Who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them. (Alladhīna yu’minūna bi’l‑ghayb wa yuqīmūna al-ṣalāt wa mimmā razaqnāhum yunfiqūn.)
Consider this: The positioning of this verse and the previous one in respect of their essential meanings is this,
that the praise of the Qur’an in the previous verse has a bearing on the praise of believers in this one, and the one flows into the other. For the praise of believers is a result of the former; it is a proof from effect to cause (al‑burhān al-innī); a fruit of the Qur’an’s guidance and a witness to it; and by [the praise in this verse] being encouragement it shows that it has a share of that guidance and is an example of it.
As for the positioning of who (alladhīna) and those who fear Allah (al‑muttaqīn) [and the relationship between them],
it [denotes] emptying or clearing (takhliyya), and adorning (taḥliyya), which is the eternal companion of the former. That is, adornment after purification (tanzīh).
Do you not see that taqwā is the renunciation of evils and that the Qur’an mentions it as having three stages:
the giving up of associating partners with Allah (shirk),
the giving up of sin,
and the giving up of all things other than Allah?
Adornment is to perform good acts, either inwardly with the heart, or physically, or with property.
Now, the sun of interior acts is belief (īmān),
and the index of physical acts is the ṣalāt or ritual prayers, which are “the pillar of religion,”
and the pivot of acts related to property is the purification tax (zakāt), which is “the bridge of Islam.”
Consider this: Were you to consider [the phrase] who believe in the Unseen (alladhīna yu’minūna bi’l‑ghayb) in respect of its position, you would see that it should be concise (ījāz), yet if you compare it to its synonym the believers (al‑mu’minūn), it will strike you as prolix.
For the definite article al has been exchanged for alladhīna – who, whose function as a relative pronoun is to qualify through the relative clause the noun it governs. [It is the relative clause then – not the relative pronoun – that has importance since it qualifies the subject. The construction here then draws attention] to belief, encouraging it and exalting it.
This is a sign too that belief illuminates the one professing it like a lighthouse so that his other attributes wane and fade away. And [they] believe (yu’minūna) has been substituted for believers (mu’minūn) in order to depict this praiseworthy situation for the imagination. It is also a sign that belief is renewed through its continued existence and is manifested through the succession of evidences, both exterior and interior. Yes, the clearer the evidences are, the firmer is belief.
By in the Unseen (bi’l‑ghayb) is meant that they believe with the heart, that is, sincerely without prevarication, even when alone. And they believe in what is unseen and in the World of the Unseen.
So know that belief is a light produced by affirming in detail all the essentials of religion brought by the Prophet (Upon whom be blessings and peace) and the rest in general.
If You Were to Ask: Only one out of a hundred ordinary people are able to express the truths of belief clearly?
You Would Be Told: The inability to state something clearly does not indicate its non‑existence. Mostly, the tongue is incapable of interpreting the subtleties of what the mind conceives of. Similarly, the intellect cannot contemplate the hidden secrets of the conscience, so how should it interpret all of them? Don’t you see that for all his intelligence, a genius and master of rhetoric like al-Sakkākī failed to harvest the fine points produced spontaneously by a nomad like Imru’ al-Qays, or someone similar. In consequence, one can establish whether or not an ordinary person believes by questioning him and seeking an explanation. You can question him both positively and negatively, saying: “O you common man! Is it possible according to your way of thinking that the Maker in the grasp of Whose power are all six aspects of the world, should be present in just one place of it?” If he replies negatively, then the fact that Allah is beyond the restrictions of space is firmly established in his conscience, and that is sufficient for him. You can think of further examples in the same way.
Know too that as expounded by Sa‘d, belief is a light that Allah (May He be exalted) instils instantaneously in the hearts of those of His servants that He wishes – that is, after they have used their will power. Yes, belief is a light for the human conscience, a ray from the Pre‑Eternal Sun that suddenly bathes in light the conscience’s inner face. It affords it a feeling of familiarity with the whole universe and establishes relations between it and all things. It imparts such moral strength to a person’s heart that he can overcome all the events and misfortunes that beset him. It affords him such breadth he can endure the past and the future.
Yes, as belief is a ray from the Pre‑Eternal Sun, so it is a flash of eternal happiness, that is, of the resurrection of the dead. Through the light it emits, the seeds of man’s hopes sprout, and the potentialities lodged in his conscience start to grow and to stretch out towards eternity, and the seeds of his abilities are transformed into a Tree of Tuba.
Are steadfast in prayer (Wa yuqīmūna al‑ṣalāt) Consider this:
The positioning [of this phrase and its relationship with the previous one] is as clear as daylight. For the ṣalāt being specified rather than other physical good works indicates that they are an index of all meritorious acts and a sample of them, and that they reflect them – like the Fātiḥa is an index of the Qur’an and man is an index of the world. For in one sense the ṣalāt include fasting, the Hajj, zakāt, and the other forms of worship; and they include the worship of all creatures, both innate and voluntary; some of the angels bow in worship, others prostrate, and yet others stand, and some stones prostrate in worship, and some trees stand, and some animals bow down.
The verbal form (lit. they perform) yuqīmūna is used instead of ‘al‑muqīmūn’ (the active participle)
in order to thrust before the mind’s eye of the listener this extensive vital action, this heedfulness of the spirit, in the world of Islam, and to alert his imagination to this admirable and orderly situation in all the regions of humanity, and to arouse in him the desire to do likewise.
For if someone observes the effect of a bugle call on soldiers dispersed and lost among the people, how it arouses them, summoning them to gather together and take up pleasing, orderly positions, he himself will feel inclined to join them. Just the same is the call to prayer of Muhammad (UWBP) among the people in this bleak world. And God’s is the highest similitude.
The use here, the place for conciseness, of the prolix are steadfast in prayer (yuqīmūna al‑ṣalāt) in place of yuṣallūn,
indicates the importance of complying with the meaning of ‘performing’ (al‑iqāma) the ṣalāt, such as performing them correctly, and regularly, and seriously, and preserving oneself [from distractions etc.], and increasing demand for them in the market of the world.
Ponder over this, and understand too that the ṣalāt are an elevated link, a lofty relationship between the bondsman and the Pre‑Eternal Monarch, and an honourable act of service. It is characteristic of this relationship that it captivates the spirit.
The ‘pillars’ of the ṣalāt comprise numerous mysteries which have been expounded in works like al‑Futūḥāt al-Makkiya. One of these is that the conscience loves them.
They are a summons of the Pre‑Eternal Maker to the pavilion of His presence five times a day and night to commune with Him, as a sort of Ascension. This is such that everyone’s heart should yearn for it.
The ṣalāt perpetuates in the heart the idea of the Maker’s sublimity and makes the mind conscious of it so as to induce obedience to the divine laws of justice and compliance with the dominical order of things. Man is in need of this because he is human and because he is by nature civilized.
So alas for those who give up the ṣalāt! What a loss the lazy suffer! And O, the ignorance of those who do not know their value! And those who do not deem them worthwhile, they should go elsewhere, the targets of general disgust!
And spend out of what We have provided for them (Wa mimmā razaqnāhum yunfiqūn)
The positioning [and relationship with the preceding phrase]:
Just as the ṣalāt are the pillar of religion and uphold religion; so zakāt is “the bridge of Islam” and the means by which its people assist one another.
There Are Certain Conditions Making Almsgiving Acceptable and Not Misplaced:
1. One should not be wasteful [go to excess], which is reprehensible.
2. One should not take from one person and give to another, but should give out of one’s own property.
3. One should not give in the hope of gain.
4. One should not fear poverty.
5. Almsgiving should not be restricted to property; knowledge, ideas, and actions may also be given.
6. The recipient of almsgiving should not spend it on frivolities, but on necessities and basic needs.
The Qur’an preferred And spend out of what We have provided for them (Wa mimmā razaqnāhum yunfiqūn) to they give alms (yataṣaddaqūn) or they give the alms‑tax (yazakkūn) and so on in order to make the following points and infer these conditions:
1. With out of (min) it indicates that wastefulness [in the giving of almsgiving] should be avoided;
2. By putting out of what (mimmā) first, it infers that it should be given out of the donor’s property;
3. And by We have provided (razaqnā), it disallows it being a favour; that is, “it is Allah who is the Giver and you are merely the means.”
4. And by the We (‑nā), it alludes to the meaning of the Hadith: “Never fear scarcity from the Lord of the divine throne.”
5. And because rizq [the noun ‘sustenance,’ derived from the verbal root] here is absolute and not specific, it infers that almsgiving includes the giving of knowledge, ideas, and other things.
6. And by spend (yunfiqūn), it infers the condition that the recipient should spend the alms on his livelihood and essential needs.
It is stated by a sound Hadith: Zakāt is the bridge of Islam. That is, zakāt is a bridge; the Muslim helps his brother Muslim to pass over it. For it is the means enjoined [by religion] whereby [people] may assist one another; indeed, it is a highway in the ordering of human society, and a link or artery by which the substance of life may flow between its members. Indeed, it is the antidote to the very real poisons impeding human progress.
Yes, there is vast wisdom in the obligation of zakāt and prohibition of usury and interest, and lofty benefits and extensive mercy.
For if you take a historical look at the page of the world and study the evils of human society, you will see that the underlying reasons for all revolutions and corruption, and the source of immorality are only two sayings:
The First: “Once I’m full, what is it to me if others die of hunger?”
The Second: “You work so that I can eat, and you toil so that I can rest.”
As for the cruel, rapacious, vile, first saying, it has shaken the world of humanity and brought it to the brink of ruin. It is only zakāt that will cut it at the root.
While the tyrannical, greedy, perverted second saying has imperiled human progress, taking it tottering to the verge of the conflagration of anarchy. And the only way to eradicate it, the only remedy for it, is the prohibition of usury and interest.
So reflect on this! Consider this: The order of society is dependent on there being no vacuum between the classes of people. The upper classes should not grow distant from the lower classes, nor the rich from the poor, to the extent that the lines of communication are broken between them. But because the obligatory payment of zakāt and the prohibition of usury and interest have been neglected, a yawning gap has opened up between the classes, and the upper classes have grown so distant from the lower classes that no links between them remain. It is because of this that instead of respect, obedience, and love ascending from the lower classes to the upper classes, shouts of revolution arise, and shrieks of envy and cries of hatred and revenge. Similarly, instead of kindness, generosity, and favours descending from the upper to the lower classes, the fires of tyranny and oppression, and volleys of insult rain down on them.
Alas! While the qualities of the elite should be the cause of modesty and compassion, unfortunately they give rise to pride and arrogance. And while the powerlessness and poverty of the poor necessitate kindness and benevolence, they lead to slavery and degradation. If you want a witness for what I say, take a look at the civilized world; there you will find as many witnesses as you could wish for.
The only means of reconciliation between the classes, which will bring them closer together, is the payment of zakāt, one of the pillars of Islam, and an elevated, far‑reaching rule in the administration of society.