Tafsir of Al-Furqan 25:63

(And the servants of the Most Merciful...) This is a new discourse initiated to elucidate the attributes of the sincere servants of Allah, the Exalted, and their worldly and otherworldly states, following the description of the condition of those who turn away from His worship—Glory be to Him—and from prostrating to Him—the Almighty.

Attributing them to al-Rahman (the Most Merciful) specifically, rather than to any of His other Names or pronouns, serves to highlight their exclusivity in receiving His mercy, or to prefer them over others by virtue of them being recipients of mercy and blessed ones. This is understood from the implication of appending a noun to a derivative [attribute]. In this, there is an insinuation against those who said, "And what is the Most Merciful?"

The majority hold that 'ibad (servants) here is the plural of 'abd (slave/worshipper). Ibn Bahr stated it is the plural of 'abid (worshipper), like sahib (companion) and sahab, or rajil (pedestrian) and rijal. The recitation of al-Yamani ('ubbad, with a damma on the 'ayn and a shadda on the ba') supports this, as it is, by consensus, the plural of 'abid. Under this view, the term is derived from 'ibadah (worship), which is to perform what the Lord is pleased with. Under the first view, it is derived from 'ubudiyyah (servitude), which is to be pleased with what the Lord performs.

Al-Raghib said: 'Ubudiyyah is the manifestation of humility, while 'ibadah is more profound than it, as it is the pinnacle of humility. Some differentiated between them by saying that 'ibadah is performing the commanded acts and abstaining from the forbidden ones in hope of reward and salvation from punishment; whereas 'ubudiyyah is performing the commanded acts and abstaining from the forbidden ones, not for the sake of what was mentioned, but solely because of Allah’s beneficence toward the servant.

It is said that beyond that is 'ubudah (absolute servitude), which is doing or abstaining from the aforementioned acts solely for the sake of His command—Glory be to Him—and His prohibition—the Almighty—and because of His inherent worthiness—Glory be to Him—to be exalted and obeyed. To this, the Almighty’s saying refers: "So pray to your Lord."

Al-Hasan recited 'ubad with a damma on both the 'ayn and the ba'. As al-Akhfash said, this is the plural of 'abd (slave), like saqf (roof) and suquf. He cited the line of poetry: "Attribute the slave to his forefathers, with dark skin, from the people of 'abd."

In any case, this is a subject (mubtada'). Regarding its predicate (khabar), there are two opinions: first, that it is the sentence beginning with the demonstrative pronoun found at the end of the noble surah; second—and this is more plausible—that it is His saying: (...who walk upon the earth easily.)

Al-hawn is a verbal noun meaning gentleness and softness. It is in the accusative case either as an adjective for a deleted verbal noun—that is, "walking gently"—or as a state (hal) from the pronoun in "walk." The intent is that they walk gently with poise, tranquility, dignity, and a good demeanor, not striking the ground with their feet nor thumping with their sandals out of pride and arrogance. Something similar has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, 'Ikrimah, al-Fudayl ibn 'Iyad, and others. From the Imam Abu 'Abd Allah—may Allah be pleased with him—it is narrated that al-hawn is a man’s walking in his natural disposition upon which he was created, neither affecting it nor walking with a swagger.

Al-Amidi cited in Sharh Diwan al-A'sha, with his chain of narration from 'Umar—may Allah be pleased with him—that he saw a youth walking with a swagger and said to him: "Swaggering is a reprehensible walk, except in the way of Allah the Almighty." Allah the Almighty has praised certain people by saying: "And the servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth easily," so be moderate in your walk.

It is said that "easy" walking is the opposite of rapid walking, which is blameworthy. Abu Nu'aym recorded in al-Hilyah from Abu Hurayrah, and Ibn al-Najjar from Ibn Abbas, that they said: The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said, "Speed of walking takes away the splendor of the believer."

Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Maymun ibn Mihran that hawn means "forbearing" in Syriac, thus making it a state (hal) and nothing else. However, the apparent meaning is that it is Arabic, meaning softness and gentleness. Al-Raghib interpreted it as the soul’s humility in a manner that entails no degradation, and this is the praiseworthy form. From this is the hadith: "The believer is easy and gentle." The apparent meaning is that walking remains in its literal sense, and the intent is to praise them for tranquility and dignity therein, without generalization. Yes, it follows necessarily from their walking in such a manner that they are easy and gentle in all their affairs, according to custom, as has been said.

Ibn 'Atiyyah favored the view that the intent is to praise them for the absence of roughness and harshness in all their affairs and dealings. The meaning is that they live among people being gentle in all their matters. Walking was mentioned because it is a mode of movement on earth, which necessitates mingling and interacting with people, and gentleness is of the utmost requirement therein.

Then he said: "As for the view that the intent is to praise them for walking easily alone, it is invalid; for many a person walks slowly and softly while being a wolf in sheep's clothing." The Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—used to lean forward in his walk as if he were walking down a slope, and he—may blessings and peace be upon him—is the leader in this verse. There is a debate regarding this from two aspects, so be aware. Al-Yamani and al-Sulami recited yumshawna (they are walked/walked upon) in the passive voice with a shadda.

(And when the ignorant address them...) That is, the foolish and ill-mannered, as in the saying: "Let no one act ignorantly toward us, lest we act above the ignorance of the ignorant," (...they say: "Peace.")

This is an explanation of their state in dealing with others, following the explanation of their state within themselves; or it is an explanation of the excellence of their conduct and a verification of their gentleness when faced with what demands otherwise, if a person were left to his natural disposition. That is, if they address them with evil, they say, "We seek safety from you and distance; there is no good between us and you, nor evil." Thus, salaman (peace) is a verbal noun standing in place of taslim (the act of greeting/yielding), and it is an emphatic verbal noun for its implied verb. The estimation is: "We distance ourselves with a distance from you."

The sentence is the object of the verb "they say." This is the view held by Sibawayh in al-Kitab. He rejected the notion that the familiar "peace" (as a greeting) is meant, because the verse is Meccan, and the verse regarding peace in Surah al-Nisa' is Medinan; the Muslims in Mecca were not commanded to offer the greeting of peace to the polytheists.

Al-Asamm said: It is a peace of departure, not a greeting, like the saying of Abraham—peace be upon him—to his father: "Peace be upon you." It is not hidden that this returns to the meaning of withdrawal/distance, and it is common in the speech of the Arabs. Mujahid said: The intent is that they say a "correct word" (qawlan sadidan). This was criticized as being an incorrect interpretation, because the intent here is that they say this specific word, not merely that they say any correct word, as evidenced by His saying, "Peace be upon you; we do not seek the ignorant."

The author of al-Kashf refuted this, stating that that verse does not contradict this interpretation, for their saying "Peace be upon you" is also from the category of "correct speech." Moreover, the apparent meaning is that the specific wording is not the goal, but rather this [word] or whatever conveys its meaning from every statement that indicates withdrawal, while being free from sin and vain talk. This is good and unassailable.

In some historical records, as in al-Bahr, it is mentioned that Ibrahim ibn al-Mahdi was biased against 'Ali—may Allah honor his countenance—and he saw him in a dream appearing to cross a bridge. He said to him: "You only claim this matter because of a woman, and we are more entitled to it than you." He recounted this to al-Ma'mun, then said: "I have never seen eloquence in a reply like that which is reported of him." Al-Ma'mun asked him: "What did he answer you with?" He replied: "He kept saying to me: salaman, salaman." Al-Ma'mun said: "O uncle, he indeed answered you with the most eloquent reply," and drew his attention to this verse. Ibrahim was humiliated and felt shame before Allah the Almighty as is deserved.

The apparent meaning is that the intent is to praise them for ignoring the foolish and refraining from reciprocating them in speech. The verse does not address their conduct with the disbelievers, so it does not contradict the verse of fighting such that one would claim its abrogation by it, for this is Meccan and that is Medinan. It was narrated from Abu al-'Aliyah—and 'Atiyyah favored this—that it was abrogated regarding the disbelievers by the verse of fighting.