The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 249
PT. 2 AL-BAQARAH CH. 2 given the Book recognize it الَّذِينَ أَتَيْنَهُمُ الْكِتَبَ يَعْرِفُونَهُ كَمَا Those to whom We have. 147 b يَعْرِفُونَ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ ۖ وَإِنَّ فَرِيقًا مِّنْهُمْ even as they recognize their ليَكْتُمُونَ الْحَقَّ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ ) sons, but surely some of them b 'conceal the truth knowingly. 153 "6:21. 2:175; 5:16; 6:92. Knowledge, London, under this evidently refer to the Holy Prophet, verse). As regards the early because, (1) he could in no Christians, they followed the Qiblah circumstances go against Allah's of the Jews (Acts 3:1; Enc. Brit. , 14th commandment, and (2) the foregoing edition, v. 676; Jew. Enc. vi. 53) but part of this very verse says about him, we learn from authentic sources that nor wouldst thou follow their Qiblah, and (3) it is clearly stated in the preceding verse that he loved to turn his face towards the Ka'bah and eagerly awaited a divine commandment to that effect. It is, therefore, unthinkable that the Prophet could forsake the Qiblah of his own liking. The words obviously refer, as supported by the rules of the Arabic language as well as the usage of the Quran, either to the reader in when a party of the Christians of Najrān paid a visit to Medina to have a discussion with the Holy Prophet on some doctrinal point, they worshipped in the Holy Prophet's mosque at Medina with their faces turned to the East (Zurqānī, iv. 41). Thus the Jews, the Samaritans, and the Christians followed different Qiblahs owing to their mutual jealousy and enmity. In these circumstances it was vain to expect them to follow the Qiblah of the Muslims, and when obsolete faiths refused to follow the true Qiblah, how could a true believer follow a Qiblah that had become obsolete. general or to every individual Muslim who followed the Holy Prophet. 153. Important Words: recognise is derived from) يعرفون ,which means عرف The concluding clause speaks of the practice of the People of the Book as vain "desires," not because they were not originally based on revelation but because they were opposed to the new revelation that had appointed the Ka'bah as Qiblah. He who insists on sticking to an order that is no longer in force, really follows naught but his own desire. The words, then thou shalt surely be of the transgressors, do not 249 he knew or recognized or perceived a thing. Though the word is also used of such knowledge as is derived through the senses, it is particularly used of such knowledge as is obtained by thinking and meditating (Mufradāt & Aqrab). Commentary: The pronoun hū (him or it) occurring in the clause "recognise him or it" may be taken as referring either to the change of Qiblah or to the Holy Prophet. The clause means