(98) And how many a generation We have destroyed before them...

"And how many a generation We have destroyed before them" — This is a warning to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) included within the warning of destruction to these people, and an incitement for him to warn them. That is, many a generation We destroyed before these obstinate ones.

"Do you perceive any one of them" — A resumption meant to confirm the content of what preceded it. The interrogative is in the sense of negation; meaning, you do not perceive any of them. Ibn Haywah, Abu Bahriyah, Ibn Kathir, and Abu Ja'far al-Madani recited tuhissu (with a fathah on the ta' and a dammah on the ha').

"Or hear from them a sound" — That is, a hidden sound. The root of the term riks signifies concealment; from it is the "striking" (rakaza) of a spear, meaning when its tip is hidden in the ground, and rikaz refers to buried treasure. Some specialized riks as a hidden sound without the articulation of letters or the use of a mouth, and the majority adhere to this. It was qualified as a "hidden sound" because that is the most frequent original usage, and because if a hidden trace disappears, the disappearance of anything else follows a fortiori. The meaning is: We destroyed them completely and eradicated them such that you neither see any one of them nor hear from them a hidden sound, let alone anything else. It is said: The meaning is that We destroyed them completely such that you see no one from them, nor do you hear anyone informing about them or mentioning them with a hidden sound. In sum: We destroyed them, so there is neither an eye to see nor news to hear. The address is either to the one being addressed (the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace) or to anyone suitable to be addressed. Hanzalah recited tusma' as an imperfect verb derived from asma'tu (I caused to hear), in the passive voice. And Allah the Almighty knows best.

"And mention in the Book, Abraham. Indeed, he was a man of truth and a prophet" — A command for the Beloved (the Prophet) to remember the Khalil (Friend of Allah) and the grace Allah Almighty bestowed upon him regarding the rulings of Khullah (intimate friendship with Allah), so that those prepared may seek to adorn themselves with as much of it as they can. The Siddiq (man of truth), according to what Ibn 'Ata said, is the one who remains with his Lord, Glorified be He, on the standard of truthfulness at all times; no opponent contests him in his truthfulness with any state. Abu Sa'id al-Kharraz said: The Siddiq is the one who takes the fullest share of every sublime station until he approaches the degrees of the Prophets, peace be upon them. Some have said: He is the one upon whom the lights of witnessing and certainty have descended successively, and who is surrounded by the lights of 'ismah (divine protection).

The Qadi said: He is the one whose soul ascended sometimes by the ladders of reflection upon proofs and signs, and other times by the ascents of purification and spiritual discipline, to the pinnacle of gnosis, until he became acquainted with things and reported them as they truly are. The station of Siddiqiyyah, it is said, is beneath the station of Prophethood; there is no station between them. According to the Shaykh al-Akbar (may his secret be sanctified), there is a station proven between them, and he mentioned that it was attained by Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him). The one most famous for this description among the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) is Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), but this is not exclusive to him. Abu Nu'aym reported in al-Ma'rifah, as did Ibn 'Asakir and Ibn Mardawayh, from the hadith of 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla, from his father, Abu Layla al-Ansari, from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), who said: "The Siddiqun (men of truth) are three: Habib al-Najjar, the believer of the family of Yasin who said: 'O my people, follow the messengers'; Hezekiah, the believer of the family of Pharaoh who said: 'Will you kill a man because he says, "My Lord is Allah"?'; and 'Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah be pleased with him and may He honor his face), and he is the best of them."

"When he said to his father, 'O my father, why do you worship that which does not hear and does not see and will not avail you at all?'" — In this is a delicacy of invitation to follow the Truth and guidance toward it which is manifest. This is required in enjoining good and forbidding evil, especially when it is with relatives and the like.

"He said, 'Peace be upon you'" — This is a peace of withdrawal from others, and the gentleness of the righteous toward the ignorant. Abu Bakr ibn Tahir said: Since there appeared from Azar in his address to him (peace be upon him) only what appears from an ignorant person, he made his response "Peace," for Allah the Almighty said: "And when the ignorant address them, they say, 'Peace,'" and "I will withdraw from you and what you call upon other than Allah." That is, I will emigrate from you with my religion. From this, the recommendation of abandoning the wicked is understood.

Abu Turab al-Nakhshabi said: "Company with the wicked breeds suspicion of the righteous." The traditional evidences and experience have converged that keeping company with them causes hardness of heart and discourages one from good.

"And I will invoke my Lord; I hope that I will not be in invocation of my Lord unhappy" — There is in this an indication of his extreme etiquette (peace be upon him) with his Lord, the Almighty and Majestic. The station of Khullah requires this, for whoever lacks etiquette is not fit to be taken as a Khalil (Intimate Friend).

"So when he had isolated himself from them and what they worshipped other than Allah, We gave him Isaac and Jacob" — This was a compensation for those from whom he isolated himself, his father and his people, so that his heart would not be constricted. As it is said: When our Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) isolated himself from the entire created cosmos, "His sight did not swerve, nor did it transgress," he was compensated, peace be upon him, by Allah the Almighty saying to him: "Indeed, those who pledge allegiance to you are actually pledging allegiance to Allah. The hand of Allah is over their hands."

And mention, O Beloved, in the Book, Moses, the Interlocutor, that he was sincere to Allah Almighty in all his affairs. Al-Tirmidhi said: The sincere one in reality is he who is like Moses (peace be upon him); he went to al-Khidr (peace be upon him) to be disciplined by him, so he did not oppose him in anything that appeared to him from him.

"And We called him from the side of the Mount, and We brought him near in secret communion" — They said: The call is the beginning, and the secret communion is the end. The call is the station of longing, and the secret communion is the station of unveiling the mystery.

"And We gave him out of Our mercy his brother Aaron, a prophet" — It is said: Allah the Almighty knew the weight of the secrets upon Moses (peace be upon him), so He gifted him his brother Aaron as a repository for them. Thus, Aaron (peace be upon him) was the repository of Moses's (peace be upon him) secret.

"And mention in the Book, Ishmael. Indeed, he was true to his promise" — By being patient in sacrificing himself, or by what he promised of his readiness to attain the perfection of piety for his Lord, the Almighty and Majestic, and to adorn himself with the character that pleases Him, Glorified be He.

"And mention in the Book, Idris. Indeed, he was a man of truth and a prophet. And We raised him to a high station" — This is a type of nearness to Allah Almighty which He bestowed upon him (peace be upon him). It is said: It is the Fourth Heaven, and that it was a grace bestowed upon him because of the unveiling of some of the secrets of the Dominion (Malakut) to him. Those are the ones whom Allah has blessed with blessings so great that the circumference of enumeration cannot encompass them.

"When the verses of the Most Merciful were recited to them, they fell prostrate and weeping" — From what was unveiled to them of His signs, the Almighty. It has been mentioned that the Quran is the greatest manifestation of Allah, the Almighty and Majestic. And they wept from the intensity of their joy for what they found, or from the fear that what they attained of witnessing would not endure: "We weep when we are far away, longing for them, and we weep when we are near, fearing separation."

"And they will have their provision therein, morning and evening" — It is said: The "provision" here is witnessing the Truth, Glorified be He, and seeing Him, the Almighty and Majestic. This is for all the people of Paradise. As for the beloved ones and the longing ones, the witnessing of a glimpse never ceases for them; were they to be veiled, they would die from the pain of being veiled.

"Lord of the heavens and the earth and whatever is between them, so worship Him and have patience for His worship. Do you know of any namesake for Him?" — A likeness to whom one turns and from whom one seeks anything. Al-Husayn ibn al-Fadl said: Does anyone deserve to be called by one of His Names in reality?

"And there is none of you except he will come to it; this is upon your Lord an inevitability decreed" — This is so that the greatness of His Subjugation, the Almighty and Majestic, and the traces of His Might may be manifest to all His creatures, the Almighty and Majestic. "Then We will save those who feared Allah and leave the wrongdoers within it, on their knees" — a recompense for their wrongdoing. This verse has caused how many eyes to pour forth tears! It is reported from 'Abd Allah ibn Rawahah (may Allah be pleased with him) that he used to weep and say: "I have known that I am entering the Fire, but I do not know how I will exit after entering." From al-Hasan: When the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) would meet, one would say to his companion: "Has it come to you that you are entering it?" He would say: "Yes." He would say: "Has it come to you that you are coming out of it?" He would say: "No." He would say: "Then why the laughter?"

"Say, 'Whoever is in error, let the Most Merciful extend for him a long extension'" — When they boasted of the worldly fortunes in which only those of base ambition boast, Allah the Almighty responded to them that this is a gradual enticement (istidraj), not an honor. The allusion in this is that everything that distracts from Allah the Almighty and from turning to Him, the Almighty and Majestic, is evil for its possessor.

"On the Day We will gather the righteous to the Most Merciful as a delegation" — Riding upon the mounts of light. Ibn 'Ata said: It reached me from al-Sadiq (may Allah be pleased with him) that he said: "Riding upon the mounts of Gnosis."

"There is no one in the heavens and the earth but that he comes to the Most Merciful as a servant" — Poor, humiliated, submissive, completely divested of his ego.

"Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds, the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection" — In the hearts created to love Allah the Almighty, and that is a trace of His love, Glorified be He, for them. In the hadith: "My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory deeds until I love him; when I love him, I become his hearing with which he hears, and his sight with which he sees..." This is not contradicted by the fact that we see many of those who have believed and done righteous deeds being hated, for those who hate them have had their hearts created for evil, even if they do not perceive it. From here it is known that the hatred of some righteous people is a sign of an impure interior.

"Our Lord, forgive us and our brothers who preceded us in faith and put not in our hearts any resentment toward those who have believed."

It is said: The meaning of "the Most Merciful will appoint for them affection" is that He will place in them pleasure and sweetness in obedience. The reports support what has preceded. And Allah the Almighty knows best. To Him belongs all praise for the completion of the tafsir of Surah Maryam, and we ask Him, Glorified be His Majesty, for the success to complete the tafsir of the remaining surahs of His Mighty Book, by the sanctity of His Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace).