(1–5) “In the name of Allah, the Most Compassionate, the Most Merciful. Alif-Lām-Mīm. * This is the Book in which there is no doubt, a guidance for the God-fearing, * who believe in the unseen, establish prayer, and spend from what We have provided them; * and who believe in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed before you, and who have certainty in the Hereafter. * Those are upon guidance from their Lord, and it is they who are successful.”
The basmala has already been discussed. As for the disconnected letters at the beginning of certain surahs, the safest course is to refrain from addressing their meaning [without scriptural evidence], while affirming with certainty that Allah Most High did not reveal them in vain, but rather for a wisdom unknown to us.
His words, “This is the Book,” mean: this magnificent Book, which is truly deserving of the name “the Book,” comprising sublime knowledge and manifest truth such as no books of earlier or later generations contain. Thus, “in which there is no doubt” means that there is no uncertainty whatsoever concerning it. Denying that there is any doubt about it necessarily affirms its opposite, for the opposite of doubt and uncertainty is certainty. This Book therefore contains knowledge that yields certainty and dispels doubt and uncertainty. This illustrates a useful principle: a negation intended as praise must affirm its opposite, namely perfection, because negation is an absence, and sheer absence contains nothing praiseworthy.
Since the Book contains certainty, and guidance can be attained only through certainty, He said: “a guidance for the God-fearing.” Guidance is that by which one is led away from misguidance and doubts and directed to follow beneficial paths. He said, “a guidance,” without specifying the object to which it guides. He did not say that it is guidance toward this particular benefit or that particular matter, thereby indicating its universal scope: it guides to every benefit in both worlds. It directs people in matters of fundamentals and subsidiary rulings, distinguishes truth from falsehood and the sound from the weak, and shows them how to follow the paths that benefit them in this world and the Hereafter.
Elsewhere He says, “a guidance for mankind,” making it universal, whereas here and elsewhere He says, “a guidance for the God-fearing.” This is because it is, in itself, guidance for all creation. Yet the wretched paid it no heed and did not accept Allah’s guidance. The proof was thereby established against them, but because of their wretchedness they did not benefit from it. The God-fearing, however, fulfilled the greatest cause for attaining guidance: God-consciousness. Its true meaning is to adopt what protects one from Allah’s wrath and punishment by obeying His commands and avoiding His prohibitions. They were therefore guided by it and benefited from it to the fullest extent. Allah Most High says: “O you who believe, if you fear Allah, He will grant you a criterion.” Thus, the God-fearing are those who benefit from the Quranic verses and the signs in creation.
Guidance is of two kinds: the guidance of clarification and the guidance of divine enablement. The God-fearing receive both, whereas others do not receive the guidance of divine enablement. Guidance through clarification, without being enabled to act upon it, is not [complete] guidance in the true sense.
He then described the God-fearing in terms of inward beliefs and deeds as well as outward deeds, since God-consciousness encompasses all of these. He said: “who believe in the unseen.” The true meaning of faith is complete affirmation of what the messengers have reported, coupled with the submission of one’s limbs. Belief in things perceptible to the senses is not the crucial matter, for that does not distinguish a Muslim from a disbeliever. What truly matters is belief in the unseen, which we have neither seen nor witnessed but believe because Allah and His Messenger have informed us of it. This is the faith that distinguishes a Muslim from a disbeliever, because it is a pure affirmation of Allah and His messengers. The believer accepts everything Allah or His Messenger has reported, whether he has witnessed it or not, and whether he understands and comprehends it or his reason and understanding cannot grasp it. This is unlike the heretics and those who deny unseen matters: because their deficient and negligent minds could not grasp them, they denied that of which they had no encompassing knowledge. Their reason consequently became corrupt and their minds confused, whereas the minds of the believers—who affirm the truth and are guided by Allah’s guidance—became sound and pure.
Belief in the unseen includes [belief in] everything Allah has reported concerning past and future unseen matters, the circumstances of the Hereafter, the realities of Allah’s attributes and their modalities, [and what the messengers have reported concerning ⦗41⦘ them]. They believe in Allah’s attributes and affirm their existence with certainty, even though they do not comprehend their modalities.
He then said: “and establish prayer.” He did not say merely that they perform or offer prayer, because merely carrying out its outward form is insufficient. Establishing prayer outwardly means completing its pillars, obligations, and conditions. Establishing it inwardly (1) means sustaining its spirit: keeping the heart present during it and reflecting upon what one says and does in it. This is the prayer of which Allah says: “Indeed, prayer restrains from shameful and wrongful deeds,” and it is the prayer for which reward is granted. A person (2) receives no reward for his prayer except to the extent that he is conscious of it. Prayer here includes both obligatory and voluntary prayers.
He then said: “and spend from what We have provided them.” This includes obligatory expenditures, such as zakat and maintenance for wives, relatives, slaves, and the like, as well as recommended expenditures in every avenue of goodness. Those upon whom the wealth is to be spent were not specified because the grounds for spending are numerous and its recipients varied, and because spending is, in itself, an act that draws one nearer to Allah. He used the word min (“from”), which indicates a portion, to alert them that He requires of them only a small part of their wealth—an amount that neither harms nor burdens them. Rather, they benefit by spending it, and their brothers benefit from it as well.
His words, “We have provided them,” indicate that the wealth in your hands was not acquired through your own strength or control. Rather, it is Allah’s provision, which He has bestowed upon you and with which He has favored you. Just as He has blessed you and favored you above many of His servants, show gratitude to Him by giving some of what He has bestowed upon you and by assisting your destitute brothers.
Allah Most High frequently couples prayer with zakat in the Quran because prayer entails sincerity toward the One worshipped, while zakat and spending entail kindness toward His servants. The hallmark of a servant’s happiness is his sincerity toward the One he worships and his endeavor to benefit creation. Conversely, the hallmark of a servant’s wretchedness is the absence of these two qualities: neither sincerity nor kindness.
He then said: “and who believe in what has been revealed to you,” namely the Quran and the sunnah. Allah Most High says: “Allah has revealed to you the Book and wisdom.” The God-fearing believe in everything brought by the Messenger. They do not discriminate among what was revealed to him by believing in some of it while disbelieving in other parts, whether by denying them or interpreting them contrary to what Allah and His Messenger intended. This is what some innovators do: they interpret texts that contradict their views in a way that ultimately amounts to rejecting their meaning, even if they affirm their wording. They have therefore not truly believed in them.
His words, “and what was revealed before you,” include belief in the previous scriptures (3). Belief in the scriptures entails belief in the messengers and in what those scriptures contain, especially the Torah, the Gospel, and the Psalms. This is a distinctive quality of the believers: they believe in all the heavenly scriptures (4) and all the messengers, making no distinction between any of them.
He then said: “and who have certainty in the Hereafter.” “The Hereafter” is the name given to all that will occur after death. It is specifically [mentioned] after the general statement because belief in the Last Day is one of the pillars of faith and because it is the greatest motive for hope, fear, and action. “Certainty” is complete knowledge containing not the slightest doubt and compelling one to act.
“Those”—meaning those characterized by these praiseworthy qualities—“are upon guidance from their Lord,” that is, upon magnificent guidance, for the indefinite form conveys greatness. What guidance could be greater than the qualities mentioned, which encompass sound belief and upright deeds? Is [true] guidance anything other than their guidance? Anything else [that contradicts it] is (5) misguidance.
Here He used “upon,” which denotes elevation, whereas with misguidance He uses “in,” as in His words: “Indeed, either we or you are upon guidance or in manifest error.” This is because the person of guidance rises above through guidance and is elevated by it, whereas the person of misguidance is immersed in it and brought low.
He then said: “and it is they who are successful.” Success [means] attaining what is sought and escaping what is feared. He restricted success to them because there is no path to success except by following their way. All paths other than that way are paths of wretchedness, ruin, and loss, leading those who follow them to destruction.
Thus, after mentioning the qualities of the true believers, He mentioned the qualities of the disbelievers who openly display their disbelief and stubbornly oppose the Messenger, saying: