سَيَقُوۡلُ السُّفَهَآءُ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَا وَلّٰٮهُمۡ عَنۡ قِبۡلَتِهِمُ الَّتِىۡ كَانُوۡا عَلَيۡهَا ​ؕ قُل لِّلّٰهِ الۡمَشۡرِقُ وَالۡمَغۡرِبُ ؕ يَهۡدِىۡ مَنۡ يَّشَآءُ اِلٰى صِراطٍ مُّسۡتَقِيۡمٍ‏ ﴿2:142﴾

(2:142) The block-headed will say: “What has turned them away from the direction they formerly observed in Prayer?”¹⁴² Say: “To Allah belong the East and the West; He guides whomsoever He wills onto a Straight Way.”¹⁴³

Notes

142. After his migration to Madina the Prophet continued to pray in the direction of Jerusalem for between sixteen and seventeen months. Subsequently, he received the order to pray in the direction of the Ka’bah. See( verse 144 below) 

143. This is the first answer to the objections of these ignorant people. Their narrow minds and limited vision led them to undue attachment to such formalities as the direction and locale of Prayer. They presumably conceived God to be confined to a particular direction. In reply to their absurd objection the first thing which was explained was that all directions belong to God. Fixing any particular direction for Prayer does not mean that God is confined to that direction. All those who have been favoured with God’s true guidance rise above such limitations of outlook so that it is easy for them to grasp the universal verities of religion. (See also (nn. 115 and 116 above.)

قُلۡ اَ تُحَآجُّوۡنَـنَا فِى اللّٰهِ وَهُوَ رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّکُمۡۚ وَلَنَآ اَعۡمَالُـنَا وَلَـكُمۡ اَعۡمَالُكُمۡۚ وَنَحۡنُ لَهٗ مُخۡلِصُوۡنَۙ‏ ﴿2:139﴾ اَمۡ تَقُوۡلُوۡنَ اِنَّ اِبۡرٰهٖمَ وَاِسۡمٰعِيۡلَ وَاِسۡحٰقَ وَيَعۡقُوۡبَ وَالۡاَسۡبَاطَ كَانُوۡا هُوۡدًا اَوۡ نَصٰرٰى​ؕ قُلۡ ءَاَنۡـتُمۡ اَعۡلَمُ اَمِ اللّٰهُ​ ؕ وَمَنۡ اَظۡلَمُ مِمَّنۡ كَتَمَ شَهَادَةً عِنۡدَهٗ مِنَ اللّٰهِ​ؕ وَمَا اللّٰهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعۡمَلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿2:140﴾ تِلۡكَ اُمَّةٌ قَدۡ خَلَتۡ​ۚ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتۡ وَلَـكُمۡ مَّا كَسَبۡتُمۡ​ۚ وَلَا تُسۡـئَـلُوۡنَ عَمَّا كَانُوۡا يَعۡمَلُوۡنَ‏ ﴿2:141﴾

(2:139) Say (O Prophet): “Will you then dispute with us concerning Allah when He is our Lord and your Lord?¹³⁸ Our deeds are for us and your deeds are for you. And it is Him that we serve exclusively.”¹³⁹ (2:140) Or do you claim that Abraham and Ishmael, Isaac and Jacob and the descendants (of Jacob) were “Jews” or “Christians?” Say: “Who has greater knowledge, you or Allah?”¹⁴⁰ Who does greater wrong than he who conceals a testimony he has received from Allah? Allah is not heedless of the things you do.¹⁴¹ (2:141) Now, they were a people who passed away. Theirs is what they earned, and yours is what you earn; you shall not be questioned concerning what they did. 

Notes

138. The one principle that the Prophet and his followers unreservedly stood for was that God alone should be served. Does that call for dispute and quarrel? If anyone, it is the Muslims who are entitled to quarrel with the Jews and Christians, for it is they rather than the Muslims who insist that others beside God should also be made objects of service and adoration. 

An alternative translation of this portion could be: ‘Would you then dispute with us for the sake of Allah?’ In this case the meaning of the verse would be that if their dispute was sincere, it was easy to put an end to it by, agreeing to serve none but God. 

139. They are told that everyone is responsible for his own conduct. If they have earmarked a part of their service and devotion to others than God, let them do so and see for themselves what it leads to. The Muslims did not want to keep them from error by force. As for themselves, they had consecrated their service, obedience and worship to God alone. If the Jews and Christians could bring themselves to recognize the right of the Muslims to do so, the dispute could automatically be brought to an end, 

140. This remark is addressed to the ignorant mass of Jews and Christians who sincerely believed that all the Prophets belonged to their religious denomination.

141. This remark is addressed to the Jewish and Christian theologians who were not unaware that Judaism and Christianity, with their existing characteristics, had emerged at a relatively late period in history. They nevertheless considered Truth to he confined to their own religious sects. They also perpetuated the misunderstanding that man’s ultimate happiness and success lay in following the beliefs, institutions and legal codes which had been developed by their jurists, theologians and mystics long after the Prophet of God had passed away. When these theologians were asked to which among their religious communities Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and other Prophets belonged, they evaded a reply. This was because they could not state categorically that they belonged to their own sect. On the other hand, they could not reply explicitly in the negative, for such an admission would have undermined the very basis of their claim that Truth was confined to their fold.

صِبۡغَةَ اللّٰهِ ​ۚ وَمَنۡ اَحۡسَنُ مِنَ اللّٰهِ صِبۡغَةً  وَّنَحۡنُ لَهٗ عٰبِدُوۡنَ‏ ﴿2:138﴾

(2:138) Say: “Take on Allah’s colour.”¹³⁷ And whose colour is better than Allah’s? It is Him that we serve. 

Notes

137. This verse can be translated in two ways. One of these is: ‘We have taken on Allah’s colour.’ The other is: ‘Take on Allah’s colour.’ On the eve of the advent of Christianity the Jews followed the practice of bathing everyone who embraced their religion. This ritual bath signified that all his previous sins had been washed away and that he had adopted a different colour for his life. This practice was subsequently taken over by the Christians and is termed ‘baptism’. Not only converts but even new-born babies were baptized. The Qur’anic remarks here refer to this institution. The Qur’an says in effect: ‘Of what use is this formal baptism? What really is worth doing is to adopt the colour of God, and it is not water that gives one this colour but actual service and devotion to God.’

قُوۡلُوۡٓا اٰمَنَّا بِاللّٰهِ وَمَآ اُنۡزِلَ اِلَيۡنَا وَمَآ اُنۡزِلَ اِلٰٓى اِبۡرٰهٖمَ وَاِسۡمٰعِيۡلَ وَاِسۡحٰقَ وَيَعۡقُوۡبَ وَ الۡاَسۡبَاطِ وَمَآ اُوۡتِىَ مُوۡسٰى وَعِيۡسٰى وَمَآ اُوۡتِىَ النَّبِيُّوۡنَ مِنۡ رَّبِّهِمۡ​ۚ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيۡنَ اَحَدٍ مِّنۡهُمۡ وَنَحۡنُ لَهٗ مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ‏ ﴿2:136﴾ فَاِنۡ اٰمَنُوۡا بِمِثۡلِ مَآ اٰمَنۡتُمۡ بِهٖ فَقَدِ اهۡتَدَوْا ​ۚ وَاِنۡ تَوَلَّوۡا فَاِنَّمَا هُمۡ فِىۡ شِقَاقٍ​ ۚ فَسَيَكۡفِيۡکَهُمُ اللّٰهُ ​ۚ وَهُوَ السَّمِيۡعُ الۡعَلِيۡمُؕ‏ ﴿2:137﴾

(2:136) Say: “We believe in Allah, and in what has been revealed to us and to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the descendants (of Jacob) and in what was given to Moses and Jesus and in what the other Prophets received from their Lord. We make no distinction between any of them,¹³⁶ and we are those who submit to Allah.” (2:137) And then if they come to believe as you believe, they are on right guidance; and if they turn away, then quite obviously they have merely fallen into opposition to the Truth. Allah will suffice you for protection against them. He is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. 

Notes

136. To make no distinction between the Prophets means not to hold some of them to he right and the others to be wrong, not to recognize some to have been the recipients of Divine revelation and the others not. All the Prophets sent by God invited men to the same Truth and to the same way. Hence for anyone who is really a lover of Truth it is necessary that he should recognize all of them to be its bearers. Those who believe in one particular Prophet and disbelieve in others do not in fact believe even in that particular Prophet in whom they, claim to believe, for they have not grasped the nature of that universal ‘Straight Way’ (al-sirat al-mustaqim) which was enunciated by Moses, Jesus and the other Prophets. When such people claim to follow a Prophet they, really mean that they do so out of deference to their forefathers. Their religion in fact consists of bigoted ancestor-worship and blind imitation of inherited customs rather than sincere adherence to the directives of any Prophet of God.

وَقَالُوۡا کُوۡنُوۡا هُوۡدًا اَوۡ نَصٰرٰى تَهۡتَدُوۡا ​ؕ قُلۡ بَلۡ مِلَّةَ اِبۡرٰهٖمَ حَنِيۡفًا ​ؕ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الۡمُشۡرِكِيۡنَ‏ ﴿2:135﴾

(2:135) They say: “Be Jews,” or “Be Christians.” “Then you will be rightly guided.” Say to them: “No, follow exclusively the way of Abraham who was not one of those who associate others with Allah in His Divinity.”¹³⁵

Notes

135. In order to grasp the subtlety, of this remark two things should be borne in mind. First, that in comparison to Islam, the primordial religion, both Judaism and Christianity are later products. The name Judaism, as well as the characteristic features and elaborate body of laws and regulations associated with it. emerged during the third or fourth century, B.C. As for Christianity. in the sense of the body of dogmas and theological doctrines which characterize it, it came into existence long after Jesus (peace be on him). The question that naturally arises is that, if man’s guidance depends on following Judaism or Christianity, how can Abraham and other Prophets and righteous people who are accepted as having been rightly-guided even by the Jews and Christians be considered so when they were born several centuries before the birth of Judaism and Christianity? If they were rightly-guided from whom did they receive their guidance? Obviously their source of guidance and inspiration was neither Judaism nor Christianity since, in their times, these did not exist. So man’s rectitude does not depend on those characteristics which led to the rise of Jewish and Christian particularisms; it rather depends on adopting that universal way to Truth which has guided and inspired men throughout the ages. 

Second. the Scriptures of the Jews and Christians attest that Abraham believed that worship, adoration, service and obedience were due to God alone, and that it was his mission to have none associated with God in His attributes and rights. Since polytheistic elements had made inroads into Judaism and Christianity it was obvious that both had strayed from the way of Abraham.

اَمۡ كُنۡتُمۡ شُهَدَآءَ اِذۡ حَضَرَ يَعۡقُوۡبَ الۡمَوۡتُۙ اِذۡ قَالَ لِبَنِيۡهِ مَا تَعۡبُدُوۡنَ مِنۡۢ بَعۡدِىۡؕ قَالُوۡا نَعۡبُدُ اِلٰهَكَ وَاِلٰهَ اٰبَآئِكَ اِبۡرٰهٖمَ وَاِسۡمٰعِيۡلَ وَاِسۡحٰقَ اِلٰهًا وَّاحِدًا ۖۚ وَّنَحۡنُ لَهٗ مُسۡلِمُوۡنَ‏  ﴿2:133﴾

(2:133) Why, were you witnesses when death came to Jacob? He asked his children: “Whom will you serve after me?” They said: “We shall serve your God, the God of your forefathers, Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac, the One God, and unto Him do we submit.” 

وَمَنۡ يَّرۡغَبُ عَنۡ مِّلَّةِ اِبۡرٰهٖمَ اِلَّا مَنۡ سَفِهَ نَفۡسَهٗ ​ؕ وَلَقَدِ اصۡطَفَيۡنٰهُ فِى الدُّنۡيَا ​ۚ وَاِنَّهٗ فِى الۡاٰخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الصّٰلِحِيۡنَ‏  ﴿2:130﴾ اِذۡ قَالَ لَهٗ رَبُّهٗۤ اَسۡلِمۡ​ۙ قَالَ اَسۡلَمۡتُ لِرَبِّ الۡعٰلَمِيۡنَ‏  ﴿2:131﴾ وَوَصّٰى بِهَآ اِبۡرٰهٖمُ بَنِيۡهِ وَ يَعۡقُوۡبُؕ يٰبَنِىَّ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ اصۡطَفٰى لَـكُمُ الدِّيۡنَ فَلَا تَمُوۡتُنَّ اِلَّا وَاَنۡـتُمۡ مُّسۡلِمُوۡنَؕ‏‏ ﴿2:132﴾

(2:130) And who but a fool would be averse to the way of Abraham? For it is We Who chose Abraham for Our mission in this world, and surely in the World to Come he shall be reckoned among the righteous. (2:131) Such was Abraham that when his Lord said to him: “Submit,”¹³⁰ he said: “I have submitted to the Lord of the Universe.” (2:132) And Abraham enjoined the same upon his children, and so did Jacob:¹³¹ “My children! Behold, Allah has chosen this religion for you.¹³² Remain till death in submission (to Allah).”¹³³

Notes

130. ‘Muslim’ signifies he who bows in obedience to God, who acknowledges God alone as his Sovereign, Lord and Master, and the only object of worship, devotion and service, who unreservedly surrenders himself to God and undertakes to live his life in accordance with the guidance that has come down from Him. Islam is the appellation which characterizes the above -mentioned belief and outlook which constitutes the core and kernel of the religion of all the Prophets who have appeared from time to time among different peoples and in different countries since the very beginning of human life. 

131. Jacob is especially mentioned since the Children of Israel were his direct descendants. 

132. Din is a Qur’anic technical term, signifying the way of life, the system of conduct, and the code on which man bases his entire mode of thought and action. (For the author’s views on din see his Four Basic Qur’anic Terms, tr. Abu Asad, Lahore, 1979, pp. 93-103 – Ed.) 

133. In the Bible the events connected with the death of Jacob (peace be on him) are narrated in detail. It is amazing that this narrative makes no reference to his testament. However, the contents of the detailed testament embodied in the Talmud greatly resemble the Qur’anic version. The Talmudic version reads as follows: 

‘Serve the Lord your God, and He will deliver ye from all trouble, even as He delivered your fathers.’ 

‘ . . . Teach your children to love God, and observe His commandments, in order that their days may be prolonged, for God will guard those who do justly and walk in righteousness through all His ways.’ 

And the sons of Jacob responded, ‘All that you have commanded us, our father, we will do. May God be with us!’ 

And Jacob answered: ‘The Lord will be with you if ye depart not from His ways to the right hand or to the left.’ 

(The Talmud Selections by H. Polano, London, Frederick Warne & Co., [1877], pp. 113-14.)

وَاِذۡ يَرۡفَعُ اِبۡرٰهٖمُ الۡقَوَاعِدَ مِنَ الۡبَيۡتِ وَاِسۡمٰعِيۡلُؕ رَبَّنَا تَقَبَّلۡ مِنَّا ​ؕ اِنَّكَ اَنۡتَ السَّمِيۡعُ الۡعَلِيۡمُ‏ ﴿2:127﴾ رَبَّنَا وَاجۡعَلۡنَا مُسۡلِمَيۡنِ لَـكَ وَ مِنۡ ذُرِّيَّتِنَآ اُمَّةً مُّسۡلِمَةً لَّكَ وَاَرِنَا مَنَاسِكَنَا وَتُبۡ عَلَيۡنَا ۚ اِنَّكَ اَنۡتَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيۡمُ‏ ﴿2:128﴾ رَبَّنَا وَابۡعَثۡ فِيۡهِمۡ رَسُوۡلًا مِّنۡهُمۡ يَتۡلُوۡا عَلَيۡهِمۡ اٰيٰتِكَ وَيُعَلِّمُهُمُ الۡكِتٰبَ وَالۡحِكۡمَةَ وَ يُزَكِّيۡهِمۡ​ؕ اِنَّكَ اَنۡتَ الۡعَزِيۡزُ الۡحَكِيۡمُ‏ ﴿2:129﴾

(2:127) Recall when Abraham and Ishmael raised the foundations of the House, praying: “Our Lord! Accept this from us; You are All-Hearing, All-Knowing. (2:128) Our Lord! Make us submissive to You and make out of our descendants a community that submits itself to You, and show us the ways of Your worship, and turn to us in mercy. You are Much-Relenting, Most Compassionate. (2:129) Our Lord! Raise up in the midst of our offspring a Messenger from among them who shall recite to them Your verses, and instruct them in the Book and in Wisdom, and purify their lives.¹²⁸Verily, You are the Most Mighty, the Most Wise.”¹²⁹

Notes

128. The term ‘purification’ used here embraces the purification of beliefs and outlook, morals, habits and customs, and social, cultural and political life; the purification of man’s life in its totality. 

129. This has been said in order to indicate that the advent of Muhammad (peace be on him) was in fact God’s response to the prayer of Abraham (peace be on him).

وَاِذۡ جَعَلۡنَا الۡبَيۡتَ مَثَابَةً لِّلنَّاسِ وَاَمۡنًا ؕ وَاتَّخِذُوۡا مِنۡ مَّقَامِ اِبۡرٰهٖمَ مُصَلًّى​ ؕ وَعَهِدۡنَآ اِلٰٓى اِبۡرٰهٖمَ وَاِسۡمٰعِيۡلَ اَنۡ طَهِّرَا بَيۡتِىَ لِلطَّآئِفِيۡنَ وَالۡعٰكِفِيۡنَ وَالرُّکَّعِ السُّجُوۡدِ‏  ﴿2:125﴾ وَاِذۡ قَالَ اِبۡرٰهٖمُ رَبِّ اجۡعَلۡ هٰذَا بَلَدًا اٰمِنًا وَّارۡزُقۡ اَهۡلَهٗ مِنَ الثَّمَرٰتِ مَنۡ اٰمَنَ مِنۡهُمۡ بِاللّٰهِ وَالۡيَوۡمِ الۡاٰخِرِ​ؕ قَالَ وَمَنۡ كَفَرَ فَاُمَتِّعُهٗ قَلِيۡلًا ثُمَّ اَضۡطَرُّهٗۤ اِلٰى عَذَابِ النَّارِ​ؕ وَبِئۡسَ الۡمَصِيۡرُ‏‏﴿2:126﴾

(2:125) And We made this House (Ka’bah) a resort for mankind and a place of security, commanding people: “Take the station of Abraham as a permanent place for Prayer,” and enjoined Abraham and Ishmael: “Purify My House for those who walk around it, and those who abide in devotion, and those who bow, and who prostrate themselves (in Prayer).”¹²⁶(2:126) And when Abraham prayed: “O my Lord! Make this a place of security and provide those of its people that believe in Allah and the Last Day with fruits for sustenance,” Allah answered, “And I shall still provide him who disbelieves with the wherewithal for this short life,¹²⁷ and then I shall drive him to the chastisement of the Fire; that is an evil end.” 

Notes

126. ‘Purify My House’ does not merely mean keeping it clean of dirt and filth. The real purity and cleanliness of the House of God rests in the fact that in it the name of God alone should be glorified. If someone declares in its sacred precincts that anything other than God is his Lord, his object of worship and adoration, the dispenser of man’s needs and requirements, the hearer of man’s supplications, then such a person is guilty of desecrating the House of God. 

This verse also contains a hint as to the evil-doing of the people of the Quraysh. They boasted that they were the inheritors of the legacy of Abraham and Ishmael, but instead of being faithful to that legacy, they actually trampled over it. So, just as the Children of Israel were excluded from the promise made to Abraham, so were the polytheistic children of Ishmael. (See also(n. 125 above – Ed.)

127. (Here a distinction is made between honouring a people by entrusting it with the religious leadership and guidance of the world, and bestowing on it an abundant means of livelihood – Ed.) When Abraham enquired who merited world leadership it was made clear to him that only his truly believing and righteous children, to the exclusion of the wrong-doing ones, were worthy of it. This occasioned God to clarify that the religious leadership of the world was quite distinct from its livelihood. Men of faith alone were entitled to the former, whereas both believers and unbelievers would be provided the latter. If someone enjoys abundant material wealth it should not be misconstrued to mean that God is necessarily pleased with him and that he has been designated by God to provide religious guidance to the world.

وَاِذِ ابۡتَلٰٓى اِبۡرٰهٖمَ رَبُّهٗ بِكَلِمٰتٍ فَاَتَمَّهُنَّ ​ؕ قَالَ اِنِّىۡ جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ اِمَامًا ​ؕ قَالَ وَمِنۡ ذُرِّيَّتِىۡ ​ؕ قَالَ لَا يَنَالُ عَهۡدِى الظّٰلِمِيۡنَ‏ ﴿2:124﴾

(2:124) Recall when Abraham’s Lord tested him in certain matters¹²⁴ and when he successfully stood the test, He said: “Indeed I am going to appoint you a leader of all people.” When Abraham asked: “And is this covenant also for my descendants?” the Lord responded: “My covenant does not embrace the wrong-doers.”¹²⁵

Notes

124. At various places the Qur’an enumerates the severe tests through which Abraham passed. It was only after these had been completed successfully that he was able to establish his worthiness to serve as the religious guide and leader of all mankind. From the moment when the truth was revealed to him till the moment he died, his life was a continuous tale of sacrifice and suffering for his cause. There is no conceivable object of man’s love and attachment in the world which Abraham did not sacrifice for the sake of the truth. Likewise, there is no conceivable danger which instinctively frightens man which Abraham did not encounter for the sake of the Truth. 

125. This specifies that God’s promise of the conferment of leadership applied only to those of Abraham’s offspring who were righteous, and that the wrong-doers were naturally excluded. This also makes it clear that, just as the promise did not apply to the misguided Israelites, it did not apply to the polytheistic Ishmaelites.