Al-Baqarah: (137) If they believe in the like...

Know that when the Almighty established the clear path in religion—which is for a person to acknowledge the prophethood of one whose signs of prophethood have been established, and to avoid contradiction in this matter—He then encouraged them toward such faith, saying: {If they believe in the like of what you believe, then they are guided.} (Al-Baqarah: 137)

This has several interpretations:

1. Confirmation and Affirmation: The meaning is: If they establish another religion equal to your religion in soundness and correctness, then they are guided. Since it is impossible for another religion to equal this religion in soundness, it is impossible to be guided by anything other than it. This is analogous to your saying to someone you advise: "This is the correct and sound opinion." If you had a sounder opinion, you would follow it, but you know there is none sounder than yours. You intend to affirm your companion and make him realize that there is no opinion beyond yours. We say it is impossible for another religion to equal this one in soundness because this religion is founded on the principle that whoever manifests a miracle must be acknowledged as a prophet. Any religion contrary to this must involve contradiction, and the contradictory cannot be equal in soundness and correctness to the non-contradictory.

2. The word "like" (مثل) is redundant for emphasis: As Allah says: {There is nothing like unto Him} (Ash-Shura: 11), meaning nothing is like Him. The poet also said:

   And blazing fires, like those that are kindled... And the mother of Al-Hanaf used to make him dance and say: By God, if it were not for the limp in his leg, And the thinness in his shin from his exertion, None among you would be like him.

3. Reference to the Scriptures: You believed in the Furqan (the Quran) without alteration or distortion. If they believe in the like of that—meaning the Torah—without alteration or distortion, then they are guided, because this connects them to the knowledge of the prophethood of Muhammad (peace be upon him).

4. Equating the Acts of Belief: The phrase {If they believe in the like of what you believe} means: If they become believers by the same means by which you became believers, then they are guided. Thus, the comparison (tamthīl) in the verse is between the two faiths and the two attestations. Muhammad ibn Jarir al-Tabari narrated that Ibn Abbas said: "Do not say, 'If they believe in the like of what you believe,' for Allah has no like. Rather, say, 'If they believe in that which you believe.'" Al-Qadi commented that there is no reason to abandon the established, continuous recitation (Qira'ah Mutawatirah) just because the meaning seems ambiguous, because if one adopts this view, they would be obliged to change the recitation of all ambiguous verses, which is forbidden. The first interpretation mentioned above is the most reliable.

As for His saying: {then they are guided}, it means they have acted upon what they were guided to and accepted it. Whoever is in this state is a friend of Allah, entering the realm of His pleasure. The verse indicates that guidance already existed before this specific act of guidance; this prior guidance can only refer to the signs and proofs that Allah established and clarified, explaining their indications.

Then, as a form of admonition, He explained what awaits them if they turn away: {But if they turn away, then they are only in opposition/schism (shiqāq)}.

There are two discussions regarding al-Shiqāq:

Some linguists say al-Shiqāq is derived from al-Shaqq (a split or cleft), as if one has entered a split different from his companion's split due to enmity. Similarly, "splitting the Muslims' staff" means dividing their group and separating from it. Analogous to this are al-Muḥādah (being on opposite sides/boundaries) and al-Taʿādī (mutual hostility), because one is in one hostile camp and the other in another. Also al-Mujānabah (avoidance), where one is on one side and the other on another side.

Others say it is derived from al-Mashaqqah (difficulty), because each party strives for what is difficult and harmful to the other. Allah says: {And if you fear schism between the two [of them]} (An-Nisa: 35), meaning separation in disagreement until one causes difficulty for the other.

His saying: {But if they turn away, then they are only in opposition/schism} means: If they abandon faith like this, they have committed themselves to contradiction. A rational person would never commit to contradiction. Therefore, since they have committed to it, we know their goal is not seeking religion or submission to the truth; rather, their goal is dispute and showing enmity.

The commentators have several expressions for this:

1. Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: {then they are only in opposition} means in disagreement, since they departed from the truth and clung to falsehood, thus becoming opponents of Allah.
2. Abu Ubaidah and Muqatil said: In paths of error (shiqāqāt).
3. Ibn Zayd said: In dispute and fighting.
4. Al-Hasan said: In enmity.

Al-Qadi commented: The term Shiqāq is rarely used for enmity or opposition that is not sinful. It is only used for a great transgression that places its perpetrator in enmity with Allah, incurring His wrath, curse, and the penalty of Hellfire. Therefore, this statement is a threat from the Almighty to them, and describing them as such proves that they are hostile to the Messenger, harboring hidden questions, and lying in wait to cause him tribulation.

At this point, Allah secured him (the Prophet) from their plotting and secured the believers from their evil and deceit, saying: {So Allah will suffice you against them}. This is to strengthen his heart and the hearts of the believers, because when the Almighty guarantees sufficiency in a matter, trust is established.

The theologians say: This is a report about the unseen (al-ghayb), making it a miracle indicating his truthfulness. We say it is a report about the unseen because we found that the one who reported this statement was as he reported. Allah sufficed him against the evil of the Jews and Christians, granted him victory over them until the Muslims defeated them, took their lands and wealth, making them humiliated under their rule, paying tribute and jizyah, or utterly unable to escape their grasp. We say it is a miracle because a fabricator would not be accurate in such detailed matters.

The atheists argue: We do not concede that this is a miracle, because a miracle is something that breaks the usual course of nature (al-ʿādah). It is customary that whoever is afflicted by the harm of others is told, "Be patient, for Allah will suffice you against their evil." Sometimes this happens, and sometimes it does not. If this is customary, how can it be called a miracle? Furthermore, perhaps he reached this conclusion through a dream, which cannot be refuted. Astrologers claim that whoever has a share of the unseen in their horoscope will bring forth such news, even if they are not a prophet.

The response is: Our intention in calling this a miracle is not that this single report is miraculous in isolation. Rather, our intention is that the Quran contains much of this type, and reporting many things in detail is something a lying fabricator cannot achieve.

Then, when the Almighty promised him support and aid, He followed it up with what indicates that what they conceal and what they announce regarding this matter is not hidden from Him, saying: {And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing}.

This has two aspects:

1. A Warning to Them: The meaning is that He perceives what they conceal and what they say, and He knows everything. Therefore, nothing they do can occur except that He is capable of providing sufficient remedy against it.
2. A Promise to the Messenger (PBUH): Meaning, He hears your supplication, knows your intention, and will answer you and bring you to your desired outcome.

The scholars used this verse, {And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing}, as evidence that the hearing of the Almighty is distinct from His knowledge of audible things. This is because the attribute ʿAlīm (All-Knowing) is an intensive form that encompasses knowledge of all knowable things. If His being Samīʿ (All-Hearing) were merely an expression for His knowledge of audible things, it would result in redundancy, which is impermissible. Therefore, the attribute of His being Samīʿ must be something in addition to His attribute of being ʿAlīm. And Allah knows best what is correct.

Regarding His saying: {in the like of what you believe}, there is a difficulty: that which the believers believed in has no like. The answer is:

{The baptism of Allah; and who is better than Allah in baptism? And we are worshippers of Him.}