Maulana Wahiduddin Khan
Surah Al-Baqarah
Surah 2 · Al-Baqarah · verse 85 of 286

Quran 2:85 · Al-Baqarah

ثُمَّ أَنتُمۡ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ تَقۡتُلُونَ أَنفُسَكُمۡ وَتُخۡرِجُونَ فَرِيقٗا مِّنكُم مِّن دِيَٰرِهِمۡ تَظَٰهَرُونَ عَلَيۡهِم بِٱلۡإِثۡمِ وَٱلۡعُدۡوَٰنِ وَإِن يَأۡتُوكُمۡ أُسَٰرَىٰ تُفَٰدُوهُمۡ وَهُوَ مُحَرَّمٌ عَلَيۡكُمۡ إِخۡرَاجُهُمۡۚ أَفَتُؤۡمِنُونَ بِبَعۡضِ ٱلۡكِتَٰبِ وَتَكۡفُرُونَ بِبَعۡضٖۚ فَمَا جَزَآءُ مَن يَفۡعَلُ ذَٰلِكَ مِنكُمۡ إِلَّا خِزۡيٞ فِي ٱلۡحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنۡيَاۖ وَيَوۡمَ ٱلۡقِيَٰمَةِ يُرَدُّونَ إِلَىٰٓ أَشَدِّ ٱلۡعَذَابِۗ وَمَا ٱللَّهُ بِغَٰفِلٍ عَمَّا تَعۡمَلُونَ

Then, you are those [same ones who are] killing one another and evicting a party of your people from their homes, cooperating against them in sin and aggression. And if they come to you as captives, you ransom them, although their eviction was forbidden to you. So do you believe in part of the Scripture and disbelieve in part? Then what is the recompense for those who do that among you except disgrace in worldly life; and on the Day of Resurrection they will be sent back to the severest of punishment. And Allah is not unaware of what you do

Translation: Sahih International
Maulana’s commentary · Tazkirul Quran

Before the advent of Islam, three Jewish tribes inhabited the area around Madinah: the Banu Nadir, the Banu Qurayzah, and the Banu Qaynuqa‘. Despite the fact that all of them adhered to Mosaic law, ignorant prejudices had divided them into two groups. They had become enmeshed, along with the polytheist tribes of Madinah—al-Aws and the Khazraj—in political manoeuvering. The Banu Nadir and the Banu Qurayzah had aligned themselves with the Aws tribe, and the Banu Qaynuqa‘ with the Khazraj. Divided into two camps in this manner, the three Jewish tribes were constantly at war with one another. The basic teachings of Islamic law demand the total renunciation of pagan ways, the suppressing of one’s selfish desires and the controlling of one’s worldly needs— that is why the commands of Islamic law are ignored in politics. Obedience to them would bring about true piety, but people do not like to involve themselves in such arduous practices. They prefer to put on a pretence of piety by conducting certain superficial rituals. This is tantamount to issuing a self-made edition of divine religion; it is to disregard the Hereafter and attach importance to the worldly aspect of religion in the hope that zeal in performing actions which promise worldly fame and honour will qualify them for the reward reserved for true piety. But such brazen distortion of religion can only earn one God’s wrath; it does not merit any reward from God.

Maulana Wahiduddin Khan, Tazkirul Quran

In the lectures

Maulana does not cite this verse in the lectures indexed so far. The verses of this surah Maulana does cite →