Surah Al-Anbiyaa (21) — Ayah 105

(Ayah 105){وَ لَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِي الزَّبُوْرِ مِنْۢ بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ … :} The meaning of Zabur is "book." Here, Zabur refers to the book of Dawud (David), peace be upon him, and "dhikr" means admonition, as translated, because this statement is present in the current Zabur. Or, Zabur may refer to previous heavenly books and "dhikr" to the Preserved Tablet, meaning that this statement was first recorded in the Preserved Tablet and then continued to be written in the heavenly books, that the inheritors of the earth will be the righteous servants. Thus, this is both a universal and a legal decree of Allah. What is meant by "this earth"? Looking at the context of the verses, it is clear that it refers to the earth that will come into existence after the folding up of the heavens and the earth, which will be granted as a reward to Allah’s righteous servants, and it will be their eternal and everlasting inheritance. Thus, even though the current Zabur is not free from distortion, this reference is still present in it: "The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell therein forever." [ زبور، باب : ۳۷، آیت : ۲۹ ] The Qur’an also mentions this inheritance as a reward, which will last forever. Thus, after mentioning the qualities of the successful believers, it is said: «{اُولٰٓىِٕكَ هُمُ الْوٰرِثُوْنَ (10) الَّذِيْنَ يَرِثُوْنَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيْهَا خٰلِدُوْنَ}» [ المؤمنون : ۱۰، ۱۱ ] "These are the ones who will inherit, who will inherit Paradise; they will abide therein forever." And it is said: «{ وَ قَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ الَّذِيْ صَدَقَنَا وَعْدَهٗ وَ اَوْرَثَنَا الْاَرْضَ نَتَبَوَّاُ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ حَيْثُ نَشَآءُ فَنِعْمَ اَجْرُ الْعٰمِلِيْنَ }» [ الزمر : ۷۴ ] "And they (the people of Paradise) will say, 'All praise is due to Allah, Who has fulfilled His promise to us and has made us inherit the land so that we may settle in Paradise wherever we wish.' So excellent is the reward of the doers (of good)." From both Zabur and Qur’an, it is understood that the inheritance given as a reward to the righteous is the land of Paradise, because the eternal abode is only there. As for the present earth, its inheritance is given to both the righteous and the wicked, the disbeliever and the Muslim, and not only as a reward, but as a test, and not forever but temporarily, as it is said: «{ قَالَ مُوْسٰى لِقَوْمِهِ اسْتَعِيْنُوْا بِاللّٰهِ وَ اصْبِرُوْا اِنَّ الْاَرْضَ لِلّٰهِ يُوْرِثُهَا مَنْ يَّشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهٖ وَ الْعَاقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِيْنَ (128) قَالُوْا اُوْذِيْنَا مِنْ قَبْلِ اَنْ تَاْتِيَنَا وَ مِنْۢ بَعْدِ مَا جِئْتَنَا قَالَ عَسٰى رَبُّكُمْ اَنْ يُّهْلِكَ عَدُوَّكُمْ وَ يَسْتَخْلِفَكُمْ فِي الْاَرْضِ فَيَنْظُرَ كَيْفَ تَعْمَلُوْنَ }» [ الأعراف : ۱۲۸، ۱۲۹ ] "Moses said to his people, 'Seek help from Allah and be patient. Indeed, the earth belongs to Allah. He causes to inherit it whom He wills of His servants, and the (best) outcome is for the righteous.' They said, 'We were harmed before you came to us and after you came to us.' He said, 'Perhaps your Lord will destroy your enemy and make you successors in the land, and then see how you act.'" The inheritance of this earth is neither dependent on righteousness or wickedness, nor is it eternal and everlasting, as it is said: «{ وَ تِلْكَ الْاَيَّامُ نُدَاوِلُهَا بَيْنَ النَّاسِ }» [ آل عمران : ۱۴۰ ] "And these are the days (of varying fortunes) which We alternate among the people." However, Allah has promised that if the Muslims are true believers, then ultimately they will prevail in the world as well, as it is said: «{ وَ اَنْتُمُ الْاَعْلَوْنَ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُّؤْمِنِيْنَ }» [آل عمران : ۱۳۹ ] "And you will be superior if you are believers." And it is said: «{ وَعَدَ اللّٰهُ الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا مِنْكُمْ وَ عَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْاَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِيْنَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ وَ لَيُمَكِّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِيْنَهُمُ الَّذِي ارْتَضٰى لَهُمْ وَ لَيُبَدِّلَنَّهُمْ مِّنْۢ بَعْدِ خَوْفِهِمْ اَمْنًا يَعْبُدُوْنَنِيْ لَا يُشْرِكُوْنَ بِيْ شَيْـًٔا وَ مَنْ كَفَرَ بَعْدَ ذٰلِكَ فَاُولٰٓىِٕكَ هُمُ الْفٰسِقُوْنَ}» [ النور : ۵۵ ] "Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession (to authority) upon the earth just as He granted it to those before them, and that He will surely establish for them their religion which He has preferred for them, and He will surely substitute for them, after their fear, security. They will worship Me, not associating anything with Me. But whoever disbelieves after that, then those are the defiantly disobedient." Thawban, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates that the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: [ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ تَعَالٰی زَوَی لِيَ الْأَرْضَ فَأُرِيْتُ مَشَارِقَهَا وَمَغَارِبَهَا وَإِنَّ مُلْكَ أُمَّتِيْ سَيَبْلُغُ مَا زُوِيَ لِيْ مِنْهَا وَأُعْطِيْتُ الْكَنْزَيْنِ الْأَحْمَرَ وَالْأَبْيَضَ ] [ أبوداوٗد، الفتن والملاحم، باب ذکر الفتن و دلائلھا : ۴۲۵۲، و صححہ الألباني ] "Allah folded the earth for me so I saw its east and its west, and the dominion of my Ummah will reach as far as it was folded for me, and I was given the two treasures, the red and the white (gold and silver)." And indeed, according to his, peace and blessings be upon him, prophecy, within a few years the Muslims became the masters of the east and west of the earth, but when their faith and righteous deeds diminished, when they became negligent in faith, piety, and striving in the way of Allah, and indulged in luxury, Allah imposed upon them their enemies and His enemies to punish them, just as He imposed Nebuchadnezzar upon the Children of Israel. See Surah Bani Isra’il (5 to 7). It is thus clear that it is not the case that whoever becomes the owner of any part of this earth is counted among the righteous, otherwise Pharaoh, Haman, Qarun, Shaddad, Nimrod, Genghis, Hulagu, Hitler, Napoleon, Bush, the Communists, the worshippers of cows and idols, and the sons of the Trinity would be counted among Allah’s righteous servants. And nowadays, the enlightened ones want that the polytheists, the wicked, and the homosexuals of the West be considered righteous, so that they may be freed from acting upon the commands of Allah and His Messenger.

15. 1. By Zabur is meant either the Zabur itself, and by Dhikr is meant admonition and advice, as is mentioned in the translation, or by Zabur is meant the previous heavenly books and by Dhikr is meant the Preserved Tablet (Lawh Mahfuz). That is, first this matter was recorded in the Preserved Tablet, and after that, it continued to be written in the heavenly books that the righteous servants will inherit the earth. By earth, according to some commentators, Paradise is meant, and according to others, the land of the disbelievers. That is, Allah’s righteous servants have held power and prominence in the land, and in the future as well, whenever they possess this quality, according to this divine promise, the power of the earth will be with them. Therefore, the current situation of Muslims being deprived of power should not be a cause for confusion; this promise is conditional upon the righteousness of the servants, and according to the principle “when the condition is lost, the conditioned is also lost,” when Muslims lost this quality, they were also deprived of power. In this, the method of attaining power is explained, and that is righteousness, i.e., living life according to the commands of Allah and His Messenger and adhering to His limits and regulations.

And We have already written in the Psalms, after the Reminder, that My righteous servants shall inherit the earth [93].

[93]
The New Interpretation of the Righteous: Earthly Succession and the Discussion of the Righteous:

Some admirers of the West have presented a very incorrect interpretation of the meaning of this verse. In this verse, they do not take "the righteous" to mean Allah’s obedient and fortunate servants, but rather, in their view, "the righteous" refers to those who possess capability. That is, whoever is ruling over the earth at this time or has the capability to rule, they alone are righteous in the sight of Allah, even if they are immoral, disbelievers, or even deniers of the existence of Allah. This view is entirely contrary to the overall teachings of the Book and Sunnah. Whereas in this verse and the preceding verses, the Hereafter and Paradise are being mentioned. The meaning is that only those who are obedient to Allah and righteous can be the inheritors of Paradise and the land of Paradise. This meaning is also supported by the following verse from Surah Az-Zumar: ﴿وَقَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ الَّذِيْ صَدَقَنَا وَعْدَهٗ وَاَوْرَثَنَا الْاَرْضَ نَتَبَوَّاُ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ حَيْثُ نَشَاءُ﴾ [74: 39] “And the people of Paradise will say: All praise is due to Allah, Who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us inherit the land; we may dwell in Paradise wherever we wish.” As for the inheritance of this world, it is stated: ﴿اِنَّ الاَرْضَ نُوْرِِثُهَا مَنْ نَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ﴾ [7: 128] “The earth belongs to Allah alone; He gives its inheritance to whomever He wills among His servants.” Thus, it is not necessary that the inheritance of the present world’s land is given only to the righteous; rather, the immoral and wicked can also seize it. However, Allah’s promise is certainly that those believers who are true and sincere in their claim of faith and in doing righteous deeds, Allah grants them success in the battle between truth and falsehood.

Conditions for Earthly Succession:

As He said: ﴿وَاَنْتُمُ الْاَعْلَوْنَ اِنْ كُنْتُمْ مُّؤْمِنِيْنَ﴾ [3: 139] “And if you are believers (in your words and deeds), you will be victorious.” And regarding such people, Allah has said: ﴿وَعَدَ اللّٰهُ الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُوا الصّٰلِحٰتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِي الْاَرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِيْنَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ﴾ [24: 55] “Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will surely grant them succession in the land as He granted it to those before them.” That is, Allah’s promise of rulership is not for so-called Muslims, but the promise of earthly succession is for true believers and obedient ones, who, after gaining power, do not become worldly rulers, but rather establish Allah’s system of Caliphate on Allah’s earth.