|
Al-Baqarah (The Cow)
Name
Why the name Al-Baqarah? Al-Baqarah (the Cow) has been so named from the
story of the Cow occurring in this Surah (vv. 67-73). It has not, however,
been used as a title to indicate the subject of the Surah. It will, therefore,
be as wrong to translate the name Al-Baqarah into "The Cow" or "The Heifer"
as to translate any English name, say Baker, Rice, Wolf etc., into their
equivalents in other languages or vice versa, because this would imply
that the Surah dealt with the subject of "The Cow". Many more Surahs of
the Quran have been named in the same way because no comprehensive words
exist in Arabic (in spite of its richness) to denote the wide scope of
the subject discussed in them. As a matter of fact all human languages
suffer from the same limitation.
Sequence
Though it is a Madani Surah, it follows naturally a Makki Surah Al- Fatihah,
which ended with the prayer :"Show us the straight way". It begins with
the answer to that prayer, "This is the Book (that) . . . is guidance.
. ." The greater part of Al-Baqarah was revealed during the first two
years of the Holy Prophet's life at Al-Madinah. The smaller part which
was revealed at a later period has been included in this Surah because
its contents are closely related to those dealt with in this Surah. For
instance, the verses prohibiting interest were revealed during the last
period of the Holy prophet's life but have been inserted in this Surah.
For the same reason, the last verses (284-286) of this Surah which were
revealed at Makkah before the migration of the Holy Prophet to AI-Madinah
have also been included in it.
Historical Background
In order to understand the meaning of this Surah, we should know its historical
background:
- At Makkah the Quran generally addressed the mushrik Quraish who were
ignorant of Islam, but at Al- Madinah it was also concerned with the
Jews who were acquainted with the creed of the Unity of Allah, Prophethood,
Revelation, the Hereafter and angels. They also professed to believe
in the law which was revealed by Allah to their Prophet Moses (Allah's
peace be upon him), and in principle, their way was the same (Islam)
that was being taught by Prophet Muhammad (Allah's peace be upon him).
But they had strayed away from it during the centuries of degeneration
and had adopted many un- Islamic creeds, rites and customs of which
there was no mention and for which there was no sanction in the Torah.
Not only this : they had tampered with the Torah by inserting their
own explanations and interpretations into its text. They had distorted
even that part of the Word of God which had remained intact in their
Scriptures and taken out of it the real spirit of true religion and
were now clinging to a lifeless frame of rituals.
Consequently their beliefs, their morals and their conduct had gone
to the lowest depths of degeneration. The pity is that they were not
only satisfied with their condition but loved to cling to it. Besides
this, they had no intention or inclination to accept any kind of reform.
So they became bitter enemies of those who came to teach them the Right
Way and did their worst to defeat every such effort. Though they were
originally Muslims, they had swerved from the real Islam and made innovations
and alterations in it and had fallen victims to hair splitting and sectarianism.
They had forgotten and forsaken Allah and begun to serve mammon. So
much so that they had even given up their original name "Muslim" and
adopted the name "Jew" instead, and made religion the sole monopoly
of the children of Israel.
This was their religious condition when the Holy Prophet went to Al-Madinah
and invited the Jews to the true religion. That is why more than one
third of this Surah has been addressed to the children of Israel. A
critical review of their history, their moral degeneration and their
religious perversions has been made; side by side with this the high
standard of morality and the fundamental principles of the pure religion
have been put forward in order to bring out clearly the nature of the
degeneration of the community of a prophet when it goes astray and to
draw clear lines of demarcation between real piety and formalism, and
the essentials and non-essentials of the true religion.
- At Makkah Islam was mainly concerned with the propagation of its fundamental
principles and the moral training of its followers. But after the migration
of the Holy Prophet to Al-Madinah, where Muslims had come to settle
from all over Arabia and where a tiny Islamic State had been set up
with the help of the Ansar (local supporters), naturally the Quran had
to turn its attention to the social, cultural, economic, political and
legal problems as well. This accounts for the difference between the
themes of the surahs revealed at Makkah and those at Al- Madinah. Accordingly
about half of this Surah deals with those principles and regulations
which are essential for the integration and solidarity of a community
and for the solution of its problems.
- After the migration to Al-Madinah, the struggle between Islam and
un-Islam had also entered a new phase. Before this the Believers, who
propagated Islam among their own clans and tribes, had to face its opponents
at their own risk. But the conditions had changed at Al- Madinah, where
Muslims from all parts of Arabia had come and settled as one community,
and had established an independent city state. Here it became a struggle
for the' survival of the Community itself, for the whole of non- Muslim
Arabia was bent upon and united in crushing it totally. Hence the following
instructions, upon which depended not only its success but its very
survival, were revealed in this Surah :-
- The Community should work with the utmost zeal to propagate its
ideology and win over to its side the greatest possible number of
people.
- It should so expose its opponents as to leave no room for doubt
in the mind of any sensible person that they were adhering to an absolutely
wrong position.
- It should infuse in it's members (the majority of whom were homeless
and indigent and surrounded on all sides by enemies) that courage
and fortitude which is so indispensable to their very existence in
the adverse circumstances in which they were struggling and to prepare
them to face these boldly.
- It should also keep them ready and prepared to meet any armed menace,
which might come from any side to suppress and crush their ideology,
and to oppose it tooth and nail without minding the overwhelming numerical
strength and the material resources of its enemies 5. It should also
create in them that courage which is needed for the eradication of
evil ways and for the establishment of the Islamic Way instead.
That is why Allah has revealed in this Surah such instructions as may
help achieve all the above mentioned objects.
- During this period, a new type of "Muslims," munafiqin (hypocrites),
had begun to appear. Though signs of duplicity had been noticed during
the last days at Makkah, they took a different shape at Al-Madinah.
At Makkah there were some people who professed Islam to be true but
were not prepared to abide by the consequences of this profession and
to sacrifice their worldly interests and relations and bear the afflictions
which inevitably follow the acceptance of this creed. But at Al-Madinah
different kinds of munafiqin (hypocrites) began to appear. There were
some who had entered the Islamic fold merely to harm it from within.
There were others who were surrounded by Muslims and, therefore, had
become "Muslims" to safeguard their worldly interests. They, therefore,
continued to have relations with the enemies so that if the latter became
successful, their interests should remain secure. There were still others
who had no strong conviction of the truth of Islam but had embraced
it along with their clans. Lastly, there were those who were intellectually
convinced of the truth of Islam but did not have enough moral courage
to give up their former traditions, superstitions and personal ambitions
and live up to the Islamic moral standards and make sacrifice in its
way.
At the time of the revelation of Al-Baqarah, all sorts of hypocrites
had begun to appear. Allah has, therefore, briefly pointed out their
characteristics here. Afterwards when their evil characteristics and
mischievous deeds became manifest, Allah sent detailed instructions
about them.
Theme: Guidance
This Surah is an invitation to the Divine Guidance and all the stories,
incidents etc., revolve round this central theme. As this Surah has particularly
been addressed to the Jews, many historical events have been cited from
their own traditions to admonish and advise them that their own good lies
in accepting the Guidance revealed to the Holy Prophet. They should, therefore,
be the first to accept it because it was basically]y the same that was
revealed to Prophet Moses (Allah's peace be upon him).
Topics and their Interconnection
These introductory verses declare the Quran to be the Book of Guidance
: enunciate the articles of the Faith -- belief in Allah, Prophethood
and Life-after-death; divide mankind into three main groups with regard
to its acceptance or rejection -- Believers, disbelievers and hypocrites.
1 - 20
Allah invites mankind to accept the Guidance voluntarily and to submit
to Him, the Lord and the Creator of the Universe and to believe in the
Quran, His Guidance, and in the Life-after-death. 21 - 29
The story of the appointment of Adam as Allah's Vicegerent on Earth, of
his life in the Garden, of his falling a prey to the temptations of Satan,
of his repentance and its acceptance, has been related to show to mankind
(Adam's offspring), that the only right thing for them is to accept and
follow the Guidance. This story also shows that the Guidance of Islam
is the same that was given to Adam and that it is the original religion
of mankind. 30 - 39
In this portion invitation to the Guidance has particularly been extended
to the children of Israel and their past and present attitude has been
criticised to show that the cause of their degradation was their deviation
from the Guidance. 40 - 120
The Jews have been exhorted to follow Prophet Muhammad (Allah's peace
be upon him) who had come with the same Guidance and who was a descendant
and follower of Prophet Abraham whom they highly honoured as their ancestor,
and professed to follow as a prophet. The story of the building of the
Ka`abah by him has been mentioned because it was going to be made the
qiblah of the Muslim Community. 121 - 141
In this portion, the declaration of the change of qiblah from the Temple
(Jerusalem) to the Ka`abah (Makkah) has been made as a symbol of the change
of leadership from the children of Israel to the Muslim Community, which
has also been fore-warned to guard against those transgressions against
the Guidance that had led to the deposition of the Jews.
142 - 152
In this portion practical measures have been prescribed to enable the
Muslims to discharge the heavy responsibilities of the leadership that
had been entrusted to them for the promulgation of Guidance. Salat, Fast,
Zakat, Haj and Jihad have been prescribed for the moral training of the
Ummat. The Believers have been exhorted to obey authority, to be just,
to fulfill pledges, to observe treaties, to spend wealth etc., in the
way of Allah. Laws, rules and regulations have been laid down for their
organisation, cohesion and conduct of day-to-day life and for the solution
of social, economic, political and international problems; on the other
hand, drinking, gambling, lending money on interest etc., have been prohibited
to keep the Ummat safe from disintegration. In between these, the basic
articles of the Faith have been reiterated at suitable places, for these
alone can enable and support one to stick to the Guidance. 153 - 251
These verses serve as an introduction to the prohibition of lending money
on interest. The true conception of Allah, Revelation and Life-after-death
has been emphasised to keep alive the sense of accountability. The stories
of Prophet Abraham (Allah's peace be upon him) and of the one who woke
up after a sleep of hundred years have been related to show that Allah
is All-Powerful and is able to raise the dead and call them to account.
The Believers, therefore, should keep this fact in view and refrain from
taking interest on money. 252 - 260
The theme of 153 - 251 has been resumed and the Believers have
been exhorted to spend in the way of Allah in order to please Him alone.
In contrast to this, they have been warned against the evils of lending
money on interest. Instructions have also been given for the honest conduct
of day-to-day business transactions. 261 - 283
The basic articles of the Faith have been recapitulated here at the end
of the Surah, just as they were enunciated at its beginning. Then the
Surah ends with a prayer which the Muslim Community needed very much at
that time when they were encountering untold hardships in the propagation
of the Guidance. 284 - 286
|
