The Chosen Message on the Path of Being Chosen (Reflections on the Verses of Al-Imran)

Qualifications for Being Chosen

When the prophet informed the Children of Israel that Talut had been sent to them as king, they said in astonishment: how can he have kingship when he is poor, with neither lineage nor wealth, while we are the ones descended from the line of kings!? So he informed them that his qualifications for being chosen were "knowledge and ability" (and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature). He mentioned knowledge first because of its great honor, and stature is the strength that qualifies him for war; it is any ability and talent with which Allah has blessed a person.

But here we are not talking about kingship; rather, about Allah's choosing of His righteous servants to bring them near to Him in the stations of servitude.

When Allah chooses a servant, He doesn't ask him for 10 years of experience! Nor for passion and desire, not at all! Even if he were drowning in darkness, the will of Allah is above the will of every creature, even if he resists guidance and hates it. But there are qualities observed in those whom Allah chooses:

Humility: toward the truth and surrender to it; because Allah does not guide an arrogant one (I will turn away from My signs those who are arrogant upon the earth without right).

Supplicating for guidance: that He make him righteous and admit him among the righteous

Love of knowledge, searching for the truth, diligence and hard work; and any knowledge at all! For Allah loves resolve and taking the books with strength, and this qualifies him tomorrow to study His Mighty Book.

Ability and talent in anything: so that tomorrow he becomes a hope that strengthens his society and the homeland he lives in, if he becomes righteous and then a reformer.

The Surah of the Righteous

(Say, [O Muhammad], "If you should love Allah, then follow me, [so] Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.") The path of love is in these two: Quran and Sunnah; whoever follows them and acts upon them, his face has succeeded.

Then He mentioned that the path to the love of Allah has landmarks and stars, in whose footsteps a person walks and so reaches it:

(Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Noah and the family of Abraham and the family of 'Imran over the worlds. Descendants, some of them from others. And Allah is Hearing and Knowing.) I reflected on it: He mentioned Adam and Noah singly, but as for Abraham He mentioned his household, and likewise the family of 'Imran; because their descendants were righteous, so they were a house radiating light. So the surah set out in it the conduct and path of the awliya, to follow their example on the path of righteousness and wilayah, and that is why He named it Al-Imran; and because of the standing of Abraham (peace be upon him), He mentioned him often in this surah.

And Allah is Hearing and Knowing: "And Allah knows who deserves to be chosen, so He chooses him; for He hears their words, and knows their states and what is in their consciences; that is why He favored them and chose them..in it is an indication that He chose them with complete knowledge of them; as an encouragement toward their states and toward following their deeds and words ." al-Tafsir al-Muharrar

(and of the righteous) an explanation that there is no rank greater than a person being righteous; because in all actions and abstentions he persists upon the most righteous way and the most complete path, and it is known that this encompasses all stations in worldly life and in religion, in the actions of the hearts and in the actions of the limbs" al-Tafsir al-Muharrar

The beginning of the path is guidance and the second part is good tidings (guidance and good tidings)

Then, if one's foot becomes firm in guidance,

the good tidings come to him in the middle!

(So the angels called him while he was standing in prayer in the chamber, "Indeed, Allah gives you good tidings") by way of hastening openings for the one who hastens to good deeds

And the foot does not become firm except through knowledge

(And those firm in knowledge)

“Whoever fulfills his oath, whose tongue is truthful, whose heart is upright, and who keeps his stomach and private parts chaste; that is the one firm in knowledge”

And al-Fakhr said: he is the one who knows Allah, and the one who knows the Quran. And the summary: being firm in knowledge is not through the abundance of books and memorized texts, but through acting upon the Quran and studying it, knowing Allah, and earnest striving with action and knowledge on this path.

Uprightness of heart!

(O Mary, indeed Allah has chosen you and purified you and chosen you above the women of the worlds)

The ranks of being chosen:

1- Being chosen over the self: by purification from faults and sins (indeed Allah has chosen you)

2- Being chosen over the group: (and chosen you above the women of the worlds).

"He chose her for her abundant worship, her asceticism, her nobility, and her purity from impurities and whisperings" — Ibn Kathir

And likewise John (peace be upon him) (a leader and ḥaṣūran (“abstaining”)) ḥaṣūran, meaning withholding himself from desires, and he attained this station through much striving.

And whoever neglects striving will have much torment of the soul! -for you are free, and your choice is the pain or the cure-

(Before, as guidance for the people. And He revealed the Criterion. Indeed, those who disbelieve in the verses of Allah will have a severe punishment) :in it is a likening of what befalls the soul of the narrowness and pain of punishment, to one who is bound tight, fettered, and constricted" .-al-Tafsir al-Muharrar

And the one who devotes himself to the Quran, acting upon it, reciting it; is in healing and a garden

(Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire) He beautified them in the soul; as a test, and were it not for them, the hypocrite would not be distinguished from the believer, nor the believer from the God-fearing, nor the God-fearing from the pure one who puts nothing before the love of Allah

And in al-Bukhari, Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: (O Allah, we cannot but rejoice at what You have made beautiful for us. O Allah, I ask You that I spend it in its right way). And the meaning of Allah's beautifying is: by bringing into existence and making ready for benefit, and creating the natural disposition to incline toward these things. And Allah the Exalted beautifies them as a trial and a test; because were it not for the beautifying of these things in people's hearts, the true believer would not be known. For the one strong in faith does not put them before the love of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic." al-Tafsir al-Muharrar

Guarding the frontiers of the soul is the greatest ribat: guarding against thoughts and memories, lest their scent and stirring slip through to the heart, and turning them away with seeking refuge and saying la ilaha illa Allah

And He concluded Al-Imran with this meaning (O you who have believed, persevere and endure and remain stationed and fear Allah that you may be successful)

Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned the reason this verse was revealed: "There was no battle in the time of the Prophet ﷺ in which they would remain stationed; rather, it was revealed about people who frequent the mosques, praying the prayers at their times, then remembering Allah in them. (Persevere) in the five prayers, (and endure) against yourselves and your desires, (and remain stationed) in your mosques." — Ibn Kathir

“Performing ablution thoroughly despite difficulties, taking many steps to the mosques, and waiting for prayer after prayer; that is the ribat …and he repeated it three times”

Whether you show what is within yourselves..: "a direction toward purifying the hearts and being mindful of Allah's knowledge at all times, so that the servant is ashamed before his Lord that He should see his heart as a place for every bad thought; rather, he occupies his thoughts with what brings him near to Allah…what is in your breasts: the inner selves and consciences, and this follows the known usage of the language of attributing the soul's thoughts to the breast and the heart; because the emotions of the soul and the hesitations of thinking are all felt as movements in the breasts " al-Tafsir al-Muharrar

(And caused her to grow in a good manner and put her in the care of Zechariah)

Mary (peace be upon her) was in the care of Zechariah, and this is Allah's good raising of her: that He placed before her a role model whom she would follow in righteous deeds.

So whoever wants the path of guidance; let him watch the righteous, mix with them, attach himself to them, search for them, listen and read, so that perhaps a spark of blessing reaches him.

The Blessings of Withholding

(Never will you attain the good [reward] until you spend [in the way of Allah] from that which you love) and after it came (All food was lawful to the Children of Israel except what Israel had made unlawful to himself) (Israel: Jacob) made camel meat unlawful to himself because of the sciatica he had.

The connection between the two verses:

You will not attain any good, including the path of guidance, except through two things:

1- That you spend some of what you love (He said: from that which you love, and this is from His mercy to us, meaning some of it, not all of it) and He did not restrict it: spending is general and includes everything Allah has provided you: time, knowledge, wealth,,

So you will not attain the knowledge of the Quran and its understanding, and reach the peak of action and its reality, until you give it all your time so that it gives you some of itself

2- Deprivation: that you deprive yourself of what you love, crave, and desire. And among these are whims: you keep yourself from them and besiege them (and ḥaṣūran), as though he lays siege to desires, so when the winds of withholding arrive, the gusts of gifts come, and this is the meaning of the saying of Ibn Ata'illah (the withholding was the very essence of the giving).

(So those who emigrated or were evicted from their homes)

The emigration of the awliya is emigration from evil: evil deeds, evil companions, and everything unbefitting people of honor. “The emigrant is the one who abandons evil” “The emigrant is the one who abandons what Allah has forbidden” These are the ones whose supplication Allah answered (Our Lord, and grant us what You promised us through Your messengers..) they sought victory hastily in this world, so He informed them of the answer to their supplication (And their Lord responded to them..) because of their emigration, their patience, and their striving.

(Distinguished in this world and the Hereafter)

Distinction in this world: through Sharia knowledge. Al-Shafi'i said: "Allah has never taken an ignorant person as a wali; if He takes him, He teaches him".

That is because worship alone without knowledge may make the feet sink instead of making them firm, and Satan makes it seem fair to the one who does it, and perhaps he falls into extremism and other afflictions. So the wali must have beneficial knowledge that he learns and teaches, and righteous deeds that bring him near.

He found with her provision: books and pages of knowledge. For knowledge is the provision of the one who knows Allah, and his sustenance.

(They are not [all] the same; among the People of the Scripture is a community standing [in obedience], reciting the verses of Allah during periods of the night and prostrating [in prayer]) They are the community from the People of the Scripture who entered Islam; so they stood in prayer at night while people slept. And we cannot imagine a wali of Allah who does not pray the night prayer or witr, even if just one rak'ah, and we cannot imagine a wali of Allah who has no daily portion of the Quran, even if just one verse.

Gifts of Love and Grants of Nearness

He concluded this path by showing that whoever is patient on the path of wilayah attains it by the enabling of Allah (whoever walks the path arrives) ✨

And there came to him all kinds of honors, the sweetness of openings, and victory over enemies "that patience and God-fearing repel enemies; because of His saying, Glorified is He: And if you are patient and fear Allah, their plot will not harm you at all" al-Tafsir al-Muharrar

And victory in this world and the Hereafter (and make those who follow you superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection) they are the nation of Muhammad ﷺ, who follow all the messengers, and by this Allah honors them with victory in this world and the Hereafter

But as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, He will give them in full their rewards ( that is: as for those who believed and did righteous deeds, He will complete for them their recompense of reward without decrease or deprivation, in this world and the Hereafter; in this world through victory and triumph, honor, a good life, a good name, and other than that, and in the Hereafter through Paradise and lasting bliss " al-Tafsir al-Muharrar

— Shoroog Almehmadi