Commentary on Tafsir al-Jalalayn: “Indeed, those who said, ‘Our Lord is Allah,’ and then remained steadfast” in tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and other matters that were obligatory upon them, “the angels descend upon them”

Then Allah the Exalted said: [Surah Fussilat: 30] They said it with their tongues and their hearts, and mere utterance with the tongue is not sufficient, because utterance with the tongue comes from the hypocrite and from the sincere one, but what is intended is utterance with the tongue and the heart. This statement they made was not merely a verbal declaration and a belief in the heart, but it necessitates obedience to Allah (Mighty and Majestic). For this reason, He said: meaning they remained steadfast in obedience to Allah. Thus, faith is in the heart and steadfastness is in the limbs. Allah did not suffice with praising them and declaring their reward for faith in the heart, but steadfastness is necessary. He said: The author said: “in tawhid (the oneness of Allah) and other matters that were obligatory upon them” This is correct, meaning: they remained steadfast in tawhid (the oneness of Allah), so no shirk (associating partners with Allah); they remained steadfast in following, so no bid'ah (religious innovation); they remained steadfast in obedience, so no disobedience; they remained steadfast in good, so no evil, and so on. And consider his saying: He used which indicates order with a pause, meaning that their faith was not fleeting faith where they believed and then it vanished; no, it was settled faith, because they remained steadfast in the religion of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) was asked by a man who said: “O Messenger of Allah! Say to me a word in Islam about which I will not ask anyone but you.” Meaning a decisive word. So he said to him: which is derived from this verse.
And His saying: Its meaning differs from the meaning of , because has an addition to . What is the addition? The letter taa. This addition necessitates two meanings: The first meaning is that their descent happens gradually, not all at once. The second is that the descent or coming down is repeated, So the difference now between and is from two aspects: The first aspect is that means descending once and all at once, and necessitates the repetition of the descent and that it happens gradually. The discussion regarding the mention of the angels has preceded. And the author’s saying: “at the time of death” is questionable, because Allah the Exalted did not restrict it. The apparent view is that the angels descend upon them whenever the need for descent arises, at the time of death, at the time of fear, in battles, and in every condition that necessitates the angels descending upon them, because Allah made it general. meaning: “that do not fear

Do not fear

لا تخافُوا

from death and what comes after it,

Nor grieve

ولا تحزنوا

and do not grieve for what you have left behind of family and children, for We will succeed you in them” We say: Do not fear your future and do not grieve over your past, because when a person is afraid, he either fears the future or grieves over what has passed, saying: “If I had done such and such, such and such would not have happened to me,” for example. So the angels descend upon them and say: Do not fear the future and do not grieve over the past. The fear of the future was mentioned first because it is more important than grief over what has passed, because a person’s future is what makes him proceed or stop, so it was started with before mentioning grief. And if we take it as an example of what calls for descent in the state of death, the person at the time of death has a condition that necessitates being strengthened in faith and tawhid (the oneness of Allah), so the angels descend upon them at the time of death as well and give them good tidings with this. This is from the good tidings, which is the announcement. “Sit down, my son! I think this is Ibn Mubarak, come to your father.” Good tidings is the announcement of what brings joy. It was called basharah (good tidings) because when a person is pleased, the sign of pleasure appears on his face and the complexion of his face changes. And basharah may be used for the announcement of what brings sorrow by way of mockery. Allah the Exalted said: And He the Exalted said: although this is from what brings sorrow, but it is by way of mockery of them, just as you say to the sinner: “Be glad of the bad outcome, be glad of the Fire,” and the like of that which is mockery of him. It is the abode that Allah prepared for His awliya (close friends of Allah), and in it—as in the Noble Qur'an— And in it, as came in the Qudsi Hadith, , Who promised them it? Allah (Mighty and Majestic) promised them it. Allah the Exalted said: ,