Surah Az-Zumar • Ayah 9
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The Obedient and the Sinner are not equalAllah says, `is the one who is like this equal to one who associates others in worship with Allah and sets up rivals to Him' They are not equal before Allah, as He says:لَيْسُواْ سَوَآءً مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَـبِ أُمَّةٌ قَآئِمَةٌ يَتْلُونَ ءَايَـتِ اللَّهِ ءَانَآءَ الَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ(Not all of them are alike; a party of the People of the Scripture stand for the right, they recite the Ayat of Allah Ana'a Al-Layl, prostrating themselves (in prayer).) (3:113). And Allah says here:أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ ءَانَآءَ الَّيْلِ سَـجِداً وَقَآئِماً(Is one who is obedient to Allah, Ana'a Al-Layl prostrating and standing) meaning, one who is humble and fears Allah when he prostrates and stands (in prayer). It was reported that Ibn Mas`ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "The obedient one is one who obeys Allah and His Messenger ." Ibn `Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, Al-Hasan, As-Suddi and Ibn Zayd said, Ana'a Al-Layl means in the depths of the night.يَحْذَرُ الاٌّخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُواْ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ(fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord.) means, in his worship he feels both fear and hope. Both are essential in worship, and fear should be stronger during one's lifetime. Allah says:يَحْذَرُ الاٌّخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُواْ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ(fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord. ) At the time of death, hope is uppermost, as Imam `Abd bin Humayd recorded in his Musnad from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ entered upon a man who was dying, and said to him,«كَيْفَ تَجِدُكَ؟»(How do you feel) He said, `I am both afraid and hopeful.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:«لَا يَجْتَمِعَانِ فِي قَلْبِ عَبْدٍ فِي مِثْلِ هَذَا الْمَوْطِنِ إِلَّا أَعْطَاهُ اللهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ الَّذِي يَرْجُو، وَأَمَّنَهُ الَّذِي يَخَافُه»(These do not co-exist in a person's heart at times such as this, but Allah will give him what he hopes for and protect him from that which he fears.)" This was recorded by At-Tirmidhi, An-Nasa'i in Al-Yawm wal-Laylah, and Ibn Majah from the Hadith of Yasar bin Hatim from Ja`far bin Sulayman. At-Tirmidhi said, "Gharib." Imam Ahmad recorded that Tamim Ad-Dari, may Allah be pleased with him, said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:«مَنْ قَرَأَ بِمِائَةِ آيَةٍ فِي لَيْلَةٍ كُتِبَ لَهُ قُنُوتُ لَيْلَة»(Whoever recites one hundred Ayat in one night, it will be recorded as if he prayed all night.) This was also recorded by An-Nasa'i in Al-Yawm wal-Laylah.قُلْ هَلْ يَسْتَوِى الَّذِينَ يَعْلَمُونَ وَالَّذِينَ لاَ يَعْلَمُونَ(Say: "Are those who know equal to those who know not") means, is this one equal with the one who sets up rivals to Allah to mislead (men) from His pathإِنَّمَا يَتَذَكَّرُ أُوْلُواْ الأَلْبَـبِ(It is only men of understanding who will remember. ) means, the only one who will understand the difference between them is the one who has understanding. And Allah knows best.
مشرک اور موحد برابر نہیں ٭٭مطلب یہ ہے کہ جس کی حالت یہ ہو وہ مشرک کے برابر نہیں۔ جیسے فرمان ہے «لَيْسُوْا سَوَاءً مِنْ اَھْلِ الْكِتٰبِ أُمَّةٌ قَائِمَةٌ يَتْلُونَ آيَاتِ اللَّـهِ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ» [3-آل عمران:113] ، یعنی ” سب کے سب برابر کے نہیں، اہل کتاب میں وہ جماعت بھی ہے جو راتوں کے وقت قیام کی حالت میں آیات الہیہ کی تلاوت کرتے ہیں اور سجدوں میں پڑے رہتے ہیں “۔ قنوت سے مراد یہاں پر نماز کا خشوع خضوع ہے۔ صرف قیام مراد نہیں۔ سیدنا ابن مسعود رضی اللہ عنہ سے «قَانِتٌ» کے معنی مطیع اور فرمانبردار کے ہیں۔ سیدنا ابن عباس رضی اللہ عنہ وغیرہ سے مروی ہے کہ «آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ» سے مراد آدھی رات سے ہے۔ منصور رحمہ اللہ فرماتے ہیں مراد مغرب عشاء کے درمیان کا وقت ہے۔ قتادہ رحمہ اللہ وغیرہ فرماتے ہیں۔ اول درمیانہ اور آخری شب مراد ہے۔ یہ عابد لوگ ایک طرف لرزاں و ترساں ہیں دوسری جانب امیدوار اور طمع کناں ہیں۔ نیک لوگوں پر زندگی میں تو خوف اللہ امید پر غالب رہتا ہے موت کے وقت خوف پرامید کا غلبہ ہو جاتا ہے۔ رسول اللہ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم ایک شخص کے پاس اس کے انتقال کے وقت جاتے ہیں اور پوچھتے ہیں کہ تو اپنے آپ کو کس حالت میں پاتا ہے؟ اس نے کہا خوف و امید کی حالت میں۔ آپ صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم نے فرمایا: جس شخص کے دل میں ایسے وقت یہ دونوں چیزیں جمع ہو جائیں اس کی امید اللہ تعالیٰ پوری کرتا ہے اور اس کے خوف سے اسے نجات عطا فرماتا ہے ۔ [سنن ترمذي:983،قال الشيخ الألباني:حسن] صفحہ نمبر7791ابن عمر رضی اللہ عنہما نے اس آیت کی تلاوت کر کے فرمایا ”یہ وصف صرف سیدنا عثمان رضی اللہ عنہ میں تھا۔“ [الدر المنشور للسیوطی:355/5:ضعیف] فی الواقع آپ رضی اللہ عنہ رات کے وقت بکثرت تہجد پڑھتے رہتے تھے اور اس میں قرآن کریم کی لمبی قرأت کیا کرتے تھے یہاں تک کہ کبھی کبھی ایک ہی رکعت میں قرآن ختم کر دیتے تھے۔ جیسا کہ ابوعبید رحمہ اللہ سے مروی ہے۔ شاعر کہتا ہے۔ صبح کے وقت ان کے منہ نورانی چمک لیے ہوئے ہوتے ہیں کیونکہ انہوں نے تسبیح و تلاوت قرآن میں رات گذاری ہے۔ نسائی وغیرہ میں حدیث ہے کہ جس نے ایک رات سو آیتیں پڑھ لیں اس کے نامہ اعمال میں ساری رات کی قنوت لکھی جاتی ہے ۔ [مسند احمد:103/4:حسن بالشواهد] پس ایسے لوگ اور مشرک جو اللہ کے ساتھ دوسروں کو شریک ٹھہراتے ہیں کسی طرح ایک مرتبے کے نہیں ہو سکتے، عالم اور بےعلم کا درجہ ایک نہیں ہو سکتا۔ ہر عقلمند پر ان کا فرق ظاہر ہے۔صفحہ نمبر7792
آیت 9 { اَمَّنْ ہُوَ قَانِتٌ اٰنَآئَ الَّـیْلِ سَاجِدًا وَّقَآئِمًا یَّحْذَرُ الْاٰخِرَۃَ وَیَرْجُوْا رَحْمَۃَ رَبِّہٖ } ”بھلا وہ شخص جو بندگی کرنے والا ہے رات کی گھڑیوں میں ‘ سجود و قیام کرتے ہوئے ‘ وہ آخرت سے ڈرتا رہتا ہے ‘ اور اپنے رب کی رحمت کا امیدوار بھی ہے !“ ان الفاظ کے بعد کی عبارت محذوف ہے اور یہ اسلوب اس سورت میں بار بار آتا ہے۔ آگے چل کر متعدد آیات ایسی ملیں گی جہاں جملوں کو نا مکمل چھوڑ دیا گیا ہے کہ سننے یا پڑھنے والا اپنے علم ‘ ذہن اور ذوق کے مطابق خود مکمل کرلے۔ چناچہ یہاں پر کَمَنْ ھُوَ غَافِلٌ ؟ کے الفاظ سے اس جملے کو مکمل کیا جاسکتا ہے کہ کیا ایک ایسا شخص جو اللہ کا فرمانبردار ہے ‘ وہ اپنی راتوں کی گھڑیاں اللہ کے حضور اس کیفیت میں گزارتا ہے کہ کبھی سجدے میں پڑا ہوا ہے اور کبھی حالت قیام میں ہے ‘ اس کے دل میں آخرت کا خوف بھی ہے اور اپنے رب کی رحمت کی امید بھی ‘ کیا وہ ایک ایسے شخص کے برابر ہوجائے گا جو بالکل غفلت میں پڑا ہوا ہے ؟ { قُلْ ہَلْ یَسْتَوِی الَّذِیْنَ یَعْلَمُوْنَ وَالَّذِیْنَ لَا یَعْلَمُوْنَ } ”اے نبی ﷺ ! آپ کہہ دیجیے کہ کیا برابر ہوسکتے ہیں وہ لوگ جو علم رکھتے ہیں اور وہ جو علم نہیں رکھتے ؟“ { اِنَّمَا یَتَذَکَّرُ اُولُوا الْاَلْبَابِ } ”حقیقی نصیحت اور سبق تو وہی لوگ حاصل کرتے ہیں جو عقل مند ہیں۔“
In the first sentence of verse 9, it was said: أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ (Can (such people be equal to) the one who worships during the hours of the night, prostrating and standing, fearing the Hereafter and having hopes in his Lord's mercy?). The first word: أَمَّنْ (amman) is a combination of two words: اَم (am: an interrogative particle) and: مَن (man: relative pronoun). Before this sentence, the disbelievers have told on behalf of Allah Ta’ ala that they can go ahead and enjoy the fruits of their disbelief and sin during this mortal life, but finally they are doomed to stoke the fire of Jahannam. After then, the present sentence takes up the description of an obedient believer that has been initiated with the question word of أَمَّنْ (amman). Scholars of exegesis have said that there is an ellipsis of a sentence that should have appeared earlier, that is, the disbeliever will be told, 'are you better, or is it the obedient believer who has been mentioned later?'. The word: قَانِت (qanit) has been explained variously. That which comprehends all these meanings comes from Sayyidna Ibn Masud ؓ . According to him, it means devotedly obedient, and when this word is used in conjunction with Sala ھ ، as in: قُومُوا لِلَّـهِ قَانِتِينَ (Stand before Allah in total devotion - Al-Baqarah, 2:238), there it means the person who lowers his gaze in salah, does not see right and left, does not play with his body or clothes and does not voluntarily remember anything from his worldly life. Any incidence of forgetfulness or involuntary scruple would not be considered contrary to this. (Qurtubi)Immediately next in verse 9, it was said: آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ (during the hours of the night). The expression means hours of the night and denotes the early, the middle and the last part of the night. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ said that, 'a person who wishes that Allah Ta’ ala would make the reckoning on the plains of Resurrection easy on him should so manage himself that Allah Ta’ ala finds him in the state of Sujud (prostration) and Qiyam (stance of standing) during the darkness of the night in an emotional condition in which he is concerned about his fate in the Hereafter, yet is hoping for the mercy of Allah.' Some early commentators have identified the time between Maghrib and 'Isha' also as included in the expression آنَاءَ اللَّيْلِ ('ana'-ul-lail). (Qurtubi)
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Ibn Rushd (Averroes, 1126–1198 CE) of Cordoba wrote comprehensive commentaries on Aristotle that became standard texts in European universities for 400 years. He defended philosophy as compatible with religion (the double truth theory), translated Greek learning into forms accessible to medieval Europe, and contributed to medicine, astronomy, and law. His work triggered the scholastic movement and influenced Thomas Aquinas directly. The Islamic intellectual tradition he represented — reconciling reason and revelation — is deeply rooted in the Quran's (3:190-191) call to reflect on creation.
The madrasa (school) system developed in the Islamic world from the 10th century CE and became the world's first widespread higher education network. The Nizamiyya madrasa in Baghdad (1065 CE), established by Nizam al-Mulk, was among the first formal universities. The University of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez (859 CE), founded by Fatima al-Fihri, is recognized by UNESCO and the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest continuously operating university. The Quran's (39:9) contrast between 'those who know and those who don't' provided the Islamic theological mandate for systematic education.
Al-Azhar in Cairo was founded in 970 CE by the Fatimid Caliphate and became the world's most prominent center of Islamic learning. Through Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods, al-Azhar maintained its role as the definitive authority on Islamic jurisprudence and theology. Today it has over 500,000 students and its fatwas are considered authoritative across much of the Sunni world. The Quran's (58:11) promise 'Allah will raise those who have believed among you and those who were given knowledge' continues to animate the scholarly mission of al-Azhar.
Under Caliph al-Ma'mun (813–833 CE), Baghdad's Bayt al-Hikma became the world's greatest intellectual institution — a library, translation bureau, and research academy. Scholars translated Greek, Persian, Indian, and Syriac texts into Arabic: Aristotle's logic, Plato's philosophy, Galen's medicine, Euclid's geometry, and Ptolemy's astronomy. This Translation Movement preserved works that would otherwise have been lost and reinjected them into human civilization via Arabic, enabling the later European Renaissance. The Quranic injunction to read, reflect, and seek knowledge (96:1-5; 39:9) was operationalized on a civilizational scale.
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Abu al-Walid Muhammad ibn Rushd (1126–1198 CE) of Córdoba wrote definitive commentaries on Aristotle that so thoroughly preserved and clarified Greek philosophy that Latin scholars simply called him 'The Commentator.' His commentaries reached Europe via Toledo's translation schools and ignited the Scholastic movement — Thomas Aquinas debated him, Dante placed him in the noble castle of Limbo alongside Aristotle. Ibn Rushd represents the paradox of Islamic civilization: his greatest intellectual legacy flowed westward to a Europe that would eventually displace his civilization.
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After Toledo fell to Christian forces in 1085 CE, the Archbishop Raymond of Toledo established a systematic program to translate Arabic scientific, philosophical, and mathematical texts into Latin. Scholars from across Europe — many learning Arabic specifically for this purpose — worked alongside Arab, Jewish, and Mozarab translators to transmit Islamic knowledge westward. Works by al-Khwarizmi, Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd, al-Farabi, and hundreds of others entered European intellectual life through Toledo. Without this transmission, the European Renaissance and Scientific Revolution would have been delayed by centuries.
The European Renaissance (14th–17th century) was substantially built on the recovery of Islamic scholarship. Algebra, trigonometry, optics, medicine, astronomy, and philosophy reached Europe primarily through Arabic translations and commentaries. Dante's Divine Comedy drew on Ibn Arabi's mystical geography; Copernicus's heliocentric model built on Islamic astronomical corrections to Ptolemy; Vesalius's anatomy corrected and extended Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine. Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel acknowledges that Islam's geographic centrality made it the relay station for Eurasian knowledge exchange — the Quran's emphasis on knowledge as a divine trust (96:1-5) created the scholarly culture that preserved and transmitted human knowledge.
The European Renaissance (14th–17th century) was substantially built on the recovery of Islamic scholarship. Algebra, trigonometry, optics, medicine, astronomy, and philosophy reached Europe primarily through Arabic translations and commentaries. Dante's Divine Comedy drew on Ibn Arabi's mystical geography; Copernicus's heliocentric model built on Islamic astronomical corrections to Ptolemy; Vesalius's anatomy corrected and extended Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine. Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel acknowledges that Islam's geographic centrality made it the relay station for Eurasian knowledge exchange — the Quran's emphasis on knowledge as a divine trust (96:1-5) created the scholarly culture that preserved and transmitted human knowledge.
The European Renaissance (14th–17th century) was substantially built on the recovery of Islamic scholarship. Algebra, trigonometry, optics, medicine, astronomy, and philosophy reached Europe primarily through Arabic translations and commentaries. Dante's Divine Comedy drew on Ibn Arabi's mystical geography; Copernicus's heliocentric model built on Islamic astronomical corrections to Ptolemy; Vesalius's anatomy corrected and extended Ibn Sina's Canon of Medicine. Jared Diamond's Guns, Germs, and Steel acknowledges that Islam's geographic centrality made it the relay station for Eurasian knowledge exchange — the Quran's emphasis on knowledge as a divine trust (96:1-5) created the scholarly culture that preserved and transmitted human knowledge.
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