Preference to The Children Of Israel

LESSON # 60 HOLY QUR’AAN

BAQARAH - 2

Preference to The Children Of Israel

Verse –47 of 286, (Part One-Fourth),  section - 6

O Children of Israel! Remember My favour wherewith I favoured you and how I preferred you to (all) creatures.

Yaa-Baniii- ‘Israaa-‘iilaz-kuruu ni’-mati-yal-latiii ‘an-‘amtu ‘alaykum wa ‘annii faz-zaltukum  ‘alal-‘aalamiin.

Lesson

Faz-zaltukum – (preferred you), this word has come out from the word Fazal which means preference. Aim of giving preference over the entire world is that the Israelite remained the most excellent over all the communities and there was none peer of them. However, when they left the Truth misled the Divine’s Law and opposed the last Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon Him), then that preference went away and they earned anger of the God Almighty. Destruction became their fate, and the Muslim nation was given the title of “Well Nation”.

‘Alal-‘Aalamiin – (over all creatures) here ‘Aalamiin means all the nations of the world.

There was a time when the children of Israel were preferred to all the people of this world. When the other nations were going astray in the darkness and depravity, were involved in infidelity and worshipping of Idols, were lustful in corruption and heresy, then there was only the nation Israelite who had concept of Oneness of God and they had the Heavenly Guide Book. What would be the preference more than this?

Slowly and gradually these people went astray from the straight path due to their weaknesses and corruptions, and left behind the Heavenly Guidance. So the God Almighty preaches them on the point, “Admit your real religion in its corrected form and come on the straight path.”

It was difficult to get faith and Fear of God (piety) with the source of patience and worship. So easy and simple manner of it has been explained and that is gratitude. God Almighty reminds the children of Israel His favours, gifts and honours which He had bestowed upon them from time to time and discloses also their evil doings. It is the nature of human being that he begins to love with his benefactor and generous. So the God Almighty warns them about His favours, and preaches them for the straight path.

It is the sign of warning for the people of the entire world that children of Israel fell down in the well of calamity of God after getting so much higher rank of preference. We should get advice from this condition of them and try to keep away from those acts which became reason of their depravity, ruin and destruction.      

Transliteration in Roman Script, English Translation by Marmaduke Pickthall, Published by Paak Company, 17-Urdu Bazar, Lahore and Paraphrase collected from Dars e Qur’aan published By Idara Islah wa Tableegh, Lahore (translated by Muhammad Sharif Fauji) (http://hltsharif.blogspot.com)