Al Baqarah, 2:189
Translation:
Yusuf Ali: They ask thee concerning the New Moons. Say: they are but signs to mark fixed periods of time in (the affairs of) men, and for pilgrimage. It is no virtue if ye enter your houses from the back; it is virtue if ye fear Allah. Enter houses through the proper doors and fear Allah that ye may prosper.
Dr. Mohsin: They ask you (O Muhammad SAW) about the new moons. Say: These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage. It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness) that you enter the houses from the back but Al-Birr (is the quality of the one) who fears Allâh. So enter houses through their proper doors, and fear Allâh that you may be successful.
Arabic:
Audio:
http://transliteration.org/quran/WebSite_CD/MixPure/..\..\WebSite_CD3\Sound2/0021891.mp3
Transliteration:
Yas'alūnaka `Ani Al-'Ahillati Qul Hiya Mawāqītu Lilnnāsi Wa Al-Ĥajji Wa Laysa Al-Birru Bi'an Ta'tū Al-Buyūta Min Žuhūrihā Wa Lakinna Al-Birra Mani Attaqá Wa 'Tū Al-Buyūta Min 'Abwābihā Wa Attaqū Al-Laha La`allakum Tufliĥūna
Tafsir al-Jalalayn:
They will ask you, O Muhammad (s), about the new moons (ahilla, plural of hilāl): ‘Why do they seem very thin, and then wax until they are full of light, and then wane again as at the first, and are not always the same, in the way that the sun is?’ Say, to them: ‘They are appointed times (mawāqīt is the plural of mīqāt) for the people, for them to know the times for sowing the land, for business, for their women’s waiting periods, their fast and their breaking it, and the Pilgrimage’ (wa’l-hajji and the Pilgrimage’, is a supplement to li’l-nāsi, ‘for the people’), that is to say, [appointed times] by which its season is known, for if they [the new moons] always looked the same, none of these things could be known. It is not piety to come to the houses from their backs, in [your] state of pilgrimage inviolability (ihrām), when you would bore holes in them to enter them and then exit, disregarding their doors; they used to do this and claim that it was out of piety; but piety is to fear, God by not contravening His commands; so come to the houses by their doors, when in a state of pilgrimage inviolability, and fear God, that you may prosper, [that you may] triumph.
Tafsir ibn Kathir:
(189. They ask you (O Muhammad) about the crescents. Say: "These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage.'' It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, etc.) that you enter the houses from the back, but Al-Birr is from Taqwa. So enter houses through their proper doors, and have Taqwa of Allah that you may be successful.)
The Crescent Moons
Al-`Awfi related that Ibn `Abbas said, "The people asked Allah's Messenger about the crescent moons. Thereafter, this Ayah was revealed:
﴿يَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِىَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ﴾
(They ask you (O Muhammad) about the crescents. Say, "These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind...) so that they mark their acts of worship, the `Iddah (the period of time a divorced woman or a widow is required to wait before remarrying) of their women and the time of their Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah).'' `Abdur-Razzaq reported that Ibn `Umar narrated that Allah's Messenger said:
«جَعَلَ اللهُ الْأَهِلَّةَ مَوَاقِيتَ لِلنَّاسِ، فَصُومُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ، وَأَفْطِرُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ، فَإِنْ غُمَّ عَلَيْكُمْ فَعُدُّوا ثَلَاثِينَ يَوْمًا»
(Allah has made the crescents signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind. Hence, fast on seeing it (the crescent for Ramadan) and break the fast on seeing it (the crescent for Shawwal). If it (the crescent) was obscure to you then count thirty days (mark that month as thirty days).) WThis Hadith was also collected by Al-Hakim in his Mustadrak, and he said, "The chain is Sahih, and they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not recorded it."
Righteousness comes from Taqwa
Allah said:
﴿وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَـكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنِ اتَّقَى وَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَبِهَا﴾
(It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, etc.) that you enter the houses from the back, but Al-Birr is from Taqwa. So enter houses through their proper doors.)
Al-Bukhari recorded that Al-Bara' said, "During the time of Jahiliyyah, they used to enter the house from the back upon assuming the Ihram. Thereafter, Allah revealed (the following Ayah):
﴿وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَـكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنِ اتَّقَى وَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَبِهَا﴾
(It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, etc.) that you enter the houses from the back but Al-Birr is from Taqwa. So enter houses through their proper doors.)
Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded the same Hadith from Al-Bara' but with the wording; "The Ansar used to enter their houses from the back when returning from a journey. Thereafter, this Ayah (2:189 above) was revealed...''
Al-Hasan said, "When some people during the time of Jahiliyyah would leave home to travel, and then decide not to travel, they would not enter the house from its door. Rather, they would climb over the back wall. Allah the Exalted said:
﴿وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا﴾
(It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness) that you enter the houses from the back,).''
Allah's statement:
﴿وَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ﴾
(...and have Taqwa of Allah that you may be successful.) Have Taqwa of Allah, means to do what He has commanded you and refrain from what He has forbidden for you,
﴿لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ﴾
(that you may be successful.) tomorrow when you stand before Him and He thus rewards you perfectly.
Translation:
Yusuf Ali: They ask thee concerning the New Moons. Say: they are but signs to mark fixed periods of time in (the affairs of) men, and for pilgrimage. It is no virtue if ye enter your houses from the back; it is virtue if ye fear Allah. Enter houses through the proper doors and fear Allah that ye may prosper.
Dr. Mohsin: They ask you (O Muhammad SAW) about the new moons. Say: These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage. It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness) that you enter the houses from the back but Al-Birr (is the quality of the one) who fears Allâh. So enter houses through their proper doors, and fear Allâh that you may be successful.
Arabic:
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ ٱلأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَٱلْحَجِّ وَلَيْسَ ٱلْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُواْ ٱلْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَـٰكِنَّ ٱلْبِرَّ مَنِ ٱتَّقَىٰ وَأْتُواْ ٱلْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَابِهَا وَٱتَّقُواْ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
Audio:
http://transliteration.org/quran/WebSite_CD/MixPure/..\..\WebSite_CD3\Sound2/0021891.mp3
Transliteration:
Yas'alūnaka `Ani Al-'Ahillati Qul Hiya Mawāqītu Lilnnāsi Wa Al-Ĥajji Wa Laysa Al-Birru Bi'an Ta'tū Al-Buyūta Min Žuhūrihā Wa Lakinna Al-Birra Mani Attaqá Wa 'Tū Al-Buyūta Min 'Abwābihā Wa Attaqū Al-Laha La`allakum Tufliĥūna
Tafsir al-Jalalayn:
They will ask you, O Muhammad (s), about the new moons (ahilla, plural of hilāl): ‘Why do they seem very thin, and then wax until they are full of light, and then wane again as at the first, and are not always the same, in the way that the sun is?’ Say, to them: ‘They are appointed times (mawāqīt is the plural of mīqāt) for the people, for them to know the times for sowing the land, for business, for their women’s waiting periods, their fast and their breaking it, and the Pilgrimage’ (wa’l-hajji and the Pilgrimage’, is a supplement to li’l-nāsi, ‘for the people’), that is to say, [appointed times] by which its season is known, for if they [the new moons] always looked the same, none of these things could be known. It is not piety to come to the houses from their backs, in [your] state of pilgrimage inviolability (ihrām), when you would bore holes in them to enter them and then exit, disregarding their doors; they used to do this and claim that it was out of piety; but piety is to fear, God by not contravening His commands; so come to the houses by their doors, when in a state of pilgrimage inviolability, and fear God, that you may prosper, [that you may] triumph.
Tafsir ibn Kathir:
(189. They ask you (O Muhammad) about the crescents. Say: "These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind and for the pilgrimage.'' It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, etc.) that you enter the houses from the back, but Al-Birr is from Taqwa. So enter houses through their proper doors, and have Taqwa of Allah that you may be successful.)
The Crescent Moons
Al-`Awfi related that Ibn `Abbas said, "The people asked Allah's Messenger about the crescent moons. Thereafter, this Ayah was revealed:
﴿يَسْـَلُونَكَ عَنِ الأَهِلَّةِ قُلْ هِىَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ﴾
(They ask you (O Muhammad) about the crescents. Say, "These are signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind...) so that they mark their acts of worship, the `Iddah (the period of time a divorced woman or a widow is required to wait before remarrying) of their women and the time of their Hajj (pilgrimage to Makkah).'' `Abdur-Razzaq reported that Ibn `Umar narrated that Allah's Messenger said:
«جَعَلَ اللهُ الْأَهِلَّةَ مَوَاقِيتَ لِلنَّاسِ، فَصُومُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ، وَأَفْطِرُوا لِرُؤْيَتِهِ، فَإِنْ غُمَّ عَلَيْكُمْ فَعُدُّوا ثَلَاثِينَ يَوْمًا»
(Allah has made the crescents signs to mark fixed periods of time for mankind. Hence, fast on seeing it (the crescent for Ramadan) and break the fast on seeing it (the crescent for Shawwal). If it (the crescent) was obscure to you then count thirty days (mark that month as thirty days).) WThis Hadith was also collected by Al-Hakim in his Mustadrak, and he said, "The chain is Sahih, and they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not recorded it."
Righteousness comes from Taqwa
Allah said:
﴿وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَـكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنِ اتَّقَى وَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَبِهَا﴾
(It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, etc.) that you enter the houses from the back, but Al-Birr is from Taqwa. So enter houses through their proper doors.)
Al-Bukhari recorded that Al-Bara' said, "During the time of Jahiliyyah, they used to enter the house from the back upon assuming the Ihram. Thereafter, Allah revealed (the following Ayah):
﴿وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَـكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنِ اتَّقَى وَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَبِهَا﴾
(It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, etc.) that you enter the houses from the back but Al-Birr is from Taqwa. So enter houses through their proper doors.)
Abu Dawud At-Tayalisi recorded the same Hadith from Al-Bara' but with the wording; "The Ansar used to enter their houses from the back when returning from a journey. Thereafter, this Ayah (2:189 above) was revealed...''
Al-Hasan said, "When some people during the time of Jahiliyyah would leave home to travel, and then decide not to travel, they would not enter the house from its door. Rather, they would climb over the back wall. Allah the Exalted said:
﴿وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُواْ الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا﴾
(It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness) that you enter the houses from the back,).''
Allah's statement:
﴿وَاتَّقُواْ اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ﴾
(...and have Taqwa of Allah that you may be successful.) Have Taqwa of Allah, means to do what He has commanded you and refrain from what He has forbidden for you,
﴿لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ﴾
(that you may be successful.) tomorrow when you stand before Him and He thus rewards you perfectly.