Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:87
And We did certainly give Moses the Torah and followed up after him with messengers. And We gave Jesus, the son of Mary, clear proofs and supported him with the Pure Spirit. But is it [not] that every time a messenger came to you, [O Children of Israel], with what your souls did not desire, you were arrogant? And a party [of messengers] you denied and another party you killed.
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: وَلَقَدْ آتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَابَ وَقَفَّيْنَا مِنْ بَعْدِهِ بِالرُّسُلِ
(And indeed We gave Mūsā the Book and We caused the messengers to follow one after another after him)
Abū Jaʿfar said: By His saying — exalted be His praise — "We gave Mūsā the Book" is meant: We sent it down to him. We have already clarified earlier that the meaning of "al-ītāʾ" is "the giving," in what preceded.⁴⁹
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And "the Book" which Allah gave to Mūsā — peace be upon him — is the Torah (al-Tawrāh).
As for His saying "wa-qaffaynā," it means: and We caused them to follow one another and to come after one another, just as a man "follows" (yaqfū) another man: when he goes after him in his track. Its origin lies in "al-qafā" (the nape/the back of the head). One says of this: "qafawtu fulānan" — when I come to stand behind his nape, just as one says: "dabartuhu" — when I come to stand behind him (at his back).
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And by His saying "min baʿdihi" is meant: after Mūsā.
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And by "al-rusul" (the messengers) the prophets are meant, and it is the plural of "rasūl." One says: "he is a rasūl and they are rusul," just as one says: "he is ṣabūr (patient) and they are a patient people (ṣubur)," and "he is a grateful man (shakūr) and they are a grateful people (shukur)."
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That which — exalted be His praise — is meant by His saying "wa-qaffaynā min baʿdihi bi-l-rusul" is, namely: We caused them to follow one after another upon one and the same path and one and the same law (sharīʿah). For every prophet whom Allah sent after Mūsā — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — up until the time of ʿĪsā the son of Maryam, He sent only to command the children of Israel to observe the Torah, to act according to it, and to call to what is in it. Therefore it was said: "wa-qaffaynā min baʿdihi bi-l-rusul," that is to say: upon his path and his law, and acting according to what he put into practice.
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَآتَيْنَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ
(And We gave ʿĪsā the son of Maryam the clear proofs)
Abū Jaʿfar said: By His saying "wa-ātaynā ʿĪsā ibna Maryama al-bayyināt" is meant: We gave to ʿĪsā the son of Maryam.
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And by "al-bayyināt" (the clear proofs) which Allah gave him are meant: the proofs and indications of his prophethood which He caused to appear by his hands, such as the raising of the dead to life, the healing of the one born blind, and similar signs, which made clear his rank with Allah and pointed to his truthfulness and the validity of his prophethood, such as:
1483 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Salama related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Isḥāq related to me, saying: Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, or ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "wa-ātaynā ʿĪsā ibna Maryama al-bayyināt": that is to say the signs which were brought about by his hands: the raising of the dead to life, the forming out of clay by him of something in the shape of a bird, into which he then blew so that it became a bird by Allah's permission, the healing of illnesses, the informing about many hidden matters, such as what they stored up in their houses, and what was restored to them of the Torah, together with the Gospel (al-Injīl) which Allah revealed to him.
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: وَأَيَّدْنَاهُ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ
(And We strengthened him with the holy spirit, rūḥ al-qudus)
Abū Jaʿfar said: As for the meaning of His saying "wa-ayyadnāhu," it is: We gave him strength and helped him, such as:
1484 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: "wa-ayyadnāhu" means: We helped him. One says of this: "ayyadaka Allāh," that is to say: may Allah strengthen you, and "he is a man with ayd (strength) and with ād," by which is meant: a man with strength. Of this is also the saying of al-ʿAjjāj:
"from that I exchanged my ād for ād"⁵⁰
by which he means: I have exchanged my youth for the strength of old age. And of this is also the saying of another:⁵¹
"The arrow-shafts, when they are gathered together and someone tries to break them, then he who breaks them is a man of endurance and strong, powerful grip (ayyid)"⁵²
by "al-ayyid" is meant: the strong one.
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Then people differed concerning the explanation of His saying "bi-rūḥi al-qudus." Some said: "rūḥ al-qudus" (the holy spirit) with which Allah — exalted be His mention — reports that He strengthened ʿĪsā, is Jibrīl — peace be upon him.
• Mention of those who said that:
1485 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His saying "wa-ayyadnāhu bi-rūḥi al-qudus," he said: That is Jibrīl.
1486 — Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His saying "wa-ayyadnāhu bi-rūḥi al-qudus," he said: That is Jibrīl — peace be upon him.
1487 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Abū Zuhayr related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, concerning His saying "wa-ayyadnāhu bi-rūḥi al-qudus," he said: rūḥ al-qudus is Jibrīl.
1488 — It was related to us on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ: "wa-ayyadnāhu bi-rūḥi al-qudus," he said: ʿĪsā was strengthened with Jibrīl, and that is rūḥ al-qudus.
1489 — And Ibn Ḥumayd said: Salama related to us, on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Makkī related to me, on the authority of Shahr ibn Ḥawshab al-Ashʿarī: that a group of the Jews asked the Messenger of Allah — may Allah bless him and grant him peace — and said: Inform us about the spirit (al-rūḥ). He said: I adjure you by Allah and by His days among the children of Israel, do you know that it is Jibrīl? And that it is he [who] comes to me? They said: Yes.⁵³
And others said: The spirit with which Allah strengthened ʿĪsā is the Gospel (al-Injīl).
• Mention of those who said that:
1490 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His saying "wa-ayyadnāhu bi-rūḥi al-qudus," he said: Allah strengthened ʿĪsā with the Gospel as a spirit, just as He made the Qurʾān a spirit; both are a spirit from Allah, as Allah said: وَكَذَلِكَ أَوْحَيْنَا إِلَيْكَ رُوحًا مِنْ أَمْرِنَا (And thus We have revealed to you a spirit of Our command) [al-Shūrā: 52].
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And others said: It is the name with which ʿĪsā raised the dead to life.
• Mention of those who said that:
1491 — It was related to me on the authority of al-Minjāb, saying: Bishr ibn ʿUmāra related to us, on the authority of Abū Rawq, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "wa-ayyadnāhu bi-rūḥi al-qudus," he said: It is the name with which ʿĪsā raised the dead to life.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: The correct explanation of this is the saying of him who said: "al-rūḥ" (the spirit) is in this place Jibrīl. For Allah — exalted be His praise — has reported that He strengthened ʿĪsā with it, as He reported in His saying: إِذْ قَالَ اللَّهُ يَا عِيسَى ابْنَ مَرْيَمَ اذْكُرْ نِعْمَتِي عَلَيْكَ وَعَلَى وَالِدَتِكَ إِذْ أَيَّدْتُكَ بِرُوحِ الْقُدُسِ تُكَلِّمُ النَّاسَ فِي الْمَهْدِ وَكَهْلًا وَإِذْ عَلَّمْتُكَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَالتَّوْرَاةَ وَالإِنْجِيلَ (When Allah said: O ʿĪsā, son of Maryam, remember My favor upon you and upon your mother, when I strengthened you with the holy spirit, so that you spoke to the people in the cradle and as a grown man, and when I taught you the Book, wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel) [al-Māʾida: 110]. If the spirit with which Allah strengthened him were the Gospel, then His saying "when I strengthened you with the holy spirit" and "and when I taught you the Book, wisdom, the Torah and the Gospel" would be a repetition of words without meaning. That is because, according to the explanation of him who said that the meaning of "when I strengthened you with the holy spirit" is merely: when I strengthened you with the Gospel — it amounts to: and when I taught you the Gospel. And he could not have been strengthened by it unless he had been taught it, so that this is a repetition of one and the same saying, without any added meaning in the one as compared with the other. And that is defective, corrupt speech,⁵⁴ and Allah — exalted be His mention — is far too exalted above addressing His servants with something that brings them no benefit. And since that is so, the untenability is clear of the saying of him who claimed that "al-rūḥ" in this place is the Gospel — even though all the books of Allah which He revealed to His messengers are a spirit from Him, because the dead hearts come to life through them, the turned-away souls are revived through them, and the straying spirits are guided through them.
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Allah — the Exalted — called Jibrīl "rūḥ" (spirit) only and attached him to "al-qudus," because he was made by Allah's creation into a spirit from Him, without birth from a father who begot him. Therefore He called him "rūḥ" and attached him to "al-qudus" — and "al-qudus" is purity — just as ʿĪsā the son of Maryam was called a "spirit" from Allah on account of His forming of him into a spirit from Him, without birth from a father who begot him.
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We have already clarified in the preceding part of this book of ours that the meaning of "al-taqdīs" is "the purification," and "al-qudus" is "the purity," derived from it. And the exegetes differed concerning its meaning in this place, in a manner similar to their disagreement in the place which we have mentioned.⁵⁵
1492 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, saying: al-qudus is the blessing (al-baraka).
1493 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, saying: al-qudus, that is the Lord — exalted be His mention.
1494 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: "wa-ayyadnāhu bi-rūḥi al-qudus," he said: Allah is al-qudus, and He strengthened ʿĪsā with His spirit. He said: al-qudus is an attribute of Allah. And he recited the saying of Allah — exalted be His praise: هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لا إِلَهَ إِلا هُوَ الْمَلِكُ الْقُدُّوسُ (He is Allah, besides Whom there is no god, the King, the Most Holy, al-Quddūs) [al-Ḥashr: 23]. He said: al-qudus and al-quddūs are one and the same.
1495 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith informed me, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Abī Hilāl, [on the authority of Hilāl] ibn Usāma, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ ibn Yasār, saying: Kaʿb said: Allah is al-qudus.⁵⁶
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The explanation of the saying of the Exalted: أَفَكُلَّمَا جَاءَكُمْ رَسُولٌ بِمَا لا تَهْوَى أَنْفُسُكُمُ اسْتَكْبَرْتُمْ فَفَرِيقًا كَذَّبْتُمْ وَفَرِيقًا تَقْتُلُونَ
(Then every time a messenger came to you with that which your souls did not desire, you behaved arrogantly; a part of them you then made out to be liars and a part you kill) (87)
Abū Jaʿfar said: By His saying — exalted be His praise — "afakullamā jāʾakum rasūlun bimā lā tahwā anfusukum" the Jews of the children of Israel are meant.
1496 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related that 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.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: Allah — exalted be His praise — says to them: O community of Jews of the children of Israel, indeed We gave Mūsā the Torah, and We caused the messengers to follow one after another to you after him, and We gave ʿĪsā the son of Maryam the clear proofs and arguments when We sent him to you, and We strengthened him with the holy spirit. But every time a messenger of My messengers came to you with something other than what your souls desired, you behaved arrogantly toward them — out of tyranny and injustice — with the arrogance of your leader Iblīs. Thus you made a part of them out to be liars, and a part you killed. Such has your conduct ever been toward My messengers.
* * *
And His saying "afakullamā" (then every time) — even though it is framed in the form of an exhortatory interrogative address — has the meaning of a statement.
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Footnotes:
⁴⁹ See the preceding, 1: 574.
⁵⁰ A supplement from his Dīwān: 76, and al-Lisān (ād, ayd), and Majāz al-Qurʾān: 46, and Amālī al-Zajjājī: 39 in a report. It is also transmitted as:
"And when I exchanged my ād for ād, and it was no longer pliant and became rigid, then I still see myself as the root of the seated women…"
And "al-quʿʿād" are the old women who sit (no longer bearing children), formed in the plural as a masculine plural, as al-Quṭāmī said:
"Their glances incline toward the young men, and yet I see them not rejecting me (ghayr ṣidād)"
by which is meant: not repelling.
⁵¹ The verse — from a series of verses — is attributed to ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān, but the correct view is that it belongs to ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā ibn Abī ʿAmra al-Shaybānī, a freedman of the Banū Shaybān (Tārīkh al-Ṭabarī 4: 22, and Simṭ al-laʾāliʾ: 963, his biography).
⁵² The verse belongs to excellent verses which Abū al-ʿAbbās al-Mubarrad transmitted in al-Taʿāzī wa-l-marāthī, fol. 105, 106, and al-Masʿūdī in Murūj al-dhahab 3: 104, and Lubāb al-ādāb: 31; and the citation-verse occurs in Tārīkh al-Islām of al-Dhahabī 3: 280, and Tārīkh Ibn Kathīr 9: 67, and Tārīkh al-khulafāʾ of al-Suyūṭī: 147; and the transmission of the citation-verse differs. ʿAbd al-Malik ibn Marwān gave his sons a lofty admonition, and then said to them: Memorize from me these verses — namely the poetry of ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā — and he commanded them to remain together and not to scatter, so that their strength would not vanish. And after the verse:
"United they are strong and do not break, but if they are scattered, then weakness and breakage are for him who isolates himself."
⁵³ The ḥadīth: 1489 — In the printed edition it read "Salama related to us, on the authority of Isḥāq," and that is an error; the correct reading is "on the authority of Ibn Isḥāq." ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Abī al-Ḥusayn al-Makkī: reliable, a jurist, one of the teachers of al-Layth and Mālik. He has a biography in al-Tahdhīb, and at Ibn Abī Ḥātim 2/2/97. Shahr ibn Ḥawshab al-Ashʿarī: a reliable tābiʿī; he who has spoken about him (criticized him) has no proof. We have treated the question of his reliability at length in the commentary on al-Musnad: 5007. He has a biography in al-Tahdhīb, and in al-Kabīr of al-Bukhārī 2/2/659-260 [sic], and at Ibn Saʿd 7/2/158, and Ibn Abī Ḥātim 2/1/382-383. But this ḥadīth is mursal, for Shahr is a tābiʿī, as we have said. And its meaning — in the explanation of "al-rūḥ" as Jibrīl — is firmly established in numerous authentic (ṣaḥīḥ) transmissions. Ibn Kathīr 1: 227 mentions among them the ḥadīth of Ibn Masʿūd, in Ṣaḥīḥ Ibn Ḥibbān, marfūʿ: "Verily, rūḥ al-qudus has blown into my heart: that no soul will die until it has fully received its provision and its appointed term; so fear Allah and conduct yourselves becomingly in seeking." And we have mentioned much of this meaning in our commentary on the Risāla of al-Shāfiʿī, no. 306. And this ḥadīth is part of a longer ḥadīth, which will follow with this isnād under no. 1606.
⁵⁴ Al-khalf: the bad, the corrupt in speech. One says in the proverb: "He kept silent for a year (alfan) and spoke corruption (khalfan)," about a man who keeps silent for a long time, and who, when he then speaks, speaks with errors and foolishness.
⁵⁵ See the preceding, 1: 475-476.
⁵⁶ The report: 1495 — It is a saying from the words of Kaʿb al-Aḥbār. As for the isnād to it, there is a problem in it, and it is perhaps an error of the copyists. For there is — as far as we know — among the transmitters no one named "Saʿīd ibn Abī Hilāl ibn Usāma," as it stood in the printed edition. The correct reading is rather what we have adopted as the correct reading, with the addition [on the authority of Hilāl].
For Saʿīd ibn Abī Hilāl al-Laythī al-Madanī al-Miṣrī is reliable, one of the followers of the tābiʿūn; ʿAmr ibn al-Ḥārith transmits from him (whose biography already passed by under 1387). And Saʿīd has a biography in al-Tahdhīb, and in al-Kabīr of al-Bukhārī 2/1/475, and at Ibn Abī Ḥātim 2/1/71. And Hilāl ibn Usāma is: "Hilāl ibn ʿAlī ibn Usāma al-Madanī"; some attributed him to his grandfather and said: "Ibn Usāma," as in al-Tahdhīb, and he is reliable. He likewise has a biography in al-Kabīr of al-Bukhārī 4/2/204-205, and at Ibn Abī Ḥātim 4/2/76. And we have treated the question of his biography at length in the commentary on al-Musnad: 7346.
