Surah Al-Baqara (2) — Ayah 84

(Ayah 85,84) ➊ Instead of saying, "You will not shed each other's blood and you will not expel each other from their homes," it is said, "You will not shed your own blood and you will not expel yourselves from your homes," because the individuals of the Muslim Ummah are like one body; shedding the blood of any Muslim is like shedding one's own blood. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ مَثَلُ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ فِيْ تَوَادِّهِمْ وَ تَرَاحُمِهِمْ وَ تَعَاطُفِهِمْ مَثَلُ الْجَسَدِ إِذَا اشْتَكَي مِنْهٗ عُضْوٌ تَدَاعٰي لَهٗ سَائِرُ الْجَسَدِ بِالسَّهَرِ وَالْحُمّٰی ] "All believers, in their mutual friendship, mercy for one another, and compassion for each other, are like a single body; when one limb is afflicted, the whole body stays awake for its sake and suffers fever." [ مسلم، البروالصلۃ، باب تراحم المؤمنین … : ۲۶۲۶، عن النعمان بن بشیر رضی اللہ عنھما ۔ بخاری : ۶۰۱۱ ] In « وَ هُوَ مُحَرَّمٌ عَلَيْكُمْ اِخْرَاجُهُمْ » in { ”هُوَ“ } is the pronoun of the matter (ḍamīr al-sha’n), which has been translated as "the reality is."
➋ The summary of both verses is that four covenants were taken from them: (1) Not to shed each other's blood. (2) Not to expel each other from their homes. (3) Not to help against each other. (4) To ransom the captive and free him, but they only acted upon the ransom and opposed the other three, committing them without hesitation. The details are that in Madinah Munawwarah there were three Jewish tribes: Banu Qaynuqa, Banu Nadir, and Banu Qurayzah; these were People of the Book. The Arab tribes of Madinah, Aws and Khazraj, were idol-worshipping polytheists, having nothing to do with any heavenly religion, and they had alliances with these Jewish tribes. Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Nadir were allies of Khazraj, and Banu Qurayzah were allies of Aws. Aws and Khazraj used to fight each other, and the Jewish tribes would support their respective allies in these battles, and besides fighting the opposing polytheist tribe, they would also kill their own Jewish brothers who supported the other side, and would loot their homes as well. Then, when the fighting ended and some Jews were taken captive by the victorious tribe, the Jewish allies of the victorious tribe themselves would pay the ransom and free them, saying that the command of Allah's Book is to ransom your captive brothers. Allah Almighty said that you remembered the command to ransom, but forgot the command not to help against your brothers, not to shed their blood, and not to expel them from their homes; if you had acted upon these, there would have been no need for ransom. In other words, you accept only those commands of Allah's Book that suit your desires, and disregard those that do not. If you truly follow Allah's Book, then accept all four commands.
➌ { اِلَّا خِزْيٌ:} The Jews soon faced disgrace in this worldly life: Banu Nadir and Banu Qaynuqa were exiled, the adult men of Banu Qurayzah were killed, and the women and children became slaves, and the punishment of the Hereafter cannot even be compared to the worldly punishment.
➍ Alas! The condition of most Muslims today has become exactly like that of the People of the Book: they acted upon only a few commands of Islam according to their desires and forgot the rest. For example, Muslims not only abstain from eating pork, but even avoid mentioning its name, while they have no hesitation regarding interest and gambling (such as insurance, etc.); in fact, their businesses are based on these things. They do not urinate facing the Qiblah, but have nothing to do with prayer. Even when they go to Europe and America, they avoid eating non-halal chicken (not slaughtered according to Shariah), but have no hesitation regarding alcohol and illicit relations. They call themselves members of the Muslim Ummah, yet join with disbelievers to kill their own brothers and destroy their homes and cities. The result of this is clearly evident in the form of humiliation in this world; as for the Hereafter, if faith in some parts of the Book (i.e., acting upon it) and disbelief in others (i.e., opposing it) could not save the People of the Book from { ”اَشَدِّ الْعَذَابِ“}, then how will it save the present-day Muslims?

2. In these verses, once again the covenant that was taken from the Children of Israel is being mentioned, but they too turned away from it. In this covenant, firstly, the emphasis is on worshipping only Allah, which has been the fundamental and primary call of every prophet ((جیسا کہ سورة الانبیاء آیت (وَمَآ اَرْسَلْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِكَ مِنْ رَّسُوْلٍ اِلَّا نُوْحِيْٓ اِلَيْهِ اَنَّهٗ لَآ اِلٰهَ اِلَّآ اَنَا فَاعْبُدُوْنِ) 21:25 and other verses make this clear). After this, there is the command to treat parents with kindness. By emphasizing obedience and good conduct towards parents immediately after the worship of Allah, it has been made clear that just as worshipping Allah is extremely necessary, so too is obedience to parents, and there is no room for negligence in this matter. In numerous places in the Quran, Allah the Exalted has clarified the importance of obedience to parents by mentioning it immediately after His own worship. After this, there is the emphasis on good conduct towards relatives, orphans, and the needy, and the command to speak kindly. These matters are also greatly emphasized in Islam, as is clear from the ahadith of the Messenger ﷺ. In this covenant, the establishment of prayer and the giving of zakat are also commanded, from which it is understood that these two acts of worship were also present in previous laws. This clarifies their importance. In Islam as well, these two acts of worship are extremely important, to the extent that denial of or turning away from either of them is considered tantamount to disbelief. This is made clear by the jihad waged against those who withheld zakat during the caliphate of Abu Bakr Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him).

The tafsir of this ayah is included with the following verse(s).