Surah Ash-Shura (42) — Ayah 38

(Ayah 38) ➊ { وَ الَّذِيْنَ اسْتَجَابُوْا لِرَبِّهِمْ:} After mentioning the things that are obligatory to avoid, He mentioned those qualities with which it is necessary to be adorned. They are four, and acting upon them is the guarantee of the unity of the Ummah and success in this world and the Hereafter. Both "ijabat" and "istijabat" mean "to accept," but due to the additional letters in "istijabat," there is an emphasis in the meaning. The meaning is that when their Lord calls them to any task, they immediately rush towards it; they neither delay nor procrastinate, and this is exactly what their Lord demands from them. See Surah Al-Anfal (24).

➋ { وَ اَقَامُوا الصَّلٰوةَ:} Of these four qualities, the establishment of prayer is mentioned first, because after accepting Islam, the very first and most important obligation is to establish prayer, which draws a clear line of distinction between Muslims and disbelievers in front of everyone. See Surah At-Tawbah (5, 11).

➌ { وَ اَمْرُهُمْ شُوْرٰى بَيْنَهُمْ:’’ شَارَ يَشُوْرُ شَوْرًا ‘‘} (n) {’’ وَاشْتَارَ الْعَسَلَ‘‘} Extracting honey from the hive. Consultation is called "mashwara" and "shura" for this reason, that it is the act of obtaining the opinions of many people. This is the second quality. In those matters in which there are clear commands from Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him), there is neither need nor permission for consultation; in those, there is no way except compliance. Apart from these, all matters relating to the mutual dealings of Muslims are settled through mutual consultation, due to which they become aware of the best possible opinions of all people and reach the best conclusion. None of them considers himself to be all-wise so as to declare his own opinion as final and insist upon it, and say like Pharaoh: « مَاۤ اُرِيْكُمْ اِلَّا مَاۤ اَرٰى وَ مَاۤ اَهْدِيْكُمْ اِلَّا سَبِيْلَ الرَّشَادِ» [ المؤمن : ۲۹ ] "I am only telling you what I see, and I am guiding you only to the path of rightness." Because this attitude is adopted only by an arrogant person, who gives no weight to others and their opinions; the case of a believer is the opposite, as He said: « تِلْكَ الدَّارُ الْاٰخِرَةُ نَجْعَلُهَا لِلَّذِيْنَ لَا يُرِيْدُوْنَ عُلُوًّا فِي الْاَرْضِ وَ لَا فَسَادًا » [ القصص : ۸۳ ] "This last abode, We make it for those who do not intend exaltation upon the earth nor corruption." A believer is always fearful that he may make a mistake in understanding, or due to ignorance, or due to the interference of Satan or his own self, he may make a wrong decision, so he consults as many people as possible. Allah Almighty also commanded His noble Prophet (peace be upon him) to consult his companions, and the Prophet (peace be upon him) always consulted the noble companions (may Allah be pleased with them) in those matters in which there was no explicit command from Allah Almighty.

➍ Nowadays, many people take "shura" to mean democracy and voting, whereas consultation is done by a caliph as well, by a king as well, as Queen Sheba did, and even the head of the smallest family, because without it, no work can run properly. If he does not wish, even a democratic prime minister can, instead of consulting, force his party members to accept his autocratic opinion, as we observe in our country. For details on the difference between consultation and democracy, see the commentary of Surah Al-Imran, Ayah (159): «وَ شَاوِرْهُمْ فِي الْاَمْرِ ». Also, look at the commentary of Surah An-Naml, Ayah (32).

➎ { وَ مِمَّا رَزَقْنٰهُمْ يُنْفِقُوْنَ:} This is the third quality. For details, see the commentary of Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayah (3).