Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:118
Those who do not know say, "Why does Allah not speak to us or there come to us a sign?" Thus spoke those before them like their words. Their hearts resemble each other. We have shown clearly the signs to a people who are certain [in faith].
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of His word: وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ لا يَعْلَمُونَ لَوْلا يُكَلِّمُنَا اللَّهُ أَوْ تَأْتِينَا آيَةٌ
("And those who do not know said: 'Why does Allah not speak to us, or why does no sign come to us?'")
Abū Jaʿfar said: The exegetes differed concerning whom Allah meant by His word: And those who do not know said: 'Why does Allah not speak to us?' Some of them said: by this were meant the Christians.
**Mention of who said this:**
1860 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah, Mighty and Exalted: And those who do not know said: 'Why does Allah not speak to us, or why does no sign come to us?' He said: it is the Christians who say this.
1861 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, something similar – and he added to it: And those who do not know said, those are the Christians.
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And others said: No, by it Allah meant the Jews who lived in the time of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ.
**Mention of who said this:**
1862 – Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: Yūnus ibn Bukayr related to us. And Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama ibn al-Faḍl related to us – both said together: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad related to me, saying: Saʿīd ibn Jubayr or ʿIkrima related to me, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, who said: Rāfiʿ ibn Ḥuraymila said to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: "If you are truly a messenger of Allah, as you say, then tell Allah, Mighty and Exalted, to speak to us, so that we may hear His word!" Thereupon Allah, Mighty and Exalted, revealed concerning this His word: And those who do not know said: 'Why does Allah not speak to us, or why does no sign come to us?', the entire verse.
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And others said: No, by it He meant the polytheists (mushrikīn) among the Arabs.
**Mention of who said this:**
1863 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: And those who do not know said: 'Why does Allah not speak to us, or why does no sign come to us?', those are the disbelievers (kuffār) among the Arabs.
1864 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: And those who do not know said: 'Why does Allah not speak to us?' He said: it is the disbelievers (kuffār) among the Arabs.
1865 – Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: And those who do not know said: 'Why does Allah not speak to us?' As for "those who do not know": those are the Arabs.
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The most correct and accurate of these statements is the statement of the one who says: that Allah, the Exalted, by His word And those who do not know said meant the Christians and no one else. For that comes in the context of Allah's report about them and about their fabrication against Him and their claim that He has a child. For He, praised be His praise, reported about them – within what He reported of their misguidance – that they, besides their fabricating of lies against Allah with their word: Allah has taken a child, harbored false wishes against Allah and out of ignorance of Allah and of their station with Him – while they associated partners with Allah (mushrikīn) – said: Why does Allah not speak to us?, as He speaks to His messenger and His prophets, or why does no sign come to us as came to them? But it does not befit Allah to speak to anyone except to His intimates (awliyāʾ), and He does not give a miraculous sign in support of the claim of a claimant except to one who speaks the truth in his claim and calls to Allah and His oneness (tawḥīd). As for the one who is mendacious in his claim and calls to fabrication against Him and the claim that He has sons and daughters, it is not permissible that Allah, praised be His praise, should speak to him or give him a miraculous sign that would confirm his lie and his fabrication against Him.
As for the one who claims that Allah by His word And those who do not know said meant the Arabs, he makes a statement whose correctness is not corroborated by any report, nor for which there exists any proof of its truth in the literal text of the Book. And when a statement reaches that point, its incorrectness is evident, for he claims something for which there is no proof of correctness, and such a claim will be impossible for no one.
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As for the meaning of His word: Why does Allah not speak to us?, it has the meaning of: "Why then does Allah not speak to us!" As al-Ashhab ibn Rumayla said:
*You reckon the slaughtering of the old she-camels as the highest of your glory,* *O sons of Ḍawṭarā, why not the armored hero!*
That is to say: "Why then do you not reckon the armored hero too!" As:
1866 – Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His word: Why does Allah not speak to us? He said: "Why then does Allah not speak to us!"
Abū Jaʿfar said: As for "the sign" (al-āya), the meaning of the sign – that it is the indication/the mark – has already been established earlier. Allah only reported about them that they said: "Why does no sign come to us as we wish and ask, as came to the prophets and messengers!" Thereupon He said, Mighty and Exalted: Thus also said those who were before them, the like of their word.
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The explanation of His word, the Exalted: كَذَلِكَ قَالَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ مِثْلَ قَوْلِهِمْ تَشَابَهَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ
("Thus also said those who were before them, the like of their word; their hearts have become alike.")
Abū Jaʿfar said: The exegetes differed concerning whom Allah meant by His word: Thus also said those who were before them, the like of their word. Some of them said concerning this:
1867 – Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: Thus also said those who were before them, the like of their word – those are the Jews.
1868 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: those who were before them, said – the Jews.
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And others said: they are the Jews and the Christians, because "those who do not know" are the Arabs.
**Mention of who said this:**
1869 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda: those who were before them, said – that is to say the Jews and the Christians and others.
1870 – Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, he said: they – that is to say the Arabs – said as the Jews and the Christians before them had said.
1871 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: Thus also said those who were before them, the like of their word – that is to say the Jews and the Christians.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: We have already demonstrated that those whom Allah, exalted be His mention, meant by His word: And those who do not know said: 'Why does Allah not speak to us?', are the Christians, and that those who said the like of their word are the Jews – who asked Mūsā ﷺ to show them their Lord openly, and to let them hear the word of their Lord, as we have set forth earlier in this book of ours – and they asked for signs which it was not for them to ask, as a form of arrogating judgment against their Lord. And likewise the Christians too harbored false wishes against their Lord, arrogating judgment against Him, that He should let them hear His word and show them the signs which they wished for. Allah, praised be His praise, thus reported about them that they made a statement concerning this like the statement which the Jews had made, and harbored false wishes against their Lord like their wishes, and that their statement which they made concerning this only resembles the statement of the Jews because of the resemblance of their hearts in misguidance and disbelief in Allah. For they – even though their ways differ in their lies against Allah and their fabrication against Him – their hearts are alike in disbelief in their Lord and fabrication against Him, and their arrogating judgment against the prophets of Allah and His messengers, peace be upon them. And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, Mujāhid said.
1872 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: their hearts have become alike – the hearts of the Christians and the Jews.
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And another said: the meaning of it is that the hearts of the disbelieving Arabs and the Jews and the Christians and others have become alike.
**Mention of who said this:**
1873 – Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: their hearts have become alike – that is to say the Arabs and the Jews and the Christians and others.
1874 – Al-Muthannā related to me, Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: their hearts have become alike – that is to say the Arabs and the Jews and the Christians and others.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: It is not permissible in His word tashābahat (they have become alike) to apply the doubling (of the letter), for the tāʾ which stands at the beginning of it is added and was introduced in the form "tafāʿala"; and if one were to double it, that would become two tāʾs, and it is not permissible to introduce two added tāʾs as an indicator for one and the same meaning. That is only permissible in the future tense, on account of the difference in meaning of introducing both, for the one is introduced as an indicator for the future tense, and the other is the one which is in "tafāʿala"; then the one is assimilated into the other so that it is doubled, and then one says: "tashābbahu baʿda l-yawmi qulūbunā" (let our hearts henceforth resemble one another).
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The meaning of the verse is thus: and the Christians, ignorant of Allah and of His greatness, said: "Why does Allah, our Lord, not speak to us, as He spoke to His prophets and messengers, or why does no sign from Allah come to us by which we may recognize the truthfulness of that upon which we stand, according to what we ask and wish?" Allah, praised be His praise, said: and just as these ignorant ones among the Christians said and harbored false wishes against their Lord, so too said those who were before them among the Jews, and asked their Lord that Allah should show Himself openly to them and give them a sign; and they arrogated judgment against Him and against His messengers, and harbored false wishes. Thus the hearts of the Jews and the Christians became alike in their rebellion against Allah and their slight knowledge of His greatness and their insolence toward His prophets and messengers, just as also their statements which they made became alike.
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The explanation of His word, the Exalted: قَدْ بَيَّنَّا الآيَاتِ لِقَوْمٍ يُوقِنُونَ (118)
("We have already made the signs clear for a people who believe with certainty." (2:118))
Abū Jaʿfar said: He, praised be His praise, means by His word: We have already made the signs clear for a people who believe with certainty: We have already made clear the indications why Allah became wrathful with the Jews, and made of them apes and swine, and prepared for them the humiliating punishment (ʿadhāb) at their return; and those why Allah disgraced the Christians in this life, and prepared for them disgrace and the painful punishment in the Hereafter; and those why He made of those who surrendered their faces to Allah while they are doers of good, the dwellers of the gardens of Paradise (jannān) – in this surah and elsewhere. He thus made known the causes why each group of them deserved with Allah what He did with them, and Allah thereby distinguished the people who believe with certainty, because they are the people of steadfastness in matters, and those who seek the knowledge of the reality of things on the basis of certainty and correctness. Allah, praised be His praise, thus reported that He has made clear for whoever possesses this quality what He has made clear of it, so that his doubt would vanish and he would know the reality of the matter, since that is a report from Allah, praised be His praise, and the report of Allah is the report concerning which the hearer is not excused if he doubts it. And reports other than this may contain the attendant causes of forgetfulness, error, and lying, while that is excluded from the report of Allah, Mighty and Exalted.
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Footnotes:
(63) The report 1862 – Sīrat Ibn Hishām 2:198.
(64) In the printed edition it reads: "wa-qāla l-zāʿim…" but the correct reading is what is established here, as the corrector of the printed edition corrected it.
(65) It is not by al-Ashhab, but it is by Jarīr, and Ibn al-Shajarī followed him in this in his Amālī 2:210, as though he took it from him as was his custom.
(66) Dīwān Jarīr: 338, al-Naqāʾiḍ: 833, and it occurs again in the tafsīr 7:119 (Bulāq) without attribution, and Majāz al-Qurʾān: 52, and Amālī Ibn al-Shajarī 1:279, 334 / 2:210, and al-Khizāna 1:461. The reading of the Dīwān and the Naqāʾiḍ is: "afḍala saʿyikum" (the highest of your striving). The verse is from a long poem in the mutual invective poetry between Jarīr and al-Farazdaq. His word "ʿaqr al-nīb": the slaughtering of the camel or the horse is the striking of its legs so that they are severed; and when they wanted to slaughter a camel, they first cut through its legs and slaughtered it thereafter, and they did that to it so that it would not flee at the slaughtering. And the Arabs vied in nobility by means of mutual slaughtering (muʿāqara): that the one slaughters a camel and the other then also slaughters, whereby they vie in generosity and liberality and persist in it until the one surpasses the other. And "al-nīb" is the plural of "nāb": the old she-camel, so named on account of the length of her canine tooth (nāb). Jarīr refers herewith to that of which al-Farazdaq used to be proud: the mutual slaughtering of his father Ghālib ibn Ṣaʿṣaʿa with Suḥaym ibn Wathīl al-Riyāḥī at a place called "Ṣawʾar", whereby Suḥaym slaughtered five and then left it, while Ghālib slaughtered there a hundred or two hundred. And this is one of the matters of the Jāhiliyya. Ibn ʿAbbās said: "Do not eat of the mutual slaughtering of the bedouins, for I am not certain that it does not belong to that which is dedicated to other than Allah." And ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "O people, it is not permissible for you, for it is dedicated to other than Allah." (See the report about the muʿāqara in al-Naqāʾiḍ: 625–626.)
And his word "banī Ḍawṭarā" means: O sons of the fools. So it has been said, but I fear that it is not so, for "Ḍawṭarā" is a nickname for a man of the Banū Mujāshiʿ ibn Dārim – whom they did not identify – for Jarīr said to al-Farazdaq:
*Verily Ibn Shaʿra and al-Qarīn and Ḍawṭarā,* *evil are the riders in the night of al-Ḥadathān.*
This is a proof that it is a particular person, and I hope that I shall be able to establish that in a place other than here. In any case he meant to revile him by means of his forefathers. And "al-kamī": the brave one who does not fear and does not yield to his adversary, whether he bears weapons or not.
And his word "taʿuddūna" means: you reckon and you make; he made the verb "ʿadda" transitive to two objects, by giving it the meaning of "making and reckoning", as Dhū al-Rumma said:
(67) See what was mentioned earlier: 1:106.
(68) In the printed edition it reads: "ʿammā nurīduhu wa-nasʾal", but the correct reading is what is established here.
(69) In the printed edition it reads: "they are the Jews", but the correct reading is what is established here, as the corrector of the printed edition discerned; the proof for that is that it will hereafter be transmitted on the authority of Qatāda, and it has already occurred under number 1763 with this isnād from him on the authority of Qatāda: that "those who do not know" are the disbelieving Arabs, and the following report is the completion of this earlier report.
(70) In the printed edition it reads: "wa-lladhī qālat". And the pronoun in his word "and those who said" refers to the Christians. See the proof for that in what has just been mentioned earlier: 550.
(71) In the printed edition it reads: "wa-saʾalat Mūsā", and the omission of the wāw is preferable. And it would have been more desirable that "saʾalū" (they asked) should stand instead of "saʾalat".
(72) See what was mentioned earlier in the explanation of verse 55, and the report 959.
(73) In the printed edition it reads: "wa-qāla ghayruhum" (and others said), but the correct reading is what is established here, for he transmitted only the statement of Mujāhid.
(74) See Maʿānī al-Qurʾān of al-Farrāʾ 1:75; and the wording of Ṭabarī here corrects the error that stands there.
