Obligations of a Believer

ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْمَرْ‌حَمَةِ ‌ (then he did not join those who believe and advise each other to be patient and advise each other to be merciful...90:17). The verse points out that the doing only of good actions mentioned in the foregoing verse is not enough for raising the all round stature of the Muslim community. Good ideals and right principles, combined with continuous and sustained adherence to the path of moral rectitude and teaching of virtues to others, are equally essential for the attainment of the high aim. Thus the verse after 'faith' draws the attention of a believer to his socio-moral obligation to the effect that he ought to teach his other Muslim brothers to be patient and to be merciful. The word sabr signifies 'to withhold oneself from evil deeds and to act upon good deeds'. The word marhamah signifies 'to show mercy to one another or to empathise with others and abstain from hurting them.' This embraces almost all the injunctions of the entire religion.

Al-hamdulillah

The Commentary on Surah Al-Balad ends here.

The second oath is taken by:

وَالْقَمَرِ‌ إِذَا تَلَاهَا (and by the moon when she follows him,...91:2). This signifies one of two things: [ 1] The moon following the sun is seen clearly during the middle of the lunar months when the full moon rises to dominate the sky with its radiance after sunset. [ 2] The phrase 'when she follows him' could signify just as the sun is seen in full in broad light, so does the moon, following the sun, becomes full. The third oath is taken by:

وَالنَّهَارِ‌ إِذَا جَلَّاهَا (and by the day when it shows its brightness...91:3). The attached pronoun ha 'its' may possibly refer to the earth or the world, although neither of the nouns precedes it. Such usage in Arabic is commonplace, especially if the phenomenon, such as the earth or the world, with which man is generally familiar. In such a case Arabs commonly refer to the phenomenon simply by using a pronoun without making prior reference to it. The addressee understands the meaning by implication. The Qur'an has many examples of, and bears ample testimony to, this grammatical phenomenon. The verse thus signifies 'by the day and by the world or the earth which the day has brightened up'. In other words, 'by the day when it is fully bright'. Another possibility, which is more pertinent to the context, is that the pronoun 'its' refers to the 'sun' in which case it signifies 'by the day when it brightens up the sun'. This relation of attribution, in this case, would be a metaphorical relationship. Although the sun is usually understood to be the cause of the day to come out, here the day is said to brighten up the sun. Thus the verse would signify 'when the sun is seen brightened up because the day is out.

The fourth oath is taken thus:

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا يَغْشَاهَا (and by the night when it envelops him,...91:4). In other words, when it [ the night ] sets in, the brightness of the sun is concealed [ and only darkness prevails ].

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The fifth oath is:

وَالسَّمَاءِ وَمَا بَنَاهَا (and by the sky, and the One who built it...91:5). Most clearly the context suggests that the ma may be taken as infinitival particle [ masdariyyah ], signifying 'by the sky and its make ' as elsewhere in the Qur'an غَفَرَ‌ لِي رَ‌بِّي '...how my Lord has forgiven me [ 36:27] ' (1)

1. It should be kept in mind that the translation of the text is not based on this construction. It is based on taking 'ma' as mousulah in the sense of 'the one' as adopted by Maulana Thanawi, and explained by the author in the following verse. word taswiyah means, to proportion, balance, perfect. The meaning of this word has been explained in the previous Surah.

The sixth oath is:

وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ وَمَا طَحَاهَا (and by the earth, and the One who spread it...91:6). The ma in this phrase too stands for masdariyyah or infinitival particle, signifying 'by the earth and its expanse'. The word tahwun means 'to spread'. Thus in the two verses above attention has been focused on the great Designer and Architect of the sky and earth [ that is, the universe ], and on the perfection and complete freedom from flaw or defect in the design and creation of the universe. Sayyidna Qatadah and others reported this interpretation. Kashshaf, Baidawi and Qurtubi preferred this interpretation. Some of the commentators have taken ma in the sense of man 'the One Who' and refer it to 'Allah', signifying 'by the sky and its Maker and by the earth and One who spreads it. Thus far, all the oaths were taken by the created objects and phenomena. In between is taken oath by Allah. And Allah knows best! The seventh oath is taken thus:

وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا (and by the soul, and the One who made it well,...91:7) If, in this phrase, the particle ma is taken to function as infinitival particle, it signifies 'by the human soul and its perfection'. If ma is taken in the sense of man , it signifies 'by the soul and the One who proportioned it'. The

فَأَلْهَمَهَا فُجُورَ‌هَا وَتَقْوَاهَا (then inspired it with its [ instincts on evil and piety...91:8) The word ilham denotes 'to cast into the heart'. The word fujur denotes 'open transgression'. The meaning of taqwa is well-known. This sentence is linked with the seventh oath وَنَفْسٍ وَمَا سَوَّاهَا and by the soul, and the One who made it well, [ 91:7] ', signifying that Allah has equipped man with human soul which has the capacity to distinguish between good and bad, and right and wrong. In other words, in his make-up Allah has built in him a special ability to choose freely the righteous path or the sinful path. Whichever way he takes out of his own free will, he will be rewarded or punished. This interpretation is deducible from a traceable Hadith which is transmitted by Muslim on the authority of Sayyidna ` Imran Ibn Husain ؓ . The Holy Prophet ﷺ was sitting in the company of his followers. They asked him a question regarding Divine Destination. In response, the Holy Prophet ﷺ recited this verse. This verse will allay the doubt about Divine Destination only if the words 'then inspired it with its (instincts of) evil and piety, [ 91:8] ' are taken in the sense that human soul has been inspired with conscience to distinguish between right and wrong, and has also been granted the ability to do good as well as the ability to commit sin. Man is not a creature of pure force or coercion. He has free will to choose his path of good or evil. He, in fact, has the option to do good or refrain from sin. The choice is his, for which he is rewarded or punished.

Sayyidna Abu Hurairah and Ibn ` Abbas ؓ report that whenever the Holy Prophet ﷺ recited the verses [ 91:7-8] under comment would stop and recite the following supplication aloud:

اللّٰھُمَّ اٰتِ نفسِی تَقوٰھَا اَنتَ وَلِیُّھَا وَ مَولَاھَا وَ اَنتَ خَیرُ مَن زَکَٰھَا

'0 Allah! Give my soul its good. You are its Guardian and Master, and the best to purify it.'

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن زَكَّاهَا ﴿٩﴾ وَقَدْ خَابَ مَن دَسَّاهَا ﴿10﴾ (success is really attained by him who purifies it, and failure is really suffered by him who pollutes it....91:10). This is the subject of the seven oaths. The primitive meaning of tazkiyah is 'inner cleanliness', signifying 'he who obeyed Allah and purified his inner and outer selves.' Verse [ 10] signifies 'he who caused his soul to sink in the swamp of sins will be deprived'. The word dassa is derived from the basic word dass' which denotes 'to bury in the ground' as for instance it occurs elsewhere in the Qur'an, thus:

أَمْ يَدُسُّهُ فِي التُّرَ‌ابِ

...or put it away into the dust? [ 16:59] '

Some of the commentators have analysed that the pronouns of zakka 'He purified' and dassa 'He caused to pollute' as referring to 'Allah', signifying that 'he is successful indeed whose soul Allah has purified and he has failed whose soul Allah pollutes '. This verse has divided the entire mankind into two groups: [ 1] successful; and [ 2] unsuccessful. An example of the second group has been cited to show how it rejected the message of Allah and consequently how Allah destroyed them. Such a group will receive severe punishment in the Hereafter. Sometimes, however, an installment of punishment is meted out to them in this world as in the case of Thamud. Their story is recounted fully in Surah A` raf [ S.7:73-79; S.11:61-68; S. 26:141-159; S.27:45-53; S..41:17-18; S.54:23-32; and S. 69:4-5]. Here a brief reference is made to that story and their punishment.

فَدَمْدَمَ عَلَيْهِمْ رَ‌بُّهُم بِذَنبِهِمْ فَسَوَّاهَا (... so their Lord sent eradicating torment upon them, and made it equal for all. And He has no fear of its consequence....91:14). The word damdama refers to such tormenting scourge as is unleashed on a person or a nation again and again, until it destroys or crushes them completely. Fa-sawwaha signifies that the scourge overtook the entire nation, men, women, children, and young and old.

In conclusion, the verse says: وَلَا يَخَافُ عُقْبَاهَا 'Allah has no fear of its consequence'. It means that Divine torment that destroys a nation completely cannot be compared to the torment inflicted by the greatest king of this world, because a tyrant king who destroys his people on a large scale, fears for his life, lest the survivors or the supporters of the people destroyed should revenge on him and rebel against him. Whoever destroys others is himself in danger of avenge. Those who attack others must necessarily bear the brunt of counter-attack except Allah. When a people incur Divine punishment and are thus destroyed, Allah has no fear from any one.

Al-hamdulillah

The Commentary on Surah Ash-Shams ends here.

Commentary

إِنَّ سَعْيَكُمْ لَشَتَّىٰ (your efforts are diverse....92:4). This statement is like the statement in Surah Inshiqaq, verse [ 6]:

إِنَّكَ كَادِحٌ إِلَىٰ رَ‌بِّكَ كَدْحًا

'0 man, you have to work hard constantly to reach your Lord. [ 84:6] '

which has already been explained in that Surah. The sense is that man, by his nature, is used to making efforts for one objective or another. But the nature and the results of these efforts are different. Some people work hard for an objective that brings eternal happiness to them, and others work hard for an objective that makes them suffer eternal perdition. It is reported in a Tradition that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Each morning when a man gets up, he goes to conduct his business and keeps himself busy. His business is either successful and emancipates himself from Hell, or unsuccessful and his efforts become the cause of his destruction." Therefore, a wise person should first apply his mind to think whether his efforts will pay dividends, and he should never undertake those efforts that bring about temporary comfort and pleasure, but eternal perdition and grief.

The Two Diverse Types of Human Efforts Divide Humankind into Two Groups

The Qur'an further shows that, broadly speaking, the humankind may be divided into two opposing groups in terms of their opposing efforts. Each of the two groups are characterised by three qualities. The first group is a successful one, and its three characteristics are: [ 1] they give in charity in the cause of Allah; [ 2] fear Allah and avoid violating the injunctions of Allah in every aspect of life; and [ 3] believe in the 'best word'. The 'best words' refer to the credo of 'there is no god but Allah' [ as Ibn ` Abbas, Dahhak have explained ]. Testifying to the kalimah signifies 'to profess the True Faith'. Faith or belief is the essence of all actions, and comes first in order of rank, but on this occasion, it is mentioned last, probably because the main theme in this context is that of physical exertion, efforts and actions. 'Iman or faith, on the other hand, pertains to the heart. It signifies the acceptance and confirmation of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ with one's heart. Confession of this must be made by means of reciting kalimah shahadah 'testimony of faith'. Obviously, none of these things involve physical exertion or effort, nor are they generally counted as actions.

The second group is [ the unsuccessful one ] and its three characteristics are: [ 1] they are misers to such an extent that they even fail to pay the zakah and other obligatory alms; [ 2] they deem themselves self-sufficient rather than obeying Allah; and [ 3] they reject the 'best word' [ that is, the kalimah of 'Iman ]. Referring to the first group, the verse says:

فَسَنُيَسِّرُ‌هُ لِلْيُسْرَ‌ىٰ (We will facilitate for him the way to extreme ease [ i.e. the comforts of Paradise ]....92:7). The word yusra literally denotes 'ease and comfort' or a thing in which there is no difficulty, but here it refers to "Paradise". Likewise, referring to the second group it says:

فَسَنُيَسِّرُ‌هُ لِلْيُسْرَ‌ىٰ (for him We will facilitate the way to extreme distress...92:10). The opposite of yusra is ` usra which literally denotes 'extreme distress, referring to "Hell". The two statements signify that those who exert their efforts in the first three acts, that is, spending in the cause of Allah, fearing Allah and testifying to the kalimah, Allah. will pave their way to extreme ease, that is, to deeds that will lead them to the comforts of Paradise. On the other hand, those who exert their efforts in the latter three acts, Allah will pave their way to extreme distress, that is, make easy for them to perform deeds that will lead them to Hell. By right, here it should have been said that the deeds of Paradise or Hell are made easy for them, because 'easy' or 'difficult' qualify deeds, and not persons or people. But the Qur'an says that the people or the people themselves will be made easy to do the deeds. This probably implies that the first group will be predisposed to behave in a particular way that behaving otherwise will make them feel uneasy. The second group will be predisposed to behave in a way that will make them feel comfortable to do deeds of Hell, and they will feel uneasy doing deeds of Paradise. Each of these two groups will have their own nature and predisposition, and will find it easier to behave in that particular way. A Hadith confirms that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

اعملوا فکل میسر لما خلق لہ، امّا من کان من اھل السّعادۃ فییسّرلعمل السّعادۃ، وامّا من کان من اھل الشّقاوۃ فییسّر لعمل اھل الشّقاوۃ

"Perform deeds, for everyone will have the deeds of what he was created for [ Paradise or Hell ] made easy for him. Those people who are the people of happiness, they will have the deeds of the people of happiness made easy for them. And those who are the people of misery, they will have the deeds of the people of misery made easy for them."

But both these things are the results of the use of the God-given choice and free will. Therefore, man is rewarded or punished.

Thereafter the unfortunate inmates of Hell are warned, thus: