section 22,
genuine righteousness, reta-liation & bequest
177. " it is not righteousness that you turn your faces
towards the east and
the west, but righteous is he who believes in allah, the last day,
the angels, the book, and the apostles,
and for the love of him gives (of) his
wealth, although he likes it, to the kindred, the orphans,
the needy, the travellers, beggars and for the (emancipation of) slaves,
and keeps up the prayer, and pays the poor-rates (zakat);
and those who fulfil their promise whenever they make a promise,
and are patient in distress, adversity, and in the time of war,
these are they who are the truthful (in faith verbally and actually)
and these are the pious ones."
commentary:
the faith of a person in allah
causes him to be humble before
him and to stand firm, with no obedience, before tyrants; where the
faith in resurrection creates eyesight and magnanimity; and faith in
angels refers to the existence of belief in the processes of supernatural
including the faith in revelation, providence, etc.
faith in prophets is a belief in a straight way and true guidance
existing throughout history. it is an evidence leading to the fact that
man has never been aimless and absolutely free in this world.
" it is not righteousness that you turn your faces
towards the east and
the west, but righteous is he who believes in allah, the last day,
the angels, the book, and the apostles, ..."
the qur'anic phrases: " gives (of) his wealth
" indicates the
assistance and humanity of believers; " keep up the prayer " refers
to the
direct link with allah; " pay the poor-rates (zakat) " leads to planning
the social life for solving the problem of different layers of the society;
" those who fulfil their promise whenever they make a promise "
strengthens the coherence and connection
between people; and the
concept of "
are patient " is an active
factor in man to become
persevering and stable.
"... and for the love of him gives (of) his
wealth, although he likes it, to the kindred, the orphans,
the needy, the travellers, beggars and for the (emancipation of) slaves,
and keeps up the prayer, and pays the poor-rates (zakat);
and those who fulfil their promise whenever they make a promise, and are
patient in distress, adversity, and in the time of war, these are they who
are
the truthful (in faith verbally and actually)
and these are the pious ones."
explanations:
1- this verse is one of the most
consistent verses of the qur'an. it
is cited in al-mizan, commentary, that the messenger of allah said in
a tradition that everyone who acts according to this verse has a complete
faith. 1
2-we should heed the content and essence of the religion rather
than to go after the mere mottoes, which hold us back from the main
godly aims.
3- the number of those who claim faith is very large, but the true
believers, who follow all the details of this verse, are a particular
small group: " these are they who ...".
4- belief in allah, resurrection and revealed book is mentioned
before the fulfilment of the righteous deeds.
5- in this verse, the act of attachment to allah " faith in allah
",
and connecting with the poor and deprived people, and also social aids
upon accidents and afflictions have been stated together, one after
another, in the verse.
6- for reaching a true piety, donation in both obligatory and
non-obligatory forms are necessary. there are some people who
sometimes help the poor while they do not pay their religious obligatory
payments. there are also some other believing people who pay their
obligatory payments but are often indifferent to the poor and the
deprived. here , in this verse, the true pious believers are introduced as
those who pay both their obligatory alms and recommended donations;
as well.
"... and for the love of him gives (of) his wealth ".
regarding this meaning, that is why that
some islamic narrations
say that in the wealth of the rich, besides the poor-rates, there is a
portion for the deprived and the poor. 2
and also, the one who goes to bed while he is satiated but
someone in his neighbourhood is hungry, has faith neither in allah nor
in the hereafter. 3
therefore, to feel responsibility for the hungry people, is a duty
on us, whether we have paid the obligatory alms or not.
7- it is necessary to show patience and perseverance in all the
followings:
being patient and firm in facing with poverty and afflictions.
to show patience and endurance in having ailments.
to be patient in battle and at the time of holy war.
however, patience is the cause of all virtues. so, the qur'an
introduces patience as one of the factors for entering heaven, where it
says: " these
shall be rewarded with high places because they were
patient, ..." 4 these are given high positions as a
reward for the patience
they had, while some others are honoured by angels in heaven with
these words:
" peace be on you because you were constant, ..." 5
and, one of the conditions of obtaining the position of imamate is
to be patient, as the qur'an says: " and we made of them imams to guide
by our command when they were patient, ..." 6
8- the application of the term /birr/ (righteous) is similar to the
application of honey. whoever or whatever is very sweet and
wholesome is likened to honey. then, whosoever is very good and
benevolent is called ` righteous '; viz. , such a one is absolutely a
right-doer.