Al-Baqarah · Madani · ayah 120 of 286

Al-Baqarah 2:120

وَلَن تَرْضَىٰ عَنكَ ٱلْيَهُودُ وَلَا ٱلنَّصَـٰرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ ۗ قُلْ إِنَّ هُدَى ٱللَّهِ هُوَ ٱلْهُدَىٰ ۗ وَلَئِنِ ٱتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَآءَهُم بَعْدَ ٱلَّذِى جَآءَكَ مِنَ ٱلْعِلْمِ ۙ مَا لَكَ مِنَ ٱللَّهِ مِن وَلِىٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ

“And never will the Jews and the Christians approve of you until you follow their religion. Say, "Indeed, the guidance of Allāh is the [only] guidance." If you were to follow their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, you would have against Allāh no protector or helper.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Approval bought by leaving your path is never enough; hold to Allah's guidance, for following desire after knowledge leaves you unprotected.

A reflection

You cannot please both

A new graduate at a law firm wants badly to belong. Within six months she has shortened her name in her email signature and stopped slipping away to pray. She laughs along at a joke about her own headscarf. The senior partner who started the joke still barely looks at her.

The ayah speaks to the Prophet ﷺ about a group who said they would never be pleased with him unless he followed their way. A major early commentator draws a practical lesson. Stop seeking what pleases them, he explains, and devote yourself to seeking Allah's pleasure as you call them.

He adds an argument that is almost mathematical. The two groups named here disagreed with each other. No single person could follow both ways at once. So pleasing both was impossible by definition. The only path that could ever bring people together was Allah's guidance.

A later commentator notes why the warning was needed. The Prophet ﷺ was gentle with every group, hoping they would believe. The ayah frees him from a hope that could only be met by giving up the truth.

The same trap catches people everywhere. Approval that depends on abandoning who you are is never finally given. There is always one more thing to drop. Meanwhile, the self that was trading itself away grows thinner.

This does not mean being cold or closed. It means knowing which approval matters. 'Say: the guidance of Allah is the guidance.'

The graduate changed her email signature back. She started praying again in the small room by the lifts. The partner did not notice. Several others did, and quietly respected her more.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.