بِسْم الله الرحمن الرحيم
16-3-1438H
Uthman Ibn Affan رضي الله عنه narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
"خيركم من تعلم القرآن و علمه"
"The best amongst you is the one who learns the Qur'an and teaches it." [Al-Bukhari].
Learning the Qur'an is not limited to learning its wordings; but learning its meanings and acting upon them. If we are truthful about learning the meaning of the Qur'an, and purifying ourselves through the Qur'an, we would be of those whom the Prophet ﷺ described;- the most superior amongst the Muslims. We should therefore try our best to learn both the wording and meaning of the Qur'an.
When Uthman رضي الله عنه narrated this Hadith to Abu Abdur-Rahman As-Sulami (who was a Tabi'i), Abu Abdur-Rahman sat in Masjid Al-Kufa teaching the Qur'an for 40 years. This was a result of their sincerity and truthfulness; they wanted to be the best of people.
But not everyone who learns the Qur'an is truthful. How do you know if you are truthful? When you learn the Qur'an and apply it in your life; when you change your life, and use the Qur'an to purify your soul.
تزكية النفس (Purification of our Soul) should be the goal we seek to attain when reciting the Qur'an. It means to:
1) Purify our souls from Shirk, Kufr, Bad Manners, Sins, etc.
2) Develop it with Good Characteristics, Eeman, Taqwa, Righteousness, Good Conduct, etc.
E.g. When you read about the reward of the People of Jannah and their delight, it should make your heart yearn to be amongst them. This should make you strive hard against the evil of yourself, in order to purify your soul, and be like them.
We should seek to purify our souls when studying Surah Al-Insan. In the Surah, Allah mentions the beginning of human life, their middle, and their end. Allah then mentioned the delights of the People of Paradise in detail. What actions did they perform in this life that made them deserve that reward? Trying your best to do what they did is the means of purification of your soul.
Recap:
Verses 1-3:
Allah mentioned that humankind was something not worth mentioning. Allah created mankind from نطفة أمشاج - despised water. Once the Prophet ﷺ spat on his hand, and said, "This is the origin of our creation."
But when Allah granted mankind health, wealth, strength, properties, they felt self sufficient and forgot Allah. Let mankind remember their origin - you were nothing before, and Allah granted you favours.
After Allah mentioned the favour of creating us, He mentioned the favour of giving us hearing and seeing - in order to attain what we need in our life.
Then Allah mentioned the favour of guidance. Allah guided us by sending Messengers and Books, which shows us the path that leads to Allah. Allah showed us the path that leads to Him, and the path that leads to destruction. After this, mankind divided into two groups: شاكر and كفور.
شاكر are those who gave thanks to Allah for His favours and obeyed Allah.
كفور are those who denied the favours of Allah and disbelieved in Him.
Verses 4-6:
Then Allah mentions the recompense of both groups. Allah mentioned the punishment of the disbelievers in only one verse, because in the Surah that comes after (Surah Al-Mursalat), Allah mentions the punishment of the disbelievers in detail.
The Punishment of the Disbelievers:
سلاسل = Chains
أغلال = Their hands will be tied to their necks
سعيرا = Blazing Fire
The Sheikh رحمه الله again described the disbelievers. They are those who:
1) Disbelieved in Allah
2) Denied his Messengers
3) Dared to commit disobedience of Allah
We focus on the descriptions in order that we avoid acting like them.
الأبرار are those whose hearts became righteous through:
1) Knowing Allah
2) Loving Allah
3) Good Conduct
Their hearts then affected their limbs; so they employed their limbs in obedience to Allah.
What did Allah prepare for the ابرار?
Allah first mentioned their drink. They will drink from a cup of wine mixed with Kaafur - which is a spring which the People of Paradise can make gush forth wherever they wish, however they wish - in their houses, in their palaces, in their gardens, wherever they go, however they want.
Verses 7-10:- The Actions of the أبرار Whilst in the Dunya
"They (are those who) fulfill (their) vows, and they fear a Day whose evil will be wide-spreading"
"And they give food, inspite of their love for it (or for the love of Him), to Miskin (poor), the orphan, and the captive,"
و قد ذكرة جملة من أعمالهم في أول هذه السورة فقال: (يوفون بالنذر) أي: بما ألزموا به أنفسهم لله من النذور و المعاهدات. و إذا كانوا يوفون بالنذر و هو لم يجيب عليهم إلا بإيجابهم أنفسهم ، كان فعلهم و قيامهم بالفروض الأصلية من باب أولى و أحرى.
Description #1 - They Fulfill their Vows
This refers to the unconditional vows. They oblige themselves with acts of worship which are not obligatory upon them. This means that they first perform all the obligations Allah ordained upon them, and then oblige themselves with acts of worship which are not obligatory. They promise to do good between themselves and Allah.
E.g. In Ramadan I will do such and such
They see this as a vow upon them, and do not break their promise. The أبرار thus have good manners with Allah - when they promise Allah, although it is with regards to voluntary acts, they fulfill their promise. Whenever they get a chance to do a good deed they do it; they do not show reluctance, lag behind, give excuses. They try their best to fulfill their vows if they promise Allah. They take advantage of every occasion, every time, every place they are in, to perform good deeds. They promise and put it into actions - they do not just sit and wish.
This type of vowing does not require expiation (كفارة).
There are people who are energetic in the beginning, but as they start they slowly slacken in the middle and show laziness, or give excuses. They leave this activity, then start a new project, etc. When الأبرار start anything they complete it. They are good mannered with Allah, and because of that, they are good mannered with the people.
(و يخافون يوماً كان شره مستطيرا) أي: منتشراً فاشياً، فخافوا أن ينالهم شره، فتركوا كل سبب موجب لذللك
Description #2 - They are afraid of a Day whose evil is Widespreading
Their fear results in them avoiding committing sins. They avoid all acts of disobedience because of their fear.
The motivation to do good deeds was because they promised Allah.
The motivation to leave sins was their fear of the Day of Judgement.
(و يطعمون الطعام على حبه) أي: و هم في حال يحبون فيها المال و الطعام، لاكنهم قدموا محبة الله على محبة نفوسهم و يتحرون في إطعامهم أولى الناس و أحوجهم (مسكينا و يتيما و أسيرا)
Description #3 - They give Food in Spite of their Love for it
الأبرار love money and food. They are not from another planet; they are humans like us. But they were special because they loved Allah more and gave from their food and money in spite of their love for it.
E.g. You cooked food which you and your family like. A poor person knocked your door and you do not have anything to give him except that food. Here, the أبرار preferred the love of Allah over their love of the food.
Look at the Companions رضي الله عنهم. As soon as they got money they would never say, "Lets keep some for ourselves, and the rest in charity." As soon as they got money, they would get disturbed, and want to distribute it all. The wives would come complaining that they did not keep anything for them. And they would say "They are more deserving, Allah will give us, etc.". They preferred the love of Allah over what they love.
"يتحرون" means to investigate - who deserves to be given? The Sheikh wants to emphasize that before we give, we should investigate as much as we can, if the people we want to give deserve it. There could be people who are more deserving of the food than these. There are people who may be badly in need but do not ask, and people who are less shy of asking, and those who are less shy may distract us from those who do not ask.
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، قَالَ قَالَ رَجُلٌ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَىُّ الصَّدَقَةِ أَفْضَلُ قَالَ " أَنْ تَصَدَّقَ وَأَنْتَ صَحِيحٌ شَحِيحٌ تَأْمُلُ الْعَيْشَ وَتَخْشَى الْفَقْرَ "
It was narrated that Abu Hurairah said: "A man said: 'O Messenger of Allah, which kind of charity is best? He said: 'Giving charity when you are in good health, and feeling stingy, hoping for a long life and fearing poverty."' [An-Nasa'i #2542]
This is the person whose charity is best in reward. The أبرار think of what is more rewarding with Allah.
"(Saying): "We feed you seeking Allah's Countenance only. We wish for no reward, nor thanks from you."
و يقصدون بإنفاقهم و إطعامهم وجه الله تعالى و يقولون بلسان الحال: (إنما نطعمكم لوجه الله لا نريد منكم جزاء و لا شكورا) أي: لا جزاء ماليّاً، و لا ثناء قوليّاً
"بلسان حال" not "بلسان المقال"
As-Sa'di is of the opinion that when the Abrar give charity, they say this through their state. Their behaviour shows that they are not waiting for any thanks from the people. When they do good they immediately turn and leave; they do not stand to hear جزاك الله خيرا. They do it without waiting for any praise or gratitude.
Also, when they meet those who they give food and money to, they do not have المنّ in their hearts. They do not have the feeling that they gave so and so and did such and such for that person. المنّ nullifies the reward of the person, and could be done by the heart or even worse - the tongue.
The Shaytan may remind you of the favours you have done to that person, so when المنّ crosses your heart, ask Allah to forgive you.
Qurtubi is of the opinion that they do this with both لسان المقال (with actual statement) and لسان الحال (through their state).
This indicates their Sincerity. What made them practice sincerity?
"Verily, We fear from our Lord a Day, hard and distressful, that will make the faces look horrible (from extreme dislikeness to it)."
This is like the 70,000 people who enter Paradise without reckoning. After they fulfilled the obligations, they completed their Tawheed and did not seek Ruqya from others, etc.
Our Questions:
Q. What does النذر mean? The good deeds they oblige upon themselves.
Q. What does "على حبه" mean? They love Allah more over the love of themselves.
Q. What does the Face of Allah indicate?
The Sheikh affirmed that Allah has a Face, but did not explain the connection between Sincerity and Seeking the Face of Allah. This is an important topic.
You should read the Tafseer, read your questions, then read the verses again.
So far, the word fear is mentioned twice. The first fear made the أبرار abandon sins, and the second fear made them sincere.
Verses 11-12: How Allah Recompensed the Abrar
"So Allah saved them from the evil of that Day, and gave them Nadratan (a light of beauty) and joy."
"And their recompense shall be Paradise, and silken garments, because they were patient."
These are the actions of Allah in response to the actions of the Abrar whilst they were in the Dunya.
You may not get what the Sheikh رحمه الله is saying at the first time. You need to read and read again. As-Sa'di Tafseer is very concise, but carries wide meanings. This shows us how much Allah opened of understanding of the verses for him.
(فوقاهم الله شر ذالك اليوم) فلا يحزنهم الفزع الأكبر و تتلقاهم الملائكة، [هاذا يومكم الذي كُنتُم توعدون]
Action of Allah #1 - "وقاهم" (Saved them)
Allah saved them from the evil of this day. Whilst the Abrar were in this Dunya, they feared the evil of this Day, so Allah saved them on the Day of Judgement. Allah will never join two fears in the heart of the person: If you feared Allah in this life, you will have no fear on the Day of Judgement. If you do not fear in this life, you will have fear on the Day of Judgement.
What did Allah particularly save them from? الفزع الأكبر - The Greatest Horror of that Day - When the people will be raised from their graves; when everyone will be frightened. At that moment, Allah will save their hearts from fear.
Allah will remove their fear by sending angels who will say, as Allah mentioned in [21:103]:
"The greatest terror (on the Day of Resurrection) will not grieve them, and the angels will meet them, (with the greeting): "This is your Day which you were promised."
Therefore Allah will remove fear from their hearts in two ways:
1) By removing the distress of the greatest horror from their hearts
2) By sending Angels to comfort them.
(و لقّاهم) أي: أكرمهم و أعطاهم (نضرة) في وجوههم (و سرورا) في قلوبهم، فجمع لهم بين نعيم الظاهر و الباطن
Action of Allah #2 - "لقاهم" (Received them)
لقّاهم: Allah أكرمهم (honoured them) and أعطاهم (bestowed upon them)
How did Allah Honour and Bestow upon them? By granting them light of beauty on their faces and light in their hearts. Allah combines both inner and outward delights for them, when they rise from their graves. Although, the state of the rest of the people on that Day will be in terror, fear, and distress.
What made الأبرار be in that state? What made them afraid of الفزع الأكبر? Their Knowledge. They learned about this great horror on the Day of Judgement, which is what made them in a state of fear all the time: it made them abandon sin and have sincerity when they performed good deeds. Therefore, we should learn more about the Day of Judgement in order to motivate ourselves to abandon sin and be sincere when we perform good deeds.
Allah created man to act upon the knowledge he becomes certain of. Lack of belief and knowledge about the greatest horror has made us take everything lightly; we commit sins without fear. We can see Fitnah happening everywhere; people committing sins so easily, without thinking of the horrors on the Day of Judgement. It is therefore our responsibility to learn about the Day of Judgement.
(و جزاهم بما صبروا) على طاعة الله، فعملوا ما أمكنهم منها، و عن معاصي الله فتركوها، و على أقدار الله المؤلمة فلم يتسخطوها.
Action of Allah #3 - "جزاهم" (Recompensed them with Paradise)
Allah recompensed them for being patient. Allah did not mention patience as one of their actions whilst they were in the Dunya in the previous verses. How do we connect patience to their behaviour in the Dunya? The Sheikh answered. When they fed the poor, fulfilled their vows, they did it patiently. When they avoided sins, they did it patiently. We need patience in everything that we do, throughout our lives.
(جنة) جامعة لكل نعيم، سالمة من كل مكدر و منغص. (و حريرا) كما قال تعالى [و لباسهم فيها حرير]
و لعل الله إنما خَص الحرير لأنه لباسهم الظاهر، الدال على حال صاحبه
In Surah Fatir [35:34]:
"And they will say: "All the praises and thanks be to Allah, Who has removed from us (all) grief. Verily, our Lord is indeed OftForgiving, Most Ready to appreciate (good deeds and to recompense)."
جنة is indefinite.All delights are collected in it, and it is free from all flaws and defects. The Dunya is the opposite. It is imperfect, full of flaws, and distresses, difficulties, etc. Paradise is دار السلام - the Abode of Peace, soundness, free of difficulties and sorrow.
If you know this fact, you would be prepared when you go through any difficulty. This is the nature of life; full of distresses and difficulty. You would hope for the Abode of Soundness. The Abrar always think of the hereafter, not the Dunya. They know that this Dunya is full of difficulty and flaws. When their hearts are in pain, they remove this pain by remembering the hereafter and the delights in Paradise.
The Paradise which الأبرار or عباد الله attain is a recompense for their patience. Therefore your patience for every pain, whether it is pain in the heart or body, will be recompensed on the Day of Judgement. But what kind of patience?
There are people, whom when calamities befall, show patience because they have no other choice, or out of fear of the community blaming them. This is not patience seeking the Face of Allah, and is not a patience which will be rewarded.
Which is the patience which will be rewarded for by Allah?
Look at Ya'qoub عليه السلام, who was in distress when he lost his son. He said in Surah Yusuf [12:18]:
"And they brought his shirt stained with false blood. He said: "Nay, but your ownselves have made up a tale. So (for me) patience is most fitting. And it is Allah (Alone) Whose help can be sought against that which you assert."
1) "صبر جميل" - No complaint, grumbling; while being pleased with what Allah ordained.
2) "والله مستعان على ما تصفون" - A person cannot be patient by himself; he needs Allah to be patient. So he asks Allah for patience.
In [12:83]:
"He [Ya'qub (Jacob)] said: "Nay, but your ownselves have beguiled you into something. So patience is most fitting (for me). May be Allah will bring them (back) all to me. Truly He! only He is All-Knowing, All-Wise."
3) "عسى الله أن يأتيني بهم جميعا" - Patience along with trust and not losing hope in Allah. You hope that Allah will change this situation to a better situation.
You have to fulfill the above conditions, and these are not the only conditions. Go through the entire Qur'an, where patience for the sake of Allah is mentioned, and you will see how to be patient
We vary in our patience: Some are patient because they have no other choice, others have patience so they do not get blamed by people, - Patience for Allah is a patience which will be rewarded. الصبر is an act of worship, thus it requires that we fulfill conditions.
"جنة و حريرا"
Allah made them wear silken garments; and this indicates the outward delight they live in in Paradise. Silk is unlawful for men in this world, but in Paradise it will be lawful for both men and women.
Our Questions:
Q. The connection between patience and the previous descriptions? When they fed the poor, fulfilled their vows, they did it patiently. When they avoided sins, they did it patiently.
Q. What is the wisdom behind silk being particularly mentioned? To indicate the comfort and luxury they will live in.
Verses 13-14:
"Reclining therein on raised thrones, they will see there neither the excessive heat of the sun, nor the excessive bitter cold, (as in Paradise there is no sun and no moon)."
"And the shade thereof is close upon them, and the bunches of fruit thereof will hang low within their reach."
(متكئين فيها على الآرائك) الاتكاء: التمكن من الجلوس في حال الرفاهية و الطمأنينة [و الراحة] ، و الآرائك: هي السرر التي عليها اللباس المزين
They are in a very delightful condition. They do not even bother themselves with extending their hand to reach the fruits; the bunches of fruits will come close to them while they are standing, or sitting, etc.
How were they in the Dunya, which made Allah recompense them with that in the Hereafter?
عباد الله = They fulfilled the عبودية of Allah. Their Love, Fear, Tawakkul, was perfected in the Dunya. They showed humility to Allah.
عبادة comes from the word عبد which comes from ذل. Because they magnified and loved Allah so much, it made them humble, and this humility is called عبادة. This is why Allah called them عباد الله. They felt poor, weak, incapable, in need, while knowing that Allah is Able to do anything, Strong, Rich. Because they were like that in the Dunya, everything in the hereafter will humiliate itself for them. Everything will come easily, they do not need to use up any effort.
الجزاء من جنس العمل - The recompense is of the same nature of the deed.
Your recompense will come according to the deed you performed. You showed humility to Allah, and Allah made everything submit to you in Paradise. They will get everything they wish for.
Verses 15-18: The Drinks and Cups
"And amongst them will be passed round vessels of silver and cups of crystal,"
"Crystal-clear, made of silver. They will determine the measure thereof according to their wishes."
"And they will be given to drink there a cup (of wine) mixed with Zanjabil (ginger, etc.)"
"A spring there, called Salsabil."
و يطاف على أهل الجنة أي: يدور [عليهم] الخدم والولدان (بئانية من فضة و أكواب كانت قواريرا. قواريرا من فضة) أي: مادتها من فضة [و هي] على صفاء القوارير، و هاذا من أعجاب الأشياء، أن تكون الفضة الكثيفة من صفاء جوهرها و طيب معدنها على صفاء القوارير
The Sheikh concluded this statement (There will be servants...) from Verse 19 of the same Surah. As-Sa'di رحمه الله usually explains the Qur'an with the Qur'an.
Silver as we know it is not transparent, and the substance of silver is different from the substance of crystal. The Prophet ﷺ said:
يَقُولُ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَعْدَدْتُ لِعِبَادِي الصَّالِحِينَ مَا لاَ عَيْنٌ رَأَتْ، وَلاَ أُذُنٌ سَمِعَتْ، وَلاَ خَطَرَ عَلَى قَلْبِ بَشَرٍ
Allah said, "I have prepared for My pious worshipers such things as no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard of, and nobody has ever thought of. " [Al-Bukhari]
We should not use our minds and ask how silver can look like crystal? As Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنه mentioned, there are Tafseer which no one knows except Allah; like the reality of the delights of the People of Paradise. This is something unseen.
(قدروها تقديرا)، أي: قدروا الأواني المذكورة على قدر ريهم، لا تزيد و لا تنقص، لأنها لو زادت نقصت لذتها و لو نقصت لم تف بريهم
و يحتمل أن المراد: قدرها أهل الجنة بنفوسهم بمقدار يوافق لذتهم فأتتهم على ما قدروا في خواطرهم
Who will estimate the amount poured in their cups?
1) The Servants. They will give the People of Paradise what satisfies them, not more nor less. Not more so the taste is reduced, nor less so they fall short of satisfaction.
2) Or The People of Paradise will just wish in their hearts and the cups will come in the measure they wished for.
(و يسقون فيها) أي: في الجنة من كأس و هو الإناء الملوء من خمر و رحيق (كان مزاجها) أي: خلطها (زنجبيلا) ليطيب طعمه وريحه
(عينا فيها) أي: في الجنة (تسمى سلسبيلا) سميت بذالك لسلامتها و لذتها و حسنها
There are springs of Salsabil in Paradise. The Sheikh explained the meaning of Salsabil in Arabic: Soft consistency, delightful taste, elegance. Everything becomes easy in the Hereafter, and in compliance to what the People of Paradise want. The people of Dunya who live in luxury, still suffer to get what they want. Even when they have everything, they are still in distress. But the delight is different in Paradise. We need to remind ourselves for these delights in order to long for it and do good to attain it.
In the beginning of the Surah Allah said:
"Verily, We showed him the way, whether he be grateful or ungrateful."
As As-Sa'di رحمه الله mentioned, Allah showed us the path to Him and the delights we will get when we get there. All these are the delights.
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