Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | THE NATURE OF ISLAMIC SOCIETY“Ask the Children of Israel how many a veritable sign We have given them. He who alters thegrace of God after it has been bestowed on him [should know that] God is severe inretribution.” (Verse 211)Referring back to the experience of the Israelites at this juncture is a timelywarning to Muslims not to follow their example. Muslims are urged not to hesitate inresponding to God’s call, or show any reluctance or stubbornness, or insist onmiracles as proof of its authenticity. By avoiding these pitfalls, Muslims will be sureto avoid the Israelites’ fate. The instruction to “ask the Children of Israel” is not meantliterally, of course, but purely to introduce the next point: the profusion of evidencepresented to them, either at their request or directly given by God, and theirpersistent refusal to accept and believe in God, or submit themselves to Him.Having drawn attention to the Israelites’ example, the sūrah makes a generalreference to the ‘grace’ of faith and peace, and warns: “He who alters the grace of Godafter it has been bestowed on him [should know that] God is severe in retribution.” (Verse211)Whenever a society turns away from God’s grace and denies His favour, it is besetby tension and strife, as manifested all over the world today in the inordinate spreadof stress and depression, social and military conflict, alcohol and drug abuse, and theemergence of extreme and bizarre alternatives to religious faith.The strange trends in fashion, the arts, entertainment and general socialbehaviour, which appear almost every day in modern society, as well as thechanging social norms relating to marriage and the family, to sexual relations andattitudes, are all indications of social alienation, insecurity, discontent and a lack ofdirection in life. Modern life seems almost like a demented attempt to escape, whereindividuals and groups tend to break away from the norm and reject everything, buthave no idea what they are looking for. That is the outcome of renouncing God’steachings, and ignoring His call to enter the fold of faith.The sūrah then contrasts believers and unbelievers, and the difference in theiroutlook: “The life of this world has been made alluring to the unbelievers; hence, they scoff atthose who believe; but those that fear God shall be above them in rank on the Day ofResurrection. God grants sustenance to whom He wills beyond all reckoning.” (Verse 212)This life, with its transient concerns and ephemeral interests and enjoyments, is allthat the unbelievers know and aspire to. They are unable to see beyond the here-andnow;they know of no greater values or aspirations other than those of life on thisearth. Consequently, their scope is limited, their vision is blurred, and they aredeprived of the higher understanding and greater reward experienced by believers.A believer in God may look with disdain at material and worldly things, but thatis not due to a negative or pessimistic view of life. It is because a believer seeks more262