So far, the sentiment of what is being said in our surah is pretty depressing: constant condemnation, confrontation, disputes, and threats. Where is that warm feeling one might expect from a spiritual message?
.
I am going through the next verses, from 2:97 onward, looking for a break in the torrent of threats, complaints, and arguments – nothing. Still, I am going to have to break it into manageable sections. This chapter will cover 2:97 to 2:105, because 2:106 is a special one.
.
.
.
The Enemies of the Angel Gabriel
2:97 “Say: Whoever is the enemy of Jibreel – for surely he revealed it to your heart by Allah’s command, verifying that which is before it and guidance and good news for the believers.”
.
Jibreel is the Islamic name for the archangel Gabriel, who has been revealing piecemeal the word of Allah to Muhammad, but not all of it. Muhammad received revelations by other means as well. But what about the enemy of Gabriel? Our verse does not elaborate.
.
2:97 is another example of an obscure, unfinished sentence in the Quran. Look at the “Hilali-Khan” translation, and see how much extra text had to be added so that it would make grammatical and logical sense:
.
“Say (O Muhammad Peace be upon him): “Whoever is an enemy to Jibrael (Gabriel) (let him die in his fury), for indeed he has brought it (this Quran) down to your heart by Allah’s Permission, confirming what came before it [i.e. the Taurat (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] and guidance and glad tidings for the believers.”
.
I think Khan is telling us that whoever is the enemy of Jibreel – let him die in Jibreel’s fury.
.
2:98 “Whoever is the enemy of Allah and His angels and His messengers and Jibreel and Meekaeel, so surely Allah is the enemy of the unbelievers.”
.
Meekaeel is the Islamic name for the archangel Michael. I think these two verses mean that the Unbelievers are the enemies of Allah, Muhammad, Michael and Gabriel. No big news here.
.
Sira:375 provides the context for these verses. It relates an absurd story about some “rabbis” asking Muhammad to answer four questions “saying that if he did so they would follow him … He got them to swear a solemn oath that if he gave them the right answers they would acknowledge his truth …”
.
The questions are about who the newborn boy should resemble (father or mother), about how Muhammad sleeps, about the Israelites loving best the flesh and milk of the camel (?), and about the Spirit (Gabriel). Muhammad’s answers to these questions are as absurd, and the “rabbis” confirm that they are true.
.
Ibn Ishaq goes on to tell us that the last answer is a problem for them: They claim that Gabriel is their enemy, since he always comes with fire, violence and bloodshed, so they could not acknowledge Muhammad’s truth. This is when Allah sent down verse 2:97, according to Ibn Ishaq.
.
What was the source that the authors of the Quran used for this passage? In Jewish legends, Gabriel is one of the four Archangels, the other three being Michael, Raphael and Uriel. He represents judgement, so he is fire-clad.
.
He delivered God’s punishment by fire on Sodom and Gomorrah, and smote Sennacherib’s army, among other things. He also delivered Abraham from the fire. All this was, once more, misinterpreted by the authors of Quran, or by ignorant Jews who advised them.
.
It was elevated in status from folk legend to divine scripture, to turn Gabriel into the enemy of the Jews. Needless to say, Jewish tradition does not consider the archangel Gabriel an enemy.
.
.
.
Some More Repetition and Obscurity
2:99-101 repeat previously mentioned themes: Even when clear signs are sent down, the transgressors reject them. Some of the people of the Book (Jews and Christians) reject Allah’s books and covenants.
.
There are many biblical references to the Jews who break the covenant with God. For example, God informs Moses before he dies that the people will break his covenant after they settle in the Promised Land, and some of the prophets mention present and past breaking of the covenant, and so on.
.
The “you-broke-my-covenant” theme is used in the Quran to condemn the Jews to eternal Hell fire, as Allah does not tolerate covenant breakers. Jewish scriptures, however, show God as more flexible. In Isaiah 59:21 God is quoted as saying:
“And as for Me, this is My covenant with them, saith the LORD. My spirit that is upon thee, and My words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed’s seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever.”
.
That gives us Jewish transgressors some hope…
.
Verse 102 is almost as long as it is incoherent:
.
“And they followed what the Shaitans chanted of sorcery in the reign of Suleiman, and Suleiman was not an unbeliever, but the Shaitans disbelieved, they taught men sorcery and that was sent down to the two angels at Babel, Harut and Marut. These two taught no man until they had said, “Surely we are only a temptation, therefore do not be a disbeliever.” Even then men learned from these two, what might cause a separation between a man and his wife. Indeed they cannot hurt with it any one except with Allah’s permission, and they learned what harmed them and did not profit them, and certainly they know that he who bought it should have no share in the world to come. Indeed, evil was the price for which they sold their souls, if they only knew.”
.
Let me see if I can make any sense of it. The people from verse 101, who rejected Allah’s books and covenants and threw them behind their backs, followed what the Satans were chanting (reciting, plotting) over King Solomon’s kingdom.
.
King Solomon was not an Unbeliever, but the Satans were. They taught the men sorcery, and they somehow got hold of what Allah sent down to two Babylonian angels, Harut and Marut: a magic spell to separate between a man and his wife.
.
It is unclear from the text whether it is the pair of angels or the Satans who warn the people that they are a temptation and not to disbelieve. The magic spells did harm, not good, and will not work without Allah’s permission, which will be given at his pleasure.
.
These spells were on sale, but those who bought them knew very well that by purchasing the spell they forfeited their share in the world to come. What the buyers didn’t know was that the price they paid was evil.
.
This is not clearer than the original text. Why is King Solomon mentioned here? Who is selling the spell, Harut and Marut, or the Satans? If the people knew that buying the spell will deprive them from a share in the world to come, why didn’t they know that it was evil to buy it?
.
Why do you need a spell to separate man from his wife? And who are Harut and Marut? Margoliouth tells us that Marut is Ethiopic (not Babylonian) for “Witch”, and that Harut is vaguely related to the Syriac word for “Strife”. I give up.
.
Let’s move on to 2:103, which appears to be the moral of the story:
“Had they believed, and had they been god-fearing, the reward from Allah would have been better, if they only knew”
.
See? All you have to do is believe. Forget understanding, just believe. 2:102 sounds like a candidate for the Salomon Reinach award for mediocre literature that millions are wasting time absorbing. But then again, it is possible that I didn’t get it.
.
.
.
Delivery Overshadowing Contents
Before I go on to the next verse, and while we are on the subject of incoherent text recited and admired by millions: When Quranic text is being recited by a trained reader, who would be actually singing, or chanting it, it sounds beautiful and enchanting.
.
Some websites let you listen to the Quran being recited. Try it. This seems to be what inspired quite a few conversions to Islam by westerners.
.
This style of recitation is not unfamiliar to me, being of Middle Eastern origin. The maqams (melodic formulas) of Quran recitations are similar to the maqams of the prayers and Bible recitation of Middle Eastern Jews.
.
The problem is that pretty melody shifts the listener’s attention away from the contents. Verses like 2:102 may sound great when recited, but the message may be incoherent, obscure, unpleasant, or malicious.
.
You wouldn’t know it, unless you know the Arabic of the Quran, or have access to a translation.
.
Listening to Quranic passages chanted at the mosque is as far as many Muslims go. And in non Arabic-speaking Islamic countries, chances are that some if not most of listeners would not understand what is being recited.
.
.
.
The Believers Must Use Appropriate Vocabulary
2:104 is another obscure verse. As I said before, you can tell a problem verse by the variety in translation, and by the amount of explanation clauses put in parenthesis (and sometimes even not in parenthesis). Here are a few different translations for this verse:
Shakir: “O you who believe! do not say Ra’ina and say Unzurna and listen, and for the unbelievers there is a painful chastisement.”
.
Yusuf Ali: “O ye of Faith! Say not (to the Messenger) words of ambiguous import, but words of respect; and hearken (to him): To those without Faith is a grievous punishment.”
.
Pickthal: “O ye who believe, say not (unto the Prophet): “Listen to us” but say “Look upon us,” and be ye listeners. For disbelievers is a painful doom.”
.
Arberry: “O believers, do not say, ‘Observe us,’ but say, ‘Regard us’; and give ear; for unbelievers awaits a painful chastisement.”
.
Khalifa “O you who believe, do not say, “Raa’ena” (be our shepherd). Instead, you should say, “Unzurna” (watch over us), and listen. The disbelievers have incurred a painful retribution.”
.
Palmer: “O ye who believe! say not ‘ra’hina,’ but say ‘unthurna,’ and hearken; for unto misbelievers shall be grievous woe.”
.
As we can see from the first rendition, the problem is with the two words “Ra’ina” and “Unthurna”. Allah instructs the Believers not to confuse his favourite Messenger with ambiguous vocabulary. Let me see if I can untangle this.
.
Arberry attaches to Ra’ina the import of observe, look over, look after. It is probably derived from the root that means to look after the flock, as a shepherd does, and Khalifa got it right, in my opinion. I don’t know why Pickthal translates it as “Listen to us”. The observing and looking after also agrees with the Hebrew translation.
.
Rivlin, in his Hebrew translation, explains that Muhammad didn’t want the Believers to use the verb which contained “R’a” in it, as this word means “bad” in Hebrew. It is claimed that the Jews used this word, and Muhammad feared that they were mocking him, yet again.
.
But this is just another case of misinterpretation on the part of the authors of the Quran, whose knowledge of Hebrew was lacking: even though “bad” and “shepherd” share the same consonants of R and A, these two words come from two entirely different roots, with entirely different meanings.
.
Unthurna is derived from a root that generally means to guard, look over, monitor, which is Allah’s preferred alternative, according to our verse.
.
And if you heed not, then painful chastisement awaits you, the Unbeliever. I expected nothing less.
.
2:105 “Those who disbelieve from among the followers of the Book do not like, nor do the polytheists, that the good should be sent down to you from your Lord, and Allah singles out especially whom He pleases for His mercy, and Allah is the Lord of mighty grace.”
.
This is pretty straightforward. Your opponents don’t like it that Allah sends down to you good things (presumably Quranic verses and revelations).
.
Since Allah is referred to here in the third person, I am assuming that Gabriel is the speaker in this verse. Allah has his favourites (like Muhammad), on whom he bestows mercy and grace. We have heard all that before.
