<Quran> Surah 2: 257 Allah is the Protector of those who have faith: from the depths of darkness He will lead them forth into light. Of those who reject faith the patrons are the evil ones: from light they will lead them forth into the depths of darkness. They will be companions of the fire, to dwell therein (For ever)
First, there are three concepts that we need to understand when we read this Surah
- those who believe (have faith)
- darkness
- light
What is the meaning of these in the <Quran>?
There are three comparisons and one identical concept in this Surah: Allah SWT compared with evil; believers compared with non-believers; darkness compared with light; darkness is equivalent to hell. These can be categorized into two categories: Allah SWT and believers, light and paradise belong to the same category; evil and non-believers, darkness and hellfire belong to the other category. Even though the word ‘paradise’ is not seen in this Surah, its meaning is concealed within.
We can come to a conclusion here; the outcome for non-believers is the hellfire, and paradise will be the outcome for the believers. We have to be believers in order to enter paradise. The key question is, are you a believer? Who are the people that are considered as believers? What is the definition of ‘believer’ in the <Quran>?
Believers are those who only believe in Allah SWT and not worship any other people or things.
<Quran> Surah 47:19 Know, therefore, that there is no god but Allah, and ask forgiveness for thy fault, and for the men and women who believe: for Allah knows how ye move about and how ye dwell in your homes.
The literal translation of ‘believers’ is people who are steadfast in their faith. Believers are the people who believe in Allah SWT. Then, what is the meaning of ‘believe’? In Hadith Bukhari, Abu Hurairah narrated: One day while Allah’s Apostle was sitting with the people, a man came to him walking and said, “O Allah’s Apostle. What is Belief?” The Prophet said, “Belief is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Apostles, and the meeting with Him, and to believe in the Resurrection.”1.
Al-Quran also talks about this:
<Quran> Surah 4:136 O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denieth Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far, far astray.
Then, how do we understand ‘believe’?
<Quran> Surah 2:55 And remember ye said: “O Moses! We shall never believe in thee until we see Allah manifestly,” but ye were dazed with thunder and lighting even as ye looked on.
Is our ‘believe’ the same as those Israelites during those days? – I shall never believe until I see Allah SWT manifestly!
The first point, <Quran> Surah 2: 3 Who believe in the Unseen, are steadfast in prayer, and spend out of what We have provided for them;
These people believe in what their eyes cannot see, hold fast to their prayer, and share with others the grace Allah SWT had given them.
The second point, <Quran> Surah 29:63 And if indeed thou ask them who it is that sends down rain from the sky, and gives life therewith to the earth after its death, they will certainly reply, “Allah!” Say, “Praise be to Allah!” But most of them understand not
They are the people who see the falling of rain, and the dead land raised to life, there are lives; or some see the greatness of the universe and thus believe the existence of Allah SWT. This is a type of rational belief. I too observe the stars in the sky, there are many of them and being arranged orderly, thus I know there must be one dominating between heaven and earth. However, is theoretical belief adequate?
Or if one person that always goes to mosque to pray and confesses his/her sin to Allah SWT, yet hatred, jealousy still in the heart; after walking out from the mosque this person still continuously thinks of money and his/her dressing whether it is comparable with others and only have the present enjoyment in his/her mind. Is this level of ‘believe’ sufficient? That is, you and I already believe in Allah SWT but the way of our life and our behavior are no different from the non-believers.
<Quran> Surah 63: 3 That is because they believed, then they rejected Faith: So a seal was set on their hearts: therefore they understand not.
Some people are said to believe verbally but not believing in their hearts. If you do not believe in your heart, then your behavior and action will definitely show it. Just like what Prophet Isa said in the <Injil> “For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. “ (Matthew 12: 34).
We claim that we are believers, yet in what we say and do are the same as non-believers, this is duplicity and an abnormal life. It is just like a tree, a good and healthy tree will definitely bear good fruits if the internal part of the tree is normal. If the tree is not able to bear good fruits, then it shows that there must be problem with the tree. A wise man said, “Taking into account of all the tricks, a bad chicken egg can never be made into a good scrambled egg!” A good scrambled egg is only made from a good chicken egg. Even though we pray and worship, why is our behavior still jealous of others, angry with others and have no love in our hearts?
The third point, the example of Iblis
<Quran> Surah 2:34 And behold, We said to the angels: “Bow down to Adam” and they bowed down. Not so Iblis: he refused and was haughty: He was of those who reject Faith.
Iblis has seen Allah SWT and has talked to Allah SWT, for sure he knows more about the reality of Allah SWT compared to us. But Surah 2:34 tells us that Iblis is proud and a non-believer. Why called him a non-believer? This can be seen from his actions, he refused to bow down to Adam, refused to obey Allah SWT. These are the behavior of not believing. Therefore, it does not matter whether or not we know the existence of Allah SWT. This is because if we look from the perspective of ‘knowing’, Iblis knows more about Allah SWT compared to us, and yet he does not believe. It is a matter of our behavior.
Continue to understand the meaning of ‘believing in Allah SWT’:
<Quran> Surah 3:79 It is not (possible) that a man, to whom is given the Book, and Wisdom, and the prophetic office, should say to people: “Be ye my worshippers rather than Allah’s”: on the contrary (He would say) “Be ye worshippers of Him Who is truly the Cherisher of all: For ye have taught the Book and ye have studied it earnestly.”
Therefore, to believe in Allah SWT is to be His worshipper and worship Him.
<Quran> Surah 6:125 Those whom Allah (in His plan) willeth to guide,- He openeth their breast to Islam; those whom He willeth to leave straying,- He maketh their breast close and constricted, as if they had to climb up to the skies: thus doth Allah (heap) the penalty on those who refuse to believe.
<Quran> Surah 39:22 Is one whose heart Allah has opened to Islam, so that he has received Enlightenment from Allah, (no better than one hard-hearted)? Woe to those whose hearts are hardened against celebrating the praises of Allah! They are manifestly wandering (in error)!
Here, it says Allah SWT opens the mind of someone, and what is the purpose of doing this? Until what extent it is done? In order for the person to have an open mind towards Islam, until he is willing to yield, give up and surrender (the English translation of ‘Islam’ is surrender, it carries the meaning of submission, giving up). What do we need to surrender?
<Quran> Surah 31:2 Whoever submits his whole self to Allah, and is a doer of good, has grasped indeed the most trustworthy hand-hold: and with Allah rests the End and Decision of (all) affairs.
What is ‘submitting whole self to Allah’? Not only our face and reputation, but also submit our own wish, mind, thinking and our own will to Allah SWT, let Him be in charge. Thus, to be a worshiper of Allah SWT, we have to let go everything we have, submit our whole heart, even the most important will in our life to Allah SWT and let Him be the Master of our life. This is what is called believing in Allah SWT.
Why is Iblis a non-believer? This is because he does not let go his own desire, his own thinking is still with him, he is in charge of his own self; there is no Allah SWT in him, his behavior is telling Allah SWT , “You go away, I do not want to listen to you, you cannot discipline me, I have my own idea, I am the lord of myself.” His actions show that he puts himself equal to Allah SWT: I am the master of myself.
How is the life of a believer? He will give the sovereign right to Allah SWT, allowing Allah SWT to manage his life totally. Out of willingness, he put down his own desire. From here, we can see the reason why some people go to church or mosque to pray yet their lives are still the same as the old lives and there is no change in their lives. Allah SWT said, “Do not greed”, yet we are greedy; “Do not throw our temper to people” yet we still get angry, jealous of people; the reason of these is that we do not surrender the sovereign right to Allah SWT; we are still our own master. We neglect the command of Allah SWT. Is there any difference between these attitudes and Iblis’? Thus, after we have understood this point, we have to go to Allah SWT and sincerely ask, learn and understand, let Him be our Master every minute and second in our life. We have to always maintain our attitude as a worshipper, to ask and submit to Him.
“have submitted my whole self to Allah” is mentioned many times in the <Quran>. For example:
<Quran> Surah 3:20 So if they dispute with thee, say: “I have submitted My whole self to Allah and so have those who follow me.” And say to the People of the Book and to those who are unlearned: “Do ye (also) submit yourselves?” If they do, they are in right guidance, but if they turn back, Thy duty is to convey the Message; and in Allah’s sight are (all) His servants.
What is the meaning of ‘whole self’? ‘Whole self’ refers to totality, including the submission of whole body and spirit. Then, what is the meaning of ‘submit my whole self’?
<Quran> Surah 31:22 Whoever submits his whole self to Allah, and is a doer of good, has grasped indeed the most trustworthy hand-hold: and with Allah rests the End and Decision of (all) affairs.
That is to lay down our own desire, submit our body and spirit totally to Allah SWT only, let Him be the Master of our life, the one who takes charge of our life; I am only a worshipper and Allah SWT is my Master. The similar Surah can be found in Surah 2:136, 3:79-80, 4:125, 5:44, 5:111, 7:126, 10:90, 29:46, 37:103, 39:54, 41:33 (‘call people to believe in Allah SWT’ in original text carries the meaning of calling people return to Allah SWT), words like ‘submission’ and ‘surrender’ appear in the Surahs mentioned above.
Once again we read in <Quran> Surah 4:136 O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denieth Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far, far astray.
It is said here we have to believe in Allah SWT, His angels, His Books, His Messengers and the Day of Judgment. Believing in Allah SWT is the most basic and the most important. My understanding is: believing in our mind is not enough, the real belief is to surrender the whole self, surrender the whole life to Allah SWT. What is meant by surrendering our life to Allah SWT? For example, you believe in the elevator in bringing you to the floor you want to go. But it cannot bring you to your destination if you are not willing to enter the elevator. You have to walk into the elevator and then it is considered a total belief. Therefore, believing Allah SWT is just like what has been mentioned, the most important part is you must surrender your whole being to Allah SWT, you have to ‘walk into it’, and then you will experience Allah SWT during the process and build a relationship with Him.
Of course there is a price to pay in order to surrender. Is it easy to lay down our own desire? Our experience tells us: it is not easy. For example, how do you reconcile when out of carelessness you offend or say something that offend your colleague and cause unhappiness? You have to apologize to him or her and hope that he or she will forgive you. To do this, you have to lay down your face and feeling. <Quran> did mention an example of Ibrahim:
<Quran> Surah 37:102 Then, when (the son) reached (the age of) (serious) work with him, he said: “O my son! I see in vision that I offer thee in sacrifice: Now see what is thy view!” (The son) said: “O my father! Do as thou art commanded: thou will find me, if Allah so wills one practising Patience and Constancy!”
<Quran> Surah 37:103 So when they had both submitted their wills (to Allah), and he had laid him prostrate on his forehead (for sacrifice),
Both Ibrahim and his son were willing to submit to the will of Allah SWT. To Ibrahim, to submit means he would lose his precious son; and to his son, to submit means to lose his own life. However, they are willing to totally submit to Allah’s command, without objection, even though this will cause their lives. Allah SWT also hopes that we will have such degree of submission. We will obey unconditionally if it is Allah’s words and command. This should be the act of a servant.
How do we put this into practice in daily life? We should start with the little things. Allah SWT is very concerned with our every move even though it might be a small move. We have to always ask Allah SWT in everything, “How do You want me to do in this matter so that I will please You?”
<Quran> 2:257 tells us that: the outcome of the non-believers is hellfire; the outcome of the believers is paradise. Is there any difference in our understanding about ‘believing in Allah SWT’ and the type of ‘submission’ Allah SWT requests? If yes, then it will cause mistakes in our life and actions. Then, how do we please Allah SWT with our lives? How do we enter into paradise in the future?
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Note:
- All Al-Quran verses are sourced from English Translation of Al-Quran by Abdullah Yusuf Ali, with thanks.
- The verse of the Injil (Gospel) is sourced from New American Standard Bible with Codes (1995), with thanks.
1 Vol. 6 Book 60 Hadith 300 (Sahih Bukhari)