The People of the Scripture know that this Revelation is the Truth from their Lord

The People of the Scripture know that this Revelation is the Truth from their Lord

Surah ‘Al-Baqarah (The Cow) – Chapter – 2)

Stage – 1, Verses –144b & 145 of 286, Section –17 of 40 (Part - 2)

BisMIllaahir-Rahmaanir-Rahiim

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

And ye (O Muslims), wheresoever ye may be, turn your faces (when ye pray) toward it. Lo! Those who have received the Scripture know that (this Revelation) is the Truth from their Lord. And Allah is not Unaware of what they do.

Wa hay-su maa kuntum fawalluu wujuuhakum shatrah. Wa ‘innal-laziina ‘uu-tul-Kitaaba laya’-lamuuna ‘an-nahul-haqqu mir-Rabbihim. Wa mallaahu bi-gaafilin ‘am-maa ya’-maluun.

Lesson

It has been described earlier that the Children of Israel and the Christians used to consider themselves on the religion of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon Him) and say that they were from their children so they did not need to embrace any new religion. Holy Qur’an proved their saying wrong after providing correct knowledge about Prophet Abraham (peace be upon Him).

Moreover He was steady on pure Unity and was sacred from the polytheism. If the Jews and the Christians say themselves followers of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon Him) then they should choose the Straight Path as explained by Islam leaving all other paths. They should hold the Law of good acts and Oneness with strength because it was the religion of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon Him).

After it, Holy Qur’an commands that due to the supplication of Prophet Abraham (peace be upon Him), the Last Messenger of God Almighty (glory, grace, blessings and peace be upon Him) was sent in this world and this nation (Muslim) stood firm due to His (glory, grace, blessings and peace be upon Him) teachings. So the spiritual and group centre of this nation will be the same as of the Prophet Abraham (peace be upon Him), that is to say; Ka’-bah (the Square Building at Mecca). Baytul Muqaddas was only temporary Qiblah. Ka’-bah is appointed as the Qiblah of the Muslims. Wherever will be the Muslims, whether in the journey or at home, whether in the city or in jungle, whether in forest or in the desert, whether in the vicinity of Inviolable Place of Worship (Masjidi-Haraam) or in the surroundings of Baytul Muqaddas, it means that in each condition they will turn unto Ka’-bah for prayer.

Along-with it, God Almighty commanded also: O Muslims! Don’t care from the People of the Scripture. “Lo! Those who have received the Scripture know that (this Revelation) is the Truth from their Lord. And Allah is not unaware of what they do”. And now if they produce doubts intentionally, then God Almighty will punish them severely because He knows their acts.    

And even if thou broughtest unto those who have received the Scripture all kinds of portents, they would not follow thy qiblah, nor canst thou be a follower of their qiblah; nor are some of them followers of the qiblah of others. And if thou shouldst follow their desires after the knowledge which hath come unto thee, then surely thou will be among the evildoers.

Wa la-‘in ‘ataytal-laziina ‘uutul-Kitaaba bi-kulli ‘Aayatim-maa tabi-‘uu Qiblatak. Wa maaa ‘anta bi-taabi-‘in- Qiblata-hum. Wa maa ba’-zuhum- bi-taabi-‘’in-Qiblata ba’-z. Wa la-‘inittaba’-ta ‘ahwaaa-‘ahum-mim-ba’-di maa jaaa-‘aka min-al-‘ilmi, ‘innaka ‘izalla-minaz-zaalimiin.

Lesson

In this verse, stubbornness and bigotry of the Children of Israel has been mentioned. Allah Almighty commands: O Prophet! If you (glory, grace, blessings and peace be upon Him) will show them the entire Tokens of Your Prophet-hood, produce before them all proofs about the Truth of Ka’-bah as Qiblah, even then, they will not be ready to admit it as Qiblah. Moreover, on the base of opposite, jealousy, enmity, stubbornness and bigotry, they will stand firm on their ancient Qiblah. And because We have bestowed You the Excellent and the Prophet Abraham’s (peace be upon Him) Qiblah, so You (glory, grace, blessings and peace be upon Him) don’t have any need to agree to their ignoble Qiblah. Due to the cause of ending the leadership of the Children of Israel, You have been given a permanent and worldwide Qiblah. So the People of the Scripture have become hopeless from this matter that you will admit their Qiblah sometime or other.

It has been described also that the People of the Scripture don’t find themselves followers of one Qiblah. So how can they expect that He (glory, grace, blessings and peace be upon Him) will agree upon their Qiblah. At the end, the Messenger of Islam (glory, grace, blessings and peace be upon Him) has been duly warned that after knowing about the final decision of God Almighty that the actual Qiblah is only Ka’-bah, if He (glory, grace, blessings and peace be upon Him) will admit and determine their Qiblah then He will be included into the unjust people too. Although, no Messenger of God Almighty (peace be upon Him) ever stains with any sin but it is intended to tell the Muslim nation from this warning that it is very heavy sin to follow any false religion. Even in this matter, nobody can be favored whether he has most superior rank near God Almighty.

Transliterated Holy Qur’an in Roman Script & Translated from Arabic to English by Marmaduke Pickthall, Published by Paak Company, 17-Urdu Bazaar, Lahore, Lesson collected from Dars e Qur’aan published By Idara Islaah wa Tableegh, Lahore (translated Urdu to English by Muhammad Sharif)