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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Al-mizan an Exegesis of the Qur'an (volume One) Chapter 3 : Suratul Baqarah: the Chapter of the Cow 2:1-5 Chapter Two : al Baqarah (The Cow)286 verses – Medina In the name of Allâh, the Beneficent, the Merciful. Alif Lâm mîm (1) .

This Book, there is no doubt in it, (is) a guidance to those who guard (against evil) (2), Those who believe in the unseen and keep up the prayer and spend (benevolently) out of what We have given them (3), And who believe in that which has been sent down to thee and that which was sent down before thee and they are sure of the hereafter (4). These are on a guidance from their Lord and these it is that shall be the successful ones (5).

GENERAL COMMENT This chapter was revealed piecemeal; therefore, it does not have a single theme. However a major part of it shows a general objective: It emphasizes that a man cannot be a true servant of Allâh unless he believes in all that was revealed to the apostles of Allâh without making any difference between revelation and revelation, or between apostle and apostle; accordingly, it admon­ishes and condemns the disbelievers, the hypocrites and the people of the book because they differed about the religion of Allâh and differentiated between His apostles; thereafter it ordains various important laws, like change of the direction to which the Muslims were to turn for their prayers, regulations of hajj, inheritance and fasting and so on.

COMMENTARY QUR’?N: Alif lâm mîm: God willing, we shall describe in the 42nd chapter some things related to the "letter-symbols" that come at the beginning of some chapters. Also, the meaning of the guidance of the Qur’ân and of its being a book will be ex­plained later on. QUR’?N: This Book, there is no doubt in it, (is) a guidance to those who guard (against evil), those who believe in the unseen: Those who guard against evil, or in other words, the pious ones, are the very people who believe.

Piety, or guarding oneself against evil, is not a special virtue of any particular group of the believers. It is not like doing good, being humble before God or purity of intention, which are counted as various grades of the faith. Piety, on the other hand, is a comprehensive virtue that runs through all the ranks of the true faith. It is for this reason that Allâh has not reserved this adjective for any particular group of the believers.