Al-Baqarah · Madani · ayah 121 of 286

Al-Baqarah 2:121

ٱلَّذِينَ ءَاتَيْنَـٰهُمُ ٱلْكِتَـٰبَ يَتْلُونَهُۥ حَقَّ تِلَاوَتِهِۦٓ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِۦ ۗ وَمَن يَكْفُرْ بِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْخَـٰسِرُونَ

“Those to whom We have given the Book recite it with its true recital.[39] They [are the ones who] believe in it. And whoever disbelieves in it - it is they who are the losers.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Those who recite the Book as it deserves, following where it leads, truly believe in it; whoever rejects it is the loser.

A reflection

Reading that walks behind

In a mosque study circle, a new member reads a passage aloud, carefully, every vowel right. The teacher nods. 'Good. You have read it.' Then he asks, 'What will you do differently tomorrow because of it?' The young man has no answer. He realises nobody has asked him that before.

The ayah praises those who recite the Book ḥaqqa tilāwatih, 'as it truly deserves to be recited'. The root of tilāwa pictures a young animal trotting close behind its mother. Reciting, in its first sense, is following.

Several early authorities explained the phrase exactly that way: they follow it as it deserves to be followed. One of them recited, as evidence, 'by the moon when it follows the sun' (91:2), using the same verb. The moon does not merely look at the sun. It moves in its path.

The commentaries preserve fuller descriptions too. One Companion swore by the One in whose hand was his soul. Its true recitation, he said, is to treat as lawful what it makes lawful, and as forbidden what it forbids. It is to read it as it was revealed, and not twist its words from their places. An authority of the next generation put it this way. Act on its clear verses, believe in its unclear ones, and leave what is hard to the One who knows it.

That sets a high standard, and it applies to every Muslim before it applies to anyone else. A recitation can be beautiful and still be only half done. The other half happens after the book is closed.

The young man went home and reread the passage. This time he wrote one line under it, about what he would change.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.