Burnout and Exhaustion

Which was revealed in Makkah بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Meaning of opening the Breast Allah says, أَلَمْ نَشْرَحْ لَكَ صَدْرَكَ (Have We not opened your breast for you) meaning, `have We not opened your chest for you.' This means, `We illuminated it, and We made it spacious, vast and wide.' This is as Allah says, فَمَن يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَن يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلإِسْلَـمِ (And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam.) (6:125) And just as Allah expanded his chest, He also made His Law vast, wide, accommodating and easy, containing no difficulty, hardship or burden. A Discussion of Allah's Favor upon His Messenger Concerning Allah's statement, وَوَضَعْنَا عَنكَ وِزْرَكَ (And removed from you your burden.) This means لِّيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ (That Allah may forgive you your sins of the past and the future.) (48:2) الَّذِى أَنقَضَ ظَهْرَكَ (Which weighed down your back) Al-Inqad means the sound. And more than one of the Salaf has said concerning Allah's saying, الَّذِى أَنقَضَ ظَهْرَكَ (Which weighed down your back) meaning, `its burden weighed heavy upon you.' The Meaning of raising the Fame of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) وَرَفَعۡنَا لَكَ ذِكۡرَكَ (And have We not raised high your fame?) Mujahid said, "I (Allah) am not remembered except that you are remembered with Me: I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah." Qatadah said , "Allah raised his fame in this life and in the Hereafter. There is no one who gives a sermon, declares the Testimony of Faith (Shahadah), or prays a prayer (Salah) except that he proclaims it: I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah. Ease after Difficulty إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرً۬ا • فَإِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرًا (Verily along with every hardship is relief. Veriliy along with every hardship is relief) Allah informs that with difficulty there is ease, and then He reaffirms this information (by repeating it) The Command to remember Allah during Spare Time فَإِذَا فَرَغۡتَ فَٱنصَبۡ • وَإِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ فَٱرۡغَب ( So when you have finished, devote yourself to Allah's worship. And to your Lord turn intentions and hopes. ) Meaning, 'when you have completed your worldly affairs and its tasks, and you have broken away from its routine, then get up to perform the worship, and stand for it with zeal, complete devotion and purify your intention and desire for your lord.' Similar to this is the Prophet's statement in a hadith that is agreed-upon to be authentic, لَا صَلَاةَ بِحَضْرَةِ الطَّعَامِ, وَلَا هُوَ يُدَافِعُهُ الأَخْبَثَانِ There is no prayer when the food is served, nor when the two foul things (excrement and urine) are pressing a person. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) also said, إِذَا أُقِيمَتِ الصَّلَاةُ وَحَضَرَ الْعَشَاءُ فَبْدَأُوا بِااْلْعَشَاءِ When the prayer has started and the dinner has been served, then begin with dinner. Mujahid said concerning this Ayah, "When you are free from the worldly affairs, and you have stood to pray, then stand up for your Lord."

Which was revealed in Makkah بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The Meaning of opening the Breast Allah says, أَلَمْ نَشْرَحْ لَكَ صَدْرَكَ (Have We not opened your breast for you) meaning, `have We not opened your chest for you.' This means, `We illuminated it, and We made it spacious, vast and wide.' This is as Allah says, فَمَن يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَن يَهْدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلإِسْلَـمِ (And whomsoever Allah wills to guide, He opens his breast to Islam.) (6:125) And just as Allah expanded his chest, He also made His Law vast, wide, accommodating and easy, containing no difficulty, hardship or burden. A Discussion of Allah's Favor upon His Messenger Concerning Allah's statement, وَوَضَعْنَا عَنكَ وِزْرَكَ (And removed from you your burden.) This means لِّيَغْفِرَ لَكَ اللَّهُ مَا تَقَدَّمَ مِن ذَنبِكَ وَمَا تَأَخَّرَ (That Allah may forgive you your sins of the past and the future.) (48:2) الَّذِى أَنقَضَ ظَهْرَكَ (Which weighed down your back) Al-Inqad means the sound. And more than one of the Salaf has said concerning Allah's saying, الَّذِى أَنقَضَ ظَهْرَكَ (Which weighed down your back) meaning, `its burden weighed heavy upon you.' The Meaning of raising the Fame of the Prophet (Peace be upon him) وَرَفَعۡنَا لَكَ ذِكۡرَكَ (And have We not raised high your fame?) Mujahid said, "I (Allah) am not remembered except that you are remembered with Me: I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah." Qatadah said , "Allah raised his fame in this life and in the Hereafter. There is no one who gives a sermon, declares the Testimony of Faith (Shahadah), or prays a prayer (Salah) except that he proclaims it: I bear witness that there is no God worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad ﷺ is the Messenger of Allah. Ease after Difficulty إِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرً۬ا • فَإِنَّ مَعَ ٱلۡعُسۡرِ يُسۡرًا (Verily along with every hardship is relief. Veriliy along with every hardship is relief) Allah informs that with difficulty there is ease, and then He reaffirms this information (by repeating it) The Command to remember Allah during Spare Time فَإِذَا فَرَغۡتَ فَٱنصَبۡ • وَإِلَىٰ رَبِّكَ فَٱرۡغَب ( So when you have finished, devote yourself to Allah's worship. And to your Lord turn intentions and hopes. ) Meaning, 'when you have completed your worldly affairs and its tasks, and you have broken away from its routine, then get up to perform the worship, and stand for it with zeal, complete devotion and purify your intention and desire for your lord.' Similar to this is the Prophet's statement in a hadith that is agreed-upon to be authentic, لَا صَلَاةَ بِحَضْرَةِ الطَّعَامِ, وَلَا هُوَ يُدَافِعُهُ الأَخْبَثَانِ There is no prayer when the food is served, nor when the two foul things (excrement and urine) are pressing a person. The Prophet (صلى الله عليه و سلم) also said, إِذَا أُقِيمَتِ الصَّلَاةُ وَحَضَرَ الْعَشَاءُ فَبْدَأُوا بِااْلْعَشَاءِ When the prayer has started and the dinner has been served, then begin with dinner. Mujahid said concerning this Ayah, "When you are free from the worldly affairs, and you have stood to pray, then stand up for your Lord."

The Hadiths on the Virtue of These Two Ayat, May Allah Benefit Us by Them Al-Bukhari recorded that Abu Mas`ud said that the Messenger of Allah said ﷺ, «مَنْ قَرَأَ بِالْآيَتَيْنِ مِنْ آخِرِ سُورَةِ الْبَقَرَةِ فِي لَيْلَةٍ، كَفَتَاه» (Whoever recites the last two Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah at night, they will suffice for him.) The rest of the six also recorded similar wording for this Hadith. The Two Sahihs recorded this Hadith using various chains of narration, and Imam Ahmad also recorded it. Muslim recorded that `Abdullah said, "When the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went on the Isra journey, he ascended to the Sidrat Al-Muntaha in the sixth heaven, where whatever ascends from the earth ends at, and whatever descends from above it ends at. إِذْ يَغْشَى السِّدْرَةَ مَا يَغْشَى (When that covered the lote tree which did cover it!) 53:16 meaning, a mat made of gold. The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was then given three things: the five prayers, the last Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah and forgiveness for whoever did not associate anything or anyone with Allah from his Ummah." Earlier we mentioned the Hadith regarding the virtues of Surat Al-Fatihah from Ibn `Abbas which stated, "While the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was with Jibil, he heard a noise from above. Jibil lifted his sight to the sky and said, `This is a door that was opened just now in heaven, and it was never opened before.' An angel came down through the door to the Prophet and said, `Receive the good news of two lights that you have been given and which no Prophet before you was given: the Opener of the Book (Al-Fatihah) and the last Ayat in Surat Al-Baqarah. You will not read a letter of them, but you will be granted its benefit."' This Hadith was collected by Muslim and An-Nasa'i, and this is the wording collected by An-Nasa'i. The Tafsir of the Last Two Ayat of Surat Al-Baqarah Allah said, كُلٌّ ءَامَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَـئِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لاَ نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِّن رُّسُلِهِ (Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (They say,) "We make no distinction between one another of His Messengers.") Therefore, each of the believers believes that Allah is the One and Only and the Sustainer, there is no deity worthy of worship except Him and there is no Lord except Him. The believers also believe in all Allah's Prophets and Messengers, in the Books that were revealed from heaven to the Messengers and Prophets, who are indeed the servants of Allah. Further, the believers do not differentiate between any of the Prophets, such as, believing in some of them and rejecting others. Rather, all of Allah's Prophets and Messengers are, to the believers, truthful, righteous, and they were each guided to the path of righteousness, even when some of them bring what abrogates the Law of some others by Allah's leave. Later on, the Law of Muhammad, the Final Prophet and Messenger from Allah, abrogated all the laws of the Prophets before him. So the Last Hour will commence while Muhammad's Law remains the only valid Law, and all the while a group of his Ummah will always be on the path of truth, apparent and dominant. Allah's statement, وَقَالُواْ سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَا (And they say, "We hear, and we obey") means, we heard Your statement, O our Lord, comprehended and implemented it, and adhered to its implications. غُفْرَانَكَ رَبَّنَا ((We seek) Your forgiveness, our Lord) contains a plea and supplication for Allah's forgiveness, mercy and kindness. Allah's statement, لاَ يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلاَّ وُسْعَهَا (Allah burdens not a person beyond his scope) means, Allah does not ask a soul what is beyond its ability. This only demonstrates Allah's kindness, compassion and generosity towards His creation. This Ayah is the Ayah that abrogated the Ayah that worried the Companions, that is, Allah's statement, وَإِن تُبْدُواْ مَا فِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَوْ تُخْفُوهُ يُحَاسِبْكُم بِهِ اللَّهُ (And whether you disclose what is in yourselves or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it.) This indicates that although Allah will question His servants and judge them, He will only punish for what one is able to protect himself from. As for what one cannot protect himself from, such as what one says to himself - or passing thoughts - they will not be punished for that. We should state here that to dislike the evil thoughts that cross one's mind is a part of faith. Allah said next, لَهَا مَا كَسَبَتْ (He gets reward for that which he has earned) of good, وَعَلَيْهَا مَا اكْتَسَبَتْ (And he is punished for that which he has earned) of evil, that is, concerning the acts that one is responsible for. Allah then said, mentioning what the believers said while directing His servants to supplicate to Him, all the while promising them that He will answer their supplication: رَبَّنَا لاَ تُؤَاخِذْنَآ إِن نَّسِينَآ أَوْ أَخْطَأْنَا ("Our Lord! Push us not if we forget or fall into error,") meaning, "If we forgot an obligation or fell into a prohibition, or made an error while ignorant of its ruling." We mentioned the Hadith by Abu Hurayrah, that Muslim collected, wherein Allah said, "I shall (accept your supplication)." There is also the Hadith by Ibn `Abbas that Allah said, "I did (accept your supplication)." رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تَحْمِلْ عَلَيْنَآ إِصْرًا كَمَا حَمَلْتَهُ عَلَى الَّذِينَ مِن قَبْلِنَا (Our Lord! Lay not on us a burden like that which You did lay on those before us (Jews and Christians),) means, "Even if we were able to perform them, do not require us to perform the difficult deeds as You required the previous nations before us, such as the burdens that were placed on them. You sent Your Prophet Muhammad , the Prophet of mercy, to abrogate these burdens through the Law that You revealed to him, the Hanifi (Islamic Monotheism), easy religion." Muslim recorded that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that Allah said, "I shall (accept your supplication)." Ibn `Abbas narrated that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that Allah said, "I did (accept your supplication)." There is the Hadith recorded through various chains of narration that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, «بُعِثْتُ بِالْحَنِيفِيَّةِ السَّمْحَة» (I was sent with the easy Hanifiyyah way.) رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لاَ طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ (Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear) of obligations, hardships and afflictions, do not make us bear what we cannot bear of this. رَبَّنَا وَلاَ تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لاَ طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ (Our Lord! Put not on us a burden greater than we have strength to bear.) We mentioned that Allah said, "I shall (accept your supplication)" in one narration, and, "I did (accept your supplication)," in another narration. وَاعْفُ عَنَّا (Pardon us) meaning, between us and You regarding what You know of our shortcomings and errors. وَاغْفِرْ لَنَآ (And grant us forgiveness) concerning what is between us and Your servants. So do not expose our errors and evil deeds to them. وَارْحَمْنَآ (Have mercy on us) in what will come thereafter. Therefore, do not allow us to fall into another error. They say that those who commit error need three things: Allah's forgiveness for what is between Him and them, that He conceals these errors from His other servants, and thus does not expose them before the servants, and that He grants them immunity from further error." We mentioned before that Allah answered these pleas, "I shall," in one narration and, "I did," in another narration. أَنتَ مَوْلَـنَا (You are our Mawla) meaning, You are our supporter and helper, our trust is in You, You are sought for each and every type of help and our total reliance is on You. There is no power or strength except from You. فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَـفِرِينَ (And give us victory over the disbelieving people) those who rejected Your religion, denied Your Oneness, refused the Message of Your Prophet , worshipped other than You and associated others in Your worship. Give us victory and make us prevail above them in this and the Hereafter. Allah said, "I shall," in one narration, and, "I did," in the Hadith that Muslim collected from Ibn `Abbas. Further, Ibn Jarir recorded that Abu Ishaq said that whenever Mu`adh would finish reciting this Surah, فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَـفِرِينَ (And give us victory over the disbelieving people), he would say "Amin."

The Justice of Allah and the Frivolity of the Idolators Allah tells us of His justice towards His servants in this world, in that He does not task any person except according to his capacity, i.e., He does not burden any soul with more than it can bear. On the Day of Resurrection He will call them to account for their deeds, which He has recorded in a written Book from which nothing is omitted. He says: وَلَدَيْنَا كِتَابٌ يَنطِقُ بِالْحَقِّ (and with Us is a Record which speaks the truth,) meaning, the Book of deeds وَهُمْ لاَ يُظْلَمُونَ (and they will not be wronged.) means, nothing will be omitted from their record of good deeds. As for evil deeds, He will forgive and overlook many of them in the case of His believing servants. Then Allah says, denouncing the disbelievers and idolators of the Quraysh: بَلْ قُلُوبُهُمْ فِى غَمْرَةٍ (Nay, but their hearts are covered), meaning because of negligence and misguidance, مِّنْ هَـذَا (from this.) means, the Qur'an which Allah revealed to His Messenger . وَلَهُمْ أَعْمَـلٌ مِّن دُونِ ذَلِكَ هُمْ لَهَا عَـمِلُونَ (and they have other deeds, besides which they are doing.) Al-Hakam bin Aban narrated from `Ikrimah, from Ibn `Abbas that وَلَهُمْ أَعْمَـلٌ (and they have other deeds,) means, evil deeds apart from that, i.e., Shirk, هُمْ لَهَا عَـمِلُونَ (which they are doing.) means, which they will inevitably do. This was also narrated from Mujahid, Al-Hasan and others. Others said that this phrase means: وَلَهُمْ أَعْمَـلٌ مِّن دُونِ ذَلِكَ هُمْ لَهَا عَـمِلُونَ (And they have other deeds, besides which they are doing.) It was decreed that they would do evil deeds, and they will inevitably do them before they die, so that the word of punishment may be justified against them. A similar view was narrated from Muqatil bin Hayyan, As-Suddi and `Abdur-Rahman bin Zayd bin Aslam. This is a clear and appropriate meaning. We have already quoted from the Hadith of Ibn Mas`ud: «فَوَ الَّذِي لَا إِلهَ غَيْرُهُ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ لَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ الْجَنَّةِ حَتَّى مَا يَكُونُ بَيْنَهُ وَبَيْنَهَا إِلَّا ذِرَاعٌ، فَيَسْبِقُ عَلَيْهِ الْكِتَابُ فَيَعْمَلُ بِعَمَلِ أَهْلِ النَّارِ فَيَدْخُلُهَا» (By Him besides Whom there is no other God, a man may do the deeds of the people of Paradise until there is no more than a forearm's length between him and it, then the decree will overtake him and he will do the deeds of the people of Hell, then he will enter Hell...) حَتَّى إِذَآ أَخَذْنَا مُتْرَفِيهِمْ بِالْعَذَابِ إِذَا هُمْ يَجْـَرُونَ (Until when We seize those of them who lead a luxurious life with punishment; behold, they make humble invocation with a loud voice.) means, when the punishment and vengeance of Allah comes to those who are living a happy life of luxury in this world and overtakes them, إِذَا هُمْ يَجْـَرُونَ (behold, they make humble invocation with a loud voice.) means, they scream their calls for help. This is like the Ayat: وَذَرْنِى وَالْمُكَذِّبِينَ أُوْلِى النَّعْمَةِ وَمَهِّلْهُمْ قَلِيلاً - إِنَّ لَدَيْنَآ أَنكَالاً وَجَحِيماً (And leave Me Alone (to deal) with the beliers, those who are in possession of good things of life. And give them respite for a little while. Verily, with Us are fetters, and a raging Fire.) 73:11-12 كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن قَرْنٍ فَنَادَواْ وَّلاَتَ حِينَ مَنَاصٍ (How many a generation have We destroyed before them! And they cried out when there was no longer time for escape.) 38:3 لاَ تَجْـَرُواْ الْيَوْمَ إِنَّكُمْ مِّنَّا لاَ تُنصَرُونَ (Invoke not loudly this day! Certainly you shall not be helped by Us. ) means, no one is going to save you from what has happened to you, whether you scream aloud or remain silent. There is no escape and no way out. It is inevitable: the punishment will surely come to you. Then Allah mentions the greatest of their sins: قَدْ كَانَتْ ءَايَـتِى تُتْلَى عَلَيْكُمْ فَكُنتُمْ عَلَى أَعْقَـبِكُمْ تَنكِصُونَ (Indeed My Ayat used to be recited to you, but you used to turn back on your heels.) meaning, when you were called, you refused and resisted. ذَلِكُم بِأَنَّهُ إِذَا دُعِىَ اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ كَـفَرْتُمْ وَإِن يُشْرَكْ بِهِ تُؤْمِنُواْ فَالْحُكْمُ للَّهِ الْعَلِـىِّ الْكَبِيرِ ("This is because, when Allah Alone was invoked, you disbelieved, but when partners were joined to Him, you believed! So the judgment is only with Allah, the Most High, the Most Great!") 40:12 مُسْتَكْبِرِينَ بِهِ سَـمِراً تَهْجُرُونَ (In pride, talking evil about it by night.) refers to the arrogant pride which the Quraysh felt because they believed themselves to be the guardians of the Ka`bah, when in fact this was not the case. As An-Nasa'i said in his Tafsir of this Ayah in his Sunan: Ahmad bin Sulayman told us that `Ubaydullah told us from Isra`il, from `Abdul-A`la that he heard Sa`id bin Jubayr narrating that Ibn `Abbas said, "Talking by late night became disapproved of when this Ayah was revealed: مُسْتَكْبِرِينَ بِهِ سَـمِراً تَهْجُرُونَ (In pride, talking evil about it by night.) He said, "They boasted about the Ka`bah and said, `We are its people who stay up talking at night.' They used to boast and stay up and talk at night around the Ka`bah. They did not use it for the proper purpose, and so in effect they had abandoned it." أَفَلَمْ يَدَّبَّرُواْ الْقَوْلَ أَمْ جَآءَهُمْ مَّا لَمْ يَأْتِ ءَابَآءَهُمُ الاٌّوَّلِينَ