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Ayah
Word by Word
ٱلَّذِينَ
Those who
يَذۡكُرُونَ
remember
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
قِيَٰمٗا
standing
وَقُعُودٗا
and sitting
وَعَلَىٰ
and on
جُنُوبِهِمۡ
their sides
وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ
and they reflect
فِي
on
خَلۡقِ
(the) creation
ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ
(of) the heavens
وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ
and the earth
رَبَّنَا
Our Lord
مَا
not
خَلَقۡتَ
You have created
هَٰذَا
this
بَٰطِلٗا
(in) vain
سُبۡحَٰنَكَ
Glory be to You
فَقِنَا
so save us
عَذَابَ
(from the) punishment
ٱلنَّارِ
(of) the Fire
ٱلَّذِينَ
Those who
يَذۡكُرُونَ
remember
ٱللَّهَ
Allah
قِيَٰمٗا
standing
وَقُعُودٗا
and sitting
وَعَلَىٰ
and on
جُنُوبِهِمۡ
their sides
وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ
and they reflect
فِي
on
خَلۡقِ
(the) creation
ٱلسَّمَٰوَٰتِ
(of) the heavens
وَٱلۡأَرۡضِ
and the earth
رَبَّنَا
Our Lord
مَا
not
خَلَقۡتَ
You have created
هَٰذَا
this
بَٰطِلٗا
(in) vain
سُبۡحَٰنَكَ
Glory be to You
فَقِنَا
so save us
عَذَابَ
(from the) punishment
ٱلنَّارِ
(of) the Fire
Translation
Who remember Allāh while standing or sitting or [lying] on their sides and give thought to the creation of the heavens and the earth, [saying], "Our Lord, You did not create this aimlessly; exalted are You [above such a thing]; then protect us from the punishment of the Fire.
Tafsir
Those who (alladheena, an adjectival qualification of the preceding [li-oolee l-albaab, 'for people of pith'], or a substitution for it) remember God, standing and sitting and on their sides, reclining, that is to say, in all states: [it is reported] from Ibn 'Abbaas that they perform prayer in these ways, [each] according to [his own] capacity; and reflect upon the creation of the skies and the earth, to deduce therefrom the power of their Creator, saying: 'Our Lord, You have not created this, creation that we see, in vain (baatilan, a circumstantial qualifier), frivolously, but as a proof of the totality of Your power. Glory be to You!, exalted above any frivolity. So guard us against the chastisement of the Hellfire.
"The Proofs of Tawhid for People of Understanding, their Characteristics, Speech, and Supplications
Allah said,
إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالَارْضِ
Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the Earth,
referring to the sky in its height and spaciousness, the earth in its expanse and density, the tremendous features they have of rotating planets, seas, mountains, deserts, trees, plants, fruits, animals, metals and various beneficial colors, scents, tastes and elements.
وَاخْتِلَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِ
And in the alternation of night and day,
as one follows and takes from the length of the other. For instance, at times one of them becomes longer than the other, shorter than the other at times and equal to the other at other times, and the same is repeated again and again, and all this occurs by the decision of the Almighty, Most Wise.
This is why Allah said,
لاايَاتٍ لاُِّوْلِي الاالْبَابِ
there are indeed signs for men of understanding,
referring to the intelligent and sound minds that contemplate about the true reality of things, unlike the deaf and mute who do not have sound comprehension.
Allah said about the latter type,
وَكَأَيِّن مِّن ءَايَةٍ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ يَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهَا وَهُمْ عَنْهَا مُعْرِضُونَ وَمَا يُوْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بِاللَّهِ إِلاَّ وَهُمْ مُّشْرِكُونَ
And how many a sign in the heavens and the earth they pass by, while they are averse therefrom. And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him. (12:105-106)
Allah then describes those who have good minds.
الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىَ جُنُوبِهِمْ
Those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides.
Al-Bukhari recorded that Imran bin Husayn said that the Messenger of Allah said,
صَلِّ قَايِمًا فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَقَاعِدًا فَإِنْ لَمْ تَسْتَطِعْ فَعَلَى جَنْب
Pray while standing, and if you can't, pray while sitting, and if you cannot do even that, then pray lying on your side.
These people remember Allah in all situations, in their heart and speech,
وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالَارْضِ
and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the Earth,
contemplating about signs in the sky and earth that testify to the might, ability, knowledge, wisdom, will and mercy of the Creator.
Allah criticizes those who do not contemplate about His creation, which testifies to His existence, Attributes, Shariah, His decree and Ayat.
Allah said,
وَكَأَيِّن مِّن ءَايَةٍ فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَالاٌّرْضِ يَمُرُّونَ عَلَيْهَا وَهُمْ عَنْهَا مُعْرِضُونَ
وَمَا يُوْمِنُ أَكْثَرُهُمْ بِاللَّهِ إِلاَّ وَهُمْ مُّشْرِكُونَ
And how many a sign in the heavens and the Earth they pass by, while they are averse therefrom. And most of them believe not in Allah except that they attribute partners unto Him. (12:105-106)
Allah also praises His believing servants,
الَّذِينَ يَذْكُرُونَ اللّهَ قِيَامًا وَقُعُودًا وَعَلَىَ جُنُوبِهِمْ وَيَتَفَكَّرُونَ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالَارْضِ
Those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying down on their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens and the earth,
supplicating;
رَبَّنَا مَا خَلَقْتَ هَذا بَاطِلً
""Our Lord! You have not created this without purpose,""
You did not create all this in jest and play. Rather, You created it in truth, so that You recompense those who do evil in kind, and reward those who do righteous deeds with what is better.
The faithful believers praise Allah and deny that He does anything in jest and without purpose, saying,
سُبْحَانَكَ
""glory to You,""
for You would never create anything without purpose.
فَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ
""Give us salvation from the torment of the Fire.""
meaning, ""O You Who created the creation in truth and justice, Who is far from any shortcomings, or doing things without purpose or with jest, save us from the torment of the Fire with Your power and strength. Direct us to perform the deeds that make You pleased with us. Guide us to righteous work from which You admit us into the delightful Paradise, and save us from Your painful torment.""
They next supplicate
رَبَّنَا إِنَّكَ مَن تُدْخِلِ النَّارَ فَقَدْ أَخْزَيْتَهُ
""Our Lord! Verily, whom You admit to the Fire, indeed, You have disgraced him;
by humiliating and disgracing him before all people on the Day of Gathering.
وَمَا لِلظَّالِمِينَ مِنْ أَنصَارٍ
""and never will the wrongdoers find any helpers.""
on the Day of Judgment, who would save them from You. Therefore, there is no escaping whatever fate You decided for them.
رَّبَّنَا إِنَّنَا سَمِعْنَا مُنَادِيًا يُنَادِي لِلِيمَانِ
""Our Lord! Verily, we have heard the call of one calling to faith,""
a caller who calls to faith, referring to the Messenger of Allah.
أَنْ امِنُواْ بِرَبِّكُمْ فَأمَنَّا
`Believe in your Lord,' and we have believed,
accepted his call and followed him.
رَبَّنَا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا
""Our Lord! Forgive us our sins,""
on account of our faith and obeying Your Prophet.
فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا
(""Forgive us our sins""), and cover them.
وَكَفِّرْ عَنَّا سَيِّيَاتِنَا
""and expiate from us our evil deeds,""
between us and You, in private,
وَتَوَفَّنَا مَعَ الابْرَارِ
""and make us die along with Al-Abrar,""
join us with the righteous people.
رَبَّنَا وَاتِنَا مَا وَعَدتَّنَا عَلَى رُسُلِكَ
""Our Lord! Grant us what You promised unto us through Your Messengers,""
for our faith in Your Messengers, or,
and this explanation is better; grant us what You promised us by the words of Your Messengers.
وَلَا تُخْزِنَا يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ
""and disgrace us not on the Day of Resurrection,""
before all creation.
إِنَّكَ لَا تُخْلِفُ الْمِيعَادَ
""for You never break (Your) Promise.""
for surely, the promise that You conveyed to Your Messengers, which includes us being resurrected before You, shall certainly come to pass.
It was the Prophet's tradition to recite the ten Ayat at the end of Surah Al Imran when he woke up at night for (voluntary) prayer.
Al-Bukhari recorded that Ibn Abbas said,
""I slept one night at the house of my aunt, Maymunah. The Messenger of Allah spoke with his wife for a while and then went to sleep. When it was the third part of the night, he stood up, looked at the sky and recited,
إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالَارْضِ وَاخْتِلَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِلايَاتٍ لاُِّوْلِي الالْبَابِ
Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding... (3:190)
The Prophet then stood up, performed ablution, used Siwak (to clean his teeth) and prayed eleven units of prayer.
When Bilal said the Adhan, the Prophet prayed two units of prayer, went out (to the Masjid) and led the people in the Dawn prayer.""
This was also collected by Muslim.
Ibn Marduwyah recorded that Ata' said,
""I, Ibn Umar and Ubayd bin Umayr went to Aishah and entered her room, and there was a screen between us and her.
She said, `O Ubayd! What prevents you from visiting us?'
He said, `What the poet said, `Visit every once in a while, and you will be loved more.'
Ibn Umar said, `Tell us about the most unusual thing you witnessed from the Messenger of Allah.'
She cried and said, `All his matters were amazing. On night, he came close to me until his skin touched my skin and said, `Let me worship my Lord.'
I said, `By Allah I love your being close to me. I also love that you worship your Lord.'
He used the water-skin and performed ablution, but did not use too much water. He then stood up in prayer and cried until his beard became wet. He prostrated and cried until he made the ground wet. He then laid down on his side and cried.
When Bilal came to alert the Prophet for the Dawn prayer, he said, `O Messenger of Allah! What makes you cry, while Allah has forgiven you your previous and latter sins?'
He said,
وَيْحَكَ يَا بِلَلُ وَمَا يَمْنَعُنِي أَنْ أَبْكِيَ وَقَدْ أُنْزِلَ عَلَيَّ فِي هذِهِ اللَّيْلَة
O Bilal! What prevents me from crying, when this night, this Ayah was revealed to me,
إِنَّ فِي خَلْقِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالَارْضِ وَاخْتِلَفِ اللَّيْلِ وَالنَّهَارِلايَاتٍ لاُِّوْلِي الالْبَابِ
Verily, in the creation of the heavens and the earth, and in the alternation of night and day, there are indeed signs for men of understanding.
وَيْلٌ لِمَنْ قَرَأَهَا وَلَمْ يَتَفَكَّرْ فِيهَا
Woe to he who recites it but does not contemplate it.
Allah Accepts the Supplication of Men of Understanding
Allah said,
فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ
So their Lord accepted of them,
answered their invocation.
Sa`id bin Mansur recorded that Salamah, a man from the family of Umm Salamah said,
""Umm Salamah said, `O Messenger of Allah! Allah does not mention women in connection with Hijrah (Migration).'
Allah sent down the Ayah,
فَاسْتَجَابَ لَهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ أَنِّي لَا أُضِيعُ عَمَلَ عَامِلٍ مِّنكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَى
(So their Lord accepted of them (their supplication and answered them), ""Never will I allow to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female).
The Ansar say that Umm Salamah was the first woman to migrate to them.""
Al-Hakim collected this Hadith in his Mustadrak, and said, ""It is Sahih according to the criteria of Al-Bukhari but they (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) did not collect it"".
Allah's statement,
أَنِّي لَا أُضِيعُ عَمَلَ عَامِلٍ مِّنكُم مِّن ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنثَى
""Never will I allow to be lost the work of any of you, be he male or female,
explains the type of answer Allah gave them, stating that no deed of any person is ever lost with Him. Rather, He will completely reward each person for his or her good deeds.
Allah's statement,
بَعْضُكُم مِّن بَعْضٍ
You are (members) one of another,
means, you are all equal in relation to gaining My reward.
Therefore,
فَالَّذِينَ هَاجَرُواْ
those who emigrated,
by leaving the land of Shirk and migrating to the land of faith, leaving behind their loved ones, brethren, friends and neighbors.
وَأُخْرِجُواْ مِن دِيَارِهِمْ
and were driven out from their homes,
when the Mushriks tormented them and forced them to migrate.
وَأُوذُواْ فِي سَبِيلِي
and suffered harm in My cause,
for their only wrong, to the people, was that they believed in Allah Alone.
In similar Ayat, Allah said,
يُخْرِجُونَ الرَّسُولَ وَإِيَّـكُمْ أَن تُوْمِنُواْ بِاللَّهِ رَبِّكُمْ
and have driven out the Messenger and yourselves because you believe in Allah your Lord! (60:1)
and,
وَمَا نَقَمُواْ مِنْهُمْ إِلاَّ أَن يُوْمِنُواْ بِاللَّهِ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَمِيدِ
And they had no fault except that they believed in Allah, the Almighty, Worthy of all praise! (85:8)
Allah's statement,
وَقَاتَلُواْ وَقُتِلُواْ
and who fought and were killed (in My cause),
refers to the highest rank there is, that one fights in the cause of Allah and dies in the process, with his face covered in dust and blood.
It is recorded in the Sahih that a man said,
'O Messenger of Allah! If I was killed in Allah's cause, observing patience, awaiting Allah's reward, attacking, not retreating, would Allah forgive my sins?'
The Prophet said, `Yes.'
The Prophet then asked the man, `What did you ask?'
When the man repeated the question, the Prophet said,
نَعَمْ إِلاَّ الدَّيْنَ قَالَهُ لِي جِبْرِيلُ انِفًا
`Yes, except for the debt, for Jibril conveyed this to me right now'.
This is why Allah said here,
لاأُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّيَاتِهِمْ وَلاأُدْخِلَنَّهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الاأَنْهَارُ
verily, I will expiate from them their evil deeds and admit them into Gardens under which rivers flow,
within Paradise, where there are rivers of various drinks:milk, honey, wine and fresh water. There is what no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard and no heart has ever imagined (of delights in Paradise).
Allah's statement,
ثَوَابًا مِّن عِندِ اللّهِ
a reward from Allah,
testifies to His might, for the Mighty and Most Great only gives tremendous rewards.
Allah's statement,
وَاللّهُ عِندَهُ حُسْنُ الثَّوَابِ
and with Allah is the best of rewards.""
for those who perform good deeds."
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