لطفا منتظر باشید ...
Part 7
Sura Insan 76:23-26
23. "Surely We, Ourselves,
have revealed the Holy Qur'an to you, revealing (it) in stages."
24. "Therefore be patient
and constant to the command of your Lord,
and obey not from among them
a guilty or an ungrateful one."
25. "And remember the name
of your Lord morning and evening,"
26. "And during the night
prostrate thyself to Him; and glorify
}Him (a)
long (part of the) night."
Commentary:
Five Great Instructions for the Fulfillment of Allah's Command
The
aforementioned verses of the Sura are about the creation of Man and then about
his rebirth at the time of Resurrection. Now, the verses are referring to the
Prophet (p.b.u.h.), directly, with some emphatical instructions about the
guidance of Man and his patience and constancy. In fact, these verses show the
way of how to approach the incomparable immense blessings. This task is not
possible except through taking hold of the Qur'an, following the Prophet's
leadership and being inspired by his instructions.
At
first it says: "Surely We,
Ourselves, have revealed the Qur'an to you, revealing (it) in stages."
Some
commentators have said that the term /tanzila/ 'revealing in stages', which has appeared as a direct object
in this verse, denotes the gradual descent of the Holy Qur'an, whose effect on
man's training is clear. Some others believe that it refers to the high
position of this Heavenly book and emphasizes the fact that this book was sent
down by Allah, in spite of those who
accused the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) of
being a necromancer, sorcerer, magician and calumniator of Allah.
Then,
there are five important instructions given to the Prophet (p.b.u.h.). The first is for patience and constancy, and says:
"Therefore be patient
and constant to the command of your Lord,..."
Don't
be afraid of the difficulties and the problems that occur in your way, the
great number of your enemies or their obstinacy. Continue on your way and go
forward.
It
is noteworthy that, with regard to /f/ in the Arabic term /fasbir/ 'therefore be patient and constant', the instruction for patience is
secondary to the revelation of the Qur'an by Allah. That is: since
Allah is your supporter then do
stay firmly on the way. The term /rabb/ 'Lord, Cherisher' points to the same idea.
And
in the second instruction the Prophet (p.b.u.h.)
is warned not to listen to or obey the unjust. It says: "...and obey not from among them a
guilty or an ungrateful one."
In
fact, the second instruction is an emphasis on the first instruction, because
numerous enemies tried, in different ways, to make the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) adapt to their way of
thinking. It is said that 'Atabat-ibn-i-Rabi'ah' and 'Walid-ibn-i-Muqayyarah'
told the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) to leave
his prophecy and they would give him as much wealth and the most beautiful
ladies to marry as would satisfy him and other suggestions like this, but the
Prophet (p.b.u.h.) as a true, great
leader, was instructed to be patient and constant against the evil temptations
or the threats, which were made against him. He should not yield to either the
allurements or the threats.
It
is true that the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) never
yielded, and this is a sign for the greatness of his faith; an eternal model
for other leaders of the Way.
Although
some commentators have said that the term 'sinner' refers to 'Atabat-ibn-i-Rabiah',
and the term 'ungrateful' refers
to 'Walid-ibn-i-Muqayyarah' or 'Abu Jahl'; each of whom were
among the pagan Arabs, it is clear that the terms have a vast meaning, which
encompasses any sinner and unbeliever; but these three were the most vivid
evidences of the words.
It
is also noteworthy that 'sinner' has
a general meaning which includes the ungrateful, too, then 'ungrateful' is a subdivision of 'sinner'.
However,
since being patient and constant with many great difficulties is not easy to do
and going on such a road needs two certain provisions, so, it says in the next
verse: "And remember the name of your
Lord morning and evening."
"And during the night
prostrate thyself to Him and glorify Him (a) long (part of the) night".
Under
the light of 'remembering the Name
of your Lord', and
with 'prostration and
glorification' you can
build the necessary spiritual strength and sufficient support for overcoming
the difficulties along the way.
The
term /bukrah/ 'beginning of the
day' is opposite to
the term /asil/ 'evening, sunset', which is followed by praying at night
and are mentioned in these two verses to show the necessity of continuous
remembrance of Allah both day and
night.
Some
commentators have applied them to the five daily prayers; morning (Fajr), noon
(Zohr), afternoon ('Asr), sunset (Maqrib) and evening ('Isha) prayers, or in
addition to the optional prayers after midnight. At any rate, it seems that
these prayers are examples for this continuous remembrance of the Lord and
glorification and prostration to Him
The
last two terms in the verse, /laylan tawila/, refer to the glorification of Allah for a long part of the night. It
has been narrated that Imam Ali ibn-Musa-ar-Reza (p.b.u.h.) was asked what 'glorify' meant and he answered that
it meant 'optional night prayer'.href="#_ftn1" name="_ftnref1" title="">[1]
It
is probable that the above commentary is one of the clear evidences of 'glorifiication' because the
optional night prayer is very effective in strengthening ones faith and self-will
for obeying Allah, and refining
spirits.
It
is worthy to note, here, that though the five instructions are addressed to the
Prophet (p.b.u.h.), they are, in
fact, models for all those who have a role in spiritual and humane guidance of
societies.
They
should know that, after being sure of their strong belief in their goal and
prophetic mission, it is necessary for them to be patient and constant and not
to be afraid of mass difficulties in their way; since, guiding populations has
always been with great difficulties especially when faced with some unyielding
ignorant enemies. And no prophetic mission of theirs will survive unless the
leaders are patient.
In
the next stage, they must strongly stand against evil temptations of the
sinners and the ungrateful; those who try to lead astray leaders with all kinds
of deceit and hypocrisy in order to make their prophetic mission fruitless.
They should neither be deceived by allurements nor be afraid of threats.
In
any case, every morning and evening, they should prostrate themselves before
Him to obtain spiritual power, strong will and firm decision, especially when
they get help in their supplications and night prayers; victory will surely be
their own.
And,
if it happens that they have a failure or misfortune at some point, along the
way, it is possible to compensate for this under the light of these principles.
The Prophet's life and his prophetic mission, throughout his career of inviting
people to Islam, are good examples for those who wish to follow the straight
path.
name="_ftn1" title="">[1] Majma'-al-Bayan, vol. 10, p.
413.
