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فَمَن يَعْمَلْ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ خَيْراً يَرَهُ
٧
-Al-Zalzalah ( الزلزلة )

Tafsir al-Tustari

Whoever has done an atom’s weight of good will see it,He said:When this verse was sent down, the Messenger of God gave a sermon in which he said, ‘Nay indeed, this world has an array of goods that are ready to hand which are consumed by the righteous (barr) and the wicked (fājir) alike. Nay indeed, the Hereafter is truly an appointed hour in which the All-powerful King will make the decree. Nay indeed, all of goodness in its entirety is in Paradise. Nay indeed, all of evil, in its entirety is in the Hellfire. So be aware, since you have already been cautioned by God, and know that you will be shown your deeds, Whoever has done an atom’s weight of good will see it, ! but whoever has done an atom’s weight of evil will see that. [99:7, 8]’ Abū al-Dardāʾ said, ‘Perfection in the mindfulness of God (taqwā) is that the servant fears God to the point that he fears Him even concerning a mere atom’s weight, such that he leaves aside some of the things he considers to be legitimate, for fear of the possibility of its being forbidden. This will act as a screen between him and [doing] what is forbidden.’ Sahl said:Do not consider any sin to be insignificant, even if it be small, for truly it has been said by some, ‘There are four things which come after a sin which are more serious that the sin itself: persistence [in sin], rejoicing [at it] (istibshār), deeming it insignificant (istiṣghār) and taking pride in it (iftikhār).’Ibn Masʿūd said, ‘The believer sees his sins as if he were at the foot of a mountain that he fears will fall on top on him, whereas the disbeliever sees sin as a fly which alights on his nose. Then he says, “It’s like this”, with a gesture of his hand [as if it will] fly off.’Then Sahl said:O assembly of Muslims! Indeed you have succeeded in professing on your tongue and believing with certainty in your heart that God is One, that there is none like Him, and that there is a Day for you on which He will resurrect you and on which He will question you about the [deedsyou did which were of an] atom’s weight. If they were good, He will reward you for them but if they were bad, He will punish you for them if He so wills. Therefore, realise this through action.He was asked, ‘How can we realise this through action?’ He answered:Through five things which are essential for you: to consume what is lawful, to clothe oneself in what is lawful, to safeguard your bodily members, to fulfil the rights [of others] over you as you have been commanded and to refrain from all harm to other Muslims, so that your [good] deeds are not spent in the retribution (qiṣāṣ) due to others [because of your harm to them in this world] on the Day of Resurrrection. Then seek assistance in all of this from God so that He brings them to completion for you.He was asked, ‘How do these conditions (aḥwāl) become sound in the servant?’ He replied:There are ten things which are essential. Five are things from which he must desist, and five are things to which he must adhere: he must leave behind the whisperings of the Enemy [i.e. Satan] and abide by the intellect in what it restrains him from; he must give up concern for the affairs of this world and leave them to its people; and he should preoccupy himself with the Hereafter and aid its people; he must give up following his [base] desire (hawā) and fear God in every situation; he must give up disobedience and occupy himself in [acts] of obedience; he must abandon ignorance and acting upon ignorance (iqāmat al-jahl), until he judges his actions, and he must seek knowledge and act upon it.He was asked, ‘How can we uphold this and act upon it?’ He replied:There are four essentials [prerequisites]: he should not tire himself with those things which will only turn to dust, neither should he desire them. Furthermore, he should not fraternise with those whose end is [no more than] dust, nor should he have any desire for [their company].He was asked, ‘How can that [be achieved]?’ He said:By the servant’s knowing that he is a servant and his Master has full knowledge of his state and is witnessing [him]. It is He who has power over his joy and his grief, and is compassionate with him.His words, Exalted is He:

Tafsīr al-Tustarī, trans. Annabel Keeler and Ali Keeler
© 2021 Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought, Amman, Jordan (http://www.aalalbayt.org) ® All Rights Reserved.
Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, this work may not be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of the Great Tafsirs Project, Royal Aal al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought (aalalbayt@aalalbayt.org)


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