Surah Ibrahim (14) — Ayah 31

(Ayah31) ➊ {قُلْ لِّعِبَادِيَ الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا :} All humans are servants of Allah, but Allah’s saying {’’عِبَادِيْ‘‘} (My servants) is a great honor, as He said: «{ سُبْحٰنَ الَّذِيْۤ اَسْرٰى بِعَبْدِهٖ لَيْلًا }» [ بنی إسرائیل : ۱ ] “Glory be to Him who took His servant by night.” Allah Almighty commanded His Noble Prophet (peace be upon him) to say to those people who have two qualities: first, that they are only My servants, not anyone else’s, who keep names like Abdullah, Abdur Rahman, and similar, not Abdul Hussain, Abdul Nabi, Peeran Ditta, Ghaus Bakhsh, etc., and who, in word and deed, worship and serve only Me, not anyone else; and the second quality is that they have believed.

➋ {يُقِيْمُوا الصَّلٰوةَ وَ يُنْفِقُوْا …:} Both these verbs are in the jussive form due to the implied imperative “lam amr.” The meaning of “iqamah” is to make straight, i.e., to perform the prayer correctly; this includes regularity, performing it on time, fulfilling all its pillars properly, and performing it with humility. Every type of servitude is included in prayer to some extent: facing the qiblah is related to Hajj, standing, bowing, prostration, and sitting on the knees are different forms of expressing servitude and slavery; abstaining from eating and drinking during prayer is related to fasting; leaving business and coming to prayer is not possible for one who is not even willing to spend anything in the way of Allah; and there are many other things that are found only in prayer, not in any other act of worship. In the Qur’an, prayer and zakat or spending are often mentioned together, because connection with Allah and fulfillment of people’s rights cannot be achieved without both.

➌ { مِمَّا رَزَقْنٰهُمْ سِرًّا وَّ عَلَانِيَةً :} Two points must be noted here. First is the word {’’مِنْ‘‘}, that whatever Allah has given us—life, wealth, children, strength, knowledge, honor, in short, countless things—He has not demanded us to spend all of it, because He knows our weakness, which He mentioned in Surah Muhammad, verses (36, 37). The second word is {’’رَزَقْنَا‘‘}, that whatever you spend, you must spend from what We have given you; if you think this way, there will be no stinginess in your heart, but if you consider everything as your own, it will be very difficult to spend. {’’ سِرًّا ‘‘} means secretly, so that it is free from showing off, and {’’ عَلَانِيَةً ‘‘} means openly, so that others may be encouraged, or if it is obligatory zakat, then give it openly, because giving it secretly may lead to the suspicion of not paying zakat.

➍ {مِّنْ قَبْلِ اَنْ يَّاْتِيَ يَوْمٌ لَّا بَيْعٌ فِيْهِ وَ لَا خِلٰلٌ : ’’ خِلٰلٌ ‘‘} This is a verbal noun from the form “mufa‘alah,” meaning heartfelt friendship; what is meant is the Day of Resurrection, when good deeds cannot be bought, nor will anyone’s friendship or love be of any use to save from Allah’s punishment. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: “That is, good deeds are not sold, and no one gives concession out of friendship.” (Muwadhih) Allah Almighty has said elsewhere: «{ اَلْاَخِلَّآءُ يَوْمَىِٕذٍۭ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ عَدُوٌّ اِلَّا الْمُتَّقِيْنَ }» [ الزخرف : ۶۷ ] “All close friends on that Day will be enemies to one another, except the righteous.”

31. 1. To establish prayer means to perform it at its appointed time, in the correct manner, and with humility and devotion, as is the Sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ. Spending (infaq) means to pay zakat, maintain ties of kinship with relatives, and show kindness to other needy people; it does not mean to spend lavishly only on oneself and one's own needs, while avoiding spending in the ways specified by Allah. The Day of Judgment will be such that neither buying and selling will be possible, nor will any friendship be of benefit.

The tafsir of this ayah is included with the following verse(s).