Tafsir of Surah Al-'Ankabut - Verse 44

لِتُجْزَى كُلُّ نَفْسٍ بِمَا تَسْعَى

(that every person may be rewarded for that which he strives) (20:15).

لِيَجْزِىَ الَّذِينَ أَسَاءُواْ بِمَا عَمِلُواْ وَيِجْزِى الَّذِينَ أَحْسَنُواْ بِالْحُسْنَى

(that He may requite those who do evil with that which they have done, and reward those who do good, with what is best) (53:31).

إِنَّ فِى ذَلِكَ لآيَةً لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ

(Verily, therein is surely a sign for those who believe. ) meaning, there is clear evidence that Allah is alone in creating, controlling, and in His divinity.

The Command to convey the Message, to recite the Qur'an and to pray

Then Allah commands His Messenger and the believers to recite the Qur'an, which means both reciting it and conveying it to people.

وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَوةَ إِنَّ الصَّلَوةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَآءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ

(and perform the Salah. Verily, the Salah prevents from Al-Fahsha' and Al-Munkar and the remembrance of Allah is greater indeed.) Prayer includes two things: the first of which is giving up immoral behavior and evil deeds, i.e., praying regularly enables a person to give up these things. Imam Ahmad recorded that Abu Hurayrah said: "A man came to the Prophet and said, `So-and-so prays at night, but when morning comes, he steals.' The Prophet said:

«إِنَّهُ سَيَنْهَاهُ مَا تَقُول»

(What you are saying (i.e., the Salah) will stop him from doing that.)" Prayer also includes the remembering of Allah, which is the higher objective, Allah says:

وَلَذِكْرُ اللَّهِ أَكْبَرُ

(and the remembrance of Allah is greater indeed.) more important than the former.

وَاللَّهُ يَعْلَمُ مَا تَصْنَعُونَ

(And Allah knows what you do.) means, He knows all that you do and say. Abu Al-`Aliyah commented on the Ayah:

إِنَّ الصَّلَوةَ تَنْهَى عَنِ الْفَحْشَآءِ وَالْمُنْكَرِ

(Verily, the Salah prevents from immoral sins and evil wicked deeds) "Prayer has three attributes, and any prayer that contains none of these attributes is not truly prayer: Being done purely and sincerely for Allah alone (Ikhlas), fear of Allah, and remembrance of Allah. Ikhlas makes a person do good deeds, fear prevents him from doing evil deeds, and the remembrance of Allah is the Qur'an which contains commands and prohibitions." Ibn `Awn Al-Ansari said: "When you are praying, you are doing good, it is keeping you away from immoral sins and evil wicked deeds and what you are doing is part of the remembrance of Allah which is greater."

وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِ‌بُهَا لِلنَّاسِ وَمَا يَعْقِلُهَا إِلَّا الْعَالِمُونَ (And these examples We cite for people, and no one understands them except the knowledgeable ones. - 29:43). After comparing the weakness of the gods of disbelievers with cobweb, it is stressed that Allah Ta’ ala provides such clear examples to elucidate the truth of Oneness. But only knowledgeable persons draw benefit from them, and the people at large do not ponder, so that they could also understand the truth.

Who is knowledgeable in the sight of Allah?

Imam Baghawi has quoted with his own sanad (chain of narrators) a report from Sayyidna Jabir ؓ that the Holy Prophet ﷺ recited this verse and said ` knowledgeable is the one who ponders over Allah's message, and acts in obedience to Him, and keeps away from the deeds that annoy Him'.

This explains that one does not become knowledgeable in the sight of Allah only by developing some understanding of Qur'an and Oath. To be on that high pedestal one needs to give a continual careful thought to Qur'an, and then lead a life conforming to Qur’ anic teachings.

Musnad of Ahmad has reproduced a narration of Sayyidna 'Amr Ibn Al-` As ؓ that he said he had learnt one thousand amthal (maxims or examples) from the Holy Prophet ﷺ . After reproducing this narration, Ibn Kathir has observed that it was a great honour for Sayyidna ` Amr Ibn Al-` As ؓ ، because those who understand the examples (Amthal) given by Allah Ta’ ala and His messenger are termed by the present verse as knowledgeable.

Sayyidna ` Amr Ibn Murrah ؓ has said that he felt very bad whenever he came across any such verse of the Holy Qur'an, which he could not understand, because Allah has said وَتِلْكَ الْاَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ ۚ وَمَا يَعْقِلُهَآ اِلَّا الْعٰلِمُوْنَ (And these examples We cite for people, and no one understands them except the knowledgeable). (Ibn Kathir).

‘Recite what has been revealed to you of the book’ here means ‘the propagation of the revelation’ i.e. reciting the Quran before people and making them aware of the will of God. This work of propagation is a task calling for great patience. To perform this work well, one has to be the well-wisher of one’s opponents, one has to ignore their excesses and one has to look at one’s addressees as one’s invitees, even if they are rivals and opponents. Just as prayer restrains a man from evil in everyday life, similarly, it saves a missionary from unmissionary-like behaviour. Only that man can become preacher of God’s message whose heart is full of God’s remembrance and who bows down before God in all sincerity. Prayer, or salaat, restrains the human being from committing evil. If a man bows down or prostrates himself (performs ruku‘ and sajdah) before God in all earnestness, he develops a sense of responsibility and humility. The character which forms in a man as a result of this makes him do that which he should do and desist from that which he should not do. When a man attains perfect knowledge through intense realization of God, or ma‘rifah, the result is that the thought of God permeates his very existence. This is what is meant by remembrance of God (dhikr). This spring of God’s remembrance, or dhikr, wells up and flows through his body and soul. Reaching this height of spirituality, man begins uttering noble words in praise of God, and this is undoubtedly the highest form of prayer or worship.