Verse. 121

٢ - ٱلْبَقَرَة

2 - Al-Baqara

وَمَنْ اَظْلَمُ مِمَّنْ مَّنَعَ مَسٰجِدَ اللہِ اَنْ يُّذْكَرَ فِيْہَا اسْمُہٗ وَسَعٰى فِيْ خَرَابِہَا۝۰ۭ اُولٰۗىِٕكَ مَا كَانَ لَھُمْ اَنْ يَّدْخُلُوْھَاۗ اِلَّا خَاۗىِٕفِيْنَ۝۰ۥۭ لَھُمْ فِي الدُّنْيَا خِزْيٌ وَّلَھُمْ فِي الْاٰخِرَۃِ عَذَابٌ عَظِيْمٌ۝۱۱۴
Waman athlamu mimman manaAAa masajida Allahi an yuthkara feeha ismuhu wasaAAa fee kharabiha olaika ma kana lahum an yadkhulooha illa khaifeena lahum fee alddunya khizyun walahum fee alakhirati AAathabun AAatheemun

English

Ahmed Ali

And who is more unjust than he who prohibits the name of God being used in His mosques, who hurries to despoil them even though he has no right to enter them except in reverence? For them is ignominy in the world and severe punishment in the life to come.

114

Tafseer

'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī

تفسير : then he mentioned tatus ibn asipanos al-rumi, king of the christians who destroyed jerusalem, saying: (and who doth greater wrong) in his disbelief (than he who forbideth the approach to the sanctuaries of allah) jerusalem (lest his name should be mentioned therein) by declaring allah's oneness and calling to prayer, (and striveth for their ruin?) in the ruin of jerusalem by throwing carrions in it. and this lasted until the reign of 'umar. (as for such) for the romans, (it was never meant that they should enter them) jerusalem (except in fear) hiding from the believers for fear of being killed, for they would be killed if found. (theirs in the world is ignominy) a chastisement in that their cities, constantinople, amorium ('ammuriyyah) and rome (rumiyyah) would be ruined (and theirs in the hereafter is an awful doom) more severe than the punishment they were subjected to in this world.

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī

تفسير : and who does greater evil — that is, none does more evil — than he who bars god’s places of worship, so that his name be not invoked in them, in prayer and praise, and strives to ruin them?, through destruction and impeding people from them: this was revealed to inform of the byzantines’ destruction of the holy house [sc. jerusalem], or [it was revealed] when the idolaters barred the prophet (s) from entering mecca in the year of the battle of hudaybiyya; such men might never enter them, save in fear (illā khā’ifīna is a predicate, also functioning as a command, that is to say, ‘frighten them by threats of waging war against them, so that not one of them shall enter it feeling secure’); for them in this world is degradation, debasement through being killed, taken captive and forced to pay the jizya; and in the hereafter a mighty chastisement, namely, the fire.

Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi

تفسير : (and who doth greater wrong than he who forbiddeth the approach to the sanctuaries of allah lest his name should be mentioned therein…) [2:114]. this was revealed about titus the roman and his christian army. when the latter invaded the children of israel, they killed their soldiers, enslaved their women and children, burned the torah, sacked jerusalem and then threw carrions in it. this is the opinion of ibn ‘abbas according to the narration of al-kalbi. qatadah and al-suddi said: “this refers to bukhtunassar and his army who conquered the jews and destroyed jerusalem. they were helped in this by the roman christians”. and ibn ‘abbas said, according to the narration of ‘ata’: “this verse was revealed about the idolaters of mecca who prevented the muslims from mentioning allah in the sacred mosque”.