Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | THE SACRED MONTHS, FIGHTING AND PILGRIMAGEIn dealing with war, the sūrah directs Muslims never to initiate aggression,affirming that “God does not love aggressors.’’ (Verse 190) Commenting on fightingduring a sacred month, the sūrah urges:“Fear God and be sure that God is with those who are God-fearing.” (Verse 194)The sūrah calls on Muslims to spend of their wealth for the cause of God, exhortingthem to “Persevere in doing good, for God loves those who do good.” (Verse 195)The sūrah again emphasizes consciousness and fear of God when dealing with thepilgrimage rituals. “Fear God, and know well that He is severe in retribution.” (Verse 196)“Provide well for yourselves: the best provision of all is to be God-fearing. Fear Me, then, youwho are endowed with insight.” (Verse 197) “Have fear of God, and know well that you shallall be gathered before Him.“ (Verse 203)It is quite clear that there is a common thread firmly binding these instructionsand rulings together. Matters of faith, ritual and law, the spiritual and the mundane,the religious and the secular, the personal, national and international, are allintertwined and spun together in one comprehensive, universal religious and socialsystem based on rules and laws laid down directly by God.The Islamic TransformationBeginning with this passage, we note a salient feature recurring in the rest of thesūrah. We find the Muslims addressing the Prophet Muĥammad with specificenquiries relating to a wide range of everyday issues and situations they wereencountering in their new way of life. They reveal a genuine desire on the part of thenew Muslims to find out what their new religion has to say about these matters. Thebelievers wanted to learn more about how Islam viewed and interpreted the socialand physical phenomena they were experiencing in the world around them.They ask about the moon and the various phases it goes through. Why does it startas a fine crescent which becomes bigger until it develops into a full sphere, and thenreverses the cycle until it disappears altogether before it is reborn in the shape of athin crescent again?They enquired about what part and how much of their wealth they should giveaway as charity. They enquired about war, and whether it would be allowed duringthe sacred months and in the vicinity of the Sacred Mosque in Makkah. They askedfor Islamic rulings on alcoholic drinks and gambling, which were social habits in pre-Islamic Arabian life.They enquired regarding menstruation, and whether sexual contact between216