Al-Baqarah 2:61–90

Divine provision was given to them in the form of manna and quails so that, free from the struggle for a livelihood, they would be able to devote themselves entirely to carrying out God’s commandments; but they took to demanding spicy, cooked foods instead. Discontented with the basic necessities of life, they sought to indulge in worldly luxury. So hardened did they become that even clear signs of God could not move their hearts. They opposed and even killed those servants of God who sought to admonish them.

Four communities are mentioned in this verse: Muslims, who are the followers of the Prophet Muhammad; Jews who follow the Prophet Moses; Christians, who follow the Prophet Jesus; and Sabeans, who adhered to the teachings of John the Baptist, the Prophet Yahya. The last-mentioned sect resided in Iraq in ancient times, but is now extinct. They were people of the Book, and offered their prayers facing the Ka‘bah in Makkah. Here the Muslims have not been mentioned separately, but have been grouped with other communities associated with prophets. This means that all ethnic groups are equal in the sight of God; no community is inherently superior to any other. Only true belief and righteous actions are rewarded with salvation. This is a rule that applies consistently to every community. No one, whether he calls himself Muslim, Jew, Christian or Sabaean, is exempt from this rule. Belonging to a particular community gives no special status in the eyes of God. God elevates to a high rank only those who have sought to mould their own lives according to His divine scheme. The lives of those who associate with a prophet during his lifetime are always based on true belief and righteous actions. At that time certain people hear the Prophet’s call. Their spirits are moved by his message: an intellectual revolution takes place within them, filling them with new resolve. Their whole pattern of life changes. Where, previously, they had been guided by personal desires, they now base their lives on the teachings of God, and may truly call themselves followers of the prophets; these are the ones to whom the prophets gave good tidings of eternal blessings in the next world. The situation changes, however, as time passes. For the generations that follow, religion becomes a kind of national heritage. Tidings, which had been given on the basis of faith and righteous actions come to be considered to be the result of ethnic affiliations. People reckon that they have a special relationship with God that others do not enjoy: one who belongs to a particular community is sure to be saved, notwithstanding the standard of his faith and deeds; paradise is for us, hell for them. But God does not have a special relationship with any particular community. He has regard solely for man’s thoughts and deeds. In the Hereafter, people will be judged according to their deeds and character, and not on the basis of the group to which they belong.

A covenant was made with Moses’ people that they would faithfully carry out the divine teachings given to them in the form of the Ten Commandments. The Talmud tells how, at this time, God turned a mountain upside down, holding it above them and told them either to accept the teachings of the Torah, or be destroyed there and then. The same is the case with everyone who embraces true faith. To have faith is to make a contract with God that one will live and die in accordance with His will. What a grave pledge this is. On the one hand there is man—a tiny, helpless speck in God’s world—and on the other, God, whose might upholds the universe. If man keeps his word, he will be granted God’s eternal blessings. But if he turns away from his commitment, he is in grave danger of being cast into hell-fire, never to emerge again. Everyone who believes in God should go through the same experience as Moses’ people. Everyone who binds himself to the contract of faith should live in the fear of breaking his religious vows, thereby bringing catastrophe down upon himself. Sometimes those entrusted with the law of God go astray by contradicting it in practice, while finding words to make it appear that they are following it to the letter. The Israelites, for instance, were commanded to keep holy the Sabbath day, and refrain from worldly pursuits on that day. But they violated it and went about their work on the Sabbath as on any other day. Furthermore, they sought to justify their actions and made out that what they were doing conformed to the will of God. This audacity incurred God’s displeasure and they were turned into apes. Whenever one turns against the law of God, one puts oneself on a par with animals who follow no code of ethics. Those who play games with divine law, should fear being deprived of their human dignity, and being brought down to the level of animals.

Sometimes those entrusted with the law of God go astray by contradicting it in practice, while finding words to make it appear that they are following it to the letter. The Israelites, for instance, were commanded to keep holy the Sabbath day, and refrain from worldly pursuits on that day. But they violated it and went about their work on the Sabbath as on any other day. Furthermore, they sought to justify their actions and made out that what they were doing conformed to the will of God. This audacity incurred God’s displeasure and they were turned into apes. Whenever one turns against the law of God, one puts oneself on a par with animals who follow no code of ethics. Those who play games with divine law, should fear being deprived of their human dignity, and being brought down to the level of animals.

Another mistake that the Israelites had made was to destroy the simplicity of divine religion by involving themselves in complicated theological wrangling. They had to learn to interpret God’s will in a straightforward manner and obey it immediately. This was another lesson that was taught under the pretext of this murder case: hair-splitting to define the exact scope of divine edicts will only make things difficult for everyone; additional conditions will only complicate the carrying out of what had originally been a simple commandment.

A murder was committed among the Israelites in Moses’ time. The method that God revealed to His prophet to identify the killer was that an animal should be sacrificed, and the dead man’s corpse be struck with a piece of it. The dead man would then name the murderer. The third lesson in this instance was that life after death is no less a reality than life before death. Just as the dead corpse was revived, so every soul will be raised up in the Hereafter and given new life.

Those who seek to find loopholes in God’s commandments become more and more insensitive. God is another name for the most supreme of beings. If man’s faith is a living faith, belief in God shakes his soul so deeply that his verbosity is replaced by stunned silence. But when the heart is hardened, people begin to manipulate the divine scriptures, for they are used to doing the same with human writings. Such brazenness on their part increases their insensitivity, leading to hardening of their hearts. Their hearts are not moved before the might of their Lord. Their souls become resistant to any excitement at the thought of God. They remain rigid as the most impervious of rocks. Three aspects of the symbolic meaning of rocks have been mentioned in this verse: 1. One sees in the mountains how streams flow over the rocks, finally to join together to form a river. This is symbolic of a certain type of human being: one in whose heart fear of God is lodged, like water in the bosom of a mountain. This fear of the Lord flows from his eyes in the form of tears, as streams flow down the crags of the hillside. 2. Some rocks seem to be nothing more than dry boulders; but when cracked, reveal huge pools of water beneath them—wells from which people quench their thirst. This is on a parallel with one who, at first sight, appears to be far from the Lord. But then he is struck by some calamity, which shakes his soul. With floods of tears in his eyes he hastens to turn towards God. 3. Sometimes one sees landslides on mountain sides, with great slabs of rocks crashing down the slopes. This is comparable to a human being who has adopted an unjust attitude towards another. But, the moment he is reminded of the command of God, he immediately submits to it. He is not willing to give in to another human being. But when man’s issues become God’s affairs, he surrenders to Him in all humility. In nature, there is a message in every single thing, for God has created the world as a source of admonition and remembrance for man, to demonstrate to him how to make his life conform to the divine will. While throughout the universe, this message is conveyed in the language of silent examples, in the Quran it has been expressly set forth.

One of the reasons for the promptness with which the people of Madinah recognized the Prophet Muhammad, and believed in him, was that they had often heard from their Jewish neighbours of the coming of a final prophet. They had, therefore, been expecting his arrival. The Jews then were responsible for the Muslims’ initial fervour for Islam. It was only natural that the Muslims, in their turn, should hope that the Jews would unhesitatingly accept the prophethood of Muhammad. With every hope of a positive response, it was with sublime feelings that they called on the Jews to join them in their belief in the Prophet. How shocked the Muslims were, then, when they found that, contrary to their expectations, the Jews were not ready to accept their invitation to accept Islam. Rather, their efforts had the opposite effect, for the Prophet’s opponents took the opportunity to ask the Muslims, ‘How are you so sure about the prophethood of Muhammad? If he were truly a prophet, the Jews would have been the first to believe in him, for their knowledge of what is written in the scriptures is greater than yours.’ But acceptance of a truth is not dependent upon knowledge alone; one has also to be sincere. As for the Jews, they had already altered their own scriptures, though they knew them to be the word of God. Seeking out loopholes in any part of the Holy scriptures that did not conform to their wishes, they altered the word of God at will; religion was subordinated to their worldly interests. However true something may be, if one is bent on denial and intentional distortion, one is sure to find some justification or the other for it. Such a perverse attitude finally leads to deliberate misrepresentation of the true word of God. One who has such irreverent attitude towards the divine scriptures can never appreciate the gravity of matters concerning God: he hears the word of God, but he can always find words to show that the commandment does not apply to him; he believes in God, but his insensitivity makes him commit acts of flagrant rebellion against Him which no one who really believes that God is watching over him, and hearing what he says, would ever dare to perpetrate.

The Arabic word for ‘false notions’ is amani. According to Ibn ‘Abbas, Fara’ and Mujahid—some of the most reliable of the Quranic commentators—the word refers to the mythical tales invented by Jewish scholars. The overall aim of these stories was to prove that Paradise was reserved for the Jews. Added to this, statements in support of the theory that the Jews were God’s ‘chosen people’ were attributed to venerated Jewish saints. It was made out that certain magical properties were inherent in their religion, ensuring salvation by virtue of mere adherence to the run-of-the-mill rites of Judaism. Such sacred recipes for cheap salvation are very attractive to the masses, for they give credence to the popular notion based on wishful thinking that there is no need to discipline oneself—no need to lead a responsible life; superstitious charms and magical remedies are enough to cure one’s spiritual ills and have one admitted to heaven. The scholars who taught these tales, attributing them to past saints, became highly regarded for the theories they expounded were designed to win popular support. Facilitation of eternal salvation became for them a lucrative source of worldly income. People flocked to support them. They were showered with offerings, for they ushered others along the path to a paradise that did not have to be earned; in return they received worldly wealth that they did not have to labour for. This has been a failing in the people of the Book in every age. They wanted to live in a dream world, thinking that they had no obligations save the perfunctory performance of certain empty rituals, and deluding themselves into believing that they had certain inalienable rights given by God. Such people cannot accept the call of true religion, for truth demolishes all their wishful thinking, and makes them face the stark realities of life.

Man’s first duty to God is to become His worshipper without ascribing any partners to Him. Secondly, he should show kindness to others. Kindness starts at home, with one’s parents and family, extends to one’s neighbours and relatives, and finally reaches out to everyone with whom one comes into contact. There is only one proper way to deal with others, and that is with justice and well-wishing. Where one is really tested is in one’s dealings with ‘orphans and the needy’, that is, with the weaker members of society. As for the strong, their strength itself guarantees that they will be given deferential treatment. But so far as the weak are concerned there is no such incentive to deal with them justly. Therefore, one should be especially careful to behave well towards them. People who are good to those who wield no worldly power and possess scant resources, do so for God’s sake alone, for they have no other incentive. There are various reasons for having little inclination to show kindness when dealing with the weak. Benefactors frequently regard themselves as ‘superior’ persons and, when they are not shown what they consider to be due deference, they tend to treat people less fortunate than themselves with disdain. Then the thought of a permanent liability is often so irksome to them that they resort to ill-mannered behaviour to rid themselves of a burdensome obligation. This attitude leaves no room for the notion that the weak also have their self-respect. When the benefactor is not shown what he considers to be due deference, he regards the beneficiary as unworthy and incompetent. This thinking finds expression in various ways.

Before the advent of Islam, three Jewish tribes inhabited the area around Madinah: the Banu Nadir, the Banu Qurayzah, and the Banu Qaynuqa‘. Despite the fact that all of them adhered to Mosaic law, ignorant prejudices had divided them into two groups. They had become enmeshed, along with the polytheist tribes of Madinah—al-Aws and the Khazraj—in political manoeuvering. The Banu Nadir and the Banu Qurayzah had aligned themselves with the Aws tribe, and the Banu Qaynuqa‘ with the Khazraj. Divided into two camps in this manner, the three Jewish tribes were constantly at war with one another. The basic teachings of Islamic law demand the total renunciation of pagan ways, the suppressing of one’s selfish desires and the controlling of one’s worldly needs— that is why the commands of Islamic law are ignored in politics. Obedience to them would bring about true piety, but people do not like to involve themselves in such arduous practices. They prefer to put on a pretence of piety by conducting certain superficial rituals. This is tantamount to issuing a self-made edition of divine religion; it is to disregard the Hereafter and attach importance to the worldly aspect of religion in the hope that zeal in performing actions which promise worldly fame and honour will qualify them for the reward reserved for true piety. But such brazen distortion of religion can only earn one God’s wrath; it does not merit any reward from God.

The Torah was the Book of God revealed to the Jews. Gradually, however, they ceased to treat it as a source of divine guidance and came to regard it as a sacred relic of their national heritage, a symbol of ethnic superiority; it became more a guarantee of salvation than a guide as to how salvation could be earned. After Moses, several prophets arose among the Jewish people—Joshua, David, Zachariah, John the Baptist and finally Jesus, to name but a few—all of whom pointed out to the Jews that it was not enough just to revere the Torah as a holy book. Its teachings had to be actually practised. It is futile to believe in the sacredness of the holy scriptures if one does not implement their message in one’s everyday life. But the Jews, the very people who held the Torah in such high esteem, were extremely intolerant of the Prophet’s exhortations. The reason for such a reaction on their part was that they had allowed self-interest and worldly ambitions to rule their lives, while passing themselves off as bearers and upholders of the true faith. As long as religion served to consolidate their worldly status, they welcomed it, but were loath to accept the message of truth—presented to them in all its purity—which they saw as a threat to the hegemony they had secured for themselves on the basis of religion. It was their egoism which came in the way of true religiosity. Instead of being the first to believe in it, they rejected the message as well as the messenger, subjecting God’s prophets to scorn and victimisation. They called them impostors and even went to the extent of killing them.

The Jews of Arabia behaved similarly with the Prophet Muhammad. They had seen prophecies of the coming of a final prophet in their scriptures, and had eagerly anticipated his arrival. When he comes, they used to say, we will join with him in a grand alliance against the pagans and idolators. But these proved to be empty words on their part, a pretence aimed at consolidating their status as undisputed guardians of divine faith. When the Prophet came, the truth of their position was exposed. They were shown to be steeped in bigotry, reluctant to believe in a prophet who did not come from the Jewish race. They could not dispute the authentic indications presented by the Quran in support of his prophethood; all they could say was, ‘It all sounds very impressive, but our ancestral religion is good enough for us. Our hearts are sealed and we will not accept anything besides the faith we have inherited from our forefathers.’