This is our third post on the series of Posts: "Traits of believers who attain Success." In one of our previous posts, we mentioned the first trait, that is humbleness in prayers, of the believers who attain success. It is the humbleness and humility in prayers that brings a beleiver closer to Allah and the connection between the Master and the servant by and by becomes so strong and solidified that the mind of the servant gradually clears of the vain and frivolous thoughts. That is, he becomes a worshipper of God and bows down before Him in submission. His sincerity and seriousness increase to the extent that wasting time in useless pursuits appears fatal to him.
And this is the trait of the beleiver mentioned in the third verse of Surah 23. Al-Muminun الۡمُؤۡمِنُوۡنَۙ (The Believers) being discussed today in this post:
وَالَّذِيۡنَ هُمۡ عَنِ اللَّغۡوِ مُعۡرِضُوۡنَۙ
(23:3) who avoid whatever is vain and frivolous;
Literally, laghv is anything nonsensical, meaningless and vain, which is in no way conducive to achieving one's goal and purpose in life. The Believers pay no heed to such useless things and they show no inclination or interest in them. If by chance they see such things being indulged in, they keep away and avoid them scrupulously, or treat them with utmost indifference. This attitude has been described in Al-Furqan (XXV): 72, thus: " ... if they have to pass by what is vain, they pass by like dignified people."
This is indeed one of the outstanding characteristics of the Believer. He is a person who feels the burden of responsibility at all times; he regards the world as a place of test, and life as the limited time allowed for the test. This feeling makes him behave seriously and responsibly throughout life just like the student who is taking an examination paper with his whole mind and body and soul absorbed in it. Just as the student knows and feels that each moment of the limited time at his disposal is important and decisive for his future life, and is not inclined to waste it, so the Believer also spends each moment of his life on works which are useful and productive in their ultimate results. So much so that even in matters of recreation and sport, he makes a choice of only those things which prepare him for higher ends in life and do not result in mere wastage of time. For him time is not something to be killed but used profitably and productively.
Besides this, the Believer is a person who possesses a right-thinking mind, pure nature and fine taste: he has no inclination to indecent things: he can talk useful and healthy things but cannot indulge in idle talk: he has a fine taste of humor, but is not given to jesting, joking, ridicule, etc. nor can he endure dirty jokes and fun. For him a society in which the ears are never immune from abusive language, back-biting, slander, lying, dirty songs and indecent talk is a source of torture and agony. A characteristic of the promised Paradise is: "therein you will not hear anything vain or useless."
Tafsir Ibn-Kathir:
(And those who turn away from Al-Laghw.) refers to falsehood, which includes Shirk and sin, and any words or deeds that are of no benefit.
As Allah says: (وَإِذَا مَرُّواْ بِاللَّغْوِ مَرُّواْ كِراماً And if they pass by Al-Laghw, they pass by it with dignity) [25:72]. Qatadah said: "By Allah, there came to them from Allah that which kept them away from that (evil).'
Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Explanation:
The word is: اللَّغْو. It is used for every act that is nonsensical, silly and purposeless. The implication is that believers abstain from things that have no objective and which have no consequence in the life of a person, not to speak of big sins. This, in a passing way, also refers to those frivolous acts which emanated from the disbelievers against Islam and the Muslims. Thus, at another instance it is said that when believers hear something nonsensical, they ignore it and tell their addresses that for their own selves are their deeds and for them their deeds. In other words, they neither indulge in ridiculous things nor engage with those who indulge in them.
Tafsir Qur'an Wiki:
This includes all frivolity, in words, actions, or concerns. A believer’s heart has its own preoccupations which steer it away from frivolity. It is full with the remembrance of God and with reflection on His majesty and His signs that we see everywhere in the universe and within ourselves. Indeed, every scene in the universe fills our minds with wonder and gives a clear message to our hearts. Moreover, the duties required by faith keep a believer preoccupied with maintaining the purity of his or her heart, soul and conscience. Believers’ duties include those of behaviour which aim at maintaining the very high standards required by faith. Moreover, the task of enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong aims at preventing any deviation in the life of the Muslim community.
This does not preclude relaxation and seeking comfort when it is needed. But this is totally different from indulging in frivolous and idle pursuits.
In view of the above quoted verse, my brothers and sisters in Islam, let us review our daily routine and see for ourselves how much time we waste away in things that are non-essential or are of least benefit to us. Take for example time spent on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and all other forms of social media and quantify the benefit vs wastage of time. And in many cases, we will find that we waste time by surfing through social media and gain no substantial benefit. If instead we devote time on sites that educate us on various facets of life as spelt out in Qur'an and Hadiths/Sunnah, imagine the benefit we gain both by enhancing our knowledge base of Islam but also equipping us with knowledge to educate others.
Why not share this post to groups you have joined on social media so that others are educated not to waste time and spend time usefully which is beneficial not for us but others as well.
May Allāh (سبحانه و تعالى) help us understand Qur'ān and follow the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, which is embodiment of commandments of Allah contained in the Qur'ān. May Allah help us to be like the ones He loves and let our lives be lived helping others and not making others' lives miserable or unlivable. May all our wrong doings, whether intentional or unintentional, be forgiven before the angel of death knocks on our door.
وَمَا عَلَيۡنَاۤ اِلَّا الۡبَلٰغُ الۡمُبِيۡنُ
(36:17) and our duty is no more than to clearly convey the Message.”
That is Our duty is only to convey to you the message that Allah has entrusted us with. Then it is for you to accept it or reject it. We have not been made responsible for making you accept it forcibly, and if you do not accept it, we shall not be seized in consequence of your disbelief, you will yourselves be answerable for your actions on Day of Resurrection.
Reading the Qur'ān should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. It will also help the Muslims to have grasp over social issues and their answers discussed in the Qur'an and other matter related to inter faith so that they are able to discuss issues with non-Muslims with authority based on refences from Qur'an.
May Allah forgive me if my posts ever imply a piety far greater than I possess. I am most in need of guidance.
Note: When we mention God in our posts, we mean One True God, we call Allah in Islam, with no associates. Allah is the Sole Creator of all things, and that Allah is all-powerful and all-knowing. Allah has no offspring, no race, no gender, no body, and is unaffected by the characteristics of human life.
Please refer to our page "Traits of beleivers who attain success" to access all eight attributes of such believers as mentioned in Surah 23. Al-Muminun (The Believers).
For more Selected Verses, please refer to our reference page: Selected Verses from the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages and Understanding Al Qur'an for knowing more about Islam and Qur'ān.
An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Qur'ān from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that 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.
In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided, additional input has been interjected from the following sources:
- Tafsir Ibn Khatir
- Muhammad Asad Translation
- Yusuf Ali Translation
- Translation Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
- Qur'an Wiki
- Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
- Towards Understanding the Quran
In addition, 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.
Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on social media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Qur'ān - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.
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