7. PIOUS PEOPLE’S DU‘Ā (SUPPLICATION) IN THE QUR’ĀN (6)
Among the pious
people’s du’a (supplication) mentioned in the Qur’ān are: h. the believers
in general, and they are, as far as I know, fifteen of them: three verses
mentioned in sūrat al-Baqarah Q. 2: 201, 285, and 286); seven verses in sūrat
Al ‘Imrān (Q. 3:8, 9, 16 , 191, 192, 193, and 194); one verse in sūrat
al Mu’minūn (Q. 23:109); three verses in sūrat al-Furqān (Q. 25:65,
66, and), and one verse in sūrat al-Taḥrīm (Q. 66:8). We shall deal here
the verses mentioned in in sūrat al-Baqarah as follows:
1.
The believers make this du’a as mentioned in the Qur’an as follows:
وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا
حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً
وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ (البقرة:201)
And of them there are some who say: “Our Lord!
Give us in this world that which is good and in the
Hereafter that which is good, and save us from
the torment of the Fire!” (Q. 2:201)
This
verse is dealing with the du‘a of the believers during their pilgrimage.
In the previous verse Allah told the
pilgrims among Muslims to remember Allah as they remembered their forefathers,
even more. But of mankind there are some who say: “Our Lord! Give us Your
bounties in this world!.” and for such there will be no portion in the
Hereafter. (Q. 2: 200). This is because, as mentioned by Ibn ‘Abbās, one among
the people in the time of Jahiliyyah, used to stand during the pilgrimage
season, said that his father used to help the poor, help others by ending their
disputes with his money. What they remembered were the good deeds of their
fathers. Then Allah revealed to the Prophet and the Muslims in their pilgrimage
to remember Allah as they remembered their fathers, but even more.
When some
Bedouins used to supplicate while they were in ‘Arafah asking Him to make a
rainy day, a fertile year, and a year of good child bearing, without mentioning
the affairs of the Hereafter. Then Allah reminds the Prophet and the Muslim not
to forget to supplicate for their affairs of the Hereafter which is more
important.
Then
Allah taught us by praising the believers who made their supplication for all
good aspects of this life and the Hereafter, as well as His protection from the
Hellfire. The Prophet s..a.w. himself used to say this supplication.
When the Prophet s.a.w. visited a weak and sick man whether he had made
supplication, he said: “O Allah! Whatever punishment you saved for me in the
Hereafter, give it to me in this life.” The man became very weak in his bed. The
Prophet s.a.w. told him that he could not stand Allah’s punishment, and
he advised him to cite the supplication to give him the goodness of this life,
of the Hereafter, and protection from the Hellfire, as mentioned in the above
verse, and he healed.
2. In the following verse Allah mentions that the
Prophet as well as the believers believe in what was revealed to him, believe
in Allah, His Angles, His Books and Messengers without making any distinction among
His Messengers, and state that they obey and at the same time ask Him
forgiveness and mercy.
آمَنَ الرَّسُولُ بِمَا
أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ
وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ
وَرُسُلِهِ لَا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا
وَأَطَعْنَا غُفْرَانَكَ
رَبَّنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ (البقرة:285)
The
Messenger believes in what has been sent
down
to him from his lord, and (so do) the believers.
Each
one believes in Allah, His angels, His Books, and
His Messengers. (They say,) “We make no distinction
between one another of His Messengers” – and
they
say,
“We hear and we obey. (We seek) Your
forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the
return (of all). (Q.
2:(285
The
Muslims believe in all prophet sent by Allah to mankind. They are unlike the
Jews who believe in Prophet Mūsā (Moses) a.s., but reject Prophet ‘Īsá (Jesus) a.s., nor the
Christians who believe in Prophet ‘Īsá (Jesus) a.s., but reject Prophet
Muhammad s.a.w.
3.
The
verse continues with following one:
لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ وَعَلَيْهَا
مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ رَبَّنَا لَا
تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِنْ نَسِينَا أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا
رَبَّنَا وَلَا تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَا إِصْرا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى
الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِنَا رَبَّنَا
وَلَا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لَا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا
وَارْحَمْنَا أَنْتَ مَوْلَانَا فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ
(البقرة:286)
Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope.
He gets reward for that (good) which he has earned,
and he is
punished for hat (evil) which he has earned.
“Our Lord!
Punish us not if we forget or fall into error,
our Lord! Lay
not on us a burden like that which You
did lay on
those before us (Jews and Christians);
our Lord! Put
not on us a burden greater than we
have strength
to bear. Pardon us and grant us
forgiveness.
Have mercy on us. You are our
Mawla (Patron,
Supporter and Protector)
and give us
victory over the disbelieving
people.” (Q.
2:286)
Ibn
‘Abbas narrated that the companions of the Prophet told him that they knew how
to repent from their bad deeds and bad words; they asked him how to repent from
their temptation (devilish insinuation), and how to avoid it. The angel Gabriel
came to him revealing, “Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope” It
means that temptation cannot be avoided, but can be ignored. Abdullah ibn
‘Abbas also mentioned some Qur’anic verses indicating Allah’s easiness in
practising Islam, as follows:
وَمَا جَعَلَ عَلَيْكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ مِنْ
حَرَجٍ )الحج: 78(
… and He has not laid upon you in religion
any hardship…(Q. 22:78)
يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلا
يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ )البقرة: 185(
...Allah intends for you
ease, and He does not want
to make things difficult for you…(Q. 2:185)
(فَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ
مَا اسْتَطَعْتُمْ (التغابن: 16
So keep your duty to Allah and
fear Him as
much as you can…(Q. 64:16)
Ibn
Kathīr states that the previous verse, i.e., verse 284 worried the
companions of the Prophets s.a.w. It runs as follows:
...وَإِنْ
تُبْدُوا مَا فِي أَنْفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُمْ بِهِ اللَّهُ... (البقرة:285)
… And whether you disclose
what is in
yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call
you to account for it… (Q. 2:284)
Then revelation came to make
easy for them, that any devilish insinuation or temptation would be tolerated
as long as they do not act upon it. The verse that worried the Companions of
the Prophet became abrogated by this verse.
The Qur’an commentator Ibn Kathīr
gives the commentary of verse 286 above as follows:
“Our Lord! Push us not if
we forget or fall into error,” means “if we forget an obligation or make an
error while we do not know its ruling.”[1]
“Our
Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did not lay on those before us
(Jews and Christians)” means “do not require us to perform difficult deeds
as You required the previous nations, even if we are able to perform them.”[2]
“Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear” means
“do not inflict upon us misfortune or trial which we have no power over it.” Allah accepted the above three supplication. In a ḥadīth qudsī narrated by Abu
Hurayrah, Allah said, نَعَمْ “Yes,” (I
shall accept your supplication), whereas in another version narrated by Ibn
‘Abbās, Allah said, قَدْ فَعَلْتُ “I did” (accept your supplication) (Both ḥadīth
were reported by Muslim).
“Pardon us” وَاعْفُ عَنَّا means “between us and You
regarding what You know of our shortcoming and errors.” “And grant us
forgiveness” وَاغْفِرْ
لَنَا means “between us and Your servants, so that do not
expose to them our errors and evil deeds.” “Have mercy on us” وَارْحَمْنَا means “in what will come
in future, so that with your guidance do not let us fall into another error.” It
is said that the offender (evil doer) needs three things: Allah’s forgiveness, His
concealing it from people, and His protection from other errors in future.
“You are our Mawla”
أَنْتَ
مَوْلَانَا means “You are our protector, supporter
and helper. We totally rely on You, and the power is solely from You.” “…and give us victory over the
disbelieving people” فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ means “those who reject Islam
and the message of the Prophet, and worship other than You.”
One example of the
strict law in Judaism is the observant of the Sabbath (“Shabbat”) day where
Jewish people have to rest. The Old Testament states: “For in six days the
Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he
rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made
it holy” (Exodus 20:11). “I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us,
so they would know that I the Lord made them holy” (Ezekiel 20:12). The
Sabbath day is so holy that violating it is a grave offence and the punishment
for the offender although was originally death, now with more lenient
punishment. The observant Jews would obey 39 forbidden acts, and therefore, would
not drive their cars on the Sabbath day. It is because it is prohibited on that
day from forbidden act no. 37, namely, kindling a fire (the combustion of
engine by burning gasoline and oil), and forbidden act no. 39, namely, taking
an object from the private domain to the public, or transporting an object in
the public domain (the movement of the car). The restrictions of the Sabbath
day can only be violated in case of necessity, to save life. (CIVIC, 27 February, 2015)
المراجع:
المكتبة الشاملة
تفسير الطبري (ت.
310 هـ(
تفسير القرطبى (ت.
671 هـ(
تفسير ابن كثير (ت.
774 هـ(
Ali,
A.Yusuf. The Meanings of the Holy Qur’ān. Kuala Lumpur: Percetakan Zafar
Sdn Bhd, 2005
Asad, Muhammad. The Message of the Qur’ān.
Gibraltar: Dar al-Andalus, 1984.
Holy Bible: New International Version
http://www.jewfaq.org/kashrut.htm#Animal
http://www.sabbathtruth.com/free-resources/article .
[1] In a ḥadīth narrated by Ibn ‘Abbas, the
Prophet s.a.w. said: إِنَّ اللهَ تَجَاوَزَ عَنْ أُمَّتِي الْخَطَأَ وَالنِّسْيَانَ وَمَا اسْتُكْرِهُوا عَلَيْهِ
(وراه ابن ماجة) “Verily, Allah tolerates from my community
mistake, forgetfulness, and being compelled.” (Reported by Ibn Mājah)
[2] Muhammad Asad is referring “to the heavy burden of
rituals imposed by the Law of Moses upon the children of Israel, as well as
the-world renunciation recommended by Jesus to his followers”. We learn that in the Old Testament it states,
“Of all the creatures living in the water of the seas and the streams, you may
eat any that have fins and scales.” (Leviticus 11:9; Deuteronomy 14:9).
Therefore, shellfish which some people say contains high cholesterol such as
lobsters, oysters, shrimp, clams and crabs are all forbidden. It is advised
that shellfish should be avoided to lower cholesterol. But the other view
states that shellfish has very little cholesterol, such as crabs, mussels,
oysters, clams, scallops and lobster. According to Yale New Haven Hospital, “those
claims [that shellfish and seafood have high cholesterol] hadn't entirely stand
up. Much of the excess cholesterol from seafood comes from polyunsaturated
fats, which are actually beneficial to heart health. Knowing how much
cholesterol is in seafood can help you incorporate it into your diet without
going over the recommended 200 to 300 milligrams per day.” On the other hand,
according to the New Testament, Jesus in his teaching on worldly-renunciation
said: “It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of
God.” (Mark 10:25).
