Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:90
How wretched is that for which they sold themselves - that they would disbelieve in what Allah has revealed through [their] outrage that Allah would send down His favor upon whom He wills from among His servants. So they returned having [earned] wrath upon wrath. And for the disbelievers is a humiliating punishment.
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 words of the Exalted: بِئْسَمَا اشْتَرَوْا بِهِ أَنْفُسَهُمْ أَنْ يَكْفُرُوا بِمَا أَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ بَغْيًا
(Wretched is that for which they sold their souls: that they reject what Allah has sent down, out of insolent rebellion) (2:90)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The meaning of His words, exalted is His praise: biʾsa mā ishtaraw bihi anfusahum (wretched is that for which they sold their souls) is: wretched is that for which they sold their souls.
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The origin of "biʾsa" is "baʾisa," derived from "al-buʾs" (misery, wretchedness). Its hamza was made quiescent (vowelless), and then its vowel was transferred to the "bāʾ," just as one says "ẓaltu" for "ẓaliltu," and just as one says "kibd" for "al-kabid" (the liver) — whereby the vowel of the "bāʾ" was transferred to the "kāf" when the "bāʾ" came to stand without a vowel.
It is also possible that "biʾsa" — though its origin is "baʾisa" — belongs to the usage of those who transfer the vowel of the ʿayn (the middle radical) of the verbal pattern "faʿila" to the fāʾ (the first radical), when the middle radical of the verb is one of the six guttural letters. Thus they said "liʿb" from "laʿiba," and "siʾm" from "saʾima," and that is — as is said — a widespread usage among the tribe of Tamīm.
Then it [the word biʾsa] was made into something expressing reproach and censure, and it was joined with "mā."
The Arabic grammarians differed regarding the meaning of the "mā" joined with "biʾsamā." Some of the grammarians of Basra said: it [mā] is by itself an independent noun, and "an yakfurū" is its specifying explanation (tafsīr), comparable to "niʿma rajulan Zayd" (what an excellent man is Zayd!), and an yunazzila llāhu (that Allah sends down) is a substitution (badal) for "anzala llāhu" (Allah sent down).
Some of the grammarians of Kūfa said: the meaning of it is: wretched is the matter for which they sold their souls, namely that they reject. So "mā" is the noun [subject] of "biʾsa," and "an yakfurū" the second noun. He held that you may place "an yakfurū," if you wish, in the nominative (rafʿ), and if you wish, in the genitive (khafḍ). As for the nominative: "wretched is this matter that they do." And as for the genitive: "wretched is the matter for which they sold their souls, namely that they reject what Allah has sent down, out of insolent rebellion." He said: and His words laʾbiʾsa mā qaddamat lahum anfusuhum an sakhiṭa llāhu ʿalayhim (truly wretched is that which their souls have sent forth for them, namely that Allah is angry with them) [Surah Al-Māʾidah: 80] are of the same nature. The Arabs make "mā" by itself in this category equivalent to a complete noun, as in His words fa-niʿimmā hiya (how excellent is that!) [Surah Al-Baqarah: 271], and "biʾsamā anta" (how wretched are you). He adduced as proof for this statement a rajaz verse from one of the rajaz poets:
"Do not hasten, you two, in the journey, and lead her [the she-camel] gently, truly wretched is sluggishness, and we do not neglect her."
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Arabs say "laʾbiʾsamā tazwīj wa-lā mahr" (how wretched a marriage and no dowry!), making "mā" by itself into a noun without a relative clause (ṣila). But the one who makes this statement does not allow that what follows "biʾsa" be a definite, determined noun with a definite, determined predicate. For he has held that "biʾsamā" is equivalent to: "wretched is the matter for which they sold their souls"; and thus "mā" together with its relative clause has become a determined noun, for "ishtaraw" (they sold) is a past-tense verb belonging to the relative clause of "mā," according to the statement of the one who proclaims this thesis. And when [mā] is joined with a verb in the past tense, then it is a definite, determined, known noun, and then the explanation of the statement in that case becomes: "wretched is their selling, namely their disbelief (kufr)." And that, according to him, is not permissible: thus is revealed the unsoundness of this statement.
Another of them held that "an" stands in the genitive (khafḍ) if you wish, and in the nominative (rafʿ) if you wish. As for the genitive: that you trace it back to the "hāʾ" contained in "bihi" (for which), by way of repetition over two statements, as though you had said: "they sold their souls for disbelief." And as for the nominative: that it is repeated over the position of "mā" which follows "biʾsa." He said: and it is not permissible for it to be a nominative according to your statement: "wretched is the man ʿAbd Allāh."
And some of them said: "biʾsamā" is one whole that places what follows it in the nominative, as is transmitted from the Arabs: "biʾsamā tazwīj wa-lā mahr" (how wretched a marriage and no dowry), where "biʾsamā" places "tazwīj" in the nominative, just as one says "biʾsamā Zayd" and "biʾsa mā ʿAmr"; thus "biʾsamā" is in the nominative on the basis of the "hāʾ" referring back to it, as though you had said: "a wretched thing is the matter for which they sold their souls," and "an" is then an elucidation (tarjama) of "biʾsamā."
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The most correct of these statements is the statement of the one who places "biʾsamā" in the nominative on the basis of the back-reference of the "hāʾ" in His words "ishtaraw bihi" (they sold for it), just as they place it in the nominative on the basis of "ʿAbd Allāh" when they say "biʾsamā ʿAbd Allāh," and who makes "an yakfurū" an elucidation of "biʾsamā." The meaning of the statement then becomes: wretched is the matter for which the Jews sold their souls, namely their disbelief (kufr) in what Allah has sent down, out of insolent rebellion and envy, [namely] that Allah sends down of His bounty. And the "an" that stands in His words an yunazzila llāhu (that Allah sends down) is in the accusative (naṣb), for by it He means: "that they reject what Allah has sent down," on account of the fact that Allah sends down of His bounty upon whom He wills of His servants. The position of "an" is that of an indication of cause (jazāʾ — i.e., the object of purpose, mafʿūl li-ajlihi). Some of the Arabic linguists of the Kūfans held that "an" stands in the genitive (khafḍ) through the implicit presence of the "bāʾ." We, however, have chosen the accusative for it, on account of the completeness of the predicate that precedes it, and because there is no word with it that governs the genitive. And a word that governs the genitive does not govern an implicit (omitted) element.
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As for His words "ishtaraw bihi anfusahum" (they sold their souls for it), by it He means: they sold their souls, as in:
1534 — Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "biʾsamā ishtaraw bihi anfusahum" (wretched is that for which they sold their souls), he says: they sold their souls "by their rejecting what Allah has sent down, out of insolent rebellion."
1535 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥasan related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, who said: Mujāhid said: "biʾsamā ishtaraw bihi anfusahum" (wretched is that for which they sold their souls), [they are] the Jews; they exchanged the truth for falsehood, and [they preferred] the concealing of what Muḥammad ﷺ brought over the making clear of it.
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Arabs say "sharaytuhu" in the sense of "I sold it." And "ishtaraw" in this place is the iftaʿala-form of "sharaytu." The usage of the Arabs — as has reached us — is that they say "sharaytu" in the sense of "I sold," and "ishtaraytu" in the sense of "I bought." And it is said: the "shārī" is called "shārī" only because he sells his soul and his worldly life in exchange for his Hereafter.
To this belongs the saying of Yazīd ibn Mufarrigh al-Ḥimyarī:
"I sold Bard — would that I had been a hāma (dead bird) before [the loss of] Bard."
And to this belongs the saying of al-Musayyab ibn ʿAlas:
"A price is offered for her, but he refuses her, and her owner says: will you not sell?"
By it he means: "I sold Bard." And sometimes "ishtaraytu" is used in the sense of "I sold," and "sharaytu" in the sense of "I bought." But the widespread usage among them is what I have described.
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As for the meaning of His words "baghyan" (out of insolent rebellion), by it He means: out of transgression and envy, as in:
1536 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: "baghyan" (out of insolent rebellion), he said: that is to say out of envy, and they are the Jews.
1537 — Mūsā related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "baghyan" (out of insolent rebellion), he said: they were insolently rebellious against Muḥammad ﷺ and envied him, and they said: "The messengers came only from the Children of Israel; how then is it that this one is from the Children of Ismāʿīl?" Thus they envied him [for the fact] that Allah sends down of His bounty upon whom He wills of His servants.
1538 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Ādam related to us, he said: Abū Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya: "baghyan" (out of insolent rebellion), that is to say: out of envy that Allah sends down of His bounty upon whom He wills of His servants, and they are the Jews who rejected what was sent down to Muḥammad ﷺ.
1539 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn al-Ḥasan, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, something similar.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: The meaning of the verse is thus: wretched is the matter for which they sold their souls, [namely] disbelief in what Allah has sent down in His Book to Mūsā — concerning the prophethood of Muḥammad ﷺ, and the command to hold him truthful and to follow him — on account of the fact that Allah sent down of His bounty — and His bounty is: His wisdom, His signs, and His prophethood — upon whom He wills of His servants — by it He means: upon Muḥammad ﷺ — out of insolent rebellion and envy toward Muḥammad ﷺ, on account of the fact that he was from the descendants of Ismāʿīl and not from the Children of Israel.
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If someone were to ask: how did the Jews sell their souls for disbelief, such that it is said "wretched is that for which they sold their souls, that they reject what Allah has sent down"? And is anything bought with disbelief?
Then it is answered: the meaning of "buying" (al-shirāʾ) and "selling" (al-bayʿ) among the Arabs is that an owner alienates his property from himself to another, in exchange for a counter-value which he receives in return for it. Then the Arabs use that for everyone who receives in return for his action a counter-value, whether it be bad or good, and they say: "how excellent is that for which so-and-so has sold his soul" and "how wretched is that for which so-and-so has sold his soul," in the sense of: how excellent is the acquisition he acquired for it, and how wretched is the acquisition he acquired for it — when by his striving he brings good or evil upon it. Such too is the meaning of His words, exalted is His praise: "biʾsamā ishtaraw bihi anfusahum" (wretched is that for which they sold their souls) — when they led their souls to ruin by their disbelief in Muḥammad ﷺ and thus destroyed them, Allah addressed them and the Arabs with that which they know in their own tongue, and He said: "biʾsamā ishtaraw bihi anfusahum" (wretched is that for which they sold their souls), by which He means: wretched is that which they acquired for their souls by their striving, and wretched is the counter-value they received in exchange for their disbelief in Allah through their denial of Muḥammad — since, as a counter-value for the reward of Allah and what He had prepared for them — had they believed in Allah and in what He has sent down to His prophets — they were content with the Fire (al-nār) and with what He has prepared for them on account of their disbelief in it.
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And this verse — and what Allah relates therein concerning the envy of the Jews toward Muḥammad ﷺ and his people of the Arabs, on account of the fact that Allah placed prophethood and wisdom among them [the Arabs], and not among the Jews of the Children of Israel, until this led them to disbelieve in him, despite their knowledge of his truthfulness, and that he was a prophet of Allah, sent and dispatched as a messenger — is like the other verse in Surah Al-Nisāʾ, namely His words: أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا نَصِيبًا مِنَ الْكِتَابِ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْجِبْتِ وَالطَّاغُوتِ وَيَقُولُونَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا هَؤُلاءِ أَهْدَى مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا سَبِيلا * أُولَئِكَ الَّذِينَ لَعَنَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَمَنْ يَلْعَنِ اللَّهُ فَلَنْ تَجِدَ لَهُ نَصِيرًا * أَمْ لَهُمْ نَصِيبٌ مِنَ الْمُلْكِ فَإِذًا لا يُؤْتُونَ النَّاسَ نَقِيرًا * أَمْ يَحْسُدُونَ النَّاسَ عَلَى مَا آتَاهُمُ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ فَقَدْ آتَيْنَا آلَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ الْكِتَابَ وَالْحِكْمَةَ وَآتَيْنَاهُمْ مُلْكًا عَظِيمًا
(Have you not seen those who were given a portion of the Book, that they believe in al-Jibt and al-Ṭāghūt and say of those who disbelieve: "These are better guided on the path than those who believe"? They are those whom Allah has cursed, and whomever Allah curses, for him you shall never find a helper. Or have they a share in the dominion? Then they would not give the people even so much as the speck on a date-stone. Or do they envy the people for what Allah has given them of His bounty? Indeed We gave the family of Ibrāhīm the Book and wisdom, and We gave them a mighty kingdom.) [Surah Al-Nisāʾ: 51-54].
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The explanation of His words: أَنْ يُنَزِّلَ اللَّهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ عَلَى مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ
(that Allah sends down of His bounty upon whom He wills of His servants) (2:90)
Abū Jaʿfar said: We have already mentioned its explanation and set forth its meaning, but we nonetheless mention the transmission in confirmation of what we have said about it:
1540 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama related to us, he said: Ibn Isḥāq related to me, on the authority of ʿĀṣim ibn ʿUmar ibn Qatāda al-Anṣārī, on the authority of some of the elder masters among them, concerning His words: "baghyan an yunazzila llāhu min faḍlihi ʿalā man yashāʾu min ʿibādihi" (out of insolent rebellion that Allah sends down of His bounty upon whom He wills of His servants), that is to say: that Allah, the Exalted, placed it [prophethood] in one other than them.
1541 — Bishr related to us, he said: Yazīd related to us, he said: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: They are the Jews. When Allah sent His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ and they saw that he was sent from a people other than their own, they rejected him — out of envy toward the Arabs — while they knew that he was the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and they found him recorded with them in the Torah.
1542 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Ādam related to us, he said: Abū Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya, something similar.
1543 — 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, something similar.
1544 — Mūsā related to me, he said: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, he said: They said: "The messengers came only from the Children of Israel; how then is it that this one is from the Children of Ismāʿīl?"
1545 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, he said: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of ʿAlī al-Azdī, he said: It was revealed concerning the Jews.
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The explanation of the words of the Exalted: فَبَاءُوا بِغَضَبٍ عَلَى غَضَبٍ
(So they returned with wrath upon wrath) (2:90)
Abū Jaʿfar said: By His words "fa-bāʾū bi-ghaḍabin ʿalā ghaḍab" (so they returned with wrath upon wrath) He means: so the Jews of the Children of Israel returned — after the state they had been in of seeking victory by means of Muḥammad ﷺ and seeking triumph through him, and after that which they used to relate to the people before his sending, namely that he was a sent prophet — as apostates upon their heels when Allah dispatched him as a sent prophet. Thus they returned with wrath from Allah — which they earned from Him through their disbelief in Muḥammad when he was sent, and their denial of his prophethood, and their rejection that he was the one whose description they found in their Book, out of obstinacy on their part toward him and out of insolent rebellion and envy toward him and toward the Arabs — on top of an earlier wrath that there had been from Allah upon them before all that, which preceded this second wrath, on account of their disbelief in what was before ʿĪsā the son of Maryam, or on account of their worship of the calf, or on account of other past sins of theirs, by which they earned the wrath of Allah, as in:
1546 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Salama ibn al-Faḍl related to us, he said: Ibn Isḥāq related to me, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Abī Muḥammad, in what he transmitted from Saʿīd ibn Jubayr or ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: "fa-bāʾū bi-ghaḍabin ʿalā ghaḍab" (so they returned with wrath upon wrath), the wrath upon the wrath is: His wrath upon them on account of what they had neglected of the Torah while it was with them, and the wrath on account of their disbelief in this prophet whom Allah caused to appear among them.
1547 — Ibn Bashshār related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd and ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, both of them said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū Bukayr, on the authority of ʿIkrima: "fa-bāʾū bi-ghaḍabin ʿalā ghaḍab" (so they returned with wrath upon wrath), he said: disbelief in ʿĪsā, and disbelief in Muḥammad ﷺ.
1548 — Abū Kurayb related to us, he said: Yaḥyā ibn Yamān related to us, he said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Abū Bukayr, on the authority of ʿIkrima: "fa-bāʾū bi-ghaḍabin ʿalā ghaḍab" (so they returned with wrath upon wrath), he said: their disbelief in ʿĪsā and Muḥammad ﷺ.
1549 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Abū Bukayr, on the authority of ʿIkrima, something similar.
1550 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of Mughīra, on the authority of al-Shaʿbī, he said: The people are, on the Day of Resurrection, in four ranks: a man who believed in ʿĪsā and believed in Muḥammad — may the blessings of Allah be upon them both — for him there are two rewards. A man who disbelieved in ʿĪsā but believed in Muḥammad ﷺ, for him there is one reward. A man who disbelieved in ʿĪsā and disbelieved in Muḥammad, he returned with wrath upon wrath. And a man who disbelieved in ʿĪsā, belonging to the polytheists of the Arabs (mushrikīn), and who died in his disbelief before Muḥammad ﷺ, he returned with wrath.
1551 — 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 words: "fa-bāʾū bi-ghaḍabin ʿalā ghaḍab" (so they returned with wrath upon wrath), the wrath of Allah upon them on account of their disbelief in the Gospel and in ʿĪsā, and His wrath upon them on account of their disbelief in the Qurʾān and in Muḥammad ﷺ.
1552 — Al-Muthannā related to me, he said: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, he said: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "fa-bāʾū bi-ghaḍab" (so they returned with wrath), [upon] the Jews on account of their alteration of the Torah before the coming forth of the Prophet ﷺ, "ʿalā ghaḍab" (upon wrath): [on account of] their denial of the Prophet ﷺ and their disbelief in what he brought.
1553 — Al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Ādam related to us, he said: Abū Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of Abū al-ʿĀliya: "fa-bāʾū bi-ghaḍabin ʿalā ghaḍab" (so they returned with wrath upon wrath), he says: the wrath of Allah upon them on account of their disbelief in the Gospel and in ʿĪsā, then His wrath upon them on account of their disbelief in Muḥammad ﷺ and in the Qurʾān.
1554 — Mūsā related to me, he said: ʿAmr related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: "fa-bāʾū bi-ghaḍabin ʿalā ghaḍab" (so they returned with wrath upon wrath), as for the first wrath, that is when Allah became angry with them on account of the calf; and as for the second wrath, He became angry with them when they disbelieved in Muḥammad ﷺ.
1555 — Al-Qāsim related to us, he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us, he said: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj and ʿAṭāʾ and ʿUbayd ibn ʿUmayr, concerning His words: "fa-bāʾū bi-ghaḍabin ʿalā ghaḍab" (so they returned with wrath upon wrath), he said: the wrath of Allah upon them on account of that which they were in before the coming forth of the Prophet ﷺ — of their alteration [of the Scripture] and their disbelief —, then His wrath upon them concerning Muḥammad ﷺ — when he came forth and they rejected him.
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Abū Jaʿfar said: We have already set forth the meaning of "the wrath" of Allah upon whom of His creatures He is wrathful — and the disagreement of those who differ over its nature — in the foregoing part of this book of ours, in a manner that makes it unnecessary to repeat it.
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The explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَلِلْكَافِرِينَ عَذَابٌ مُهِينٌ
(And for the disbelievers there is a humiliating punishment) (90)
Abū Jaʿfar said: By His words, exalted is His praise: "wa-li-l-kāfirīna ʿadhābun muhīn" (and for the disbelievers there is a humiliating punishment) He means: and for all among mankind who deny the prophethood of Muḥammad ﷺ, there is a punishment (ʿadhāb) from Allah, whether in the Hereafter, or in this world and the Hereafter; "muhīn" (humiliating) is that which debases the one who undergoes it and disgraces him, and brings upon him belittlement and humiliation.
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If someone were to ask: what punishment is there that does not humiliate the one who undergoes it, such that the humiliating one of it is destined for the disbelievers?
Then it is answered: the humiliating [punishment] is that of which we have explained that it brings upon the one who undergoes it humiliation and belittlement, in which the one who undergoes it abides eternally, never passing from his humiliation to honor and dignity, and it is that which Allah has specifically allotted to the people who disbelieve in Him and in His messengers. And as for that which does not humiliate the one who undergoes it: that is the one which is a purification for the one who undergoes it. And that is, for example, the thief among the people of Islam, who steals something for which amputation becomes due upon him, whereupon his hand is cut off; and the fornicator (zānī) among them who commits fornication (zinā), whereupon the prescribed penalty (ḥadd) is carried out upon him; and what resembles that of punishment and deterrent penalty which Allah has made into expiations for the sins for which those who committed them were punished; and like the committers of grave sins among the people of Islam, who are punished in the Hereafter in accordance with the measure of the crimes they have committed, so that they may be purified of their sins, then to enter Paradise (janna). For all of that, even though it is a punishment, is not humiliating for the one who is punished with it, since the punishment of Allah serves him thereby to purify him of his sins, then to lead him to the source of honor and dignity, and to make him abide eternally in the bliss of the gardens [of Paradise].
