The difference between disbelievers and believers is the choice of world: The former prefers the earthly world and remains engrossed in its attractions and pleasures for he foes not believe in the life of the Hereafter. The believer on the other hand considers the earthly life as a test, tries to avoid its attractions as much as possible and concentrates on the life of the Hereafter. And for this very reason, he is always praying for his forgiveness and safety form the chastisement of the Hell Fire which will be final abode of the disbelievers and the sinners.
The following verse from Surah 3. Al-i'Imran is manifest of a believer's life:
اَلَّذِيۡنَ يَقُوۡلُوۡنَ رَبَّنَاۤ اِنَّنَاۤ اٰمَنَّا فَاغۡفِرۡ لَنَا ذُنُوۡبَنَا وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِۚ
These are the ones who pray: 'Our Lord! We do indeed believe, so forgive us our sins and keep us safe from the chastisement of the Fire' (Surah 3. Al-i'Imran: 16)
In the verse above, Allah describes the Muttaqin, His pious servants, whom He promised tremendous rewards, (Those who say: "Our Lord! We have indeed believed'') in You, Your Book and Your Messenger.
Those who more often than not invoke the blessings of Allah and pray: (so forgive us our sins) because of our faith in You and in what You legislated for us. Therefore, forgive us our errors and shortcomings, with Your bounty and mercy, and cry: (and save us from the punishment of the Fire.)
This invocation is meant to urge the addressees to change their outlook: instead of considering this transient life to be real life, they should look towards the Hereafter where an eternal and everlasting life awaits them.
And who are these people, Allah Himself answers in the very next verse:
اَلصّٰـبِرِيۡنَ وَالصّٰدِقِـيۡنَ وَالۡقٰنِتِـيۡنَ وَالۡمُنۡفِقِيۡنَ وَالۡمُسۡتَغۡفِرِيۡنَ بِالۡاَسۡحَارِ
(3:17) men who are steadfast, truthful, obedient, spend (in the way of Allah) and implore the forgiveness of Allah before daybreak.
That is, they are those who remain steadfast in the cause of Truth; who do not lose heart when they either suffer losses or are subjected to afflictions; who do not despair when they encounter reverses; who are not seduced by temptations. They are the ones who remain faithful to the Truth, even when it apparently stands no chance of prevailing.
If they feel difficulty in keeping to righteousness, the remedy lies in resorting to Prayer and patience. From these two attributes they will derive the strength needed to follow their chosen course. The literal meaning of 'sabr' is to exercise restraint, to keep oneself tied down. It denotes the will-power, the firm resolve and the control over animal desires which enables man to advance along the path of his choice - the path that satisfies his heart and conscience - in utter disregard of the temptations within, and of all obstacles and opposition without. The purpose of this directive is to urge man to develop this quality and to reinforce it from the outside by means of Prayer.
If a person combats with determination and resoluteness the hardships of poverty, sickness, war and other similar things and whatever point of view he holds as correct, adheres to it without any semblance of hopelessness, worry and complain, then this is patience. Here the Qur’an has highlighted this trait in its recipients the foremost. The reason for this is that the greatest hindrance in the way of people who are being invited to accept the truth is that they have not been able to cultivate the quality of patience in them.
May Allah help us understand Qur'ān and help us to act upon the commandments of Allah contained therein. Aameen.
For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Invocations / Dua " دُعا " from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Invocations / Dua " دُعا " from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs / verses (ayat) of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:
- The plain translation has been taken from the Qur'ān officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [1]
- The exegesis of the chapters of the Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi. [2]
In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided by [2], additional input has been interjected from following sources:
- Towards Understanding the Quran
- Tafsir Ibn Khatir
- Muhammad Asad Translation
- Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
- Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
- Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
In addition the references of other sources which have been explored have also been given above. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites.
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