Al-Baqarah 2:6
The Cow · Juz 1 · Page 3
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيۡهِمۡ ءَأَنذَرۡتَهُمۡ أَمۡ لَمۡ تُنذِرۡهُمۡ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ ٦
Indeed, those who disbelieve1 - it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them - they will not believe.
1 translator’s note
- Literally, "cover" or "conceal" (faith or truth). ↩
Tafsir · in English
Tazkirul Quran
Brief · Short modern reflections on each passage.
Change
Commentary on 2:6–7
If one closes one’s eyes, one will not be able to see. If one blocks one’s ears, one will not be able to hear. However clear the call of truth may be, it can be understood and accepted only if one opens one’s mind to it. God’s inaudible call present in the universe, and the audible expression of that call by the preacher of God’s word, cannot touch those who have closed minds. The call of truth in its pure, unadulterated form is founded on reality; it is in accord with nature. When it is made, none can fail to recognize it. If one hears it with an open mind, one will know in one’s heart that it is nothing else but truth. However, where society is rigidly bound by age-old conventions, people are less concerned with opening their minds to divine realities than they are with supporting the vested interests of the existing system. As God’s emissary, the preacher is neither a representative nor a supporter of the conventional structures of society. His call, being new and unfamiliar, poses itself as a threat to material security. Much as people are urged by him to submit to the will of God, they baulk at doing so, because it would mean demolishing the world they have made for themselves. It is difficult also for him to convey his message to highly placed individuals who are afraid that, if they follow an ‘insignificant’ person, they will thereby suffer some diminution of their own personal glory. The two greatest obstacles then to the success of the preacher are people’s worldliness and arrogance. It is these mental states, which prevent people from accepting the truth; the Quran has called them ‘seals’ over people’s hearts. The minds of those who do not consider the call of truth seriously, who are proud and worldly in their attitude, are covered with an invisible veil which makes them impervious to the truth. When one is prejudiced against something, one cannot see its rationality, even if there are clear signs in support of it.
Page 3
2:6
إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيۡهِمۡ ءَأَنذَرۡتَهُمۡ أَمۡ لَمۡ تُنذِرۡهُمۡ لَا يُؤۡمِنُونَ ٦
Indeed, those who disbelieve1 - it is all the same for them whether you warn them or do not warn them - they will not believe.
1 translator’s note
- Literally, "cover" or "conceal" (faith or truth). ↩
2:7
خَتَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمۡ وَعَلَىٰ سَمۡعِهِمۡۖ وَعَلَىٰٓ أَبۡصَٰرِهِمۡ غِشَٰوَةٞۖ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٞ ٧
Allāh has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing, and over their vision is a veil.1 And for them is a great punishment.
1 translator’s note
- A covering preventing them from discerning guidance. This condition is a direct result of their arrogance and persistence in sin. ↩
2:8
وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَبِٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأٓخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤۡمِنِينَ ٨
And of the people are some who say, "We believe in Allāh and the Last Day," but they are not believers.
2:9
يُخَٰدِعُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ وَمَا يَخۡدَعُونَ إِلَّآ أَنفُسَهُمۡ وَمَا يَشۡعُرُونَ ٩
They [think to] deceive Allāh and those who believe, but they deceive not except themselves and perceive [it] not.
2:10
فِي قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٞ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضٗاۖ وَلَهُمۡ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمُۢ بِمَا كَانُواْ يَكۡذِبُونَ ١٠
In their hearts is disease, so Allāh has increased their disease;1 and for them is a painful punishment because they [habitually] used to lie.
1 translator’s note
- The "disease" mentioned here includes doubt, hypocrisy, arrogance and disbelief. ↩
2:11
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ لَا تُفۡسِدُواْ فِي ٱلۡأَرۡضِ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّمَا نَحۡنُ مُصۡلِحُونَ ١١
And when it is said to them, "Do not cause corruption on the earth," they say, "We are but reformers."
2:12
أَلَآ إِنَّهُمۡ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡسِدُونَ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَشۡعُرُونَ ١٢
Unquestionably, it is they who are the corrupters, but they perceive [it] not.
2:13
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمۡ ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓاْ أَنُؤۡمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُۗ أَلَآ إِنَّهُمۡ هُمُ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَعۡلَمُونَ ١٣
And when it is said to them, "Believe as the people have believed," they say, "Should we believe as the foolish have believed?" Unquestionably, it is they who are the foolish, but they know [it] not.
2:14
وَإِذَا لَقُواْ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ قَالُوٓاْ ءَامَنَّا وَإِذَا خَلَوۡاْ إِلَىٰ شَيَٰطِينِهِمۡ قَالُوٓاْ إِنَّا مَعَكُمۡ إِنَّمَا نَحۡنُ مُسۡتَهۡزِءُونَ ١٤
And when they meet those who believe, they say, "We believe"; but when they are alone with their evil ones, they say, "Indeed, we are with you; we were only mockers."
2:15
ٱللَّهُ يَسۡتَهۡزِئُ بِهِمۡ وَيَمُدُّهُمۡ فِي طُغۡيَٰنِهِمۡ يَعۡمَهُونَ ١٥
[But] Allāh mocks them and prolongs them in their transgression [while] they wander blindly.
2:16
أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ ٱشۡتَرَوُاْ ٱلضَّلَٰلَةَ بِٱلۡهُدَىٰ فَمَا رَبِحَت تِّجَٰرَتُهُمۡ وَمَا كَانُواْ مُهۡتَدِينَ ١٦
Those are the ones who have purchased error [in exchange] for guidance, so their transaction has brought no profit, nor were they guided.