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Draft:Verse 143 of Sura al-Baqara

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Verse 143 of Sura al-Baqara
Verse's Information
Suraal-Baqara (Qur'an 2)
Verse143
Juz'2
Content Information
Place of
Revelation		Medina
TopicMiddle Nation


Qur'an 2:143 designates Muslims as the Middle Nation (al-umma al-wusṭā). According to various exegetes, this term denotes a moderate society that eschews extremes, balancing worldly engagement with spiritual asceticism.[1] The verse establishes Muslims as witnesses over humanity, while the Prophet (s) serves as a witness over the Muslims. Exegetes interpret this role of "witnessing" as functioning as a paragon and an exemplar.[2] In interpreting this concept, scholars posit that adherence to Islamic tenets renders the Muslim community an exemplary nation, mirroring the Prophet (s) as the exemplary individual within their midst.[3] Furthermore, Qur'an 2:143 explicitly articulates that the Change of Qibla served as a divine test designed to distinguish the Prophet's (s) true followers; specifically, it exposed those lacking sincere faith, who resorted to questioning and argumentation upon the alteration of the divine command.[4]

Certain exegetes define the "Middle Nation" as a community characterized by moderation and balance, avoiding excess in both attachment to and renunciation of the world.[5] Additionally, this moderation entails the rejection of theological extremes such as exaggeration, shirk, determinism (jabr), and delegation (tafwīḍ).[6] Another interpretation posits that the "Middle Nation" represents a path distinct from the materialism attributed to certain Jewish factions and the monasticism associated with Christian ascetics.[7] Conversely, 'Allama Tabataba'i interprets the term as signifying an intermediary role between the people and the Prophet (s).[8] While specific narrations identify the Ahl al-Bayt (a) as the "Middle Nation,"[9] scholars clarify that these instances do not restrict the verse's broader application.[10]

Regarding the phrase "that you may be witnesses to the people," commentators suggest that Muslims, through their conduct, demonstrate the compatibility of religious devotion and worldly life, harmonizing the spiritual with the social. By bridging religion and science, as well as this world and the Afterlife, they serve as a model for other societies through their inherent moderation.[11] Indeed, it is this balance that establishes Muslims as exemplars.[12] 'Allama Tabataba'i offers a metaphysical interpretation, asserting that "witnessing" refers to perceiving the reality of human actions—whether they lead to felicity or wretchedness—in this world, followed by bearing testimony to these deeds on the Day of Resurrection.[13] Others maintain that the primary purpose of this witnessing is to testify regarding deeds on the Day of Judgment.[14]

Exegetes have also addressed the theological implications of the phrase "li-naʿlama" (that We may know) in the context of the Change of Qibla. They clarify that this expression does not imply that God acquires new knowledge after a state of ignorance; rather, it refers to the external actualization and manifestation of existing realities.[15] In this context, "knowledge" is understood as "making evident" or "distinguishing."[16] Theologically, God possesses eternal knowledge of all entities and events prior to their occurrence; thus, the temporal unfolding of events adds nothing to His divine omniscience.[17]

Notes

  1. ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 1, p. 224; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 1, p. 487.
  2. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 1, p. 483; Qurashī Banābī, Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth, 1375 Sh, vol. 1, p. 267; Jaʿfarī, Tarjuma wa tafsīr-i Nahj al-balāgha, vol. 18, p. 208.
  3. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 1, p. 484; Qurashī Banābī, Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth, 1375 Sh, vol. 1, p. 267.
  4. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 1, p. 484.
  5. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 1, p. 487; Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Rawḍ al-jinān, 1408 AH, vol. 2, p. 197; Kūshā, "Ummat-i wasṭ", 1396 Sh, p. 312.
  6. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 1, p. 487.
  7. ↑ Qurashī Banābī, Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth, 1375 Sh, vol. 1, p. 267.
  8. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1390 AH, vol. 1, p. 323.
  9. ↑ Al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 1, p. 415; Qurashī Banābī, Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth, 1375 Sh, vol. 1, p. 267.
  10. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 1, p. 488.
  11. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 1, p. 484.
  12. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 1, p. 488.
  13. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Al-Mīzān, 1390 AH, vol. 1, p. 321.
  14. ↑ Subḥānī, Manshūr-i jāwīd, vol. 5, p. 483.
  15. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 1, p. 489; Qurashī Banābī, Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth, 1375 Sh, vol. 1, p. 268.
  16. ↑ Qurashī Banābī, Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth, 1375 Sh, vol. 1, p. 268.
  17. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 1, p. 489; Qurashī Banābī, Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth, 1375 Sh, vol. 1, p. 268.

References

  • Abū l-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī. Rawḍ al-jinān wa rūḥ al-janān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Mashhad: Āstān-i Quds-i Raḍawī, 1408 AH.
  • Jaʿfarī, Muḥammad Taqī. Tarjuma wa tafsīr-i Nahj al-balāgha. Tehran: Daftar-i Nashr-i Farhang-i Islāmī, [n.d].
  • Kūshā, Muḥammad ʿAlī. "Ummat-i wasṭ". In Dānishnāma-yi muʿāṣir-i Qurʾān-i karīm. Edited by Sayyid Salmān Ṣafavī. Qom: Salmān-i Āzādī, 1396 Sh.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūna. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1371 Sh.
  • Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād. Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif. Qom: Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī, 1424 AH.
  • Qurashī Banābī, ʿAlī Akbar. Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth. Tehran: Bunyād-i Biʿthat, 1375 Sh.
  • Subḥānī, Jaʿfar. Manshūr-i jāwīd. Qom: Muʾassisa-yi Imām Ṣādiq (a), [n.d].
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī li-l-Maṭbūʿāt, 1390 AH.
  • Al-Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Tehran: Nāṣir Khusraw, 1372 Sh.
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