Topic: Al-Bari (The Maker)
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وَإِذْ قَالَ مُوسَىٰ لِقَوْمِهِۦ يَٰقَوْمِ إِنَّكُمْ ظَلَمْتُمْ أَنفُسَكُم بِٱتِّخَاذِكُمُ ٱلْعِجْلَ فَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ بَارِئِكُمْ فَٱقْتُلُوٓا۟ أَنفُسَكُمْ ذَٰلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ عِندَ بَارِئِكُمْ فَتَابَ عَلَيْكُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ هُوَ ٱلتَّوَّابُ ٱلرَّحِيمُ
اَنْفُسَكُمْ (Anfusa-kum, 你们的恶欲) 的意思是你们的亲属; 你们的歹念。نَفْس (Nafs) 是 اَنْفُسْ (Anfus) 的单数, 也意谓感情; 欲望。古以色列人被命令通过禁欲来清洗他们的心灵的恶欲。«圣经»上说他们被命令: “杀你们的兄弟、朋友和邻居。” («出埃及记»32:27), 但这说法并没得到 «古兰经» 的证实, 按 «古兰经» 所说, 他们得到了宽恕 (4:154)。甚至他们的首领萨米里也并没有被处死 (20:98)。
فَاقْتُلُوْا اَنْفُسَکُمْ بائیبل سے پتہ لگتا ہے کہ بنی اسرائیل کو یہ حکم دیا گیا تھا کہ ہر بھائی اپنے بھائی کو‘ ہر دوست اپنے دوست کو اور ہر پڑوسی اپنے پڑوسی کو قتل کرے۔ چنانچہ بائیبل کے بیان کے مطابق اس دن تین ہزار آدمی مارے گئے (خروج باب۳۲۔ آیت۲۷۔ ۲۸) لیکن چونکہ تورات کی یہی تعلیم ہے کہ کسی شخص کو بغیر اس کے کہ اس نے کوئی اور آدمی قتل کیا ہو قتل کرنا ناجائز ہے اس لئے یہ معنے درست نہیں ہو سکتے اس کے مقابلہ میں بعض مفسرین نے اس کے معنے لفظی لئے ہیں اور کہا ہے کہ ہر شخص خود کشی کرے۔ لیکن خود کشی بھی جائز نہیں اس لئے یہی صورت باقی رہ جاتی ہے کہ ہم اس سارے واقعہ کو ایک
Anfusa-kum (your evil desires) means, your kith and kin; your evil desires. Nafs which is the singular of Anfus also means, passion; desire. The Israelites were commanded to purge their souls of evil desires through mortification. The biblical statement that they were commanded 'to slay every man his brother, every man his companion and every man his neighbour' (Exod. 32: 27) is not supported by the Qur’an according to which they were pardoned (4:154). Even their leader Samiri was not killed (20:98).
Important Words:
باری (Maker) is derived from بری which means, he shaped or fashioned a reed into a pen, or he shaped an arrow. باریmeans, one who forms or fashions a thing by cutting; one who shapes out or pares a thing. باری is to be distinguished from خالق for whereas the latter word means, one who brings a thing into existence according to the proper plan or measure, or one who brings a thing into existence from a state of nonexistence, the former word, i.e. باری signifies one who fashions a thing into its proper shape. Generally, however, باری is used as somewhat synonymous with خالق, for it is the formation of a shape which is the result in each case (Mufradat & Lane).
Commentary:
It appears from this verse that, although after the incident of calf-worship a general pardon was granted to the Israelites, yet it was thought essential to punish the ringleaders who were ordered to be slain. The clause فاقتلوا انفسکم does not mean "slay yourselves", but "slay your men or slay your kith and kin". The latter meaning is borne out by 2:85, where God says, you shall not turn your people out of your homes. Similarly, in 24:62, we read: When you enter houses, greet your people with salam. In these verses the expression انفسکم has been used in the sense of 'your people or your brethren'. See also 2:86 & 4:67.
Speaking of this incident, the Bible says: "Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men" (Exod. 32:27, 28).
In the above passage, the number of persons slain has been put at three thousand, but this is apparently an error. Similarly, the number of the Israelites who came out of Egypt is represented in the Bible as six hundred thousand (Exod. 12:37) which also is clearly wrong. Such a large number could not live as servants and labourers of the Egyptians, who themselves speak of them as "a small community" (the Quran, 26:55). The error has apparently arisen from a confusion of the words إلف (ilf) and ألف (alf), the former meaning "a family", and the latter "a thousand" (Aqrab). Really, there were only 600 families of the Israelites who lived in Egypt and who left the country under the leadership of Moses, but they were misconstrued into 600 thousands. Similarly, the number of persons slain could scarcely be three thousand. There were most likely only three families the leaders of which took part in setting up the calf for worship, and these were put to death, by their own kinsmen at the bidding of Moses.
The words فاقتلوا أنفسکم (slay yourselves) have also been construed as "kill your desires"–an interpretation borne out by the usage of the Arabic language. Some commentators prefer this interpretation to the one given above on the ground that the Israelites, having been forgiven by God at the intercession of Moses, could not have been ordered to slay their brethren, for such an order would have been incompatible with the forgiveness granted to them. This argument, however, does not appear to be sound for forgiveness of a people as a whole is not incompatible with the punishment of a few ringleaders.
The clause, turn ye therefore to your Maker, implies an exhortation to the Israelites to turn to their باری or Maker or Fashioner, which means that they should work a change or reformation in themselves.
54
اَنْفُسَكُمْ (Anfusa-kum, 你们的恶欲) 的意思是你们的亲属; 你们的歹念。نَفْس (Nafs) 是 اَنْفُسْ (Anfus) 的单数, 也意谓感情; 欲望。古以色列人被命令通过禁欲来清洗他们的心灵的恶欲。«圣经»上说他们被命令: “杀你们的兄弟、朋友和邻居。” («出埃及记»32:27), 但这说法并没得到 «古兰经» 的证实, 按 «古兰经» 所说, 他们得到了宽恕 (4:154)。甚至他们的首领萨米里也并没有被处死 (20:98)。
1
فَاقْتُلُوْا اَنْفُسَکُمْ بائیبل سے پتہ لگتا ہے کہ بنی اسرائیل کو یہ حکم دیا گیا تھا کہ ہر بھائی اپنے بھائی کو‘ ہر دوست اپنے دوست کو اور ہر پڑوسی اپنے پڑوسی کو قتل کرے۔ چنانچہ بائیبل کے بیان کے مطابق اس دن تین ہزار آدمی مارے گئے (خروج باب۳۲۔ آیت۲۷۔ ۲۸) لیکن چونکہ تورات کی یہی تعلیم ہے کہ کسی شخص کو بغیر اس کے کہ اس نے کوئی اور آدمی قتل کیا ہو قتل کرنا ناجائز ہے اس لئے یہ معنے درست نہیں ہو سکتے اس کے مقابلہ میں بعض مفسرین نے اس کے معنے لفظی لئے ہیں اور کہا ہے کہ ہر شخص خود کشی کرے۔ لیکن خود کشی بھی جائز نہیں اس لئے یہی صورت باقی رہ جاتی ہے کہ ہم اس سارے واقعہ کو ایک
61
Important Words:
باری (Maker) is derived from بری which means, he shaped or fashioned a reed into a pen, or he shaped an arrow. باریmeans, one who forms or fashions a thing by cutting; one who shapes out or pares a thing. باری is to be distinguished from خالق for whereas the latter word means, one who brings a thing into existence according to the proper plan or measure, or one who brings a thing into existence from a state of nonexistence, the former word, i.e. باری signifies one who fashions a thing into its proper shape. Generally, however, باری is used as somewhat synonymous with خالق, for it is the formation of a shape which is the result in each case (Mufradat & Lane).
Commentary:
It appears from this verse that, although after the incident of calf-worship a general pardon was granted to the Israelites, yet it was thought essential to punish the ringleaders who were ordered to be slain. The clause فاقتلوا انفسکم does not mean "slay yourselves", but "slay your men or slay your kith and kin". The latter meaning is borne out by 2:85, where God says, you shall not turn your people out of your homes. Similarly, in 24:62, we read: When you enter houses, greet your people with salam. In these verses the expression انفسکم has been used in the sense of 'your people or your brethren'. See also 2:86 & 4:67.
Speaking of this incident, the Bible says: "Put ye every man his sword upon his thigh, and go to and fro from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. And the sons of Levi did according to the word of Moses: and there fell of the people that day about three thousand men" (Exod. 32:27, 28).
In the above passage, the number of persons slain has been put at three thousand, but this is apparently an error. Similarly, the number of the Israelites who came out of Egypt is represented in the Bible as six hundred thousand (Exod. 12:37) which also is clearly wrong. Such a large number could not live as servants and labourers of the Egyptians, who themselves speak of them as "a small community" (the Quran, 26:55). The error has apparently arisen from a confusion of the words إلف (ilf) and ألف (alf), the former meaning "a family", and the latter "a thousand" (Aqrab). Really, there were only 600 families of the Israelites who lived in Egypt and who left the country under the leadership of Moses, but they were misconstrued into 600 thousands. Similarly, the number of persons slain could scarcely be three thousand. There were most likely only three families the leaders of which took part in setting up the calf for worship, and these were put to death, by their own kinsmen at the bidding of Moses.
The words فاقتلوا أنفسکم (slay yourselves) have also been construed as "kill your desires"–an interpretation borne out by the usage of the Arabic language. Some commentators prefer this interpretation to the one given above on the ground that the Israelites, having been forgiven by God at the intercession of Moses, could not have been ordered to slay their brethren, for such an order would have been incompatible with the forgiveness granted to them. This argument, however, does not appear to be sound for forgiveness of a people as a whole is not incompatible with the punishment of a few ringleaders.
The clause, turn ye therefore to your Maker, implies an exhortation to the Israelites to turn to their باری or Maker or Fashioner, which means that they should work a change or reformation in themselves.
95
Anfusa-kum (your evil desires) means, your kith and kin; your evil desires. Nafs which is the singular of Anfus also means, passion; desire. The Israelites were commanded to purge their souls of evil desires through mortification. The biblical statement that they were commanded 'to slay every man his brother, every man his companion and every man his neighbour' (Exod. 32: 27) is not supported by the Qur’an according to which they were pardoned (4:154). Even their leader Samiri was not killed (20:98).
هُوَ ٱللَّهُ ٱلْخَٰلِقُ ٱلْبَارِئُ ٱلْمُصَوِّرُ ۖ لَهُ ٱلْأَسْمَآءُ ٱلْحُسْنَىٰ ۚ يُسَبِّحُ لَهُۥ مَا فِى ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ ۖ وَهُوَ ٱلْعَزِيزُ ٱلْحَكِيمُ
17:45; 24:42; 61:2; 62:2; 64:2.
Commentary:
God, as represented by the Quran, is the Maker of bodies, the Creator of souls, the Fashioner i.e. the Giver of final touches to things created by Him. Such is the God of Islam, the Mighty, the Wise. To Him belong all excellent titles that man can imagine. The dwellers of the heavens and the earth declare His sanctity and holiness. He is the Great, and the Powerful.
b
7:181.
c
17:45; 24:42; 61:2; 62:2; 64:2.
a
17:45; 24:42; 61:2; 62:2; 64:2.
4209
Commentary:
God, as represented by the Quran, is the Maker of bodies, the Creator of souls, the Fashioner i.e. the Giver of final touches to things created by Him. Such is the God of Islam, the Mighty, the Wise. To Him belong all excellent titles that man can imagine. The dwellers of the heavens and the earth declare His sanctity and holiness. He is the Great, and the Powerful.
a
7:181.
b
17:45; 24:42; 61:2; 62:2; 64:2.