Al-Nafs al-Mutma'inna Verses: Difference between revisions

'''Qur'an 89:27-30''' or '''The verse or verses of al-Nafs al-Muṭmaʾinna''' (Arabic: {{ia|آية النَفْس المُطمئِنّة أو آيات النَفْس المُطمئِنّة}}) are the last four verses of [[Qur'an 89]], in which the characteristics of a [[Al-Nafs al-Mutma'inna|soul at peace]] are expressed and the good news of entering the [[paradise]] is given to the owner of such a soul.

Muslim scholars consider a soul at peace referring to a person who has reached [[certainty]] and peace in [[Faith|believing in God]] and is not inclined to [[sin]]. Being pleased and pleasing are two characteristics of this soul: rāḍiya {{ia|رَاضِيَة}} means being pleased with [[divine rewards]] or being pleased with [[God’s decree and destiny]], and marḍiyya {{ia|مرْضِيَّة}} implies God’s satisfaction with the soul at peace.

==Text and translation of the verse==

Verses 27 to 30 of [[Qur'an 89]] are known as verse or verses of al-Nafs al-Mutma’inna (verses of soul at peace):

‘O soul at peace (27) Return to your Lord, pleased, pleasing (28) Then enter among My servants (29) And enter My paradise (30)

Nafs Mutma'inna has been defined as a state of [[soul]] in which a person is at peace and does not go towards [[sin]].<ref>Misbāḥ Yazdī, ''Āʾyīn-i parwāz'', p. 27.</ref> Muslim scholars have considered different levels and states for the soul, the lowest of which is [[Nafs al-Ammara]], the state, in which man tends to sin. The higher level is [[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.<ref>Misbāḥ Yazdī, ''Āʾyīn-i parwāz'', p. 26-27; Muṭahharī, ''Majmūʿa-yi āthār'', vol. 3, p. 595-596.</ref>

 

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.<ref>See: Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 10, p. 742; Makārim Shīrāzī, ''Tafsīr-i nimūna'', vol. 26, p. 475-477.</ref> [['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]].<ref>Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 20, p. 285.</ref> ''[[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.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 10, p. 742.</ref> [[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.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 10, p. 742.</ref> '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 he is pleased with God; because God gets angry with someone when he leaves servitude.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 20, p. 285.</ref>

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 people believe that this address is given at the time of death.<ref>Ṭabrisī, ''Majmaʿ al-bayān'', vol. 10, p. 742.</ref> 'Allama Tabataba'i accepted the second opinion.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 20, p. 285.</ref> 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.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 20, p. 285-286.</ref> 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.<ref>Ṭabāṭabāʾī, ''al-Mīzān'', vol. 20, p. 286.</ref>

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.

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 ''[[Tafsir Furat al-Kufi (book)|commentary of Furat al-Kufi]]''<ref>Furāt al-Kūfī, ''Tafsīr furāt al-kūfī'', p. 555.</ref> and ''[[Shawahid al-tanzil]]'',<ref>Ḥaskānī, ''Shawāhid al-tanzīl'', vol. 2, p. 429.</ref> 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)]].<ref>Qummī, ''Tafsīr al-Qummī'', vol. 2, p. 422.</ref> 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.<ref>Majlisī, ''Biḥār al-anwār'', vol. 24, p. 93.</ref>