Tafseer Ibn Kathir of ADZ DZAARIYAAT [15]

15. Verily, those who have Taqwa will be in the midst of Gardens and Springs, 16. Taking joy in the things which their Lord has given them. Verily, they were before this doers of good. 17. They used to sleep but little by night. 18. And in the hours before dawn, they were asking for forgiveness. 19. And in their wealth there was the right of the Sa'il and the Mahrum. 20. And on the earth are signs for those who have faith with certainty. 21. And also in yourselves. Will you not then see 22. And in the heaven is your provision, and that which you are promised. 23. Then by the Lord of the heaven and the earth, it is the truth, just as you can speak.   Allah the Exalted informs about those who have Taqwa, that on the Day of their Return they will be amidst gardens and springs. To the contrary the miserable ones will be amidst torment, punishment, fire and chains. Allah said,

(Taking joy in the things which their Lord has given them.) His statement;

(Taking) describes the state of the people of Taqwa in the midst of gardens and springs. They will receive what their Lord gives them, meaning, delight, happiness and favors. Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said,

(Verily, they were before that), in the life of the world,

(gooddoers) As He said:

(Eat and drink at ease for that which you have sent on before you in days past!)(69:24) Allah the Exalted described the good acts that they performed,

(They used to sleep but little at night.) The scholars of Tafsir have two opinions about this: The first is that, they used to spend a little part of every night awake. Ibn `Abbas said, ”Every night, they would worship Allah, even during a little part of the night.'' Qatadah narrated that Mutarrif bin `Abdullah said, ”Hardly a night would pass by them that they did not pray to Allah the Exalted and Most Honored, either in the beginning, or the middle of it.'' Mujahid said, ”Only a few nights, if any, would they sleep through the night until the morning without praying Tahajjud.'' Qatadah said similarly. Anas bin Malik and Abu Al-`Aliyah said, ”They used to pray between Al-Maghrib and Al-`Isha'.'' The Second Opinion They used to spend a little part of the night in sleep. This was preferred by Ibn Jarir. Al-Hasan Al-Basri said:

(They used to sleep but little by night), ”They performed voluntary night prayer and would not sleep during the night except a little. They were active and would continue until they were seeking forgiveness right before dawn.'' `Abdullah bin Salam said, ”When the Messenger of Allah arrived at Al-Madinah, people quickly gathered around him and I was among them. When I saw his face, I knew that it was not the face of a liar. The first statement I heard from him was,

(O people! Feed with food, keep relations to kith and kin, spread the Salam, pray at night while people are asleep, and you will enter Paradise in peace.)'' Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah bin `Umar said that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Verily, there are lofty rooms in Paradise in which their outside can be seen from inside and their inside from the outside.) Abu Musa Al-Ash`ari said, ”Who are they for, O Allah's Messenger'' He said,

(For those who use soft speech, feed food and spend the night in voluntary prayer while people are asleep.) Allah said:

(And in the hours before dawn, they were asking for forgiveness.) Mujahid and several others said: ”They were performing Salah.'' Others said that they would stand in prayer during the night and delayed asking Allah for forgiveness until the latter hours before dawn. As Allah, the Exalted the Blessed, said;

(And those who seek forgiveness during the last hours of the night.)(3:17); This is because it is better if asking for forgiveness is done while praying. It is confirmed in the Sahih collections as well as others, from several Companions, that the Messenger of Allah said,

(Allah, the Most High, descends each night to the lowest heaven when the last third of the night remains. He says, ”Is there anyone who is repenting so that I may accept his repentance Is there anyone seeking forgiveness, so that I may forgive him Is there anyone asking of Me, so that I may grant him his request'' until Fajr begins.) Many of the scholars of Tafsir said that when the Prophet Ya`qub said to his sons:

(I will ask my Lord for forgiveness for you)(12:98), he delayed doing so until the hours before dawn. Allah the Exalted and Most Honored said,

(And in their wealth there was the right of the Sa'il and the Mahrum.) After Allah mentioned their quality of performing prayer, He then mentioned their quality of spending in charity and acts of compassion and kindness,

(And in their wealth there was the right), a designated part which they dedicated to the Sa'il and Mahrum. The Sa'il is the poor who begs others, and he has a due right. As for the Mahrum, Ibn `Abbas and Mujahid said, ”He is the poor person who does not receive a stipend.'' Meaning he does not receive a stipend from the Muslim treasury, nor does he have a means of income, nor a profession. The Mother of the faithful, `A'ishah may Allah be pleased with her, said about the Mahrum, ”He is the displaced, the one who does not have a profession to easily earn an income from.'' Qatadah and Az-Zuhri: ”The Mahrum is the one who does not ask the people for anything.'' Az-Zuhri added that the Messenger of Allah said,

(The poor (Miskin) is not the one who goes round to the people and asks them for a mouthful or two or a date or two. But the poor is the one who does not have enough to satisfy his needs and whose condition is not known to others, so that others may give him something in charity.) This Hadith is recorded in the Two Sahihs using another chain of narration.   Allah the Exalted and the Blessed said next,

(And on the earth are signs for those who have faith with certainty.) Allah says that there are signs on earth that testify to the might of the Creator and His boundless ability. These signs include what Allah placed on the earth, the various plants, animals, valleys, mountains, deserts, rivers and oceans. He also created mankind with different languages, colors, intentions and abilities, and a variety among them, differences in the power of understanding and comprehension, their deeds, and ultimately earning happiness or misery. Allah put every organ in their bodies in its rightful place where they most need it to be. So He saidØ›

(And also in yourselves. Will you not then see) Qatadah commented, ”He who thinks about his own creation will realize that he was created with flexible joints so that it is easy for him to perform acts of worship.'' Allah the Exalted said next,

(And in the heaven is your provision,) meaning, rain,

(and that which you are promised.) meaning Paradise. This was said by Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and several others. Allah said:

(Then by the Lord of the heaven and the earth, it is the truth, just as you can speak.) Allah is swearing by His honorable Self, all of the matters of the Judgement, Resurrection, and Recompense that they have been promised shall certainly occur. Therefore, it is the truth, there being no doubt about it, so do not doubt its coming, just as you do not doubt that you can speak When he would talk to one of his friends, Mu`adh used to say: ”What I am saying is as true as your being here.''