The Calf
(ayat 1-29)
2: Al Baqarah, Medinan Period
The focus of this chapter is to give us a sense of the history that exists between God and humanity. God created human beings to be the caretakers of the earth, and as such, He endowed them with a capacity to learn and know that is far more advanced than any other creature He made. But due to human weakness, our earliest ancestors lost their fellowship with God, and precious few have striven to regain it. Our collective failing is due as much to our own yearning for physical pleasure, as it is to the whisperings of the forces of darkness. That darkness is embodied in Satan, an evil creature who felt he was better than humans were, and thus he set out on a campaign to prove God wrong. God accepted his challenge, not because He was afraid or in need of amusement, but because, as is His way, He wanted Satan to understand how he went wrong before he was going to be vanquished.
Even though humans could be corrupted, as Satan proved, he didn’t realize that they were also created with an inner-nature that constantly prompts them to notice their absence from God. Though Satan continues to try and corrupt as many humans as he can in his foolish quest to somehow best God and save himself, some humans still do look for God’s truth. He constantly holds out the offer of His forgiveness and acceptance into His fellowship regardless of the direction that human culture or values takes. From the first human beings, Adam and Eve, on through waves of successive civilizations, God’s Message of Salvation is always renewed, through the work of prophets, so that no one can have any excuse when it comes time to face the reality of Judgment Day - when we will all be judged by our faith and life’s work and sentenced to either eternal life in Paradise, or lengthy (or even permanent) internment in Hellfire.
The Prophet said of this chapter, “The Cow is the highlight of the Qur’an and its apex. Eighty angels descended with each verse, and it has the Verses of the Throne which was extracted from beneath the Divine Throne (2:255).” (Ahmad) He also said, “Don’t turn your homes into graveyards. Satan cannot enter a house where the chapter of the Cow is recited regularly.” (Muslim, Ahmad, Tirmidhi)
In the Name of Allah,
the Compassionate Source of All Mercy.Alif. Lām. Meem. [1] (1) This is the Book in which there is no doubt. It’s a guide for those who are mindful (of their duty to God,) [2] (2) who believe [3] in what they cannot yet see, [4] who establish regular prayer, [5] and who spend in charity out of what We’ve given to them. [6] (3)
They believe in what’s been revealed to you, (Muhammad,) as well as in what was revealed (to other prophets) before your time, [7] and they’re confident about the reality of the next life. (4) They’re living by the guidance of their Lord and will be successful. (5)
Disbelief and Hypocrisy
Now as for those who (willfully) suppress (their feelings for God,) it doesn’t matter if you warn them, or if you don’t warn them, for they won’t believe. [8] (6) God has set a seal upon their hearts and ears and placed a veil over their eyes. [9] They’re going to suffer a terrible punishment. (7)
Among the people (you will meet) are some who claim, “We believe in God and the Last Day,” but they don’t really have any faith. (8) They try to deceive God and those who (truly) believe, but they only deceive themselves - and they don’t even realize it! [10] (9) Their hearts have a sickness, so God adds to their sickness, [11] and they’re going to pay a terrible price for being false (to their own inner nature). [12] (10)
When they’re told not to create chaos in the world, they retort, “What? We’re only trying to improve things.” [13] (11) But they’re the actual authors of the chaos, though they don’t realize it! (12) And when they’re told, “Believe as the (rest of the) people are believing,” they sneer, “Faith is for fools!” But they’re the fools - they just don’t know it! (13)
When they meet the believers they affirm, “We believe, too.” But when they’re alone with their devilish [14] friends they recant by saying, “We’re really with you. We were only deceiving them.” [15] (14)
God will throw their deceit back upon them by allowing them to fall deeper into error - until they’re wandering around aimlessly. [16] (15) They’ve traded guidance for mistakes, and gained nothing from the deal, for they’ve truly lost all sense of direction. (16)
The Parable of the Storm
They’re like a man who builds a fire (in the night): when it lights everything around them, God takes away their light and leaves them in utter darkness, completely unable to see. [17] (17) They’re deaf, dumb and blind and won’t return to the path. (18)
Another example is of a storm cloud filled with darkness, thunder and lightning. No matter how much they cover their ears from the booming thunderclaps - fearing for their very lives - it won’t help them. God is all around those who reject (the truth)! (19) Whenever a lightning bolt flashes before them it all but blinds them, but even still they can grope forward a bit in its afterglow, but when the darkness returns, they hesitate in uncertainty. [18] If God really wanted to, He could have completely removed their hearing and their sight, for God has the power to do anything. [19] (20)
Why are We Here?
All you People! [20] Serve your Lord Who created you - and your ancestors too - so you can become mindful (of your duty towards Him). (21) He made the earth like your couch and the sky like your shading canopy, and He sends down water from the sky and causes many types of fruits to grow for your survival. So never claim that there’s any power that can be held as equal to God, especially when you know better. [21] (22)
And if you doubt (the authenticity) of what We’ve been gradually revealing to Our servant, (Muhammad,) then compose a chapter similar to this one. Then call upon any witness, besides God, if you’re so certain of your allegations (that he made it all up himself.) [22] (23)
But if you, in fact, find it impossible to duplicate (this message,) as indeed it is impossible, [23] then beware of the Fire whose fuel is human beings and the stones (of false idols) which has been prepared for those who reject (the truth.) [24] (24)
But tell those who believe, and do what is morally right, the good news of gardens beneath which rivers flow. Every time they pick fruits from within they’ll exclaim, “Hey, these look like what we had before (in our earthly life).” That’s because they’ll be given their reward in the form of what was familiar to them. But even better than this is that they’ll be joined by pure and holy companions to abide with for all time. [25] (25)
God’s Parables
God isn’t ashamed to illustrate a point with something even as small as a mosquito, or anything bigger than that. [26] Those who believe can figure out the true meaning from their Lord, but those who suppress (their yearning for faith) ridicule such parables by sneering, “What can God possibly mean by those cryptic stories?” [27]
By them He allows many to fall further into error, and by them He allows many others to be guided; but He doesn’t let anyone go astray except for those who’ve gone beyond the rules of morality and have forsaken (the truth first). [28] (26) They’re the ones who broke their (natural) bond with God after it had been made strong. They separate what He has joined together, [29] and behave badly in the world, and so, in the end, they’ll be the losers. [30] (27)
How can you deny your own natural faith in God? He gave you life when you had none - and He’s going to take back your life and raise you up again - then you’re going to return back to Him. [31] (28) He created everything that’s on the earth for you, and He projected Himself upon the design of the heavens, creating the seven-layered skies, [32] for He knows all about everything. (29)
[1] These stand-alone letters are prefixed to some of the chapters of the Qur’an. Their meaning is disputed, with some theorizing that they are code letters for hidden messages from God. Others think that there is some numerical message in them, given that they appear before twenty-nine chapters, and there are twenty-nine letters in the Arabic language (if you count the ‘hamza’ as a letter). The most convincing explanation, however, which is supported by the eminent scholars Ibn Kathir, Zamakhshari and Ibn Taymiyyah, is that the letters are a way of communicating to the Arabs that their own language (as represented by the stand-alone letters of the alphabet) is being used to convey a message to them. The Arabs were so proud of their language, and this Qur’an was being revealed in it, but the idol-worshippers had no explanation for how fantastically poetic and rhythmic the Qur’an was, compared with their ordinary poetry. The Qur’an then challenged the Arabs to make a chapter, even a verse like a Qur’anic one (see 17:88, 52:34, 11:13, etc…). The subtext is meant to challenge them thusly: look, here are the letters of your own alphabet – simple as a, b, c – now make something like this book, if you can. And if you can’t, then accept its message. (See 2:23-24) This view is confirmed by the fact that in almost every instance where these stand-alone letters appear, the very next verse makes some sort of statement about the nature of the Qur’an. (See the opening of chapters 10-15, for example.)
[2] The term taqwa comes from the root word, waqa, and it means to protect oneself from harm, to be aware of, mindful of, or conscious of God and His prohibitions, and it has been rendered accordingly throughout this translation depending upon the context. To pass beyond the limits of what God allows is to invite retribution, but beyond this, falling into sin and personal weakness can make a person feel ashamed of themselves, and thus we can associate righteousness or piety with this term, as to have taqwa (in Islamic parlance) means to behave in a conscientious and upright manner out of the fear of disobeying our Creator. Once a companion of the Prophet named ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab (d. 644) asked his friend what taqwa meant in practical terms, and he answered by asking, “Have you ever walked on a thorny path?” ‘Umar said that he had, then his friend asked, “Then what did you do?” ‘Umar explained that he held up the bottom of his clothes and went through it as quickly and carefully as he could. “That is taqwa,” his friend said.
[3] The Arabic term for belief is eman. Eman comes from the root word, amuna, which means three main things: to have faith, to confirm or trust in that faith, and finally to feel safe. Thus, a believer is one who places their faith and trust in God with the result that they are no longer afraid for their life or their death. The related word, amanah, is usually translated as secure trust.
[4] The Unseen or Intangible (al ghayb) refers to those things we cannot observe yet in our physical existence such as angels, Paradise, Judgment Day, etc... The object of the Qur'an is to present the proof, both philosophical and logical, of God's existence so that we can come to believe in things that we haven't seen, felt, perceived or touched yet. This is part of the proof of faith by which we become worthy of God’s forgiveness and salvation.
[5] The term for prayer used in the Qur'an is salah. This word literally means in the full sense to make a connection with, and it also means heat or burning. When we pray, or make salah, we're making a hot connection with our Lord. It has an identical import as the Aramaic word, zelota, and the Hebrew word, tefillah, both of which mean to stand before God. As the Prophet Muhammad once said, “You're the closest to your Lord when you're bowing to Him.” Prayer five times a day is due upon every Muslim who reaches the age of ten, though the Prophet advised we teach children to pray from the age of seven. Such frequent prayer keeps a person focused on God and their duty to Him all throughout the day.
[6] The Prophet said, “Islam is founded upon five things: witnessing that there is no god but Allah and that Muhammad is His Servant and Messenger, establishing regular prayers, paying the required charity, performing the pilgrimage and keeping the fast of Ramadan.” (Bukhari, Muslim)
[7]The Qur'an affirms that revelations were sent to previous Prophets in ancient days. Those revelations were lost or corrupted.
[8] The term, kufr literally means “to hide, conceal, reject, suppress or cover up.” It is often translated as 'disbelieve'. The related term kuffar is also translated similarly as unbelievers or disbelievers. But that mode of translation, while overtly valid as far as concepts go, masks the beauty of the word that the Qur’an uses. It's not that they "disbelieve" but rather that they deny, gloss over, mask, suppress, bury or reject what they (should) know to be true in their innermost being. So they’re really suppressing or concealing their own capacity to understand. In this work we have translated "kufr" and all its derivatives as alternately: covered, rejected, concealed, faithless, suppressed, masked or denied according to the implication of the passage. Occasionally, kufr can mean thanklessness, as well.
[9] Their hearts (or understanding) are 'sealed' as a sort of punishment for rejecting God first. In addition, God will let the powers of darkness have their way with such a person, a hypocrite, and they will fall further into error because they rejected the one, true reality in the universe. As God said, "Satan has got the better of them. He got them to lose the remembrance of God." (58:19) Also see 4:79, 10:44 and 10:108.
[10] Thus we are introduced to the dangers of hypocrisy from the very beginning of the Book and are warned of it.
[11] Arabic, like English, uses the figurative term of the heart, or qulub, to be synonymous with the mind, emotions and inner motivations of a person. The sickness in the hearts of the hypocrites, according to the early commentators, is perpetual doubt.
[12] Someone once asked the Prophet, “What is faith?” He replied, “When doing good makes you feel happy and doing wrong makes you feel terrible, then you are a believer.” Then he asked the Prophet, “What is a sin?” He replied, “When something bothers your conscience, give it up.” (Ahmad)
[13] Many people in history have been convinced that they were doing what is right when in fact they were doing terrible deeds with far-reaching consequences. The standard of what is good or bad is God's revelation.
[14] Here is the first mention of the name shaytan, which can be used as a proper name, as in Satan, or as an adjective, i.e. satanic or devilish. The word, itself, means to be rebellious or to separate something away from something else.
[15] ‘Abdullah ibn Ubayy of the Khazraj tribe was set to be appointed the king of Medina before the coming of the Prophet. He resented his loss of status after the Prophet arrived and he made no secret of his dislike for Islam, though he pretended to follow Islam because it was on the upward trend. Once when he and some of his followers were about to meet some of Muhammad’s companions, he whispered to his friends, “Look how I put those fools off.” Then, when he greeted the companions, he lavished praise upon them, particularly upon Abu Bakr and Umar, two of Muhammad’s most trusty confidants. After they left, ‘Abdullah told his friends, “Do you see how I was acting? Whenever you see them do the same, and praise them well.” Word of what he said reached the Prophet and this verse was revealed.
[16] This refers to their lack of guidance in moral affairs. If a person gives in to their weaknesses and rejects God then they have shown themselves to be depraved and God allows them to fall further into error so that there is the chance for them to be shocked back into realizing that they need God to live a happy and successful life. Many are the stories of drunkards, drug addicts and criminals who have had an unlikely flash of inspiration leading them to reform themselves.
[17] Note the transition from him to them. No person is an island and it is assumed that each person will be joined by others. So if one person has some system or lifestyle to live by, i.e. a light, others will come to follow his or her way. But if it is an immoral or unhealthy way, the light cannot be sustained for its source is corrupt, hence the "taking away of the light". Also see 6:110.
[18] Even a person living without guidance has the capacity to think, feel and consider the meaning of things, but because they are often depraved, they see flashes of the truth: that there is really good and evil in the world, that mercy is better than rage, etc, and they may ride for a while, blending these truths in their life, but when their attention is turned aside by some worldly temptation, they forget the guidance and stumble about blindly again, leading an aimless life of consumption and pleasure.
[19] The point is that He doesn’t remove their hearing or their sight, no matter how depraved or wicked an immoral person may become for these tools of awareness are what we can use to bring our hearts and minds back to God, no matter how far we’ve fallen. See 67:23 for an explanation of why we have been endowed with such qualities.
[20] It is generally assumed that verses that begin with the call, “All you people” are directed towards the Meccans in particular, and then to nonbelievers in general, while verses that begin with “All you who believe” are directed towards the Muslims of Medina in particular, and then all believers elsewhere.
[21] A man named ‘Abdullah once asked the Prophet what the worst sin was in God’s sight. The Prophet replied, “To set up a partner with God, even though He created you by Himself.” ‘Abdullah then asked what the next worst sin was, and the Prophet said, “To kill your child because you’re afraid you’ll have to share your food with them.” The man asked for the next, and the Prophet answered, “To have unlawful sex with your neighbor’s wife.” (Bukhari)
[22] This is a recurring charge leveled against Muhammad and the Qur’an, that Muhammad somehow copied from the Bible or was instructed by a reclusive religious figure, possibly Christian or Jewish. No such individuals have been convincingly identified, and the motives of such individuals would be hard to understand. Muhammad was a retired merchant living in a forgotten corner of the world, barely on the edge of civilization. He had no high ranking status, he could not read or write, he had no tribal influence, he never attended any school of any kind, he was an orphan from his childhood, and he had no outward or other discernable qualifications for such a grand undertaking. That he would suddenly be picked at the age of forty to found a world religion by a shadowy figure borders on pure nonsense. The idol-worshippers of Mecca leveled this charge against Muhammad, and even offered suggestions as to who was his secret teacher, but in the end, even they gave up on this angle of attack when the Qur’an kept coming in snippets to Muhammad through the night and through the day, in public, instantaneously and often in response to events as they occurred. Soon, the Meccans began to attack Muhammad from another angle, saying he was possessed or under the influence of sorcerers! (See 44:14) Given that human civilization has never accepted that great literature is the result of demonic influence, we can safely rule out sorcery as a source for the Qur’an. Combine this with the fact that for a full 23 years Muhammad received Qur’anic revelations (and was a very public figure with next to no privacy,) and the absurdity of the simplistic claim that he was taught or copied the message from somewhere is made clear. Other facts include these: Mecca was not a literary center with a library, school or religious seminary of any kind- books were quite an oddity in west-central Arabia! The Qur’an, furthermore, has nothing in common structurally with the Bible and the Bible, itself, had not been translated into Arabic yet, let alone distributed among the Arabs. How could a man living in a society of idol-worshippers, who could neither read nor write, who had four daughters and a wife to look after, who grew up as a penniless orphan, and who had never been known to study anything, suddenly at the age of forty initiate a message that would cause a major shift in the future direction of human civilization, undergoing tremendous hardships along the way and courting destruction numerous times? Simplistic answers and theories are not up to the task of answering these hard questions.
[23] The challenge to craft a chapter similar to one found in the Qur’an is meant to make the reader aware of the fact that on many levels, the Qur’anic style of presentation is a marvel. The Qur’an is considered to be the seminal text of erudite and elegant Arabic. Qur’anic grammar is the basis and final authority for the modern standard Arabic that educated people speak throughout the Arabic world. Think of the way in which the King James Bible influenced the development of the English language and multiply its effects manifold. A typical passage from the Qur’an combines the following elements: a rhyme scheme that uses skillful turns of rhythm and meter, a style of grammar that is at once majestic and allegory, a vocabulary that consists of words that can have multiple, yet complimentary meanings, a thematic structure that links it to other passages, as well as content that, expressed in Arabic prose reads like the finest Shakespeare to educated speakers of English. So the challenge exists and presents us with many levels of requirements to duplicate. Assuming one would even try, the next level of difficulty would lie in the fact that Qur’anic passages seem to have corollaries and paired passages or chapters found interwoven throughout the work and the task appears both daunting and awe-inspiring.
[24] If God Loves His creatures, then why does He punish them? This question is often asked by well meaning people, and the philosophy of the Qur’an is quite simply to ask the inverse: “Why do people bring punishment upon themselves?” In short, God does not like to punish anyone at anytime. Among His personal attributes are the terms Merciful and Forbearing. God created a well-ordered universe and any corruption of it is against the highest order of right and logic. Even as a body’s cells will attack an abnormal growth that threatens the purity and functioning of the whole, so too, is sinful or disorderly behavior abhorrent to God as a threat to the purity of what He created. Be that as it may, God is very patient and will let His creatures get away with a lot before He takes action against them. Even further, He holds out the offer of forgiveness if a sinner would but repent. The Prophet said that God, Himself, said, “Before I decreed the Creation, I wrote down in My ledger, that I keep with Me: “Truly, My mercy will be stronger than My wrath.” (Bukhari & Muslim. Also see 6:12) On the other hand, He gave us a free will to either choose Him (and goodness,) or to deny Him (and thus become wicked and immoral,) preferring the pleasures of the flesh (and the greed, violence and gluttony that results) over such noble qualities as patience, righteousness, generosity and morality. When we prefer worldly pleasures to noble living and justice, then we inevitably hurt others and do injustice. Only then will God punish us so we can get a reminder of our shortcomings.
[25] In Paradise there are houries, or pleasure-mates, who are in the shape of perfect humans, yet without souls. They exist only to please our carnal desires, which will be without restriction in heaven. Both males and females will have such pure companions as pleasure-mates, and it in no way will violate the sanctity of the marriages that were consecrated in the earth (though people who were married on earth are not required to remain married in heaven if they choose not to). They are often referred to as the Virgins of Paradise, and Jesus, himself, is quoted as likening Paradise to virgins in Matthew 25:1-12. In heaven, things that were unlawful on earth will be lawful there. For example, wine and other intoxicants are forbidden on earth as the tools of Satan, but in Paradise, there will be rivers of wine that will give the most delightful highs, but without the discomfort or painful hangovers. See 55:60 where the implication of the verse is to ask, “What did you think you would be doing in Heaven? It’s a place of unimaginable reward and pleasure!” Also see 32:17.
[26] The Jews of Medina ridiculed the Qur’an because it mentioned things as insignificant as insects, (idols are said to be helpless because they can’t protect themselves from a fly, as in 22:73, and spider webs are an example of how weak an argument can be, as in 29:41). Many haughty and arrogant people choose to overlook lessons if they don't consider them sophisticated enough. This arrogance can cause an otherwise intelligent person to overlook what is so simple to understand. As one Muslim writer, Jalaluddin Rumi (d. 1273,) put it, "Children tell stories, but in their tales are found many a mystery and moral lesson. Though they may relate many seemingly ridiculous things, keep looking in those unkempt places for treasures." (Mathnawi) The commentator, Ar-Rabi’ ibn Anas said that God used the word mosquito here as a metaphor for the worldly life. A mosquito is born, sucks blood and gets fat - then it dies and crumbles to dust. (Ibn Kathir)
[27] Salman al Farsi, who was a Persian companion of the Prophet, was giving a speech in which he told a very interesting story. He said, “Once upon a time, two men had a unique experience with a fly. When they died, one of them entered Hellfire because of it while the second one entered Paradise. In days long ago, these two men were traveling in a far off land. On their way, their journey led them to a road where they happened to meet some idol worshippers. The people had placed their idol at the crossroads and were forcing everyone who passed by to make an offering to their idol. When the two men arrived at the junction, the idol worshippers said to them, ‘You must make an offering to our god.’ The first man said, ‘I have nothing to offer.’ ‘You can sacrifice anything.’ They answered. ‘Even a fly will do!’ The man agreed and started running after a fly and caught it. He then sacrificed it to the idol and the people around him were happy. And so, that man later entered Hellfire because of his action. When the idol worshippers told the second man to do the same thing, he declared, ‘I don’t give any offerings to anyone or anything besides God.’ The idol worshippers became angry and argued with him furiously. They finally became so mad that they grabbed him and killed him. And so, when he died, he entered Paradise because of his true belief in only one God.”
[28] Also see 4:113-115 for a similar verse expounding the principle that God lets people stray further only if they stray first.
[29] The Qur’an puts forward the concept that before we were even created, our collective, unformed mass of ‘soul material’ agreed to be obedient to God and in return would be granted the ultimate trust from God that no other part of His creation would have. Further still, to aid us in the discharge of this responsibility when we were alive individually in the physical world, we were all imbued with an inner nature, or fitrah, that prompts us to move closer to God. In that sense, we have a bond with God that should guide us on our journey back to Him. When a person covers up their sense of reality and begins to think this life is all there is, and acts immorally (as a logical outcome) then in that sense they are breaking their bond with God. Some scholars say this verse also means people who sever family ties.
[30] The Prophet said, “The heart is like a feather in the desert: the wind blows it to and fro.” (Ahmad)
[31] Since God bestowed our soul upon us in the womb, when we die, our soul will go back to Him.
[32] See 41:12 and footnote for an explanation of the seven skies.
