The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 121
PT. 1 AL-BAQARAH CH. 2 what is good and forget your ا تَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبِرِّ وَ تَنْسَوْنَ Do you enjoin others to do. 45 ط اَنْفُسَكُمْ وَأَنْتُمْ تَتْلُونَ الْكِتب own selves, while you read the أَفَلَا تَعْقِلُونَ Book? Will you not then understand?51 "26:227; 61:3, 4. supplies an argument which the use of a proper name could not do. Moreover, by the use of this word, God has bestowed well-merited praise on the Muslims. They are, as a community, a people, wholly devoted to the service of the One God, having severed all connections with false deities. This extra significance could not have been secured by the use of the word Muslim or Mu'min which have come to be regarded as more or less proper names. 51. Important Words: (forget) is derived from ( meaning: (1) he forgot; (2) he ignored; (3) he left off a thing (Aqrab). (you understand) is derived from meaning: (1) he understood; (2) he realized his mistake. means, the boy reached the age of puberty. means, he tied up the camel with a piece of rope. Thus also embodies the sense of restraining (Aqrab). ✓ (good) means, acting well towards relations and others; truthfulness; fidelity; righteousness; obedience; obedience to (Aqrab). It also means, extensive goodness or beneficence (Mufradāt). Commentary: God saying: Do you enjoin men to practise extensive beneficence, to deal kindly with one another, to be truthful, to act righteously and to serve and obey God, yet you neglect your own selves, while you claim to read the Book sent by God? Again, your Book contains prophecies concerning the Holy Prophet of Islam, yet you do not accept him. Thus you break a great commandment of the Lord but bid others to observe lesser commandments. Will you not then understand? The word 'Book' here refers to the Bible, but the clause, while you read the Book, does not imply that all the contents of the Bible have been admitted to be true and indisputable. The words have been used with the object of bringing home to the Jews the fact that while they think they are the People of the Book, they behave like ignorant men. Should the People of the Book behave as they behave? The words, do you enjoin others to do what is good and forget your own selves, may be interpreted in another way also. As explained under Important Words, the word means, acting well towards relations. The Jews are thus invited to ponder over the fact whether they have acted well their brethren, the The Quran questions the Jews, as if towards 121