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ʾinna lladhīna hum min khashyati rabbihim mushfiqūna
Indeed those who are apprehensive for the fear of their Lord,
— Ali Quli Qarai
23Al-Mu’minūnالمؤمنونVerse 57 of 118
The Believers23. Al-Mu’minūnالمؤمنون
Al Mu’minūn
The Believers
MeccanVerse 57 of 118
Surah al-Mu’minun - Verses 57-59
57. “Verily those, who from fear of their Lord are cautious, ”
58. “And those who believe in the Signs of their Lord, ”
59. “And those who do not associate (aught) with their Lord, ”
Fear based on cognizant with a view to Allah’s grandeur is a means towards development. After negating the conjectures of those who are mostly self-conceited and ignorant, the Qur’an turns to the state of the believers and those who compete in doing good and then it describes their main characteristics. At first, it says:
“Verily those, who from fear of their Lord are cautious, ”
It is notable that the Qur’anic word /xašyat/ does not mean just any kind of fear, but the kind of fear that is associated with kindness and respect. In view of the fact that ‘khashyat’ is related to the heart whereas ‘ishfaq’ is related to action, the reason why this type of cause and effect is mentioned in the verse will be made clear. The verse in fact implies that the believers are those in whose hearts the fear based upon Allah’s grandeur is found, and its effects become manifested in ftieir deeds and in their observance of the Divine commands.
In other words, the area where ‘khashiyat’ is perfected is the realm of ‘ishfaq’ wherekhashiyat influences behavior and disposes one to fulfil one’s religious duties and refrain from sin. The next verse says:
“And those who believe in the Signs of their Lord, ”
This is to say, to have faith in the verses of Allah which is to believe in the Holy Qur’an. All of the Qur’an is the word of Allah from the ‘ba’ of the /bismillah/ of the first Sura to the ‘seen’ of ‘an Nas’, the last Sura totally have been sent to the Messenger of Allah (S), and all of its commandments must be obeyed. The third verse indicates that the true believers affirm the sublimity and transcendence of Allah above any kind of similarity or association.
It says:
“And those who do not associate (aught) with their Lord, ”
This means that they are pure monotheists. In fact, the negation of polytheism is a result and an effect of believing in the signs of Allah. In other words, having faith in the signs of Allah refers to the Divine positive characteristics and the negation of polytheism refers to His negative characteristics. Polytheism in this verse refers to any kind of polytheism whether hidden or open.