Surah Al-Anbya 21:105

The Earth will be inherited by the Righteous

Allah tells us of His decree for His righteous servants who are the blessed in this world and in the Hereafter, those who will inherit the earth in this world and in the Hereafter. As Allah says:

إِنَّ الأَرْضَ للَّهِ يُورِثُهَا مَن يَشَآءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ وَالْعَـقِبَةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

(Verily, the earth is Allah's. He gives it as a heritage to whom He wills of His servants; and the (blessed) end is for those who have Taqwa.) 7:128

إِنَّا لَنَنصُرُ رُسُلَنَا وَالَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ فِى الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَيَوْمَ يَقُومُ الاٌّشْهَـدُ

(Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those who believe in this world's life and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth.) 40:51

وَعَدَ اللَّهُ الَّذِينَ ءامَنُواْ مِنْكُمْ وَعَمِلُواْ الصَّـلِحَاتِ لَيَسْتَخْلِفَنَّهُمْ فِى الاْرْضِ كَمَا اسْتَخْلَفَ الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ وَلَيُمَكّنَنَّ لَهُمْ دِينَهُمُ الَّذِى ارْتَضَى لَهُمْ

(Allah has promised those among you who believe and do righteous good deeds, that He will certainly grant them succession in the land, as He granted it to those before them, and that He will grant them the authority to practise their religion which He has chosen for them) 24:55. Allah tells us that this is recorded in the Books of Divine Laws and Decrees, and that it will inevitably come to pass. Allah says:

وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِى الزَّبُورِ مِن بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ

(And indeed We have written in Az-Zabur after Adh-Dhikr) Al-A`mash said: "I asked Sa`id bin Jubayr about the Ayah:

وَلَقَدْ كَتَبْنَا فِى الزَّبُورِ مِن بَعْدِ الذِّكْرِ

(And indeed We have written in Az-Zabur after Adh-Dhikr). He said: `Az-Zabur means the Tawrah, the Injil and the Qur'an."' Mujahid said, "Az-Zabur means the Book." Ibn `Abbas, Ash-Sha`bi, Al-Hasan, Qatadah and others said, "Az-Zabur is that which was revealed to Dawud, and Adh-Dhikr is the Tawrah." Mujahid said: "Az-Zabur means the Books which came after Adh-Dhikr, and Adh-Dhikr is the Mother of the Book (Umm Al-Kitab) which is with Allah." This was also the view of Zayd bin Aslam: "It is the First Book." Ath-Thawri said: "It is Al-Lawh Al-Mahfuz."

أَنَّ الاٌّرْضَ يَرِثُهَا عِبَادِىَ الصَّـلِحُونَ

(that My righteous servants shall inherit the land.) Mujahid said, narrating from Ibn `Abbas, "This means, the land of Paradise." This was also the view of Abu `Aliyah, Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ash-Sha`bi, Qatadah, As-Suddi, Abu Salih, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and Ath-Thawri (may Allah have mercy on them).

إِنَّ فِى هَـذَا لَبَلَـغاً لِّقَوْمٍ عَـبِدِينَ

(Verily, in this (the Qur'an) there is a plain Message for people who worship Allah.) means, `in this Qur'an which We have revealed to Our servant Muhammad , there is a plain Message which is beneficial and is sufficient for a people who worship Allah.' This refers to those who worship Allah in the manner which He has prescribed and which He loves and is pleased with, and they would rather obey Allah than follow the Shaytan or their own desires.

Muhammad ﷺ is a Mercy to the Worlds

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـكَ إِلاَّ رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَـلَمِينَ

(And We have sent you not but as a mercy for the `Alamin.) Here Allah tells us that He has made Muhammad ﷺ a mercy to the `Alamin, i.e., He sent him as a mercy for all of them peoples, so whoever accepts this mercy and gives thanks for this blessing, will be happy in this world and in the Hereafter. But whoever rejects it and denies it, will lose out in this world and in the Hereafter, as Allah says:

أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى الَّذِينَ بَدَّلُواْ نِعْمَتَ اللَّهِ كُفْرًا وَأَحَلُّواْ قَوْمَهُمْ دَارَ الْبَوَارِ - جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَوْنَهَا وَبِئْسَ الْقَرَارُ

(Have you not seen those who have changed the blessings of Allah into disbelief, and caused their people to dwell in the house of destruction Hell, in which they will burn, -- and what an evil place to settle in!) 14:28-29 And Allah says, describing the Qur'an:

قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ هُدًى وَشِفَآءٌ وَالَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ فِى ءَاذَانِهِمْ وَقْرٌ وَهُوَ عَلَيْهِمْ عَمًى أُوْلَـئِكَ يُنَادَوْنَ مِن مَّكَانٍ بَعِيدٍ

(Say: "It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is heaviness in their ears, and it is blindness for them. They are those who are called from a place far away.") 41:44 Muslim reports in his Sahih: Ibn Abi `Umar told us, Marwan Al-Fazari told us, from Yazid bin Kisan, from Ibn Abi Hazim that Abu Hurayrah said that it was said, "O Messenger of Allah, pray against the idolators." He said:

«إِنِّي لَمْ أُبْعَثْ لَعَّانًا، وَإِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ رَحْمَة»

(I was not sent as a curse, rather I was sent as a mercy.) This was recorded by Muslim. Imam Ahmad recorded that `Amr bin Abi Qurrah Al-Kindi said: "Hudhayfah was in Al-Mada'in and he was mentioning things that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had said. Hudhayfah came to Salman and Salman said: `O Hudhayfah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would sometimes be angry and would speak accordingly, and would sometimes be pleased and would speak accordingly. I know that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ addressed us and said:

«أَيُّمَا رَجُلٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِي سَبَبْتُهُ (سَبَّةً) فِي غَضَبِي أَوْ لَعَنْتُهُ لَعْنَةً، فَإِنَّمَا أَنَا رَجُلٌ مِنْ وَلَدِ آدَمَ أَغْضَبُ كَمَا تَغْضَبُونَ، إِنَّمَا بَعَثَنِي اللهُ رَحْمَةً لِلْعَالَمِينَ فَاجْعَلْهَا صَلَاةً عَلَيْهِ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَة»

(Any man of my Ummah whom I have insulted or cursed when I was angry -- for I am a man from among the sons of Adam, and I get angry just as you do. But Allah has sent me as a Mercy to the Worlds, so I will make that my anger into blessings for him on the Day of Resurrection.") This was also recorded by Abu Dawud from Ahmad bin Yunus from Za'idah. It may be asked: what kind of mercy do those who disbelieve in him get The answer is what Abu Ja`far bin Jarir recorded from Ibn `Abbas concerning the Ayah:

وَمَآ أَرْسَلْنَـكَ إِلاَّ رَحْمَةً لِّلْعَـلَمِينَ

(And We have sent you not but as a mercy for the `Alamin. ) He said, "Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day, mercy will be decreed for him in this world and in the Hereafter; whoever does not believe in Allah and His Messenger, will be protected from that which happened to the nations of earthquakes and stoning."

Ayat ini menerangkan bahwa Allah telah menurunkan kitab kepada para Rasul, seperti Taurat, Zabur, Injil dan Al-Qur'an. Dalam kitab-kitab itu diterangkan bahwa bumi ini adalah kepunyaan Allah, diwariskan kepada siapa yang dikehendaki-Nya. Allah telah menetapkan juga dalam ayat ini, bahwa hamba-hamba yang mewarisi bumi itu ialah hamba-hamba yang sanggup mengolah bumi dan memakmurkannya, selama dia mengikuti petunjuk Allah.

Jika diperhatikan sejarah dunia dan sejarah umat manusia, maka orang-orang yang dijadikan Allah sebagai penguasa di bumi ini, ialah orang-orang yang sanggup mengatur dan memimpin masyarakat, mengolah bumi ini untuk kepentingan umat manusia, sanggup mempertahankan diri dari serangan luar dan dapat mengokohkan persatuan rakyat yang ada di negaranya. Pemberian kekuasaan oleh Allah kepada orang-orang tersebut bukanlah berarti Allah telah meridai tindakan-tindakan mereka; karena kehidupan duniawi lain halnya dengan kehidupan ukhrawi. Ada orang yang bahagia hidup di akhirat saja, dan ada pula yang bahagia hidup di dunia saja. Sedangkan yang dicita-citakan seorang muslim ialah bahagia hidup di dunia dan di akhirat.

Apabila orang muslim ingin hidup bahagia di dunia dan akhirat, mereka harus mengikuti Sunnatullah di atas, yaitu taat beribadah kepada Allah, sanggup memimpin umat manusia dengan baik, sanggup mengolah bumi ini untuk kepentingan umat manusia, menggalang persatuan dan kesatuan yang kuat di antara meraka sehingga tidak mudah dipecah belah oleh musuh.

Para mufasir berbeda pendapat dalam menafsirkan kata "bumi" dalam ayat ini, di antaranya:

a. Sebagian ahli tafsir mengartikan "bumi" dalam ayat ini dengan "surga". Karena "surga" itu diwariskan Allah kepada hamba-hamba-Nya yang beriman dan beramal saleh. Firman Allah:

Dan mereka berkata, "Segala puji bagi Allah yang telah memenuhi janji-Nya kepada kami dan telah memberikan tempat ini kepada kami sedang kami (diperkenankan) menempati surga di mana saja yang kami kehendaki." Maka (surga itulah) sebaik-baik balasan bagi orang-orang yang beramal. (az-Zumar/39: 74)

b. Sebagian yang lain mengartikan kata "bumi" dengan bumi yang sekarang ditempati umat manusia. Firman Allah:

Allah telah menjanjikan kepada orang-orang di antara kamu yang beriman dan yang mengerjakan kebajikan, bahwa Dia sungguh, akan menjadikan mereka berkuasa di bumi. (an-Nur/24: 55)

"Sesungguhnya bumi (ini) milik Allah; diwariskan-Nya kepada siapa saja yang Dia kehendaki di antara hamba-hamba-Nya. Dan kesudahan (yang baik) adalah bagi orang-orang yang bertakwa." (al-A'raf/7: 128)

c. Sebagian mufasir lain mengartikan "bumi" dengan tanah suci yang diwarisi oleh orang yang saleh, firman Allah:

Dan Kami wariskan kepada kaum yang tertindas itu, bumi bagian timur dan bagian baratnya yang telah Kami berkahi. (al-A'raf/7: 137)