Appearance
Verses 108–115
أَمْ تُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَسْأَلُوا رَسُولَكُمْ كَمَا سُئِلَ مُوسَىٰ مِنْ قَبْلُ ۗ وَمَنْ يَتَبَدَّلِ الْكُفْرَ بِالْإِيمَانِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَاءَ السَّبِيلِ ١٠٨ وَدَّ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَوْ يَرُدُّونَكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيمَانِكُمْ كُفَّارًا حَسَدًا مِنْ عِنْدِ أَنْفُسِهِمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْحَقُّ ۖ فَاعْفُوا وَاصْفَحُوا حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ١٠٩ وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ ۚ وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ تَجِدُوهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ ١١٠ وَقَالُوا لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ ۗ تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ ۗ قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ١١١ بَلَىٰ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ١١٢ وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ لَيْسَتِ النَّصَارَىٰ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَىٰ لَيْسَتِ الْيَهُودُ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ وَهُمْ يَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ مِثْلَ قَوْلِهِمْ ۚ فَاللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ ١١٣ وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ مَنَعَ مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ يُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ وَسَعَىٰ فِي خَرَابِهَا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ مَا كَانَ لَهُمْ أَنْ يَدْخُلُوهَا إِلَّا خَائِفِينَ ۚ لَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا خِزْيٌ وَلَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ ١١٤ وَلِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ ۚ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ ١١٥
- Or, do you wish to put questions to your Messenger, as Moses was questioned before? And whoever adopts unbelief instead of faith, he indeed has lost the right way.
- Many of the People of the Book wish that they could turn you back into unbelievers after your faith, out of envy on their part, [even] after the truth has become manifest to them. But pardon and forgive [them] until Allah should bring about His command. Surely Allah has power over all things.
- And keep up prayer and pay the zakāt, and whatever good you send before for yourselves you shall find it with Allah; surely Allah sees what you do.
- And they say: None shall enter the garden except he who is a Jew or a Christian. These are their vain desires. Say: Bring your proof if you are truthful.
- Yes! whoever submits his self entirely to Allah and he is the doer of good, he has his reward with his Lord, and there is no fear for them nor shall they grieve.
- And the Jews say: The Christians do not follow anything [good], and the Christians say: The Jews do not follow anything [good], while they recite the Book. Even thus say those who have no knowledge, like to what they say; so Allah shall judge between them on the Day of Resurrection in what they differ.
- And who is more unjust than he who prevents [men from] the mosques of Allah, that His name shall not be remembered in them, and strives to ruin them? [As for] those, it was not for them that they should have entered them except in fear; they shall meet with disgrace in this world, and they shall have great chastisement in the hereafter.
- And Allah’s is the East and the West; therefore, whither you turn, thither is Allah’s face; surely Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.
Commentary
أَمْ تُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَسْأَلُوا رَسُولَكُمْ كَمَا سُئِلَ مُوسَىٰ مِنْ قَبْلُ ۗ وَمَنْ يَتَبَدَّلِ الْكُفْرَ بِالْإِيمَانِ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ سَوَاءَ السَّبِيلِ ١٠٨
(2:108) Or, do you wish to put questions to your Messenger, as Moses was questioned before? And whoever adopts unbelief instead of faith, he indeed has lost the right way.
It appears from this sentence that some of the Muslims—although believing in the Prophet—had put some questions to him not unlike the questions put to Moses by the Jews. That is why they have been placed here in line with the Jews for admonition.
The tradition too supports this interpretation.
… he indeed has lost the right way: That is, he has lost the straight path.
وَدَّ كَثِيرٌ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَوْ يَرُدُّونَكُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ إِيمَانِكُمْ كُفَّارًا حَسَدًا مِنْ عِنْدِ أَنْفُسِهِمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الْحَقُّ ۖ فَاعْفُوا وَاصْفَحُوا حَتَّىٰ يَأْتِيَ اللَّهُ بِأَمْرِهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ١٠٩
(2:109) Many of the People of the Book wish that they could turn you back into unbelievers after your faith, out of envy on their part, [even] after the truth has become manifest to them. But pardon and forgive [them] until Allah should bring about His command. Surely Allah has power over all things.
Reportedly it refers to Ḥuyayy b. al-Akhṭab and other Jews who were with him.
But pardon and forgive [them]: According to the exegetes this order was abrogated by the verse of fighting.
… until Allah should bring about His command: As indicated above, this clause alludes to a command that was to be revealed in not too distant a time about the Jews. The case is similar to the verse: [As for] those, it was not for them that they should have entered them except in fear (), when read together with the verse: the idolaters are nothing but unclean, so they shall not approach the Sacred Mosque after this [very] year …(). The clause, “except in fear,” had hinted to the intended ban that was promulgated later.
We shall explain the meaning of al-amr (command) under the verse: And they ask you about the soul. Say: The soul is from the command of My Lord ().
وَقَالُوا لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ ۗ تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ ۗ قُلْ هَاتُوا بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ١١١
(2:111) And they say: None shall enter the garden except he who is a Jew or a Christian. These are their vain desires. Say: Bring your proof if you are truthful.
The verse explicitly joins the Christians with the Jews; from now on the sins and crimes of both will be enumerated together.
بَلَىٰ مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ ١١٢
(2:112) Yes! whoever submits his self entirely to Allah and he is the doer of good, he has his reward with his Lord, and there is no fear for them nor shall they grieve.
It reiterates for the third time the basic principle that the spiritual felicity does not depend on name or nomenclature, that no one can get honor with God except by true faith in, and total surrender to, Him. The first declaration was in the verse: Surely those who believe and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabaeans, whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward … (); the second one was in the verse: Yea! whoever earns evil … And [as for] those who believe and do good deeds, these are the dwellers of the garden … (); the third is this verse under discussion.
A comparison of this verse with the previous two shows that the true belief entails submitting one’s self entirely to God; and al-iḥsān (to do good) is synonymous to the good deeds.
وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ لَيْسَتِ النَّصَارَىٰ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَىٰ لَيْسَتِ الْيَهُودُ عَلَىٰ شَيْءٍ وَهُمْ يَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ قَالَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ مِثْلَ قَوْلِهِمْ ۚ فَاللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ ١١٣
(2:113) And the Jews say: The Christians do not follow anything [good], and the Christians say: The Jews do not follow anything [good], while they recite the Book. Even thus say those who have no knowledge, like to what they say; so Allah shall judge between them on the Day of Resurrection in what they differ.
That is, while they follow the Book revealed to them. They should not say such things because they have the Book with them and it clearly shows them where the truth is.
This explanation is supported by the next sentence, “Even thus say those who have no knowledge, like to what they say.” The word, “those who have no knowledge,” refers to the unbelievers (other than the People of the Book) and the polytheists of Arabia. They used to say, “The Muslims do not follow anything good,” or “The People of the Book do not follow anything good.”
وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ مَنَعَ مَسَاجِدَ اللَّهِ أَنْ يُذْكَرَ فِيهَا اسْمُهُ وَسَعَىٰ فِي خَرَابِهَا ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ مَا كَانَ لَهُمْ أَنْ يَدْخُلُوهَا إِلَّا خَائِفِينَ ۚ لَهُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا خِزْيٌ وَلَهُمْ فِي الْآخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ ١١٤
(2:114) And who is more unjust than he who prevents [men from] the mosques of Allah, that His name shall not be remembered in them, and strives to ruin them? [As for] those, it was not for them that they should have entered them except in fear; they shall meet with disgrace in this world, and they shall have great chastisement in the hereafter.
Apparently it refers to the unbelievers and polytheists of Mecca. These two verses were revealed not long after the Messenger of God emigrated to Medina.
… it was not for them that they should have entered them except in fear: The verb, “was,” shows that the sentence describes a past event. It perfectly fits the pagans of Mecca and their misdeeds. The traditions say that “he who prevents” refers to the unbelievers of Mecca, it was they who prevented the Muslims from praying in the Sacred Mosque (Masjid al-Ḥarām) and in other mosques within the precinct of the Kaʿbah.
وَلِلَّهِ الْمَشْرِقُ وَالْمَغْرِبُ ۚ فَأَيْنَمَا تُوَلُّوا فَثَمَّ وَجْهُ اللَّهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَاسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ ١١٥
(2:115) And Allah’s is the East and the West; therefore, whither you turn, thither is Allah’s face; surely Allah is Ample-giving, Knowing.
The east and the west—any direction, whatsoever—really belong to God. His is the true mastership that cannot be altered or transferred; it is not like the possession known to us in our society’s framework. God’s ownership permeates the possessed thing itself as well as its benefits and effects, unlike our ownership that covers only the benefits and effects, and not the thing itself.
A property, possession, per se, cannot stand except with its owner. Therefore, the east and the west, nay, all the directions whatsoever, exist because of God—the Owner. God preserves and manages the directions, and encompasses them. Anyone turning to any of the directions, turns in reality to God.
The east and the west are relative terms. They cover almost all the directions, except the two imaginary points of the true north and the true south. That is why God left the clause, “whither you turn,” unconditional, and did not say, ‘whither you turn of these two directions’. To whatever direction one turns one’s face, it is bound to be either east or west. The sentence, “And God’s is the East and the West,” therefore, implies that all the directions belong to God.
The east and the west were selected for special mention because man fixes the directions with the help of rising and setting of the sun and other heavenly bodies.
… therefore, whither you turn, thither is Allah’s face: It puts the cause in place of the effect. What the sentence implies is as follows: To whichever direction you turn, it is allowed to you, because God’s face is in that directions too.
The concluding clause, “surely God is Ample-giving, Knowing,” supports this interpretation.
al-Wāsiʿ (translated here as “ample-giving”) literally means extensive, abounding, far-reaching. It implies that God’s ownership is extensive and all-pervading and every direction belongs to Him. He is All-knowing too; therefore, He knows what your aim and intention is, no matter whichever direction you turn your face to. He is not like human beings or other creatures—if we want to see some physical object, we have to turn to a particular direction in order to bring it into focus. But God is not confined to a particular direction; turn to any direction, you are turning to God, and God knows it.
The verse gives a latitude about the qiblah, as far as its directions is concerned, but not regarding its location as may be inferred from the clause, “And God’s is the East and the West,” inasmuch as it mentions the directions only.
Examining Narrations
- Muḥammad b. al-Ḥusayn said: “It was written to al-ʿAbd al-Ṣāliḥ: ‘A man prays in a cloudy day in an open space and he does not know the (direction of) qiblah, he prays; and when he has finished his prayer, the sun appears and (he finds that) he had prayed against qiblah. Should he regard his prayer (as valid) or should he repeat it?’ He wrote: ‘He should repeat it if the time (of prayer) is not over. Does he not know that God says—and His word is true: therefore, whither you turn, thither is God’s face?’ ” (al-Tahdhīb)
- Imam al-Bāqir said about the word of God: And Allah’s is the East and the West …: “God has revealed this verse especially for the voluntary prayer; therefore, whither you turn, thither is God’s face; surely God is Ample-giving, Knowing. And the Messenger of God prayed on his camel by making gestures (for the actions of the prayer) wherever it turned to, when he proceeded to Khaybar, and also when he returned from Mecca—and the Kaʿbah was behind his back.” (al-ʿAyyāshī )
Author’s comment: al-ʿAyyāshī has narrated another tradition of nearly the same meaning through Zurarah from Imam al-Ṣādiq; and so have done al-Qummi and al-Shaykh from Abu al-Ḥasan and al-Ṣadūq from Imam al-Ṣādiq.
If you study the traditions of the imams of the Ahl al-Bayt, related to the exegesis of the Qur’anic verses—the general and the particular; the unconditional and the conditional—you will see that often they infer one rule from the general verse, and another rule from the same when read together with the particular one. For example, the general verse implies a voluntary rule; but read with the particular one it promulgates an obligatory law. The same applies to the cases of disliked and forbidden things. And so on.
The above is a key factor in understanding the traditions narrated from the imams; and on it depends the knowledge of a multitude of their traditions.
You may infer from it two important principles of the Qur’anic knowledge:
First: Every Qur’anic clause or sentence, taken alone, describes an established reality or rule; when it is joined to another revealed qualifying clause, it indicates another reality or rule; add to it another qualification or condition and you get a third set of confirmed reality or law; and so on. For example, look at the verse: Say: Allah; then leave them sporting in their vain discourses (). It indicates four separate meanings depending on the word we stop at: First, “Say: God”; second, “Say: God; then leave them”; third, “Say: God; then leave them in their vain discourses”; fourth, “Say: God, then leave them sporting in their vain discourses.” Many such examples may be found in the Qur’an.
Second: If two stories or two themes are joined in one sentence or clause, both of them must be having a common base.
These two esoteric principles of exegesis open the way to many Qur’anic secrets—and God is the true Guide.