Verses 200 to 202 of Surah Al-Baqarah reflect, as through a clear mirror, the diversity of human approaches towards worldly and hereafterly existence. These verses, revealed following the regulations of Hajj, transcend the ritualistic framework and elucidate the intellectual and behavioural systems of human beings. This treatise, relying on exegetical lectures and profound analyses, examines these verses with an elevated and scholarly diction, exploring the connection between worldly health and hereafterly felicity. The structure of this analysis, with systematic division and detailed examinations, seeks to reveal the comprehensiveness of the Holy Quran in guiding humanity towards a purposeful and knowledgeable life.
فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُمْ مَنَاسِكَكُمْ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَذِكْرِكُمْ آبَاءَكُمْ أَوْ أَشَدَّ ذِكْرًا ۚ فَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَمَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ ٢٠٠
When you have completed your rites, remember Allah as you remember your forefathers or with greater remembrance. Among the people are those who say: Our Lord, give us in this world, but they have no share in the Hereafter.
وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ ٢٠١
And among them are those who say: Our Lord, grant us good in this world and good in the Hereafter and protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
أُولَئِكَ لَهُمْ نَصِيبٌ مِمَّا كَسَبُوا ۚ وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ ٢٠٢
Those will have a share of what they have earned, and Allah is swift in account.
Verses 200 to 202 of Surah Al-Baqarah, transitioning from practical rulings of Hajj to explication of intellectual and behavioural systems, reveal the Qurans comprehensiveness in linking worship with the wisdom of life. Verse 200, after mentioning the completion of pilgrimage rites, commands divine remembrance and subsequently distinguishes between human requests to God. Verse 201 introduces a purposeful supplication seeking both worldly and hereafterly good. Verse 202 emphasises the share of deeds and the swift divine reckoning, depicting Gods justice in rewarding.
The Holy Quran, like a pristine spring, possesses infinite capacity to guide future generations. Humanitys utilisation of this celestial book over fourteen centuries, according to the lectures, has encompassed only a fraction of its intellectual treasury. These verses, by elucidating human diversity in requests from God, exemplify this endless capacity.
The slogan Hasbun Kitbu Allh (The Book of Allah is sufficient for us) calls for Quran-centricity and reduction of reliance on unauthenticated narrations. The limitations of exegetical narrations, due to the historical conditions of the Imams (peace be upon them) and obstacles such as taqiyya, necessitate direct ijtihd on the Quran itself. These verses, relying on explicit text, require no supplementary narrations, and their direct analysis paves the way for deeper understanding.
This section, emphasising the comprehensiveness and dynamism of the Holy Quran, stresses the necessity of direct reference to its text and rational ijtihd in exegesis. Verses 200 to 202, as exemplars of this capacity, provide guidance for understanding human diversity and the systematic nature of life.
The lectures differentiate between tin (request based on effort) and An (divine granting without precondition). tin, used in verses 200 and 201, depends on human endeavour and will, whereas An indicates unconditional divine grace. This distinction points to differences in the intention and purposefulness of the supplicants.
An depends on the giver (God), and tin depends on the receiver (human). This difference reveals degrees of faith: those who seek only the world lack purposeful intent, while those who seek good in both worlds have intentions and efforts aligned with divine wisdom.
The distinction between tin and An and their dependence on agent and patient highlights the role of intention and effort in supplication. This analysis introduces purposeful prayer as a sign of faith and intellectual maturity.
The verses categorise humans into several groups: those who do not ask, and those who request with Rabbana tin. The first group either deny lordship or consider questioning reprehensible, while the second group divides into those seeking only the world and those seeking good in both worlds.
The group saying Rabbana tin f al-duny lack a specific purpose. This aimlessness results in no share in the Hereafter (M Lahu F al-khirah Min Khalq). The lectures liken this group to a childish, feckless individual who requests without need.
This group, called the oppressed in the lectures, despite effort and toil, achieve no result due to lack of purpose. Their wealth, knowledge, and power lack goodness and lead to worldly and hereafterly misery.
The lectures emphasise that worldly health is a prerequisite for hereafterly felicity. Request without goodness leads to misery, as reflected in M Lahu F al-khirah Min Khalq. Goodness is the purposeful good linking this world and the next.
