Sūrat al-Bayyina

سورۃ البینہ

Sūrat al-Bayyina, Madanī — revealed in Madīna. It has eight (8) āyāt.

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ

Bismillāhi l-Raḥmāni l-Raḥīm.

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

لَمْ يَكُنِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ مُنفَكِّينَ حَتَّىٰ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَةُ

lam yakuni l-ladhīna kafarū min ahli l-kitābi wa-l-mushrikīna munfakkīna ḥattā taʾtiyahumu l-bayyina.

"Those who disbelieved from the People of the Book and the polytheists were not going to desist until the clear evidence came to them." (al-Bayyina 98:1)

Lam yakun — they would not. Al-ladhīna — those, the people who. Kafarū — disbelieved, rejected. Who are they? Min ahli l-kitāb — some among the People of the Book, meaning the Jews and Christians. Wa-l-mushrikīn — and some of the polytheists — idol-worshippers. Munfakkīn — those who would leave, abandon, renounce. Ḥattā — until. Taʾtiyahum — it should come to them. Al-bayyina — the clear evidence, the manifest proof.

Translation: "(Those) people of the Book (Jews and Christians) and polytheists (that is idol-worshippers) who do not believe (and do not accept) were not going to abandon (their false religion) until a clear proof came to them."

Was this indeed the case — that they were going to abandon? What was that clear proof?

رَسُولٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ يَتْلُو صُحُفًا مُّطَهَّرَةً

rasūlun mina llāhi yatlū ṣuḥufan muṭahhara.

"A Messenger from Allah, reciting purified scriptures." (al-Bayyina 98:2)

Rasūl — Messenger. Mina llāh — from Allah. Yatlū — who reads, recites. Ṣuḥufan — pages, scrolls, compiled writings. Muṭahhara — pure, clean.

Translation: "(That clear proof) is Allah's Messenger who recites pure scriptures."

فِيهَا كُتُبٌ قَيِّمَةٌ

fīhā kutubun qayyima.

"Wherein are upright writings." (al-Bayyina 98:3)

Fīhā — in them, in those scriptures. Kutub — writings, books — kitāb — kutub — all the written things. Qayyima — upright, firm, sound and abiding — straightforward and sound.

Translation: "In them (what is it) — straightforward and sound texts are written."

وَمَا تَفَرَّقَ الَّذِينَ أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَةُ

wa-mā tafarraqa l-ladhīna ūtū l-kitāba illā min baʿdi mā jāʾathumu l-bayyina.

"And the People of the Book did not become divided except after the clear evidence came to them." (al-Bayyina 98:4)

What happened after the Messenger's clear proof arrived? The people of the Book — they were never in agreement, and they became even more divided. Al-ladhīna — the people. Ūtū — who were given. Al-kitāb — the Book. Illā — except. Min baʿdi — after. Mā jāʾathum — after it came to them — after the clear proof arrived. Al-bayyina — the clear proof.

So people had already rejected true religion and followed falsehood even before the Prophet ﷺ came — and the Prophet himself came with the Book of Allah too — and one says one thing and another says something else: there is contradiction and inconsistency at every point.

Translation: "And the People of the Book made divisions among themselves when the clear proof came to them — and what were the teachings of that last Prophet? What did he say?"

وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءَ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَاةَ وَذَٰلِكَ دِينُ الْقَيِّمَةِ

wa-mā umirū illā li-yaʿbudū llāha mukhlisīna lahu l-dīna ḥunafāʾa wa-yuqīmū l-ṣalāta wa-yuʾtū l-zakāta wa-dhālika dīnu l-qayyima.

"And they were not commanded except to worship Allah, sincerely devoted to Him in religion, inclining to truth — and to establish prayer and give zakāt. And that is the upright religion." (al-Bayyina 98:5)

Wa-mā umirū — and they were not commanded. Illā — except. Li-yaʿbudū llāha — that they worship Allah, serve Him and bind their lives to His service. Mukhlisīna — with sincerity — with pure hearts, with sincerity — those who are loyal and devoted to Allah. Lahu — for Him alone, for none other. The command was given with sincerity — that is, to perform worship with sincerity of heart. Ḥunafāʾ — turning towards — turning to one side, turning truly — wa-yuqīmū l-ṣalāt — and maintaining the prayer well, properly offering it, abiding by it. Wa-yuʾtū l-zakāta — and giving zakāt, maintaining it. Wa — and. Dhālika — this. Dīnu l-qayyima — the upright and true religion, the firm and abiding faith.

Translation: "And they were given a command with sincerity of heart (with pure dedication) to worship Allah (God alone — how was the command given?) and to pray well and give zakāt — and this is the straight and upright religion."

Esteemed readers! From this station, the polytheist is rising — the command to bring sincerity and the command to pray and give zakāt was given. What is shirk (associating partners with God)? To believe in many gods or in certain special attributes of Allah Most High and to worship them — and to disbelieve in God — to worship some attribute of Allah Most High which one denies at the cost of another — this is the compulsion of shirk. The most important attributes are: existence, knowledge, power — God is self-sufficient and all things are in need of Him — forgetting God and His nearness is what leads to harm and misfortune. We have discussed this matter in detail in the commentary on Sūrat al-Fātiḥa. Prayer is the great pillar of religion — the great foundation. Prayer is the attendance in the court of Allah Most High — from the one who comes out clean and pure — prayer requires prior wuḍūʾ (ablution). Prayer is absolutely necessary for one's health — Prayer binds the times of the day — for exercise it is a very heavy workout — prayer for Muslims is the honour of their organisation — a meeting five times a day of the neighbourhood Muslims leads to friendship and intimacy — every Friday a Jumuʿa prayer gathering — once a year at ʿĪd in the city, the people also gather in congregation — this is a great gathering in their lifetime — once an assembly of all nations of the world is obligatory.

See the benefits of prayer and what they are! Military discipline is contained therein — when an imām is in charge, one obeys the imām's commands — the moment the order of prayer begins — hands are bound — the imam is commanded — they bow in rukūʿ — they prostrate in sajda — the command to sit is given — hands are placed on knees after the salām. Islamic prayer is unique in this respect — for prayer is something you cannot practise with anything else. Islam has four fundamental obligatory acts: prayer, fasting, zakāt, and Hajj — prayer and Hajj are mentioned here and zakāt is recalled — there is no mention of fasting and Hajj. However, prayer is the foundation — one who maintains prayer establishes zakāt and gives well — one who maintains these then becomes a good Muslim.

What is zakāt? In Islam the system of capital accumulation is not permissible — Islam allows joint ownership — zakāt is obligatory for the wealthy to pay. Unfortunately, Muslims give zakāt in such a scattered way — giving a few rupees here and there — after a year they look to see whether they gave a hundred. Seeing the rich accumulate and the poor not giving zakāt is a blow against God — one who accumulates wealth in banks — all that wealth is stored in banks and the banks are borrowing from them and lending to others — the money rolls around. One who eats meat at eight rupees per kilo — a kilo of meat is becoming difficult to buy — fifteen (15) paisa per rupee — a rupee at one hundred and twenty (120) rupees is being equated with one rupee.

It is a pity that your heart has grown weary — and the consequence is that you have stayed your hand and Allah has stayed His blessing from this world — because in our time three paise bought mutton — now even a rupee is hard to get. This is all the result of our negligence — and the one who does not give zakāt does not multiply even with rain. Allah has therefore commanded: wa-mā umirū illā li-yaʿbudū llāha mukhlisīna lahu l-dīna ḥunafāʾa wa-yuqīmū l-ṣalāta wa-yuʾtū l-zakāta — See the consequence for those who deviate from Allah's commands.

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ فِي نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أُولَٰئِكَ هُمْ شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّةِ

inna l-ladhīna kafarū min ahli l-kitābi wa-l-mushrikīna fī nāri jahannama khālidīna fīhā ulāʾika hum sharru l-bariyya.

"Indeed, those who disbelieve from the People of the Book and the polytheists will be in the fire of Hell, abiding therein — those are the worst of creatures." (al-Bayyina 98:6)

Inn — indeed. Al-ladhīna — those, the people. Kafarū — who disbelieved, rejected. Who are they? Min ahli l-kitāb — from the People of the Book — that is Jews and Christians. Wa-l-mushrikīn — and the polytheists — idol-worshippers. Fī nāri jahannama — in the fire of Hell, in the fire. Khālidīna — remaining forever, abiding. Fīhā — in it. Ulāʾika — those people. Hum — they, they are. Sharru l-bariyya — the worst creatures of all — the most evil — bariyya — created beings, all creation.

Translation: "Indeed, the People of the Book and the polytheists who are disbelievers will remain forever in the fire of Hell — and these are the worst of all created beings."

In contrast to them:

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَٰئِكَ هُمْ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّةِ

inna l-ladhīna āmanū wa-ʿamilū l-ṣāliḥāti ulāʾika hum khayru l-bariyya.

"Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds — those are the best of creatures." (al-Bayyina 98:7)

Inna l-ladhīna — indeed those. Āmanū — believed. Wa-ʿamilū l-ṣāliḥāt — and performed righteous deeds, good and praiseworthy works. Ulāʾika — they, they. Hum — they. Khayru l-bariyya — the best of created beings, the finest of all creation.

Translation: "Certainly those people who bring faith and do good works — they are the best of all creation (the best of beings)."

جَزَاؤُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا رَّضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ رَبَّهُ

jazāʾuhum ʿinda rabbihim jannātu ʿadnin tajrī min taḥtihā l-anhāru khālidīna fīhā abadan raḍiya llāhu ʿanhum wa-raḍū ʿanhu dhālika li-man khashiya rabbah.

"Their reward is with their Lord — gardens of Eden beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever. Allah is well pleased with them and they are well pleased with Him. That is for whoever fears his Lord." (al-Bayyina 98:8)

Jazāʾuhum — their reward, their recompense. ʿInda rabbihim — near their Lord, close to their Lord. Jannātu ʿadn — what is a Garden? Gardens of ʿAdn — permanent abode, evergreen gardens. Tajrī — flowing, running. Min taḥtihā — from beneath these gardens. Al-anhār — rivers, streams. Khālidīna — remaining forever, eternal. Fīhā — in them, in those gardens. Abadā — forever, until the end of time. Raḍiya llāhu ʿanhum — Allah is satisfied with them. Wa-raḍū ʿanhu — and they are satisfied with Allah — the pleasure is mutual. Dhālika — this is. Li-man — for whoever. Khashiya — fears, maintains deep awe. Rabbahu — his Lord — who maintains fear and awe of his Lord.

Translation: "What will the good people receive? Their Lord will give them their recompense — they will receive gardens of permanent abode — beneath which rivers will flow abundantly. And they will remain in those gardens forever. Allah will be pleased with them and they will be pleased with Allah. (For whom is this?) For that person who fears his Lord (who holds fear of His majesty and awe in his heart)."

Esteemed readers! As long as the fear of God does not enter a person's heart, he cannot perform good works and cannot leave evil works. He is a poor servant of God — not a good vizier of a king, not a good subject of the realm, not a good parent to children, not good as a spouse — who cannot meet the family's sustenance. Fear God! Be afraid of Him — do not fear humiliation. Good works, recite the Qurʾān, comprehend it, make your mouth speak well, from good things take lessons from the conditions of the world, do not tell anyone evil — give people good things with Allah's blessings and your own hands, in every difficulty make efforts for Allah, if you do good work in accordance with Allah's pleasure you will be grateful for the blessings — and you should be thankful that Allah has given you all these blessings. Hurry! Open your eyes — hurry before you are bound. Wake up! Let go of negligence!