth will swallow me. When the house was full, he rose up to the pulpit and addressed them. He first thanked and glorified Allah. The first of them is that you should worship Allah alone, associating none with Him. The example of a man who associated with God is like someone who purchased a slave with his money in gold or silver. But the slave began to work and deposit his earnings with someone else.

Which of you will be pleased with a slave of this sort? Allah has created you, and nourishes you, therefore, serve Him, associating none with Him. Second , He orders you to be attentive in Prayers, for Allah pays attention to a man in his Prayers so long as the man does not divert his attention from Allah.

Therefore, do not divert your attention from Allah during your Prayers. Third , He orders you to fast, for he who fasts is like a man who carries a bag full of musk to a people. Everyone is refreshed by the fragrance that spreads. Indeed, the smell of the fasting man's mouth is better with Allah than the fragrance of musk. Fourth , He orders you to give in charity. The example of a man who gives in charity is like him who has been captured by a people. They handcuff him and are ready to behead him when the man cries out, 'Will you release me if I ransom myself?

And fifth , He orders you to remember Him often; for he who remembers Allah often is like a man who was being given a hot chase by his enemy. To his good luck he found a fort and took refuge in it. A man is the safest against Satan, when he is in the remembrance of Allah. Whoever invited the people to any of the pre Islamic practices will be a carcass in Hell fire. Therefore, call the believers by the name Allah has chosen for them al Muslimun or believers servants of Allah.

Qurtubi adds that with this verse Allah has liberated man from all other creations. Hence the Prophet's words as in Bukhari:. The connection between this verse and the previous two verses is that when Allah gave proof of His own existence and His Oneness, He followed it up with the proof of the prophethood of His Messenger, Muhammad, saws Qurtubi. By "it" the allusion is to the Qur'an Tabari, on the authority of Qatadah and Mujahid. Allah has addressed the unbelievers and hypocrites of the Arabs as well as the disbelieving people of the Book both the Jews and Christians and said that if you are in doubt about what I have revealed unto Muhammad saws of the Light and the Proofs and the Holy Writ, then bring a sound proof to argue, for, you know that each Prophet brings from his Lord, a proof, a miracle, that is special to him and which no one else shares with him.

This Prophet has brought the Qur'an as a proof of his messengership. Now, if you contest his being a Prophet, then the simplest thing to do is for you to bring a piece of writing equal in beauty, truth, and sublimity to what he has brought. It should not be difficult for you, since you are a people who speak the Arabic language, and are masters of the science of eloquence. If the Book is not from Allah, and if Muhammad is its author, then surely you can also produce what he has produced. Ibn Kathir quotes several verses of the Qur'an which threw the same challenge at the unbelievers at different times, in different words and at different places Makkah and Madinah.

The challenge was repeated during the Madinan period also, as in this surah al Baqarah. In other words, the Qur'an repeatedly challenged all those who disbelieved in it as the Word of Allah: But, despite their mastery over the language, of a kind that has not been surpassed since then , and despite their deep rooted hatred of Islam and its Prophet, they failed to produce its equal. Therefore, Allah threatened them in words: Ibn Kathir then proceeds to show why it is impossible for anyone to produce the like of the Qur'an.

Imam Razi presents some very interesting points. You should know that the Qur'an consists of many of those elements that adversely affect the eloquence of a piece of writing. Yet it reaches the highest level of eloquence that beyond which there is no eloquence. This makes it a miracle. Let us consider some. First, the eloquence of the great masters of the past is mostly in the portrayal of physical objects, such as, the description of a camel, a horse, a maid, a king, the powerful strike of a sword , the throw of a spear or arrow , a battle, or a fierce attack, and so on.

But the Qur'an has none of these portrayals and therefore it had to go without those words of eloquence that are related to them and have been accepted by the masters as the standard words and phrases of eloquence. Take for example the poetry of Hassan b. Thabit, and Labid b. Compare their poetry of the period when they had not yet entered the fold of Islam with that of the time when they were Muslims. You will find that the poetry of the latter period is inferior to that of the former.

That is because in the latter period they had abandoned fiction and restricted themselves to truth. Third, the eloquence of a poet is normally restricted to a verse or two of the entire poem. That is its best part. The rest is very ordinary. In comparison, the Qur'an is at all times and in every verse at the height of eloquence. Fourth, the eloquence of a man of letters expresses itself most forcefully on a subject only once.

It is not of the same order when he takes up the same topic again. But the Qur'an repeatedly speaks on the same topics. However, each time it displays a different level and order of eloquence. Fifth, the Qur'anic topics are unusual ones that do not provoke much interest, such as, Prayers, forbidding of the indecent things, bidding unto good, abstinence, remembrance of the life after death and so on. These, as we all know, are not topics that are well suited for eloquence. Sixth, it is said that Imra'ul Qays is at his best in describing music, women and horses.

Naabigha is at his best in lines expressing fear. Zuhayr excels in expressing hopes and yearnings. In short, each poet has his field of specialty in which he is the most eloquent. But he is the most ordinary when he takes up a subject other than his specialty. In contrast, whatever subject the Qur'an takes up, it displays rhetoric and eloquence of the unmatchable sort. Quotation from Razi ends here. Although verse 22 has been brought to prove the miraculous nature of the Qur'an, it also serves as an evidence of the Prophet's messengership.

This is the popular interpretation. However some say that the allusion is to the idols, as Allah said elsewhere The Fire has been prepared for the unbelievers: And on their eyes is a covering. But, what have stones to do with those who failed to answer the challenge of the Qur'an, yet refused to heed its call? These people are themselves stones This banding together then, of stones and a people of this nature , is a thing anticipated!

To inflame them would require higher temperature Au. That is, essentially it has been prepared for the unbelievers. This does not mean that the sinners from among the believers will not pass through this purgatory before their entry into Paradise. Qurtubi states that the wordings suggest that Hell has already been created. Once they were with the Prophet saws when they heard a thud. We replied, "Allah and His Prophet know best.

It had been falling until it reached the bottom now. This is the style of the Qur'an. It mentions a thing and follows it up with its opposite. It mentions another thing and then its like. It states the end of the virtuous ones and then that of the evil ones. It speaks of faith and follows it up with the subject of disbelief.

It refers to the consequence of a certain kind of attitude and then immediately describes the consequence of the other kind of attitude, and so on. That is, underneath its palaces and trees Ibn Kathir. The words of the original also imply that Paradise has been created Qurtubi. Linguistically, jannah signifies a lush green garden Au.

A tradition of the Prophet saws tells us that these rivers will flow on plain surfaces i. The river beds will be made up of musk, their pebbles of jewels and other rich stones and their banks lined up with dome shaped structures carved out of pearls. A hadith also reports that these rivers will spring forth from mountains of musk Ibn Kathir. But, in actual fact, they would be similar only in their shape and color.

Their tastes would be different. Some other early exegetes have expressed the view that the fruits served would look similar to those they would have earlier had in Paradise itself Ibn Jarir. Yet another meaning forwarded is that all the fruits of a lot that they would be served with, would be of the same quality, as against what is experienced in this world, where, the fruits of a basket or a lot are not of the same size, color, taste, and quality Ibn Jarir.

The exact manner in which their transformation into apes took place is disputed. Some scholars are of the opinion that the transformation was a physical one, while others hold that they were invested with the attributes characteristic of apes. But both the words and the manner in which this incident is recounted in the Qur'an seem to suggest that what took place was a physical transformation of certain persons into apes rather than just a moral metamorphosis.

What seems plausible to me is that while their minds were allowed to remain intact, their bodies were changed into those of apes. Through contact with neighbouring peoples, the Israelites had become infested with the attitude of sanctifying the cow, in fact they had even become accustomed to cow-worship. In order to disabuse the Jews of this, they were ordered to slaughter the cow. Their professed belief that God alone was worthy of worship could be tested only by making them slaughter with their own hands what they had formerly worshipped.

This test was indeed a hard one since their hearts were not fully imbued with faith. Hence, they tried to shelve the issue by resorting to enquiries about the kind of animal they were required to slaughter. But the more they enquired, the narrower the strait became for them, until the indications were as obvious as if someone had put his finger precisely on the particular animal they were required to slaughter - the animal which had for so long been an object of their worship. It has been called Allah's "covenant" in verse It is meant to warn man not to invent a way of life for himself but to follow the Guidance of his Lord, for he is His servant as well as vicegerent.

And there are only two means of knowing this: There is no third way of knowing Allah's Will. Therefore, every other way than these two is not only wrong but also rebellion which will lead ultimately to Hell. The story of the creation of man and the advent of mankind has been described in six other places in the Qur' an: It will be useful to read the same story in the Old Testament Genesis, Chapters 1 to 3.

The comparison of the Qur' anic version with the Biblical one, will conclusively show that the Qur' an has remained intact in its pure, original and unadulterated form just as it was revealed by Allah, while the Bible has been tampered with. It will also be interesting to contrast the conversation between Allah and the angels as has been given here in the Qur'an with that cited in the Talmud.

The latter is not only void of spiritual values but is also ridiculous. According to it when the angels asked Allah why He was going to create Man, He answered that He was doing that so that good people should be born on the Earth. He did not mention the birth of bad people lest the angels should withhold their permission for the creation of Man. This was the title that Allah had bestowed upon Jacob, who was a son of Isaac, and a grandson of Abraham Allah's peace be upon them all. His descendents are called children of Israel. Up to verse 39, it was an introductory discourse meant for all mankind.

From verse 40 to verse is a new discourse in which the children of Israel have been especially and particularly addressed. In some places it has also been directed towards the Christians and the mushriks of Arabia and in between towards the people who believed in the Prophet Muhammad upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings.

The Virtues Of Heifer Verses. Surah Al-Baqarah sentence 174 - 184

In order to understand the full significance of this address, the following should be kept in view. First, it aims to appeal to those few followers of the former Prophets, who were still capable of reforming themselves to believe in the Truth which the Holy Prophet upon whom be peace had brought and to cooperate with the mission which he had been appointed to perform. They are, therefore, told that the message of the Qur'an is the same as of the Scriptures of the former Prophets, and the mission of the Holy Prophet also was the same as theirs.

It means to say: But, not to speak of carrying out the mission, you discarded the Guidance and went on degenerating. The past history of your community and its present moral and religious degeneration are a standing witness against you. Now Allah has sent another Servant of His with the same Message and mission and there is nothing new or strange in this for you. You should not, therefore, oppose the Truth knowingly. The best thing for you is to accept it and cooperate with those who are doing the same work that was once entrusted to you. Therefore, it proves conclusively that their attitude towards Islam was absolutely wrong; for they were opposing it, whereas they knew that its fundamentals were exactly the same as of their religion and that there was nothing in the teachings of the Qur'an that was different from or opposed to the teachings of the Torah in principle.

It also shows that they had utterly failed to follow the Guidance which was given to them and fulfil the obligations of the leadership entrusted to them. As a proof thereof, such incidents have been cited as they could not deny. Moreover, this address unravelled the plots they were hatching, the doubts they were arousing, the crooked arguments they were advancing and the evil machinations they were contriving to defeat the mission of the Holy Prophet Muhammad upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings , though they knew it to be from Allah. This also exposed their "piety", for it lacked sincerity and righteousness and was motivated by obduracy, prejudice and self-worship.

It also proved beyond any shadow of doubt that they did not really want virtue to thrive. This produced the desired effect: Besides, when they themselves were once exposed, they were so dismayed that they dared not oppose Islam openly with the courage of conviction.

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Thirdly, in the preceding verses, mankind had been invited to accept the Guidance of Allah. Now the example of the Israelites is being cited to show the consequences of discarding that Guidance. The reason why the Israelites have been held out as an example is that they are the only community whose history during the last four thousand years has been a living object lesson for all the nations of the world. In its history one can see all the ups and downs which result from following the Divine Guidance or from discarding it. Fourthly, though the appeal is addressed to the Jews, it is also meant to forewarn the Muslims against the pitfalls of degeneration into which the followers of the former Prophets had fallen.

That is why, on the one hand, the moral weaknesses of the Jews, their wrong notions about religion, their wrong ways of thinking and living, have been pointed out, one by one, while, on the other, the demands of the true faith have been stated so that the Muslims are able to see the Right Way clearly and avoid wrong. The Holy Prophet knew by Divine inspiration that, by and by, the Muslims also would follow the same ways that had been pointed out in this discourse. Therefore, according to a Tradition, he forewarned that they would discard the Guidance and follow, step by step, the communities of the former Prophets, that is, the Jews and the Christians, in their wrong ways.

It is a pity that they have not paid any heed to this warning and adopted the same ways of degeneration. As a matter of fact, even the whole wealth of the world put together is worthless, if it is gained in exchange for Allah's Guidance. As against them, education was common among the Jews, who had among them great scholars renowned even beyond Arabia. That is why the Arabs were overawed by the scholarship of the Jews, more so because their scholars and rabbis made a great show of their learning and piety and reinforced it with the practice of charms and amulets.

The people of Madinah in particular were overawed by the learning of the Jews, for they were surrounded by big Jewish tribes and came in contact with them day and night. As a result, they were immensely influenced by them just as illiterate people usually are influenced by the neighbours who are more educated, more civilized and more religious in character. Such were the conditions when the Holy Prophet upon whom be peace presented himself as a Prophet and began to invite the people to Islam; naturally the illiterate Arabs turned to the Jews for guidance in this matter, and said: But their scholars never gave them the right answer.

For they could not say that the doctrine of Tauhid that Muhammad upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings was preaching was wrong, nor that the knowledge which he imparted about the Prophets, scriptures, angels, and the Hereafter was wrong, nor that there was something wrong about the moral principles that he taught. They were neither ready to admit in plain words the righteousness of the teachings of the Holy Prophet; nor had they the courage to refute it openly; nor were they willing to profess the Truth candidly.

Instead, they devised a subtle strategy to oppose it: That is why they have been warned not to conceal the truth by covering it with falsehood, nor suppress it by spreading suspicions and by raising silly objections, nor mix it up with falsehood. Like all other Prophets, the Israelite Prophets also had strictly enjoined these, but by and by the Jews became wholly neglectful of them.

They gave up the performance of Salat in congregation and the majority of the people did not even offer it individually.

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Instead of paying Zakat, they started charging interest on money. The Qur'an uses this word to express that fortitude, that moral strength, that firmness of purpose and decision, that determination, moral discipline and self-control which enable a person to proceed with patience and courage in the face of afflictions, privations and temptations on the way he chooses in accordance with the dictates of his conscience. What the Qur'an means to stress is that the Muslims should develop this moral quality in themselves and should observe the Salat regularly to reinforce it from without.

But it is a joyful duty for the one who is willingly and happily obedient to Allah and who believes that one day he will have therein. They were under the delusion that they would win salvation just because they were the descendants of great Prophets and had relations with great saints and pious and righteous people. That is why they neglected we religion and involved themselves in sin. Here they are being disillusioned and warned that they will not escape the consequences of their evil deeds by virtue of their relation with some holy person or his intercession in their behalf.

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That is why immediately after reminding them of the favour v. Therefore, only brief references have been made to these historical events to show that they had remained ungrateful and had persisted in evil deeds in spite of the continuous favours showered upon them by Allah. They were made to pass through the fire of the test to see whether they were pure gold or a base metal. Moreover, they were put to the test to see whether they would be grateful to Allah after their miraculous escape.

For details, please see Exodus, chaps. It should, however, be noted that the Tur, referred to here, is not the modern port of Tur on the eastern shore of the Gulf of Suez. When the Israelites degenerated and became slaves of the Copts after the death of the Prophet Joseph, they learnt this evil practice too from their rulers along with other evils. The incident of the calf-worship is given in detail in Exodus, Here it stands for the knowledge and understanding of religion which enables a person to discern between right and wrong, truth and falsehood.

Then Allah bestowed upon him the Book and Criterion and gave him the stone tablets with Instructions and Commandments inscribed on them for the guidance of the people, and he presented these to the chiefs. The Qur'an says that at that time some wicked people from among them began to say: But the Bible says, "And they saw the God of Israel: And upon the nobles of the children of Israel he laid not his hand: Strange though it may appear, the same Bible also tells us that Moses said," "I beseech thee, skew me thy glory.

And He said, "Thou canst not see my face, for there shall no man see me, and live. Had Allah not kept the sky cloudy for a long time, they would have perished by the scorching heat of the desert sun. Manna fell on the ground like dew-drops and salva flew in thousands like quails. There was such a plenty of these provisions that a whole nation lived on them for forty years and was never confronted with starvation or famine.

In modern times even a well developed and resourceful country fords it extremely difficult to make adequate food arrangements for a few hundred thousand emigrants if they happen to enter it suddenly and unexpectedly. For details refer to Exodus, 16; Numbers, As this incident took place when the Israelites were still wandering in the Sinai Peninsula, most probably it was situated somewhere there. But it is also possible that it might have been Shittim which was situated on the eastern bank of the Jordan, opposite to Jericho.

According to the Bible, the Israelites conquered this city during the last years of Moses and committed debaucheries. Consequently, Allah inflicted a terrible punishment on them in the form of an epidemic which killed twenty-four thousand of them. Twelve springs were caused to flow for the Israelites in order to avoid water disputes among their twelve clans.

We cite here a few from the Bible: As the two were often at war with each other, the things came to such a pass that the kingdom of Judah asked for help from the Aramaic kingdom of Damascus against their own brethren. At this the Prophet Hanani by God's command severely rebuked Asa king of Judah for relying on the king of Syria instead of relying on "the Eternal your God.

King Ahab of Samaria threatened to kill him because his idolatrous wife incited him against the Prophet Elijah. In terror he ran for his life to the mountains in the Sinai Peninsula. During the period of affliction, he said, "I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: And they conspired against him, and stoned him at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the Lord. He lamented and cried, "Mend your ways otherwise you will meet with a far worse doom than Samaria.

They accused him of treachery against the nation and shouted, "You are deserting to the Chaldeans. Then they put him into an underground cistern, lowering him down with ropes so that he should sink in the mud and die on the spot from starvation. For details please refer to Jeremiah, I5: Then at the request of Herodias, his wife, who had a grudge against him, he sent one of the guards to bring his head. The man went and beheaded him in the prison and brought, his head on a dish to be presented to her.

Thus, the Prophet of God was killed without any cause. For this"crime" of his, they plotted against him: After binding him, they led him off, and handed him over to Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor. They tried to procure false evidence against him in order to have him put to death. They had become so hardhearted that they asked Pilate to release Barabbas, a murderer, as a boon at the festival but to "crucify him". In this verse, the Qur'an briefly refers to this most shameful chapter of the history of the Israelites and declares that they fully deserved the curses and condemnation of Allah.

They chose their worst offenders against law and morality and made them their chiefs and leaders, and sent their most pious and righteous men to the gaol or the gallows. These things have been described in their proper places. Here, the object is to refute the self-delusion of the Jews that salvation was their sole monopoly. They were suffering from the delusion that they had some special relationship with God; therefore whoever belonged to their race, would go straight to Heaven, irrespective of his creed and deeds, and all other people were born to become fuel of Hell.

To remove this misunderstanding of theirs Allah declares that salvation does not depend upon one's connection with any group but on one's right beliefs and good deeds. Whoever goes before Allah with these provisions will find his reward with Him, for Allah's judgement will be based on one's real worth and not on the census registers.

One may, however, understand that at the time of making the covenant at the foot of the mountain a dreadful situation was created and it so appeared that the mountain was going to fall upon them. And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: The Israelites were enjoined to keep the Sabbath as "a sign between me and you throughout your generations" for a perpetual covenant. There is a difference of opinion as to what actually happened.

Some are of the opinion that they were physically transformed into apes, while others hold the view that from that time onward they began to behave like apes. The words of the Qur'an, however, indicate that it was not a moral but a physical metamorphosis. In my opinion their bodies were transformed into those of apes, but their human minds were left intact in order to subject them to extreme torture.

It was a test of their faith: But this proved to be a very hard test. They tried to evade and avoid the sacrifice because their belief in One God had not become firm as yet. They went on asking one detail after the other in order to put it off, but the more questions they asked the more they were driven into a tight corner. So much so that at last they were specifically told to sacrifice that very golden-coloured cow, which was being specially chosen for worship at that time. The Bible also mentions this incident, but does not tell how the Israelites tried to put it off by asking a number of unnecessary questions.

Please refer to Numbers, However, there is some ambiguity concerning the method applied for discovering the murderer, that is, the striking of the dead body of the murdered man with a piece of "the sacrificed cow". A method similar to this described in Deut. In this way, a Sign of Allah was shown and at the same time it was demonstrated that the object of their worship was so powerless that its slaughter did not cause any harm.

On the contrary, its slaughter proved useful. They had become interested in the Holy Prophet because they had often heard from the neighbouring Jews about Prophethood, Revelation, Angels, Divine Law, etc. They had also heard from them that they were expecting a new Prophet whose followers would prevail over the whole world. That is why the people of Madinah turned to the Holy Prophet when they heard of him and entered into the fold of Islam in large numbers.

Naturally, they expected that the Jews, who possessed revealed Scriptures and who themselves had foretold the coming of a Prophet, would be the first to welcome Muhammad Allah's peace be upon him as a Prophet and would be in the forefront of his supporters. When, contrary to their expectations, the Jews did not come forward, the new Muslims themselves went to them and invited them to accept Islam, but they failed to persuade them.

The hypocrites and the opponents of Islam used this rejection as an argument against Islam itself. They argued like this: In order to counteract the mischief caused by this fallacy, the past history of the Jews has been related to show that nothing better could be expected of them. This also cautioned the simple Muslims against cherishing any hope that the Jews of their city would in a body welcome Muhammad Allah's peace be upon him as the Prophet about whom prophecies has been made in their own Books. They have been warned that they should not entertain such expectations from the people whose history has been so and so.

This was necessary because they were liable to become disheartened because of the rejection of Islam by them. As to the Jews, they had become so degenerate and hard-hearted that they were not moved even by those verses which melted the hearts of the pagans who formerly used to kill their own daughters. Not only this, these hard-hearted Jews made fun of those very verses also. Therefore, the zealous Muslims were warned that they should understand the real condition of the Jews, who had corrupted the Truth to suit their own desires and then had the audacity to have their hopes centred on the religion which they had themselves perverted.

The Jewish scholars not only twisted, distorted and misinterpreted the revealed scriptures, and read into them the meaning they wanted to read, but they also tampered with the actual words of the text. They also warned each other not to inform the Muslims about those verses and teachings of their holy books which, they feared, would expose to objection their own present condition and attitude for they were afraid that the Muslims would present these as arguments against them on the Day of Judgement. This is an instance of the kind of belief they held about Allah's knowledge. They were under the delusion that if they succeeded in hiding the Truth and their corruption of the Scriptures in this world, there would be no possibility of bringing a case against them in the Next World.

That is why in the parenthetical clause that follows they have been asked whether they really believed Allah to be unaware of the affairs of the people. They had neither any knowledge of the fundamentals of religion, nor of the regulations concerning morality and rules of everyday life, nor of the principles leading to ultimate success or failure.

And the pity is that they had formed their own notions about religion without this knowledge and were living on false hopes. They not only perverted their Scriptures to suit their desires and vanities, but also blended with the Text of the Bible their own interpretations, their national history, their superstitions, their self-made theories, philosophies and laws. Then they presented all this mixture before the people as if it were actually from God. Every historical fiction, every interpretation, every man-made creed, and every bye law that had somehow entered into the Holy Book, became the "Word of God," and it was absolutely obligatory for every Jew to believe in all these things and, if one did not, he was declared to be a renegade or a heretic.

They thought that even if any punishment was imposed on them, it would be for a few days only after which they would be sent to Paradise. Before the migration of the Holy Prophet, they had entered into alliances with the neighbouring Arab clans, Aus and Khazraj. When one Arab clan went to war with the other clan, their respective Jewish allies also went to war against each other. Thus Jews waged war upon Jews, whereas this was clearly against the teachings of their Scriptures which they knowingly violated.

But when the Jews of one clan fell into the hands of the other clan as prisoners of war, they would redeem them after taking ransom for them. When they were questioned about this inhuman trade of their own brethren, they tried to justify it, saying that it was allowed by the Scriptures. It is strange that they forgot the same Scriptures which they brazenfacedly violated by going to war against each other. Thus on the one hand, they accepted that part of the Scriptures which allowed ransom for prisoners and , on the other hand, rejected that part which prohibited war against their own brethren in faith.

They regard such an obstinate attitude as a sign of their firm Faith and, therefore, a virtue. In tact, there can be no greater vice than to stick to one's own traditional creeds and beliefs even though there are strong arguments against them. They used to pray: The people of Madinah themselves bore witness that the Jews lived in this expectation. It had become a bye-word with them to proclaim: When that Prophet comes, we will settle accounts with them. So they said to one another, "Let us go and accept him lest the Jews should forestall us.

As to the fact that "they did recognize the Holy Prophet," many proofs were furnished at that very time. The most authentic evidence is that of Hadrat Safiyyah one of the wives of the Holy Prophet , who was the daughter of one learned Jew and the niece of another. She says, "When the Holy Prophet migrated to Madinah, my father and uncle went to see him. When they returned home, I myself heard the following conversation between them: Is he really the same Prophet about whom there occur prophecies in our books?

By God, he is the same. U Are you quite sure of it? Then what is your intention? I will oppose him as long as I live and will not let his mission succeed. This meant that Allah ought to have consulted them before appointing His Messenger, and when Allah did not do so, and in His bounty appointed one He chose by Himself, they were offended. They, however, were and are so much given to this worldliness that they were terrified by the very thought of death and the Hereafter. It means that they wished to live without giving any consideration to the kind of life they led. It did not matter whether that was a life of honour and grace, or a life of dishonour and disgrace.

He is not an angel of blessings but of affliction. In this part of the verse, they have been admonished to consider the matter from another point of view. As the Qur'an shows the way to right guidance and brings good tidings to the believers, it is sheer folly to oppose it and reject it. Thus ney harm none but themselves by depriving themselves of the true success which follows its acceptance. Here it refers to both. When the Jews fell to the lowest depths of degeneration, morally and materially, and lost all the noble qualities because of their captivity, ignorance, poverty, homeless wanderings, etc.

Then the devils began to beguile them by ascribing the origin of the occult sciences to Solomon and proclaimed that Solomon owed his wonderful kingdom and his extraordinary powers to the occult sciences which they were teaching the people. Jews at once succumbed and welcomed these as a great boon: Consequently they lost all their interest in the Scriptures and would not listen to those who invited them to Allah's Guidance. Here the Quran refutes not only the false accusation of sorcery against Solomon, but also the other charges levelled against him in the Bible I Kings, Chapter According to it "Solomon was a lover of women and his wives seduced him to follow foreign gods, and he did what was evil in the eyes of the Eternal and put up shrines and idols of their gods.

It appears that when the Istraelites were captives in Babylon, Allah sent two angels in human guise to test them. Just as the angels were sent to the people of the Prophet Lot as handsome boys, so they were sent to the Israelites as saints and religious guides.

For this purpose, they might have set up an institution to teach magic and might also be warning everyone who came to learn these things, saying: You should not, therefore, ruin your Hereafter by seeking this "science". But in spite of this warning, the people came to them in large numbers for talismans, charms and amulets. There is nothing strange in the coming of angels in human guise. Being agents of Divine Kingdom they are endowed with extraordinary powers to perform their respective duties.

As to the question why they taught magic to the people, we can understand this by an illustration. It is like the case of the police who sometimes arrange to hand over signed currency notes to corrupt officials as bribes in order to catch them red-handed. Just as there is nothing wrong in this, so there is nothing wrong in what the angels did for the trial of the degenerate Jews. This shows how depraved they had become. Their greatest enjoyment was to make love with other people's wives and to separate them from their husbands.

This was the worst form of depravity because it struck at the root of family life which is the very foundation of society. If the relations between husband and wife are sound. But if they are bad, the whole society will become rotten. Thus they were the worst offenders because they cut at the root of those relations on which depended their own solidarity and that of their society. A Tradition of the Holy Prophet says that Satan sends his agents to the tour corners of the world.

When they come back to him to report, they relate the deeds they have performed. One says that he has created such and such dispute and the other that he has spread chaos and so on, but Satan goes on commenting, "You have done nothing. Besides this, doubts and suspicions which were being disseminated by them in the minds and hearts of the Muslims have been removed and those special problems which , came up for discussion between the Muslims and the Jews have been dealt with.

Here it should also be kept in view that when the Holy Prophet came to live at Madinah, and Islam began to spread in the country' around it, the Jews tried to involve the Muslims in various kinds of religious disputes and theological controversies. They also tried to affect the simple and sincere Muslims with the same disease from which they themselves were suffering, that is, the malady of hair-splitting and asking frivolous and irrelevant questions. For this purpose, they attended even the meetings of the Holy Prophet and resorted to cunning and subtle talk, which showed how depraved they had become.

They would use ambiguous words derisively or twist them into an insult by a slight mispronunciation. For instance, if they wanted to invite his attention to any particular thing they would say "Ra'i-na"which means "Just pay attention, please," but it has other meanings also. In Hebrew there was a word of similar sound which meant, "Listen, may you become deaf," and in Arabic itself it also meant, "a proud and ignorant person.

In order to guard against the use of such ambiguous words as sounded complimentary but might be abused by wicked people, the Believers were advised to say, "unzurna: The Qur'an says that the former Scriptures had been sent down by Allah and that it also has been sent down by Him. If it is so, why does the Qur'an then give such commands as differ from those contained in the former Books'? How can the same Allah give different commands at different times?

Besides, they said, "The Qur'an asserts that the Jews and the Christians have forgotten a part of the teachings sent down to them. How is it possible that the teachings of Allah could be obliterated from memory? Allah answers their objections thus: I can repeal any order of Mine or allow it to be forgotten, but I substitute for it something that serves the same purpose better or at least equally well. They put subtle and unnecessary questions to the Muslims and would incite them to inquire about the same from the Holy Prophet.

As they intended merely to create mischief, Allah warned the Muslims not to follow their example. The Holy Prophet also advised the Believers not to indulge in the pastime of making fine distinctions and asking unnecessary questions because such things had ruined the communities that went before them. They should do what they were asked to do and refrain from what they were prohibited. They should not waste their powers and energies in useless pursuits but attend to important matters. You should not lose your dignity and waste your precious time in such useless pursuits but should go on doing the right and wait patiently for Allah's judgement.

You should remember Allah and do good deeds because these are the things that will avail you before Allah and not those things and the like. This arrangement will prevent the wicked people from doing any mischief there for fear of retribution. It also implied that the disbelievers of Makkah had quite unjustly prevented their own brethren who had embraced Islam from entering the Ka'bah which they themselves called the "House of Allah". If a particular direction is fixed for worship, it does not mean that Allah resides in that direction only.

There is, therefore, no need to enter into disputes as to why a certain direction and place has been fixed instead of the other or why faces were at first turned towards a particular direction but now are being turned towards a different direction and a different place.

On the contrary, His Kingdom is boundless and so are His vision and generosity. He also knows which of His servants remembers Him and also where and when and with what intention. These are exactly the same as have always been put forward by those who go astray from the Right Way, as all the wicked people of all ages think alike and follow the same line of argument.

As to the other demand that Allah should show them a Sign, Allah answers that He has shown many clear Signs but those who are not inclined to believe cannot see them. They knew everything about his life before Prophethood; the conditions of his country and nation and the circumstances and environment under which he was brought up and how he spent the first forty years of his life before his appointment as a Prophet;.

On the contrary, they. Therefore leave them alone and do not try to reconcile them because it is not possible to please them unless you also adopt the same attitude towards religion as they have adopted. They would have been very happy with you, if you had acted hypocritically like them and made God-worship a cloak for self-worship.

It is impossible to please them unless you follow their bad example in your beliefs and practices. In order to understand it, the following should be kept in mind. He began his mission in his own country, 'Iraq, and invited the people to Islam submission to Allah. Then he visited Syria, Palestine, Egypt and Arabia with the same mission. Afterwards he appointed his deputies in different places. Then he was commanded by Allah to build at Makkah that house of worship which is called the Ka'bah and to make it the centre of his mission. The former were the descendants of Ishmael who settled in Arabia.

The Quraish and some other Arab clans were his direct descendants but even those Arab clans which were not his descendants claimed to he Isma 'ilites because they were more or less influenced by his mission. The latter, the Israelites, were the descendants of Jacob, son of Isaac. They were called Israelites after Israel, the second name of Jacob. Some other people who accepted their religion also merged into them.

All the Prophets of Israel, including Jesus, preached Islam, submission to Allah, but when the Israelites became degenerate and lost their religion Islam they invented Judaism and later Christianity. He himself surrendered and acted upon the knowledge he received from Allah and exerted his utmost to propagate that knowledge and to persuade all the people to submit to the Sovereign of the Universe. Therefore he was made the leader of the world.

Afterwards this leadership, with all its responsibilities, was transferred to the Israelites, the descendants of Isaac and Jacob. This was the special favour which the Israelites were asked, over and over again, to remember. Accordingly, during the time of Solomon, the Holy Temple at Jerusalem became the centre and the qiblah the place towards which face is to be turned for prayer of all the worshippers of Allah, as long as the Israelites remaind the leaders of this mission. Therefore the Qur'an points out their moral condition and tells them plainly, "You have proved yourselves quite unworthy of the favour shown to you.

You have not only neglected to perform the obligations of leadership but have also discarded the Guidance of Allah from your own lives. Now the things have come to such a pass that you havebecome a community utterly unfit for leadership. It was bestowed only upon those who submitted to Allah and followed His Guidance like Abraham. As they have swerved from that Way, and proved utterly unworthy of leadership, they are deposed from it. Similarly, the idolaters of Arabia, who were also proud of their relationship with Abraham and Ismail have been told that they too were utterly unworthy of leadership, for they, too, had swerved from the Way of Abraham and Ismail.

It is because he followed the same Way as was followed by Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and all the Prophets before him. He and his followers believed in all the Prophets sent by Allah, and invited the world to the same Way that was shown by the former Prophets.