Islam Guidance

Verse16-17

(16)اَلَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا إِنَّنَا آمَنَّا فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

(17)اَلصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْمُنفِقِينَ وَالْمُسْتَغْفِرِينَ بِالأَسْحَارِ

16. " Those who say: ' Our Lord! Verily we believe, so forgive us our sins and save us from the torment of the Fire."
17. " The patient, and the truthful, and the obedient, and those who spend (benevolently), and those who seek forgiveness before dawn (times)."
Commentary :
The characteristics of the pious ones, who were hinted out in the
previous verse, are stated here in this verse with more details.
At first it says about them:
" Those who say: ' Our Lord! We believe,..."
That is: we believe in You and Your Apostle. Then, they continue saying:
"...so forgive us our sins and save us from the torment of the Fire."
* * * *

After that, the Qur'an has stated some other characteristics of the pious ones where it has praised them. It says the pious are the same as:
" The patient, and the truthful, and the obedient, and those who spend (benevolently), and those who seek forgiveness before dawn (times)."
Thus, the pious have the following qualities:
1. Patience in tolerating the difficulties, the prohibitions, and the Divine services.
2. To be truthful in speech and manner.
3. Humility and submission without pride and self-admiration.
4. Giving in charity from what Allah has provided them as sustenance.
5. Supplications and seeking forgiveness from their Lord during the time before dawn.
The term /munfiqin / (those who spend out), in the verse, refers to those who spend out their wealth benevolently in righteous deeds, when it consists of giving obligatory alms and recommended charity.
Opinions are divided as to the meaning of the Qur'anic phrase /wal mustaqfirina bil ashar/ (and those who seek forgiveness before dawn times). They are four varieties as follows:
1. To establish prayer at midnight, (said by Qattadah). This very meaning has been cited by Iman Rida (a.s.) who narrated from his father (a.s.) from Iman Ja'far Sadiq (a.s.). (1)
2. Those who seek forgiveness before dawn, (said by 'Anas).
3. Those who keep the morning prayer in congregation, (said by ziyd-ibn 'Aslam).
4. Those who continue keeping prayers until before dawn and then ask Allah to forgive them their sins, (said by Hassan).
It is narrated from Iman Sadiq (a.s.) who has said: " Whosoever, at midnight, seeks forgiveness seventy times is involved in the people of this verse... " (2)
In a tradition it is narrated from the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) who said: " Verily Allah, Almighty and Glorious, says: ' Whenever I will to punish the people of the earth, I restrain it from them when I observe the constructors of mosques, the performers of the night prayers, those who make friends with each other in My way, and those who seek forgiveness before dawn (times)'. (3)
In Islamic literature, it is cited that if a person continuously recites /astaqfirullaha rabbi wa 'atubu 'ilayh/ seventy times in his personal preyer of odd prayer at midnight for one year, the one will be involved of the people of this verse. (4)

(1) Majma'-ul-Bayan, Vol. 2, P. 419 (Arabic version).
(2) Ibid
(3) Ibid
(4) Atyab-ul-Bayan, Vol. 3, P. 137

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