Surah As-Saf 61:2

Which was revealed in Madina

The Virtues of Surat As-Saff

Imam Ahmad recorded that `Abdullah bin Salam said, "We asked, `Who among us should go to the Messenger ﷺ and ask him about the dearest actions to Allah' None among us volunteered. The Messenger ﷺ sent a man to us and that man gathered us and recited this Surah, Surat As-Saff, in its entirety."'

بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

Chastising Those Who say what They do not do

We mentioned in many a places before the meaning of Allah's statement,

سَبَّحَ لِلَّهِ مَا فِى السَّمَـوَتِ وَمَا فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ

(Whatsoever is in the heavens and whatsoever is on the earth glorifies Allah. And He is the Almighty, the All-Wise.) Therefore, we do not need to repeat its meaning here. Allah's statement,

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لاَ تَفْعَلُونَ

(O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do) This refutes those who neglect to fulfill their promises. This honorable Ayah supports the view that several scholars of the Salaf held, that it is necessary to fulfill the promise, regardless of whether the promise includes some type of wealth for the person receiving the promise or otherwise. They also argue from the Sunnah, with the Hadith recorded in the Two Sahihs in which Allah's Messenger ﷺ said,

«آيَةُ الْمُنَافِقِ ثَلَاثٌ: إِذَا وَعَدَ أَخْلَفَ، وَإِذَا حَدَّثَ كَذَبَ، وَإِذَا اؤْتُمِنَ خَان»

(There are three signs for a hypocrite: when he promises, he breaks his promise; when speaks, he lies; and when he is entrusted, he betrays.) And in another Hadith in the Sahih,

«أَرْبَعٌ مَنْ كُنَّ فِيهِ كَانَ مُنَافِقًا خَالِصًا،وَمَنْ كَانَتْ فِيهِ وَاحِدَةٌ مِنْهُنَّ كَانَتْ فِيهِ خَصْلَةٌ مِنْ نِفَاقٍ حَتْى يَدَعَهَا»

(There are four characteristics which if one has all of them, he is the pure hypocrite, and if anyone has any of them, he has a characteristic of hypocrisy, until he abandons it.) So he mentioned breaking the promise among these four characteristics. We mentioned the meaning of these two Hadiths in the beginning of the explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari, and to Allah is the praise and the thanks. Therefore Allah implied this meaning, when He continued His admonishment by saying,

كَبُرَ مَقْتاً عِندَ اللَّهِ أَن تَقُولُواْ مَا لاَ تَفْعَلُونَ

(Most hateful it is with Allah that you say that which you do not do.) Imam Ahmad and Abu Dawud recorded that `Abdullah bin `Amir bin Rabi`ah said, "Allah's Messenger ﷺ came to us while I was a young boy, and I went out to play. My mother said, `O `Abdullah! Come, I want to give you something.' Allah's Messenger ﷺ said to her,

«وَمَا أَرَدْتِ أَنْ تُعْطِيَهُ؟»

(What did you want to give him) She said, `Dates.' He said,

«أَمَا إِنَّكِ لَوْ لَمْ تَفْعَلِي كُتِبَتْ عَلَيْكِ كَذْبَة»

(If you had not given them to him, it would have been written as a lie in your record.)" Muqatil bin Hayyan said, "The faithful believers said, `If we only knew the dearest good actions to Allah, we would perform them.' Thus, Allah told them about the dearest actions to Him,saying,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الَّذِينَ يُقَـتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِهِ صَفّاً

(Verily, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in rows) Allah stated what He likes, and they were tested on the day of Uhud. However, they retreated and fled, leaving the Prophet behind. It was about their case that Allah revealed this Ayah:

يأَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لِمَ تَقُولُونَ مَا لاَ تَفْعَلُونَ

(O you who believe! Why do you say that which you do not do) Allah says here, `The dearest of you to Me, is he who fights in My cause."' Some said that it was revealed about the gravity of fighting in battle, when one says that he fought and endured the battle, even though he did not do so. Qatadah and Ad-Dahhak said that this Ayah was sent down to admonish some people who used to say that they killed, fought, stabbed, and did such and such during battle, even though they did not do any of it. Sa`id bin Jubayr said about Allah's statement,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الَّذِينَ يُقَـتِلُونَ فِى سَبِيلِهِ صَفّاً

(Verily, Allah loves those who fight in His cause in rows (ranks)) "Before Allah's Messenger ﷺ began the battle against the enemy, he liked to line up his forces in rows; in this Surah, Allah teaches the believers to do the same." He also said that Allah's statement,

كَأَنَّهُم بُنْيَـنٌ مَّرْصُوصٌ

(as if they were a solid structure.) means, its parts are firmly connected to each other; in rows for battle. Muqatil bin Hayyan said, "Firmly connected to each other." Ibn `Abbas commented on the meaning of the Ayah,

كَأَنَّهُم بُنْيَـنٌ مَّرْصُوصٌ

(as if they were a solid structure.) by saying, "They are like a firm structure that does not move, because its parts are cemented to each other."

Setelah Allah menerangkan sifat-sifat kesempurnaan-Nya, ia mengingatkan kaum Muslimin akan kekurangan-kekurangan yang ada pada mereka, yaitu mereka mengatakan suatu perkataan, tetapi mereka tidak merealisasikan atau mengerjakannya. Di antaranya, mereka berkata, "Kami ingin mengerjakan kebajikan-kebajikan yang diperintahkan Allah," tetapi jika datang perintah itu, mereka tidak mengerjakannya.

Ada dua macam kelemahan manusia yang dikemukakan ayat ini, yaitu:

1.Ketidaksesuaian antara perkataan dan perbuatan mereka. Kelemahan ini kelihatannya mudah diperbaiki, tetapi sukar dilaksanakan. Sangat banyak manusia yang pandai berbicara, suka menganjurkan suatu perbuatan baik, dan mengingatkan agar orang lain menjauhi larangan-larangan Allah, tetapi ia sendiri tidak melaksanakannya. Diriwayatkan oleh Ibnu 'Abbas bahwa 'Abdullah bin Rawahah berkata, "Para mukmin pada masa Rasulullah sebelum jihad diwajibkan berkata, "Seandainya kami mengetahui perbuatan-perbuatan yang disukai Allah, tentu kami akan melaksanakannya." Maka Rasulullah menyampaikan bahwa perbuatan yang paling disukai Allah ialah beriman kepada-Nya, berjihad menghapuskan kemaksiatan yang dapat merusak iman, dan mengakui kebenaran risalah yang disampaikan Nabi-Nya. Setelah datang perintah jihad, sebagian orang-orang yang beriman merasa berat melakukannya. Maka turunlah ayat ini sebagai celaan akan sikap mereka yang tidak baik itu.

2.Tidak menepati janji yang telah mereka buat. Suka menepati janji yang telah ditetapkan merupakan salah satu ciri dari ciri-ciri orang-orang yang beriman. Jika ciri itu tidak dipunyai oleh orang yang mengaku beriman kepada Allah dan rasul-Nya, berarti ia telah menjadi orang munafik.

Rasulullah saw bersabda:Tanda orang munafik ada tiga macam: bila berjanji, ia menyalahi janjinya, bila berkata, ia berdusta dan bila dipercaya, ia berkhianat. (Riwayat al-Bukhari dan Muslim)

Namun tidak berarti bahwa orang-orang tidak boleh mengatakan kebenaran bila ia sendiri belum mampu melaksanakannya. Mengatakan kebenaran wajib, sedangkan melaksanakannya tergantung kemampuan. Allah berfirman:

Maka bertakwalah kamu kepada Allah menurut kesanggupanmu dan dengarlah serta taatlah; dan infakkanlah harta yang baik untuk dirimu. Dan barang siapa dijaga dirinya dari kekikiran, mereka itulah orang-orang yang beruntung. (at-Tagabun/64: 16)