Tafseer: The wise are the ones who hold fast to the Book of Allaah

بسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله ، وبعد

﴿وَالَّذِينَ يُمَسِّكُونَ بِالْكِتَابِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ إِنَّا لَا نُضِيعُ أَجْرَ الْمُصْلِحِينَ﴾

{And as to those who hold fast to the Book and perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), certainly, We shall never waste the reward of the reformers.} [Surah al-A`raaf (7): 170]

In his Tafseer of Surah al-A`raaf, Shaikh al-Sa`dee رحمه الله said:

In truth, the wise ones are those whom Allaah تعالى described by saying: {And as to those who hold fast to the Book}, meaning: they hold fast to it by (seeking) knowledge and (putting it into) practice. They know the rulings that are mentioned in it as well as the information (about the important events) that it contains – the knowledge of which is the noblest of sciences.

They know the commandments that are mentioned in it, which are (the means of) comfort for the eyes, joy for the hearts, happiness for the souls and rectification for the worldly affairs and the Hereafter.

And from the Commandments, one of the greatest things one can hold fast to is: performing the Salaah (prayer) – outwardly and inwardly (i.e. by remembering Allaah openly and in secret). And this is why Allaah تعالى specially mentioned it because of its merits and lofty status, and because it is a scale to measure one’s Imaan, and establishing the Salaah is the means by which one is able to perform other acts of worship.

So when all their actions are working for the betterment, Allaah تعالى says: {We shall never waste the reward of the reformers}, (those who have rectified) their speech, their actions, their intentions, (being) reformers for themselves and for others.

[Tafseer al-Sa`dee, Surah al-A`raaf (7): 170]