Al-Qur'an Surah Ali 'Imran Verse 200

Mufti Taqi Usmani

O you who believe, be patient, compete with each other in patience, and guard your frontiers and fear Allah, so that you may be successful.

Dr. Mustafa Khattab, the Clear Quran

O believers! Patiently endure, persevere, stand on guard,[[ Râbiṭo refers to watching over the borders of one’s homeland. It can also mean keeping up one’s prayers. ]] and be mindful of Allah, so you may be successful.

Ruwwad Translation Center

O you who believe, be patient and endure, stand on guard and fear Allah, so that you may be successful.

A. J. Arberry

O believers, be patient, and vie you in patience; be steadfast; fear God; haply so you will prosper.

Abdul Haleem

You who believe, be steadfast, more steadfast than others; be ready; always be mindful of God, so that you may prosper.

Abdul Majid Daryabadi

O Ye who believe! persevere, and excel in perseverance and be ever ready, and fear Allah that haply ye may thrive.

Abdullah Yusuf Ali

O ye who believe! Persevere in patience and constancy; vie in such perseverance; strengthen each other; and fear Allah; that ye may prosper.

Abul Ala Maududi

Believers, be steadfast, and vie in steadfastness, stand firm in your faith, and hold Allah in fear that you may attain true success.

Ahmed Ali

So you who believe, have endurance in suffering, be patient and persevere, strengthen each other and be firm, and be pious and fear God that you may find success.

Ahmed Raza Khan

O People who Believe! Endure and surpass your enemies in endurance, and guard the frontiers of the Islamic nation; and keep fearing Allah, hoping that you may succeed.

Ali Quli Qarai

O you who have faith! Be patient, stand firm, and close [your] ranks, and be wary of Allah so that you may be felicitous.

Ali Ünal

O you who believe! Be patient (persevere through what befalls you in the world in God’s cause); encourage each other to patience vying in it with one another and outdoing all others in it; and observe your duties to God in solidarity, and keep from disobedience to God in due reverence for Him and piety, so that you may prosper (in both worlds)!

Amatul Rahman Omar

O you who believe! be patiently persevering and strive to excel (the disbelievers) in being patiently persevering and guard (the frontiers) and ward off evil, keep your duty to Allâh so that you may attain your goal.

English Literal

You, you those who believed, be patient, and compete in patience, and stand firmly on guard/steadfast, and fear and obey God, maybe/perhaps you succeed/win.47

Faridul Haque

O People who Believe! Endure and surpass your enemies in endurance, and guard the frontiers of the Islamic nation; and keep fearing Allah, hoping that you may succeed.

Hamid S. Aziz

And give unto the orphans their property, and give them not the vile in exchange for the good, and devour not their property into your own property; verily, that would be a great sin.

Hilali & Khan

O you who believe! Endure and be more patient (than your enemy), and guard your territory by stationing army units permanently at the places from where the enemy can attack you, and fear Allah, so that you may be successful.

Maulana Mohammad Ali

And of the People of the Book there are those who believe in Allah and (in) that which as been revealed to you and (in) that which has been revealed to them, humbling themselves before Allah -- they take not a small price for the messages of Allah. These it is that have their reward with their Lord. Surely Allah is Swift to take account!

Mohammad Habib Shakir

O you who believe! be patient and excel in patience and remain steadfast, and be careful of (your duty to) Allah, that you may be successful.

Mohammed Marmaduke William Pickthall

O ye who believe! Endure, outdo all others in endurance, be ready, and observe your duty to Allah, in order that ye may succeed.

Muhammad Sarwar

Believers, have patience, help each other with patience, establish good relations with one another, and have fear of God so that you may have everlasting happiness.

Qaribullah & Darwish

Believers, be patient, and race in patience, be steadfast, fear Allah, in order that you will be victorious.

Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

O you who believe! Endure and be more patient, and Rabitu, and have Taqwa of Allah, so that you may be successful.

Wahiduddin Khan

Believers, endure, vie with each other in endurance, stand firm in your faith and fear God, so that you may succeed.

Talal Itani

O you who believe! Be patient, and advocate patience, and be united, and revere God, so that you may thrive.

Tafsir jalalayn

O you who believe, be patient, in [performing] acts of obedience, in the face of afflictions and in refraining from acts of disobedience, and vie in patience, with the disbelievers, lest they be more patient than you; be steadfast, persist in the struggle; fear God, in all of your circumstances, so that you will prosper, [so that] you will win [admittance to] Paradise and be delivered from the Fire. Medinese; [consisting of] 176 or 177 verses, revealed after [srat] al-Mumtahana.

Tafseer Ibn Kathir

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُواْ اصْبِرُواْ وَصَابِرُواْ وَرَابِطُواْ

O you who believe! Endure and be more patient, and Rabitu.

Al-Hasan Al-Basri said,

"The believers are commanded to be patient in the religion that Allah chose for them, Islam. They are not allowed to abandon it in times of comfort or hardship, ease or calamity, until they die as Muslims.

They are also commanded to endure against their enemies, those who hid the truth about their religion."

Similar explanation given by several other scholars among the Salaf.

As for Murabatah, it is to endure in acts of worship and perseverance.

It also means to await prayer after prayer, as Ibn Abbas, Sahl bin Hanif and Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi stated.

Ibn Abi Hatim collected a Hadith that was also collected by Muslim and An-Nasa'i from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet said,

أَلَا أُخْبِرُكُمْ بِمَا يَمْحُو اللهُ بِهِ الْخَطَايَا وَيَرْفَعُ بِهِ الدَّرَجَاتِ إِسْباغُ الوُضُوءِ عَلَى الْمَكَارِهِ وَكَثْرَةُ الْخُطَا إِلَى الْمَسَاجِدِ وَانْتِظَارُ الصَّلَةِ بَعْدَ الصَّلَةِ فَذلِكُمُ الرِّبَاطُ فَذلِكُمُ الرِّبَاطُ فَذلِكُمُ الرِّبَاط

Should I tell you about actions with which Allah forgives sins and raises the grade Performing perfect ablution in unfavorable conditions, the many steps one takes to the Masajid, and awaiting prayer after the prayer, for this is the Ribat, this is the Ribat, this is the Ribat.

They also say that;

the Murabatah in the above Ayah refers to battles against the enemy, and manning Muslim outposts to protect them from enemy incursions inside Muslim territory.

There are several Hadiths that encourage Murabatah and mention its rewards.

Al-Bukhari recorded that Sahl bin Sa`d As-Sa`idi said that the Messenger of Allah said,

رِبَاطُ يَوْمٍ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ خَيْرٌ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا عَلَيْهَا

A Day of Ribat in the cause of Allah is better than this life and all that is in it.

Muslim recorded that Salman Al-Farisi said that the Messenger of Allah said,

رِبَاطُ يَوْمٍ وَلَيْلَةٍ خَيْرٌ مِنْ صِيَامِ شَهْرٍ وَقِيامِهِ وَإِنْ مَاتَ جَرَى عَلَيْهِ عَمَلُهُ الَّذِي كَانَ يَعْمَـــــــلُهُ وَأُجْرِيَ عَلَيْهِ رِزْقُــــهُ وَأَمِنَ الْفَتَّان
Ribat for a day and a night is better than fasting the days of a month and its Qiyam (voluntary prayer at night). If one dies in Ribat, his regular righteous deeds that he used to perform will keep being added to his account, and he will receive his provision, and will be saved from the trials of the grave.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Fadalah bin Ubayd said that he heard the Messenger of Allah saying,

كُلُّ مَيِّتٍ يُخْتَمُ عَلى عَمَلِهِ إِلاَّ الَّذِي مَاتَ مُرَابِطًا فِي سَبِيل اللهِ فَإِنَّهُ يَنْمِي لَهُ عَمَلُهُ إِلى يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ وَيَأْمَنُ فِتْنَةَ الْقَبْر

Every dead person will have his record of deeds sealed, except for whoever dies while in Ribat in the cause of Allah, for his work will keep increasing until the Day of Resurrection, and he will be safe from the trial of the grave.

This is the same narration collected by Abu Dawud and At-Tirmidhi, who said, "Hasan Sahih".

Ibn Hibban also collected this Hadith in his Sahih.

At-Tirmidhi recorded that Ibn Abbas said that he heard the Messenger of Allah saying,

عَيْنَانِ لَا تَمَسُّهُمَا النَّارُ عَيْنٌ بَكَتْ مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللهِ وَعَيْنٌ بَاتَتْ تَحْرُسُ فِي سَبِيلِ الله

Two eyes shall not be touched by the Fire;an eye that cried for fear from Allah and an eye that spent the night guarding in Allah's cause.

Al-Bukhari recorded in his Sahih that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah said,

تَعِسَ عَبْدُالدِّينَارِ وَعَبْدُالدِّرْهَمِ وَعَبْدُالْخَمِيصَةِ إِنْ أُعْطِيَ رَضِيَ وَإِنْ لَمْ يُعْطَ سَخِطَ تَعِسَ وَانْتَكَسَ وَإِذَا شِيكَ فَلَ انْتَقَشَ

Let the servant of the Dinar, the servant of the Dirham and the servant of the Khamisah (of clothes) perish, as he is pleased if these things are given to him, and if not, he is displeased. Let such a person perish and be humiliated, and if he is pierced with a thorn, let him not find anyone to take it out for him.

طُوبَى لِعَبْدٍ اخِذٍ بِعِنَانِ فَرَسِهِ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ أَشْعَثَ رَأْسُهُ مُغْبَرَّةٍ قَدَمَاهُ إِنْ كَانَ فِي الْحِرَاسَةِ كَانَ فِي الْحِرَاسَةِ وَإِنْ كَانَ فِي السَّاقَةِ كَانَ فِي السَّاقَةِ إِنِ اسْتَأْذَنَ لَمْ يُوْذَنْ لَهُ وَإِنْ شَفَعَ لَمْ يُشَفَّع

Paradise is for him who holds the reins of his horse, striving in Allah's cause, with his hair unkempt and feet covered with dust;if he is appointed to the vanguard, he is perfectly satisfied with his post of guarding, and if he is appointed in the rearguard, he accepts his post with satisfaction; if he asks for permission he is not permitted, and if he intercedes, his intercession is not accepted.

Ibn Jarir recorded that Zayd bin Aslam said,

"Abu Ubaydah wrote to Umar bin Al-Khattab and mentioned to him that the Romans were mobilizing their forces.

Umar wrote back, `Allah will soon turn whatever hardship a believing servant suffers, to ease, and no hardship shall ever overcome two types of ease. Allah says in His Book,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ امَنُواْ اصْبِرُواْ وَصَابِرُواْ وَرَابِطُواْ وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ


O you who believe! Endure and be more patient, and Rabitu, and have Taqwa of Allah, so that you may be successful.'"

Al-Hafiz Ibn Asakir mentioned in the biography of Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak, that Muhammad bin Ibrahim bin Abi Sakinah said,

"While in the area of Tarsus, Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak dictated this poem to me when I was greeting him goodbye.

He sent the poem with me to Al-Fudayl bin Iyad in the year one hundred and seventy,

`O he who worships in the vicinity of the Two Holy Masjids!

If you but see us, you will realize that you are only jesting in worship.

He who brings wetness to his cheek with his tears, should know that our necks are being wet by our blood.

He who tires his horses without purpose, know that our horses are getting tired in battle.

Scent of perfume is yours, while our scent is the glimmer of spears and the stench of dust (in battle).

We were narrated about in the speech of our Prophet, an authentic statement that never lies.

That the dust that erupts by Allah's horses and which fills the nostrils of a man shall never be combined with the smoke of a raging Fire.

This, the Book of Allah speaks among us that the martyr is not dead, and the truth in Allah's Book cannot be denied.'

I met Al-Fudayl Ibn Iyad in the Sacred Masjid and gave him the letter.

When he read it, his eyes became tearful and he said, `Abu Abdur-Rahman (Abdullah bin Al-Mubarak) has said the truth and offered sincere advice to me.'

He then asked me, `Do you write the Hadith?'

I said, `Yes.'

He said, `Write this Hadith as reward for delivering the letter of Abu Abdur-Rahman to me. He then dictated,

`Mansur bin Al-Mu`tamir narrated to us that Abu Salih narrated from Abu Hurayrah that a man asked, `O Messenger of Allah! Teach me a good deed that will earn me the reward of the Mujahidin in Allah's cause.'

The Prophet said,

هَلْ تَسْتَطِيعُ أَنْ تُصَلِّيَ فَلَ تَفْتُرَ وَتَصُومَ فَلَ تُفْطِرَ

Are you able to pray continuously and fast without breaking the fast?

The man said, `O Messenger of Allah! I cannot bear it.'

The Prophet said,

فَوَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ لَوْ طُوِّقْتَ ذلِكَ مَا بَلَغْتَ الْمُجَاهِدِينَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللهِ أَوَ مَا عَلِمْتَ أَنَّ فَرَسَ الْمُجَاهِدِ لَيَسْتَنُّ فِي طِوَلِهِ فَيُكْتَبُ لَهُ بِذلِكَ الْحَسَنَات

By He in Whose Hand is my soul! Even if you were able to do it, you will not achieve the grade of the Mujahidin in Allah's cause. Did you not know that the horse of the Mujahid earns rewards for him as long as it lives.

Allah said next,

وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ

and have Taqwa of Allah,

concerning all your affairs and situations.

For instance, the Prophet said to Mu`adh when he sent him to Yemen,

اتَّقِ اللهَ حَيْثُمَا كُنْتَ وَأَتْبِعِ السَّيِّـيَــةَ الْحَسَنَةَ تَمْحُهَا وَخَالِقِ النَّاسَ بِخُلُقٍ حَسَن

Have Taqwa of Allah wherever you may be, follow the evil deed with a good deed and it will erase it, and deal with people in a good manner.

Allah said next,

لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ



so that you may be successful.

in this life and the Hereafter.

Ibn Jarir recorded that Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi said that, Allah's statement,
وَاتَّقُواْ اللّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
(and have Taqwa of Allah, so that you may be successful),

means, "Fear Me concerning what is between you and Me, so that you may acquire success when you meet Me tomorrow."

The Tafsir of Surah Al Imran ends here, all praise is due to Allah, and we ask Him that we die while on the path of the Qur'an and Sunnah, Amin.

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