Al-Baqarah · Madani · ayah 174 of 286

Al-Baqarah 2:174

إِنَّ ٱلَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَآ أَنزَلَ ٱللَّهُ مِنَ ٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَيَشْتَرُونَ بِهِۦ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا ۙ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ مَا يَأْكُلُونَ فِى بُطُونِهِمْ إِلَّا ٱلنَّارَ وَلَا يُكَلِّمُهُمُ ٱللَّهُ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ وَلَا يُزَكِّيهِمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ

“Indeed, they who conceal what Allāh has sent down of the Book and exchange it for a small price - those consume not into their bellies except the Fire. And Allāh will not speak to them on the Day of Resurrection, nor will He purify them. And they will have a painful punishment.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Whoever hides Allah's word for a small price is eating fire, and on the Day meets the silence of the One he most needs.

A reflection

Eating fire, straight after a lesson on eating

A planning official waves through a development he knows is unsafe. A year later the developer invites him to dinner at the new hotel's restaurant. The food is excellent. Every course has been paid for by a decision.

Read this ayah in its place. For six ayat the surah has been talking about food. Eat what is lawful and good (2:168). Eat the good things and give thanks (2:172). Here is what is forbidden, and here is mercy for the hungry (2:173). Then, with no change of image, comes this: those who hide Allah's word for a small price 'eat nothing into their bellies but fire'.

The commentators read it in two ways, both sharp. Most say the bribes and fees they ate will lead them to the Fire, so it is as if they ate fire now. Another view says they will literally be fed fire on the Day. One later commentator notes that the present tense allows both.

A linguist adds an old Arab idiom. A man who accepted blood-money instead of avenging a kinsman was said to have 'eaten blood'. What you eat carries the history of how you got it.

Another commentator finds a further sting in the word 'bellies'. It underlines their greed. They sold their Hereafter for a share of food of no real worth.

That makes this ayah the dark twin of 2:172. The believer's plate carries gratitude. The concealer's plate carries the truth he sold. The same meal can be a blessing or a burn, depending on the price paid for it.

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.