A Sign of Allah - Chaudhry Muhammad Zafrulla Khan — Page 12
A Sign of Allah 12 say it in the form of a prayer. And when the believers of God are commanded to speak positively about their deceased loved ones and elders, that too is to be done not in the form of passing a verdict but in the form of a prayer. This is because as far as the final judgement is concerned, it is only up to God to determine virtue and righteousness. He alone is the knower of the unseen and the seen. He states: 1 اَلَف اْۤوُّكَزُت ْمُكَسُفْنَا١ؕ َوُه ُمَلْعَا ِنَمِب ىٰقَّتا۰۰ That you should neither claim to be righteous nor give ver - dicts regarding your friends and loved ones that they are certainly righteous. On the other hand, the Holy Prophet s as stated that you should speak of the deceased in good terms and in such a way that you give them the benefit of any doubt. But there cannot be any contradiction between these two. There is no contradiction between the words of God and the Holy Prophet s as. The implication is only that you speak of your brothers, your elders, and your friends positively and in a way that gives them the benefit of any doubt. You do so with the hope that God Almighty finds your estimations of them to prove true. And even if they are not true, then they become a prayer for them. You should speak of them in such a way that Allah the Almighty’s mercy may fall on them, and 1. So ascribe not purity to yourselves. He knows him best who is truly righteous. ( S u rah an-Najm, 53:33) [Publisher].