2. Al-Baqara

The likeness the attribute of those who disbelieve and the one who calls them to guidance is as the likeness of one who shouts to that which hears nothing save a call and a cry only a sound not understanding its meaning when they listen to an admonition they are like cattle that hear the cry of their shepherd but do not understand what he is saying; they are deaf dumb blind — they do not comprehend any admonition.

O you who believe eat of the good things that are lawful wherewith We have provided you and give thanks to God for what He has made lawful for you if it be Him that you worship.

He has only forbidden you carrion that is the consumption of it since this is the subject of the general address here and similarly the consumption of what follows all of which is what has not been slaughtered in accordance with prescriptions of the Law; to this the Sunna adds as also constituting carrion what has been severed from a living creature. A special status is however accorded fish and locusts; blood poured forth as in sūrat al-An‘ām see Q. 6145 the flesh of swine the meat is singled out for mention because that part is what people mostly seek every other part being implied thereby; what has been hallowed to other than God that is to say what has been slaughtered in other than His Name al-ihlāl is the raising of one’s voice which they used to do when sacrificing for their gods. Yet whoever is constrained forced by dire need to eat of the above-mentioned not desiring to rebel against Muslims nor transgressing committing aggression against them by waylaying them no sin shall be on him for eating it. God is Forgiving to His friends Merciful to those who are obedient to Him for He has granted them wide berth in this matter. The aggressor and the transgressor are excluded from this dispensation and to these two categories one should also add every person that sets out on a journey in disobedience such as the fugitive or the excise collector for whom it would be unlawful to eat any of the mentioned unless they repent of their disobedience; this is the opinion of al-Shāfi‘ī.

Those who conceal what God has revealed of the Scripture comprising all the descriptions of Muhammad (s) meaning the Jews and sell it for a little price in this world taking this little price in its place from the debased ones among them for fear of losing out if they were to manifest it sc. the truth of Muhammad (s) — they shall consume nothing in their bellies but the Fire because that is their journey’s end; God shall not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection out of anger with them neither purify them from the filth of sin; and theirs is a painful chastisement that is the Fire.

Those are they that have bought error at the price of guidance taking the former in place of the latter in this world and chastisement at the price of pardon the pardon that would have been prepared for them in the Hereafter had they not concealed this matter; what makes them so patient for the Fire? that is how great is the extent of their patience? This statement is intended to provoke amazement in the believers at the way in which they the disbelievers commit sins that necessitate their punishment in the Fire with complete indifference. In reality they would have no patience whatever to endure the Fire.

That which has been mentioned of their eating of the Fire and what follows it is because God has revealed the Book with the truth but they are at variance regarding it believing in parts of it while disbelieving in others and concealing them; and those that are at variance regarding the Book concerning this matter namely the Jews — although it is said that these are the idolaters some of whom said with regard to the Qur’ān that it was poetry others that it was sorcery and others still that it was divination — are in schism disagreement far removed from the truth.

It is not piety that you turn your faces in prayer to the East and to the West. This was revealed in response to the claim made by the Jews and the Christians to this effect. True piety that is the pious person al-birr is also read al-barr in the sense of al-bārr ‘the dutiful person’ is that of the one who believes in God and the Last Day and the angels and the Book that is the scriptures and the prophets and who gives of his substance however despite it being cherished by him to kinsmen and orphans and the needy and the traveller and beggars and for the setting free of slaves both the captive and the one to be manumitted by contract; and who observes prayer and pays the alms that are obligatory and what was given before alms were made obligatory in the way of charity; and those who fulfil their covenant when they have engaged in a covenant with God or with others those who endure with fortitude al-sābirīna is the accusative of laudation misfortune al-ba’sā’ is abject poverty hardship illness and peril at the height of a battle in the way of God; these described in the way mentioned are the ones who are truthful in their faith and in their claims to piety and these are the ones who are fearful of God.

In retaliation there is life for you that is great longevity O people of pith possessors of intellect because if the would-be killer knew that he would be killed in retaliation he would refrain from such action and would have thereby given life to himself and to the one whom he had intended to kill; and so it retaliation was stipulated by the Law so that you might fear killing fearing retaliation.

Prescribed made obligatory for you when any of you is approached by death that is by its causes and leaves behind some good material possessions is to make testament al-wasiyyatu is in the nominative because of kutiba and is semantically connected to the particle idhā ‘when’ if the latter is adverbial; but if this latter is conditional then it al-wasiyyatu indicates the response; the response to the conditional particle in ‘if’ is in other words implied to be fa’l-yūsi ‘let him make testament’; in favour of his parents and kinsmen honourably that is justly not giving more than the allotted share of a third nor preferring the richer person — an obligation haqqan here emphasises the import of what has preceded on those that fear God this verse has been abrogated by the ‘inheritance’ verse āyat al-mīrāth see Q. 411 and by the hadīth ‘Do not make testament for one already inheriting’ as reported by al-Tirmidhī.