Surah Al-Hajj (22) — Ayah 35

(Ayah 35) ➊ { الَّذِيْنَ اِذَا ذُكِرَ اللّٰهُ وَ جِلَتْ قُلُوْبُهُمْ:’’ وَجِلَ يَوْجَلَ وَجْلاً ‘‘} (a) Intense fear. In this verse, the qualities of {’’ الْمُخْبِتِيْنَ ‘‘} (those who are humble and modest) are described, that when the mention of Allah’s essence or attributes or any of His commands comes, their hearts are filled with intense fear, and they praise Allah, seek His forgiveness, and wholeheartedly obey His command. They are not like the disbelievers, whose hearts become constricted when the name of Allah alone is mentioned, as He said: «{ وَ اِذَا ذُكِرَ اللّٰهُ وَحْدَهُ اشْمَاَزَّتْ قُلُوْبُ الَّذِيْنَ لَا يُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِالْاٰخِرَةِ وَ اِذَا ذُكِرَ الَّذِيْنَ مِنْ دُوْنِهٖۤ اِذَاهُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُوْنَ}» [ الزمر : ۴۵ ] “And when Allah alone is mentioned, the hearts of those who do not believe in the Hereafter shrink with aversion, but when those other than Him are mentioned, suddenly they rejoice.” And when Allah’s verses are recited before them, they turn away in great arrogance as if they never heard them, as He said: «{ وَ اِذَا تُتْلٰى عَلَيْهِ اٰيٰتُنَا وَلّٰى مُسْتَكْبِرًا كَاَنْ لَّمْ يَسْمَعْهَا كَاَنَّ فِيْۤ اُذُنَيْهِ وَقْرًا فَبَشِّرْهُ بِعَذَابٍ اَلِيْمٍ}» [ لقمان : ۷ ] “And when Our verses are recited to him, he turns away arrogantly as if he had not heard them, as if there is heaviness in his ears. So give him tidings of a painful punishment.” Allah also seals the hearts of such arrogant people, as He said: «{ كَذٰلِكَ يَطْبَعُ اللّٰهُ عَلٰى كُلِّ قَلْبِ مُتَكَبِّرٍ جَبَّارٍ }» [المؤمن : ۳۵ ] “Thus Allah seals the heart of every arrogant, tyrant.”

➋ {وَ الصّٰبِرِيْنَ عَلٰى مَاۤ اَصَابَهُمْ:} Since these verses are mentioned in the context of Hajj, and in Hajj, besides the hardships of travel, many difficulties arise—sometimes due to the harsh temperament of some companions, selfishness, or lack of necessities, quarrels and disputes occur, especially when there are people among them with corrupt beliefs and polytheists, because this Surah was revealed in Makkah and even now many pilgrims are those who are involved in shirk and innovation and cannot tolerate hearing about Tawheed and Sunnah. Sometimes hunger, illness, obstacles on the way, and natural calamities occur, so Allah’s humble servants, acting upon «فَلَا رَفَثَ وَ لَا فُسُوْقَ وَ لَا جِدَالَ » [ البقرۃ : ۱۹۷ ] and « وَ بَشِّرِ الصّٰبِرِيْنَ (155) الَّذِيْنَ اِذَاۤ اَصَابَتْهُمْ مُّصِيْبَةٌ قَالُوْۤا اِنَّا لِلّٰهِ وَ اِنَّاۤ اِلَيْهِ رٰجِعُوْنَ » [ البقرۃ : ۱۵۵، ۱۵۶ ], show such patience in all these situations that they are honored with the title of “the patient ones.”

➌ The noon of { وَ الْمُقِيْمِي الصَّلٰوةِ : ’’اَلْمُقِيْمِيْنَ‘‘} has dropped due to its being annexed to {’’ الصَّلٰوةِ ‘‘}. Although alif-lam does not come on the annexed word, if an active participle or any form of an adjective is annexed to its object, then alif-lam comes on it. Due to the hardships of the journey of Hajj, it is possible that there may be laziness in prayer, or it may not be performed properly, but Allah’s humble servants love Allah so much and are so fearful of negligence in prayer that they are always concerned about it and perform it so regularly, on time, and correctly that they are granted the title of “those who establish prayer” by the Lord, as if they are always in prayer.

➍ { وَ مِمَّا رَزَقْنٰهُمْ يُنْفِقُوْنَ :} Since there is much expenditure in this journey, it is said that Our servants do not show stinginess in spending for the journey, or for food and drink, or on their companions, or on sacrifices, etc., but whatever We have given them, considering it as a blessing from Allah and His gift, they spend generously.

➎ The above interpretation of this verse has been given by the commentator Biqa‘i in the context of the passage. The generality of the words demands that these qualities of {’’الْمُخْبِتِيْنَ ‘‘} (Allah’s humble servants) are not found only during Hajj but at all other times as well, due to which they become deserving of the divine glad tidings of {’’ بَشِّرِ الْمُخْبِتِيْنَ ‘‘}.

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

35. They are those whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned, who are patient over whatever befalls them, who establish prayer [54], and who spend from what We have provided them [55].

[54] Their hearts are filled with fear lest they should commit any act against the will and pleasure of Allah. To deliberately perform acts of shirk is out of the question, and in this verse, the mention of patience in adversity, establishing prayer, and spending is due to the fact that during the journey of Hajj, one often faces hardships. There is also the fear of missing prayers, and considerable expenses are incurred. Therefore, it has been stated that all these qualities are found in those who remain humble before Allah. This is the meaning in the context of the subject, however, their command is general in every situation.
[55]
Allah Has Not Attributed Haram Sustenance to Himself:

Here, sustenance refers to lawful and pure earnings, because Allah Almighty has never attributed haram sustenance to Himself. Neither charity, sacrifice, nor Hajj expenses are acceptable from haram sustenance. And spending means to spend in the way of Allah or in accordance with Allah’s commands. For example, if a person is extravagant and wasteful or spends on cinema-going and immoral activities, these do not fall under the legal definition of spending (infaq). Rather, all such acts are sinful.