The Meaning of "You Enjoin Righteousness on People"
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The second question of Fatwa No. ( 18424 )
Q 2: What is the interpretation of the following verse:[Al-Baqarah 2:44] ?
A 2: This verse is about the Children of Israel , as indicated by the preceding text. The address in it is directed to them, and Allah the Exalted rebuked them in it for the deviation of their conduct and the corruption of their deeds. The Jews claimed to believe in the Torah and to act in accordance with it; therefore, they called people to the righteousness, good, and obligation of obeying Allah the Exalted and abandoning His disobedition contained therein. Yet, despite this, they strayed from its guidance. The Quran intensified their rebuke by attributing forgetfulness to them, to emphasize their lack of concern and heedlessness. For it is the nature of a person not to forget himself regarding good, nor to like being preceded by others to it. Had they followed the guidance of the Torah, they would have believed in Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him); for he is written about in it and they were given glad tidings of him. But they withdrew from those verses out of envy and arrogance, and they distorted and altered them, even though they knew him (peace and blessings be upon him) from the knowledge they possessed, just as they know their own sons. It is mentioned that the verse was revealed concerning the rabbis of the Jews , who used to secretly advise those they cared for to believe in our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), while they themselves did not believe in him. Thus, they would enjoin righteousness on people while forgetting themselves. The meaning of His saying:[Al-Baqarah 2:44] is: You know from it what the one you command to follow does not know. The difference is great between one who acts but lacks knowledge of the benefits of what he does, and one who leaves it off while knowing the merits of what he leaves. The meaning of His saying: "Do you not reason?" is: Do you not have reason that would restrain you from this foolishness and warn you of the badness of its outcome? For one who possesses even the least amount of reason would not claim perfect knowledge of the Book and stand to guide to its guidance, and clarify to people the path of happiness by following it, and yet not act upon it and not hold fast to its commands and prohibitions. Although this address was directed to the Jews, it serves as a lesson and admonition for others. So let everyone beware of being in the same state as those people.
And success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Q 2: What is the interpretation of the following verse:
Do you order righteousness of the people and forget yourselves while you recite the Scripture? Then will you not reason?
أَتَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَتَنْسَوْنَ أَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ أَفَلا تَعْقِلُونَA 2: This verse is about the Children of Israel , as indicated by the preceding text. The address in it is directed to them, and Allah the Exalted rebuked them in it for the deviation of their conduct and the corruption of their deeds. The Jews claimed to believe in the Torah and to act in accordance with it; therefore, they called people to the righteousness, good, and obligation of obeying Allah the Exalted and abandoning His disobedition contained therein. Yet, despite this, they strayed from its guidance. The Quran intensified their rebuke by attributing forgetfulness to them, to emphasize their lack of concern and heedlessness. For it is the nature of a person not to forget himself regarding good, nor to like being preceded by others to it. Had they followed the guidance of the Torah, they would have believed in Muhammad
(peace and blessings be upon him); for he is written about in it and they were given glad tidings of him. But they withdrew from those verses out of envy and arrogance, and they distorted and altered them, even though they knew him (peace and blessings be upon him) from the knowledge they possessed, just as they know their own sons. It is mentioned that the verse was revealed concerning the rabbis of the Jews , who used to secretly advise those they cared for to believe in our Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), while they themselves did not believe in him. Thus, they would enjoin righteousness on people while forgetting themselves. The meaning of His saying:
while you recite the Scripture
وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَAnd success is from Allah, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions.
Source
www.alifta.gov.sa
The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.