The true servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk gently on earth, and who, whenever the ignorant address them, say: “Peace”; who stay up far into the night in adoration of their Lord, prostrating themselves and standing; who pray: “Our Lord, avert from us the suffering of hell, for the suffering it causes is indeed a dire torment; it is indeed an evil abode and a terrible station.” (The Standard, Al-Furqan: 25: 63-66)
These two verses begin the final passage of the surah in which the true servants of God, the Most Merciful, are shown with their distinctive features. They appear to be the highest model of humanity that remains after the end of the long battle between true guidance and error, impertinent humans who deny God and His messengers who bring such guidance for humanity. They seem to be the fruit ripening after such a long struggle. They are the ones who bring comfort to the bearer of divine guidance, after they had been met with denial and rejection.
The previous passage recounted the impertinent remark of the unbelievers who said that they did not know the name Rahman, or the Most Merciful, as belonging to God. In this passage we have a full description of “the true servants of the Most Merciful” who know Him well and deserve to be described as belonging to Him. The surah shows their distinctive features as reflected in their behavior and the way they conduct their lives. They provide a living example of the Muslim community that Islam aims to build, and the type of person it molds through the implementation of its sound system. These are the ones who deserve that God should take care of them. Mankind generally is too unimportant for God to care about them, except for the presence of God’s true servants who always turn to Him, praying for His support.
“The true servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk gently on earth, and who, whenever the ignorant address them, say: ‘Peace’.
Their first feature is that they walk gently, with no affectation, pretension, or display of arrogance. Like every movement man makes, walking gives an expression of one’s personality and natural feelings. A serious, reassured and sound personality demonstrates itself through walking. A person of this type walks with an air of seriousness and reassurance, reflecting clarity of purpose and strength. To ‘walk gently on earth’ does not mean that they walk hanging down their heads, showing weakness and lack of support, as understood by some of those who think that by so doing they show themselves to be God-fearing! God’s Messenger used to bend forward when he walked. He was the fastest and best walker, with an air of serenity. Abu Hurayrah reports: “I have never seen anyone more handsome than God’s Messenger: He looked as if the sun was reflected in his face. And I have never seen anyone who walked faster than God’s Messenger. It was as though the earth would shrink for him. (As we walked with him) we would put in our best effort, but he was most relaxed.” Ali ibn Abi Talib describes: “When the Prophet walked he bent forward, as though he was walking fast downhill.”
In their serious and dignified approach, and in their attention to their serious concerns, God’s true servants do not bother themselves with other people’s absurdities and stupidities. They do not waste their time or energy in futile arguments with such people. They recognize that engaging in an argument with people who argue for argument’s sake is fruitless. Hence, “whenever the ignorant address them, (they) say: ‘Peace.’ But this is by no means a sign of weakness or lack of ability. It is simply their dignified approach that does not permit them to waste time and energy over what is unbecoming of an honorable person.
Such is their conduct in daytime when they are with other people. At night they reflect their God-fearing nature. “Who stay up far into the night in adoration of their Lord, prostrating themselves and standing; who pray: ‘Our Lord, avert from us the suffering of hell, for the suffering it causes is indeed a dire torment; it is indeed an evil abode and a terrible station.”
The surah highlights here the two main movements Muslims do in prayer, namely prostration and standing up. Thus it reflects their action in the depth of the night, when others are fast asleep. Such true servants of God stay up prostrating themselves and standing before their Lord, addressing themselves completely to Him. They are not concerned about not being in bed, because they have something that they enjoy, something that gives them far more comfort, energy and happiness than sleep would ever give. They are preoccupied with their being close to their Lord, addressing Him with all their being. Hence, people go to sleep while they pray standing and prostrating themselves. Other people are concerned with their position on earth while these true servants of God look up to the throne of the Most Merciful.
In their prayers, with all its movements and all their inner feelings, they are fully conscious of their Lord, fearing to incur His displeasure which would make them liable to His punishment. Thus they appeal to Him: “Our Lord, avert from us the suffering of hell, for the suffering it causes is indeed a dire torment; it is indeed an evil abode and a terrible station.” They have not seen hell or its suffering, but they believe in it. They also visualize it according to its descriptions in the Qur’an and in the Prophet’s statements. Thus their healthy fear of it is the fruit of true faith.
Humbly and most seriously they pray to their Lord to avert the suffering of hell from them. They do not feel safe simply because they spend part of the night in worship, prostrating themselves and standing in prayer. Their God-fearing sense make them think little of what they do, feeling always that they fall short of what is needed. Hence, they pray for God’s grace and forgiveness so that he would spare them from suffering in hell.