The concluding part of Verse 213 of Surah Al-Baqarah, akin to a clear mirror, presents a profound framework for reflection upon the path of faith and human felicity. This verse, by posing an interrogative inquiry and alluding to the hardships endured by predecessors, invites the audience to contemplate the difficulties of religiosity and the necessity of sincerity. In this exegesis, adopting a scientific and refined approach, the verse's content is analysed systematically and enriched with supplementary explanations, semantic connections, and literary metaphors. The objective is to provide a text that appeals both scientifically and literarily to erudite audiences and academic milieus.
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُمْ مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ ۖ مَسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ
Did you think that you would enter Paradise while the example of those who passed away before you had not yet come to you? They were afflicted by adversity and hardship and were shaken until the Messenger and those who believed with him said, When is the help of Allah? Indeed, the help of Allah is near.
This verse, resembling a summation of a logical argument, elucidates the outcome of the preceding verses that addressed various types of human beings, inclinations, and deeds. By posing an interrogative question, it calls the audience to reflect on the consequences of human behaviour.
From the perspective of the sociology of religion, human history resembles a repetitive flow, revealing general rules governing societal behaviour. Yet, from a philosophical and mystical viewpoint, no entity repeats in divine manifestation, as it is said: "La tikrr f at-tajall" (There is no repetition in manifestation). These two perspectives, like two wings, complement each other and provide a comprehensive framework for analysing human conduct.
Every entity, like a unique flower in the garden of creation, reflects divine unity. God is unique in essence, attributes, and actions, and this uniqueness manifests in every particle of creation. It is as though each creature bears a distinctive signature from the One Creator.
The inclination towards monotheism acts as a key that opens the doors of salvation, whereas inclination towards polytheism functions as a lock blocking the path to felicity. This principle flows as a common alphabet across all nations. Should a society incline towards monotheism, it attains unity and felicity; if it adopts polytheism, it descends into discord and misguidance.
From the viewpoint of religious psychology, monotheistic tendencies lead to psychological and social cohesion, while polytheism and division, akin to a storm, destabilise ethical and social foundations.
Every people and nation, like a unique pattern woven into the fabric of history, possess distinctive characteristics. Yet, general rules, analogous to grammatical rules in language, recur across all societies. This distinction between uniqueness and general rules offers a framework for analysing the philosophy of Islamic history.
Verse 213 is the culmination of the call to Enter into the peace completely (adkhul f as-silm kffatan) (Al-Baqarah: 208), emphasising the necessity of full entry into divine peace and submission. This call resembles a map indicating the path of guidance, whereas disobedience constitutes a dead-end leading to rebellion and discord.
The verse under discussion, by referring to khatwt ash-shayn (the devils steps), warns the audience against following satanic whispers. These steps sometimes appear as social seditions, at other times under economic motives, and sometimes in the guise of ethnic prejudices.
By posing the question Did you think you would enter Paradise, the verse critiques nave optimism in attaining felicity. This question acts as a sharp reminder that prevents the audience from simplistic assumptions on the path of faith and stresses the necessity of struggle and endurance.
Worldly hardships such as illness, bankruptcy, and lifes tribulations are separate from religious struggle. This distinction acts like a line separating the material sphere from the spiritual realm. Effort towards religion requires sincerity and self-transcendence for divine satisfaction, as narrated: "Whoever departs from his home for God and dies shall be a martyr."
This sincerity acts like a lamp illuminating the path of religiosity, whereas mixing religion and worldly affairs resembles a fog that obscures this light.
True faith is contingent upon complete submission to divine will and renunciation of worldly benefits. The true believer resembles one who sacrifices himself for Gods satisfaction rather than pursuing worldly sweetness. The Holy Quran states: "Whoever sells himself seeking the pleasure of Allah."
This sincerity is like a breeze that carries the soul towards annihilation in God, while attachment to the world acts as a chain imprisoning the human in the cage of materiality.
Some seekers of religious knowledge, over time, distance themselves from initial sincerity and become afflicted by hardness of heart and worldliness. This deviation resembles a blight that withers the sapling of spirituality, resulting in loss both in this world and the hereafter.
Mixing religion and worldly matters, like blending water and oil, leads to self-deception and misguidance. Religious knowledge must be purified of material attachments to attain the station of sincerity.
The reduction of religious scholars to engaging in marginal issues, such as divination, weakens their scientific and spiritual stature. A religious scholar should be like a torch illuminating grand religious and social matters, not confined to mundane trivialities.
The particle "أَمْ" in the verse functions as a rhetorical device implying an interrogative negation, warning the audience against nave optimism in attaining felicity. This structure acts like a mirror reflecting erroneous human calculations.
The phrase "أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ" serves as an invitation for self-knowledge and precise evaluation of deeds. Self-accounting functions as a scale guiding humans to reform beliefs and behaviours.
The narration "All perish except the scholar, and the scholar except the sincere, and the sincere are in great danger" indicates that even the sincere remain vulnerable to deviation until they attain complete salvation. This danger is like a whirlpool from which only absolute sincerity can deliver one.
"Bs" refers to psychological anxieties and "arr
The concluding part of Verse 213 of Surah Al-Baqarah, akin to a clear mirror, presents a profound framework for reflection upon the path of faith and human felicity. This verse, by posing an interrogative inquiry and alluding to the hardships endured by predecessors, invites the audience to contemplate the difficulties of religiosity and the necessity of sincerity. In this exegesis, adopting a scientific and refined approach, the verse's content is analysed systematically and enriched with supplementary explanations, semantic connections, and literary metaphors. The objective is to provide a text that appeals both scientifically and literarily to erudite audiences and academic milieus.
أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ أَنْ تَدْخُلُوا الْجَنَّةَ وَلَمَّا يَأْتِكُمْ مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ خَلَوْا مِنْ قَبْلِكُمْ ۖ مَسَّتْهُمُ الْبَأْسَاءُ وَالضَّرَّاءُ وَزُلْزِلُوا حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَ الرَّسُولُ وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا مَعَهُ مَتَىٰ نَصْرُ اللَّهِ ۗ أَلَا إِنَّ نَصْرَ اللَّهِ قَرِيبٌ
Did you think that you would enter Paradise while the example of those who passed away before you had not yet come to you? They were afflicted by adversity and hardship and were shaken until the Messenger and those who believed with him said, When is the help of Allah? Indeed, the help of Allah is near.
This verse, resembling a summation of a logical argument, elucidates the outcome of the preceding verses that addressed various types of human beings, inclinations, and deeds. By posing an interrogative question, it calls the audience to reflect on the consequences of human behaviour.
From the perspective of the sociology of religion, human history resembles a repetitive flow, revealing general rules governing societal behaviour. Yet, from a philosophical and mystical viewpoint, no entity repeats in divine manifestation, as it is said: "La tikrr f at-tajall" (There is no repetition in manifestation). These two perspectives, like two wings, complement each other and provide a comprehensive framework for analysing human conduct.
Every entity, like a unique flower in the garden of creation, reflects divine unity. God is unique in essence, attributes, and actions, and this uniqueness manifests in every particle of creation. It is as though each creature bears a distinctive signature from the One Creator.
The inclination towards monotheism acts as a key that opens the doors of salvation, whereas inclination towards polytheism functions as a lock blocking the path to felicity. This principle flows as a common alphabet across all nations. Should a society incline towards monotheism, it attains unity and felicity; if it adopts polytheism, it descends into discord and misguidance.
From the viewpoint of religious psychology, monotheistic tendencies lead to psychological and social cohesion, while polytheism and division, akin to a storm, destabilise ethical and social foundations.
Every people and nation, like a unique pattern woven into the fabric of history, possess distinctive characteristics. Yet, general rules, analogous to grammatical rules in language, recur across all societies. This distinction between uniqueness and general rules offers a framework for analysing the philosophy of Islamic history.
Verse 213 is the culmination of the call to Enter into the peace completely (adkhul f as-silm kffatan) (Al-Baqarah: 208), emphasising the necessity of full entry into divine peace and submission. This call resembles a map indicating the path of guidance, whereas disobedience constitutes a dead-end leading to rebellion and discord.
The verse under discussion, by referring to khatwt ash-shayn (the devils steps), warns the audience against following satanic whispers. These steps sometimes appear as social seditions, at other times under economic motives, and sometimes in the guise of ethnic prejudices.
By posing the question Did you think you would enter Paradise, the verse critiques nave optimism in attaining felicity. This question acts as a sharp reminder that prevents the audience from simplistic assumptions on the path of faith and stresses the necessity of struggle and endurance.
Worldly hardships such as illness, bankruptcy, and lifes tribulations are separate from religious struggle. This distinction acts like a line separating the material sphere from the spiritual realm. Effort towards religion requires sincerity and self-transcendence for divine satisfaction, as narrated: "Whoever departs from his home for God and dies shall be a martyr."
This sincerity acts like a lamp illuminating the path of religiosity, whereas mixing religion and worldly affairs resembles a fog that obscures this light.
True faith is contingent upon complete submission to divine will and renunciation of worldly benefits. The true believer resembles one who sacrifices himself for Gods satisfaction rather than pursuing worldly sweetness. The Holy Quran states: "Whoever sells himself seeking the pleasure of Allah."
This sincerity is like a breeze that carries the soul towards annihilation in God, while attachment to the world acts as a chain imprisoning the human in the cage of materiality.
Some seekers of religious knowledge, over time, distance themselves from initial sincerity and become afflicted by hardness of heart and worldliness. This deviation resembles a blight that withers the sapling of spirituality, resulting in loss both in this world and the hereafter.
Mixing religion and worldly matters, like blending water and oil, leads to self-deception and misguidance. Religious knowledge must be purified of material attachments to attain the station of sincerity.
The reduction of religious scholars to engaging in marginal issues, such as divination, weakens their scientific and spiritual stature. A religious scholar should be like a torch illuminating grand religious and social matters, not confined to mundane trivialities.
The particle "أَمْ" in the verse functions as a rhetorical device implying an interrogative negation, warning the audience against nave optimism in attaining felicity. This structure acts like a mirror reflecting erroneous human calculations.
The phrase "أَمْ حَسِبْتُمْ" serves as an invitation for self-knowledge and precise evaluation of deeds. Self-accounting functions as a scale guiding humans to reform beliefs and behaviours.
The narration "All perish except the scholar, and the scholar except the sincere, and the sincere are in great danger" indicates that even the sincere remain vulnerable to deviation until they attain complete salvation. This danger is like a whirlpool from which only absolute sincerity can deliver one.
"Bs" refers to psychological anxieties and "arr
