Surah Al-Baqarah — Verse 83

Remember the promise made between Allah and the Israelites: to worship Him alone; to be kind to parents, relatives, orphans and the poor; to say good words to people, telling them to do what is right and not what is wrong, without harshness or severity; to perform the prayer as instructed; and to give Zakat to those who have a right to it. But all they did after making this promise was to turn away, rejecting the promise they had made.

And (remember) when We took a covenant from the Children of Israel, (saying): Worship none but Allah (alone) and be dutiful and good to parents, and to kindred, and to orphans and (the poor), and speak good to people and perform As-Salah and give Zakah. Then you slid back, except a few of you, while you are backsliders (83)

Allah reminded the Children of Israel of the commandments that He gave them, and the covenants that He took from them to abide by those commands, and how they intentionally and knowingly turned away from all of that. Allah commanded them to worship Him and to associate none with Him in worship, just as He has commanded all of His creatures, for this is why Allah created them. Allah said,

وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلَّا نُوحِي إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لَا إِلَٰهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدُونِ

(And We did not send any Messenger before you (O Muhammad ﷺ) but We revealed to him (saying): La ilaha illa Ana [none has the right to be worshipped but I (Allah)], so worship Me (alone and none else))(21:25), and,

وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولًا أَنِ اعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُوا الطَّاغُوتَ

(And verily, We have sent among every Ummah (community, nation) a Messenger (proclaiming): "Worship Allah (alone), and avoid the Taghut (all false deities,))(16:36).

This is the highest and most important right, that is, Allah's right that He be worshipped alone without partners.

After that comes the right of the creatures, foremost, the right of the parents. Allah usually mentions the rights of the parents along with His rights. For instance, Allah said,

 أَنِ اشْكُرْ لِي وَلِوَالِدَيْكَ إِلَيَّ الْمَصِيرُ

(Give thanks to Me and to your parents. Unto Me is the final destination)(31:14). Also, Allah said,

وَقَضَىٰ رَبُّكَ أَلَّا تَعْبُدُوا إِلَّا إِيَّاهُ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا

(And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents)(17:23), until,

وَآتِ ذَا الْقُرْبَىٰ حَقَّهُ وَالْمِسْكِينَ وَابْنَ السَّبِيلِ

(And give to the kinsman his due and to the Miskin (poor) and to the wayfarer)(17:26).

The Two Sahihs record that Ibn Mas'ud said,

قُلْتُ:

يَا رَسُولَ اللهِ أيُّ الْعَمَل أَفْضَلُ؟

قَالَ: الصَّلَاةُ عَلى وَقْتِهَا

قُلْتُ: ثُمَّ أَيٌّ؟

قَالَ: بِرُّ الْوَالِدَيْنِ

قُلْتُ: ثُمَّ أَيٌّ؟

قَالَ: الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ

(I said, 'O Messenger of Allah! What is the best deed?' He said, 'Performing the prayer on time.' I said, 'Then what?' He said, 'Being kind to one's parents.' I said, 'Then what?' He said, 'Jihad in the cause of Allah.')

Allah then said,

وَالْيَتَامَىٰ 

(and to orphans) meaning, the young who have no fathers to fend for them.

وَالْمَسَاكِينِ 

(and Al-Masakin (the poor)), plural for Miskin, the one who does not find what he needs to spend on himself and his family. We will discuss these categories when we explain the Ayah of Surat An-Nisa' where Allah said,

وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا 

(Worship Allah and join none with Him (in worship); and do good to parents)(4:36).

Allah's statement,

وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا

(and speak good to people) meaning, say good words to them and be lenient with them, this includes commanding good and forbidding evil. Al-Hasan Al-Basri commented on Allah's statement,

وَقُولُوا لِلنَّاسِ حُسْنًا

(and speak good to people), "The good saying' means commanding good and forbidding evil, and being patient and forgiving. The 'good words to people', as Allah commanded, also includes every good type of behavior that Allah is pleased with." Imam Ahmad narrated that Abu Dharr said that the Prophet ﷺ said,

لَا تَحْقِرَنَّ مِنَ الْمَعْرُوفِ شَيْئًا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَجِدْ فَالْقَ أَخَاكَ بِوَجْهٍ مُنْطَلِقٍ

(Do not belittle any form of righteousness, and even if you did not find any good deed except meeting your brother with a smiling face, then do so.)

This Hadith was also collected by Muslim in his Sahih and At-Tirmidhi, who graded it Sahih.

Allah commands the servants to say good words to people, after He commanded them to be kind to them, thereby mentioning two categories of manners: good speech and good actions. He then emphasized the command to worship Him and the command to do good, ordaining the prayer and the Zakah,

وَأَقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكَاةَ

(and perform As-Salah and give Zakah). Allah informed us that the People of the Book, except for a few among them, ignored these orders, that is, they knowingly and intentionally abandoned them. Allah ordered this Ummah similarly in Surat An-Nisa' when He said,

وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَبِذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالْجَنبِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالًا فَخُورًا

(Worship Allah and join none with Him (in worship); and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, Al-Masakin (the poor), the neighbor who is near of kin, the neighbor who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and those (servants) whom your right hands possess. Verily, Allah does not like such as are proud and boastful)(4:36).

Of these orders, this Ummah has practiced what no other nation before it has, and all praise is due to Allah.

This verse speaks of the pledge which Allah had made the Israelites take, and the few people it refers to as having been true to the pledge were those who acted upon the Shari'ah of Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) (Moses) as long as it was in force, and when it was abrogated, followed the Shari` ah of Sayyidna Muhammad ﷺ .

Injunctions and related considerations

(1) This verse brings out the basic elements common to Islam and all the earlier Shari` ah: Tauhid توحید (the doctrine of Unity or Oneness); service to one's parents, relations, orphans and the needy; being gentle in speaking to all human beings; Salah نماز and Zakah زکاۃ .

(2) The verse asks us to adopt a gentle tone and an open-hearted manner in speaking to others, whether they are good or evil, pious or impious, orthodox or aberrant, followers of Sunnah or adherents to partitive innovations in it. In religious matter, however, one should not try to hide the truth for the sake of pleasing people or of winning their approval. The Holy Qur'an tells us that when Allah sent Sayyidna Musa and Sayyidna Harun (Moses and Aaron) (علیہم السلام) to the Pharaoh فرعون ، He instructed them to use gentle and soft words (20:42). None of us who addresses another today can be superior to Sayyidna Musa (علیہ السلام) ، nor can the man addressed be viler than the Pharaoh فرعون .

Talha ibn ` Umar recounts that once he said to the great master of the Sciences of Exegesis and Hadith, 'At-a' عطاء ، "One can see around you people who are not quite orthodox in their beliefs. As for me, I am rather short-tempered. If such people come to me, I deal with them harshly." ` Ata' replied, "Do not behave like this," and, reciting the present verse, he added, Allah has commanded us to speak to people politely. When Jews and Christians all are to be treated like this, would this commandment not apply to a Muslim, no matter what kind of a man he is?" (Qurtubi)

Man’s first duty to God is to become His worshipper without ascribing any partners to Him. Secondly, he should show kindness to others. Kindness starts at home, with one’s parents and family, extends to one’s neighbours and relatives, and finally reaches out to everyone with whom one comes into contact. There is only one proper way to deal with others, and that is with justice and well-wishing. Where one is really tested is in one’s dealings with ‘orphans and the needy’, that is, with the weaker members of society. As for the strong, their strength itself guarantees that they will be given deferential treatment. But so far as the weak are concerned there is no such incentive to deal with them justly. Therefore, one should be especially careful to behave well towards them. People who are good to those who wield no worldly power and possess scant resources, do so for God’s sake alone, for they have no other incentive. There are various reasons for having little inclination to show kindness when dealing with the weak. Benefactors frequently regard themselves as ‘superior’ persons and, when they are not shown what they consider to be due deference, they tend to treat people less fortunate than themselves with disdain. Then the thought of a permanent liability is often so irksome to them that they resort to ill-mannered behaviour to rid themselves of a burdensome obligation. This attitude leaves no room for the notion that the weak also have their self-respect. When the benefactor is not shown what he considers to be due deference, he regards the beneficiary as unworthy and incompetent. This thinking finds expression in various ways.