The Address to the Children of Israel in Sūrat al-Baqarah: Fulfilling the Covenant and Not Being the First to Disbelieve

Occasion: Transcription of a Qur'anic khatira after Fajr delivered on 7 May 2022 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

We continue our discussion of the verses of Sūrat al-Baqarah. We had stopped yesterday at the preceding verses, and in the next verse specifically Allah, blessed and exalted, begins His address to the Children of Israel.

Why did the address begin with the Children of Israel?

We spoke yesterday about the reason the address began with the Children of Israel, in answer to the question of one of the brothers: why was Ibrāhīm, peace be upon him, not mentioned as a good model in applying the law of Allah before the bad model was mentioned? And the answer was that mentioning the bad model carries more warning against falling into such deeds and practices; it is a kind of initial caution before He gives you the glad tidings of the good model. And we can say as well: just as you take the protective vaccine before you go out on the road to carry out your work normally, so it is here.

Fulfill My covenant and I will fulfill your covenant

Allah began speaking to them with His words: ﴿يَا بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ﴾ (O Children of Israel, remember My favor which I bestowed upon you)^[1] then He said: ﴿وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِ بِعَهْدِكُمْ﴾ (and fulfill My covenant and I will fulfill your covenant)^[2]

And why did He say to them: I will fulfill your covenant? Because they are still in the position of asking from Allah, blessed and exalted. For people's requests to Allah never cease; they ask Him for well-being, they ask Him for abundant provision, they ask Him for a good livelihood, and no one among creation is free of asking more of the Lord of Might, glorified and exalted be He. Is it not so? So if you want Allah to fulfill your wish, there must be fulfillment from you to Allah in what He, glorified be He, commanded you. And the contract concluded between the Lord of Might and human beings is very clear: ﴿وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِن بَنِي آدَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَىٰ أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَا ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَٰذَا غَافِلِينَ﴾ (And when your Lord took from the children of Ādam, from their loins, their descendants and made them testify of themselves: Am I not your Lord? They said: Yes, we testify. That you may not say on the Day of Resurrection: Indeed, we were of this unaware)^[3] So the Lord of the worlds reminded them of the first covenant.

Do not be the first to disbelieve

Then He, glorified be He, said: ﴿وَآمِنُوا بِمَا أَنزَلْتُ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ وَلَا تَكُونُوا أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍ بِهِ﴾ (And believe in what I have sent down, confirming that which is with you, and be not the first to disbelieve in it)^[4] and this sentence we need in our private lives. What does that mean? Do not be the first to disbelieve in the truth; do not be the first to lie so that people lie after you; do not be the first to betray so that people betray behind you; do not be the first to break his word so that people break theirs after you; do not be the first to cause corruption in the land so that people cause corruption behind you. Thus the Lord of Might, glorified be He, warned us of what the Children of Israel fell into before.

As for the meaning of the verse, there is no doubt that Allah, blessed and exalted, warned them not to be the first to disbelieve in the message of Muḥammad ﷺ, for they are the people most entitled to believe him. Why? Because when we speak of the polytheists we are speaking of ignorant people who know nothing, whereas the Children of Israel are people of a message; in principle they have messengers who came before, like Mūsā and ʿĪsā, in principle they have a book that was sent down to them from heaven, in principle they have a legislative methodology, so their acquaintance with heaven and with what goes on between revelation and human beings is a matter acceptable to them.

And the doubts raised by Quraysh, such as their saying: ﴿لَوْلَا نُزِّلَ هَٰذَا الْقُرْآنُ عَلَىٰ رَجُلٍ مِّنَ الْقَرْيَتَيْنِ عَظِيمٍ﴾ (Why was this Qur'an not sent down upon a great man from the two cities?)^[5] express a sum of ignorance, denial and arrogance, and do not indicate any firmly rooted prior knowledge in those souls. As for the discussions that came from the Children of Israel, such as «يسألونك عن الساعة أيان مرساها» (They ask you about the Hour: when is its arrival?)^[6] and «يسألونك عن الروح» (They ask you about the Spirit), imagine when you compare the discussions of the People of the Book with the discussions of the polytheists.

The point is that Allah said to them: ﴿وَلَا تَكُونُوا أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍ بِهِ وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا بِآيَاتِي ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا وَإِيَّايَ فَاتَّقُونِ﴾ (and be not the first to disbelieve in it, and do not exchange My verses for a small price, and fear Me alone)^[7] and if we explained that in detail we would see many lessons behind each one of them.

Do not mix truth with falsehood

Allah, blessed and exalted, says: ﴿وَلَا تَلْبِسُوا الْحَقَّ بِالْبَاطِلِ﴾ (and do not mix the truth with falsehood)^[8] and among the chronic diseases inside some souls is that you see him mixing truth with falsehood until he muddles the features of thinking for you, so that you cannot reach a solution with him; you grasp him from here and he mixes truth with falsehood.

How does He command them to pray?

Then He said: ﴿وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَارْكَعُوا مَعَ الرَّاكِعِينَ﴾ (and establish the prayer and give zakāh and bow with those who bow)^[9] So if I imagine that they did not fulfill the covenant of Allah, and that they became the first to disbelieve in it, and that they did not fear Allah beforehand, and that they exchange the verses of Allah for a small price, how then does Allah command them to pray after that? The foundations are broken, not there; so how does the Lord of the worlds command them to establish the prayer?

The people of knowledge say: even if the balance of belief is disturbed in the soul of the servant, perhaps prayer will bring him back once more, as long as he is upright in this matter. And perhaps you remember a story that was mentioned in the course of speaking about robbers on the road, where some of them found their leader not eating with them, and he asked him: why do you not eat with us? He said: I am fasting. He said: you fast and you steal? He said: I want to keep a door open between me and Allah the Exalted. And after a while they found him clinging to the covering of the Kaʿbah asking Allah for forgiveness. So the door that the man kept open between himself and Allah, he entered through it to Allah.

Or the meaning is: that you should return a serious return, and organize yourselves with those who prayed to the Lord of the worlds.

A severely worded rebuke

Then comes the rebuke of Allah, glorified and exalted, severe in its wording: ﴿أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنسَوْنَ أَنفُسَكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ﴾ (Do you command the people to righteousness and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture?)^[10] For they were always calling people to believe in the message of Mūsā, and to follow the messengers and prophets, and to believe in Allah, blessed and exalted; so if you are calling people to that, you are more entitled to follow this methodology.

And the Lord of the worlds says: ﴿وَاسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ ۚ وَإِنَّهَا لَكَبِيرَةٌ إِلَّا عَلَى الْخَاشِعِينَ ۝ الَّذِينَ يَظُنُّونَ أَنَّهُم مُّلَاقُو رَبِّهِمْ﴾ (And seek help through patience and prayer; and indeed, it is difficult except for the humbly submissive, who are certain that they will meet their Lord)^[11] and "supposition" (ẓann), when it occurs on the tongue of the Lord of the worlds in a place like this, stands in the place of certainty, as in His words, the Exalted: ﴿إِنِّي ظَنَنتُ أَنِّي مُلَاقٍ حِسَابِيَهْ﴾ (Indeed, I was certain that I would meet my account)^[12] so remember the verse in Sūrat al-Ḥāqqah.

Reminding of the favor, then warning

Then Allah, glorified be He, calls the Children of Israel once more: ﴿اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِيَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي﴾ (Remember My favor which I bestowed upon you and fulfill My covenant)^[13] and He reminds them that He favored them over the people, over all creation in that time.

And this is a kind of exhortation: that you move someone toward what he ought to fear. You speak with reason and with kindness and ease and calm, but what is the rule of speech? How do you do the first deed? Here it is to remind him of the punishment he is about to meet, whose consequences he cannot bear. So the Lord of the worlds says: ﴿وَاتَّقُوا يَوْمًا لَّا تَجْزِي نَفْسٌ عَن نَّفْسٍ شَيْئًا وَلَا يُقْبَلُ مِنْهَا شَفَاعَةٌ وَلَا يُؤْخَذُ مِنْهَا عَدْلٌ وَلَا هُمْ يُنصَرُونَ﴾ (And fear a Day when no soul will suffice for another soul at all, nor will intercession be accepted from it, nor will compensation be taken from it, nor will they be helped)^[14]

What Allah bestowed on them and what they did

Then He reminded them, and we seek refuge in Allah from the evil of Pharaoh: ﴿وَإِذْ نَجَّيْنَاكُم مِّنْ آلِ فِرْعَوْنَ يَسُومُونَكُمْ سُوءَ الْعَذَابِ﴾ (And when We saved you from the people of Pharaoh, who afflicted you with the worst torment)^[15] ﴿وَإِذْ فَرَقْنَا بِكُمُ الْبَحْرَ فَأَنجَيْنَاكُمْ وَأَغْرَقْنَا آلَ فِرْعَوْنَ﴾ (And when We parted the sea for you and saved you and drowned the people of Pharaoh)^[16] ﴿وَإِذْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَالْفُرْقَانَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَهْتَدُونَ﴾ (And when We gave Mūsā the Scripture and the criterion, that perhaps you would be guided)^[17]

Then He mentioned the repentance of Mūsā, peace be upon him, for his people: ﴿وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِ يَا قَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُم بِاتِّخَاذِكُمُ الْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوا إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ﴾ (And when Mūsā said to his people: O my people, you have wronged yourselves by taking the calf, so repent to your Creator and kill yourselves)^[18]

The crimes of the Children of Israel were more monstrous than can be imagined, so the penalty with them was that when one of them wanted to repent he killed himself, by a law from Allah, or that Allah, blessed and exalted, commanded them this as a test of their readiness to apply the law. And the matter is exactly as Ibrāhīm said to his son: ﴿إِنِّي أَرَىٰ فِي الْمَنَامِ أَنِّي أَذْبَحُكَ فَانظُرْ مَاذَا تَرَىٰ﴾ (Indeed, I see in a dream that I am slaughtering you, so see what you think)^[19] Here is a matter of killing and there is a matter of killing, is it not so? So what did Ismāʿīl say? He said: ﴿يَا أَبَتِ افْعَلْ مَا تُؤْمَرُ﴾ (O my father, do as you are commanded)^[20] And as for these, it was said to them: ﴿فَتُوبُوا إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَاقْتُلُوا أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ﴾ (so repent to your Creator and kill yourselves; that is best for you in the sight of your Creator, and He accepted your repentance)^[21]

Then: ﴿وَإِذْ قُلْتُمْ يَا مُوسَىٰ لَن نُّؤْمِنَ لَكَ حَتَّىٰ نَرَى اللَّهَ جَهْرَةً﴾ (And when you said: O Mūsā, we will never believe you until we see Allah outright)^[22] So they move from one level of denial to a higher, harsher and more monstrous level, and we seek refuge in Allah. So the Lord of the worlds said: ﴿فَأَخَذَتْكُمُ الصَّاعِقَةُ وَأَنتُمْ تَنظُرُونَ﴾ (so the thunderbolt took you while you were looking on)^[23] and the exegetes say that Allah, blessed and exalted, commanded concerning them and the thunderbolt seized them and they were all killed. Then: ﴿ثُمَّ بَعَثْنَاكُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَوْتِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ﴾ (Then We revived you after your death, that perhaps you would be grateful)^[24] and this was a new miracle, glory be to Allah.

Then He mentioned the clouds that shaded them, and said: ﴿كُلُوا مِن طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ﴾ (Eat from the good things We have provided for you)^[25] that is: this bounty you are in, all these favors come from the Lord of the worlds, glorified be He, and yet they denied the Lord of Might. ﴿وَمَا ظَلَمُونَا وَلَٰكِن كَانُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ﴾ (And they wronged Us not, but they were wronging themselves)^[26]

Then: ﴿وَإِذْ قُلْنَا ادْخُلُوا هَٰذِهِ الْقَرْيَةَ فَكُلُوا مِنْهَا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمْ رَغَدًا وَادْخُلُوا الْبَابَ سُجَّدًا وَقُولُوا حِطَّةٌ نَّغْفِرْ لَكُمْ خَطَايَاكُمْ ۚ وَسَنَزِيدُ الْمُحْسِنِينَ﴾ (And when We said: Enter this city and eat from it wherever you will in ease, and enter the gate bowing humbly and say: Relieve us; We will forgive your sins for you, and We will increase the doers of good)^[27] that is: lift from us our sins and We will forgive you your sins. ﴿فَبَدَّلَ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُوا قَوْلًا غَيْرَ الَّذِي قِيلَ لَهُمْ﴾ (But those who wronged substituted a word other than that which had been said to them)^[28]

They did not acknowledge, nor did they avow before Allah, blessed and exalted, the good things and bounties He had bestowed on them.

--- ^[1]: Al-Baqarah: 40. Editor's documentation: The speaker mentioned that the stopping point yesterday was at verse 39 of al-Baqarah, and that the address to the Children of Israel begins with verse 40. ^[2]: Al-Baqarah: 40. Editor's documentation: The remainder of the verse, ﴿وَإِيَّايَ فَارْهَبُونِ﴾ (and Me alone, fear Me). ^[3]: Al-Aʿrāf: 172. ^[4]: Al-Baqarah: 41. What the speaker mentioned of the verse has been set down. ^[5]: Al-Zukhruf: 31. ^[6]: Editor's documentation: The phrase «يسألونك عن الساعة أيان مرساها» (They ask you about the Hour: when is its arrival?) occurs in al-Aʿrāf: 187 and al-Nāziʿāt: 42 in the context of speaking about the polytheists, and the question about the Spirit (al-rūḥ) in al-Isrā': 85, and regarding its occasion of revelation there are reports attributing the question to the Jews or to Quraysh at their instigation. The speaker attributed the two phrases to the discussions of the People of the Book, so his statement has been kept. ^[7]: Al-Baqarah: 41. ^[8]: Al-Baqarah: 42. ^[9]: Al-Baqarah: 43. ^[10]: Al-Baqarah: 44. ^[11]: Al-Baqarah: 45–46. Editor's documentation: The remainder of the verse, ﴿وَأَنَّهُمْ إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ﴾ (and that they will return to Him), was not mentioned by the speaker. ^[12]: Al-Ḥāqqah: 20. ^[13]: Al-Baqarah: 40. Editor's documentation: The favoring over the worlds is mentioned in His words ﴿وَأَنِّي فَضَّلْتُكُمْ عَلَى الْعَالَمِينَ﴾ (al-Baqarah: 47), which the speaker did not recite at this point. ^[14]: Al-Baqarah: 48. ^[15]: Al-Baqarah: 49. ^[16]: Al-Baqarah: 50. ^[17]: Al-Baqarah: 53. ^[18]: Al-Baqarah: 54. ^[19]: Al-Ṣāffāt: 102. ^[20]: Al-Ṣāffāt: 102. ^[21]: Al-Baqarah: 54. Editor's documentation: The remainder of the verse, ﴿إِنَّهُ هُوَ التَّوَّابُ الرَّحِيمُ﴾ (Indeed, it is He who is the Accepting of repentance, the Merciful). ^[22]: Al-Baqarah: 55. ^[23]: Al-Baqarah: 55. ^[24]: Al-Baqarah: 56. ^[25]: Al-Baqarah: 57. Editor's documentation: The speaker mentioned the clouds and only a portion of the verse; the verse is ﴿وَظَلَّلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْغَمَامَ وَأَنزَلْنَا عَلَيْكُمُ الْمَنَّ وَالسَّلْوَىٰ﴾ (And We shaded you with clouds and sent down upon you manna and quails). ^[26]: Al-Baqarah: 57. ^[27]: Al-Baqarah: 58. ^[28]: Al-Baqarah: 59.