Tafseer Surah Baqarah Verse 44 | Surah Baqarah explanation in English | Surah Baqarah explained | Surah Baqarah Ayat 44

Tafseer Surah Baqarah Verse 44 | Surah Baqarah explanation in English | Surah Baqarah explained | Surah Baqarah Ayat 44 Translation

Surah Al-Baqarah

Verse 44

2:44  Al-Baqarah

‎ أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ ۚ أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ

Do you order birr (righteousness) of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason? (Al-Baqarah 2:44)

Surah Baqarah Verse 44

☘️Do you order birr (righteousness) – meaning with belief in Muḥammad (ﷺ), and forget and deny? Every act of obedience to Allāh is referred to as birr.

So this noble āyah is inclusive of all those who command with obedience (to Allāh), but do act upon it (themselves).

☘️Then will you not reason - that he is the truth, and follow him? And will you not reason and be concerned that this will return against you?

☘️ˋAql is taken from ˋiqāl al-Baˋīr (عقال البعير), which is a shackle used to secure the camel. It was called this because it prevents it from running away. Similarly, reason prevents its companion from disobeying and leaving obedience to his Lord.

☘️Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala reprimands the scholars of the People of the Book that they preach to others to do righteous deeds and acts of piety but do not follow their own advice. Religion is same for all. One must not simply preach to others, but also apply the command on himself. Often times, we expect others to change without making any efforts on our part.

We want people to speak the truth, to uphold their promises, to not cheat others, to be punctual and committed to their goals, but we don’t follow our own advice.

☘️Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala ends ayah 44 by saying, “Then will you not reason?”meaning you forbid others from going against the Book while you do not follow it yourself.

🔮The caller to goodness must first set an example himself, and not merely preach to others.

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