An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 43 of 176

An-Nisa 4:43

يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ لَا تَقْرَبُوا۟ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَأَنتُمْ سُكَـٰرَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَعْلَمُوا۟ مَا تَقُولُونَ وَلَا جُنُبًا إِلَّا عَابِرِى سَبِيلٍ حَتَّىٰ تَغْتَسِلُوا۟ ۚ وَإِن كُنتُم مَّرْضَىٰٓ أَوْ عَلَىٰ سَفَرٍ أَوْ جَآءَ أَحَدٌ مِّنكُم مِّنَ ٱلْغَآئِطِ أَوْ لَـٰمَسْتُمُ ٱلنِّسَآءَ فَلَمْ تَجِدُوا۟ مَآءً فَتَيَمَّمُوا۟ صَعِيدًا طَيِّبًا فَٱمْسَحُوا۟ بِوُجُوهِكُمْ وَأَيْدِيكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ كَانَ عَفُوًّا غَفُورًا

“O you who have believed, do not approach prayer while you are intoxicated until you know what you are saying[187] or in a state of janābah,[188] except those passing through [a place of prayer], until you have washed [your whole body]. And if you are ill or on a journey or one of you comes from the place of relieving himself or you have contacted women [i.e., had sexual intercourse] and find no water, then seek clean earth and wipe over your faces and your hands [with it]. Indeed, Allāh is ever Pardoning[189] and Forgiving.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Come to prayer knowing what you say, and when water fails or illness stops you, turn to clean earth instead of turning away.

A reflection

A law that ends with pardon

A woman in her seventies is recovering from a heart operation. For weeks she cannot wash, stand or bow as she used to. She tells her daughter she feels her prayers must be a disappointment to Allah.

This ayah is full of conditions: intoxication, ritual impurity, illness, travel, no water. Then it ends not with a warning but with two names. 'Allah is ever Pardoning, Forgiving.'

One classical commentary explains why. The names are a hint at concession and ease. The One whose way is to pardon those who fall short, and forgive them, prefers to make things easy, not hard.

The root of ʿafuww has a desert picture. Wind passing over an abandoned camp until not one track is left. A wrong wiped out, not merely covered. And ghafūr comes from a root of covering: the mail hood worn under a helmet, which both hides and protects.

This is where the ego shrinks. Pride wants to come to prayer as a finished product: washed, composed, impressive. The ayah assumes you will come tired, ill, travelling, short of water, short of focus. It has already planned for your weakness. The One you stand before is not grading a performance.

Does Allah need to call Himself Pardoning? He needs nothing. Earlier in this surah He says He wants to lighten your burden, for people were created weak (4:28). The names are for the woman in the chair. They tell her that the door she thinks is closing is the one He has wedged open.

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.