Enter Into Peace Completely

Occasion: A transcription of an evening lecture delivered at AIA on April 14, 2026Source: A transcription of a video lecture by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

He began with blessings and peace upon the servant and messenger of Allah, our master and our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, and upon his family and Companions, with abundant peace. Then he made this supplication: «اللهم إنا نسألك خير هذه الليلة وخير ما فيها وخير ما بعدها، ونعوذ بك ربنا من شر هذه الليلة وشر ما فيها وشر ما بعدها. اللهم أصلح لنا ديننا ودنيانا وآخرتنا، وهيّئ لنا من أمرنا رشدًا، وبارك اللهم لنا فيما رزقتنا، وقنا اللهم عذاب النار، واصرف عنا أسباب العذاب في الدنيا والآخرة، برحمة منك ورضوان وكرم ولطف يا رب العالمين. اللهم أعنّا ولا تُعِن علينا، ويسّر لنا وسدّد ما بين أيدينا، واقضِ حوائجنا، ودبّر لنا برحمة منك ولطف وكرم يا رب العالمين» (O Allah, we ask You for the good of this night, the good of what is in it, and the good of what comes after it; and we seek refuge in You, our Lord, from the evil of this night, the evil of what is in it, and the evil of what comes after it. O Allah, set right for us our religion, our worldly life and our hereafter; prepare for us right guidance in our affairs; bless us, O Allah, in what You have provided for us; protect us, O Allah, from the punishment of the Fire; and turn away from us the causes of punishment in this world and the next, by Your mercy, good pleasure, generosity and kindness, O Lord of the worlds. O Allah, help us and do not help others against us; make things easy for us and keep straight what is before us; fulfil our needs; and arrange our affairs for us by Your mercy, kindness and generosity, O Lord of the worlds).

The Sixth Call

Then he said: God willing, Allah, blessed and exalted, and he recited:

﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ كَافَّةً وَلَا تَتَّبِعُوا خُطُوَاتِ الشَّيْطَانِ ۚ إِنَّهُ لَكُمْ عَدُوٌّ مُّبِينٌ﴾ [البقرة] (O you who believe, enter into peace completely, and do not follow the footsteps of Satan; he is to you a clear enemy) [al-Baqarah].

This is the sixth verse among the calls to the believers in Sūrat al-Baqarah.

The Five Calls Before It

As for the five that preceded it, we have already gone through them: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَقُولُوا رَاعِنَا وَقُولُوا انظُرْنَا وَاسْمَعُوا﴾ [البقرة] (O you who believe, do not say "Rā'inā" but say "Unẓurnā," and listen) [al-Baqarah]. We said that it points to sanctifying the source of authority, and that we must never, under any circumstances, overstep it.

Then ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ﴾ [البقرة] (O you who believe, seek help through patience and prayer; indeed Allah is with the patient) [al-Baqarah], followed by: ﴿وَلَا تَقُولُوا لِمَنْ يُقْتَلُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ أَمْوَاتٌ﴾ [البقرة] (and do not say of those who are killed in the way of Allah, "They are dead") [al-Baqarah], ﴿وَلَنَبْلُوَنَّكُم بِشَيْءٍ مِّنَ الْخَوْفِ وَالْجُوعِ وَنَقْصٍ مِّنَ الْأَمْوَالِ وَالْأَنفُسِ وَالثَّمَرَاتِ ۗ وَبَشِّرِ الصَّابِرِينَ ۝ الَّذِينَ إِذَا أَصَابَتْهُم مُّصِيبَةٌ قَالُوا إِنَّا لِلَّهِ وَإِنَّا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعُونَ﴾ [البقرة] (And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth, lives and fruits; and give good tidings to the patient, who, when disaster strikes them, say, "Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return") [al-Baqarah].

Then ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُلُوا مِن طَيِّبَاتِ مَا رَزَقْنَاكُمْ وَاشْكُرُوا لِلَّهِ إِن كُنتُمْ إِيَّاهُ تَعْبُدُونَ﴾ [البقرة] (O you who believe, eat of the good things We have provided for you, and be grateful to Allah, if it is Him that you worship) [al-Baqarah], then ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الْقِصَاصُ فِي الْقَتْلَى ۖ الْحُرُّ بِالْحُرِّ وَالْعَبْدُ بِالْعَبْدِ﴾ [البقرة] (O you who believe, retribution is prescribed for you in cases of the slain: the free for the free, the slave for the slave) [al-Baqarah]. In the transcript, after that there is a garbled phrase whose meaning did not become clear (see the footnote). Then ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ كَمَا كُتِبَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ﴾ [البقرة] (O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you as it was prescribed for those before you, that you may attain taqwā) [al-Baqarah].^[1]

A Thread That Joins the Five

So we now have five verses in succession in their order, and it is good for us to see a link between them, as we saw in similar sequences:

• Sanctifying the source of authority, and patience upon this sanctification because it is a responsibility.
• Then refraining from eating what is forbidden, and rather eating the good food that the Lord of the worlds, glory and exaltation be to Him, has provided for us, which is the first thing asked of creation in this world.
• Then, in his words, "that we may be thorough, so that we do not reach the point of retribution and be called to account for our necks one day."
• Then we practice proper conduct before [unclear word] the lawful, until we reach His words: ﴿وَلَا تَأْكُلُوا أَمْوَالَكُم بَيْنَكُم بِالْبَاطِلِ وَتُدْلُوا بِهَا إِلَى الْحُكَّامِ لِتَأْكُلُوا فَرِيقًا مِّنْ أَمْوَالِ النَّاسِ بِالْإِثْمِ وَأَنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ﴾ [البقرة] (And do not consume one another's wealth unjustly, nor offer it as bribes to the authorities in order to consume part of the wealth of the people sinfully, while you know) [al-Baqarah].^[2]

What Is the Meaning of Silm?

﴿ادْخُلُوا فِي السِّلْمِ كَافَّةً﴾ (enter into peace completely): enter into Islam completely. And silm is the harmony of the self with the divine way; it is this inner harmony.

Enter into Islam: "I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, and I bear witness that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah."

Then he mentioned ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him) and said: The Prophet ﷺ said: «لا يؤمن أحدكم حتى أكون أحبَّ إليه من نفسه وماله وولده والناس أجمعين» (None of you truly believes until I am dearer to him than himself, his wealth, his children and all people). ʿUmar said: "O Messenger of Allah, I am with you over my wealth, my children and all people, but as for myself?" He said: «حتى تكون يا عمر» (Until you do, ʿUmar). He said: "Now, O Messenger of Allah."^[3] That is, even ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah, blessed and exalted, be pleased with him) had this matter with him until he passed beyond that limit.

That I Enter With My Whole Being

So when the Lord of the worlds, glory and exaltation be to Him, calls out to me: O you who believe, enter into peace completely, it means: enter into Islam in its entirety, or with your whole being, so that no part of you remains outside the framework of Islam. So the feelings are within the sum of religiosity, the mind is in the depth of religiosity, the self is in harmony with religiosity, and the whole body moves according to the commands of that religiosity, its obligations and its prohibitions.

Hence we can understand the words of ʿĀ'ishah (may Allah, blessed and exalted, be pleased with her): «كان خُلُقُه القرآن» (His character was the Qur'an),^[4] and in another narration «كان قرآنًا يمشي على الأرض» (He was a Qur'an walking on the earth).^[5] How could he be a Qur'an walking on the earth unless the Qur'an was embodied in his mind, his heart, his self, his body, his wealth, his time, and in everything?

That is why you see the Prophet ﷺ in his anger as in his calm, never leaving the framework of religiosity. In his giving as in his taking, never leaving the framework of religiosity. In his dealings with Allah, in his dealings with people, and in his dealings with himself, he carries the same level of commitment.

The Verse's Place in the Surah

Then he said: It seems to me, in what I think, and Allah, blessed and exalted, knows best, that this verse stands in the middle of Sūrat al-Baqarah; if not in the numbering of the verses, then in the sum of its rulings, in place and position.

Before it is the Lord of the worlds' discourse about the kinds of people, the shifts in their conditions, their crises, their transgressions among those who were transgressors, and their commitment among those who were leaders of the people: ﴿وَإِذِ ابْتَلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ رَبُّهُ بِكَلِمَاتٍ فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ ۖ قَالَ إِنِّي جَاعِلُكَ لِلنَّاسِ إِمَامًا﴾ [البقرة] (And [mention] when his Lord tried Abraham with words and he fulfilled them. He said, "Indeed, I will make you a leader for the people") [al-Baqarah]. Then you see the abrogation of legislation, the changing of conditions, and the Lord of the worlds' approval of Islam as the religion for people.

And after it you see very many rulings following one another upon the Muslim community, in which the heavier obligation is demanded. If you say: before it there was a measure of religiosity, as in His words ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا كُتِبَ عَلَيْكُمُ الصِّيَامُ﴾ (O you who believe, fasting is prescribed for you), for example, then you see after it the verses of fighting and striving, and of keeping away from forbidden wealth, from forbidden sale or forbidden usury in the basic legislation, and so on. You see a number of legal obligations coming after this verse.

A Great Bird With Two Wings

For this reason Sūrat al-Baqarah is like two wings around this great bird, namely peace (silm): inner peace, intellectual peace, bodily peace, communal peace, economic, political, international and active peace. Peace in sum is a bird moving in this life, and its two wings are the two sides of what surrounds this verse among the verses of Sūrat al-Baqarah:

• On one side, it teaches you about the types of people, their kinds, their conditions, the shifting of their moods, their hearts and their final destinies before the Lord of the worlds, glory and exaltation be to Him.
• And on the other side, their ability to bear these legal obligations that come to them from the Lord of the worlds.

Shall We Take Part of the Book?

He said: I will not take long with you, but what I ask now is that we reconsider this verse in particular, to look at its place and standing in the middle of the blessed surah, and at how we have been charged with that for which the Children of Israel were reproached before, when the Lord of the worlds addressed them with His words: ﴿أَفَتُؤْمِنُونَ بِبَعْضِ الْكِتَابِ وَتَكْفُرُونَ بِبَعْضٍ﴾ [البقرة] (Do you believe in part of the Book and disbelieve in part?) [al-Baqarah].

It does not befit a sensible person to take part of that Book and leave part, because taking and leaving are an indication that the taking came only from desire (as it appears), and that the leaving was only from desire.^[6] So I took what I desired and left what I desired, as though I do not worship the One who sent down this Book, but rather worship the one who picks up some parts of this Book, as though I worship my own self, and do not worship the Lord of the speech that I read and from which I draw that great way of life.

And he concluded by saying: I ask Allah, the Most High, the Almighty, to give us insight into what is in our hands.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: The verse numbers are from the editor and not from the lecturer's words, and they are: 208, then 104, 153, 154, 155–156, 172, 178, 183, 188, 124, 85. In the transcript, after the verse of retribution there is a garbled phrase read as «أترا فيؤدبنا رب العالمين الله حرام», whose meaning did not become clear, so it was not included in the body text. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: The lecturer's linking of the five verses is garbled in two places in the transcript: "that we may be thorough, so that we do not reach the point of retribution" and "we practice proper conduct before [..] the lawful"; they have been recorded verbatim without interpretation. The verse on wealth (188) is not one of the calls; he cited it in the context of the lawful. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: ʿUmar's exchange is established in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī from the ḥadīth of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Hishām (may Allah be pleased with him), and its wording differs in its details from what the lecturer cited; what is recorded in the body text is his speech as he uttered it. The ḥadīth «لا يؤمن أحدكم حتى أكون أحب إليه من ولده ووالده والناس أجمعين» (None of you truly believes until I am dearer to him than his child, his father and all people) is in the two Ṣaḥīḥs, and does not contain "than himself and his wealth" in this wording. ^[4]: Editor's documentation: Narrated by Muslim from the ḥadīth of ʿĀ'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her); the attribution is from the editor and was not mentioned by the lecturer. ^[5]: Editor's documentation: The editor has not verified this narration that the lecturer mentioned, so it should not be attributed to the Prophet ﷺ or to ʿĀ'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) until it is verified. ^[6]: Editor's documentation: In the transcript, "لم يتأتَّ إلا عنى" and "لم يكن إلا عنى"; the wording was not clear. What is recorded, "ʿan hawā" (from desire), is understood from the context and from his words after it, "So I took what I desired and left what I desired."