Interpretation of Fortress 90 (The Universe)
Having clarified that human should have good deeds such as providing relief for any creature in trouble, and lending a helping hand to anyone who is suffering from afflictions or going under some kind of distress, then the Almighty Al'lah has showed us that guiding people to the right way, the straight path the path of Paradise is the most beneficial and advantageous deed, however there is another action that can help you to break the obstacle in order to move beyond it and on to your own welfare, it is lower in rank than the deed we have just described. This action is:
Verse no. 14
14. “Or feeding on a day of famine,”
This is when people suffer from severe hunger.
Providing people with food during times of war or famine is a superior deed which brings the doer nearer to Allah. It is below the deed of freeing a neck in rank, for it revives people and saves them from death.
Moral Story:
A Miraculous Feat of Strength
The Almighty says: “…They give preference to others, even though they are in need themselves…”[12]
The heat of the midday sun had gradually lessened during the afternoon; it was now early evening and a welcome breeze had sprung up. The great master — who was about 60 years old at the time — was still in his room on the upper floor of the house where he had spent a relaxing, contemplative afternoon. His room adjoined a corridor which led to the main door of his Arab-style house. Um Fathi, his wife, had begun to clean the passage when suddenly she heard a knock at the door.
She called out to her husband: ‘Abu Fathi, there’s someone knocking at the door!’
The master stood up and went to open the main door, while his wife remained standing nearby behind the door of the guest room. He stood at the door looking at the visitor, and realised it was someone he had never seen before. The man standing there before him addressed M. Amin hesitantly, as though certain matters weighed heavily on his mind… but it was his impoverished condition and obvious dire need which had compelled him to ask for help. As the wise master looked at the man God revealed to him, within an instant, the true extent of his need and suffering: the profound misery and despondency which arise from poverty and lack of income was displayed clearly on the stranger’s face.
The Almighty says: “You will recognize them by the obvious signs: they do not trouble people by begging from them.” [13]
Those people deserve to receive all possible assistance. The light of this master’s heart and his nearness to Allah granted him the vision to be fully aware of the reality, so we are given a warning from the Tradition of the Prophet: “Be cautious of the believer’s insight, as he sees by God’s Light.”
M. Amin hurried to help the man in his time of need and raise him out of his state of deprivation and penury, but there was no help to be found in his pocket as there were only a few coins: this amount could never satisfy M. Amin’s customary levels of kindness and generosity. Furthermore it would do little to alter the obvious desperate condition of the pauper standing before him, or even allay his hunger temporarily. An idea came to him, so he emptied his pocket of every last coin and gave the money to the wretched man standing before him, saying in a gentle voice laced with extreme mercy and kindness, ‘Please take this money and go to bring a pack animal here to my house, while I bring a sack of wheat to help feed your family to prevent them from starving to death.’
The desperate man accepted the money gladly: the master’s gentle words were like water to a thirsty, wilted plant and he seemed rejuvenated as he grabbed the coins and rushed away from the house. His helplessness and weakness had suddenly turned into strength and vigour and he hurried away to return with a donkey to carry the promised sack of wheat.
In as much as M. Amin’s words were soothing and comforting the heart of that wretched man they came as a hard shock to his wife! She could hear her husband’s words as she was close tending the garden and watering the plants and flowers.
She could not believe her ears! She stood dumbfounded, unable to concentrate on the task at hand, and even stopped breathing for a few moments, as she remembered what effort she had done into cleaning the wheat. It had taken her three whole days of exhausting, back-breaking toil to clean that sack of wheat which weighed nearly 120 kilograms. For not only did it need cleaning but it then had to be spread out to dry in the courtyard, and afterwards she had put it with her own hands into this large sack to be ready for grinding. And now, with a mere knock at the door, it would be given away and all her hard work would have been in vain.
‘Oh, please,’ she thought, ‘let him take whatever he wants but not this sack of wheat… No! I have worked so hard… I’ve given my heart and soul to the task of preparing it… I’ve sweated like a labourer for three whole days.’ A few moments passed as she pondered this predicament, then she snapped out of her reverie and thought about what should happen now
With great determination, she rushed down to the ground floor where the sack of wheat was lying in the store room. A few moments later, M. Amin entered the room heading for the sack of wheat. When she saw him her suspicions were confirmed and she was overcome with fury which had settled deep in her heart, and expressed itself in her strong reaction to his decision which had affected her so strongly. She was determined to defend the sack of wheat and face her husband displaying her tough, steely will. Then she said in a tone of voice that registered her strong disapproval of his actions: ‘Abu Fathi, take anything you want for him except that sack of wheat!! Upon my blood… upon my soul…’ She was so upset that it seemed she would not allow this sack to leave the house even if she sacrificed her life for it. Yet when the humane, merciful and generous master saw her determination and objection to his carrying out this good deed, his innate sense of goodness became aroused to the point that he was even more determined to carry out his good deed; he cared for nothing around him, and would not be thwarted by any emotion however intense it might be.
He was more determined than ever to carry out the humane deed of releasing that miserable man from his poverty and deprivation which would ensure God’s Satisfaction with him, so he wasted no more time and dashed off immediately to put his thoughts into action.
But how was he going to pick up this heavy weight? He bent over the sack, put both arms around it, and undeterred by the enormous weight he stood up with new found strength, denoting the compassion, generosity, zeal, and love for rendering good and magnificent deeds, that were enfolded within his spirit.
He drew up to his full height hugging the large, weighty sack close to his chest. But what was this? It is virtually impossible for any man, however strong he might be, to carry such a load in this way: normally it would have to be carried on a man’s back.
Incredible! This man was almost sixty years old and he was hoisting a 120 kilogram sack of wheat, a feat that even the strongest champions would find difficult to achieve. What kind of steady will and extreme resolution prevailed over this man’s superhuman physical state giving it the strength to carry out this heroic performance? The picture was quite remarkable, but true!
That amazing sight had really startled and overwhelmed his wife so her determination was swallowed up in an instant, as a drop of water is lost in the sea, thus weakening her intention and scattering her determination in every direction. She knew for certain that there was no way to deter her husband: the deed would be done even if it cost her blood… soul… life... for how could she stand firm before the unleashed forces of a stormy sea?
M. Amin was rushing forward carrying a sack which weighed 120 kilograms, and if she tried to stop him she would surely be knocked down and crushed to death under the combined weight of the sack of flour and her husband. So, she retreated slowly and stood with her back against the wall… amazed, astounded, and silent… she realized that her outburst had served no purpose, so she calmed down. Still hugging the weighty sack M. Amin went up the first three steps, then walked a few paces on the landing before climbing ten more steps till he reached the open door of the house.
He staggered out to the road where he put the sack down in front of the door, as the beggar appeared approaching the house, followed by a drover leading his donkey; when he arrived they both lifted the sack on to the back of the animal, making sure that it was properly balanced. The pauper then departed after offering heartfelt words of thanks and saying goodbye to the kindest, most open-handed man he had ever met during his life. The generous, pure master returned to his room feeling extremely happy after carrying out that heroic performance in applying Al’lah’s Command, and not giving way to the discontent that had been expressed by his wife. Al’lah’s Satisfaction and the importance of charity had been uppermost in his mind. He was amazed that he had been able to lift up the immensely heavy sack with relative ease and climb thirteen steps carrying such a weight!!
Sometime after this incident, when money became available, M. Amin bought another sack of wheat to replace the one that had been given away, and fortunately for Um Fathi this wheat had already been cleaned and dried. Mohammad Amin went to lift it as he had the previous sack but failed to lift it off the floor… in fact he could not move it at all!
With what kind of love for good, and zeal for attaining God’s Satisfaction, had his pure and honest spirit been endowed to enable him to achieve that incredible feat?
Truly this super power is the fruit of the truthfulness and desire of Mohammad Amin’s spirit to achieve the Approval of Allah the Great, Who says:
“The righteous will surely drink from a cup mixed with overwhelming delight. A spring from which Al’lah’s servants will drink their fill, causing it to gush forth abundantly. They fulfil the vow; and they fear a Day of widespread woes. They willingly give food, for the love of Him, to the poor, the orphan, and the captive,” (and when they do this they say to themselves; their intention:) “We feed you only for the Sake of God; we seek neither recompense nor thanks from you.” [14]
Truly, that faithful man enriched the earth with deeds of glory and sublimity, the veracity of which has been proved by his miraculous performance.
In his presence blessings always prevailed!
The Almighty listed the people you can feed for you, in order; He says:
Verse no. 15
15. “An orphan with claims of relationship,”
The Almighty refers to the orphans first because they are poor and helpless. They have no father to sympathize with them, and they need charity more than those who have reached adulthood.
As for the specification that they are one of your relatives, this is because a person can know the needs of their relatives best; nobody knows the requirements of poor people better than their close relatives.
However, as used in this Verse, the word “orphan” is not limited to the little fatherless children, but includes any helpless person, as noted previously in al-Duha Surah (Morning Bright).
This feeding should embrace every single person who finds that they have nobody to help or support them.
Besides this, the word “relationship” is not only restricted to relatives, but involves all believers. This is because all of them are related to you – nay, they are the people closest to you.
Thus, after you have been charitable to those people mentioned above, you can then be charitable to all other people, and sympathetic to all who are needy. God says:
Verse no. 16
16. “Or an indigent wretch cleaving to the dust (out of misery).”
The “indigent” means the needy, who have no power or strength to drive poverty away from themselves or to get free from the state in which they suffer. This word implies people who are sick or poor, who have many children, or who are powerless, or weak because of senility.
The statement “cleaving to dust” refers to everyone that is penniless.
When we say that a person is cleaving to the dust, we mean that they have nothing.
The indigent referred to in this Verse need not be relatives or believers. This relates to any poor person, even if they are not Muslims.
The Prophet (cpth) said: “All creatures are dependents of Allah. The more beneficent to His dependents one is, the more beloved to Him he will be.” [15]
The Almighty wants us to be beneficent in all our acts, but what is the result of good actions?
After breaking the obstacle, what will our situation be?
The Almighty elucidated that in His Saying:
Verse no. 17
17. “Then he becomes one of those who believe and exhorts others to fortitude and mercy.”
According to the denotation of this noble Verse, faith is the fruit of good work, and it can be acquired only by charity.
In more detail, we say:
If a person looks at this universe with an attitude of contemplation and penetration, their vision and thought will lead them to perceive the greatness of the universe, its perfect construction, and its accurate creation; this will guide him to believe that there is a Grand Creator, a Wise Provider, and an Omnipotent God of this world. This kind of belief – which is acquired through considering and looking at matters, and is reached through thought – is called mental belief.
This type of faith does not keep humanity away from the Fire or allow them to enter Paradise unless it is accompanied by the performance of good deeds, specifically by avoiding that which is forbidden, following the Godly Recommendations, and treating all creatures with kindness in so far as possible. Thus after attaining intellectual belief, if one renders good actions which please God – as we have mentioned in the preceding Verses – the spirit will become confident of itself and assured of the Satisfaction of God.
Through this confidence and assurance, the spirit will draw nearer to Al’lah. The good action will be like a wing to carry it into God’s Presence.
When it enters God’s Presence, it will watch God’s Tenderness and Clemency and will witness His Compassion and Benefaction for itself.
The spiritual viewing and moral witnessing that is achieved by the spirit at this stage produces a spiritual belief for the viewer, and this kind of belief is what is referred to in the noble Verse: “Then he becomes one of those who believe”. This kind of belief is the reliable, required belief. This is the only thing that can save the believer from Fire and allow them to enter Paradise.
This belief produces love and infatuation with Allah in the spirit of those who achieve it. Through such love, an amount of Godly Perfection will be printed upon the spirit, which colors it with supreme qualities. In this way, it derives mercy, tenderness, justice, and favor from Allah, and its tongue will utter nothing but words which bring blessings and refinement. Therefore God says: “and advise fortitude and advise mercy.”
Such a believer will begin advising people to be patient and will acquaint them with God’s Commiseration and kindliness for them, so explaining that the troubles and the affliction that He drives to them are only intended to be a spiritual cure and moral medicine, which will clear the spirit of its sins and release its defects and diseases. This will allow people to be worthy, and qualify them to enjoy the honor and donation prepared for them by their Provider.
Such a believer will also begin to admonish people to be merciful, clarifying that Allah loves those who are merciful and that He repays charity with charity.
After He has elucidated to us that breaking the obstacle is the means to achieve belief, and that this belief uplifts the believer and makes them a perfect person of noble merits, God wishes to acquaint us with the fate of this noble person, and the recompense they shall get from their Provider for the deeds they have rendered. He says:
Verse no. 18
18. “Such are the people of goodness and prosperity.”
The statement “goodness and prosperity” in Arabic is ‘maymanah’ which is derived from ‘yumn’ which in turn means, abundant goodness and blessings, Here, it refers to the permanent Godly Favor with which their Provider rewards the faithful believers in return for their good actions during their life.
Guidance and abidance:
If you speak kindly using a good guiding word, God will repay you with a great reward…
Like that, if man pays charity and renders good efforts and actions to help others, surely the reward will be grandeur and greater than can be imagined.
You should have devotion in submitting to God’s order in all your deeds.
Make your intention of your deeds pure seeking only God's content, then your good deeds are acceptable by the Almighty God.
The Almighty God has put in our custody and responsibility many orphans, needy, powerless and senility who need our help, you have to hurry in lending them a helping hand.
Questions and Exercises:
1- Why did the great scholar M. Amin determine to give the big sack of wheat to the needy, beggar despite his wife opposition?
2- The Almighty God says: “An orphan with claims of relationship,” Why does the Almighty God appoint the charity to be for the relative orphan at first. Is the word orphan restricted only to the child who lost his parents?
3- What is the result of the good actions and charity that human renders and where do they lead him finally?
4- The Almighty God says: {Such are the people of goodness and prosperity} what is the meaning of “ goodness and prosperity “ in this holy Verse?