(1–11) “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. The believers have indeed attained success * those who are humble in their prayer * those who turn away from idle speech * those who give zakah * those who guard their chastity * except with their wives or those whom their right hands possess, for then they are free from blame * but whoever seeks anything beyond that—it is they who are the transgressors * those who faithfully uphold their trusts and covenants * and those who carefully maintain their prayers * it is they who are the inheritors * who will inherit Firdaws, where they will abide forever.”
Here Allah extols His believing servants, mentioning their success and happiness and the means by which they attained them. This also implicitly encourages people to adopt their qualities and inspires them to do so. Let every servant therefore measure himself and others against these verses. In this way, he will know how much faith he and others possess—whether more or less, abundant or scant.
His words, “The believers have indeed attained success,” mean that they have triumphed, attained happiness, prospered, and obtained everything they seek. These believers are those who believe in Allah and affirm the truthfulness of the messengers. Among their perfect qualities is that they “are humble in their prayer.”
Humility in prayer means that the heart is fully present before Allah Most High and conscious of His nearness. The heart consequently grows still, the soul becomes tranquil, one’s movements are subdued, and one’s glances wander less. The worshipper conducts himself with proper reverence before his Lord and remains fully mindful of everything he says and does throughout his prayer, from beginning to end. This dispels distracting whispers and base thoughts. Such humility is the spirit and purpose of prayer, and it is what is credited to the servant. A prayer lacking humility and presence of heart may still be valid and rewarded, but its reward is ⦗548⦘ proportionate to how much of it the heart comprehends.
“Those who turn away from idle speech”—meaning speech containing no good or benefit—do so out of aversion to it, keeping themselves above it and preserving themselves from it. When they encounter idle speech, they pass by with dignity. If they turn away from idle speech, then they are all the more certain to turn away from what is forbidden. When a servant controls and safeguards his tongue—except when speaking good—he controls his entire affair. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said to Muādh ibn Jabal while giving him a series of counsels, “Shall I tell you what controls all of that?” I replied, “Certainly, O Messenger of Allah.” He then took hold of his own tongue and said, “Restrain this.” Thus, among the believers’ praiseworthy qualities is that they restrain their tongues from idle and forbidden speech.
“Those who give zakah” means that they pay the zakah due on their wealth, whatever category of wealth it may be. They also purify themselves of foul character and evil deeds, for the soul is purified by abandoning and avoiding them. They therefore excel in worshipping the Creator through humility in prayer and in doing good to His creation by giving zakah.
“Those who guard their chastity” from unlawful sexual relations. Perfectly guarding it also requires avoiding whatever leads to such acts, including looking, touching, and similar things. They guard their private parts from everyone “except their wives or those whom their right hands possess”—namely, enslaved women whom they own—“for then they are free from blame” for intimacy with either, since Allah Most High has made both lawful for them.
“But whoever seeks anything beyond that”—apart from a wife or concubine—“it is they who are the transgressors”: those who overstep what Allah has made lawful and enter into what He has forbidden, daring to violate Allah’s sacred limits. The general import of this verse proves that temporary marriage is forbidden, for the woman in such an arrangement is neither truly a wife whom one intends to retain nor an enslaved woman. For the same reason, it also proves the prohibition of an intervening marriage contracted merely to make a divorced woman lawful again for her former husband.
The words “or those whom their right hands possess” also indicate that, for an enslaved woman to be lawful to a man, she must belong to him entirely. If he owns only a share of her, she is not lawful to him, because she (1) is not one of those whom his right hand possesses; rather, she belongs jointly to him and another. Just as two husbands may not share a free woman, two masters may not share an enslaved woman.
“Those who faithfully uphold their trusts and covenants” means that they observe, safeguard, and preserve them and are diligent in fulfilling and carrying them out. This includes every trust owed as a right to Allah or to people. Allah Most High says, “We offered the Trust to the heavens, the earth, and the mountains, but they refused to bear it and were fearful of it; yet the human being undertook it.” Every duty Allah has imposed upon His servant is therefore a trust that the servant must safeguard by fulfilling it completely. This also includes trusts owed to other people, such as entrusted property, secrets, and the like. The servant must observe both kinds and discharge both trusts: “Indeed, Allah commands you to return trusts to their rightful owners.”
Likewise, covenants include those between people and their Lord and those between one person and another. These are the obligations and contracts that a servant undertakes. He must observe and fulfil them, and it is forbidden for him to neglect or disregard them.
“And those who carefully maintain their prayers” means that they perform them consistently at their appointed times and in accordance with their prescribed limits, conditions, and pillars. Allah praises them both for humility in prayer and for maintaining their prayers, because their religious state cannot be complete without both. Whoever consistently performs prayer without humility, or has humility but does not consistently maintain the prayers, is blameworthy and deficient.
“It is they”—those described by these qualities—“who are the inheritors * who will inherit Firdaws,” which is the highest, central, and finest part of Paradise, because they adorned themselves with the highest and most sublime virtuous qualities. Alternatively, Firdaws here may mean Paradise in its entirety, thereby encompassing all believers in their varying degrees and ranks, each according to his state. “There they will abide forever”: they will never depart from it or desire to move elsewhere, for it contains the most perfect, excellent, and complete bliss, unmarred by anything that might disturb or diminish it.