Good Beliefs – Fundamental Righteousness

LESSON # 177 FROM HOLY QUR’AN

BAQARAH – 2 (The Cow)

Good Beliefs – Fundamental Righteousness

Verse –177a  of 286, Section – 22 (Part One-Fourth of 2)

It is not righteousness that ye turn your faces to the East and the West; but righteousness is this that one should believe in Allah and the Last Day and the angels and the Scripture and the Prophets;

Laysal-birra ‘an-  tuwalluu  wujuuhakum  qibalal-Mashriqi  wal-Magribi  wa laakinnal-birra  man  ‘aama-na  billaahi  wal-  Yawmil-‘Akhiri  wal-  malaaa—ikati  wal-Kitaabi  wan-nabiyyiin.

Lesson

al-birra – (Righteousness) it has vast meanings in Arabic language. Each kind of righteousness comes in the comprehension of this word.

al-Mashriqu – (the East, from which direction the sun rises). Many eastern nations have used to worship the Sun believing as god, and because it rises from the east so uneducated nations took it as a sacred direction. The Holy Qur’an stroke this thought severely and told that it is not the righteousness and obedience to take only some direction as sacred. Completion of the righteousness exists only with good beliefs and true deeds.

al-  malaaa—‘ikatu - (the Angels) (peace be upon them) to admit the existence of that bright creature which keeps doing the works commanded by Allah Almighty, it is necessary to believe them (peace be upon them).

al-Kitaabu - (the Scripture) means all the Heavenly Scriptures. It is also necessary to believe all of them.

an-nabiyyiinu – it signifies towards the entire Prophets (peace be upon them) who came in this world time and time again for guidance of the human beings from the God Almighty. It is necessary too to believe all of them.

When the children of Israel heard the proclamation through Holy Qur’an about censure of partnership with God Almighty and punishment of infidelity, they shivered with terror and replied by saying that we do worship confronting Bait-ul-Muqaddas (Jerusalem). So we even follow the Heavenly Scripture. Why the Doom would be revealed upon us? In this verse it has been replied to their stubbornness.

This verse is one of the most important verses. There is given comprehensive concept of the righteousness that the virtue is not only the name of mere devotion and worship, and it is not also the name of worship turning towards any particular direction. Moreover near to Islam the righteousness grows correcting the both, the faith and the action. It has equal importance for belief, affairs, prayers, morality, behavior, sincerity and sacrifice (all).

Transliteration in Roman Script & English Translation of Holy Qur’an written 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)