Allah SWT throughout Quran has provided guidance, stipulating the steps one can follow to become a better Muslim & human being. The verses from Surah Al-Furqan talk about some of the traits that are special in the eyes of Allah SWT and are referred to in a unique way in the verses. Let’s look at the verses and dive into the profound dimensions:
وَعِبادُ الرَّحمٰنِ الَّذينَ يَمشونَ عَلَى الأَرضِ هَونًا وَإِذا خاطَبَهُمُ الجاهِلونَ قالوا سَلامًا
The servants of the All-beneficent are those who walk humbly on the earth, and when the ignorant address them, say, ‘Peace!’
وَالَّذينَ يَبيتونَ لِرَبِّهِم سُجَّدًا وَقِيامًا
Those who spend the night for their Lord, prostrating and standing [in worship].
وَالَّذينَ يَقولونَ رَبَّنَا اصرِف عَنّا عَذابَ جَهَنَّمَ ۖ إِنَّ عَذابَها كانَ غَرامًا
Those who say, ‘Our Lord! Turn away from us the punishment of hell. Indeed its punishment is enduring.
إِنَّها ساءَت مُستَقَرًّا وَمُقامًا
Indeed it is an evil abode and place.’
وَالَّذينَ إِذا أَنفَقوا لَم يُسرِفوا وَلَم يَقتُروا وَكانَ بَينَ ذٰلِكَ قَوامًا
Those who, when spending, are neither wasteful nor tightfisted, and moderation lies between these [extremes].
وَالَّذينَ لا يَدعونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلٰهًا آخَرَ وَلا يَقتُلونَ النَّفسَ الَّتي حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلّا بِالحَقِّ وَلا يَزنونَ ۚ وَمَن يَفعَل ذٰلِكَ يَلقَ أَثامًا
Those who do not invoke another god besides Allah, and do not kill a soul [whose life] Allah has made inviolable, except with due cause, and do not commit fornication. (Whoever does that shall encounter its retribution)
[Surah AL-FURQAN ( الفرقان ) 25, Verses 63-68]
Before we start with the traits, lets us first focus on the expression “Ibad ur Rehman” – This is unique, where Allah SWT is referring to these special people as the servants of Al-Rehman, we know that the name Rehman reflects the utmost mercy of Allah SWT. May Allah SWT make us from among these special people.
Here are the traits that are being highlighted in the verses:
- Those who walk humbly – this reflects how important it is to be humble! Of all the traits, this is put first and shows the importance – as a Muslim, we believe everything we have is from Allah SWT, all the blessings, belongings, health, peace, family, joys of life, and even our own body is from Him. Once we internalize this reality, where we are receivers and have nothing of our own – what is left to be proud of? Every deed, every action, and every piece of good – is a blessing from Allah SWT. The ask here is that we come to settle with this reality and be humble (first and foremost).
- Those who respond with peace – even in the worldly sense, silence keeps you away from a lot of the mess in life. Here is this verse, Allah SWT is declaring special mercy for those who don’t engage in arguments with ignorant (less than a moral exchange of words) and walk away while keeping their guard high and responding with peace.
- Those who pray in the night – we know that the 3rd part of the night before the Fajr Salah is the time when Allah SWT gets right above the first heaven to answer the supplications and to forgive those who make the effort around that time. There is special mercy for those who stand in prayer in the night, prostrate, and supplicate.
- Those who seek refuge from hell – this is important to understand, Shaitan oftentimes occupies us with the thought where we (the believers) start to take the punishment of hell lightly or fall trap of the idea that will not end up permanently in it and hence we can absorb the burden. This sort of thinking is destructive, in this verse Allah SWT is reflecting mercy for those who constantly fear the punishment of Allah SWT and seek His protection from the hell fire (as it is not the place one can bear even for a fraction of a second). What’s important to understand is that we should be conscious of punishment (hell) all the time – this wouldn’t just help us set our paths right but will be a guiding principle to fix our affairs in life.
- Those who balance their spending – from whatever Allah SWT has blessed us with, He shows mercy to those who are neither stingy nor wasteful of the resources. Those who are balanced in the way they spend Allah’s resources on themselves or on others, hold Allah’s special mercy.
- Those who do not commit Shirk – Shirk, and Kufr are the biggest of sins and as they hold the worst of punishments if one dies on it, there is mercy for those who stay away from Shirk. We should understand this concept in depth as we are often trapped in affairs where we start relying on people or situations to turn things in our favor or grant us resources in the world – as a believer we should always and only rely on Allah SWT for all our needs and affairs.
- Those who do not kill – those who don’t engage in activities that harm other creations of Allah SWT, specifically keeping away from killing innocents.
- Those who do not commit fornication – those who stay far away from the paths leading towards fornication. It is an active state of mind where we are supposed to keep our guards high in our worldly affairs in order to stay away from fornication.
These verses from Surah Al-Furqan show us the guide on how we should try to structure our personality – we find what we should actively work towards and things we should consciously stay far away from. May Allah SWT help us be among those who have His special mercy.
I want to shed light on the Hadith from Prophet Muhammad PBUH “Whoever can guarantee (the chastity of) what is between the two jaw-bones and what is between his two legs (i.e. his tongue and his private parts), I guarantee Paradise for him)” [ref. Sahih Bukhari 6474]. This hadith also reflects on the traits mentioned in the verses – where guarding the tongue and private parts fill in the conditions for traits highlighted that lead to Allah SWT’s special mercy.