Indexed OCR Text

324
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 125
stone on which Sayyidna Ibrahim @ had stood while building the
Ka'bah, and which miraculously acquired the print of his foot.
(Al-Bukhari) The blessed Companions Anas says that he has himself seen
the mark on the stone. On the other hand, it has been reported from
the blessed Companion 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas that the Haram as a
whole is the "Station of Ibrahim." Probably he meant that the two
rak'ahs of the Salah which this verse enjoins upon us to offer near the
"Station of Ibrahim" after completing tawaf (circumambulation) of the
Ka'bah, may be offered anywhere within the precincts of the Haram,
and that the prayers thus offered would be quite valid. Most of the
Fugaha' accept this view.
The Magam of Ibrahim
(4) As to the commandment for making "the Station of Ibrahim" a
place of offering one's prayers, the Holy Prophet
himself has
explained it through his own words and actions on the occasion of his
last Hajj. After completing the tawaf, when he reached "the Station of
Ibrahim," placed some yards away from the Ka'bah, he recited this
very verse, and then offered two rak'ats on the other side of this stone,
with his face turned towards the Ka'bah (Muslim). The Fuqaha' have
inferred from this the rule that if one does not get the room to stand
close to "the Station of Ibrahim," one may, while offering prayers,
validly stand at any distance from it that one can, so long as the
Ka'bah, as well as "the Station of Ibrahim," is in front of him.
(5) This verse shows that it is necessary (Wajib) to offer two
rak'ahs after the tawaf of the Ka'bah. (Al-Jassas and Mulla 'Ali al-Qari) But
offering these prayers specifically behind the "Station of Ibrahim" is a
Sunnah (the Way of the Holy Prophet ). There is, however, no bar
on offering these prayers at any other spot within the Haram, for the
Holy Prophet & himself has been reported to have offered them near
the gate of the "House of Allah", as did the blessed Companion
'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas, too (al-Jassas). In his "Al-Manasik", Mulla 'Ali
al-Qari says that if one is not, for some reason, able to offer these
necessary (Wajib) prayers behind "the Station of Ibrahim," as required
by the Sunnah, he may validly offer them anywhere he possibly can
within the Haram, or even outside. In fact, this is exactly what
happened to Sayyidah Umm Salmah Que Uly, , one of the wives of the

325
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 125
Holy Prophet . On the occasion of her Last Hajj, she could not find
the opportunity to offer these Wajib prayers inside the Haram, and
was able to do so when she was outside the city of Makkah itself. Most
of the Fuqaha', except Imam Malik, hold the view that if
circumstances compel one to offer these prayers outside the Haram,
one is not required to make an animal sacrifice by way of
compensation.
(6) The divine command to (24b : "Keep My House clean"
includes purifying it from physical and external dirt as much as from
internal filth like infidelity (Kufr) and association (Shirk), and from
impurities like greed, lust, envy, pride, vanity, hypocrisy, etc. Then,
the use of the expression "My House" indicates that the commandment
applies to mosques in general, for all the mosques are "the Houses of
Allah", as the Holy Qur'an itself has said ◌َفِىُّ ◌ُهُوْتٍ أَذِنَ اللَّهُ انْ تُرَفَع :"In houses
which Allah has commanded to be raised up" (24:36). Al-Qurtubi
reports that the Second Khalifah 'Umar au Ml, once heard a man
shout in the mosque, and rebuked him for having forgotten where he
was. That is to say, one should pay due respect to a mosque, and
refrain from speaking loudly, and, above all, from saying something
which the Shari'ah has forbidden. In short, just as the Haram must be
kept clean from all kinds of dirt and filth, external and internal, so
must every mosque. Those who enter a mosque must keep their
bodies and their clothes free from dirt, filth and even from bad smells,
and also keep their hearts free from Shirk, hypocrisy, pride, malice
and greed etc. The Holy Prophet & has asked the people not to enter a
mosque, if they have just eaten raw onion or garlic, and has also
forbidden very small children and mad men to enter a mosque for fear
of their polluting it.
(7) The verse shows that "the House of Allah" is meant for people
to make tawaf of the Ka'bah, to do I'tikaf (to seek a retreat for worship
and meditation), and to offer their prayers. In the case of those who
come from outside to perform the Hajj, the tawaf carries greater merit
than offering prayers. Lastly, the verse makes it clear that it is
absolutely permissible to offer one's prayers inside the "House of
Allah", whether the prayers are fard (obligatory) or nafl
(supererogatory) (Jassās).

326
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 126 - 128
Verses 126 - 128
وَإِذْ قَالَ اِبْرُهِمُ رَّ اجْعَلُ هَذَا بَلَدًا أُمِنَا ◌َوَارْزُقْ آَهْلَهُ مِنَ
الثَّمَرَتِ مَنْ أَمَنَ مِنْهُمْ بِاللهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآخِرِ قَالَ وَمَنْ كَفَّرَ
فَأُمَِّّعُهْ قَلِيْلًا ثُمَّ اضْطَرُّهُ إِلِى عَذَابِ الثَّارِهَوِنْسَ الْمَصِير )
وَإِذْ يَرُفَعُ إِبْرُهِمُمُ الْقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الْبَيْتِ وَ إِسْمْعِيْلُ م ◌َّنَا تَقَبَّلُ
مِنَّاء إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيُمْ ٥ رَبَّنَا وَاجْعَلْنَا مُسْلِمَيْن لََ
وَ مِنْ ذُرَِّنِنَآ أُمَّةً مُسْلِمَةً لَّكَ وَأَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبُ عَلَيْنَا ﴾
إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ التَّوَابُ الرَّحِيمُ 0
And when Ibrahim said, "My Lord, make this a city of
peace, and provide its people with fruits - those of them
who believe in Allah and the Last Day." He said, "And the
one who disbelieves I shall make him enjoy a little, then
I shall drag him to the punishment of the Fire. And an
evil end it is! And when Ibrahim was raising up the
foundations of the House, along with Isma'il: "Our Lord
accept from us! Indeed, You - and You alone - are the All-
Hearing, the All-Knowing! And, our Lord, make us both
submissive to You, and of our progeny a people submis-
sive to You. And show us our ways of Pilgrimage and ac-
cept our repentance. Indeed, You - and You alone - are
the Most-Relenting, the Very-Merciful." (Verses 126 - 128)
عليه السلام The prayers of Ibrahim
Sayyidna Ibrahim JI ve always carried out the commandments
of Allah without losing a moment, and was ready to make all kinds of
sacrifices in His way, whether they involved worldly goods, or wife and
children, or his own likes and dislikes. All the same, having affection
and love for one's family is not only a natural urge in man, but also a
divine commandment. This is what manifests itself in the present
verses, where we find him praying for the well-being of his family in
this world as much as in the other.
The prayer begins with the word Rabb, which lexically signifies
"One who gives nurture." Thus, it teaches us the proper mode of
praying to Allah, for this form of address in itself draws the mercy and

327
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 126 - 128
grace of Allah on the man who is praying. The first thing Sayyidna
Ibrahim JI Le prayed for was that Allah may turn the barren desert
where he had left his family under divine commandment, into a city,
so that his wife and son should not feel lonely, and that their daily
needs should be easily satisfied. The same prayer occurs in Surah
"Ibrahim" (14:35), but employs the construction Al-balad ("the city"),
while the present verse employs Baladan ("a city"). The difference
probably arises from the fact that the prayer reported here was made
when the place was still a desert and Sayyidna Ibrahim >JI ale wished
"a city" to grow in this barren land, while the prayer reported in Surah
"Ibrahim" was made when "the city" had already risen and was quite
well-known, for near the end of the same Surah we find him saying
,Praise be to Allah who has given me": الْمَعُدُلِلّهِ الَّذِيُ وَهَبْ لِىْ عَلَى الْكِبَرِ اِسْمَعِيْلَ وَاِسُحُقَ
in my old age, Isma'il and Ishaq" (14:39), which suggests that the
second prayer was made after the birth of Sayyidna Ishaq (Isaac de
>JI), an event that occurred thirteen years after the birth of Sayyidna
Ismail (Ishmael عليه السلام) .(Ibn Kathir)
Coming back to the verse under discussion, we see that Sayyidna
Ibrahim WJI ale also prayed for this city to be made "a place of peace"
- that is to say, safe from slaughter and plunder as from calamities,
and secure against the domination of the infidels. The prayer was
granted. Makkah became a thriving city, which is now a place of
pilgrimage for Muslims who come to it in millions every year. It also
became safe and secure, for no infidel has ever been able to conquer it
or dominate over it. The Holy Qur'an itself narrates the story of
"Ashab al-Fil" ("the People of the Elephant") who were destroyed for
having ventured to invade Makkah. The city has also been safe from
slaughter and plunder. Even before the advent of Islam, the Arabs in
the Age of Ignorance, for all their deviation into infidelity and
association, deeply respected the Ka'bah and its environs as a matter
of their creed - in spite of being vengeful, they would never take their
revenge so long as the enemy remained within the precincts of the
Haram. In fact, the inhabitants of Makkah themselves were respected
throughout Arabia, and the trading caravans passing to and fro
between Makkah and Syria or Yemen were never interrupted. Allah
has given security even to birds and animals inside the Haram, and

328
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 126 - 128
forbidden all kinds of hunting within this area. So, even birds and
animals distinctly show a feeling of security inside the Haram, and are
not scared of men. The sanctity of the place was emphasised and
enforced by Islam even further. As for the slaughter which took place
in the Haram at the hands of Hajjaj ibn Yusuf or the Qaramitah, it
was the work of those who called themselves Muslims, and not an
invasion by infidels. If a man chooses to set fire to his own house, it
does not falsify the general rule of the security provided to it against
outsiders. Moreover, incidents like these have been very rare since
the days of Sayyidna Ibrahim WJIale , and, then, we also know the
dreadful fate of those who had dared to pollute "the House of Allah.'
In short, Allah has, in answer to his prayer, made the city so secure
that even the Dajjal (Anti-Christ) shall not have the power to enter it.
Sayyidna Ibrahim WIL had also prayed for the people of
Makkah to be provided with fruits. The surrounding land was
uncultivable, but, in answer to the prayer, Allah made the
neighbouring city of Taif very fertile and productive in fruits, which
started coming to Makkah. According to certain traditions of the
Israelites, Taif was originally situated in Syria, but was transferred to
the present locality by the Archangel Jibra'il >Jie under divine
command.
The Ibrahimic wisdom
One may also notice that Sayyidna Ibrahim JI ale did not pray for
the land of Makkah to be made fertile, but suggested in his prayer
that the fruits might come to Makkah from somewhere else as an
import. He probably intended that his descendants should not get
unduly absorbed in agriculture, for his purpose in founding the
settlement was that his people Enlaza' : "should be steadfast in the
prayers." In other words, he wanted the essential function of his
descendants to protect "the House of Allah" and to engage themselves
in acts of worship. Otherwise, he could have prayed for Makkah itself
to be made fertile, and Allah would have granted the prayer as easily.
The point becomes all the more clear if we consider the word
Thamarat (plural of Thamarah - "fruit"). This word appears in the
same context again in another verse يُجنىَ الَيْهِ ثَمَرَاتُ كُلِّ شَى" :"the fruits of all
kinds of things are drawn towards it (the city)" (28:57). If it is the

329
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 126 - 128
fruits of trees that are intended here, the word "Yujba ("drawn") is a
sufficient indication that in granting the prayer Allah had not
promised to produce them in Makkah itself, but to send them to the
city from other places. On the other hand, the verse does not speak of
"the fruits of all kinds of trees", but of "the fruits of all kinds of things."
Obviously, the intention is to generalize the sense of "fruits" - a word
which in common idiom implies the product obtained from a thing or
an activity. The word should, then, cover not only the fruits of trees,
but also the products of all kinds of crafts and industries in fact, all
that is needed to sustain human life. Now, everyone can see for
himself that Makkah possesses neither agriculture nor industry, and
yet enjoys the benefits of these as much as any prosperous city in the
world.
Verse 126 also provides an example of the rectitude of Sayyidna
Ibrahim.>JI que . The first phrase of his prayer for the well-being and
prosperity of the people of Makkah seems to suggest that he wished to
include the infidels as much as the faithful. But earlier when he had
prayed for all his descendants without making any distinction between
the faithful and the infidels (as reported in Verse 124), Allah had
answered that the prayer would be granted in the case of the faithful,
but not in the case of the unjust - that is, mushrikin (associators). On
that occasion, he had prayed for the position of Imamah (leadership).
But the fear of Allah and the solicitude for being totally obedient to
Him was so deeply ingrained in the heart of "the Friend of Allah" that
even in praying for the prosperity of his people the earlier proviso
came to his mind, and he at once added a rejoinder to the effect that he
was praying only for the faithful. Allah was pleased with his
rectitude, and told him that the worldly prosperity would be given to
the disbelievers too, but that in the other world the faithful would be
the only ones to prosper, while the disbelievers would receive nothing
more than the punishment due to them.
Verse 127 shows another essential quality of this great prophet. In
obedience to Allah, he had left the fertile land of Syria and made his
wife and child to settle in the barren desert, and now he was taking up
the labour of building "the House of Allah." This was a moment when
a man who had been bearing such hardships in the way of Allah could

330
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 126 - 128
normally be expected to feel satisfied with himself and relax in a mood
of self-congratulation. But "the Friend of Allah" recognized the
Majesty of Allah, and knew that no creature can possibly worship or
obey his Creator as is His due, but within his own limited powers.
Consequently, he also knew that in performing the hardest or the
greatest tasks one should not be proud of one's attainment, but should,
in all humility, pray to Allah to accept the little effort one has been
capable of making - and that, too, with the grace of Allah Himself.
That is exactly what Sayyidna Ibrahim WJILLe did when he started,
along with his young son, to build the Ka'bah. That is to say, he
prayed to Allah to accept this deed, for Allah hears all prayers, and
knows the intentions of His creatures.
Verse 128 reports that he further prayed to Allah "to make" him
and his son obedient to His commandments and to His Will. This
prayer too proceeds from the same sense of fear and awe, and from the
same knowledge. He has, all his life, been performing exemplary
deeds of obedience, and yet he prays to "be made" obedient. It is so,
because the more one grows in one's knowledge of Divine Majesty, the
more one comes to realize that one is not being faithful and obedient
as is due.
It is significant that Sayyidna Ibrahim >JIL included his
descendants too in his prayer. This shows that the "men of Allah" who
never hesitate in sacrificing themselves and their children in the way
of Allah, yet love them deeply. All the same, they know what the
proper requirements of parental love are, and how they should be
fulfilled. This is something beyond the reach of average men, who
suppose the well-being of their children to reside in physical health
and comfort alone, and spend all their love and care on providing just
this to their family. But those who have received the favour of Allah
show a much greater solicitude for the spiritual well-being of their
children than for the physical, being more anxious as to what happens
to them in the other world than in this. So, the great prophet prayed
to Allah to make a group from among his descendants fully obedient to
Him. This prayer aims at another advantage as well. Experience tells
us that if those who enjoy a respectable position in their community,

331
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:129
and their descendants keep to the right path, they are naturally held
in esteem, and their conduct inspires others to reform themselves.
(Al-Bahr al-Muhit) Allah heard this prayer too, and among the descendants
of Sayyidna Ibrahim WJI Je there has always been a group of people
obedient to Allah and firm in the Straight Path. Even in the Age of
Ignorance (Jahiliyyah) when the whole world, and Arabia in
particular, was lost in the darkness of idol-worship and Shirk, there
still remained some men from among his descendants who had faith in
the One God, who believed in the other world, and were obedient to
Allah - for example, Zayd ibn 'Amr bin Nufayl, and Quss ibn Sa'idah.
It has also been reported that 'Abd al-Muttalib ibn Hashim, the
grand-father of the Holy Prophet , shunned idol-worship and Shirk.
(Al-Bahr al-Muhit)
We might add an explanatory note about the word Manasik (the
plural of Mansik) which occurs in Verse 128. This word signifies the
different actions involved in the performance of the Hajj, and also the
different places where the rites are performed - like 'Arafah,
Muzdalifah or Mina. Both the meanings of the word are intended here,
and the substance of the last part of the prayer is that Sayyidna
Ibrahim wanted the rites of the Hajj to be explained and their
locations to be indicated. The verb which has been employed in this
connection is Arina - "show us." Now, seeing is done through the eyes,
and also through the heart. So, the different locations of the rites
were shown to him through the Archangel Jibra'il Wle, and the
injunctions regarding the Hajj were explained in detail.
Verse 129
◌َبَّنَا وَابْعَثْ فِيْهِمْ رَسُوْلًا ◌ِنْهُمْ يَتْلُوا عَلَيْهِمْ أَيْتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمْ
الْكِتُبَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَيُزَكّيْهِمْ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ )
And, our Lord, raise in their midst a Messenger from
among them, who should recite to them Your verses,
and teach them the Book and the wisdom, and make
them pure. Indeed You, and You alone, are the
All-Mighty, the All-Wise. (Verse 129)

332
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 129
The prayer of Ibrahim Wul u for the Holy Prophet
Let us start by commenting on certain words which occur in this
verse. The Arabic word Yatlu (translated in English as "recite", or
"read out") comes from the word Tilawah, ( 1)) ) which lexically signi-
fies "to follow, to obey", but in the terminology of the Qur'an and the
Hadith denotes the recitation or reading of the Holy Qur'an or of a Di-
vine Book, for one who reads a Divine Book is also required to obey it
fully. The word also suggests that it is obligatory to read the Holy
Qur'an exactly as it has been revealed by Allah, and not to add or sub-
tract a word on one's own part, not even to change the pronounciation
of a word which often may, in the Arabic language, change the very
meaning of the word concerned. In his "Mufradat al-Qur'an", Imam al-
Raghib al-Isfahani says that the word Tilawah cannot, in current idi-
om, be applied to the reading of any book other than the Word of Al-
lah.
The word Kitab (Book) in this verse, of course, refers to the Holy
Qur'an itself. As to the word Hikmah (usually translated in English as
"wisdom"), it carries various meanings in Arabic - for example,
arriving at the truth, justice, exact knowledge, etc. (al-Qamus). According
to al-Raghib al-Isfahani, when the word is used in speaking of Allah, it
connotes the total and perfect knowledge of all existents, and flawless
creation; but when applied to someone other than Allah, it connotes a
proper knowledge of the existents, and good deeds. In connection with
the present verse, Maulana Mahmud al-Hasan has interpreted the
word as "profound truths, or subtle realities", while Maulana Ashraf
'Ali Thanavi has taken it to mean "the art of understanding properly".
The commentators from among the blessed Companions and their
immediate successors, whose interpretations come directly from the
teachings of the Holy Prophet & himself, have advanced different
connotations of the word Hikmah - some say that it refers to the
commentary and exegesis of the Holy Qur'an, others believe that it
means the proper understanding of the religion (Din), or the
injunctions of the Shari'ah, or such commandments of Allah which
have been received through the word of the Holy Prophet . But the
truth of the matter is that in spite of the apparent variety of
expressions used, the substance of all these statements is the same -

333
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 129
namely, the Way (Sunnah) of the Holy Prophet & and the Hadith.
This is the interpretation reported from Qatadah by Ibn Kathir and
Ibn Jarir.
Commentary
Now, to proceed with the commentary, let us consider why
Sayyidna Ibrahim WIue, in praying for the well-being of his
descendants in this world and in the other, requested Allah to send a
prophet from among them. The reason is twofold.
Firstly, the
appearance of a prophet from among them would in itself be an honour
and a blessing. Secondly, the prophet being a member of their own
group, they would be thoroughly familiar with his past and present
and with his ways, and thus find it easy to have trust in him, and to
profit from his guidance. According to a hadith, in accepting this
prayer Allah promised that this prophet would be sent in the last of all
ages. (Ibn Jarir and Ibn Kathir)
According to a hadith reported by Imam Ahmad in his "Musnad",
the Holy Prophet has said that Allah had chosen him as the Last
Prophet at a time when Sayyidna Adam >JI ul was not yet born and
only his clay was being prepared, and that he was the manifestation of
the prayer of his father, Sayyidna Ibrahim WI ule , of the good tidings
brought by Sayyidna 'Isa (Jesus Christ WI ue), and of the dream seen
by his mother. The good-tidings refer to the announcement made by
Sayyidna 'Isa WJI ale , as reported in the Holy Qur'an:
مُبَّرَاء بِرَسْوَلٍ يَأْتِىٌ مِنْ بَعْدِى اسْمُةٌ أَحْمَدْ
"I have brought the good-tidings of a prophet who is to come
after me, and his name is Ahmad." (61:6)
And the mother of the Holy Prophet & had, during her pregnancy,
seen in a dream that a light went out of her which illumined the places
in far-off Syria. Then, the words of the present prayer of Sayyidna
Ibrahim JI ale have been repeated in two different places in the Holy
Qur'an - once in Surah "Al'Imran" (Ch.3) and then in Surah
"Al-Jumu'ah" (Ch. 62). Both the passages where these words have
been repeated speak of the prophethood of Sayyidna Muhammad ,
and thus show that he is the prophet whom Sayyidna Ibrahim >le
had prayed for.

334
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 129
All these verses - namely, the present verse from Surah
"Al-Bagarah", and the other two from Surah "Al-'Imran" and Surah
"Al-Jumu'ah" respectively - say the same thing about the Holy Prophet
in the same words. That is to say, they define the purpose of his
being sent to the world as the Messenger of Allah and his functions as
a prophet. These functions are threefold. Firstly, to recite the verses;
secondly, to teach the Book and also to teach "wisdom"; and thirdly, "to
purify" the people. Now, let us examine the three in detail.
(1) The verse speaks separately of "reciting" the Holy Qur'an and of
"teaching" it. Since "reciting" pertains to the words, and "teaching" to
their meanings, the explicit distinction between the two shows that
the words of the Holy Qur'an are no less important in themselves and
for themselves than their meanings, and that the recitation and
preservation of the words is obligatory, and constitutes an act of
worship. In order to understand this aspect of the question we have
only to recall that the first and immediate listeners and disciples of
the Holy Prophet not only knew Arabic very well but were
themselves very eloquent speakers of the language, some of them
being even poets. For an audience like this it should have apparently
been enough to recite the Holy Qur'an, without any explanation or
commentary, for them to be taught - in their case, the "reciting" and
the "teaching" should have, for all practical purpose, become one and
the same thing. Why has the Holy Qur'an, then, mentioned them
separately as two distinct prophetic functions?
If one considers the question seriously, one can easily draw two
important conclusions. To begin with, one would come to see that the
Holy Qur'an is not like other books where meanings are the ultimate
object, while words have only a secondary place as being no more than
a vehicle for the ideas, and can hence tolerate minor changes and
modifications so long as the meaning does not suffer. In the case of
man-made books, it would thus be totally frivolous to go on reading
the words without paying any attention to the meanings. On the
contrary, in the case of the Holy Qur'an the words are in themselves as
necessary and inalienable a part of the intention as the meanings, and
the Shari'ah has laid down particular injunctions with regard to the
words of the Holy Qur'an. That is why in the Science of the Principles

335
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 129
of Islamic Jurisprudence (Usul al-Fiqh) the Holy Qur'an has been
defined as comprehending words and meaning both. In other words, if
the meanings of the Holy Qur'an are expressed in a different
language, or even if certain other Arabic words are substituted for the
revealed ones, such a version shall not be entitled to the name
"Qur'an", in spite of the meanings being intact. Consequently, if one
were to recite this modified version in Salah, one's prayers shall not be
valid. Similarly, a reading of this version shall not bring one the
reward promised in the Hadith for the recitation of the Holy Qur'an,
nor shall any of the injunctions related to the Holy Qur'an apply to it.
Hence the Fuqaha' have forbidden the printing and publication of a
translation of the Holy Qur'an without the Arabic text. It is quite
wrong to speak of an "Urdu Qur'an" or "English Qur'an", simply be-
cause a translation of the original into any language whatsoever can-
not properly be called "the Qur'an".
In short, the word Yatlu in the present verse leaves no doubt as to
the fact that the "recitation of the verses" is an end in itself, for one
does not "recite" meanings, but words. Of course, it goes without
saying that Allah has sent the Holy Qur'an for us to understand it and
to follow its guidance. To be content with memorizing the words alone
and being indifferent to the meanings would merely show one's
ignorance of the nature of the Book of Allah, and one's ungratefulness.
But there are so many people these days who suppose that the Holy
Qur'an is like other books, and believe that it is a waste of time to read
or memorize its words without knowing what they mean. In view of
this wide-spread error, we cannot insist too much on the truth that the
recitation of the words of the Holy Qur'an is in itself a regular act of
worship and brings a great reward.
This is borne out by the practice of the Holy Prophet and his
blessed Companions. They knew the meanings of the Holy Qur'an as
no one else can, and yet they never thought that once they had
understood it and acted upon it, nothing more was required of them.
On the contrary, they kept reciting the Holy Qur'an again and again
as long as they lived. Some of the Companions used to recite the
whole Book of Allah in a single day, some in two days, and some in
three. Reciting the Holy Qur'an in one week has always been quite a

336
Surah Al-Baqarah
usual practice among the Muslims, which is indicated by the division
of the Holy Qur'an into seven stages (Manazil). In fact, by instituting
the recitation of the Holy Qur'an as an act of worship, carrying a
reward of its own, and by giving it a separate and regular position
among the prophetic functions, Allah has been very merciful to those
Muslims who are not for some reason yet able to understand the
meanings, and has saved them from the misfortune of being
indifferent to the words and thus being totally deprived of the
blessings which flow from His Book. Even such Muslims should, no
doubt, keep trying to understand the meanings too so that they may
receive the blessings in full, and the ultimate purpose of the
Revelation may be realized.
(2) According to the present verses, "teaching the Book" is a
prophetic function distinct from "reciting the Verses". We can easily
infer from it the principle that in order to understand the Holy Qur'an
it is not sufficient merely to know the Arabic language, but that it also
requires the "teaching" of the Holy Prophet
. As every one knows,
in order to learn a science or art - be it medicine or engineering, or
something as ordinary as cookery - it is not enough to read a book or to
be proficient in a language. Had it been the only qualification
required, one could have easily mastered all the sciences and the arts
on which one could find books written in the language one knew. To
learn the meanest craft, then, one needs the regular and constant
guidance of a teacher. This being so, how can one hope to understand,
unaided, the Holy Qur'an which has something to say on the most
difficult subjects possible, ranging from theology to philosophy and
physics? Had a competence in the Arabic language been sufficient for
this task, scores of Jewish and Christian scholars and men of letters in
the Arabic countries today would have been counted among the
greatest commentators as would have been Abu Jahl and Abu Lahab
in the days of the Holy Prophet . By distinguishing "the teaching of
the Book" from "the reciting of the verses" as a distinct prophetic
function, the Holy Qur'an has underlined the fact that in order to
understand the Book of Allah properly it is not enough, even for those
who know Arabic very well, merely to listen to a recitation of the
verses, but that such an understanding can be acquired only through
the teaching of the Holy Prophet ! , and that to separate the one from

337
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 129
the other, and to make an attempt at interpretation on one's own is no
more than a self-delusion. Had it not really been necessary to explain
and teach the meanings of the Holy Qur'an, why should have Allah
sent us a Messenger? There were many other ways of conveying His
Book to men. But Allah knows everything, and is All-Wise. He knows
that an understanding of His Book depends on the guidance of a
teacher much more than that of human sciences and arts does - in fact,
on the guidance, not of an ordinary teacher, but of one who in his turn
receives guidance from Allah Himself directly through Revelation
(Wahy), and who is designated in Islamic terminology as a Nabiyy
(Prophet) and a Rasul (Messenger of Allah). According to the Holy
Qur'an itself, Allah has sent the Holy Prophet & to men for the
express purpose of explaining to them in detail the injunctions and the
meanings of the Divine Book - ◌ْلِيُبَّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَأْنُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِم :"So that you should
explain to men what We have revealed for them". (16:44)
According to the present verse, the prophetic function of "teaching
the Book" also includes the "teaching of Hikmah". As we have shown
above, although this word carries various meanings in the Arabic
language, yet, with reference to this verse and similar ones, the
blessed Companions and their immediate successors have interpreted
Hikmah as "the Sunnah" or the Way of the Holy Prophet . It means
that along with "teaching the Book" the prophetic functions include
the teaching of the principles and modes of spiritual discipline. The
Holy Prophet , has himself said, La det) :"I have been sent only as
a teacher." From this, it necessarily follows that his followers are
required to be disciples, and that every Muslim, man or woman,
should as a Muslim be a life-long student, keen to learn what the Holy
Prophet & has taught. If one cannot for some reason master the
different sciences connected with the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah, one
must try to acquire at least a satisfactory knowledge and
understanding of the basic doctrines of Islam and of the fundamental.
injunctions of the Shari'ah which are absolutely indispensable for
every Muslim.
(3) "Purifying the people" is also an essential prophetic function.
The Arabic word Tazkiyah denotes purifying a thing or person from all
kinds of filth, internal as well as external. One can see for oneself
what the different kinds of external filth are - the Shari'ah has clearly

338
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 129
defined them. The internal varieties include, on the one hand, false
beliefs like infidelity (Kufr), association (Shirk), or total reliance on
some one other than Allah, and, on the other hand, pride, vanity
malice, jealousy, love of worldly things, etc. Although the evil nature
of such beliefs and tendencies has been fully explained in the Holy
Qur'an and the Sunnah, yet in making "the purification of the people"
a distinct and separate prophetic function the present verse indicates
that just as a mere knowledge of words and technical terms does not
make one the master of a science or art, in the same way a knowledge,
or even a proper understanding of its principles does not by itself
make one perfect in the science or art concerned. To attain any degree
of perfection one must also learn to put the principles into practice,
and "realize" them in oneself and for oneself, which again requires the
supervision of an authentic teacher and guide. In the Way of Sufis
(Tariqah) the function of the spiritual guide (Shaykh) is to help the
disciple in obeying the injunctions of the Holy Qur'an and the Sunnah
so thoroughly that it becomes a matter, not of effort, but of habit - so to
say, his very "nature". 36
36. At this point, we must sound a note of warning. It has grown, in our
day, almost habitual to speak of Islam as "the religion of action" - if not
of "activism". In such phrases, the implication is never absent that
"action" is to be considered as an anti-thesis of "thought", and "practice"
as that of "theory" - as if there is a dichotomy, and the two activities
can hardly be reconciled with each other. And there is always the
insinuation that in order to be worthy of any respect one must make an
either/or kind of choice in favour of "action" and "practice" as against
"thought" and "theory".
Such formulations are no older than four centuries, and are the
necessary products of certain dilemmas which historically arose in the
society of the Christian West. They do not and cannot, as such, belong
to a religious or metaphysical approach to things. In so far as an
activity can be described as specifically "human", it cannot be purely
automatic, but is preceded by thought. In other words, all "practice" is
governed by a "theory", and all "action" guided by "thought" or some
principle, good or bad. The rule is so general that it applies even to the
action of those who have been promoting the dichotomy. As far as the
Islamic way of looking at things is concerned, it goes without saying
that no action or practice, however good, can have the slightest merit or
Continued

339
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 129
Now that we are on the subject of purification (tazkiyah), we might
add another important consideration. From the days of the First
Prophet to the days of the Last JI+Le, it has been the Way of Allah
that in order to guide men and to show them the Straight Path, He
has been sending them not only His Books but His prophets also. This
indicates the general principle that for their guidance men need, on
the one hand, a Divine Teaching revealed in the form of a Book, and,
on the other, a human teacher in the form of a prophet who should
train and discipline them into absorbing the divine guidance fully.
Men need not merely one of these, but both. For, a man alone can be
the teacher of another man, and not a book - which serves only as an
aid. That is why Islam began with a Book and a Prophet, and the two,
working together, produced a society of men who are unparalleled in
history for their rectitude. For the coming generations too, the two ba-
sic principles of guidance have continued to function in the form of the
Shari'ah and "the Men of Allah". The Holy Qur'an has emphasised the
Continued
spiritual efficacy until and unless it carries a divine sanction. It
logically follows that the foremost duty of a Muslim is to acquaint
himself with divine commandments, and then to obey them. One can,
if one likes, give to the first the name of "theory", and the second the
name of "practice". But there is no dichotomy involved, nor any choice
called for. No "practice" can be valid without being informed by
"theory", and no "theory" can be of much avail without being put into
"practice". It is "theory" which makes "practice" meaningful, and it is
through "practice" alone that one acquires a true knowledge of "theory".
They are not two entities, but only two ways of considering the same
reality. What finally matters is "realization" - or making the essential
truths "real" to oneself.
In the West itself, and as late as the end of the Middle Ages, there
were people who knew that theoria and praxis went together in the
terminology of spiritual disciplines. In fact, the Greek word does, in its
original meaning, say all that we have been trying to explain here. For,
even if "theory" in modern European languages has come to mean just
a 'speculation', or a 'supposition', even a 'fancy', the Greek verb theoreo
signified "to see", and the noun theoros denoted the "man who sees".
Thus, theoria was not merely a fancy, but a truth which could be "seen",
or actively realized.

340
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 129
point again and again. Let us quote a few instances: 11/2040
-O believers, fear Allah, and be with the truth": اللهَ وَكُونُوا مَعَ الُّدِقِيْنَ
ful"(9:119). In summing up the qualities of "the truthful" (Al-Sadiqun),
another verse ends with the words :َأُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ صَدَقُواْ وَ أُولَئِكَ هُمْ الْمُتَّقُون :"It is they
who are truthful, and it is they who are the God-fearing". (2:177) As
we have explained in our commentary on the first chapter, the Surah
"Al-Fatihah" is the quintessence of the Holy Qur'an, and the
essence of this Surah is the guidance towards the Straight Path
(Al-Sirat al-Mustaqim). Now, in order to indicate the Straight Path
the Holy Qur'an has, instead of calling it the Path of the Qur'an
or the Path of the Prophet or the Path of the Sunnah, spoken of the
Men of Allah who can show the Straight Path to the seeker. Says the
Holy Qur'an : ◌َصِرَاطَ الَّذِيْنَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْغُضُوُبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّين :" ... the path of
those on whom You have bestowed Your grace, not of those who have
incurred Your wrath, nor of those who are misguided". (1:7) An-
فَأُولَئِكَ مَعَ الَّذِيْنَ أَنْعَمَ اللّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِّنَ - other verse provides greater specification
- Those on whom Allah has bestowed His grace": وَالصِّدِيْقِيْنَ وَالشَّهَدَاءِ وَالصَّلِحِينَ
the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs and the righteous." (4:69)
Similarly, the Holy Prophet & has, for the benefit of all the later gen-
erations of Muslims, explicitly named certain personalities who
يَاأَيُّهَا النَّاسِ إِنّيْ تَرَكُتْ فِيُكُمْ مَا أَنْ أَخَذُّتُمُ بِهِ لَنْ : should be followed in religious matters
I am leaving behind me two things; if you": تَضِلَّوا كِتَابَ اللهِ وَعِتْرَتِىُّ أَهْلِ بَيْتِى
stand firm by them you will never fall into misguidance - firstly, the
Book of Allah, and, secondly, my descendants and the members of my
family." (Tirmidhi) A hadith reported by Al-Bukhari says: 20 2 0 1.31
Pokalen "After me, follow Abu Bakr and 'Umar." And a third
hadith says:َعَلَيْكُمُ بِسَنَّتِىٌ وَسْتَّةِ الْحُلَفَاءِ الرَّاشِدِين "You must adopt my way (the
Sunnah) and the way of Al-Khulafa' al-Rashidin" - that is, the first
four rightly-guided Caliphs.
In short, whether it be religion or the different sciences and arts,
the acquisition of knowledge in the proper sense of the term depends
on profiting from authentic books and authentic teachers. In the case
of religion, however, people are, while turning to these two modes,
liable to fall into the error of putting exclusive or excessive emphasis
on one of them alone, which brings them more harm than good. Thus,
there are, on the one hand, people who neglect the Book of Allah, and
begin to adore their scholars and spiritual masters, without taking the

341
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 129
trouble of finding out whether they are obedient to the Shari'ah or not.
In fact, this has been the characteristic malady of the Jews and the
Christians. Speaking of them, the Holy Qur'an says: Ascitis
A 3' & Ctgi : "They have taken their rabbis and their monks as their
lords apart from Allah." (9:31) Obviously, this is the royal road to
Shirk (association) and Kufr (infidelity), on which millions have
perished, and go on perishing. On the other hand, there are people
who claim that the Book of Allah is by itself sufficient for them, and
that in order to understand it they do not need the guidance of a
teacher or a scholar or a spiritual master. This too is a form of
misguidance, for an attempt to interpret the Book of Allah on one's
own, without the aid of reliable specialists, inevitably draws one into
all sorts of errors, makes one a slave of one's own desires and
inclinations, and may, in some cases at least, lead one straight outside
the pale of Islam. So, what one is required to do is to put each of these
two means of knowledge in its proper place, and to profit from both.
One should be quite clear about the basic principle in this respect - to
Allah alone belongs the authority to lay down a commandment, and it
is Allah alone we have been called upon to obey, while the Holy
Prophet ge is a means of helping us to know how Allah is to be obeyed,
and one obeys Him on the ground that to obey the Holy Prophet & is
to obey Allah Himself. Besides that, one should, when faced with
difficulties in understanding the Holy Qur'an and the Hadith or in
acting upon them, turn for help, willingly and respectfully, to the
words and deeds of the masters in these subjects, and consider it to be
the key to the door of salvation.
There is a second conclusion to be drawn from the fact that the
present verse includes the teaching of the Book among the prophetic
functions. As we know, Allah has promised to safeguard the Holy
Qur'an Himself :َإنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَ إِنَّا لَهُ لَمُفِظُون :"It is We who have revealed
the Guidance, and it is We who watch over it." (15:9) Consequently,
every single word, every consonant and every vowel of the Holy Qur'an
has remained intact upto this day, and shall remain intact as long the
world lasts. Now, according to the present verse, the teaching of the
Holy Prophet is absolutely indispensable for a proper
understanding of the Holy Qur'an, and without this guidance it is not
possible to act upon the Holy Qur'an in a real sense. It logically

342
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 129
follows from it that the teachings of the Holy Prophet & should also
receive divine protection in their own degree, and remain intact as a
whole till the end of the world; otherwise, the preservation of the
words of the Holy Qur'an would not, by itself, fully serve the purpose
for which Allah has revealed it. It goes without saying that the
teachings of the Holy Prophet & are identical with what is called the
Sunnah or the Hadith. Although Allah has not promised the same
degree of protection to the Hadith as to the Holy Qur'an, and the
words of the Sunnah have not been preserved exactly in the same
manner as the words of the Holy Qur'an, yet the prophetic
interpretations too must, according to the present verse, remain
intact, and it has, taken as a whole, remained intact upto this day.
Whenever an attempt has been made to distort a Hadith or to invent
spurious ones, the specialists in the science have always exposed the
fraud.
Thus, in accordance with the prediction implicit in the present
verse, Allah has preserved the teachings of the Holy Prophet & from
the days of the blessed Companions to our own day through fully
authentic collections of the Ahadith and through the masters of this
subject. And this divine protection shall continue to the last day of the
world. For, the Holy Prophet himself has assured us that in his
Ummah there shall always remain till the end of the world a group of
authentic scholars who shall jealously and watchfully guard the Holy
Qur'an and the Hadith against all attempts at distortion or
misrepresentation. This hadith by itself gives the lie to some
contemporary writers who have, for the ulterior motive of discrediting
the injunctions of the Islamic Shari'ah, been trying to propagate the
notion that the whole body of the Ahadith we possess is inauthentic
and hence unreliable. But anyone who has eyes to see can easily
understand the stratagem - if one cannot trust the Hadith, one can no
longer trust the text of the Holy Qur'an. And this is exactly what the
Westerners and their local allies want to accomplish - that is, to make
the Muslims turn away from the Holy Qur'an.
In the end, let us note that the three prophetic functions which
Sayyidna Ibrahim WILle referred to in his prayer, and which the
Holy Prophet & was sent to perform, were fulfilled in his own
life-time. In order to have an idea of the great transformation which

343
Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 130 - 132
the recitation of the Holy Qur'an, the teaching of the Holy Prophet
and his purifying influence brought about in men, it is enough to see
:(رضى الله عنهم أجمعين) what the Holy Qur'an says in praise of his Companions
وَأَلَّذِيْنَ مَعَذَ اشِدَاءٌ عَلَى الْكُفَّارِ وُحَمَاءُ بَيْنَهُمْ تَرْهُمْ وُرَّعًا سُبَّدًا تَْتَغُونَ
فَضْلاً مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَ رِضُوَانًا
"Those who are with him are hard against the disbelievers,
merciful to one another; you see them bowing and prostrating
themselves (in prayers), seeking the bounty of Allah and His
pleasure". (48:29).
Verses 130 - 132
وَمَنْ يَّرْغَبُ عَنْ قِلَّةٍ إِبُرْهِمَ إِلَّ مَنْ سَفِةَ نَفْسَةُ دَوَلَقَدٍ
اصْطَفَيْنُهُ فِى الدّنْيَاءَوَإِنَّهُ فِى الْأُخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الُّلِحِيْنَ ٥ إذ
قَالَ لَهْ رَبّةٌ أَسْلِمْ قَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ لِرَبِّ الْعَلَمِيْنَه وَ وَحْى ◌ِهَا
إِبْرُهُم بَنِيُهِ وَيَعُقُوُبُ ﴿ يبَنِتَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفِى لَكُمُ الدِّيْنَ
فَلاَ تَمُوْتُنَّ إِلَّ وَأَنْتُمْ مُسُلِمُونَ )
And who turns away from the faith of Ibrahim except
the one who has debased himself in folly. And indeed
We have chosen him in this world, and in the other
world he is certainly among the righteous. When his
Lord said to him, "Submit!" He said, "I submit myself to .
the Lord of the worlds." And Ibrahim exhorted the
same to his sons, and so did Ya'qub: "My sons, Allah
has certainly chosen for you the Faith. So, let not
death overtake you but as Muslims." (Verses 130 - 132)
The earlier verses have defined the basic principles of the religion
of Sayyidna Ibrahim >JIale , called upon men to follow it, and warned
them against the dangers involved in turning away from it. They have
also refuted the claims of the Jews and the Christians to be the
followers of this religion, while indicating Islam as the only religion
which is now faithful to the Abrahamic Tradition, and which has, in
its essentials, been the religion common to all the prophets. The
present verses show the solicitude of the prophets WJI + in giving
religious and spiritual instruction and guidance to their descendants.