Islamic Studies

Gems from Suratul Mu'minoon [Part 2]

Bismillah.

Part one here.

Allah azza wa jal continues to describe the successful believers, what is it they do next?

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَافِظُونَ

And those who guard their private parts. (5)

Allah ta’ala says they are “haafidhoon”, those who guard, protect and to look after, from hifdh, ha fa dhaa (ح ف ظ). What does it mean they guard/do hifdh? It means that these believers abstain from the haraam and do not seek unlawful enjoyment.

إِلَّا عَلَىٰ أَزْوَاجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ

Except from their wives or (the captives and slaves) that their right hands possess, for then, they are free from blame; (6)

Allah ta’ala says for those who seek the halaal means, they are not “maloomeen”, ones who are blamed. Maloomeen is from lawm, (ل و م). Lawm is to blame someone, criticize and condemn them for an action that is unacceptable and wrong. In other words, seeking the halaal is not blameworthy under any circumstance.

فَمَنِ ابْتَغَىٰ وَرَاءَ ذَ‌ٰلِكَ فَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْعَادُونَ

But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors; (7)

Whoever looks for and seeks beyond the halaal means, Allah calls them al-’aadoon, the transgressors. ‘Aadoon is plural of ‘aadin, from ‘ayn daal wow (ع د و) and an ‘aduww is means enmity and hatred, and is used for an enemy. ‘Aadin is a transgressor, one who goes beyond the halaal. These people exceed the bounds of the sharee’ah, cross the limits and seek the haraam.

Allah ta’ala continues:

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَانَاتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَاعُونَ

Those who are faithfully true to their trusts and to their promises; (8)

The believers are those who protect their amaanaat, plural of amaanah, from hamza meem noon (ء م ن). An Amaanah is used for every kind of responsibility that a person is given and entrusted with, and this responsibility can be of deen and dunya, and can be from Allah and also from the people. For example, an amaanah from Allah ta’ala is praying the salah five times a day. An amaanah from people would be if a person gives us something to keep secure for a time.

We have amaanaat in matters of deen and dunya as well, children are amaanaat to parents, a person’s wealth is an amaanah, their position is an amaanah, their body is an amaanah. So to fulfill an amaanah would be to look after the trust completely and use it and fulfill it as it should be.

Furthermore, they protect ‘ahdihim, their promises, from ‘ayn ha da (ع ه د) and an ‘ahd is used for every responsibilty that a person  himself takes, a committment that they take to fulfill something. What is the difference between amaanah and ‘ahd? An amaanah is given to a person, and an ‘ahd is taken upon the person themselves. For example, an appointment, a treaty, an oath one swears to Allah and even the contract of marriage come under ‘ahd.

How does Allah ta’ala describe them with their trusts and promises? they are: raa’oon, ones who are attentive. Raa’oon is plural of raa’in from raa ayn ya (ر ع ي). According to Imam Raaghib, raa’i is to protect and take care of a living being, specifically a living being is not taken care of properly, it will die. A ra’ee is a shepherd, which the Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam mentions in a hadeeth: kulukum raa’in, you are all shepherds, and all of you will be questioned about your flock. (Agreed upon) When a person is a ra’ee, they can never be neglectful of what they are watching. A mother cannot take a week vacation from her baby, she has to be there continuously. So the believers are raa’oon: they are never negligent of their promises and trusts, they take care of them, they properly keep and discharge them.

Furthermore these successful people are:

وَالَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَاتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ

And those who strictly guard their prayers (9)

Again we see the word, “haafidhoon”, those who guard and maintain. What does it mean to guard and maintain the salah? It means to perform the salah properly, to pray at the correct time and to not waste the salah by committing sins afterward that wipe away the good deeds. These believers guard their good deeds from destruction.

What do these people receive?

أُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ الْوَارِثُونَ

Those are indeed the inheritors. (10)

olaa’ika, those, is referring to the believers with all of these qualities. In Arabic grammar, this word, which is plural of thaalika, is an “ism ishaarah ba’eed”, it is a word used to point to something far away. Why does Allah use olaa’ika? It is used for ta’dheem: honor and respect, and to add further emphasis Allah ta’ala says “hum”, they, which is a pronoun. So “Olaa’ika hum” means: those they. So if olaa’ika already denotes the meaning of ‘those’, why does Allah say again, ‘they’? It is used for emphasis and exclusivity: only those people who have these traits are the waarithoon, the inheritors, no one else.

What do they inherit?

الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ

Who shall inherit the Firdaws,

These people, these believers with all of these qualities, are inheritors of Firdaws. Firdaws is a very beautiful word with a few opinions on its meaning. The first opinion is that Firdaws is an ism a’lam, a proper name, it is the name of the highest level of Jannah. Originally it is a Roman word “pirdaas” which the English word “paradise” is dervied from. Secondly, if we look at the word literally, Firdaws is used for a garden that not only has fruits and flowers, it has everything that a garden should have. Fruits, flowers, plants, trees, grass, a stream–it is a full blooming perfect garden. Specifically, Firdaws is used for a garden that has grapevines. And if we take this word to be from the root fa-ra-daal-seen (ف ر د س), faradasan, it means to be broad and ample. So if we combine all of these meanings: Firdaws has everything people would want, it is ample in what it contains, it is large and comfortable.

How will they be in Firdaws?

هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ

They shall dwell therein forever. (11)

They will be in Firdaws, the highest level of Jannah, khaalidoon, eternally.

In these last two ayaat, Allah ta’ala says these believers will be “waarithoon”, inheritors. Allah could have said, they will be given Firdaws, yet He the Most Knowing says they will inherit Firdaws. Why has inheritance (wiraathah) been used for these believers? Firstly, it is figuratively used to show that this is what these believers deserve, because inheritance is a fixed share by Allah so if a person is an heir, it is their right to receive it. Firdaws is these believers right. Secondly, an inheritance is something that is received at the end–after a person dies, their funeral arrangements are taken care of and they are buried. So these believers will get Firdaws at the end: after they’ve lived in this dunya and did what they were supposed to do.

So there it is! Your gateway, your map, your guide to attain Firdaws inshaAllah. Eleven short and simple verses that if fulfilled and implemented lead to ultimate success in this life and the next. How much easier can it get?

May Allah ta’ala make us among these true believers and make our inheritance Jannatul Firdaws, Ameen.

About the author

Amatullah

Amatullah is a student of the Qur’an and its language. She completed the 2007 Ta’leem program at Al-Huda Institute in Canada and studied Qur’an, Tajweed (science of recitation) and Arabic in Cairo. Through her writings, she hopes to share the practical guidance taught to us by Allah and His Messenger and how to make spirituality an active part of our lives. She has completed her undergraduate degree in Social Work and will be completing a Masters program in 2014. Her experiences include working with immigrant seniors, refugee settlement, and accessibility for people with disabilities.

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  • Amazing saying- Al- Hasan al Basri said, “One day I was walking with a young pious man in the narrow streets of Basra and its markets until we reached a physician sitting on a chair and around him were many men, women, and children who had bottled of water in their hands. Each one of them was seeking a cure for his illness. The young man moved closer to the physician and asked him, ‘ O physician! Do you have medicine that cleans away sins and cures the spiritual diseases of the heart?’ He replied, ‘ Yes!’ The young man said, ‘Give it to me!’ The physician said,’Take ten things from me- take the roots of the tree of poverty with the roots of the tree of humility, and pour in it the milk of repentance, then place it in the mortar of acceptance [ of whatever is predestined for one], crush it with the pestle of contentment, then place it in the pot of piety, pour over it the water of shame, then boil it with the fire of love, then place it in the cup of gratitude and cool it down with the fan of hope, then drink it with the spoon of praise. If you do all of this then it will cure you of every illness and trial in this world and in the Hearafter.” From Preparing for the Day of Judgement Imam Ibn Hajar Al -Asqalani-

    Imam Suhaib, please post this on your site. dont just leave it in the comment box. thank u

    Fais Dog AKA RIVER

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