Reflections on the Recited Quarter of Sūrat al-Baqarah

Occasion: Transcription of a Fajr khatira delivered on 8 July 2024 Source: A transcription of a video khatira by Dr. Ahmed Abouseif — Watch the original video on YouTube

O Allah, we ask You for lasting well-being and for steadfastness upon obedience, and we ask You for more guidance and mercy, by Your mercy, O Lord of the worlds. And now, may Allah, exalted be He, greet you and be pleased with you. Continuing the talk we had begun, in an attempt to summarize the understanding of the verses we recite on the morning of every day, we ask Allah to keep this blessing upon us and not to deprive us of good.

In this quarter that we read in the Fajr prayer, Allah, blessed and exalted be He, reminds the Children of Israel of the kinds of blessings He spread out for them.

Water, and Everything Has a Cause

Among these blessings is that He brought them the provision they asked for: ﴿وَإِذِ ٱسْتَسْقَىٰ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ﴾ (And when Moses asked for water for his people).^[1] When they asked him for water, he called upon the Lord of the worlds, glorified be He, and He gave them water in a way that drew their eyes anew to the power of the Lord of Might: ﴿فَقُلْنَا ٱضْرِب بِّعَصَاكَ ٱلْحَجَرَ ۖ فَٱنفَجَرَتْ مِنْهُ ٱثْنَتَا عَشْرَةَ عَيْنًا﴾ (So We said, "Strike the stone with your staff," and there gushed forth from it twelve springs).^[2]

The first question: could the Children of Israel have obtained water directly? Yes, for the Lord of the worlds, glorified be He, is All-Powerful; indeed, He is able to satisfy these souls so that they would not thirst at all. Glory to the All-Powerful, glory to the All-Knowing, the All-Powerful. But He wanted to teach them, and to teach us, that everything in life has a cause, and that you cannot proceed in any field unless you follow its causes. You are not a scholar of geography and then want to be a mechanical engineer, for example, and you are not a professor of fiqh and then want to be a space scientist; this does not work. So everything must have a cause, so He said: strike the stone with your staff, and twelve springs gushed forth from it.

Rebellion Against Blessing, and Raising Children

The matter of rebellion against blessing is a very important matter, especially in relation to how we raise our children here in this country, for they are always raised in blessing. So these people said: ﴿يَـٰمُوسَىٰ لَن نَّصْبِرَ عَلَىٰ طَعَامٍ وَٰحِدٍ فَٱدْعُ لَنَا رَبَّكَ يُخْرِجْ لَنَا مِمَّا تُنۢبِتُ ٱلْأَرْضُ مِنۢ بَقْلِهَا وَقِثَّآئِهَا وَفُومِهَا﴾ (O Moses, we can never endure one kind of food, so call upon your Lord to bring forth for us of what the earth grows: its herbs, its cucumbers, its garlic).^[3] To leave your children only eating, only drinking, only enjoying themselves, only playing, this is a matter not worthy of respect at all. And children must be made to practice life from within it, so they learn how to earn their money, how to deal with people, how to manage the affairs of homes, and how to submit to the commands of Allah, blessed and exalted be He, at the same time.

Choosing with the Heart and the Mind

Then comes a matter that the Lord of the worlds, glorified be He, mentioned to us: ﴿أَتَسْتَبْدِلُونَ ٱلَّذِى هُوَ أَدْنَىٰ بِٱلَّذِى هُوَ خَيْرٌ﴾ (Would you exchange what is lower for what is better?).^[4] Upon what do human choices rest? They rest, for the most part, on desire; so when a person wants to choose something he chooses what he loves, and therefore what is right is not suitable for him unless he combines his heart and his mind. Hence, when we advise our daughters or sons on marriage we say to them: We do not choose with the heart before the mind, but we choose with the mind and weigh ourselves, and see our capacities and abilities, and accordingly we choose the compatible one who suits us for the rest of life. And the heart must have a share of comfort and reassurance, and therefore the matter of the betrothal was legislated in the teachings of Islam.

The point is that when Allah, blessed and exalted be He, spoke to us about these people He informed us that they chose what their souls desired, along with playing with the teachings of the Lord of Might, glorified and exalted be He.

The Excuses of Satan

And after that, the matter of the excuses that Satan dictates to people. If you say to someone: Come to the Fajr prayer, he says: By Allah, I go to work early and I cannot hold out all day, even though the difference is only half an hour. And he will naturally wake for his work, and if his boss at work assigns him to get up an hour before that he will do it, and if an increase in salary is arranged for him in return for getting up two hours before it he will do that too. But the excuses come from inside the human soul, and the human being fills himself with false hopes through them.

Faith in Allah and the Last Day

Then the Lord of Might, glorified be He, informed us that everyone who walked upon guidance: ﴿إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَٱلَّذِينَ هَادُوا۟ وَٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰ وَٱلصَّـٰبِـِٔينَ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلِحًا فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ﴾ (Indeed, those who believed, and those who were Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians, whoever believed in Allah and the Last Day and did righteous deeds, they will have their reward with their Lord, and there will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve).^[5] We will find some opinions on this matter, but the sum of the matter is that no one should say: By Allah, those who were Jews and the Christians and the Sabians are all entering Paradise if they believe in Allah and the Last Day and do righteous deeds. Rather, it is asked: Where is Muhammad ﷺ in this relationship? Look here, there is no mention of Muhammad ﷺ at all in this verse.

So they have given us several interpretations of it. One: that faith in Allah necessitates faith in His messengers, and the news of Muhammad ﷺ reached all of these through their messengers, so whoever did not believe in Muhammad through his own messenger has disbelieved in his messenger from the very beginning. The other: that faith in Allah necessitates faith in Muhammad ﷺ because the Qur'an reached all of them. And the third interpretation: that Allah, blessed and exalted be He, spoke of each group in a way suited to its own time.

The Covenant and the Raising of the Mount

And there comes the matter of: ﴿وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَـٰقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ ٱلطُّورَ﴾ (And when We took your covenant and raised the Mount above you).^[6] This is a renewed blessing from the Lord of the worlds, glorified be He, but it expresses the beginning of the real talk about the denial that took place among them. And we missed a very important matter: that Allah, blessed and exalted be He, said: ﴿وَضُرِبَتْ عَلَيْهِمُ ٱلذِّلَّةُ وَٱلْمَسْكَنَةُ وَبَآءُو بِغَضَبٍ مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ﴾ (And humiliation and poverty were struck upon them, and they incurred wrath from Allah).^[7] Look how many kinds of punishment were struck upon them: humiliation and poverty were struck upon them, and they incurred the wrath of Allah, that is, they deserved this wrath from the Lord of the worlds, glorified and exalted be He.

Well, what did they do? Not because they asked for money, and not because they asked for water, and not because they asked for food; but because they rebelled against Allah after He answered them in what they had asked. The Lord of the worlds answered them in everything they asked, but each time they rebel against Him. And among the most prominent forms of rebellion was their rebelling against the prophets and their killing the prophets without right, and therefore Allah, exalted be He, said: ﴿ذَٰلِكَ بِمَا عَصَوا۟ وَّكَانُوا۟ يَعْتَدُونَ﴾ (That was because they disobeyed and used to transgress).^[8] So we have two fundamental crimes upon which are built all the kinds of crimes that came and that come after that.

So my Lord, glorified and exalted be He, said: ﴿وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَـٰقَكُمْ وَرَفَعْنَا فَوْقَكُمُ ٱلطُّورَ﴾. And it is very well known that Allah, blessed and exalted be He, raised the Mount above them, which is the mountain, when they disobeyed the command of Allah, disobeyed their messenger Moses, peace be upon him, so Allah, exalted be He, raised the mountain above them: ﴿وَإِذْ نَتَقْنَا ٱلْجَبَلَ فَوْقَهُمْ كَأَنَّهُۥ ظُلَّةٌ وَظَنُّوٓا۟ أَنَّهُۥ وَاقِعٌۢ بِهِمْ خُذُوا۟ مَآ ءَاتَيْنَـٰكُم بِقُوَّةٍ وَٱذْكُرُوا۟ مَا فِيهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَّقُونَ﴾ (And when We shook the mountain above them as if it were a canopy and they thought it would fall upon them: "Take what We have given you with strength, and remember what is in it, that you may become righteous").^[9] And there follows it His saying, exalted be He: ﴿أَلَسْتُ بِرَبِّكُمْ ۖ قَالُوا۟ بَلَىٰ ۛ شَهِدْنَآ ۛ أَن تَقُولُوا۟ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ إِنَّا كُنَّا عَنْ هَـٰذَا غَـٰفِلِينَ﴾ (Am I not your Lord? They said, "Yes, we testify" — lest you say on the Day of Resurrection, "Indeed, we were unaware of this").^[10] The verses follow one another.

The point: imagine that people do not submit except when the mountain is raised above their heads, until they thought it would fall upon them, as if it were above their heads about to crush them utterly; at that point they said: We believe. So you are dealing with people who do not advance a step forward unless they have something like this; it is not enough to show them the red eye, but you show them all forms of power and might until they respond to you in a matter. Glory be to Allah, the All-Powerful.

The Story of the Cow, and the Limit of Courtesy

And our Lord, glorified be He, exalted on high, tells us of the story of Moses, peace be upon him, with his people, and that one of them killed a person. Then they came to Moses, peace be upon him, weeping: Come to our aid, reach us. So Allah, blessed and exalted be He, commanded him to command them to slaughter a cow, so that he would take a part of the cow and strike this person with it, and Allah, blessed and exalted be He, would bring out the result.

And the points of evidence we have are very simple points. He said: ﴿وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦٓ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ﴾ (And when Moses said to his people, "Indeed, Allah commands you").^[11] For the most part, in the whole Qur'an, we find Moses speaking to them as his people: "O my people"; but in this verse He said: ﴿إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَأْمُرُكُمْ﴾, and did not say to them "O my people." As if they had reached all the limits of transgression until Moses, peace be upon him, no longer addressed them as his people, they are not fit at all. And from here we learn the matter of: to what limit should courtesies toward the people of disobedience go? To what level do we show courtesy to the people of disobedience? To a limit at which we stop, and the matters end.

My Lord, glorified and exalted be He, said: ﴿فَقُلْنَا ٱضْرِبُوهُ بِبَعْضِهَا ۚ كَذَٰلِكَ يُحْىِ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْمَوْتَىٰ﴾ (So We said, "Strike him with part of it." Thus does Allah bring the dead to life).^[12] And this story specifically, if we spoke about it we would go on at length, because it is the pivot of the surah in general and there is much said around it, perhaps we will go into it in a more complete way, God willing, blessed and exalted be He.

And the Lord of the worlds concludes for us this noble quarter with His saying, Mighty and Majestic: ﴿ثُمَّ قَسَتْ قُلُوبُكُم مِّنۢ بَعْدِ ذَٰلِكَ﴾ (Then your hearts became hardened after that).^[13] That is, up to this point, up to His saying: "And when Moses said, Indeed Allah commands you," there was the possibility of reform, but these causes ceased to exist among them.

I say this my saying, and I seek forgiveness from Allah for myself and for you, may Allah reward you with good. Peace of Allah be upon you.

--- ^[1]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 60. ^[2]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 60; the speaker cited the two parts separately. ^[3]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 61; the speaker mentioned the verse up to his saying «وفومها». ^[4]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 61. ^[5]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 62. ^[6]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 63. ^[7]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 61. ^[8]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 61. ^[9]: Editor's documentation: al-Aʿrāf: 171. ^[10]: Editor's documentation: al-Aʿrāf: 172. ^[11]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 67. ^[12]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 73. ^[13]: Editor's documentation: al-Baqarah: 74.