Surah Baqara- Ayah no. 83 to 86 ; 2:83 – 2:86

Surah Al-Baqarah: Ayah no. 83-86 i.e. 2:83-86

A-   Translation

 

٨٣  وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ لَا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِنْكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ

[Quran 2:83] And when we took Meesaqa (مِيثَاقَ) from the Bani (بَنِي) Israel (إِسْرَائِيلَ)- “Do not Ta’buduuna (تَعْبُدُونَ) except Allah; and do Ahsaan (إِحْسَانًا) with Waledena (بِالْوَالِدَيْنِ), and the Qur’baa (الْقُرْبَىٰ) and Al-Yata’ma (وَالْيَتَامَىٰ) and Al-Masakeen (الْمَسَاكِينِ); and Qulu (قُولُوا) Hus’nan (حُسْنًا) to the Annase (لِلنَّاسِ); and Aquemu (وَأَقِيمُوا) Sala’t (الصَّلَاةَ) and Commit to Zakat (الزَّكَاةَ).” Then you Tawala’etum (تَوَلَّيْتُمْ), except a few of you while you were Mu’rezun (مُعْرِضُونَ).

 

٨٤  وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَكُمْ لَا تَسْفِكُونَ دِمَاءَكُمْ وَلَا تُخْرِجُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ ثُمَّ أَقْرَرْتُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَشْهَدُونَ

[Quran 2:84] And when We took Meesaq (مِيثَاقَكُمْ) from you: “Do not shed Dema’akum (دِمَاءَكُمْ), and do not evict your Anfusakum (َنْفُسَكُمْ), from your Dyaar (دِيَارِكُمْ).” Then you accepted, and you are Tashhadun (تَشْهَدُونَ).  

 

٨٥  ثُمَّ أَنْتُمْ هَٰؤُلَاءِ تَقْتُلُونَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَتُخْرِجُونَ فَرِيقًا مِنْكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِهِمْ تَظَاهَرُونَ عَلَيْهِمْ بِالْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ وَإِنْ يَأْتُوكُمْ أُسَارَىٰ تُفَادُوهُمْ وَهُوَ مُحَرَّمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ إِخْرَاجُهُمْ ۚ أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ ۚ فَمَا جَزَاءُ مَنْ يَفْعَلُ ذَٰلِكَ مِنْكُمْ إِلَّا خِزْيٌ فِي الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَيَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰ أَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ ۗ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

[Quran 2:85] Yet, after this, you Taqtaloon (تَقْتُلُونَ) Anfusakum (َ أَنْفُسَكُمْ), and evict Fareeqan (فَرِيقًا) among you from their Dyaar (دِيَارِهِمْ), cooperating against them in Al-Ism (الْإِثْمِ) and Alau’dwan (الْعُدْوَانِ). And when they come to you Asara’a (أُسَارَىٰ), you Tafaduna (تُفَادُوهُمْ) them, although their eviction was Muharraman (مُحَرَّمٌ) upon you. So, do you Amanu (أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ) with some of the Kitaab (الْكِتَابِ) and do Kufr (تَكْفُرُونَ) with some? Then what is the Jaza’a (جَزَاءُ) for those who do this, except disgrace in this worldly Hyaat (الْحَيَاةِ), and Youma (يَوْمَ) the Qyyamate (الْقِيَامَةِ), they will be Yuradduna (يُرَدُّونَ) towards Ashadde (أَشَدِّ) Azaab (الْعَذَابِ)? And how can Allah be heedless of what you do?

 

٨٦  أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ اشْتَرَوُا الْحَيَاةَ الدُّنْيَا بِالْآخِرَةِ ۖ فَلَا يُخَفَّفُ عَنْهُمُ الْعَذَابُ وَلَا هُمْ يُنْصَرُونَ

[Quran 2:86] Those are the ones who trade the Hyaat (الْحَيَاةَ) of this world with the Akhira (بِالْآخِرَةِ). Then not Yukhafaf (يُخَفَّفُ) upon them the Azaab (الْعَذَابُ) and not they will Yuns’eruna (يُنْصَرُونَ).

 

B-   THE CONCEPT:

In the above ayahs Allah is reminding us the most important commandments as per the strong covenant taken from our ancestors- Bani Israel when they have accepted Allah’s revelations- the Hidayahs as Momineen. There are many ayahs in Quran which tell us about the aspects of, our responsibilities as per the covenant with Allah as soon as we call ourselves as one of the Momineen. In these ayahs 2:83 and 2:84 Allah is giving us a summary of major components of this covenant with Allah, which forms a just and an equitable society, while also telling us about our forefathers as the Bani Israel, who were supposed to comply with and follow these commands of Allah. The ayah 2:83 “And when we took Meesaq (مِيثَاقَكُمْ) from the Children of Israel: “Do not Ta’buduuna (تَعْبُدُونَ) except Allah; and do Ahsaan (ِحْسَانًا) with parents, and Qur’baa (الْقُرْبَىٰ) and Al-Yata’ma (وَالْيَتَامَىٰ) and Al-Masakeen (وَالْمَسَاكِينِ); and speak Hus’nan (حُسْنًا) to people; and establish Sala’t (الصَّلَاةَ) and Commit to Zakat (الزَّكَاةَ).” Then you turned away avoiding, except a few of you”. Then Ayah 2:84 “And when We took Meesaq (مِيثَاقَكُمْ) from you: “Do not shed the blood of Tufsekoon (تَسْفِكُونَ), and do not evict Anfusakum (َنْفُسَكُمْ), from your Dyaar.” Then you accepted, and you were a witness to it. These two ayahs have given us 9 important commandments of this covenant with Allah which has become a strong Meesaq.

 

• Do Abd of no one but Allah- the one and only; which means to be obedient and submit to Allahs’ Laws and regulations as mention in Quran;
• Do Ahsan with Parents & Qurba which means that they will be more then kind, sensitive, generous, forgiving and caring for the parents, relatives, close friends, neighbors, near and dear ones;
• Do Ahsan with Yateem means to treat with utmost respect, kindness, compassion, and be caretakes of those who are YATEEM, i.e., those who have been temporarily cuts off from their source of living, for instance in case if they have lost their job; or such children who have lost their main parent who was the main bread earner in the family; or a spouse who has lost the companion who was the main support and bread earner of the family- a widow; or even families with temporarily disability of their main bread earners, etc.
• Do Ahsan with Miskeen- means to treat with utmost respect, kindness, compassion, and be caretakes of those who are Miskeen- those who are homeless, those who are unable on a permanent basis or who do not have the ability to take care of themselves; either are poor in a permeant and extreme poverty, or old aged persons or people with permanent disability, or those whose responsibilities such as those towards their own selves or their families/dependents are beyond the means that they can afford; or those who have no source of income or support to take care of their basic necessities of life;
• Speak Hasanan with everyone- means to speak kindly to each and every person one interacts with, be humble, down to earth, considerate, caring, loving, respecting, and forgiving to people regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, race, religion, culture or situation, to treat everyone with utmost respect, kindness, dignity and honor;
• Establish Salat; To establish salat is basically an embodiment of a very broad range of meaning to establish a complete system built on the parameters of Deen’s basic foundations of justice, compassion, care, social system for each and every member of the community, whose basic purpose is to make sure that the commandments and Hidayahs of Allah are conveyed, understood, implemented and reflected in the lives of each and every individual and the society and community as a whole.
• Commit to ZAKAT; Pay as a way to purify oneself, one’s income, wealth and efforts; spending from one’s property, faculties, money, efforts, resources for the benefit of others; by giving as a source of progress, nourishment, growth, development of individuals, which leads to the development of the whole community & economy.
• Do not Shed your blood; notice the use of the word nafs in this phrase meanings do not shed blood. Here Allah is basically asking us not to destroy the humanity, since the whole of humanity is to be dealt with Ahsan and best of the best treatment.
• DO NOT expel your Nafs out of your Dyaar- here again the basic divine wisdom is not to evict your Nafs-e-Mut’mainna from its strong hold position of Jannat.

 

These commandments as briefed above and mentioned as per these Ayahs is the basic foundation of a just, and social society built on the parameters of justice, care compassion for everyone. This basic foundation is given by Allah in the form of a Meesaq to the bani Israel on a silver platter in order to establish a perfect society for no one else but the whole of humanity. However, after they accepted and become Momineen, they turned back on their words to follow these commandments. Except for a few among them, they violated their Meesaq- their strong unbreakable and binding contract with Allah.

 

In Ayah 2:84, “And when we took Meesaq that do not Tasfekuna (free-flowing) your Damaa (bloodshedding) and do not Takrejuna (exit, leave) your Anfusakum (Nafs) from your Dyaar…” This ayah is normally misinterpreted as if Allah is asking you not to kill your own and not to evict your own from their homes, and ‘your own’ is then misinterpreted as those of your own sect or religion, whereas this is not what Allah is saying at all. This Ayah is strongly connected to the earlier Ayah 2:83, asking us to deal with Ahsan, the whole of humanity, to connect people through Salat and commit Zakat. Then in this Ayah Allah is telling us about another basic foundation of this Meesaq (the unbreakable binding covenant with Allah) to not destroy humanity in any manner whatsoever and not to let our Nafs-e-Mutmainna get evicted from the strong hold position of Jannat. Then in the next Ayah 2:85, “Then, you are the ones, who Qatal (suppress, metaphorically kill) your Nafs and Tukhrejuna (evict) a Fareeq (a group) of you from their Dyaar (stronghold position of Jannat) while supporting each other in Is’m (evil acts) and Audwaan (Animosity & hatred) and they had come to you Asa’ra (being influenced and inspired) by you, you could have Tufaduna (prevented the Azaab for them) while it was prohibited to you their eviction. So do you Amanu (seek knowledge to be at Aman) with some of the Kitaab while you do Kufar (conceal, hide) with some?…”  is a self-explanatory Ayah reflective of the current situations of the whole world and the humanity, which is at its most self-destructive stage at the moment, with people divided into various religious groups with animosity and hatred against each other, supporting each other in evil acts and such hatred and influencing and inspiring others to evict their Dyaar as well. And all this is done by Amanu with some part of the Kitaab while concealing and hiding other parts. Here the word Is’m is used in both its meanings in terms of destroying human faculties, abilities and energy, creating pain & suffering, sadness, reduced energy, losing pace with others etc., due to eviction from their Dyaar- the stronghold position of their Nafs-e-Mutmainna by their Nafs-e-Ammara getting a dominant position instead.

 

 

The next phrase “.. So, do you have Emaan (أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ) in part of the Kitaab (الْكِتَابِ) and do Kufr (تَكْفُرُونَ) in part? Is a very important phrase and an accurate description of Muslims today. When Allah says in Quran that “Quran has been made Fard/obligatory/compulsory on you, it does not mean that we as Muslims can take only some of the parts of Kitaab and have firm Emaan only on it and do Kufar (reject, deny, ignore, conceal) the rest of it, the whole of the Kitaab, the each and every aspect of the Hidayah is fard. When we call ourselves Muslims, we have to have Emaan, firm conviction, arising out of knowledge, of each and every aspect of the Kitaab, the hidayah, not just some of it. Here in this ayah other than the reflection of the overall Muslims, with respect to the context, what this phrase is telling us that the bani Israel, our forefathers, in spite of entering into the covenant with Allah, i.e. after becoming the Momineen, calling themselves as believers, they turn their backs and words on some parts of the covenant such as shedding blood of people from their own ummath, evicting them from their houses, and once weakened, taking ransom from them to enter their own houses, colliding with each other against these weaker segments of the society in Al I’sm and Al’Audwan….All of these acts show that they although call themselves believers, they had Emaan on Baaz, some of the parts of the Kitaab, while they clearly rejecting, did kufar, conceal and ignore other parts of Allah’s commandments.  With all the above committing sins, breaking of their covenants and wrongdoings, they still believe themselves to be Momineen and Allah is asking them how can they have Emaan in some of the Kitaab while doing Kufr, rejection, disobedience of other parts?

 

Then what is the recompense for those who do this, if not disgrace in this worldly life, and on the Day of Resurrection, they will be returned to the most severe Azaab (لْعَذَابِ)? Allah is not heedless of what you do…” The reward for such kind of evil deeds is nothing but disgrace in the life of this as well as severe Azaab on the Day of Resurrection.  This phrase is again a very clear depiction of us as Muslims today- when we do not follow Allah’s Kitaab the hidayah in totality, doing Emaan on parts of it and doing Kufar in parts, then we are disgraced, shamed, looked down upon and approached with discrimination and negativity in this world. Whereas at the same time, the final abode of such believers is going to be hell which is like returning to the most severe Azaab in the life hereafter.

 

The next ayah 2:86 “Those are the ones who trade the life of this world in exchange for the Akhira, so the punishment will not be lightened for them, nor will they be helped” .  Here Allah is giving them an undeniable truth, that Allah is all-knowing and aware of what they do, and such kind of wrongdoers have exchanged and bought this worldly life by selling and giving away the Hereafter. Thus, focusing on and desiring the worldly benefits such as wealth, property, fame, popularity, prestige, standing etc. these people get these worldly benefits in exchange for the Akhira. Thus, for them there will be no concession or reduction in their punishment, neither will they get any kind of support on the Day of Judgment.

 

C-    IMPLEMENTATION IN TODAY’S LIFE

 

In the above ayahs, along with Emaan on Allah as main foundation of Deen, Allah has given us the most important commandments which are the basic foundation of an ummah- the backbone of a society and a community. In these ayahs, Allah has given us the tools to establish a perfect society, a perfect community and a perfect welfare support system which can help everyone according to their need, their requirements and their capabilities. These golden yet simple commandments of this guidance are

 

• Take care, deal with utmost respect honor and dignity, look after, help, with kindness and care and be caretakers of parents, relatives, close friends, neighbors and those who are YATEEM- temporarily unable to look after themselves as well as those who are MISKEEN- permanently unable to look after themselves.
• Deal with each other with utmost respect, honor and dignity, speak kindly to fellow humans, and be humble, down to earth, considerate and peaceful to the people, no matter what the situation is.
• Follow, Help and support the system implemented by the local government and those in authority; obey the law of the land, to make sure commandments of Allah has been conveyed, understood, implemented and reflected in the lives of each and every one of us as individuals and as the whole of society and a community as a whole.
• Pay due taxes, spend as donations, Sadaqat and charities to help needy and poor as a way to purify our self, our income and wealth- by spending out of whatever Allah has given as blessings by each individual will be a source of progress, nourishment, growth, development for the individual as well as for every member of the society which will lead to the development of the whole community and economy.
• Love, kindness, compassion and care are the basic values. Forgiveness is better than revenge- we must treat everyone around us part of one nation, one family- we must look after each other’s safety and rights being humans while taking care of other life forms around us as well.
• We must keep friendly, warm, caring and welcoming attitude for everyone in our neighborhood and community, for the other communities around us so that everyone feels welcome around us and we must not give anyone a feeling of being single out, disrespected or looked down upon. By implementing, practicing, and following, the above guidance, which are the basic foundation of unity and the backbone of a strong welfare society and a community, we will be able to get back our pride as a true Momin. This is our role as Muslims and as vital part of the community and society we live in.
• We must have Emaan on whole of the Hidayah, i.e. each and every aspect of the Kitaab, we cannot have Emaan on parts of it and do Kufar in parts of it. When Allah says in Quran that “Quran has been made Fard/obligatory/compulsory on you, it means that each and every Ayah of Quran is fard, obligatory, made compulsory on us by Allah.
• We must make sure that the Fitrat of Allah upon which we are all born, remains strengthened in our Nafs- with our Nafs-e-Mutmainna in a strong hold position and our stature strengthened in Jannat at all times and during our short life on this earth.
• The life here in this world is temporary one and a test. Therefore, at all times, we must keep our focus on the Akhira, put forward for our Nafs and sow seeds for our eternal life to be as we desire. The worldly benefits such as wealth, property, fame, popularity, prestige, standing etc. should never be our focus. Whatever Allah’s Fadal, Allah’s blessings and bounties we are blessed with in this worldly life, we must spend these for the benefit of others in accordance with the divine guidance. Our objective should be at all times to fulfill our part of the covenant with Allah which Allah has made Meesaq on us.

 

Footnotes:

 

D-  THE KEY-WORD VOCABULARY:

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