The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) "We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers ـ and they say, "We hear, and we obey. (We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the return (of all). (285)Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope. He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned, and he is punished for that (evil) which he has earned. "Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget or fall into error, our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians); our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear. Pardon us and grant us forgiveness. Have mercy on us. You are our Mawla (Patron, Supporter and Protector) and give us victory over the disbelieving people. (286)
The Hadiths on the Virtue of These Two Ayat, May Allah Benefit Us by Them
Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Mas'ud said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
مَنْ قَرَأَ بِالْآيَتَيْنِ مِنْ آخِرِ سُورَةِ الْبَقَرَةِ فِي لَيْلَةٍ، كَفَتَاهُ
(Whoever recites the last two Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice for him.)
The rest of the six also recorded similar wording for this Hadith. The Two Sahihs recorded this Hadith using various chains of narration, and Imam Ahmad also recorded it.
Muslim recorded that 'Abdullah said, "When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went on the Isra journey, he ascended to the Sidrat Al-Muntaha in the sixth heaven, where whatever ascends from the earth ends at, and whatever descends from above it ends at.
إِذْ يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَىٰ
(When that covered the lote tree which did cover it!)[53:16] meaning, a mat made of gold.
The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was then given three things: the five prayers, the last Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah and forgiveness for whoever did not associate anything or anyone with Allah from his Ummah."
Earlier we mentioned the Hadith regarding the virtues of Surat Al-Fatihah from Ibn 'Abbas which stated, "While the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was with Jibil, he heard a noise from above. Jibil lifted his sight to the sky and said, 'This is a door that was opened just now in heaven, and it was never opened before.' An angel came down through the door to the Prophet ﷺ and said, 'Receive the good news of two lights that you have been given and which no Prophet before you was given: the Opener of the Book (Al-Fatihah) and the last Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah. You will not read a letter of them, but you will be granted its benefit.'" This Hadith was collected by Muslim and An-Nasa'i, and this is the wording collected by An-Nasa'i.
The Tafsir of the Last Two Ayat of Surat Al-Baqarah
Allah said,
كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ
(Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) "We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers.")
Therefore, each of the believers believes that Allah is the One and Only and the Sustainer, there is no deity worthy of worship except Him and there is no Lord except Him. The believers also believe in all Allah's Prophets and Messengers, in the Books that were revealed from heaven to the Messengers and Prophets, who are indeed the servants of Allah. Further, the believers do not differentiate between any of the Prophets, such as, believing in some of them and rejecting others. Rather, all of Allah's Prophets and Messengers are, to the believers, truthful, righteous, and they were each guided to the path of righteousness, even when some of them bring what abrogates the Law of some others by Allah's leave. Later on, the Law of Muhammad, the Final Prophet and Messenger from Allah, abrogated all the laws of the Prophets before him. So the Last Hour will commence while Muhammad's Law remains the only valid Law, and all the while a group of his Ummah will always be on the path of truth, apparent and dominant. Allah's statement,
وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا
(And they say, "We hear, and we obey") means, we heard Your statement, O our Lord, comprehended and implemented it, and adhered to its implications.
غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا
((We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord) contains a plea and supplication for Allah's forgiveness, mercy and kindness.
Allah's statement,
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا
(Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope) means, Allah does not ask a soul what is beyond its ability. This only demonstrates Allah's kindness, compassion and generosity towards His creation. This Ayah is the Ayah that abrogated the Ayah that worried the Companions, that is, Allah's statement,
وَإِن تُبْدُوا مَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُم بِهِ اللَّهُ
(And whether you disclose what is in yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it.)[2:284]
This indicates that although Allah will question His servants and judge them, He will only punish for what one is able to protect himself from. As for what one cannot protect himself from, such as what one says to himself - or passing thoughts - they will not be punished for that. We should state here that to dislike the evil thoughts that cross one's mind is a part of faith. Allah said next,
لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ
(He gets reward for that which he has earned) of good,
وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ
(And he is punished for that which he has earned) of evil, that is, concerning the acts that one is responsible for.
Allah then said, [mentioning what the believers said] while directing His servants to supplicate to Him, all the while promising them that He will answer their supplication:
رَبَّنَا لَا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِن نَّسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا
("Our Lord! Push us not if we forget or fall into error,") meaning, "If we forgot an obligation or fell into a prohibition, or made an error while ignorant of its ruling." We mentioned the Hadith by Abu Hurayrah, that Muslim collected, wherein Allah said, "I shall (accept your supplication)." There is also the Hadith by Ibn 'Abbas that Allah said, "I did (accept your supplication)."
رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا
(Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians),) means, "Even if we were able to perform them, do not require us to perform the difficult deeds as You required the previous nations before us, such as the burdens that were placed on them. You sent Your Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, the Prophet of mercy, to abrogate these burdens through the Law that You revealed to him, the Hanifi (Islamic Monotheism), easy religion." Muslim recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that Allah said, "I shall (accept your supplication)." Ibn 'Abbas narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that Allah said, "I did (accept your supplication)." There is the Hadith recorded through various chains of narration that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,
بُعِثْتُ بِالْحَنِيفِيَّةِ السَّمْحَةِ
(I was sent with the easy Hanifiyyah way.)
رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ
(Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear) of obligations, hardships and afflictions, do not make us bear what we cannot bear of this.
رَبَّنَا وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ
(Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear.)
We mentioned that Allah said, "I shall (accept your supplication)" in one narration, and, "I did (accept your supplication)," in another narration.
وَاعْفُ عَنَّا
(Pardon us) meaning, between us and You regarding what You know of our shortcomings and errors.
وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا
(And grant us forgiveness) concerning what is between us and Your servants. So do not expose our errors and evil deeds to them.
وَارْحَمْنَا
(Have mercy on us) in what will come thereafter. Therefore, do not allow us to fall into another error. They say that those who commit error need three things: Allah's forgiveness for what is between Him and them, that He conceals these errors from His other servants, and thus does not expose them before the servants, and that He grants them immunity from further error." We mentioned before that Allah answered these pleas, "I shall," in one narration and, "I did," in another narration.
أَنتَ مَوْلَانَا
(You are our Mawla) meaning, You are our supporter and helper, our trust is in You, You are sought for each and every type of help and our total reliance is on You. There is no power or strength except from You.
فَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ
(And give us victory over the disbelieving people) those who rejected Your religion, denied Your Oneness, refused the Message of Your Prophet ﷺ, worshipped other than You and associated others in Your worship. Give us victory and make us prevail above them in this and the Hereafter. Allah said, "I shall," in one narration, and, "I did," in the Hadith that Muslim collected from Ibn 'Abbas.
Further, Ibn Jarir recorded that Abu Ishaq said that whenever Mu'adh would finish reciting this Surah,
فَانصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ
(And give us victory over the disbelieving people), he would say "Amin."
Commentary
These are the last two verses of Sarah al-Baqarah. Great merits have been attributed to these two verses in authentic ahadith. The Holy Prophet ﷺ has said that one who recites these two verses during the night, they will be sufficient for him.
As narrated by Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ ، the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that Allah Almighty has sent forth these two verses out of the treasures of Paradise and the 'Rahman' رحمان had already written them by His own hand two thousand years earlier than the creation of all things and beings. One who is able to recite them after the Salah of ` Isha', they will stand for Tahajjud in his case. As it appears in the Mustadrak of al-Hakim and in Bayhaqi, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that Allah Almighty has concluded Sarah al-Baqarah with these two verses, which have been given to me in His grace from out of the special treasure that lies under the ` Arsh عرش (Divine Throne). Therefore, you should make special effort to learn these verses, and at the same time, teach your women and children how to recite them. This is why Sayyidna ` Umar and Sayyidna ` Ali ؓ ، said that they thought that anybody who has any sense in him would never go to sleep without having recited these two verses.
Meaning-wise, these verses have many special features. One of the distinct ones is that they come at the end of Sarah al-Baqarah where most of the injunctions of Shari` ah appear briefly, or in detail, such as, those dealing with the articles of faith, modes of worship, mutual dealings, morals and social living etc. Here, the first of the two verses opens with words of praise for the Muslims who are true and obedient, those who said yes with all their heart to all injunctions ordained by Allah, and were all set to carry them out. In addition to being an assertion of Allah's infinite mercy, the second verse also answers the doubt which started bothering the noble Companions when verse 284, the one preceding these two, was revealed. The words of the said verses, as mentioned earlier briefly, were: وَإِن تُبْدُوا مَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُم بِهِ اللَّـهُ , that is, whether you manifest that which is in your hearts, or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it. Here the verse was actually referring to the accounting of whatever one does with his or her choice and volition. Unintentional thoughts and errors were just not included under its purview. However, the words of the Qur'an were general because of which people surmised that man will be taken to account even for thoughts that entered his mind without his intention. Nervously excited, the noble Companion presented themselves before the Holy Prophet g and said: ia Rasool Allah, till now we thought that we shall be called to account for only those deeds that we do with our will and choice, and we shall not be called to account for thoughts that cross our minds involuntarily. But this verse seems to tell us that every thought that enters our minds will be subject to accounting. This way it is extremely difficult to escape punishment.' Although, the Holy Prophet g knew the correct intended meaning of the verse but he, in view of the generality of its words, did not elect to say anything on his own. Instead, he waited for the Wahy وحی (revelation) and instructed the Companions that they should obey whatever Allah Almighty ordains for them. It may be easy or difficult to carry out, but it is not the way of a true Muslim to show the slightest of hesitation in accepting Allah's command when it comes. As soon as you hear the command of Allah, say: سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ۖ غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ , that is, We have listened, and obeyed. Our Lord, Your pardon! And to You is the return'.
The noble Companions ؓ did exactly what they were told by the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، although their minds were still ticking with the apprehension that building a security shield against involuntary intrusions of thoughts was enormously difficult indeed! Thereupon, Allah Almighty revealed these last two verses of Surah al-Baqarah. Here the first one praises Muslims while the other gives a correct explanation of the verse that created doubt in the minds of the noble Companions. Now let us look at the words of the first verse. These are:
آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ ۚ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّـهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ ۚ وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ۖ غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ ﴿285﴾
The Messenger has believed in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and the believers as well. All have believed in Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers. "We make no division between any of His Messengers," and they have said: "We have listened, and obeyed. Our Lord, Your par-don! And to You is the return."
The first seven words of this verse admire the Holy Prophet ﷺ . It may be noted that the verse does not address him by his name, but, by calling him Rasul', his honour and dignity have been made clear. The word, 'the believers' follows immediately after that. It means that just as the Holy Prophet ﷺ firmly believes in the revelation (Wahy وحی) from Allah, so do the true Muslims in general. The style chosen for this sentence is also worth consideration. The major part has been used to describe the state of the 'iman (belief) of the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، then, the 'iman ایمان (belief) of the general Muslims has been described separately. This indicates that, although the Holy Prophet and all Muslims share in the wealth of 'iman ایمان as such, still there is a great difference between the two in terms of the relative degrees of 'iman ایمان . The knowledge of the Holy Prophet ﷺ is based on seeing and hearing while the knowledge of other Muslims takes the form of 'iman bi l'ghayb ایمان بالغیب or 'believing without seeing' as based on the 'ru'yat' or 'seeing' of the Holy Prophet ﷺ .
After that come details of the 'irnan (belief) which was common between the Holy Prophet ﷺ and the Muslims in general. This 'iman consisted of the belief that Allah Almighty does exist and that He is One and that He is endued with all the perfect attributes, and that there are angels, and that all Scriptures and all Messengers sent by Allah are true.
After that it was clearly stressed that the 'believers' of this ummah (Muslim community) will do nothing as was done by past communities when they planted seeds of discord among messengers of Allah by accepting some as prophets and by denying that status to others. The Jews accepted that Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) was a prophet, the Christians accepted that Sayyidna ` Isa (علیہ السلام) was a prophet, but that the Last of the prophets, Sayyidna Muhammad ﷺ was a prophet was not accepted by them.
Praised here is the distinction of this umrnah which is made of people who do not reject any prophet. This is followed by words of admiration for what the noble Companions had said when so directed by the Holy Prophet ﷺ :
سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا ۖ غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِير
We have listened, and obeyed. Our Lord, Your pardon! And to You is the return.