“The true servants of the Merciful One are those who walk on the earth gently and when the ignorant ones address them, they simply say: ‘Peace be to you’, who spend the night prostrating themselves before their Lord and standing; who entreat: ‘Our Lord! Ward off from us the chastisement of Hell, for its chastisement is one that clings. Verily, it is a wretched abode and resting-place.”
(Al Qur’ān – 25:63-66)
All human beings are born servants of the Merciful One and they are called to prostrate themselves before Him. Many, however, fail to respond to this call. His true servants do respond by consciously submitting to God and striving to develop desirable qualities in themselves. The good effects of this prostration manifest themselves in believers’ lives. Likewise, the evil effects of rejecting the call to prostrate before God become manifest in the unbelievers’ lives.
Here a comparison is drawn between two modes of conduct. One emerged in the lives of the followers of Muhammad (peace and blessings of Allah be to him) while the other was prevalent among those who stubbornly followed the traditions of the Jāhilīyah.
There is subtlety in the manner in which this comparison is made: only the characteristics of the believers are mentioned while the conduct of the unbelievers is left for discerning eyes and minds to ponder upon, their manner being abundantly visible.
True servants of God do not strut about arrogantly like haughty tyrants. On the contrary, their gait is gentle, the gait of noble and upright people, not the gait of the weak.