Teachings and Commentary 15-35
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-Ĥaaqqah, 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 Ŝalaah 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 Ŝalaah
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 ŝall 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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