Maariful Quran - Mufti Shafi Usmani RA - Vol - 1 - Page

Surah Al-Baqarah 2 : 6 - 7 114covering; and for them there lies a mighty punishment.(Verses 6-7)After affirming the Holy Qur'an as the Book of Guidance and asbeing beyond all doubt, the first five verses of the present Surah referto those who derive full benefit from this Book and whom the HolyQur'an has named as Mii'miniin (true Muslims) or Muttaqun (theGod-fearing), and also delineate their characteristic qualities whichdistinguish them from others. The next fifteen verses speak of thosewho refuse to accept this guidance, and even oppose it out of sheerspite and blind malice. In the time of the Holy Prophet +, Ljc rLllthere were two distinct groups of such people. On the one hand werethose who came out in open hostility and rejection, and whom the HolyQur'an has termed as kafirun (disbelievers); on the other hand werethose who did not, on account of their moral depravity and greed, hadeven the courage to speak out their minds and to express theirdisbelief clearly, but adopted the way of deceit and duplicity. Theytried to convince the Muslims that they had faith in the Holy Qur'anand its teachings, that they were as good a Muslim as any and wouldsupport the Muslims against the disbelievers. But they nursed denialand rejection in their hearts, and would, in the company ofdisbelievers, assure them that they had nothing to do with Islam, butmixed with Muslims in order to deceive them and to spy on them. TheHoly Qur'an has given them the title of MunZfiqGn (hypocrites). Thus,these fifteen verses deal with those who refuse to believe in the HolyQur'an - the first two are concerned with open disbelievers, and theother thirteen with hypocrites, their signs and characteristics andtheir ultimate end.Taking the first twenty verses of this SGrah together in all theirdetail, one can see that the Holy Qur'an has, on the one hand, pointedout to us the source of guidance which is the Book itself, and, on theother, divided mankind into two distinct groups on the basis of theiracceptawe or rejection of this guidance - on the one side are those whohave chosen to follow and to receive guidance, and are hence calledMii'miniin (true Muslims) or Muttaqiin (the God-fearing); on the otherside are those who reject the guidance or deviate from it, and arehence called KGfirGn (disbelievers) or Munafiqiin (hypocrites). Peopleof the first kind are those whose path is the object of the prayer at the