إِيَّاكَ نَعْبُدُ You alone do we worship… (Al-Fātihah 1:5) Our attention here is directed to the beginning of the verse where the object pronoun “You” is placed before the finite verb of “we worship.” The effect of placing the object pronoun in the initial position implies exclusivity: “O God, we wholeheartedly proclaim, acknowledge,...
ذٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ ف۪يهِ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّق۪ينَ “This is the Book: There is no doubt about it. A perfect guidance for the God-revering, pious, who keep their duty to God.”(Al-Baqarah 2:2) The Arabic word hudā, or “guidance,” in this verse is in the infinitive form. Since this kind of usage in Arabic expresses...
ف۪ي قُلُوبِهِمْ مَرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمُ اللّٰهُ مَرَضًا “In the very center of their hearts is a sickness, and God has increased them in sickness. For them is a painful punishment because they habitually lie.” (Al-Baqarah 2:10) Some interpreters of the Qur’ān interpret the expression, “God has in-creased them in sickness,” in...
مَثَلُهُمْ كَمَثَلِ الَّذِي اسْتَوْقَدَ نَارًاۚ فَلَمَّا أَضَۤاءَتْ مَا حَوْلَهُ ذَهَبَ اللّٰهُ بِنُورِهِمْ وَتَرَكَهُمْ ف۪ي ظُلُمَاتٍ لَا يُبْصِرُونَ “They are like him who (while traveling with company in the desert, halted for the night and) kindled a fire (for light and warmth and protection). However, when the...
They are utterly deaf, dumb, and blind; they can no longer recover.(Al-Baqarah 2:18) They are deaf, dumb and blind, and so they do not think and understand. (Al-Baqarah 2:171) One of the above verses refers to hypocrites, and the other describes the state of unbelievers. ▪According to these verses,...
وَبَشِّرِ الَّذ۪ينَ اٰمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْر۪ي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُۘ كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا مِنْهَا مِنْ ثَمَرَةٍ رِزْقًا قَالُوا هٰذَا الَّذ۪ي رُزِقْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَأُتُوا بِه۪ مُتَشَابِهًاۘ وَلَهُمْ ف۪يهَۤا أَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ وَهُمْ ف۪يهَا خَالِدُونَ Every time they are provided with fruits there from (from Paradise), they...
وَإِذْ قَالَ رَبُّكَ لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ إِنِّي جَاعِلٌ فِي الْأَرْضِ خَلِيفَةً ۖ قَالُوا أَتَجْعَلُ فِيهَا مَن يُفْسِدُ فِيهَا وَيَسْفِكُ الدِّمَاءَ (Remember) when your Lord said to the angels, I am setting on the earth a vicegerent, the angels asked, Will you set therein one who will cause disorder...
وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا God taught Adam the names, all of them. (Al-Baqarah 2:31) ▪He teaching of the names is not exclusive to Adam, peace be upon him, rather it includes all human beings. What was taught to Adam were seeds of the whole of knowledge or sciences,...
أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ Do you enjoin upon people godliness and virtue but forget your own selves, (even) while you recite the Book (Torah) (and see therein the orders, prohibitions, exhortations, and warnings)? Will you not understand and come...
وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ الَّذِينَ اعْتَدَوْا مِنكُمْ فِي السَّبْتِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ You surely know of those among you who exceeded the bounds with respect to the Sabbath, and so We said to them, ‘Be you apes, miserably slinking and rejected.’ (Al-Baqarah 2:65) ▪As Mujāhid, one of the...
وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ الَّذ۪ينَ اعْتَدَوْا مِنْكُمْ فِي السَّبْتِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئ۪ينَ And (remember) when Moses told his people: ‘God commands you to sacrifice a cow,’ they responded: ‘Are you making fun of us?’ (Al-Baqarah 2:67) At the outset, there are two main messages in this verse that...
فَقُلْنَا اضْرِبُوهُ بِبَعْضِهَا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُحْيِي اللَّهُ الْمَوْتَىٰ So We commanded: ‘Strike him (the corpse) with part of it (the sacrificed cow).’ (So they did and the corpse, brought to life, informed of the murderer.) Even so God brings to life the dead. (Al-Baqarah 2:73) A person had...
وَمِنْهُمْ أُمِّيُّونَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا أَمَانِيَّ وَإِنْ هُمْ إِلَّا يَظُنُّونَ Among them are the unlettered folk who do not know anything about the Book except fancies from hearsay, and they merely follow their conjectures. (Al-Baqarah 2:78) This verse describes those who set their hearts on fantasies and...
وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ And We granted Jesus son of Mary the clear proofs of the truth (and of His Messengership), and confirmed him with the Spirit of Holiness. (Al-Baqarah 2:87) A great number of verifying scholars opine that the Spirit of Holiness is...
فَبَاءُوا بِغَضَبٍ عَلَىٰ غَضَب So they (disobedient Jews) have earned wrath upon wrath. (Al-Baqarah 2:90) This verse reads that the Jews earned a second wrath of God as they missed the opportunity to be forgiven. The Arabic word “bā’a” meaning “earn” in this verse denotes both “deserving” and “constancy.” ▪It was not only their rejection...
وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّن مَّنَعَ مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ أَن يُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ Who is more in the wrong than he who bars God’s places of worship, so that His Name be not mentioned and invoked in them. (Al-Baqarah 2:114) Interpreting this verse only according to the reason it was revealed...
بَدِيعُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ The Originator of the heavens and the earth with nothing preceding Him to imitate. (Al-Baqarah 2:117) The verb Ba-Da-‘A in Arabic means creating something completely novel without imitating anything preceding it. The heavens and the earth are unique and incomparable in terms of their profundity and...
قَدْ نَرَىٰ تَقَلُّبَ وَجْهِكَ فِي السَّمَاءِ فَلَنُوَلِّيَنَّكَ قِبْلَةً تَرْضَاهَا Certainly We have seen you (O Messenger) often turning your face to heaven. We will surely turn you towards a direction with which you will be pleased. (Al-Baqarah 2:144) Thw most striking aspect of this verse is fact that...
َمِنْ حَيْثُ خَرَجْتَ فَوَلِّ وَجْهَكَ شَطْرَ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ ۚ وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ لِئَلَّا يَكُونَ لِلنَّاسِ عَلَيْكُمْ حُجَّةٌ إِلَّا الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا مِنْهُمْ فَلَا تَخْشَوْهُمْ وَاخْشَوْنِي وَلِأُتِمَّ نِعْمَتِي عَلَيْكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُون From wherever you go out (for journeying), turn your face (O Messenger) towards the...
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ O you who believe! Seek help (against all kinds of hardships and tribulations) through persevering patience and the Prayer; surely God is with the persevering and patient. (Al-Baqarah 2:153) Patience is one’s preserving his firm stance,...
وَمَن تَطَوَّعَ خَيْرًا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ شَاكِرٌ عَلِيمٌ And whoever does a good work voluntarily, surely God is All-Responsive to thankfulness, All-Knowing. (Al-Baqarah 2:158) مَّا يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ إِن شَكَرْتُمْ وَآمَنتُمْ ۚ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ شَاكِرًا عَلِيمًا What should God punish you if you are grateful (to Him) and believe (in...
وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَتَّخِذُ مِنْ دُونِ اللّٰهِ أَنْدَادًا يُحِبُّونَهُمْ كَحُبِّ اللّٰهِۘ وَالَّذ۪ينَ اٰمَنُۤوا أَشَدُّ حُبًّا لِلّٰهِ “Yet, there are among humankind those who take to themselves objects of worship as rivals to God, loving them with a love like that which is the due of God only—while...
يُر۪يدُ اللّٰهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُر۪يدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ “God wills ease for you, and He does not will hardship for you.” (Al-Baqarah 2:185) Basically, •There is no compulsion in the religion. •Things that are seemingly hard are actually a means of ease. •God always prefers ease for His servants in matters...
وَإِذَا سَأَلَكَ عِبَاد۪ي عَنّ۪ي فَإِنّ۪ي قَر۪يبٌۘ أُج۪يبُ دَعْوَةَ الدَّاعِ إِذَا دَعَانِۙ فَلْيَسْتَج۪يبُوا ل۪ي وَلْيُؤْمِنُوا ب۪ي لَعَلَّهُمْ يَرْشُدُونَ “And when (O Messenger) My servants ask you about Me, then surely I am near: I answer the prayer of the suppliant when he prays to Me. So let...
وَقَاتِلُوهُمْ حَتّٰى لَا تَكُونَ فِتْنَةٌ وَيَكُونَ الدّ۪ينُ لِلّٰهِ “(But if they persist in causing disorder, continue to) fight against them until there is no longer disorder (rooted in rebellion against God), and the religion (the right for worship and the authority to order the way of...
كَانَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً فَبَعَثَ اللّٰهُ النَّبِيّ۪نَ مُبَشِّر۪ينَ وَمُنْذِر۪ينَ “Humankind was (in the beginning) one community. (Later on differences arose and) God sent Prophets as bearers of glad tidings and warners.” (Al-Baqarah 2:213) Some interpreters of the Qur’ān claim that in the beginning all human beings were one...
وَقَالَ لَهُمْ نَبِيُّهُمْ إِنَّ اٰيَةَ مُلْكِه۪ۤ أَنْ يَأْتِيَكُمُ التَّابُوتُ ف۪يهِ سَك۪ينَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَبَقِيَّةٌ مِمَّا تَرَكَ اٰلُ مُوسٰى وَاٰلُ هَارُونَ تَحْمِلُهُ الْمَلٰۤئِكَةُۘ إِنَّ ف۪ي ذٰلِكَ لَاٰيَةً لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِن۪ينَ “Their Prophet (Samuel) added: The sign of his (Saul’s) kingdom is that the Ark will come...
وَقَالَ لَهُمْ نَبِيُّهُمْ إِنَّ اٰيَةَ مُلْكِه۪ۤ أَنْ يَأْتِيَكُمُ التَّابُوتُ ف۪يهِ سَك۪ينَةٌ مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَبَقِيَّةٌ مِمَّا تَرَكَ اٰلُ مُوسٰى وَاٰلُ هَارُونَ تَحْمِلُهُ الْمَلٰۤئِكَةُۘ إِنَّ ف۪ي ذٰلِكَ لَاٰيَةً لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُؤْمِن۪ينَ “Their Prophet (Samuel) added: The sign of his (Saul’s) kingdom is that the Ark will come...
وَلَوْلَا دَفْعُ اللّٰهِ النَّاسَ بَعْضَهُمْ بِبَعْضٍ لَفَسَدَتِ الْأَرْضُ وَلٰكِنَّ اللّٰهَ ذُو فَضْلٍ عَلَى الْعَالَم۪ينَ “Were it not that God repelled people, some by means of others, the earth would surely be corrupted; but God is gracious for all the worlds.”(Al-Baqarah 2:251) This verse calls to our attention...
اللَّهُ لَا إِلَـٰهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّوم God, there is no deity but He; the All-Living, the Self-Subsisting. (Al-Baqarah 2:255) Truly, God Almighty is the sole deity, and there is no true deity other than Him. There is not any other deity than God because the existence is only...
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْفُرُونَ بِآيَاتِ اللَّهِ وَيَقْتُلُونَ النَّبِيِّينَ بِغَيْرِ حَقٍّ وَيَقْتُلُونَ الَّذِينَ يَأْمُرُونَ بِالْقِسْطِ مِنَ النَّاسِ فَبَشِّرْهُم بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ Those who disbelieve in the Revelations and signs of God, and frequently kill the Prophets (sent to them) against all right, and who kill those who advocate and...
قَالَ رَبِّ أَنَّىٰ يَكُونُ لِي غُلَامٌ وَقَدْ بَلَغَنِيَ الْكِبَرُ وَامْرَأَتِي عَاقِرٌ ۖ قَالَ كَذَٰلِكَ اللَّهُ يَفْعَلُ مَا يَشَاءُ Lord, said he (Zachariah), How shall I have a son when old age has overtaken me, and my wife is barren? Just so, he (the angel) said, God...
قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ تَعَالَوْا إِلَىٰ كَلِمَةٍ سَوَاءٍ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَكُمْ أَلَّا نَعْبُدَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَلَا نُشْرِكَ بِهِ شَيْئًا وَلَا يَتَّخِذَ بَعْضُنَا بَعْضًا أَرْبَابًا مِّن دُونِ اللَّهِ “Say (to them, O Messenger): “O People of the Book, come to a word common between us and you, that...
كَيْفَ يَهْدِي اللَّهُ قَوْمًا كَفَرُوا بَعْدَ إِيمَانِهِمْ وَشَهِدُوا أَنَّ الرَّسُولَ حَقٌّ وَجَاءَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الظَّالِمِينَ How would God guide a people who have disbelieved after their belief, and after they have borne witness that the Messenger is true and after the clear...
وَلِلَّهِ عَلَى النَّاسِ حِجُّ الْبَيْتِ مَنِ اسْتَطَاعَ إِلَيْهِ سَبِيلًا Pilgrimage to the House is a duty owed to God by all who can afford a way to it. (Al ‘Imrān 3:97) Every kind and act of worship is gratitude to God in return for the bounties He has...
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ حَقَّ تُقَاتِهِ وَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنتُم مُّسْلِمُونَ O you who believe! Keep from disobedience to God in reverent piety, with all the reverence that is due to Him, and see that you do not die save as Muslims (submitted to...
وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَـٰكِنْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ God has never wronged them but they do wrong themselves. (Al ‘Imrān 3:117) This meaning is stated in different places of the Qur’ān as in Sūratu’n-Nahl: “God did not wrong them but they did wrong themselves” (16:33).[*See also the following verses with slightly different...
ثُمَّ أَنزَلَ عَلَيْكُم مِّن بَعْدِ الْغَمِّ أَمَنَةً نُّعَاسًا يَغْشَىٰ طَائِفَةً مِّنكُمْ ۖ وَطَائِفَةٌ قَدْ أَهَمَّتْهُمْ أَنفُسُهُمْ يَظُنُّونَ بِاللَّهِ غَيْرَ الْحَقِّ ظَنَّ الْجَاهِلِيَّةِ ۖ يَقُولُونَ هَل لَّنَا مِنَ الْأَمْرِ مِن شَيْءٍ ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ الْأَمْرَ كُلَّهُ لِلَّهِ ۗ يُخْفُونَ فِي أَنفُسِهِم مَّا لَا يُبْدُونَ لَكَ ۖ...
إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَاخْتِلَافِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ لَآيَاتٍ لِّأُولِي الْأَلْبَابِ Surely in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of night and day (with their periods shortening and lengthening) there are signs (manifesting the truth) for the people of discernment. (Al ‘Imrān...
وَلَيْسَتِ التَّوْبَةُ لِلَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ السَّيِّئَاتِ حَتَّىٰ إِذَا حَضَرَ أَحَدَهُمُ الْمَوْتُ قَالَ إِنِّي تُبْتُ الْآنَ وَلَا الَّذِينَ يَمُوتُونَ وَهُمْ كُفَّارٌ ۚ أُولَـٰئِكَ أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا But of no avail is the repentance of those who commit evil (for a lifetime) until, when one of them is...