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Quran 2:26

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Quran 2:26
Verse's Information
Suraal-Baqara (Qur'an 2)
Verse26
Juz'1
Content Information
Cause of
Revelation		God's response through the parable of a gnat to those who doubted or mocked the Qur'an's revelation due to previous parables.
Place of
Revelation		Medina
TopicBelief and Ethics
AboutHypocrites or Polytheists
Related VersesQur'an 2:17, Qur'an 2:19


Qur'an 2:26 constitutes God's response to those who directed sarcastic remarks at Prophet Muhammad (s) regarding the parables found in the Qur'an. According to 'Allama Tabataba'i, this verse addresses misguidance (ḍalāla) that follows the commission of a sin, which is distinct from the misguidance that precedes sin.

Shi'a commentators propose two possibilities regarding the occasion of revelation for this verse. The first posits that it is a response to the hypocrites who cast doubt on the Qur'an's revelation due to the parables employed in preceding verses (Qur'an 2:17 and Qur'an 2:19). The second suggests it addresses polytheists who mocked the Qur'an for its use of parables involving creatures such as the fly and the spider. Al-Shaykh al-Tusi and Abu l-Futuh al-Razi favor the first interpretation as more appropriate.

The rationale for utilizing a gnat as a parable includes demonstrating the intricacy of creation and the grandeur of the Lord to believers, while simultaneously highlighting the inability of the arrogant to create even such a diminutive creature. Shi'a exegetes differentiate between divine "misguidance" (iḍlāl) and the misguidance attributed to Satan, interpreting divine misguidance as a trial or the withdrawal of divine grace from the disbelievers.

Position

According to a narration from Imam al-Baqir (a), Qur'an 2:26 serves as God's response to those who sarcastically questioned the Prophet (s) about previous parables involving flies and spiders. God replied that He does not shy away from using a gnat or something even smaller as a parable for His believing servants.[1] Muhammad Jawad Mughniyya notes that God intended to facilitate understanding through these metaphors.[2]

In another narration from Imam al-Sadiq (a), this verse refutes those who assert that God misguides people and subsequently punishes them for it.[3] 'Allama Tabataba'i explains that misguidance can occur as a punishment for the sinner, a concept termed "punitive misguidance" (al-iḍlāl al-jazāʾī).[4]

Text and Translation

Occasion of Revelation

Shi'a exegetes cite two possibilities for the revelation of Qur'an 2:26:

  • The Hypocrites: Narrated from Abd Allah b. 'Abbas and Abd Allah b. Mas'ud, this view holds that the verse responds to hypocrites who expressed doubt about the Qur'an following verses 17 and 19 of Sura al-Baqara, claiming that God is too exalted to employ such mundane parables.[5]
  • The Polytheists: Narrated from Qatada and al-Hasan al-Basri, this perspective suggests the verse responds to polytheists who mocked the Qur'an for mentioning flies and spiders.[6]

Al-Shaykh al-Tusi and Abu l-Futuh al-Razi consider the first possibility to be more plausible.

Why a Gnat?

Exegetical works, citing hadiths, state that the gnat parable serves to illustrate the delicacy of creation. Imam al-Sadiq (a) observed that although the gnat is physically diminutive, its complex anatomical structure mirrors that of an elephant, with the addition of wings and antennae. This comparison demonstrates God's greatness to believers. Similarly, Imam 'Ali (a) in Nahj al-balagha highlights humanity's inability to create such a creature.[7]

Meaning of "What is Above It"

Shi'a exegetes offer two interpretations for the phrase "what is above it" (Arabic: مَا فَوْقَهَا): 1. Something even smaller than a gnat.[8] 2. Something larger in size, such as a fly.[9] While both are considered possible interpretations, Nasir Makarim Shirazi expresses a preference for the first view.[10]

Divine Misguidance vs. Satanic Misguidance

Some commentators interpret the phrase "He misleads many thereby and guides many thereby" as a quotation from the disbelievers questioning God's intent. In this reading, the subsequent phrase "and He misleads not thereby except the defiantly disobedient" constitutes God's rebuttal.[11]

Others view the entire passage as a direct statement from God. within this context, divine "misguidance" is distinct from Satan's (which involves inviting to evil) and instead refers to:

  • Trials and tests.[12]
  • Abandoning disbelievers to their own devices by withdrawing divine grace.[13]
  • Designating someone as a disbeliever as a consequence of their own actions, rather than compelling them to be one.[14]

Makarim Shirazi and Sayyid Muhammad Husayn Fadlullah emphasize that neither guidance nor misguidance is based on compulsion (jabr).[15]

Who are the "Fasiqun"?

Shi'a exegetes define the "Fasiqun" (the defiantly disobedient) as those who have deviated from the path of servitude.[16] Sayyid 'Abd Allah Shubbar characterizes them as those who have exited the fold of God's religion.[17] In the Tafsir attributed to Imam al-Hasan al-Askari (a), Imam al-Baqir (a) is quoted defining them as individuals who commit crimes against their own souls and abandon God's commands.[18]

Notes

  1. ↑ al-Tafsīr al-mansūb ilā al-Imām al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī (a), pp. 204-205.
  2. ↑ Mughniyya, al-Tafsīr al-mubīn, 1425 AH, p. 7.
  3. ↑ al-Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, 1404 AH, vol. 1, p. 34; al-Ḥuwayzī, Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalayn, 1415 AH, vol. 1, pp. 44-45.
  4. ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 1, p. 91; vol. 12, pp. 214 & 244.
  5. ↑ al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 1, pp. 110-111; Abū al-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Rawḍ al-jinān, 1366-1378 Sh, vol. 1, p. 175; al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1408 AH, vol. 1, p. 165; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūnih, 1371-1374 Sh, vol. 1, p. 145.
  6. ↑ al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 1, p. 111; al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, 1408 AH, vol. 1, p. 165; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūnih, vol. 1, pp. 145-146; Shubbar, al-Jawhar al-thamīn, 1407 AH, vol. 1, p. 82.
  7. ↑ al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 1, pp. 165-166; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūnih, vol. 1, p. 150.
  8. ↑ Ṣādiqī Tihrānī, al-Furqān, 1406-1410 AH, vol. 1, p. 254.
  9. ↑ al-Tafsīr al-mansūb ilā al-Imām al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī (a), p. 205; Fayḍ Kāshānī, Tafsīr al-ṣāfī, 1416 AH, vol. 1, p. 104.
  10. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūnih, vol. 1, p. 147.
  11. ↑ al-Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 1, p. 35; al-Baḥrānī, al-Burhān, 1415 AH, vol. 1, p. 158.
  12. ↑ al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 1, p. 116.
  13. ↑ al-Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 1, pp. 166-167; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūnih, vol. 1, pp. 151-152.
  14. ↑ al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 1, p. 116.
  15. ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūnih, vol. 1, pp. 151-152; Faḍl Allāh, Min waḥy al-Qurʾān, 1419 AH, vol. 1, pp. 198-199.
  16. ↑ al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, al-Tibyān, vol. 1, pp. 116-117; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūnih, vol. 1, p. 152.
  17. ↑ Shubbar, al-Jawhar al-thamīn, 1407 AH, vol. 1, p. 83.
  18. ↑ al-Tafsīr al-mansūb ilā al-Imām al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī (a), p. 206.

References

  • The Holy Quran, Translated by Muhammad Mahdi Fooladvand.
  • Abū al-Futūḥ al-Rāzī, Ḥusayn b. ʿAlī. Rawḍ al-jinān. Mashhad: Astan Quds Razavi, 1366-1378 Sh.
  • al-Baḥrānī, Hāshim b. Sulaymān. al-Burhān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Muʾassasat al-Biʿtha, 1415 AH.
  • al-Tafsīr al-mansūb ilā al-Imām al-Ḥasan al-ʿAskarī (a). Edited by Muhammad Baqir Muwahhid Abtahi. Qom: Madrasat al-Imam al-Mahdi (a), 1409 AH.
  • al-Ḥuwayzī, ʿAbd ʿAlī b. Jumʿa. Tafsīr nūr al-thaqalayn. Edited by Hashim Rasuli. Qom: Isma'iliyan, 1415 AH.
  • al-Qummī, ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm. Tafsīr al-Qummī. Edited by Tayyib Jaza'iri. Qom: Dar al-Kitab, 1404 AH.
  • al-Shaykh al-Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, 1408 AH.
  • al-Shaykh al-Ṭūsī, Muḥammad b. al-Ḥasan. al-Tibyān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, n.d.
  • Faḍl Allāh, Muḥammad Ḥusayn. Min waḥy al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Malāk, 1419 AH.
  • Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir. Tafsīr-i nimūnih. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1371-1374 Sh.
  • Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād. al-Tafsīr al-mubīn. Qom: Dar al-Kitab al-Islami, 1425 AH.
  • Shubbar, ʿAbd Allāh. al-Jawhar al-thamīn fī tafsīr al-kitāb al-mubīn. Kuwait: Maktabat al-Alfayn, 1407 AH.
  • Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn. al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Muʾassasat al-Aʿlamī lil-Maṭbūʿāt, 1350-1353 AH.
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