Al-Ghafur al-Wadud in Surah al-Burooj

*This is an abridged version of notes for a khutbah that I made with help from Abu Bakr and Imam Nasir. Audio of the khutbah is at the end. 

Surah al-Burooj informs us of the famous story of The Boy and The King. Since most people are familiar with the story itself I won't rehash it here, but you can refer to Tafsir Ibn Kathir to refresh your memory.

One of the most pertinent lessons of that story is the persecution faced by Muslims for no other reason than believing in Allāh (swt).

They had nothing against them, except that they believed in Allāh, the All-Mighty, Worthy of all Praise! (Burooj:8) It is amazing that they would throw people in a ditch – innocent women and children – for no crime whatsoever except their belief. How evil does someone have to be to carry out something like this against someone who has not transgressed them in any way? It was literally a full-fledged massacre of the people.Īmān entered their hearts and immediately revived their souls, similar to the magicians at the time of Fir'awn. This faith was immediately tested,Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, “We believe”, and that they will not be tested? (Ankaboot:2). These trials are like any other exam that we face. If you pass, you move up to the next level. If you fail, you stay and repeat it until you can pass. The people of the ditch faced the ultimate test, and they passed it by making the ultimate sacrifice. In the hereafter though, this sacrifice will seem minuscule for the rewards they will reap, and the disbelievers will have a punishment far more painful than anything they inflicted on the people of the ditch.It is a small price to pay, as the Prophet (saw) said,

“An unbeliever is brought forward on the Day of Judgment and he is given a quick dip into the fire, then he is asked: ‘Did you ever experience anything good or any luxury in your life?' He will answer: ‘By Your greatness, my Lord, I never did.' And the person who endured the most miserable life on earth is brought forward and he is given a quick taste of heaven. He is then asked: ‘Did you ever experience any misfortune or misery?' He will answer: ‘By Your greatness, my Lord, I never did.'”

Their rank was raised by the sacrifice they made. All of us have goals for ourselves that we have set, usually in Ramadan. We want to memorize more Quran, attend the masjid more frequently, get out of interest, start wearing hijab… There are a million things we all have on our 'list' whether those things have been there for only one day, or one decade. The question we must ask ourselves though, is what is holding us back from making a sacrifice to improve our standing with Allāh?

Look at it another way. The people of the ditch were persecuted, and similarly the Muslims in Mekkah were persecuted. We also see examples of this throughout history. The one that jumps to mind though, is Muslim Spain, when Muslims were forbidden from things like even taking a bath on Fridays. We see it today in China where Muslims are not being allowed to fast, women are being forced to take off their hijabs, and men are being forced to shave their beards.

With all that said, I feel that their test is in some ways easier than our test.

What?

If they fall short in implementing the deen, inshā'Allāh we pray that Allāh (swt) gives them an excuse and forgives them for their sins. Many of us though, have no such excuse. They're being forcibly prevented from things like going to the masjid, fasting, and wearing hijab. We have no such thing holding us back here. We have no excuse whatsoever for falling short. The biggest hardships many of us face on a day to day basis is not shortage of water, lack of food, or even being turned back from our masaajid. The biggest hardships we face are choosing which brand out of 30+ types of cereal are on the shelf, whether we want tap water, bottled water, filtered water, or water from the mountains of Fiji. Our biggest hardship when it comes to going to the Masjid is that it's going to take 10 whole minutes to get there, or that they serve biryani instead of hummus at iftar, so you go to a different one.

In one frightening hadith, the Prophet (saw) said,

If you see Allāh Azza wa Jall giving a servant from this dunya whatever he desires while he sins against Allāh, then it is a lure from Allāh.

A lure is literally like a trap. Think about going fishing, and putting a worm on the hook, and luring the fish out of the water. That is literally what is happening to us. Why? The Prophet (saw) explained by then reciting this ayah of Quran after saying that,

So, when they forgot (the warning) with which they had been reminded, We opened to them the gates of every (pleasant) thing, until in the midst of their enjoyment in that which they were given, all of a sudden, We took them to punishment, and lo! They were plunged into destruction with deep regrets and sorrows. (6:44)

It is up to us to make sacrifices for the deen and come closer to Allāh (swt). In another hadith, the Prophet (saw) mentioned,

“Whoever gives up something for the sake of Allāh, Allāh will replace it for him with something better.”

Think about what it is that prevents us from increasing in our worship, following more of the sunnah, and leaving off what is haram – and then contemplate on getting something better whether in this life or the next. One example that comes to my mind is an 'Uncle' that my family knew when I was younger. This particular uncle used to have a haram business which sold alcohol, cigarettes, etc. He made tawbah for this, got rid of the stores, and opened up a small halal meat store instead. Eventually, Allāh (swt) put so much barakah in his business, that he went from leasing the space for his store, to actually owning the entire shopping strip and renting out space to other businesses. Almost everyone knows of a story like this, or similar to it.

In Surah al-Burooj itself though, we see most of the ayaat actually directed at those who burned the believers. The ayaat are stern in warning, talking about the severe punishment of Allāh, how the punishment will be repeated, that they will have a burning punishment in the Fire (with extra emphasis because of how they burned the believers in this life), how Allāh (swt) will do with them as He wills, and reminders of the stories Fir'awn and Thamud.

In the midst of all these ayaat of punishment and anger though, we find one simple ayah towards the middle,

He is Al-Ghafur, Al-Wadud.

The first question that arises is why is this put smack dab in the middle of all these verses of punishment?

The second question requires a little bit of background. Al-Ghafur is mentioned in the Quran 97 times. Al-Wadud is mentioned in the Quran twice. And while we see many 'paired Names' mentioned multiple times (e.g. As-Samee' Al-Baseer), this particular pairing happens in the Qur'an only once – i.e. right here. So why is this the only place in the Qur'an that Allāh (swt) mentions these two specific Names together?

Regarding the first question, some have said that it shows that in spite of the heinousness of their crime, the door to repentance is still open. This comes from the fact that in one of the ayaat, Allāh (swt) says,

Verily, those who put into trial the believing men and believing women (by torturing them and burning them), and then do not turn in repentance, (to Allāh), will have the torment of Hell, and they will have the punishment of the burning Fire (Burooj:10).

Answering the second question will require some detail.

Al-Ghafur means the One who frequently forvies sins. He is full of forgiveness no matter how great the sin may be. In this context, we can say that Allāh (swt) has forgiven the people burned in the ditch. He has pardoned them.

Al-Wadud is both the One who loves, and the One who is loved.

Allāh (swt) forgives people for different reasons. Some may be forgiven due to their shukr, and some maybe out of forebearance (hilm). In this case though, Allāh (swt) forgave them because He loved them. 'Al-Wadud' shows that He is the One attached to those believers who chose Him over everything else. It is a relationship that is close and noble. He will forgive their sins and grant them sadaaqah – the highest station that a human can reach after being a prophet (i.e. being a Siddeeq) – because they attained the love that He has for His close and beloved slaves.

If Allāh (swt) had simply mentioned that He was Al-Ghafur, it would have been sufficient to convey the message. It would mean they were forgiven, and this alone is a high honor, and is something we pray to achieve. They received maghfirah for ransoming their own selves. However, by adding Al-Wadud to this, He is saying that not only has He forgiven them, but He accepted their sacrifice, and on top of that He loves them as well – an even higher honor.

For those interested, the audio of the khutbah is below. Please keep in mind that it was delivered in the middle of Ramadan right after Hurricane Ike hit.

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