Verse and Translation
الٓمٓ (١) ذَٲلِكَ ٱلۡڪِتَـٰبُ لَا رَيۡبَۛ فِيهِۛ هُدً۬ى لِّلۡمُتَّقِينَ (٢) ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِٱلۡغَيۡبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقۡنَـٰهُمۡ يُنفِقُونَ (٣) وَٱلَّذِينَ يُؤۡمِنُونَ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيۡكَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ مِن قَبۡلِكَ وَبِٱلۡأَخِرَةِ هُمۡ يُوقِنُونَ (٤) أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ عَلَىٰ هُدً۬ى مِّن رَّبِّهِمۡۖ وَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُفۡلِحُونَ (٥)
“Alif. Lam. Mim. This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt, a guidance unto those who ward off (evil). Who believe in the Unseen, and establish worship, and spend of that We have bestowed upon them; And who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee, and are certain of the Hereafter. These depend on guidance from their Lord. These are the successful.“
Commentary
“Alif. Lam. Mim”: Letters of the Arabic alphabet like Alif, Lam, Mim, called the mugatta’at, which are pre-fixed to a number of the Surahs of the Qur’an, were in common use in the Arabic literature of the period when the Qur’an was. revealed. The poets and rhetoricians made use of this style, and instances of this can even be found in the pre-Islamic prose and poetry which has survived. As their significance was appreciated by all concerned, none objected to or questioned their use, because it was no enigma to them. Even the bitterest opponents of the Qur’an, who never missed an opportunity, did not raise any objection against their use. But as their use was abandoned with the passage of time” it became difficult for the commentators to determine their exact meaning and significance. An ordinary reader, however, need not worry about their meanings because they make no difference as tar as the Guidance of the Qur’an is concerned.
“This is the Scripture whereof there is no doubt”: Its simple meaning is, “No doubt, this is the Book of Allah”, but it may also imply that this is the Book which contains nothing doubtful. It is not like the common books on metaphysics and religion which are based on mere speculation and guess-work. Therefore even their authors cannot be free from doubts concerning their own theories, in spite of their assertion that they are convinced of them. In contrast to them, this Book is based on the Truth: its Author is He Who possesses full knowledge of the Reality. Therefore, there is indeed no room for doubt about its contents.
“a guidance unto those who ward off (evil)”: That is, though there is nothing but guidance in this Book, there are a few pre-requisites for benefiting from it. The first pre-requisite is that one should be inclined to avoid vice, and should seek and practise virtue. But there is no guidance in the Qur’an for the people who do not bother to consider whether what they are doing is right or wrong, who follow the ways of the world or their own whims and lusts or move aimlessly in the ways of life.
“Who believe in the Unseen”: The second condition for obtaining guidance from the Qur’an is that one must believe in the “unseen” — those realities which cannot be perceived by the senses and which do not come within human experience and observation, e.g. the essence and attributes of Allah, Angels, Revelation, Heaven, Hell, etc. These things must be taken on trust from the experts (Prophets) just as we do in many cases in the physical world. Therefore, only such a person, who believes in the “unseen”, can benefit from the Guidance of the Qur’an. As for the one who believes only in those things which can be seen, tasted and smelt, or can be measured and weighed, cannot get any guidance from this Book.
“and establish worship”: The third condition to benefit from the Qur’an is that one should be willing and ready to put into practice the teachings of the Qur’an. As the Salat ( Prayer) is the first and foremost obligatory duty enjoined by the Qur’an, it is the practical proof and permanent test of the sincerity of one’s Faith. Therefore, after a person’s profession of Islam, the moment he hears the call to the Prayer (which sounds regularly five times a day from every mosque in the Muslim world), he should join the congregation for the Salat, because this determines whether he is sincere in his profession or not. If he does not attend to the call and join the congregation, it is an indication that he is not sincere in his profession. It must also be noted that “iqama-tus-Salat¦(the establishment of Prayer is the comprehensive term. It means that Salat should be performed in congregation and that permanent arrangements should be made for it in every habitation; otherwise Salat will not be considered to have been established, even if every inhabitant of a place offers the Salat individually.
“and spend of that We have bestowed upon them”: The fourth condition to benefit from the Qur’an is that one should be willing to part with one’s money according to the instructions of the Book in order to render the rights of Allah and Man and should make monetary sacrifices for the cause of Islam which he has accepted.
“who believe in that which is revealed unto thee (Muhammad) and that which was revealed before thee”: The fifth condition is that one should believe in the truth of all those Books which Allah sent down by Revelation to the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be His peace and blessings) and the Prophets before him at different times in different countries. Those who do not believe in any kind of guidance from Allah, cannot at all benefit from the guidance of the Qur’an. Likewise those who profess to believe in the necessity of guidance from Allah but do not turn to Revelation and the Prophets for it, or who dub their’ own theories as “divine light”, cannot obtain any guidance from it. Moreover, guidance is also denied to those who believe only in that revealed Book or Books in which their forefathers believed and reject all other guidance received from the same Source. Apart from all such people, the Qur’an guides only those who believe that they stand in need of Divine Guidance as well as admit that it does not come to every man individually but reaches humanity only through the Prophets and revealed Books.Then those who want guidance should not be slaves to any racial or national prejudices but should be seekers after truth and should submit to it wherever and in whatever form they find it.
“and are certain of the Hereafter”: This is the sixth and last condition. “Hereafter” is a comprehensive word which applies to the collection of many beliefs, which are as follows: (a) Man has not been created irresponsible in the world but he is answerable to Allah for all his deeds here. (b) The present world order is not everlasting, but has to come to an end at a time only known to Allah. (c) After the present order has been brought to an end, Allah will create a new world, when He will bring back to life all human beings, born from the beginning of creation till Resurrection, simultaneously and will call them to account for their deeds, and then will reward them justly accordingly to what they had done in the world. (d) Those, who will be judged as good by Allah, will go to Paradise, and those who will be judged as bad will be cast into Hell. (e) The criterion of success or failure is not the prosperity or adversity of this worldly life, but successful in actual fact will be he who comes out successful in Allah’s final judgement, and failure he who is a failure there. Those who do not believe in the life-after-death with the above implications, cannot benefit from the Qur’an because the one who entertains’ even the slightest doubt about these; not to speak of rejecting them, can never follow the way of life which the Qur’an prescribes.
The Qur’an is itself a form of guidance, but the guidance in it is only granted to the righteous, just as Allah said,
(O mankind! There has come to you a good advice from your Lord (i. e. the Qur’an, enjoining all that is good and forbidding all that is evil), and a healing for that (disease of ignorance, doubt, hypocrisy and differences) which is in your breasts, a guidance and a mercy (explaining lawful and unlawful things) for the believers) [Quran; 10:57].
Ibn Abbas said about, “guidance for the Muttaqin” that it means, “They are the believers who avoid Shirk with Allah and who work in His obedience.” Ibn `Abbas also said that Al-Muttaqin means, “Those who fear Allah’s punishment, which would result if they abandoned the true guidance that they recognize and know. They also hope in Allah’s mercy by believing in what He revealed.”
At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah narrated that Atiyah As-Sa’di said that the Messenger of Allah said, “The servant will not acquire the status of the Muttaqin until he abandons what is harmless out of fear of falling into that which is harmful.”
Huda (guidance) here means the faith that resides in the heart, and only Allah is able to create it in the heart of the servants.
Huda also means to explain the truth, give direction and lead to it. Allah, the Exalted, said,(And verily, you (O Muhammad) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the straight path (i.e. Allah’s religion of Islamic Monotheism)) [Quran; 42:52]
The root meaning of Taqwa is to avoid what one dislikes. It was reported that Umar bin Al-Khattab asked Ubayy bin Kab about Taqwa. Ubayy said, “Have you ever walked on a path that has thorns on it?”. Umar said, “Yes.” Ubayy said, “What did you do then” He said, “I rolled up my sleeves and struggled.” Ubayy said, “That is Taqwa.”
Ibn Jarir (At-Tabari) commented, “The preferred view is that they be described as having faith in the Unseen by the tongue, deed and creed. In this case, fear of Allah is included in the general meaning of Iman, which necessitates following deeds of the tongue by implementation. Hence, Iman is a general term that includes affirming and believing in Allah, His Books and His Messengers, and realizing this affirmation through adhering to the implications of what the tongue utters and affirms.”
Linguistically, in the absolute sense, Iman merely means trust, and it is used to mean that sometimes in the Qur’an.
However, when Iman is used in an unrestricted manner, it includes beliefs, deeds, and statements of the tongue. We should state here that Iman increases and decreases.
Ibn `Abbas said that, “And perform the Salah” means “Perform the prayer with all of the obligations that accompany it.” Ad-Dahhak said that Ibn Abbas said, “Iqamat As-Salah means to complete the bowings, prostrations, recitation, humbleness and attendance for the prayer.” Qatadah said, “Iqamat As-Salah means to preserve punctuality, and the ablution, bowings, and prostrations of the prayer.” Muqatil bin Hayyan said Iqamat As-Salah means “To preserve punctuality for it, as well as completing ones purity for it, and completing the bowings, prostrations, recitation of the Qur’an, Tashahhud and blessings for the Prophet. This is Iqamat As-Salah.”
Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn Abbas said, “And spend out of what We have provided for them” means, “The Zakah due on their wealth.” As-Suddi said that Abu Malik and Abu Salih narrated from Ibn Abbas, as well as Murrah from Ibn Mas`ud and other Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him), that “And spend out of what We have provided for them” means, “A man’s spending on his family. This was before the obligation of Zakah was revealed.” Juwaybir narrated from Ad-Dahhak, “General spending (in charity) was a means of drawing nearer to Allah, according to one’s discretion and capability. Until the obligation of charity was revealed in the seven verse of Surat Bara’ah (chapter 9), were revealed. These abrogated the previous case.”
In many instances, Allah mentioned prayer and spending wealth together. Prayer is a right of Allah as well as a form of worshipping Him. It includes singling Him out for one’s devotion, praising Him, glorifying Him, supplicating to Him, invoking Him, and it displays one’s dependence upon Him. Spending is form of kindness towards creatures by giving them what will benefit them, and those people most deserving of this charity are the relatives, the wife, the servants and then the rest of the people. So all types of required charity and required spending are included in Allah’s saying, “And spend out of what we have provided for them”.
The Two Sahihs recorded that Ibn `Umar said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, “Islam is built upon five (pillars): Testifying that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah, establishing the prayer, giving Zakah, fasting Ramadan and Hajj to the House.”
In the Arabic language, the basic meaning of Salah is supplication. In religious terminology, Salah is used to refer to the acts of bowing and prostration, the remaining specified acts associated with it, specificed at certain times, with those known conditions, and the characteristics, and requirements that are well-known about it.
Ibn Abbas said that, “And who have faith in what is revealed to you and in what was revealed before you.” means, “They believe in what Allah sent you with, and in what the previous Messengers were sent with, they do not distinguish between (believing) them, nor do they reject what they brought from their Lord.”
“And in the Hereafter they are certain” that is the resurrection, the standing (on the Day of Resurrection), Paradise, the Fire, the reckoning and the Scale that weighs the deeds (the Mizan). The Hereafter is so named because it comes after this earthly life.
The people described here (2:4) are those whom Allah described in the preceding verse, “Those who have faith in the Ghayb and perform Salah, and spend out of what we have provided for them.”
Mujahid once stated, “Four Ayat at the beginning of Surat Al-Baqarah describe the believers, two describe the disbelievers, and thirteen describe the hypocrites.” The four Ayat mentioned in this statement are general and include every believer, whether an Arab, non-Arab, or a person of a previous Scripture, whether they are Jinns or humans. All of these attributes complement each other and require the existence of the other attributes. For instance, it is not possible that one believes in the Unseen, performs the prayer and gives Zakah without believing in what the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the previous Messengers were sent with. The same with certainty in the Hereafter.
Also, Allah the Exalted described the believers, “The Messenger (Muhammad) believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) ‘We make no distinction between any of His Messengers'” [Quran; 2:285] and, “And those who believe in Allah and His Messengers and make no distinction between any of them (Messengers)” [Quran; 4:152]
This is a sample of the Ayat that indicate that the true believers all believe in Allah, His Messengers and His Books.
The faithful among the People of the Book, have a special significance here, since they believe in their Books and in all of the details related to that, so when such people embrace Islam and sincerely believe in the details of the religion, then they will get two rewards. As for the others, they can only believe in the previous religious teachings in a general way.
For instance, the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) stated, “When the People of the Book narrate to you, neither reject nor affirm what they say. Rather, say, ‘We believe in what was revealed to us and what was revealed to you.'”
However, the faith that many Arabs have in the religion of Islam as it was revealed to Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) might be more complete, encompassing and firmer than the faith of the People of the Book who embraced Islam. Therefore, if the believers in Islam among the People of the Book gain two rewards, other Muslims who have firmer Islamic faith might gain an equal reward that compares to the two the People of the Book gain (upon embracing Islam). And Allah knows best.
“And they are the successful” meaning, in this world and the Hereafter. They shall have what they seek and be saved from the evil that they tried to avoid. Therefore, they will have rewards, eternal life in Paradise, and safety from the torment that Allah has prepared for His enemies.