KHUTAB V: 5. FEAR AND GRIEF (2)

5. FEAR AND GRIEF (2)

          Other Qur’ānic verses mentioning people who will have no fear regarding the Hereafter and grief regarding the life of this word are as follows:

After forgiving Adam and Eve for their sin in eating the forbidden fruit in Heaven, Allah told them to descend to the earth and to follow the guidance that came to them and their descendants. He said,

قُلْنَا اهْبِطُوا مِنْهَا جَمِيعًا فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ مِنِّي هُدًى فَمَنْ تَبِعَ هُدَايَ

 فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (البقرة : 38)

We said: “Get down all of you from this place

 (the Paradise),  then whenever there  comes

 to you guidance from Me, and  whoever follows

 My guidance, there shall be no fear on

 them   nor shall they grieve .” (Q. 2:38)

A similar verse is as follows:

قَالَ اهْبِطَا مِنْهَا جَمِيعًا بَعْضُكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ مِنِّي هُدًى

فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا يَضِلُّ وَلَا يَشْقَى (هود:123)

He (Allah) said: “Get you down (from the paradise

 to the earth), both of you, together, some of  you

 are an enemy to some  others. Then if there

 comes to you guidance from Me, then whoever

 follows My guidance, he shall neither go astray

 [i.e. misguided in this life, acc. Ibn ‘Abbās], nor

 shall he be distressed [i.e. miserable in the

Hereafter, acc.  Ibn Abbas].” (Q. 20:123)

After talking to Adam and Eve about following the guidance so that they would have no fear and no grief, Allah talked to their descendants giving the same advice when He said:

يَا بَنِي آدَمَ إِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ رُسُلٌ مِنْكُمْ يَقُصُّونَ عَلَيْكُمْ آيَاتِي فَمَنِ اتَّقَى

وَأَصْلَحَ  فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (الأعراف:35)

O children of Adam! If there come to you Messengers from

 amongst you, reciting to you  My Verses, then whosoever

 become pious and righteous, on them shall be no fear

 nor shall they grief. (Q. 7:35)

This advice was repeated that those who follow the prophets sent to them will be safe from fear and grief.

وَمَا نُرْسِلُ الْمُرْسَلِينَ إِلَّا مُبَشِّرِينَ وَمُنْذِرِينَ فَمَنْ آمَنَ

وَأَصْلَحَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (ألآنعام:48)

And We send not the Messengers but as givers of

 glad tidings and as warners. So whosoever believes

 and does righteous good deeds, upon such shall

 come no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Q. 6:48)

 With the advent of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. as the last prophet, it is emphasized again by Allah that by believing in Islam  and following its teachings  people will be free from fear and grief in the Hereafter. Allah said,

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَآتَوُا الزَّكَاةَ لَهُمْ

أَجْرُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (البقرة:277

Truly those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness,

 and perform salat (prayer), and give zakat, they will have

 their reward with their Lord,. On them shall be no fear,

 nor shall they grieve. (Q. 2:277)

We have seen here that the promise of being free from fear and grief by following Allah’s guidance is mentioned several times in different surahs (chapters) of the Qur’ān to indicate its importance. If you do not read surah al-Baqarah (chapter 2), you will find it in surah Hūd (chapter 20). If you do not read that chapter you will still find it in surah al-A‘rāf (chapter 7), or surah al-An‘ām (chapter 6). You cannot miss it, if you read the Qur’ān and are concerned with Allah’s guidance.

Every surah (chapter) in the Qur’ān is like a spiritual dish. It contains various topics, such as: morality, stories of the past, warnings and good tidings, future events, etc. One dish of food usually contains various ingredients. Some have almost the same ingredients with slightly different amount. In the pizza, for example, you will have salt, sugar, oil, and perhaps chilly, meat, and mushroom. In the salad, you will still have some salt, oil, sugar, but no meat or mushroom. The taste is different, and yet, it is delicious. So is every chapter of the Qur’ān. Every chapter contains spiritual guidance, and has its own spiritual taste. Reading surah Yusuf, for example, has different spiritual taste from reading al-Kahf, although both contains the story of the past.

With the advent of Islam, previous religions will no longer be acceptable. Allah said,

وَقَالُوا لَنْ يَدْخُلَ الْجَنَّةَ إِلَّا مَنْ كَانَ هُودًا أَوْ نَصَارَى تِلْكَ أَمَانِيُّهُمْ قُلْ هَاتُوا

 بُرْهَانَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ . بَلَى مَنْ أَسْلَمَ وَجْهَهُ لِلَّهِ وَهُوَ مُحْسِنٌ فَلَهُ أَجْرُهُ

عِنْدَ رَبِّهِ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (البقرة :111-112(

And they say, “None shall enter Paradise unless he

 be a Jew or a Christian.” These are their own desires.

 Say (O Muhammad), “Produce your proof if you are

 truthful.” Yes, but whoever submits his face (himself)

 to Allah (i.e. follow Islam) and he is a muḥsin

 [i.e. a good doer who performs good deeds

 for the sake of  Allah only) then his reward

 is with his Lord (Allah), on such  shall  be no

 fear, nor shall they grieve. (Q. 2:111-112).

          The above verses continue stating that both Jews and Christians accuse each other of not following the right religion, as follows:

وَقَالَتِ الْيَهُودُ لَيْسَتِ النَّصَارَى عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَقَالَتِ النَّصَارَى لَيْسَتِ الْيَهُودُ

 عَلَى شَيْءٍ وَهُمْ يَتْلُونَ الْكِتَابَ كَذَلِكَ قَالَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ مِثْلَ قَوْلِهِمْ

فَاللَّهُ يَحْكُمُ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ (113(

The Jews said that the Christians follow nothing

(i.e., are not on  the right religion); and the Christians

said that the Jews follow nothing (i.e., are not on the right

 religion); though they both recite the Scripture.  Like unto

 their word, said those who know not. [such as the Arabs

who said that Prophet  Muhammad was not following

 anything, i.e. a true religion, al-Suddī’s commentary].

 Allah will judge between them on the Day of

 Resurrection about that wherein they

have been differing.(Q. 2:113)

 The verses of the Qur’ān could be misunderstood if it is taken out of its context.  One example is as follows:

. إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَالَّذِينَ هَادُوا وَالصَّابِئُونَ وَالنَّصَارَى مَنْ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ

الْآخِرِ  وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلَا خَوْفٌ  عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ . (المائدة :69)

Surely, those who believe (i.e., Muslims), and those

who are the Jews [followers of Prophet Moses] and the

Sabians [i.e. followers of Prophet Yahya, John the Baptist],

and the Christians [followers of Prophet ‘Isa, Jesus],---

whosoever believed in Allah and the Last Day, and

worked righteousness, on them shall be

no fear, nor shall they grieve. (Q. 5:69)

This verse does not mean that whether you are a Muslim, a Christian, a Jew or a Magian, as long as you do good things you will all be safe in the Hereafter, as you are guaranteed free from fear and grief, as some people may think. This verse does not mean, although apparently so, that you do not have to accept Islam to achieve salvation if you belong to the People of the Book, follower of the previous revealed religion. No, it is not so.

If we go back to the occasion that led to the revelation of this verse, it is this. A man called Salmān al-Fārisī (the Persian). While he was hunting with the son of the king of Persia, he found a man in an isolated house weeping while reading a book. The man told him that it was the Injīl (Gospel) revealed to Prophet Isa (Jesus) a.s., not the kind of Bible we are having today.  Salmān followed him and became a believer. He kept learning from the monks and worshiped with them in the church in Mosul (Iraq), then he moved to Jerusalem.

While worshiping Allah with monks in the church in Jerusalem, a monk told him: “There is still a new prophet left who is the best one to follow.  The time of his coming is approaching. I don’t think I shall live long enough to see him. You are still young. I hope you can see him. He will appear in the Arab land.  If you see him, believe and follow him…” Salmān left and eventually reached Madinah where he was told that a prophet had come to that city.

   While talking to the Prophet in Madinah, Salmān remembered his friends the monks whom he had left behind. He talked to the Prophet about them, saying: “They prayed, fasted, believed in you, and witnessed that you would be appointed a prophet.” To answer this question, Allah revealed to the Prophet the above verse.

This verse means that the Jews who followed Prophet Moses a.s. and kept the Torah until the advent of Prophet Jesus a.s. will be safe. But those who still kept the Torah and did not want to follow Prophet Jesus a.s. after that will be damned. The Christians who followed Prophet Jesus a.s. and kept the Injil until the advent of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w will be safe. But those who did not want to follow Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. after that will be damned.

          The verse becomes clearer if we read the preceding and the succeeding verses. The preceding verse says,

قُلْ يَا أَهْلَ الْكِتَابِ لَسْتُمْ عَلَى شَيْءٍ حَتَّى تُقِيمُوا التَّوْرَاةَ وَالْإِنْجِيلَ

وَمَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ  مِنْ رَبِّكُمْ وَلَيَزِيدَنَّ كَثِيرًا مِنْهُمْ مَا أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ  مِنْ رَبِّكَ

 طُغْيَانًا وَكُفْرًا فَلَا تَأْسَ  عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ (المائدة :68)

Say (O Muhammad) “O People of the Scripture

(Jews and Christians)! You have nothing (as regards

guidance) till you act according to the Tawrāt (Torah),

the Injīl (Gospel), and what has (now) been sent down

to you [Muhammad] from your Lord (the  Qur’ān). Verily,

that which has been sent down to you (Muhammad)

from your Lord increases in most of them  their

obstinate rebellion and disbelief. So be not

sorrowful over the people who

disbelieve. (Q. 5:68)

          So, they become more obstinate, more rebellious, and disbelieve, because they expected the prophet to be among them, the Jews of Madinah. The succeeding verse says,          

. لَقَدْ أَخَذْنَا مِيثَاقَ بَنِي إِسْرَائِيلَ وَأَرْسَلْنَا إِلَيْهِمْ رُسُلًا كُلَّمَا جَاءَهُمْ رَسُولٌ

 بِمَا لَا تَهْوَى أَنْفُسُهُمْ فَرِيقًا كَذَّبُوا وَفَرِيقًا يَقْتُلُونَ ( المائدة : 70)

Verily, We took the covenant of the Children of

Israel and sent Messengers to them. Whenever

there came to them a Messenger with what they

themselves desired not, a group of them

they called liars, and others among

them they killed. (Q. 5:70).

          They did not believe the messengers sent to them. They successfully killed Prophet Zechariah (Zakariyyā) a.s. and Prophet Yaḥyá (John the Baptist) a.s., claimed to have killed Prophet ‘Isa (Jesus) a.s., and tried to kill Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.

According to Ibn ‘Abbās, the Prophet’s cousin and the famous Qur’ānic commentator, the next verse revealed was:

وَمَنْ يَبْتَغِ غَيْرَ الْإِسْلَامِ دِينًا فَلَنْ يُقْبَلَ مِنْهُ وَهُوَ فِي

الْآَخِرَةِ مِنَ الْخَاسِرِينَ  (آل عمران: ٨٥)

“If anyone desires a religion other than Islam

 (submission to Allah), never will it be accepted

 of him, and in the  Hereafter he will be in

 the ranks of those who have lost

 (all spiritual) good.” (Q. 3:85)

          In conclusion, no matter how good you are, no matter how smart you are, if you are taking the wrong path, you will never reach your destination. So, we keep asking Allah, اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ (“Guide us the right path”) at least 17 times a day (CIVIC, 01.02.30)