A103
Surah: 009 - Ayah: 103
Click here to see the translations
9:103
The verse (9:103) has many ta'wils. One important ta'wil of it is this:
"(0 the Messenger!) Take a sadaqah from their wealth (a pearl from their spiritual wealth) and thereby purify them (to the utmost end) and give them salawat, for in thy salawat there is peace for them." That is to say, convey to them the favour from kalimah-i bari (the Divine Word).
Tenth wisdom: The way Allah sends durud is that He makes it a light which is brought down to the Holy Prophet by the angels and the Holy Prophet, according to "And send durud upon them", (9:103) directs it towards mumins through his guidance and teachings and which his Wasi attained completely, whereas many mumins merely considered it only as an effective prayer.
Sixth wisdom: Since durud means success, guidance, tayid and knowledge, it is therefore necessary at all stages and the highest durud is at the place where the sadaqah (zakat) of the Pearl of Intellect is given and taken (9:103) and where the peace of durud is in the form of the word of command.
Q.7. In verse (9:103), if the word salawat is used not in the sense of an ordinary prayer, but as a special term, what is its Qur'anic proof?
A. 7. (a) As for the special term, when God says about Himself: "Huwa lladhiyusallT ^alaykum (He it is Who sends salawat upon you", 33:43), it became special. For here it does not make any sense if it is used in the sense of ritual prayers (namaz) or prayer (du a), since God Himself is the Worshipped (ma^bud) rather than the worshipper ( abid). Thus salawat in this verse is used as a technical term in the sense of sending blessings.
(b) Where according to the technical meaning of "yusalli" God and the angels send salawat on mu'mins, there they receive it through the Prophet's light, and thus in this sense God says to His Prophet: "Wa salli 1alayhim (and send salawat on them)". Thus it is clear for the wise that salawat is used in the sense of blessings and as a technical term.
(c) Every prayer of the Prophet and the Holy Imams is always special and is never just an ordinary prayer. Yet, it is mu 'mins themselves who make it a special or an ordinary prayer. If the mu'mins are weak in their deeds, then the prayer should be for forgiveness and it becomes an ordinary prayer, but if they are pure in their deeds, they will receive salawat and it becomes a special prayer.
Q.6. What is meant by "salat"in God's command to the Prophet: "Wa-salli alayhim, inna salataka sakanun lahum (and send upon them salat, for indeed your salat is a source of peace and satisfaction for them)" (9:103)? Does it mean the special salawat which the Prophet sends upon mu 'mins, or is it used in the sense of an ordinary prayer? If it means the salawat in its special sense, would you kindly furnish the proof?
A.6. In the Divine command to His friend - the Prophet: " Wa-salli 'alayhim, inna salataka sakanun lahum" (9:103) "salat” is used in the special sense and has a very profound and important meaning. It is not an ordinary prayer, but is the same salawat which is mentioned in the Qur'an (33:56) which God and His angels send upon mu 'mins. For when God said to His Prophet to send salawat upon mu 'mins, then this salawat on the basis of the Divine command amounted to the Divine salawat, in which is included the angelic salawat also. This shows that the salawat of God, the angels and the Holy Prophet is the same.
In the above mentioned verse (9:103), the salawat of the Prophet is regarded as sakan (source of peace). The importance of the salawat of the Prophet is revealed when we see the meaning and wisdom of the word sakan in other related verses of the Qur'an. For, the explanation or the answer of "What is sakanT is given in many verses, which are: (2:248; 9:26,40; 48:4,18,26). In these verses through the word sakinah, is explained spiritual peace and satisfaction, in which it is alluded to the spirituality of every level. You should also reflect on these verses.
Help through the Prayer of the Prophet:
Argument 8: The verse (9:103) says: “(O Prophet!) Take sadaqah from their wealth, whereby you may cleanse them and purify them and pray for them. Verily, your prayer is the means of peace (of heart) for them.”
This verse reveals two great wisdoms. One wisdom is that, through the blessing of the Holy Prophet, people used to receive spiritual help in the form of peace of the heart. Because it is the peace of heart which is called help. The other wisdom id that whenever the angles descended to help the Muslims, they did so through the blessed prayer of the Holy Prophet. For, regarding the descent of the angles it is mentioned that it was to give peace to the mumins. And here it id mentioned that the source and means of the peace of heart is none other than the prayer of the Holy Prophet. Now it is clear from the meaning of this verse that the way the angles descended and the way the companions of the Holy Prophet received peace of heart by miraculous help, was all due to the blessing of the prayer of the Holy Propphet. For the source and means of every kind of true peace is the prayer of the Mercy for the worlds, i.e. the Holy Prophet. (see argument 4,5,6).
Thus it is evident that by the command of God, the fountainhead of the peace of heart and spiritual help id the Holy Prophet and after him, the true Imams from his pure progeny hold the same position in their respective times.
Khaza’in 6 (Treasures of God)
Another example is that if Allah willed, He Himself would have sent blessing upon mu'mins, but He did not do so, rather He commanded the supreme angel of the earth and His supreme earthly treasure (natiq), i.e. the holy Prophet: "And send upon them blessings. Verily your blessing is a source of (spiritual and intellectual) peace for them." (9:103).
Salah (Light of knowledge)
According to the above-mentioned verse, if the purpose of sending Salah or blessing upon mu'mins is to give them the light of knowledge then this only comes through the custodian of tanzil and the custodian of ta'wil, as God commands the holy Prophet in verse (9:103): "And send upon them Salah. Verily your Salah is a source of peace for them." That is, since the Salah of the holy Prophet is from God, therefore, there is peace and tranquillity for the intellect and soul of the mu'mins.
Tathir and tazkiyah mean the physical and spiritual cleansing and purification of mu’mins by the Holy Prophet in accordance with God’s command mentioned in verse (9:103): "Take (khudh) sadaqah (zakat or religious tax) from their wealth so that you may cleanse and purify them and give them salat. Verily, your salat is peace (of heart) for them." There are seven fundamental wisdoms in this verse, which are:
1. Khudh (take) is the imperative form of the infinitive "akhdh" and is linked to "hand". This command from God to the Holy Prophet asks him to take zakat physically (wealth) and spiritually (knowledge) from mu’mins. Sadaqah and zakat from mu’mins is a right of God and therefore the Holy Prophet’s hand has the status of the hand of God (48:10). This holy status continues in the rightful successors of the Holy Prophet (the Holy Imams from his progeny) so that the mercy and blessings that mu’mins receive from God’s hand both physically and spiritually may continue. In this connection, in addition to zakat, taking the oath of allegiance (baycat) from mu’mins is also very important. Baycat means to buy and sell and it is a practical affirmation of the fact that God, through His present and living representative buys from mu’mins their souls and their wealth, in return for which the mu’mins receive Paradise (9:111). But God is free from and above all physical form, so the embodied light whom He has considered to be His hand has been given great power so that he can perform all kinds of work physically and spiritually.
2. There are two kinds of wealth, material and spiritual. Material or external wealth is known to everybody but by spiritual wealth is meant knowledge. Thus sadaqah and zakat is to be taken from both kinds of wealth, for both are forms of riches and sustenance and need to be cleansed and purified so that they become pure and many kinds of blessings are created in them.
3. Exoterically by sadaqah is meant material zakat and esoterically the knowledge of ta’wil. For the word sadaqah is derived from sidq which means to speak the truth and therefore it means to believe that the custodian of the ta’wil is truthful and that he verifies the spiritual miracles of the Holy Prophet by means of his ta’wil. The Holy Prophet said to Mawla cAli: "Anta’s-sidd.qu’l-akbar (You are the greatest of the truthful)" i.e. you are the greatest speaker of truth and in the light of ta’wil verify what I have said. Thus there are many ranks of spiritual sadaqah or zakat (i.e. ta’wil).
4. Tathir or cleansing in the phrase "tutahhirahum" (you may cleanse them) relates to physical wealth and to the body and the soul, because by giving physical zakat not only is material wealth cleansed, but also the body and the soul. This wealth, in the sense that by acting upon the command and giving zakat, becomes lawful and by eating that which is lawful the body is cleansed and by cleansing the body the soul becomes cleansed.
5. In the word "tazkiyah" in the phrase "tuzakkihim" (you may purify them) there is an allusion to the intellectual purification of mu’mins because in several of the blessed verses of the Qur’an it is said that the Holy Prophet used to purify mu’mins by teaching them the Book and Wisdom (i.e. tanzil and ta’wil) (2:129, 150-151; 3:164; 62:2). It is obvious that what is purified by knowledge and wisdom is the intellect of the mu’min and therefore wherever the purification of the body and soul is mentioned in the Qur’an its purpose is to bring about the intellectual purification of man because the final destination is in this intellect. Thus it is the greatest favour of God that He has appointed a means of tathir and tazkiyah (cleansing and purification) for people of every age so that the wealth, body, soul and intellect of mu’mins can be purified thereby, for after the light of Prophethood the light of Imamat is mentioned in verses (2:150-151): "So that I may complete My favour on you, and so that you may walk on the right path; as also We have sent among you, of yourselves, a Messenger, to recite Our signs to you and to purify you, and to teach you the Book and Wisdom and to teach you that which you knew not." It is a Qur’anic fact that there is no Prophet after the Holy Prophet (33:40). This means that there will be no new revelation (i.e. the Holy Qur’an and the religion of Islam will remain forever), but the rest of the things such as knowledge, wisdom, rectitude, and guidance have to be with the successor of the Holy Prophet, the true Imam. God removes all the physical and spiritual veils of time and space from the Imam so that the light of Imamat can see the light of Prophethood at the places where the revelation reveals and so be aware of all the states, so that the Imam can testify to his Prophethood and Messengership for without this kind of complete awareness, it is not possible to truly verify the work of Prophethood.
6. In the word "salli" (give salat) the Holy Prophet is commanded to give salat to mu’mins. But it is necessary to know what salat means because salat has many meanings. In the light of the Noble Qur’an it is clear that here it means blessings as from verse (2:157) it is evident that blessings (salawat), mercy and guidance are for all mu’mins. It is said in verse (33:43): "He it is Who sends His blessings (yusalli)
on you and His angels (bless you), that He may bring you forth from darkness unto light. And He is merciful to the believers." Now every wise person should consider whether it is possible for the blessings of God and His angels to come down to mu’mins without the Holy Prophet, the mercy for the worlds, when God says to him: "Give them salat"? It is clear that the salat from God and His angels, the purpose of which is the light of knowledge, reaches mu’mins through the mediation of the Holy Prophet, for he is the mercy for every personal world (21:107). The law of wisdom says that when mu’mins recite salat on Muhammad (s.a.s.) and his progeny, then like a pure word it ascends and reaches the presence of God (35:10), and He gives it a luminous form and sends it back to mu’mins through the Holy Prophet and the Imam of the time. Because everything is cyclical and therefore it eventually returns in one form or another to the place from where it started. It is a different matter however that some things return quickly and others only after long ages (21:33; 36:40). When God touches the words and deeds of obedient mu’mins with the colour of spiritual light (2:138), think what the splendour of the salat of the Holy Prophet must be like for he gives it to mu’mins by the command of God and it includes the salat of God and His angels also! Without doubt, it is in the radiant form of the rays of light. Thus the ta’wil of "And give them salat" is "O Prophet! Radiate upon them the rays of the light of knowledge and wisdom." Because the purpose of this heavenly salat is that, God does not like to keep mu’mins in the darkness of ignorance and wants to illumine their hearts with the light of certitude mentioned in verse (33:43).
7. Taskin (peace, satisfaction) is the last of the wisdoms of this verse and therefore it is a great thing and is a light. That is, it is the appearance of light as a result of the radiation of rays and from which the mu’mins attain peace and satisfaction in many senses:
(a) They will thereby be sure that God and the Prophets are true, and that the Qur’an, Islam and the Imam of the time are true, because they have light upon light.
(b) By seeing light they will be sure that, praise be to God, that their wealth, body and soul are being purified properly and the signs of the purification of intellect start to appear.
(c) Dhikr, cibadat and every good deed are being accepted in the presence of God.
(d) Indeed, this is the wisdom-filled guidance of the Wise Qur’an and the light of Imamat and that this is progress on the right path.
(e) In this state, the perplexity of Satanic insinuations and false thoughts will vanish.
(f) In this state the hope of eternal salvation necessarily becomes certain.
Q213 The holy Prophet, by the command of God, used to accept sadaqah (religious levy) from the mu’mins’ wealth and through it purify them and pray for them and ensuring peace for them by providing them with heavenly blessings (9:103; 33:43). He used to pray for their difficulties to be eased, recite the verses of God, purify them and teach them the Book and wisdom (62:2). In short, the mercies and blessings, which the companions/followers used to receive from the holy Prophet, were countless. However, the door of Prophetic revelation closed after his demise. Would you kindly tell us how people can benefit from his knowledge and wisdom at present?
A213 The holy Prophet says: “I am the city of knowledge and cAli is its gate. So whoever intends to gain knowledge, let him come through the gate”. He has also said: “I am the house of wisdom and cAli is its door”. This shows that the door of knowledge and wisdom is the Imam of the time [from the progeny of Hazrat cAli(c)] and there can be no doubt in it for staunch mu’mins. Al-hamdu li’llah!
This verse has been referred 12 times.