Surah Furqan Ayat 63 (25:63 Quran) With Tafsir

Ala-Maududi

(25:63) The true servants of the Merciful One are those^[78] who walk on the earth gently^[79] and when the foolish ones address them, they simply say: “Peace to you”;^[80]

78. That is, though all human beings are by birth the servants of the Merciful before Whom you have been invited to prostrate yourselves, and which you disdain, his true servants are those who adopt the way of His obedience consciously and develop such desirable characteristics. Then the natural consequences of the prostration are those found in the lives of the believers and the evil results of rejecting the invitation, those found in your lives. Here attention is being drawn to the two patterns of character and life. First of those who had accepted the message of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and were following it, and the second of those who persisted in the ways of ignorance. Here only the prominent characteristics of the true believers have been cited, and for contrast, the characteristics of the disbelievers have been left to every discerning eye and mind which could see them all around in the society and make its own decision.

79. That is; they do not walk haughtily and arrogantly like the tyrants and mischief-makers, but their gait is of a gentle, right thinking and good natured person. Walking humbly does not mean walking like a weak or sick person, nor does it imply the gait of a hypocrite who walks ostentatiously to show humility or fear of God. According to traditions, the Prophet (peace be upon him) himself used to walk with firm, quick steps. One day Caliph Umar saw a young man walking slowly like a weak, sick person, and asked him: Are you ill? When the man replied in the negative, the Caliph raised his whip, rebuked him and told him to walk like a healthy man. This shows that the humble gait is the natural gait of a noble and gentle person and not a gait which shows weakness and undue humility.

In this connection, the first characteristic of the true servants of Allah to which attention has been drawn, is their gait. This is because the gait indicates the character of an individual. If a man walks in a humble and dignified way, as opposed to a haughty, vain and proud manner, it shows that he is a noble and gentle person. Thus the different gaits of different types of people show what sort of characters they possess. The verse means to imply that the true servants of the Merciful can be easily recognized by their gait among the people. Their attitude of Allah’s worship and obedience has changed them so thoroughly that it can be seen at first sight from their gate that they are noble, humble and good natured people, who cannot be expected to indulge in any mischief. For further explanation, see (Surah Bani Israil, ayat 37) note 43 and (Surah Luqman, ayat 18) note 33.

80. “the ignorant people”: Rude and insolent people and not uneducated and illiterate ones. The true servants of the Merciful do not believe in vengeance, even though they may have to deal with the ignorant people who behave rudely and insolently towards them. If they happen to come across such people, they wish them peace and turn away. The same thing has been expressed in (Surah Al-Qasas, Ayat 55), thus: And when they hear something vain and absurd they turn away from it, saying, our deeds are for us and your deeds are for you, peace be to you, we have nothing to do with the ignorant. For details see (Surah Al-Qasas, ayat 52-55) ayat 72-78.

Ibn-Kathir

63. And the servants of the Most Gracious are those who walk on the earth Hawna, and when the foolish address them they say; “Salama.” 64. And those who spend the night in worship of their Lord, prostrate and standing. 65. And those who say: “Our Lord! Avert from us the torment of Hell. Verily, its torment is ever an inseparable, permanent punishment.” 66. Evil indeed it is as an abode and as a place to rest in. 67. And those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor stingy, but are in a just balance between them.

These are the attributes of the believing servants of Allah,

(those who walk on the earth Hawna,) meaning that they walk with dignity and humility, not with arrogance and pride. This is like the Ayah:

(And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance…) (17:37). So these people do not walk with conceit or arrogance or pride. This does not mean that they should walk like sick people, making a show of their humility, for the leader of the sons of Adam (the Prophet) used to walk as if he was coming downhill, and as if the earth were folded up beneath him. What is meant here by Hawn is serenity and dignity, as the Messenger of Allah said:

(When you come to the prayer, do not come rushing in haste. Come calmly and with tranquility, and whatever you catch up with, pray, and whatever you miss, make it up.)

(and when the foolish address them they say: “Salama.”) If the ignorant people insult them with bad words, they do not respond in kind, but they forgive and overlook, and say nothing but good words. This is what the Messenger of Allah did: the more ignorant the people, the more patient he would be. This is as Allah says:

(And when they hear Al-Laghw (evil or vain talk), they withdraw from it) (28:55). Then Allah says that their nights are the best of nights, as He says:

(And those who spend the night in worship of their Lord, prostrate and standing.) meaning, worshipping and obeying Him. This is like the Ayat:

(They used to sleep but little by night. And in the hours before dawn, they were asking for forgiveness) (51:17-18).

(Their sides forsake their beds…) (32:16).

(Is one who is obedient to Allah, prostrating himself or standing during the hours of the night, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord…) (39:9). Allah says:

(And those who say: “Our Lord! Avert from us the torment of Hell. Verily, its torment is ever an inseparable punishment.”) meaning, ever-present and never ending. Al-Hasan said concerning the Ayah,

(Verily, its torment is ever an inseparable, permanent punishment.) Everything that strikes the son of Adam, then disappears, does not constitute an inseparable, permanent punishment. The inseparable, permanent punishment is that which lasts as long as heaven and earth. This was also the view of Sulayman At-Taymi.

(Evil indeed it is as an abode and as a place to rest in.) means, how evil it looks as a place to dwell and how evil it is as a place to rest.

(And those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor stingy…) They are not extravagant, spending more than they need, nor are they miserly towards their families, not spending enough on their needs. But they follow the best and fairest way. The best of matters are those which are moderate, neither one extreme nor the other.

(but are in a just balance between them.) This is like the Ayah,

(And let not your hand be tied to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach.)(17:29)