ترجمة معاني آية 177 سورة البقرة - الترجمة الإنجليزية - د. وليد بليهش العمري - موسوعة القرآن الكريم

آية: 177

۞ لَّيۡسَ ٱلۡبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّواْ وُجُوهَكُمۡ قِبَلَ ٱلۡمَشۡرِقِ وَٱلۡمَغۡرِبِ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱلۡبِرَّ مَنۡ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأٓخِرِ وَٱلۡمَلَٰٓئِكَةِ وَٱلۡكِتَٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَءَاتَى ٱلۡمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ ذَوِي ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ وَٱلۡيَتَٰمَىٰ وَٱلۡمَسَٰكِينَ وَٱبۡنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآئِلِينَ وَفِي ٱلرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلۡمُوفُونَ بِعَهۡدِهِمۡ إِذَا عَٰهَدُواْۖ وَٱلصَّٰبِرِينَ فِي ٱلۡبَأۡسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَحِينَ ٱلۡبَأۡسِۗ أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُواْۖ وَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلۡمُتَّقُونَ

(177) It is not sincere piety^[277] that you should turn your faces towards the East and the West, but sincere piety ˹is attained by˺ he who: Believes in Allah, the Last Day^[278], the angels, the Book and the Prophets; gives away money – dear to one’s heart – to kinfolk, orphans, the destitute, the stranded^[279], beggars, and by way of ˹freeing˺ necks^[280]; keeps up the Prayer and gives out the prescribed alms^[281]; those who fulfil the pledges they make, persevere in times of hardship and vicissitude, and during toughness^[282]; these are the ones who are truthful, these are the ones who are truly Mindful.

[277] The comparison here is made between nominal piety which is shallow and superficial as opposed to sincere, heart-earned piety which is deep and life defining. Here, God gives examples of what constitutes sincere piety (birr) in His Eye, prominent among which are acts of the heart; these are a truer translation of the Belief that resides in the heart. Aya 177 also comes as a prelude paving the way to the laws (Divine prescriptions for the Believing community) that are introduced in Ayas 178-209: retribution, distribution of inheritance, fasting, fighting, fair financial dealings and Hajj. All these laws are hard for people whose piety is not genuine but rather feigned. For those who have entered into the sphere of Faith wholly and wholeheartedly (Aya 209), however, this is not so.
[278] That comes after Resurrection.
[279] The Qur’an uses the expression ‘the son of the road’ (ibn al-sabīl), for those who are left without means whilst travelling, being away from home, and those who can extend a helping hand in such times of need.
[280] Manumitting slaves from bondage and/or ransoming those to be executed for unintentional manslaughter by donating blood money.
[281] That is Zakah.
[282] The meaning of al-ba’sā’ is not specified in this aya and can be varyingly translated according to the stand the translator takes. al-Shinqīṭī gives reference to Aya 33:18, and opines here that it means heated or ardent fighting in battle (cf. also al-Ṭabarī, Ibn Kathīr, al-Saʿdī).