Surah al-Baqarah (The Cow) 2 : 58
Translations
Pickthall
Yusuf Ali
Qur'an Dictionary
Click word/image to view Qur'an Dictionary | ||
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Word | Arabic word | |
(2:58:1) wa-idh And when |
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(2:58:2) qul'nā We said |
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(2:58:3) ud'khulū Enter |
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(2:58:4) |
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(2:58:5) l-qaryata town |
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(2:58:6) fakulū then eat |
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(2:58:7) |
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(2:58:8) ḥaythu wherever |
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(2:58:9) shi'tum you wish[ed] |
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(2:58:10) raghadan abundantly |
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(2:58:11) wa-ud'khulū and enter |
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(2:58:12) l-bāba the gate |
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(2:58:13) sujjadan prostrating |
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(2:58:14) waqūlū And say |
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(2:58:15) ḥiṭṭatun Repentance |
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(2:58:16) naghfir We will forgive |
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(2:58:17) |
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(2:58:18) khaṭāyākum your sins |
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(2:58:19) wasanazīdu And We will increase |
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(2:58:20) l-muḥ'sinīna the good-doers (in reward) |
Explanatory Note
The sūrah reminds the Children of Israel of more of their acts of intransigence and heartless behaviour: “And [remember] when We said, ‘Enter this city, eat of its abundant food as you may desire, prostrate yourselves as you enter the gates and say: “Lord, relieve us of our burden.” We will then forgive your sins and We will richly reward those who do good.’ But the wrongdoers among them substituted other words for those which they had been given. Therefore We let loose against them a scourge from heaven in requital for their transgression.”
Some reports indicate that the city referred to here is Jerusalem, the holy city which, not long after the Jewish exodus from Egypt, God commanded the Israelites to enter, driving out its inhabitants who were a race of giants. They refused and asked Moses to do that by himself while they waited outside the city. This episode is discussed fully in verses 20-26 of Sūrah 5, where, in an attitude of unmatched insolence, they say to Moses: “Mighty people dwell in that land, and we will surely not enter it unless they depart from it. If they do depart, then we will enter.” (5: 22) “Moses, we will never go in so long as they are in it. Go forth, then, you and your Lord, and fight. We shall stay here.” (5: 24)
As punishment they were lost for forty years in the wilderness of the Sinai desert, until a new generation had grown up who, led by the Prophet Joshua, son of Nūn, conquered the city. However, instead of entering Jerusalem, prostrating themselves in humility, and praying God to remove their burden of sin and forgive them, they took a totally different attitude and said different words.
Although these events occurred at a time much later than the one described at the beginning of this section of the sūrah, it can be seen clearly that, throughout their history, the Children of Israel displayed the same characteristics of insolence, rebellion, and stubborn deviation.
- وحاصل الأمر: أنهم أمِروا أن يخضعوا لله تعالى عند الفتح بالفعل والقول، وأن يعترفوا بذنوبهم، ويستغفروا منها، والشكر على النعمة عندها .... ولهذا كان عليه الصلاة والسلام يظهر عليه الخضوع جداً عند النصر، كما روي أنه كان يوم الفتح -فتح مكة- داخلاً إليها من الثنية العليا، وإنه لخاضع لربه، حتى إن عثنونه ليمس مورك رحله شكراًً لله على ذلك، ثم لما دخل البلد اغتسل وصلى ثماني ركعات. ابن كثير: 1/94 [Be first to translate this....]
Practical lessons
- احـرص اليـوم على السـنن الـرواتـب، واستـمر في المحـافـظة عليـها، ﴿ وَسَنَزِيدُ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ [Be first to translate this....]
Hittah – Hatta in arabic = to bring down. (Hatta al Hamal = to bring down/take off the burden/weight which the animal is carrying.)