2:145 Al-Baqara (The Cow)

كان النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم من كمال حرصه على هداية الخلق يبذل لهم غاية ما يقدر عليه من النصيحة, ويتلطف بهدايتهم, ويحزن إذا لم ينقادوا لأمر الله، فكان من الكفار, من تمرد عن أمر الله, واستكبر على رسل الله, وترك الهدى, عمدا وعدوانا، فمنهم: اليهود والنصارى, أهل الكتاب الأول, الذين كفروا بمحمد صلى الله عليه وسلم عن يقين, لا عن جهل، فلهذا أخبره الله تعالى أنك لو { أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ بِكُلِّ آيَةٍ } أي: بكل برهان ودليل يوضح قولك ويبين ما تدعو إليه، { مَا تَبِعُوا قِبْلَتَكَ } أي: ما تبعوك, لأن اتباع القبلة, دليل على اتباعه، ولأن السبب هو شأن القبلة، وإنما كان الأمر كذلك, لأنهم معاندون, عرفوا الحق وتركوه، فالآيات إنما تفيد وينتفع بها من يتطلب الحق, وهو مشتبه عليه, فتوضح له الآيات البينات، وأما من جزم بعدم اتباع الحق, فلا حيلة فيه. وأيضا فإن اختلافهم فيما بينهم, حاصل, وبعضهم, غير تابع قبلة بعض، فليس بغريب منهم مع ذلك أن لا يتبعوا قبلتك يا محمد, وهم الأعداء حقيقة الحسدة، وقوله: { وَمَا أَنْتَ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَتَهُمْ } أبلغ من قوله: \" وَلَا تَتَّبِعْ \" لأن ذلك يتضمن أنه صلى الله عليه وسلم اتصف بمخالفتهم, فلا يمكن وقوع ذلك منه، ولم يقل: \" ولو أتوا بكل آية \" لأنهم لا دليل لهم على قولهم. وكذلك إذا تبين الحق بأدلته اليقينية, لم يلزم الإتيان بأجوبة الشبه الواردة عليه, لأنها لا حد لها, ولأنه يعلم بطلانها, للعلم بأن كل ما نافى الحق الواضح, فهو باطل, فيكون حل الشبه من باب التبرع. { وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُمْ } إنما قال: \" أهواءهم \" ولم يقل \" دينهم \" لأن ما هم عليه مجرد أهوية نفس, حتى هم في قلوبهم يعلمون أنه ليس بدين، ومن ترك الدين, اتبع الهوى ولا محالة، قال تعالى: { أَفَرَأَيْتَ مَنِ اتَّخَذَ إِلَهَهُ هَوَاهُ } { مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ } بأنك على الحق, وهم على الباطل، { إِنَّكَ إِذًا } أي: إن اتبعتهم, فهذا احتراز, لئلا تنفصل هذه الجملة عما قبلها, ولو في الأفهام، { لَمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ } أي: داخل فيهم, ومندرج في جملتهم، وأي ظلم أعظم, من ظلم, من علم الحق والباطل, فآثر الباطل على الحق، وهذا, وإن كان الخطاب له صلى الله عليه وسلم, فإن أمته داخلة في ذلك، وأيضا, فإذا كان هو صلى الله عليه وسلم لو فعل ذلك -وحاشاه- صار ظالما مع علو مرتبته, وكثرة حسناته فغيره من باب أولى وأحرى.

يخبر تعالى عن كفر اليهود وعنادهم ومخالفتهم ما يعرفونه من شأن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وأنه لو أقام عليهم كل دليل على صحة ما جاءهم به لما اتبعوه وتركوا أهواءهم كما قال تعالى "إن الذين حقت عليهم كلمة ربك لا يؤمنون ولو جاءتهم كل آية حتى يروا العذاب الأليم" ولهذا قال ههنا "ولئن أتيت الذين أوتوا الكتاب بكل آية ما تبعوا قبلتك" وقوله "وما أنت بتابع قبلتهم" إخبار عن شدة متابعة الرسول صلى الله عليه وسلم لما أمره الله تعالى به وأنه كما هو مستمسكون بآرائهم وأهوائهم فهو أيضا مستمسك بأمر الله وطاعته واتباع مرضاته وأنه لا يتبع أهواءهم فى جميع أحواله ولا كونه متوجها إلى بيت المقدس لكونها قبلة اليهود وإنما ذلك عن أمر الله تعالى ثم حذر تعالى عن مخالفة الحق الذي يعلمه العالم إلى الهوى فإن العالم الحجة عليه أقوم من غيره ولهذا قال مخاطبا للرسول والمراد به الأمة "ولئن أتبعت أهواءهم من بعد ما جاءك من العلم إنك إذا لمن الظالمين".

The Stubbornness and Disbelief of the Jews

Allah describes the Jews' disbelief, stubbornness and defiance of what they know of the truth of Allah's Messenger ﷺ , that if the Prophet brought forward every proof to the truth of what he was sent with, they will never obey him or abandon following their desires. In another instance, Allah said:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ - وَلَوْ جَآءَتْهُمْ كُلُّ ءايَةٍ حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ الاٌّلِيمَ

(Truly, those, against whom the Word (wrath) of your Lord has been justified, will not believe. Even if every sign should come to them, until they see the painful torment.) (10:96, 97)

This is why Allah said here:

وَلَئِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَـبَ بِكُلِّ ءَايَةٍ مَّا تَبِعُواْ قِبْلَتَكَ

(And even if you were to bring to the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) all the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), they would not follow your Qiblah (prayer direction)).

Allah's statement:

وَمَآ أَنتَ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَتَهُمْ

(...nor are you going to follow their Qiblah ), indicates the vigor with which Allah's Messenger ﷺ implements what Allah commanded him. Allah's statement also indicates that as much as the Jews adhere to their opinions and desires, the Prophet adheres by Allah's commands, obeying Him and following what pleases Him, and that he would never adhere to their desires in any case. Hence, praying towards Bayt Al-Maqdis was not because it was the Qiblah of the Jews, but because Allah had commanded it. Allah then warns those who knowingly defy the truth, because the proof against those who know is stronger than against other people. This is why Allah said to His Messenger and his Ummah:

وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَآءَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّكَ إِذَا لَّمِنَ الظَّـلِمِينَ

(Verily, if you follow their desires after that which you have received of knowledge (from Allah), then indeed you will be one of the wrongdoers.)

Yet if wa-la-in the lām is for oaths you should bring to those who have been given the Scripture every sign about your truthfulness in the matter of the direction of prayer they will not follow your direction out of obduracy and you are not a follower of their direction this is a categorical negation of his the Prophet’s desire that they become Muslims and of their desire that he return to their direction of prayer; neither are they the Jews and the Christians followers of one another’s direction. If you were to follow their whims the ones to which they summon you after the knowledge the revelation that has come to you then you if hypothetically you were to follow them will surely be among the evildoers.

In continuing the discussion on the subject of the Qiblah قبلہ ، or the divinely-ordained orientation, the present verse provides yet another instance of the maliciousness of the People of the Book اھل کتاب . It is not that they demand solid and convincing arguments in order to be able to accept the new injunction with regard to the Qiblah قبلہ : it is sheer stubbornness which does not allow them to give their assent, and no proof in the world, declares the Holy Qur'an, is ever going to satisfy them. In fact, their two groups display an equal malice even towards each other - the Jews have adopted the Baytul-Maqdis as their Qiblah قبلہ ، while the Christians have chosen the East, and each group rejects the Qiblah of the other. On the other hand, the Holy Prophet , cannot accept either of these two orientations, for the new Qiblah قبلہ of the Muslims - the Baytullah بیت اللہ - has been instituted by a divine commandment, and is never going to be abrogated. So, there is no likelihood of an agreement between the People of the Book and the Muslims in this matter. The Baytul-Maqdis بیت المقدس ، no doubt, had once been instituted by a divine commandment, but that commandment has now been abrogated. Anyone who follows an abrogated injunction, and ignores the new in-junction which has replaced the earlier one, is actually disobeying Allah, and acting upon his individual opinion and personal desire. Naturally, it is impossible for the Holy Prophet g to follow the desires of the People of the Book. But, supposing for the sake of supposition, were he to do so even after having received a definite injunction through the Wahy وحی (Revelation), he would be counted among the unjust - that is, among those who disobey divine commandments. Such a situation, however, can never arise. Being a prophet, he is essentially sin-less, and as such cannot possibly be among the unjust. From this principle it logically follows that it is impossible for him to favour the desires of the People of the Book, and to accept their Qiblah قبلہ as his own.

Let us make it quite clear that this warning is outwardly addressed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، but is, in fact, intended for his Ummah, which is being asked to realize fully the gravity of the sin of ignoring or disobeying the injunction which has finally established the Baytullah بیت اللہ as the Qiblah قبلہ of the Muslims.

As for the phrase, وما انت بتبع : "You are not to follow their Qiblah قبلہ ", it is meant to declare that the Baytullah بیت اللہ shall now stay as the Qiblah قبلہ upto the end of the world. Thus, the declaration refutes the scoffing allegation of the People of the Book that there was no stability in the Islamic injunctions, and that the Muslims might again adopt the Baytul-Maqdis بیت المقدس as their Qiblah قبلہ . (Al-Bahr al-Muhit)