Who are peope understanding?
أَفَمَن يَعْلَمُ أَنَّمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ مِن رَّبِّكَ ٱلْحَقُّ كَمَنْ هُوَ أَعْمَىٰٓ ۚ إِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُو۟لُوا۟ ٱلْأَلْبَـٰبِ
Now, can the one who knows that whatever has been revealed to you from your Lord is the truth, be equal to one who is blind? Only the people of understanding respond to the advice [13:20]
One of the most important parts of Surat al-Ra’d is the set of ayahs where Allah describes _ulul albab_, the people of understanding and intellect. In today’s world we have many definitions for what makes a smart person – it might be someone who has cunning plans and does deals under the table. But the Quran has its own definition, which is described by nine attributes listed in these ayahs.
ٱلَّذِينَ يُوفُونَ بِعَهْدِ ٱللَّهِ وَلَا يَنقُضُونَ ٱلْمِيثَـٰقَ
those who fulfill (their) pledge with Allah and do not break the covenant, [13:21]
1. Those who fulfil their pledge with Allah – i.e. those who fulfil all the trusts given to us by Allah, such as salah and siyam, avoiding haram and doubtful matters, etc.
2. Those who don’t break their covenants. One of the attributes of the hypocrites is repeatedly breaking their promises, and believers are the ones who do the opposite and always fulfil their promises.
وَٱلَّذِينَ يَصِلُونَ مَآ أَمَرَ ٱللَّهُ بِهِۦٓ أَن يُوصَلَ وَيَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ وَيَخَافُونَ سُوٓءَ ٱلْحِسَابِ
and those who maintain the relationships Allah has commanded to be maintained and fear their Lord and fear strict judgment, [13:22]
3. Maintain relationships Allah has commanded to be retained. This is referring to _silatul rahim_, connecting blood ties – i.e. having good relationships with your family. There are many verses in the Quran which stress the importance of this, whether with your parents, siblings, close family or extended. Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him) also said:
مَنْ أَحَبَّ أَنْ يُبْسَطَ لَهُ فِي رِزْقِهِ، وَأَنْ يُنْسَأَ لَهُ فِي أَثَرِهِ، فَلْيَصِلْ رَحِمَهُ.
Anyone who wants to have his provision expanded and his term of life prolonged should maintain ties of kinship. [Bukhari and Muslim]
4. Those who fear their Lord and are obedient to Him.
5. Those who are frightened of having a bad reckoning, hisab. Prophet Muhammad used to make dua for Allah to make our hisab easy. People of understanding are those who fear that on the Day of Judgement when their books are read, Allah will make things difficult for them. Inshallah He will make easy for all of us.
وَٱلَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا۟ ٱبْتِغَآءَ وَجْهِ رَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأَنفَقُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ سِرًّۭا وَعَلَانِيَةًۭ وَيَدْرَءُونَ بِٱلْحَسَنَةِ ٱلسَّيِّئَةَ
and those who observe patience in order to seek the pleasure of their Lord and establish Salāh and spend secretly and openly from what We have given to them, and repel evil with good. [13:22]
6. Those who observe patience for His sake. There are three levels of sabr: 1) Doing ibadah, as you need sabr to wake up, do suhur, do fajr, etc. 2) Refraining from haram, as this takes self-control. 3) Having sabr in the face of Allah’s tests. This is one of the attributes of pious people who are close to Allah.
7. Establish salah – i.e. always do it on time, in the way it was passed down from Prophet Muhammad (peace be on him), with _khushu_ (focus).
8. Spend from what We have provided for them. Your rizq comes Allah, and He is asking you to pay your obligation. The absolute minimum is zakat, 2.5%.
9. Those who repel evil with good. If you are faced with evil, don’t respond with evil but with good. This can be dependent on the scenario, but it is the general rule. It also applies to doing something bad yourself, and following it up with a good deed. This is in line with the hadith:
وَأَتْبِعْ السَّيِّئَةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا،
follow up a bad deed with a good deed which will wipe it out, [Ahmad]
Your daily checklist
These are the people who will be close to Allah and who are promised Jannah. These nine attributes are like a checklist you can keep in your pocket to review every day. Ask yourself, am I doing all of these things? May Allah make all of us and our families and loved ones among _ulul albab_.
Ramadan – Night 2
Delivered by Shaykh Haytham Tamim
Transcribed by Hana Khan