The Light of the Holy Qur'an — Page 139
T H e J O u r NA l—F AT e H M A S IH T H e J O u r NA l—F AT e H M A S IH 139 That is, Allah has endeared the faith to you and has made it look beautiful to your hearts. Then He says: 1 َّنِا َهّٰللا ُرُمْاَي ِلْدَعْلاِب َو ِناَسْحِاْلا َو ِئٓاَتْيِا يِذ ىٰبْرُقْلا This verse comprises the rights of God and the rights of mankind. Its excellence in eloquence is that God Almighty has firmly ordained both these rights. I have already detailed the part about the obligations towards mankind. In the context of the obligations towards God, this verse means that you should be obedient to God as necessitated by justice, for it is His right that you should obey the One who created you and nurtured you and is continu- ing to do so at every moment. And if you have greater understand- ing than this, you should obey Him not only because of His right but because of your sense of gratitude, for He is the Benefactor and His favours are so many that they cannot be counted. It is obvious that the level above that of justice is where, in rendering obedience, one also takes His favours into account. Constant study and observation of the favours keeps the coun- tenance and attributes of the Benefactor before one’s eyes; there- fore, it is included in the definition of i h s a n [beneficence], that you should worship God in such a way as though you are actually beholding Him. Those who obey God Almighty are, in reality, of three kinds. Firstly, there are those who do not properly appreciate 1. Verily, Allah requires you to abide by justice, and to treat with grace, and give like the giving of kin to kin; ( S u rah an-Na h l, 16:91). [Publisher]