The Guiding Light — Page 162
S u rah al-Baqarah, Verses 9-17 162 Commentary The verse makes it clear that effective faith is based upon truth and sincerity. Faith not so based amounts to deception and God cannot be deceived. The verse has given rise to some objections: 1. How can it be possible for any man to deceive God? 2. The word خي ﺎدﻋﻮن (yukh a di‘ u na ) is derived from the verb ﺧﺎدع ( kh a da‘a ) in the measure of ﻣﻔﺎ ﻠﺔ ( muf a ‘alah) which denotes two parties mutually engaged in the same operation. The words خي ﺎدﻋﻮن ا ﷲ ( yukh a di‘ u nall a ha ) would, therefore, mean that hypocrites and God are both engaged in deceiving each other. In answer to the first objection used here is ﺧﺎدع ( kh a da‘a ) and not ﺧﺪع ( khada ‘) the former, as explained above, signifying only an attempt at deception and not actual deception. The objection is, therefore, without foundation.