Verse 163

902

Important Words:

نسك (sacrifice) is derived from نسك. They say نسك الثوب i.e. he washed the cloth and rendered it clear and pure. نسك الذبیحةmeans, he slaughtered and sacrificed the animal. نسك البیت means, he repaired to the Ka‘bah for Pilgrimage. نسك الرجل means, the man worshipped God and devoted himself to His service. نسك لله means, he offered a sacrifice to win the pleasure of God and attain His nearness. Soنسك means, sacrifice; worship; a right due to God; blood of an animal shed by way of sacrifice or in fulfilment of a vow; animal of sacrifice (Aqrab).

Commentary:

This and the following verse beautifully describe the Holy Prophet’s religion, to which reference was made in the preceding verse. The two latter mentioned expressions, viz. "my life" and "my death" correspond respectively to the two former expressions viz. "my prayer" and "my sacrifice." As prayer imparts life to the worshipper, so it has been followed by the words, "my life." On the contrary, "sacrifice" kills the self of man, so it has been followed by the words, "my death." These four words, i.e. prayer, sacrifice, life and death, thus cover the entire field of man’s actions, and the Holy Prophet has been asked to declare that all phases of his life were devoted to God alone. All his prayers were offered to God; all his sacrifices were made to Him; all his life was devoted to His service; and if in the cause of religion he sought death, that was also to win His pleasure. He lived for God and would not die but in harness.

With regard to Prayer particularly, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said, جعلت قرة عینی فی الصلوة i.e. "the coolness or delight of my eyes lies in Prayer" (Nasa’i).