Surah Ar-Ra'd: Verse 22 - والذين صبروا ابتغاء وجه ربهم... - English

Those who patiently persevere, seeking the countenance of their Lord; Establish regular prayers; spend, out of (the gifts) We have bestowed for their sustenance, secretly and openly; and turn off Evil with good: for such there is the final attainment of the (eternal) home,- (22)

The sixth attribute has been stated as: وَالَّذِينَ صَبَرُ‌وا ابْتِغَاءَ وَجْهِ رَ‌بِّهِمْ (and those who observe patience in order to seek the pleasure of their Lord).

The meaning of: صَبر (Sabr) in the Arabic language is fairly general as compared with the sense which has become popular in the Urdu language (in which this Commentary was originally written). There it means to be patient under distress. (Regretfully, the common counterpart, patience, used for صَبر 'Sabr' in English is also not free of its limitations, and does not carry the full and rich sense of the original Arabic). The reason is that the real meaning of صَبر Sabr is that one does not become upset under the stress of what is temperamentally unpalatable and, in fact, keeps doing what must be done resolutely and steadfastly. Therefore, it is divided into two kinds. One of them is Perseverance with Obedience صَبر عَلَی اَلطَّاعَۃ ، that is, being steadfast while observing and implementing the injunctions of Allah Ta’ ala. The other kind is Perseverance against Disobedience and Sin صَبر علٰی الَمعصِیَۃِ , that is, being steadfast in refraining from and staying safe against sins.

The restriction of: اِبتِغَآءِ وَجہِ رَبِّھِم (in order to seek the pleasure of their Lord) tells us that Sabr or patience, in its general sense, is no matter of merit by itself because there comes a time when even the most impatient person somehow gets to become reconciled with his or her lot after all. So, Sabr or patience which is not willful has no worth or merit, nor does Allah Ta` ala ever obligate anyone with something which is beyond his control. Therefore, in Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ has said: اَلصَّبر عِندَ الصَّمَدۃِ , that is, 'the real and trustworthy Sabr is none but the one which is taken to immediately at the initial stage of shock. Otherwise, later on, sooner or later, one is left with no choice but to become reconciled and patient. As against this, the Sabr which is worthy of all praise is the Sabr under which one elects, by choice, to tolerate and be patient about what is contrary to his or her liking - whether it is the fulfillment of what one is obligated with, or is the abstinence from what is unlawful or reprehensible.

Therefore, if someone entered the house of somebody else with the intention of theft, but did not find the opportunity to do so, thus, having been left with no other choice but to observe patience, he returned back. Now, this Sabr or patience, non-voluntary as it is, is no act deserving praise or reward. It brings Thawab or reward only when one abstains from sin because of the fear of Allah and the desire to seek His pleasure.

The seventh attribute is: أَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ (establish Salah). The Qur’ anic expression for 'establish Sa1ah means to perform Sa1ah with all its attending conditions and rules of etiquette and the essential humbleness of heart. It is not just the 'saying' of prayers as a matter of routine. Therefore, speaking generally, the command to perform, offer, or make prayers appearing in the Holy Qur'an has been given with the specific word: Iqamah, usually rendered as 'establish' in English, though still wanting.

The eighth attribute is: وَأَنفَقُوا مِمَّا رَ‌زَقْنَاهُمْ سِرًّ‌ا وَعَلَانِيَةً (and spend from what We have given to them secretly and openly). The hint given here is that the amount of Zakah prescribed by Allah Ta` ala is not something He is asking of you, in fact, what He is asking for is a certain portion of what He has given to you, and that too is limited to the insignificant measure of 2-1/2 percent. Naturally, giving this much should naturally be no cause of reluctance for you.

The adverb of: سِرًّ‌ا وَعَلَانِيَةً (secretly and openly) with the command to spend wealth in the way of Allah tells us that concealment is not always the only Sunnah method in charities - instead, on occasions, doing it openly is also correct and sound. Therefore, religious scholars have said that the giving of obligatory Zakah and charities openly is better and more merit-worthy. Doing it secretly is not appropriate so that other people could be pursuaded and prompted to do the same. However, the giving of voluntary charities (Sadaqat) secretly is certainly better and more merit-worthy. Ahadith in which giving secretly has been commended are concerned with such optional and voluntary charities.

The ninth attributes stated here is: وَيَدْرَ‌ءُونَ بِالْحَسَنَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ (and repel evil with good). The sense is that these people repel evil with good, enmity with friendship and injustice with forgiveness, and do not retaliate by doing what is evil in return for evil done. Some commentators have explained the meaning by saying that these people repel sin by acting righteously, that is, if some sin gets to be committed by them, they follow it up by repentance, obedience and worship so punctually and abundantly that the past sin is obliterated. According to Hadith, the Holy Prophet ﷺ advised Sayyidna Mu’ adh ؓ : If, after evil, you do good, it will obliterate evil. It means that should a person reflect, feel ashamed of having committed a sin, repent and make amends by following it up with a good deed, then, this good deed will wash off his or her past sin. Just going ahead and doing something good without first having felt ashamed and having repented after the commitment of sin is not sufficient for the forgiveness of that sin.

After having recounted these nine attributes of the obedient servants of Allah Ta` ala, the reward promised for them is: أُولَـٰئِكَ لَهُمْ عُقْبَى الدَّارِ (Those are the ones for whom there is the ultimate abode). The word: الدَّارِ (ad-dar: abode, home) refers to the abode of the 'Akhirah or Hereafter, that it, the prosperity and success of the 'Akhirah is for them. Some com-mentators have said that 'abode' at this place means the abode of the mortal world the sense of which is that good people, though they have to face hardships too in this mortal world, but, finally, they are the ones who succeed in this mortal world as well.

(22)