Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:130
And who would be averse to the religion of Abraham except one who makes a fool of himself. And We had chosen him in this world, and indeed he, in the Hereafter, will be among the righteous.
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.
** وَمَنْ يَرْغَبُ عَنْ مِلَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ ** (And who would turn away from the religion of Ibrāhīm)
The discourse on the interpretation of the saying of the Exalted: وَمَنْ يَرْغَب عَنْ مِلَّة إبْرَاهِيم (And who would turn away from the religion (milla) of Ibrāhīm). The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, means by His saying: وَمَنْ يَرْغَب عَنْ مِلَّة إبْرَاهِيم (And who would turn away from the religion of Ibrāhīm): and who among mankind would disdain the religion of Ibrāhīm and abandon it, turning away from it in favor of another. Allah meant thereby only the Jews and the Christians, on account of their preferring what they preferred — Judaism and Christianity — over Islam; for the religion of Ibrāhīm is the pure monotheism submitted to Allah (al-ḥanīfiyya al-muslima), as the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, has said: مَا كَانَ إبْرَاهِيم يَهُودِيًّا وَلَا نَصْرَانِيًّا وَلَكِنْ كَانَ حَنِيفًا مُسْلِمًا (Ibrāhīm was neither a Jew nor a Christian, but he was a pure monotheist, submitted to Allah) (3:67). Thus the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, said to them: and who would turn away from the religion of Ibrāhīm, the pure monotheism submitted to Allah, except he who makes a fool of himself. As:
1719 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying: وَمَنْ يَرْغَب عَنْ مِلَّة إبْرَاهِيم إلَّا مَنْ سَفِهَ نَفْسه (And who would turn away from the religion of Ibrāhīm, except he who makes a fool of himself): from his religion the Jews and the Christians turned away, and they took Judaism and Christianity as a heretical innovation that is not from Allah, and they abandoned the religion of Ibrāhīm — that is to say: Islam — as pure monotheists (ḥanīf). Thus Allah sent His prophet Muḥammad, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, with the religion of Ibrāhīm.
1720 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, concerning His saying: وَمَنْ يَرْغَب عَنْ مِلَّة إبْرَاهِيم إلَّا مَنْ سَفِهَ نَفْسه (And who would turn away from the religion of Ibrāhīm, except he who makes a fool of himself), he said: the Jews and the Christians turned away from the religion of Ibrāhīm and they invented Judaism and Christianity, which are not from Allah, and they abandoned the religion of Ibrāhīm, Islam.
** إِلَّا مَنْ سَفِهَ نَفْسَهُ ** (except he who makes a fool of himself)
The discourse on the interpretation of the saying of the Exalted: إلَّا مَنْ سَفِهَ نَفْسه (except he who makes a fool of himself). The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, means by His saying: إلَّا مَنْ سَفِهَ نَفْسه : except he whose soul has become foolish. We have already explained in what preceded that the meaning of al-safah is "ignorance" (al-jahl). The meaning of the saying is therefore: and none turns away from the pure religion of Ibrāhīm except a fool who is ignorant of the place of the share of his own soul — of what benefits it and what harms it in its return (to the hereafter). As:
1721 — Yūnus related to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying: إلَّا مَنْ سَفِهَ نَفْسه , he said: except he who squanders his share.
The word "al-nafs" (the soul) is in the accusative according to the meaning of the specification (al-mufassar); that is because foolishness (al-safah) originally belongs to the soul, and when it was transferred to "man" (whoever), "al-nafs" came to be in the accusative with the meaning of an explication, as one says: "he is, of you, the one with the most spacious house" (huwa awsaʿu-kum dāran), where "the house" is taken up in the saying on the grounds that the spaciousness lies therein and not in the man. Likewise "the soul" was taken up, because foolishness belongs to the soul and not to "man" (whoever); and for that reason it is not permissible to say "your brother has become foolish" (safiha akhūka), and it is only permissible to explicate it by means of "the soul" — while this is annexed to a definite word (a maʿrifa) — because it has the interpretation of an indefinite word (nakira).
Some grammarians of Basra said: His saying سَفِهَ نَفْسه has followed the course of "safiha" when the verb is intransitive. It has only been made transitive to "his soul" (nafsa-hu) and "his opinion" (raʾya-hu) and the like, which are related in meaning to "safiha," when it is intransitive. As for "ghabana" (to cheat/cause loss) and "khasira" (to incur loss), however, these can indeed be transitive to something else; one says: "he caused fifty a loss" (ghabana khamsīna) and "he lost fifty" (khasira khamsīna).
** وَلَقَدِ اصْطَفَيْنَاهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا ** (And indeed, We have chosen him in this world)
The discourse on the interpretation of the saying of the Exalted: وَلَقَدْ اصْطَفَيْنَاهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا (And indeed, We have chosen him in this world). The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, means by His saying: وَلَقَدْ اصْطَفَيْنَاهُ فِي الدُّنْيَا : and indeed, We have chosen Ibrāhīm. The "hā" (the suffix -hu) in His saying اصْطَفَيْنَاهُ refers to Ibrāhīm. Al-iṣṭifāʾ is the iftiʿāl form derived from al-ṣafwa (that which is choicest); thus "iṣṭafaynā" is the iftaʿalnā form of it, in which its tāʾ has been changed into a ṭāʾ on account of the proximity of its place of articulation to the place of articulation of the ṣād. By His saying اصْطَفَيْنَاهُ He means: We chose him and selected him for the intimate friendship (al-khilla), and We make him in this world a leader (imām) for those who come after him. This is a notification from Allah, whose mention is exalted, that whoever contradicts Ibrāhīm in that which he established as a practice for those who come after him, thereby contradicts Allah; and it is a making-known from Him to His creatures that whoever contradicts what Muḥammad, Allah's blessing and peace be upon him, brought, thereby contradicts Ibrāhīm. That is because Allah, whose mention is exalted, has informed that He chose him for His intimate friendship and made him a leader for mankind, and has informed that his religion was the pure monotheism submitted to Allah. Therein lies the clearest declaration from Allah, whose mention is exalted, that whoever contradicts him is an enemy of Allah, on account of his contradicting the leader (imām) whom Allah appointed for His servants.
** وَإِنَّهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ لَمِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ ** (And indeed, in the hereafter he is among the righteous)
The discourse on the interpretation of the saying of the Exalted: وَإِنَّهُ فِي الْآخِرَة لَمِنْ الصَّالِحِينَ (And indeed, in the hereafter he is among the righteous). The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, means by His saying: وَإِنَّهُ فِي الْآخِرَة لَمِنْ الصَّالِحِينَ : and indeed, Ibrāhīm in the Last Abode is among the righteous. The righteous one (al-ṣāliḥ) among the children of Adam is he who fulfills the rights of Allah that are incumbent upon him. Thus the Exalted, whose mention is exalted, informed concerning Ibrāhīm, His bosom friend (khalīl), that he is in this world a chosen one for Him, and in the hereafter a near friend (walī), and that he has access to the abodes of His near friends who faithfully fulfill His covenant.
