#tafsir

Shaykh Muhammad Bin Salih Al-Uthaymeen [رحمه الله] said: ❝It is necessary for you to increase in seeking forgiveness as much as you can, since indeed in seeking forgiveness there is relief from every hardship and from every difficulty an exit.❞

-Regularly reflecting on the Book of Allah, the Almighty, the Forgiving 

-and thinking about the details that Allah has mentioned about Jannah and what He has promised the obedient ones

-and thinking about how He has described the punishment of the hellfire and what he has threatened the disobedient ones with

-and continuing to do so until one's fear and hope increase, leading him to call out to Allah with both optimism and apprehension, for optimism and apprehension are the fruits of fear and hope. One fears punishment and hopes for rewards, and Allah is the One who guides to the right."

Regarding Allah's statement:

[أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآنَ أَمْ عَلَىٰ قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا ‎]

"Haven't they contemplated the Qur'an? Or are there locks on their hearts?" [24]

Qatadah said: For I swear by Allah, if the people were to contemplate the Qur'an and understand it, they would find that it contains things that would hold them back from disobeying Allah, but instead they put their focus on its secondary less clear parts and came to ruin as a result. 

Al terminar el estudio de la Surah al-Baqarah, volvemos a una sola pregunta. Después de tantas lecciones, ¿hacia qué debemos aspirar en última instancia?

El Imam ar-Razi resume el mensaje general de la Surah al-Baqarah así: conoce a Allah. Sométete a Él. Prepárate para el más allá. Y cuida tu corazón.

Estas cuatro cosas están unidas entre sí. El conocimiento de Allah trae consigo la sumisión. A través de la sumisión se realiza la preparación para el más allá. Y un corazón bien guardado sostiene todo esto.

Sin embargo, ¿cuál es el objetivo final? Es liqa'ullah — el encuentro con Allah. Presentarse ante Allah en el más allá. Ser envuelto por Su complacencia. Este es el propósito último de toda adoración, de toda buena obra, de todo esfuerzo.

Estudiar la Surah al-Baqarah es en sí mismo un viaje hacia esa meta. Aleya tras aleya, lección tras lección, avanzando por este camino, se profundiza el conocimiento de Allah. A medida que se profundiza el conocimiento, se profundiza el amor. A medida que se profundiza el amor, se profundiza la sumisión. Y a medida que se profundiza la sumisión, se profundiza la cercanía a Allah.

Este mundo es un instante. El más allá es la eternidad. Todo lo que hacemos ahora es preparación para esa eternidad — nada más, y nada menos. Pedimos a Allah que acepte esta preparación y guíe a toda la humanidad hacia el éxito en el más allá por Su misericordia.

Amén.

What does it actually mean to be pure? The Qur'an's answer reaches far deeper than outward appearance.

WHAT IS TRUE PURITY?

A person must give attention to the purity of the heart no less than to the purity of the body or outward appearance.

Malice, envy, arrogance, and hypocrisy are diseases that defile the heart just as surely as dirt defiles the skin — except their damage runs far deeper and is far harder to notice, both by others and by the person carrying them. A person's clothing may be spotless, their outward conduct impeccable, yet if the heart is filled with anger, jealousy, or pride, their spiritual purity remains incomplete no matter how clean the exterior appears.

The Qur'an's aim in commanding purification is never limited to the body alone — its deeper aim is to purify the heart itself, since it is the heart's condition, not the body's appearance, that ultimately determines a person's true state before God.