DAY 469: Baqarah 87-96

•  Indeed, We gave Moses the Book and sent after him successive messengers. And We gave Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs and supported him with the holy spirit. Why is it that every time a messenger comes to you ˹Israelites˺ with something you do not like, you become arrogant, rejecting some and killing others? They say, “Our hearts are unreceptive!” In fact, Allah has condemned them for their disbelief. They have but little faith. Although they used to pray for victory ˹by means of the Prophet˺ over the polytheists, when there came to them a Book from Allah which they recognized, confirming the Scripture they had ˹in their hands˺, they rejected it. So may Allah’s condemnation be upon the disbelievers. Miserable is the price they have sold their souls for—denying Allah’s revelation and resenting Allah for granting His grace to whoever He wills of His servants! They have earned wrath upon wrath. And such disbelievers will suffer a humiliating punishment. When it is said to them: “Believe in what Allah has revealed,” they reply, “We only believe in what was sent down to us,” and they deny what came afterwards, though it is the truth confirming their own Scriptures! Ask ˹them, O  Prophet˺, “Why then did you kill Allah’s prophets before, if you are ˹truly˺ believers?” Indeed, Moses came to you with clear proofs, then you worshipped the calf in his absence, acting wrongfully. And when We took your covenant and raised the mountain above you ˹saying˺, “Hold firmly to that ˹Scripture˺ which We have given you and obey,” they answered, “We hear and disobey.” The love of the calf was rooted in their hearts because of their disbelief. Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “How evil is what your ˹so-called˺ belief prompts you to do, if you ˹actually˺ believe ˹in the Torah˺!” Say, ˹O Prophet,˺ “If the ˹eternal˺ Home of the Hereafter with Allah is exclusively for you ˹Israelites˺ out of all humanity, then wish for death if what you say is true!” But they will never wish for that because of what their hands have done. And Allah has ˹perfect˺ knowledge of the wrongdoers. You will surely find them clinging to life more eagerly than any other people, even more than polytheists. Each one of them wishes to live a thousand years. But even if they were to live that long, it would not save them from the punishment. And Allah is All-Seeing of what they do. 
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  Here, Allah continues addressing the Children of Israel, but now the tone sharpens. He reminds them of the prophets He sent to them — Moses, Jesus, and many others. Then He exposes a dark pattern: they rejected some prophets, killed others, and their hearts became so hard that they even asked for something worse than what Pharaoh's people asked for.
  
  Then the surah pivots to a shocking claim some Jews made: "The Fire will not touch us except for a few days." Allah's response is devastating.
  
  87    Prophets rejected, some killed    When truth threatens your ego, you silence it.
  88    "Our hearts are wrapped" — arrogance    Intellectual arrogance closes the door to growth.
  89    Recognized the truth but rejected it out of jealousy    You want truth — but only if your group gets the credit.
  90    Sold themselves for jealousy    Jealousy is the most expensive emotion.
  91    Claim to follow their Book but killed prophets    You can't claim to love truth and hate truth-tellers.
  92–93    Calf worship + "We hear and disobey"    Rebellion saturates the heart until right and wrong feel unreal.
  94–95    Challenge: wish for death if Paradise is only for you    If you're so sure you're saved, why fear death?
  96    Most greedy for life — love this world    Clinging to life means you're not sure about what comes after.
  
  They recognized the truth, rejected it out of jealousy, claimed Paradise was only for them, but feared death because their own deeds betrayed them — proving that arrogance and selective belief cannot hide what the heart knows.
  
  
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