Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth in humility…”

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The Shaykh : Then Allah the Exalted said:

And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily

وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الأَرْضِ هَوْناً

[Al-Furqan 25:63]

Listen to what follows regarding the descriptions of the servants of the Most Merciful. Reflect on how He said: “The servants of the Most Merciful,” to indicate that their being servants of Allah is only by the mercy of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). “The servants of the Most Merciful”; He did not say: “The servants of Allah.” He said: “The servants of the Most Merciful,” so that you may know that they were not servants of Allah except, what? Except by the mercy of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Their descriptions are:

those who walk upon the earth easily

الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الأَرْضِ هَوْناً

[Al-Furqan 25:63]

.
If someone asks: Are all of creation servants of Allah, or are the servants of Allah those who worship Him? The answer is: All of creation, all of creation are servants of Allah. Allah the Exalted said:

⁽⁹³⁾ There is no one in the heavens and earth but that he comes to the Most Merciful as a servant. ⁽⁹⁴⁾ He has enumerated them and counted them a [full] counting. ⁽⁹⁵⁾ And all of them are coming to Him on the Day of Resurrection alone.

إِنْ كُلُّ مَنْ فِي السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ إِلاَّ آتِي الرَّحْمَنِ عَبْداً لَقَدْ أَحْصَاهُمْ وَعَدَّهُمْ عَدّاً وَكُلُّهُمْ آتِيهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فَرْداً

[Maryam 19:93-95]

. All of creation are slaves to Allah; they do not possess the power to bring themselves any benefit or avert any harm. Nor can they repel what Allah has decreed for them. The most stubborn and most defiant of them is a slave to Allah, but by cosmic servitude, not by legislative servitude. Therefore, Allah (Mighty and Majestic) challenged the disbelievers, and He said:

Then why, when the soul at death reaches the throat

فَلَوْلا إِذَا بَلَغَتْ الْحُلْقُومَ

[Al-Waqi'ah 56:83]

meaning: The soul ascended from the body until it reached the throat here

⁽⁸⁴⁾ And you are at that time looking on - ⁽⁸⁵⁾ And Our angels are nearer to him than you, but you do not see -

وَأَنْتُمْ حِينَئِذٍ تَنظُرُونَ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْكُمْ وَلَكِنْ لا تُبْصِرُونَ

[Al-Waqi'ah 56:84-85]

nearer to him than you

أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْكُمْ

[Al-Waqi'ah 56:85]

meaning: By our angels, the angels who are present to take the soul.

But you do not see

وَلَكِنْ لا تُبْصِرُونَ

Those who are with the dying person at the moment of death do not see anything.

Then why do you not, if you are not to be recompensed,

فَلَوْلا إِنْ كُنتُمْ غَيْرَ مَدِينِينَ

[Al-Waqi'ah 56:86]

meaning: As you claim that you will not be judged for your deeds and will not be resurrected

⁽⁸⁶⁾ Then why do you not, if you are not to be recompensed

فَلَوْلا إِنْ كُنتُمْ غَيْرَ مَدِينِينَ تَرْجِعُونَهَا

[Al-Waqi'ah 56:86-87]

What is the answer? It is impossible for them to return it. Once the soul reaches the throat, if all the people of the earth and all the people of the heavens gathered, they could not return it

Bring it back, if you should be truthful?

تَرْجِعُونَهَا إِنْ كُنتُمْ صَادِقِينَ

[Al-Waqi'ah 56:87]

It is impossible. So the question is: Are all of creation, both their disbelievers and their believers, servants of Allah? Yes, they are servants of Allah in the cosmic sense. They cannot escape the divine decree and destiny of Allah. But the beneficial worship is the worship of the Shari'ah. Those who worship Allah by His Shari'ah—O Allah, make us among them, O Allah, make us among them, O Allah, make us among them.

And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace,

وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الأَرْضِ هَوْناً وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمْ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلاماً

[Al-Furqan 25:63]

It mentions their practical and verbal attributes.

walk upon the earth easily

يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الأَرْضِ هَوْناً

[Al-Furqan 25:63]

You find him walking, not with the gait of the deluded or the insane, nor with the gait of the hurried, but with a gentle gait. And the meaning is not that they do not hurry; they hurry where hurrying is appropriate and slow down where slowing down is appropriate. But they are gentle, humble before Allah, and humble before the servants of Allah.

and when the ignorant address them

وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمْ الْجَاهِلُونَ

[Al-Furqan 25:63]

And when they wrong them with speech, they do not retaliate against them

They say, "Peace"

قَالُوا سَلاماً

What is the meaning of

They say, "Peace"

قَالُوا سَلاماً

? It may occur to some people that the meaning is: They say: “Peace be upon you.” But the meaning is broader than that, namely: They said a word by which they are safe, by which they are safe, either “Peace be upon you” or other gentle speech by which they are safe.

Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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