«And when Mūsā sought water» Recall, O Muhammad, when he sought water. Al-istisqāʾ is the request for water to drink, «for his people»,

and they had grown thirsty in the wilderness. «So We said» to Mūsā: «Strike the rock with your staff», and it is the one that fled with his garment, [1] light, square, [2] like a man’s head, [3] of marble or kadhān [4] [a soft, friable stone]. So he struck it, «and there gushed forth» it split open and flowed, «from it twelve springs», according to the number of the tribes, «each group of people knew» a tribe among them, «their drinking place»,

the spot where they drank, so that no one else shared it with them. And We said to them: «Eat from Allah’s provision», from what Allah has provided,

«and drink from Allah’s provision, and do not act wickedly in the land, spreading corruption». (Q. 2:60) ʿAthā [is used] when one causes corruption. Mufsidīn is a ḥāl [a circumstantial accusative]

that reinforces its governing verb. [Allah,] Blessed and Exalted, reported that when Mūsā, upon him be blessing and peace, was in the wilderness with the Children of Israel, they grew thirsty and asked him to seek water. This is the difference between the Children of Israel and the community of Muhammad ﷺ: the communities before us were not entitled to ask anything of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. When they wanted to make a request — any request — they would come to the prophet of that age, and he was the one who asked Allah, Blessed and Exalted, directly. Mūsā’s seeking water for his people indicates this. «And when you said: O Mūsā, we will not endure a single food, so call upon your Lord for us, that He bring forth for us some of what the earth grows — of its herbs, its cucumbers and its garlic». (Q. 2:61) None of this were they entitled to request directly from Allah, Blessed and Exalted. This community, however, Allah granted unrestricted permission in supplication. He said: «And ask Allah of His bounty». (Q. 4:32) And He said: «Call upon Me and I will answer you». (Q. 40:60) Whichever of us is faced with a pressing matter or a need asks Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and He answers him. They asked Mūsā, upon him be blessing and peace, for water. Mūsā was a man who kept himself covered, possessed of integrity and modesty among his people, while his people would strip bare when washing after seminal emission, each one seeing the nakedness of the other. Mūsā, from the time he grew up, refused this: when he wanted to wash he would go far off, screen himself, and wash alone. So they said: nothing has driven Mūsā to this except that he has an udra [5] [a scrotal swelling]. Then one day, when he went off, withdrew, washed, and came out of the water, he wanted to take his garment, and the rock fled with the garment. He began to say: My garment, rock! My garment, rock! [6] Its meaning is: O rock, hand me my garment — until he came before the people and they saw that he had nothing wrong with him. So he took

his garment and put it on. He grew angry, took his staff, and struck the rock, and Allah revealed to him that he was to carry this rock and not part from it. When they were in the wilderness and asked him for water, Allah revealed to him that he should strike this rock with his staff, and he struck it. It was square, with four corners; from each corner three springs came out, so they became twelve springs. And the Children of Israel were twelve tribes, as Allah, Blessed and Exalted, said. Each tribe had its drinking place to itself. This is the meaning of «each group of people knew their drinking place». (Q. 2:60) As for the Messenger ﷺ, they asked him for water, so he ascended the pulpit and raised his hands, turning the backs of them toward the sky, and said: ⟨O Allah, water Your lands, have mercy on Your servants, spread Your mercy, and revive Your dead land.⟩ [7] The transmitter said: ⟨And the sky was like a pane of glass, with not a single wisp of cloud in it. A cloud came⟩

[The cloud] ringed Medina round, and the rain came down from that Friday to the Friday that followed it. [8] Mūsā’s people asked Mūsā to pray to Allah for water for them, and Mūsā prayed at the bidding of his people, and Allah answered his prayer. All the more fitting, then, that Muhammad ﷺ prayed for us at the bidding of Allah, Blessed and Exalted: «And ask forgiveness for your sin and for the believing men and the believing women» (Q. 47:19). This is a command from Allah that the Prophet ﷺ ask forgiveness for us; he asked forgiveness for us at Allah’s command. And since Mūsā was answered when he prayed at the bidding of his people, that Muhammad be answered — he who prayed at the command of Allah, Blessed and Exalted — is stronger and more to be hoped for. So we have great hope in Allah’s having commanded His Prophet to pray to Allah for us and to ask forgiveness for us. «Eat and drink of Allah’s provision» (Q. 2:60). He commanded them to eat an unrestricted eating and to drink an unrestricted drinking, and this carries them into expansiveness and excess that leads to corruption; so He appended to it His words: «and do not go about the earth spreading corruption» (Q. 2:60). «Eat and drink, and do not go about the earth spreading corruption». Again: «Eat and drink, and do not be extravagant; He does not love the extravagant» (Q. 7:31). Just as the Mūsā of the Banū Isrāʾīl sought water for his people, who were the Banū Isrāʾīl, and twelve springs burst forth from the rock, so too the Mūsā of the spirit in every human being seeks water for his people, who are the five outward senses, the five inward senses, the nafs and the heart — twelve senses. So when the rock of the servant’s existence is struck with the staff of lā ilāha illā Llāh, twelve springs burst forth: «each group of people knew its drinking place»: the drinking place of the nafs is acts of worship and acts of striving; the drinking place of the heart is fear and hope; the drinking place of the intellect is contraction and expansion; the drinking place of the spirit is the witnessing of beauty and of majesty; the drinking place of the innermost secret is intimacy and awe. «And their Lord gave them a pure drink to drink» (Q. 76:21). «Eat and drink of Allah’s provision, and do not go about the earth spreading corruption» (Q. 2:60) — by going back to the appetites of the nafs and by contravening the command.

Mūsā struck a rock and twelve springs gushed forth from it. But more remarkable than this is what the Prophet ﷺ showed us, because water gushing forth from stones has perhaps been observed in some places, whereas the Prophet ﷺ — water welled up from between his noble fingers [9], and this has never been observed. This sunna of praying for rain has remained today, whether for crops, or for livestock, or for people’s drinking: the imam goes out, and the Muslims with him, in a state of humility and self-abasement, and they perform the prayer for rain, and Allah answers them.

Mūsā sought water for his people. He remained a long while praying and supplicating, and he was not answered. He said: ‘My Lord, we call upon You — and we are more than three thousand persons of the righteous — because of the need of Your creation, and You have not answered us.’ He said: ‘I have not answered you because among you there is a talebearer, one who goes about with slander among people.’ He said to Him: ‘My Lord, make known to me who he is.’ He said: ‘If I made him known to you, I should be like him: I reproach him for a thing and then practise it myself. This does not befit [Me].’

A day later Allah revealed to Mūsā that that talebearer had died and that his bier was at the door of the mosque. Mūsā hurried to reach the bier and to learn who he was, and he found seventy biers. [10] [Such is] the covering of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. «And when you said: Mūsā, we shall not endure a single food» (Q. 2:61) So the Children of Israel in the wilderness, when they grew weary of life, said that they had grown weary of this food that came down from heaven, it being a single kind, the manna and the quails. They lied: they had not grown weary of the food; they had grown weary only of life. «So call upon your Lord for us, that He bring forth for us» something «of what the earth grows — of its herbs, its cucumbers, its garlic, its lentils and its onions» (Q. 2:61) These kinds come forth only

from the earth. They knew that this was possible only if they returned to the villages and the towns, and this was in truth what they were after. «He said» — Mūsā [said] to them — «Would you exchange that which is lower for that which is better?» («Would you exchange that which is lower» — baser — «for that which is better» — nobler; that is, would you take it in its place?) They said: We want nothing but this alone. So he prayed to Allah, Blessed and Exalted, and the Exalted said: «Go down» — that is, descend — «to a town» — one of the towns — «and you shall have what you asked for» — of plant food. So they settled in Bayt al-Maqdis, or in Arīḥā, a village near Bayt al-Maqdis, and they planted, and Allah provided them with these plants, and so it became their livelihood down to this day of ours. «And humiliation was stamped upon them» — lowliness and disgrace — «and wretchedness» — the mark of poverty and inertness and shame. It clings to them even if they are rich, as the struck dirham clings to its die; you never see a Jew without seeing in him the traces of poverty and humiliation and wretchedness, even if he is rich. «And they incurred» — they came back bearing — «a wrath from Allah. That» — that stamping — «is because they» — by reason of their having — «used to disbelieve in Allah’s signs and to kill the prophets» — such as Zakariyyāʾ and Yaḥyā — «without right» — that is, wrongfully. They killed the prophets wrongfully; the killing of prophets can only be without right. In a single day they killed seventy prophets, and three hundred of the righteous rose up to restrain them from this, and they killed them too. [11] «That is because they disobeyed and used to transgress» — they exceeded the limit in acts of disobedience (Q. 2:61). This is part of what Allah has reported about their forebears. They used to vouch for their forebears as having been upright, and this Qurʾan sets out the foul deeds of their fathers. «Those who believe» — in the prophets — «and those who have become Jews» — they are the Jews — «and the Naṣārā» — they are the Christians — «and the Ṣābiʾūn» (Q. 2:62) — a sect between the Jews

and the Christians [12] «whoever believes» from among them «in Allah and the Last Day» in the time of our Prophet «and does righteous deeds» (Q. 2:62)

by the shariʿa of Muhammad ﷺ: «they shall have their reward» — the recompense of their deeds — «with their Lord; no fear shall be upon them, nor shall they grieve» (Q. 2:62). Whoever believes in the Prophet ﷺ and holds fast to his shariʿa is one of the Muslims, and one of Allah’s awliyāʾ, upon whom there is no fear, nor do they grieve. There is no difference between one stock and another: whether his origin be Christian or Jewish or Ṣābiʾ or Magian, if he affirms the shahāda and acts by the shariʿa of Muhammad, he is one of Allah’s righteous servants. «And» — recall — «when We took your covenant and raised the Mount above you» — We tore it up from its base when you refused to accept it [the Torah] — and We said: «Take what We have given you with strength» — with earnestness and effort — «and remember what is in it» — that is, act by what is in it — «so that you may be godfearing» (Q. 2:63). When Mūsā brought the Torah, and in it were the obligations: the command and the prohibition, the licit and the forbidden, the Banū Isrāʾīl refused to act by the Torah. So Jibrīl took a mountain the size of their camp — they were six hundred thousand — he tore up a mountain to their measure and raised it above them, and said that if they did not act by the Torah as Allah had commanded, the mountain would fall upon them and they would perish to the last of them. [13] «Then you turned away after that» — they accepted under duress; and whatever a person accepts under duress, whenever he is able to withhold from it he goes back to withholding. They accepted under duress, and for that reason they apostatised afterwards. «Had it not been for Allah’s bounty towards you and His mercy» — towards you, in [granting] repentance — «you would have been among the losers» — the ruined (Q. 2:64). «You have certainly known» — you have come to know — «those among you who transgressed concerning the Sabbath» — all this is of the foul deeds of their fathers, of whom they said that they were righteous. Among their fathers too were the people of Ayla, the people of Dāwūd, upon him be peace, who transgressed concerning the Sabbath: they exceeded the limit by catching fish, though We had forbidden them that. «So We said to them: Be apes, driven away» (Q. 2:65) — so Allah destroyed them and made them all apes and swine, cast far off.

So they were destroyed after three days. «So We made it» — that punishment — «an exemplary punishment» — an admonition preventing the commission of the like of what they did — «and for what is before it» — the nations that were in its own time — «and what is after it» — the nations that come after it — «and an exhortation for the God-fearing» (Q. 2:66). They were singled out for mention because they are the ones who benefit from it. These were the people of Dāwūd. Allah, Blessed and Exalted, appointed for every community a day in the week to be a feast day; He gave them Friday. The Jews said that they chose Saturday because it is the last of the week, and it is the day on which, they said, Allah finished creating His servants. The Christians chose Sunday because it is the first of the days of the week. So for this reason the Messenger ﷺ said:

⟨You are the last, the foremost. They were given Friday, but they missed what Allah gave them, so today is ours, tomorrow is the Jews’, and the day after tomorrow is the Christians’.⟩ [14] Friday is the best of the days of the week. ⟨The best day on which the sun has risen is Friday. On it Ādam was created, on it he was sent down, on it he married Ḥawwāʾ, on it he died, on it the Hour will come, and in it there is an hour of answering with which no Muslim servant coincides, praying and supplicating, but that he is answered.⟩ [15] That hour is the last hour of Friday. They said: how can it be the last hour of Friday when the hadith says ⟨he prays in it and supplicates⟩? The answer is the statement of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that ⟨whoever performs ablution and sits awaiting the prayer⟩

⟨is in prayer.⟩ [16] So whoever purifies himself at the end of Friday and sits remembering Allah, Blessed and Exalted, awaiting the sunset prayer — he is the one who has coincided with the evening of that day, as the Prophet ﷺ said. And this is a thing particular to the Tijānīs. al-Ḥamdu li-Llāh [the praise is for Allah]. So when the Children of Israel were severe with themselves, Allah was severe with them. He said to them: do not catch fish on Saturday — and their livelihood was fish. So when Saturday came the fish would all gather above the water and enter the village. It is said [that this was] because it was a trial from Allah, Blessed and Exalted; or because they were visiting the whale that swallowed Yūnus, upon him be blessing and peace, [which] used to dwell in that village. [17] «When their fish came to them on their Sabbath day, surfacing, and on the day they kept no Sabbath they did not come to them» (Q. 7:163). Then, when the matter grew long for them, Satan whispered to one of them: Allah has not forbidden you from seeking the fish on Saturday; He has forbidden you only from taking it. So one of them dug a pit in his garden, and when Saturday came the water flowed and the fish travelled with it and they entered the pit; and when the water receded the fish remained. He waited until Sunday, then he caught the fish and cooked and ate and sold, and nothing befell him. On the second Saturday he did that, until he had amassed much wealth by this. The people followed one after another and did the like of what he did, and nothing befell them. So they grew bold about fishing, and they went into the sea and fished on Saturday. Then, when they set about fishing, they split into three groups: a group that abstained from fishing but did not forbid [it], and a group

forbade them from fishing, and a group fished. Allah destroyed the group who fished, as will come in al-Aʿrāf, and He delivered the group that forbade them from fishing. The Qurʾan is silent about the third group: it is said that they perished with those who perished, and it is said that they were delivered with those who were delivered. We understand from the Qurʾan that they perished with those who perished, because they «did not restrain one another from the wrong they did; wretched was what they used to do» (Q. 5:79) Wretched was what they did. Allah said to them: «Be apes, despised» (Q. 2:65) [18] This is a command from Allah, Blessed and Exalted — the command of belittlement (taḥqīr). The imperative verb in the Qurʾan comes with fifteen senses. This is [a matter of] uṣūl. Not every command is for obligation. The ground of the command is obligation, but the command in the Qurʾan has come with fifteen senses: a command for obligation (wujūb), and that is the ground — «Establish the prayer» (Q. 2:43) — establishing the prayer is obligatory. And a command for recommendation (nadb) — «then contract with them, if you know of good in them» (Q. 24:33) — this is recommended (mandūb). And the command of permission (ibāḥa) — «then hunt» (Q. 5:2) — it does not make hunting obligatory; it is only permitted to us. And the command of direction (irshād), as when you say to your young child, ‘Eat from what is next to you’ — this is discipline for him. And the command of calling witnesses (ishhād) — «and call witnesses when you transact a sale» (Q. 2:282) — it is not obligatory; it is only the calling of witnesses. And the command of belittlement (taḥqīr) — «Be apes, despised» (Q. 2:65) — this placed them in the genus of apes. And the command of humiliation (ihāna) — «Be stones or iron» (Q. 17:50) — its meaning is: I do not care about you; a humiliation of them. And the command of equivalence (taswiya) — «Endure or do not endure, it is the same for you» (Q. 52:16) — their enduring and their not enduring are the same. And the command of warning (indhār) — «Eat and enjoy yourselves» (Q. 77:46) And the command of menace (tahdīd) — «Do what you will» (Q. 41:40) — its meaning is: you will perish. And the command of wishing (tamannī). The poet said: ⟨O long night, clear away⟩ [19] — mere wishing. And the command of supplication (duʿāʾ) — «My Lord, forgive me» (Q. 38:35) — this is a request made of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. And the command of honouring (ikrām) — «Enter it in peace, secure» (Q. 15:46) — this is a command that comprises an honouring. This makes you understand that not every

thing Allah commanded has He made obligatory. So it is obligatory, recommended, direction, menace, and permission. [20] «And when you killed a soul and quarrelled over it — and Allah was to bring out what you were concealing» (Q. 2:72) The exegetes bring this āya forward to keep the foul deeds of the Children of Israel consecutive. They killed one of their own whose name was ʿĀmīl. [21] He was a rich man who had been granted long life, and his cousins were impatient for him to die so that they might inherit from him. His death was delayed, so they grew impatient and killed him. They took him by night, carried him off, slaughtered him, and threw him down beside a [neighbouring] clan. In the morning they went seeking his trace until they came to the clan, and they accused them of being the ones who had killed him, and [the clan] denied it. So they came to Mūsā, upon him be blessing and peace, and asked him to make manifest to them who had killed their slain man. They said: ‘We ask of you that you pray to Allah to make his killer manifest to us.’ Mūsā said to them: «Allah commands you to slaughter a cow» (Q. 2:67) — […] kill a cow. Allah said: «And when Mūsā said to his people: Allah commands you to slaughter a cow — they said: Do you take us in mockery?» (Q. 2:67) We ask of you that you make manifest to us the killer of our slain man, and you command us to slaughter cattle. «He said: I take refuge»

I take protection «in Allah» from «that I should be of the ignorant» (Q. 2:67) — the mockers. None mocks but an ignorant man, and I seek refuge in Allah from ignorance. When they knew that this was a firm resolve on Mūsā’s part — had they taken any cow and slaughtered it, they would have attained their object; but they made it hard, so Allah made it hard for them. «They said: Call upon your Lord for us, that He make clear to us what she is» — what her age is. «He said» — Mūsā — «He» — Allah — «says: She is a cow neither old» — aged [22] — «nor young» (Q. 2:68)

small [in age]. «middling» — of middle age — «between that» — that is, between those two states mentioned. «So do what you are commanded» (Q. 2:68) with it: the slaughtering of her. They went further in making it hard. «They said: Call upon your Lord for us, that He make clear to us what her colour is. He said: He says: She is»

[…] «yellow, bright in her colour» — intense in yellowness — «she delights the beholders» (Q. 2:69) — those who look at her, by her beauty; that is, she pleases them. «They said»

«Call upon your Lord for us, that He make clear to us what she is» — is she free-grazing or a working beast? «The cattle» — the genus of cattle — «have become alike to us» — because of their multitude, so we have not been guided to the one intended — «and we, if Allah wills, will indeed be guided» (Q. 2:70) — to her. In the hadith:

⟨… had they not made the exception, she would never have been made clear to them, to the end of time⟩ [23] When they said in shāʾa Allah, by the blessing of in shāʾa Allah, the answer then came, and they are guided to what was sought. «He said: He says: She is a cow not broken in» — not made submissive by labour — «ploughing the earth» — turning it over for cultivation — «nor watering the tilled field» — the land prepared for cultivation — «sound»

from defects and the marks of labour. «No blemish» — no colour — «in her» — other than her colour mentioned earlier. «They said: Now you have come» (Q. 2:71)

you have spoken «with the truth» (Q. 2:71). Now you have made clear to us what you intend. So they sought her out, and they found her with the youth who was dutiful to his mother [24], and they bought her for her hide filled with gold. One of the righteous men died and left behind a young child, and he owned nothing but a cow. He went off to the forest and said: O Lord of Ibrāhīm and Isḥāq and Yaʿqūb, I place this cow of mine in Your keeping; when my son grows up, hand her over to him. The boy grew up righteous and dutiful to his mother. When day came he gathered firewood, and when he brought the firewood he sold it and divided its price into three portions: a portion he ate himself, a portion he gave to his mother, and a portion he gave as alms. And when night came he divided it into three portions: a portion in which he slept, a portion in which he sat with his mother, and a portion in which he devoted himself to the worship of Allah, Blessed

and Exalted, until his mother came to feel pity for him. She said to him: Go to the forest, for your father deposited a cow for you there with the Lord of Ibrāhīm. When you come to the forest, say: O Lord of Ibrāhīm and Isḥāq and Yaʿqūb, hand my cow over to me. When he came to the forest he said this, and the cow came to him and said to him: Ride me. He said: No, my mother did not command me to ride you. She said: Had you ridden me, you would have been powerless over me and would have had no command over any part of me. So he brought the cow to his mother. She said to him: Go to the market and sell her for three dinars. This cow — her price is three dinars; let it be no less than that. But settle nothing except after consulting me. So he came to the market, and a man presented himself to him and said to him: For how much do you sell this cow?

He said: I sell her for three dinars, subject to my mother’s counsel. He said: I will give you six dinars, and do not consult your mother. He said to him: I shall consult my mother. So he came to his mother. She said to him: Sell her for six dinars, with my counsel. When he returned, the man said to him: I will give you twelve dinars, and do not consult your mother. He said: No, not until I consult my mother. So he went back to his mother. She said to him: This is no man; this is perhaps an angel. If you go back to him, say to him: My mother commands me to consult you — shall I sell this cow or shall I not sell her? So he consulted him, and he said to him: Do not sell this cow. Keep her with you, for Mūsā will send you a people who will buy her, and do not sell her to them except for her hide filled with gold. So they went about seeking the cow that Mūsā, upon him be blessing and peace, had described to them, and they found her description in none but this cow. So they bought her for the fill of her mask — that is, her hide — with gold. When they had slaughtered the cow they returned to Mūsā and said to him: We have slaughtered the cow. He said: Take her tongue, or the base of her tail, and strike the dead man with it — that alone — and he will live. They took the cow’s tongue and struck the man with it, and he rose up with his jugular veins gushing blood. He said: So-and-so and so-and-so, these two are the ones who killed me. Then he went back dead, and the two were barred from the inheritance. This is what our Law has affirmed: whoever kills the one from whom he inherits is barred from the inheritance. «So they slaughtered her, though they were near to not doing it» (Q. 2:71) — because of the costliness of her price. «And when you killed a soul and cast the blame for it upon one another, and Allah was to bring forth what you were concealing. So We said: Strike him» — the slain man — «with part of her» (Q. 2:72–73). So he was struck with her tongue, or with the base of her tail, and he came to life, and he said: So-and-so and so-and-so killed me — his two paternal cousins — and he died; and the two were barred from the inheritance and were put to death. «Thus» (Q. 2:73) — [that is, such] bringing to life

«Allah gives life to the dead» — Allah is the One who gave life to this man after he had been killed; thus does He give life to the dead, all [of them]. Whoever has the power to give life to one has the power to give life to the whole company. «and He shows you His signs» — the proofs of His power — «so that you may understand» (Q. 2:73) — you reflect, and so you know that the One who has the power to give life to a single soul has the power to give life to many souls, and so you believe. «Then your hearts hardened» — you Jews — they grew rigid against accepting the truth — «after that» — what was mentioned, the reviving of the slain man and the signs before it — «so they are» — the hearts — «like stones» — in hardness — «or harder in hardness» (Q. 2:74) — than they are. So these hearts are hard like stones, or harder in hardness than stones. The Messenger ﷺ says: ⟨These hearts rust as iron rusts. They said: What polishes them, Messenger of Allah? He said: Reciting the Qurʾan, abundant remembrance of Allah, and the remembrance of death.⟩ [25] When the heart has grown hard and has died through much heedlessness or through many sins, a person needs to revive it. So when he strikes it with the words lā ilāha illā Allah, Muhammad rasūl Allah, and with recitation of the Qurʾan, and with an empty belly, and with intimate converse in prayer at night, the soul may die and the heart come to life: «He brings forth the living from the dead and brings forth the dead from the living» (Q. 10:31). When the soul lives, the heart dies; and when the heart lives, the soul dies. The death of the soul is its leaving off its own wants and its returning to the Truth. And since the Qurʾan has likened the heart to stones, and a person needs a hard blow and the strength of a group to break stones, remembrance in company was for this reason given preference over remembrance alone, because when a group combine to strike stones the effect is stronger than one man’s striking. For this reason remembrance aloud and remembrance with the group have their benefit and their result. «And among stones there are those from which rivers burst forth» (Q. 2:74) — a declaration that some stones are softer than hearts. Hearts are harder in hardness than stones: among some stones there are those that burst forth

from it, rivers. «And among them there are those that split open so that water issues from them, and among them there are those that come down» — it descends from a height downward — «out of fear of Allah» — while your hearts are not affected, and do not soften, and do not grow humble. «And Allah is not unaware of what you do» (Q. 2:74) — He only defers you to your appointed time. «Do you then hope» — you believers — «that they would believe» — the Jews — «you» (Q. 2:75)

«while a party» — a group — «of them used to hear the speech of Allah» — the commentator [26] says: in the Torah. But if it were in the Torah, there would be no need for His saying: «then they distort it after they have grasped it» — they understood it — «while they know» (Q. 2:75). This in fact came down concerning a company whom Mūsā chose. They went with him to the appointed meeting and heard the intimate address from the Truth; they heard the Truth commanding Mūsā and forbidding him, and then they distorted and altered what they had heard, knowing that they were fabricators. [27] «And when they meet» — the hypocrites among the Jews — «those who believe, they say: We believe» — that Muhammad is a prophet and that he is the one of whom good tidings are given in our book — «And when [some of them] withdraw» — go back — «some of them to others, they say» — that is, their chiefs — «Do you tell them» — the believers —

«of what Allah has disclosed to you» — He has made known to you in the Torah of the description of Muhammad — «so that they may argue against you» (Q. 2:76) — so that they may dispute with you

«by it before your Lord» — in the hereafter, that they may establish the proof against you — «Do you then not understand» (Q. 2:76) — that they are arguing against you? The Exalted says: «Do they not know that Allah knows what they keep secret» — what they hide — «and what they declare» (Q. 2:77) — they make public of

that. «And among them» — the Jews — «are unlettered ones» — common folk — «who do not know the Book» (Q. 2:78) — they do not know the Torah

«except» — but rather — «fancies» — falsehoods — «and they do nothing but conjecture» (Q. 2:78) — conjecture, and they have no knowledge. «So woe»

the severity of punishment — «to those who write the Book with their own hands» — fabricated out of their own invention — «then say: This is from Allah, that they may purchase thereby a small price» (Q. 2:79) — of this world. They are the Jews: they altered the description of the Prophet ﷺ in the Torah, and the verse of stoning, and wrote them contrary to what had been sent down. «So woe to them for what»

«their hands have written» — of the fabrication — «and woe to them for what they earn» (Q. 2:79) — of bribes. «And they said» — when the Prophet promised them

the Fire: «It will not touch us» — befall us — «the Fire, except for a number of days» (Q. 2:80) — few, that is, forty [days], the span of their forefathers’ worship of the calf; then it will pass away. «Say» — to them, Muhammad — «Have you taken» — you have not taken — «from Allah a covenant» — a pact from Him to that effect — «for Allah will not break His covenant» «or» — rather — «do you say about Allah what you do not know» (Q. 2:80). «Nay» (Q. 2:81) — it will touch you,

the Fire, and you will abide in it forever. «Whoever earns an evil deed» — polytheism — «and his sin encompasses him» (Q. 2:81) — from every side

in that he died an idolater. «So those are the companions of the Fire; they shall abide in it. And those who believe and do righteous deeds — those are the companions of the Garden; they shall abide in it» (Q. 2:81–82). He joined the first sentence with the fāʾ because their entering the Fire is something they themselves caused, so the fāʾ of causation is brought in; and the last sentence has no fāʾ in it, because entering the Garden is not caused by the servant’s deed: ⟨The deed of no one of you will admit him into the Garden. They said: Not even you, Messenger of Allah? He said: Not even I, unless Allah envelop me in His mercy.⟩ [28] When a person dies an unbeliever he enters the Fire and abides in it forever because of his unbelief; and when he believes in Allah and does righteous deeds he enters the Garden by the bounty of Allah, Blessed and Exalted. As for al-khulūd in the Garden and al-khulūd in the Fire, the transmission concerning both is sound from the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. And a human being has done no deed that would make him abide forever in the Garden or in the Fire. The unbeliever, however many his sins, were he punished a hundred thousand years for every sin, his evil deeds would have to come to an end one day; and the Muslim, were he recompensed for every atom of his deeds with a hundred thousand years in the Garden, his deeds would have to come to an end. What then is the cause of al-khulūd in the Garden or in the Fire? The servant’s intention: ⟨The believer’s intention is better than his deed.⟩ [29] The believer intends that he is a believer and obedient, and were he granted life forever

he would be a believer forever; by that intention he entered the Garden and dwelt in it forever. The unbeliever’s intention is that he remains an unbeliever: were he to live forever he would live forever an unbeliever, and for this he entered the Fire and stayed in it forever: ⟨Deeds are only by intentions.⟩ [30]

And recall «when We took the covenant of the Children of Israel» — in the Torah — and We said: «and you shall not worship any but Allah» (Q. 2:83) […]

Do good — «and to parents, good treatment» — dutifulness — «and to the near of kin, the orphans and the poor; and speak to people»

«good». The most binding right upon the servant is that he worship Allah alone and associate nothing with Him; and the greatest right after the right of Allah, Blessed and Exalted, is the right of the parents: dutifulness to them is obligatory, and undutifulness is among the grave sins. After that, the orphans — one whose father died while he was small. The Messenger ﷺ says: ⟨I and the one who takes charge of an orphan are like these two in the Garden.⟩ [31] «and the poor» — one who has nothing — «and speak to people» — all of them — «good» — that is, commanding what is right, forbidding what is wrong, truthfulness regarding the affair of Muhammad ﷺ and gentleness toward them — «and establish the prayer and pay the zakat» (Q. 2:83). This is what Allah enjoined upon the Children of Israel, and you accepted it. «Then you turned away» — you turned from fulfilling it — «except a few of you, and you were turning away» (Q. 2:83) — like your forefathers. «And when We took your covenant» — and We said: «you shall not shed your blood» — pour it out by killing one another — «and you shall not expel your own from your dwellings; then you acknowledged» — you accepted that covenant — «while you bear witness» (Q. 2:84) — against yourselves. «Then here you are, killing your own» — by killing one another — «and expelling a party of you from their dwellings, supporting one another against them in sin and enmity» — you aid one another in the killing; in sin — [that is,] in disobedience — and in wrongdoing — «and if they come to you as captives you ransom them» — when captives from among your brethren come to you, you ransom them with money — «though it is forbidden to you, their expulsion» (Q. 2:85). This is a story concerning the Aws and the Khazraj and the Banū Qurayẓa and the Banū al-Naḍīr. The Aws and the Khazraj are those who entered Islam when the Prophet ﷺ came to Madīna, and the Prophet began to apply to them the name al-Anṣār. There had been enmity between them for a hundred and twenty years, and they warred among themselves. The Banū Qurayẓa and the Banū al-Naḍīr are two tribes of the Jews who emigrated from al-Shām when they read in the Torah that the prophet who would come forth at the end of time — his birthplace is Mecca and his place of emigration Yathrib. They emigrated to Yathrib and settled in it. They said that they were awaiting the coming forth of the prophet who comes at the end of time; this is the reason for their settling in Madīna. When they arrived, the Banū Qurayẓa attached themselves to the Aws and the Banū al-Naḍīr to the Khazraj, each of them allying itself with a tribe. So it came about that when the Aws and the Khazraj fought one another, the Banū Qurayẓa went out with the Aws and the Banū al-Naḍīr with the Khazraj, and they made war. Yet the Banū Qurayẓa and the Banū al-Naḍīr are forbidden in the Torah from fighting one another: they believe in the Book, and the Book forbade them to kill one another and to expel one another. When they attached themselves to these idolaters they came to make war alongside them, and to make war on their own brethren and kill them. So when it was said to them: Do you fight your brethren? they said: If we abandon the fighting our allies are humiliated. And when a captive was taken from that side, these would collect money, ransom him, and send him back. [32] They said: You fight them, yet when their captives come you ransom them? They said: We were commanded to this in the Torah. For this the āya rebuked them: «Do you then believe in part of the Book» — which is the ransoming — «and disbelieve in part» — which is the abandoning of killing and expulsion — «what then is the recompense of whoever among you does that but disgrace» — humiliation and abasement — «in this present life» (Q. 2:85). Allah promised them disgrace, and disgrace befell them: in the killing of the Banū Qurayẓa, the banishment of the Banū al-Naḍīr to al-Shām, and the imposition of the jizya until the Day of Resurrection.

«and on the Day of Resurrection they will be returned to the harshest punishment; and Allah is not heedless of what they do. Those are the ones who have bought the life of this world at the price of the hereafter» (Q. 2:85–86) — in that they preferred it to it — «so the punishment will not be lightened for them, nor will they be helped. And We gave Mūsā the Book» — the Torah — «and after him We sent messengers in succession» — We made them follow one another, messenger upon the heels of messenger — «and We gave ʿĪsā son of Maryam the clear proofs» — the miracles, such as reviving the dead and healing the blind-born and the leper — «and We strengthened him» — We gave him strength — «with the Holy Spirit» — Jibrīl: wherever he went, he went along with him. Yet you did not go straight. «Is it, then, that whenever a messenger came to you with what did not desire» — [that is,] love — «your souls» — of the truth — «you grew arrogant» (Q. 2:87)

you were too proud to follow him. «a group you denied» — so you denied a group of them, such as ʿĪsā — «and a group»

«and you kill» (Q. 2:87) — and you kill a group, [the verb standing] in the imperfect. You killed Zakariyyāʾ and Yaḥyā. This killing, because it is so hideous, remains to eternity, as though it were always new; or [the sense is that] they are forever killing the prophets, even our Prophet, upon him be blessing and peace. They worked sorcery on him and it had no effect on him, and they poisoned a sheep for him. When he came to Khaybar they prepared food for him and put poison in it. He said: ⟨I adjure you by Allah: will you tell me the truth? They said: Yes. He said: Did you put the poison in this meat? They said: Yes. He said: And why? They said: If you are truly a prophet it will not harm you, and if you are a liar we are rid of you.⟩ [33] That is the poison of which the Prophet ﷺ said at the end of his life: ⟨The poison I ate at Khaybar has never ceased to come back upon me, and now is the time for the severing of my aorta.⟩ [34] — the severing of the cord of his heart — so that he might be granted martyrdom ﷺ. «And they said: our hearts are wrapped» — that is, covered over with membranes

so they do not take in what you say. «Rather» — [the particle] for turning away from what precedes — «Allah has cursed them» — He put them far from His mercy and forsook them, holding them back from acceptance — «for their unbelief, so little is it that they believe» (Q. 2:88) — their faith is very little. «And when a Book came to them from Allah confirming what was with them» — of the Torah — and it is the Qurʾan — «and they had been, before» — before its coming — «praying for victory»

they would pray for victory «against those who disbelieved» (Q. 2:89) — they would say: O Allah, grant us victory over them through the prophet who is to be sent at the end of time. This was their supplication before the coming of the Prophet ﷺ. «But when there came to them what they recognised» — of the truth, that is, the sending of the Prophet ﷺ — «they disbelieved in it» — out of envy, and out of fear for their leadership — «so the curse of Allah is upon the disbelievers. Evil is that for which they bought» — they sold — «with it their own souls, that they should disbelieve» — their unbelief — «in what Allah has sent down» — of the Qurʾan — «out of insolence» — out of envy — «that Allah should send down of His bounty upon whomever He wills of His servants. So they returned» — they came back — «with wrath» — from Allah, for their unbelief — «upon wrath» — which they had deserved before, by letting the Torah go to waste and by disbelieving in ʿĪsā — «and for the disbelievers there is a humiliating punishment» (Q. 2:90) — one that carries humiliation. «And when it is said to them: believe in what Allah has sent down» — the Qurʾan — «they say: we believe in what was sent down upon us» — that is, the Torah. He, the Exalted, said: «and they disbelieve» — the case being that they disbelieve — «in what is beyond it» — that is, in what is other than it, and that is the Qurʾan — «while it is the truth, confirming what is with them. Say: then why do you kill» — you killed — «the prophets of Allah before, if you are believers» (Q. 2:91) — if you are truthful in [claiming] that you believe in the Torah. The Torah forbade the killing of the prophets, and you killed the prophets. «And Mūsā came to you with the clear proofs» — such as the staff, the hand, and the parting of the sea: nine signs — «then you took the calf after him» — as a god — «while you were wrongdoers» (Q. 2:92) — by taking it [as a god]. «And when We took your covenant» — when they were charged with acting upon the Torah, they refused, again

«and We raised the Mount above you» — the mountain — when you refused to accept it, so that it might fall upon you. And We said: «take what We have given you with strength» — with earnestness and striving — «and listen» — to what you are commanded, with the hearing of acceptance — «they said: we have heard»

your word. «and we have disobeyed» — your command — «and they were made to drink the calf into their hearts» — that is, love of it mingled with their hearts as a drink mingles [with the body] — «through their unbelief. Say» — to them — «evil is that which» — a thing — «your faith commands you to» — in the Torah — if

faith in the Torah entails this in your view, then your faith is an evil faith. «if you are believers» (Q. 2:93) — and as you claimed. «Say: if the abode of the hereafter is yours» — the Garden — «with Allah, exclusively» — solely — «to the exclusion of [other] people»

as you claimed: «then wish for death, if you are truthful» (Q. 2:94). They said that they are Allah’s sons and His beloved and that the Garden is set apart for them. Wish for death, then! And they will never wish for death. «But they will never wish for it, because of what their hands have sent ahead» — namely their disbelief in the Prophet — «and Allah knows the wrongdoers» — the unbelievers (Q. 2:95). «And you will certainly find them» — by Allah, you will certainly find them — «the greediest of people» (Q. 2:96)

«for life, and more so than those who associate [others with Allah]» (Q. 2:96) — you find the avidity of the Jews for life and for this world fiercer than the avidity of the polytheists. «He would love» — he wishes — «one of them, that he might be given a life of a thousand years» — his being given a thousand years of life — «but it is not»

that is, any one of them — «will remove him far» — put him at a distance — «from the punishment: that he be granted long life» (Q. 2:96). This granting of long life does not put him at a distance from the Fire. «And Allah is Seeing of what they do. Say: whoever is an enemy to Jibrīl» (Q. 2:96–97). The occasion of this āya’s revelation is that ʿAbdallāh b. Ṣūriyā rode out to the Prophet ﷺ. He was the head of his people in Judaism. He came to the Prophet ﷺ and put questions to him. He said to him: I will ask you questions, and if you answer them for me I will believe in you. How do you sleep? The Messenger ﷺ said: ⟨My eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep.⟩ He said: You have spoken the truth; this is how we have read it in the Torah. He said to him: Why is it that a child sometimes resembles his fathers and his paternal uncles, with not the least resemblance in him to his mothers and his maternal uncles? The Messenger ﷺ said to him: ⟨Whichever of the two has the higher fluid, to him belongs the resemblance. When intercourse takes place, the one who emitted first — the child’s interior is created from his fluid; and the one whose fluid is higher — the child’s exterior is created from his fluid. So the resemblance comes to belong to the one whose fluid was higher.⟩ He said to him: You have spoken the truth. He said to him: Tell me about what Isrāʾīl forbade to himself. The Messenger ﷺ said to him: ⟨The flesh of camels and their milk.⟩ That was because he fell gravely ill and vowed that, if Allah healed him of that illness, he would give up the food he loved most, which is camel flesh, and the most beloved

the drink he loved most, which was the milk of camels. He said to him: You have spoken truly. Tell me: what is the welcome-fare of the people of the Garden, the first hospitality they receive from Allah, Blessed and Exalted? The Prophet ﷺ said to him: ⟨The liver of the fish.⟩ He said to him: You have spoken truly. Now one question remains. Tell me which of the angels brings you the revelation. The Messenger said to him: ⟨That is Jibrīl.⟩ He said: Ah, you have spoilt the matter. Jibrīl? He is an enemy to us. Had it been Mīkāʾīl, who brings provision, we would have believed in you; but Jibrīl, who brings hardships and destruction and the ruin of dwellings — no. ʿUmar b. al-Khaṭṭāb said to him: What is Jibrīl’s standing with Allah, Blessed and Exalted? He said to him: Jibrīl is on His right, Blessed and Exalted, and Mīkāʾīl on His left. ʿUmar said — and this is one of ʿUmar’s concurrences [with revelation] — ⟨If the matter is so, and you are an enemy to Jibrīl, then you must be an enemy to Mīkāʾīl as well, and to Allah, Blessed and Exalted.⟩ He said: No; we are the friends of Mīkāʾīl and the enemies of Jibrīl. The Exalted said: «Say: whoever is an enemy to Jibrīl» (Q. 2:97) — let him die of rage — «for he has brought it down»

that is, the Qurʾan — «upon your heart, by Allah’s permission, confirming what was before it» — what preceded it of the Books — «and as guidance» — from error — «and good tidings for the believers. Whoever is an enemy to Allah» (Q. 2:97–98). His enmity toward Jibrīl earned him enmity toward Allah, Blessed

and Exalted. «and His angels» […] — the one of whom they said that he is

their friend. «then Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers. And We have certainly sent down to you clear signs» (Q. 2:98–99). It was revealed in reply to Ibn Ṣūriyā, who said one day to the Prophet ﷺ: You have brought us nothing. The Exalted said: «And We have certainly sent down to you» — O Muhammad — «clear signs» — plain and evident — «and none disbelieves in them except the defiantly disobedient. And is it not so that whenever they made a covenant» — to believe in the Prophet — «a party of them cast it aside» — by breaking it — «rather, most of them do not believe. And when a messenger came to them from Allah» (Q. 2:99–101) — that is, Muhammad ﷺ — «confirming what was with them, a party of those who were given the Scripture cast the Book of Allah» — the Torah — «behind their backs as though they did not know» (Q. 2:101) — what is in it, that he is truly a prophet. «And they followed what they recite» — what they recited — «the devils, during» — the time of — «the reign of Sulaymān» (Q. 2:102) — of sorcery. The devils had buried it beneath his throne when his kingship was stripped from him, and they used to

[the satans] used to eavesdrop, and they would attach lies to it and cast it to the soothsayers, who wrote it down; and that spread abroad, and it became widely held that the jinn know the unseen. So Sulaymān gathered the books and buried them; and when he died the satans directed people to them, and they dug them out and found sorcery in them. They said: Your kingship was only by this. So they learned it, and they rejected the books of their prophets. The Exalted said — clearing Sulaymān, and in reply to the Jews in their saying, Look at Muhammad: he counts Sulaymān among the prophets, when he was nothing but a sorcerer — the Exalted said: «And Sulaymān did not disbelieve» — that is, he did not practise sorcery — «but the satans disbelieved, teaching people sorcery; and what» — they teach them — «and what was sent down to the two angels» — […] of sorcery — «at Bābil» — a town in the farmland of ʿIrāq [35] — «Hārūt and Mārūt» — the two angels are Hārūt and Mārūt; they were among the righteous of the angels — «and they do not teach anyone without saying: We are only a trial» (Q. 2:102)

Allah sent the two of them down as a trial — they teach the people sorcery, and they teach them that sorcery is unbelief — «so do not disbelieve. So they learn from the two of them that by which they separate a man and his wife» (Q. 2:102). This teaching [was given] because teaching evil is obligatory, so that you may be able to avoid it. If you read in the Qurʾan that drinking wine is forbidden and fornication is forbidden, but you did not know the manner of it, and did not know that in the human being there is a bodily member that has an appetite for this act, so that you might avoid it, you would not be able to avoid it. So the teaching of sorcery was for avoiding it alone. «And they do not harm by it» — that is, by sorcery — «anyone, except by Allah’s permission. And they learn what harms them» — in the hereafter — «and does not benefit them. They had certainly known that whoever purchased it has no share in the hereafter, and evil is that for which they sold themselves, if only they knew». (Q. 2:102) «And if they» — the Jews — «had believed and been God-fearing» — had they complied with Allah’s command they would have been rewarded — «a reward from Allah would be better, if only they knew». (Q. 2:103) «O you who have believed, do not say» rāʿinā (Q. 2:104). The occasion for the revelation of this āya is that the Jews used to say to the Messenger rāʿinā, and the Companions supposed that it was from al-riʿāya [care], so they too began to say rāʿinā, which is an imperative from al-riʿāya; and with them it is an insult, from

al-ruʿūna [folly]. «And say» unẓurnā [look at us], «and listen. And for the unbelievers there is a painful punishment. Neither those who disbelieve from among the People of the Book nor the polytheists wish that any good should be sent down to you from your Lord. And Allah singles out for His mercy whom He wills, and Allah is the possessor of the great bounty». (Q. 2:104–105)