Ali 'Imran · Madani · ayah 114 of 200

Ali 'Imran 3:114

يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِٱلْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ ٱلْمُنكَرِ وَيُسَـٰرِعُونَ فِى ٱلْخَيْرَٰتِ وَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ مِنَ ٱلصَّـٰلِحِينَ

“They believe in Allāh and the Last Day, and they enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and hasten to good deeds. And those are among the righteous.”

Saheeh International

Essence

They believe in Allah and the Last Day, urge what is recognised, forbid what is repugnant, and race each other into good things.

A reflection

A race in which nobody loses

Two neighbours share a steep flight of steps up to a lane. Each of them, that first icy winter, began clearing it before the other could. By February they were arriving earlier and earlier, and one morning they met at five with two shovels and both started laughing.

Neither of them lost anything. The steps were clear by half past.

The verb in this ayah is not simply to hurry. The lexicons gloss this form as hastening in company, each one racing to be first. So the ayah describes a competition, and it is the only kind of competition with no losing side.

And the root's own picture is a plant. Al-sarʿ is the vine's freshest shoot, the quickest growth the plant puts out, and a soft, supple young person is then likened to it. Surʿān al-nās are the foremost of a crowd, the ones who get there first. That is established.

Now the objection, because it is a real one. Does this not simply describe competitive religiosity, people outdoing each other for an audience?

It would, if the prize were visible. But look at what the ayah has put immediately before this clause: belief in Allah and the Last Day. The finishing line has been moved out of the room. The judge is not present and the result is announced elsewhere. So there is nothing to gain from being seen at the front.

And notice what the goods are. One concise commentary glosses the plural simply as all good, hastening to the deeds of good and seizing the seasons of obedience. The lexicons give khayr as what every heart leans towards: a sound mind, justice, generosity, whatever benefits.

So these are not a special category of religious acts. They are the steps, the shovel, the five o'clock.

So find one good that someone near you is already doing, and get there first once this week. Not to beat them. Because the thing gets done sooner, and because of what the attempt does to you.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.