Surah Al-Baqarah 2:3

ٱلَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ

2:3 To believe in the existence of hidden reality is the first requirement for Divine Guidance. Yu’minûna يُؤْمِنُونَ is derived from amana امَنَ and is the plural of Mu’min مُؤمن(believer). Amana means to trust, be secure from, and to be safe. The word Îmân إيمان is also derived from the same root and is usually translated as “faith” or “belief”. The word Islâmإسلآم expresses only outward submission whereas Îmân signifies sincerity and firmness of Faith in the Absolute Truth. For a true believer, Îmân comes first and Islam afterwards. However, in those people who profess to the faith because of tradition and custom, Islâm takes precedence over Îmân.

The Holy Qur’ân explains the meaning of Yu’minûna يُؤْمِنُونَ in 32:15-16 where we read, “The believers are those who believe in Our revelations, who when they are reminded by means of them, fall down prostrate and proclaim the Glory with the Praises of their Lord and they are not proud. While getting up for late-night Prayer (-tahajjud), they forsake their comfortable beds calling upon their Lord with an awe-inspired and hopeful state of mind. And they spend out of that what their Lord has provided them” (32:15-16). In the following verses, we find other descriptions of Mu’min - “The believers are those whose hearts tremble when the name of Allâh is mentioned before them, and when His Messages are recited to them, it increases them in Faith, and in their Lord only do they put their trust; who observe Prayer and go on spending from that which their Lord has provided for them. It is these who are the believers in Truth” (8:2-4); “Believers are those who remain constant and steadfast in their Prayers.”(70:23; 23:10).

There are many other verses that describe believers (cf. 3:139; 4:60, 65, 136; 5:81; 7:85; 8:1-3, 74; 9:110; 24:58-64; 49:6-12,15). Chapter 23 of the Holy Qur’ân is called “The Believers” (Al-Mu’minûn). This chapter describes their main characteristics in much more detail. There is a Tradition (- hadîth) that says, “Gabriel asked the Holy Prophet (pbuh), What is îmân (belief)? The Holy Prophet (pbuh) replied, It is the belief in Allâh, His angels, His Books, all His messengers and in the Day of Resurrection (cf. 2:285; 2:177; Bukhârî; Ibn Mâjâ; Abû Muslim). He did not say belief in predestination. This was added later. The Holy Prophet (pbuh) used to say that there are more than 70 branches of îmân, the most excellent of which is the declaration that there is no God other than Allâh, and that there cannot be and will never be One worthy of worship but He. When asked which îmân has the highest grade, he replied, “Good morals and the humblest of which is the removal of what is injurious from a path.” (Bukhârî).

Verse 3 of chapter 2 lays down the three basic duties of a believer, namely: belief in the unseen realities, observance of ritual Prayer and discharge of duties arising out of kindness and affection towards Allâh’s creatures (Bukhârî). Îmân is also spoken of as light (57:12-13) and light is something which makes manifest what is hidden – Ghaib غَيْبَ. Ghaib غَيْبَ is something that is invisible and hidden from human senses. Ghaib can also be a state in which someone or something is secluded, hidden from view, removed, or remote from others. Here it refers to the truths, realities, and facts that are not visible or conceivable by ordinary people (Lane, Tâj, Lisân). Ghaib does not apply to Allâh as He says, “Allâh knows the hidden realities of the heavens and the earth”إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُ غَيْبَ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ (49:18); “Such is He, Who knows the hidden realities and the obvious” ذَ‌لِكَ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ (32:6) and “He is the Knower of hidden realities and visible” عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ (13:9)

The statement “those who believe in the hidden realities”يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ does not demand from us belief in imaginary or unreal things, but in certain realities that are hidden from our eyes. Some of these realities were discovered with time, while others are yet unseen and some are beyond the reach of perception through our ordinary senses and cognizance; nonetheless, they exist and are real. Angels, Revelation, the Hereafter, Paradise and Hell, and the conservation of our deeds and actions that will result in reward or punishment are all hidden realties. They are unseen, but they are realities conveyed to us in this Holy Book. We find in the Holy Qur’ân arguments in reference to these realities. The Book demands from us that we make use of our reasoning, reflection and logic in order to understand what is being conveyed (cf. 12:2). There is nothing in this Book that insults intelligence, disputes reason or negates scientific discoveries. The Book appeals not only to human conscience but also to the intellect. Its teachings reject dogmas and make logic, mindfulness, and reason the only tests of religious truth and its beneficence. There is no chapter that refers to anything unseen without giving an argument in support of its reference. The Holy Qur’ân does not impose upon its followers any mysteries of faith or invite them to believe in them blindly. A Prophet is visible as a man. The fact of exactly how he has been sent with a mission and message from Allâh is unseen to the ordinary human eye, yet what he conveys appeals to the innocent human intellect which is designed to recognize truth. Belief in the hidden realities يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ thus conveys the idea of accepting a certain principle as the truth; when the truth becomes manifested then it becomes îmân.

Ghaib also means “lonely and solitary” (Lane; Tâj), “Belief in the hidden realities” يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ Yuminûna bil-Ghaib يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱلْغَيْبِ would mean that the Muttaqîn mentioned in the preceding verse fear their Lord in their hearts, even when they are alone and in a solitary state. They discharge their duties and perform their worship without the thought of any visible or immediate reward. Their actions result from their belief in the unseen reality. The verse 21:49, الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُم بِالْغَيْبِ وَهُم مِّنَ السَّاعَةِ مُشْفِقُونَ“Those who stand in awe before their Lord (and fear him in their hearts) when they are alone (and in a solitary state), and who dread the hour of Judgment” conveys this idea.

Yuqîmûn al-Salât يُقِيمُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ is usually translated as “Who observe the Prayer”. Yuqîmûn يُقِيمُونَ is derived from aqâmaاقامة, which means one who kept the affair in a proper state (Tâj). Here, the expression refers to those who perform their ritual Prayers according to all the prescribed conditions and in a proper state.

The Day of Resurrection is called qiyâmat قيامة, which is from the same root. Qâma قامَalso means to stand, stand firm and stand up. It also has the meaning to be lively or to appear in full light. Thus, the word qâma has a very broad meaning. All of these can apply to yuqîmûn.

Salât is Prayer and Al-Salâtٱلصَّلَوٰةَ with the suffix al is that particular Prayer, which the Holy Prophet (pbuh) demonstrated from his own example. It consists of three parts: physical purification and cleanliness; certain gestures including ruk‘û ركوع(- bowing down) and sajdah سجدة (- prostration) and recitation of Qur’ânic verses and additional Prayers taught by the Holy Prophet (pbuh).

The physical movements are the index of our inner feelings, and the recitation is direct conversation with Allâh using His own Words. Prayer "restrains from indecency and abominable things and loathsome deed and all that runs counter to reason and moral sense" says the Holy Book (29:45), and this is the main purpose of Al-Salât. The performance of ritual Prayer according to all the prescribed conditions requires strength, energy and the highest level of concentration on the part of the performer. It is also the first condition to be met on the road to developing taqwâ (cf. 2: 238-239). By praying, we render the best service to ourselves; and by adoring and glorifying Allâh we are reminded of the Object of Veneration.

Prayer, like charity, is as old as humanity and exists in all religions in various forms. However, the Qur’ânic objective of Prayer is not fulfiled by mindlessly repeating words on a bead, distracting our minds with dancing or music, performing ritual acts that can gratify only the eyes or ears, or performing elaborate ceremonies too complex for most believers.

The Prophet (pbuh) of Allâh rid people of all superstitions because they block the path to sincere and rational glorification of our Lord Al-Salât is du‘â دعاء meaning to supplicate in humility. Believers are taught to say: قُلْ إِنَّ صَلَاتِي وَنُسُكِي وَمَحْيَايَ وَمَمَاتِي لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ - “My Prayer and my sacrifice and my living and my dying all are for the sake of Allâh” (6:163). Accordingly, our Master is not to be treated as a servant, being asked to do this or give that. It is He who demands, not his lowly creatures. The gist of Qur’ânic Prayers is summarized in the following verses: “Call upon your Lord with humility and longing for Him, full of hope” ادْعُوا رَبَّكُمْ تَضَرُّعًا وَخُفْيَةً (7:55). “Continue to remember your Lord in your mind with humility and awe and in a voice not loud, in the mornings and the evenings”وَاذْكُر رَّبَّكَ فِي نَفْسِكَ تَضَرُّعًا وَخِيفَةً وَدُونَ الْجَهْرِ مِنَ الْقَوْلِ بِالْغُدُوِّ وَالْآصَالِ (7:205). “Your Lord will not hold you to be of any worth if you do not call on Him”قُلْ مَا يَعْبَأُ بِكُمْ رَبِّي لَوْلَا دُعَاؤُكُمْ (25:77).

Razaqnâ-hum رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ is a compound word of the root verb razaqa رِزق - to provide, and the pronouns nâ نا (“we”) and hum هُم (“them”). The related word Rizq رِزق is something whereby one profits; anything from which one derives an advantage; that can be food or knowledge. The expression وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـٰهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ “they spend out of that which We have provided them” includes their wealth, time, offspring, power, influence, knowledge, intellectual qualities and other capacities (Râghib). This expression is fittingly explained in the saying of the Holy Prophet (pbuh): “You yourself have a right or claim upon you, your Lord has a claim upon you, your guest has a claim upon you and your family has a claim upon you. So you should give everyone his due.”(Tirmidhî).