Surah 2. Al-Baqara, Ayah 143
| وَكَذَٰلِكَ جَعَلْنَاكُمْ أُمَّةً وَسَطًا لِتَكُونُوا شُهَدَاءَ عَلَى النَّاسِ وَيَكُونَ الرَّسُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ شَهِيدًا ۗ وَمَا جَعَلْنَا الْقِبْلَةَ الَّتِي كُنْتَ عَلَيْهَا إِلَّا لِنَعْلَمَ مَنْ يَتَّبِعُ الرَّسُولَ مِمَّنْ يَنْقَلِبُ عَلَىٰ عَقِبَيْهِ ۚ وَإِنْ كَانَتْ لَكَبِيرَةً إِلَّا عَلَى الَّذِينَ هَدَى اللَّهُ ۗ وَمَا كَانَ اللَّهُ لِيُضِيعَ إِيمَانَكُمْ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ بِالنَّاسِ لَرَءُوفٌ رَحِيمٌ |
| Transliteration | : | wa- ka- dhaalika jacalnaa -kum 'ummah wasat.(an) li- takono shuhadaa' calaa an- naas wa- yakon ar- rasol calay -kum shahed(an) wa- maa jacalnaa al- qiblah 'allate kunta calay -haa 'illaa li- naclam man yattabic ar- rasol min man yanqalib calaa caqibai -hi wa- 'in kaanat la- kaberah 'illaa calaa 'alladhena hadaa 'allaah wa- maa kaana 'allaah li- yud.ec 'emaan -kum 'inna 'allaah bi- an- naas la- ra'of rah.em |
| Pickthall | : | Thus We have appointed you a middle nation, that ye may be witnesses against mankind, and that the messenger may be a witness against you. And We appointed the qiblah which ye formerly observed only that We might know him who followeth the messenger, from him who turneth on his heels. In truth it was a hard (test) save for those whom Allah guided. But it was not Allah's purpose that your faith should be in vain, for Allah is full of pity, Merciful toward mankind. |
| Asad | : | And thus have We willed you to be a community of the middle way,118 so that [with your lives] you might bear witness to the truth before all mankind, and that the Apostle might bear witness to it before you.119 And it is only to the end that We might make a clear distinction between those who follow the Apostle and those who turn about on their heels that We have appointed [for this community] the direction of prayer which thou [O Prophet] hast formerly observed: for this was indeed a hard test for all but those whom God has guided aright.120 But God will surely not lose sight of your faith - for, behold, God is most compassionate towards man, a dispenser of grace. |
| Malik | : | We have made you a moderate Ummah (nation) so that you may testify against mankind and that your own Rasool may testify against you. We decreed your former Qiblah only to distinguish those who are the real followers of the Rasool from those who would back away from the faith. It was indeed a hard test except for those whom Allah has guided. Allah wants not to make your faith fruitless. Allah is Compassionate and Merciful to mankind. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Thus have We made of you an Ummah justly balanced that ye might be witnesses over the nations and the Apostle a witness over yourselves; and We appointed the Qiblah to which thou wast used only to test those who followed the Apostle from those who would turn on their heels (from the faith). Indeed it was (a change) momentous except to those guided by Allah. And never would Allah make your faith of no effect. For Allah is to all people most surely full of kindness Most Merciful. 142 143 144 145 146 |
Note - 118Lit., "middlemost community" - i.e., a community that
keeps an equitable balance between extremes and is
realistic in its appreciation of man's nature and
possibilities, rejecting both licentiousness and
exaggerated asceticism. In tune with its oft-repeated
call to moderation in every aspect of life, the Qur'an
exhorts the believers not to place too great an emphasis
on the physical and material aspects of their lives, but
postulates, at the same time, that man's urges and
desires relating to this "life of the flesh" are
God-willed and, therefore, legitimate. On further
analysis, the expression "a community of the middle way"
might be said to summarize, as it were, the Islamic
attitude towards the problem of man's existence as such:
a denial of the view that there is an inherent conflict
between the spirit and the flesh, and a bold affirmation
of the natural, God-willed unity in this twofold aspect
of human life. This balanced attitude, peculiar to Islam,
flows directly from the concept of God's oneness and,
hence, of the unity of purpose underlying all His
creation: and thus, the mention of the "community of the
middle way" at this place is a fitting introduction to
the theme of the Ka'bah, a symbol of God's oneness.
|
Note - 119I.e., "that your way of life be an example to all
mankind, just as the Apostle is an example to you".
|
Note - 120I.e., "whom He has given understanding" (Razi). The "hard
test" (kabirah) consisted in the fact that ever since
their exodus to Medina the Muslims had become accustomed
to praying towards Jerusalem - associated in their minds
with the teachings of most of the earlier prophets
mentioned in the Qur'an - and were now called upon to
turn in their prayers towards the Ka'bah, which at that
time (in the second year after the hijrah) was still used
by the pagan Quraysh as a shrine dedicated to the worship
of their numerous idols. As against this, the Qur'an
states that true believers would not find it difficult to
adopt the Ka'bah once again as their qiblah: they would
instinctively realize the divine wisdom underlying this
commandment which established Abraham's Temple as a
symbol of God's oneness and a focal point of the
ideological unity of Islam. (See also note [116] above.)
|
Note - 142Thus: By giving you a Qibla of your own, most ancient in
history, and most modern as a symbol of your organisation
as a new nation (Ummat).
|
Note - 143Justly balanced: The essence of Islam is to avoid all
extravagances on either side. It is a sober, practical
religion. But the Arabic word (wasat) also implies a
touch of the literal meaning of Intermediacy.
Geographically Arabia is in an intermediate position in
the Old World, as was proved in history by the rapid
expansion of Islam, north, south, west and east.
|
Note - 144Witnesses: When two persons dispute, they advance
extravagant claims. A just witness comes between them,
and brings the light of reason to bear on them, pruning
all their selfish extravagances. So the mission of Islam
is to curb, for instance, the extreme formalism of the
Mosaic law and the extreme "other-worldiness" professed
by Christianity. The witness must be unselfish, equipped
with first-hand knowledge, and ready to intervene in the
cause of justice. Such is the position claimed by Islam
among rival systems. Similarly, within Islam itself, the
position of witness to whom disputants can appeal is held
by Muhammad Mustafa.
|
Note - 145The Qibla of Jerusalem might itself have seemed strange
to the Arabs, and the change from it to the Ka'ba might
have seemed strange after they had become used to the
other. In reality one direction or another, or east or
west, in itself did no matter, as God is in all places,
and is independent of Time and Place. What mattered was
the sense of discipline, on which Islam lays so much
stress: which of us is willing to follow the directions
of the chosen Apostle of God? Mere quibbles about
non-essential matters are tested by this.
|
Note - 146What became of prayer with the Jerusalem Qibla? It was
equally efficacious before the new Qibla was ordained.
God regards our faith: every act of true and genuine
faith is efficacious with Him, even if formalists pick
holes in such acts.
|
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Lit., "middlemost community" - i.e., a community that keeps an equitable balance between extremes and is realistic in its appreciation of man's nature and possibilities, rejecting both licentiousness and exaggerated asceticism. In tune with its oft-repeated call to moderation in every aspect of life, the Qur'an exhorts the believers not to place too great an emphasis on the physical and material aspects of their lives, but postulates, at the same time, that man's urges and desires relating to this "life of the flesh" are God-willed and, therefore, legitimate. On further analysis, the expression "a community of the middle way" might be said to summarize, as it were, the Islamic attitude towards the problem of man's existence as such: a denial of the view that there is an inherent conflict between the spirit and the flesh, and a bold affirmation of the natural, God-willed unity in this twofold aspect of human life. This balanced attitude, peculiar to Islam, flows directly from the concept of God's oneness and, hence, of the unity of purpose underlying all His creation: and thus, the mention of the "community of the middle way" at this place is a fitting introduction to the theme of the Ka'bah, a symbol of God's oneness. |
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I.e., "that your way of life be an example to all mankind, just as the Apostle is an example to you". |
| |
I.e., "whom He has given understanding" (Razi). The "hard test" (kabirah) consisted in the fact that ever since their exodus to Medina the Muslims had become accustomed to praying towards Jerusalem - associated in their minds with the teachings of most of the earlier prophets mentioned in the Qur'an - and were now called upon to turn in their prayers towards the Ka'bah, which at that time (in the second year after the hijrah) was still used by the pagan Quraysh as a shrine dedicated to the worship of their numerous idols. As against this, the Qur'an states that true believers would not find it difficult to adopt the Ka'bah once again as their qiblah: they would instinctively realize the divine wisdom underlying this commandment which established Abraham's Temple as a symbol of God's oneness and a focal point of the ideological unity of Islam. (See also note [116] above.) |
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Thus: By giving you a Qibla of your own, most ancient in history, and most modern as a symbol of your organisation as a new nation (Ummat). |
| |
Justly balanced: The essence of Islam is to avoid all extravagances on either side. It is a sober, practical religion. But the Arabic word (wasat) also implies a touch of the literal meaning of Intermediacy. Geographically Arabia is in an intermediate position in the Old World, as was proved in history by the rapid expansion of Islam, north, south, west and east. |
| |
Witnesses: When two persons dispute, they advance extravagant claims. A just witness comes between them, and brings the light of reason to bear on them, pruning all their selfish extravagances. So the mission of Islam is to curb, for instance, the extreme formalism of the Mosaic law and the extreme "other-worldiness" professed by Christianity. The witness must be unselfish, equipped with first-hand knowledge, and ready to intervene in the cause of justice. Such is the position claimed by Islam among rival systems. Similarly, within Islam itself, the position of witness to whom disputants can appeal is held by Muhammad Mustafa. |
| |
The Qibla of Jerusalem might itself have seemed strange to the Arabs, and the change from it to the Ka'ba might have seemed strange after they had become used to the other. In reality one direction or another, or east or west, in itself did no matter, as God is in all places, and is independent of Time and Place. What mattered was the sense of discipline, on which Islam lays so much stress: which of us is willing to follow the directions of the chosen Apostle of God? Mere quibbles about non-essential matters are tested by this. |
