Al-Baqarah: (99) And indeed, We have sent down to you...

Commentary on Verse 99

This verse addresses another category of their reprehensible acts and disgraces.

Ibn Abbas narrated that before the advent of the Prophet (peace be upon him), the Jews used to boast to the Aws and Khazraj tribes by mentioning the Prophet (PBUH) to them. When he was sent as a Prophet from among the Arabs, they disbelieved in him and denied what they used to say about him.

Mu'adh ibn Jabal said to them, "O assembly of Jews, fear Allah and submit (to Islam)! You used to boast to us about Muhammad, while we were polytheists, and you would inform us that he would be sent and describe his attributes to us." Some of them replied, "He has not brought us any clear proofs, nor is he the one we used to mention to you."

Then Allah Almighty revealed this verse.

Herein lie several issues:

The most apparent interpretation is that the "Clear Proofs" refer to the Qur'an, which neither humankind nor jinn could produce its like, even if they were to support one another.

Some scholars suggested that "Clear Proofs" could refer to the Qur'an along with other signs, such as their refusal to engage in mutual cursing (Mubāhalah), their refusal to wish for death, and other miracles like feeding a large crowd with little food, water springing forth from his fingers, and the splitting of the moon.

Al-Qadi (the Judge) stated that it is preferable to restrict this to the Qur'an, because when the term Ayāt (signs/proofs) is coupled with Tanzīl (revelation), it is more specific to the Qur'an. And Allah knows best.

There are several reasons for naming the Qur'an "Ayāt":

1. The Signifier: A sign (Āyah) is that which indicates or proves. Since portions of the Qur'an, through their eloquence, prove the truthfulness of the claimant (the Prophet), they are considered Ayāt.
2. Indicating the Unseen: Some of them indicate knowledge of the unseen (al-Ghayb), thus serving as proofs for those unseen matters.
3. Indicating Fundamentals: They indicate the proofs for Tawhid (Oneness of God), prophethood, and religious laws; thus, they are Ayāt from this perspective.

Objection: A proof (Dalīl) must inherently be clear. What then is the meaning of describing the Ayāt as "clear" (Bayyinah)? One cannot argue that it means some verses are clearer than others, because this would imply that some knowledge is stronger than other knowledge, which is impossible. This is because someone knowledgeable about a matter either allows for the possibility of its opposite being true or does not. If the possibility of the opposite exists, their belief is not true knowledge (ʿIlm). If it does not exist, it is impossible for anything else to be stronger than that certainty.

Response: The difference is not in the knowledge itself, but in the path to acquiring it. Knowledge is divided into that whose path of acquisition and supporting evidence involves more premises, making its attainment more difficult, and that which involves fewer premises, making its attainment closer. This latter category is what is meant by the "Clear Proofs" (al-Āyāt al-Bayyinah).

The word Inzāl (sending down) linguistically means moving something from above to below, which is only physically realized in corporeal objects. Thus, applying it literally to the Qur'an seems impossible. However, since Gabriel descended from above to deliver it and informed the Prophet (PBUH) of it, this act is metaphorically termed Inzāl.

Regarding the phrase: {And none disbelieve in it except the defiantly wicked (al-Fāsiqūn)}

Herein lie several issues:

Disbelief in the proofs occurs in two ways:

1. Denial with Knowledge: Denying the truthfulness of the proofs while knowing they are correct.
2. Denial through Ignorance: Denying them due to ignorance, neglecting reflection upon them, and turning away from their evidence. Since the verse does not specify, both meanings are included.

Linguistically, Fisq means a person departing from what is prescribed for them. Allah says: {Except Iblis; he was of the jinn, and he defiantly disobeyed the command of his Lord} (Al-Kahf: 50). The Arabs also call a date pit (Nawāh) fasiqat when it exits the pulp upon falling.

It is close in meaning to Fujūr (immorality), which is derived from the bursting of a dam (Sadd) that prevents water from reaching a place where it causes corruption. A person's transgression beyond their prescribed limits is likened to the bursting of the dam leading to corruption.

Objection: Does not the person who commits a minor sin transgress God's command, yet they are not described as Fāsiq or Fājir?

Response: The terms Fisq and Fujūr are only applied when the transgression is great, based on the meaning established above. Just as one who makes a small breach in a riverbank is not described as having burst the river (Fajara al-Nahr), Fisq is only used when the transgression is significant.

Given this, we consider two interpretations for the phrase: {except the defiantly wicked (al-Fāsiqūn)}:

1. Inclusion: Every disbeliever is a Fāsiq, but not every Fāsiq is necessarily a disbeliever (in the sense of denying the core message). Since the term Fāsiq encompasses both the disbeliever and others who transgress, it was more appropriate to use it here.
2. Extreme Transgression: It refers only to the disbeliever who has exceeded every limit in their disbelief. The meaning is: Since these proofs were clear and manifest, none would disbelieve in them except the disbeliever who reaches the utmost extreme in their disbelief, transgressing every limit sanctioned by reason and Sharia.

Verse 100: {Or whenever they make a covenant, a party of them breaks it? Nay, most of them do not believe.}