Al-Insan (7): They fulfill the vow and fear...

The first [point] is His Exalted Saying: {They fulfill the vow} (Yūfūna bi-n-nadhr). Regarding this, there are several issues:

Issue 1: The Meaning of "Fulfilling the Vow"

Fulfilling something means bringing it about completely. As for the Nathr (vow):

• Abu Muslim said: The vow is like a promise, except that if it originates from the servants, it is called a Nathr, but if it originates from God Almighty, it is called a Wa‘d (promise). In the terminology of Sharia, this word is specifically used when one says, "I dedicate such and such from charity to God," or when one attaches it to something sought from God, such as saying, "If God heals my sick person, or returns my absent one, then I owe such and such."
• There is a difference of opinion regarding when this is attached to something that is not an act of righteousness (Birr), such as saying, "If so-and-so enters the house, then I owe such and such." Some people treated this like an oath, while others treated it as a type of vow.

Knowing this, we state that commentators have several opinions regarding the interpretation of the verse:

1. The first opinion: What is meant by the vow here is only the vow itself. Al-Aṣamm said: This is an exaggeration in describing them as being diligent in fulfilling obligations. For whoever fulfills what he has obligated upon himself, he is even more likely to fulfill what God has obligated upon him. This interpretation is excellent.
2. The second opinion: What is meant by the vow here is everything that is obligatory upon them, whether it was obligated by God Almighty initially, or whether the accountable person obligated it upon himself. Thus, it includes faith and all acts of obedience, because the meaning of Nathr is obligation.
3. The third opinion: Al-Kalbī said: What is meant by the vow here is the covenant (‘Ahd) and the contract (‘Aqd). This is analogous to His Exalted Saying: {Fulfill My covenant, and I will fulfill your covenant} (Al-Baqarah: 40), where He named His obligations as a covenant. And {Fulfill the contracts} (Al-Mā’idah: 1), where He named them contracts because they contracted them upon themselves by believing in faith.

Issue 2: The Obligation of Fulfilling the Vow

This verse indicates the obligation to fulfill the vow because God Almighty immediately follows it with {and they fear a Day}. This implies that they only fulfilled the vow out of fear of the evil of that Day, and the fear of the evil of that Day is not realized unless fulfilling the vow is obligatory. This is further confirmed by His Exalted Saying: {And do not break your oaths} (An-Nahl: 91) after emphasizing them, and by {Then let them fulfill their obligations and fulfill their vows} (Al-Hajj: 29). This latter verse suggests they should fulfill the rites of their pilgrimage that they obligated upon themselves.

Issue 3: The Grammatical Structure

Al-Farra’ and a group of linguists suggested that the word kāna (was) in His Exalted Saying: {Its mixture was like Kāfūr} (Al-Insān: 5) is superfluous. However, here, kāna is omitted, and the meaning is: "They used to fulfill the vow."

One might object: We have already explained that kāna in {Its mixture was like Kāfūr} is not superfluous. As for this verse, there is no need to assume an omitted word. This is because He Almighty mentioned in the context of the world that the righteous will drink (using the present tense, yashrabūn), and the present tense verb can denote the present or the future. Then He said that the reason for this reward they will receive is that now {they fulfill the vow}.

Type Two: Acts of the Righteous Mentioned by God Almighty

The second type of act of the righteous that God Almighty recounted is His Exalted Saying: {And they fear a Day whose evil is widespread} (Wa yakhāfūna yawman kāna sharruhu mustaṭīrā).

Know that complete obedience is not achieved unless intention is coupled with action. Since He recounted their action in {They fulfill}, He then recounted their intention in {and they fear a Day}. The verification of this is the Prophet’s saying (peace be upon him): "Actions are only by intentions." It is by the combination of these two matters that God Almighty named them the Righteous (Al-Abrār).

There are questions regarding this verse:

The states and terrors of the Resurrection are all God's actions. Everything that is God's action is based on wisdom and correctness, and what is like that cannot be evil. So how did God Almighty describe it as evil?

Answer: It is called evil because it is harmful and difficult for the one upon whom it descends, just as diseases and other disliked matters are called evils.

Answer: There are two views:

1. The first view: It means that which is pervasive, spreading, reaching the utmost degree. It comes from the root meaning of a fire spreading (istatāra al-ḥarīq) or the dawn spreading (istatāra al-fajr), similar to istanfara (to mobilize) derived from nafar (to set out).
   • If it is asked: How can it be said that the evil of that Day is spreading and pervasive, when He Almighty said concerning His allies: {The greatest terror will not grieve them} (Al-Anbiyā’: 103)?
   • We reply with two answers:
     • The first answer: The horror of the Resurrection is immense. Do you not see that the heavens will split, shatter, and become like molten brass, the stars will scatter, the sun and moon will be rolled up, the angels will depart, the earth will be replaced with another earth, the mountains will be blown away, and the seas will be set ablaze? This horror is general, reaching all accountable beings, as He Almighty said: {The Day you see it, every nursing mother will forget what she was nursing} (Al-Hajj: 2), and {A Day that makes the children turn grey-haired} (Al-Muzzammil: 17). However, God Almighty, by His Grace, secures His allies from that terror.
     • The second answer: What is meant is that the evil of that Day will be widespread among the sinners and the wicked. As for the believers, they will be safe, as stated: {The greatest terror will not grieve them} (Al-Anbiyā’: 103), {No fear will there be upon you this Day, nor will you grieve} (Az-Zukhruf: 68), {Praise be to Allah, who has removed grief from us} (Fāṭir: 44). However, the people of punishment are overwhelmingly numerous compared to the people of reward, so the majority is treated as the whole by way of metaphor.

2. The second view regarding the meaning of Mustaṭīr is that which reaches its people swiftly, as if this speaker believed that ṭayrān (flying/speed) implies swiftness.

Answer: Although the word is in the past tense, it carries the meaning of the future, similar to His saying: {And the covenant of Allah was} (Al-Aḥzāb: 15).

Alternatively, it could mean that its evil was widespread in God's knowledge and wisdom, as if God Almighty is offering an excuse, saying: "The infliction of this harm only occurred because wisdom necessitated it." This is because the order of the universe is not established except through promise and threat, both of which require fulfillment due to the impossibility of falsehood in My speech. Thus, it is as if God Almighty is saying: "That was necessary in wisdom, so for this reason, I enacted it."

Type Three: Acts of the Righteous

The third type of act of the righteous is His Exalted Saying:

{And they give food, despite love for it, to the needy, the orphan, and the captive, [Saying], "We feed you only for the countenance of Allah. We wish no reward from you, nor any thanks. Indeed, we fear from our Lord a Day, intensely severe and distressing."} (7-10)