Characteristics of the Righteous

English Translation and Tafsir of Surah Al-Ma’rij Ayah 19-35

70:19 Verily, man was created fretful.

70:20 When evil touches him, impatient, 

70:21 and when good touches him, niggardly, 

70:22 save those who pray. 

70:23 Those who are steadfast in their prayer.

70:24 And those in whose wealth is a known right,

70:25 for the beggar and the deprived. 

70:26 And those who believe in the Day of Judgment.

70:27 And those who are fearful of the punishment of their Lord.

70:28 Indeed, none feels secure from the punishment of their Lord.

70:29 And those who guard their private parts, 

70:30 save from their wives or those their right hands possess, for truly, they are not to be blamed. 

70:31 But whosoever seeks beyond that, then those – they are the transgressors. 

70:32 And those who preserve their trusts and their covenant. 

70:33 And those who are upright in their testimonies.

70:34 And those who observe their prayers. 

70:35 Those shall be in Gardens, honored. 

Relationship with the Previous Part

The previous part mentions some of the horrors of the Day of Judgment and refers to some evil natural dispositions of man. Then, this part mentions an exception, namely, the believers, who obey the commands of Allah and perform righteous deeds for His sake. Their noble characteristics are mentioned to motivate people to follow in their footsteps. 

Tafsir

70:19 Verily, man was created fretful.

70:20 When evil touches him, impatient, 

70:21 and when good touches him, niggardly, 

 Man refers to any human being in the ayah, but it refers especially to the disbelievers since most of the attributes excluded in the following ayat are usually characters of the believers. 

A fretful person is immoderate in his reactions whether at times of happiness or hardship. He reacts impetuously by being extremely happy at times of ease and being extremely impatient at times of hardship.

 Evil refers to unfavorable circumstances that befall man, such as sickness and poverty.

Good refers to favorable circumstances that happen to man, such as enjoying good health and wealth.

Man by nature is impatient and fearful when hardship befalls him, and he is niggardly when he enjoys good health and richness instead of thanking Allah, the Giver of all blessings. But, the believers’ reaction is different in such circumstances. They are patient at times of hardship and thankful at times of comfort. 

Then, the surah mentions the attributes of those who are excluded from having the abovementioned evil characters.

70:22 save those who pray. 

70:23 Those who are steadfast in their prayer.

70:24 And those in whose wealth is a known right,

70:25 for the beggar and the deprived. 

People are usually impatient when hardship befalls them, and are unthankful when enjoying easiness and comfort, save those who are steadfast in their prayer. They perform the prayer at its appointed times no matter how their circumstances may be. They do not delay the prayer even if they are busy or traveling. Allah, Exalted be He, says about them, 24:37 Men whom neither trade nor sale diverts from the remembrance of Allah, performing the prayer, and giving the zakat. They fear a day on which the hearts and the eyes will be overturned.

Moreover, those believers assign a specific portion of their wealth to the beggar and the deprived people. They not only give the obligatory zakat to the needy, but also give involuntary charity to them, which reveals their helpful personalities. They help the needy only for the sake of Allah and do not wait for any benefit or thank from them.

70:26 And those who believe in the Day of Judgment.

70:27 And those who are fearful of the punishment of their Lord.

70:28 Indeed, none feels secure from the punishment of their Lord.

Another characteristic of the righteous is that they believe in the occurrence of the Day of Judgment and reckoning and recompense for the deeds, which will take place on that day.

The believers firmly believe in the Oneness of Allah and always perform righteous deeds for the sake of Allah, but at the same time, they are fearful of the punishment of their Lord, Allah, which none feels secure from it, especially, those who disobey His commands.  

The method of the believers revolves around fear of the punishment of Allah, which none feels secure from it, especially those who disobey His command, and hope for His mercy and forgiveness, which is the correct mechanism to follow.

 Indeed, none can feel secure from the punishment of Allah except the conceited, as they think that their righteous deeds will save them from the punishment of Allah and forget that no matter how many great righteous deeds they may do, only the mercy and bounty of Allah that will make them attain the pleasure of Allah. 

70:29 And those who guard their private parts, 

70:30 save from their wives or those their right hands possess, for truly, they are not to be blamed. 

70:31 But whosoever seeks beyond that, then those – they are the transgressors. 

The righteous believers guard their private parts. They have sexual intercourse only with their wives or those their right hands possess, namely, female slaves. They will not be blamed for having such a sexual relationship because it is lawful for the believer to have sexual intercourse with his wife and his female slave. Those who seek to have sexual intercourse with other women except those whom Allah makes lawful for them are transgressors of the limits of Allah and deserve severe punishment if they do not repent of committing such a sin. 

70:32 And those who preserve their trusts and their covenant. 

The righteous believers preserve their trusts and covenants. They never break their promises, nor breach their pledges and agreements. They honestly keep their trusts and covenants for the sake of Allah, who has commands to preserve pledges and has prohibited breaching them.

70:33 And those who are upright in their testimonies.

The believers, who obey the commands of Allah, are also upright in their testimonies. They never give false testimony, nor refrain from giving it when they are asked to do so. They believe that Allah loves those who truthfully give testimony for His sake and will reward them immensely for their honesty. 

70:34 And those who observe their prayers. 

Just as the first attribute of the righteous believers is constant performance of the prayer, their last attribute is observance of the prayer. Those believers constantly perform the prayer without leaving any obligatory or recommended parts of it, as much as they can. They are humble when performing the prayer and do their best to fulfill all its pillars and requirements.

Commencing and concluding reference to the attributes of righteous believers by referring to the prayer indicate its importance, which necessitates taking the utmost care to perform it at its appointed time and fulfill all its obligatory and recommended parts as much as one can.

Someone may ask about the difference between constant performance of the prayer and observing it. The first means to perform the prayer constantly without letting anything occupy one when its appointed time comes. On the other hand, observance of the prayer means to fulfill all its obligatory and recommended parts as much as one can. Thus, constant performance of the prayer refers to the prayer itself while observing it refers to all matters related to the prayer.

70:35 Those shall be in Gardens, honored. 

Allah, the Generous, will immensely reward those righteous believers. Their reward will be Gardens, where they will be honored and enjoy lasting happiness. 

Learned Lessons from Surah Al-Ma’rij Ayah 19-35

• Man is normally fearful and impatient, save those on whom Allah has mercy.

• One should always be moderate and not react impetuously at times of happiness and misfortune; rather, one should thank Allah at times of happiness and be patient at times of hardship.

• Observance of righteous ethics and deeds is the remedy for unfavorable characteristics of man.

• The righteous believers avoid unfavorable characteristics and do their best to observe good moral ethics. 

• The righteous believers constantly perform the prayer and preserve its obligatory and recommended parts, give the zakat and voluntary charity to the needy, believe in the occurrence of the Day of Judgment, reckoning and recompense on that day, fear the punishment of Allah, practice lawful sexual relationship with only their wives and female slaves, and fulfill their trusts, covenants, and testimonies.

• Allah, Exalted be He, will reward the righteous believers immensely and make them enter Paradise, where they will enjoy lasting happiness.

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