Quran Garden

Session 441

Chapter 3

Verse 113

But they are not all alike.  There are some among the People of the Book who are upright, who recite God's revelations in the watches of the night, who prostrate in worship. 

(Chapter 3: Verse 113)

In verse 112 of Al-Imran, God spoke about the People of the Book who broke their covenant, supported the enemies of God, and killed their prophets.  But God is the all-Just, and He does not generalize.  Some Jews and Christians followed their scriptures, listened to the heavenly message of Muhammad, and believed in the Quran.   It is of God's justice to separate those who preserved their covenant with Him from those who followed their whims and desires.  He says,

But they are not all alike.  There are some among the People of the Book who are upright, who recite God's revelations in the watches of the night, who prostrate in worship. 

(Chapter 3: Verse 113)

Here we should ask, which revelations is the verse referring to?  Are the People "who recite God's revelations" reading the Torah, the Gospel, or the Quran?  To answer this question, we look to the phrase "in the watches of the night." We know that the Jews do not have a night prayer.  They have a morning, midday, and evening prayer and supplication before going to sleep, but no prayers during the night.  However, in Islam, the night prayer is a highly coveted sunnah of our beloved Muhammad and part of the deeds of Muslims seeking Ihsan.  Moreover, prostration is an essential part of Islamic prayers.  Thus, we understand that the people "who recite God's revelations in the watches of the night, who prostrate in worship" are people who are reading the Quran.  

The phrase "in the watches of the night" covers all times of the night.  It is as if the Muslim worshippers are in worship during different.  Some may pray and recite God's verses at the beginning of the night, some in the middle, and others closer to sunrise.  So the believers spend the night in recitation, prayers, and worship, which falls into the level of Ihasn.  You can attain this extraordinary level by going beyond obligations and expectations.  Prophet Muhammad –peace be upon him- explained: "Ihsan is to worship God as if you see Him; for if you cannot see Him, rest assured that He sees you." Allah gives us a detailed description of those who attain 'Ihsan' in the following verses:

The righteous will be in Gardens with flowing springs.  They will receive their Lord's gifts because of the Ihsan they did before: sleeping only a little at night, praying at dawn for God's forgiveness, and giving a share of their wealth to the beggar and the deprived.  (51:15-19)

Did Allah ask you to stay up at night to pray?  No, He did not.  You can fulfill your obligation by praying the night Isha prayer and then sleeping.  If you want to enter the realm of Ihsan, however, then you would pray additional prayers after Isha and into the night.

Did Allah ask you to wake up before dawn and pray for forgiveness?  No, He did not.  You can fulfill your obligation by sleeping till the morning Fajr prayer.  But if you want to enter the realm of Ihsan, you would wake up a bit earlier to spend some time with your Lord.

How about charity?  Allah asked you for a small percentage of your excess wealth ranging from 2.5% to 20%, as Zakat almsgiving.  He says:

Those who are regular in their prayers, who give a due share of their wealth to the needy and the deprived (70:23-25)

Did you notice the difference between obligation and 'Ihsan'?  When Allah spoke about obligation, He said: "those who give a due share of their wealth." However, when He spoke about Ihasn, He said: "those giving a share of their wealth" omitting the work 'due' because when you practice 'Ihasn,' you choose to give more than what is due.  Take note that the path of Ihsan does not involve inventing a new kind of worship.  Instead, it is the act of increasing the acts of worship God has already prescribed.    

When you enter the state of 'Ihsan' and pray at night, you can observe the sky and all its magnificent twinkling stars.  Similarly, when the residents of the heavens look toward the earth, they see bright spots twinkling on its surface.  The angles asked the Lord about these lights.  The Almighty told them that these are the houses where people pray and prostrate to Him during the night prayers.  Every such home shines like stars to the residents of heaven.  

This brings us back to the verse.  We can say that those "among the People of the Book who are upright, who recite God's revelations in the watches of the night, who prostrate in worship" found Allah deserving of far more than the obligatory prayers.  Some entered Islam so thirsty for faith that they prayed throughout the night.  Thus, we know that the People of the Book are not the same; there are those among them who embraced Islam through the magnificent door of Ihsan, while others fought against God and His Messenger.  He says,

They have brought down God's anger upon themselves, and they have been plunged into disgrace.  That is because they rejected God's Signs and killed the Prophets without any right to do so.  That was because they disobeyed and went beyond the limits.  But they are not all alike.  There are some among the People of the Book who are upright, who recite God's revelations in the watches of the night, who prostrate in worship.  (from 3:112, 113)

The word "upright" does not only mean upright in their faith and morals but also their physical posture.  To be upright means to stand up straight, which is different from sitting or laying down, which is far more comfortable.  Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, used to stand up in night prayer until his feet became swollen.  So when Allah says, "There are some among the People of the Book who are upright," it means that they carried the trust of faith and worship sincerely, both spiritually and physically.