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Tafsir of Surah Al-Maa'un by the Great Scholar Ash- Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih Al-'Uthaymeen may Allah have mercy upon him.
In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful,
Surah Al-Maa'un:
{1.Have you seen the one who denies Ad-Deen? 2.That is the one who repulses the orphan, 3.And urges not the feeding of Al-Miskeen(the poor), 4.So woe unto those who perform the prayer, 5.Who delay their Salat from their stated fixed times, 6.Those who do good deeds only to be seen (by the people), 7.And rejects Al-Maa'un(small kindnesses like salt,sugar,water,etc.}
Allah the Most Blessed and Most High says: {1.Have you seen the one who denies Ad-Deen?}. {Have you seen} Is the address directed to the Messenger sallahu 'alayhi wasallam because he is the one who the Quran was revealed to? Or is it applicable to every single person in general? To say that it is general is more suitable. So we say:{Have you seen} is general to everyone the address applies to. {Have you seen the one who denies Ad-Deen} meaning the Recompense, and these people are those who deny the Resurrection and they say:{When we are dead and have become dust and bones, shall we (then) indeed be resurrected? And also our forefathers?}37:16-17. And a speaker from amongst them says:{Who will give life to these bones when they have rotted away and become dust?} These people deny and reject the day of Ad-Deen meaning the day of Recompense.
{2.That is the one who repulses the orphan,3.And urges not the feeding of the poor,} So he/she combines between two matters:
The First Matter: They possess no mercy with or for orphans, those who are deserving of mercy. Because orphans are those whom their fathers have died before they reached the age of puberty, so therefore they are deserving of kindness and mercy because their hearts are fragile and they are in need of good treatment and affection. And with this many texts have been mentioned about the virtue of being good towards orphans, however this person -and Allah's refuge is sought- {he repulses the orphan} meaning he repels him with harshness, because the word Ad-Da' means to repel with harshness as Allah the Most High says: {The Day they will be pushed down with force to the Fire of Hell, with a horrible, forceful pushing(Ad-Da')}52:13. This means a wicked pushing, so you'll find if the orphan comes to him asking for something or to conversate with him he looks down upon him and repells him violently and shows no compassion for him.
The Second Matter: They do not encourage mercy to others. {And urges not the feeding of the poor,}. So the poor one, the one who is in need of food; this (individual) doesn't incite others to feed him, because his heart is like a rock, their hearts are like rocks or even harder! Hence their is no mercy in them for orphans nor for poor people, thereupon making them hard hearted.
Then Allah the Mighty and Majestic says: {4.So Wayl to those who perform the prayer}. 'Wayl' is a threat and it is repeated in the Quran numerous times, and it is a severe threat to those {5.Who delay their prayer from their stated fixed times,}. These are people who pray, whether it be with the people or by themselves however they {delay thier prayer from their stated fixed times} meaning they are neglectful and careless about it, they do not establish it appropiately, they delay it from its best time, they do not establish the bowing properly, nor the prostration properly, nor the standing properly, nor the sitting properly, they do not recite or read that which should be read or recited in it whether it be from Quran or Thikr (rememberance). If he/she enters the prayer they are heedless, his heart roams left and right making him negligent of his prayer and this is something despicable!The one who is heedless about his prayer and is unmindful and laxidasical concerning it there is no doubt that this is blameworthy!
As for someone who forgets something in his prayer then he isn't at fault. And the difference between the two is that the 'Saahi' (one who forgets) something in his prayer means he forgot something like the number of units he prayed or something from the obligatory affairs or like this. As this took place with the Messenger sallahu 'alayhi wasallam and he is the most vigorous of the people upon the prayer, certainly he has said 'alayhis salaam: The joy of my eye has been placed in the prayer*. Along with this he sallahu 'alayhi wasallam 'sahaa' (forgot something) in the prayer because 'As-Saahi' means to forget a thing in a manner that isn't blameworthy.
But as for the 'Saahi 'an salatihi' (the one who is negligent of his salat) then he is one who deliberately laxes in the prayer. And from that which is considered carelessness about the prayer are those who leave off the prayer in congregation. Indeed they are from those who are negligent about the prayer without a doubt. So they are included in this threat.
{ 4.So woe unto those who perform the prayer, 5.Who delay their Salat from their stated fixed times, 6.Those who do good deeds only to be seen (by the people),} Also if they do an act of obedience they only intend to flatter the people by it, and to achieve some status in the community. Their intent isn't to seek nearness to Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Thus, this person who wants to be seen and show off gives charity so the people will say: How generous he is! The one who prays he beautifies his prayer so that the people will say: How excellent his prayer is! And so on and so forth.
These perform actions to be seen of the people. The origin of the worship is for Allah however they intend with that the praise of the people. They draw close to the people by that which draws them close to Allah. These people are indeed Muraaoon (those who do actions to be seen). As for a person who prays for the people meaning that he prays to a king for example or other than him and he sumbits himself before him (like you would to Allah) by bowing or prostrating then this is a Mushrik Kaafir, Allah has made Paradise forbidden for him and his abode is the Hell-fire.
But this individual prays to Allah with the consideration of the people praising him upon his worship (he has done) although he is a worshipper of Allah the All-Mighty and Sublime. And this occurs frequently with the hypocrites. As Allah the Most High says:{And when they stand up for the prayer, they stand with laziness and to be seen by the people, and they do not remember Allah except a little.}4:142. Look at the description! If they stand for the salat they stand lazy! Therefore making them negligent and heedless of their salat. They seek to be seen amongst the people.
Here Allah says:{Those who seek to be seen}. So are those who love to be heard like them? Meaning, a person recites the Quran and he recites it loudly, perfects his recitation and the sound of his voice so that it will be said: Oh how beautiful he recites! Will he be like the one who seeks to be seen? The answer is yes as it comes in the hadith:"He who lets the people hear of his good deeds intentionally, to gain their praise, Allah will let the people know his real intention and whoever does good things in public to show off and to earn the praise of the people, Allah will disclose his real intention (and humilate him)**. The meaning of this is whoever loves to be heard Allah will expose him and clarify to the people that this man isn't sincere rather he wants the people to hear about him so that they will praise him (for what he does)! And whoever wants to be seen Allah will humilate him/her.
So the person who enjoys showing off and being heard Allah will soon expose him. And certainly Allah will clarify his condition sooner or later.
{7.And reject Al-Maa'un(small kindnesses like salt,sugar,water,etc.} meaning they prevent that which is mandatory to give generously from the likes of utensils,pots,containers,etc. For instance a person (in need)comes to him to borrow a pot or such and says: I'm in need of a bucket or cup (or pot), I need to borrow a light bulb or something like this and the person rejects him. This is something rephrensible in the religion. And prevention of Al-Maa'un(small kindnesses) is of two types:
The First Type: The peson falls into sin by preventing Al-Maa'un.
The Second Type: The person doesn't sin however misses out on the good (deed).
So that which is mandatory to share and give, he sins by not giving it. And that which isn't mandatory to share then he doesn't sin by not sharing but misses out on the good. An example of that: A destitute individual comes to a person and says:"Give me some water so that I can drink it (thirsty), if I don't drink something i'll die. So giving him something to drink is compulsory, the person sins by not giving him(this drink). So much so that some of scholars say: If this person dies then surely he becomes responsible for paying blood-money, because he is the reason for his death and it is obligatory upn him to give him what he requests (in this situation).
(In ending) it is incumbent for a man/woman to look at themselves and see if they are from those who have these characteristic traits or not. If they are from them, (if they) waste the prayer and are negligent concerning it and they prevent good to others then let them repent and return back to Allah and if they don't then let them rejoice with Al-Wayl (a painful Torment) and Allahs refuge is sought.
But if they are free from that then let them be happy with good. And the intent of the Noble Quran isn't that a person recites it (only). That he worships Allah merely by his recitation of it. The intent is to endow yourself with it (morals and conduct). This is why 'Aaisha may Allah be pleased with her said: Verily the character of the Messenger sallahu 'alayhi wasallam was the Quran***. Meaning his manners and ettiquetts that he would adorn himself with were from the Quran.
May Allah give us success to that which is good and beneficial in the Dunya and Aakhira. Surely He is able to do all things.
Footnotes:*An-Nisaaee(3392).**Al-Bukhari(6499) and Muslim(2986).***Muslim(746)
Taken from: Tafsir Juz 'Amma by the Great Scholar Ash-Shaykh Muhammad bin Saalih Al-'Uthaymeen.
Translated by:Abu Fouzaan Qaasim
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qasimmujahid
07-12-2009 @ 12:45 AM
