TERM 3 - TAFSIR - CLASS 9
TAFSIR OF LAST TWO AYAHS OF SURAH BAQARAH
Would the Servants be Accountable for What They Conceal in Their Hearts
Allah states that His is the kingship of the heavens and earth and of what and whoever is on or between them, that He has perfect watch over them. No apparent matter or secret that the heart conceals is ever a secret to Him, however minor it is. Allah also states that He will hold His servants accountable for what they do and what they conceal in their hearts. In similar statements, Allah said,
قُلْ إِن تُخْفُواْ مَا فِى صُدُورِكُمْ أَوْ تُبْدُوهُ يَعْلَمْهُ اللَّهُ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
(Say (O Muhammad ): "Whether you hide what is in your breasts or reveal it, Allah knows it, and He knows what is in the heavens and what is in the earth. And Allah is able to do all things)(3:29),
and,
يَعْلَمُ السِّرَّ وَأَخْفَى
(He knows the secret and that which is yet more hidden.)
There are many other Ayat on this subject. In this Ayah (2:284), Allah states that He has knowledge of what the hearts conceal, and consequently, He will hold the creation accountable for whatever is in their hearts. This is why when this Ayah was revealed, it was hard on the Companions, since out of their strong faith and conviction, they were afraid that such reckoning would diminish their good deeds.
Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said, "When
لِّلَّهِ مَا فِي السَّمَـوتِ وَمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَإِن تُبْدُواْ مَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُم بِهِ اللَّهُ فَيَغْفِرُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ وَيُعَذِّبُ مَن يَشَآءُ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
(To Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and all that is on the earth, and whether you disclose what is in yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it. Then He forgives whom He wills and punishes whom He wills. And Allah is able to do all things)
was revealed to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, it was very hard for the Companions of the Messenger ﷺ. The Companions came to the Messenger ﷺ and fell to their knees saying, `O Messenger of Allah! We were asked to perform what we can bear of deeds: the prayer, the fast, Jihad and charity. However, this Ayah was revealed to you, and we cannot bear it.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
«أَتُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَقُولُوا كَما قَالَ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابَيْنِ مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ: سَمِعْنَا وَعَصَيْنَا؟ بَلْ قُولُوا: سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِير»
(Do you want to repeat what the People of the Two Scriptures before you said, that is, `We hear and we disobey' Rather, say, `We hear and we obey, and we seek Your forgiveness, O our Lord, and the Return is to You.)
When the people accepted this statement and their tongues recited it, Allah sent down afterwards,
ءَامَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَـئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ وَقَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ
(The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do)the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) "We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers ـ and they say, "We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all).'')
When they did that, Allah abrogated the Ayah (2:284) and sent down the Ayah,
لاَ يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا
(Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. "Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error.'') until the end.''
Muslim recorded it with the wording; "When they did that, Allah abrogated it (2:284) and sent down,
لاَ يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا
(Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. "Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error''.)
Allah said, `I shall (accept your supplication),'
رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا
("Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians)'')
Allah said, `I shall (accept your supplication),'
رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لاَ طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ
("Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. '')
Allah said, `I shall (accept your supplication),'
وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَآ أَنتَ مَوْلَـنَا فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَـفِرِينَ
("Pardon us and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Mawla (Supporter and Protector) and give us victory over the disbelieving people.'')
Allah said, `I shall.'''
Imam Ahmad recorded that Mujahid said, "I saw Ibn `Abbas and said to him, `O Abu Abbas! I was with Ibn `Umar, and he read this Ayah and cried.' He asked, `Which Ayah' I said,
وَإِن تُبْدُواْ مَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ
`(And whether you disclose what is in yourselves or conceal it.)'
Ibn `Abbas said, `When this Ayah was revealed, it was very hard on the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ and worried them tremendously. They said: O Messenger of Allah! We know that we would be punished according to our statements and our actions, but as for what occurs in our hearts, we do not control what is in them.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
«قُولُوا: سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا»
(Say, `We hear and we obey.')
They said, `We hear and we obey.' Thereafter, this Ayah abrogated the previous Ayah,
ءَامَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِاللَّهِ
(The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah), until,
لاَ يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ
(Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned.)
Therefore, they were pardoned what happens in their hearts, and were held accountable only for their actions.'''
The Group recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
«إِنَّ اللهَ تَجَاوَزَ لِي عَنْ أُمَّتِي مَا حَدَّثَتْ بِهِ أَنْفُسَهَا مَالَمْ تَكَلَّمْ أَوْ تَعْمَل»
(Allah has pardoned my Ummah for what they say to themselves, as long as they do not utter it or act on it.)
The Two Sahihs recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
«قَالَ اللهُ: إِذَا هَمَّ عَبْدِي بِسَيِّئَةٍ فَلَا تَكْتُبُوهَا عَلَيهِ، فَإِنْ عَمِلَهَا فَاكْتُبُوهَا سَيِّئَةً، وَإِذَا هَمَّ بِحَسَنَةٍ فَلَمْ يَعْمَلْهَا فَاكْتُبُوهَا حَسَنَةً، فَإِنْ عَمِلَهَا فَاكْتُبُوهَا عَشْرًا»
(Allah said (to His angels), "If My servant intends to commit an evil deed, do not record it as such for him, and if he commits it, write it for him as one evil deed. If he intends to perform a good deed, but did not perform it, then write it for him as one good deed, and if he performs it, write it for him as ten good deeds.'')
The Tafsir of the Last Two Ayat of Surat Al-Baqarah
(285. The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) "We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers ـ and they say, "We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all).'')
(286. Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. "Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error, our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians); our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Pardon us and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Mawla (Patron, Supporter and Protector) and give us victory over the disbelieving people.'')
The Hadiths on the Virtue of These Two Ayat, May Allah Benefit Us by Them Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Mas`ud said that the Messenger of Allah said,
«مَنْ قَرَأَ بِالْآيَتَيْنِ مِنْ آخِرِ سُورَةِ الْبَقَرَةِ فِي لَيْلَةٍ، كَفَتَاه»
(Whoever recites the last two Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice for him.)
The rest of the six also recorded similar wording for this Hadith. The Two Sahihs recorded this Hadith using various chains of narration, and Imam Ahmad also recorded it.
Muslim recorded that `Abdullah said, "When the Messenger of Allah went on the Isra journey, he ascended to the Sidrat Al-Muntaha in the sixth heaven, where whatever ascends from the earth ends at, and whatever descends from above it ends at.
إِذْ يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَى
(When that covered the lote tree which did cover it!) (53:16) meaning, a mat made of gold.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was then given three things: the five prayers, the last Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah and forgiveness for whoever did not associate anything or anyone with Allah from his Ummah.''
Earlier we mentioned the Hadith regarding the virtues of Surat Al-Fatihah from Ibn `Abbas which stated, "While the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was with Jibil, he heard a noise from above. Jibil lifted his sight to the sky and said, `This is a door that was opened just now in heaven, and it was never opened before.' An angel came down through the door to the Prophet ﷺ and said, `Receive the good news of two lights that you have been given and which no Prophet before you was given: the Opener of the Book (Al-Fatihah) and the last Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah. You will not read a letter of them, but you will be granted its benefit.''' This Hadith was collected by Muslim and An-Nasa'i, and this is the wording collected by An-Nasa'i.
Allah said,
كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَـئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ
(Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) "We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers.'')
Therefore, each of the believers believes that Allah is the One and Only and the Sustainer, there is no deity worthy of worship except Him and there is no Lord except Him. The believers also believe in all Allah's Prophets and Messengers, in the Books that were revealed from heaven to the Messengers and Prophets, who are indeed the servants of Allah. Further, the believers do not differentiate between any of the Prophets, such as, believing in some of them and rejecting others. Rather, all of Allah's Prophets and Messengers are, to the believers, truthful, righteous, and they were each guided to the path of righteousness, even when some of them bring what abrogates the Law of some others by Allah's leave. Later on, the Law of Muhammad, the Final Prophet and Messenger from Allah, abrogated all the laws of the Prophets before him. So the Last Hour will commence while Muhammad ﷺ's Law remains the only valid Law, and all the while a group of his Ummah will always be on the path of truth, apparent and dominant.
Allah's statement,
وَقَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا
(And they say, "We hear, and we obey'')
means, we heard Your statement, O our Lord, comprehended and implemented it, and adhered to its implications.
غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا
((We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord)
contains a plea and supplication for Allah's forgiveness, mercy and kindness.
Allah's statement,
لاَ يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا
(Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope)
means, Allah does not ask a soul what is beyond its ability. This only demonstrates Allah's kindness, compassion and generosity towards His creation. This Ayah is the Ayah that abrogated the Ayah that worried the Companions, that is, Allah's statement,
وَإِن تُبْدُواْ مَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُم بِهِ اللَّهُ
(And whether you disclose what is in yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it.)
This indicates that although Allah will question His servants and judge them, He will only punish for what one is able to protect himself from. As for what one cannot protect himself from, such as what one says to himself - or passing thoughts - they will not be punished for that. We should state here that to dislike the evil thoughts that cross one's mind is a part of faith.
Allah said next,
لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ
(He gets reward for that which he has earned) of good,
وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ
(And he is punished for that which he has earned) of evil, that is, concerning the acts that one is responsible for.
Allah then said, ﴿mentioning what the believers said﴾ while directing His servants to supplicate to Him, all the while promising them that He will answer their supplication:
رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا
("Our Lord! Push us not if we forget or fall into error,'')
meaning, "If we forgot an obligation or fell into a prohibition, or made an error while ignorant of its ruling.'' We mentioned the Hadith by Abu Hurayrah, that Muslim collected, wherein Allah said, "I shall (accept your supplication).'' There is also the Hadith by Ibn `Abbas that Allah said, "I did (accept your supplication).''
رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا
(Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians),)
means, "Even if we were able to perform them, do not require us to perform the difficult deeds as You required the previous nations before us, such as the burdens that were placed on them. You sent Your Prophet Muhammad , the Prophet of mercy, to abrogate these burdens through the Law that You revealed to him, the Hanifi (Islamic Monotheism), easy religion.'' Muslim recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that Allah said, "I shall (accept your supplication).'' Ibn `Abbas narrated that the Messenger of Allah said that Allah said, "I did (accept your supplication).'' There is the Hadith recorded through various chains of narration that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
«بُعِثْتُ بِالْحَنِيفِيَّةِ السَّمْحَة»
(I was sent with the easy Hanifiyyah way.)
رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لاَ طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ
(Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear) of obligations, hardships and afflictions, do not make us bear what we cannot bear of this.
رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لاَ طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ
(Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear.)
We mentioned that Allah said, "I shall (accept your supplication)'' in one narration, and, "I did (accept your supplication),'' in another narration.
وَاعْفُ عَنَّا
(Pardon us)
meaning, between us and You regarding what You know of our shortcomings and errors.
وَاغْفِرْ لَنَآ
(And grant us forgiveness)
concerning what is between us and Your servants. So do not expose our errors and evil deeds to them.
وَارْحَمْنَآ
(Have mercy on us)
in what will come thereafter. Therefore, do not allow us to fall into another error. They say that those who commit error need three things: Allah's forgiveness for what is between Him and them, that He conceals these errors from His other servants, and thus does not expose them before the servants, and that He grants them immunity from further error.'' We mentioned before that Allah answered these pleas, "I shall,'' in one narration and, "I did,'' in another narration.
أَنتَ مَوْلَـنَا
(You are our Mawla)
meaning, You are our supporter and helper, our trust is in You, You are sought for each and every type of help and our total reliance is on You. There is no power or strength except from You.
فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَـفِرِينَ
(And give us victory over the disbelieving people)
those who rejected Your religion, denied Your Oneness, refused the Message of Your Prophet , worshipped other than You and associated others in Your worship. Give us victory and make us prevail above them in this and the Hereafter. Allah said, "I shall,'' in one narration, and, "I did,'' in the Hadith that Muslim collected from Ibn `Abbas.
Further, Ibn Jarir recorded that Abu Ishaq said that whenever Mu`adh would finish reciting this Surah,
فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَـفِرِينَ
(And give us victory over the disbelieving people), he would say "Amin.''
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