CHARACTERISTICS OF IBADULLAH!

QUALITIES OF OBEDIENT SLAVES OF GOD

Surah Furqan is a Makki Surah that contains 6 Rukus and 77 verses. And last 16 of the verses i.e verses 63 to 77 are the verses that describe the qualities of IBADULLAH meaning Slave of Allah.

The simple qualities mentioned in these verses are as follows:

63- “And the obedient servants of ALLAH SWT (Most Gracious) are those who walk on the earth in humility, and when the ignorant address them, they say, “Peace!”;

The faithful slaves (Ibadullah) walk on the earth with modesty (they do not walk with pride).

They walk humbly and not with arrogance. They do not show off and simply go about virtuously. Their walk is pleasant. Their body posture does not show that they want attention. Not being humble would mean restraining from shaking hands with other men. Or maintaining a distance from everyone.

And also walking humbly does not mean walking with laziness, slowly, or weakly like a sick person. It means having self-respect but not being arrogant.

64- “They are the people who spend a good portion of the night, prostrating and standing before their Lord.;”

When the ignorant ones communicate with them or try to argue or have an intention to create an argument with them: they do not argue back or reply rudely. They offer their salutations.

These people do not fall into petty discussions with other people.

What God’s servants do in such a situation, if they are not able to control their anger and tongue, they give their salutations without using bad language and leave peacefully without creating a big issue.

The true believers of ALLAH SWT the most merciful do not believe in vengeance, even though they may have to deal with some ignorant people who behave rudely towards them. If they happen to come across such people, they wish them peace and turn away from disputes.

65- “Those who say, “Our Lord! avert from us the Wrath of Hell, for this Wrath is indeed an affliction grievous, – “

They pray before Allah, they worship Him. They spend a part of their night praying before Allah (SWT).

Their fear and love for God are tremendous. They pray before Him in solitude. They do not gossip or indulge themselves in unnecessary activities and do not waste their time. If they have a family, they spend time with them and after everyone’s asleep they pray before God.

They sacrifice their comfort of sleeping a little longer and communicating with God. A perfect explanation of this would be like a normal human will share all his worries, his dealing during the day, his problems, or his feelings with a friend. In a sense, God is the most trustworthy friend in the world. His obedient slaves come to share their matters with only Him.

66- “It is surely a very evil place to reside in”;

The obedient slaves of Allah SWT pray that He saves them from the doom, the punishment of hell.

Off course no one wants to end up in hell. The people who obey God also pray that He does not send them to hell. They fear the fire and the other punishments of hell so they wish to stay away from it as far as possible on the Day of Judgement.

67- “Those who spend, neither extravagantly nor niggardly, but hold a good balance between those extremes;”

A Muslim should spend their wealth carefully and do not waste their money by spending on unnecessary things. They spend reasonably according to Gods commands.

They spend in God’s name. Spend on whom God has commanded. They do not abide by luxury and do not use the power of wealth only for themselves. They do not always think of themselves. In other words, they are not selfish and extravagant.

They neither go beyond their needs in expenditure nor live in wretched circumstances to save money but are cautious. This was characteristic of the followers of the Prophet (peace be upon him).

68 & 69- “Those who do not invoke, with Allah, any other god, nor slay such life as Allah has made sacred except for just cause, nor commit any fornication; and any that does this meets punishment.”

Those who cry to Allah and do not call upon anyone except Him.

It simply means no shirk. They do not associate anyone with Allah SWT. And they do not pray to anyone else but Him. They only ask God for His help and nobody else.

They do not commit murder and adultery and unlawful killings include abortions. Fear of providing sustenance to your child and then killing it before or after it is born is an unlawful killing. It simply means no fornication.

70- “Unless he asks for forgiveness, believes, and does righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful”.

They seek repentance from Allah if they have done something wrong. Or else, his torment shall be doubled for him on the Day of Resurrection, and he will abide in it in ignominy unless he repents and believes and does righteous works. For such, Allah will change their bad deeds into good deeds. Allah is Ever-Forgiving, Most Compassionate.

71&72 – And whoever repents and does good has truly turned to Allah properly. They are those who do not bear fake witness, and when they come across falsehood, they pass it by with dignity.

They do not give evidence (in the court of law etc.) regarding a false thing to prove it right, when in fact it is a falsehood.

Those have no intention to witness anything false, evil, or wicked as spectators. In a sense, every sin and every indecency, every sham is counted as falsehood. A true servant of Allah recognizes it as false and confronts it even if it is presented in seemingly beautiful forms of art.

73- “They are those who, when reminded of the revelation from ALLAH, do not turn a blind eye or a deaf ear to it”.

A Characteristic of Ibadullah is do not behave like the blind and the deaf towards the revelations of Allah when they are recited to them for their admonition. They do not turn a deaf ear to the lessons of the Quran and message and do not deliberately ignore the signs that they are asked to observe, but are deeply moved by them. They follow and practice what they are enjoined to and refrain from what is forbidden.

74- “They are those who pray, “Our Lord! please bless us with pious spouses and offspring who will be the joy of our lives, and make us models for the righteous.”

The most distinctive characteristic of Ibadullah is their eagerness to pray to Allah. In their prayer for their salvation and in their prayer for their wives and children have been cited: Our Lord! make our wives and children true believers so that they must practice righteousness and become a source of comfort for us. Their prayer shows that the true servants of Allah cares most about the salvation of their beloved ones in the world and the hereafter.

75 & 76 – It is they who will be rewarded with elevated mansions in Paradise for their perseverance and will be received with salutations and ˹greetings of˺ peace, staying there forever. What a beautiful place to settle and reside!

They carry out their duties enjoined by Allah sincerely and tearlessly without any concern for worldly losses and deprivation, and they withstand all temptations held out by Satan and all the lusts of the flesh.

77 – Say, O Prophet Muhammad, “You all would not even matter to my Lord were it not for you believe in Him. But now you disbelievers have refused to accept the truth, so the torment is bound to come.”

This admonition to the disbelievers has been given to contrast it with the great rewards of the world and the hereafter that have been promised to the true servants of Allah. If you do not invoke Allah for help and protection and do not worship Him, you will have no value and importance in His sight, and He will not care at all for you because He does not need any help from you. It is indeed for your own sake that He has allowed you to invoke Him so that He may turn in mercy towards you; otherwise, there is no difference between you and the rest of creation.