Surah Furqan ayat 63 Tafsir Quran 25:63

﴿وَعِبَادُ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الْأَرْضِ هَوْنًا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الْجَاهِلُونَ قَالُوا سَلَامًا﴾
[ الفرقان: 63]

25:63 And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily, and when the ignorant address them [harshly], they say [words of] peace,

And the true servants of the Compassionate One ‘ibādu’l-rahmāni is the subject and what comes after it all the way up to ūlā’ika yujzawna ‘they will be rewarded’ of verse 75 below are adjectival qualifiers of this subject with the exception of the parenthetical statements are those who walk upon the earth modestly that is peacefully and humbly and who when the ignorant address them with what they are averse to say words of peace salām in other words words by which they are safe yaslamūna from committing any sin;

(And how richly rewarded shall be: a) The worshippers of Allah who observe religious acts of worship enjoined by AL-Rahman; they walk on earth softly, gently and in humility. When addressed by the insolent and impudent whose imprudence gets the better of them, they answer them with the expression of good will «Peace»

Attributes of the Servants of the Most Gracious These are the attributes of the believing servants of Allah, الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الاٌّرْضِ هَوْناً ( those who walk on the earth Hawna, ) meaning that they walk with dignity and humility, not with arrogance and pride.
This is like the Ayah: وَلاَ تَمْشِ فِى الاٌّرْضِ مَرَحًا ( And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance... ) ( 17:37 ).
So these people do not walk with conceit or arrogance or pride.
This does not mean that they should walk like sick people, making a show of their humility, for the leader of the sons of Adam ( the Prophet ) used to walk as if he was coming downhill, and as if the earth were folded up beneath him.
What is meant here by Hawn is serenity and dignity, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said:
«إِذَا أَتَيْتُمُ الصَّلَاةَ فَلَا تَأْتُوهَا وَأَنْتُمْ تَسْعَونَ، وَأْتُوهَا وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّكِينَةُ فَمَا أَدْرَكْتُمْ مِنْهَا فَصَلُّوا، وَمَا فَاتَكُمْ فَأَتِمُّوا»
( When you come to the prayer, do not come rushing in haste.
Come calmly and with tranquility, and whatever you catch up with, pray, and whatever you miss, make it up. ) وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الجَـهِلُونَ قَالُواْ سَلاَماً ( and when the foolish address them they say: "Salama." ) If the ignorant people insult them with bad words, they do not respond in kind, but they forgive and overlook, and say nothing but good words.
This is what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did: the more ignorant the people, the more patient he would be.
This is as Allah says: وَإِذَا سَمِعُواْ اللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُواْ عَنْهُ ( And when they hear Al-Laghw (evil or vain talk ), they withdraw from it) ( 28:55 ).
Then Allah says that their nights are the best of nights, as He says: وَالَّذِينَ يِبِيتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّداً وَقِيَـماً ( And those who spend the night in worship of their Lord, prostrate and standing. ) meaning, worshipping and obeying Him.
This is like the Ayat: كَانُواْ قَلِيلاً مِّن الَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ - وَبِالاٌّسْحَـرِ هُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ ( They used to sleep but little by night.
And in the hours before dawn, they were asking for forgiveness ) ( 51:17-18 ). تَتَجَافَى جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ ( Their sides forsake their beds... ) ( 32:16 ). أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ ءَانَآءَ الَّيْلِ سَـجِداً وَقَآئِماً يَحْذَرُ الاٌّخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُواْ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ ( Is one who is obedient to Allah, prostrating himself or standing during the hours of the night, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord... ) ( 39:9 ).
Allah says: وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اصْرِفْ عَنَّا عَذَابَ جَهَنَّمَ إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَاماً ( And those who say: "Our Lord! Avert from us the torment of Hell.
Verily, its torment is ever an inseparable punishment." ) meaning, ever-present and never ending.
Al-Hasan said concerning the Ayah, إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَاماً ( Verily, its torment is ever an inseparable, permanent punishment. ) Everything that strikes the son of Adam, then disappears, does not constitute an inseparable, permanent punishment.
The inseparable, permanent punishment is that which lasts as long as heaven and earth.
This was also the view of Sulayman At-Taymi. إِنَّهَا سَآءَتْ مُسْتَقَرّاً وَمُقَاماً ( Evil indeed it is as an abode and as a place to rest in. ) means, how evil it looks as a place to dwell and how evil it is as a place to rest. وَالَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَنفَقُواْ لَمْ يُسْرِفُواْ وَلَمْ يَقْتُرُواْ ( And those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor stingy... ) They are not extravagant, spending more than they need, nor are they miserly towards their families, not spending enough on their needs.
But they follow the best and fairest way.
The best of matters are those which are moderate, neither one extreme nor the other. وَكَانَ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ قَوَاماً ( but are in a just balance between them. ) This is like the Ayah, وَلاَ تَجْعَلْ يَدَكَ مَغْلُولَةً إِلَى عُنُقِكَ وَلاَ تَبْسُطْهَا كُلَّ الْبَسْطِ ( And let not your hand be tied to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach. )( 17:29 )

(25:63) The (true) servants of the Merciful are those *78 who walk humbly on the earth *79 who, when the ignorant people behave insolently towards them, say,"Peace to you" *80

And the servants of the Most Merciful meaning

*78) That is, " Though all human beings are by birth the servants of the Merciful before Whom you have been invited to prostrate yourselves, and which you disdain, his true servants are those who adopt the way of His obedience consciously and develop such desirable characteristics.
Then the natural consequences of the prostration are those found in the lives of the Believers and the evil results of rejecting the invitation, those found in your lives. " Here attention is being drawn to the two patterns of character and life: first of those who had accepted the Message of the Holy Prophet and were following it, and the second of those who persisted in the ways of ignorance.
Here only the prominent characteristics of the true Believers have been cited, and for contrast, the characteristics of the disbelievers have been left to every discerning eye and mind which could see them all around in society and make its own decision.

*79) That is; " They do not walk haughtily and arrogantly like the tyrants and mischief-makers, but their "gait" is of a gentle, right-thinking and goodnatured person. " " Walking humbly " does not mean walking like a weak or sick person, nor does it imply the gait of a hypocrite who walks ostentatiously to show humility or fear of God.
According to Traditions, the Holy Prophet himself used to walk with firm, quick steps.
One day Caliph `Umar saw a young man walking slowly like a weak, sick person, and asked him, " Are you ill? " When the man replied in the negative, the Caliph raised his whip, rebuked him and told him to walk like a healthy man.
This shows that the " humble gait " is the natural gait of a noble and gentle person and not a gait which shows weakness and undue humility.
In this connection, the first characteristic of the true servants of Allah to which attention has been drawn, is their " gait " This is because the gait indicates the character of an individual.
If a man walks in a humble and dignified way, as opposed to a haughty, vain and proud manner, it shows that he is a noble and gentle person.
Thus the different " gaits " of the different types of people show what sort of characters they possess.
The verse means to imply that the true servants of the Merciful can be easily recognized by their " gait " among the people.
Their attitude of Allah's worship and obedience has changed them so thoroughly that it can " be seen at first sight from their "gate that they are noble, humble and good natured people, who cannot be expected to indulge in any mischief.
For further explanation, see E.N.43 of Bani Isra'il and L.N 33 of Luqman
*80) " Ignorant people ": Rude and insolent people and not uneducated and illiterate ones.
The true servants of the " Merciful " do not believe in " vengeance ", even though they may have to deal with the ignorant people who behave rudely and insolently towards them.
If they happen to come across such people, they wish them peace and turn away.
The same thing has been expressed in AI-Qasas: 55, thus: " And when they hear something vain and absurd they turn away from it, saying, `Our deeds are for us and your deeds are for you: peace be to you: we have nothing to do with the ignorant'. " For details see E.N.'s 72 to 78 ul AI-Qasas.

 

Attributes of the Servants of the Most Gracious These are the attributes of the believing servants of Allah, الَّذِينَ يَمْشُونَ عَلَى الاٌّرْضِ هَوْناً ( those who walk on the earth Hawna, ) meaning that they walk with dignity and humility, not with arrogance and pride.
This is like the Ayah: وَلاَ تَمْشِ فِى الاٌّرْضِ مَرَحًا ( And walk not on the earth with conceit and arrogance... ) ( 17:37 ).
So these people do not walk with conceit or arrogance or pride.
This does not mean that they should walk like sick people, making a show of their humility, for the leader of the sons of Adam ( the Prophet ) used to walk as if he was coming downhill, and as if the earth were folded up beneath him.
What is meant here by Hawn is serenity and dignity, as the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: «إِذَا أَتَيْتُمُ الصَّلَاةَ فَلَا تَأْتُوهَا وَأَنْتُمْ تَسْعَونَ، وَأْتُوهَا وَعَلَيْكُمُ السَّكِينَةُ فَمَا أَدْرَكْتُمْ مِنْهَا فَصَلُّوا، وَمَا فَاتَكُمْ فَأَتِمُّوا» ( When you come to the prayer, do not come rushing in haste.
Come calmly and with tranquility, and whatever you catch up with, pray, and whatever you miss, make it up. ) وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ الجَـهِلُونَ قَالُواْ سَلاَماً ( and when the foolish address them they say: "Salama." ) If the ignorant people insult them with bad words, they do not respond in kind, but they forgive and overlook, and say nothing but good words.
This is what the Messenger of Allah ﷺ did: the more ignorant the people, the more patient he would be.
This is as Allah says: وَإِذَا سَمِعُواْ اللَّغْوَ أَعْرَضُواْ عَنْهُ ( And when they hear Al-Laghw (evil or vain talk ), they withdraw from it) ( 28:55 ).
Then Allah says that their nights are the best of nights, as He says: وَالَّذِينَ يِبِيتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمْ سُجَّداً وَقِيَـماً ( And those who spend the night in worship of their Lord, prostrate and standing. ) meaning, worshipping and obeying Him.
This is like the Ayat: كَانُواْ قَلِيلاً مِّن الَّيْلِ مَا يَهْجَعُونَ - وَبِالاٌّسْحَـرِ هُمْ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ ( They used to sleep but little by night.
And in the hours before dawn, they were asking for forgiveness ) ( 51:17-18 ). تَتَجَافَى جُنُوبُهُمْ عَنِ الْمَضَاجِعِ ( Their sides forsake their beds... ) ( 32:16 ). أَمَّنْ هُوَ قَانِتٌ ءَانَآءَ الَّيْلِ سَـجِداً وَقَآئِماً يَحْذَرُ الاٌّخِرَةَ وَيَرْجُواْ رَحْمَةَ رَبِّهِ ( Is one who is obedient to Allah, prostrating himself or standing during the hours of the night, fearing the Hereafter and hoping for the mercy of his Lord... ) ( 39:9 ).
Allah says: وَالَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا اصْرِفْ عَنَّا عَذَابَ جَهَنَّمَ إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَاماً ( And those who say: "Our Lord! Avert from us the torment of Hell.
Verily, its torment is ever an inseparable punishment." ) meaning, ever-present and never ending.
Al-Hasan said concerning the Ayah, إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَاماً ( Verily, its torment is ever an inseparable, permanent punishment. ) Everything that strikes the son of Adam, then disappears, does not constitute an inseparable, permanent punishment.
The inseparable, permanent punishment is that which lasts as long as heaven and earth.
This was also the view of Sulayman At-Taymi. إِنَّهَا سَآءَتْ مُسْتَقَرّاً وَمُقَاماً ( Evil indeed it is as an abode and as a place to rest in. ) means, how evil it looks as a place to dwell and how evil it is as a place to rest. وَالَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَنفَقُواْ لَمْ يُسْرِفُواْ وَلَمْ يَقْتُرُواْ ( And those who, when they spend, are neither extravagant nor stingy... ) They are not extravagant, spending more than they need, nor are they miserly towards their families, not spending enough on their needs.
But they follow the best and fairest way.
The best of matters are those which are moderate, neither one extreme nor the other. وَكَانَ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ قَوَاماً ( but are in a just balance between them. ) This is like the Ayah, وَلاَ تَجْعَلْ يَدَكَ مَغْلُولَةً إِلَى عُنُقِكَ وَلاَ تَبْسُطْهَا كُلَّ الْبَسْطِ ( And let not your hand be tied to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach. )( 17:29 )

( The (faithful ) slaves of the Beneficent) the elite of the Beneficent ( are they who walk upon the earth modestly ) with humility from the fear of Allah, ( and when the foolish ones ) the disbelievers and sinners ( address them answer: Peace ) they answer with that which is good and say only nice words;

And the slaves of the Most Beneficent (Allah) are those who walk on the earth in humility and sedateness, and when the foolish address them (with bad words) they reply back with mild words of gentleness.

Page 365 English transliteration