Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 133

(Ayah 133) ➊ {وَ سَارِعُوْۤا اِلٰى مَغْفِرَةٍ مِّنْ رَّبِّكُمْ :} The people of faith should hasten towards those righteous deeds which become a cause for Allah’s forgiveness. The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Hasten to perform good deeds before there come trials like pieces of a dark night (one after another). A man will be a believer in the morning and a disbeliever in the evening, or a believer in the evening and a disbeliever in the morning. He will sell his religion for a small portion of worldly goods.” [ مسلم، الإیمان، باب الحث علی المبادرۃ… : ۱۱۸، عن أبی ہریرۃ رضی اللہ عنہ ]

➋ {وَ جَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمٰوٰتُ … :} That is, just as Hell has been prepared for the disbelieving usurer, likewise Paradise has been prepared for the obedient and God-fearing, and then regarding Paradise, by saying « وَ جَنَّةٍ عَرْضُهَا السَّمٰوٰتُ وَ الْاَرْضُ », its vastness has been indicated. Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrates that a man came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and said: “O Muhammad! Tell me, if the width of Paradise is as the heavens and the earth, then where is the Fire?” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Tell me, when the day comes, where does the night go?” He said: “Allah knows best.” The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Then Allah does what He wills.” [ صحیح ابن حبان : ۱۰۳۔ مستدرک حاکم : 92/1، ح : ۱۰۳ و صححہ و وافقہ الذہبی ]

The reality is that the attributes of Paradise and Hell which are mentioned in the Qur’an and Hadith must be believed in exactly as they are, whether our intellect and understanding can grasp them or not, and not only this, but this is the case with all matters of the Hereafter.

133. 1. Instead of ruining the Hereafter by chasing after the wealth and riches of the world, follow the path of obedience to Allah and His Messenger, and seek Allah’s forgiveness and His Paradise, which Allah has prepared for the righteous. Thus, ahead, a few characteristics of the righteous have been mentioned.

133. And hasten towards forgiveness from your Lord and a Paradise [118.1] as vast as the heavens and the earth, prepared for the God-fearing.

[118۔ 1]
Sayyid al-Istighfar:

To hasten towards Allah’s forgiveness means to perform without delay those deeds which can become a cause for Allah’s forgiveness, and these are all righteous deeds. In addition, seeking forgiveness (istighfar) from Allah itself is a very great means of attaining Allah’s pardon. There are many supplications for istighfar transmitted in the Book and Sunnah, and one supplication of istighfar was called Sayyid al-Istighfar by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ: He taught this istighfar to the noble Companions ؓ and used to recite it after the prayers in the morning and evening. The words of this istighfar are:
« اَللّٰهُمَّ اَنْتَ رَبِّيْ لاَاِلَهَ الآَاَنْتَ خَلَقْتَنِي وَاَنَا عَبْدُكَ وَاَنَا عَليٰ عَهْدِكَ وَوَعْدِكَ مَا اسْتَطَعْتُ اَعُوْذُ بِكَ مِنْ شَرِّمَا صَنَعتُ اَبُوْء لَكَ بِنِعْمَتِكَ عَلَيَّ وَاَبُوْءُ بِذَنْبِيْ فَاغْفِرْ ليْ فِاِنَّهُ لاَيَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوْبَ الآَ اَنْتَ»
“O Allah, You are my Lord. There is no deity except You. You created me and I am Your servant and slave, and as much as I am able, I remain firm upon Your covenant and Your promise. I seek refuge in You from the evil of what I do. I acknowledge Your blessings upon me and I confess my sins. So forgive me, for none forgives sins except You.”

And the purpose of hastening towards Paradise is also that such deeds should be done through which the attainment of Paradise becomes possible. The attribute of Paradise is described as its width being like that of the heavens and the earth. One meaning of “width” is breadth. In this sense, it means that when it is beyond human capacity to estimate the vastness of the heavens and the earth, then how can one estimate the vastness of Paradise, whose breadth is equal to the heavens and the earth? Thus, the intent is to express such limitless vastness of Paradise that it cannot even be imagined by human thought.

The Value and Worth of Paradise:

The second meaning of “width” is value and worth. It is said: “ishtaraytu al-mata‘ bi ‘arḍ,” and in this sense, the word is also used in the Quran. When the transience of the world is intended to be expressed, this word is used for worldly goods and possessions. In this sense, it would mean: hasten towards that Paradise in comparison to which all these heavens and the earth are insignificant, and the value and worth of Paradise surpasses all of them. Incidentally, from such verses it is also known that Paradise and Hell have already been prepared, and this is a refutation of those who do not believe in this.

The Prohibition of Usury:

The mention of the prohibition of usury has already passed in Surah al-Baqarah, verses 278–279. This verse was revealed before that. At that time, the purpose was to acquaint the Muslims with the evils of usury, to instill aversion to it, and to prepare their minds to abandon it completely. The reason for mentioning usury at this point seems to be that in the Battle of Uhud, the initial defeat suffered by the Muslims was largely due to the fact that the detachment of Muslims under the leadership of Abdullah bin Jubayr ؓ, who were assigned to guard the pass, when they saw signs of victory, were overcome by greed for wealth and, instead of completing their task, became engaged in collecting the spoils. Allah Almighty deemed it necessary to block the source of materialism in order to rectify this situation, because the special characteristic of usury is that it creates in the usurer such vile traits as greed, avarice, miserliness, cowardice, selfishness, and materialism, and in those who pay usury, it creates hatred, anger, malice, and envy. Such traits are deadly poison for an Islamic society and are contrary to the spirit of jihad, and in the Hereafter, they become a cause for punishment. For these reasons, usury was ultimately declared completely forbidden.