Indexed OCR Text

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 :8 - 20
people, would reassure them that they had never left the way of their
ancestors, and had been meeting the Muslims only to make fun of
them.
The eighth verse is a comment on this attitude of complacency and
self-congratulation on the part of the hypocrites. They are mightily
pleased with themselves in the belief that they can so easily make a
fool of the Muslims and get away with it, while they are, in fact, only
making a fool of themselves. For Allah has, in His forbearance and
mercy, given them a long rope, but this is a provision for their being
thrown into ridicule. It took place like this. Since the hypocrites saw
no apparent signs of divine punishment descending on themselves,
they were encouraged in their complacency and rebellion, so that the
cup of their iniquity was full, and one day they were caught. Allah
acted like this in response to their mockery; so, the Holy Qur'an
describes this divine action too as a mockery on the part of Allah.
The ninth verse shows the basic denseness of the hypocrites - how
they failed to make use of the ordinary sense of discrimination. They
had grown up in a pagan society, and knew very well what the way of
the infidels was. Now they had become familiar enough with Islam too,
and could easily see the difference. But, in their greed, and for the
sake of petty worldly profit, they still chose disbelief as against Islam,
and bartered away something as invaluable as 'Iman (faith) for
something as worthless, and even harmful as kufr (infidelity). In
giving the name of 'trade' or 'commerce' to this action, the Holy Qur'an
suggests that these worldly-wise men had no understanding even of
the art of trading.
The last four verses bring out the miserable plight of the
hypocrites with the help of two extended similes. The choice of two
examples is meant to divide the hypocrites into two kinds of men. On
the one hand were those in whom disbelief had taken deep roots, so
that they had little inclination towards Islam, but pretended to be
Muslims for worldly motives - the Holy Qur'an compares them to the
man who, having found light, again loses it, and is left in darkness. On
the other hand were those who did recognize the truth of Islam, and
sometimes wished to be genuine Muslims, but worldly interests would
not allow them to do so, and they remained in a perpetual state of

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 8 - 20
hesitation and doubt - they have been likened to the men caught in a
thunderstorm who move forward a step or two when there is a flash of
lightning, but, when it is over, again get stuck. In the course of these
parables, the hypocrites have also been warned that they are not
beyond the power of Allah, and that He can, as and when He likes,
take away their sight and hearing, and even destroy them.
Injunctions and related considerations
(1) It has sometimes been debated as to whether the distinction
between Kufr (infidelity or disbelief) and Nifaq (hypocrisy) still holds
good even after the days of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم. The correct
position with regard to this question is this. At that time, there were
two ways of identifying a hypocrite and declaring him to be one -
either Allah Himself informed the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم through
revelation that such and such a man was not a Muslim at heart but a
hypocrite, or a man through some word or deed overtly repugnant to
the Islamic creed or practice showed himself up as a hypocrite, thus
providing a clear evidence against himself. Divine revelation having
ceased with the departure of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم from this
world, the first way of identifying a hypocrite is no longer available,
but the second way is still valid. That is to say, if a man is found, on
certain evidence, to be guilty, in word or deed, of rejecting or opposing
or distorting or holding in scorn the basic doctrines of Islam
undeniably established by the Holy Qur'an, the Hadith and ijma'
(consensus), he would be regarded as a Munafiq (hypocrite) in spite of
his claim to be a true Muslim. The Holy Qur'an gives such a hypocrite
the name of a mulhid or heretic- الَّذِينَ يُلُحِدُونَ فِىٌ أَيِّنَا :"Those who distort
Our verses", 41:40), and the Hadith calls him a zindiq. One must also
add that since the kufr (infidelity) of such a man has been proved by
clear and definite evidence, the Shari'ah will not put him in a separate
category, but deal with him as it would deal with any other kafir
(infidel). That is why the authentic scholars are unanimous in
صلى الله عليه وسلم concluding that after the departure of the Holy Prophet
the question of hypocrites ceased to be a relevant one - now anyone
who is not a genuine Muslim will be regarded as kafir. The famous
author, Al-'Aini, in his commentary on Al-Bukhari, reports from Imam
Malik that after the days of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم this is the
only available means of identifying 'hypocrisy', and that a man who
carries this mark could be called a hypocrite.

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 8 - 20
(2) A little reflection on these verses would reveal the true nature
of Islam and 'Iman (faith) and also that of kufr (disbelief), for the Holy
Qur'an reports the claim of the hypocrites to be Muslims: dy &i :"we
believe in Allah", (2:8), forthwith refutes this claim:3:3 2' u; : "yet they
are no believers". In order to understand fully the implications of these
verses, one should bear in one's mind the fact that the hypocrites in
question were actually Jews. Now, belief in Allah and in Hereafter is,
no doubt, an essential part of their creed as well; what was not
included in their creed, as defined by their religious scholars, was the
belief in the prophethood of Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم . In declaring
their faith in Islam, the Jews very cleverly used to leave out the belief
in the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم and mention only two elements:
belief in Allah and belief in the Hereafter. So far as such a declaration
goes, they cannot be called liars, and yet the Holy Qur'an refutes their
claim to be Muslims, and regards them as liars. Why?
The fact is that, for one to be a Muslim, it is not sufficient merely
to declare one's faith in Allah and the Hereafter in any form or
manner which suits one's individual or collective fancy. As for that,
associators of all kinds do, in one way or another, believe in Allah and
consider Him to be Omnipotent6 but the Holy Qur'an does not allow
any of these things to pass for 'Iman (faith). 'Iman or faith in Allah
must, in order to be valid and worthy of the name, conform to what the
Holy Qur'an specifically lays down with regards to the divine names
and attributes; similarly, belief in the Hereafter can be valid only
when it is true to the specifications of the Holy Qur'an and the
Hadith.7
6. Even peoples described by the Westerners as "savages" or "primitives -
though "degenerates" would be far closer to the mark - have at least a
vague notion of a Supreme Deity, and ususally very vivid ideas about the
other world.
7. There is no end to the making of books, and no end to the making of gods
and to the naming of gods - above all, in our own day. Reason, Nature, Man,
Life, all having served their turn and grown rusty, are being replaced by
more fancy names - "the ground of being" of the so-called Christian
Existentialism, the ultimate "archetype of the Collective Unconscious" of
Jungian psychology, and what not. They have lately invented a goldless
theology too.

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 :8 -20
In the light of this explanation one can see that the Jews who
pretended to be Muslims believed neither in Allah nor in the Hereafter
according to these definite requirements. For, on the one hand, they
regarded the Prophet 'Uzair or Ezra WJI que as the son of God, and, on
the other, cherished the fond belief that the progeny of the prophets,
no matter how it acted, would always remain 'the chosen of God', and
would not be called to account on the Day of Judgment, or at the worst
receive only a token punishment. These being their beliefs, the Holy
Qur'an rightly rejects their claims to faith in Allah and the Hereafter.
(3) As we have already said, verse 13 defines what 'Iman (faith)
really is:ُأمِنُواْ كَمَا أَمَنَ النّاس :"Believe as other men have believed". In other
words, the criterion for judging one's claim to 'Iman is the 'Iman of the
blessed Companions of the Holy Prophet , and any claim to Iman
which does not conform to it is not acceptable to Allah and to the Holy
Prophet 5 . If a man has the presumption8 to interpret an Islamic
doctrine or verse of the Holy Qur'an in a way which departs from the
explicit and clear explanation provided by the Holy Qur'an itself or by
the Holy Prophet , his individual opinion and belief, no matter how
much it titillates the palate of his contemporaries or feeds their fancy,
will have no value or validity in the eyes of the Shari'ah. For example,
the Qadianis 9 claim that like Muslims they too believe in the doctrine
of the Finality of the Prophethood of Muhammad , but in this
respect they deviate from what the Holy Prophet
has himself
stated, and what the Companions believed in, and distort the doctrine
so as to make room for the prophethood of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of
Qadian; so, according to the indication of the Holy Qur'an, they come
under this indictment: 23' " :"They are no believers."
In short, if a man interprets an Islamic doctrine in a way which is
repugnant to the 'Iman of the blessed Companions, and yet claims to
be a Muslim on the basis of his adherence to this doctrine and also
performs his religious duties exactly like Muslims, he will not be
considered a Mu'min (true Muslim) until and unless he agrees to
conform to the criterion of'Iman laid down by the Holy Qur'an.
8. As is all too common these days.
9. Who style themselves as Ahmadis.

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 8 - 20
Removal of a doubt
We may also dispel a misunderstanding which often arises - and is
more often made to arise with an ulterior motive - with regard to the
famous dictum in the Hadith and Figh (Islamic Jurisprudence) that
the 'people of the Ka'bah' (Ahl al-Qiblah), that is, those who turn
towards the Ka'bah in offering prescribed Salah cannot be branded as
infidels. The verse under discussion clearly defines the meaning of the
phrase, Ahl al-Qiblah. The term pertains only to those who do not deny
any of the basic essential doctrines and commandments of Islam which
are called the Daruriat (essentials). For that matter even the
hypocrites mentioned in the Holy Qur'an used to offer their prayers
exactly as the Muslims did; but turning towards Ka'bah while praying
was not taken to be sufficient to make them acceptable as true
Muslims, simply because they did not have faith in all the essentials of
Islam as the blessed Companions did.
Lying is contemptible
(4) The verse ◌ِأمَنَّ بِاللهِ وَبِالْيَوْمِ الْأَخِر :"We believe in Allah and in the Last
Day" shows us how disgusting it is to tell a lie - even the hypocrites,
with all their hostility to Islam, tried to refrain from it as far as
possible. In claiming to be Muslims, they used to mention only their
faith in Allah and in the Day of Judgment, but left out the faith in the
Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم for fear of telling a lie.
Misbehaving Prophets is to misbehave with Allah
(5) These verses denounce the hypocrites for trying to be clever
with Allah Himself and to deceive Him, although no one among them
could probably have had such an intention or even thought of such a
possibility. What they were actually doing was to try to deceive the
Holy Prophet , and the Muslims. Allah has equated this effort with
an attempt to deceive Him, and has thus indicated that a man who is
in any way impertinent to a prophet or a man of Allah is ultimately
guilty of being impertinent to Allah Himself - this should be true above
all in the case of the Holy Prophet & who stands in his station at the
head of all created beings.
The curse of telling lies
(6) There is another subtle and very significant point here.
According to these verses, the hypocrites would meet with a grievous

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 8 - 20
punishment for having told lies. Now, their greatest crime was
disbelief and hypocrisy in matters of faith, and they had been
committing other crimes as well, like nursing envy and malice against
Muslims in their hearts and actually conspiring against them. And yet
here the grievous punishment has been connected with their habit of
telling lies. This is an indication that basically this nefarious habit
was their real crime, which gradually led them to hypocrisy and
disbelief. In other words, although hypocrisy and disbelief are much
greater crimes, yet they arise from the habit of telling lies. That is why
the Holy Qur'an combines the sin of lying with the sin of idol worship
in the same phrase:
فَاجْتَنِبُوا الْرّجْسَ مِنَ الْأَوْثَانِ وَاجْتَنِبُوا قَوَّلَ الزُّورِه
"Guard yourselves against the filth of idols and against telling
lies" (22:30)
Who are reformers and mischief-makers
(7) As these verses report, when the hypocrites were asked not to
spread disorder in the land through their prevarication and double
dealing, they used to reply emphatically: 3312 3 4]:"We are nothing
but reformers." The word Innama (nothing but), used in the Arabic
text, indicates not merely emphasis but exclusivity. So, their reply
would mean that they were nothing but reformers, the servants of
order, and that their activities could have nothing to do with disorder.
Commenting on their reply, the Holy Qur'an says:
أَلَّ ◌ِنَّهُمْ هُمْ الْفُسِدُونَ وَلْكِنْ لَا يَشْعُوُنَّ 0
"Beware, it is, in fact, they who spread disorder, but they are
not aware."
Now, we learn two things from this comment. Firstly, the activities
of the hypocrites did actually produce disorder in the land. Secondly,
they did not indulge in these activities with the express intention or
design of creating disorder - they were not even aware of the
possibility that their actions could be the cause of disorder. For, among
the things which spread disorder in the world, there are some which
are commonly recognized to be mischievous and disorderly activities,
and hence every sensible and conscientious man refrains from them
e.g., theft, robbery, murder, rape etc .; on the other hand, there are
some which in their external aspect do not appear to be mischief or

130
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 8 - 20
disorder, but, working unseen, they have the necessary consequence of
destroying the morals of men which, in its turn, opens the door to all
kinds of disorder.
This is exactly what the hypocrites were doing. No doubt, they
refrained from theft, robbery etc .; it was on this count that they denied
their being mischievous, and emphatically asserted that they were
serving the cause of order. But all this while they had been freely
giving vent to their malice and envy by conspiring with the enemies of
the Muslims. These are things which finally bring man down to the
level of beasts. Once he has lost his awareness of ethical values and
human decency, even an average man becomes an agent of social
disorder - of a disorder much greater than that released by thieves or
robbers, or even beasts are capable of producing. For, the mischief of
robbers and beasts can be controlled by the physical power of law and
government. But laws are made and enforced by men. What happens
to laws, when man has ceased to be man, can easily be witnessed all
around us in the world of today. Everyone takes it for granted that
humanity is on the march and the modern man is so far. the ultimate
in civilization; the network of educational institutions covers every
hamlet on the face of the earth; legislative bodies keep buzzing night
and day; organizations for the promulgation of laws spend billions,
and circumlocution offices proliferate. And yet crime and disorder keep
in step with the march of civilization. The reason is simple.
Law is not an automatic machine; it requires men to make it work.
If man ceases to be man, neither laws nor bureaucratic agencies can
provide a remedy for the all-pervading disorder. It is for this that the
greatest benefactor of mankind, the Holy Prophet , concentrated all
his attention on making men real men - in all the plenitude of the
term. Once this has been achieved, crime or disorder comes to an end
of itself without the help of enormous police forces and extensive
system of law-courts. As long as people acted upon his teachings in
certain parts of the world, man saw a kind of peace and order prevail
the like of which had never been witnessed before nor is likely to be
witnessed when these teachings are abandoned or disregarded.
In so far as actual practice is concerned, the essence of the

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 21 - 22
teachings of the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم is fear of Allah and
solicitude for the assessment of one's deeds on the Day of Judgment. If
these are absent, no constitution or legal code, nor administrative body
or university can force or induce man to keep away from crime. Those
who run the world in our day invent ever-new administrative
measures to prevent crime, but they not only neglect the very soul of
administration, the fear of Allah, but even deploy the means of
destroying it - all of which has the necessary consequence that the
remedy only helps to feed the malady.
To another aspect of the question, it is easy enough to find a cure
for thieves and robbers and for all those who create disorder openly.
But the miscreants who have been described in these verses always
appear in the garb of reformers, brandishing colourful schemes of
social amelioration which are only a mask for personal interests, and
for raising the slogan, 32/12/333 tl :"We are nothing but reformers."
Hence it is that Allah, while asking men not to spread disorder on the
earth, has also said in another place:
وَاللهُ يَعْلَمُ الْفُسِدَ مِنَ الْمُصْلِحِطِ
"And Allah knows the one who makes mischief distinct from
him who promotes good." (2:220)
This is an indication that Allah alone10 knows the states of men's
hearts and their intentions, and He alone knows the nature and
consequences of each human deed as to whether it would help the
cause of order or of disorder. So, to serve the cause of order, it is not
sufficient merely to possess such an intention; much more essential
than that is to orient oneself in thought and deed in harmony with the
Shari ah, for an action may, in spite of the best intentions, sometimes
result in mischief and disorder, if it is not guided by the Shari'ah.
Verses 21-22
يَأَيُّهَا النَّاسُ اعْبُدُوْا رَّكُمُ الَّذِى خَلَقَكُمٌ وَالَّذِيْنَ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمُ
لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَقُوْنَ ا الَّذِى جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ فِرَاشَا تَوِالسَّمَاً،
10. Can distinguish between order and disorder, for He alone.

132
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 21 - 22
بِنََّ وَانْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَاخْرَجَ بِهِ مِنَ الثَّمَرْتِ رِزْقًا لَّكُمُ
فَلاَ تَجُعَلُوا لِلّهِ أَنْدَادًا وَ أَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمْوُنَ )
O men, worship your Lord - who created you and those
before you, so that you may become God-fearing - who
made the earth a bed for you and the sky a roof, and
sent down water from the sky, then through it brought
forth, out of fruits, provision for you. So, do not set up
parallels to Allah when you know. (Verses 21-22)
A review of verses linked together
The second verse of the Surah 'Al-Baqarah' provides the answer to
the prayer made in the Surah Al-Fatihah, اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ المُسْتَقِيم :"Guide us in
the straight path"- that is to say, the guidance man has prayed for is
present in this book, for the Holy Qur'an is from the beginning to the
end a detailed account of the straight path. Then, the Surah proceeds
to divide men into three groups according to whether they accept the
guidance of the Holy Qur'an or not. Three verses speak of the true and
God-fearing Muslims, who not only accept but also act upon the
guidance, and the next two verses of those disbelievers who oppose it
openly. .
Then come thirteen verses dealing with the hypocrites who are
hostile to this guidance, but, for the sake of petty worldly interests or
in seeking to harm the Muslims, try to keep their disbelief concealed
and to present themselves as Muslims. Thus, the first twenty verses of
the Surah, in dividing men into three groups on the basis of their
acceptance or rejection of the guidance, indicate that the proper
criterion for dividing men into groups is neither race or colour, nor
language nor geography, but religion. Hence those, who believe in
Allah and follow the guidance He has provided in the Holy Qur'an,
form one nation, and those who disbelieve form a different nation - the
Holy Qur'an calls the former the 'party of Allah' and the latter - 'the
party of Satan' (58:19-22)
Then, the present verses (21 and 22), addressing the three groups
together, present the message for which the Holy Qur'an has been
revealed. In asking men to give up the worship of created beings and
to worship Allah alone, they adopt a mode of expression which not only

133
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 21 - 22
makes an affirmation but also supports it with arguments so clear
that even an average man, only if he uses his common sense, cannot
help being convinced of the Oneness of God.
Commentary :
In starting the address, verse 21 uses the Arabic word An-nas,
which signifies man in general, or man as such - so, the word covers all
the three groups we have just mentioned. And the message delivered
by the verse is:" Buci: "Worship your Lord." The Arabic word 'Ibadah
(worship) connotes expending all energies one has in total obedience to
somebody, and shunning all disobedience out of one's awe and
reverence. (Ruh-al-Bayan) We have earlier explained the meaning of the
word Rabb (one who gives nurture). Let us add that the choice of this
particular name from among the Beautiful names of Allah is very
meaningful in the present context, for the affirmation has thus been
combined with the argument in a very short sentence. The word Rabb
indicates that only He is, or can be, worthy of being worshipped, He is
the final and absolute Cause of nurturing man - Who changes man
through gradual stages of development from a drop of water into
healthy, sentient and rational being, and Who provides the means for
his sustenance and growth. This truth is so obvious that even an
ignorant or intellectually dull man would, on a little reflection, not fail
to see and admit that such a power of nurturing can belong only to
Allah, and not to a created being. What can a creature do for man,
when it owes its very existence to the Creator? Can a needy one come
to the help of another? And if it appears to be doing so, the act of
nurturing must in reality and ultimately belong to the One Being on
whom both have to depend in order to exist at all. So, who else but the
Rabb can be worthy of adoration and worship?
The sentence is addressed to all the three groups of men, and for
each it has a different meaning. "Worship your Lord": the phrase calls
upon the disbelievers to give up worshipping created beings and to
turn to the Creator; it asks the hypocrites to be sincere and true in
their faith; it commands the sinning Muslims to change their ways
and try to be perfect in their obedience to Allah; and it encourages the
God-fearing Muslims to be steadfast in their worship and obedience,
and to make a greater effort in the way of Allah (Ruh-al-Bayan).

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 21 - 22
The two verses proceed to enlarge upon the theme by specifying
certain special qualities of the Rabb:ْالَّذِيُ خَلَقَكُمْ وَالَّذِيْنَ مِنْ تَبْلِكُم :"Who created
you and those before you." This is a quality which one cannot even
imagine to belong to a created being, for it can pertain only to the
Creator - that is, the quality of giving existence to what did not exist
before, and of producing from the darkness and filth of the mother's
womb a creature as lovely and noble as man.
In adding to the phrase: '' zur :"who created you" the words,
""& sub, "and those before you," the verse shows that Allah alone is
the Creator of all mankind. It is also significant that the verse
mentions only "those before you" and not "those who will come after
you", and through this omission suggests that there will not be any
Ummah (a traditional community formed by all the followers of a
prophet) to succeed the Ummah of the Holy Prophet , for no prophet
will be sent down after the Last Prophet & , and hence no new
'Ummah' will arise.
The final phrase of verse 21 3
erse 21 za kis has been translated here as
"so that you may become God-fearing". It may also be translated to
mean "So that you may save yourselves from hell", or "So that you may
guard yourselves against evil." But the point is that one can hope to
attain salvation and paradise only when one worships Allah alone, and
does not associate anyone else with Him.
Before we proceed, we must clarify a very important doctrinal
point. The phrase (35'iJ) which has been translated here as "so that
you may become God-fearing" employs the Arabic particle l'alla which
indicates an expectation or hope, and is used on an occasion when it is
not definite that a certain action or event would necessarily be
actualized. Now, if one does really possess 'Iman (faith) and does really
believe in Tauhid, one would, in consequence definitely attain
salvation and go to Heaven, as Allah Himself has promised. But here
the certainty has been expressed in terms of an expectation or hope in
order to make man realize that no human action by itself and in itself
can bring salvation as a necessary reward. One can attain salvation
and go to Heaven only by the grace of Allah alone. The ablility to
perform good deeds, and 'Iman itself is only a sign of divine grace, not
the cause.

135
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 21 - 22
The next verse recounts some other qualities of Allah with regard
to the act of nurturing, with the difference that while verse 21 spoke of
the bounties of Allah pertaining to the human self, verse 22 speaks of
those pertaining to man's physical environment. Since man's being
basically has two dimensions, one internal (Anfus) and the other
external (Afaq), the two verses, in a summary way, encompass all the
kinds of blessings that descend on man from Allah.
Among the cosmic bounties, the first to be mentioned is the earth
which has been made a bed for man. It is neither soft and fluid like
water on which one cannot settle, nor hard like stone or steel that
should make it difficult to be harnessed for man's purposes, but has
been given a middle state between the soft and the hard for man to
utilize it conveniently in his daily life. The Arabic word, Firash (bed),
which literally means 'somethings spread out', does not necessarily
imply that the earth is not round, for the great globe of the earth, in
spite of being round, appears to be flat to the onlooker, and the usual
way of the Holy Qur'an is to describe things in an aspect which should
be familiar to an average man, literate or illiterate, city dweller or
rustic.
The other bounty is that the sky has been made like an
ornamented and beautiful ceiling. The third is that Allah sent down
water from the sky. This, again, does not necessarily mean that water
comes down directly from the sky without the medium of clouds - even
in everyday idiom, a thing coming down from above is said to be
coming from the sky. The Holy Qur'an itself, on several occasions,
refers to Allah sending down water from the clouds:
ءَ أَنْهُمْ أَنْزَ لُهُمْوُهُ مِنَ الْمُنِ آَمْ نَحُنُ الْنُِّلُونَ )
"Did you send it down from the clouds, or did We send it?" (56:69)
وَاَنْزَلْنَ مِنَ الْمُعْصِرَتِ مَاَ زَّجَاجًاً
"And have sent down from the rain-clouds abundant water." (78:14)
The fourth bounty is to bring forth fruits with this water, and to
provide nourishment to man from them.
The first three of these bounties are of an order in which man's
effort or action, his very being even, does not enter at all. There was no

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 21 - 22
sign of man when the earth and the sky already existed, and clouds
and rain too were performing their functions. As for these things, not
even an ignorant fool could ever fancy that all this could be the work of
a man or an idol, or of a created being. In the case of producing fruits
and making them serve as nourishment for man, however, a simpleton
may, on a superficial view, attribute this to human effort and
ingenuity, for one can see man digging the earth, sowing the seed and
protecting the plants. But the Holy Qur'an has, in certain verses,
made it quite clear that human effort has nothing to do with the act of
growing trees and bringing out fruits, for human activity accomplishes
nothing more than removing the hindrances to the birth and growth of
a plant, or protecting it from being destroyed. Even the water which
feeds the plant is not the creation of the farmer - all he does is to make
the water reach the plant at the proper time in a proper quantity. The
actual birth and growth of the tree, and the putting forth of leaves,
branches and fruits is the work of Divine Power, and of no one else.
Says the Holy Qur'an :
أَفَرَاَيْهُمْ مَّا تَحْرُنُوْنَ ا أَ أَنْتُمْ تَزْرَ عُّنَهُ أَمْ نَحُرُ الَّارِعُونَ
"Have you considered the soil you till? Is it you that give them
growth or We ? " (56:63)
The only answer which man can find to this question posed by the
Holy Qur'an is that undoubtedly it is Allah alone who makes the
plants grow.
In short, this verse mentions four qualities of Allah which cannot
possibly be found in a created being. Having learnt from these two
verses that it is Allah, and no one else, who brings man into existence
out of nothingness, and provides the means of his sustenance through
the earth, the sky, the rains and the fruits, one cannot, if one
possesses a little common sense, help acknowledging that Allah, and
no one else, is worthy of all worship and obedience, and that the
ultimate iniquity is to turn away from Him who made man exist and
gave him the means of survival and growth, and to prostrate oneself
before others who are as helpless as man. Allah has put man at the
head of all His creatures so that the universe should serve him, while
he should totally devote himself to the worship and remembrance of
Allah and obedience to Him without distraction. But there are men so

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given to their indolence and ignorance that they forget the One God,
and in consequence, have to serve a billion gods.
In order to rescue men from this slavery to others, the Holy Qur'an
says at the end of this verse:
فَلاَ تَجُعَلٌا لِلْهِ أَنْدَادًا وَ أَنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾
"So, do not set up parallels to Allah when you know."
That is to say, once one has understood that, in reality, Allah alone
is the Creator and the Provider, one will have also understood that no
one else can be worthy of worship and of being associated with Allah
as an equal or rival god.
To sum up, these two verses call men to what is the essential
purpose of sending down all the Divine Books and all the prophets -
Tauhid, or the affirmation and the worship of the one God.
Tauhid is a doctrine which has an all-pervading and radically
transforming impact on every sphere of human life, internal as well as
external, individual as well as collective. For, once a man comes to
believe that there is only One Being who alone is the Creator, the Lord
and Master of the universe, who alone is all-powerful and ordains the
slightest movement of the smallest atom, and without whose will no
one can harm or do good to another - such a man, rich or poor, in joy or
sorrow, would always look only towards that One Being, and gain the
insight to discover behind the veil of apparent causes the workings of
the same Omnipotence.
If our modern worshippers of 'energy' only had some
understanding of the doctrine of Tauhid, they would easily see that
power resides neither in steam nor in electricity, but that the source of
all powers is the One Being who has created steam and electricity. To
know this, however, one must have insight. The greatest philosopher
in the world, if he fails to see this truth, is no better than the rustic
fool who saw a railway-train move at the waving of a green flag and
stop at the waving of a red flag, and concluding that it was the power
of the green and red flags that controlled the movement of the huge
train, made an obeisance to them. People would laugh at the rustic, for
he did not know that the two flags are merely signs, while the train is
actually run by the driver, or, better still, by the engine. A more

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perceptive observer would ascribe the function to the steam inside the
engine. But he who believes in the One God would laugh at all these
wise men, for he can see through the steam, the fire and the water
even, and discover behind the appearances the might of the One and
Only Being who has created fire and water, and whose will makes
them perform their allotted functions.
The Doctrine Of Tauhid : A source of peace in human life
Tauhid, the most fundamental doctrine of Islam, is not a mere
theory, but the only effective way of making man a man in the real
sense of the term - it is his first and last refuge and the panacea for all
his ills. For the essence of this doctrine is that every possible change in
the physical universe, its very birth and death is subject to the will of
the One and Only Being, and a manifestation of His wisdom. When
this doctrine takes hold of a man's mind and heart, and becomes his
permanent state, all dissension ceases to exist and the world itself
changes into a paradise for him, as he knows that the enmity of the foe
and the love of the friend equally proceed from Allah who rules over
the hearts of both. Such a man lives his life in perfect peace, fearing
none and expecting nothing from anyone: shower him with gold, or put
him in irons, he would remain unmoved, for he knows where it comes
from.
This is the significance of the basic declaration of the Islamic creed,
or'hui viajj'y (there is no God but Allah). But, obviously, it is not enough
to affirm the Oneness of God orally; one must have a complete
certitude, and must also have the truth always present close to one's
heart, for Tauhid is to see God as one, and not merely to say that He is
one. Today, the number of those who can respect this basic formula of
the Islamic creed runs to millions all over the world - far more than it
ever did, but mostly it is just an expense of breath: their lives do not
show the colour of Tauhid; or otherwise, they should have been like
their forefathers who were daunted neither by wealth nor by power,
awed neither by numbers nor by pomp and show to turn their back
upon the Truth - when a prophet could all by himself stand up against
the world, and say: 3312,3223:"So try your guile on me, then give
me no respite" (17:195). If the blessed Companions and their
successors came to dominate the world in a few years, the secret lay in

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this Tauhid, correctly understood and practised. May Allah bless all
the Muslims with this great gift!
Verses 23-24
وَإِنْ كُنْهُمْ فِىُّ رَيْبٍ ◌َِّا نَزَّلْنَا عَلَى عَبْدِنَا فَأُتُّوْا بِسُؤْرَةٍ مِّنُ
مِثْلِهِ وَادْعُوًا شُهَّدَاءَكُمْ ◌ِنُّ دُوُنِ اللّهِ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَدِقِيْنَ 0
فَإِنْ لَّمْ تَفْعَلُوا وَلَنْ تَفْعَلُوا فَاتَّقُوا الَّارَ أَّتِى وَقُوُدُهَا النَّاسُ
وَ الْحِجَارَةُ أُعِدَّتٌ لِلْكُفِرِينَ ﴾
And if you are in doubt as to that which we have
revealed to Our servant, then bring a Surah the like of
this, and do call your supporters other than Allah, if
Ju are true. But if you do not - and you never shall -
then guard yourselves against the fire, the fuel of
which are men and stones. It has been prepared for
disbelievers. (Verses 23-24)
The Guidance which the Holy Qur'an provides to man rests on two
basic principles - Tauhid (the Oneness of God) and Risalah
(Prophethood). The two preceding verses (21 and 22) affirm the One-
ness of God in presenting certain acts peculiar to Allah alone as a
proof; these two verses (23 and 24) affirm the prophethood of Muham-
mad & in presenting the word of Allah as a proof. In both the places,
the mode of argument is the same. The preceding verses mention cer-
tain things which no one could or can do except Allah - for example,
creating the sky and the earth, sending down water from the sky,
bringing forth fruits with water; and the point of the argument is that
since no one except Allah can do these things, no one else can be wor-
thy of being worshipped. These two verses refer to a kind of speech
which cannot possibly come from anyone except Allah, and the like of
which no human being can ever produce just as the helplessness of
man and other creatures in the matter of creating the sky and the
earth etc. is a demonstration of the fact that these are the acts of Allah
alone, in the same way the helplessness of all created beings in the
matter of producing something equal to or resembling the Word of Al-
lah is a demonstration of the fact that this is the Word of Allah alone.
Here the Holy Qur'an challenges all men the world over, those of the

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 23 - 24
present and those of the future, to produce even a small passage like
this, if they suppose it to be the work of a man, for other men may also
be capable of accomplishing what one man has achieved. In case indi-
viduals should fail in such an effort, the Holy Qur'an allows them the
facility of calling to their aid all possible helpers - they could even
hold an international 'workshop' for the purpose. The next verse fore-
warns them that such a venture would never succeed, and threatens
with the fires of hell, for having once acknowledged his inability to
produce something to equal the Holy Qur'an, which is a clear evidence
of its being the word, not of man but of a Being who stands above all
created things, if a man still persists in his disbelief, he is only seeking
a place in hell. The Holy Qur'an asks men to beware of such a fate.
The Miraculous Qur'an is a prophethood of Muhammad
Thus, the verses, in emphasizing the miraculous character of the
Holy Qur'an, present it as the evidence of the prophethood of
Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم and of his truth. No doubt, the miracles of
the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم are innumerable, each more marvellous
than the other, but in mentioning only one of these here - one that
pertains to the sphere of knowledge, namely, the Holy Qur'an - Allah
has pointed out that this is the greatest. Even among the miracles of
all the prophets >JI+Le this particular miracle has a special
distinction. It has been the way of Allah to show His omnipotence by
manifesting some miracles through each prophet or messenger. But
each miracle appears with a certain prophet, and ends with him. The
Holy Qur'an, on the contrary, is a miracle which is to survive till the
end of time.
As for the phrase : 32325 35 :"And if you are in doubt," we may
remark that the verse employs the Arabic word, raib for 'doubt'. Ac-
cording to Imam Raghib al-Isfahani, raib signifies a kind of hesitation
or indecision or suspicion which has no basis, and can therefore be eas-
ily overcome with the help of a little reflection. That is why the Holy
Qur'an says that having this kind of doubt (raib) is not consistent with
being a man of knowledge, even if he were not a Muslim:
وَلَا يَرْتَابَ الَّذِيْنَ أُوْتُوا الْكِتَبَ وَالْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ
"So that the people of the Book and Muslims should have no
doubt". (74:31)

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 23 - 24
Similarly, at the very beginning of the Surah Al-Baqarah the Holy
Qur'an refers to itself as the Book 2 (2sý :"In which there is no doubt
(raib)." In the present verse again it uses the word raib to say: 22 3;
,3}:"if you are in doubt", the implication being that the truths enunci-
ated by the Holy Qur'an are so clear and evident that there is no room
for any hesitation or indecision or suspicion to arise except for those
who do not possess knowledge.
As for the people who hesitate in accepting the Holy Qur'an as the
Word of Allah, and suspect that it is the work of the Holy Prophet @ or
of some other man, the verse proposes an easy test - they should
produce a passage (a Surah) resembling or equalling the Holy Qur'an
in order to substantiate their claim; but if they fail, they should finally
acknowledge the Holy Qur'an to be undoubtedly the Word of Allah.
The Arabic word "Sūrah" means a "limited or definite piece"; as a
technical term, a Sūrah is a passage of the Holy Qur'an which has
been set apart from other passages by Divine Commandment (Wahy),
there being 114 Surahs in the Holy Qur'an, some long and others very
short. The present verse uses the word Surah without the definite
article "Al", and hence includes the shortest of the Surahs in the
challenge thrown out to the doubters.
At this point, the objection can arise that the failure of one man or
one group of men does not necessarily argue the inability of another
man or group in the matter. The Holy Qur'an meets this objection by
declaring:
وَادْعُوا شُهَدَاءَكُمْ تِنْ دُوٌّنِ اللَّهِ إِنْ كُنٌُ صَدِقِيْنَ
"And do call your supporters other than Allah, if you are true".
The Arabic word used here is Shuhada', the plural or Shahid which
signifies 'one who is present'- a witness is called a Shahid, for he has
to be present in the court of law. In this verse, the word Shuhada'
refers either to men in general - implying that the doubters could call
to their aid any men whatsoever from anywhere in the world -, or
specifically to the idols of the disbelievers of Makkah who thought that
these blocks of stone would appear on the Day of Judgment as
witnesses in their favour.
The next verse foretells that the doubters shall never succeed, even
:

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if they tried with all their individual or collective might, in producing a
passage which could resemble the Holy Qur'an. If they should still
persist in their denial, the verse threatens them with the fire of Hell,
which has already been prepared for such stubborn disbelievers.
The infidels of Makkah, history tells us, were ready to give up their
very lives for the purpose of obliterating Islam. In throwing out to
them this challenge, the Holy Qur'an gave them an easy chance of ac-
complishing their purpose, and even hurt their tribal sense of honour
by predicting that they would never be able to take up the challenge.
And yet not a single contender came up for the trial, which was a clear
admission of their helplesseness and an acknowledgment of the Holy
Qur'an being the Word of Allah. This fact establishes the Holy Qur'an
as the evident miracle of the Holy Prophet . Since the challenge still
stands, the miracle too lives on, and shall live to the end of the world.
The Holy Qur'an: A living miracle
As for the Holy Qur'an being a miracle, the subject has been
thoroughly discussed in scores of books by the greatest scholars in all
the ages and in different languages. We may mention a few
outstanding ones: Nazm al-Qur'an by al-Jahiz, written in the 3rd
century A.H .; 'I'jaz al-Qur'an' by Abu 'Abdullah Wasiti, written early
in the 4th century; a small book, 'I'jaz al-Qur'an' by Ibn 'Isa Rabbani,
written later in the 4th century; a long and comprehensive book, 'I'jaz
al-Qur'an' by Qadi Abu Bakr Baqillani, written early in the 5th
century; the subject has also been discussed at length in well-known
books like 'Al-Itqan' by Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti, 'Al-Khasa'is al-Kubra'
by the same author, 'At-Tafsir al-Kabir' by Imam Razi, and 'Ash-Shifa'
by Qadi 'Iyad; more recently still, 'I'jaz al-Qur'an', by Mustafa Sadiq
al-Rafi'i', and 'Al-Wahy al-Muhammadi' by Sayyid Rashid Rida; and
finally 'I'jaz al-Quran' by Shabbir Ahmad Uthmani. We may, in
passing, draw attention to another peculiar quality of the Holy Qur'an
that, beside comprehensive and voluminous commentaries, scores of
books have been written on different aspects of the Book of Allah and
on the innumerable considerations which arise from it.
We cannot provide even a brief resume of all that has been written

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Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 23 - 24
on the subject, the literature being so vast. We shall, however, give a
few brief indications as to why the Holy Qur'an is held to be a miracle
صلى الله عليه وسلم :of the Prophet of Islam
Qualities that make the Qur'an a miracle
(1) The Holy Qur'an is incomparable for its comprehensiveness
even among the Sacred Books of the world; on the one hand, it brings
to man the ultimate knowledge of a metaphysical order, and, on the
other, provides guidance for all the spheres of human life, spiritual or
physical, individual or collective. Those who suspect the Book to have
been the product of a human agency should remind themselves of the
simple fact that it appeared at a time and in a place which offered no
facilities for acquiring the kind of education which is necessary for
composing such a book - in fact, the Arabs were in those days known
as the Ummiyyun, 'the illiterates', and that the Book came through the
Holy Prophet @ who could not even read or write, and who had not
tried to learn even the arts of poetry and rhetoric on which the Arabs
prided themselves. This fact, in itself, is nothing short of a miracle.
(2) The Holy Qur'an is, no doubt, a guidance for all men without
any distinction of time or place, but the first to be addressed were the
Arabs of the Age of Ignorance. In affirming that no human being could
produce even a few verses comparable to its own, the Holy Qur'an did
not confine the challenge merely to the richness of meaning and the
quality of wisdom, but included the mode of expression as well. Now,
the 'illiterates' of Arabia had no pretensions to wisdom or knowledge,
but they certainly fancied themselves for their eloquence - to them, the
aliens were just 'The Dumb' (Al-'Ajam). And some of them were so mad
in their hostility to the Holy Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم that, if they could
see a chance of hurting him in doing so, they would readily have slit
their own throats out of sheer spite. And yet no one came forward to
accept the challenge. This helplessness in a contest which should have
been easy for a people so gifted with a spontaneous eloquence - does it
not argue that the Holy Qur'an is not the word of man, but the Word of
Allah? As a matter of fact, the most discriminating among the
contemporary Arabs did admit, though in private, that the Holy.
Qur'an was inimitable; some of them had the honesty to say so in
public and some accepted Islam, while others in spite of this