LADDER OF SUCCESS – STRUGGLE

Source: jannahinstitute.com

وَٱلَّذِينَ جَاهَدُواْ فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَمَعَ ٱلْمُحْسِنِينَ
And they who struggle for Us, We will surely guide them to Our paths
And, indeed, Allah is surely with those who live in Ihsaan.
Surah al Ankabut: Ayah 69

يقول الحق جل جلاله: { والذين جاهدوا فينا } ، أطلق المجاهدة، ولم يُقيدها بمفعول؛ ليتناول من تجب مجاهدته من النفس والشيطان وأعداء الدين، أي: جاهدوا نفوسَهم في طلبنا أو في حقنا، ومن أجلنا، ولوجهنا، خالصاً، { لنهدينهم سُبلنا } أي: طُرُق السير إلينا، والوصول إلى حضرتنا، أو لنسهلنهم فعل الخير حتى يصلوا إلى جنابنا.
The Ultimate Real and True – Allah, the majestic, says: “Those who struggle for Us…
He, the sublimely Exalted, does not elaborate on what they stuggle for – thus opening the vast scope of this verse to any struggle against one’s base self, against evil insinuations and against those who oppose goodness and morality – as long as the intent of the struggle is seeking Allah sincerely and with means that befit a struggle in Allah’s cause.
To such as these, Allah, the Exalted, promises emphatically, guidance and facilitation to His nearness.
Our great scholars and saints have explored the myriad meanings of these words. Some of these gems…
وعن الداراني: والذين جاهدوا بأن عملوا بما علموا، لنهدينهم إلى علم ما لم يعلموا.
They who struggle to act based on what they know, We will surely guide them to knowledge that they do not know. (Ad Daarani’, may Allah subhaanahu wa ta’ala shower His mercy on him)

وقال الفضيل: والذين جاهدوا في طلب العلم، أي: لله، لنهدينهم سبل العمل.
They who struggle in seeking knowledge, We will surely guide them to paths of (righteous) action. (Fudayl, may Allah subhaanahu wa ta’ala shower His mercy on him)

وقال سهل: والذين جاهدوا في إقامة السنَّنَّة، لنهدينهم سبل الجنة.
They who struggle in establishing the Sunnah, We will surely guide them to the paths of Paradise. (Sahl, may Allah subhaanahu wa ta’ala shower His mercy on him)

وقال ابن عطاء: جاهدوا في إرضائنا؛ لنهدينهم سبل الوصول إلى محل الرضوان.
They struggle in pleasing Us,We then will surely guide them in arriving to the state of Divine acceptance and pleasure. (Ibn ‘Ata’, may Allah subhaanahu wa ta’ala shower His mercy on him)

وقال ابن عباس: جاهدوا في طاعتنا لنهدينهم سُبل ثوابنا.
They struggle in obedience to Us,We then will surely guide them to the ways of Our goodly recompense. (Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah subhaanahu wa Ta’ala be pleased with him and his father)

وقال الجنيد: جاهدوا في التوبة، لنهديهم سُبل الإخلاص، أو: جاهدوا في خدمتنا؛ لنمنحنهم سبل المناجاة معنا والأنس بنا،
They struggle to repent and return,We then will surely guide them to the paths to sincerity
Or, They struggle in Our servitude,We then will surely give them the way to closeness and solace with us (Imam Junayd, may Allah subhaanahu wa ta’ala shower His mercy on him)
{ وإن الله لمع المحسنين } بالنصر والمعونة في الدنيا، وبالثواب والمغفرة في العُقبى. والله تعالى أعلم.
And Allah is with those who live in Ihsaan –by helping and assisting them in all their worldly affairs and by rewarding and forgiving them in the afterlife.
And Allah alone knows best.
تفسير البحر المديد في تفسير القرآن المجيد/ ابن عجيبة
Tafsir Ibn ‘Ajiba, may Allah subhaanahu wa ta’ala shower His mercy on him