Surah Ali 'Imran 3:16

The Supplication and Description of Al-Muttaqin

Allah describes the Muttaqin, His pious servants, whom He promised tremendous rewards,

الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّنَآ ءَامَنَّا

(Those who say: "Our Lord! We have indeed believed") in You, Your Book and Your Messenger.

فَاغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا

(so forgive us our sins) because of our faith in You and in what You legislated for us. Therefore, forgive us our errors and shortcomings, with Your bounty and mercy,

وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ

(and save us from the punishment of the Fire.)

Allah then said,

الصَّـبِرِينَ

((They are) those who are patient) while performing acts of obedience and abandoning the prohibitions.

وَالصَّـدِقِينَ

(those who are true) concerning their proclamation of faith, by performing the difficult deeds.

وَالْقَـنِتِينَ

(and obedient) meaning, they submit and obey Allah,

وَالْمُنَـفِقِينَ

(those who spend) from their wealth on all the acts of obedience they were commanded, being kind to kith and kin, helping the needy, and comforting the destitute.

وَالْمُسْتَغْفِرِينَ بِالاٌّسْحَارِ

(and those who pray and beg Allah's pardon in the last hours of the night) and this testifies to the virtue of seeking Allah's forgiveness in the latter part of the night. It was reported that when Ya`qub said to his children,

سَوْفَ أَسْتَغْفِرُ لَكُمْ رَبِّى

(I will ask my Lord for forgiveness for you) 12:98 he waited until the latter part of the night to say his supplication.

Furthermore, the Two Sahihs, the Musnad and Sunan collections recorded through several Companions that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«يَنْزِلُ اللهُ تَبَارَكَ وَتَعَالى فِي كُلِّ لَيْلَةٍ إِلى سَمَاءِ الدُّنْيَا حِينَ يَبْقَى ثُلُثُ اللَّيْلِ الْآخِرُ، فَيَقُولُ: هَلْ مِنْ سَائِلٍ فَأُعْطِيَهُ؟ هَلْ مِنْ دَاعٍ فَأَسْتَجِيبَ لَهُ؟ هَلْ مِنْ مُسْتَغْفِرٍ فَأَغْفِرَ لَهُ؟»

(Every night, when the last third of it remains, our Lord, the Blessed, the Superior, descends to the lowest heaven saying, "Is there anyone to ask Me, so that I may grant him his request Is there anyone to invoke Me, so that I may respond to his invocation Is there anyone seeking My forgiveness, so that I may forgive him")

The Two Sahihs recorded that `A'ishah said, "The Messenger of Allah ﷺ performed Witr during the first part, the middle and latter parts of the night. Then, later (in his life), he would perform it (only) during the latter part." `Abdullah bin `Umar used to pray during the night and would ask, "O Nafi`! Is it the latter part of the night yet" and if Nafi` said, "Yes," Ibn `Umar would start supplicating to Allah and seeking His forgiveness until dawn. This Hadith was collected by Ibn Abi Hatim.

Sifat-sifat orang yang bertakwa yaitu orang yang hatinya sudah merasakan nikmatnya iman, orang yang bergetar lidahnya mengucapkan pengakuan iman ini ketika berdoa dan beribadah. Mereka memelihara diri dari berbuat maksiat, tunduk kepada Allah dengan khusyuk serta memohon kepada-Nya, "Wahai Tuhan kami, kami benar-benar telah beriman kepada apa yang telah Engkau turunkan kepada Rasulullah dengan iman yang meresap ke dalam lubuk hati kami, yang membimbing akal pikiran kami, dan menguasai pekerjaan-pekerjaan badaniah kami. Maka wahai Tuhan kami, hapuslah dosa-dosa kami dengan ampunan-Mu dan jauhkanlah kami dari azab neraka. Sesungguhnya Engkau Maha Pengampun lagi Maha Penyayang".

Doa agar terhindar dari azab neraka dikhususkan, karena orang yang dibebaskan dari azab neraka berarti telah mendapat kemenangan dan tempat kembali yang terbaik. Yang dimaksud dengan iman dalam pengakuan orang-orang yang bertakwa ini ialah iman yang murni, yang terwujud pada kemampuan memelihara diri daripada kemaksiatan, serta banyak berbuat kebajikan.

Ulama salaf telah sepakat bahwa yang dimaksud dengan iman itu meliputi iktikad, ucapan dan perbuatan. Iman inilah yang memberi bimbingan kepada akal dan perbuatan manusia yang sesuai dengan fitrahnya.