Attributes of the Believers

[bamalli]

Tafsir ibn kathir
surah al baqarah
Attributes of the Believers

The people described here (2:4) are those whom Allah described in the
preceding Ayah,

(Those who have faith in the Ghayb and perform Salah, and spend out of what
we have provided for them.)

Mujahid once stated, "Four Ayat at the beginning of Surat Al-Baqarah
describe the believers, two describe the disbelievers, and thirteen describe
the hypocrites.' ' The four Ayat mentioned in this statement are general and
include every believer, whether an Arab, non-Arab, or a person of a previous
Scripture, whether they are Jinns or humans. All of these attributes
complement each other and require the existence of the other attributes. For
instance, it is not possible that one believes in the Unseen, performs the
prayer and gives Zakah without believing in what the Messenger of Allah and
the previous Messengers were sent with. The same with certainty in the
Hereafter, this is not correct without that, for Allah has commanded the
believers,

(O you who believe! Believe in Allah, and His Messenger, and the Book (the
Qur'an) which He has revealed to the Messenger, and the Book which He sent
own to those before (him)) (4:136),

(And argue not with the People of the Book, unless it be in (a way) that is
better, except with such of them as do wrong; and say (to them): "We believe
in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to you; our Ilah (God)
and your Ilah (God) is One (i.e. Allah)') (29:46),

(O you who have been given the Book (Jews and Christians)! Believe in what
We have revealed (to Muhammad ) confirming what is (already) with you)
(4:47), and,

(Say (O Muhammad ): "O People of the Book (Jews and Christians)! You have
nothing until you act according to the Tawrah (Torah), the Injil (Gospel),
and what has (now) been revealed to you from your Lord (the Qur'an).'')
(5:68).

Also, Allah the Exalted described the believers;

(The Messenger (Muhammad ) believes in what has been revealed to him from
his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels,
His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) "We make no distinction between
any of His Messengers'' ) (2: 285), and,

(And those who believe in Allah and His Messengers and make no distinction
between any of them (Messengers) ) (4:152),

This is a sample of the Ayat that indicate that the true believers all
believe in Allah, His Messengers and His Books.

The faithful among the People of the Book, have a special significance here,
since they believe in their Books and in all of the details related to that,
so when such people embrace Islam and sincerely believe in the details of
the religion, then they will get two rewards. As for the others, they can
only believe in the previous religious teachings in a general way. For
instance, the Prophet stated,

(When the People of the Book narrate to you, neither reject nor affirm what
they say. Rather, say, 'We believe in what was revealed to us and what was
revealed to you.')

However, the faith that many Arabs have in the religion of Islam as it was
revealed to Muhammad might be more complete, encompassing and firmer than
the faith of the People of the Book who embraced Islam. Therefore, if the
believers in Islam among the People of the Book gain two rewards, other
Muslims who have firmer Islamic faith might gain an equal reward that
compares to the two the People of the Book gain (upon embracing Islam). And
Allah knows best.

(5. They are on guidance from their Lord, and they are the successful.)

--
Shaqeeq Ibn Ibaraheem said:

"The doors of success have been closed upon the creation because of six
things:

Their busying themselves with the blessings of Allaah instead of thanking
Allaah for them, their desire for knowledge while they abandon actions, the
hastiness to sin and delaying repentance, the deception of having righteous
companions and not taking them as examples, the turning away of the dunya
from them while they chase it, and the approach of the afterlife towards
them while they turn away from it."