“And those who do not invoke any other god besides Allah.” Rather, they worship Him alone, devoting their religion sincerely to Him as upright monotheists, turning toward Him and away from all else.
“And who do not kill a soul whose life Allah has made sacred”—namely, a Muslim or a non-Muslim protected by a covenant—“except with legal right,” such as a life for a life, the execution of an adulterer who has been married, or that of a disbeliever whose killing is lawful.
“And who do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse.” Rather, they guard their chastity, “except with their wives or those whom their right hands possess.” “Whoever does that”—meaning associating partners with Allah, unlawfully killing a soul whose life Allah has made sacred, or committing unlawful sexual intercourse—“will meet a penalty.” He then explains it by saying: “The punishment will be multiplied for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will remain in it”—that is, in the punishment—“humiliated.” The threat of eternal punishment undoubtedly applies to whoever commits all three, and likewise to whoever associates partners with Allah. The threat of severe punishment also applies to each of these three individually, for it is either polytheism or one of the gravest major sins.
As for the killer and the fornicator remaining eternally in the punishment, the threat of eternity does not apply to them. Quranic texts and the Prophetic sunnah establish that all believers will eventually leave the Fire and that no believer will remain there eternally, whatever sins he may have committed. The Most High specified these three because they are among the gravest major sins: polytheism corrupts religion, murder destroys lives, and unlawful sexual intercourse violates honor.
“Except those who repent” of these and other sins by immediately abandoning them, regretting their past commission, and firmly resolving never to return to them; “and believe” in Allah with sound faith that requires abandoning sins and performing acts of obedience; “and perform righteous deeds” commanded by the Lawgiver, intending thereby the countenance of Allah.
“For them Allah will replace their evil deeds with good deeds.” That is, their actions and words, which had formerly been directed toward evil, become good: their polytheism is replaced with faith and their disobedience with obedience. The evil deeds they actually committed are themselves replaced with good deeds after they respond to each sin with repentance, a return to Allah, and obedience, as is apparent from the verse.
A hadith concerning this relates that Allah called a man to account for some of his sins and enumerated them before him, then replaced every evil deed with a good deed. The man said, “My Lord, I have other evil deeds that I do not see here!” Allah knows best.
“Allah is Ever-Forgiving” to whoever repents, forgiving even grave sins, “Most Merciful” to His servants: after they had openly defied Him with enormities, He called them to repentance, enabled them to repent, and then accepted it from them.
“Whoever repents and performs righteous deeds has truly turned to Allah in repentance.” That is, let him know that his repentance is of the utmost perfection, for it is a return to the path leading to Allah, which is the very essence of the servant’s happiness and success. He should therefore be sincere in it and purify it of every taint of corrupt motives. The purpose here is to urge people to perfect their repentance and offer it in the finest and noblest manner, so that when the repentant person comes before the One to whom he repented, He will fully reward him (1) according to its perfection.
“And those who do not attend falsehood.” That is, they do not attend anything false, meaning any forbidden word or deed. They therefore avoid every gathering containing forbidden speech or conduct, such as speaking improperly about Allah’s signs, engaging in baseless argument, backbiting, tale-bearing, abuse, slander, mockery, forbidden singing, drinking wine, silk furnishings, images, and similar things. If they do not even attend falsehood, it follows all the more that they neither speak nor practice it themselves.
False testimony is included under false speech and therefore falls within this verse all the more readily. “And when they pass by idle talk”—speech containing neither good nor any religious or worldly benefit, such as the talk of foolish people and their like—“they pass by with dignity.” That is, they keep themselves pure and honor themselves by refusing to engage in it. They regard such engagement—even when it entails no sin—as foolishness and as a deficiency in human dignity and honorable character, and so they rise above it.
The words, “when they pass by idle talk,” indicate that they do not deliberately seek to attend or hear it. Rather, when they happen upon it unintentionally, they honor themselves by turning away.
“And those who, when reminded of the signs of their Lord,” which He commanded them to hear and follow for guidance, “do not fall upon them deaf and blind.” That is, they do not respond by turning away from them, refusing to hear them, and averting their eyes and hearts, as do those who neither believe in nor affirm them. Rather, their response upon hearing them is as the Most High says: “Only those believe in Our signs who, when reminded of them, fall down in prostration, glorify their Lord with praise, and are not arrogant.” They receive them with acceptance, recognize their need for them, submit, and surrender to them. You find them possessing attentive ears and understanding hearts; the signs increase their faith, perfect their certainty, inspire them with vigor, and fill them with joy and delight.
“And those who say, ‘Our Lord, grant us through our spouses’”—that is, those joined to us, including friends, peers, and wives—“and our descendants the delight of our eyes”; that is, may our eyes be delighted by them.
When we carefully consider their condition and qualities, we recognize from their lofty aspirations and exalted rank that their eyes will not be delighted until they see them obedient to their Lord, possessing knowledge and acting upon it. Just as this is a supplication for the righteousness of their spouses and descendants, it is also a supplication for themselves, since its benefit returns to them. They therefore regard it as a gift to themselves, saying, “grant us.” Indeed, their supplication benefits Muslims generally, because the righteousness of those mentioned becomes a cause for the righteousness of many who are connected to them and benefit from them.
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“And make us an example for the God-fearing.” That is: Our Lord, bring us to this lofty station—the station of the eminently truthful and the perfected among Allah’s righteous servants. It is the station of leadership in religion: being examples for the God-fearing in word and deed, so that their actions are emulated, their words are trusted, and the people of goodness follow behind them. Thus, they guide others and are themselves rightly guided.
It is well known that praying to attain something entails praying for everything without which it cannot be attained. This station—leadership in religion—cannot be attained without patience and certainty, as the Most High says: “We made from among them leaders who guided by Our command when they patiently endured and had certainty in Our signs.” This supplication therefore entails many deeds: patience in obeying Allah, patience in refraining from disobeying Him, patience through His painful decrees, and complete knowledge that brings its possessor to the station of certainty. It entails abundant good, a magnificent gift, and their attainment of the highest possible ranks among creation after the messengers.
Because their aspirations and aims were lofty, their reward corresponded to their deeds. Allah rewarded them with lofty abodes, saying: “Those will be rewarded with the highest chamber for their patience”—that is, elevated stations and splendid dwellings containing everything souls desire and eyes delight in. They attained all of this because of their patience, as the Most High says: “The angels will enter upon them through every gate, saying, ‘Peace be upon you for your patience. How excellent is the final home!’” He therefore says here: “They will be received there with greetings and peace” from their Lord, from His noble angels, and from one another; and they will be kept safe from every annoyance and disturbance.
In summary, Allah described them as possessing dignity, composure, humility before Him and His servants, good manners, forbearance, excellent character, pardon toward the ignorant, avoidance of them, and repayment of their wrongdoing with kindness. He described them as performing the night prayer with sincerity, fearing the Fire, humbly beseeching their Lord to save them from it, spending what is obligatory and recommended, and remaining moderate therein—and if they are moderate in spending, where people commonly fall into either negligence or excess, then it follows all the more that they are balanced and moderate in other matters.
He also described them as being free of major sins, sincere to Allah in worship, refraining from violating lives and honor, and repenting whenever anything of that nature proceeds from them. They do not attend gatherings involving forbidden conduct or verbal and practical wickedness, nor do they commit such things themselves. They rise above idle talk and base deeds containing no good. This necessarily indicates their honorable character, true humanity, perfection, and elevation above every base word and deed.
They receive Allah’s signs with acceptance, seek to understand their meanings, act upon them, and strive to implement their rulings. They call upon Allah Most High with the most perfect supplication: one that benefits them, those connected to them, and all Muslims through the righteousness of their spouses and descendants. This necessarily entails striving to teach, admonish, and advise them, for whoever earnestly desires something and asks Allah for it must also pursue the means leading to it. They also ask Allah to bring them to the highest stations attainable by them: the stations of leadership in religion and supreme truthfulness.
How lofty are these qualities, how exalted these aspirations, and how magnificent these aims! How pure are those souls, how immaculate those hearts, how select this chosen company, and how God-fearing these leaders!
How immense are Allah’s grace, favor, and mercy upon them—mercy that enveloped them—and His kindness that brought them to these stations!
How great is Allah’s favor upon His servants in making their qualities clear, describing their condition, revealing their aspirations, and explaining their rewards, so that people may long to possess their qualities, exert every effort to attain them, and ask the One who favored and honored them—whose grace extends through every time and place, at every moment and in every age—to guide them as He guided these servants and to care for them through His special nurturing just as He cared for them.
O Allah, all praise belongs to You. To You alone complaint is made; You are the One whose help is sought, and Your aid is implored. There is no power and no might except through You. We possess neither benefit nor harm for ourselves, and we cannot attain even an atom’s weight of good unless You facilitate it for us. We are weak and utterly incapable in every respect.
We testify that if You leave us to ourselves for the blink of an eye, You leave us to weakness, incapacity, and sin. Our Lord, we therefore rely only upon Your mercy, through which You created and provided for us, bestowed upon us every outward and inward blessing You granted, and averted afflictions from us. Have mercy upon us with a mercy that frees us from need of anyone else’s mercy, for no one who asks and hopes in You is ever disappointed.
Since Allah Most High linked these servants to His mercy and singled them out for special servitude to Him because of their honor and virtue, someone might wonder, “What about others as well? Why are they not included in this servitude?” The Most High therefore informs us that He has no regard for anyone besides these and gives them no weight. Were it not for your calling upon Him—both the call of worship and the call of supplication—He would neither regard nor love you. He says: “Say, ‘My Lord would not care for you were it not for your calling upon Him. But you have denied, so the punishment will be inevitable.’” That is, a punishment will cling to you as a creditor clings to his debtor. Allah will judge between you and His believing servants.
This completes the commentary on Surah al-Furqān. To Allah belong all praise, commendation, and gratitude forever.