a guidance to the pious ones

ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ

" This is the (True) Book wherein is no doubt, a guidance to the pious ones,"

Commentary :

Following the abbreviated letters, the Sura, referring to the importance of this heavenly Book, says :

" This is the (True) Book wherein is no doubt, ..."

This meaning may point to the idea that Allah promised His prophet (p.b.u.h.) to send down to him a Book for the guidance of men and now it was done. For, it is a Book wherein is a source of guidance for all truth-seekers, and, these believers, in fact, have no doubt in it.

The Qur'an says that there is no doubt in this Book, and this statement is not a mere claim. It means that the content of the Qur'an has such a style that it, in itself, attests to the authenticity of itself. In other words, the signs of truthfulness, greatness, and firmness together with the depth and synthesis of meanings, the sweetness and elegancy of the words and its stylistic form found in the statements are so evident that no doubt or temptation can interfere and every truth-seeker reaches the limits of certitude.

It is interesting that over the course of time not only the freshness of the Holy Qur'an does not decrease, but, with the progress of science and the secrets of created things being uncovered, the facts of the Holy Qur'an become more manifest. As the international standards of development, science, and industry are raised, the luminosity and resplendence of these verses become more evident.

This is not only a claim but it is a reality that will be dealt with in this very commentary book, Allah-Willing.

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Explanation :

1. What is Guidance?

The term ' guidance ' is utilized in many occurrences in the Qur'an. In all these cases the root meaning of the word refers to two main guidances : Divine Guidance and Religious Guidance.

A) Divine Guidance is the guidance that exists in all creatures of the world. (In other words, 'Divine Guidance' means the leadership of Allah upon creatures under the regulation of creation governed by some definite laws and secrets of the world of existence.)

There are some verses in the Holy Qur'an concerning the subject; like the verse where the Qur'an reveals through Moses (a.s.) : "... Our Lord is He Who gave to each (created) thing its form and nature, and further, gave (it) guidance ", (Sura Taha, No. 20, verse 50) .

It can also be said that those who are in lack of Faith are characterized in two groups. The members of the first group are those who generally seek for the truth and hold enough piety in their souls so that wherever they confront the truth they accept it.

The second group are some obstinate, fanatical, lustful people that not only do not seek for the truth but wherever they find it, they try to blow out its light.

It is certain that the Qur'an, or any other heavenly Book, has always been beneficial for the first group, but the second group does not take any advantage from it. Hence, the Qur'an says : " And We send down (stage by stage) of the Qur'an that which is healing and a mercy unto the believers, but it adds not to the unjust but perdition ", (Sura Al-Asra', No. 17, verse 82) .

However, it is a fact that saline soil does not grow flowers such as hyacinth though it rains a thousand times on it. But, if the land is ploughed, fertilized and prepared for planting, the life-giving droplets of rain will be useful for it.

The land of the self of man is similar to this parable. It should be empty of obstinacy and enmity, otherwise, the seed of guidance will not grow in it. So, Allah qualifies the Qur'an as: "(The Qur'an is) a guidance to the pious ones".

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B) ' Religious Guidance ' is introduced by prophets and Divine Books. It is through their teaching and training that men can progress on the path of development. The references to this fact are found abundantly in the Holy Qur'an, including the verse that says : " And We made them Leaders guiding (men) by Our Command...", (Sura Al-Anbiya, No. 21, verse 73) .

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2. Why is Guidance Particular to the Pious Ones ?

It is certain that the Qur'an was sent down for the guidance of all human beings. So, the question is that why the guidance is introduced as particular to the 'pious ones'.

The reason is that it is impossible for Man to take benefit from the guidance of the Divine Books unless he attains some degrees of submission and kindles the light of piety in his self.

Piety in Lexicon and Religion

The term / taqwa /, philologically, is derived from / wiqayah / ' to protect from what harms '. Allah, the Exalted, says : "... save yourselves and your families from a fire...", (Sura At-Tahrim, No. 66, verse 6) . Then, piety, in this sense, is ' the protection of oneself from what one fears'.

And, in religion, the pious are ' people who preserve their selves from what harms them in the Hereafter '.

The Stages of Piety

There are some stages of piety. The first stage is to avoid and restrain from committing sins and wrong doings; as it is narrated from the holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) that none reaches (this stage of) piety unless he avoids unlawful things.(1)

In a tradition from the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) , deeds of people are divided into three kinds : 1) Those that are clearly lawful, whose

(1) Makhzan-ul-'Irfan, vol. 1, p. 81

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lawfulness is vividly apparent. 2) Those that are clearly unlawful, whose unlawfulness is certain. 3) Some dubious things that are situated between these two. They are lawful but resemble the unlawful. The person who avoids even the dubious things will never approach the unlawful ones. (1)

Hadrat Amir-ul-Mu'mineen Ali(a.s) is narrated to have said : "A pious person is he whose deeds would not include anything shameful if they are put in a tray and displayed it around the world (to show them) ". (2)

The second stage of piety is the full obedience to what is revealed to the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) . Thus, piety consists of performing obligatory things (Wajibat) and avoiding the unlawful things.

The third stage of piety is to rid the heart and soul of everything save Allah. In this sense, a pious person is one who strains out from his wishes, those that are not pleasing to Allah, and relies not on individuals but on Him only; viz, he forsakes from hoping in every other being and hopes only in Him; he focuses his view on observing the Beauty and Glory of His Lordship. This is real piety; so the Qur'an says: " O' you who believe! Be careful of (your duty to) Allah with the care which is due to Him...", (Sura 'Al-i-'Imran, No. 3, verse 102) .

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(1) Bihar-ul-Anwar, vol. 2, p. 221

(2) Makhzan-ul-'Irfan, vol. 1, p. 82

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(3) الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلوةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

" Who believe in the Unseen and keep up prayer and spend (in charity) of what We have provided them."

Commentary :

The Effects of Piety on Man's Spirit and Body

Regarding the Faith and practices in Islam, the Qur'an, at the beginning of this Sura, divides people into three different categories :

1. The pious ones (Muttaqin) , who accept Islam in all aspects.

2. Unbelievers, who are in the exact opposite state as compared to the first group. They confess their infidelity and do not refrain from expressing hatred and acting hostilely against Islam.

3. The hypocrites, who portray contradictory features. They show themselves Muslims when they are with Muslims, but they behave hostilely towards Muslims when they are with the enemies of Islam. Their main fundamental features are, in fact, the very infidelity of theirs, but they simulate affection for Islam, too.

Undoubtedly, the harm of this group, for Islam, is greater than the second group. Hence, the Qur'an, concerning them, is more severe.

This quality, of course, is found not only in Islam but also in all ideological schools of the world. Their members are either faithful to the doctrine of that school, or are clearly opposed to it, or they are conservative hypocrites. Furthermore, this proposition does not refer only to a specific time, it has always existed in all ages of the human world.

The Pious Ones, the First Group

The verses under discussion deal with the first group. These verses explain the special characteristics of the pious ones from the point of view of Faith and practice in five matters: Faith in the Unseen, establishment of prayer, spending in charity from all of the divine merits they possess, belief in the invitation of all prophets, and Faith in the

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Resurrection Day.

1. Faith in the Unseen :

At first, the verse describes the pious ones as those : " Who believe in the Unseen...".

' The world of the Unseen ' and ' the world of the senses ' are two concepts opposite each other. ' The world of the senses ' is the visible and physical world, while ' the world of the Unseen ' is a world beyond our senses. Therefore, the term /q ayb/ is used ' for that which is concealed from us '. The Qur'an says : "...the Knower of the unseen and the seen; He is the Beneficent, the Merciful", (Sura Al-Hashr, No. 59, verse 22) .

' Faith in the Unseen ' is just the first characteristic that separates the believers from unbelievers. Thus, the believers in heavenly religions contrast with the deniers of God, revelation, and Resurrection. It is for this very reason that ' Faith in the Unseen ' has been mentioned as the first characteristic of 'the pious ones'.

The believers have cleft the limits of the world of 'materiality' and freed themselves from their restrictions. They have stepped into a quite vast open world and, with this broad scope of view that they have obtained, they have connected themselves with the realm of an extraordinary, bigger, and greater world. But, the contrary group insists on confining Man, as an animal, inside the walls of the world of materialism. They call this retrogression, which is a kind of life filled with lusts and excessive luxuries, an advanced civilized life.

Comparing the concepts and doctrines of these two groups, we conclude that the 'pious ones' believe in 'the Unseen', a world very much wider and bigger than what can be seen or touched with the external senses in the world of existence. The Creator of this universe is Omniscient and Omnipotent, Who has infinite Glory and Insight. He is Eternal and has no end. He has planned the world in a good, regular, and precise design.

In the world of believing men, the spirit of Man has produced a great distance between humans and animals. For them, death does not mean an end. On the contrary, it is one of the stages of progression

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towards man's development. Death is an opening to a broader and greater world. Whereas, a materialist believes that the world of being is restricted to what we can see. He says that natural science has proved that the rules of nature are a chain of obligatory rules by which, without any designs or special programs, this world has been fashioned. They believe productive power of the world has no intellect even as little as that of a child. And, Man is a part of nature, i.e., when he dies everything ends. His corpse is decomposed in a few days and joins with nature again as a natural component. They conclude that there is no life after death for Man, and there is no difference between Man and animal.

Are these two people with these two different methods of thinking comparable with each other ? Are their actions and behaviours in the society the same ?

The first one cannot ignore that which is right, just and benevolent, and helping other fellow members. But the second does not see any reason for any of these matters. He cares for only what is effective and beneficial in his physical life at present or in the future. That is why that, in the lives of truthful believing people, there is purity, brotherhood, mutual understanding, and cooperation; while in the lives governed by materialism, colonialism, exploitation, plunder and murder are seen. Therefore, the Holy Qur'an, in the above mentioned verses, considers ' Faith in the Unseen' the first stage of piety.

Opinions are divided among the commentators as to whether Faith in the Unseen, here, points to Faith in Monotheism, or to a vast meaning that covers Faith in the world of revelation, Resurrection, angels and, in general, what is beyond the external senses.

We already pointed out that Faith in ' the world of beyond the external senses ' is the first phase of separation of the believers from unbelievers. This makes it clear that the term ' Unseen ', here, contains the same vast meaning as the term that was pointed out. Moreover, the application of the word in this verse is absolute and unrestricted. There is nothing included in the verse that would confine its meaning to a specific one.

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In some traditions from Ahlul-Bait (a.s.) (1) , the term ' Unseen ', in the verse under discussion, is rendered to the '12th Imam (a.s.) ', who, as we believe,is alive right now but is concealed from the eyes of people. This idea does not contrast with what was said in the above, because it is one of the aspects of ' Unseen ', too. And, in other words, 'Unseen ' is something which is not possible to be seen or heard by our external senses, such as sight or hearing or things outside the grasp of our other senses. The Existence of Allah is apparently hidden because of the limit of our external senses. The Hereafter, the status of the next world, is concealed from our eyes. In this gloomy time in which we live, the presence of prophets and our sinless Imams (p.b.u.th.) are necessary for us, but, even our Expected Imam (a.s.) whom we need to be our guide out in front of us, whose light of mastership, which would help us follow along this dim, murky, dangerous road that lies before us upon which we must travel until we reach the sound abode of ours, is absent from us. Apparently, he is out of our reach. Though, he, the esteemed one (a.s.) , is never heedless of his true followers and he is always aware of their circumstances. (There will be a more comprehensive discussion concerning the ' 12th Imam (a.s.) ' later in the commentary.)

This statement shows that at this time, which is the worst of the ages, how high the position of the persons with complete Faith is! And, as it is narrated, there is reason for the holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) to say about them : " How much I am eager to see my brothers (who will come to being) in 'the end of time'! ".(2)

We may consider that the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) , with such high rank and glory, has expressed his eagerness for seeing the true believers of this time, and has introduced them as his 'brothers'.

2.Relationship with Allah:

Another speciality of the 'pious ones' mentioned in the Qur'an is their prayers.

Prayer, which is the key to communion with Allah, holds the

(1) Nur-uth-Thaqalayn, vol. 1, p. 31

(2) Makhzan-ul-'Irfan, vol. 1, p. 99

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believers in permanent and perpetual contact with that great Origin of Creation. They have found the way to the world beyoed this world, viz, the world of the supernatural. They bow only to Allah and submit only to the Great Creator of the World of Being. That is why there is no place for submission or surrender to any tyrants and oppressors in their agenda.

Such a human feels that he has been promoted to a situation higher than that of all other creatures for that he has the honour of standing in front of Allah and is worthy of speaking directly with Him. This status is the greatest factor necessary for training.

The person who, with his whole heart and mind, stands in front of Allah, at least five times a day, and sincerely utters invocation, his thoughts, his actions and his speech altogether will become divine. How is it possible that a person like that could do anything against Allah's pleasure ?

The Excellence & Importance of Prayer

Prayer is the pillar of Faith, the means of attaining nearness to Allah, the expression of obedience to Him, the thanksgiving for His infinite Mercy, the imitation of the examples of the holy Prophet and immaculate Imams (p.b.u.th.) , the strong link between a person and Allah, and the constant means of seeking and receiving His Guidance and Assistance and avoiding errors and evil. Prayer is the only way in which faith, that lives in the heart, can be made manifest in our actions, and can ensure admission to the realm of everlasting happiness in our life in this world as well as the life in the next world.

There are many verses in the Holy Qur'an and plenty of traditions in Islamic literature on the importance and virtue of prayer. Intellectual and religious considerations approve its excellence, too.

Here, we narrate the words of the Late Sahib Jawahir cited in ' Jawahir-ul-Kalam ', vol. 7, page 1. The words and ideas are based on the contents of the verses of the Qur'an and some authentic traditions :

" Prayer is an action that prevents the performance of hideous indecent deeds. This status causes the Fire of Hell to extinguish, and any pure believer to be linked with Allah by which he can make, spiritually,

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progress. Just as the water of a stream washes away dirt from the body, prayer washes away the sins of believers; and, its repetition five times a day is similar to washing the body in that stream repeatedly. Allah told Jesus (a.s.) ,and other prophets (p.b.u.th.) as well, to pray throughout their lives ".

" However, prayer is the basis of Islam and it is the best deed and the best subject (which is legislated by the religion) . It is the standard and criterion of other deeds of people. Thus, when a person has performed the prayer completely, the reward of all other of his deeds is complete, because all of his good deeds are accepted. Therefore, prayer, comparing with other religious practices, even the religion itself, is considered as a pillar similar to the central pole of a tent. For this reason the first deed of a mortal, which will be questioned about in the next life and will be discussed, is 'prayer'. If prayer is accepted from a person, other (good) deeds of his lifetime will be evaluated and accepted from him. But, if it is refused, his other deeds will not be looked at and will be refused and returned to him. So, regarding this, it is not surprising if an abandoner of prayer is called an'unbeliever'. Yes, it is certainly so when the reason of its abandonment is especially for the scorning of the religion. Prayer is something that Imam Sadiq (a.s.) did not know anything better or higher and more beloved than that with Allah. Even, he (a.s.) has said that these five daily canonical prayers are obligatory. He who establishes them and observes them at their proper times, will meet Allah on the Judgement Day, and He holds a covenant stating that because of this he will enter Paradise. But, he who does not keep up these obligatory prayers and does not observe them at their proper times, then, it will be up to Allah whether to forgive him or to punish him. And, the obligatory prayer is better than twenty Hajj-performances, each of which is better than a room full of gold that would completely be paid as donation in the way of Allah. Or, the obligatory prayer is better than one thousand Hajj-performances, every one of them being better than the whole world with all its contents. Verily, obedience to Allah is service to Him on the earth, and no service is comparable with prayer. That was why the angels called Zachariah (a.s.) while he was praying in his sanctuary. When a person is preparing for saying prayer, the Divine favours come down from heaven to him on the earth and some angels surround him. An angel proclaims that if this prayerful believer knew what existed in the prayer, he would never neglect it..."

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" Hadrat Rida, the 8th holy Imam (a.s.) , wrote as an answer to the problems of Muhammad-ibn-Sanan that the reason of (the importance of) prayer is that it is the confession to the Lordship of Allah, Almighty and Glorious, and lack of attributing partners to Him. Prayer means to stand in front of the Almighty, Glory be to His Majesty, in a manner of humility, abasement and wretchness and to seek forgiveness for the sins committed. In prayer, a servant puts his head down on the soil several times a day in order to glorify Allah, Almighty and Glorious, and to furnish His remembrance all the time. To stand in the presence of Allah in prayer, causes a believing person to avoid evils, and it hinders him from all kinds of sin and corruption." (1)

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3. Relationship with People :

Besides the constant communion with Allah, the pious ones have a close and permanent relationship with people, the creatures of Allah. For this very reason, the Holy Qur'an introduces their third characteristic in this verse as thus : "(They) spend (in charity) of what We have provided them".

It is noteworthy that the Qur'an does not say that ' They spend (in charity) of what they have ', but it says : 'of what We have provided them'. In this manner, it generalizes the subject of 'charity' so broadly that it includes all the material and spiritual gifts of Allah.

Therefore, the pious ones are those who donate not only from their material bounties but also from their spiritual gifts such as knowledge, science, intellect, physical power, or social abilities, and, in short, from all they have in their own possession. They donate from their own capital to those who are in need of them, and, in the meantime, they do not expect any recompense from them.

Another point is that the regulation of donation is a general regularity in the world of creation and, also, in the bodily system of every living creature. The heart of a man does not beat for itself alone but it donates of whatever it has to all of the cells. The brain and the

(1) Jawahir-ul-Kalam, vol. 7, p.1

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lungs, as well as other organs of the body, continually donate the vital results of their active functions. And, generally speaking, social life with the lack of donation is meaningless.

Sincere coherence with human beings is, in fact, coherence and attachment to Allah. A person who is attached to Allah, and knows that all bounties and sustenance proceed from Him, not from himself, will not be displeased with giving charity but will be happy to donate His gifts to His servants on His way, and, as a consequence, he gains the physical and spiritual merits for doing it for himself. (For the importance of charity and its effects, refer to later explanations concerning Sura Al-Baqarah, No.2, verses 261-274) . At any rate, this kind of thinking purifies the soul of man from miserliness and envy. It changes the world of ' struggle for existence ' to the world of ' humanity and civilization ', a world in which everybody bonds himself to sharing his bounties with all the needy in his environment and, like the sun, gives light to his surroundings without expecting any favor in return or recompense.

It is notable that on the meaning of the phrase : "(They) spend (in charity) of what We have provided them", a tradition from Imam Sadiq (a.s.) says : " It means that they share (and teach to those who need) the knowledge and science Allah has taught them." (1)

It is obvious that this statement does not mean that donation is specific to knowledge but, since when speaking about charity almost all the attention is usually turned to monetary donations, Imam Sadiq(a.s.) by mentioning this kind of spiritual donation, wanted to clarify the broadness of the meaning of 'donation'.

So therefore, this idea makes it very clear that the word 'charity', referred to in the verse under discussion, is not restricted to the ' obligatory alms giving ' (Zakat) , but refers to alms in general, irrespective of obligatory or recommended ones; therefore, it has a vast meaning which includes any kind of help given gratuitously.