Abraham and Jacob bequeath their religion to their issues, Abraham’s religion made the basis, Islamic baptism demands belief in the truthfulness of all the apostles of God, Islam a Non-sectarian religion, Worship of God the common basis of all religions, The ancestors of the Isra’ilites.

Al-Baqarah Verses 130 - 141

وَمَنْ يَرْغَبُ عَنْ مِلَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ إِلَّا مَنْ سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُ وَلَقَدِ اصْطَفَيْنَاهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا وَإِنَّهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ

“And who turneth away from the creed of Abraham but (one) who debaseth his self; And indeed We have chosen him in this world; and verily in the hereafter he is of the righteous ones” (2:130).

إِذْ قَالَ لَهُ رَبُّهُ أَسْلِمْ قَالَ أَسْلَمْتُ لِرَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

“And remember when his Lord said unto him, “Surrender (thyself to me)” he said, “I have surrendered (myself) to the Lord of the worlds” (2:131).

وَوَصَّىٰ بِهَا إِبْرَاهِيمُ بَنِيهِ وَيَعْقُوبُ يَا بَنِيَّ إِنَّ اللَّهَ اصْطَفَىٰ لَكُمُ الدِّينَ فَلَا تَمُوتُنَّ إِلَّا وَأَنْتُمْ مُسْلِمُونَ

“And this did Abraham bequeath to his sons and so (did) Jacob; (Saying), “O my sons! verily God hath chosen for you the religion (Islam) Therefore, ye die not but as ‘Muslims’” (2:132).

أَمْ كُنْتُمْ شُهَدَاءَ إِذْ حَضَرَ يَعْقُوبَ الْمَوْتُ إِذْ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِنْ بَعْدِي قَالُوا نَعْبُدُ إِلَٰهَكَ وَإِلَٰهَ آبَائِكَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ إِلَٰهًا وَاحِدًا وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ

“Were ye witnesses when death approached Jacob? When he said unto his sons, “what will ye worship after me?” They said, “We will worship thy God and the God of thy fathers, Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac, One God (alone) and (only) to Him do we submit” (2:133).

تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُمْ مَا كَسَبْتُمْ وَلَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

“This is a group that hath passed away; for them is the reward which they (have) earned and ye shall have that which ye (have) earned and ye shall not be questioned for what they had been doing” (2:134).

وَقَالُوا كُونُوا هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ تَهْتَدُوا قُلْ بَلْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ حَنِيفًا وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ الْمُشْرِكِينَ

“They say, “Be ye Jews or Christians (so that) ye shall be (rightly) guided” Say (thou O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!) “Nay! but the creed of Abraham, the upright one; and he was not of those who associate others with God” (2:135).

قُولُوا آمَنَّا بِاللَّهِ وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَىٰ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطِ وَمَا أُوتِيَ مُوسَىٰ وَعِيسَىٰ وَمَا أُوتِيَ النَّبِيُّونَ مِنْ رَبِّهِمْ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْهُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ

“Say ye (O’ Muslims!): We believe in God and that which hath been sent down unto us and that which was sent down unto Abraham and Ishmael and Isaac and Jacob and the tribes and which was given unto Moses and Jesus and that which was given unto the apostles from their Lord. No difference do we make between any of them and to Him (alone) have we submitted (ourselves’)” (2:136).

فَإِنْ آمَنُوا بِمِثْلِ مَا آمَنْتُمْ بِهِ فَقَدِ اهْتَدَوْا وَإِنْ تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنَّمَا هُمْ فِي شِقَاقٍ فَسَيَكْفِيكَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ

“So if they believe as ye believe they are indeed (rightly) guided but if they turn away, it is they who are in schism; then God will suffice thee against them, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing” (2:137).

صِبْغَةَ اللَّهِ وَمَنْ أَحْسَنُ مِنَ اللَّهِ صِبْغَةً وَنَحْنُ لَهُ عَابِدُونَ

“(This is) God’s Colouring and who is better than God in Colouring; while Him (alone) do we worship” (2:138).

قُلْ أَتُحَاجُّونَنَا فِي اللَّهِ وَهُوَ رَبُّنَا وَرَبُّكُمْ وَلَنَا أَعْمَالُنَا وَلَكُمْ أَعْمَالُكُمْ وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُخْلِصُونَ

“Say thou (unto the people of the Book), “Dispute ye with us about God; whereas He is our Lord and your Lord, and for us are our deeds and for you are your deeds; to Him (alone) we are (exclusively) loyal?” (2:139).

أَمْ تَقُولُونَ إِنَّ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَاقَ وَيَعْقُوبَ وَالْأَسْبَاطَ كَانُوا هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَىٰ قُلْ أَأَنْتُمْ أَعْلَمُ أَمِ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ أَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ كَتَمَ شَهَادَةً عِنْدَهُ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَمَا اللَّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ

“Or do ye say that Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the Tribes were Jews or Christians? Say (O’ Our Apostle Muhammad!), “Do ye know better or God (knoweth it)? Who is more unjust than those who conceal the testimony they have from God? And God is not heedless of what ye do” (2:140).

تِلْكَ أُمَّةٌ قَدْ خَلَتْ لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَلَكُمْ مَا كَسَبْتُمْ وَلَا تُسْأَلُونَ عَمَّا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

“Those are a group(a) that hath passed away, for them (shall be) that which they (have) earned and for you (shall be) what ye earn and ye will not be questioned about what they had been doing” (2:141).

Commentary

Verse 130

‘‘Safeha - nafsahu’ i.e. He who debases himself commits himself to disgrace and condemnation. Islam being the natural religion for mankind as a whole, revealed by the All-Merciful Lord, none but the one who turns away from the call of reason and truth alone will reject it, which means that Islam is the religion of the sensible and rejecting it means one’s condemning one’s own self to everlasting debasement and perpetual suffering.

Verse 131

‘Aslim’ means submit or surrender, and it is the root of the word Islam, the name given to the religion which means the act of surrendering one’s self to God. Abraham did the same and he was a Muslim in the perfect sense of the word.

Verse 132

The parting advice of Abraham and Jacob to their issues was to Jive as Muslims and die as Muslims. This event has been referred to in Gen 18/19.

“For I know him, that he will command, his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him”

§Verse 133

Compare Holy Qur’an 2:133, 3:84, 4:163, 6:86, 38:45 - 47; it is to be noted here that Ishmael who was a paternal uncle to Jacob has been included into the fathers of the issues of Jacob. It is quite evident that in the language of the people a paternal uncle was addressed as a father. In the same way Abraham had addressed to Azar his uncle as his father.

For the traditional account Rodwell cites Midrash Rabbah on Gen. par. 28 and on Deuteronomy. par. 2 etc. “At the time when our father Jacob quitted this world, he summoned his twelve sons and said to them, Hearken to your father Isra’il (Gen. 12/2). “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing” “Have ye any doubts in your hearts concerning the Holy One, Blessed be He” They said, “Hear O’ Isra’il, our father. As there is no doubt in thy heart, no neither is there in ours. For the Lord is our God and He is one”. (B.H.)

Verse 134

The doctrine of personal responsibility is the cardinal feature of the religion Islam. On the Day of Judgment none can claim or draw any merit from others. Here the Jews and the Christians and all those who hold belief in the vicarious atonement are warned that on the Judgment Day each would have to account for his or her own deeds and will not be answerable for the deeds of the others. The Jews and Christians boasted about the ancient veterans of their faith. Hence, they are warned that because the great men or the leaders of their faith were righteous, it would never help them in the least unless they themselves are righteous.

Verse 135

‘Hanif’ meaning inclined to righteousness, orthodox, firm in faith, sound, and well - balanced, true firmness in sticking to the right path. The believers or the adherents of Islam are enjoined to remain firm on the right path - the path of truth and righteousness as the true, faithful representatives and advocates of the Abrahamic faith in the world.

Verse 136

This verse declares aloud the cosmopolitan nature of the religion Islam. This verse speaks out in clear - cut words the Universal aspect of the faith Islam. Islam envelops the world of truth and the truthful ones, and its life starts from the time truth was first revealed to the world and extends itself along with the genuine and the perfect submission of the created world to the Creator Lord of the Universe.

No religion on earth except Islam has ever demanded of its adherents to believe equally in the truthfulness and the flawless godliness, sinless purity of the conduct and character of the other apostles of God and in the other sacred scripts as the revealed Word of God.

Verse 137

The last part of the verse shows that from the earliest stages of the preaching of Islam, the Jews had become the active opponents of Islam, who opposed the spread of the faith and at the same time been planning to kill the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

Verse 138

‘Sibgh’ means dyeing, colouring or dipping or immersing in water. The word ‘Sibghah’ i.e. the act of dyeing or colouring has been adopted by the Christian Church for their own coined ritual of the ceremonial baptism which is effected in immersing in water the new convert or one newly recruited or admitted to their faith. The word ‘Sibghah’ is used in this verse to hint the Christians to say that their baptism does not really or in fact initiate the individual to the genuine godliness in the faith. The baptism of water demanding rejection of all the other Apostles of God. The natural baptism should be the initiation of the individual into the broad principles of the faith in the truthfulness of all the Apostles of God who appeared since the start of the heavenly ministry through man on earth in the different times and in the various places. By this the new entrant is introduced to the universal truth and is inspired with love for every goodness and all good men and hatred against every evil and every evil one. The Divine Baptism means the religion of God or the nature according to which mankind has been created.

Baptism should actually dye or colour or condition the mind of the believer with godliness and truth creating in the individual a natural repulsive tendency against godlessness.

There can never be any other dyeing, colouring, or conditioning against the mind of any individual against falsehood than initiating him into the attributes of God and dyeing the soul with the divinity of its Creator and Cherisher Lord. This is what Islam does. Islam inspires the believer with the conviction that God the Lord of the universe is the One and the Only Universal God. He loves every atom of his Creation. He who loves God must naturally love everything that God loves. God loves virtue and goodness Tawallah and hates vice and wickedness Tabarra and this is what a Muslim is initiated into.

Verse 139

This verse clearly declares the universal aspect of the Lordship of God. God the Lord of every being, God being the Lord of all, He can never be partial to any particular individual or race. Those sincerely devoted to Him would naturally have the special grace which will be the return for their own goodness. This is said to warn the Jews and the Christians who believe that they and only they are the beloved ones of God and no other people. To earn the love or grace of God or His wrath it is immaterial to whichever race or nation one may belong1.

Verse 140

The Jews and the Christians are reproved for their belief that none but only he who follows their dogmatic faith can have salvation. The interrogation in this verse is to indicate the disapproval of the belief of the Jews and the Christians, as it is used in the following Verse about the idol gods of the heathens:

أَلَهُمْ أَرْجُلٌ يَمْشُونَ بِهَا أَمْ لَهُمْ أَيْدٍ يَبْطِشُونَ بِهَا أَمْ لَهُمْ أَعْيُنٌ يُبْصِرُونَ بِهَا أَمْ لَهُمْ آذَانٌ يَسْمَعُونَ بِهَا قُلِ ادْعُوا شُرَكَاءَكُمْ ثُمَّ كِيدُونِ فَلَا تُنْظِرُونِ

“Have they feet wherewith they walk, or have they hands wherewith they hold, or have they eyes wherewith they see, or have they ears wherewith they hear? Say: Call upon your (so - called) partners (of Allah), and then contrive against me spare me not!” (7:195).

Verse 141

Here again the divine law of everyone to be paid according to one’s earnings is reiterated.

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• 1. Vide: 17:15, 35:18, 39:7.