Surah Al-Baqarah >> Currently viewing Surah Baqarah Ayat 83 (2:83)

Surah Baqarah Ayat 83 in Arabic Text

وَإِذۡ أَخَذۡنَا مِيثَٰقَ بَنِيٓ إِسۡرَـٰٓءِيلَ لَا تَعۡبُدُونَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ وَبِٱلۡوَٰلِدَيۡنِ إِحۡسَانٗا وَذِي ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَٱلۡيَتَٰمَىٰ وَٱلۡمَسَٰكِينِ وَقُولُواْ لِلنَّاسِ حُسۡنٗا وَأَقِيمُواْ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتُواْ ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ ثُمَّ تَوَلَّيۡتُمۡ إِلَّا قَلِيلٗا مِّنكُمۡ وَأَنتُم مُّعۡرِضُونَ
Wa iz akhaznaa meesaaqa Baneee Israaa’eela laa ta’budoona illal laaha wa bil waalidaini ihsaananw wa zil qurbaa walyataamaa walmasaakeeni wa qooloo linnaasi husnanw wa aqeemus salaata wa aatuzZakaata summa tawallaitum illaa qaleelam minkum wa antum mu’ridoon

English Translation

Here you can read various translations of verse 83

Sahih International
And [recall] when We took the covenant from the Children of Israel, [enjoining upon them], “Do not worship except Allah; and to parents do good and to relatives, orphans, and the needy. And speak to people good [words] and establish prayer and give zakah.” Then you turned away, except a few of you, and you were refusing.

Yusuf Ali
“And remember We took a covenant from the Children of Israel (to this effect): Worship none but Allah; treat with kindness your parents and kindred, and orphans and those in need; speak fair to the people; be steadfast in prayer; and practise regular charity. Then did ye turn back, except a few among you, and ye backslide (even now).

Abul Ala Maududi
Remember that We made a solemn covenant with the children of Israel to this effect: worship none save Allah: be good to your parents, to your relatives, to the orphans and to the helpless; speak aright with the people: establish the Salat and pay the Zakat. But with the exception of a few, you all slid back from it and are paying no heed to it even now.

Muhsin Khan
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 Al-Masakin (the poor), [Tafsir At-Tabari, Vol. 10, Page 158 (Verse 9:60)] and speak good to people [i.e. enjoin righteousness and forbid evil, and say the truth about Muhammad Peace be upon him], and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), and give Zakat. Then you slid back, except a few of you, while you are backsliders. (Tafsir Al-Qurtubi, Vol. 2, Page 392).

Pickthall
And (remember) when We made a covenant with the Children of Israel, (saying): Worship none save Allah (only), and be good to parents and to kindred and to orphans and the needy, and speak kindly to mankind; and establish worship and pay the poor-due. Then, after that, ye slid back, save a few of you, being averse.

Dr. Ghali
And (remember) as We took Compact with the Seeds (or: sons)of Israel) (that), “You shall not worship any (god) except Allah, and (show) fairest companionship to parents, and near kinsmen, and to orphans, and to the indigent; and speak fair to mankind, and keep up the prayer, and bring the Zakat.(i.e., pay the obligatory poor-dues)” (But) thereafter you turned away excepting for a few of you, and you are (still) veering away.

Abdel Haleem
Remember when We took a pledge from the Children of Israel: ‘Worship none but God; be good to your parents and kinsfolk, to orphans and the poor; speak good words to all people; keep up the prayer and pay the prescribed alms.’ Then all but a few of you turned away and paid no heed.

Muhammad Junagarhi
اور جب ہم نے بنی اسرائیل سے وعده لیا کہ تم اللہ تعالیٰ کے سوا دوسرے کی عبادت نہ کرنا اور ماں باپ کے ساتھ اچھا سلوک کرنا، اسی طرح قرابتداروں، یتیموں اور مسکینوں کے ساتھ اور لوگوں کو اچھی باتیں کہنا، نمازیں قائم رکھنا اور زکوٰة دیتے رہا کرنا، لیکن تھوڑے سے لوگوں کے علاوه تم سب پھر گئے اور منھ موڑ لیا

Quran 2 Verse 83 Explanation

For those looking for commentary to help with the understanding of Surah Baqarah ayat 83, we’ve provided two Tafseer works below. The first is the tafseer of Abul Ala Maududi, the second is of Ibn Kathir.

Ala-Maududi

(2:83) And recall when We made a covenant with the Children of Israel: “You shall serve none but Allah and do good to parents, kinsmen, orphans and the needy; you shall speak kindly to people, and establish Prayer and give Zakah (Purifying Alms). And yet, except for a few of you, you turned back on this covenant, and you are still backsliders.


There is no commentary by Abul Maududi available for this verse.

Ibn-Kathir

83. 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.


The Covenant that Allah took from the Children of Israel

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,

﴿وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَا مِن قَبْلِكَ مِن رَّسُولٍ إِلاَّ نُوحِى إِلَيْهِ أَنَّهُ لا إِلَـهَ إِلاَّ أَنَاْ فَاعْبُدُونِ ﴾

(And We did not send any Messenger before you (O Muhammad ) 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 فِى كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَّسُولاً أَنِ اعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ وَاجْتَنِبُواْ الْطَّـغُوتَ﴾

(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 لِى وَلِوَلِدَيْكَ إِلَىَّ الْمَصِيرُ﴾

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

﴿وَقَضَى رَبُّكَ أَلاَّ تَعْبُدُواْ إِلاَّ إِيَّـهُ وَبِالْوَلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَـناً﴾

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

﴿وَءَاتِ ذَا الْقُرْبَى 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 الْوَالِدَيْن»

قُلْتُ: ثُمَّ أَيٌّ؟ قَالَ:

«الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ الله»

(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,

﴿وَالْيَتَـمَى﴾

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

﴿وَالْمَسَـكِينُ﴾

(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,

﴿وَاعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ وَلاَ تُشْرِكُواْ بِهِ شَيْئاً وَبِالْوَلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَـناً﴾

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

Allah’s statement,

﴿وَقُولُواْ 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,

﴿وَقُولُواْ 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 said,

«لَا تَحْقِرَنَّ مِنَ الْمَعْرُوفِ شَيْئًا وَإِنْ لَمْ تَجِدْ فَالْقَ أَخَاكَ بِوَجْهٍ مُنْطَلِق»

(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,

﴿وَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلوةَ وَآتُواْ الزَّكَوةَ﴾

(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,

﴿وَاعْبُدُواْ اللَّهَ وَلاَ تُشْرِكُواْ بِهِ شَيْئاً وَبِالْوَلِدَيْنِ إِحْسَـناً وَبِذِى الْقُرْبَى وَالْيَتَـمَى وَالْمَسَـكِينِ وَالْجَارِ ذِى الْقُرْبَى وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ وَالصَّـحِبِ بِالجَنْبِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَـنُكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالاً فَخُوراً ﴾

(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.

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