Al-Baqara (The Cow)

Al-Baqara (The Cow)
Chapter 2: Verses 78-82

Engrossed in sin
"Then there are among them some un-lettered people who have no knowledge of the Book but depend upon empty hopes and are guided by mere conjecture and guesswork. So woe to their learned people, who write the law with their own hands and then say to the people, "This is from Allah," so that they might gain some paltry worldly end. This writing of their hands will bring woe to them and what they gain thereby will lead to their ruin. They also say, "The fire of Hell is not going to touch us, and even if it does at all, it will be only for a few days".

Say, "Have you obtained a promise from Allah which He would not break? Or, do you attribute to Allah things you do not know? Why will not the fire of Hell touch you? Whoever earns evil and becomes engrossed in sin shall be doomed to Hell and abide therein for ever. Only those people who believe and do good deeds, will be the dwellers of the Garden and live there for ever."

The ayahs above were revealed to the Prophet (peace be upon him) in Medina in support of his mission to aid him in his dealing with the Jews of Medina. But the sad reality is that these Ayahs reflect the condition of the Muslims today. As many commentators of the Quran have mentioned in the past, these stories of the Children of Israel are for us to reflect on and to improve our own situation.

The Average Joe

Among the Jews of Medina there were some who were ignorant of the Scriptures, unaware of the principles of faith as enunciated by God in His Book, unaware of the rules of conduct that He had laid down, and of the teachings which are of fundamental importance for man's salvation. Because they lacked this knowledge, they fabricated a whole religion out of their desires and fancies, living in a paradise built on false hopes and illusions.

Is not this the situation of the Muslims today? Most of us do not access the scriptures with understanding, nor do we refer to the Islamic guidelines in our day-to-day activities. We attribute our success to our own abilities, and blame our failure on others. God seldom plays a role in our lives. On top of that we have decided what Islam should be all about and concentrate on propagating our beliefs as that of Islam's.

The Scholars

The next set of ayah refers to what their learned people did. They were not content with misinterpreting the Word of God. They also interjected into it their readings of the Scriptures and their explanatory comments thereof, stories from their national history, superstitious ideas and fancies, philosophical doctrines and legal rules. The result was that the Divine and the human became inextricably mixed. They claimed, nevertheless, that the entire thing was divine! Every historical anecdote, the interpretation of every commentator, the doctrine of every theologian, and the legal deduction of every jurist that managed to find its way into the Bible became the 'Word of God'. It was thus obligatory to believe in all that, and every deviation from it became tantamount to deviation from the true faith.

Is this not also a reflection of a large section of our "religious" men? Truly, we are blessed in that throughout the ages we have had scholars who have stayed true to Islam and preserved it for us. But there are still many innovated practices, false beliefs, and likes which have crept into our religion because of "so-called" scholars who have taken advantage of our naivety to exploit us.

Few Days in Hell

There was a general belief among some Jews and their religious leaders that they felt sure that no matter what they did, they would remain immune from hell-fire just by virtue of being Jews! The worst they could conceive of was the possibility of a transient punishment before they were transported to heaven.

Is this not exactly how most Muslims view Hellfire? It is common to meet people who are happy to rely on their belief that ultimately they are going to Jannah since they were born-Muslims. As such, many refuse to change their sinful ways since to them the punishment of hell-fire will only be temporary. Yet, they choose not to remember the description of the hell-fire and incredible punishment that the resident of the Hell-fire will go through. It is delusional belief that Shaitan wants us to perpetuate so that we do not correct our wrongs in this life.

Source:
"Towards Understanding the Quran" - Syed Abul Ala Mawdudi