Surah Al-'Ankabut (The Spider): Verse 9

Issues Discussed in the Verse:

We say: Allah (Exalted is He) mentioned two categories of the accountable: the guided and the misguided. He stated:

"And Allah will surely make evident those who are truthful, and He will surely make evident the liars." (Al-'Ankabut: 3)

He mentioned the state of the misguided in a general manner, but the state of the guided in detail, saying:

"And those who believe and do righteous deeds, We will surely expiate their sins from them..."

After completing this, He mentioned two other categories: the guide and the misguider. His statement:

"And We have enjoined upon man, to his parents, good treatment..." (Al-'Ankabut: 8) implies that he should be guided by them. His statement: "...but if they strive to make you associate with Me that of which you have no knowledge, then obey them not..." is an explanation of their misguidance. His statement: "...To Me is your return, and I will inform you..." is a general threat to the misguider.

The statement:

"And those who believe..." is a detailed promise to the guided.

Therefore, the phrase "And those who believe and do righteous deeds" was mentioned twice:

1. To explain the state of the guided (the believer).
2. To explain the state of the guide (the one who guides others).

The evidence for this is that He first said:

"We will surely expiate their sins from them," and secondly, He said: "We will surely admit them among the righteous."

The Ṣāliḥūn (the righteous ones) are the guides, as this is the rank of the Prophets. This is why many Prophets said:

"Admit me among the righteous." (Yusuf: 101)

We have previously mentioned that the righteous individual (Ṣāliḥ) remains, and the righteous ones (Ṣāliḥūn) remain. Their permanence is not by themselves, but by their enduring deeds. Their deeds remain, and the One for Whom the deeds are done—the Face of Allah—remains. The doers remain by the permanence of their deeds.

This is contrary to worldly matters: in the world, the action remains because of the actor; but in the Hereafter, the actor remains because of the action.

It has been said regarding the meaning of:

"We will surely admit them among the righteous," that it means: We will admit them to the station (maqām) of the righteous, or to the abode (dār) of the righteous.

However, it is better to say that there is no need for such an implied meaning (iḍmār). Rather, it means: We will admit them into the category of the righteous, making them part of them and including them in their count, just as one says, "The jurist is included among the scholars."

The philosophers stated that the world of elements is the world of generation and corruption, and everything in it is subject to corruption. Water ceases to be water, corrupts, and air is formed from it. The world of the heavens has neither generation nor corruption; rather, things come into existence from nothingness and do not cease to exist, and the dust does not turn into soil (as happens with humans who turn into dust or something else).

Based on this, the higher world is not corruptible; therefore, it is Ṣāliḥ (righteous/sound).

Thus, His statement, may He be exalted:

"We will surely admit them among the righteous," means: We will admit them among those who are purely abstract (al-mujarradīn), those who have no corruption.