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
- 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