قQuranulKareem

Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah 13 (2:13)

ٱلْبَقَرَة

وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ ءَامِنُوا۟ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓا۟ أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ …

Quran 2:13 is ayah 13 of Surah Al-Baqarah (“The Cow”), a Medinan surah of 286 ayahs. It is in Juz 1, on page 3 of the Madani Mushaf.

2:13
وَإِذَاقِيلَلَهُمْءَامِنُوا۟كَمَآءَامَنَٱلنَّاسُقَالُوٓا۟أَنُؤْمِنُكَمَآءَامَنَٱلسُّفَهَآءُ ۗأَلَآإِنَّهُمْهُمُٱلسُّفَهَآءُوَلَٰكِنلَّايَعْلَمُونَ١٣
wa-idhā qīla lahum āminū kamā āmana l-nāsu qālū anu'minu kamā āmana l-sufahāu alā innahum humu l-sufahāu walākin lā yaʿlamūna

And when it is said to them, "Believe as the people have believed," they say, "Should we believe as the foolish have believed?" Unquestionably, it is they who are the foolish, but they know [it] not.(13)

Word by word

  1. وَإِذَاwa-idhāAnd when
  2. قِيلَqīlait is said
  3. لَهُمْlahumto them
  4. ءَامِنُوا۟āminūBelieve
  5. كَمَآkamāas
  6. ءَامَنَāmanabelieved
  7. ٱلنَّاسُl-nāsuthe people
  8. قَالُوٓا۟qālūthey say
  9. أَنُؤْمِنُanu'minuShould we believe
  10. كَمَآkamāas
  11. ءَامَنَāmanabelieved
  12. ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ ۗl-sufahāuthe fools
  13. أَلَآalāBeware
  14. إِنَّهُمْinnahumcertainly they
  15. هُمُhumuthemselves
  16. ٱلسُّفَهَآءُl-sufahāu(are) the fools
  17. وَلَٰكِنwalākin[and] but
  18. لَّاlānot
  19. يَعْلَمُونَyaʿlamūnathey know

Tafsir (commentary) of 2:13

Available in English, Bengali, Urdu, Arabic, Russian.

English · EnglishTafsir Ibn Kathir (Abridged) — Hafiz Ibn Kathir

Allah said that if the hypocrites are told,

ءَامِنُواْ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ النَّاسُ

("Believe as the people believe,"), meaning, `Believe just as the believers believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, Resurrection after death, Paradise and Hellfire, etc. And obey Allah and His Messenger by heeding the commandments and avoiding the prohibitions.' Yet the hypocrites answer by saying,

قَالُواْ أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَآ آمَنَ السُّفَهَآءُ

("Shall we believe as the fools have believed") they meant (may Allah curse the hypocrites) the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. This is the same Tafsir given by Abu Al-`Aliyah and As-Suddi in his Tafsir, with a chain of narration to Ibn `Abbas, Ibn Mas`ud and other Companions. This is also the Tafsir of Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam. The hypocrites said, "Us and them having the same status, following the same path, while they are fools!" `The fool' is the ignorant, simple-minded person who has little knowledge in areas of benefit and harm. This is why, according to the majority of the scholars, Allah used the term foolish to include children, when He said,

وَلاَ تُؤْتُواْ السُّفَهَآءَ أَمْوَلَكُمُ الَّتِى جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لَكُمْ قِيَـماً

(And do not give your property, which Allah has made a means of support for you, to the foolish) (4:5).

Allah answered the hypocrites in all of these instances. For instance, Allah said here,

أَلاَ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ السُّفَهَآءُ

(Verily, they are the fools). Allah thus affirmed that the hypocrites are indeed the fools, yet,

وَلَـكِن لاَّ يَعْلَمُونَ

(But they know not). Since they are so thoroughly ignorant, the hypocrites are unaware of their degree of deviation and ignorance, and such situation is more dangerous, a severer case of blindness, and further from the truth than one who is aware.

Read the full Surah Al-Baqarah