The verses of al-Nafs al-Muṭmaʾinna (Arabic: آية النَفْس المُطمئِنّة أو آيات النَفْس المُطمئِنّة) or Qur'an 89:27-30 are the last four verses of Sura al-Fajr, in which the characteristics of a soul at peace are expressed and the good news of entering the paradise is given to the owner of such a soul.
 | |
| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Name | Verses of al-Nafs al-Mutma'inna |
| Sura | Qur'an 89 |
| Verse | 27-30 |
| Juz' | 30 |
| Content Information | |
| Place of Revelation | Mecca |
| About | al-Nafs al-Mutma'inna |
Muslim scholars consider a soul at peace referring to a person who has reached certainty and peace in believing in God and is not inclined to sin. Being pleased and pleasing are two characteristics of this soul: rāḍiya رَاضِيَة means being pleased with divine rewards or being pleased with God's decree and destiny, and marḍiyya مرْضِيَّة implies God's satisfaction with the soul at peace.
Based on various narrations, Imam 'Ali (a), Imam al-Husayn (a) and Shiites are considered examples of souls at peace.
Text and Translation
Verses 27 to 30 of Qur'an 89 are known as verses of al-Nafs al-Mutma'inna (verses of soul at peace):
| “ | ﴾يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ﴿٢٧﴾ ارْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّةً ﴿٢٨﴾ فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي ﴿٢٩﴾ وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي ﴿٣٠
'O soul at peace (27) Return to your Lord, pleased, pleasing (28) Then enter among My servants (29) And enter My paradise' (30) |
” |
| — Quran 89: 26-30 | ||
Definition of Nafs Mutma'inna
Al-Nafs al-mutma'inna has been defined as a state of soul in which a person is at peace and does not go towards sin.[1] Muslim scholars have considered different levels and states for the soul, the lowest of which is al-nafs al-ammara, the state, in which man tends to sin. The higher level is al-nafs al-lawwama, at which if the person does something bad, he regrets it and admonishes himself. The highest level of the soul is al-nafs al-mutma'inna.[2]
Interpretation
Exegetes of the Qur'an have considered "al-nafs al-mutma'inna" in verse 27 of Qur'an 89 referring to believers who have reached certainty and tranquility (peace) and there is no doubt in their faith.[3] 'Allama Tabataba'i considers a soul at peace to be someone who has reached peace by relying on God, and is pleased with God's satisfaction, and the ups and downs of life do not affect him. Such a person is having perfect servitude and does not deviate from the straight path.[4] Majma' al-bayan commentary on the Qur'an considers soul at peace as a soul calmed down in the light of faith, which has reached the level of certainty, and acknowledges the reward and resurrection on the Day of Judgment, and considers it the truth of faith.[5] Al-Tabrisi in Majma' al-bayan has defined the meanings of "radiya" and "mardiyya" as follows: the owner of soul at peace is pleased with God's reward and God is also pleased with his actions.[6] 'Allama Tabataba'i also said that soul at peace is defined as radiya and mardiyya in this sense that confidence in God causes the soul to be pleased with decree and destiny. Therefore, no bad event makes the person upset and he is not infected with sin. For this reason, he becomes mardiyya, which means God is pleased with him; because God gets angry with someone when he leaves servitude.[7]
According to Tafsir-i nimuna, radiya implies that such a person sees all the promises of God fulfilled and is pleased with them. This shows the position of rida (satisfaction) and complete submission; a position where the person is ready to give up everything in the way of God. Mardiyya also means that God is also pleased with them.[8]
Some have said that God's address to soul at peace, with "return to your Lord!", is on the Day of Judgment that believers want to enter the Paradise. Some believe that this address is given at the time of death.[9] 'Allama Tabataba'i accepted the second opinion.[10] Also, from his point of view, "Then enter among My servants" shows that soul at peace has reached the position of perfect servitude. It means a position in which the person wills nothing except what God wills.[11] According to 'Allama Tabataba'i, there is a special respect in the expression "…and enter My paradise!"; because, it is the only verse of the Qur'an in which God has attributed the Paradise to Himself.[12]
In Imam Khomeini's opinion, soul at peace is the soul that no longer has any desires. According to him, the soul becomes confident when it reaches absolute perfection. Absolute perfection is when the person sees only God and nothing else; and pays no attention to the leadership, dominion, material world, other worlds, the world of unseen, or the world of presence; and the person's mind is exclusively toward God.
Narrative Interpretation
In the books of narrative interpretation of the Qur'an and other hadith books, there are examples mentioned for the verse of soul at peace. According to a hadith from Imam al-Sadiq (a) in the commentary of Furat al-Kufi[13] and Shawahid al-tanzil,[14] this verse is about Imam 'Ali (a). Based on Tafsir al-Qummi, Imam al-Sadiq (a) considered soul at peace referring to Imam al-Husayn (a).[15] It is also mentioned in Bihar al-anwar that Qur'an 89 is sura of Imam al-Husayn (a); because Imam al-Husayn (a) had soul at peace. In this hadith, the companions of Imam al-Husayn (a) have been introduced as examples of radiya and mardiyya; because, on the Day of Judgment, they are pleased with God and God is pleased with them.[16]
It is narrated in al-Kafi written by al-Kulayni that Imam al-Sadiq (a) interpreted the verses of soul at peace as follows: "O soul who has confidence in Muhammad (s) and his Ahl al-Bayt (a), turn to your Lord, while you are pleased with the Ahl al-Bayt (a) and you will be satisfied with divine reward; so, enter among My servants i.e. Muhammad (a) and his family, and enter the Paradise."[17]
Notes
- ↑ Misbāḥ Yazdī, Āʾyīn-i parwāz, p. 27.
- ↑ Misbāḥ Yazdī, Āʾyīn-i parwāz, p. 26-27; Muṭahharī, Majmūʿa-yi āthār, vol. 3, p. 595-596.
- ↑ See: Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 742; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 26, p. 475-477.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 285.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 742.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 742.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 285.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, vol. 26, p. 475-477.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majmaʿ al-bayān, vol. 10, p. 742.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 285.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 285-286.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabāʾī, al-Mīzān, vol. 20, p. 286.
- ↑ Furāt al-Kūfī, Tafsīr Furāt al-Kūfī, p. 555.
- ↑ Ḥaskānī, Shawāhid al-tanzīl, vol. 2, p. 429.
- ↑ Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī, vol. 2, p. 422.
- ↑ Majlisī, Biḥār al-anwār, vol. 24, p. 93.
- ↑ Kulaynī, al-Kāfī, vol. 3, p. 127-128.
References
- Furāt al-Kūfī, Abu l-Qāsim Furāt b. Ibrāhīm. Tafsīr Furāt al-Kūfī. Tehran: Sāzmān-i Chāp wa Intishārāt-i Wizārat-i Irshād-i Islāmī, 1410 AH.
- Ḥaskānī, ʿUbayd Allāh b. ʿAbd Allāh al-.Shawāhid al-tanzīl li-qawāʿid al-tafḍīl. Edited by Muḥammad Bāqir Maḥmūdī. Tehran: Majmaʿ Iḥyāʾ al-Thiqāfat al-Islāmī, 1411 AH.
- Imām Khomeinī, Sayyid Rūḥollāh. Ṣaḥīfa-yi nūr. Tehran: Markaz-i Nashr-i Āthār-i Imām Khomeinī, 1378 Sh.
- Kulaynī, Muḥammad b. Yaʿqūb al-. Al-Kāfī. Tehran: Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmīyya, 1407 AH.
- Majlisī, Muḥammad Bāqir al-. Biḥār al-anwār. Second edition. Beirut: Dār Iḥyāʾ al-Turāth al-ʿArabī, 1403 AH.
- Misbāḥ Yazdī, Muḥammad Taqī. Āʾyīn-i parwāz. 9th edition. Qom: Intishārāt-i Muʾassisa-yi Āmūzishī wa Pazhūhishī-yi Imām Khomeiniī, 1399 Sh.
- Muṭahharī, Murtaḍā. Majmūʿa-yi āthār. Qom: Intishārāt-i Ṣadrā, 1389 Sh.
- Qummī, ʿAlī b. Ibrāhīm al-. Tafsīr al-Qummī. Edited by Ṭayyib Mūsawī Jazāʾrī. Qom: Dār al-Kitāb, 1404 AH.
- Ṭabāṭabāʾī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn al-. Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Qom: Daftar-i Intishārāt-i Islāmī, 1417 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. al-Ḥasan al-. Majmaʿ al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qurʾān. Beirut: Dār al-Maʿrifa, 1406 AH.