Quran Garden

Two Amazing Stories from Surah Al-Baqarah

 

Today, we bring you two more stories from the Tafsir of Surah Al-Baqarah.  We put this fantastic collection together from the Tafsir sessions of QuranGarden.  If you would like to understand the Quran like never before, then you have come to the right place.  Each week, QuranGarden brings you the best verse-by-verse English Tafsir of the Quran, so make sure to subscribe, like, and share.

 

Be patient….even with your worst enemy!

This story comes to us from the Tafsir of Aya 263 of surah Albaqarah.  Allah teaches us to be kind and merciful with others because He is kind and merciful with humanity.  God says:

A kind word and forgiveness is better than a charitable deed followed by harm. God is self-sufficient, forbearing. (Chapter 2: Verse 263)

Our beloved Prophet Abraham, peace be upon him, was a very generous and hospitable man.  It is said that he would not eat dinner unless there was a guest at his table. 

One day an exhausted traveler stopped by and asked for some food and a place to rest.  Prophet Abraham welcomed him into his home, prepared food, and sat down with his guest to talk.  After conversing for a while, he found out that this man was an atheist.  Abraham got very angry:  

“I cannot have you at my table if you deny God……Get out of my home!” 

The tired man picked up his belongings and left. 

Shortly after, the Arch Angel Gabriel came to Prophet Abraham and said: “God is displeased with you Abraham,” He says to you: ‘This man has been a disbeliever for forty years, and for forty years I have been patient with him; I gave him food and provisions; how come you could not tolerate him even for one evening at your table!?’” 

Prophet Abraham ran after the man until he caught up with him. 

‘forgive me.  Please come back to my table.’ 

The traveler asked: ‘you kicked me out of your home…..now you want me back…what happened!?’

Abraham replied: ‘My Lord scolded me for my inhospitality.’ 

The man marveled and said, "I am a disbeliever in God.  You say that you are a Prophet of God.  Yet your Lord scolded you for my sake!? Indeed this is a Lord that deserves to be worshipped.”  

“I bear witness that there is no god but Allah.”

 

Sanctities and Godlessness

Now we come to the second story that explains the events behind Aya 217 of Surah Albaqarah.  It will help you understand that not all sins and mistakes are created equal.

Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, used to routinely send a small number of fighters to scout enemy positions and movements.  Once, the Prophet dispatched a unit of nine soldiers headed by his cousin Abdullah al-Asadi.  He handed Abdullah a letter and instructed him not to open it until two days into the journey.  This was a security measure to assure that no one in Medina –especially the hypocrites- knew where the scouts were headed. 

After traveling for two nights, Abdullah opened the letter.  It instructed the group to go to Nakhla -a place between Mecca and Taif- to survey the caravans of Quraysh.  The letter also told Abdullah to make the mission voluntary.  Each person on the team had the choice to proceed or return back to Medina.

Everyone wanted to participate.  However, early the next day, the camels of Saad bin Abi Waqas’ and Uqba bin Ghazwan wondered off.  So they both stayed behind to look for their camels leaving only six fighters with Abdullah. 

The seven men continued to Nakhla.  When they arrived, they ran into Amr ibn Hadrami along with three other men guarding the caravan of Quraysh.  A skirmish started and turned into a full fight in which the son of Al-Hadrami was killed, and two of Quraysh’s fighters were captured.  The Muslims gathered a few spoils and some goats that belonged to Quraysh. 

The Muslim fighters thought that it was the last day of the month of Jumada, while in reality, it was the first day of Rajab, which is a sacred month.  When they found out the true date, they realized that they had killed, captured, and gathered spoils during a holy month.  They had inadvertently acted against Islamic teachings. 

When they arrived back in Medina, Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, was upset, and he refused to take the spoils and the prisoners.  

This incident exposed the Muslims to the wrath of the Arabs and the Jews of Medina.  Quraysh began to spread the word that Muhammad claims to respect sanctities, but in reality, his men fight, shed blood, take money, and capture our men during the holy month.  As the smear campaign against the Muslims escalated, God sent His ruling against the enemies of Islam in the following verse:

They ask you about the sacred month and fighting in it.  Say, ‘Fighting during the month is a great offense, but to bar others from God’s path, to disbelieve in Him, prevent access to the Sacred Mosque, and expel its people, are still greater offenses in God’s eyes: persecution is worse than killing.’ They will not stop fighting you until they make you revoke your faith if they can. If any of you revoke your faith and die as disbelievers, your deeds will come to nothing in this world and the Hereafter, and you will be inhabitants of the Fire, there to remain. (2:217)

 

Stories are the fun part of understanding the Quran, but the meaning of the Quran goes much deeper than a story.  Every week, we dive into the Tafsir of a new aya, word, and even individual letters of the Quran.  Each session runs about 10 minutes.  It may not be as exciting as a story, but it is always very rewarding.  

If you have not been a part of QuranGarden, we invite you to spend just 10 minutes of your day studying the Quran.  In a few weeks, you will understand the Quran like never before.  To start, download the QuranGarden App on your phone.

Thank you for listening.