Five Benefits from Sūrah al-Baqarah (2:120)
Shaykh Mūsá Richardson
Five benefits from the the following verse are discussed:
وَلَن تَرْضَى عَنكَ الْيَهُودُ وَلاَ النَّصَارَى حَتَّى تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى اللّهِ هُوَ الْهُدَى وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءهُم بَعْدَ الَّذِي جَاءكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ مَا لَكَ مِنَ اللّهِ مِن وَلِيٍّ وَلاَ نَصِيرٍ
Never will the Jews nor the Christians be pleased with you (O Muḥammad ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) till you follow their religion. Say: “Verily, the Guidance of Allāh (i.e. Islamic Monotheism) that is the (only) Guidance. And if you (O Muḥammad, ṣallallāhu ʿalayhi wa-sallam) were to follow their (Jews and Christians) desires after what you have received of Knowledge (i.e. the Qurʾān), then you would have against Allāh neither any Walī (protector or guardian) nor any helper.
[Sūrah al-Baqarah, 2:120]
The five points elaborated upon are:
- They [the Jews and Christians] will not be pleased with you sticking to your religion.
- Leaving your religion partly or fully will make them [the Jews and Christians] pleased with you to the degree of which you leave your religion.
- The guidance of Allāh is the best Guidance; a complete legislation, not comparable to any other guidance (including man-made laws).
- Following desires upon knowledge is an affair that destroys people.
- Refusing to follow your or others desires and sticking to truth is what will bring about salvation.