Tafsir of Surah Al-Furqan - Verse 73

More Attributes of the Servants of the Most Gracious

These are further attributes of the servants of the Most Gracious. They do not bear witness to falsehood, including lies, immorality, disbelief, foul speech and false words. `Amr bin Qays said, this refers to gatherings of sexual immorality. It was said that the Ayah,

لاَ يَشْهَدُونَ الزُّورَ

(And those who do not bear witness to falsehood,) refers to giving false testimony, which means lying deliberately to someone else. It was recorded in the Two Sahihs that Abu Bakrah said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said three times:

«أَلَا أُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِأَكْبَرِ الْكَبَائِرِ؟»

(Shall I not tell you of the greatest of major sins) We said, "Of course, O Messenger of Allah." The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«الشِّرْكُ بِاللهِ وَعُقُوقُ الْوَالِدَيْن»

(Associating others in worship with Allah and disobeying one's parents.) He was lying down, then he sat up and added:

«أَلَا وَقَوْلُ الزُّورِ، أَلَا وَشَهَادَةُ الزُّور»

(Beware false speech, and bearing witness to falsehood.) and he kept repeating it until we thought, would that he would stop." From the context it seems that what is meant by those who do not bear witness to falsehood is those who do not attend it or are not present when it happens. Allah says:

وَإِذَا مَرُّواْ بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّواْ كِراماً

(and if they pass by some evil play or evil talk, they pass by it with dignity.) They do not attend where falsehood occurs, and if it so happens that they pass by it, they do not let it contaminate them in the slightest. Allah says:

مَرُّواْ كِراماً

(they pass by it with dignity.)

وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُواْ بِـَايَـتِ رَبِّهِمْ لَمْ يَخِرُّواْ عَلَيْهَا صُمّاً وَعُمْيَاناً

(And those who, when they are reminded of the Ayat of their Lord, fall not deaf and blind thereat.) This is also a characteristic of the believers,

الَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِرَ اللَّهُ وَجِلَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَإِذَا تُلِيَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَـتُهُ زَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَـناً وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ

(Those who, when Allah is mentioned, feel a fear in their hearts and when His Ayat are recited unto them, they increase their faith; and they put their trust in their Lord.) (8:2) Unlike the disbelievers. When they hear the Words of Allah, they are not affected by them or moved to change their ways. They persist in their disbelief, wrongdoing, ignorance and misguidance, as Allah says:

وَإِذَا مَآ أُنزِلَتْ سُورَةٌ فَمِنْهُمْ مَّن يَقُولُ أَيُّكُمْ زَادَتْهُ هَـذِهِ إِيمَـناً فَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ فَزَادَتْهُمْ إِيمَـناً وَهُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ وَأَمَّا الَّذِينَ فِى قُلُوبِهِم مَّرَضٌ فَزَادَتْهُمْ رِجْسًا إِلَى رِجْسِهِمْ

(And whenever there comes down a Surah, some of them say: "Which of you has had his faith increased by it" As for those who believe, it has increased their faith, and they rejoice. But as for those in whose hearts is a disease, it will add doubt to their doubt) (9:124-125).

لَمْ يَخِرُّواْ عَلَيْهَا صُمّاً وَعُمْيَاناً

(fall not deaf and blind thereat.) means, unlike the disbelievers who, when they hear the Ayat of Allah, are not moved by them, but continue as they are, as if they did not hear them but are deaf and blind. His saying:

وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّـتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ

(And those who say: "Our Lord! Bestow on us from our wives and our offspring the comfort of our eyes...") means those who ask Allah to bring forth from their loins offspring who will obey Him and worship Him and not associate anything in worship with Him. Ibn `Abbas said, "This means (offspring) who will strive to obey Allah and bring them joy in this world and the Hereafter." Imam Ahmad recorded that Jubayr bin Nufayr said: "We sat with Al-Miqdad bin Al-Aswad one day, and a man passed by and said, "How blessed are these two eyes which saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ ! Would that we had seen what you saw and witnessed what you witnessed." Al-Miqdad got angry, and I was surprised, because the man had not said anything but good. Then he turned to him and said, "What makes a man wish to be present when Allah had caused him to be absent, and he does not know how he would have behaved if he had been there By Allah, there are people who saw the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, and Allah will throw them on their faces in Hell because they did not accept him or believe in him. Are you not grateful that Allah brought you forth from your mothers' wombs believing in your Lord and in what your Prophet brought, and that the test went to others and not to you Allah sent His Prophet during the most difficult time that any Prophet was ever sent, after a long period of ignorance, when the people could see no better religion than the worship of idols, and he brought the Criterion which distinguishes truth from falsehood and which would separate a father from his son. A man would realize that his father, son or brother was a disbeliever, and since Allah had opened his heart to Faith, he knew that if his relative died he would go to Hell, so he could not rest knowing that his loved one was in the Fire. This is what Allah referred to in the Ayah,

وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبْ لَنَا مِنْ أَزْوَجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّـتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعْيُنٍ

(And those who say: "Our Lord! Bestow on us from our wives and our offspring the comfort of our eyes...") Its chain of narrators is Sahih, although they did not report it.

وَاجْعَلْنَا لِلْمُتَّقِينَ إِمَاماً

(and make us leaders of those who have Taqwa.) Ibn `Abbas, Al-Hasan, As-Suddi, Qatadah and Rabi` bin Anas said: "Leaders who would be taken as examples in good." Others said: "Guides who would call others to goodness." They wanted their worship to be connected to the worship of their children and offspring, and their guidance to go beyond themselves and benefit others. This would be more rewarding and a better end, as it was recorded in Sahih Muslim from Abu Hurayrah, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«إِذَا مَاتَ ابْنُ آدَمَ انْقَطَعَ عَمَلُهُ إِلَّااِمنْ ثَلَاثٍ: وَلَدٍ صَالِحٍ يَدْعُو لَهُ، أَوْ عِلْمٍ يُنْتَفَعُ بِهِ مِنْ بَعْدِهِ، أَوْ صَدَقَةٍ جَارِيَة»

(When a son of Adam dies, his deeds cease apart from three: a righteous child who will pray for him, knowledge from which others may benefit after him, or ongoing charity.)

The Twelveth Characteristic

وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُ‌وا بِآيَاتِ رَ‌بِّهِمْ لَمْ يَخِرُّ‌وا عَلَيْهَا صُمًّا وَعُمْيَانًا

And those who, when they are reminded of the verses of their Lord, do not fall at them as deaf and blind ones - 25:73

That is when the blessed servants of Allah are reminded of His verses and the Hereafter, they do not throw themselves upon them as if they were blind and dumb, but pay heed to them like sober and sensible persons, and act upon them. They do not behave like the ignorant or negligent persons as if they have not seen or listened i.e. not understood the message. Two things are mentioned in this verse. One, to fall at Divine revelation i.e. to listen them with full attention. This is a virtuous and commendable act. Second, to fall at the verses like deaf and dumb people which means to listen to the message but without any purpose or commitment and act in a manner that the real message has not been registered, and even if they follow the Qur'anic message it is not in line with the practices of the companions of the Prophet or their followers. Such people follow their own whims based on hearsay, which is as bad as not following the Divine message.

Self-study of religious precepts is not enough but they need to be acted upon in the light of interpretation given by classic scholars

As it is condemned in the verses under study that Divine message is ignored. It is also pointed out with equal emphasis that it is listened and acted upon without due diligence, that is without comprehending the intent and spirit of the precept and according to one's own sweet will. Ibn Kathir has reported on the authority of Ibn ` Aun that he inquired from Hadrat Sha'bi رحمۃ اللہ علیہ that if he comes across a people who are in the state of sajdah (prostration), whether it is correct for him to join them in sajdah. Sha'bi (رح) replied in the negative explaining that it would not be correct for him to join in their prostration unless he finds out the purpose of that act. It is not proper for a believer to join in any action without knowing the purport of that act, rather he should seek to know the purpose behind an act before taking it up for himself. When one has not listened the verse of prostration, nor does he know the reason for their prostration it is not allowed for him to go in prostration.

It is a matter of great satisfaction that there is a new tendency among the younger generation and modern educated people to study the Qur’ an but to achieve this purpose they often deem it enough to study the Qur’ an and try to understand it through the translations of the Qur'an on their own. This practice being against the correct principles of learning something, often makes them fall into misconceptions. It is a well-settled fact that education and knowledge cannot be imparted only through books unless guidance of a teacher is available for explaining the intricacies of the subject which normally go unnoticed by an ordinary reader. It is rather strange why people feel that this basic rule does not apply to Qur'an and its related subjects and try to indulge in interpreting the Holy Book according to their own wishes. This type of study and interpreting Qur'an on one's own without the help and guidance of a well qualified teacher also falls under the purview of this verse i.e. "they do not throw themselves upon as if they were blind and dumb". May Allah lead us to the right path.

Every man with a family is the leader (imam) of his family. If his family members are God-fearing, he is the imam of God-fearing people. But if his family members are forgetful of God, he is at the head of those who are oblivious of God.