‫ﻫﺪى ﻟﻠﻤﺘﻘﯿﻦ‬

The word ‫ اﻟﻤﺘﻘﯿﻦ‬is grammatically, an ‫ اﺳﻢ اﻟﻔﺎﻋﻞ‬which means it is a noun. In English, we

translate this as "those who protect themselves" so the act of protecting themselves is a
verb. In the Arabic however, this is a noun and the importance of this is that nouns are
permanent - whereas verbs are temporary. So Allah (‫ )ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ و ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ‬is referring to a set of
people who are always going to be there, protecting themselves no matter what age they are
living in. In Surah Fatiha, the role models referred to were those who lived in the past (those
on whom Allah Bestowed His Favors) however, the role models here are those who will
always be there no matter how many hardships the deen is going through. Hence this gives
a lot of hope to the believer and we must never be depressed about the times we are living
in.
One last interesting fact about this ayah is that Allah (‫ )ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ و ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ‬did not say ‫ ﻫﺪى ﻟﻠﻤﺴﻠﻤﯿﻦ‬but
the words are: ‫ ﻫﺪى ﻟﻠﻤﺘﻘﯿﻦ‬and this means that Allah (‫ )ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ و ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ‬has opened this door to
everyone, Muslim and non-Muslim alike. Whoever wishes to gain hidayah (guidance), can
do so by approaching this book with the right attitude.

‫( اﻟﺬﯾﻦ ﯾﺆﻣﻨﻮن ﺑﺎﻟﻐﯿﺐ‬Those who believe in the unseen)

Today, the scientific method states that unless things are observable and measurable, they
do not exist and we cannot discuss them. However, this argument collapses in the case of
qualitative expressions and emotions. For example, there is no scientific proof that person A
loves his Mom. Hence you have to resort to imaan bil gaib (belief in the unseen). Allah (‫ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ‬
‫ )و ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ‬used the present tense for "those who believe" (‫ )ﯾﺆﻣﻨﻮن‬which suggests continuity and
struggle. So these people keep working on their imaan [even if they have taqwa].
What does it mean to actually believe in the unseen? A standard way to think about
believing in the unseen is to believe in Allah (‫)ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ و ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ‬, His messengers, His books, His
angels, the Afterlife, Heaven, Hell etc. But we take a deeper look at the real meaning of
believing in the unseen. Several real world examples are presented below which
demonstrate how to live "believing in the unseen".
1. You are sitting in a gathering where everybody is having fun backbiting about a
particular friend. You try to participate in the conversation but your conscience warns
you that this is wrong, and you either make an excuse to get away or you change the
subject. [You felt something that others did not feel -- hence you acted based on an
unseen reality rather than a seen reality].
2. You experience constant pain due to an illness or illness of a loved one. You bear it
with patience and forbearance knowing that this is a means of reward for you [a
reality that is not visible].
3. You feel depressed because you are all alone and socially isolated. But instead of
getting lost in a spiral of negativity, you remember that Allah (‫ )ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ و ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ‬is always
with you [an unseen reality] and you calm down and keep working/struggling without
giving up.
4. You feel totally depressed because of the condition of the Muslim world and you are
on the brink of losing all hope. But then, you remember that Allah (‫ )ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ و ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ‬has
promised those who truly believe that He will make them victorious [an unseen
 reality] and you get back up and vow to make your imaan stronger and to strengthen
the imaan of those around you.
These are some of the ways you can live by believing in the unseen. And it is a real struggle.
Changing your behavior based on being aware of an unseen reality is not easy. But it has
the sweet reward of guidance from the Lord of the Worlds.

‫اﻟﺼَﻼ َة‬
‫ﻮن ﱠ‬َ ‫ِﯿﻤ‬
ُ ‫ َوُﯾﻘ‬: And those who establish the salah (prayer)
Allah (‫ )ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ و ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ‬did not say those who pray, but mentioned those who establish the
prayer. There is a difference. These are people who pray collectively, and encourage each
other towards prayer.
The word ‫ ﺻﻼة‬comes from the word ‫ ﺻﻠﻪ‬which means "connection".

ُ ‫ َو ِﻣ ﱠﻤﺎ َر َز ْﻗَﻨ‬- And from whatever Allah Provided,

َ ‫ﺎﻫ ْﻢ ُﯾﻨ ِﻔُﻘ‬
‫ﻮن‬
they spend out of it
The word ‫ إﻧﻔﺎق‬shares its root with the word ‫ ﻧﺎﻓﻘﻪ‬which means "a lizard's hole". The special
thing about a lizard's hole is that it has two openings; the lizard can easily slip in from the
other opening (or out of it) if it perceives danger in its surroundings. So it is an escape route.
The reason behind using this word for "those who spend" is that whatever we spend
sincerely in the way of Allah (‫)ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ و ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ‬, we can get it out of the other side, on the Day of
Judgement, Insha Allah. Hence, this is an investment.

َ ‫ﻧﺰ َل ِﻣﻦ َﻗ ْﺒﻠ‬

َ ‫ِﻚ َوِﺑ ْﺎﻵ ِﺧ َﺮ ِة ُﻫ ْﻢ ُﯾﻮ ِﻗُﻨ‬
‫ﻮن‬ ِ ‫ﻧﺰ َل ِإَﻟ ْﯿ َﻚ َو َﻣﺎ ُأ‬
ِ ‫ﻮن ِﺑ َﻤﺎ ُأ‬ َ ‫ َواﱠﻟ ِﺬ‬- And
َ ‫ﯾﻦ ُﯾ ْﺆ ِﻣُﻨ‬
those who believe in what is what sent down to you and
what was sent down before you and in the Hereafter,
they have absolute certainty
This ayah is for those who already received revelation before. The thing to note here is that
Allah (‫ )ﺳﺒﺤﺎﻧﻪ و ﺗﻌﺎﻟﻰ‬chose to specifically highlight the concept of ‫ آﺧﺮه‬- after mentioning the
revelations sent down to the Prophet (‫ )ﺻﻠﻰ اﷲ ﻋﻠﯿﻪ و ﺳﻠﻢ‬and the ones sent down before him.
Why?
The main reason is that in the early scriptures, the leaders of the Jewish and Christian faith
had worked really hard in eradicating this particular aspect of their faith from their books. By
the time the Quran came down, the concept of the Hereafter was largely forgotten. This is
why Quran especially highlighted this aspect and made it clear that imaan in the unseen,
establishing the prayer and charity, all disappear if you don't have firm belief in the Hereafter.