Overview - Surah 87: al-A`la (The Most High )

Overview (Verses 6 - 8)

Happy News for the Prophet

As the beginning of the surah opens up this limitless horizon, it provides a framework for the fundamental facts tackled in this surah to be related to the whole universe. This framework is especially suitable, for it is in perfect harmony with the atmosphere of the surah, its rhythm and shades of meaning.

The surah then gives the Prophet, and the Muslim nation in general, a very welcome tiding: “We shall teach you and you shall not forget, except what God wills. He knows what is manifest and what is kept hidden. And We shall smooth your way to perfect ease. Give warning, therefore, [regardless of] whether such warning is of use.” (Verses 6-9) The happy news starts with sparing the Prophet the trouble of memorizing the Qur’an. All he needs to do is to read as he is taught and God will ensure that he will never forget any part of it. “We shall teach you and you shall not forget.” (Verse 6) So keen to keep the Qur’an in his memory, the Prophet used to repeat it after Gabriel, the angel, delivered it to him. He felt that it was part of his responsibility to keep it registered in his mind. But God decided that He would look after this task. The promise is also a happy one for the Islamic community, since it is a reassurance that the faith the Prophet preaches is authentic. It is from God and He looks after it. This is part of God’s grace. It shows how weighty the question of purity of faith is in His scales.

Every time the Qur’an states a definite promise or constant law, it follows it with a statement implying that divine will is free of all limitations and restrictions, even those based on a promise or law from God. For His will is absolute. Here, the surah emphasizes this principle after the promise is made to the Prophet that he will never forget any part of the Qur’an: “except what God wills.” (Verse 7) The two are complementary in the sense that the promise is within divine will. So we look forward to God’s fulfilment of what He has willed to promise.

“He knows what is manifest and what is kept hidden.” (Verse 7) This is stated here by way of giving a reason for all that has passed: teaching to read, freedom from forgetfulness and the exception made to it. Everything is decided according to the wisdom of the One who knows the secret and the manifest. He views everything from all angles and makes His decisions on the basis of His unfailing knowledge.

Then follows another promise, happy and all-embracing: “And We shall smooth your way to perfect ease.” (Verse 8) This is again happy news for the Prophet personally and for the Muslim community at large. It is furthermore a statement of the nature of Islam, its role in human life and in the universe. This verse, which is rendered in Arabic in no more than two words, states one of the most fundamental principles of faith and existence. It provides a link between the nature of the Prophet and the nature of Islam on the one hand and the nature of the whole universe on the other. It is a universe created by God with ease; it follows its appointed way with ease and draws nearer its final objective with ease. Thus it is an inspiration lighting limitless horizons.

If God smooths a certain person’s path, he finds ease in everything in his life. For he will move along his way to God with the universe, which is characterized by its harmony of construction, movement and direction. Hence he does not clash with those who digress, for these are of no importance, compared with the vast universe. Ease will pervade his whole life. It will be evident in his hand, tongue, movement, work, concepts, way of thinking and in the way he conducts all affairs and tackles all matters. Ease will be the main feature of how he carries himself and how he deals with others as well.

A Life Characterized by Ease

Such was the Prophet in all affairs. His wife, `A’ishah, reports that “whenever faced with a choice, the Prophet would always choose the easier of the two alternatives.” [Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.] She also reports: “Whenever the Prophet was alone with his family at home, he was the easiest of men, always smiling and laughing.” Al-Bukhari also relates: “Any woman would take the Prophet by the hand to take him wherever she wished.” His guidance in matters of clothing, food, household furniture and other matters of day to day life pointed to a preference for what is easy.

Imam Ibn Qayyim al-Jawziyyah speaks in his book, Zad al-Ma`ad, of the Prophet’s guidance concerning what to wear:

He had a turban which he gave to `Ali as a gift, but he used to wear it over a cap. But he also wore either the turban or the cap separately. When he wore the turban, however, he used to leave the end part of it hanging between his shoulders. This is related by Muslim in his Sahih anthology of authentic ahadith, on the authority of `Umar ibn Harith, who said, ‘I saw the Prophet speaking on the platform of the mosque, wearing a black turban with its end hanging between his shoulders’. Muslim also relates on the authority of Jabir ibn `Abdullah that the Prophet entered Makkah wearing a black turban, but nothing is mentioned here about his leaving its end part hanging. This signifies that the Prophet did not always leave the tail of his turban hanging between his shoulders. It is also said that the Prophet entered Makkah wearing his fighting attire, with a helmet on his head, which suggests that he used to wear what suited the occasion.

The best method, it is true, is that followed by the Prophet and which he encouraged his Companions to adopt. His guidance regarding clothes is, in short, that he used to wear whatever was available, whether woollen, cotton, linen or other types of material. He used Yemeni gowns and had a green gown. He also used different types of dress such as overcoat, long robe, shirts, trousers, top gown, sandals and shoes. He left the end of his turban hanging between his shoulders on occasions, and not on other occasions.

On food, the Prophet’s guidance gives a similar message:

The Prophet never refused what was available at home, nor did he ever go out of his way to get what was not. He would eat whatever was served of good food and he never slighted any sort of food whatsoever. If he did not like something he would simply not eat it, but would not forbid it. An example of his attitude is the case of lizard, which he would not eat without forbidding others to eat it. On the contrary, he was present when others ate it at his own table.

He liked sweets and honey, used to eat dates, fresh and preserved... drank milk, pure and mixed, added water to ice and honey and drank a drink made from dates. He also ate khazirah, which is a thick soup made of milk and flour. He ate cucumber with fresh dates, butter, dates with bread, bread with vinegar, bread with meat, dried meat, a dish called dubba’ (which was one of his favourites), boiled meat, rice and meat cooked with fat, cheese, bread with oil, water melon with fresh dates, and he used to like dates cooked with butter. In short, he never refused good food, nor did he go to any trouble to get it. His guidance was to eat what was available. If he did not have anything to eat, he would simply go hungry, etc.

As for the Prophet’s example regarding sleep:

He used to sleep sometimes on a mattress, sometimes on a simple animal skin. Occasionally he would sleep on a rough mat, or on the cold earth with nothing under him. He sometimes used a bed; a plain one at times and covered with a black bedspread at other times.

The Prophet’s traditions urging the adoption of an easy, gentle and tolerant attitude in all matters, especially those which concern religious duties are numerous. By way of example we may quote: “This religion is of an easy nature. Anyone who pulls hard against it shall be the loser.” [Related by al-Bukhari.] “Do not be hard on yourselves lest it should be made hard for you. A former community chose to be hard and it was made harder for them.” [Related by Abu Dawud.] “A rider driving hard neither reaches his destination nor keeps his transport.” [Related by al-Bukhari.] “Make it easy, not difficult, for others.” [Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.] Concerning social dealings, the Prophet says: “May God have mercy on any person who is tolerant when he buys, sells and asks for his rights.” [Related by al-Bukhari.] “A believer is gentle and friendly.” [Related by al-Bayhaqi.] “A believer gets on well with others and is easy to get on well with.” [Related by al-Daraqutni.] “The type of man God dislikes most is the quarrelsome one who does not budge.” [Related by al- Bukhari and Muslim.]

A highly significant feature of his character is that he hated hardness even in names and physical features. This shows how God moulded his nature and smoothed even his temperament. Sa`id ibn al-Musayyib reports that the Prophet asked his father what his name was, since al-Musayyib was his nickname. He answered, Hazn, [which means rough and difficult]. The Prophet said, “No, you are Sahl [i.e. plain and easy].” The man said, “I will never change a name given to me by my father.” Sa`id comments, “As a result, we have always had a trace of hardness in our characters.” [Related by al-Bukhari.] Ibn `Umar reports that the Prophet changed the name of a woman from `Asiyah [meaning disobedient] to Jamilah [meaning pretty].” [Related by Muslim.] He also said: “It is part of kindness to receive your brother with a smiling face.” [Related by al-Tirmidhi.] Thus we realize how refined and gentle the Prophet was, disliking even names and features which smacked of roughness and trying to substitute for them what related to gentility and kindness.

Ease in Practice

The Prophet’s life story is composed of pages of gentility, ease, tolerance and understanding in all affairs. Let us quote here an incident which reveals his method of dealing with people of difficult temperament: “Once a bedouin came to the Prophet asking something. The Prophet granted his request then said, ‘Have I treated you well?’ The bedouin said, ‘No, and you have not been kind either!’ The Prophet’s Companions present felt very angry and wanted to punish the man. The Prophet, however, motioned them to leave him alone. He then went into his house, sent for the man and gave him something over and above his original request. He then asked him: ‘Have I treated you well?’ The man said: ‘Yes, indeed. May God reward you well for you are a good kinsman and a good tribesman.’ The Prophet then said to him: ‘When you said what you said you made my Companions feel angry with you. Would you now like to tell them what you have just told me so that they hold nothing against you.’ The man said: ‘I will.’ The following day he came and the Prophet said: ‘This bedouin said yesterday what you heard. We gave him more and he claimed that he was satisfied. Is that so?’ The bedouin said: ‘Yes indeed! May God reward you well, for you are a good kinsman and a good tribesman.’ The Prophet then said to his Companions: ‘My affair with this bedouin is similar to that of a man who had a she-camel which ran loose. Other people rushed to try to catch her but they managed only to make her run wild. The owner then appealed to them to let him alone with his she-camel as he was gentler to her and knew her temperament. The owner then went towards her, having picked something to feed her with. He approached her gently until she responded and sat down. He then saddled her and mounted her back. Had I left you alone when the man said what he said, you would probably have killed him and he would have gone to hell.”

So gentle, simple and compassionate was the Prophet’s attitude towards any person of rough nature. Examples of this attitude abound in the records of his life. These examples are practical manifestations of how his path was smoothed for him to achieve perfect ease in every aspect of life. He was given a tolerant, understanding nature so that he might carry out his mission as God’s Messenger to mankind. In this way his nature and the nature of Islam, the message he carried and delivered, are alike. He was able, with God’s grace, to fulfil the great task with which he was entrusted. For when his path was smoothed, the heavy burden of his mission became an enjoyable sport.

The Qur’an carries descriptions of Muhammad, God’s Messenger, and the role assigned to him: “We have sent you forth only as a mercy to mankind.” (21: 107) “Those who follow the Messenger, the unlettered Prophet whom they shall find described in the Torah and the Gospel that are with them. He commands them to do what is right and forbids them to do what is wrong, and makes lawful to them the good things of life and forbids them all that is foul. He lifts from them their burdens and the shackles that weigh upon them.” (7: 157) As the Qur’an states, Muhammad (peace be upon him) was a messenger bringing mercy to mankind, lifting their burdens which were imposed on them when they sought to make things hard.

The Qur’an also describes the message the Prophet delivered in statements of like import: “We have made the Qur’an easy for warning: but will any take heed?” (54: 22) “He has laid on you no hardships in the observance of your religion.” (22: 78) “God does not charge a soul with more than it can bear.” (2: 286) “God does not want to impose any hardship on you, but He wants to purify you.” (5: 6) The message of Islam is made easy for people to follow since it takes into consideration the limitations of human abilities. It imposes no burdens which are too heavy. This easy nature of Islam is readily identifiable in its spirit as well as in its commandments: “Follow the upright nature God has endowed mankind with.” (30: 30)

When we look carefully through this religion we find that care has been taken to make it easy for people to follow, without overstraining themselves. It takes into consideration the different situations man finds himself in, and the conditions he faces in different environments. The faith itself is based on concepts which are easy to grasp: a single deity; none like Him; He has created everything; He has guided everything to realize the purpose of its existence; He has also sent messengers to remind people of their role in life and to call them back to their Lord who created them. All obligations imposed by this faith fit perfectly together: there are no conflicts, no contradictions. People have to fulfil these obligations according to their abilities. There need be no overstraining, no heavy burdens. The Prophet teaches us: “When I give you an order, fulfil it as much as you can; but leave off what I forbid you.” [Related by al-Bukhari and Muslim.] Prohibition may also be relaxed “He has clearly spelled out to you what He has forbidden you [to eat] unless you are driven to do so by sheer necessity.” (6: 119) These basic principles provide the limits within which the Islamic commandments and principles operate.

Hence the Messenger and the message have in common this basic feature of easy nature. So does the Muslim community which is brought into being by Islam, the easy message: it is a ‘middle’ community, merciful, the recipient of divine mercy, easy natured, enjoying a life which is perfectly harmonious with the wider universe. The universe itself with its perfect harmony provides a true picture of how God’s creation moves easily and smoothly, without clash or crash. Millions and millions of stars move in their orbits in the great space God has provided, each with its own gravity, yet none moves out of step and none crashes into another. There are countless millions of living creatures, each moving through life to its appointed aim, near or distant, according to a perfect plan. Each is given the abilities which make its aim easy to achieve. Endless millions of movements, events and conditions come together then go their separate ways; yet they are much the same as the sounds of the different instruments in an orchestra: so different but which combine together to produce beautiful harmonies.

In short, perfect harmony exists between the nature of the universe, the message, the Messenger and the Muslim community. They are all the creation of God, the One, the Most Wise.