WASILAH …. SEEK MEANS OF NEARNESS TO ALLAH

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَابْتَغُوا إِلَيْهِ الْوَسِيلَةَ وَجَاهِدُوا فِي سَبِيلِهِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ {5:35}

[Q5:35] yaaa aiyuhal lazeena aamanut taqul laaha wabtaghooo ilaihil waseelata wa jaahidoo fee sabeelihee la'allakum tuflihoon. 
[Q5:35] O you who believe! Be careful of (your duty to) ALLAH (SWT) and seek means of nearness to Him and strive hard in His way that you may be successful.

[Q5:35] Wahai orang-orang yang beriman! Bertakwalah kepada ALLAH (SwT) dan carilah yang boleh menyampaikan kepadaNya (dengan mematuhi perintahNya dan meninggalkan laranganNya); dan berjuanglah pada jalan ALLAH (SwT) (untuk menegakkan Islam) supaya kamu beroleh kejayaan. 

‘WASILAH’ IS A MEANS OF ACCESS TO A THING OR A BEING.

IF ALLAH (SWT) HAD WILLED HE COULD HAVE GUIDED MANKIND DIRECTLY THROUGH INSPIRATION, BUT in His infinite wisdom, He had not deemed it desirable. [*] He selected and appointed His representatives to convey His message and laws to people and [*] administer their affairs in every age.

±  Please refer to the commentary of al Baqarah 2:2 to 5, 30 to 38, 48, and 124 to know that the Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) and his Ahlul Bayt are the only means of approach to ALLAH (SWT).

THUS “WASILAH” OR MEANS OF ACCESS TO ALLAH (SWT) IS TO FAITHFULLY FOLLOW **THE HOLY PROPHET (ALLAHUMA SALI ALA MUHAMMAD WA ALA ALI MUHAMMAD) AND **THE HOLY IMAMS OF HIS HOLY HOUSE, WHO HAVE BEEN THOROUGHLY PURIFIED BY ALLAH (SWT) (AHZAB 33:33).

Ø  The Holy Prophet (ALLAHuma sali ala Muhammad wa ala ali Muhammad) said:

°          "I and Ali are from one divine light."

°          "I will soon be called back, so I will have to go away from you, but I leave behind, amid you, the thaqalayn (two weighty indispensable influential authorities), the book of ALLAH (SWT) and my Ahlul Bayt. Should you be attached to these two, never, never shall you go astray, after me, for verily these two will never be separated from each other; and, joined together, they shall meet me at the spring of Kawthar."

°          "My Ahl ul Bayt amongst you are like the ark of Nuh. He who sails on it will be safe; but he who holds back shall be drowned and lost."

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(5:35) Believers! Fear Allah and seek the means to come near to Him, *58 and strive hard in His way; *59 maybe you will attain true success.

*58. People are urged to solicit all means which might bring them close to God and enable them to please Him. 
*59. The English imperative 'strive hard' does not do full justice to the actual word used in the Qur'an: jahidu. The verbal form mujahadah signifies and carries the nuance of doing something in defiance of, or in opposition to someone. The true sense of the Qur'anic injunction 'strive hard' in the way of Allah is THAT THE MUSLIMS OUGHT TO USE ALL THEIR STRENGTH AND ENGAGE IN VIGOROUS STRUGGLE AGAINST THOSE FORCES WHICH EITHER FORCEFULLY PREVENT THEM FROM LIVING IN OBEDIENCE TO GOD OR FORCE THEM TO LIVE IN OBEDIENCE TO OTHERS THAN GOD. It is this struggle which is likely to lead man to his true success and bring him to a close relationship with God.
This verse directs the believer to engage in a ceaseless, multifrontal struggle. On one side is the accursed Satan with his horde. Then comes the animal spirit of man, with its defiant and refractory desires. Then there are many men who have turned away from God, but with whom one is linked by social, cultural and economic ties. Then there are false religious, cultural and social systems which rest on rebellion against God and which force man to worship falsehood rather than Truth. These rebellious forces use different means to achieve their end, but those ends are always the same - to make men serve them rather than God. But man's true progress and his attainment of close communion with God depends entirely on his total obedience to God, on his serving God unreservedly in the inner as well as in the external aspects of his life. He cannot achieve this objective without engaging in simultaneous combat with all the forces which are defiant and rebellious towards God, carrying on an unceasing struggle against them and trampling down all obstructions to his advancement along God's path. 

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَوْ أَنَّ لَهُمْ مَا فِي الْأَرْضِ جَمِيعًا وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ لِيَفْتَدُوا بِهِ مِنْ عَذَابِ يَوْمِ الْقِيَامَةِ مَا تُقُبِّلَ مِنْهُمْ ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ {5:36}

[Q5:36] Innal lazeena kafaroo law anna lahum maa fil ardi jamee'anw wa mislahoo ma'ahoo liyaftadoo bihee min 'azaabi Yawmil Qiyaamati maa tuqubbila minhum wa lahum azaabun aleem. 

[Q5:36] Surely (as for) those who disbelieve, even if they had what is in the earth, all of it, and the like of it with it, that they might ransom themselves with it from the punishment of the day of resurrection, it shall not be accepted from them, and they shall have a painful punishment.

[Q5:36] Sesungguhnya orang-orang yang kafir, kalau (tiap-tiap seorang dari) mereka mempunyai segala yang ada di muka bumi atau sebanyak itu lagi bersamanya, untuk mereka menjadikannya penebus diri mereka dari azab seksa hari kiamat, nescaya tebusan itu tidak akan diterima dari mereka dan mereka akan beroleh azab seksa yang tidak terperi sakitnya. 

All the riches of the world, and two times more, shall be of no use if the disbelievers offer it as ransom on the day of judgement to save themselves from the painful punishment of the fire wherein they shall abide for ever.

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(5:36) For those who disbelieved - even if they had all that is in the earth, and the like of it with it, and offered it all as ransom from chastisement on the Day of Resurrection, it will not be accepted of them - a painful chastisement lies in store for them.

يُرِيدُونَ أَنْ يَخْرُجُوا مِنَ النَّارِ وَمَا هُمْ بِخَارِجِينَ مِنْهَا ۖ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُقِيمٌ {5:37}

[Q5:37] Yureedoona ai yakhrujoo minan Naari wa maa hum bikhaari jeena minhaa wa lahum 'azaabum muqeem. 

[Q5:37] They would desire to go forth from the fire, and they shall not go forth from it, and they shall have a lasting punishment.
[Q5:37] Mereka sentiasa berharap hendak keluar dari api Neraka itu, padahal mereka tidak sekali-kali akan dapat keluar daripadanya dan bagi mereka azab seksa yang tetap kekal. 

(see commentary for verse 36)

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(5:37) They will wish to come out of the Fire, but they will not. Theirs will be a long-lasting chastisement.