The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 165
PT. 1 AL-BAQARAH CH. 2 فَقُلْنَا اضْرِبُوهُ بِبَعْضِهَا كَذَلِكَ يُحْيِ الله Then, We said: Smite him. 74 الْمَوْتُى وَ يُرِيْكُمْ أَيْتِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ (the) تَعْقِلُونَ (the murderer) for a part of the offence against against him murdered person). ' Thus "Allah gives life to the dead and shows you His Signs that you may understand. 80 "2:180. person like unto one killed (see also 2:62). (a person) has been used here as i. e. in an indefinite or undefined form. It may, according to the rules of the Arabic language, refer either to an unimportant person that need not be named, or to a very important personage; for sometimes a word used as 8 denotes a sense of greatness (Mutawwal). (differed among yourselves) is derived from meaning, he repelled it or he thrust it back. Jis originally meaning: (1) you repelled one another by casting blame or responsibility on one another; (2) you disagreed or differed among yourselves (Aqrab & Lane). (you concealed). See 2: 34. Commentary: See under next verse. 80. Important Words: (the dead, i. e. dead persons) is the plural of (a dead person) which means: (1) one really dead; (2) one like dead (3) one dying or nearing death (Lane). See also under 2:20, 2:29 & 2:57. 165 Commentary: In the preceding verses God related some of the misdeeds of the Israelites in order to bring home to them the fact that, in face of such conduct on their part, it was idle to expect that God would continue to bestow favours on them. In the verses under comment i. e. 2:73, 74, 75, God recounts one of their final misdeeds which filled the cup of their iniquity to overflowing and sealed their fate. The Quran has not named the person slain, but when read with the context and the relevant facts of history, the verses appear to apply to the murder of a Companion of the Holy Prophet by the Jews at Medina. Following are some of the details of the incident which was the first public act of enmity perpetrated by the Medinite Jews against Muslims. The Holy Prophet, on his arrival at Medina, entered into a treaty with the Jews. But the growing prosperity and success of Islam gradually roused the jealousy of the Jewish leaders and some of them began secretly to incite their people against the Muslims. The