SURAH 2 – AL-BAQARAH - THE COW

VERSES 74-82

Quran Study Sessions – Session 30

June 21, 2020

Introduction

❑ In these verses, Allah criticizes many of the actions and beliefs of Bani Israel in the past and present.

❑Then your hearts became hardened after that (after the murdered man was brought to life), being like stones or even harder.

❑For indeed, there are stones from which rivers burst forth, and there are some of them that split open and water comes out, and there are some of them that fall down for fear of Allah.

❑And Allah is not unaware of what you do.

Verse 74 Basic Meanings

❑Even after seeing the miracles of Allah, the hearts of Bani Israel became hard. They were stubborn and disbelieving to Musa (AS) and their other prophets.

❑Allah compared their hearts to rocks. Except that even rocks can have water flow out of them, and they can fall from the fear of Allah.

Verse 74

❑Do you covet [the hope, O believers], that they (Bani Israel) would believe for you while a party of them used to hear the words of Allah and then distort it after they had understood it while they were knowing?

Verse 75 Basic Meanings

❑Allah asks believers whether they forgot the deeds of Bani Israel. He asks them how they can expect all of Bani Israel to become believers

❑The scholars of Bani Israel used to hear the book of Allah, the Torah, and they twisted its meanings by interpreting it in the wrong way, distorting the words themselves, or ignoring it completely.

❑They would do this knowing that they were corrupting Allah’s book.

❑So, how can it be expected that all of Bani Israel believes? In fact, some will believe and some will stick to falsehood as actually happened in the time of the Prophet (SAW).

Verse 75

❑And when they (some people of Bani Israel) meet those who believe, they say, "We have believed";

❑But when they are alone with one another, they say, "Do you talk to them about what Allah has revealed to you so they can argue with you about it before your Lord? Then will you not reason?"

Verse 76 Basic Meanings

❑These verses are about some hypocrites from Jews in Madinah

❑They claimed to believe in front of the Prophet and Muslims, then didn’t actually believe.

❑They discouraged each other from telling Muslims about the parts of their book that confirmed Islam and confirmed the prophethood of Muhammad (SAW).

Verse 76

❑But do they not know that Allah knows what they conceal and what they declare?

Verse 77 Basic Meanings

❑Allah talks about the hypocrites, whether they do not understand that Allah knows what they say in secret and hide in their hearts.

Verse 77

❑And among them (Bani Israel) are unlettered ones who do not know the Scripture except in wishful thinking, but they are only assuming.

Verse 78 Basic Meanings

❑Allah talks about a group in Bani Israel that is illiterate and doesn’t know their book.

❑They only follow their assumptions of what the book says, or they only follow what they hear others say.

❑This is a lesson for us to not be illiterate in Allah’s revelation such that we would only be following assumptions and delusion.

Verse 78

❑So woe to those who write the "scripture" with their own hands, then say, "This is from Allah," in order to exchange it for a small price.

❑Woe to them for what their hands have written and woe to them for what they earn.

Verse 79 Basic Meanings

َوْيل❑ is a type of curse meaning death and destruction. Allah curses this group of Bani Israel with death and destruction.

❑This curse is for the group that calls their own writing revelation from God. Meaning, they try to fabricate and corrupt the books of God.

❑They do this for small gains in the world. They are cursed by Allah for what they do and what they gain in benefits from the world.

Verse 79

❑And they say, "Never will the Fire touch us, except for a few days."

❑Say, "Have you taken a covenant with Allah? For Allah will never break His covenant. Or do you say about Allah that which you do not know?"

Verse 80 Basic Meanings

❑[…] [When Khaibar was conquered, the Jews were gathered and the Prophet] said to them, "If I ask you about something; will you tell me the truth?" They replied, "Yes, O Abal-Qasim! [...]," Allah's Messenger ( ( ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص then asked, "Who are the people of the (Hell) Fire?" They replied, "We will remain in the (Hell) Fire for a while and then you (Muslims) will replace us in it" Allah's Messenger ملسو هيلع هللا ىلص said to them. ''You will abide in it with ignominy. By Allah, we shall never replace you in it at all.“ (Sahih al-Bukhari)

❑Allah criticizes the belief that the Jews held that they would only be in Hell for a short time if any time at all.

❑Allah asks them to bring any proof or promise that Allah made to them for this belief.

Verse 80

https://sunnah.com/bukhari/76/89

❑Yes, whoever earns evil and his sin has encompassed him - those are the companions of the Fire; they will abide therein eternally.

Verse 81 Basic Meanings

❑Allah tells those who believe they are safe from Jahannam except for a few days that, in fact, if they are covered in sins, nothing will save them from Jahannam.

Verse 81

❑But they who believe and do righteous deeds - those are the companions of Paradise; they will abide therein eternally.

Verse 82 Basic Meanings

❑Instead of what they think will happen, only those who believe and do righteous deeds will go to Jannah.

❑This is a criticism of the Jewish belief in their superiority that they will go to Jannah because of their ethnicity alone.

❑According to Allah, going to Jannah and being saved from Jahannam depends on the individual himself and his actions and not his lineage.

Verse 82

❑Sunnah.com for Hadith

❑Furqan.co for Tafsir in Arabic

❑Englishtafsir.com for Tafsir in English

References