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Sura 2 encapsulates the essence of the Qur an, discuss For Muslims the Qur an is the most important source of religious and social guidance for Muslims. Ibadah or service to Allah involves not just observation of the five pillars but also a genuine presence of mind when carrying out duties. These pillars and the six beliefs which are the exegesis of the Shahada are all dealt with in Sura 2 of the Qur an. A Hadith describes Sura 2: of everything there is a pinnacle and the pinnacle of the Qur an is sura al-Baqarah. The six beliefs are explained in detail throughout the Qur an but Sura 2, The Cow makes reference to all of them. The first of these beliefs is Tawhid, the unity and wholeness of Allah.
On line 163 of Sura 2, in the Penguin version of the Qur an translated by N. J. Dawood, we can find the passage Your God is one God. There is no god but Him. He is the Compassionate, the Merciful. Those who do not acknowledge this monotheism are guilty of shirk, or association which is the highest sin in Islam.
The Qur an teaches Muslims of the existence of angels, or spiritual beings. And when We said to the angels: Prostrate yourselves before Adam, they all prostrated themselves except Satan, who in his pride refused and became an unbeliever. This passage shows that obedience to Allah is expected of the angels or Mala iraq and those who refuse will be punished (Satan was forced to reside in Hell). However the Qur an stresses that angels have no free will but this seems problematic considering Satan s choice to disobey God. Angels are ordered in a hierarchy with the archangel Jibrael (Gabriel in Christianity) being the most important. Is was Jibrael who revealed the Qur an to Muhammed.
Islam recognises the Old Testament prophets (Risalah) and Sura 2 mentions them repeatedly. Through time the prophets have had the duty of guiding mankind along the right path, however not all of them possessed the renowned virtues of prophets like Muhammed and Jesus (Isa). Say we believe in God and that which has been revealed to us; in what was revealed to Abraham, Ishmael, Isaac, Jacob and the tribes, to Moses and Jesus and the other prophets. Muslims consider Muhammed to be the Seal of the Prophets in that he was the last to reveal the law of God to mankind. The Qur an refers to Christians, Jews and Muslims as people of the Book. This is because they all believe in the One god Allah.
The message of God had previously been communicated to these people by the Old Testament prophets and recorded in the Holy Books or Kutuballah. The Torah, Psalms and Gospels are holy to Muslims but the only truly reliable account of Allah s will is the Qur an because these earlier scriptures have been corrupted and so contain inaccuracies and mistakes. Judgement and afterlife are linked in that they both occur after the death of the material body and that Judgement of actions in this life determines the state of existence of the soul in the afterlife. Belief in the Day of Judgement (Yawmuddin) and the Last Day is essential to Islam.
It suggests the notion of individual accountability for your actions. Actions are important but intentions are considered to be of essential importance. Not an atoms weight in earth or heaven escapes your Lord (Sura 10: 64). In contrast to pre-Islamic Arabia, there is a big difference here. The Pagan Arabs took a fatalistic approach to life believing that actions in this world make no difference to the state of affairs after death. Islam thus introduces a notion of responsibility for others.
In this respect we can make a criticism of codes of morality which are independent of religion such as the existentialism of Nietzsche and Sartre in that they do not give reasons to why we should feel responsible for others. Scholars such as Al-Arabia (d. 950 CE), however, have pointed out that Gods omniscience raises problems when we talk about human free will and the choice to do good or evil. Al-Ashari suggested that God created in Man the faculty of choice and that Man acquires his actions and thus responsibility for them throughout this faculty. Heaven and Hell are vividly described within Sura 2. It states that believers shall go to Heaven and the sinners shall reside in Hell; guard yourselves against the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the unbelievers. The five pillars are frequently referred to throughout Sura 2 and the first of them, the Shahada or creed is characterised by the six beliefs.
The second pillar, Satan requires Muslims to perform five daily prayers (although the Qur an only states three, the Hadith states that five should be performed to properly cleans the soul. ) The idea of this according to Sura 2 is to fortify yourselves with patience and prayer. Prayer is of essential importance to Muslims and is a way of showing faith and devotion through action (Amal). Zakah is mentioned within the Qur an almost as often as prayer. Muslims are told to Attend to your prayers and render the alms levy.
The poor tax is not a voluntary decision for Muslims to make (like Sadaqah) but it is a duty imposed by Allah. Everything we own is borrowed from God who owns everything and therefore it is a sin to hoard Allah s wealth. Sura 2 makes the pilgrimage or Hajj an obligatory act for all Muslims capable of performing it, Make the pilgrimage and visit the Sacred House for his sake. If you cannot, send such offerings as you can afford. It also lays down guidlines that must be followed by participants, abstain from sexual intercourse, obscene language, and acrimonious disputes while on the pilgrimage. Other requirements are made which enforces the sense of brotherhood and equality among Muslims.
Said or fasting is performed during the month of Ramadam. Sura 2 explains how it was during the month of Ramadam the Qur an was revealed. Muslims are told to abstain from eating during daylight hours, smoking and sex not for a form of punishment but for purification, physically and mentally, God desires your well being, not your discomfort. The purpose of said is to foster dedication, commitment, loyalty to Allah, and unity amongst Muslims. Sura 2, as well as containing religious guidance contains information on how a Muslim should lead his life socially in relation to himself and others. Of drinking and gambling it says There is great harm in both, although they have some benefit their harm is far greater.
It also discusses the status of women in the community women shall have rights similar to those exercised against them, although men have a status above women. In the contemporary West this seems wholly unreasonable but in the context of pre-Islamic Arabia it was a radical idea. The Qur an is a book of guidance and of course its whole content cannot be contained within one Sura, however it makes reference to all six beliefs whilst keeping in mind the 5 pillars of faith. It also gives social guidance, an attribute which is almost completely lacking in most other religious texts. This gives justification to Zakaria s description of Sura 2 as the Qur an in miniature.
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