بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Allah Most High honored the title of 'Ibaad-ur-Rahman ( عِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ) to those especially dear to Him.
Rahman is one of Allah’s names, referring to Him as having extreme mercy.
In the last few verses of Surah Al-Furqan (Qur'an, Al-Furqan 25:63-77), Allah mentions thirteen traits and habits of this special and honored servants of His. Those are His slaves who firmly believe in the Prophet's (Allah bless him and grant him peace) prophethood and their beliefs, deeds and dealings are all in conformity with the will of Allah and His Messenger (Allah bless him and grant him peace) and follow the Shari'ah. They surrender completely before Allah and make all deeds and desires conforming to His pleasure by his own choosing.
If we have these characteristics we are the slaves of Allah’s extreme mercy in this world and, more importantly, on Yawm-al-aakhirah (the Day of judgement).
Wouldn’t we all love to be given this title? Indeed, it is the highest honor given by the All-Merciful.
The first characteristic of such people is that they are "slaves" which is the plural of the word (slave). Here it means the slave who is the property of his Master. All his deeds and prerogatives together with his very life are dedicated to follow the command and will of the Master. Only such a person can claim to be Allah's slave whose views and beliefs, thinking and desires, and deeds and actions are totally in line with the command and pleasure of his Rab (Master) and who keeps himself alert to carry out each and every command as soon as he is required to.
The second characteristic is "they walk on the earth humbly".
وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى ٱلْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا
And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth humbly,..(63)
Here the word (hawn) is used in the sense of humbleness, modesty and decorum - that is one does not walk with pride or arrogance. It does not mean that one should walk very slowly, because it is against Sunnah if it is without any need.
They have a softness to their walk on the earth. They walk on the earth with humility.
The third characteristic:
وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلْجَـٰهِلُونَ قَالُوا۟ سَلَـٰمًا
and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace, (63)
It should be kept in mind that the word "ignorant" in this verse refers to a person who acts like an ignorant person, notwithstanding that he might be a knowledgeable person. Also, the word (peace) is not used here in its customary sense of greeting, but for any word causing peace. What is meant here is that in response to ignorance they keep composed and answer with calmness so that others are not offended and they do not commit a sin.
They are sensible with the states of people before they address them.
When people come to you and they say obscene things, you don't have to respond, you don't have to engage, you just let it be. Why? Because when jahl (ignorance) is there, 'aql (intellect) is not. When somebody is being ignorant or emotionally overwhelmed (extremely angry, extremely depressed, in a bad mood), you cannot engage with them in an intellect conversation. There is time to bring up something and there is time to leave it alone. When you know they are in that state, it's going to start something bad, then you should have the intelligence and the humility to know that and not bring up some thing right now-- just don't talk. When someone is emotionally volatile, then just say "peace." Find a better time. Don't be insensitive and inconsiderate. And you should not get frustrated with people, instead you are patient with people.
Know that your patience is going to be tested all the time. We all have people who annoy us, irritate us, or do injustice to us in many different ways. It could be in the form of backbiting, treating us badly, showing rude behavior, or just having differences of opinions between family members. Sometimes it could even be more serious, like having family members or families who are less religiously committed than we are, which could cause serious differences within the home and family. But you have to keep at peace.
The more you engage in Allah's work, the more you have to be conscious of this. It will become more and more difficult, increasingly difficult. If you take on any kind of religious position, everything you do is a representation of Islam. And you don't have a personal life anymore. Everything you do will be labeled. One mistake you make, all the things you have to say is wiped away. There will be people who are looking for a way to undermine or dismiss your message. Be extra conscious and hold yourself to a much much higher standard.
The Fourth Characteristic
وَٱلَّذِينَ يَبِيتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّدًا وَقِيَـٰمًا
And those who spend [part of] the night to their Lord prostrating and standing [in prayer] (64)
Special mention of night worship is made here firstly, because this time being a time of rest, requires extra effort, and secondly because it rules out the possibility of showing one's worship to others. The idea is to express that they spend their day and night in submission before Allah during the day by teaching and spreading religious tenets and struggling in the way of Allah and at night by praying before Him.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said, "Remain steadfast to your night prayers as this has been the practice of all righteous people before your time, and this will bring you closer to Allah and will expiate the evils and keep you away from sins". (Mazhari)
The Fifth Characteristic
وَٱلَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا ٱصْرِفْ عَنَّا عَذَابَ جَهَنَّمَ ۖ إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَامًا
And those who say, "Our Lord, avert from us the punishment of Hell. Indeed, its punishment is ever adhering; (65)
It means that despite their constant prayers day and night, these favored ones do not sit content, but are always fearful of Allah and keep in mind the Day of Judgement. To that end they keep alive the righteous deeds as well as supplications
before Allah.
Some Muslims think that they may have to spend a few years in Jahannam initially and then get Jannah forever because Allah promises that all believers will be in Jannah eventually. This is very wrong thinking and is actually undermining
the power and the mercy of Allah. In fact, we should not want to go to Jahannam for even a split second. In the Quran there are verses that describe a scene where a person is outside Jahannam and the breeze of Jahannam just brushes past his skin for a split second and the person says, ”O Allah! it feels like I have been in the worst part of Jahannam!”
The Sixth Characteristic
وَٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَنفَقُوا۟ لَمْ يُسْرِفُوا۟ وَلَمْ يَقْتُرُوا۟ وَكَانَ بَيْنَ ذَٰلِكَ قَوَامًا ﴿٦٧﴾
And [they are] those who, when they spend, do so not excessively or sparingly but are ever, between that, [justly] moderate (67)
Allah's blessed servants are neither spendthrifts nor misers but they spend moderately. The words "israf" (extravagance) and "iqtar" (miserliness) are used in the verse for the two opposite traits. Israf means to cross the limits. Iqtar means to spend with miserliness.
The Prophet (Allah bless him and grant him peace) said,
"It is the sagacity of man to adopt the middle path in spending"
"The person who sticks to the middle path and moderation in spending will never become a destitute and poor".
Of course spending on family and those under your care is 'ibadah (worship) and required of a Muslim man and a Muslim should not be stingy when spending either. However, we should also think about better ways to spend our extra money, such as giving sadaqah, helping the poor, or spending in the cause of Islam, instead of wasting money.
This also includes living within our means, refraining from loans or riba and also ensuring that most of our income comes from a halaal source and is not spent on haraam.
The Seventh Characteristic
وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَدْعُونَ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَـٰهًا ءَاخَرَ
And those who do not invoke with Allah another deity .. 68
The first six characteristics included the principles of obedience and now the characteristics of disobedience are described. Among these the very first one relates to belief, that is these blessed servants do not associate any one with Allah in His worship.
The Eighth and Ninth characteristic
وَلَا يَقْتُلُونَ ٱلنَّفْسَ ٱلَّتِى حَرَّمَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا بِٱلْحَقِّ وَلَا يَزْنُونَ ۚ
or kill the soul which Allah has forbidden [to be killed], except by right, and do not commit unlawful sexual intercourse. (68)
This is the description of the major and grave sins pertaining to one's deeds. It is mentioned that Allah's blessed servants do not go even near them; neither they indulge in adultery nor do they kill innocent people.
The tenth characteristic
وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَشْهَدُونَ ٱلزُّورَ
And [they are] those who do not testify to falsehood, and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity..(72)
That is they do not participate in the meetings where lie and falsehood has currency. The biggest falsehood is the kufr (disbelief) and shirk, and the next in order comes the common lie and acts of sin. In other words the blessed and favored servants of Allah avoid attending such meetings.
The Eleventh Characteristic
وَإِذَا مَرُّوا۟ بِٱللَّغْوِ مَرُّوا۟ كِرَامًا
and when they pass near ill speech, they pass by with dignity. (72)
That is if by chance they happen to pass by immoral gatherings, they walk away with dignity and grace. In other words, as they do not attend such gatherings intentionally, if they happen to pass by them sometimes by chance they just walk away from there in a dignified manner. That is despite their belief that their evil acts are hateful, they do not take pride or regard themselves superior for not indulging in them.
The Twelveth Characteristic
وَٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُوا۟ بِـَٔايَـٰتِ رَبِّهِمْ لَمْ يَخِرُّوا۟ عَلَيْهَا صُمًّا وَعُمْيَانًا ﴿٧٣
nd those who, when reminded of the verses of their Lord, do not fall upon them deaf and blind. (73)
That is when the blessed servants of Allah are reminded of His verses and the Hereafter, they do not throw themselves upon them as if they were blind and dumb, but pay heed to them like sober and sensible persons, and act upon them. They do not behave like the ignorant people or negligent persons as if they have not seen or listened i.e. not understood the message.
Two things are mentioned in this verse. One, to fall at Divine revelation i.e. to listen them with full attention. This is a virtuous and commendable act. Second, to fall at the verses like deaf and dumb people which means to listen to the message but without any purpose or commitment and act in a manner that the real message has not been registered, and even if they follow the Qur'anic message it is not in line with the practices of the companions of the Prophet or their followers. Such people follow their own whims based on hearsay, which is as bad as not following the Divine message.
May Allah grant us steadfastness and grant us the traits and habits of the special and honored slaves of His. Ameen.
Allahumma salli 'ala Muhammad wa 'ala aalihi wa sahbihi wasallam.
And Allah knows best and is Most Wise, and He alone grants success, and to Him is the final return of all.
Wassalaam
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