Verses 58–63
It was stated above in the discussion regarding the purpose of the sūrah that what can be inferred from its context is clarification that worshiping Him —that is, monotheism (tawḥīd)—is the religion of the people of felicity and guidance from the Prophets and the Saints (awliyāʾ). Disembarking from their path by neglecting praying and following desires is equivalent to following the path of manifest error unless one repents, believes and performs good deeds.
The previous verses—especially the first three—contain the core purpose of the sūrah. These verses are presented in the form of a deduction from the stories told in the earlier verses. This is what distinguishes this sūrah from the other long chapters in the Qur’an. Other chapters allude to their purpose at their beginning and end. They achieve this allusion by way of innovative openings and eloquent endings, rather than in their middle point.
Commentary
أُولَٰئِكَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِمْ مِنَ النَّبِيِّينَ مِنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ آدَمَ وَمِمَّنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍ وَمِنْ ذُرِّيَّةِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْرَائِيلَ وَمِمَّنْ هَدَيْنَا وَاجْتَبَيْنَا ۚ إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ خَرُّوا سُجَّدًا وَبُكِيًّا ٥٨
(19:58) These are they on whom God bestowed favors, from among the Prophets of the seed of Adam, and of those whom We carried with Noah, and of the seed of Abraham and Israel, and of those whom We guided and chose; when the communications of the Beneficent were recited to them, they fell in prostration (sujjadan) and weeping (bukiyyan).
The demonstrative pronoun ulāʾika (these) refers to those mentioned before this verse, within the sūrah, that is, Zachariah, John, Mary, Jesus, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Aaron, Ishmael, and Enoch. This point was made earlier when discussing the context and the line of reasoning of the verses. It was said that the stories told in the previous verses are examples from which the truths expressed in verses 58-60 can be deduced. Pondering over the context and line of reasoning of these verses leads to the conclusion that ulāʾika—which refers to the characters named in the stories—has to be the inchoative (mubtadaʾ); these are they on whom God bestowed favors has to be the adjective describing the inchoative and, when the communications of the Beneficent God were recited to them … has to be the enunciative (khabar).
Note that it is possible to take on the clause, whom God has bestowed favors as the enunciative (khabar) of these (ulāʾika), then, when the communications of the Beneficent God were recited to them … becomes an enunciative to it after an enunciative. However this is not fit very will with the aim of the sūrah.
God tells us that He has bestowed blessings upon them in the absolute sense of the word. This indicates that they were enveloped in divine blessings without any wretchedness. This is what felicity means because it is nothing but blessing without any wretchedness. They are the people of felicity (saʿādah) and success in the complete sense of the word. In fact, God said of them that they were the people of the “straight path”, the travelers along which are protected from divine wrath and misguidance—as He says: Keep us on the right path. The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favors. Not (the path) of those on whom Your wrath is brought down, nor of those who go astray ().
They are granted safety and guidance because they are: Those who believe and do not mix up their faith with iniquity, those are they who shall have the security and they are those who go aright ().
Thus, the people of the straight path that are protected from divine wrath and misguidance are those who have not mixed up their faith with iniquity, are safe from every danger or affliction to which a human being can be subjected. Hence, they are enjoying felicity (saʿādah) by virtue of adopting the way of life which they have adopted. Conversely, the course that they have taken is the path to felicity.
Min in min al-nabiyyīn (from among the Prophets), is partitive (tabʿīḍ). It has the same function as min in wa mimman hadaydā (and of those whom We guided and chose), as will be explained. Exegetes have also thought it possible that min is explanatory (bayāniyyah). However, the reader will know that it does not fit ulāʾika (these), [in references to the Prophets and Saints in this sūrah,] because al-nabiyyīn (the Prophets) is a larger superset. On the other hand min could be accepted as explanatory if it refers to these (ulāʾika) as examples of the people of felicity. Put all together, the verse would read as: “These individuals mentioned earlier on and their likes are the recipients of God’s favor. They are the Prophets and those We have guided and chosen”.
Min dhurriyyati Ādam (of the seed of Adam), acts as an adjective for the Prophets (al-nabiyyīn). Min (of) in min dhurriyyati Ādam is partitive, meaning: “from among the Prophets who are of the seed of Adam”. It is not explanatory (bayāniyyah) of al-nabiyyīn (the Prophets), otherwise the interpretation would have deviated from the intended meaning of the verse.
The phrase, and of those We carried with Noah is annexed with a conjunction to, of the seed of Adam. It means those carried in Noah’s ark and their offspring, all of whom were recipients of God’s blessings as evidenced by: And We made his offspring the survivors ().
The phrase, and of the seed of Abraham and Israel, like its predecessor, and of those We carried with Noah, is annexed with a conjunction to, from among the Prophets. God has divided those of the Prophets upon whom He has bestowed favors into four categories: 1) The seed of Adam; 2) Those carried with Noah; 3) The seed of Abraham; and 4) The seed of Israel.
Reference to each previous one would normally make it unnecessary to refer to each latter one because the seed of Israel is of the seed of Abraham. All of them were carried with Noah and all are of the seed of Adam. The reason for referring to them in this way may be to allude to the above mentioned gift of felicity (saʿadah) and the blessing of Prophethood sent down to the human species time after time. That is referred to in four places in the Noble Qur’an, for four groups:
- All the children of Adam in:
We said: Go forth from this (state) all; so surely there will come to you a guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve. And (as to) those who disbelieve in and reject My communications, they are the inmates of the fires; in it they shall abide ().
- Those carried with Noah in:
It was said: O Noah! Descend with peace from Us and blessings on you and on the people from among those who are with you, and there shall be nations whom We will afford provisions, then a painful punishment from Us shall afflict them ().
- The children of Abraham in:
And certainly We sent Noah and Abraham and We gave to their offspring the (gift of) Prophethood and the Book; so there are among them those who go aright, and most of them are transgressors ().
- The children of Israel in:
And certainly We gave the Book and the wisdom and the Prophethood to the children of Israel, and We gave them of the goodly things, and We made them excel the nations ().
These are four appointed times when the human race has had the favor of Prophethood and the gift of felicity bestowed on it. It is referred to in the verse under discussion in the clause, from among the Prophets of the seed of Adam, and of those whom We carried with Noah, and of the seed of Abraham and Israel. Some out of all four “seeds” were referred in the above stories—Enoch was of the seed of Adam; Abraham was of the seed of those carried with Noah; Isaac and Jacob were of the seed of Abraham; and Zachariah, John, Jesus, Moses, Aaron, and Ishmael—as we have made evident—were of the seed of Israel.
The clause, and of those whom We guided and chose is annexed with a conjunction to, from among the Prophets. This clause refers to those who are not Prophets. However, they are those upon whom God bestowed favor. This favor is not exclusive to Prophets and not restricted to them, as evidenced by: And whoever obeys God and the Messenger, these are with those upon whom God has bestowed favors from among the Prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the good, and a goodly company are they! ()
One of those whose story God revealed was Mary, paying special attention to her when He said: And mention Mary in the Book even though she was not a Prophetess. Hence, and of those We guided indubitably means the truthful ones, the martyrs, and the pious ones that are not Prophets. Mary was one of the truthful ones as evidenced by: The Messiah, son of Mary is but a messenger; messengers before him have indeed passed away; and his mother was a truthful woman ().
Claim: The clause, and of those whom We guided and chose is annexed with a conjunction to, from among the Prophets while the preposition min (of) is explanatory (bayāniyyah).
Reply: The incorrectness of this is clear from the above—from what the context dictates.
Some exegetes also object to this by saying that what precedes a conjunction normally has to differ from what follows it. Based on this premise, these are they on whom God bestowed favors, from among the Prophets … and of those whom We guided and chose would have to mean “out of those in whom we brought together Prophethood, guidance, and being chosen for favor”. However, this is contrary to the apparent meaning.
It is important to note the apparent meaning of a conjunction does not mean that what is joined by it must be a completed disjoint such that an instance cannot be found that is part of both sides of the conjunction. Instead, it is the complete set of what is on each side of the conjunction and are described such that they are not one and the same.
Claim: The clause, and of those whom We guided and chose is annexed with a conjunction to, of the seed of Adam. Min (of) is partitive.
Reply: The incorrectness of this claim is clear from the above.
Claim: The clause, and of those whom We guided begins a new sentence. It is not connected to the previous sentence which finished with Israel. The new sentence then begins with, and of those whom We guided and chose out of the nations and they were people, who when the communications of the Beneficent were recited to them, they fell in prostration and weeping. The subject is left implied because it is indicated by what is expressly stated.
This explanation is attributed to the exegete Abū Muslim.
Reply: This is inference of an implied meaning without any evidential basis for it. Furthermore, the whole purpose is defeated as testified to by the context, because the aim is to explain how those servants upon whom favors were bestowed submitted to God, and were humble before Him while those who came after them, turned away from their path, neglected prayer, and followed base desires. This can only be achieved if, when the communications of the Beneficent were recited to them … is the predicate to, These are they on whom God bestowed favors. Treating the clause, and of those whom We guided as a new sentence completely defeats the aforementioned purpose.
When the communications of the Beneficent were recited to them, they fell in prostration (sujjadan) and weeping (bukiyyan): Sujjad is the plural of sājid which means prostrate. Bukiyy of the fuʿul morphological form is the plural of bākī, an adjective which means weeping. The sentence is the enunciative (khabar) of “these” at the beginning of the verse. Falling in prostration and weeping may be a metonymy for complete submissiveness (khudūʿ) and humility (khushūʿ), respectively. Prostration represents complete submission just as weeping represents complete humility. On this basis, the most appropriate interpretation of communications (ayāt) and its recitation is the mention of anything that pertains to Him.
Other interpretations include those that said:
- “recitation of communications” means recitation of any Heavenly scriptures or specifically those which contain reference to the punishment of unbelievers and sinners;
- “prostration” means prayer or prostration, which is necessary when certain verses are heard (sajdat al-tilāwa); and
- “weeping” means weeping upon hearing or reciting the verses.
The problem with all of the following claims is obvious.
In conclusion, the verse means, and God knows best: “Those are the ones upon whom God has bestowed favors, some of whom are Prophets of the seed of Adam and of those We carried with Noah and of the seed of Abraham and Israel, some of whom are those that have been guided and chosen. They are the ones that are overcome with humility and submissiveness to the Beneficent at the mention of His remembrance and His signs”.
Note that He does not say: kānū idhā tutlā ʿalayhim, meaning, they were such that when the communications of the Beneficent were recited to them…, because the intended meaning here is to list the groups in terms of their conduct without regard to the past or future exclusively. Rather, the point is to divide people into three groups [across the line of time], namely the righteous predecessors, the depraved successors and, thirdly, those who repent and perform good deeds. This is the apparent meaning.
فَخَلَفَ مِنْ بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ أَضَاعُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَاتَّبَعُوا الشَّهَوَاتِ ۖ فَسَوْفَ يَلْقَوْنَ غَيًّا٥٩
(19:59) But there came after them (khalf) an evil generation who neglected prayers (aḍāʿu al-ṣalāt) and followed sensual desires, so they will meet perdition (ghayy).
Khalf means a bad substitute and khalaf means a good substitute. Rarely, the two spellings may be used the other way round. Ḍayāʿ al-shayʾ refers to something becoming invalid or lost due to negligence. One says aḍāʿa al-māl when someone ruins property by managing it badly or loses possession of it by spending it recklessly.
Ghayy is the opposite of rushd which means to see things as they are. The meaning of ghayy is similar to ḍalāl (error), which is the opposite of hudā. Hudā means taking the road which gets one to one’s desired goal. Hence, ghayy is error that leads to loss or perdition.
But there came after them an evil generation … means that in the place of those on whom God bestowed favors and whose path was humility and subservience to God through devout worship, there came those who lost this priceless heritage of prayer (ṣalāt) and taking submission to God lightly and turning away from it. Instead, they pursued base desires that detracted them from striving for God and directing themselves towards Him.
Thus it is clear that the loss of prayer (ṣalāt), referred to by the expression aḍāʿū al-ṣalāt in the verse, means corrupting their performance of it by neglecting it and not taking it seriously. They got to the point that they let it become like a game, changing it and forsaking it after having taken and accepted it. Hence the claim that aḍāʿū al-ṣalāt, they lost their prayers out of neglect, means that they stopped praying, is not correct because ceasing to pray altogether and suddenly is not called iḍāʿa. Instead, what the verse means is that the divine religion passed from that pious earlier generation to that later corrupt generation who were not good heirs. These bad heirs neglected what they had inherited, namely prayer, which was the only pillar of worship and servitude to God, instead following base desires which diverted them from the truth.
Exegetes have said that, so they will meet perdition means the punishment for their error like the verse … and he who does this shall find a requital of sin ().
Alternatively, it is possible that it means that the path they chose of neglecting prayer and following desires has error (ghayy) as its very objective. Thus if they follow a path, the end of which is error, that leads to perdition (ghayy), they will meet it when they complete it in one of two ways or both. One way they will meet their perdition is when it becomes clear to them on the Day of Resurrection—when realities become apparent. Another way they will meet their perdition is when the error that leads to it takes abode in their hearts and they become friends (awliyāʾ) to Satan, as in: Surely, as regards My servants, you have no authority over them except those who follow you of the deviators ().
Whatever the case may be, it is a subtle metaphor by way of metonymy.
إِلَّا مَنْ تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَأُولَٰئِكَ يَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ وَلَا يُظْلَمُونَ شَيْئًا ٦٠
(19:60) Except such as repent and believe and do good, these shall enter the Garden, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly in any way.
This is an exception to the previous verse. It states that, by repenting, believing and doing good, those in the exception are turning back towards God and will be joined to those whom God has bestowed favors. Hence, they are with them but not of them as He says: And whoever obeys God and the Messenger, these are with those upon whom God has bestowed favors from among the Prophets and the truthful and the martyrs and the good, and a goodly company are they! ().
The clause, these shall enter the Garden is an instance of placing the effect in lieu of the cause. This underlying meaning is: “They will be given their full reward” as evidenced by what He says next, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly in any way. Not being dealt with unjustly necessitates being given their full reward while not being concomitant to entering the Paradise.
جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ الَّتِي وَعَدَ الرَّحْمَٰنُ عِبَادَهُ بِالْغَيْبِ ۚ إِنَّهُ كَانَ وَعْدُهُ مَأْتِيًّا ٦١
(19:61) The Gardens of perpetuity (ʿadn) which the Beneficent has promised to His servants while unseen; surely His promise shall come to pass (maʾtiyyan).
The word ʿadn means residence. Naming it as such communicates the perpetuity of Paradise for those entering in it. A promise of the unseen is a promise of something not perceivable to the one to whom the promise is made. The promise being maʾtiyyan, means that it will not be broken.
Majmaʿ al-bayān says: The object (mufʿūl) is used here but it is the subject (fāʿil) which is intended because what you reach, reaches you and what reaches you, you reach. One says: “I reached fifty [years]” (ataytu khamsīn sana), or, “Fifty years came to me” (atat ʿalayya khamsūna sana). Some exegetes have said that, that which is promised is Heaven and Heaven is reached by the believers.
لَا يَسْمَعُونَ فِيهَا لَغْوًا إِلَّا سَلَامًا ۖ وَلَهُمْ رِزْقُهُمْ فِيهَا بُكْرَةً وَعَشِيًّا ٦٢
(19:62) They shall not hear therein any vain discourse, but only Peace, and they shall have their sustenance therein morning and evening.
Not hearing any vain discourse is one of the most distinctive attributes of Heaven. The foretelling of this particular divine favor has surfaced in numerous Qur’anic verses. It will be discussed in detail at an appropriate juncture. Note that peace (salām) is being made an exception to vain discourse (laghu) in the form of a grammatical contrast called ʾistithnāʾ munfaṣil, the disjoint exception, which is a category of exception in which that which is in the exception and that which is in the rule are not of the same kind.
The meaning of salām which signifies peace is very similar to the meaning of ʾamn which signifies safety. The difference between the two was discussed above. When one says: “ʾAnta minnī fī ʾamn, you are in safety from me” it means you will not encounter anything from me which harms you. When one says: “Salāmun minnī ʿalayk, peace be unto you”. it means: “Nothing you encounter from me will harm you”. Indeed, they will hear peace from the Angels and their companions in Heaven. He says, quoting the Angels: Peace be on you, you shall be happy (); Then peace to you from those on the right hand ().
The clause, and they shall have their sustenance therein morning and evening describes their provision of sustenance morning and evening. Morning and evening is a metonymy for their receiving it continuously, without stop.
تِلْكَ الْجَنَّةُ الَّتِي نُورِثُ مِنْ عِبَادِنَا مَنْ كَانَ تَقِيًّا ٦٣
(19:63) This is the Garden which We cause those of Our servants to inherit (nurithu min ʿibādinā) who guard (against evil).
The words irth and wirātha mean property or something similar passing from one person to another after the first person departs from it by way of death, evacuation or the like. Since Heaven, according to the divine promise, will be given to every human being on condition of faith and righteous action, the inheritance of the Godwary, those who guard against evil is the restriction of Paradise to them at the exclusion of the others who lost their prayers through neglect and followed their base desires. The meaning is similar to: And certainly We wrote in the Book after the reminder that (as for) the land, My righteous servants shall inherit it (). And they shall say: (All) praise is due to God, who has made good to us His promise, and He has made us inherit the land; we may abide in the Garden where we please; so goodly is the reward of the workers ().
As the reader can see, the verse combines inheritance with reward.
Examining Narrations
- Majmaʿ al-bayān says about, and of those whom We guided and chose that it is narrated that ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn said: “It means us”.
- Manāqib Āl Abī Ṭālib by Ibn Shahrāshūb says the same, also on his authority.
Author’s comment: The meaning of the verse is clear on the basis of the aforementioned exegesis of the verse because the phrase, and of those whom We guided and chose, refers to those people who are guided and chosen without being Prophets. They are some of them just as God referred to Mary’s being one of them while she was not a Prophetess.
- Ruḥ al-maʿānī says: One of the Imāmiyya narrates that ʿAlī b. al-Ḥusayn said: ‘Those people’ means us. This is really contrary to the apparent meaning. The way the Imāmiyya’s oral traditions are is obvious to learned people.
Author’s comment: His error is clear on the basis of the above. What made him make this mistake is his treatment of the clause, and of those whom We guided and chose as joined with the conjunction to, of the seed of Adam and from among the Prophets for the two of which are qualifying These are they … Consequently, the phrase, These are they on whom God bestowed favors was seen as exclusive to the Prophets. Accordingly, he was forced to say that the verse does not apply to anyone who is not a Prophet even though he could see that one of those referred to by God was Mary daughter of Amram who was not a Prophetess.
- Saʿīd al-Khudrī says: I heard God’s Messenger recite this verse, But there came after them an evil generation and say: There will be a generation after sixty years who will neglect prayer and follow [their] desires. They will meet perdition. Then there will be a generation who recite the Qur’an but it will not pass their throats. Three groups will recite the Qur’an: Believers, hypocrites, and open sinners.
- Majmaʿ al-bayān says about neglected prayer: It is said that they neglected it by delaying it past its appointed times without forsaking it completely. This is narrated on the authority of al-Ṣādiq
Author’s comment: Something to the same effect is narrated in al-Kāfī via its chain of narration back to Dāwūd b. Farqad on his authority. It is also narrated by Ahl al-Sunna on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd and several of the followers (tabiʿīn).
- Jawāmiʿ al-jāmiʿ and Ruḥ al-maʿānī say on the authority of ʿAlī about, and followed sensual desires: Those who build the pompous, ride the ostentatious, and wear the conspicuous.
- The Prophet said: al-Ghayy (Perdition or Error) is a valley in Hell.
Author’s comment: Other oral traditions say that Ghayy (Perdition) and Athām (Sins) are two rivers in Hell. Assuming the hadith to be authentic, it is not an alternative interpretation as the majority of exegetes claim. On the contrary, it is an explanation of where ghayy leads in terms of punishment. It is similar to a number of oral traditions including those that recount that al-Wayl is a well in Hell and that Ṭūbā is a tree in Heaven.
Al-Durr al-manthūr citing Aḥmad, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Ibn Ḥibbān, and al-Ḥakīm who also deemed it to be authentic, Ibn Mardawayh and al-Bayhaqī in Shuʿab al-īmān. ↩︎
Tabiʿīn were early Muslims born after the death of the Messenger and were contemporaries of his companions. (Ed.) ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr cited by Ibn Mardawayh via Nahshal on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās. ↩︎