Al-Baqara

الٓمٓ 1

{ الم } الله أعلم بمراده بذلك.

Alif lām mīm: God knows best what He means by these [letters].

ذَٰلِكَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ 2

{ ذلك } أي هذا { الكتب } الذي يقرؤه محمد { لا ريب } لا شك { فيه } أنه من عند الله وجملة النفي خبر مبتدؤه ذلك والإشارة به للتعظيم { هدى } خبر ثان أي هاد { للمتقين } الصائرين إلى التقوى بامتثال الأوامر واجتناب النواهي لاتقائهم بذلك النار.

That, meaning, this, Book, which Muhammad (s) recites, in it there is no doubt, no uncertainty, that it is from God (the negation [lĀ rayba fĪhi] is the predicate of dhĀlika; the use of the demonstrative here is intended to glorify [the Book]). A guidance (hudĀ is a second predicate, meaning that it [the Book] ‘guides’), for the God-fearing, namely, those that tend towards piety by adhering to commands and avoiding things prohibited, thereby guarding themselves from the Fire;

ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ 3

{ الذين يؤمنون } يصدقون { بالغيب } بما غاب عنهم من البعث والجنة والنار { ويقيمون الصلوة } أي يأتون بها بحقوقها { ومما رزقنهم } أعطيناهم { ينفقون } في طاعة الله.

who believe in, that is, who accept the truth of, the Unseen, what is hidden from them of the Resurrection, Paradise and the Fire; and maintain the prayer, that is to say, who perform it giving it its proper due; and of what We have provided them, that is, of what we have bestowed upon them, expend, in obedience to God;

وَٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِكَ وَبِٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ 4

{ والذين يؤمنون بما أنزل إليك } أي القرآن { وما أنزل من قبلك } أي التوراة والإنجيل وغيرهما { وبالأخرة هم يوقنون } يعلمون.

and who believe in what has been revealed to you, namely, the Qur’ān; and what was revealed before you, that is, the Torah, the Gospel and other [scriptures]; and of the Hereafter, they are certain, that is, they know [it is real].

أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ عَلَىٰ هُدًى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ 5

{ أولئك } الموصوفون بما ذكر { على هدى من ربهم وأولئك هم المفلحون } الفائزون بالجنة الناجون من النار.

Those, as described in the way mentioned, are upon guidance from their Lord, those are the ones that will prosper, that is, who will succeed in entering Paradise and be saved from the Fire.

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ 6

{ إن الذين كفروا } كأبي جهل وأبي لهب ونحوهما { سواء عليهم ءأنذرتهم } بتحقيق الهمزتين وإبدال الثانية ألفا وتسهيلها وإدخال ألف بين المسهلة والأخرى وتركه { أم لم تنذرهم لا يؤمنون } لعلم الله منهم ذلك فلا تطمع في إيمانهم والإنذار إعلام مع تخويف.

As for the disbelievers, the likes of Abū Jahl, Abū Lahab and such; alike it is for them whether you have warned them or have not warned them, they do not believe, as God knows very well, so do not hope that they will believe (read a-andhartahum pronouncing both hamzas, or by not pronouncing the second, making it an alif instead, and inserting an alif between the one not pronounced and the other one, or leaving [this insertion]; al-indhār [‘warning’] is to give knowledge of something, and simultaneously instil an element of fear).

خَتَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعَلَىٰ سَمْعِهِمْ ۖ وَعَلَىٰٓ أَبْصَـٰرِهِمْ غِشَـٰوَةٌ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عَظِيمٌ 7

{ ختم الله على قلوبهم } طبع عليها واستوثق فلا يدخلها خير { وعلى سمعهم } أي مواضعه فلا ينتفعون بما يسمعونه من الحق { وعلى أبصرهم غشوة } غطاء فلا يبصرون الحق { ولهم عذاب عظيم } قوي دائم.

God has set a seal on their hearts, impressing on them and making certain that no good enters them; and on their hearing, [in which He has] deposited something so that they cannot profit from the truth they hear; and on their eyes is a covering, that is, a veil so that they do not see the truth; and for them there will be a mighty chastisement, that is, intense and everlasting.

وَمِنَ ٱلنَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ ءَامَنَّا بِٱللَّهِ وَبِٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَمَا هُم بِمُؤْمِنِينَ 8

ونزل في المنافقين { ومن الناس من يقول ءامنا بالله وباليوم الأخر } أي يوم القيامة لأنه آخر الأيام { وما هم بمؤمنين } روعي فيه معنى (من)، وفي ضمير( يقول) لفظها.

The following was revealed concerning the hypocrites: and some people there are who say, ‘We believe in God and the Last Day’, that is, in the Day of Resurrection because it is the very last day; but they are not believers (the [plural] import of man [in man yaqūl, ‘who says’] is taken into account here, as expressed by a pronoun [hum] that expresses this [plural] meaning).

يُخَـٰدِعُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَمَا يَخْدَعُونَ إِلَّآ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَمَا يَشْعُرُونَ 9

{ يخدعون الله والذين ءامنوا } بإظهار خلاف ما أبطنوه من الكفر ليدفعوا عنهم أحكامه الدنيوية { وما يخدعون إلا أنفسهم } لأن وبال خداعهم راجع إليهم فيفتضحون في الدنيا بإطلاع الله نبيه على ما أبطنوه ويعاقبون في الآخرة { وما يشعرون } يعلمون أن خداعهم لأنفسهم، والمخادعة هنا من واحد( كعاقبت اللص)، وذكر الله فيها تحسين، وفي قراءة وما يخدعون.

They would deceive God and the believers, by manifesting the opposite of the unbelief they hide, so that they can avoid His rulings in this world; and only themselves they deceive (yukhādi‘ūn), for the evil consequences of their deception will rebound upon them, as they are disgraced in this world when God makes known to His Prophet what they are hiding, and they will be punished in the Hereafter; and they are not aware, and they do not know that they are actually deceiving themselves (mukhāda‘a [although a third verbal form, from khāda‘a] actually denotes a one-way action, such as [when one says] ‘āqabtu al-lissa, ‘I punished the thief’ [using the third verbal form ‘āqaba]; the mention of ‘God’ in [this statement] is for [rhetorical] effect; a variant reading [for wa-mā yukhādi‘ūna] has wa-mā yakhda‘ūna).

فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ فَزَادَهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مَرَضًا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌۢ بِمَا كَانُوا۟ يَكْذِبُونَ 10

{ فى قلوبهم مرض } شك ونفاق فهو يمرض قلوبهم أي يضعفها { فزادهم الله مرضا } بما أنزله من القرآن لكفرهم به { ولهم عذاب أليم } مؤلم { بما كانوا يكذبون } بالتشديد أي نبي الله وبالتخفيف أي في قولهم آمنا.

In their hearts is a sickness: doubt and hypocrisy, which ails their hearts, debilitating them; and God has increased their sickness with what He has revealed in the Qur’ān, since they disbelieve it; and there awaits them a painful chastisement because they used to lie (read yukadhdhibūn to imply [that they used to call] the Prophet of God [a liar], or yakdhibūn to imply their [mendacity when] saying ‘we believe’).

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ لَا تُفْسِدُوا۟ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ قَالُوٓا۟ إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ مُصْلِحُونَ 11

{ وإذا قيل لهم } أي لهؤلاء { لا تفسدوا فى الأرض } بالكفر والتعويق عن الإيمان { قالوا إنما نحن مصلحون } وليس ما نحن فيه بفساد. قال الله تعالى ردا عليهم:

When it is said to them, that is, these latter, ‘Do not spread corruption in the land’, through unbelief and hindering [people from] faith, They say, ‘We are only putting things right’, that is, ‘we are not engaging in corruption’. God, exalted be He, refutes them, saying:

أَلَآ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْسِدُونَ وَلَـٰكِن لَّا يَشْعُرُونَ 12

{ ءلآ } للتنبيه { إنهم هم المفسدون ولكن لا يشعرون } بذلك

Truly (a-lā, ‘truly’, is for alerting), intended emphatically, they are the agents of corruption, but they perceive, this, not.