Translation and Explanation of Surah Sharh [94] Verses 6-7
Recap: In the previous tafseer we learned that a person should rid himself of sins, evil and elements of shirk before he does good deeds. The hardship mentioned in the previous verses have the before it, but there isn’t the before relief, suggesting that hardship is limited and specific, while relief or ease is vast and more than the hardship.
7- “So when you have finished (from your occupation), then stand up for Allah's worship (i.e. stand up for prayer).”
The scholars say that faraagh is when something is empty and void of something else. In the verse it means being free from anything that occupies him. So when a person is done from their duties, occupation or work, they should turn to Allah in devotion in worship in a way that tires him. This verse in connection to the last verse says that after Allah has given us all the blessings that we have, after having our sins lifted, of being given ease after hardship, we should thank Allah by devoting all our worship to Him after doing our daytime worldly duties.
Mujahird Rahimahullah, the famous tabi’een and mufasir said that this verse means that when you have finished from the affairs of this dunya, worldly affairs which have no relation to worship, stand in prayer and devote your attention to your Lord, asking Him for your needs.
Ibn Masood (RA) said that when your work is done, when your obligations which you are obligated to do, like salah, are done then devote yourself in qiyaam-ul-layl, praying in the night. He also said regarding this verse that after you are done with your salah, sit down and do adhkar. We know that whoever stays sitting in the spot he prayed at after the prayer, the angels continue to make dua for that person until he leaves that spot.
Ibn Abbas said that this verse means that when we are finished with our duties, we should turn to Allah with dua, supplication. Similarly another scholar interpreted work as jihad, and said that once a person is finished with jihad, he should devote himself to worship. Another scholar said that once a person is finished with tashahud in salah, they should make dua before the salaam.
The scholars have talked about this issue of making dua during Salah, and they said that when a person is allowed to make dua in certain places of the salah, for example the last part of the salah after the tashahhud. In fact one of the times a person’s dua is accepted is before the salaam in the payer. This is why Ibn Taimiyyah talks about what sort of duas a person should make.
It is reported that the Messenger of Allah ṣallā llāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallama used to make dua asking Allah for protection from four things: the trials and punishment of the grave, from the hell fire, from the trials and fitnah of this world and the next, and from the fitnah of the dajjal.
Generally from this verse we can understand that we should devote our free time to different forms of worship, not letting the dunya interrupt our worship. This points to the importance of working and keeping oneself busy and preoccupied - and not to be lazy. This also evidences the need to have a balance between work and worship. One should not devote his entire time to worship, neglecting his obligations like providing for his family, similarly, a person should not compromise on his worship for the sake of work.
Other lessons learnt from this verse is that one’s worship should be to an extent that it tires him, and that one should free himself of worldly thoughts while worshipping. This is why it is recommended that if it is time for salah but a person is hungry, he should eat and then pray, because if he starts to pray he won’t be able to focus. This ruling is specific to the obligatory prayers and that in congregation. This applies to any other matter that may disturb a person’s kushu, focus, but it should not become a habit.
8- “And to your Lord (Alone) turn (all your intentions and hopes and) your invocations.”
Imam Sufyan Rahimullah said that this means that we should make your intention and desire purely for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, meaning that you want to please Allah and gain the rewards from Allah.
Raghba means to hope, love or desire something. Rahba is the opposite, to be afraid of something and to humble yourself towards it. This is why Allah mentions both, having love and desire to please Allah, while also fearing Him and humbling ourselves. Raghba, to strive and hope for something, in of itself is an act of worship that cannot be done for anyone but Allah. The proof for this is this same verse. We should not rely on saints or prophets, or those who have already passed away, we should only rely on and ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
We may ask people to help us with what they can offer by the permission of Allah, like a job or have our car fixed. That being said we should make dua to Allah for anything and everything, because the best entity to ask for help is Allah. We should ask Him first.
Also we learn that having love, hope from Allah can only come with effort and struggle on our part. So a person cannot attain the love and pleasure of Allah until he makes the physical effort himself.
In summary these verses and surah mention the blessings given to the Prophet ṣallā llāhu ʿalayhī wa-sallama and in extension to us in this dunya. We must realize that after every single hardship there is going to be ease, to an extent that things may happen to us, and a few months of a year later we may look back and laugh at what happened because it was in fact something good. We should also realize that we must devote ourselves to worshiping Allah, not forgetting that our stay in this world is temporary. We should rely on and ask Allah for everything because He listens, and gifts us in the best possible way.
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(some parts minimally paraphrased or left out for the sake of keeping the text manageable to read)
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