SURAH AL-BAQARAH
Ayah 38
قُلۡنَا ٱهۡبِطُواْ مِنۡہَا جَمِيعًاۖ
فَإِمَّا يَأۡتِيَنَّكُم مِّنِّى هُدًى فَمَن تَبِعَ هُدَاىَ
فَلَا خَوۡفٌ عَلَيۡہِمۡ وَلَا هُمۡ يَحۡزَنُونَ
We said, "Go down from it, all of you. And when guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance - there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve
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This is the second time the kalimah ٱهۡبِطُواْ “ihbitoo” (“Go down”) is mentioned.
The first time was a command from Allah to Adam, Hawwa and Iblees that came with the acknowledgement that Iblees (and his followers of jinns) will be enemies to humans. Humans themselves will be enemies to each other. The earth is a temporary dwelling. Do not follow the whisperings of Satan.
This time, the second ٱهۡبِطُواْ “ihbitoo” (“Go down”) was before Adam(a.s) is about to “go down” to earth.
.. Go down from it, all of you
.. And when guidance comes to you from Me, whoever follows My guidance will have no fear nor grieve ..
Analogy: It is like a parent escorting his son at the airport for his overseas stint and giving the last advice or reminder, Example: “Remember what I have told you. Contact me whenever you have a problem!”.
Adam(a.s) and his wife will be in an unfamiliar environment (the earth) and might be fearful. Allah consoled them once again saying humans down on earth will have to stay in touch with Him and He would guide them of what to do. It was a promise that whoever really did follow the guidance, they will not have to be fearful or grieving.
Allah is advising and reminding Adam (and his progeny) to seek guidance ("hidayah") from Him and steadfast in following His guidance. Allah sent Guidance (Book, Scriptures) throughout human timeline on earth to the numerous Prophets and Messengers acting as teachers for the people to follow.
Allah sent Adam(a.s) and Hawwa to earth but at the same time He offered each human a path back to paradise. Humans must stick to this path and not get lost.
“..when guidance comes to you from Me..”
“From ME” = Allah emphasized that we must make sure any guidance that we are receiving is actually coming from HIM.
We must not blindly follow any so-called “spiritual” person without we ourselves having both logical and rationalized knowledge of the purpose of Religion. Any person who is supported by a group who excessively praised the guy can claim that this guy is a spiritual leader with all his religious cosmetics. He & the initial "followers" may be scammers, scamming more people to join them in acknowledging the “spirituality” of this guy. We must check on his sayings and practices by referencing against known knowledgeable scholars that are based upon evidences in the Quran, Hadith/Sunnah.
The methodology in worshiping Allah is: Any religious rituals are forbidden except if it comes from the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet s.a.w.
We cannot simply say that our fathers and grandfathers were practicing this way so we followed what they had been doing. This is not our attitude towards religion. What if their practices were not really from “HIM” (Allah)?
Religious rituals that were performed for generations without investigating the sources, blindly assuming those were approved by HIM. It might be that they were misguided.
If a religious leader said that God had a son, we must investigate that claim. Have you investigate that is really from God? You should not say it is already in our culture and society to believe in such claim, so I just follow what the elders had been doing.
Atheist said that religion is the “opium” of society. It was for those who cannot accept the physical reality of life. Like a drug that makes you feeling “high” as a way to escape reality by believing in Angels, heavens and hell. Continuous chanting and immersed in trance, escaping reality by blindly believing in the non-physical world. This might be true for some people who are blind followers.
This ayah told us to check what we believe. Believing with eyes open, not believing with eyes closed. Encourages us to do research, to find authentic sources and see the logic. Only then you will be sure that you are getting guidance from HIM.
The guidance is in this “Book” (The Quran). Therefore, start researching on this “Book”. Let your questions come and look for the answers. The Hadiths act as supporting evidences for getting guidance. This “Book” welcomes people to question it. The more you question, the more you get your answers, the more you are to the Guided Path.
Only when you get guidance from your Master and you followed, obeyed and being steadfast along His path, then there will be no fear on you nor will you grieve.
What do humans really wished for? Mistakenly some think that what they need is either having money OR status among peers or society. Some only think of the need for entertainment. But what did Allah said of what human actually need?
This is what humans need = “No fear and no grieve”.
Fear is associated of the future. Grieve is associated to the past.
A guided person by God is a person of genuine Eeman. True Eeman will showcase the character of “No fear of the future (Full Tawakkal)” and “No grieve of the past (No depression)”.
A guided person may be from a poor background or a rich background. Guidance does not come only to the poor or only to the rich. A person who seemed happy by the standards of society and surrounds himself with family or friends does not mean he has no fear and no grief. Some guided people in the lower status of society living a basic and simple life having calmness in their hearts reflecting on their faces when they sit in the mosques and worshiping Allah. A rich person may be guided in spending his wealth in helping the poor. What they have in common are having No Fear and No Grief.
STOP envying people who have money and higher status and STOP assuming these are what you are striving to achieve! Let Allah handle your “Money” and “Status”. How much Money or Status Allah gave you depends on the limit to the extent of what’s good for you as He knows exactly what you are able to handle and what you deserves. Some people can’t handle money or Fame (Status). They will end up in Hell when given these things. However some can handle it and they end up in Paradise because they know and are capable of handling those along the Guided Path.
This is the goal that is expected to be achieved by human as a creation of Allah that will give them satisfaction in life:
“.. whoever follows My guidance – there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve“.
Allah didn’t say = “.. whoever believes” but “.. whoever follows ..”
People can utter the words they believe but that is not prove of their believe. The prove is when they follow guidance and practicing guidance.
Remember during the beginning of this Surah, Allah mentioned about the Muttaqeen and Muflihoon?
People of Muttaqeen are those who follow His guidance. Those who protect themselves from sins. Protection is an assurance of safety. Safety is the opposite of fear. No fear.
People of Muflihoon are successful people who had passed Allah’s TEST. When you are succcessful in the Divine sense, you are happy. Divine Happiness is the opposite of grieve. No grieve.
In Summary: Whoever follows His guidance, they are of the :-
(1) Muttaqeen = safety; no fear and (2) Muflihoon = success/happy ; no grief
They achieved calmness in this world and Calmness in the Hereafter.
Our Messenger s.a.w was told of the promise of guidance to the Muttaqeen. That promise was not new. It was a promise since the beginning of mankind i.e the offering of Guidance (Hidayah) to Adam a.s.
Guidance (Hidayah) is the most valuable item to be given to a Human. A person guided by Allah will have his emotions in a calm state even if he is poor, having long term sickness, looked down by society, etc. By following and practicing Guidance, will lead him to enter Paradise, the Ultimate Richness, the Ultimate Status, the Ultimate Happiness, the Ultimate Peace, the Ultimate Success, etc.
No fear and no grief in this world? Really ??
With all the sufferings in this world, how are we going to be out of fear and not be grieving at all ??
“No fear concerning them”
The Arabic word used was “laa khaufun” = meaning, for most part of your life you will have no fear and no grief. People following guidance will have less feeling of fear and grief when worldly sufferings happened to them. They will have a different attitude when facing fear or grief in this world which make it easier for them to carry on with life.
Allah never said “they have no fear”.
He said “no fear on them (concerning them)”.
To understand this phrase is via examples :-
“Fear on a child” = A young child is playing with a snake. The young child is not afraid, but there is a fear on the child i.e there is actual danger on the child.
“No fear on them”: No fear on those people taking the roller-coaster ride. The people riding the roller-coaster are in fear throughout the whole ride but there is no fear on them as the roller-coaster is certified very safe.
“No fear on the people following the guidance” = the people may experience controlled fear in the course of their lives, but they are actually not in danger. No fear on them.
However, people of Taqwa (who followed guidance) are always in a state of another kind of fear. The fear of not following/pleasing the Master. In fear of displeasing the Master. In fear of the hereafter, etc. However in the hereafter, they are actually safe (no fear on them).
Fear is associated with the future. Things that have not happen yet. Every person will have something that he fears of from the very little things up to the big things. Example, fear of failing the exams, fear of not getting a job, fear of not getting a house, fear of hunger, thirst, fear of meeting your would-be in laws, fear of getting married and having children, fear for your business or career or lack of money, etc. Fear is a daily affair. Fear is actually a healthy part of life. Without fear, life as we know it will stop. No fear of not going to school. No fear of not getting a job. No fear of committing crime, etc. We need to have some kind of fear in order to carry on with our lives.
“Grief” was mentioned second, as not everyday you will experience sadness or grief. “Grief” is associated with the past. Things that already has happened. The number of hours that you are in grief are few compared to the number of hours that you are not in grief. When you remembered bad incidents in the past, you will feel sad. When you are not thinking about them, you are not sad and life goes on.
The subtlety in the ayah, putting “fear” ahead of “grief” :-
Fear is what people experience most of the time. A noun is used for the Arabic word of “fear”. A noun is permanent in concept.
Grieve is what people experience some of the time. A verb is used for the Arabic word of “grief”. A verb is temporary in concept.
“nor will they grief”
For a certain kind of incident or problems, others will be grieving extensively while people who had followed guidance will have less or shorter time of grieving.
In this world, people refused to follow guidance because they thought that it will bring grief to them. They will not be having fun when obeying commands and prohibitions, eg. they cannot hang out with friends drinking alcoholic drinks, not having free sexual relations, unable to eat anything they desire, etc. It will be a depressing life (grief) in this world. They thought they will achieve happiness by doing the opposite of guidance.
There were many converts/reverts who confessed that their previous life of continuous partying and having “fun” somehow end up towards having depressions.
By not following/obeying guidance, people will end up having a depressing grieving life in this world and in the eternal hereafter.
The converts/reverts said after they found Islam and living the Deen way of life, only then they found peace living in this world. Those who obeyed will eternally have no grief in the hereafter.
Hence this ayah was talking about fear and grief both in this world and in the hereafter. Following guidance is a win-win situation. You get peace in this life and in the hereafter. Even if bad things happened to you in this world, you are still at peace as you know that your sins are being pardoned and you will be heavily rewarded in the hereafter for your patience. Imagine you standing in front of Allah with a big smile (cheek to cheek) that will certainly remove your current stress. This is a positive concept of human going through sufferings.
If your struggles bear fruits, then that is a win in this world. If your struggles failed, then that is a win in the hereafter as you will be rewarded. Therefore, Allah sent humans to earth with a positive attitude towards life in this world.
You see people in the tsunami-hit towns and villages who lost their homes, their children, their livelihood etc, and yet they doing “sajadah” establishing Solah thanking and praising the Master. They had just gone extreme calamity and yet they are still obeying guidance. What kind of people are these ?
They lost their children -> they “make” more children..
They are sick -> they thank the Master for erasing their sins.
They lost their livelihood -> they thank the Master for being alive and to have a fresh start. Thanking Him for whatever food they still get. etc.
The more dangerous calamity is when you have everything in life. As life is easy, you will tend to forget the Master that is giving of what you posses. When you are drinking a glass of water, you forget Him. When you are eating peanuts, you forget Him. What if He “forgets” (doesn’t care) about you in the hereafter?
In some parts of the world, children have meat only on “eid” day (i.e. once a year) and they are very happy and thankful to the Master. While people in first-world countries throw left-over meat burgers casually. Our sense of gratitude towards the Master is at a “sickening” state.
Hence a person who is consistently with the Hamd (Praise & Gratitude) of Allah, he is calmer in living his life as he is Thankful to Allah for every little thing that he is having on a daily basis. No Fear and No Grieve is the theme of his life.
Another way to look at the phrase “No Fear and No Grieve”.
Fear and Grieve are associated with Sufferings. In all the world’s religions, suffering is something negative. Something bad that we should run away from or we should divert our attention via meditation so as to let the sufferings go by.
However in Islam (which is NOT exactly a religion but “A Way of Life”), sufferings are a necessity in life. If suffering was absent, humans will not grow in character and maturity. One brief example is Fasting. When you fast, you suffer from hunger, thirst while your physical body feels a bit weaker than normal. However, the benefits outweigh the temporary sufferings. Physically, Mentally, Morally, etc.
Analogy: If you say that a Computer is a very truthful computer, then that statement is invalid. A Computer unable to to tell a lie by choice. It never suffered being lied at.
A “Cat Scan” machine is not a compassionate machine. It cannot feel compassion when giving the images of cancerous cells in a person. The “Cat Scan” machine never “suffer”, therefore it don’t have the ability to be compassionate.
Islam sees sufferings in this world as a way for human growth, not absolute negativity. Since suffering is a part of human that you cannot reject, the next action is to embrace and manage it in line with God’s guided Path. The Guided Path is one of having no fear and no grieve. How do you achieve that? The main objective of the Guided Path is about getting close to Allah. How?
I can get close to another person or communicate with him within the limits of the law of physics because both of us having physical bodies. But Allah was described as nothing in common as any of His creations. We are bounded by space and time where He is beyond space and time. Allah is beyond the law of physics. Hence it is physically impossible to be near to Allah in this current world.
Analogy: If you have severe back pain and fever, you go to the Doctor. The Doctor prescribed to you pills that you are to take on prescribed timing and prohibition of carrying heavy loads and drinking icy drinks. The result of obeying the Doctor is that you will get better.
Allah gave us a prescription that leads to many positive effects and remedies. The main prescription is to worship Him the way He has prescribed.
We are not on a physical platform with Him but we can try to be on the same platform as His Attributes. But first we have to strive to become people of Taqwa (the Muttaqeen).
The Muttaqeen are people who obeyed prescribed Guidance and not just simply believing. The side effect of obeying Guidance is the growth of good behaviour and attributes.
The Quran mentioned some attributes of the Muttaqeen.
When we compare the characteristics of the Muttaqeen and the attributes of Allah, there are some correlations. We must nurture on this common platform with Allah so that we can be close to Him in this world. When we are on a common platform with Allah and we are close to Him, then the product from this is = Love. Meaning Allah love us and we return that love.
Let’s look at this analogy: I have a goldfish, a cat and a daughter.
I showered the goldfish with all my love. I give it all the attention I could. I feed it and protect it in the fish bowl. The result is = the goldfish don’t even know I exist. The goldfish could not return the love (Just like the Atheist who does not know God exists).
As for the cat, I stroke it, I gave it food and drink, showed love to it, and to some degree the cat was able to appreciate it. Maybe it will wag its tail, lick me, jumps excitedly around me and so on. If another owner adopts it with love, the cat may not miss me as he don’t need me anymore.
As for my daughter, with all the love that I poured into her since birth until adulthood, the level of returning that love is immense not comparable with the goldfish or the cat.
How about the love that Allah has showered upon us all these while? Naturally we should be returning that love. How? It is to achieve all those qualities that served as a common platform for us to be returning the love of our Creator and Master. Once we achieved love with our Creator, the question of fearing Hell fire and the ambition to enter Jannah (Paradise) will be secondary against our central theme which is God loving you and you love Him back.
You will no longer be making Hell fire as the main theme of why you are obedient to the Master (i.e because of fear)
OR
You will not be making Paradise as the main theme of your piousness to your Lord (i.e hoping to enjoy the pleasures of paradise. No grief).
The main theme now is Allah’s love which covers having “no fear and no grieve”.