Surah Al-Baqarah 2:13
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · Medinan · Verse 13 of 286
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ ءَامِنُوا۟ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ قَالُوٓا۟ أَنُؤْمِنُ كَمَآ ءَامَنَ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ ۗ أَلَآ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ
Translation
When it is said to them, ‘Believe, as the others believe,’ they say, ‘Should we believe as the fools do?’ but they are the fools, though they do not know it.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'And when it is said to them: Believe as the people have believed, they say: Shall we believe as the fools have believed? Unquestionably, it is they who are the fools, but they know it not.' al-Saadi and Ibn Kathir note the hypocrites' conceit, they look down on simple, sincere believers as 'fools' (sufaha'), imagining that sophistication means holding back from wholehearted faith, and the Qur'an flips the verdict flatly. Ask yourself: this is a perennial temptation, to see plain, trusting faith as naive, and my own hesitation and irony as a mark of intelligence. The clever, detached stance feels superior to sincere devotion. But the verse names it the true foolishness: mistaking cynicism for wisdom, and wholehearted belief for simplicity. Do I ever hold back from full commitment to God because it feels 'unsophisticated', quietly regarding the sincerely devout as naive, when the Qur'an calls that very reflex the real foolishness?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Ashur.
Wording
This verse opens with a gentle call to faith for the hypocrites (the *Munafiqoon*), contrasting it sharply with their dismissive reply and Allah's decisive response.
The Invitation to Believe
The verse begins, "And when it is said to them, 'Believe as the people believed.'" The phrase قِيلَ لَهُمْ (qīla lahum), meaning "it was said to them," uses a passive voice. This suggests the call to faith wasn't necessarily from one specific person, like the Prophet, but rather a general, widespread invitation. As Ibn Ashur notes, it could have come from believers close to them, or even from some of their own group who were tiring of the burdens of hypocrisy.
The invitation آمِنُوا۟ كَمَآ آمَنَ ٱلنَّاسُ (āminū kamā āmana al-nās) means "Believe as the people believed." Here, ٱلنَّاسُ (al-nās), or "the people," refers to those who had genuinely embraced Islam, like the Companions of the Prophet. Al-Razi explains that this phrase implicitly refers to the true believers who have given humanity its due by using their intellect for guidance. The wording كَمآ آمَنَ (kamā āmana) emphasizes not just the act of belief, but the *manner* of it – a sincere, open-hearted commitment, unlike the pretense of the hypocrites.
The Hypocrites' Scornful Reply
In response to this earnest call, the hypocrites retorted, "Should we believe as the foolish believed?" Their use of أَنُؤْمِنُ (anū'minu), an interrogative form, conveys strong denial and rejection. They were not seeking an answer but expressing their absolute refusal.
They label the believers ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ (al-sufahā'), meaning "the foolish." Ibn Ashur clarifies that *safāha* (foolishness) implies light-headedness, lack of sound judgment, and poor handling of one's affairs. The hypocrites considered the believers foolish because many were poor, or because they had abandoned their ancestral traditions and worldly status for what the hypocrites perceived as an unfounded faith. They saw their own duplicity as shrewdness, while sincere faith appeared to them as naivete.
Allah's Decisive Verdict
Allah responds to their arrogance with a powerful affirmation: أَلَآ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ ٱلسُّفَهَآءُ (Alā innahum humu al-sufahā'), "Indeed, they – they are the foolish." The opening word أَلَآ (alā) is a particle of strong emphasis, drawing immediate attention to the truth that follows. As Ibn Ashur points out, the structure of this phrase, known as *qasr* (restriction), emphatically restricts the quality of foolishness *to the hypocrites themselves*, removing it entirely from the believers they scorned. It's a direct, divine counter-rebuke, revealing their true state.
The verse concludes with وَلَٰكِن لَّا يَعْلَمُونَ (wa lākin lā ya'lamūn), "but they do not know." This differs from the previous verse (2:12), which used لَّا يَشْعُرُونَ (lā yash'urūn), meaning "they do not perceive." As al-Razi and al-Jadwal explain, *shuur* (perception) refers to awareness of obvious, customary matters, like the visible corruption their actions caused. *Ilm* (knowledge), on the other hand, implies deeper, rational understanding and insight, especially concerning matters of faith and truth. The hypocrites' deficiency was not just a lack of perception, but a profound absence of true *knowledge* that prevented them from comprehending their own spiritual and intellectual bankruptcy. They were so deeply misguided that they couldn't even realize their own foolishness.
This ayah uses precise wording to strip away the hypocrites' self-deception, revealing their true state not only to others but ultimately to themselves – if only they had the knowledge to see it.
Sources: Ibn Ashur (al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir), al-Zamakhshari (al-Kashshaf), al-Razi (Mafatih al-Ghayb), al-Jadwal fi I'rab al-Quran (Mahmud Safi), al-Jalalayn
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:13 is discussed in 11 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
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