In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
A summary of the Tafsir of al-Tabari.
Abridged by Dr. 'Aqil ibn Salim al-Shammari.
Surah al-Baqarah.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Alif Lam Mim.
Allah, whose praise is exalted, made these disjointed letters.
They are not connected to one another.
Unlike the rest of speech where letters are joined.
This is because He, the Exalted in remembrance,
intended by their articulation to signify, through each letter, many meanings,
not merely a single meaning.
“This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil).” (2:2)
Guidance for the God-fearing.
This which I have mentioned and clarified for you, O Muhammad,
is the Book in which there is no doubt that it is from Allah.
It is guidance away from misguidance for those who feared their Lord,
by obeying Him in what He commanded of His obligatory duties,
and avoiding what He forbade them of His acts of disobedience.
“Who believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them;” (2:3)
And from what We have provided them, they spend.
They are those who believe in what is unseen to them regarding Paradise and Hell,
the reward and the punishment, and the Resurrection.
And in what Allah mentioned in the Qur'an,
such as believing in Allah, His angels, His books, and His messengers.
They establish prayer by performing it with its limits and requirements,
just as it was ordained for them, with complete bowing and prostration,
recitation, and humility.
And from what We have provided them, they pay the zakat or provide maintenance
to those whose support is incumbent upon them, such as family and dependents.
They are those who believe you regarding what you brought from Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,
and what the messengers before you brought.
They do not make distinctions between them,
nor do they deny what came to them from their Lord.
They believe in the matters of the Hereafter: the Resurrection and the gathering,
the reward, the punishment, the reckoning, and the Balance,
and all else that Allah has prepared for His creation on the Day of Resurrection; they are certain of it.
This is an allusion censuring the People of the Scripture,
who claimed to believe in what the messengers of Allah brought before Muhammad, peace be upon him,
while they disbelieve in Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Those are the God-fearing.
And those who believe in what was revealed to Muhammad, peace be upon him,
and to the messengers before him,
are upon light from their Lord and a clear proof,
and upon uprightness and correctness,
through Allah’s guidance and success granted to them.
Those are the successful ones, attaining what they sought from Allah, the Exalted, of reward,
and eternity in the Gardens,
and salvation from the punishment Allah has prepared for His enemies.
Indeed, those who deny what was revealed to you from your Lord,
it is all the same to them whether you warn them or do not warn them,
because they do not believe.
Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and their hearing.
Allah has placed a seal upon their hearts,
so that faith has no path into them,
and disbelief has no way out of them.
And He has placed a covering over their vision,
preventing them from seeing the path of guidance,
so they do not recognize the ugliness of the misguidance and ruin they are upon.
And for them is a great punishment.
And of the people are some who say, "We believe in Allah."
“And of mankind are some who say: We believe in Allah and the Last Day, when they believe not.” (2:8)
And of the people—and they are the hypocrites—
are those who say, "We believe in Allah and in the Resurrection on the Day of Judgment,"
while they are not believers in what they claim to believe.
This is a refutation of their claim regarding their own beliefs,
and an informing of His Prophet, peace be upon him,
that what they manifest with their tongues
is contrary to what is in the depths of their hearts,
and the opposite of what is in the intentions of their souls.
“They think to beguile Allah and those who believe, and they beguile none save themselves; but they perceive not.” (2:9)
“They think to beguile Allah and those who believe, and they beguile none save themselves; but they perceive not.” (2:9)
He is deceiving himself,
because he shows his soul through his actions that he is granting it its desires,
and giving it the cup of its pleasure,
while he is actually leading it to the pools of its own destruction,
and making it taste of Allah’s wrath and painful punishment
that which it cannot withstand.
They do not perceive that Allah is deceiving them by granting them respite,
and gradually leading them to their ruin.
So Allah increased them in disease,
“In their hearts is a disease, and Allah increaseth their disease. A painful doom is theirs because they lie.” (2:10)
in the conviction of their hearts regarding their religion,
and in their belief in Muhammad, peace be upon him,
and in what he brought from Allah.
It is a sickness and doubt.
Allah increased them—through the limits and obligations He ordained which they had not previously been bound by—
in doubt and confusion, added to the disease and doubt already in their hearts.
And for them is a painful punishment for the lies they told with their tongues.
“And of mankind are some who say: We believe in Allah and the Last Day, when they believe not.” (2:8)
“And when it is said unto them: Make not mischief in the earth, they say: We are peacemakers only.” (2:11)
“And when it is said unto them: Make not mischief in the earth, they say: We are peacemakers only.” (2:11)
And when it is said to the hypocrites, "Do not cause corruption on the earth,"
by disobeying your Lord upon it,
and by committing what He has forbidden you to commit,
and by neglecting His obligations,
and by doubting the religion of Allah,
and by supporting those who deny Allah, His books, and His messengers against the allies of Allah,
they say, "We are only reformers on the earth, and upon guidance and righteousness."
“Are not they indeed the mischief-makers? But they perceive not.” (2:12)
Unquestionably, it is they who are violating the command of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic,
transgressing His limits,
committing acts of disobedience,
and abandoning His obligations,
and they know that they are as such.
“And when it is said unto them: believe as the people believe, they say: shall we believe as the foolish believe? are not they indeed the foolish? But they know not.” (2:13)
“And when it is said unto them: believe as the people believe, they say: shall we believe as the foolish believe? are not they indeed the foolish? But they know not.” (2:13)
“And when it is said unto them: believe as the people believe, they say: shall we believe as the foolish believe? are not they indeed the foolish? But they know not.” (2:13)
And when it is said to them,
"Believe in Muhammad and in what he brought from Allah,"
just as the believers have believed,
who believed in Muhammad, his prophethood, and what he brought from Allah,
they say, "Should we believe as the ignorant have believed?"
"And should we believe in Muhammad, peace be upon him,"
"as these people who have no intellect or understanding have believed?"
Unquestionably, it is they who are the ignorant in their religion,
weak in judgment regarding the beliefs and choices they have chosen for themselves,
consisting of doubt and suspicion regarding the command of Allah and His Messenger,
yet they think they are doing good.
That is the very essence of foolishness,
for the fool only causes corruption while thinking he is bringing about reform.
Likewise, the hypocrite
disobeys his Lord while thinking he is obeying Him,
and disbelieves in Him while thinking he is believing in Him,
and harms himself while thinking he is doing good to himself.
And when they meet those who believe, they say, "We believe."
But when they are alone with their devils, they say, "Indeed, we are with you;
we were only mocking."
When they meet the believers who believe in Allah, His Book, and His Messenger,
they say to them, "We believe and have faith in Muhammad and what he brought from Allah,"
as a deception to protect their lives, wealth, and offspring.
And when they are alone with their ringleaders and those of arrogance, evil, and malice among them,
they say to them, "Indeed, we are with you in your religion,
and we are your supporters against those who oppose you in it."
"We are only mocking the companions of Muhammad, peace be upon him,"
"by telling them when we meet them, 'We believe in Allah and the Last Day.'"
Allah mocks them and prolongs them in their transgression, wandering blindly.
Allah’s mocking consists of granting the hypocrites in this world
rulings that include them in the count of those covered by the name of Islam,
even if they harbor the opposite in their hearts,
despite Allah’s knowledge of their lies and His awareness of the malice of their beliefs,
until they think He will gather them in the Hereafter with the believers.
But Allah has prepared for them His painful punishment and severe torment,
mocking, ridiculing, deceiving, and plotting against them.
He grants them respite and leaves them to persist in their transgression and disbelief,
wandering in confusion and error,
finding no way to escape from it.
Those are the ones who have purchased misguidance and abandoned guidance,
so they have lost and have not gained,
nor were they guided in their choice of misguidance over guidance,
and their exchange of disbelief for faith.
The example of the hypocrites’ illumination
by what they manifest of affirmation of Allah and Muhammad, peace be upon him,
and what he brought—in speech, while they deny it in their hearts—
is like the illumination of one who kindles a fire;
once it lit up and he saw what was around him,
the fire died down and was extinguished,
so his light departed,
and the one who was illuminated by it returned to darkness and confusion.
Likewise are the hypocrites;
Allah has taken away their light,
and left them in darkness, unable to see after the light they were in during this world,
due to what they manifested with their tongues of affirmation of Islam,
while they harbored the opposite.
They are deaf to guidance and the truth,
so they do not hear them due to Allah’s abandonment of them.
They are dumb regarding speaking of them,
so they do not utter them.
They are blind to seeing them so as to understand them,
so they will not return to abandoning their misguidance.
“Or like a rainstorm from the sky, wherein is darkness, thunder and the flash of lightning. They thrust their fingers in their ears by reason of the thunder-claps, for fear of death, Allah encompasseth the disbelievers (in His guidance, His omniscience and His omnipotence).” (2:19)
And Allah is encompassing of the disbelievers.
The example of the hypocrites’ illumination by the light of their affirmation of Islam,
while concealing disbelief,
is like a rainstorm traveling by night
in a dark cloud and a dark night,
driven by thunder, with lightning flashing at its edges, intense in its brilliance.
The flash of its lightning almost takes away their sight and snatches it,
due to the intensity of its brightness and the light of its rays.
And from it, thunderbolts descend at times,
almost causing souls to perish from the intensity of their terror.
Allah struck the rainstorm as a parable for the outward faith of the hypocrite,
and the darkness within it as a parable for his misguidance,
and the light of the lightning as a parable for the light of his faith,
and his shielding himself from the thunderbolts by putting his fingers in his ears
as a parable for the weakness of his heart and the terror of his soul at the arrival of Allah’s punishment at his doorstep,
and his walking in the light of the lightning
as a parable for his steadfastness on the light of his faith,
and his standing still in the darkness
as a parable for his confusion in his misguidance and his relapse into his blindness.
And Allah is the Gatherer of the disbelievers,
so He will inflict His punishment upon them.
Then He, the Exalted in remembrance, returned to describing the hypocrites’ affirmation with their tongues,
and said:
The affirmation they manifested with their tongues regarding Allah, His Messenger, and what he brought
almost takes away their sight and snatches it due to the intensity of its brightness and the light of its rays.
Whenever the light of faith shines for them,
they see in it what pleases them in their immediate worldly life,
such as victory over enemies,
obtaining spoils in military expeditions,
and safety for their bodies, families, and children;
they remain steadfast upon it and persist in it.
But when it becomes dark,
and they do not see in Islam what pleases them,
they persist in their hypocrisy and remain steadfast in their misguidance,
just like the traveler walking in the darkness of the night and the darkness of the rainstorm;
when a flash of lightning occurs, he sees his path,
but when the light of the lightning departs from them,
he is confused in his path and does not know his way.
If Allah had willed, He would have taken away the hearing and sight of the hypocrites.
Indeed, Allah is over all things competent,
and over inflicting His wrath upon them and sending down His vengeance upon them.
O all of mankind,
whether disbelievers, hypocrites, or others,
from among all of His creation who are held accountable:
Worship your Lord alone, He who created you and created your forefathers,
your ancestors, and all of creation besides you,
so that you may guard against His wrath and anger
from descending upon you,
and so that you may be among the righteous.
So that they may descend upon you,
and you may be among the righteous with whom their Lord is pleased.
“Who hath appointed the earth a resting-place for you, and the sky a canopy; and causeth water to pour down from the sky, thereby producing fruits as food for you. And do not set up rivals to Allah when ye know (better).” (2:22)
And the sky as a canopy.
And He sent down water from the sky,
and thereby brought forth fruits as a provision for you.
“Who hath appointed the earth a resting-place for you, and the sky a canopy; and causeth water to pour down from the sky, thereby producing fruits as food for you. And do not set up rivals to Allah when ye know (better).” (2:22)
Worship your Lord,
who made the earth a resting place and a foundation for you,
and a stable place for you to dwell upon.
And the sky as a structure above the earth,
in the form of a dome.
And He sent down rain from the sky,
and thereby brought forth from their crops and plantations
fruits as a provision for them,
as nourishment and sustenance.
So do not set up rivals or equals to Allah in obedience,
while you know that you have no lord who provides for you other than Him,
and that He is the Originator of creation and its Creator.
“And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto Our slave (Muhammad), then produce a surah of the like thereof, and call your witness beside Allah if ye are truthful.” (2:23)
“And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto Our slave (Muhammad), then produce a surah of the like thereof, and call your witness beside Allah if ye are truthful.” (2:23)
Then produce a surah.
“And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto Our slave (Muhammad), then produce a surah of the like thereof, and call your witness beside Allah if ye are truthful.” (2:23)
“And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto Our slave (Muhammad), then produce a surah of the like thereof, and call your witness beside Allah if ye are truthful.” (2:23)
“And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto Our slave (Muhammad), then produce a surah of the like thereof, and call your witness beside Allah if ye are truthful.” (2:23)
If you are truthful.
And if you, O polytheists, are in doubt
regarding what has been revealed to My servant of the Qur'an from Me,
then produce a surah similar to this Qur'an,
from your own speech that is comparable to it in the Arabic language,
since you are Arabs.
And call upon your helpers and witnesses to assist you in producing a surah like it,
those who observe you and aid you in your denial of Allah and His Messenger,
if you are truthful in your claim
that what Muhammad, peace be upon him, has brought you is a fabrication and a lie.
“And if ye do it not - and ye can never do it - then guard yourselves against the Fire prepared for disbelievers, whose fuel is of men and stones.” (2:24)
“And if ye do it not - and ye can never do it - then guard yourselves against the Fire prepared for disbelievers, whose fuel is of men and stones.” (2:24)
Prepared for the disbelievers.
But if you fail to produce a surah like it, even though you and your partners have conspired against it,
and you will never be able to produce a surah like it,
then fear the Fire whose fuel is people and stones,
prepared for those who deny that Allah is their Lord.
“And give glad tidings (O Muhammad) unto those who believe and do good works; that theirs are Gardens underneath which rivers flow; as often as they are regaled with food of the fruit thereof, they say: this is what was given us aforetime; and it is given to them in resemblance. There for them are pure companions; there for ever they abide.” (2:25)
“And give glad tidings (O Muhammad) unto those who believe and do good works; that theirs are Gardens underneath which rivers flow; as often as they are regaled with food of the fruit thereof, they say: this is what was given us aforetime; and it is given to them in resemblance. There for them are pure companions; there for ever they abide.” (2:25)
“And give glad tidings (O Muhammad) unto those who believe and do good works; that theirs are Gardens underneath which rivers flow; as often as they are regaled with food of the fruit thereof, they say: this is what was given us aforetime; and it is given to them in resemblance. There for them are pure companions; there for ever they abide.” (2:25)
And they are brought similar [fruits].
“And give glad tidings (O Muhammad) unto those who believe and do good works; that theirs are Gardens underneath which rivers flow; as often as they are regaled with food of the fruit thereof, they say: this is what was given us aforetime; and it is given to them in resemblance. There for them are pure companions; there for ever they abide.” (2:25)
And they will abide therein forever.
O Muhammad, give glad tidings to those who believe that you are My Messenger,
and who confirm that belief by performing righteous deeds,
that for them are gardens beneath which rivers flow.
Whenever they are provided with fruit from the trees of the gardens,
“And give glad tidings (O Muhammad) unto those who believe and do good works; that theirs are Gardens underneath which rivers flow; as often as they are regaled with food of the fruit thereof, they say: this is what was given us aforetime; and it is given to them in resemblance. There for them are pure companions; there for ever they abide.” (2:25)
and they are brought what they are provided with of its fruits, similar in appearance and color to the fruits of the world,
yet different in taste and flavor.
And for those who believe and do righteous deeds,
[there are] spouses purified from all filth, impurity, and doubt that may exist in the women of this world.
And they will abide in the gardens forever, remaining in the joy and everlasting bliss that Allah has granted them therein.