Qum Fa-Andhir

Let me start with a simple example.

When You Get a New Electronic Device
When you get a new cellphone, a tablet or a laptop, what is the first thing you have to do before its use? You may have to find an electric outlet and plug in the power cord to charge its battery. The first charge may take the longest, and then you use the phone and charge it in an on-going cyclic fashion.

A Question: What is the source of noor (light) for a spiritual heart and what is its charger?
Let us talk about it.

 Allah s.w.t. tells Rasoolullah (s.a.a.w.) in Surah Al-Muddaththir, speaking to him as the one wrapped up in the mantle, Qum Fa-Andhir.

I Looked up at two translations of the Ayah, given as, “Arise and warn.”  This can be understood as a command for one action to get up and warn people. Another Mufassir argues that the Ayah does not say, Qum wa Andhir. It uses the letter “Fa” instead of the “Wa.”  That means two separate actions. First Qum then Andhir. The explanation of these two acts can be found in the previous Surah, Al-Muzzammil. The Qum as we learn from Surah Al-Muzzammil is referring to Qiyamul-Lail. In the first four Ayaat of Surah Al-Muzzammil, Allah s.w.t. tells the Prophet (s.a.w.) to stand up in prayer at most of the night or almost half of the night. Then in the fifth Ayah, Allah T’ala says, “Soon shall We send down to you a weighty Message.”

The Prophet (s.a.a.w.) was used to do nightly Qiyamul-Lail from the very start of the Wahi until the Ayaat of Surah Al-Muddaththir are revealed, in which he is asked to take the message to the people and invite them to Islam. We know from his life that he did Qiyamul-Lail every night and that the entire mission of his prophethood was Dawah which started with the revelation of the Ayaat of Surah Al-Muddaththir.

34:28 We have not sent you but as a universal (Messenger) to mankind, giving them glad tidings, and warning them (against sin), but most people understand not. (Surah Saba)

It was his Qiyam, his exclusive communication time with Allah s.w.t., which gave him the charge, the energy, the trust, and the direction to continue his hard work as Prophet (s.a.a.w.)

What about us?
Allah s.w.t. has given us a great gift, the gift of the month of Ramadan. This is the month we are born again, as we charge ourselves with Siyam, Qiyam, Quran, Salawat, Sadaqat and Zikr. We do a lot of these acts during this month to come to a full life again, just like we have to charge a new cellphone or a tablet before we can start using it. Just like a charger connected to a device will not charge unless it is connected to an outlet, our Ibadaat will not lighten us up and carry no reward, unless these are connected to the Source of Noor, Allah s.w.t. We connect our Ibadaat to Allah s.w.t. by sincerity in our Niyyah and by khushoo. This fully charged life helps us continue to live our lives in worship and obedience of Allah s.w.t., as an ‘Abeed of our Rabb.

A Clean Lamp
A lighted lamp keeps giving out light as long its surrounding glass is clean. But if it gets covered with dust, its light dims and eventually gets totally dark. You have to cleanup to get light from the lamp. Same is true of our heart. Our lamp can get dirty for various reasons. It could be lack of ikhlas in our niyyah or it could be lack of Khushoo in our Salah. The source of our noor (light) is Allah s.w.t. The light charger and cleaning agents of our spiritual heart are our Ibadaat done in sincerity to Allah s.w.t., and the best time to shine the heart is this month of Ramadan.

What If?
So we understand the value and significance of Qiyamul Lail in our lives. That takes care of the Qum part of the Ayah. What about Fa-Andhir?

·         Is the task of Dawah limited to the Prophet (s.a.a.w.), or do we have any obligation? If he had the primary responsibility, do we have any inherited, secondary responsibility?

·         What if the Rasool limited himself to Qiyam all his life? How would the world be different?

·         What if the Sahabah Keram never left Madinah? Are there any graves of Sahabah outside Madinah?

·         What if Umar bin Abdul Aziz never sent an envoy to the Maharajas of India inviting them to Islam?

When the command for change of Qiblah came, and the task which was given to Bani-Israel is handed over to the Ummah of Muhammad (s.a.a.w.), Allah s.w.t. says in Ayah 143 of Surah Al-Baqarah:

2:143 Thus, have We made of you an Ummah justly balanced, that you might be witnesses over the nations, and the Messenger a witness over yourselves.

So I ask myself, connect to the Source, charge up, cleanup your inner self and get going to do your work of dawah.

Ishaq Zahid
July 3, 2015