Part 30

And Ibrahim counselled his sons and so did Ya'qub with it (saying): Dear sons, verily Allah has chosen for you the way (deen), so beware lest you die except in the state of submission.] Quran 2/130-132 [Say: verily my Lord has guided me to a straight path. A way of right, the way of Ibrahim, who was of those pure in monotheism, and was not one of the associationists. Say: Verily, my prayer, my sacrifice, my life, and my death are for Allah, Lord of the worlds. He has no partner! With this I have been ordered, and I am the first of the Muslims.] Quran 6/161-163 The verb form derived from Islam (aslama) sometimes appears as an intransitive verb which acts through the preposition (li) "to", as in the above verses, and as in Allah's statement: [And turn toward your Lord, and submit to Him before the punishment comes to you, and you are without help.] Quran 39/54 [She (i.e. Bilqis, the queen of Sheba) said: I have oppressed myself! And I now submit along with Sulaiman to Allah, Lord of the worlds.] Quran 27/44 [And so do they seek other than the deen of Allah?! And to Him everything in the heavens and the earth has submitted, willingly and unwillingly, and to Him they will return.] Quran 3/83 [Say, should we call on others besides Allah? Things that can neither benefit us nor harm us. And turn on our heels after Allah has guided us? Like the one who the shayateen (devils) have obsessed, wandering bewildered through the earth. He has friends who call him to "guidance" saying: Come to us. Say, verily guidance is the guidance of Allah, and we have been ordered to submit to the Lord of the worlds.] Quran 6/71 Enjoining Right & Forbidding Wrong - 62 Translated by Salim Abdallah ibn Morgan Other times the verb aslama (to submit) appears as a transitive verb (with "one's face" as the direct object) along with the concept of ihsaan (to do or make good), as in Allah's statement: [They said: No one will enter paradise except for a Jew or a Christian. Those are their hopes. Say: Bring your proof, if you speak the truth. No! Whoever submits his face to Allah, and is a muhsin (doer of good), his is a reward with his Lord, and there is no fear upon them, nor shall they grieve.] Quran 2/111-112 [And who is on a better way than the one who submits his face to Allah and is a doer of good, following the tradition of Ibrahim of pure tauhid (monotheism), and Allah took Ibrahim as a friend.] Quran 4/125 Allah has rejected the idea that there could be any deen (way or religion) which is better than this way. And it is the submission of ones face to Allah along with the doing of good (ihsaan), and He informed us that everyone who submits his face to Allah and is a doer of good has his reward with Allah, and there will no fear upon them, nor shall they grieve. He established this inclusive concept, and this general question as a rebuttal to the imaginings of those who imagined that no one will enter paradise except one giving allegiance to Judaism or Christianity. The Meaning Of Submitting One's Face To Allah These last two concepts: the surrendering of one's face to Allah, and the doing of good are the same two requirements for the acceptance of ones actions which were discussed earlier i.e. that the action be done in complete sincerity for the sake of Allah, and that it be correct, in accordance with the sunnah and the shari'a. This is because surrendering of one's face to Allah entails a will and an intention for the sake of Allah, as one poem says: "Seek Allah's forgiveness for sins which you cannot even count. Lord of (His) slaves, unto Him is (one's) face and (one's) action." Four different words have been used here: submission of one's face, making straight or correct of one's face, and directing (literally: "facing") of one's face (i.e. to Allah), as in Allah's statements: Enjoining Right & Forbidding Wrong - 63 Translated by Salim Abdallah ibn Morgan [And make your faces straight at every place of prostration] Quran 7/29 [And straighten your face to the way as a pure monotheist; the natural way on which Allah has made mankind.] Quran 30/30 And as Ibrahim (peace be upon him) is quoted as saying: [Indeed, I have directed my face to the one who originated the heavens and the earth as a pure monotheist, and I am not among the associationists.] Quran 6/79 The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) used to say the same thing in the opening dua (invocation) of his night prayer: "I direct my face to the one who originated the heavens and the earth as a pure monotheist, and I am not among the associationists." In the sahih hadith, Al-Baraa' ibn 'aazib narrated: "The Prophet (sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam) taught me to say when going to bed: "O, Allah, I have surrendered myself to You, and directed my face toward you...." The word for "face" in Arabic, wajh, can mean that which (who) directs itself (AlMutawajjih), and it can mean that which is directed toward or in the direction of (AlMutawajjah Ilaihi, or Al-Mutawajjah Nahwahu).