Surah Al-Maun Avoiding Hypocrisy and perfect devotion to Allah

أَ رَءَيْتَ الَّذِى يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ (1) Have you seen the one who denies the Recompense (or the Religion)?

فَذَالِكَ الَّذِى يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ (2) For that is the one who drives away the orphan

وَ لَا يحَُضُّ عَلىَ ‏ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ (3) And does not encourage the feeding of the destitute.

فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ (4) الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتهِِمْ سَاهُونَ (5) الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ (6) So woe to those who pray, [But] who are heedless of their prayer -Those who make show [of their deeds]

وَ يَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ (7) And withhold [simple] assistance.

Surah’s Diagram Show off in praying Heedlessness in praying Those who pray Driving away the orphan & not urging the feeding of the poor Withholding simple assistance Denial of religion

Words of the Surah WordMeaning Lie, falsehood (kizb, yukazib) What is against rightness, The opposite of truth and reality, rightness is what is in line with truth and reality Drive away, Da’a’a (yadu’ou) Driving someone away from yourself forcefully and without mercy Orphan, Ya’ta’ma (yatim) Being disconnected from which one belongs to and therefore becoming weak. Orphan is the one who has lost his nurturer and protector Encourage, Hazaza (yahuzzu) To encourage and urge someone to do something which belittles their dignity based on real criteria or illusionary ones

Words of the Surah Eat with pleasure, Ta’a’ma (ta’am) To Eat or drink something which is pleasant to one’s appetite and taste Settle somewhere, Sa’ka’na (mis’kin) The opposite of moving, both physically and mentally Woe,wayl Wayl is used to curse someone, it shows extreme rebuke and reprimand. Wayl also means a catastrophe which leads to complete destruction. Prayer, Sa’la’wa (mu’sa’lin) A Special praying which in Arabic means beautiful praise, including salaam and greetings, etc. Heedless, Sa’ha’wa (sa’hun) Not heeding what one intended to or planned to do, neglect

Words of the Surah Withhold, Ma’na’a (yam’na’oun) Bringing excuses in order not to do what one is capable of, or hindering the progress of an activity Small kindnesses, Ma’a’na (maa’un) Gentleness and moderation in doing something. It varies in different situations. For water, it means being soft and fresh. For flows, it means being natural, smooth, and mild. For home appliances, it refers to what is usually available in every home. For charities, it means what is usual in giving away and what is known and easily given.

Visualizing the words Ra’a (seeing)Seeing with eyes Kizb (lying)Telling a lie Din (religion)Obedience Da’a (driving away)Shunning with repulse Yatim (orphan) The one who lost his father Ha’zza (encourage) Inspiring someone to do something Ta’am (taste)Tasty food Sa’ka’na (settling)Reclining somewhere Sa’lu (pray)Praying and praising Sa’ha’wa (neglecting)Ignorance, heedlessness Ma’na’a (withhold) Leaving something of, putting aside Ma’a’na (small kindnesses) Maun is what is in flow all the time, be it an axe, a pot, a plate, or else, which are usually lended to others. It can also be lending money, giving to the charities, giving alms and the like.

SPECULATIVE STATEMENTS

Have you seen the one who denies the Recompense(Religion)?  Religion is submitting to a set of certain rules either in deeds or beliefs which leads to reward or punishment. So, in denying it one of the three elements is involved. (Submitting + rules + reward/punishment) the denial occurs in speech or in practice or in both.  According to the definition of ‘Din’, it is only related to Allah and it is brought down to mankind through prophets. Therefore, the main addressed in the surah is the prophet (PBUH).  ……

For that is the one who drives away the orphan, And does not encourage the feeding of the destitute.  These verses are introducing the deniers of the religion.  Confrontation with the orphan and the destitute is a criteria for religiosity. And if by religion Allah means reward and punishment, forethought is intended.  Confrontation with the orphan and the destitute reveals the real intentions of the people.  ……

So woe to those who pray, [But] who are heedless of their prayer –  Spiritually benefitting from prayers is possible by accepting the orphan and encouraging the feeding of the destitute and helping out others.  There is no difference between individual and group rules of the religion. Each of which acts as a reality for the appearance of the other.  There are dangers which make the person negligent of his prayers.  …..

Those who make show [of their deeds] (show off)  The prayer which is said for personal gains is a show off. The sign of it being a show-off is refusing to say that prayer in there are other ways to gain that benefit (except when the person says the prayer because he is used to it).  Being seen is very important for everyone. If the person fails to prepare himself to be seen only by Allah, he will turn into showing off for others.  ……

And withhold [simple] assistance.  Those who withhold the smallest helps to others, are proud of their own possessions and see others as dumb and all thumbs. These people blame and slander others before preventing to give them minimum help.  Allah who considers prayers as a sign of connection with Himself, introduce it in complete dependence on connection to other people in society.  …..