The Artistry of the Opening of Surah al-Baqarah: A Study and Analysis (Part Twelve)

براعة الاستهلال في سورة البقرة؛ عرضٌ وتحليلٌ

The Artistry of the Opening of Surah al-Baqarah: A Study and Analysis (Part Twelve)

By: Abd an-Nasir Salamah

Translated by: Reza Ervani bin Asmanu

This article, “The Artistry of the Opening of Surah al-Baqarah,” is included in the Tadabbur al Quran in English Category

كما أن في قوله تعالى: ﴿يُقِيمُونَ﴾ ما يفيد حقيقة الصلاة التي يصدق عليها أنها دليل إيمانٍ وأنها اهتداءٌ بالقرآن؛ إِذْ يدلّ وصف الإقامة على الحفاظ على الصلاة بأركانها وفرائضها وسننها وآدابها، من قولهم: أقام العُودَ؛ إذا قَوَّمَه وعَدَّلَه،

The word used in the saying of Allah Most High, “they establish”, also conveys the true nature of the prayer that can properly be regarded as evidence of faith and as a manifestation of guidance through the Qur’an. The expression “establishing” prayer indicates maintaining it with its pillars, obligations, sunnahs, and proper etiquettes. In Arabic, one says, aqama al-‘ud, when a person sets a stick upright and straightens it.¹

مع ما تفيده أيضًا صيغة المضارع من المواظبة عليها والدوام على فعلها؛ فالصلاة المعتبرة المقصودة هي الصلاة المتقَنة الدائمة.

The present-tense form of the verb also conveys consistency and continuity in performing it.² Thus, the prayer intended here is one that is performed properly and maintained continuously.

وفي وقوع الصلاة بهذه الصفات تعريضٌ ببني إسرائيل في تركهم لها وإعراضهم عنها؛ إِذْ كانت مما عُهِد إليهم من الميثاق الذي أخَلُّوا به كما في قوله تعالى:

The description of prayer in these terms also contains, according to the author, an implicit criticism of the Children of Israel for neglecting it and turning away from it, even though prayer formed part of the covenant taken from them — a covenant they later failed to uphold — as Allah Most High says:

﴿وَإِذْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ لَا تَعْبُدُونَ إِلَّا اللَّهَ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَذِي الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَامَى وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيْتُمْ إِلَّا قَلِيلًا مِنْكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ مُعْرِضُونَ﴾ [البقرة: ٨٣]

“And when We took the covenant of the Children of Israel: Do not worship except Allah; be good to parents, relatives, orphans, and the needy; speak good words to people; establish prayer; and give zakah. Then you turned away, except for a few of you, while you were refusing.” (Surah al-Baqarah: 83)

وقد تكرَّر ذِكْر الصلاة في سورة البقرة في سياقاتٍ أخرى عديدةٍ، كما في قوله تعالى:

Prayer is repeatedly mentioned throughout Surah al-Baqarah in many other contexts, as in the words of Allah Most High:

﴿وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَمَا تُقَدِّمُوا لِأَنْفُسِكُمْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ تَجِدُوهُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ﴾ [البقرة: ١١٠]،

“Establish prayer and give zakah, and whatever good you send ahead for yourselves, you will find it with Allah. Indeed, Allah sees all that you do.” (Surah al-Baqarah: 110)

وقوله تعالى: ﴿يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اسْتَعِينُوا بِالصَّبْرِ وَالصَّلَاةِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الصَّابِرِينَ﴾ [البقرة: ١٥٣]،

And His saying: “O you who believe, seek help through patience and prayer. Indeed, Allah is with the patient.” (Surah al-Baqarah: 153)

وقوله تعالى: ﴿حَافِظُوا عَلَى الصَّلَوَاتِ وَالصَّلَاةِ الْوُسْطَى وَقُومُوا لِلَّهِ قَانِتِينَ﴾ [البقرة: ٢٣٨]،

And His saying: “Guard strictly the prayers, especially the middle prayer, and stand before Allah devoutly obedient.” (Surah al-Baqarah: 238)

وغيرها من الآيات، وفي هذا كلّه بيان أهمية الصلاة في تحقيق التقوى والاهتداء بالقرآن، كما أن فيها دليلًا على كون هذا الافتتاح بذِكْرها براعةَ استهلالٍ للسورة. وهو كذلك لجميع القرآن؛ لأن موضوع الصلاة موضوعٌ مستفيضٌ جدًّا في مكيِّ القرآن ومدنيِّه، لا سيما في ربطه بالإيمان.

These and other verses demonstrate the importance of prayer in realizing taqwa and attaining guidance through the Qur’an. They also indicate that mentioning prayer at the beginning of the surah constitutes bara’at al-istihlal for Surah al-Baqarah itself. The same applies to the Qur’an as a whole, since prayer is a recurring and extensive theme in both the Makkan and Madinan revelations, particularly in its close association with faith.

وأمّا المعْلَم الثالث من معالم الاهتداء القرآنيِّ فهو الوفاء بحقّ العباد والإحسان إليهم، وقد اقتصرت الآيات من ذلك على ذِكْر الإنفاق: ﴿وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ﴾ [البقرة: ٣]؛ إذ الإنفاق أعظم تجليات الوفاء بحقوق العباد، ولذلك كَثُر الأمرُ به في القرآن والحضُّ عليه، وهو يشمل هنا ما كان منه واجبًا؛ كالزكاة والنفقة على الأهل والعيال والوالدين، أو كان ندبًا يُفعل على وجه البر والإحسان

The third major feature of Qur’anic guidance is fulfilling the rights of other people and treating them with excellence. In these opening verses, this is represented by spending: “And from what We have provided them, they spend.” (Surah al-Baqarah: 3) Spending is among the clearest manifestations of fulfilling the rights of others. For this reason, the Qur’an frequently commands and encourages it. Here, it includes obligatory forms of spending, such as zakah and maintenance of one’s family, children, and parents, as well as voluntary spending carried out as an act of righteousness and benevolence.³

هذا مع ما تتضمّنه الجملة -مع وجازتها- من إشارةٍ إلى موجبات الأمر بالإنفاق من خلال التنبيه على أنّ المال رزقٌ من الله: ﴿وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ﴾؛ وذلك يتطلب التصرف فيه وفق مراده سبحانه، كما قال تعالى:

Despite its brevity, the expression also contains an indication of the reasons behind the command to spend, by drawing attention to the fact that wealth is provision from Allah: “from what We have provided them.” This requires that such wealth be used in accordance with His will, as Allah Most High says:

﴿وَأَنْفِقُوا مِمَّا جَعَلَكُمْ مُسْتَخْلَفِينَ فِيهِ﴾ [الحديد: ٧]

“And spend from that over which He has made you trustees.” (Surah al-Hadid: 7)

كما أنّ في الجملة امتنانًا يستدعي شكرًا لله من خلال امتثال أمره بالإنفاق، مع ما يفيده أيضًا حرف الجر في قوله: ﴿مِمَّا﴾ من التبعيض الدالّ على أنّ المقصود إنفاقُ بعض المال لا إنفاق المال كلّه؛ ليقع التكليف بذلك موقعًا خفيفًا على النفس بسبب ما جُبلت عليه من الأَثَرة وحُبّ المال

The sentence also conveys a reminder of Allah’s favor, which calls for gratitude through obedience to His command to spend. In addition, the preposition min in the expression mimma conveys the meaning of partiality, indicating that what is required is to spend some of one’s wealth rather than all of it. This makes the command easier for the human soul, given its natural tendency toward self-interest and love of wealth.⁴

وفي هذه المعاني كلِّها تشنيعٌ ضمنيٌّ بحال البخيل الذي ترك الإنفاق رغم هذه الموجبات!

All of these meanings also contain an implicit condemnation of the miser who refuses to spend despite all of these reasons and incentives.

To be continued in the next part, in sha Allah

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1. See: Irshad al-‘Aql as-Salim, Abu as-Su’ud, Beirut: Dar Ihya’ at-Turath al-‘Arabi, vol. 1, p. 31.
2. See: at-Tahrir wa at-Tanwir, vol. 1, p. 231.
3. See: al-Muharrar al-Wajiz, Ibn ‘Atiyyah, Beirut: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 1422 AH, vol. 1, p. 85.
4. See: Taysir al-Karim ar-Rahman, p. 40.