Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (To whomever among you wills to be upright)
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Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (To whomever among you wills to be upright)
Allah the Exalted said: [At-Takwir: 28] The phrase (to whomever) is a substitute for what came before it; but by repeating the operative verb, which is (except), it becomes: [At-Takwir: 27-28]. As for the one who does not will to be upright, he will not remember by this Qur'an, nor will he benefit from it.As Allah the Exalted said: [Qaf: 37].
So the person who does not want to be upright cannot benefit from this Qur'an.
If someone says: Is the will of the human being by his choice?We say: Yes.
The will of the human being is by his choice. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has given the human being choice and will. If he wills, he acts, and if he wills, he does not act; because if that were not the case, the argument would not be established against the creation to whom the messengers were sent by the sending of the messengers.
Did you understand the topic?So: Is what we do by our choice and will?
Yes.
It is by our choice and will. And if it were not so, the sending of the messengers would not be an argument against us.Since we can say: We are not able to choose. So the human being is undoubtedly an actor by his choice. And every person knows that if he wants to go to Makkah, it is by his choice. And if he wants to go to al-Madinah, it is by his choice. And if he wants to go to Bayt al-Maqdis, it is by his choice. And if he wants to go to Riyadh, it is by his choice. Or to any place he wants, it is by his choice. He does not see that anyone forced him to do it, nor does he feel that anyone forced him to do it.
Likewise, the one who wants to perform obedience to Allah does so by his choice, and the one who wants to disobey Allah does so by his choice.
So the will of the human being is free in it; but we know with certainty that he did not will anything except that Allah willed it before him.And for this he said: [At-Takwir: 29]. We do not will anything except after Allah has willed it. So when we will a thing, we know that Allah has willed it. And if Allah had not willed it, we would not have willed it.As Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Baqarah: 253].
So when we do a thing, we do it by our will and choice; but we know that this will and choice were after the will of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And if Allah had willed otherwise, we would not have done it.
If someone were to say: So do we have an argument in disobedience? Because we did not will it except after Allah willed it! So the answer is: We have no argument; because we did not know that Allah willed it except after we did it, and our doing of it was by our choice.And for this reason, we cannot say: That Allah willed such a thing or willed such a thing is only known after it happens. So when it happens, by what did it happen? It happened by our will and our choice.
Therefore, it is not appropriate that the sinner have an argument against Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And Allah has invalidated this argument in His saying: [Al-An'am: 148]. And if it were not that they have no argument, they would not have tasted the wrath of Allah, and they would have been safe from the wrath of Allah; but they have no argument, so they tasted the wrath of Allah.
And we all know that if a person is told that there is a safe, secure country where his provision comes abundantly from every place, with trade and earnings that are not found in other countries, and that another country is fearful and unstable, disturbed in its economy, disturbed in fear and security, to which of the two would he go? Certainly he would go to the first without doubt, and he does not see that anyone forced him to go to the first. Rather, he sees that he went to the first purely by his own will.
So it is now the path of good and the path of evil.Allah said to us: This is the path of Hellfire, and this is the path of Paradise. And He has made clear to us what is in Paradise of bliss, and what is in the Fire of punishment. So which of the two will we take? By clear and obvious analogy, we will take the path of Paradise without doubt, just as in the previous example we would take the path of the country where its provision comes abundantly from every place.
So if we take the path of the Fire, there will be blame and rebuke and censure upon us, and we will be called foolish. Just as if we took the path of the fearful, unstable country in the first example, which has no stability, then everyone would blame us and rebuke us.
Therefore: So in His saying: [At-Takwir: 28], it is an affirmation that the human being does a thing by his will and choice; but after he does the thing and wills it, we know that Allah has willed it before. And if Allah had willed otherwise, he would not have done it. And often the human being resolves upon a thing, and after the resolution he turns toward this thing, and at some moment he finds himself turning away from it, or he finds himself being turned away from it; because Allah did not will it.
So often we want to go, for example, to a certain mosque to listen to a lecture, and then we turn away for a reason or without a reason. Sometimes for a reason, such that we remember that we have a task, or we are told: The lecture was canceled, so we return. And sometimes we return without a reason. We do not know except that Allah the Exalted has turned our resolve away from it, so we returned.And for this reason, it was said to an Arab: By what did you know your Lord?He said: By the nullification of resolutions and the turning away of wills.
By negating the default rulings, meaning: That the human being resolves upon a thing with a firm resolution, and then it is nullified.
Who nullified his resolution? He does not feel that there is a decider who obligated him to deviate from his first resolution. Rather, it is purely by the will of Allah.
And diverting the aspirations, meaning: That the human being intends a thing and turns toward it completely, and then he finds himself turning away from it. Whether the one turning him away is a tangible preventer, or the one turning him away is merely a choice by the human being to turn away, all of this is from Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
In conclusion: That Allah says: [At-Takwir: 28].
What is the meaning of uprightness?Righteousness is: Moderation. And there is no moderation more upright than the moderation of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in His Shari'ah.
So in the previous legislations, every legislation was suitable for the condition of the nations in time, place, and state. And after the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), his Shari'ah became suitable for the community to which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent, from the beginning of his mission to the end of the world.
And for this reason, it was among the known phrases: That the Islamic religion is suitable for every time and place and state. And if people held fast to it, Allah would reform the creation.
Look, for example, at the human being! He prays first standing. If he is unable, then sitting. If he is unable, then on his side.Therefore: The Shari'ah develops according to the person; because the religion is suitable for every time and place.
And it is obligatory for the one who has had a discharge to purify himself with water. If using water becomes difficult due to inability or absence, he turns to dry ablution. If he does not find water or earth, or if he is unable to use earth, he prays without anything, not with the purity of water nor with the purity of dry ablution.
All of this is because the Shari'ah of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is all built on justice. So there is no injustice in it, and there is no oppression in it, and there is no difficulty in it, and there is no hardship in it.And for this he said: [At-Takwir: 28].
And the opposite of righteousness is two deviations: A deviation toward the side of excess and extremism.
And a deviation toward the side of negligence and falling short.
So for this reason, the people in the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, are three types: Two extremes, and a middle.
An extreme that is excessive, exaggerated, ascetic, and stubborn.
And another extreme that is negligent, falling short, and careless.
And the third is a middle between excess and negligence, upright on the religion of Allah.
And this last one is the one who is praised.
As for the first, the excessive one, and the second, the deviating one, both are perishing, according to what each of them has of extremism or of falling short.
And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade extremism, excess, stubbornness, and asceticism.To the extent that he said: (The ascetics have perished, the ascetics have perished, the ascetics have perished); because asceticism involves hardship upon the self, and it involves going out of the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
Just as Allah has condemned the negligent and the careless.And he said in describing the hypocrites: [An-Nisa: 142].
So the religion of Allah is a middle between the one who is excessive in it and the one who deviates from it.For this reason, He said here: [At-Takwir: 28]. It does not lean to the right or to the left, but its course is a course of uprightness on the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
And uprightness, as it is in the dealing with the Creator, Mighty and Majestic, which is: worship, is also in the dealing with the created. So be with people between two extremes: between the extreme of severity, harshness, and frowning, and the extreme of laxity, negligence, and giving oneself over, and lowering of rank. Be firm in one aspect, and soft in another aspect.
And for this reason, the jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) said regarding the judge: He should be soft without weakness, and strong without violence. So his softness should not lead him to weakness, nor his strength to violence, but he should be between that: soft without weakness, and strong without violence, until things are set right.
So some people, for example, deal with people always with frowning, severity, and making themselves feel that they are above people, and that people are beneath them. And this is an error.
Some people belittle themselves and humble themselves to the point of negligence and indifference, such that they remain among people with no honor or dignity, and this is also an error.
So it is obligatory for a person to be between these two extremes, as was the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) was strict where strictness was required and gentle where gentleness was required.
So a person combines here firmness and determination with gentleness, compassion, and mercy.
Allah the Exalted said:
For whoever wills among you to take a right course.
لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَ(27) It is not except a reminder to the worlds (28) For whoever wills among you to take a right course.
إِلَّا ذِكْرٌ لِلْعَالَمِينَ * لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَIndeed in that is a reminder for whoever has a heart or who listens while he is present [in mind].
إِنَّ فِي ذَلِكَ لَذِكْرَى لِمَنْ كَانَ لَهُ قَلْبٌ أَوْ أَلْقَى السَّمْعَ وَهُوَ شَهِيدٌSo the person who does not want to be upright cannot benefit from this Qur'an.
If someone says: Is the will of the human being by his choice?We say: Yes.
The will of the human being is by his choice. So Allah, Mighty and Majestic, has given the human being choice and will. If he wills, he acts, and if he wills, he does not act; because if that were not the case, the argument would not be established against the creation to whom the messengers were sent by the sending of the messengers.
Did you understand the topic?So: Is what we do by our choice and will?
Yes.
It is by our choice and will. And if it were not so, the sending of the messengers would not be an argument against us.Since we can say: We are not able to choose. So the human being is undoubtedly an actor by his choice. And every person knows that if he wants to go to Makkah, it is by his choice. And if he wants to go to al-Madinah, it is by his choice. And if he wants to go to Bayt al-Maqdis, it is by his choice. And if he wants to go to Riyadh, it is by his choice. Or to any place he wants, it is by his choice. He does not see that anyone forced him to do it, nor does he feel that anyone forced him to do it.
Likewise, the one who wants to perform obedience to Allah does so by his choice, and the one who wants to disobey Allah does so by his choice.
So the will of the human being is free in it; but we know with certainty that he did not will anything except that Allah willed it before him.And for this he said:
And you do not will except that Allah wills
وَمَا تَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُIf Allah had willed, those [generations] succeeding them would not have fought each other after the clear proofs had come to them. But they differed, and some of them believed and some of them disbelieved. And if Allah had willed, they would not have fought each other
وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقْتَتَلَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَاتُ وَلَكِنِ اخْتَلَفُوا فَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ آمَنَ وَمِنْهُمْ مَنْ كَفَرَ وَلَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا اقْتَتَلُواSo when we do a thing, we do it by our will and choice; but we know that this will and choice were after the will of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And if Allah had willed otherwise, we would not have done it.
If someone were to say: So do we have an argument in disobedience? Because we did not will it except after Allah willed it! So the answer is: We have no argument; because we did not know that Allah willed it except after we did it, and our doing of it was by our choice.And for this reason, we cannot say: That Allah willed such a thing or willed such a thing is only known after it happens. So when it happens, by what did it happen? It happened by our will and our choice.
Therefore, it is not appropriate that the sinner have an argument against Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And Allah has invalidated this argument in His saying:
Those who associated with Allah will say, "If Allah had willed, we would not have associated [anything] and neither would our fathers, nor would we have prohibited anything." Likewise did those before deny until they tasted Our punishment.
سَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ أَشْرَكُوا لَوْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ مَا أَشْرَكْنَا وَلا آبَاؤُنَا وَلا حَرَّمْنَا مِنْ شَيْءٍ كَذَلِكَ كَذَّبَ الَّذِينَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ حَتَّى ذَاقُوا بَأْسَنَاAnd we all know that if a person is told that there is a safe, secure country where his provision comes abundantly from every place, with trade and earnings that are not found in other countries, and that another country is fearful and unstable, disturbed in its economy, disturbed in fear and security, to which of the two would he go? Certainly he would go to the first without doubt, and he does not see that anyone forced him to go to the first. Rather, he sees that he went to the first purely by his own will.
So it is now the path of good and the path of evil.Allah said to us: This is the path of Hellfire, and this is the path of Paradise. And He has made clear to us what is in Paradise of bliss, and what is in the Fire of punishment. So which of the two will we take? By clear and obvious analogy, we will take the path of Paradise without doubt, just as in the previous example we would take the path of the country where its provision comes abundantly from every place.
So if we take the path of the Fire, there will be blame and rebuke and censure upon us, and we will be called foolish. Just as if we took the path of the fearful, unstable country in the first example, which has no stability, then everyone would blame us and rebuke us.
Therefore: So in His saying:
For whoever wills among you to take a right course.
لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَSo often we want to go, for example, to a certain mosque to listen to a lecture, and then we turn away for a reason or without a reason. Sometimes for a reason, such that we remember that we have a task, or we are told: The lecture was canceled, so we return. And sometimes we return without a reason. We do not know except that Allah the Exalted has turned our resolve away from it, so we returned.And for this reason, it was said to an Arab: By what did you know your Lord?He said: By the nullification of resolutions and the turning away of wills.
By negating the default rulings, meaning: That the human being resolves upon a thing with a firm resolution, and then it is nullified.
Who nullified his resolution? He does not feel that there is a decider who obligated him to deviate from his first resolution. Rather, it is purely by the will of Allah.
And diverting the aspirations, meaning: That the human being intends a thing and turns toward it completely, and then he finds himself turning away from it. Whether the one turning him away is a tangible preventer, or the one turning him away is merely a choice by the human being to turn away, all of this is from Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
In conclusion: That Allah says:
For whoever wills among you to take a right course.
لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَWhat is the meaning of uprightness?Righteousness is: Moderation. And there is no moderation more upright than the moderation of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in His Shari'ah.
So in the previous legislations, every legislation was suitable for the condition of the nations in time, place, and state. And after the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), his Shari'ah became suitable for the community to which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was sent, from the beginning of his mission to the end of the world.
And for this reason, it was among the known phrases: That the Islamic religion is suitable for every time and place and state. And if people held fast to it, Allah would reform the creation.
Look, for example, at the human being! He prays first standing. If he is unable, then sitting. If he is unable, then on his side.Therefore: The Shari'ah develops according to the person; because the religion is suitable for every time and place.
And it is obligatory for the one who has had a discharge to purify himself with water. If using water becomes difficult due to inability or absence, he turns to dry ablution. If he does not find water or earth, or if he is unable to use earth, he prays without anything, not with the purity of water nor with the purity of dry ablution.
All of this is because the Shari'ah of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is all built on justice. So there is no injustice in it, and there is no oppression in it, and there is no difficulty in it, and there is no hardship in it.And for this he said:
to be righteous
أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَAnd the opposite of righteousness is two deviations: A deviation toward the side of excess and extremism.
And a deviation toward the side of negligence and falling short.
So for this reason, the people in the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, are three types: Two extremes, and a middle.
An extreme that is excessive, exaggerated, ascetic, and stubborn.
And another extreme that is negligent, falling short, and careless.
And the third is a middle between excess and negligence, upright on the religion of Allah.
And this last one is the one who is praised.
As for the first, the excessive one, and the second, the deviating one, both are perishing, according to what each of them has of extremism or of falling short.
And the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) forbade extremism, excess, stubbornness, and asceticism.To the extent that he said: (The ascetics have perished, the ascetics have perished, the ascetics have perished); because asceticism involves hardship upon the self, and it involves going out of the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
Just as Allah has condemned the negligent and the careless.And he said in describing the hypocrites:
And when they stand for prayer, they stand lazily
وَإِذَا قَامُوا إِلَى الصَّلاةِ قَامُوا كُسَالَىSo the religion of Allah is a middle between the one who is excessive in it and the one who deviates from it.For this reason, He said here:
For whoever wills among you to take a right course.
لِمَنْ شَاءَ مِنْكُمْ أَنْ يَسْتَقِيمَAnd uprightness, as it is in the dealing with the Creator, Mighty and Majestic, which is: worship, is also in the dealing with the created. So be with people between two extremes: between the extreme of severity, harshness, and frowning, and the extreme of laxity, negligence, and giving oneself over, and lowering of rank. Be firm in one aspect, and soft in another aspect.
And for this reason, the jurists (may Allah have mercy on them) said regarding the judge: He should be soft without weakness, and strong without violence. So his softness should not lead him to weakness, nor his strength to violence, but he should be between that: soft without weakness, and strong without violence, until things are set right.
So some people, for example, deal with people always with frowning, severity, and making themselves feel that they are above people, and that people are beneath them. And this is an error.
Some people belittle themselves and humble themselves to the point of negligence and indifference, such that they remain among people with no honor or dignity, and this is also an error.
So it is obligatory for a person to be between these two extremes, as was the guidance of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He (peace and blessings be upon him) was strict where strictness was required and gentle where gentleness was required.
So a person combines here firmness and determination with gentleness, compassion, and mercy.