Surah Al-Baqarah — Verse 2

This is the Qur’ān, in which there is nothing of any doubt, neither in terms of its origin, nor in terms of its meaning. It is the word of Allah, guiding those who are mindful of Allah to the way that leads to Him.

That is Book in which there is no Rayb, guidance for the Muttaqin (2)

The Book, is the Qur'an, and Rayb means doubt. As-Suddi said that Abu Malik and Abu Salih narrated from Ibn 'Abbas, and Murrah Al-Hamadani narrated from Ibn Mas'ud and several other Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ that,

لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ

(In which there is no Rayb), means about which there is no doubt. Abu Ad-Darda', Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, Sa'id bin Jubayr, Abu Malik, Nafi' 'Ata', Abu Al-'Aliyah, Ar-Rabi' bin Anas, Muqatil bin Hayyan, As-Suddi, Qatadah and Isma'il bin Abi Khalid said similarly. In addition, Ibn Abi Hatim said, "I do not know of any disagreement over this explanation." The meaning of this is that the Book, the Qur'an, is without a doubt revealed from Allah. Similarly, Allah said in Surat As-Sajdah,

الم - تَنزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ مِن رَّبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ

(Alif Lam Mim. The revelation of the Book (this Quran) in which there is not doubt, is from the Lord of all that exists)(32:1-2).

Some scholars stated that this Ayah - 2:2 - contains a prohibition meaning, "Do not doubt the Qur'an." Furthermore, some of the reciters of the Qur'an pause upon reading,

لاَ رَيْبَ

(there is no doubt) and they then continue;

فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

(in which there is guidance for the Muttaqin (the pious and righteous persons)). However, it is better to pause at,

لَا رَيْبَ ۛ فِيهِ ۛ 

(in which there is no doubt) because in this case,

هُدًى

(guidance) becomes an attribute of the Qur'an and carries a better meaning than,

فِيهِ ۛ هُدًى

(in which there is guidance).

Hidayah - correct guidance - is only granted to those who have Taqwa - fear of Allah. Allah said,

قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هُدًى وَشِفَاءٌ ۖ وَالَّذِينَ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ فِي آذَانِهِمْ وَقْرٌ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَمًى ۚ أُولَٰئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِن مَّكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ

(Say: It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is heaviness (deafness) in their ears, and it (the Qur'an) is blindness for them. They are those who are called from a place far away (so they neither listen nor understand))(41:44), and,

وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْءَانِ مَا هُوَ شِفَآءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَلاَ يَزِيدُ الظَّــٰـلِمِينَ إَلاَّ خَسَارًا

(And We send down of the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe (in Islamic Monotheism and act on it), and it increases the Zalimin (wrongdoers) in nothing but loss)(17:82).

This is a sample of the numerous Ayat indicating that the believers, in particular, benefit from the Qur'an. That is because the Qur'an is itself a form of guidance, but the guidance in it is only granted to the righteous, just as Allah said,

يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ قَدْ جَاءَتْكُم مَّوْعِظَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَشِفَاءٌ لِّمَا فِي الصُّدُورِ وَهُدًى وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(O mankind! There has come to you a good advice from your Lord (i. e. the Qur'an, enjoining all that is good and forbidding all that is evil), and a healing for that (disease of ignorance, doubt, hypocrisy and differences) which is in your breasts, ـ a guidance and a mercy (explaining lawful and unlawful things) for the believers)(10:57).

Ibn 'Abbas and Ibn Mas'ud and other Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

(guidance for the Muttaqin (the pious and righteous persons), means, a light for those who have Taqwa.

Ibn 'Abbas said about,

هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

(guidance for the Muttaqin) that it means, "They are the believers who avoid Shirk with Allah and who work in His obedience." Ibn 'Abbas also said that Al-Muttaqin means, "Those who fear Allah's punishment, which would result if they abandoned the true guidance that they recognize and know. They also hope in Allah's mercy by believing in what He revealed." Further, Qatadah said that,

لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

(Al-Muttaqin), are those whom Allah has described in His statement;

الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ

(Who believe in the Ghayb and perform the Salah)(2:3), and the following Ayat. Ibn Jarir stated that the Ayah (2:2) includes all of these meanings that the scholars have mentioned, and this is the correct view. Also, At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah narrated that 'Atiyah As-Sa'di said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

لَا يَبْلُغُ الْعَبْدُ أَنْ يَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُتَّقِينَ حَتَّى يَدَعَ مَالَا بَأْسَ بِهِ حَذَرًا مِمَّا بِهِ بَأْسٌ

(The servant will not acquire the status of the Muttaqin until he abandons what is harmless out of fear of falling into that which is harmful.) At-Tirmidhi then said "Hasan Gharib."

Huda here means the faith that resides in the heart, and only Allah is able to create it in the heart of the servants. Allah said,

إِنَّكَ لاَ تَهْدِى مَنْ أَحْبَبْتَ

(Verily, you (O Muhammad ﷺ) guide not whom you like)(28:56),

لَّيْسَ عَلَيْكَ هُدَاهُمْ

(Not upon you (Muhammad ﷺ) is their guidance)(2:272),

مَن يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَلاَ هَادِيَ لَهُ

(Whomsoever Allah sends astray, none can guide him)(7:186), and,

مَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَهُوَ الْمُهْتَدِ ۖ وَمَن يُضْلِلْ فَلَن تَجِدَ لَهُ وَلِيًّا مُّرْشِدًا

(He whom Allah guides, he is the rightly guided; but he whom He sends astray, for him you will find no Wali (guiding friend) to lead him (to the right path))(18:17).

Huda also means to explain the truth, give direction and lead to it. Allah, the Exalted, said,

وَإِنَّكَ لَتَهْدِى إِلَى صِرَٰطٍ مُّسْتَقِيمٍ

(And verily, you (O Muhammad ﷺ) are indeed guiding (mankind) to the straight path (i.e. Allah's religion of Islamic Monotheism))(42:52),

إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ مُنذِرٌ وَلِكُلِّ قَوْمٍ هَادٍ

(You are only a warner, and to every people there is a guide)(13:7), and,

وَأَمَّا ثَمُودُ فَهَدَيْنَٰـهُمْ فَاسْتَحَبُّواْ الْعَمَىٰ عَلَى الْهُدَىٰ

(And as for Thamud, We showed and made clear to them the path of truth (Islamic Monotheism) through Our Messenger (i.e. showed them the way of success), but they preferred blindness to guidance)(41:17).

testifying to this meaning.

Also, Allah said,

وَهَدَيْنَٰـهُ النَّجْدَينِ

(And shown him the two ways (good and evil).)(90:10)

This is the view of the scholars who said that the two ways refer to the paths of righteousness and evil, which is also the correct explanation. And Allah knows best.

The root meaning of Taqwa is to avoid what one dislikes. It was reported that 'Umar bin Al-Khattab asked Ubayy bin Ka'b about Taqwa. Ubayy said, "Have you ever walked on a path that has thorns on it?" 'Umar said, "Yes." Ubayy said, "What did you do then?" He said, "I rolled up my sleeves and struggled." Ubayy said, "That is Taqwa."

The sentence "That Book has no doubt in it" raises a grammatical and exegetical problem, for the first phrase in the Arabic text reads as ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ :Dhcilikal kitab. Now, the word dhalika ذَٰلِكَ (that) is used to point out a distant thing, while the word kitab (book) obviously refers to the Holy Qur'an itself, which is present before us. So, this particular demonstrative pronoun does not seem to be appropriate to the situation. There is, however, subtle indication. The pronoun refers back to the prayer for the straight path made in the Surah Al-Fatihah, implying that the prayer has been granted and the Holy Qur'an is the answer to the request, which gives a detailed account of the straight path to those who seek guidance and are willing to follow it.

Having indicated this, the Holy Qur'an makes a claim about itself: "There is no doubt in it". There are two ways in which doubt or suspicion may arise with regard to the validity or authenticity of statement. Either the statement itself is erroneous, and thus becomes subject to doubt; or, the listener makes a mistake in understanding it. In the latter case, the statement does not really become subject to doubt, even if someone comes to suspect it out of a defective or distorted understanding - as the Holy Qur'an itself reminds us later in the same Surah: , وَاِنْ كُنْتُمْ فِىْ رَيْبٍ If you are in doubt..." (2:23). So, in spite of the doubts and objections of a thousand men of small or perverse understanding, it would still be true to say that there is no doubt in this book - either with regard to it having been revealed by Allah, or with regard to its contents.

ھُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِيْنَ :"A guidance for the God-fearing": The Arabic word for the God-fearing is Muttaqin, derived from Taqwa which literally means "to fear, to refrain from", and in Islamic terminology it signifies fearing Allah and refraining from the transgression of His commandments. As for the Holy Qur'an being a guidance to the God-fearing, it actually means that although the Holy Qur'an provides guidance not only to mankind but to all existents in the universe, yet the special guidance which is the means of salvation in the other world is reserved for the God-fearing alone. We have already explained in the commentary on the Surah "Al-Fatihah" that there are three degrees of divine guidance - the first degree being common to the whole of mankind and even to animals etc., the second being particular to men and jinns, and the third being special to those who are close to Allah and have found His favour, the different levels of this last degree being limitless. It is the last two degrees of guidance which are intended in the verse under discussion. With regard to the second degree, the implication is that those who accept the guidance will have the hope of being elevated to the rank of the God-fearing. With reference to the third degree, the suggestion is that those who are already God-fearing may receive further and limitless guidance through the Holy Qur'an. This explanation should be sufficient to remove the objection that guidance is needed much more by those who are not God-fearing, for now we know that the specification of the God-fearing does not entail a denial of guidance to those who not possess this qualification.

There is no doubt that the Quran is a book of guidance. But it guides only those who are sincere in their search for truth, and who are anxious to be guided. The search for truth is inherent in man’s nature; one has simply to uncover one’s own true nature in order to find it. True searching and true finding are but the initial and the advanced stages of the same journey. One who searches for truth unravels the closed faculties of his own inner self. Thus with God’s help, the vague yearnings of his nature begin to receive a definite response. The awakening within one of these sincere yearnings is an attempt to discern the world of meanings (the hidden world) behind the world of forms (the present world). When this leads to a discovery, it is transformed into faith in the unseen. That which is initially an urge to submit to some superior power, later takes on the form of bowing to the Almighty. That which is initially a wish to sacrifice oneself for some greater good, later takes the form of spending one’s wealth for the cause of God. That which is initially a quest to comprehend the final outcome of life beyond this world, finds an answer in the form of faith in the life to come. To discover truth is to raise one’s consciousness to the level of the supreme reality. Those who find truth in this way become complex-free souls. They come to see truth as it really is. Wherever truth is, and whoever proclaims it, they immediately recognize and accept it. No rigidity, convention or prejudice, can come between them and the truth. God gives His protection to people having this nature. His universal order embraces them, so that they may be guided on a sure course in this world. Heaven will be their final destination in the life to come. Only those who seek truth can find it. Those who seek it shall surely find it. On this path, there is no divide between seeking and finding.