Tafsir al-Qurtubi Vol. 3: Juz' 3: Sūrat al-Baqarah 254 - 286 & Sūrah Āli 'Imrān 1 - 95

The tafsīr of al-Qurṭubī is perhaps one of the most compendious of them all and is certainly among the most famous. As its title, al-Jāmi' li Aḥkām al-Qur'ān - The General Judgments of the Qur'an, suggests, its main focus is on the rulings and judgments to be found in the Qur'ān. However, in the course of doing that, al-Qurṭubī examines all the relevant sciences necessary, such as the ḥadīth pertaining to the āyahs, events in the sīrah, what the Companions, their Followers and other noted people of knowledge said about the āyahs, essential aspects of Arabic etymology, syntax and usage, copiously illustrated by examples, and much more. Among the important matters covered in this volume are extensive commentary on the Āyat al-Kursī the greatest āyat in the Qur'an, the āyats on usury and the longest āyat in the Qur'an which regulates credit and debt, among the very last revealed to the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, the unparalleled āyats that conclude Sūrat al-Baqarah, and the passage from Sūrah Āl 'Imrān that explicates the difference between āyats containing clear judgements and others that are open to interpretation. There is of course, the eponymous theme of the sūrah, the family of 'Imrān: Maryam, her son 'Īsā, Zakariyyā' and his son Yaḥyā, peace be upon them all. Translator’s note 2. Sūrat al-Baqarah – The Cow 254 – 286 254 You who believe! give away some of what We have provided for you before a Day arrives on which there is no trading, no close friendship and no intercession. It is the unbelievers who are the wrongdoers. 255 Allah, there is no god but Him, the Living, the Self-Sustaining. He is not subject to drowsiness or sleep. Everything in the heavens and the earth belongs to Him. Who can intercede with Him except by His permission? He knows what is before them and what is behind them but they cannot grasp any of His knowledge save what He wills. His Footstool encompasses the heavens and the earth and their preservation does not tire Him. He is the Most High, the Magnificent. 256 There is no compulsion where the dīn is concerned. Right guidance has become clearly distinct from error. Anyone who rejects false gods and believes in Allah has grasped the Firmest Handhold, which will never give way. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. 257 Allah is the Protector of those who believe. He brings them out of the darkness into the light. But those who disbelieve have false gods as protectors. They take them from the light into the darkness. Those are the Companions of the Fire remaining in it timelessly, for ever. 258 What about the one who argued with Ibrāhīm about his Lord, on the basis that Allah had given him sovereignty? Ibrāhīm said, ‘My Lord is He who gives life and causes to die.’ He said, ‘I too give life and cause to die.’ Ibrāhīm said, ‘Allah makes the sun come from the East. Make it come from the West.’ And the one who was an unbeliever was dumbfounded. Allah does not guide wrongdoing people. 259 Or the one who passed by a town which had fallen into ruin? He asked, ‘How can Allah restore this to life when it has died?’ Allah caused him to die a hundred years, then brought him back to life. Then He asked, ‘How long have you been here?’ He replied, ‘I have been here a day or part of a day.’ He said, ‘Not so! You have been here a hundred years. Look at your food and drink – it has not gone bad — and look at your donkey so We can make you a Sign for all mankind. Look at the bones – how We raise them up and clothe them in flesh.’ When it had become clear to him, he said, ’Now I know that Allah has power over all things.’ 260 When Ibrāhīm said, ‘My Lord, show me how You bring the dead to life.’ He asked, ‘Do you not then believe?’ He replied, ‘Indeed I do! But so that my heart may be at peace.’ He said, ‘Take four birds and train them to yourself. Then put a part of them on each mountain and call to them; they will come rushing to you. Know that Allah is Almighty, All-Wise.’ 261 The metaphor of those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah is that of a grain which produces seven ears; in every ear there are a hundred grains. Allah gives such multiplied increase to whoever He wills. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. 262 Those who spend their wealth in the Way of Allah, and then do not follow what they have spent by demands for gratitude or insulting words will have their reward with their Lord. They will feel no fear and will know no sorrow. 263 Correct and courteous words accompanied by forgiveness are better than ṣadaqah followed by insulting words. Allah is Rich Beyond Need, All-Forbearing. 264 You who believe! do not nullify your ṣadaqah by demands for gratitude or insulting words, like him who spends his wealth, showing off to people and not believing in Allah and the Last Day. His likeness is that of a smooth rock coated with soil, which, when heavy rain falls on it, is left stripped bare. They have no power over anything they have earned. Allah does not guide disbelieving people. 265 The metaphor of those who spend their wealth, desiring the pleasure of Allah and firmness for themselves, is that of a garden on a hillside. When heavy rain falls on it, it doubles its produce; and if heavy rain does not fall, there is dew. Allah sees what you do. 266 Would any of you like to have a garden of dates and grapes, with rivers flowing underneath and containing all kinds of fruits, then to be stricken with old age and have children who are weak, and then for a fierce whirlwind containing fire to come and strike it so that it goes up in flames? In this way Allah makes His Signs clear to you, so that hopefully you will reflect. 267 You who believe! give away some of the good things you have earned and some of what the earth produces for you. Do not have recourse to bad things when you give, things you would only take with your eyes tight shut! Know that Allah is Rich Beyond Need, Praiseworthy. 268 Shayṭān promises you poverty and commands you to avarice. Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and abundance. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. 269 He gives wisdom to whomever He wills and he who has been given wisdom has been given great good. But no one pays heed but people of intelligence. 270 Whatever amount you spend or vow you make, Allah knows it. The wrongdoers have no helpers. 271 If you make your ṣadaqah public, that is good. But if you conceal it and give it to the poor, that is better for you, and We will erase some of your bad actions from you. Allah is aware of what you do. 272 You are not responsible for their guidance, but Allah guides whomever He wills. Whatever good you give away is to your own benefit, when you give desiring only the Face of Allah. Whatever good you give away will be repaid to you in full. You will not be wronged. 273 It is for the poor who are held back in the Way of Allah, unable to travel in the land. The ignorant consider them rich because of their reticence. You will know them by their mark. They do not ask from people insistently. Whatever good you give away, Allah knows it. 274 Those who give away their wealth by night and day, secretly and openly, will have their reward with their Lord. They will feel no fear and will know no sorrow. 275 Those who practise usury will not rise from the grave except as someone driven mad by Shayṭān’s touch. That is because they say, ‘Trade is the same as usury.’ But Allah has permitted trade and He has forbidden usury. Whoever is given a warning by his Lord and then desists, can keep what he received in the past and his affair is Allah’s concern. But all who return to it will be the Companions of the Fire, remaining in it timelessly, for ever. 276 Allah obliterates usury but makes ṣadaqah grow in value! Allah does not love any persistently ungrateful wrongdoer. 277 Those who believe and do right actions and establish the prayer and pay zakāt, will have their reward with their Lord. They will feel no fear and will know no sorrow. 278 You who believe! be fearful of Allah and forgo any remaining usury if you are believers. 279 If you do not, know that it means war from Allah and His Messenger. But if you sincerely repent you may have your capital, without wronging and without being wronged. 280 If someone is in difficult circumstances, there should be a deferral until things are easier. But making a free gift of it would be better for you if you only knew. 281 Be fearful of a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every self will be paid in full for what it earned. They will not be wronged. 282 You who believe! when you take on a debt for a specified period, write it down. A writer should write it down between you justly. No writer should refuse to write; as Allah has taught him, so he should write. The one incurring the debt should dictate and should be fearful of Allah his Lord and not reduce it in any way. If the person incurring the debt is incompetent or weak or unable to dictate, then his guardian should dictate for him justly. Two men among you should act as witnesses. But if there are not two men, then a man and two women with whom you are satisfied as witnesses; then if one of them is confused, the other can remind her. Witnesses should not refuse when they are called upon. Do not think it too trivial to write down, whether small or large, with the date that it falls due. Doing that is more just in Allah’s sight and more helpful when bearing witness and more likely to eliminate any doubt – unless it is an immediate transaction hand to hand, taken and given without delay. There is nothing wrong in your not writing that down. Call witnesses when you trade. Neither writer nor witness should be put under pressure. If you do that, it is deviancy on your part. Be fearful of Allah and Allah will give you knowledge. Allah has knowledge of all things. 283 If you are on a journey and cannot find a writer, something can be left as a security. If you leave things on trust with one another the one who is trusted must deliver up his trust and be fearful of Allah his Lord. Do not conceal testimony. If someone does conceal it, his heart commits a crime. Allah knows what you do. 284 Everything in the heavens and everything in the earth belongs to Allah. Whether you divulge what is in yourselves or keep it hidden, Allah will still call you to account for it. He forgives whomever He wills and He punishes whomever He wills. Allah has power over all things. 285 The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. Each one believes in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers. We do not differentiate between any of His Messengers. They say, ‘We hear and we obey. Forgive us, our Lord! You are our journey’s end.’ 286 Allah does not impose on any self any more than it can bear. For it is what it has earned; against it, what it has merited. Our Lord, do not take us to task if we forget or make a mistake! Our Lord, do not place on us a load like the one You placed on those before us! Our Lord, do not place on us a load we have not the strength to bear! And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy on us. You are our Master, so help us against the people of the unbelievers. 3. Sūrah Āl ‘Imrān The Family of ‘Imrān 1 – 95 1 Alif Lām Mīm. 2. Allah, there is no god but Him, the Living, the Self-Sustaining. 3 He has sent down the Book to you with truth, confirming what was there before it. And He sent down the Torah and the Gospel, 4 previously, as guidance for mankind, and He has sent down the Furqān. Those who reject Allah’s Signs will have a terrible punishment. Allah is Almighty, Exactor of Revenge. 5 Allah – Him from Whom nothing is hidden, either on earth or in heaven. 6 It is He who forms you in the womb however He wills. There is no god but Him, the Almighty, the All-Wise. 7 It is He who sent down the Book to you from Him: āyahs containing clear judgments – they are the core of the Book – and others which are open to interpretation. Those with deviation in their hearts follow what is open to interpretation in it, desiring conflict, seeking its inner meaning. No one knows its inner meaning but Allah. Those firmly rooted in knowledge say, ‘We believe in it. All of it is from our Lord.’ But only people of intelligence pay heed. 8 ‘Our Lord, do not make our hearts swerve aside after You have guided us. And give us mercy from You. You are the Ever-Giving. 9 Our Lord, You are the Gatherer of mankind to a Day of which there is no doubt. Allah will not break His promise.’ 10 As for those who disbelieve, their wealth and children will not help them against Allah in any way. They are fuel for the Fire, 11 as was the case with the people of Pharaoh and those before them. They denied Our Signs so Allah seized them for their wrong actions. Allah is fierce in retribution. 12 Say to those who disbelieve: ‘You will be overwhelmed and crowded into Hell. What an evil resting-place!’ 13 There was a sign for you in the two parties which met face to face, one party fighting in the Way of Allah and the other unbelievers. You saw them as twice their number with your own eyes. Allah reinforces with His help whoever He wills. There is instruction in that for people of insight. 14 To mankind the love of worldly appetites is painted in glowing colours: women and children, and heaped-up mounds of gold and silver, and grazing horses with fine markings, and livestock and fertile farmland. All that is merely the enjoyment of the life of this world. The best homecoming is in the presence of Allah. 15 Say, ‘Shall I tell you of something better than that?’ The godfearing will have Gardens with their Lord, with rivers flowing under them, remaining in them timelessly, for ever, and purified wives, and the Pleasure of Allah. Allah sees His slaves: 16 those who say, ‘Our Lord, we believe, so forgive us our wrong actions and safeguard us from the punishment of the Fire.’ 17 The steadfast, the truthful, the obedient, the givers, and those who seek forgiveness before dawn. 18 Allah bears witness that there is no god but Him, as do the angels and the people of knowledge, upholding justice. There is no god but Him, the Almighty, the All-Wise. 19 The dīn with Allah is Islam. Those given the Book only differed after knowledge had come to them, envying one another. As for those who reject Allah’s Signs, Allah is swift at reckoning. 20 If they argue with you, say, ‘I have submitted myself completely to Allah, and so have all who follow me.’ Say to those given the Book and those who have no Book, ‘Have you become Muslim?’ If they become Muslim, they have been guided. If they turn away, you are only responsible for transmission. Allah sees His slaves. 21 As for those who reject Allah’s Signs, and kill the Prophets without any right to do so, and kill those who command justice, give them news of a painful punishment. 22 They are the ones whose actions come to nothing in this world or the Next World. They will have no helpers. 23 Do you not see those who have been given a portion of the Book being invited to let Allah’s Book be the judge between them? But then a group of them turn away. 24 That is because they say, ‘The Fire will only touch us for a number of days.’ Their inventions have deluded them in their dīn. 25 But how will it be when We gather them all together for a Day about which there is no doubt? Every self will be paid in full for what it earned. They will not be wronged. 26 Say, ‘O Allah! Master of the Kingdom! You give sovereignty to whomever You will You take sovereignty from whomever You will. You exalt whomever You will You abase whomever You will. All good is in Your hands. You have power over all things. 27 You merge the night into the day. You merge the day into the night. You bring out the living from the dead. You bring out the dead from the living. You provide for whoever You will without any reckoning.’ 28 The believers should not take unbelievers as friends rather than believers. Anyone who does that has nothing to do with Allah at all – unless it is because you are afraid of them. Allah advises you to be afraid of Him. Allah is the final destination. 29 Say, ‘Whether you conceal what is in your breasts or make it known, Allah knows it. He knows what is in the heavens and what is on earth. Allah has power over all things.’ 30 On the Day that each self finds the good it did, and the evil it did, present there in front of it, it will wish there were an age between it and then. Allah advises you to beware of Him. Allah is Ever-Gentle with His slaves. 31 Say, ‘If you love Allah, then follow me and Allah will love you and forgive you for your wrong actions. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful.’ 32 Say, ‘Obey Allah and the Messenger.’ Then if they turn away, Allah does not love the unbelievers. 33 Allah chose Ādam and Nūḥ and the family of Ibrāhīm and the family of ‘Imrān over all other beings – 34 descendants one of the other. Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing. 35 Remember when the wife of ‘Imrān said, ‘My Lord, I have pledged to You what is in my womb, devoting it to Your service. Please accept my prayer. You are the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing.’ 36 When she gave birth, she said, ‘My Lord! I have given birth to a girl’ – and Allah knew very well what she had given birth to, male and female are not the same – ‘and I have named her Maryam and placed her and her children in Your safekeeping from the accursed Shayṭān.’ 37 Her Lord accepted her with approval and made her grow in health and beauty. And Zakariyyā became her guardian. Every time Zakariyyā visited her in the Upper Room, he found food with her. He said, ‘Maryam, how did you come by this?’ She said, ‘It is from Allah. Allah provides for whoever He wills without any reckoning.’ 38 Then and there Zakariyyā called on his Lord and said, ‘O Lord, grant me by Your favour an upright child. You are the Hearer of Prayer.’ 39 The angels called out to him while he was standing in prayer in the Upper Room: ‘Allah gives you the good news of Yaḥyā, who will come to confirm a Word from Allah, and will be a leader and a celibate, a Prophet and one of the righteous.’ 40 He said, ‘My Lord, how can I possibly have a son when I have reached old age and my wife is barren?’ He said, ‘It will be so. Allah does whatever He wills.’ 41 He said, ‘My Lord, appoint a Sign for me.’ He said, ‘Your Sign is that you will not speak to people for three days, except by gesture. Remember your Lord much and glorify Him in the evening and after dawn.’ 42 And when the angels said, ‘Maryam, Allah has chosen you and purified you. He has chosen you over all other women. 43 Maryam, obey your Lord and prostrate and bow with those who bow.’ 44 This is news from the Unseen which We reveal to you. You were not with them when they cast their reeds to see which of them would be the guardian of Maryam. You were not with them when they quarrelled. 45 When the angels said, ‘Maryam, Allah gives you good news of a Word from Him. His name is the Messiah, ‘Īsā, son of Maryam, of high esteem in this world and the Next, and one of those brought near. 46 He will speak to people in the cradle, and also when fully grown, and will be one of the righteous.’ 47 She said, ‘My lord! How can I have a son when no man has ever touched me?’ He said, ‘It will be so.’ Allah creates whatever He wills. When He decides on something, He just says to it, ‘Be!’ and it is. 48 He will teach him the Book and Wisdom, and the Torah and the Gospel, 49 as a Messenger to the tribe of Israel, saying: ‘I have brought you a Sign from your Lord. I will create the shape of a bird out of clay for you and then breathe into it and it will be a bird by Allah’s permission. I will heal the blind and the leper, and bring the dead to life, by Allah’s permission. I will tell you what you eat and what you store up in your homes. There is a Sign for you in that if you are believers. 50 I come confirming the Torah I find already there, and to make lawful for you some of what was previously forbidden to you. I have brought you a Sign from your Lord. So have taqwā of Allah and obey me. 51 Allah is my Lord and your Lord so worship Him. That is a straight path.’ 52 When ‘Īsā sensed unbelief on their part, he said, ‘Who will be my helpers to Allah?’ The disciples said, ‘We are Allah’s helpers. We believe in Allah. Bear witness that we are Muslims. 53 Our Lord, we believe in what You have sent down and have followed the Messenger, so write us down among the witnesses.’ 54 They plotted and Allah plotted. But Allah is the best of plotters. 55 When Allah said, ‘‘Īsā, I will take you back and raise you up to Me and purify you of those who disbelieve. And I will place the people who follow you above those who disbelieve until the Day of Rising. Then you will all return to Me, and I will judge between you regarding the things about which you differed. 56 As for those who disbelieve, I will punish them with a harsh punishment in this world and the Next World. They will have no helpers.’ 57 As for those who believe and do right actions, We will pay them their wages in full. Allah does not love wrongdoers. 58 That is what We recite to you of the Signs and the wise Reminder. 59 The likeness of ‘Īsā in Allah’s sight is the same as Ādam. He created him from earth and then He said to him, ‘Be!’ and he was. 60 It is the truth from your Lord so do not be among the doubters. 61 If anyone argues with you about him after the knowledge that has come to you, say, ‘Come then! Let us summon our sons and your sons, our women and your women, ourselves and yourselves. Then let us make earnest supplication and call down the curse of Allah upon the liars.’ 62 This is the true account: there is no other god besides Allah. Allah – He is the Almighty, the All-Wise. 63 And if they turn away, Allah knows the corrupters. 64 Say, ‘People of the Book! come to a proposition which is the same for us and you – that we should worship none but Allah and not associate any partners with Him and not take one another as lords besides Allah.’ If they turn away, say, ‘Bear witness that we are Muslims.’ 65 ‘People of the Book! why do you argue concerning Ibrāhīm when the Torah and Gospel were only sent down after him? Why do you not use your intellect? 66 You are people arguing about something of which you have knowledge. Why do you argue about something of which you have no knowledge? Allah knows; you do not know.’ 67 Ibrāhīm was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but a man of pure natural belief – a Muslim. He was not one of the idolaters. 68 The people with the strongest claim to Ibrāhīm are those who followed him and this Prophet and those who believe. Allah is the Protector of the believers. 69 A group of the People of the Book would love to misguide you. They only misguide themselves but they are not aware of it. 70 People of the Book! why do you reject Allah’s Signs when you yourselves are there as witnesses? 71 People of the Book! why do you mix truth with falsehood and knowingly conceal the truth? 72 A group of the People of the Book say, ‘At the beginning of the day, you should claim to believe in what was sent down to those who believe, and then at the end of the day, you should reject it, so that hopefully they will revert. 73 Do not trust anyone except for those who follow your dīn.’ Say, ‘Allah’s guidance is true guidance. But you think it is impossible for anyone to be given the same as you were given, or to argue with you before your Lord.’ Say, ‘All favour is in Allah’s Hand and He gives it to whomever He wills. Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. 74 He picks out for His mercy whoever He wills. Allah’s favour is indeed immense.’ 75 Among the People of the Book there are some who, if you entrust them with a pile of gold, will return it to you. But there are others among them who, if you entrust them with just a single dinar, will not return it to you, unless you stay standing over them. That is because they say, ‘We are under no obligation where the gentiles are concerned.’ They tell a lie against Allah and they know it. 76 No, the truth is, if people honour their contracts and are godfearing, Allah loves the godfearing. 77 Those who sell Allah’s contract and their own oaths for a paltry price, such people will have no portion in the Next World and on the Day of Rising Allah will not speak to them or look at them or purify them. They will have a painful punishment. 78 Among them is a group who distort the Book with their tongues so that you think it is from the Book when it is not from the Book. They say, ‘It is from Allah,’ but it is not from Allah. They tell a lie against Allah and they know it. 79 It is not right for any human being that Allah should give him the Book and judgment and Prophethood, and then that he should say to people, ‘Be worshippers of me rather than Allah.’ Rather he will say, ‘Be people of the Lord because of your knowledge of the Book and because you study.’ 80 He would never command you to take the angels and Prophets as Lords. Would He command you to disbelieve after being Muslim? 81 Remember when Allah made a covenant with the Prophets: ‘Now that I have given you a share of the Book and Wisdom, and then a messenger comes to you confirming what is with you, you must believe in him and help him.’ He asked, ‘Do you agree and undertake my commission on that condition?’ They replied, ‘We agree.’ He said, ‘Bear witness, then. I am with you as one of the witnesses.’ 82 Any who turn away after that are deviators. 83 Is it other than the dīn of Allah that you desire, when everything in the heavens and earth, willingly or unwillingly, submits to Him and to Him you will be returned? 84 Say, ‘We believe in Allah and what has been sent down to us and what was sent down to Ibrāhīm, Ismā‘īl and Isḥāq and Ya‘qūb and the Tribes, and what Mūsā and ‘Īsā and all the Prophets were given by their Lord. We do not differentiate between any of them. We are Muslims submitted to Him.’ 85 If anyone desires anything other than Islam as a dīn, it will not be accepted from him, and in the Next World he will be among the losers. 86 How can Allah guide a people who have disbelieved after having believed? They bore witness that the Messenger was true and that the Clear Signs had come to them. Allah does not guide people who are wrongdoers. 87 The repayment of such people is that Allah’s curse is on them and that of the angels and of all mankind. 88 They will be under it for ever. Their punishment will not be lightened. They will be granted no reprieve. 89 Except for those who, after that, repent and put things right. Truly Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Merciful. 90 Those who disbelieve after having believed and then increase in their unbelief, their repentance will not be accepted. They are the misguided. 91 As for those who disbelieve and die unbelievers, the whole earth filled with gold would not be accepted from any of them if they were to offer it as a ransom. They will have a painful punishment. They will have no helpers. 92 You will not attain true goodness until you give of what you love. Whatever you give away, Allah knows it. 93 All food was lawful for the tribe of Israel except what Israel made unlawful for himself before the Torah was sent down. Say, ‘Bring the Torah and read it out if you are telling the truth.’ 94 So any who, after this, invent a lie against Allah are indeed wrongdoers. 95 Say, ‘Allah speaks the truth, so follow the religion of Ibrāhīm, a man of pure natural belief. He was not one of the idolaters.’ Table of Contents for Āyats Glossary