- Interpretation Of Quran / The long version
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- (002) Al Bakara
Dear noble brothers, today we start the interpretation of Surat al-Baqarah, due to a certain reason I will explain to you before I start with the interpretation.
Dear noble brothers, out of the Favor of Allah, may His Glory be glorified, I have spent 25 years in interpreting the Noble Quran. In the beginning, the interpretation was of selected Ayaat from the Noble Quran. Then, I started with Surat Luqman, until the end of the Quran. The clear recording started from the last chapter (Juzu' Amma), but before it the recording was unclear. Then I returned to Surat Yunus, and I went on until I reached Surat Luqman.
According to the plan I had at that time, I had to go back to Surat al-Baqarah. In other words, I planned to interpret the last third of the Quran (ten parts), then the second third, and then the first third. However, for one reason or another, I continued the interpretation to the end of the 29th part.
The last part was well interpreted, and it was well-recorded. Hence, according to the plan, let us go back to the first part, because all the Ayaat starting with Surat Hud to the end of the Noble Quran were interpreted and recorded very clearly on tapes, and I make Du'a to Allah the Almighty to enable me to interpret the first third.
Everything in this life is transient unless it is Hereafter-oriented:
Today we begin interpreting Surat al-Baqarah, but let me refer to this fact: Everything in the worldly life is transient, except a deed that is related to the Hereafter. If any one of the attendants has no deed related to the Hereafter, then it is a great loss. The worldly life is transient, so the houses you own will not be yours anymore one day. Keep in mind that when someone dies, he leaves everything behind save a righteous deed that descends with him in his grave. Allah the Almighty says:
(Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "This is my way; I invite unto Allah (i.e. to the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) with sure knowledge, I and whosoever follows me (also must invite others to Allah i.e to the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism))
Every person, who follows Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him, should call to Allah in one way or another. I told you before: Be steadfast, so that other people will follow your example. In fact, being honest, being faithful, being righteous, performing things perfectly and so on are all Da'wah (call) to Allah. Everyone may have a good deed, and this deed may be the reason behind increasing the number of Muslims.
Da'wah to Allah is Fard 'Ayn (an obligation) on every Muslim. This Da'wah is within the limits of what you know and it addresses those whom you know. Thus, whoever attends a religious session, in which an interpretation of a religious text is discussed, is responsible for conveying what he knows to other people verbally, by a tape, or in a meeting where he can gather with them. You are supposed to convey what you have learnt to other people, and this is what really remains to the Hereafter.
What drives the believer to call people to Allah is the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. By Allah, O brothers, if I keep repeating this Hadith thousands of times I will never have enough of it:
(If Allah guides through you one person to Islam, it is better than the wealth of this dunya.)
(…by Allah, if Allah guides even one person through you that is better for you than possessing a whole lot of red camels".)
(If Allah will guide through you one person to Islam, then it is better to you than anything over which the sun rises.)
Jihad Da'awi is the Major type of Jihad:
Jihad, as you know, is the peak of Islam, and as the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
(One who died but did not fight in the way of Allah nor did he express any desire (or determination) for Jihad died the death of a hypocrite.)
Al-Jihad Ad-Da'awi (Calling people to Allah) is the most important type of Jihad, and the proof is the following Ayah in which Allah the Almighty says:
(...but strive against them (by preaching) with the utmost endeavour, with it (the Qur'an).)
It is very nice to have the Masjid full of Islamic knowledge seekers, but it is even nicer to spread the Islamic knowledge outside the Masjid. It is wonderful when each one of us thinks about how to transfer al-Haqq (the truth) to his brother, his friend, the neighbor, the staff of his shop, his colleagues, and his relatives. As attendants, all of us are one party, so success lies in inviting to this session new parties insha' Allah. Hence, each one is assigned to find a way to spread al-Haqq among his relatives, colleagues, neighbors and followers whether they are superior or inferior to him, because this is what remains after man's death.
As you can see, when people die, they do not take anything with them to the grave save a righteous deed that they have done seeking by it the Countenance of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, and teaching others Islamic knowledge is the greatest deed ever. Let alone, it is the profession of the Prophets, peace be upon them.
(And who is better in speech than he who [says: "My Lord is Allah (believes in His Oneness)," and then stands straight (acts upon His Order), and] invites (men) to Allah's (Islamic Monotheism), and does righteous deeds, and says: "I am one of the Muslims.")
The more al-Haqq expands the easier steadfastness becomes:
Dear brothers, we began this lesson in 1976, with four attendants only, but now you can notice how the number of the attendants has increased, and this is out of Allah's Favor upon us.
The attendants come to seek knowledge, and to learn the Word of Allah the Almighty (the Noble Quran) and the Sunnah of His Messenger, peace be upon him, seeking by that the Countenance of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He. As I have just said, success lies in learning and teaching, receiving and sending, acquiring and giving, because the Prophet, peace be upon him, said:
(The best among you (Muslims) are those who learn the Qur'an and teach it.)
The best of you at all are the ones mentioned in this Hadith. Furthermore, the wider the ranges of al-Haqq are, the narrower the rangers of al-Batil (falsehood) are, and the more al-Haqq expands, the easier steadfastness becomes. Allah the Almighty says:
(And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.)
Allah the Almighty also says:
(And hold fast, all of you together, to the Rope of Allah (i.e. this Qur'an), and be not divided among yourselves,)
All I have interpreted so far is due to Allah's Favor. This Noble Quran is the strong rope of Allah, His True Constitution, the Straight Path and the right Method. Moreover, al-Batil cannot come to this Book from before it or behind it. Furthermore, it contains the news of the ancient nations and the news of the ones that are to come (after you). In the Noble Quran there are Allah's Orders and Prohibitions, the Halal (lawful) and Haram (unlawful) matters, the news of former nations, and some scenes from the Day of Resurrection.
In fact, it is due to Allah's Favor that all the Swar from Surat Yunus till the end of the Noble Quran are interpreted in detail, and the interpretation is recorded very clearly on tapes.
I would like to start today with the first third of this Noble Book, which begins with Surat al-Baqarah.
The 1st point: The Surat is named al-Baqarah to emphasize the belief in the Last Day:
Before we begin the interpretation of this Surat, we should answer this question: Why is it called Al-Baqarah (The Cow) although the cow is not a well-known animal in the Arabian Peninsula? In fact, this cow, by which the second Surat in the Noble Quran is called, has a story.
There was a very rich man of the Children of Israel, and he did not have children. His nephew killed him, and threw his body away in the outskirts of a far village, so the people of that village were accused of killing the man. Due to that accusation a dispute occurred between the people of the rich man's village and the people of the other village (were the victim was thrown). Consequently, the relatives of the deceased came to Musa, peace be upon Him, and asked Him about the identity of the killer, and our Lord, Exalted and Sublime be He, mentioned the story of this cow in the Ayah No. 73 of Surat al-Baqarah. He says:
(And (remember) when Musa (Moses) said to his people: "Verily, Allah commands you that you slaughter a cow.")
The Divine Command to the Children of Israel was to slaughter any cow, and to take a piece of it and hit the deceased man with it, so that he would return to life, and say to them, "So and so man killed me!" It seems that Allah the Almighty wanted to prove to the Children of Israel that there would be resurrection after death. I would like to stop at this point and move to the other point in our lesson today.
The major truth, dear brothers, is that after believing in Allah, which is the first pillar of Islam, the Muslim should believe in the Last Day, because had life been without believing in the Last Day, it would have turned into a jungle where the strong eat the weak, and the rich exploits the poor. Unfortunately, this is what is going on in the world nowadays. We live in a world where the majority of people do not believe in the Last Day, so the powerful crush the weak, the wealthy exploits the poor, and the most powerful practices transgression against the weakest.
The only saved society is the one that believes in Allah and the Last Day:
All the events indicate the fact that life cannot go on unless people believe in the Last Day, and whatever said about this matter, such as having consciousness and self deterrent without being supported with believing in the Last Day is nonsense. In fact, No society can be successful on the earth, except the one that believes in Allah the Almighty and in the Last Day.
Our Lord, the Almighty, intended through the story of the cow to show the Children of Israel that the dead person would be resurrected by Allah on the Day of Resurrection in order to be called into account.
How was the reaction of the Children of Israel? They rejected that and refused to obey Allah's Order. Needless to say, they were doubtful and cynical. Allah the Almighty says:
(And (remember) when Musa (Moses) said to his people: "Verily, Allah commands you that you slaughter a cow." They said, "Do you make fun of us?" He said, "I take Allah's Refuge from being among Al-Jahilun (the ignorant or the foolish).")
Is it possible that a noble Prophet makes fun of his people or kid them?! Allah the Almighty narrates what the Children of Israel said:
(They said, "Do you make fun of us?" He said, "I take Allah's Refuge from being among Al-Jahilun (the ignorants or the foolish)."* They said, "Call upon your Lord for us that He may make plain to us what it is!")
Musa, peace be upon him, said as Allah the Almighty narrates:
("Verily, Allah commands you that you slaughter a cow.")
This is what Allah commands and that is it.
Man dies physically, but his ownself is immortal and will be reckoned:
Had they chosen any cow, it would have served them the same way, and had they taken any part of its body and hit the dead person with it, he would have been resurrected and say, "So and so man killed me." However, the Children of Israel complicated the matter to themselves. They said as Allah the Almighty narrates:
(They said, "Call upon your Lord for us that He may make plain to us what it is!" He said, "He says, 'Verily, it is a cow neither too old nor too young, but (it is) between the two conditions', so do what you are commanded."* They said, "Call upon your Lord for us to make plain to us its colour." He said, "He says, 'It is a yellow cow, bright in its colour, pleasing to the beholders.'"* They said, "Call upon your Lord for us to make plain to us what it is. Verily to us all cows are alike, And surely, if Allah wills, we will be guided."* He [Musa (Moses)] said, "He says, 'It is a cow neither trained to till the soil nor water the fields, sound, having no other colour except bright yellow.'" They said, "Now you have brought the truth." So they slaughtered it though they were near to not doing it.* And (remember) when you killed a man and fell into dispute among yourselves as to the crime. But Allah brought forth that which you were hiding.)
Each party accused the other one of the crime:
Allah the Almighty says:
(But Allah brought forth that which you were hiding.* So We said: "Strike him (the dead man) with a piece of it (the cow)." Thus Allah brings the dead to life and shows you His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.) so that you may understand.)
When someone dies, other people say, "The deceased is so and so person." Well, whoever dies has his body dead, but his self is immortal, and it will be called to account. After reckoning, it may be admitted to everlasting Paradise or be thrown into ongoing Hell-Fire.
The two things the Ayaat revolve around in the early stages of Da'wah:
Dear noble brother, in the Ayaat, which descended in the early stages of Islamic Da'wah, Allah the Almighty stresses two things. The first thing is believing in Allah the Almighty and the second one is believing in the Last Day, because believing in Allah the Almighty is worthless if man does not believe that Allah knows all about him, That He will call him to account and that He will punish him for his bad deeds. Keep in mind that you will not act upon Allah's Order unless you believe that He knows all about you, that He will call you to account and that He will punish you for your wrongdoings. Allah the Almighty says:
(It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof (i.e. seven). His Command descends between them (heavens and earth), that you may know that Allah has power over all things, and that Allah surrounds (comprehends) all things in (His) Knowledge.)
It means you become steadfast when you believe that Allah the Almighty knows all about you, that you are in His Grip, and that you will be called to account. When you meet a steadfast man, you should know that he always considers the Last Day. I wonder how the one, who earns ill-gotten money, who assaults others' honor and who strays from Allah's Method, can sleep. How can he remain stable when he reads the following Ayah?
(So, by your Lord (O Muhammad PBUH), We shall certainly call all of them to account* For all that they used to do.)
What marks worldly life is that you will leave all the graces you have when you die
When the believer has no doubts that every move, every still, every action, every bestowal, every withdrawal, every connection, every disconnection, every visit, every look, and every word are recorded in his Record, and he will be asked about them on the Day of Resurrection, he will remain steadfast on Allah's Path. Keep in mind that the steadfast man is a great believer in the Last Day.
There are blessings, pleasures, desires, and fortunes in the worldly life. Generally speaking, these fortunes, desires, pleasures, and blessings, either abandon you while you are alive, or you leave them upon death. There must be a departure. The particularity of this worldly life is that the blessings which you are given will definitely leave you upon your death, and they may leave you before death. Based on this fact, the Prophet, peace be upon you, used to make the following Du'a:
(O Allah! let us enjoy our hearing, our sight and our power as long as You keep us alive and make our heirs from our own offspring, and make our revenge restricted to those who oppress us, and support us against those who are hostile to us let no misfortune afflict our Deen; let not worldly affairs be our principal concern, or the ultimate limit of our knowledge, and let not those rule over us who do not show mercy to us)
In contrast, The Hereafter is the only abode where the blessings do not leave you, and you never leave them. Allah the Almighty says:
(For the like of this let the workers work.)
Allah the Almighty also says:
(…and for this let (all) those strive who want to strive (i.e. hasten earnestly to the obedience of Allah)
There are a lot of worries in the worldly life. For instance, man is worried about his health, and the older he gets the more he worries. He starts asking himself, "Will I be infected by this disease or that one?" Since diseases are so many, the major concern of man is his health. The other concern is his income, so he keeps asking himself, "Will I remain having this income, or will it decrease?", "Will I keep having this job?" or "Will I keep having this commerce?" There are always anxieties in the worldly life, because you will certainly leave this world leaving behind all the blessings you have.
The proof of this point is that when you follow a funeral, and you see how the deceased is buried, you will remember that he used to live in a house, which is about 200 square meters, or may be 400 square meters. Maybe this house is in one of the most high-class streets in Damascus. It might have a nice view with balconies, and its furniture is luxurious. It might have bedrooms, reception rooms, living rooms, heating, air conditioning, etc. Where is the owner of the house now? He is buried under the ground in a very small hole. This is how the life of every living being ends.
Believing in Allah and in the Last Day are closely related pillars:
You will absolutely leave behind all the blessings you own in the worldly life, or they may leave you before your death. Unlike the worldly life, life in the Hereafter is everlasting and immortal. Furthermore, there are no anxieties, old age, grief, worries, cold weather, hot weather, illnesses, poverty, richness or oppression. Allah the Almighty says:
(For the like of this let the workers work.)
In another Ayah, Allah the Almighty says:
(…and for this let (all) those strive who want to strive (i.e. hasten earnestly to the obedience of Allah)
Also, Allah the Almighty says:
(For the like of this let the workers work.)
Allah the Almighty says:
(…and for this let (all) those strive who want to strive (i.e. hasten earnestly to the obedience of Allah)
Allah, may His Glory be glorified, gave this Surat the name of al-Baqarah (the Cow), because He intends to remind us of the Last Day, and that the belief in the Last Day comes directly after the belief in Allah the Almighty. In fact, if you read the Ayaat in which believing is mentioned, you will find that the most inseparable pillars of the pillars of faith are the belief in Allah the Almighty and the belief in the Last Day.
The worldly life without believing in the Last Day is a jungle, where the strong eat the weak and the rich exploit the poor. Some peoples are oppressed or die out of starvation, while other peoples feed their dogs quantities of meat which the whole peoples in South Asia do not eat. In such rich countries the houses and the welfare of their dogs surpass the well-being of some peoples. In such worldly life the strong are the dominant, whereas the weak are smashed. This is how the worldly life will look like without the belief in the Last Day.
If you observe a small faithful society, whose members believe in the Last Day, you find that each person takes what belongs to him only, and leaves all the things that are not his. Once, while I was discussing the subject of marriage, I posed this question, "Why does the Islamic Marriage succeed?" It succeeds, because fearing Allah the Almighty is considered by the spouses. In other words, each party fears to be unjust to the other one lest he/she is punished by Allah, and each party seeks Allah's Mercy upon serving the other party. As a result, spouses are elevated due to their fear of Allah, while understanding and harmony increase between them because of their belief in Allah and the Last Day.
The virtue of Allah's Speech over the speech of others is like the virtue of Allah over His creation:
I keep insisting on the belief in the Last Day in the sense that you consider it in your daily life. A brother once said to me, "We should consider it each hour in our life", but the right thing to do is to consider it each moment of your life since you are going to be called to account for every deed. Allah the Almighty narrates what criminals, polytheists, sinners and wrongdoers say on the Day of Judgment:
("Woe to us! What sort of Book is this that leaves neither a small thing nor a big thing, but has recorded it with numbers!" And they will find all that they did, placed before them, and your Lord treats no one with injustice.)
The believer has a unique personality. Once, I said that the unique personality has a scholarly degree. Who is the believer? The believer is he who knows the great truth of the universe; he knows Allah, and so he is the greatest scholar of all. Pay attention to the following Hadith please:
(Allah’s words surpass creatures’ words same as Allah surpasses his creatures.)
If you want to compare between the Noble Quran and any other book, you will find that the difference between them is as big as the difference between Allah and the book's author. Moreover, if you compare between he who considers the worldly life and the one who believes in Allah deeply, then the difference between the two is as much as the difference between Allah and His creatures. He who knows Allah very well is a great man, because he knows the great truth and finds harmony with it. This knowledge grants him delight in the worldly life and in the Hereafter.
Faith is a moral degree, because the believer is evaluated by a great system of morals. Actually, in his life, there is a delicate detailed approach. Concerning this point, I mentioned previously, that Muslims reached such declination, because they mistakenly think that Islam is a set of ritual acts of worship only, such as Salat (prayer), Siyaam (fasting), Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah), and Zakat (alms giving), while Islam contains, and I hope I am not exaggerating, about a hundred thousand items. There are items related to earning money, to spending money, to marriage, to divorce, to assemblies, to careers, to traveling, to residence, to children upbringing and so on. In brief, it is a complete method, so when Muslims misunderstood Islam and considered it as a few ritual acts of worships, they have fallen behind all other nations. Contrary to them, the noble Companions understood that religion is to live a life style that pleases Allah the Almighty, and they acted upon the detailed method.
This is why seeking Islamic knowledge is an obligation upon every Muslim. In the life of Muslims nothing overrides acquiring Islamic knowledge, because by this knowledge you know who you are, and what your position is among people, you know what comes after death, and what comes before it, and you know the method you follow and act upon. Accordingly, when the believer believes in the Last Day, his problems end.
Religion is all about self-accountability:
Let me tell you about the typical story that I often mention before you. One of our brothers in faith works in fixing engines, and he once said to me, "Before I reconciled with Allah, when the customer came to me with a spoiled engine, I took money that I did not deserve. For instance, a man once came to me thinking that the engine broke down, so he said, 'Open it', and when I did that I found that it had a tiny cut from the external side, and it could be repaired in minutes. However, before I reconciled with Allah, I used to repair such a cut for 5000 S.L in cash, making use of the ignorance of the car's owner who thought that the engine was burnt." The mechanic went on, "After I have known Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, as I had to, I started to say to whoever had the same problem, 'Fixing it cost you 25 S.L.' He started to have self-accountability, and this story is about that.
Religion is all about self-accountability; it is typically presented in the story of the Bedouin whose honesty was tested by Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with him.
Ibn Umar asked him, "Would you like to sell me this sheep and take the price for it?" "No, I cannot, because it is not mine", he answered. Then Ibn Umar said, "Say to its owner that it died". "No, I cannot, because it is not mine", the shepherd answered. Then Ibn Umar said, "Say to its owner that a wolf ate it". The shepherd said, "By Allah, I am in desperate need of its price, and if I told its owner that it died or a wolf ate it, he would believe me, because he knows how honest and faithful I am, but could I escape Allah's Punishment then?"
This is the religion in brief! The religion is all about believing in the Last Day. Have you controlled your tongue? Have you controlled the earning of your money? Have you controlled the way you spend your money? Have you controlled your eyes from looking at forbidden things, your ears from listening to forbidden things, and your hand from harming people, and have you controlled your movements and quietness?
Dear noble brothers, this Surat, which is the longest Surat in the Noble Quran, is called al-Baqarah (The Cow), because the cow was the proof presented to the Children of Israel about the Last Day (where people will be resurrected to be called to account by Allah). Allah the Almighty resurrected the dead man to say, "So and so person killed me!" This is one point to consider.
Indeed, when man disobeys Allah the Almighty, he should know that his belief in the Last Day is weak, because the one whose belief in the Last Day is strong will never disobey Allah the Almighty; he believes that he will be called to account (on the Last Day). I would like to clarify this point by giving you an example from our daily life. If you travel to a neighboring country, and you want to buy something from there and bring it back with you to your country, you will change your mind, refusing to buy anything when you remember the very strict inspection process in the border crossing points. Even if the things you want to buy are cheap, you will keep thinking, "How would I make them pass to my country without being checked and seen."
This is how the believer thinks even if no one supervises him or calls him to account, (he keeps thinking about the Last Day when he is called to account before Allah the Almighty.) As a believer, you are reliable in all your actions when you believe in the Last Day.
The doctor is a reliable person, and all the other highly-educated and highly-certified persons are reliable people. Does the patient argue with the doctor when the later says to him, "You need to make 10 medical analyses"? He cannot, and all he can do is to make the analyses and that is it. Who knows whether so and so analysis is necessary or not? Only Allah the Almighty knows. The same goes for the lawyer; if he says to you, "We will win this case", while he will undoubtedly lose it, can you argue with him? Who knows that he will definitely lose it? Only Allah the Almighty knows.
By Allah, dear brothers, if Muslims believe in the Last Day as they are supposed to, the Court of Justice will close its gates.
Religion is a comprehensive method:
Our Master Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, was the Minister of Justice for two years when our Master Abu Bakr as-Siddeeq, may Allah be pleased with him, was the Khalifah, and during this period, nobody filed a lawsuit against anyone. In fact, when people treat one another fairly, the judge will have no work to do. Our problem is the lack of believing in the Last Day when all of us will be asked for our deeds. Allah the Almighty says:
( So, by your Lord (O Muhammad PBUH), We shall certainly call all of them to account. For all that they used to do.)
One more time let me tell you, dear noble brothers, that the biggest illusion is to consider whoever comes to the Masjid a religiously committed man. In fact, you come to the Masjid in order to know the Divine Orders and Prohibitions, and the second time you come here; you will be rewarded for acting upon them.
Bear in mind that your religion is represented by your deeds, by dealing with other people in your store, office, clinic, company, farm, or factory and by dealing with your children. Here in the Masjid, you just learn about the Creator's instructions, and then you follow them in your daily life activities. The clearest proof of this point is the Du'a the Prophet, peace be upon him, used to make whenever he would enter the Masjid. He used to say:
(When any one of you enters the Masjid, let him say: 'Allahumma aftahli abwaba rahmatik (O Allah, open to me the gates of your mercy). And when he leaves let him say: Allahumma inni as'aluka min fadlik (O Allah, I ask You of Your bounty).')
You can make Munajaat (talking to Allah secretly) and say, "O my Lord, let me feel my closeness to you." The Prophet, peace be upon him used to make the following Du'a:
(…but when you go out of the mosque you say: Allahumma inni as'aluka min fadlik (O Allah, I ask You of Your bounty).')
The deeds you perform outside the Masjid are the ones that manifest your religion. These deeds reflect your steadfastness, controlling your tongue, earning Halal income, spending money in Halal and so on. The problem is when we understood religion as five ritual acts of worship, we have fallen behind other nations. We should understand that religion is a comprehensive method. This is how the believer understands Islam, and so he always seeks the Shari'ah ruling (Islamic Law) regarding certain matters.
Allah the Almighty is able to resurrect us:
It is named Surat al-Baqarah (The Cow), because Allah the Almighty ordered the Children of Israel to slaughter a cow, to strike the killed man with a piece of it, so that Allah, may His Glory be glorified, would resurrect him in order to say, "So and so man killed me!" This means that Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, is able to resurrect us all, and this truth is mentioned in the Noble Quran.
The second thing is: There was a righteous man among the Children of Israel, and he was steadfast, pious, and faithful. He died, leaving behind only a cow to his family to make benefit from. The cow was all the fortune the deceased man left to his only son. The characteristics of the cow that are mentioned in Surat al-Baqarah were all found in that cow:
(He said, "He says, 'It is a yellow cow, bright in its colour, pleasing to the beholders.')
Its owner (the son of the righteous man) refused a price for his cow but gold that would be as much as filling its leather. Thus, he owned great wealth.
In brief, if man is righteous, Allah the Almighty will take care of his children after his death. Allah the Almighty says in a Qudsi Hadith:
(…Allah says to another servant, "O My worshiper! I gave you money, so what did you do with it?" The worshiper says, "O Lord! I spent it on the poor and the needy, because I am pretty sure that You are the Best to guard, and You are the Most Merciful of those who show mercy." Allah says, "O My worshiper! I am the Guard of your children after your death.")
This means: Seek Halal earning, and never take things that are not yours. Furthermore, do not worry about your children after your death, for Allah is their Guard and Protector. He is the One Who will take care of your children after your death; He will provide them with sustenance, protection and noble life
They are many fathers who left millions of ill-gotten money after their death to their children, but the latter spent it in a short time, and they lived poor. On the other hand, there are many fathers who feared Allah the Almighty in their earning, and so Allah took care of their children after their death. Hence, do not worry about your children. Instead, worry about one thing, which is not to sin.
Most people earn ill-gotten money to keep it to their children; to maintain their future, to buy houses for them, and to get them married. Well, they collect this ill-gotten money, but what happens after their death? This money which is collected by unlawful ways are wasted shortly just like the way they are collected, and the children become impoverished. The Qudsi Hadith I have just mentioned goes as follows:
(Allah asks the servant on the Day of Resurrection, "O My servant, I gave you money, so what did you do with it?" The servant says, "O Lord, I did not spend anything from it fearing that my children may become poor after my death." Allah the Almighty, says, "Did you not know that I am the All-Provider, Owner of Power, the Most Strong? Verily, the poverty that you feared has befallen them.")
The 2nd point: Seek Halal income and keep obedient to Allah:
The cow was blessed, and its owner was a righteous man. This reminds me of the righteous father who is mentioned in Surat al-Kahf:
("And as for the wall, it belonged to two orphan boys in the town; and there was under it a treasure belonging to them; and their father was a righteous man,)
Our Master al-Khidr built the wall to the two orphan boys, because their father was righteous. Based on this, the second point in this Surat is: Seek Halal income and keep obedient to Allah, and do not be worried about the future of your children, because Allah the Almighty will take care of them. If you are a good father, Allah the Almighty will protect your children after your death, and He will take care of their wellbeing.
There are many impressive stories about this point. A righteous man died and left behind children, they have become pioneers. Someone else never feared Allah in earning his money, and after his death he left huge wealth to his children. A friend of the deceased father saw one his sons walking down the street, so he asked him, "Where are you going?" The son answered saying these exact words, "I am going to drink wine for the soul of my father!"
The soul of the dead man hovers above the casket, saying: "O my folk, O my children, do not let the worldly life deceive you as it did to me! I collected Halal and Haram money, and then I spent it in lawfully and unlawfully ways. You will enjoy my wealth, while I will be punished for it."
The second point is: This cow, whose characteristics were mentioned in detail, was identical to the one which the deceased righteous man used to own, so his son refused any price for it but to be paid in gold that would fill its leather. Sometimes, a righteous father dies, and he leaves behind a piece of land, a house, or a small store. The store will bring to his children a lot of profit, because he is a righteous man. Therefore, do not worry about your children, but rather, you should be concerned about your income whether it is Halal or Haram. No one forces you to feed your children from ill-gotten money. This is the second point.
The 3rd point: This Surat is Madinite:
The third point in this lesson is: This Surat is Madinite. As you know, the Noble Quran is Makkan and Madinite. Scholars have disagreed whether the Ayaat which were revealed in Makkah are Makkan, and the ones which were revealed in al-Madinah are Madinite, regardless the time of revelation, and they concentrated only on the place of revelation.
Actually, the Noble Quran was revealed to the Prophet, peace be upon him, before and after conquering Makkah, so does this mean that the Ayaat which were revealed after conquering Makkah are Makkan or Madinite? Well, some scholars focused on time only, and so according to them every Ayah which was revealed after the migration to al-Madina, no matter where it was revealed is Madinite, while every Ayah that was revealed before the migration, wherever it was revealed is considered Makkan. This is time-oriented standards, while the one I have mentioned previously is spatial; according to which the Ayaat that were revealed in Makkah regardless of the time of revelation are considered Makkan, and the Ayaat that were revealed in Madinah regardless of the time of revelation are considered Madinite.
What we are interested in is that the Makkan part of the Noble Quran, has its own characteristics, and the Madinite part of the Noble Quran has its own characteristics as well. The Makkan part of the Noble Quran focuses on believing in Allah through the Ayaat and on believing on the Last Day. For instance, if you read a Surat from the last chapters of the Quran, such as Surat an-Naba', Surat an-Nazi'aat, and Surat al-Mursalat, you will notice that the emphasis is on believing in Allah and believing in the Last Day, because they are the fundamental matters in Aqidah (which was most needed at early Islam in Makkah).
Furthermore, in the Makkan part of the Quran, Allah the Almighty focuses on replying to infidels, atheists, polytheists and deniers, on mentioning scenes from Paradise and Hell. These are common things among all the Makkan Ayaat. On the other hand, the focus on the Madinite Suwar, such as al-Baqarah, Aal-'Imran, an-Nisa', al-An'am is on Shari'ah rulings; the permissible and the impermissible matters (which was most needed after Muslims' migration to Madinah). Allah the Almighty says:
(O you who believe! When you contract a debt for a fixed period, write it down. Let a scribe write it down in justice between you.)
It is a nice thing; this is a Shari'ah ruling.
Each Da'wah must go through two stages :
There are hypocrites among Muslims. Allah the Almighty mentions them:
(If a good befalls you, it grieves them, but if some evil overtakes you, they rejoice at it.)
A group of hypocrites had come into being. There were no hypocrites in Makkah, because Islam was oppressed there, and there was no need for anyone to dissemble. Also, when someone declared that he was an infidel, he would walk proudly on the road. Muslims were persecuted, so there was no hypocrisy in Makkah. However, when Muslims established a powerful state in al-Madinah, hypocrisy came to existence.
In the Madinite Surat, you find a Shari'ah ruling, a mentioning of the hypocrites in which Allah warns the believers against them, and a mentioning of the Muslims' relation with others. All these matters are mentioned in the Madinite Suwar.
What is the matter that we are concerned about? It is that each Da'wah must go through two stages: The stage of getting people acquainted with Allah the Almighty, and the Last Day, and the second stage is getting people acquainted with the Islamic Method. Hence, whatever Da'wah that has no acquaintance with Allah and the Last Day is a big failure. To elaborate, when you ask someone to pray, to whom should he pray? When you ask him to be steadfast, whom he should fear being steadfast? He does not know Allah in the first place, so he will not obey the orders! I keep saying, "If man knows the Command, but he does not know the Commander, he will masterfully avoid this command." Regretfully, this is the situation of Muslims nowadays, and it is obvious.
A singer asked a scholar this question, "I have repented, but can I sing religious songs?" He said she could. Singing has become allowed, mixing between men and women has become allowed, and banks that give loans with interests have become allowed in Egypt. Everything has got an advisory opinion (fatwa) to make it allowed, and let me tell you this with painful regret: Every sin can get a Fatwa.
If the man knows the Command, but he does not know the Commander, he will skillfully neglect this command. Well, this is the status of the Muslims today. Thus, Islam has become folklore, appearances, and dress code. Furthermore, the Quranic Ayaat are used to adorn houses, whereas there are evenings spent in such houses, electronic devices are bought, and relationships are established, and they do not please Allah the Almighty. Ironically, these houses may be full of Quranic Ayaat, the photo of Ka'abah and the Ayah of al-Kursi that are hanged on the walls.
Islam has become appearances, conferences, and very luxurious books where the titles are written in a big wonderful font. Moreover, it has become religious audio-visual recordings and libraries of top quality. Yet, there is no steadfastness, or religious commitment. It is as if Allah the Almighty abandoned us.
In a previous lecture, I told you that someone once asked me, why does Allah the Almighty not respond to our Du'a?" I told him that Imam Ibrahim bin al-Adham was once asked such a question when he was in Basra, "O Imam Allah the Almighty says, 'And your Lord said: "Invoke Me, [i.e. believe in My Oneness (Islamic Monotheism)] (and ask Me for anything) I will respond to your (invocation).)' [Ghafir, 60], and we make Du'a to Allah but He does not respond to us, why? Bin al-Adham said, "Because your hearts died due to ten things: you claim that you believe in Allah the Almighty, but you do not obey Him; you read the Noble Quran, but you do not act upon it; you claim that you love your Prophet, peace be upon him, but you do not follow His Sunnah; you say that Hell-Fire is true, but you do not fear it; you say that Paradise is true, but you do not work for it; and you bury the deceased of your people, but you do not learn the moral lesson from their death…" Bin al-Adham mentioned twelve items, then he said, "How will your Lord respond to your Du'a?"
What I want to say is that there are Makkan Ayaat and Madinite ones, and as I said earlier in the Makkan Ayaat, Allah the Almighty asks you to believe in Him and in the Last Day. Thus, any Da'wah that overlooks such major part of the religion is incomplete and unsuccessful.
Nowadays, you can see that we care about Fiqh (jurisprudence) more that Aqidah, but we should care about them both. In fact the true believer, in Allah, looks for the commands and the prohibitions, and he always asks about the Shari'ah ruling of every matter
If you work in a company, where the former director was removed and a new one is appointed, you ask, "Who is he?", "What is his education", "How are his morals?", "Which type of a person is he?" What you do, after you know things about his personality, is that you wait for his orders and prohibitions. Doing this is normal behavior; you know first the commander, and then the command itself.
As for the Ayaat, the Makkan ones get us acquainted with the Commander, while the Madinite Ayaat make us know the Command.
Accordingly, the command that is not preceded by getting people to know the commander is worthless, because the importance of any message is derived from the importance of the messenger. Similarly, the importance of the Command comes from the importance of the Commander. Hence, the more you know Allah, the more you glorify His Command; the more you know Allah, the deeper you believe in His Promise; and the more you know Allah, the deeper you believe in His Menace.
This is a very critical issue, so do not try to tell people about the Divine Commands without getting them acquainted with the Commander. Tell them about Allah's Rewards if His Orders are obeyed and about His Punishment if they are not obeyed. When the idea about the destiny of the obedient and the disobedient is not clear, people will neglect both the Command and Commander.
You know Allah through universe, and you worship Him through Shar'e:
This is an essential lesson for us; therefore, I tried at the beginning of the interpretation to start with the Makkan part of the Quran, which is the last third of the Quran, and then I interpreted the second third. I asked Allah the Almighty, to strengthen the belief in Him in the hearts of the believing brothers.
Shar'e is the crown on the believer's head. When you believe in Allah the Almighty as you should, you look for His Orders and Prohibitions, and you do what pleases Him. Hence, through the universe you know Allah, and through Shar'e you worship Him. These two matters were clarified in the era of the Prophet, peace be upon him; the first matter is getting people acquainted with the Commander, and the second matter is telling people about the Command.
Today, the minimum of what we can do is to make these two matters go hand in hand with one another. Thus, there must be a lesson to make you acquainted with Allah.
Pondering over the creation of the heavens and the earth is the first matter. Everyone eats, drinks, gets married, sleeps, wakes up, meditates, and reflects on things, but he should know that the highest level of worship at all that brings him closer to Allah is to ponder over the creation of the heavens and the earth, as it increases his knowledge of Allah the Almighty and makes him consider His Command greatly:
(What is the matter with you, [that you fear not Allah (His punishment), and] you hope not for reward (from Allah or you believe not in His Oneness). While He has created you in (different) stages [i.e. first Nutfah, then 'Alaqah and then Mudghah].)
If you ponder over the different stages of man's creation, you will fear Allah's Punishment and hope for His Reward. Where do these fear and hope come from? They come from pondering over the creation of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He.
(It is only those who have knowledge among His slaves that fear Allah.)
Dear noble brothers, the words Makkan and Madinite have taught us that Da'wah should go through two stages; the first one is to get acquainted with the Commander, and the second stage is to know the Divine Command.
The 4th point: Allah teaches us that indirect instruction is more effective:
Dear brother, Surat al-Baqarah is the longest Surat in the Noble Quran, and there is a fourth characteristic about it, which is mentioning the Children of Israel lengthily and the relationship between the Children of Israel and us. Allah the Almighty says:
(That was a nation who has passed away. They shall receive the reward of what they earned and you of what you earn.)
There are many long pages about Prophet Musa, his relation with Fir'aun (Pharaoh), his relation with his people, how Allah saved him from Fir'aun, and how he went to the Prophet Shu'aib, peace be upon him.
In fact mentioning the Children of Israel is for a purpose, which is addressing us in an indirect way. Allah, may His Glory be glorified teaches us that the indirect instruction is more effective than the direct one. In other words, Muslims may make all the mistakes Children of Israel made. Children of Israel said as Allah the Almighty narrates:
(And they (Jews) say, "The Fire (i.e. Hell-fire on the Day of Resurrection) shall not touch us but for a few numbered days." Say (O Muhammad Peace be upon him to them): "Have you taken a covenant from Allah, so that Allah will not break His Covenant? Or is it that you say of Allah what you know not?")
That is what Muslims believe in today; They believe in a naive concept of intercession, such as saying, "Do what you wish, and the Prophet, peace be upon Him, will intercede for you: The Children if Israel said as Allah the Almighty narrates:
(So go you and your Lord and fight you two, we are sitting right here.")
This disease has infected the Muslims:
(They said, "We have heard and disobeyed.")
If you follow all the diseases of Children of Israel, you will notice that we are infected by them all. Hence, when we read the story of the Children of Israel, we should focus on the moral lessons that lie between the lines, and we should make use of them considering those people who deviated from the Method of their Lord, and so they deserved the curse of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He. This is the fourth point.
A summary of the main points of the lesson :
Let us wrap up the main points:
The 1st point: This Surat is called Surat al-Baqarah (The Cow) to affirm the belief in the Last Day, and that all people will be held accountable for every detail of their life. Whoever calls himself to a severe account in the worldly life, his reckoning will be easy in the Hereafter. Pay attention to the following Hadith:
(O Lord, a soul which is comfortable and over-fed in the worldly life, might be hungry and naked on the Day of Resurrection, O Lord a soul which is hungry and naked in the worldly life, might be comfortable and over-fed on the Day of Resurrection, O Lord a man might treat his self with honor while actually he is humiliating it, O Lord a man might be humiliating his self while actually he is honoring it.)
The main thing is the Last Day.
The 2nd point is: Whoever is a righteous person should never be concerned about his children after his death, because Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, will protect his children after his death. You just have to remain steadfast, and that is enough! Allah the Almighty says:
(Nay! But worship Allah (Alone and none else), and be among the grateful.)
He the Almighty also says:
((Allah) said: "O Musa (Moses) I have chosen you above men by My Messages, and by My speaking (to you). So hold that which I have given you and be of the grateful.")
The 3rd point: This Surat is Madinite, and the Madinite Suwar contain Shari'ah rulings, which naturally come after knowing the Musharre' (Law-giver [i.e. Allah]). I repeat; the command axiomatically comes after knowing the commander, so when we know the command and the commander, things become integrated. Concerning this point, keep in mind that Allah the Almighty has made the Shari'ah rulings one half of the religion.
The 4th point in Surat al-Baqarah is: The stories of the Children of Israel with all their diseases, faults, and deviation can be found in us. Once, I mentioned that those who have abandoned a good part of the Message that was sent to them will be included in the following Ayah:
(But they have abandoned a good part of the Message that was sent to them. So We planted amongst them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection (when they discarded Allah's Book, disobeyed Allah's Messengers and His Orders and transgressed beyond bounds in Allah's disobedience)…)
Accordingly, when will enmity and hatred be planted among us? It is when we abandon a good part of the Message that was sent to us. It seems that enmity and hatred have a law.
There are common grounds in our society:
Allah the Almighty says:
(Shaitan (Satan) wants only to excite enmity and hatred between you…)
Allah the Almighty also says:
(But they have abandoned a good part of the Message that was sent to them. So We planted amongst them enmity and hatred till the Day of Resurrection (when they discarded Allah's Book, disobeyed Allah's Messengers and His Orders and transgressed beyond bounds in Allah's disobedience),)
This means that there are many common grounds in our Muslim society. Yet, there are enmity and hatred towards one another. Allah the Almighty describes the Children of Israel by saying:
(You would think they were united, but their hearts are divided,)
There are tens of common factors in the society. Nevertheless, there are fierce enmity and hatred, which make the third law I would like to bring your attention to.
I intended to make this lesson an introduction to the next detailed lessons. I explained why the cow, the righteous father and the Children of Israel are mentioned a lot in this Surat. The other thing I referred to was the Makkan and the Madinite Ayaat.
