Surah 3. Al-i'Imran, Ayah 17
| الصَّابِرِينَ وَالصَّادِقِينَ وَالْقَانِتِينَ وَالْمُنْفِقِينَ وَالْمُسْتَغْفِرِينَ بِالْأَسْحَارِ |
| Transliteration | : | as.- s.aabiren wa- as.- s.aadiqen wa- al- qaaniten wa- al- munfiqen wa- al- mustaghfiren bi- al- ash.aar |
| Pickthall | : | The steadfast, and the truthful, and the obedient, those who spend (and hoard not), those who pray for pardon in the watches of the night. |
| Asad | : | those who are patient in adversity, and true to their word, and truly devout, and who spend [in God's way], and pray for forgiveness from their innermost hearts.10 |
| Malik | : | who are steadfast, sincere, obedient, and charitable, and who pray for forgiveness in the morning time. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Those who show patience firmness and self-control; who are true (in word and deed); who worship devoutly; who spend (in the way of Allah); and who pray for forgiveness in the early hours of the morning. 356 357 |
Note - 10The expression bi'l-ashar is usually taken to mean "at
the times before daybreak", or simply "before daybreak".
This is in agreement with the Prophet's recommendation to
his followers (forthcoming from several authentic
Traditions) to devote the latter part of the night, and
particularly the time shortly before dawn, to intensive
prayer. But while the word sahar (also spelled sahr and
suhr), of which ashar is the plural, undoubtedly denotes
"the time before daybreak", it also signifies - in the
spellings sahar and suhr - "the core of the heart", "the
inner part of the heart", or simply "heart" (cf. Lisan
al-'Arab; also Lane IV, 1316). It seems to me that in the
context of the above Qur'an-verse - as well as of 51:18
- this latter rendering is preferable to the conventional
one: for, although the value of praying before daybreak
has undoubtedly been stressed by the Prophet, it is not
very plausible that the Qur'an should have tied the
prayer for forgiveness to a particular time of day.
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Note - 356Sabr (Sabirin) includes many shades of meaning: I have
specified three here, viz., patience, firmness, and
self-control. See ii. 45 and ii. 153 and notes thereon.
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Note - 357True servants of Allah are described in iii. 16 and 17.
They have faith, humility, and hope (iii. 16); and they
have certain virtues (iii. 17) viz., (1) patience,
steadfastness, self-restraint, and all that goes under
the full definition of Sabr; this shows a certain
attitude of mind: (2) in all their dealings they are true
and sincere as they are also in their promises and words;
this marks them out in social conduct: (3) further, their
spiritual worship is earnest and deep, an inner
counterpart of their outward conduct; (4) their worship
of Allah shows itself in their love of their fellow-men,
for they are ready and liberal in charity: and (5) their
self-discipline is so great that the first thing they do
every morning is humbly to approach their God.
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The expression bi'l-ashar is usually taken to mean "at the times before daybreak", or simply "before daybreak". This is in agreement with the Prophet's recommendation to his followers (forthcoming from several authentic Traditions) to devote the latter part of the night, and particularly the time shortly before dawn, to intensive prayer. But while the word sahar (also spelled sahr and suhr), of which ashar is the plural, undoubtedly denotes "the time before daybreak", it also signifies - in the spellings sahar and suhr - "the core of the heart", "the inner part of the heart", or simply "heart" (cf. Lisan al-'Arab; also Lane IV, 1316). It seems to me that in the context of the above Qur'an-verse - as well as of 51:18 - this latter rendering is preferable to the conventional one: for, although the value of praying before daybreak has undoubtedly been stressed by the Prophet, it is not very plausible that the Qur'an should have tied the prayer for forgiveness to a particular time of day. |
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Sabr (Sabirin) includes many shades of meaning: I have specified three here, viz., patience, firmness, and self-control. See ii. 45 and ii. 153 and notes thereon. |
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True servants of Allah are described in iii. 16 and 17. They have faith, humility, and hope (iii. 16); and they have certain virtues (iii. 17) viz., (1) patience, steadfastness, self-restraint, and all that goes under the full definition of Sabr; this shows a certain attitude of mind: (2) in all their dealings they are true and sincere as they are also in their promises and words; this marks them out in social conduct: (3) further, their spiritual worship is earnest and deep, an inner counterpart of their outward conduct; (4) their worship of Allah shows itself in their love of their fellow-men, for they are ready and liberal in charity: and (5) their self-discipline is so great that the first thing they do every morning is humbly to approach their God. |
