vault/Deen/Grace.md

In the injunctions of inheritance appearing previously, it was mentioned that, given the conditions, for a male there is a share equal to that of two females. There are other proved aspects of male precedence as well. So, Sayyidah Umm Salmah (RA) once said to the Holy Prophet ﷺ: 'Our share in the inheritance is half. Then, there are such and such elements of difference between us and men ...'

Her purpose was not to raise an objection. Rather, she wished to be a man and to deserve the merits restricted for men. There were other women who wished: 'Had we been men, we would have taken part in Jihad and the merit of Jihad would have been ours.'

A woman asked the Holy Prophet ﷺ: 'A man gets a double share in the inheritance and the witness of a woman is half as compared with a man - does that mean that we shall be getting a half reward for all of our acts of worship?' Thereupon, the present verse was revealed in which an answer to both these statements has been given. The answer to Sayyidah Umm Salmah was given by 'and do not covet ...' and the answer to the last-mentioned woman was given by 'for men there is a share ...'

Commentary

Coveting the Unacquirable

In this verse (32), coveting things, traits and merits given to others has been prohibited, for they are not acquirable by effort. The reason is that when a man finds himself lacking in wealth, comfort, beauty, merit, knowledge and similar other states of being, he naturally experiences a surge of envy which urges him to come, at least, at par with that person, or, if possible, be ahead. But, he does not always have the capability or power to make his wish come true because there are merits and excellences which have nothing to do with man's own efforts and acquisitions. They are simply the blessings of nature, for example, being a man or being the scion of a prophets family or having been born in the family of a ruler or having been born beautiful. So, one who does not have access to these blessings-can never obtain them by effort even-if he were to spend a whole life-time devoted to that pursuit. A woman cannot become a man, nor can one choose to be born in the family of a prophet, or change his physique - become tall and handsome, acquire all beautiful features of his choice - because, this is not within his power. He simply cannot acquire these in the real sense, no matter how much he struggles with his medicines, treatments and devices. Consequently, when he finds himself incapable of matching the other person, his inner self starts playing with the idea that it would be wonderful if such blessings were snatched away from him (the other person) as well, so that, he too becomes either equal or lower than him: This is envy, a terribly, shameful and damaging trait of human morals, which is the cause of so many disputes, disturbances, killings and ravages in this world.

This verse of the Holy Qur'En closes the doors of disorders by saying: وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍ It means that Allah Almighty, in His infinite wisdom, has blessed people with all sorts of merits and excellences. He gave someone a particular quality, then gave someone else yet another quality; less to some, more to some others. In this matter, everyone should rest pleased with his or her destiny and stay clear from the envious desire to become the possessor of the other person's merits and excellences, for the end-result of this game of desires is nothing but a biting sense of personal loss, and of course, that awful sin of envy.

It may sound a little simple, but the truth of the matter is that anyone Allah Almighty elects to be a man should be grateful for it, and anyone He elects to be a woman should be pleased with being just that, realizing that, had she been a man, may be, she could have failed to fulfil the responsibilities placed on a man, and would have thus ended up being a sinner. Then, anyone created beautiful by Allah Almighty should be all the more grateful for having been so blessed; and, anyone lesser in looks should also not grieve thinking of the good that may lie hidden behind this destiny, for being blessed with beauty does not necessarily guarantee good. It might have the recipient land into some unwelcome state of trial or corruption. Again, anyone who is a true lineal descendant of the Holy Prophet ﷺ should thank Allah Almighty for the great blessing of this lineal connection; and, anyone who does not have this connection should neither worry about it, nor should he go about longing for it, because this is something which cannot be acquired by effort, and if one still insists on coveting it, what he would get involved with will be nothing but sin and the gain he would make would be nothing but a broken heart and an aching soul. So, rather than pine for a lineage one does not have, the best policy is to think about one's own doings. Let these be good and righteous. Once a person enhances himself with such spiritual strengths, he can be ahead of those with higher or better lineage.

Striving to excel others in good deeds is different

There are verses of the Holy Qur'an and the sayings of the noble Prophet ﷺ which exhort people to excel each other in good deeds. In other words, this is an open field in which it is all right to look at the trail of merits and excellence left by others. Indeed, people have been persuaded to make all possible efforts to acquire them. Now, this relates to deeds within man's control, and which can be acquired by learning, training and working. For example, if a person is impressed with someone's intellectual merits, practical life and excellent morals, he can, by all means, strive to acquire these qualities. This is very desirable, and praiseworthy. As such, the present verse does not contradict it. In fact, the later part of the same verse (32), that لِّلرِّجَالِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبُوا ۖ وَلِلنِّسَاءِ نَصِيبٌ مِّمَّا اكْتَسَبْنَ is actually supporting this view. It means that men will get a share of what they acquired with their effort and conduct, and the same will be true for women who will get a share of what they acquired with their effort and conduct. One is not likely to miss the hint here - that effort and struggle in the acquisition of merits and perfections do not go waste. On the contrary, every man and woman will definitely get a return, a share of his or her effort. From here, we also know that desiring to have someone's intellectual moral excellence as combined with his model practical conduct, and then going ahead to see the fruition of these desires through effort and struggle, is certainly desirable and praiseworthy. Removed in the process here is an error which is committed by a lot of people who tend to do things not knowing what they are doing. Some of them become so devoted to their desire to acquire merits which cannot be acquired that they ruin their otherwise peaceful life right here in this mortal world. And if, bad come to worse, they are fired with envy, that is, they start wishing - 'if I do not have this blessing, may this be taken away from the other' - then, the very chances of salvation is the life to come also stand destroyed because of the grave sin of envy committed by him.

Moreover, there are another kind of people as well who lack courage, avoid action, or just have no sense of honour and shame, who do not even try to acquire merits which can be acquired. Such people, when approached with good counsel, would come back immediately, blaming their destiny and fate which is no more than an effort to camouflage their own timidity and inertia. The present verse has resolved this problem by stating a wise anh just rule which is: Man's effort is ineffective in acquiring merits which he does not control, such as, being high-born or handsome. Merits like these should be resigned to fate and one must be content with the divinely determined state he is in, and be grateful to Allah Almighty. Coveting anymore than that is absurd, ineffectual, meddlesome - an act which leaves behind nothing but a handful of sorrows.

As for merits which can be acquired by effort, wishing to have them is useful, only if such a wish is supported by the necessary struggle to achieve. Let us keep in mind that the verse carries the promise that the effort so made will not be wasted and everyone will get a share of what he or she worked for.

Referring back to injunctions prohibiting the unjust use of someone's property and the unjust taking of someone's life (29), Tafsir al-Bahr al-Muhit points out that this verse aims to seal the very source of these crimes, and it is for this purpose that instructions have been given to stop people from coveting others who are ahead of them in wealth, comfort or influence. A little thought will reveal that theft, robbery and other illegitimate ways of usurping someone's property, or to kill and destroy, are crimes which sprout from one particular emotional attitude. A person, when he finds (he other ahead of him in wealth and other material acquisitions, first feels the pinch in his heart wishing to come at par with him, or even wishes to become superior to him. Then, it is the intensity of this desire which pushes him all the way to go ahead and commit these crimes. The Holy Qur'an, as said earlier, has blocked the source of these crime by blocking the very desire of the unacquirables and the unobtainable of life.

To ask for Allah's grace is the ideal way

After that, the verse moves on to instruct by saying: وَاسْأَلُوا اللَّهَ مِن فَضْلِهِ (And pray to Allah for His grace). It means, 'when you see someone excel in one or the other graces of life,' the ideal conduct is, 'not to wish to come at par with the other person in respect of that particular excellence, but that you should pray to Allah asking for graces and blessings from Him.' The reason is that Allah's grace appears in different forms for everyone. For some, wealth is a blessing from God for, if they were to become paupers, they might have fallen victims to sin and disbelief. For some others, grace lies in the very pecuniary circumstances they are in, for if they were to turn rich, they might have succumbed to thousands of sins. Similarly, for some, grace appears in the form of power and influence, while for some others, the unremembered and the unattended, the grace of Allah manifests itself in that very state. A look at the reality of things around would have told him that power and influence, if these were to be his lot, might have caused his falling into many a sin. Therefore, the verse instructs - when you ask Allah, do not ask for some fixed quality of life, instead, ask for His grace so that He, in his His infinite wisdom, opens the doors of His blessings on you.

Trust His Wisdom and Knowledge

The verse concludes by saying:  إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمًا (Surely, Allah is All-Knowing in respect of everything.) Here, the hint is that the arrangement of things made by Allah Almighty is the very quintessence of wisdom and justice. Whoever has been created and sustained in whatever condition it may be is an arrangement perfectly matched with the ideal demand of wisdom and justice. But, man is not fully aware of the consequences of what he does. This is something only Allah knows best and thus He also knows how suitable it is to keep anyone in a given condition

Of course. Here’s a reflection-style summary you can come back to when you feel unsettled.

Main message of the text

The tafsir is explaining that Allah gives different people different forms of blessing, ability, opportunity, status, beauty, knowledge, wealth, closeness, and roles. A person should not burn inside wishing they had exactly what another person has, especially when that thing is outside their control. That kind of comparison can lead to envy, sadness, resentment, and a broken heart.

But the text also makes a very important distinction:

Wanting to improve in something that can be gained through effort is not wrong. In fact, striving to gain knowledge, skill, good character, and excellence is praised. The problem is not improvement. The problem is when the heart becomes attached to someone else’s exact portion, position, or favour.

Key points to remember

1. Some things are outside my control

I cannot control:

• whether I am chosen to read
• whether there is enough time in class
• whether the shaykh is under pressure
• whether someone else is faster
• whether someone else is closer to the shaykh
• whether the timing worked against me when I was ill or overwhelmed

These are things I hand over to Allah.

2. Some things are within my control

I can control:

• practising my reading
• improving slowly
• keeping adab
• avoiding resentment
• making duʿāʾ
• staying sincere
• not letting disappointment turn into envy
• accepting that my effort is still seen by Allah

The text says effort in things that can be acquired does not go to waste.

3. My effort is not wasted just because I was not chosen

Not being chosen does not mean:

• I am useless
• I am a burden
• I failed completely
• my effort had no value
• Allah did not see my struggle

It may simply mean the class situation needed something else at that moment.

4. I should not confuse practical limitations with personal failure

If the class is short on time, the shaykh may choose the fastest reader. That is a practical decision, not necessarily a judgement on my worth or sincerity.

Being slower by a small amount does not mean I am bad. It just means the circumstance required more speed.

5. I should protect my heart from envy

It is okay to feel hurt. It is okay to wish I had a chance. It is okay to want to improve.

But I should be careful not to think:

“Why him and not me?”

or

“I hope he loses that place.”

Instead, I should think:

“Ya Allah, bless him in what You gave him, and give me from Your grace too.”

6. I should ask Allah for His grace, not for someone else’s exact portion

The tafsir says the better response is to ask Allah from His own grace. That means I do not need to demand the exact same role, closeness, speed, or opportunity as someone else.

Allah may give me a different opening:

• deeper understanding
• more sincerity
• private growth
• better adab
• another chance later
• reward for patience
• closeness through humility rather than visibility

Personal reflection to repeat

When I feel off, I can remind myself:

I did what I could. I practised, I tried, and Allah saw that. Some parts were in my control, and some parts were not. If I was not chosen, that does not mean my effort was worthless. If someone else reads faster or is closer to the shaykh, that is their portion from Allah. My task is not to resent their portion, nor to blame myself harshly. My task is to keep adab, keep sincerity, and ask Allah from His grace. What is meant for me will reach me, and what is not meant for me may still be protecting me. Ya Allah, remove envy from my heart, accept my effort, and open the door that is best for me.

One-line version

I will strive in what I can control, accept what I cannot control, avoid envy, and ask Allah to give me my own share from His grace.