Bismillah.
From Sa‘īd b. Jubayr, from Ibn ‘Abbās who reported that people mentioned about the merits of Sha‘bān in the presence of the Messenger of Allah (s), so he said: it is a distinguished month and it is my month, the carriers of ‘arsh (Divine Throne) sanctify it and know its right, and it is the month in which sustenance is increased for the believers. [Sha‘bān] is the month of performing deeds, the good is multiplied seventy times and the evil is diminished, the sins are forgiven, the good deeds are accepted. [In this month] the Omnipotent (God) -the Exalted (and) the Majestic, takes pride in it at His servants, and looks at those who frequently fast in it and those who frequently pray in it, and boasts about them to the carriers of ‘arsh. (Ibn Tāwūs, Iqbāl, p. 684; Hurr al-‘Āmilī, Wasā’il, H 13952; taken from Academy for Learning Islam, Forty Hadith: Rajab & Sha‘baan, Hadith 28).
يَا أَيَّتُهَا النَّفْسُ الْمُطْمَئِنَّةُ ارْجِعِي إِلَىٰ رَبِّكِ رَاضِيَةً مَّرْضِيَّة فَادْخُلِي فِي عِبَادِي وَادْخُلِي جَنَّتِي
O soul at peace! Return to your Lord, pleased and pleasing! Then enter among My servants and enter My paradise!’
(Surah al-Fajr, No.89, āyāt 27-30)
Satisfaction or serenity is the goal of every individual irrespective of their beliefs or lack thereof. Most people, however, are satisfied or become serene when they receive material benefits in this world, however, a believer is in constant search of a different kind of serenity.
In his quest of spiritual elevation, a believer knows and realises the importance of the soul. The Holy Qur’an has described various kinds of souls, such as the one which is inclined to evil except where [Allah] is merciful (Q 12:53)and the reproaching soul (Q 75:2). By far, the most praiseworthy soul is the one mentioned in these verses, and the satisfaction and serenity that is being referred to here is that of faith as Allah says …now surely by Allah’s remembrance are the heart tranquil (Q 13:28).
The serene soul has been given certain characteristics in the subsequent verses to show the high status that Allah will afford to them. In this reflection, we examine those characteristics and their meanings:
1) “Come back to your Lord” means returning to His virtue and mercy, according to some commentators, however it would be better to say that it refers to the return to Himself, i.e., to be placed close to Him, which is a spiritual return not a corporal or spatial one. Now the question may arise: does this invitation to return to the Lord occur only in the Hereafter, or at the time of departure of the soul from the body? The context of the verses, of course, refers to the Hereafter, but the meaning of the verse, by itself, is broad and general.
2) The term radiyah i.e.‘well-pleased’is used, because the soul will see that all the promises for the divine rewards are perfectly true and also so great that they are beyond his imagination. The soul will receive Allah’s Mercy and Grace, so much so that he will become utterly delighted. Again, the usage of the word here denotes the hereafter as all other usage in the Quran (Q 68:21, 88:9, 101:7) are consistent with this meaning. Indeed, this great privilege is only for the next life, because however much happy, favourable, safe, and pleasant the life of this world may be, it is still not free from many unpleasant factors. It is only the next-world-life that is thoroughly favourable, happy, and pleasant with full safety, tranquillity and bounty.
3) And the term mardiyyah, i.e.,‘well-pleasing’is used to mean that ‘his deeds’ have been contentedly accepted by Allah. As mentioned in a previous Quranic reflection (No. 711), it is a mutual relationship between Allah and the servant concerning pleasure, where Allah is pleased with the servant and the servant is also pleased with Allah.
It is this soul that every believer is striving for. Imam al-Sādiq ‘alayhis-salām says that one of his companions asked whether a believer may become discontented when his soul is being taken. He (a) replied: ‘By Allah, No! When the angel of death comes to take his soul, the believer shows restlessness, and the angel says:O, Lover of Allah! Be not upset! By He Who has appointed Muhammad sallallāhu ‘alayhi wa-ālihi wasallam to prophethood, I am more sympathetic to you than a kind father. Look carefully! He looks carefully and sees Prophet Muhammad, Amir-al- Mu’minīn Ali, Fatimah, Hasan, Husayn and other Imams from their descendants (a). The angel tells him to look and see that they are all his friends. He opens his eyes and watches. A caller from Almighty Allah suddenly beckons and says: O soul at peace! Return to your Lord, pleased and pleasing! Then enter among My servants and enter My paradise!’ At that moment there is nothing better and more beloved than that his soul separates from his body as soon as possible and moves unto his Lord. (Bihār al Anwār, 24:94).
This is a form of serenity and satisfaction that every believing soul must try to achieve. In this spiritual season leading up to the holy month of Ramadan, every believer must try to make his soul worthy of serenity. The epitome of the soul which has achieved this level of certainty and satisfaction is the soul of Imam Husayn ibn Ali ‘alayhis-salām (Tafsīr al-Qummī 2:422).
As we celebrate the birth of Imam al-Husayn (a) and the other heroes from Karbala in upcoming days, let us reflect on their noble sacrifice which demonstrates the pinnacle of their spirituality as well as the serene soul in all its glory.
References: ‘Allāmah Muhammad Bāqir Majlisi, Bihār al-Anwār; Ali ibn Ibrahim Qummī, Tafsīr al-Qummī.