Al-Ma'aarij (The Ascending Stairways)
Verse 19 - 23
Table of Contents
19. Man was created impatient and avaricious,
20. Irritable when evil touches him,
21. And impeding others when good touches him.
22. Except those who establish their ritual prayers.
23. Those who remain steadfast in establishing their ritual prayers.
Having recounted some of the torments in store for sinners on the Day of Resurrection, the blessed Verses in question treat of the character traits of the disbelieving and the truly believing, stating the reasons behind the torments and the deliverance in store for them.
The blessed Verses 19-21 reflect that man is created avaricious and impatient, irritable when evil touches him impeding others when good touches him. Some Qur’an exegetes and lexicographers maintain that the Arabic word hulu‘ denotes “avaricious,” though some others hold that it implies “impatient.”
The blessed Verses 20 and 21 provide further explanation as to the meaning of the Arabic word in question. The former meaning makes a reference to three moral vices of such people, namely avarice, restlessness, and miserliness. The latter refers to restlessness and miserliness. Both senses may be implied by the word hulu‘, since the two are dependent on each other. In other words, avaricious people are oftentimes niggardly and impatient against incidents and vice versa.
The blessed Verses 22 and 23 treats of further character traits of the believing preceded by the conjunction “except” (illa), saying that those who establish their ritual prayers are exceptions, those who are steadfast in the establishment of their ritual prayers.
Such characteristic of theirs establishes and maintains their constant ties with Divine Threshold. Such nexus is created and maintained by the establishment of ritual prayers that impede man from committing vices, fostering his heart and spirit, makes him remember God Almighty at all times, and thereby impedes him from plunging into vanity, arrogance, concupiscent desires, and bondage in satanic shackles and fetters.
It is needless to say that steadfastness in establishing prayers does not entail their establishment at all times, but it indicates that they establish their ritual prayers at certain times. Generally speaking, steadfastness in doing any good deed positively affects man’s heart.
In this vein, it is narrated from the Noble Prophet (S) as saying:
“The most beloved of acts before God Almighty is what is done constantly, even if it happens to be seemingly insignificant.”1
It is narrated from Imam Baqir (as) that what is intended herein is that whenever man regards one of the supererogatory things as an obligation and constantly does the deed.1 Another tradition narrated from the Noble Imam (as) reflects that the blessed Verse in question concerns the establishment of obligatory ritual prayers.2
The difference may lie in the fact that “protection” befits the establishment of obligatory prayers which must be performed at certain times, though “constancy and steadfastness” befit supererogatory prayers, since man may perform them and fail to do likewise at other times.