Surah Ash-Sharh Ayah 7-8 Wednesday, February 13 2013 5:00 AM Allah SWT reminds Prophet Muhammad SAW of His favours upon him in the first four ayahs of the Surah ( ) which were: 1. - opened and widened Prophet Muhammad SAW heart for receiving the knowledge of Allah s Deen; 2. - removed and lifted the weight from the back of Prophet Muhammad SAW means by forgiving all his past, present and future sinss Allah SWT bestowed upon him His great favour; and 3. elevated the remembrance of Prophet Muhammad SAW by obligatory part of ibadah. making his name an After reminding the blessings Allah SWT is informing the Prophet SAW especially and the believers in general that with every difficulty there are ease in the next 2 ayahs: For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. It looks that the message is repeated and the words and are repeated twice in these two ayahs but let us now discover the miracles of Quran. We see that has come with which has different meanings like for or - a particular one and is defined as a specific type of hardship and every different incidence can be unique in nature in one particular time there is one specific difficulty. So in this ayah Allah SWT is talking about a particular difficulty which can be different every time. Page 1
is without and refers to a general thing ( ) and can refer to general ease, which can come in different ways or can also be taken as unlimited ease which can come in different forms and means. One particular difficulty or hardship is surrounded by unlimited ease like sunshine but we human beings are very impatient and narrow minded that even the ease we want it our way. So we see the unlimited blessings and bounties of Allah SWT on His slaves it is not repetition, every word, every letter in the Quran is from the perfect wisdom of Allah SWT. Allah SWT is telling us that any difficulty comes with unlimited ease. Ayah 7 So when you have finished [your duties], then stand up [for worship] is from which means to empty; not occupied or busy, finished your job ( ) we are in this life and we have work to do to survive like job, household work, cooking, taking care of children. It says that don t make the duniya go for a loss. Whenever we are free and finish the jobs related to the duniya then we should get busy in another work that is the work of the akhira ( ) we are not losing anything and are constantly busy from one job to another from duniya to the akhira without compromising on either the duties of the duniya or the rewards of the akhira. In fact we try to maximize the efforts of going to the ibadah and relax after doing the jobs of the duniya we in fact make even the jobs of the duniya for the sake of Allah SWT and in every action try to please Allah SWT, following His commands and abstaining from what is forbidden then even if we are busy with duniya we will be earning the rewards. From job to job deeds after deeds does not really means physically but in heart only whichh is one of the limb in which we can perform unlimited ibadah even if someone cannot speak or move or unable to perform Page 2
physical ibadah but he can perform beauty of our religion. unlimited acts of worship only in his heart SubhanAllah; this is the Deeds can be of duniya or of Deen and we should keep on switching from one work to the other as commanded by Allah SWT without wasting any time. As given in Surah Jumu ah Ayah 9 & 10, Allah SWT is commanding the believers to leave the worldly matters when the call for prayer is given but also commanding to go back to the duties of the duniya after fulfilling the religious obligations: O you who have believed, when [the adhan] is called for the prayer on the day of Jumu'ah [Friday], then proceed to the remembrance of Allah and leave trade. That is better for you, if you only knew. And when the prayer has been concluded, disperse within the land and seek from the bounty of Allah, and remember Allah often that you may succeed. This is the life of a believer, and within this shift from one job to the other job if someone is relaxing with the intention of regaining energy for better performance of religious duties even then that act will get a reward if it is done with the correct intention. is from which means difficult, hard work and what makes that hard work easy for the believer? Now we look at Ayah 8 Ayah 8 And to your Lord direct [your] longing Allah SWT is telling us what we are supposed to do in this duniya and what we should have in our hearts; - be firm in our ibadah even under hardships and difficulties. If we look at Ayahs 7& 8 together Page 3
then we see that we really need to do our work with eagerness and full honesty and to do our best; like someone is giving an exam then he tries to give best performance. I should have a hope in my heart from Allah SWT in order that the hardship will be easy on me I am doing my best and hoping and relying on Allah SWT while we are putting our best efforts in all our actions and jobs; with Ihsan becausee I am hoping from Allah SWT in my heart we can expect all the goodness from Allah SWT Paradise, expiation of sins, elevation of ranks all good expected only from Allah SWT ( ) and no one else. is only hope but when is accompanied by (actions) then it becomes intense than hope. This is the difference that I am only hoping from Allah SWT ( best to fulfill my duties to the extent of Ihsan excellence in all the deeds. And I am expecting my reward from Allah SWT only and I do not hope and expect any praise from others because He is the One who is disposing off our affairs, who is providing is with all the Provisions, who is the Most Rich and He is the most deserving that His slaves only hope from Him because He is the King of the kings SubhanAllah. and is more ) and doing my This Ayah has come with Allah s Name Rabb because this is Allah s action out of His unlimited actions when He rewards then His reward is the best, when He praises then His praise is the best and when He provides then His provision is the best. No one else deserves to be hoped except Allah SWT because no one has the ability to fulfill any hopes so why do we hope from others and not from our Rabb. When we hope from Allah SWT then He will never forsake us, and that is actually an opening - - when Allah SWT opens for us the gates of good and when He makes our heart open to only Him and we only hope to receive our reward from Him then this is the real opening -. Let us see a picture explaining the things required before the deeds and then what happens after the deeds: Before the deeds ( ) be with Allah SWT ( ) and don t think about the hardships and after the deeds ( ) you are hoping the reward from Allah SWT ( ) SubhanAllah. The last two ayahs cover these two deeds you do the deeds constantly, changing from one Page 4
deed to the other, without wasting time in doing nothing, for the sake of Allah SWT and then hope for the rewards only from Him. Don t wait for the rewards from anyone else; don t expect any praises from others only Allah SWT. This is the opening of the heart. With this SubhanAllah we finish the Surah. Next week we will Insha Allah start a new Surah. We ask Allah for His forgiveness and Mercy. Anything that is good from these notes is from Allah. Any mistakes & misrepresentations are my own. I ask Allah for His acceptance of all our good deeds and forgiveness of our sins Ameen. Page 5