Surah Al-Baqarah, Verses 2-5:

Provided by Sajjad Khalfan

 

In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful.

 

We begin by discussing the benefits derived from reading the Holy Quran. We begin by one such benefit today as explained from Surah Al-Baqarah.

GUIDANCE FROM THE HOLY QURAN:

Guidance from the Holy Quran follows after Guidance from Allah (swt) as explained below.

Surah Al-Baqarah, Verses 2-5:

Surah Al-Baqarah, Verses 2-5

{2} This Book, there is no doubt in it, (is) a guidance to those who guard (against evil).

{3} Those who believe in the unseen and keep up prayer and spend (benevolently) out of what We have given them.

{4} And who believe in that which has been sent down to thee and that which was sent down before thee and they are sure of the hereafter.

{5} These are on a guidance from their Lord and these it is that shall be the successful ones.

QUR’AN: This Book, there is no doubt in it, (is) guidance to those who guard (against evil), those who believe in the unseen:

Those who guard against evil, or in other words, the pious ones, are the very people who believe. Piety or guarding oneself against evil, is not a special virtue of any particular group of the believers. It is not like doing good, being humble before God or purity of intention, which are counted as various grades of the faith. Piety, on the other hand, is a comprehensive virtue that runs through all the ranks of the true faith. It is for this reason that Allah has not reserved this adjective for any particular group of the believers.

The characteristics of piety, enumerated in these four verses, are five: Believing in the unseen, keeping up prayers, spending benevolently out of what Allah has given, believing in what Allah has revealed to His apostles, and being sure of the hereafter. The pious ones acquire these spiritual qualities by guidance from Allah, as Allah tells us in the next verse: “These are on guidance from their Lord.” They became pious and guarded themselves against evil because Allah had guided them to it. When they got that quality, the Qur’an became guidance for them: “This Book …(is) guidance to those who guard against evil.”

It clearly shows that there are two guidance, one before they became pious, the other after it. The first guidance made them pious; and thereupon Allah raised their status by the guidance of His Book.

The contrast is thus made clear between the pious ones on one hand and the disbeliever and the hypocrites (who are admonished in the next fifteen verses) on the other. The latter two groups are surrounded by two straying and two blindness. Their first straying causes their unbelief and hypocrisy, and the second one (which comes after their unbelief and hypocrisy) confirms their first error and strengthens it. Look at what Allah says about the disbeliever: Allah has set a seal upon their hearts and upon their hearing; and there is a covering over their eyes (2:7). Sealing their hearts has been ascribed to Allah, but the covering over their eyes was put by the disbeliever themselves. Likewise, Allah says about the hypocrites: There is a disease in their hearts, so Allah added to their disease (2:10). The first disease is attributed to the hypocrites themselves, and the second one to Allah. The same reality has been explained in many verses. For example: He causes many to err by it and many He leads aright by it! But He does not cause to err by it (any) except the transgressors 2:;26); …but when they turned aside, Allah made their hearts turn aside (61:5).

In short, the pious ones are surrounded by two guidance, as the disbeliever and hypocrites fall between two errors.

The second guidance is by the Qur’an; therefore, the first one must have been before the Qur’an. They must have been guided by a healthy and unimpaired psychology. If a man’s nature is faultless and flawless, it cannot fail to see that it is dependent on something above it. Also, it realizes that every other thing, which it may perceive, imagine or understand, depends likewise on a thing outside the chain of dependent and needy things. Thus, it comes to believe that there must be a Being, unseen and un-perceptible through the senses, who is the beginning and end of every other thing. It also sees that the said Essential Being does not neglect even the smallest detail when it comes to creative perfection of His creatures. This makes him realize that the said Creator cannot leave the man to wander aimlessly hither and thither in his life; that He must have provided for him a guidance to lead him aright in his actions and morals. By this healthy reasoning, the man acquires the belief in One God, in the institution of prophet hood and in the Day of Resurrection. In this way, his faith in the fundamentals of religion becomes complete. That faith leads him to show his servitude before his Lord, and to use all that is in his power – wealth, prestige, knowledge, power, and any other excellence – to keep this faith alive and to convey it to others. Thus we come to the prayer and benevolent spending. The five virtues enumerated in these verses are such that a healthy nature unfailingly leads the man to them. Once a man reaches this stage, Allah bestows on him His another grace, that is, the guidance by the Qur’an.

The above-mentioned five qualities – correct belief and correct deeds – fall between two guidance, a preceding one and a following one.

This second guidance is based on the first one. This fact has been described in the following verses:

Allah confirms those who believe with the sure word in this world’s life and in the hereafter (14:27). 

0 you who believe! Fear Allah and believe in His apostle. He will give you two portions of His mercy, and make for you a light with which you will walk… (57:28). 

0 you who believe! If you help Allah, He will help you and make firm your feet (47:7).

*Tafseer from Al-Mizan*