Incredimail gallery - A Medley of Themes Based On Collectibles
B i s m i l l a a h i r R a h m a a n i r R a h e e m
Teachings of the Qur'aan
Al-Ma'aarij
Soorah 70:15-35
Ayub A. Hamid
The intensity of the fire and the kind of people it will
claim is the subject matter of the next four verses.
15 By no means! Surely it will be a flaming fire, 16 that
will yank the skin off. 17 It will claim everyone who turned his back (on
truth) and turned his face away (from Islam), 18 and collected (wealth) and
hoarded it.
It should be noted that the good deed emphasized again and
again in this group of Soorahs is spending in the way of Allaah Subhaanahu wa
Ta'aala and sharing one's wealth with the poor and needy, instead of saving and
hoarding it without attending to the needs of the poor. As explained in the
previous Soorah, Al-Haaqqah, according to the Qur-aan, spending in the way of
Allaah is the proof of one's faith in Allaah. It is the litmus test that
indicates if a person is a believer or not. Without being charitable, one's
claim of believing in Allaah is not valid. In other words, a believer cannot be
miserly and a miserly person's claim to Islam is not reliable.
Such verses also indicate that it is the love for wealth that
is usually the main hurdle which keeps people from believing in Islam. The
staunchest enemies of Islam are usually those who love their wealth and power
and they consider Islam to be a danger to this wealth and power.
The aforementioned attitude is because of an imbalance in
employing human instinctive traits. People have been created with many natural
tendencies, inclinations and temptations. They all have a useful role to play
in human life. Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala requires us to maintain an
effective balance among all human traits to pass the test of living in this
world. However, people who become slave to their lusts and desires effectively
let their natural human weaknesses govern their behaviour. Only those who
submit to Allaah, can maintain the desired balance and keep their natural human
weaknesses in check and excel in their behaviour. The next set of verses
explains this point. The particular human weakness mentioned here is the
natural human tendency to be worrisome, hasty, short-sighted and impatient.
During hard times, it is shown by his complaining bitterly, wailing, ranting
and raving about how bad the things are, instead of being patient and working
steadfastly for a turnaround. During good times, he becomes stingy, niggardly
and miserly, worrying about his future and being unable to see the benefit of
sharing his wealth with the deprived people of the society. In both cases, the
life of this world is his focus, not thinking of, nor preparing for the
Hereafter at all. However, the worshippers of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala and
the believers in the Hereafter adopt a balanced and constant attitude both in
good as well as in bad times. It is they who will be rewarded with honour and
pleasure in Jannah.
19 Verily, man is created of a hasty temperament; 20 fretful
when evil touches him, 21 and niggardly when good touches him; 22 except the
worshippers of Allaah:
§ 23 Who are constant at their worship;
§ 24 In whose wealth there is a known right 25 of the
petitioner and the deprived;
§ 26 Who accept the truth of the Day of Recompense;
§ 27 Who are fearful of their Lord's torment, 28 as
their Lord's torment is really not something to feel safe from;
§ 29 Who guard their private parts, 30 except from
their wives or the slave girls they own, for which they must not be blamed; 31
however, those who seek to go beyond this, then they are the transgressors;
§ 32 Who take care of their trusts and their
covenants;
§ 33 Who uprightly stand by their testimonies; and
§ 34 Who keep a guard on their worship;
35 Those shall be in the Gardens, honoured.
As you can see, the very first and the very last attributes
of a balanced lifestyle that leads to success have to do with Salaah or
Allaah's worship. It indicates that balance, justice, goodness and excellence
in one's life are not possible without being particular about Allaah's worship.
The first attribute refers to regularity, constancy and steadiness in worship.
Whether times are good or bad, regardless of the circumstances and the
conditions they face, they persevere in the worship of Allaah Subhaanahu wa
Ta'aala with regularity. They do it with their hearts and minds fully engaged,
taking their time and performing it with grace and calmness. They are not like
those who worship Allaah with intensity, humility and long supplications when
times are tough, but forget about Allaah when times are good. Guarding of
Salaah means to perform it on time, following its rules properly, and staying
clear of any actions or behaviour that are incongruent with the lifestyles of
worshippers of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala.
They also maintain a balance in the economic or financial
aspect of their life. While fulfilling their own needs, they do not forget the
deprived people of the society but dedicate a certain portion or percentage of
their income for that purpose, even if they themselves are not well-to-do. In
doing so, they take care of both those who muster the courage to seek help when
they need it (the petitioners), and those who keep suffering quietly (the
deprived). Rather, as soon as they find out that someone around them is in need
of help, they help the needy out without them having to ask for it. It should
be kept in mind that in this verse, a petitioner does not mean a beggar who has
adopted begging as a way of life, but as already mentioned, a needy person who
seeks help for his current needs, as compared to the deprived who suffers
quietly.
The motive for their charity basically stems from their
belief in the Day of Judgment and the life Hereafter. By helping the poor and
needy, they only want to please Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala and avoid the
punishment of the Hereafter. People may do good things for many reasons, but
fear of Allaah is the purest motive of all that is free from boasting or any
expectations of worldly benefit. However, their attitude is not limited to
charity, rather, their whole lifestyle is based on this fundamental motive.
While they live a careful life geared to goodness and
excellence, they still continue to be fearful about the accountability for any
mistakes they may make. That is the right attitude because the punishment of
Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala is not something one can be carefree about.
Human sexuality is an area where people stumble and deviate
the most and commit the most excesses. On the one hand, people may adopt a
promiscuous and crooked behaviour in this respect; on the other hand religious
people may consider even a marital relationship as an act against their
so-called concept of spirituality. Allaah's true worshippers maintain a balance
in this respect as well. They neither take a vow of celibacy in the name of
spirituality, nor do they go beyond the permissions granted by Allaah
Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala to fulfil their natural desire.
The balance in their dealings and societal interactions shows
in the form of justice and fairness in fulfilling their obligations and
conducting their dealings. They honour all trusts bestowed upon them by Allaah
or by people and they fulfill all promises or commitments made to Allaah or
people. All our time (life), our capabilities and our wealth and resources are
trusts bestowed by Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala and our promise to Allaah is
that they will be spent as He desires. All confidential matters confided to us
by our friends, colleagues, employers, clients, etc. and all tools, equipment,
assets given in our care or for performance of our duties, are trusts bestowed
upon us by people. Similarly, any word we give to people is a promise.
Honouring trusts and fulfilling promises are so essential attributes of being a
believer that whenever the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam used to give
a sermon, he would remind Muslims about them, saying, "A person who does not
honour trusts has no faith and a person who does not fulfil promises has no
Deen."
Standing up to give witness and standing by one's witness is
a special kind of honouring and fulfilling of trust because knowledge of a
specific situation is a trust that is properly fulfilled when witnessed at the
right time and place for establishment of justice. This also covers all kind of
witnesses we need to give, ranging from our witness to mankind about the truth
of Islam to saying the right thing about people / events when witness is duly
sought.
The people who have the above-mentioned qualities will be
those who will be honoured in the Hereafter and who will enjoy the pleasures of
Jannah forever. This honour will not be bestowed on the basis of what tribe or
family one belonged to or how much wealth and power someone amassed. Such
statements by the Qur-aan were squarely contradicting the perception that the
Makkan chiefs had about themselves. They held that they have been honoured with
wealth and power in this world and they will enjoy the same, if there is any
life Hereafter. Hearing the Qur-aan's admonitions on the subject annoyed them a
lot.
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Copyright © 2009 Ayub A. Hamid
All rights reserved
This document may be used, only with this copyright notice
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title must remain unchanged, in whole or in part; (3) Material must be
attributed to the author Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid. Contact the author for all
other rights, which are reserved.
Note: This series is providing the teachings of the Qur'aan,
not a literal translation. Instead of literal translation, it gives
interpretive meanings of the verses, along with their contextual details.
Please remember that any translation of the Holy Qur'aan is in fact only an
expression of the translator's understanding of the Word of Allaah Subhaanahu
wa Ta'aala, and hence cannot be equated with the Qur'aan itself. Only the
original Arabic text can be called the Holy Qur'aan.
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Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid is a visionary and strategic Islamic
thinker residing in Canada for the last 34 years. His recently published books
are:
1. Islam - Does It Make Sense?
2. Unveiling the Commands-The Truth about Hijaab, Khimaar
and Jilbaab.
3. Finding A Soulmate - A Guide for Parents and Youth.
4. A Book Unlike Any Other.
5. Islam - Adopting Its Paradigms.
6. Exploring the Islamic Beliefs.
http://soundvisioncanada.com/shop/pbrowse.asp?Pg=3&Cat=10004
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The following soowar 'Teachings of the Qur'aan' series by
Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid, are available on request:-
Al Faatihah
Al Baqarah
Aali 'Imraan
A Nisaa'
Al Maaidah
Al An'aam
Al A'raaf
Al Anfaal
At Teen
Al`Alaq
Al Qadr
Al Bayyinah
Al Zilzaal
Al Aadiyatt
Al Qaari`ah
At Takaathur
Al`Asr
Al Humazah
Al Feel
Al Quraish
Al Maa`oon
Al-Kowthar
Al Kaafiroon
Al Nasr
Al Lahab
Al Ikhlaas
Al Falaq
An Naas
Al Mulk
Al Qalam
Al Haaqqah
Al Ma`aarij 1-14
K a r i m a
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