Islam Guidance

Verses 11-20

Sura Balad
(The City)
No.90 (Verses 11-20)

(11) فَلَا اقْتَحَمَ الْعَقَبَةَ

(12)وَمَا أَدْرَاكَ مَا الْعَقَبَةُ

(13)فَكُّ رَقَبَةٍ

(14)أَوْ إِطْعَامٌ فِي يَوْمٍ ذِي مَسْغَبَةٍ

(15)يَتِيمًا ذَا مَقْرَبَةٍ

(16)أَوْ مِسْكِينًا ذَا مَتْرَبَةٍ

(17)ثُمَّ كَانَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْمَرْحَمَةِ

(18)أُوْلَئِكَ أَصْحَابُ الْمَيْمَنَةِ

(19)وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِآيَاتِنَا هُمْ أَصْحَابُ الْمَشْأَمَةِ

(20)عَلَيْهِمْ نَارٌ مُّؤْصَدَةٌ

11. But he would not attempt the uphill road,"
12. "And what will make you comprehend what the uphill road is?"
13. "(It is) freeing of a slave (or a captive)"
14. "Or the feeding on a day of hunger,"
15. "Of an orphan near of kin,"
16. "Or to the indigent (down) in the dust."
17. "Then will he be of those who believe, and enjoin on each other to patience, and enjoin on each other mercy."
18. "These are the people of the Right Hand."
19. "And those who disbelieve in Our signs, they are the people of the Left Hand."
20. "On them shall be afire closed over."

Commentary:
An Arduous Uphill Climb!
After mentioning some great gifts, in the previous verses, which are given to Man, the ungrateful persons who, having all the means of felicity, have not taken its path, are blamed in the following verses.
"But he would not attempt the uphill road,"
* * * *
The term /'aqabah/ 'the uphill road' is commented on in the next verses.
"And what will make you comprehend what the uphill road is ?"
* * * *
"(It is) freeing of a slave (or a captive)"
* * * *
"Or the feeding on a day of hunger,"
* * * *
"Of an orphan near of kin,"
* * * *
"Or to the indigent (down) in the dust."
Therefore, this arduous uphill road, for which the ungrateful persons have never prepared themselves to pass, is a collection of good deeds and pivots on helping people, especially the poor, and is also a collection of the pure, righteous believers which are mentioned in the following verses.
Truly, regarding the intensive love of most people for wealth, climbing this arduous uphill road is really difficult.
Being a true Muslim and having true Faith are not obtained simply by raw claims and merely stating such.
There are some difficult uphill roads in front of every Muslim believer which he must pass, one after another, and by the help of Allah and under the light of Faith and Sincerity he can succeed.
Some have rendered the term /'aqabah/, here, in the sense of ' low desire' and standing against these is called 'the Inner Warfare' as a tradition by the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) denotes.
Of course, regarding the interpretation of the verses, themselves, about /'aqahah/' uphill road', the meaning of this commentary must be such that the main uphill road is considered 'low desire', and freeing the captives and feeding the indigent are considered as its clear examples.
Some other commentators have said that the meaning of /'aqabah/ is 'an arduous uphill road in the Hereafter'; as a tradition from the Prophet (p.b.u.h) says: "There is an arduous uphill road in front of you, those whose load is heavy cannot pass it. I try to lighten your load to enable you to pass that uphill road." (1)
This tradition from the holy Prophet (p.b.u.h.) has not been cited for the commentary of the current verse, but the commentators have applied it to this verse. However, regarding to the commentary clearly expressed in the verses, their application does not seem appropriate. The objective idea is that the uphill roads of the Hereafter are illustrations of the hard arduous climbs, here, in this world and whose paths are subdivisions of the paths of this world.
It is worth noting that the term /iqtahama/ based on /iqtiham/ which originally means 'to undertake a task which is frighiful', (Raqib: Mufradat), or `to enter and pass somewhere with toil and difficulty', (Kashshaf Commentary); denotes that passing this uphill road is not an easy thing to accomplish. This is an emphasis on what was mentioned at the beginning of the Sura: "Certainly We have created man to be in distress". That is, both his life and his obedience to Allah are full of difficulties.
It has been narrated that Hazrat Ali (p.b.u.h.) has said: "Paradise is surrounded by unpleasantness while Hell is surrounded by desires" (2).
Some points that should be noted, here, are:
1. The phrase /fakka raqabah/ seems to mean 'the act of freeing captives'.
2. The term /masqabah/ 'famine' is based on /saqab/ 'to suffer from hunger'. So, the words /yaumin thi masqabah\ mean 'on a day of hunger' which emphasize on feeding the needy in the time of famine, drought and the like.
3. The term /maqrabah/ means 'relationship' and it is an emphasis on the orphans of relatives who are close to the person, or else, we should feed all orphans whoever they are, but this shows that we are more responsible for the orphans who are of our kith and kin.
4. The term /matrabah/ is derived from /tarab/ but, originally is from /turab/ which means 'soil' and is used for 'a poor person intimately acquainted with his mother Earth'. This is, again, an emphasis on those types of indigent ones who are more deserving of help, but, of course, all indigent ones should be helped.
* * * *
In the next verse, to continue commenting on the 'uphill road', it says: "Then will he be of those who believe, and enjoin (on each other to) patience, and enjoin (on each other) mercy."
Thus, such believers can pass this arduous uphill road who have both faith and the humane characteristic of self-restraint and enjoining patience along with doing good deed such as freeing captives and feeding orphan and the indigents.
In other words, these persons are those who have shown strong sincerity in three dimensions of Belief, morals, and action and can be successful in climbing that uphill road.
The term /thumma/ 'then' does not always mean 'next in time or order' to indicate that they should feed and help the needy first and then they will believe. But, in these cases, as some commentators have mentioned, it is for priority of rank because, the position of Faith and enjoining patience and compassionate kindness is definitely higher than the value of helping the indigent, or, it is better to say that good deeds originate from Faith and high morals.
Some others have also said that the term /thumma/, here, may mean 'next in time', since good deeds are sometimes the cause of Faith and they are especially effective in fixing the basis of high morals, because Man's behavior manifests itself, first, into 'practice' then, into 'mood' and, then, into 'habit', and finally, into the form of 'a firm characteristic', and settles in his spirit or nature as a result of that constant practice.
The term /tawasau/ with the sense of 'enjoin each other to (charity and good deeds)' contains an important point. It shows that patience and perseverance on the path of obedience to Allah and the challenge against one's own desires, and also strengthening the principle of compassionate kindness should not occur in the society only in the form of individual behaviour, but it should appear as a common current in the whole societv, and all the members of a society should enjoin observing and preserving this principle on each other in order to make their social relationship, in this way, closer and stronger.
Some have said that the term /sabr/ 'patience' here, means 'to be patient in obeying Allah's command and being studious in practising His instructions'. And the term /marhamat/ 'compassionate kindness' points to 'love shown to the creatures of Allah' and we know that the relation between the Creator and His creatures establishes the foundation of religion. In any event, patience and perseverance are the main causes of any obedience and servitude and also of avoiding sin and rebellion.
* * * *
After describing these characteristics, the position of the possessors of them are introduced:
"These are the people of the Right Hand."
They are those whose record will be given to their right hand, indicating that their deeds are accepted by Allah.
It is also probable that the term /maymanah/ is derived from another root with the sense of 'grace'. If so, it means that they are merciful and helpful both to themselves and to others in the society.
* * * *
Then, the contradictory group is pointed out; i.e., those who were not successful in passing the arduous uphill road. It says:
"And those who disbelieve in Our signs, they are the people of the Left Hand."
This position shows that they do not possess good deeds and their records contain nothing but sin and corruption.
The term /mashamah/, based on the root /shum/, contrasts with the term /maymanah/. It means that these disbelievers are some ominous people who cause disaster both for themselves and for others in the society. But, since being fortunate or unfortunate, in the Hereafter, is known about people by having their 'record' in their right hand or left hand, some commentators have accepted this idea for it, in particular, that the term /sum/ in Arabic philology refers to 'a tendency to the left'.(3)
* * * *
In the last verse of this Sura, there is a short, meaninigful hint to the punishment of the latter group. It says:
"On them shall be a fire closed over."
The term /mu'sadah/ is based on /isad/ which means 'to close the door, and secure it' . It is obvious that when a person is shut in a room with hot, stuffy air, he wishes to open the doors and let the fresh air come in; making the room comfortable to live in. With this thought in mind, we may, now, consider the status of the fervent Hell with all the doors closed. What a suffocating condition it will have!
* * * *
Supplication:
O Lord! Save us from such a painful punishment!
O Lord! To pass the uphill roads we have in front of us is not possible save with Your help. Please bestow Your help on us.
O Lord! Please count us among the people of the Right Hand and make us successful to be with the good-doers and the Righteous in the Hereafter.

(1) Majma'-al-Bayan, vol. 10, p. 495.
(2) Nahj-ul-Balaqa, Sermon 176 (Arabic Version).
(3) Tafsir, Abulfutuh Razi, vol. 12, p. 97.
The End of Sura Balad
(The City)

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