Al Bayan -Surah Al Baqrah Part-2 Verse 3 Javed Ahmed Ghamidi [Javed Ahmed Ghamidi] Alhamdulillah, Gratitude is due to Allah, Lord of the world. Peace and blessings be upon His trustworthy Prophet Muhammad I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan, I begin in the name of Allah, who is absolute mercy whose compassion is eternal Ladies and Gentlemen, we are studying Surah Baqarah. The start of the Surah has been with an introduction, after this there are 4 ‘Fusul’ in the Surah and then there is the end.
Since it is quite a long Surah, hence it has been divided into ‘Fasul’. In the introduction, the discussion starts with the proclamation that this is Allah’s book, there is no doubt in it being the book of Allah, it is guidance to those who fear Allah. And along with this, those attributes have been highlighted which were quite evident in those who had received the guidance from it. I have said that it has been taken care of in these attributes, that since the audience of this Surah
are the People of the book, hence those attributes have to be highlighted which are not found in them, or for which they have been the target of Allah’s wrath. It is the lack of these qualities that are being highlighted. Therefore the first thing that was stated was that these people who have been bestowed with this guidance, these are God-fearing people. ‘They fear God’ implies that after coming to this world they haven’t become fearless, they are aware that they have a Lord
to whom they will be accountable one day. This reality has been realized by them through their nature and its evidence is given by their surrounding universe and the history that has passed of the reminders and warnings of the Prophets, on the basis of that also they are aware of it. And the moment the Quran once again puts forth to them the same guidance, so they have gone a step forward to welcome it. The second thing that was stated is ‘Al Lazeena Yu’minuna Bil Ghaib’ They are believing without seeing with their eyes.
On this, I have written a note in Al Bayan that the original words are ‘Yuminuna Bil Ghayb’, in it ‘Bi’ is to denote ‘valour’. i.e. it hasn’t come as ‘Maful’ of Iman, hence I don’t hold this translation as correct that they have ‘Iman’ (Faith) on the ‘Ghaib’ (Invisible). There are various reasons to hold it to be incorrect. In his ‘Tafseer’ Tadabbarul Quran, Ustaz Amin Hasan Islahi has stated them in detail. Its correct translation in my view
will be that ‘Bi’ should be taken as valour or courage, i.e. the verb is tu’aam And after that, it has been told that when they are accepting faith then under what conditions are they accepting it? I have worded it as ‘they are accepting it without seeing’. i.e. they brought Iman while in ‘Ghaib’; they did not insist on the condition that unless we see with our eyes, we will not be ready to accept it. Here ‘Bi’ is for courage or valour, i.e. they bring ‘Iman’
in spite of being in ‘Ghaib’. The meaning of bringing ‘Iman’ on Ghaib’ is that they are not mere slaves of their senses, and upholders of materialism. i.e. The test through which human beings have been subjected to in this world, it is like, some of the things which can be felt as real, i.e. when I will get up from here and if I decline the fact that there is a desk before me, and start walking towards the desk, then I will stumble upon it and fall. Hence whatever theories
I may be churning out, in the world of actions this reality cannot be declined. For human beings the material things do not require any arguments, they form a part of his/her experiences, or experiments. Hence, for this reason if someone is given a ‘Dawah’ for ‘Yuminuna Bis Shahood’, then there isn’t much hesitation, the person accepts it. This slavery of the senses and the worshiping of materialism rising above these, the human being strives to find about those realities where his/her intellect takes him/her.
Towards which his/her nature guides him/her, then he/she succeeds to achieve the real honor of a human being. I would like to elaborate a little on this What is the intellect of a human being? There are two major divisions of the human intellect. One is that intellect which the Creator of nature has imbibed inside him. Like the way I was made, it was imbibed in me that I will feel hungry, this is my instinct. That I will feel the thirst. Even if I am not aware of the terms of hunger and thirst, these are the things
that encompass my existence and make me surrender to accept them. In the same way, I have moral awareness, i.e. I make judgments on the beauty and ugliness of things, and this knowledge has also been inhered in me. When this is applied to any society then undoubtedly human beings adopt such things which are over and above the fundamental of morality. But the fundamental morality and the awareness of the good and the evil is inherently imbibed inside a human being. In the same way, all the material sciences, be it medical sciences,
life sciences, or of Zoology, or Mathematics or other Sciences. How do these operate? There is a knowledge that is inherent to or integral to our inner self When I say that ‘this is a triangle, it has three angles, this is an object having 4 corners, two and two make four.’ So these are the facts which in their reality are present inside me in the shape of concepts, and I apply them to the external world. When I apply it to the external world with it and the awareness that is a part of me, and the outside,
a link is established with the universe. I make this link a source of inference. So one knowledge is inside me, and one is achieved through ‘Istimbaat’ (inference) by this mutual link. This is my knowledge as a human being. I have a detailed piece on it, when you study it attentively you will know that it is that a priori knowledge which is often ignored by human beings. Since it does not acquire that internal knowledge through striving Hence he/she does not realize that the things that he/she sees,
the materials he/she considers as the base of his/her knowledge. That knowledge has in fact emanated from his/her inside. It has come into existence from his/her inside. However, as he/she does not recognize it hence starts to bow before the external knowledge that is achieved. He/she gets trapped in it. If a person is not here, rather he/she recognizes his/her nature, and then, nature through the rational inference, help him/her reach certain results, he/she understands this, then it is not possible for him/her to insist on the point that
when I am shown, then only will I accept. In Sciences, Sociology, History, everywhere if you insist that whatever is grasped through experiments and whatever will be experienced only that will be accepted, then you will in fact negate a very large part of the knowledge. Rather you will be deprived of 90% of the knowledge. It is only 10% of the knowledge which is actually based on experiences and experiments. Otherwise, our knowledge is either based on our inherent knowledge, or the knowledge of the highest quality is achieved through rational inference.
The same thing has been highlighted here in the Quran The implied meaning of bringing ‘Iman’ while in the ‘Ghaib’ is that they are not just the slaves of sensory data and worshippers of materialism, rather they are intellectual and spiritual beings Being intellectual and spiritual being, in it both the aspects have been highlighted, i.e. the ‘Rooh-e Yazdani’ that is in them, That which the Quran states as ‘Nafaqtu Fihi Mir Ruhi’ From which the real immortal self of the human being has come into existence,
they understand that personality and have the proper consciousness of it as well. This turns them into a spiritual being, and the great gift that Allah (swt) has given them i.e. their intellect, through which they assess their inner self and link it to the knowledge that is achieved through outer world, they relate it to that inner world, and through their mutual linkages, the derivations and further deductions, lead them to the perceptions of newer realities. This whole process of achieving knowledge, if it is done
with the right consciousness, then the human being realizes about his own self that in reality he/she is an intellectual and spiritual being. ‘Rather, they are intellectual and spiritual beings, hence, they do not insist on first seeing everything to believe in it.” i.e. those things which from the exterior, are given to us, through the five senses. There is an environment around me which I see, there are certain sounds which are audible to me, there are things which I can touch, I have a sense of smell as well.
Therefore the things that available to me through my senses, this forms a small part of the knowledge, actually, the awareness that grows in me about these things, the concepts that are developed, those are developed out of the intrinsic knowledge that had inherently been imbibed inside me. If I say that I will see and then agree to anything then I will deprive myself of a large part of the knowledge. They carry out their journey under the guidance of their intellect And the things that are proven through intellect
or what their nature gives them evidence of, they accept them. i.e. when ‘Yu Mineenuna Bil Ghayb’ is said, it implies this. Among us, I have seen many intellectuals, they declare without a hint of hesitation that they will use their intellect in Philosophy, in Science too we understand things through experiments and experience, but the religion demands ‘Iman bil Ghayb’ (Faith in the Invisible) from us. And it means that you just have to accept it. i.e. ‘Iman Bil Ghayb’ which has been
misconstrued as to accept something without any thinking or understanding. The reality is just the opposite. It has to be accepted after a lot of contemplation. In it the thing that has been negated is the insistence, that the things which are gripped by my senses I will accept only that. If this attitude is accepted then human being gets deprived of the knowledge which is made inherent to him, gets deprived of the awareness of his/her nature, and through the rational inference, from unfelt worlds of knowledge which he/she has acquired,
now even Science has entered this phase. Those days are gone when it was said that it is the era of ‘Yumeenuna Bis Shahud, now it is the era of ‘Yumeenuna Bit-Tajruba’ that era has gone long back, and the situation is such that what lies behind our experiences and the experiments, we derive it through rational inference, and these has become our new bastions of knowledge. In the Sciences, History, even the knowledge about this Earth, this is the attitude which has taught man to fly high
and made him look beyond the skies. So they carry on their journey under the stewardship of the intellect and the things that are proved by intellect or what their nature points to, they accept it. And to meet their demands they are ever ready to sacrifice their sensual and materialistic pleasures i.e. nature has kept a conflict between them, at times the intellectual and spiritual demands are very contrary to the demands of animal instincts inside us. Between them a sort of conflict takes place.
In that situation, they are both mentally and physically ready to sacrifice their sensual and materialistic pleasures. This is implied by ‘Yuminuna Bil Ghayb’ i.e. the Quran has not said that it is those people who have received guidance from it are those who accept without any thinking. Why I am drawing attention to this? It is not just an issue with our intellectuals. This misconception has become very common and in religious studies, it has been more or less accepted, we have in us a propensity to accept,
that gets satisfied and this is known as ‘Iman’; that Iman is not to analyze things and develop an understanding for it, and using the intellect to reach a point. This is not Iman. The point of view of the Quran is totally different from what just preceded. The point it is drawing attention to is that human being even ignores the knowledge of the a priori; for example the knowledge of the person of God, is first among the a priori. It does not even require an argument. It is totally like ‘I saw and I grasped it.’
The same condition is of our moral awareness, so at times a person may make even these things as targets of his suspicion. And believes (falsely) that he is on a journey towards knowledge. In the same way, he errs to such an extent with respect to sensory perception and materialism that he fails to accept even the guidance of unerring intellect. This has been elaborated here by the Quran and has told that the guidance which is sourced from the Prophets and the Books revealed by Allah, whereas it is necessary that the human being
realizes that I have a Lord and one day I have to be accountable to Him. This is the thing that has been interpreted by the word ‘Taqwa’. Secondly, one should not insist that ‘I will only accept those things’, which I have seen with my eyes, or hear with my ears or touch with my hands. Rather he/she is ready to accept the truths based on intellect and spirituality, where clear inference demands for them to be accepted. This is the honor of the human being. It is not in the honor of a human being that if
he sees a fire burning, then he accepts it as fire after seeing. This is so even in the case of the ox and the donkeys. The honor of a human being lies in finding the fire by just seeing smoke behind a wall. This inferential knowledge is, in fact, real knowledge. i.e. the bigger realities of the universe are known through this only, and I have told you that even Science has passed through that stage, where. the great realities are inferential knowledge and this has been the real superiority of human beings in every era.
The Quran says that the realities that it wants to be accepted for those too the requirement is the same i.e. the human beings should rise above the pleasures of sensuality and the materialism, and whatever realities lie within their mechanisms, should try to discover them. He should appreciate their workings, understand their principles and should get ready to recognize those conclusions toward which the intellect naturally leads. This will be ‘Iman Bil Ghayb’. Before this, I had pointed, as the Jews had demanded the
Prophet Musa A.S. “Arenallaha Zahratan” You show us with our eyes, where is your God, you say that He talks with you, and you meet Him, so show us too with our own eyes, after that only we shall accept. There is a type of satire on them. No, those people who have the right awareness of realities, whose fitrah is awake, those who are rationall and spiritual beings, those who haven’t made themselves slaves of sensory perception, they do not make such demands. The way they know this that the world surrounding them
is the world they access through senses, in the same way from this felt world, the realities that can be clearly inferred from it, they are ready to accept them too hence they are ‘Yu’minuna Bil Ghayb’ It was stated, ‘ Wa yuqimunus Salat’ those who believe without seeing, and care for their ‘Salah’, I make this submission, that the Quran hasn’t put them as conditions, rather it has told that this book is revealed, and see this, who are the people who have received guidance from it? Their picture has been painted before us.
Their attributes have been highlighted. If you ponder, the people who brought Iman from among the Bani Ismail and were the first to welcome to the Dawah of the Prophet, and did Hijrat on the Dawah of the Prophet, and the people from the ‘Aus o Khazraj’ who became the ‘Ansar’ (helpers) to such people, they all possessed these attributes. The group of ‘Sahabah’ (Companions) brought ‘Iman’ in this way. In the same way, they understood the realities, and were the possessors of these attributes, hence the Quran is highlighting it.
The second thing is that they are establishing ‘Salah’ (Prayers) I have written here, ‘What we have described as the establishing, the preparing, actually the term ‘Iqamatis Salah’ has been used for it. i.e. the term adopted by the Quran for the regular offering of Salah is ‘Wa Yuqimunas Salah’, i.e. these people do the ‘aqamat’ of the Salah. Its meaning in the Arabic language is to protect the ‘Salah’, and to be steadfast on it. i.e. when something is adopted,
when a human being does it with regularity, when the person does not part from it, when he/she does not let any flaw come into it, when the person makes it a routine in their life, then in the Arabic language, it is captured using the word ‘Iqamah’. The ‘Salah’ was not an unheard thing for the Arabs, i.e. it was not that the Prophet on arriving told the people that ‘Salah’ is a command of the Deen. Who is the audience of the Prophet? They are the Bani Ismail, the offspring of Syedna Ibrahim A.S.
There is no doubt in the fact that more or less 2000 years had gone by, perhaps even more than this, however, they were aware of the religious traditions, which had been established by their father Ibrahim A.S. The rituals of Hajj were being followed in the same way, as had been taught by their father Syedna Ibrahim A.S., only in a few things were ‘Bidat’ (Innovations) added by them. The same condition was there for ‘Salah’. They held on to to the Salah with care. I have time and again drawn attention to the fact
that the Quran narrates the whole history of the ‘Salah’. The people who start accessing the Deen with the Quran, ignore one basic reality, The Quran is not the first book of the ‘Deen’, but the last book of the Deen. It is not that that religion, that Deen. which we call Islam originated from the Quran, in fact, the Quran narrates to us its whole History and tells us that this Deen was originated from Syedna Adam A.S. Allah (swt) had granted him the Prophethood; he was the first human being;
and the first Prophet as well. After him the Prophets of Allah kept coming continuously. Hence the knowledge of the nature of man the knowledge gathered from the application of his intellect and the realities which were thrown open to him from the reminders of the Prophets, all this together were present in its background. Syedna Ibrahim A.S. was the first in the second phase of Prophethood. That phase has started with him. I am constantly drawing attention to the two eras, one era was when Allah sent His Prophets to all the Nations, through them did
His ‘Itmaam-e Hujjat’ (Completion of Proof), and made decisions regarding them. This has been stated in great detail in the Surah Yunus in the Quran and has said ‘Fa Iza Ja Aa Raooluhum Qudia Baina hum Bil Qist Wa Hum La Yuzlimoon’ i.e. they were not subjected to even an atom of oppression whatever they did, its decision was done with full justice and this has been my way, whenever We send our Prophets We subject the Nations with our judgment and clear their account in this very world
The second phase is that when the descendants of Syedna Ibrahim A.S. had been chosen for the Prophethood, i.e. it was decided that on one side, the Prophets will be appointed from among them, and on the other side they will be appointed as a group who would become a witness and for this from among the world, this race was chosen, ‘Faddaltu Kumul Alal Aalimeen’, this will be repeatedly stated further in the Quran, that I had preferred them from among the inhabitants of the world, that preference was for their appointment to this position.
Therefore, this second phase started, and in this, Syedna Ibrahim A.S. was given the command, that one branch from among his offspring, he should settle in Qanaan which is now called Palestine, and the second branch in Arabia. And a place of worship should be constructed there as well as here. This would be the first mosque, and that should be constructed later on by Bani Israel, which is now called ‘Bait-ul Maqdas’. These two would be the centers of ‘Tauheed’ (Oneness of God)
and inside them, that Nation would thrive which would be the witness of this Deen to this world. In this way, a full tradition of Deen was established, which was left as a legacy to his children when Syedna Ibrahim A.S. departed from this world. Here too the start of the Dawah was done by Ismail A.S. And the Quran has told us in detail that he had advised his children about taking care of the arrangements of Salah. So Salah is not something new from among the instructions of the Deen that had started with the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh),
it had been there always as an obligatory part of the ‘Ibadah’ in Deen. I have drawn attention to it that the real meaning of ‘Iqamah’ in the context of the Arabic language when we say that ‘establish the Salah’ it leads to misunderstandings, for this, I have adopted the term ‘Care for the Salah’ and it perfectly fits the demands of the word. If you wish to understand this word, then, in my book ‘Burhan’ I have written an essay on it under the title of ‘Tabeer ki Ghalati’.
Please study that. ‘The Salah was not something strange for the people of Arabia. As a tradition of the Deen of Ibrahim, they were not only aware of its performance and remembrances, rather the pious among them took care to offer it.’ As the Salah wasn’t something strange to them hence they knew how to perform it, and how it was to be read or offered, and their pious people performed it too. They performed ‘Salah’, as they performed ‘Hajj’. In the same way they arranged for the Salah, also.
The new innovations that had crept into them that is a different topic, and that happened in case of the Hajj as well. But it wasn’t that they were unaware of the ‘Salah’, hence I have drawn attention to the demand that is made, that why aren’t there the details of such important things as ‘Salah’ in the Quran? This is the reason for it. It is not that the Quran is inaugurating the ‘Salah’. The Quran brings the ‘Salah’ under discussion only when there is a need to draw attention towards something.
Or something is being neglected and the people are to be warned about it, when there is some additional command which is new is being given. Or if some exemption is being given or as per the situation some elaboration is additionally being done. It is completely like at this time if a Prophet is appointed, then he will not introduce us to the ‘Salah’; Salah is prevalent in the Muslim Ummah. Although if there are any mistakes done or if there is any neglect towards it or if there has been an inclusion
of any ‘Bidat’ (Innovation) then he will warn against it. So whenever in the Quran, there is a mention of the Hajj or the ‘Salah’, it will be in exactly in this way. These are popular and well-known things. Like the words of the Arabic language are known and popular, in exactly the same way the examples of these terms are known and popular. The addressees of the Quran know when it says. Be careful about your Salah. So what is ‘Salah’? i.e. the way to pray to Allah which is present as a tradition
of the ‘Deen’ of Ibrahim A.S. Therefore, you have read the whole history of it in ‘Meezan’ and I have written in detail as to how this ‘Salah’ has been mentioned in the discussions of the Quran, or how it has been discussed in the Torah or in the Bible? How it has been referred to in the Books of the Prophets. It has always remained of great importance in the Ibadah for Allah (swt). The ‘Salah’ for the Arabs wasn’t a new thing, they were aware of its practice and performance
as a tradition of the ‘Deen’ of Ibrahim, rather it was practiced by the pious among them. Therefore I have told that Syedna Abu Zar has narrated the event of his coming to Islam, where he tells that hardly had he heard about the Prophet, but he had started arranging for the ‘Salah, so the pious of the Arabs were arranging for the ‘Salah. Hence people had difficulty in the interpretation of the Surah ‘Ma’oon’. There, actually, it has been told that the ‘Salah’ which the Prophets had given them, which was according
to the tradition of the Deen of Ibrahim (A.S.) now they have set it aside, and have started shunning it, so the same thing has been said about the Jews. About them also, Allah has charged them for ‘Aza us Salat’ the Christians did the same and changed the form of the Salah to a large extent. However, the ‘Salah’ has always been a part of the Deen’, This is the reason why the Quran has not stated any details of the Salah. Along with ‘Salah’ the ‘Infaq’ has also been stated,
and according to the Quran these are fundamental virtues. i.e. when the Quran relates its thoughts and philosophy with actions, then, it highlights two things very clearly i.e. in me the feeling of gratitude that started to grow, the realization of my true Creator, I achieved His true Gnosis, so its manifestation will be towards Him as well as towards His servants. When it will be towards Him, it will take the shape of ‘Salah’, and when it will be towards the fellow beings then it will take the form of ‘Infaq’. These are the two fundamental things.
In the Gospel of Mathew, Prophet Isa(A.S.) has said the same thing in a varied style. He says, ‘And among them, one scholar of the ‘Sharia’ asked to test him, O ‘Ustaz’ which command is of greater value in the Torah? He replied to him, “You must love your God with your all heart and complete soul and your whole intellect.” The methodology of Isa A.S. is that sometimes he draws attention to the reality of a certain thing and sometimes to its corolaries. Here he has drawn attention to the reality of the ‘Salah’.
The fact is that with all your heart and your complete soul and your whole intellect, you should love your God. And it is the love which appears in the form of the ‘Salah’. Once, a gentleman debated with me at length and said that I understand that Deen teaches about the fundamental morality and this I understand up to an extent but why is there ‘Salah’ in Deen? Why there is an insistence on some beliefs? So I replied to him, what do you understand by morality? i.e. morality is nothing other than the relationships that develop
we should live up to those relationships or rather going a step further we should sacrifice for them. We have a relationship with our mother, a relationship with father, with our relatives, friends, with our society. All the morality has roots in this, so I told him that you are praising all this morality, but in this environment or behind it or above it all, do you know who exists? The one who has created you. You are not realizing His right. So the case of ‘Salah’ is exactly like your mother has demanded from you that before going in the morning
and while returning in the evening, spend just 10 minutes with me as well. This condition has been set by Allah (swt) My servants, to remember Me, bow before me, sometimes. ‘Aqimis Salti Li zikri’. From this you can guess how miserly a person must be who neglects this matter. He has set aside that Majestic Benefactor of all beings. ‘Wara’a Zhairehi’, so the Quran says that they take care of their ‘Salah’ and the Prophet Isa A.S. is stating its reality. ‘Its reality is with your God with all your heart and
all your soul and all of your intellect, you should love Him. The first and the biggest command is this. The second which is similar to it is with regard to your neighbor, love him as you love yourself.’ Here too he has made the reality of Infaq as the topic of his discourse. ‘The Books of the Prophets and the Torah are based on only these two commands.’ The same thing which the Quran gives through the words of the ‘Salah’ and that of ‘Infaq’, that same thing Isa A.S. has stated
as a reality as he had come to tell the logic and wisdom behind the ‘Deen’. And his book is absolute wisdom in itself. Now listen to the simple translation of these Ayahs. “Guidance is for these God fearing people and accept Him without seeing, and care for their Salah.” Aqulu qawli hada, wastagfirullah li wa lakum, wali sairil-mumineen