Surah 1-2 - YasSarNal QuR'aN

Al-Baqarah (The Cow) | THE MESSAGE SPELT OUTAt this point the sūrah speaks of the Qur’ānic use of parables: “God does not disdainto give a parable of a gnat, or a higher creature. Those who believe know that it is the truthfrom their Lord, while the unbelievers ask, ‘What could God mean by such a parable?’ In thisway, God lets many go astray and gives guidance to many others, but none does He leave togo astray except the evildoers, who violate God’s covenant after having accepted it, and cutasunder what He has ordered to be joined, and spread corruption in the land. They are thelosers.” (Verses 26-27)Earlier in the sūrah, the hypocrites were shown in derogatory situations. They alsorealized that the Qur’ān uses parables referring to insignificant creatures. One ofthese compares unbelievers to spiders: “Those who take beings other than God for theirprotectors are like a spider which makes for itself a house. The frailest of all houses is thespider’s house. Could they only understand.” (29: 41) Similarly the Qur’ān cites a parableshowing the powerlessness of their false deities: “Mankind/ An aphorism is set forth;hearken, then, to it. Those beings whom you invoke instead of God cannot create a fly, eventhough they were to join all their forces to that end. If a fly robs them of anything, they cannotrescue it from him! Weak indeed is the seeker, and weak the sought!” (22: 73)This passage suggests that the hypocrites in Madinah, and probably the Jews andthe polytheists, were, in their clumsy and confused campaign against Islam, trying toexploit such use of parables to raise doubts about the Qur’ān’s divine origins,claiming that God would not speak about such insignificant creatures as spiders andflies. They thus hoped to undermine the authority and authenticity of the Qur’ān.These verses serve to refute that argument and explain the wisdom underlying theuse of such parables, while warning unbelievers against taking up such a line ofargument and reassuring believers that they will strengthen their faith.“God does not disdain to give a parable of a gnat, or a higher creature.” (Verse 26) God isthe Lord of all creatures, big and small. Every single creature, regardless of shape orsize, is a marvel to behold, embodying the greatest secret of life, which is known onlyto God. Besides, parables are used to explain and illustrate concepts and ideas, andthe size or shape of their subjects is irrelevant; in no case should they be slighted orscoffed at. Moreover, God, in His infinite wisdom, makes use of such parables toassess and test people’s faith. “Those who believe know that it is the truth from theirLord...” (Verse 26)Since they believe in God, they accept what He sends with the reverence that isdue to Him and with respect for His wisdom, which they do not question. The faithHe bestowed upon them enlightens believers’ hearts, enhances their spirits, openstheir minds, brings them closer to God and makes them more sensitive and receptiveto what they receive from Him.“While the unbelievers ask, ‘What could God mean by such a parable?’” (Verse 26) Apart41