39:9 Az-Zumar (The Groups)

هذه مقابلة بين العامل بطاعة اللّه وغيره، وبين العالم والجاهل، وأن هذا من الأمور التي تقرر في العقول تباينها، وعلم علما يقينا تفاوتها، فليس المعرض عن طاعة ربه، المتبع لهواه، كمن هو قانت أي: مطيع للّه بأفضل العبادات وهي الصلاة، وأفضل الأوقات وهو أوقات الليل، فوصفه بكثرة العمل وأفضله، ثم وصفه بالخوف والرجاء، وذكر أن متعلق الخوف عذاب الآخرة، على ما سلف من الذنوب، وأن متعلق الرجاء، رحمة اللّه، فوصفه بالعمل الظاهر والباطن.{ قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِي الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ } ربهم ويعلمون دينه الشرعي ودينه الجزائي، وما له في ذلك من الأسرار والحكم { وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ } شيئا من ذلك؟ لا يستوي هؤلاء ولا هؤلاء، كما لا يستوي الليل والنهار، والضياء والظلام، والماء والنار.{ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ } إذا ذكروا { أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ } أي: أهل العقول الزكية الذكية، فهم الذين يؤثرون الأعلى على الأدنى، فيؤثرون العلم على الجهل، وطاعة اللّه على مخالفته، لأن لهم عقولا ترشدهم للنظر في العواقب، بخلاف من لا لب له ولا عقل، فإنه يتخذ إلهه هواه.

يقول عز وجل أمن هذه صفته كمن أشرك بالله وجعل له أندادا؟ لا يستوون عند الله كما قال تعالى "ليسوا سواء من أهل الكتاب أما قائمة يتلون آيات الله آناء الليل وهم يسجدون" وقال تبارك وتعالى ههنا "أمن هو قانت آناء الليل ساجدا وقائما" أي في حال سجوده وفي حال قيامه ولهذا استدل بهذه الآية من ذهب إلى أن القنوت هو الخشوع في الصلاة ليس هو القيام وحده كما ذهب إليه آخرون. قال الثوري عن فراس عن الشعبي عن مسروق عن ابن مسعود رضي الله عنه أنه قال: القانت المطيع لله عز وجل ولرسوله صلى الله عليه وسلم وقال ابن عباس رضي الله عنهما والحسن والسدي وابن زيد آناء الليل جوف الليل وقال الثوري عن منصور بلغنا أن ذلك بين المغرب والعشاء وقال الحسن وقتادة آناء الليل أوله وأوسطه وآخره وقوله تعالى "يحذر الآخرة ويرجو رحمة ربه" أي في حال عبادته خائف راج ولا بد في العبادة من هذا وهذا وأن يكون الخوف في مدة الحياة هو الغالب ولهذا قال تعالى "يحذر الآخرة ويرجو رحمة ربه" فإذا كان عند الاحتضار فليكن الرجاء هو الغالب عليه كما قال الإمام عبد بن حميد في مسنده حدثنا يحيى بن عبدالحميد حدثنا جعفر بن سليمان حدثنا ثابت عن أنس رضي الله عنه قال دخل رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم على رجل وهو في الموت فقال له "كيف تجدك؟" فقال له أرجو وأخاف فقال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم "لا يجتمعان في قلب عبد في مثل هذا الموطن إلا أعطاه الله عز وجل الذي يرجو وأمنه الذي يخافه".. ورواه الترمذي والنسائي في اليوم والليلة وابن ماجه من حديث سيار بن حاتم عن جعفر بن سليمان به قال الترمذي غريب وقد رواه بعضهم عن ثابت عن أنس عن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم مرسلا. وقال ابن أبي حاتم حدثنا عمر بن أبي شيبة عن عبيدة النميري حدثنا أبو خلف بن عبدالله بن عيسى الخراز حدثنا يحيى البكاء أنه سمع ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما يقرأ "أمن هو قانت آناء الليل ساجدا وقائما يحذر الآخرة ويرجو رحمة ربه" قال ابن عمر ذاك عثمان بن عفان رضي الله عنه وإنما قال ابن عمر رضي الله عنهما ذلك لكثرة صلاة أمير المؤمنين عثمان رضي الله عنه بالليل وقراءته حتى أنه ربما قرأ القرآن في ركعه كما روى ذلك أبو عبيدة عنه رضي الله تعالى عنه وقال الشاعر: ضحوا بأشمط عنوان السجود به يقطع الليل تسبيحا وقرآنا وقال الإمام أحمد كتب إلى الربيع بن نافع حدثنا الهيثم بن حميد عن زيد بن واقد عن سليمان بن موسى عن كثير بن مرة عن تميم الداري رضي الله عنه قال: قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم من قرأ بمائة أية في ليلة كتب له قنوت ليلة" وكذا رواه النسائي في اليوم والليلة عن إبراهيم بن يعقوب عن عبدالله بن يوسف والربيع بن نافع كلاهما عن الهيثم بن حميد به. وقوله تعالى "قل هل يستوي الذين يعلمون والذين لا يعلمون" أي هل يستوي هذا والذي قبله ممن جعل لله أندادا ليضل عن سبيله "إنما يتذكر أولوا الألباب" أي إنما يعلم الفرق بين هذا وهذا ومن له لب وهو العقل والله أعلم.

The Obedient and the Sinner are not equal

Allah says, `is the one who is like this equal to one who associates others in worship with Allah and sets up rivals to Him' They are not equal before Allah, as He says:

لَيْسُواْ سَوَآءً مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَـبِ أُمَّةٌ قَآئِمَةٌ يَتْلُونَ ءَايَـتِ اللَّهِ ءَانَآءَ الَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ

(Not all of them are alike; a party of the People of the Scripture stand for the right, they recite the Ayat of Allah Ana'a Al-Layl, prostrating themselves (in prayer).) (3:113). And Allah says here:

أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ ءَانَآءَ الَّيْلِ سَـجِداً وَقَآئِماً

(Is one who is obedient to Allah, Ana'a Al-Layl prostrating and standing) meaning, one who is humble and fears Allah when he prostrates and stands (in prayer). It was reported that Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The obedient one is one who obeys Allah and His Messenger ." Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Al-Hasan, As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd said, Ana'a Al-Layl means in the depths of the night.

يَحْذَرُ الاٌّخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُواْ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ

(fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord.) means, in his worship he feels both fear and hope. Both are essential in worship, and fear should be stronger during one's lifetime. Allah says:

يَحْذَرُ الاٌّخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُواْ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ

(fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord. ) At the time of death, hope is uppermost, as Imam `Abd bin Humayd recorded in his Musnad from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered upon a man who was dying, and said to him,

«كَيْفَ تَجِدُكَ؟»

(How do you feel) He said, `I am both afraid and hopeful.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«لَا يَجْتَمِعَانِ فِي قَلْبِ عَبْدٍ فِي مِثْلِ هَذَا الْمَوْطِنِ إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الَّذِي يَرْجُو، وَأَمَّنَهُ الَّذِي يَخَافُه»

(These do not co-exist in a person's heart at times such as this, but Allah will give him what he hopes for and protect him from that which he fears.)" This was recorded by At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i in Al-Yawm wal-Laylah, and Ibn Majah from the Hadith of Yasar bin Hatim from Ja`far bin Sulayman. At-Tirmidhi said, "Gharib." Imam Ahmad recorded that Tamim Ad-Dari, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:

«مَنْ قَرَأَ بِمِائَةِ آيَةٍ فِي لَيْلَةٍ كُتِبَ لَهُ قُنُوتُ لَيْلَة»

(Whoever recites one hundred Ayat in one night, it will be recorded as if he prayed all night.) This was also recorded by An-Nasa'i in Al-Yawm wal-Laylah.

قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِى الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ

(Say: "Are those who know equal to those who know not") means, is this one equal with the one who sets up rivals to Allah to mislead (men) from His path

إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُوْلُواْ الأَلْبَـبِ

(It is only men of understanding who will remember. ) means, the only one who will understand the difference between them is the one who has understanding. And Allah knows best.

Or is he who read softened a-man devotes himself in worship observing duties of obedience in the watches of the night during its hours prostrating and standing in prayer apprehensive of the eventuality of the Hereafter in other words fearing its chastisement and hoping for the mercy the Paradise of his Lord … ? like one who is disobedient through disbelief or otherwise? a variant reading has am-man pronouncing the hamza so that am has the sense of bal ‘rather’. Say ‘Are those who know equal with those who do not know?’ in other words they are not equal just as the person of knowledge is not equal to the ignorant one. Only people of pith possessors of intellect remember only they are admonished.

In the first sentence of verse 9, it was said: أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ (Can (such people be equal to) the one who worships during the hours of the night, prostrating and standing, fearing the Hereafter and having hopes in his Lord's mercy?). The first word: أَمَّنْ (amman) is a combination of two words: اَم (am: an interrogative particle) and: مَن (man: relative pronoun). Before this sentence, the disbelievers have told on behalf of Allah Ta’ ala that they can go ahead and enjoy the fruits of their disbelief and sin during this mortal life, but finally they are doomed to stoke the fire of Jahannam. After then, the present sentence takes up the description of an obedient believer that has been initiated with the question word of أَمَّنْ (amman). Scholars of exegesis have said that there is an ellipsis of a sentence that should have appeared earlier, that is, the disbeliever will be told, 'are you better, or is it the obedient believer who has been mentioned later?'. The word: قَانِت (qanit) has been explained variously. That which comprehends all these meanings comes from Sayyidna Ibn Masud ؓ . According to him, it means devotedly obedient, and when this word is used in conjunction with Sala ھ ، as in: قُومُوا لِلَّـهِ قَانِتِينَ (Stand before Allah in total devotion - Al-Baqarah, 2:238), there it means the person who lowers his gaze in salah, does not see right and left, does not play with his body or clothes and does not voluntarily remember anything from his worldly life. Any incidence of forgetfulness or involuntary scruple would not be considered contrary to this. (Qurtubi)

Immediately next in verse 9, it was said: آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ (during the hours of the night). The expression means hours of the night and denotes the early, the middle and the last part of the night. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ said that, 'a person who wishes that Allah Ta’ ala would make the reckoning on the plains of Resurrection easy on him should so manage himself that Allah Ta’ ala finds him in the state of Sujud (prostration) and Qiyam (stance of standing) during the darkness of the night in an emotional condition in which he is concerned about his fate in the Hereafter, yet is hoping for the mercy of Allah.' Some early commentators have identified the time between Maghrib and 'Isha' also as included in the expression آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ ('ana'-ul-lail). (Qurtubi)

Is one who does devotions throughout the night, prostrating himself and standing, cau- tious about the next world and hoping for the mercy of his Lord? Say: “Are they equal, those who know and those who know not?” “Devotion” is undertaking the courteous acts of service outwardly and inwardly without slacken- ing or shortcoming, being cautious because of the threatened chastisement and hoping for the promised reward. This is the attribute of a group who are constantly at God's threshold in the station of ser- vice. Their makeup at the time of prayer becomes entirely reverence itself, and they are always burning in remorse because of shame for sin. One of the great ones of the religion said, “You must show reverence for God's commands, for it is not apparent which command brings proxim- ity to God. You must avoid all prohibited things, for it is not apparent which prohibition brings distance from God.” It has been said that putting God's commands into practice is of two sorts, one according to the property of servanthood, the other according to the property of love. The property of love is higher than the property of servanthood, because the lover's constant wish is for the Friend to command a service. Hence his service is all voluntary and nothing of it is coerced. He acknowledges the favors done to him, and he never lays favors on God, nor does he look for recompense. In contrast, a service that is done because of servanthood has both free choice and coercion. The person is seeking a reward and expecting recompense. The latter is the station of the worshipers and the common faithful, and the former is the at- tribute of the recognizers and the sincerely truthful. The two groups can never be equal. The worshipers are satisfied with the blessings and held back from the Beneficent, but the recognizers have reached the Presence and take ease in contemplating the Friend. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “How should I have known that reward is a freckle on the face of friendship? I always fancied that the greatest robe of honor was the reward. Now I have found out that in finding friendship all found things are nothing.” Say: “Are they equal, those who know and those who know not?” Knowledge is three: report- ed knowledge, inspired knowledge, and knowledge of the Unseen.