Surah Baqarah ayat 145 Tafsir Quran 2:145

﴿وَلَئِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ بِكُلِّ آيَةٍ مَّا تَبِعُوا قِبْلَتَكَ ۚ وَمَا أَنتَ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَتَهُمْ ۚ وَمَا بَعْضُهُم بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَةَ بَعْضٍ ۚ وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَاءَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ ۙ إِنَّكَ إِذًا لَّمِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ﴾
[ البقرة: 145]

2:145 And if you brought to those who were given the Scripture every sign, they would not follow your qiblah. Nor will you be a follower of their qiblah. Nor would they be followers of one another's qiblah. So if you were to follow their desires after what has come to you of knowledge, indeed, you would then be among the wrongdoers.

Yet if wa-la-in the lām is for oaths you should bring to those who have been given the Scripture every sign about your truthfulness in the matter of the direction of prayer they will not follow your direction out of obduracy and you are not a follower of their direction this is a categorical negation of his the Prophet’s desire that they become Muslims and of their desire that he return to their direction of prayer; neither are they the Jews and the Christians followers of one another’s direction. If you were to follow their whims the ones to which they summon you after the knowledge the revelation that has come to you then you if hypothetically you were to follow them will surely be among the evildoers.

If you, Muhammad, were to present Ahl Al-Kitab with signs evincing your Prophethood and Allah’s Omnipotence and Authority, they shall never follow your Kiblah nor shall you follow theirs, nor shall they follow each other’s Qiblah, and should you be tempted to follow their vain wishes given the knowledge imparted to you, then you will miss the path of righteousness and indeed be wrong

The Stubbornness and Disbelief of the Jews Allah describes the Jews' disbelief, stubbornness and defiance of what they know of the truth of Allah's Messenger ﷺ , that if the Prophet brought forward every proof to the truth of what he was sent with, they will never obey him or abandon following their desires.
In another instance, Allah said: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ - وَلَوْ جَآءَتْهُمْ كُلُّ ءايَةٍ حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ الاٌّلِيمَ ( Truly, those, against whom the Word (wrath ) of your Lord has been justified, will not believe.
Even if every sign should come to them, until they see the painful torment.) ( 10:96, 97 ) This is why Allah said here: وَلَئِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَـبَ بِكُلِّ ءَايَةٍ مَّا تَبِعُواْ قِبْلَتَكَ ( And even if you were to bring to the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians ) all the Ayat ( proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc. ), they would not follow your Qiblah ( prayer direction )). Allah's statement: وَمَآ أَنتَ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَتَهُمْ ( ...nor are you going to follow their Qiblah ), indicates the vigor with which Allah's Messenger ﷺ implements what Allah commanded him.
Allah's statement also indicates that as much as the Jews adhere to their opinions and desires, the Prophet adheres by Allah's commands, obeying Him and following what pleases Him, and that he would never adhere to their desires in any case.
Hence, praying towards Bayt Al-Maqdis was not because it was the Qiblah of the Jews, but because Allah had commanded it.
Allah then warns those who knowingly defy the truth, because the proof against those who know is stronger than against other people.
This is why Allah said to His Messenger and his Ummah: وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَآءَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّكَ إِذَا لَّمِنَ الظَّـلِمِينَ ( Verily, if you follow their desires after that which you have received of knowledge (from Allah ), then indeed you will be one of the wrongdoers.)

(2:145) Even though you may show every kind of sign to the people of the Book, they will not adopt your giblah, nor are you going to adopt their giblah; nor will any of them adopt the giblah of the other; therefore if, after the knowledge you have received, you follow their desires, you will certainly be counted among the transgressors. *147

And if you brought to those who meaning

*147).
The purpose of this verse is to ask the Prophet not to be disturbed by the controversy and remonstrance to which some people had resorted as a result of this change in the direction of Prayer.
It was difficult to convince those people by argument, since they suffered from prejudices and intransigence and were unwilling to abandon their traditional qiblah.
It was also impossible for the matter to be resolved by adopting the qiblah of any of the contending groups; there were various groups and they were not agreed in respect of the qiblah.
If the qiblah of one group had been adopted this would have satisfied only that group.
As for the rest, their remonstrating would persist.
Furthermore, and more basic in this connection, was the fact that as a Prophet Muhammad ought neither to be concerned to please people, nor haggle with them in order to arrive at compromised solutions.
On the contrary, the mission of a Prophet is to adhere firmly, to the knowledge vouchsafed to him by God regardless of all opposition.
To deviate from that knowledge to please others is tantamount to offending the prophetic mission and is inconsistent with the gratitude that the Prophet ought to feel for having been favoured with the position of world leadership.

 

The Stubbornness and Disbelief of the Jews Allah describes the Jews' disbelief, stubbornness and defiance of what they know of the truth of Allah's Messenger ﷺ , that if the Prophet brought forward every proof to the truth of what he was sent with, they will never obey him or abandon following their desires.
In another instance, Allah said: إِنَّ الَّذِينَ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ - وَلَوْ جَآءَتْهُمْ كُلُّ ءايَةٍ حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ الاٌّلِيمَ ( Truly, those, against whom the Word (wrath ) of your Lord has been justified, will not believe.
Even if every sign should come to them, until they see the painful torment.) ( 10:96, 97 ) This is why Allah said here: وَلَئِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَـبَ بِكُلِّ ءَايَةٍ مَّا تَبِعُواْ قِبْلَتَكَ ( And even if you were to bring to the People of the Scripture (Jews and Christians ) all the Ayat ( proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc. ), they would not follow your Qiblah ( prayer direction )). Allah's statement: وَمَآ أَنتَ بِتَابِعٍ قِبْلَتَهُمْ ( ...nor are you going to follow their Qiblah ), indicates the vigor with which Allah's Messenger ﷺ implements what Allah commanded him.
Allah's statement also indicates that as much as the Jews adhere to their opinions and desires, the Prophet adheres by Allah's commands, obeying Him and following what pleases Him, and that he would never adhere to their desires in any case.
Hence, praying towards Bayt Al-Maqdis was not because it was the Qiblah of the Jews, but because Allah had commanded it.
Allah then warns those who knowingly defy the truth, because the proof against those who know is stronger than against other people.
This is why Allah said to His Messenger and his Ummah: وَلَئِنِ اتَّبَعْتَ أَهْوَآءَهُم مِّن بَعْدِ مَا جَآءَكَ مِنَ الْعِلْمِ إِنَّكَ إِذَا لَّمِنَ الظَّـلِمِينَ ( Verily, if you follow their desires after that which you have received of knowledge (from Allah ), then indeed you will be one of the wrongdoers.)

( And even if thou broughtest unto those who have received the Scripture all kinds of portents ) all the signs they asked of you, ( they would not follow your Qiblah ) they would not pray towards your Qiblah nor embrace your Religion, ( nor canst thou be a follower of their Qiblah ) nor can you pray towards the Qiblah of the Jews or Christians; ( nor are some of them followers of others ) nor are some of them going to pray towards the Qiblah of the Jews and Christians. ( And if thou shouldst follow their desires ) after being warned and pray towards their Qiblah ( after the knowledge which hath come unto you ) that the Sacred Precinct is the Qiblah of Abraham, ( then surely ) if you do that then surely ( wert thou of the evil-doers ) who harm themselves.

And even if you were to bring to the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) all the Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.), they would not follow your Qiblah (prayer direction), nor are you going to follow their Qiblah (prayer direction). And they will not follow each other's Qiblah (prayer direction). Verily, if you follow their desires after that which you have received of knowledge (from Allah), then indeed you will be one of the Zalimun (polytheists, wrong-doers, etc.).

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