Maryam مريم

They are from the prophets Allah lovingly blessed, from the seed of Adam; of those we carried

with Nūḥ; from the seed of Ibrāhīm and Israel and of those we guided and singled out for ourselves. When the verses of Raḥmān were recited upon them, they fell down, prostrating and crying.

أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ مِن ذُرِّيَّةِ ءَادَمَ وَمِمَّنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍۢ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّةِ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَإِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ وَمِمَّنْ

Then an evil succession succeeded them, whose desires distanced them from the Ṣalāt, so soon

they will receive Ghayy

Commentary covering verses 59–60

إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَٰلِحًۭا But the one who repented, believed and worked as a Ṣāliḥ. Those alone enter the garden; not being wronged in the least.

Commentary covering verses 59–60

But the one who repented, believed and worked as a Ṣāliḥ. Those alone enter the garden; not being wronged in the least.

Gardens of eternal residences which Raḥmān has promised his servants in the unseen/ at a

time unseen. Listen! His promise, truly, will be reached.

This is a passage in Surah Maryam that is dedicated to the ṣalāt- the five daily prayers performed by the Muslims. Most people do not get anything from the five daily prayers except meaningless physical effort while there are others who would rather die than miss a single prayer. This passage explains why most people do not find peace in Ṣalāt.

This passage comes after the mention of many prophets. Allah will mention Zachariah, John, Mary, (not a prophetess but is called the greatest woman by Qurʾān) Jesus, Abraham, Moses, Ishmael, and Enoch. Then comes this verse:

أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ ٱلَّذِينَ أَنْعَمَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مِّنَ ٱلنَّبِيِّۦنَ مِن ذُرِّيَّةِ ءَادَمَ وَمِمَّنْ حَمَلْنَا مَعَ نُوحٍۢ وَمِن ذُرِّيَّةِ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَإِسْرَٰٓءِيلَ وَمِمَّنْ هَدَيْنَا وَٱجْتَبَيْنَآ ۚ إِذَا تُتْلَىٰ عَلَيْهِمْ ءَايَٰتُ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنِ خَرُّوا۟ سُجَّدًۭا وَبُكِيًّۭا

They are from the prophets Allah lovingly blessed, from the seed of Adam; of those we carried with Nūḥ; from the seed of Ibrāhīm and Israel and of those we guided and singled out. When the verses of Raḥmān were recited upon them, they fell down, prostrating and crying.

These are men and women God singled out for Himself. As with any person, he leaves behind a legacy. The legacy of the people God singled out especially for Himself is the ṣalāt - the five daily prayers. And so the next verse is:

فَخَلَفَ مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ خَلْفٌ أَضَاعُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ ٱلشَّهَوَٰتِ ۖ فَسَوْفَ يَلْقَوْنَ غَيًّا Then an evil succession succeeded them, who, driven by desires, distanced themselves from the ṣalāt, so soon they will receive ghayy The word ghayy comes from the root ghayn wāw alif which was used for: ● Locusts

● Stomach bloating because of drinking too much milk ● For ambushing and killing ● A trap dug for a wolf with a pit containing a young goat. When the wolf sees it, it enters the pit and falls into the trap.

● A trap used to catch a lion ● A land that misleads - travelers get lost in it, drawn by illusion of a path but unable to find their way through The core meaning is attraction or inclination towards something that results in harm.¹³⁸

The locusts swarm the earth and consume the crops - causing harm. The person who drank so much milk that it caused bloating obviously liked milk a lot. His desire for milk led him to harm himself. A wolf and the lion follow their desires and enter the pit only to find out it was a trap. Being driven by their desires, they were caught. The person who was ambushed was deceptively led to walk into it. The travelers are misled by the land. They think there is a path ahead only to find out it is a dead end. This verse of the Qurʾān pairs desires with the word ghayy.

Your desires are a trap laid out for you. A trap has to be something that appeals to you. The goat lying in the pit obviously appeals to the wolf. They have a pull that attracts us to them. But they are only appealing to us so that we fall into the trap. They are a lure, a sucker punch. Follow your desires and you fall into the trap. This is

ghayy. The consequence of following your desires; of getting caught in the trap like a fool. Once the wolf gets caught, it is called a fool for falling into such an obvious trap.

In this context, it means all desires that go against Islamic teachings. It is not the desire itself that is condemned, but acting on them outside of bounds permitted by Islam. This includes all sorts of prohibitions such as but not limited to, alcohol, extra marital relations, gambling, charging interest on money, earning money through impermissible means etc.

We follow our desires because we think they will make us happy. They will fill a certain hole in our heart. Ask a drug addict. Why does he consume those drugs? Because they appeal to him. He is drawn to them and then once he consumes them

he regrets it. It’s a trap. The initial attraction he feels towards the drug is just so he falls into the trap.

But the verse does say it will happen after a delay though. It says soon they will receive the ghayy, not now. It is as if when we enter the pit of our desire, the trap

surrounding us is closing in on us little by little. While the wolf is busy eating the goat, it does not realize the trap is closing in. What this also means is that there is a chance to escape.

If the wolf realizes it’s a trap, it will jump out. There is no escape when it completely closes in but while it has not, there is still a chance. Allah is saying that the sooner people come to their senses, the better or else it will be too late. Time is not on our side. The trap is closing in. Escape before it completely shuts you in. We see this in our daily lives as well. Think of a smoker, it is possible for him to quit smoking in the first month or perhaps in the second month. But if he does not stop smoking, there will come a time when he just cannot quit. They cannot quit on their own. Time is not on the side of a person who follows his desires. There will come a time when he just cannot stop following his desires even if he wants to. By following these desires blindly, a person distances himself from God and from the five daily prayers. The five daily prayers hold great significance in Islam. Firstly, as mentioned in surah Ṭāhā, they are a chance to commune directly with God as Moses did on Mount Sinai. Those who follow their desires will be unfit to talk to God and they will find themselves naturally driven away from the ṣalāt.

﴾ ٦٠ ﴿ و۟لَ ىِٕ كَ یَدۡخُلُونَ ٱلۡجَنَّ ةَ وَلَا یُظۡ لَمُونَ شَ یࣰۡٔـا إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلࣰِحا فَأُـٰۤ But the one who repented, believed and worked as a ṣāliḥ. Those alone enter the garden; not being wronged in the least.

The ṣalāt are now called faith itself. You will see at the end why Allah does this. The one who repented, believed and worked as a ṣāliḥ” - ṣāliḥ at its root means correction and rectification. The one who repents and corrects himself, will find peace and worth in the five daily prayers. They will be driven back to them, not away.

These people will not be wronged in the least. They will not be taken into account for their previous actions and everything they do will be repaid in full.

﴾ ٦١ ﴿ جَنَّٰتِ عَدْنٍ ٱلَّتِى وَعَدَ ٱلرَّحْمَٰنُ عِبَادَهُۥ بِٱلْغَيْبِ ۚ إِنَّهُۥ كَانَ وَعْدُهُۥ مَأْتِيًّۭا Gardens of eternal residences which Raḥmān has promised his servants in the unseen/ at a time unseen. Listen! His promise, truly, will be reached.

Why does God mention the phrase “in the unseen / at a time unseen”? Why does He say His ‘promise’, not His ‘Gardens’ will be reached?

The passage started with condemning those who followed their desires. This verse is remarkable in this context. There is a saying that:

The heart cannot desire what the eyes cannot see.

The root of every desire is the eye and our exposure to it. If you never knew of let’s say a smartphone, would you have any desire for it? Seeing something, exposure to it or knowledge of it is what creates its desire in us. But then these gardens, have we ever seen them? We have never seen them. So how are we supposed to desire them? The verse itself says they are unseen. If we do not have a desire for these gardens, how are we supposed to want them or want to work to attain them?

This is exactly it.

Do you trust Allah enough to leave what you see for what you have not seen? Your desires are right in front of you, within arms reach, you not only see them but crave them. Will you leave them for gardens that you have never seen? For a promise that was made to you when you weren’t even around to hear or see it being made? Only the person who truly trusts Allah and truly believes in Him and His promise will do so. That is why the very next sentence is:

Listen! His promise, truly, will be reached.

Though you have never seen these gardens, though you never saw or heard God make this promise, it will come to pass. His promise - His gardens - will be reached by His people. Because God has said so. Do you trust Him on this word? Enough to leave what is right in front of you, for something that you have never seen or heard? This is what those whom Allah singled out for Himself did. Will you too? The person who left these desires and became consistent in the ṣalāt proves by his actions that he believes in this promise of God. That he trusts God completely, enough for him to leave what is not only right in front of his eyes, but what he also deeply craves, for a promise that he never heard or saw God make with his own eyes or heard with his ears. This is what true faith is. This is why Allah called the ṣalāt faith itself and also why He said “His promise will be reached.’ not ‘His gardens will be reached’ because what is being talked about is the promise God made in the unseen as opposed to desires that are sitting right in front of us.

¹³⁸ Al-Muʿjam al-Ishtiqāqī al-Muʾaṣṣal li-Alfāẓ al-Qurʾān al-Karīm, vol. 3, p. 1547