سورة البَقَرَة
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:189
The Cow · Verse 189 of 286
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْأَهِلَّةِ ۖ قُلْ هِيَ مَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ ۗ وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَنْ تَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ ظُهُورِهَا وَلَٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنِ اتَّقَىٰ ۗ وَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَابِهَا ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
Abdul Mannan Omar
They ask you about the lunar months. Say, `They are appointed periods of time for (general convenience of) people and for determining the time of Pilgrimage. And it is no virtue that you come into the houses from the backs of them but the true virtue is his who guards against evils. So (instead of fostering superstitious habits) you should rather enter the houses from their proper doors and take Allâh as a shield so that you may be successful.
Abdullah 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.
Ahmed Ali
They ask you of the new moons. Say: "These are periods set for men (to reckon) time, and for pilgrimage." Piety does not lie in entering the house through the back door, for the pious man is he who follows the straight path. Enter the house through the main gate, and obey God. You may haply find success.
12 more translations
Ali Unal
They ask you (O Messenger) about the new moons (because of the month of Ramadan). Say: "They are appointed times (markers) for the people (to determine time periods) and for the Pilgrimage." (Do not link them to superstitions and superstitious behavior like entering dwellings by the back rather than the front.) It is not virtue that you enter dwellings from the backs of them, but virtue is (the state of) one who (truly believing in God) strives to attain righteousness and piety (by carrying out His commandments and refraining from His prohibitions). So come to dwellings (in the normal way) by their doors. (Do everything according to the rule and establish relations with your leader and among yourselves in proper terms.) And strive to obey God in due reverence for Him and piety so that you may prosper.
Daryabadi
They ask thee of new moons. Say thou: they are time-marks to mankind and for pilgrimage. And it is not piety that ye enter your houses by the backs thereof, but Piety is of him who feareth God; so enter the houses by the doors thereof, and fear Allah that haply ye may thrive.
Faridul Haque
They ask you, (O dear Prophet Mohammed - peace and blessings be upon him), regarding the crescents; say, "They are indicators of time for mankind and for Hajj (the pilgrimage)"; and it is not a virtue at all that you enter the houses by demolishing their back portions, but in reality virtue is piety; and enter the houses using their gates - and keep fearing Allah, hoping that you achieve success.
Maulana Muhammad Ali
They ask thee of the new moons. Say: They are times appointed for men, and (for) the pilgrimage. And it is not righteousness that you enter the houses by their backs, but he is righteous who keeps his duty. And go into the houses by their doors; and keep your duty to Allah, that you may be successful.
Maulvi Sher Ali
They ask thee about the new moons. Say, `They are means for measuring time, for the general convenience of people and for the Pilgrimage.' And it is not righteousness that you come into houses by the backs thereof, but truly righteous is he who fears God. And you should come into houses by the doors thereof; and fear ALLAH that you may prosper.
Muhammad Asad
THEY WILL ASK thee about the new moons. Say: "They indicate the periods for [various doings of] mankind, including the pilgrimage."
Muhammad Musin Khan
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, etc.) that you enter the houses from the back but Al-Birr (is the quality of the one) who fears Allah. So enter houses through their proper doors, and fear Allah that you may be successful.
Muhammad Pickthall
They ask thee, (O Muhammad), of new moons, say: They are fixed seasons for mankind and for the pilgrimage. It is not righteousness that ye go to houses by the backs thereof (as do the idolaters at certain seasons), but the righteous man is he who wardeth off (evil). So go to houses by the gates thereof, and observe your duty to Allah, that ye may be successful.
Muhammad Sarwar
(Muhammad), they ask you about the different phases of the moon. Tell them that they are there to indicate to people the phases of time and the pilgrimage season. It is not a righteous act to enter houses from the back. Righteousness is to be pious and enter the houses from the front door. Have fear of God so that perhaps you will have lasting happiness.
Muhammed ali Shakir
They ask you concerning the new moon. Say: They are times appointed for (the benefit of) men, and (for) the pilgrimage; and it is not righteousness that you should enter the houses at their backs, but righteousness is this that one should guard (against evil); and go into the houses by their doors and be careful (of your duty) to Allah, that you may be successful.
Rashad Khalifa
They ask you about the phases of the moon! Say, "They provide a timing device for the people, and determine the time of Hajj." It is not righteous to beat around the bush; righteousness is attained by upholding the commandments and by being straightforward. You shall observe GOD, that you may succeed.
Shabbir Ahmed
(Self-control is a life-long commitment extending beyond the month of Ramadhan.) They ask you (O Messenger) about the phases of the Moon. Say, “They are to help mankind determine certain seasons such as Hajj.” But know that righteousness can never be achieved by entering the System through the back door of ritualism. Only he who lives an upright life attains it. Enter the Divinely ordained Way of Life straightforward as you must enter houses through their gates. Live an upright life being mindful of God so that you may reap a rich harvest.
Commentary 2:189 The aim of this verse is to curb superstitions. When the Muslims heard of the great blessings of the month of Ramadzân, superstitious ones desired to…
يَسْأَلُونَكَ عَنِ الْأَهِلَّةِ ۖ قُلْ هِيَمَوَاقِيتُ لِلنَّاسِ وَالْحَجِّ ۗ وَلَيْسَ الْبِرُّ بِأَن تَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا وَلَـٰكِنَّ الْبِرَّ مَنِ اتَّقَىٰ ۗ وَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِنْ أَبْوَابِهَا ۚ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
2:189 The aim of this verse is to curb superstitions. When the Muslims heard of the great blessings of the month of Ramadzân, superstitious ones desired to know the special blessings of other months. They were told that what is essential is worship and obedience to Allâh, which can be performed in any month and for that times (mawâqît مَوَاقِيتُ) are not relevant. The verse contains a reference to another superstitious practice of the Arabs. When Arabs of the time of the Holy Prophet (pbuh) left their homes for pilgrimage, then if for some purpose they had to come back to their houses, they did not enter them from their front doors but climbed into them from the back walls (Bukhârî).
Similarly, there was another widespread superstition. When someone was unable to attain an important objective, he would not go into his house by the main door but would enter it from the backyard and continued to do so for a year (Râzî). By citing the superstitious behaviour تَأْتُوا الْبُيُوتَ مِن ظُهُورِهَا, the Holy Qur’ân disapproves of such meaningless practices, as there is no virtue in them. All virtue proceeds from righteousness (taqwâ). Doors (abwâb أَبْوَاب) are a means of access or means of attainment of a thing (Tâj). Thus, the expression entering a house through its door is used to denote a proper approach to a problem. Baidzâwî says in explanation of this verse, "No virtue lies in tackling problems from the wrong end; it lies rather in being God-conscious. Tackle a problem from the right end and take Allâh as a shield (taqwâ) so that you may attain your goal." At the death of the son of the Holy Prophet (pbuh), there was a complete solar eclipse, which the Muslims took as a sign of heavenly mourning. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) disapproved of this superstitious idea, and at once delivered a sermon explaining that an eclipse was independent of the birth or the death of any person. There are similar other verses aimed at curbing superstitions (cf. 6: 143-144).