At the close of Surah Al-Furqan, Allah the Most Merciful paints a portrait of His most beloved servants. This portrait is not an abstract definition of taqwa but a twelve-trait profile showing how the believer behaves in daily life — in the street, at home, in business, in court, in the silence of the night. This sermon unfolds each trait of Ibad ar-Rahman through the lines of the Qur'an and the lived example of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him).
Walking Humbly Upon the Earth
The first trait of the servants of the Most Merciful is humility:
وَعِبَادُ ٱلرَّحۡمَٰنِ ٱلَّذِينَ يَمۡشُونَ عَلَى ٱلۡأَرۡضِ هَوۡنࣰ ا وَإِذَا خَاطَبَهُمُ ٱلۡجَٰهِلُونَ قَالُواْ سَلَٰمࣰ ا
— Surah Al-Furqan 25:63The servants of the Most Merciful are those who walk upon the earth humbly, and when the ignorant address them, they reply with words of peace.
To walk is symbolic — how a person carries themselves in the world, how they take up space, how they receive others. To walk "hawnan" is to move neither cowed nor swaggering, but with quiet dignity. The believer carries the calm of one who knows their strength comes from Allah, not themselves.
To answer the provocations of the ignorant with "salam" is to refuse the fight. To answer a fool in his own coin only enlarges the quarrel; silence or a gentle word ends it. The Prophet held to this style throughout his life:
— Sahih Muslim, al-Birr, no. 2588Whoever humbles himself for the sake of Allah, Allah raises him.
Abu Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: A man came to visit the Prophet and, remembering he was in the presence of a Prophet, began to tremble. The Prophet approached him and said: "Calm down. I am not a king. I am the son of a Qurayshi woman who used to eat dried bread." (Ibn Majah, At'ima, 30). He soothed him with his own plain humanity.
In another narration the Prophet refused to be addressed as "Our Master": "No, the Master is Allah." This is the first trait of Ibad ar-Rahman — the humble walk.
Spending the Night in Prostration
The second trait — turning to the Lord in the silence of the night:
وَٱلَّذِينَ يَبِيتُونَ لِرَبِّهِمۡ سُجَّدࣰ ا وَقِيَٰمࣰ ا
— Surah Al-Furqan 25:64Those who spend the night in prostration and standing before their Lord.
The believer will be accountable for their lifetime; they do not surrender the night entirely to sleep but devote a portion of it to worship. A'isha (may Allah be pleased with her) narrates: "One night I woke up and could not find the Prophet in bed. Anxious thoughts came to me. I got up, looked around — and found him prostrate in prayer, supplicating. I said to myself: 'Look at what your mind is doing, and look at his state.'"
Seeking Refuge From the Fire
The third trait — a deep concern about the Hereafter:
وَٱلَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا ٱصۡرِفۡ عَنَّا عَذَابَ جَهَنَّمَۖ إِنَّ عَذَابَهَا كَانَ غَرَامًا
— Surah Al-Furqan 25:65And those who say, "Our Lord, turn away from us the punishment of Hell; indeed, its punishment is enduring."
Hell is the final destination of those who cannot answer for themselves. Since no one except the Prophets has any guarantee of safety from punishment, the believer continually takes refuge in Allah. This refuge is not panic but the sensitivity of a servant who understands the weight of accountability.
Balance in Spending — Neither Waste Nor Miserliness
The fourth trait — equilibrium with wealth:
وَٱلَّذِينَ إِذَآ أَنفَقُواْ لَمۡ يُسۡرِفُواْ وَلَمۡ يَقۡتُرُواْ وَكَانَ بَيۡنَ ذَٰلِكَ قَوَامࣰ ا
— Surah Al-Furqan 25:67Those who, when they spend, do not waste or withhold but maintain a balance between the two.
Wealth is Allah's trust to the servant. On the Day of Judgment each person will be asked from where they earned and where they spent. Extravagance is spending wealth needlessly or for show; miserliness is hoarding it and avoiding good deeds. Both are extremes Allah does not love. The believer lives between the two, attentive to needs and to others. Allah commands the believer directly:
وَءَاتِ ذَا ٱلۡقُرۡبَىٰ حَقَّهُۥ وَٱلۡمِسۡكِينَ وَٱبۡنَ ٱلسَّبِيلِ وَلَا تُبَذِّرۡ تَبۡذِيرًا
— Surah Al-Isra 17:26Give the relatives their due, and the needy, and the wayfarer — and do not squander wastefully.
The Prophet took refuge in Allah from miserliness: "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from miserliness, from cowardice, from being returned to weak old age" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Jihad, 25).
Avoiding Shirk, Killing, and Fornication
The fifth trait — distance from three great sins:
وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَدۡعُونَ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَٰهًا ءَاخَرَ وَلَا يَقۡتُلُونَ ٱلنَّفۡسَ ٱلَّتِي حَرَّمَ ٱللَّهُ إِلَّا بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَلَا يَزۡنُونَ
— Surah Al-Furqan 25:68Those who do not call upon another deity besides Allah, do not kill the soul which Allah has forbidden except in justice, and do not commit fornication.
These three sins strike at the protection of religion, life, and lineage respectively. Allah also opens the door to return from them:
إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَءَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلࣰ ا صَٰلِحࣰ ا فَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ ٱللَّهُ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمۡ حَسَنَٰتࣲ
— Surah Al-Furqan 25:70Except those who repent, believe, and do righteous deeds — Allah will replace their evil deeds with good ones.
Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates: Some polytheists had killed people and committed fornication. They came to the Prophet and said: "O Muhammad, the religion you preach is beautiful — but is there a way of purification for us?" These verses were revealed in response: a promise that sincere remorse, repentance, and righteous deeds would let Allah turn their evils into good.
Refusing to Bear False Witness
The sixth trait:
وَٱلَّذِينَ لَا يَشۡهَدُونَ ٱلزُّورَ وَإِذَا مَرُّواْ بِٱللَّغۡوِ مَرُّواْ كِرَامࣰ ا
— Surah Al-Furqan 25:72Those who do not bear false witness, and when they pass by ill speech, pass by with dignity.
False testimony combines three sins in one act: lying, harming the innocent, and aiding the wrongdoer. The Prophet listed the major sins and paused, repeating again and again: "And false testimony, and false testimony" (Sahih al-Bukhari, Adab, 6273). Every form of lying is sin; lying under oath in court is the heaviest.
Hiding what one knows is also a sin. Allah says: "Do not conceal testimony. Whoever conceals it — his heart is sinful" (al-Baqarah 2:283).
Not Deaf and Blind to Allah's Signs
The seventh trait:
وَٱلَّذِينَ إِذَا ذُكِّرُواْ بِـَٔايَٰتِ رَبِّهِمۡ لَمۡ يَخِرُّواْ عَلَيۡهَا صُمࣰّ ا وَعُمۡيَانࣰ ا
— Surah Al-Furqan 25:73Those who, when reminded of the verses of their Lord, do not fall upon them deaf and blind.
Allah's verses command what benefits the servant and forbid what harms them. To say "I did not hear, I did not see" when reminded of them is to turn one's own back on one's own welfare. The believer receives the reminder into the centre of the heart.
Wishing to Lead the God-Conscious
The eighth and final trait:
وَٱلَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا هَبۡ لَنَا مِنۡ أَزۡوَٰجِنَا وَذُرِّيَّٰتِنَا قُرَّةَ أَعۡيُنࣲ وَٱجۡعَلۡنَا لِلۡمُتَّقِينَ إِمَامًا
— Surah Al-Furqan 25:74And those who say: "Our Lord, grant us from our spouses and children comfort to our eyes, and make us leaders among the God-conscious."
The believer's horizon does not stop at personal salvation; they want the salvation of their spouse, their children, even their friends. To pray to be "a leader of the God-conscious" is not arrogance but a longing to be the means of a righteous lineage.
Stories
The Humble Table of the Prophet
The Prophet handled the needs of his household with his own hands. When the Companion al-Aswad ibn Yazid (may Allah be pleased with him) asked A'isha what the Prophet did at home, she replied: "He served his family — he mended his sandals, patched his clothes, swept the house, milked the sheep. When the call to prayer came, he would go to prayer."
— Sahih al-Bukhari, Adab, no. 676This is the living commentary on the verse "walk upon the earth humbly." The Prophet did not live in a palace, did not employ a staff of servants, did not allow himself to be addressed as Master. The portrait of Ibad ar-Rahman is drawn from his life.
The Night Anxiety of Umar
When Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) became caliph, he would walk the streets of Medina at night to check on the state of his people. One night he heard the weeping of a woman from inside a house. He entered. The woman was boiling water for her hungry children — there was no bread. Umar rushed to the public treasury, hoisted a sack of flour onto his back, and carried it himself to the house. When his servant offered to take the burden, he said: "No — this is a burden Allah will ask me about on the Day of Judgment. If I know of need and turn my back, what shall I do then?"
Umar's night reflects Surah Al-Furqan's portrait in multiple ways at once: the night vigil (25:64), the fear of Hell (25:65), balance in spending (25:67), and leadership of the God-conscious (25:74). A single scene gathers several verses — and reads as a concrete portrait of Ibad ar-Rahman.
Bilal's "Allah is One!"
Bilal al-Habashi (may Allah be pleased with him), when he revealed his Islam in Mecca, was laid out by his former owner Umayyah ibn Khalaf under the burning Meccan sun, a great stone placed on his chest, and tortured to renounce his faith. Bilal's reply was a single word: "Ahad! Ahad!" — Allah is One.
This is the purest living example of the command "not to call on any deity besides Allah" (Al-Furqan 25:68). The one word on Bilal's lips was the "gentle reply" in this world and the "sound heart" in the next.
The Merchant Who Refused False Testimony
In the hadith literature, a merchant once headed to court when a Bedouin approached him in the street: "Testify in my favor and I will give you ten gold coins." The merchant nearly accepted — but the verse "Those who do not bear false witness" came to his heart. He refused. The Bedouin grew angry; the merchant kept silent in court, and the right verdict was reached. That evening he returned home to find that Allah had provided for him through an unforeseen door.
Such stories show the verses lived: Allah's drawn line meets the servant's daily choice.
The Reward of the Chosen Servants — The Highest Station
Allah declares the reward of Ibad ar-Rahman:
أُوْلَٰٓئِكَ يُجۡزَوۡنَ ٱلۡغُرۡفَةَ بِمَا صَبَرُواْ وَيُلَقَّوۡنَ فِيهَا تَحِيَّةࣰ وَسَلَٰمًا ۞ خَٰلِدِينَ فِيهَاۚ حَسُنَتۡ مُسۡتَقَرࣰّ ا وَمُقَامࣰ ا
— Surah Al-Furqan 25:75-76They will be rewarded with the highest station for what they patiently endured, and they will be received in it with greeting and peace. They will abide therein forever. Excellent it is as a settlement and a place to live.
"Bima sabaru" — for what they patiently endured. Chosen servanthood is not a moment but a lifelong striving. Patience for humility, patience for night vigil, patience to avoid desires, patience for balance in spending, patience to refuse lying. The reward is the highest paradise.
Living the Portrait of Ibad ar-Rahman With VAAZ
The 99 Beautiful Names of Allah collection in the VAAZ app features Ar-Rahman (the Most Merciful), Al-Wadud (the All-Loving), and Al-Qarib (the Near One) — three windows that feed the vision of "chosen servanthood." The dua archive preserves the supplications of Al-Furqan 25:65 and 25:74, taken directly from this surah — added to daily dhikr, they reorient the believer's intention each morning.
For the night vigil portion of Ibad ar-Rahman, see the Night Dhikr Guide; for the broader framework of taqwa, see Sermon on Taqwa. The close of Surah Al-Furqan is not merely a believer's portrait — it is a daily map for the life of faith.
References
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Furqan 25:63-76.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Isra 17:26.
- The Noble Qur'an, Surah Al-Baqarah 2:283.
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Adab, hadith no. 676 (The Prophet at home).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Adab, hadith no. 6273 (False testimony).
- Sahih al-Bukhari, Book of Jihad, hadith no. 2823 (Refuge from miserliness).
- Sahih Muslim, Book of al-Birr, hadith no. 2588 (Humility raises).
- Ibn Majah, Book of At'ima, hadith no. 3312 (Son of a woman who ate dried bread).
- Ibn Ishaq, Sirat Ibn Hisham, on Bilal's torture.
- Imam al-Ghazali, Ihya' Ulum al-Din, commentary on Ibad ar-Rahman.