Surah Ar-Ra'd (13) — Ayah 22

(Ayah22) ➊ {وَ الَّذِيْنَ صَبَرُوا ابْتِغَآءَ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِمْ :} means that in every situation where patience is praiseworthy, they are patient solely for the sake of Allah’s countenance, so that He becomes pleased. Not for show (ostentation), nor for fame, so that people say, “Wow, what a patient person he is.” The meaning of patience is to restrain, to bind. To keep oneself steadfast in obeying Allah’s commands is { ’’صَبْرٌ عَلَي الطَّاعَةِ‘‘}, to refrain from His disobedience is {’’ صَبْرٌ عَنِ الْمَعْصِيَةِ ‘‘}, and when calamity comes from Allah, such as illness, hunger, fear, or deaths, etc., to restrain oneself from panic and to bear it, considering it Allah’s wisdom and decree, without any complaint or grievance, is {’’صَبْرٌ عَلَي الْمُصِيْبَةِ‘‘}. All these forms of patience for Allah’s sake are the attribute of {’’ اُولُوا الْاَلْبَابِ ‘‘ }.

➋ {وَ اَقَامُوا الصَّلٰوةَ :} For its explanation, see Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah (3).

➌ { وَ اَنْفَقُوْا مِمَّا رَزَقْنٰهُمْ سِرًّا وَّ عَلَانِيَةً:} It is better to give obligatory zakah openly, so that one is saved from the accusation of disbelief. Voluntary charity, if given openly to encourage others and is free from ostentation, is also very good, but in open charity there is a possibility of ostentation, so there is nothing like giving charity secretly. See Surah Al-Baqarah (271). Among those who will be under Allah’s shade on the Day of Resurrection is the one who gives charity with his right hand so that even his left hand does not know. [ بخاري، الأذان، باب من جلس فی المسجد… : ۶۶۰ ]

➍ {وَ يَدْرَءُوْنَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ : ’’دَرَءَ يَدْرَءُ دَرْءً ‘‘} (F) To remove, to repel, to drive away, meaning one attribute of {’’ اُولُوا الْاَلْبَابِ ‘‘} is that they repel evil with good, i.e., they respond to evil with goodness, as He said: «{ وَ لَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَ لَا السَّيِّئَةُاِدْفَعْ بِالَّتِيْ هِيَ اَحْسَنُ فَاِذَا الَّذِيْ بَيْنَكَ وَ بَيْنَهٗ عَدَاوَةٌ كَاَنَّهٗ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيْمٌ (34) وَ مَا يُلَقّٰىهَاۤ اِلَّا الَّذِيْنَ صَبَرُوْا وَ مَا يُلَقّٰىهَاۤ اِلَّا ذُوْ حَظٍّ عَظِيْمٍ }» [ حٰمٓ السجدۃ : ۳۴، ۳۵ ] “And not equal are the good deed and the bad. Repel (evil) by that (deed) which is better; then suddenly the one between whom and you there was enmity (will become) as though he was a devoted friend. But none is granted it except those who are patient, and none is granted it except one having a great portion (of good).” This method is for personal enmities and excesses, that in response to excess, one should be patient and forgive. As for excess against Allah’s religion and rebellion and stubbornness against Allah’s commands, the response in the best manner is of another kind. There, repelling evil with good does not mean that if a disbeliever or rebel against Allah is committing excess against the religion, you should tolerate and be patient; rather, the best way to repel that evil is neither to leave him free nor to forgive, but here the best way to repel is the one adopted and commanded by the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him): whoever among you sees a wrong (evil), let him stop it with his hand; if he is not able, then with his tongue; and if he is not able, then (at least) he should dislike it in his heart. [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب بیان کون النہی … : ۴۹ ] Here, the best way ({بِالَّتِيْ هِيَ اَحْسَنُ}) is jihad in the way of Allah, and its result is also that suddenly mortal enemies become devoted friends. See Thumamah bin Uthal, Hindah, Ikrimah bin Abi Jahl, Khalid bin Walid (may Allah be pleased with them), and those Arab chiefs who seemed in no way likely to accept faith, but by the blessing of the goodness of jihad, became devoted friends of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him). Another meaning of “they repel evil with good” is that they erase bad deeds by doing good deeds, as He said: «{ اِنَّ الْحَسَنٰتِ يُذْهِبْنَ السَّيِّاٰتِ }» [ ھود : ۱۱۴ ] “Indeed, good deeds remove bad deeds.” And it is narrated from Abu Dharr (may Allah be pleased with him) that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ إِذَا عَمِلْتَ سَيِّئَةً فَأَتْبِعْهَا حَسَنَةً تَمْحُهَا] [أحمد : 169/5، ح : ۲۱۵۴۳، صحیح ] “When you do a bad deed, follow it up with a good deed, it will erase it.” And he said: [ وَ إِذَا عَمِلْتَ سَيِّئَةً فَاعْمَلْ بِجَنْبِهَا حَسَنَةً السِّرُّ بِالسِّرِّ وَالْعَلاَنِيَةُ بِالْعَلاَنِيَةِ] [سلسلۃ الأحادیث الصحیحۃ : 462/3، ح : ۱۴۷۵ ] “When you do a bad deed, do a good deed right after it, it will erase it; erase a hidden bad deed with a hidden good deed, and an open bad deed with an open good deed.”

➎ { اُولٰٓىِٕكَ لَهُمْ عُقْبَى الدَّارِ : ’’ عُقْبَى ‘‘ ’’ عَاقِبَةٌ ‘‘} The word 'uqubā' is a verbal noun like 'āqibah', meaning that which comes after something; generally, this word is used in the sense of a good outcome. In { ’’ الدَّارِ ‘‘}, the alif-lam is for a specific known thing, this house means the world, i.e., for those with these attributes, the outcome after the house of this world is very good.

22. 1 They avoid disobedience to Allah and sins. This is one type of patience. They endure hardships and trials with patience; this is the second type. People of understanding practice both types of patience.

22. 2 with its limits and timings, with humility, submissiveness, and moderation in the pillars. Not according to their own invented ways.

22. 3 That is, wherever and whenever there is a need to spend, they spend among their own and strangers, both secretly and openly.

22. 4 That is, if someone treats them badly, they respond with goodness, or act with forgiveness and beautiful patience. As Allah Almighty has said in another place: '(اِدْفَعْ بالَّتِيْ هِىَ اَحْسَنُ فَاِذَا الَّذِيْ بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهٗ عَدَاوَةٌ كَاَنَّهٗ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيْمٌ) 41. Ha Mim As-Sajdah: 34. Repel evil with that which is better (if you do so), then the one between whom and you there was enmity will become as though he was a devoted friend.'

22. 5 That is, those who possess high morals and are characterized by the aforementioned qualities, for them is the home of the Hereafter.

22. And those who are patient, seeking the pleasure of their Lord [30], establish prayer, and spend, secretly and openly [31], from what We have provided them, and repel evil with good [32]—it is they who will have the final abode.

[30] That is, they endured the difficulties encountered on the path of truth with steadfastness, and for the sake of Allah’s pleasure, they controlled their desires in regard to Allah’s commands and limits. In this sense, the entire life of a believer is, in fact, a life of patience.

[31] That is, spending in the way of Allah is necessary for every Muslim, whether he is rich or poor, prosperous or in hardship. Everyone should spend in the way of Allah according to his own capacity. From some other verses of the Quran, it is understood that giving charity secretly is better than giving it openly. Perhaps that is why secret charity is mentioned first. Then, there are two major types of charity: one is obligatory, i.e., zakat, and the other is voluntary. The scholars say that it is better to give obligatory charity openly so that others may also be encouraged, and voluntary charity should be given secretly. Furthermore, sustenance does not refer only to wealth and property; every blessing of Allah that is useful for a person’s physical or spiritual development is sustenance. In this sense, religious knowledge, pure arts, health, etc., are all included in sustenance, and it is necessary to spend from these as well in the way of Allah. This subject is very extensive and is mentioned repeatedly in the Quran. Therefore, it is sufficient to mention it briefly here.

[32] The literal meaning of ﴿يَدْرَءُوْنَ﴾ is to remove and to put away. In this sense, this phrase has two meanings. One is that when they commit a bad deed, they later make amends by doing good deeds, because good deeds remove bad deeds. The second meaning is that when someone does wrong to them, they do not respond with evil, but rather with goodness, and they act with forgiveness and forbearance. There are many hadiths on this subject as well. For example, the Prophet ﷺ said that the one who maintains ties of kinship is not the one who repays good with good, but the one who, if the other tries to sever ties with bad behavior, strives to maintain the relationship by doing good. [بخاري، كتاب الادب، باب ليس الواصل بالمكافئي]

And this matter is not limited only to relatives, but such behavior should be shown to every person.