Tafseer Surah Baqarah Verse 65-66 | Surah Baqarah explanation in English | Surah Baqarah explained | Surah Baqarah Ayat 65-66

Tafseer Surah Baqarah Verse 65-66 | Surah Baqarah explanation in English | Surah Baqarah explained | Surah Baqarah Ayat 65-66 Translation

Surah Al-Baqarah

Verse 65 + 66

2:65 Al-Baqara

وَلَقَدْ عَلِمْتُمُ الَّذِينَ اعْتَدَوْا مِنْكُمْ فِي السَّبْتِ فَقُلْنَا لَهُمْ كُونُوا قِرَدَةً خَاسِئِينَ

And indeed you knew those amongst you who transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath (i.e. Saturday). We said to them: "Be you monkeys, despised and rejected."

Tafseer Surah Baqarah Verse 65

2:66 Al-Baqara

فَجَعَلْنَاهَا نَكَالًا لِمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهَا وَمَا خَلْفَهَا وَمَوْعِظَةً لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

So We made this punishment an example to their own and to succeeding generations and a lesson to those who are Al-Muttaqun (the pious - see V. 2:2).

Tafseer Surah Baqarah Verse 66

☘️In these ayaat Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala reminds the Jews of what their forefathers had done. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala had chosen one day of the week for the Children of Israel to do nothing other than worshiping Him. The Children of Israel, who were after the paltry gains of this world, however breached the sanctity of this day (Sabbath).

☘️A small valley of the fishermen whose main source of livelihood was fishing would place nets, ropes and artificial pools of water the night before the Sabbath. On the Saturday, when they were pretending to be busy in their worship, the fish would come and get caught in the ropes and nets. The fishermen would collect the fish after the Sabbath ended. They thought they were deceiving Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala, but who can deceive the Creator?

☘️The Sabbath day was a test for them. Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala had planned that fish would come in abundance. As a punishment for what they had done, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala changed them from humans into monkeys.

☘️Because they changed the command of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala (or tried to play with it), Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala changed them from humans into monkeys. Therefore, we must be really carefully about our attitude towards the commands of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala. We should be the ones who say, “We heard and we obeyed,” and not follow what our nafs inspires us to do.

☘️When this incident happened their nation was split into three groups.

Group One: Those who caught the fish;

Group Two: Those who stopped them and;

Group Three: Those who said: Why do you stop them? They are not going to listen.

☘️When Allah’s punishment descended both group one and three were punished while group two was saved. Why? It is because they stopped their people from committing the wrong. They acted upon ‘forbid the evil’. Why did they stop them when group one was unwilling to listen? In ayah 164 of Surah Al-A’raf it appears:

مَعْذِرَةً إِلَىٰ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَّقُونَ

“In order to be free from guilt before your Lord.” (7: 164)

☘️This tells us when we see a wrong act we must step up and stop it by our hands or tongues. If we don’t and transgression continues, then we too will taste the punishment. May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala protect us from His punishment and allow us to become strong Muslims, ameen.

☘️Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says, “So We made this punishment an example…” meaning for the people of the village who violated the sanctity of the Sabbath and for the other villages. They were an example for those who lived during their time as well as a reminder for those to come, by preserving their story. Therefore, Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala says,

وَمَوْعِظَةً لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

 “And a lesson for the Muttaqeen (the pious/Allah-conscious).” 

☘️It means the torment and punishment that this village suffered was a result of indulging in Allah’s prohibitions and their deceit. Hence, those who have taqwa should be aware of their evil behavior, so that what occurred to this village does not befall them as well.

☘️Many people approach the Qur’an not to understand it but to find a loophole or conduct debates. A popular debate is about hijab. They argue: Where is the word hijab mentioned. If one studies Surah An-Nur and Surah Al-Ahzab, one can find how explicit Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala has been about hijab and free-mixing of men and women. He teaches us social etiquette, yet we choose to deny them. Some of the so-called progressive Muslims claim these commands were for a backward, barbaric society of Arabia and are no more applicable today. If that is the case, then why there is so much corruption in today’s world? Let us not talk about the ayaat of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala without proper knowledge. Let us study the Deen and ask Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala to humble our hearts, ameen.

☘️People alter the commands of Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala as a way to escape its implementation. By not implementing, we are only doing wrong to ourselves. May Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala protect us, ameen.

🔮Qur’an is a source of guidance for those who seek guidance. It is not a Book for conducting arguments. May He allow us to honor the Book as it should be honored, ameen.

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