Surah 2. Al-Baqara

O MANKIND! Worship your Sustainer, who has created you and those who lived before you, so that you might remain conscious of Him

  - Mohammad Asad

O Mankind! Worship your Rabb Who created you and created those who came before you; by doing this you may expect to guard yourself against evil.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

O mankind! Worship your Lord, Who hath created you and those before you, so that ye may ward off (evil).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

who has made the earth a resting-place for you and the sky a canopy, and has sent down water from the sky and thereby brought forth fruits for your sustenance: do not, then, claim that there is any power that could rival God,¹³ when you know [that He is One].

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "do not give God any compeers" (andad, pl. of nidd). There is full agreement among all commentators that this term implies any object of adoration to which some or all of God's qualities are ascribed, whether it be conceived as a deity "in its own right" or a saint supposedly possessing certain divine or semi-divine powers. This meaning can be brought out only by a free rendering of the above phrase.

It is He Who has made the earth a floor for you and the sky a canopy; and it is He Who sends down rain from the sky for the growth of fruits for your sustenance. Therefore, do not knowingly set up rivals to Allah.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Who hath appointed the earth a resting-place for you, and the sky a canopy; and causeth water to pour down from the sky, thereby producing fruits as food for you. And do not set up rivals to Allah when ye know (better).

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And if you doubt any part of what We have bestowed from on high, step by step, upon Our servant [Muhammad],¹⁴ then produce a surah of similar merit, and call upon any other than God to bear witness for you¹⁵ - if what you say is true!

  - Mohammad Asad

I.e., the message of which the doctrine of God's oneness and uniqueness is the focal point. By the use of the word "doubt" (rayb), this passage is meant to recall the opening sentence of this surah: "This divine writ - let there be no doubt about it...", etc. The gradualness of revelation is implied in the grammatical form nazzalna - which is important in this context inasmuch as the opponents of the Prophet argued that the Qur'an could not be of divine origin because it was being revealed gradually, and not in one piece (Zamakhshari).

Lit., "come forward with a surah like it, and call upon your witnesses other than God" - namely, "to attest that your hypothetical literary effort could be deemed equal to any part of the Qur'an." This challenge occurs in two other places as well ( 10:38 and 11:13 , in which latter case the unbelievers are called upon to produce ten chapters of comparable merit); see also 17:88 .

If you are in doubt as to whether the revelations which We have sent to Our servant (Muhammad) are from Us or not, then produce one Surah like this; and call your witnesses (gods that you call upon) besides Allah to assist you, if you are right in your claim.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And if ye are in doubt concerning that which We reveal unto Our slave (Muhammad), then produce a sura or the like thereof, and call your witnesses beside Allah if ye are truthful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And if you cannot do it - and most certainly you cannot do it - then be conscious of the fire whose fuel is human beings and stones¹⁶ which awaits all who deny the truth!

  - Mohammad Asad

This evidently denotes all objects of worship to which men turn instead of God - their powerlessness and inefficacy being symbolized by the lifelessness of stones - while the expression "human beings" stands here for human actions deviating from the way of truth (cf. Manar I, 197): the remembrance of all of which is bound to increase the sinner's suffering in the hereafter, referred to in the Qur'an as "hell".

But if you are unable to do so, and you can never do so, then fear the Hell fire, whose fuel is men and stones which is prepared for the unbelievers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And if ye do it not and ye can never do it--then guard yourselves against the fire prepared for disbelievers, whose fuel is of men and stones.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

But unto those who have attained to faith and do good works give the glad tiding that theirs shall be gardens through which running waters flow. Whenever they are granted fruits therefrom as their appointed sustenance, they will say, "It is this that in days of yore was granted to us as our sustenance!" - for they shall be given something that will recall that [past].¹⁷ And there shall they have spouses pure, and there shall they abide.

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "something resembling it". Various interpretations, some of them of an esoteric and highly speculative nature, have been given to this passage. For the manner in which I have translated it I am indebted to Muhammad 'Abduh (in Manar I, 232 f.), who interprets the phrase, "It is this that in days of yore was granted to us as our sustenance" as meaning: "It is this that we have been promised during our life on earth as a requital for faith and righteous deeds." In other words, man's actions and attitudes in this world will be mirrored in their "fruits", or consequences, in the life to come - as has been expressed elsewhere in the Qur'an in the verses, "And he who shall have done an atom's weight of good, shall behold it; and he who shall have done an atom's weight of evil, shall behold it" ({99:7-8}). As regards the reference to "spouses" in the next sentence, it is to be noted that the term zawj (of which azwaj is the plural) signifies either of the two components of a couple - that is, the male as well as the female.

Give glad tidings to those who believe in this Book and do good deeds in accordance with its teachings for them there will be Gardens beneath which rivers flow. Whenever they will be given fruits to eat they will say: "This is similar to the one we used to eat before on earth," for the fruits will resemble the fruits on the earth for their easy identification and enjoyment; and for them there will be chaste virgin spouses, and they shall live therein for ever.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And give glad tidings (O Muhammad) unto those who believe and do good works; that theirs are Gardens underneath which rivers flow; as often as they are regaled with food of the fruit thereof, they say: This is what was given us aforetime; and it is given to them in resemblance. There for them are pure companions; there for ever they abide.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Behold, God does not disdain to propound a parable of a gnat, or of something [even] less than that.¹⁸ Now, as for those who have attained to faith, they know that it is the truth from their Sustainer - whereas those who are bent on denying the truth say, "What could God mean by this parable?" In this way does He cause many a one to go astray, just as He guides many a one aright: but none does He cause thereby to go astray save the iniquitous,

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "something above it", i.e., relating to the quality of smallness stressed here - as one would say, "such-and-such a person is the lowest of people, and even more than that" (Zamakhshari). The reference to "God's parables", following as it does immediately upon a mention of the gardens of paradise and the suffering through hell-fire in the life to come, is meant to bring out the allegorical nature of this imagery.

Allah does not mind using the similitude of a gnat or an even more insignificant creature to teach a lesson. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Rabb; but the unbelievers say: "What does Allah mean by such a similitude?" By such a similitude Allah confounds many and enlightens many. He confounds none except the transgressors:

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Lo! Allah disdaineth not to coin the similitude even of a gnat. Those who believe know that it is the truth from their Lord; but those who disbelieve say: What doth Allah wish (to teach) by such a similitude? He misleadeth many thereby, and He guideth many thereby; and He misleadeth thereby only miscreants;

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

who break their bond with God after it has been established [in their nature],¹⁹ and cut asunder what God has bidden to be joined, and spread corruption on earth: these it is that shall be the losers.

  - Mohammad Asad

The "bond with God" (conventionally translated as "God's covenant") apparently refers here to man's moral obligation to use his inborn gifts - intellectual as well as physical - in the way intended for them by God. The "establishment" of this bond arises from the faculty of reason which, if properly used, must lead man to a realization of his own weakness and dependence on a causative power and, thus, to a gradual cognition of God's will with reference to his own behaviour. This interpretation of the "bond with God" seems to be indicated by the fact that there is no mention of any specific "covenant" in either the preceding or the subsequent verses of the passage under consideration. The deliberate omission of any explanatory reference in this connection suggests that the expression "bond with God" stands for something that is rooted in the human situation as such, and can, therefore, be perceived instinctively as well as through conscious experience: namely, that innate relationship with God which makes Him "closer to man than his neck-vein" ( 50:16 ). For an explanation of the subsequent reference to "what God has bidden to be joined", see surah {13}, note [43].

those who break Allah's Covenant after accepting it, and who cut aside what Allah has ordered to be united and cause mischief on earth. It is they who are the losers.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

Those who break the covenant of Allah after ratifying it and sever that which Allah ordered to be joined, and (who) make mischief in the earth: Those are they who are the losers

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

How can you refuse to acknowledge God, seeing that you were lifeless and He gave you life, and that He will cause you to die and then will bring you again to life, whereupon unto Him you will be brought back?

  - Mohammad Asad

How can you deny Allah? Did He not give you life when you were lifeless; and will He not cause you to die and again bring you to life; and will you not ultimately return to Him ?

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

How disbelieve ye in Allah when ye were dead and He gave life to you! Then he will give you death, then life again, and then unto Him ye will return.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

He it is who has created for you all that is on earth, and has applied His design to the heavens and fashioned them into seven heavens;²⁰ and He alone has full knowledge of everything.

  - Mohammad Asad

The term sama' ("heaven" or "sky") is applied to anything that is spread like a canopy above any other thing. Thus, the visible skies which stretch like a vault above the earth and form, as it were, its canopy, are called sama': and this is the primary meaning of this term in the Qur'an; in a wider sense, it has the connotation of "cosmic system". As regards the "seven heavens", it is to be borne in mind that in Arabic usage - and apparently in other Semitic languages as well - the number "seven" is often synonymous with "several" (see Lisan al-'Arab), just as "seventy" or "seven hundred" often means many or "very many" (Taj al-'Arus). This, taken together with the accepted linguistic definition that "every sama' is a sama' with regard to what is below it" (Raghib), may explain the "seven heavens" as denoting the multiplicity of cosmic systems. - For my rendering of thumma, at the beginning of this sentence, as "and", see surah {7}, first part of note [43].

It is He Who has created for you all that there is in the earth; and directed Himself towards the sky and fashioned it into seven heavens. He has perfect knowledge of everything.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He it is Who created for you all that is in the earth. Then turned He to the heaven, and fashioned it as seven heavens. And He is Knower of all things.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

AND LO !²¹ Thy Sustainer said unto the angels: "Behold, I am about to establish upon earth one who shall inherit it."²² They said: "Wilt Thou place on it such as will spread corruption thereon and shed blood - whereas it is we who extol Thy limitless glory, and praise Thee, and hallow Thy name?" [God] answered: "Verily, I know that which you do not know."

  - Mohammad Asad

The interjection "lo" seems to be the only adequate rendering, in this context, of the particle idh, which is usually - and without sufficient attention to its varying uses in Arabic construction - translated as "when". Although the latter rendering is often justified, idh is also used to indicate "the sudden, or unexpected, occurrence of a thing" (cf. Lane I, 39), or a sudden turn in the discourse. The subsequent allegory, relating as it does to the faculty of reason implanted in man, is logically connected with the preceding passages.

Lit., "establish on earth a successor" or a "vice-gerent". The term khalifah - derived from the verb khalafa, "he succeeded [another]" - is used in this allegory to denote man's rightful supremacy on earth, which is most suitably rendered by the expression "he shall inherit the earth" (in the sense of being given possession of it). See also 6:165 , 27:62 and 35:39 , where all human beings are spoken of as khala'if al-ard.

Note that occasion, when your Rabb said to the angels: I am going to place a vicegerent on earth. The angels said: "Will You place there one who will make mischief and shed blood while we sing Your praises and glorify Your name?" Allah said: "I know what you know not."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am about to place a viceroy in the earth, they said: wilt Thou place therein one who will do harm therein and will shed blood, while we, we hymn Thy praise and sanctify Thee? He said: Surely I know that which ye know not.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And He imparted unto Adam the names of all things;²³ then He brought them within the ken of the angels and said: "Declare unto Me the names of these [things], if what you say is true."²⁴

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "all the names". The term ism ("name") implies, according to all philologists, an expression "conveying the knowledge [of a thing]...applied to denote a substance or an accident or an attribute, for the purpose of distinction" (Lane IV, 1435): in philosophical terminology, a "concept". From this it may legitimately be inferred that the "knowledge of all the names" denotes here man's faculty of logical definition and, thus, of conceptual thinking. That by "Adam" the whole human race is meant here becomes obvious from the preceding reference, by the angels, to "such as will spread corruption on earth and will shed blood", as well as from 7:11 .

Namely, that it was they who, by virtue of their purity, were better qualified to "inherit the earth".

He taught Adam the names of all things; then He presented the things to the angels and said: "Tell Me the names of those if what you say is true?" (Allah did this to show Adam's special qualities of learning and memory).

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And He taught Adam all the names, then showed them to the angels, saying: Inform me of the names of these, if ye are truthful.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

They replied: "Limitless art Thou in Thy glory! No knowledge have we save that which Thou hast imparted unto us. Verily, Thou alone art all-knowing, truly wise."

  - Mohammad Asad

"Glory to You," they replied, "we have no knowledge except what You have taught us: in fact You are the One who is perfect in knowledge and wisdom."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

They said: Be glorified! We have no knowledge saving that which Thou hast taught us. Lo! Thou, only Thou, art the Knower, the Wise.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

Said He: "O Adam, convey unto them the names of these [things]." And as soon as [Adam] had conveyed unto them their names, [God] said: "Did I not say unto you, 'Verily, I alone know the hidden reality of the heavens and the earth, and know all that you bring into the open and all that you would conceal'?"

  - Mohammad Asad

Allah said: "O Adam! Tell them the names." When Adam told them the names, Allah said: "Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of the heavens and the earth and I know what you reveal and what you conceal?"

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

He said: O Adam! Inform them of their names, and when he had informed them of their names, He said: Did I not tell you that I know the secret of the heavens and the earth? And I know that which ye disclose and which ye hide.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And when We told the angels, "Prostrate yourselves before Adam!"²⁵ - they all prostrated themselves, save Iblis, who refused and gloried in his arrogance: and thus he became one of those who deny the truth²⁶.

  - Mohammad Asad

To show that, by virtue of his ability to think conceptually, man is superior in this respect even to the angels.

For an explanation of the name of the Fallen Angel, see surah 7, note 10. The fact of this "rebellion", repeatedly stressed in the Qur'an, has led some of the commentators to the conclusion that he could not have been one of the angels, since these are incapable of sinning: "they do not bear themselves with false pride... and they do whatever they are bidden to do" (16:49-50). As against this, other commentators point to the Qur'anic phrasing of God's command to the angels and of Iblis' refusal to obey, which makes it absolutely clear that at the time of that command he was indeed one of the heavenly host. Hence, we must assume that his "rebellion" has a purely symbolic significance and is, in reality, the outcome of a specific function assigned to him by God (see note 31 on 15:41).

When We ordered the angels: "Prostrate before Adam in respect," they all prostrated except Iblees (Shaitan) who refused in his arrogance and became a disbeliever.

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And when We said unto the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they fell prostrate, all save Iblis. He demurred through pride, and so became a disbeliever.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall

And We said: "O Adam, dwell thou and thy wife in this garden,²⁷ and eat freely thereof, both of you, whatever you may wish; but do not approach this one tree, lest you become wrongdoers."²⁸

  - Mohammad Asad

Lit., "the garden". There is a considerable difference of opinion among the commentators as to what is meant here by "garden": a garden in the earthly sense, or the paradise that awaits the righteous in the life to come, or some special garden in the heavenly regions? According to some of the earliest commentators (see Manar I, 277), an earthly abode is here alluded to - namely, an environment of perfect ease, happiness and innocence. In any case, this story of Adam is obviously one of the allegories referred to in 3:7 .

This tree is alluded to elsewhere in the Qur'an ( 20:120 ) as "the tree of life eternal", and in the Bible (Genesis ii, 9) as "the tree of life" and "the tree of knowledge of good and evil". For a tentative explanation of this allegory, see note [106] on 20:120 .

To Adam We said: "Dwell with your wife in Paradise and eat anything you want from its bountiful food from wherever you wish, but do not approach this tree, or you shall both become transgressors."

  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik

And We said: O Adam! Dwell thou and thy wife in the Garden, and eat ye freely (of the fruits) thereof where ye will; but come not nigh this tree lest ye become wrongdoers.

  - Marmaduke Pickthall