7. Al-A'raaf

In the second verse, it was said: وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّـهِ ۚ إِنَّهُ سَمِيعٌ عَلِيمٌ (And if you are stricken with a strike from the Shaitan, seek refuge with Allah - 200).

This verse too is really a complement of the subject taken up in the first verse which instructs that the error made by the unjust and the ignorant should be forgiven and the evil done by them should not be answered by counter evil. This is heavy duty. In fact, doing something like this is most irksome and hard on human temperament. Particularly on occasions such as this, the Shaitan is there to coax someone very normal into anger and somehow gets his client all set to fight. Therefore, in the second verse, it has been suggested that in case emotions of anger seem to be flaring up on such an occasion where your patience is under test, one should promptly figure out that this instigation is coming from the Shaitan. It has a standard treatment - seek refuge with Allah.

It appears in Hadith that two men were quarreling before the Holy Prophet ﷺ and one of them was getting out of control in his fit of anger. He looked at him and said, 'I know some words which, if this person were to say, his rage will go away.' Then, he said, 'here are the words: اعوذ باللہ من الشیطان الرجیم seek refuge with Allah from the Shaitan, the Accursed). When this person heard the Holy Prophet ﷺ reciting it, he immediately said it after him. Suddenly, his anger was all gone.

An Unusual Coincidence

At this stage, the great Tafsir Ibn Kathir has written about an unusual coincidence. He says that there are three verses in the entire Qur'an that appear as an embodiment of high moral teaching - and all three of them conclude with the need to seek refuge from the Shaitan. One of these is this very verse of Surah al-A` raf we are talking about. The second one is the following verse of Surah al-Mu'minun:

ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ السَّيِّئَةَ ۚ نَحْنُ أَعْلَمُ بِمَا يَصِفُونَ ﴿96﴾ وَقُل رَّ‌بِّ أَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ هَمَزَاتِ الشَّيَاطِينِ ﴿97﴾ وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ رَ‌بِّ أَن يَحْضُرُ‌ونِ ﴿98﴾

"Repel the evil with what is good. We know best what they keep saying and you say: '0 my Lord, I seek refuge with You against the urgings of the Shaitans, and 0 my Lord, I seek refuge with You from that they be with me - 23:96:98."

The third verse appears in Surah Ha Mim as-Sajdah (also referred to as Surah Fussilat):

وَلَا تَسْتَوِي الْحَسَنَةُ وَلَا السَّيِّئَةُ ۚ ادْفَعْ بِالَّتِي هِيَ أَحْسَنُ فَإِذَا الَّذِي بَيْنَكَ وَبَيْنَهُ عَدَاوَةٌ كَأَنَّهُ وَلِيٌّ حَمِيمٌ ﴿34﴾ وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا الَّذِينَ صَبَرُ‌وا وَمَا يُلَقَّاهَا إِلَّا ذُو حَظٍّ عَظِيمٍ ﴿35﴾ وَإِمَّا يَنزَغَنَّكَ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ نَزْغٌ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّـهِ ۖ إِنَّهُ هُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ ﴿36﴾

(And good and bad deeds are not equal. Repel with that which is better, whereupon he - between whom and you there was enmity - will be as if a fast friend. [ 34] And this quality is granted to none but those who observe patience, and this quality is granted to none but he who is endowed with a great fortune. [ 35] And if you are stricken with a strike from the Shaitan, then, seek refuge with Allah. …

Commentary

Mentioned in the verses cited above is the proof that the Holy Prophet ﷺ the true Messenger of Allah. Also answered there are doubts raised by his antagonists. Then, as a corollary, some religious injunctions have been taken up.

To prove that they are Messengers of Allah, all prophets, may peace be upon them all, are given miracles. It was in consonance with it that the Holy Prophet ﷺ the foremost among prophets, was blessed with so many miracles which exceed the number of those given to past prophets and which are clear too.

The miracles of the Holy Prophet ﷺ as proved from the Qur'an, and authentic Hadith reports, are fairly numerous. Muslim religious scholars have written separate books about them. ` Allamah Jalalud-Din as-Suyuti's book, al-Khasais a1-Kubra, in two volumes, is a well-known work on this subject.

But, despite the manifestation of so many miracles, his opponents stuck to their unreasonable demands asking for ever-new miracles of their choice. This has also been mentioned earlier in this very Surah.

The first of the two verses cited above provides an answer to their demand as a matter of principle. To put it briefly, the miracle of a prophet is a testimony and proof of his mission as a Messenger of Allah. Take the example of the claim of a plaintiff that stands proved by some trustworthy evidence. The other party has not challenged it in any way. If so, no court in the world would give this party the right to demand from the plaintiff that it would accept the claim only when he produces its evidence from a number of particularly specified people. And that the said party would, without challenging the present evidence, not accept it. Therefore, after having seen so many manifest miracles, the antagonists had no right to say that they would take him to be a Messenger of Allah only if he were to show their custom-ordered miracles. This is nothing but a hostile demand that no court of justice would accept as valid.

So, in the first verse (203), it was said when he does not show them the miracle specified by them, they use it as a pretext to deny that he was a Messenger of Allah. Had he been one, he would have shown them the miracle of their choice! The Holy Prophet ﷺ has been asked to tell them that his mission does not call for the showing of miracles on his own. Instead, his basic mission was to follow the injunctions sent to him by his Lord through the medium of Wahy (revelation) and it included the task of their preaching as well. Therefore, he was busy doing what he was assigned to do. As for the verification of his status as a Messenger of Allah, the miracles already manifested before them were more than enough for that purpose. Now that they have already seen those, the demand for some particular miracle is nothing but an exercise in hostility that is not worth noticing.

Then, out of the miracles shown, the Qur'an by itself is a great miracle. It has challenged the whole world to come up with a small Surah the like of it and it has failed to do so. This, then, is an open sign that the Qur'an is no human word, instead, is the inimitable Word of Allah, the most exalted.

For this reason, it was said: …

In the second verse (204), we have been told that the Holy Qur'an has come as mercy for the believers. But, in order to benefit from this mercy, there are some conditions and rules of conduct. These have been delineated in the form of a general address as: وَإِذَا قُرِ‌ئَ الْقُرْ‌آنُ فَاسْتَمِعُوا لَهُ وَأَنصِتُوا (And when the Qur'an is recited, listen to it and be silent).

There are different reports about the background of these verses and about whether this injunction has appeared about the recitation of the Qur'an in Salah, or in Khutbah, or relates to the recitation of the Qur'an in an absolute sense, be it in Salah or Khutbah or in some other condition. But, according to the majority of commentators, the correct position is that the way the words of the verse are general, so the rule laid down therein too is generally applicable to all conditions - except some particular occasions.

Therefore, the followers of Hanafi School have taken this verse to prove that the persons offering their prayer behind an Imam (i.e. the muqtadis) should not recite. Even Muslim jurists who have directed the muqtadis to recite Alfatihah behind the Imam, they too, having kept this verse in view have suggested that a muqtadi should recite only in an interval when the Imam is silent. However, this is not the appropriate occasion to take up this debate. Those interested may refer to standard works, brief or detailed, written by scholars on the issue.

The main subject of the verse is not but that the people for whom the Qur'an has been declared to be mercy should realize the condition that they have to recognize the etiquette and respect aligned with the Qur'an and observe it literally in practice. Then, the cardinal etiquette of the Qur'an is that listeners should lend their ears to it when recited and remain silent.

The sense of lending ears to it not only includes listening to it but also obeying it and making the effort of acting in accordance with its injunctions. (Maharl and Qurtubi) Then, by saying: لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْ‌حَمُونَ (so that you may be blessed) at the end of the verse, a clear hint is given that the mercy of Qur'an depends on the observance of rules of etiquette mentioned above.

Some important rules relating to listening and remaining silent when Qur'an is being recited

In contrast with what has been said above, it is obvious that whoever flouts these rules and shows disrespect to the Qur'an will deserve Divine wrath, not mercy.

As for listening to the recitation of the Qur'an in the Salah and remaining silent therein, Muslims generally know about it - though, they do fall short in practice. Some of them would not even be aware of the Surah recited by the Imam. For such people, it is imperative that they should realize the greatness of the Qur'an, and listen to it attentively. This Islamic legal norm applies to the Khutbah of Jumu'ah etc. In addition to this verse, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has particularly said about the Khutbah:

اَذا خرجَ الاِمَام فَلَا صلٰوۃ وَ لَا کَلَام

When the Imam comes out (for Khutbah), then, there is no Surah and no conversation.

And it also appears in a Hadith that no one should say anything to anyone during …

Commentary

That the Holy Qur'an should be listened to and that due etiquette should be observed when doing so was the subject in previous verses. Described in the present two verses, as held by the majority of commentators, is the injunction to remember Allah, in an absolute sense, as well as its attending etiquette - which includes the recitation of the Qur'an. However, according to Sayyidna ` Abdullah ibn ` Abbas ؓ the word: ذِکر (dhikr: remembrance) as it appears in this verse means the Qur'an, and the rules of etiquette enunciated therein are also related to its recitation. But, this does not make much of a difference because according to the consensus of all, other modes of remembrance (adhkar: plural of dhikr), in addition to the Qur'an, are governed by the same injunction and the same rules of etiquette.

In short, in this verse, human beings have been commanded to remember Allah and told when to do it and how to do it.

Rules of Voiced and Voiceless Remembrance [ Dhikr ]

The first rule of etiquette relates to the doing of Dhikr in a lowered or loud voice. The Holy Qur'an has given two choices about that in this verse. It can be made secretly and voicelessly and it can be made openly and loudly. About the voiceless Dhikr, it was said: وَاذْكُر‌ رَّ‌بَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ which has been translated here literally as 'and remember your Lord in yourself (or, in your heart). This too would, take two forms: (1) That one does not move his tongue and simply thinks of Allah and His attributes in his heart that is known as al-dhikr-al-khafiyy (Dhikr of the heart) or tafakkur (pondering). (2) That one brings his tongue in alignment with what is happening in the deep recesses of his heart, lowers his voice and renders the letters carrying Divine names. The most preferred form of doing it is to first understand the sense of what is being said. Then, in synchronization with it, let him do two things simultaneously: Be fully conscious of its presence in his heart with his span of attention riveted to it and then, verbalize it too. The reason is that this is a form in which the tongue also joins in the Dhikr along with the heart. And if someone were to remain devoted to the thought within his heart alone, without uttering any word from his tongue, that too is a reward-worthy act in its own place. However, the lowest degree of it would be uttering the words of Dhikr but the heart stays denuded with it, even heedless towards it. About a Dhikr like that, the great sage, Rumi said:

بر زبان تسبیح و در دل گا ؤخَر ایں چنییں تسبیح کے دارد اثر

On the tongue, glory to God، Cow and donkey in the heart!

What remembrance is it? How effective will it be?

What sage Rumi means is that Dhikr made through a heedless heart brings no vestiges and blessings of the genuine act of Dhikr. It does not rule out the reward and benefit that may issue forth from what may be a bland verbal Dhikr because there are occasions when this very verbal Dhikr becomes the channel, source and cause of the Dhikr of the heart. The constant utterance of the tongue starts affecting the heart as well. In case that does not materialize, no less is the satisfaction that there is at least one …

Sajdah: Some merits and rules

Sajdah (prostration) as a unit of the Islamic ` Ibadah of Salahhas been mentioned here exclusively since it occupies a distinct place among the rest of the units of Salah.

It appears in Sahih Muslim that a person asked Sayyidaa Thawban ؓ 'tell me about something I should do that will take me to Paradise.' Sayyidna Thawban remained silent. He repeated the question. He still remained silent. When he came up with the question the third time, he said, 'I had asked the same question from the Holy Prophet ؓ and he had ordered me to make sajdah repeatedly because for every sajdah you do, Allah Ta` ala increases a rank and forgives a sin.' This person says that following his meeting with Sayyidna Thawban ؓ he met Sayyidna Abu al-Darda' ؓ . He put the same question to him and he was given the same answer.

Again in Sahih Muslim, but on the authority of Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ ، it has been reported that the Holy Prophet ؓ said, 'a servant of Allah is closest to his Lord when in sajdah.

Therefore, when you are in a state of sajdah, pray most ardently, for it is strongly hoped that it will be answered. 1'

1. It should be borne in mind that supplication in sajdah should be in nafl salah and using the Arabic prayers either mentioned in the Holy Qur'an or in the sunnah of the Holy Prophet . However, in a sajdah meant for supplication only, one can pray in whatever language he wishes (Muhammad Taqi Usmani)

Let us bear in mind that Sajdah, by itself, is not a recognized act of ` Ibadah. Therefore, according to Imam Abu Hanifah, prostrating in Sajdah abundantly means that one should offer nafl Salah abundantly. An increased number of nafl Salah would naturally result in an increased number of Sajdahs.

But, if a person were to go in Sajdah alone and supplicate after that, it really does not matter. As for the instruction to supplicate in Sajdah, it is particular to Nafl Salats. It is not mandatory.

Surah al-A` raf ends here. Its last verse is an Ayah of Sajdah (requiring the person reciting and the person listening to prostrate in Sajdah). According to a report from Sayyidna Abu Hurairah al appearing in Sahih Muslim, the Holy Prophet ﷺ said, ` when a son of Adam recites a verse of Sajdah and then prostrates in Sajdah, the Shaitan runs crying. He says: Alas, man was asked to prostrate in Sajdah and when he obeyed, Paradise became his home, and I was asked to prostrate in Sajdah and when I disobeyed, Hell became my home.'