The 365 · Verses · Day 275 · Justice
Qur'an 2:177
۞ لَّيْسَ ٱلْبِرَّ أَن تُوَلُّوا۟ وُجُوهَكُمْ قِبَلَ ٱلْمَشْرِقِ وَٱلْمَغْرِبِ وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ وَٱلْكِتَـٰبِ وَٱلنَّبِيِّـۧنَ وَءَاتَى ٱلْمَالَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ ذَوِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَـٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَـٰكِينَ وَٱبْنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَٱلسَّآئِلِينَ وَفِى ٱلرِّقَابِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَٱلْمُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِهِمْ إِذَا عَـٰهَدُوا۟ ۖ وَٱلصَّـٰبِرِينَ فِى ٱلْبَأْسَآءِ وَٱلضَّرَّآءِ وَحِينَ ٱلْبَأْسِ ۗ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ ۖ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ
“Goodness does not consist in turning your face towards East or West. The truly good are those who believe in God and the Last Day, in the angels, the Scripture, and the prophets; who give away some of their wealth, however much they cherish it, to their relatives, to orphans, the needy, travellers and beggars, and to liberate those in bondage; those who keep up the prayer and pay the prescribed alms; who keep pledges whenever they make them; who are steadfast in misfortune, adversity, and times of danger. These are the ones who are true, and it is they who are aware of God. (Quran 2:177)”
Svenska: Det är inte fromhet att vända ert ansikte mot öst eller väst. Fromhet ligger i att tro på Gud och den Yttersta dagen och änglarna och Skriften och profeterna och ge av sina egendomar... och upprätthålla bönen och ge zakat och uppfylla löften... Dessa är de sanna; och dessa är de gudfruktiga. (Koranen 2:177)
A reflection to carry
Allah, in al-Baqarah 2:177, gave the most comprehensive single-verse definition of birr (righteous goodness) in the Quran. Read it slowly. Birr is NOT just facing East or West (the surface religiosity). Birr IS: believing in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, the prophets; giving wealth (despite loving it) to relatives, orphans, the needy, travelers, beggars, and the freeing of slaves; establishing prayer; giving zakat; fulfilling promises; being patient in poverty, illness, and times of war. The verse closes: 'ulāʾika al-ladhīna ṣadaqū wa ulāʾika humu al-muttaqūn.' These are the truthful ones, and these are the muttaqūn. Allah named birr as the integrated portfolio. Not faith alone, not prayer alone, not giving alone. The believer who has ALL of them in operation is the truthful muttaqī. Ya akhī, ya ukhtī, audit yourself against the portfolio. Faith in all six pillars? Check. Giving from what you love? (Day 255). Prayer established? Zakat paid? Promises kept? Three patiences exercised? Many of us have most but miss one or two. Strengthen the missing element. The complete portfolio is what Allah called birr.
Read the longer reflection
Yā Rabb, You gave us in 2:177 the most comprehensive single-verse definition of birr. Not a slogan, but a portfolio: faith in six pillars, giving to five categories, two pillars of obligatory worship, promise-keeping, and three patiences. The truly righteous, in Your naming, has ALL of these in operation simultaneously. Forgive me, ya Allāh, for the years I have measured my piety by one or two dimensions while missing others. The Ramadans I fasted but did not also reconcile broken relationships. The days I prayed but did not give. The seasons I gave but did not keep my word. The Friday Jumuʿah I attended but did not practice patience the rest of the week. Each was an incomplete portfolio. Build the integration. Make me a muttaqī by the full criteria of 2:177. Faith deepened. Giving from what I love to the five categories. Prayer maintained. Zakat paid. Promises kept. Patience in financial difficulty, in physical illness, in social hardship. And ya Rabb, You closed the verse with the most beautiful naming: 'al-ladhīna ṣadaqū... wa ulāʾika humu al-muttaqūn.' These are the truthful; these are the muttaqūn. Allah called them truthful because the integrated portfolio is the actual evidence of īmān. Anyone can claim faith with the tongue; the muttaqī proves it with the integrated portfolio. Make me of those. Āmīn ya Razzāq.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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