17.The Meaning of Salah
In the Arabic language, the basic meaing of Salah is
supplication. In religious terminology, Salah is used to refer to the acts of
bowing and prostration, the remaining specified acts associated with it,
specificed at certain times, with those known conditions, and the
characteristics, and requirements that are well-known about it.
﴿وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ
مِن قَبْلِكَ وَبِالأْخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ ﴾
(4. And who have faith in what is revealed to you and in
what was revealed before you, and in the Hereafter they are certain.)
Ibn `Abbas said that,
﴿وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَآ
أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِكَ﴾
(And who have faith in what is revealed to you and in what
was revealed before you.) means, "They believe in what Allah sent you
with, and in what the previous Messengers were sent with, they do not
distinguish between (believing) them, nor do they reject what they brought from
their Lord.''
﴿وَبِالأْخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ﴾
(And in the Hereafter they are certain) that is the
resurrection, the standing (on the Day of Resurrection), Paradise, the Fire,
the reckoning and the the Scale that weighs the deeds (the Mizan). The
Hereafter is so named because it comes after this earthly life.
18.Attributes of the Believers
The people described here (2:4) are those whom Allah
described in the preceding Ayah,
﴿الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلٰوةَ
وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَٰـهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ ﴾
(Those who have faith in the Ghayb and perform Salah, and
spend out of what we have provided for them.)
Mujahid once stated, "Four Ayat at the beginning of
Surat Al-Baqarah describe the believers, two describe the disbelievers, and
thirteen describe the hypocrites.'' The four Ayat mentioned in this statement
are general and include every believer, whether an Arab, non-Arab, or a person
of a previous Scripture, whether they are Jinns or humans. All of these
attributes complement each other and require the existence of the other
attributes. For instance, it is not possible that one believes in the Unseen,
performs the prayer and gives Zakah without believing in what the Messenger of
Allah and the previous Messengers were sent with. The same with certainty in
the Hereafter, this is not correct without that, for Allah has commanded the
believers,
﴿يَٰـأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ ءَامِنُواْ بِاللَّهِ
وَرَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَٰـبِ الَّذِى نَزَّلَ عَلَى رَسُولِهِ وَالْكِتَٰـبِ الَّذِى أَنَزلَ
مِن قَبْلُ﴾
(O you who believe! Believe in Allah, and His Messenger, and
the Book (the Qur'an) which He has revealed to the Messenger, and the Book
which He sent own to those before (him)) (4:136),
﴿وَلاَ تُجَٰـدِلُواْ أَهْلَ الْكِتَٰـبِ
إِلاَّ بِالَّتِى هِىَ أَحْسَنُ إِلاَّ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ مِنْهُمْ وَقُولُواْ
ءَامَنَّا بِالَّذِى أُنزِلَ إِلَيْنَا وَأُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَإِلَٰـهُنَا
وَإِلَٰـهُكُمْ وَاحِدٌ﴾
(And argue not with the People of the Book, unless it be in
(a way) that is better, except with such of them as do wrong; and say (to
them): "We believe in that which has been revealed to us and revealed to
you; our Ilah (God) and your Ilah (God) is One (i.e. Allah)') (29:46),
﴿يَٰـأَيُّهَآ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَٰـبَ ءَامِنُواْ بِمَا
نَزَّلْنَا مُصَدِّقاً لِّمَا مَعَكُمْ﴾
(O you who have been given the Book (Jews and Christians)!
Believe in what We have revealed (to Muhammad ) confirming what is (already)
with you) (4:47), and,
﴿قُلْ يَٰـأَهْلَ الْكِتَٰـبِ لَسْتُمْ عَلَى شَىْءٍ حَتَّى تُقِيمُواْ التَّوْرَاةَ
وَالإِنجِيلَ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ﴾
(Say (O Muhammad ): "O People of the Book (Jews and
Christians)! You have nothing until you act according to the Tawrah (Torah),
the Injil (Gospel), and what has (now) been revealed to you from your Lord (the
Qur'an).'') (5:68).
Also, Allah the Exalted described the believers;
﴿ءَامَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَآ أُنزِلَ
إِلَيْهِ مِن رَّبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَٰـئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ
نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ﴾
(The Messenger (Muhammad ) believes in what has been
revealed to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in
Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) "We make no
distinction between any of His Messengers'') (2: 285), and,
﴿وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَلَمْ
يُفَرِّقُواْ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُمْ﴾
(And those who believe in Allah and His Messengers and make
no distinction between any of them (Messengers)) (4:152),
This is a sample of the Ayat that indicate that the true
believers all believe in Allah, His Messengers and His Books.
The faithful among the People of the Book, have a special
significance here, since they believe in their Books and in all of the details
related to that, so when such people embrace Islam and sincerely believe in the
details of the religion, then they will get two rewards. As for the others,
they can only believe in the previous religious teachings in a general way. For
instance, the Prophet stated,
«إِذَا حَدَثَكُمْ أَهْلُ الْكِتَابِ فَلَا تُكَذِّبُوهُمْ
وَلَا تُصَدِقُوهُمْ وَلكِنْ قُولُوا: آمَنَّا بِالَّذِي أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْنَا
وَأُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُم»
(When the People of the Book narrate to you, neither reject
nor affirm what they say. Rather, say, 'We believe in what was revealed to us
and what was revealed to you.')
However, the faith that many Arabs have in the religion of
Islam as it was revealed to Muhammad might be more complete, encompassing and
firmer than the faith of the People of the Book who embraced Islam. Therefore,
if the believers in Islam among the People of the Book gain two rewards, other
Muslims who have firmer Islamic faith might gain an equal reward that compares
to the two the People of the Book gain (upon embracing Islam). And Allah knows
best.
﴿أُوْلَٰـئِكَ عَلَى هُدًى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَأُوْلَٰـئِكَ هُمُ
الْمُفْلِحُونَ ﴾
(5. They are on guidance from their Lord, and they are the
successful.)
19.Guidance and Success are awarded to the
Believers
Allah said,
﴿أُوْلَـئِكَ﴾
(They are) refers to those who believe in the Unseen,
establish the prayer, spend from what Allah has granted them, believe in what
Allah has revealed to the Messenger and the Messengers before him, believe in
the Hereafter with certainty, and prepare the necessary requirements for the
Hereafter by performing good deeds and avoiding the prohibitions. Allah then
said,
﴿عَلَى هُدًى﴾
(On guidance) meaning, they are (following) a light,
guidance, and have insight from Allah,
﴿وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ﴾
(And they are the successful) meaning, in this world and the
Hereafter. They shall have what they seek and be saved from the evil that they
tried to avoid. Therefore, they will have rewards, eternal life in Paradise,
and safety from the torment that Allah has prepared for His enemies.
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ
أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴾
(6. Verily, those who disbelieve, it is the same to them
whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe.)
Allah said,
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ﴾
(Verily, those who disbelieve) meaning, covered the truth
and hid it. Since Allah has written that they would do so, it does not matter
if you (O Muhammad ) warn them or not, they would still have disbelieved in
what you were sent with. Similarly, Allah said,
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ حَقَّتْ عَلَيْهِمْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ لاَ
يُؤْمِنُونَ - وَلَوْ جَآءَتْهُمْ كُلُّ ءايَةٍ حَتَّى يَرَوُاْ الْعَذَابَ
الاٌّلِيمَ ﴾
(Truly, those against whom the Word (wrath) of your Lord has
been justified, will not believe. Even if every sign should come to them, until
they see the painful torment) (10:96-97).
About the rebellious People of the Book, Allah said,
﴿وَلَئِنْ أَتَيْتَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَـبَ بِكُلِّ
ءَايَةٍ مَّا تَبِعُواْ قِبْلَتَكَ﴾
(And even if you were to bring to the People of the Book
(Jews and Christians) all the Ayat, they would not follow your Qiblah (prayer
direction)) (2:5).
These Ayat indicate that whomever Allah has written to be
miserable, they shall never find anyone to guide them to happiness, and
whomever Allah directs to misguidance, he shall never find anyone to guide him.
So do not pity them - O Muhammad - deliver the Message to them. Certainly,
whoever among them accepts the Message, then he shall gain the best rewards. As
for those who turn away in rejection, do not feel sad for them or concerned
about them, for
﴿فَإِنَّمَا عَلَيْكَ الْبَلَـغُ وَعَلَيْنَا الْحِسَابُ﴾
(Your duty is only to convey (the Message) and on Us is the
reckoning) (13: 40), and,
﴿إِنَّمَآ أَنتَ نَذِيرٌ وَاللَّهُ عَلَى كُلِّ شَىْءٍ وَكِيلٌ﴾
(But you are only a warner. And Allah is a Wakil (Disposer
of affairs, Trustee, Guardian) over all things) (11:12).
`Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said about
Allah's statement,
﴿إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ سَوَآءٌ عَلَيْهِمْ
ءَأَنذَرْتَهُمْ أَمْ لَمْ تُنذِرْهُمْ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ ﴾
(Verily, those who disbelieve, it is the same to them
whether you (O Muhammad ) warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe)
"That the Messenger of Allah was eager for all the people to believe and
follow the guidance he was sent with. Allah informed him that none would
believe except for those whom He decreed happiness for in the first place, and
none would stray except those who Allah has decreed to do so in the first
place.''
﴿خَتَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَى قُلُوبِهِمْ وَعَلَى سَمْعِهِمْ
وَعَلَى أَبْصَـرِهِمْ غِشَـوَةٌ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ عظِيمٌ ﴾
(7. Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on their
hearing, and on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be a great
torment).
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