Commentary on Tafsir al-Jalalayn: ((And He responds to those who believed and did righteous deeds)) He responds to them in what they ask for ((and increases them from His bounty

The Shaykh : He said: "He responds to them in what they ask for". *Yastajibu* means *yujibu* (responds), even though it may occur to a person that the meaning of *yastajibu* is to obey, as when one says, "I called so-and-so and he responded to me," meaning he obeyed me. But here, *yastajibu* means *yujibu*. The evidence for this interpretation is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: . Here, *istajaba* means *ajaba* (answered), and *yastajibu* means *yujibu*. So what is the grammatical case of *alladhina* (those who)? *Alladhina* is the object of the verb, not the subject. The subject is a hidden pronoun referring to Allah.
They believed with their hearts and did righteous deeds with their limbs. Faith and righteous deeds are always paired because one is inseparable from the other. So whoever truly believes will certainly do righteous deeds. The evidence for this principle is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): .
If they believed, in what? In everything that is obligatory to believe in. And you know that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said of the pillars of faith that they are . As for doing righteous deeds: "Righteous deeds" is a description of a deleted noun, and the implied meaning is "righteous works." So what is the criterion for a righteous deed? The criterion for a righteous deed is that it be pure for Allah and in accordance with the Shari'ah of Allah. This occurs in the Ummah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), but does it occur in the previous nations? The answer is: Yes, when their Shari'ahs were in effect, faith and righteous deeds occurred from them. So, the criterion for a righteous deed is that it be pure for Allah and in accordance with the Shari'ah of Allah.
Our saying that it must be pure for Allah is to guard against a deed in which shirk (associating partners with Allah) occurs, for it is not righteous even if the shirk is little. This is based on the saying of Allah the Exalted in the Qudsi Hadith: . And in accordance with the Shari'ah, it must be free from bid'ah (religious innovation). If it contains bid'ah, it is not righteous, even if the parts of that bid'ah are righteous deeds. For if it is bid'ah, it does not become a righteous deed. That is to say, if someone invents dhikr (remembrance of Allah) from the Qur'an or the Sunnah, but in a manner not brought by the Shari'ah, it is not a righteous deed. And a deed is not righteous unless it agrees with the Shari'ah in six matters: the cause, the amount, the manner, the type, the time, and the place.
The cause: That this deed be prescribed for a specific cause. So if a person invents it for another cause, it is not accepted from him and it is not righteous. An example of this: We see some people when perfume is presented to them say, "O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad." This is not a righteous deed. If someone says, "How do you say it is not a righteous deed when it is a prayer upon the Messenger?" We say: Because it is not from the guidance of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) that he would pray upon the Prophet every time he used perfume, nor did he order his Ummah to do so. So you have now established a cause that is not lawful. And among this is that some people when they burp say, "Alhamdulillah (Praise be to Allah)." Burping is the release of wind from above. Some people say, "Alhamdulillah." We say: Who said that it is prescribed to praise Allah when one burps? If your deed is not righteous because it does not match the Shari'ah, and we say: It follows from your saying that if you pass wind, you praise Allah, and there is no evidence for this.
*Yastajibu* means *yujibu*. What is the evidence that *yastajibu* means *yujibu*? His saying, the Exalted: [Al Imran: 195].
On this meaning, what is the grammatical case of: ? It is an object, built on the yaa, in the position of accusative.
Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: . This is a new sentence. After mentioning what happens to those who believed and did righteous deeds, He mentioned what happens to their opposites, because the Noble Qur'an is *muthani* (duplicated in meaning); meanings are repeated in it, so Paradise is mentioned, then Hellfire, the reward, then the punishment, the believer, then the disbeliever, and so on. The disbeliever (*kafir*) is originally the one who denies, derived from *kufrah*, which is the sheath of the date palm fruit. But it is applied to everyone who disbelieves in Allah the Exalted, whether by denial or otherwise. Whether by denial, such as denying the message or the Qur'an, or by arrogance regarding the religion of Allah, such as leaving the prayer, which is disbelief if left. And His saying: is a subject and a predicate. The predicate of the first subject, which is *al-kafirun* (the disbelievers), and the phrase came in this form to emphasize their punishment, refuge with Allah. Otherwise, it would have been sufficient to say, "And for the disbelievers is a humiliating punishment" or something similar. But Allah the Exalted said: . *Shadid* means strong. And if you want to know this, read what is in the Qur'an and the Sunnah regarding the punishment of the people of the Fire.
You claimed that we did not speak about His saying: , . And we say: That is, He gives them from His bounty, in addition to what they did. So a good deed is ten times its like, up to seven hundred times, up to many multiples.
His saying: means they did the righteous deeds. And a deed is not righteous unless it agrees with the Shari'ah by being pure for Allah first, and then by agreeing with the Shari'ah second. And agreement is not realized unless the deed matches the Shari'ah in six matters: the first is the cause.
And the second is the type, that it be of the type brought by the Shari'ah. If it goes beyond that, it is not a righteous deed. An example: If someone sacrifices a horse, the horse is usually more expensive than a sheep, so the sacrifice is not accepted. Why? Because it is not of the type prescribed for sacrifice, for the sacrifice is only from livestock: camels, cattle, and sheep, as Allah the Exalted said: [Al Hajj: 28].
The second: That it be in accordance with the Shari'ah in its amount, so it does not exceed what the Shari'ah brought. For this reason, if a person adds a rak'ah to the prayer, it is not a righteous deed, even if the rak'ah is originally prescribed, but in this case it is not prescribed. If someone says: What do you say if a person adds to the night prayer more than eleven rak'ahs? Is the addition a righteous deed? If you say: Yes, it is difficult for us because we said: It must match the Shari'ah in its amount, meaning the worship. And it is known that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not exceed eleven rak'ahs in Ramadan or otherwise, and perhaps he prayed thirteen rak'ahs. The answer: That there is no specific limit mentioned from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding the night prayer, saying: Do not exceed so much. Rather, he prayed eleven rak'ahs and said to the one who asked him about the night prayer: . So his saying: without a limit indicates that the night prayer has no limit; pray as many rak'ahs as you wish.
The third matter: That it be in accordance with the Shari'ah in time. If it contradicts the Shari'ah in time, it is not accepted. An example: A man sacrificed and slaughtered his udhiyah (sacrificial animal) before the Eid prayer, so this udhiyah is not valid. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to the one who informed him that he slaughtered before he prayed: .
The fifth: That it be in accordance with the Shari'ah in place. That is, if the Lawgiver specifies a place for a worship, then performing it in other than that place is not accepted. So standing at 'Arafah, if a person stands at Muzdalifah instead of standing at 'Arafah, that is not valid. Why? Because he stood in a place other than the one specified. And if a person performs i'tikaf (spiritual retreat) in his house, the i'tikaf is not valid because i'tikaf is specified in the mosques.
The sixth: That it be in accordance with the Shari'ah in its form, meaning the manner. So if a person performs wudu' (ablution) and washes his hands before his face, the wudu' is not valid because it contradicts the Shari'ah in form, for Allah says: . And if a person prays and prostrates before he bows, then stands and bows, the prayer is not valid due to not matching the Shari'ah in form. These are six things; the worship cannot be in accordance with the Shari'ah unless these six things are realized.