Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:209
But if you deviate after clear proofs have come to you, then know that Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise.
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 the saying of the Exalted: Maar als jullie afdwalen nadat de duidelijke bewijzen tot jullie zijn gekomen, weet dan dat Allah Almachtig en Alwijs is (2:209)
Abū Jaʿfar (al-Ṭabarī) said: By this He means, exalted is His praise, the following: but if you miss the truth, and thereby stray from it, and oppose Islam and its legal ordinances, after My proofs and the clear signs of My guidance have come to you, and the correctness of the matter of Islam has become clear to you through the indications that have cut off your excuse, O believers — then know that Allah is the Possessor of might, who is prevented by no obstacle from taking vengeance upon you, and who is held back by no deterrer from punishing you for your opposition to His command and your disobedience to Him — "All-Wise" (ḥakīm) in what He does with you of punishment for your disobedience to Him, after He has established the proof against you, and in all His other affairs.
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A number of the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have said that "the clear proofs" (al-bayyināt) are Muḥammad, the Prophet ﷺ, and the Qurʾān.
That is close to what we have said concerning the interpretation thereof, for the Prophet ﷺ and the Qurʾān are among the proofs of Allah against those who were addressed by these two verses. Yet what we have said concerning the interpretation thereof is closer to the truth, for Allah, exalted is His praise, established the proof against those of the rabbis of the People of the Book who opposed Islam through what He had enjoined upon them in the Torah and the Gospel, and what He had set before them by the mouths of their prophets as a charge to that effect. So that, then, and the rest of the proofs of Allah, blessed and exalted is He, against them, together with the proofs that bindingly reached them through the Prophet ﷺ and through the Qurʾān. For this reason we have chosen what we have chosen in the interpretation thereof.
And in the manner of what we have said concerning that, the people of interpretation have spoken.
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* Mention of the sayings of those who speak about the interpretation of His word: "Maar als jullie afdwalen" (But if you stray):
4027 - Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His word: "Maar als jullie afdwalen" (But if you stray) — he says: but if you stray (ḍalaltum).
&; 4-260 &;
4028 - Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His word: "Maar als jullie afdwalen" (But if you stray) — he said: the straying (al-zalal) is shirk.
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Mention of the sayings of those who speak about the interpretation of His word: "nadat de duidelijke bewijzen tot jullie zijn gekomen" (after the clear proofs have come to you):
4029 - Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "nadat de duidelijke bewijzen tot jullie zijn gekomen" (after the clear proofs have come to you) — he says: after Muḥammad, the Prophet ﷺ, has come to you.
4030 - And al-Qāsim related to me, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj: "Maar als jullie afdwalen nadat de duidelijke bewijzen tot jullie zijn gekomen" (But if you stray after the clear proofs have come to you) — he said: Islam and the Qurʾān.
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4031 - It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: "weet dan dat Allah Almachtig en Alwijs is" (then know that Allah is Almighty and All-Wise) — he says: Almighty in His requital, All-Wise in His decree.
