Tafsir alTustari Sura البقرة Ayah No. 157

They are those on whom [descend] blessings from their Lord, and mercy; it is they who are truly guided.Sahl said:What is implied by blessings (ṣalawāt) upon them is the bestowal of mercy (taraḥḥum) upon them, that is, a bestowal of mercy from their Lord. The Prophet

said, ‘May God bless the family of Abū Awfāʾ, when they brought him charitable donations, by which he meant ‘[May God] have mercy on them.’ He also said:Muḥammad b. Sawwār told us on the authority of Abū ʿAmr b. ʿAlāʾ that he said: ‘Ṣalāt’ has three meanings, one of which is the prescribed prayer with its bowings and prostrations, which is referred to when God says: So pray to Your Lord and sacrifice [108:2], that is, grasp your left arm with your right hand in prayer, in self-abasement and in awe before God, Exalted is He. Thisis also reported from ʿAlī

. The second meaning is to show mercy (taraḥḥum) [as discussed above], and the third meaning is supplication (duʿāʾ), as [for example] in the prayer over the dead. Indeed, the Prophet

said: ‘If any of you are invited for a meal, you should [accept the invitation]. But if [the one invited] is fasting he should pray’, that is, he should make a supplicationfor them to be endowed with blessing. Furthermore, the Prophet

said in a ḥadīth, ‘…and may the angels pray over you’, meaning pray for mercy to be bestowed upon you. In this [same] ḥadīth the Prophet

went on to say, ‘And if someone eats at his house, the angels pray over him [the host] until eventide’, meaning the angels supplicate for him. Sahl continued:Ṣalāt carries two meanings: one is the seeking of forgiveness (istighfār), and the other is forgiveness itself (maghfira). As for the meaning of ‘seeking forgiveness’, it is referred to in His words, And pray for them [9:103], that is, ask forgiveness for them; [and in His words], to [secure] the prayers of the Messenger [9:99], meaning asking for the Messenger’s supplication for forgiveness. As for its meaning of ‘forgiveness’, it is referred to in His words, Exalted is He, He it is who blesses you [33:43], meaning: ‘He forgives you’, and [again in His words]: as do His angels… [33:43], by which is meant: ‘They seek forgiveness for you’. In the same vein are His words: Indeed God and His angels bless the Prophet [33:56], which mean: ‘Truly God forgives the Prophet, and the angels seek forgiveness for him.’ Then He says, O you who believe, invoke blessings on him, and invoke peace on him in a worthy manner [33:56], meaning: ‘Seek forgivenessfor him’. Also in Sūrat al-Baqara are His words: Blessings from their Lord [2:157], meaning: ‘Forgiveness from their Lord.’

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)

Great Tafsirs

This Site Contains 91 Tafsir Books and 25 Books of Quran Science

Tafsir

أُولَـٰئِكَ عَلَيْهِمْ صَلَوَاتٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَرَحْمَةٌ وَأُولَـٰئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُهْتَدُونَ
١٥٧
-Al-Baqarah ( البقرة )