Tafsīr Sūrat'L-Ra Mān and Ya Sīn (Denial) (Hosna)

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April 2013 April 2013 April 2013 April 2013
Qabeelat Hosna Denial: Tafsr of Srahs Ya Sn and Al-Ramn
Houston, TX Shaykh Yasir Qadhi
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Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................. 3
Srah Ya Sn .................................................................................................................................... 4
Names of Srahs ........................................................................................................................ 4
Time of Revelation ................................................................................................................... 5
Blessings of Srah Ya Sn .......................................................................................................... 6
Reason for Revelation (Sababl-Nuzl) ................................................................................... 9
yahs 1-12 ................................................................................................................................ 10
Benefits of yahs 1-12 ........................................................................................................ 20
yahs 13-27: The Story of the People ................................................................................. 20
Benefits of yahs 13-27 ...................................................................................................... 27
yahs 28-32: Woe to the Disbelievers! ................................................................................ 29
Benefits of yahs 28-32 ...................................................................................................... 31
yahs 33-44: Proofs that Allh has Given to Resurrect the Dead ................................... 32
Benefits of yahs 33-44 ..................................................................................................... 38
yahs 45-47: The Response of the Quraysh and the Kufr when These Miracles are
Shown ...................................................................................................................................... 39
Benefits of yahs 45-47 ...................................................................................................... 41
yahs 48-54: The Misguidance of the Idolators ................................................................. 42
Benefits of yahs 48-54 ...................................................................................................... 45
yahs 55-58: The Life of the People of Paradise ................................................................ 46
yahs 59-68: The Isolation of the Disbelievers & Their Rebuke on the Day of
Judgment ................................................................................................................................. 49
yahs 69-76: Status of the Messenger of Allh .................................................................. 53
Benefits of yahs 69-76 ...................................................................................................... 56
yahs 77-83: The Denial of Life after Death, and the Refutation of This Idea .............. 57
Benefits of yahs 77-83 ...................................................................................................... 59
Primary Lessons of Srah Ya Sn ........................................................................................... 60
Sratl-Ramn ............................................................................................................................. 62
Blessings of Sratl-Ramn ................................................................................................... 62
Reason for Revelation ............................................................................................................ 63
Names of Sratl-Ramn ....................................................................................................... 63
Uniqueness of This Srah ...................................................................................................... 64
Tafsr ......................................................................................................................................... 64

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Disclaimer: The following are student notes, which are not endorsed by the instructor or
AlMaghrib Institute.
Introduction Introduction Introduction Introduction

This is a tafsr of Srah Ya Sn and Sratl-Ramn. These two srahs share many
similarities and themes. We will jump directly into the tafsr of the srah. We will
analyze Srah Ya Sn section by section and not yah by yah because it is so long. We
will analyze Sratl-Ramn yah by yah and do a grammatical analysis.

What is the purpose of tafsr? A student of the abah Ysir b. Muwiyah said, The
example of a person with tafsr and the person without tafsr is the example of a group
who gets a letter from the king in the middle of the night and doesnt have a lamp to
read it. The person with tafsr is like the one who brings the lamp and reads for them
the letter from their king. This is so true!

After someone learns tafsr of a srah, forever after the srah has a different meaning
and a different understanding. When it is recited in the alh, it takes the alh to a
whole new level and you feel as if you were ignorant of the srah before.

There are many types of tafsr: subjects, grammar, particular words used, fiqh, context.
There are different genres. We will get a flavor of all of these genres in this class.
Shaykh Yasir brings in different methodologies and understandings and principles of
Islamic knowledge and makes them relevant and useful.

Tafsr has levels. There is a basic level of tafsr that every person who understands
Arabic will be able to extract. This level of tafsr is the understanding of the Qurn as
Allh intended it to be understood to the audience it was revealed. This is the level
most of us strive for when we read a translation.

For example, from qul huwallhu aad, we all understand Allh is one. There is a
higher level of tafsr in which scholars of fiqh, theology, grammar, lexicology look at
every single letter and phrase and word and ask Why qul? They go even further and
say, The huwa is not needed for a full sentence. Allhu aad is a full sentence. Adding
the huwa adds a whole different level. They go into aad and how it is different
from wid. Both Names are to Allh (subnahu wa tala). You cannot understand
this level of tafsr by simply reading. Tafsr brings in aadth and verses which are
pertinent to that particular yah. It is impossible to fully comprehend the Qurn
without having a grasp of other verses of the Qurn and aadth of the Prophet
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam). Linguistic analysis only gets you so far, and Qurn and
Sunnah trump linguistic analysis.

The Qurn and Sunnah interpret the Qurn far better than any grammatical rules. For
example: the reference of plurality. Why does Allh refer to Himself in the plural? This
requires knowledge of theology and ilml-aqdah.
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It is an error of the highest magnitude for a person to think he can open up the Qurn
and interpret it in the manner of a mufassir because he is claiming the interpretation of
the Speech of Allh without the knowledge of how to interpret that speech.

When Allh wants us to read and understand the Qurn, that is level one
understanding. It is not to derive your own theology or fiqh or interpretations until
you are qualified to master the fifteen sciences of tafsr. Until then, you are not allowed
to take it beyond basic level. For those not studying Arabic, they are walking on the
crutches someone else has given and the translation is not the Speech of Allh. Read it
for your personal benefit but know your limits.

Abu Bakr (rayAllhu anhu) said, Which sky will give me shade and which earth will
allow me to walk on it if I speak about the Book of Allh in a manner I dont know?
Therefore, one needs to be very careful about reading the Qurn and becoming an
instantaneous mufassir.

Why are we covering these two srahs? There is no direct connection. These are srahs
which are popular in the ummah and people read them all the time. The only real
commonality between them is that they are both early Makkan srahs. Also, there is a
lot of overlap in content in Srah Ya Sn and Sratl-Ramn.
S SS Srah Ya Sn rah Ya Sn rah Ya Sn rah Ya Sn
Names of Names of Names of Names of S SS Srahs rahs rahs rahs

We begin by talking about the names of Srah Ya Sn. Who gave these names? What is
the origin of the names of the srahs? Did Allh (subnahu wa tala) reveal a srah
with the name? The answer to this question is a long one. At Madnah University, the
paper topic which Shaykh Yasir chose for one class was entitled The Origins of the
Names of the Srahs. This was a detailed research and the conclusion he reached, and
Allh (subnahu wa tala) knows best, and this is the opinion of many classical
scholars, is: The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) did not name most of the srahs,
but rather, most of the srahs were named by the abah and the tabin; therefore, the
abah and tabin understood the names of the srahs are open for multiple opinions.
There was no notion that the name of the srah had to be one.

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) named some of the srahs. Evidences:
- In a Bukhri: Recite Baqarah and le-Imrn. Typically, he (allallhu
alayhi wa sallam) did not name it by a name but by a reference such as the first
yah.
- In a Muslim: The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, There is a srah
which is thirty yahs that will intercede for its reader until he is forgiven. That
is: Tabrakalladhi biyadihil-mulk.
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- In a Muslim: A srah has just been revealed to me and is more precious to
me than this world and everything in it. Inna aaynkal-kawthar.

To this day, we have many different srahs which have multiple names. This has
trickled down even to the ummah and Qurns printed in various places of the world
will have different names than Qurns printed in other places. For example: Bani
Isrl / Isr. Ghfir / Mumin. Tawbah / Bar.

These are the names which have trickled down, and what is found in the source books
is much more. Sometimes there are more than a dozen names.

Question: If we know that the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) did not name the
srahs and it is not divine (tawqfi), then can someone come along now and rename a
srah? Is this allowed?
Answer: It is technically legally allowed, but it is not a smart idea. Technically, there is
nothing wrong with deriving new names and you are not sinful, but what is the
purpose of redefining the wheel? What is the purpose of confusing everyone? Even
though it is technically allowed to rename srahs, it would cause confusion and fitnah,
so lets leave it as it is.

Question: Why should we discuss the names the abah gave to Srah Ya Sn?
Answer: Of the wisdoms of mentioning what the abah called these srahs is to see
how they viewed the srahs and to look at different perspectives. We see how they
viewed the blessedness of these srahs.

The abah called this srah with four names:
1. Ya Sn
2. Al-Mudfiah: the srah that repels, protects. Daf means to push away. The
abah viewed this srah as being the srah that protects.
3. Al-Qiyah: This means that which grants you what you want. Qaa means to
decree. This srah decrees for you what you want and grants you your wish.
4. Al-Muammimah: This means that which covers you up because this srah covers
you up in Allhs blessings and protection.

All of these names are powerful and demonstrate the status of the srah in the eyes of
the abah. This srah protects you and repels evil from you.

Time of Revelation Time of Revelation Time of Revelation Time of Revelation

By almost unanimous consensus, this srah was revealed in Makkah. It is dated to the
middle Makkan era. The Makkan era is divided into three: early period, middle period,
and late period. Like all Makki srahs, this srah shares some very common
characteristics. Of those commonalities:
1. Short verses
2. Makki srahs have a fiery eloquence. The rhythm and rhyme are powerful.
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3. The Makki srahs do not have any laws in them. Rather, there is an emphasis on
tawd, rislah and khirah.

Srah Ya Sn in particular concentrates on one of these three, which is the khirah. If we
want to say that Srah Ya Sn has a theme, then the theme is to prove the resurrection
(al-Bath, al-ashr).
Note: There is controversy on whether or not srahs have themes or not, which will
not be covered in this class.

Blessings of Blessings of Blessings of Blessings of S SS Srah rah rah rah Ya S Ya S Ya S Ya Sn n n n

Some srahs have explicit blessings associated with them. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi
wa sallam) especially praised Sratl-Baqarah. What has been narrated about Srah Ya
Sn? There are many aadth regarding it, and yet every one of those aadth is the
subject of a lot of discussion amongst the scholars of aadth regarding their
authenticity.

Five blessings of Srah Ya Sn:

Note: In the second, third, and fourth aadth below, the name Ya Sn is mentioned.

1. Al-Wthilah b. al-Asqa narrated that the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, I
have been given instead of the Tawrh the seven long srahs and I have been given
instead of the Zabr the miin srahs and I have been given instead of the Injl the
mathni srahs and I have been privileged above the rest of them and I have been
privileged with the mufaal srahs. This is in the Musnad of Imam Amad. This
adth is authentic.

This adth mentions Srah Ya Sn indirectly.

Scholars say the seven long srahs are all the way up to Tawbah (they include Anfl
with Tawbah). What is the Tawrh known for? Laws. The bulk of laws in the Qurn
occur in these srahs: marriage, divorce, etc.

Miin srahs: This means the srahs with around 100 verses. Most scholars say these
are from Ynus to Fir. The Zabr is known for praise. These srahs have a lot of
praise in them.

Mathni srahs: The Injl is typically known for wisdoms. Mathni means the srahs
which are recited frequently. These are called mathni because these were the
srahs the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) and the abah and early Muslims
would typically recite in alh. The mathni are from Ya Sn until ujurt. The
mathni begins with Ya Sn.

Mufaal srahs: mufaal means lots of breaks. Juz Amma alone shows us mufaal.
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Of the blessings of Srah Ya Sn is that it is the beginning of the equivalent of the
Injl. Srah Ya Sn discusses sa.

2. Al-asan al-Bari (rayAllhu anhu) narrated from Abu Hurayrah (rayAllhu anhu)
that the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, Whoever reads Ya Sn in a night
(i.e., in one go) seeking the pleasure of Allh, Allh will forgive him on that night.
This is narrated in the Sunan of al-Dhrimi.

The chain is authentic all the way to al-asan al-Bari (d. 110 AH). Abu Hurayrah
died in 55 AH. Al-asan al-Bari was from Barah and Abu Hurayrah lived in
Madnah. Al-asan al-Bari could not have met Abu Hurayrah. He was too young to
have been able to travel. He did not enter Madnah until after the death of Abu
Hurayrah; therefore, this adth has a slight weakness, which is a missing link
(munqati). A missing chain means the adth is weak; however, not all missing
chains are the same. The slightest problematic missing link is a missing link
between an early tabii and a abi. This is the least problematic missing link in a
chain.

Al-asan al-Bari isnt lying but is just not saying who he heard the adth from.
Fabricating aadth was unknown in that era. People were more honest. It was
unknown that people fabricated aadth at that time. There was an honest mistake
made.

The verdict on this adth: it is very slightly weak.

Tangent: What is the verdict of af adth? The majority of the ummah have said
that af adth can be used with some conditions. This is, in YQs humble opinion,
the correct opinion. This is the position the ummah has accepted. This is the
methodology of the famous muadiththn including Bukhri, Muslim, Ibn
Taymiyyah and Ibn al-Qayyim. What are the three conditions?
1) The weakness is slight and not severe
2) The adth is not used for aqdah, theology, law, fiqh. It cannot be used for
the fundamentals.
3) The adth is used for encouragement of generic good deeds, which are
already sanctioned in Islam.

We may use a slightly weak adth for encouraging generic good. Using af adth
in this regard is not a problem. Anyone who recites Srah Ya Sn in the night should
have an optimistic expectation of Allh but know that the adth has a slight
weakness. They should know that it is not guaranteed but have hope in Allh.

3. Anas b. Mlik narrates that the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said,
Everything has a heart, and the heart of the Qurn is Srah Ya Sn, so whoever
reads it, it is as if he has read the whole Qurn ten times.

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This is the most famous adth of Ya Sn. Why? The second adth is the least
problematic of all the aadth, but it is obscure. This adth is narrated in Sunan al-
Tirmidhi, and any adth in the six books automatically becomes far more famous
than any adth in other than the six books. This adth is often quoted.

After quoting this adth, Tirmidhi himself says this is a gharb adth. When
Tirmidhi says gharb, generally speaking, he means it is af. Then he explicitly
says it is not authentic and says one of the narrators is unknown, and this narrator
is from the fourth generation and far down the chain.

Scholars add that one of the signs of a very weak adth is that it sounds weird. Only
the scholars of adth will judge what is weird. A fruit seller came to Ibn Abi Hatem
and said, How do you know if a adth is weak or authentic? Ibn Abi Hatem said,
When you get counterfeit coins in your hand, how do you know? He said they flip
the coins around. He said, We do the same thing. This means that specialists
know by virtue of their experience.

Scholars mention that this adth is strange in content. One of the signs of a
fabricated or very weak adth is to give massive rewards for small deeds. This
adth is very problematic, and we cannot use it because it is very weak.

4. Maqar b. Yasr said the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, Al-Baqarah is the
pinnacle of the Qurn and ytl-kursi has been taken from under the Throne of
Allh and Ya Sn is the heart of the Qurn. No one reads it for the sake of Allh
except that his sins are forgiven. Read it over your dead. Sunan of Abu Dwd.

This adth repeats the phrases from adth #2 and adth #3.

Read it over your dead means to read it when someone is on his deathbed. This
adth says a phrase that hasnt been mentioned before.

This adth is very weak. There are two unknown people in the isnd; therefore,
every single muaddith from al-Nawawi to al-Albni and others said this adth is
very weak. However, what if someone says: Okay, this adth is weak, but cant we
use it to support adth #3? Because the rule says two af adth put together
strengthen each other to make them asan.
Response: This rule is valid overall, but it doesnt apply when a adth is very weak.
It only applies when a adth is weak. Who can tell the difference between weak and
very weak? Scholars of adth. Two people who are unknown (majhl) back to back
in an isnd makes the adth very weak and just one level above fabricated.

5. This is a statement of a abi and an action of a abi. One of the students of
Uayf b. al-rith al-Thumali narrates, When Uayf was on his deathbed, he asked,
Does anyone know Srah Ya Sn? A young man by the name of li b. Shurayh
said, I know it. Uayf said, Recite it over me. li began reciting it. When he
reached the fortieth yah, Uayf breathed his last breath and died.
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From this, we can say that because Uayf was a abi and he asked someone to
recite Srah Ya Sn on him, then there is no problem whatsoever having someone
recite Srah Ya Sn over someones deathbed. This is in the madhhib. Ibn
Taymiyyah and others mention that this is mustaab. It is from our tradition and
there is precedence. If someone says it is sunnah, we should not be too strict about
it even though it technically is not.

Note: This is not for over the dead body.

Also, if you look at the content of Srah Ya Sn, this makes sense because it is all
about khirah and baath and Jannah as well. There is a beautiful yah which is an
optimistic yah for anyone about to die: It was said to him Enter Jannah, and he
said, How I wish my people knew that my Lord has forgiven me and given me so
much honor. This yah is very optimistic. One reason to recite Ya Sn over
someone who is about to die is this yah and others of this nature.

Reason for Revelation ( Reason for Revelation ( Reason for Revelation ( Reason for Revelation (Sababl Sababl Sababl Sababl- -- -Nuz Nuz Nuz Nuz l ll l) )) )

Books of tafsr mention a number of reasons, but none of them explains why it came
down. Rather, the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) used verses for certain incidents.

Incident #1
Of the stories mentioned is in the srah of Ibn Isq: the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa
sallam) on the night of the hijrah when they attempted to assassinate him went outside
reciting Srah Ya Sn, and he (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, We covered them up and
they were blinded and they could not see. He used this verse to blind them. When
blinded, he threw sand on each and every one of them and went out from under their
noses. However, it doesnt seem that Ya Sn came down because of this but he used it at
this time.

Incident #2
Abu Jahl once became very irritated and made a public threat: The next time I see the
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam), I will do such and such. The next time the
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) was sitting where he usually sits, Abu Jahl walks by
completely ignoring him and not seeing him. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam)
recited, We covered them up and they were blinded and they could not see. Abu Jahl
did not see the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam). The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa
sallam) used that verse to blind his enemies.

Incident #3
Of what has been narrated about Srah Ya Sn is from al- b. Wil, one of the vulgar
and evil and mocking enemies. The enemies of the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam)
can be divided into two: those who were vulgar and crude and those who maintained
dignity. Generally speaking, those who were vulgar and crude were not guided but
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some of those who retained some decency and some nobility such as Abu Sufyn and
Suhayl b. Amr were guided. People who have akhlq have some decency, and having
some decency makes you more prone to accepting. One day al- b. Wil came with a
decayed bone in his hand to the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) and waved it in
front of his face and said, Ya Muammad, are you expecting me to believe that Allh
(subnahu wa tala) will cause this bone to be resurrected after it has decayed and
crumbled? The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) responded, Yes, by Allh, Allh
will resurrect it and Allh will resurrect you. This came down in Srah Ya Sn.

Incident #4
A final narration: A few scholars said this srah is Madani because of this. There is a
famous story in Bukhri and all of the books in adth that the Prophet (allallhu alayhi
wa sallam) heard the news that the tribe of the Banu Salamah had decided to come
closer to Madnah. The tribe of Banu Salamah was one of the tribes of Madnah, and the
city of Madnah at the time was composed of smaller cities. Madnah was composed of
settlements. Every tribe had their own area. Quba was one of the farthest settlements
and the southernmost settlement of Madnah so travelers coming from Makkah would
come there first. The tribe of Banu Salamah was on the opposite side. They were where
what is now known as Masjid Qiblatayn. In those days, it would take 40-45 minutes
walking. Some of the tribe of Banu Salamah would pray all five prayers and they would
all try to come as regularly as possible to be with the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa
sallam).

They then decided to move closer. In those days, it was an entire change of lifestyle
and lands would be sold off and homes lived in for generations would be sold. They
wanted to do this to be regularly in his presence. When the Prophet (allallhu alayhi
wa sallam) heard the news, he called them and he said, We will resurrect the dead and
We are writing down what they send forward and We are writing their footsteps. Ya
Bani Salamah, stay in your houses. Allh is writing your footsteps. They decided not
to move and stayed where they were. From this report, some minority of scholars say
Ya Sn is Madani. However, it was used in Makkah in the hijrah.
Response: The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) used a verse for the Banu Salamah
after it was already revealed for purposes of the present.

The strongest opinion is that it is a Makki srah.
yahs yahs yahs yahs 1 11 1- -- -12 12 12 12

Y-Sn.

What does Ya Sn mean? Ya Sn is of the genre of letters called urfl-muqaat.
There is a phenomenon in the Qurn of broken letters. Scholars have differed over
how to understand these scattered letters. There are fifteen opinions. Some of them:
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1. The urfl-muqaat are of the Names of Allh (subnahu wa tala) or stand for
Names of Allh. Alif lm mm is Allh, Al-Laf, and Al-Majd.

2. All of these muqaat were used by Allh to name the srahs. This does not make
sense because if this were the case, every srah would have these and every srah
would have different ones, but some are similar. Therefore, this is not what was
intended.

Of the specific interpretations of Ya Sn, according to one opinion Ya Sn is short for
ya insn. This is because according to one of the ancient tribes of the Arabs, they
would say, ya insn. The problem with this is that Allh revealed the Qurn
according to the time of the Quraysh. Arabic is Qurayshi by and large and it doesnt
make sense to read in other tribal mechanisms and it doesnt solve the issue of the
other muqaat.

Based on this, another interpretation was derived: Ya insn means specifically
the insn (Raslullh (allallhu alayhi wa sallam)). Ya insn means the one
man, meaning Raslullh (allallhu alayhi wa sallam). From this, an opinion came,
which is common in Indian and Pakistani culture that Ya Sn is one of the names of
the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam). It is based on an interpretation three levels
back. This is a big stretch, and there is no academic backing to say that Ya Sn is a
name of the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam). There is no merit to this from an
academic standpoint.

3. Allh knows best, but the strongest opinion appears to be: the urfl-muqaat
serve one purpose, which is to demonstrate the miraculous nature of the Qurn
and the power of the Qurn by drawing attention to the components of the Qurn.
The Qurn is composed of the same letters the Arabs use, yet they still cannot
produce something similar to the Qurn.

Evidence: If you gather all of the muqaat, you get 14 letters, and the Arabic
alphabet has 28 letters, so exactly half are used. It is as if the Arabs are being told to
bring the other half of the alphabet and bring a srah or yah or ten verses.

Evidence: Almost without exception (there are one or two exceptions which have
indirect evidences to make them not exceptions), in every single srah with urfl-
muqaat, the next verse mentions the Qurn. There clearly seems to be
something to do with the Qurn such that every time the urfl-muqaat are
mentioned, the Qurn is mentioned. Therefore, it appears the purpose is to draw
attention to the miraculous nature of the Qurn.

Footnote: Imam Mlik was asked about the permissibility of naming someone Ya
Sn. Imam Mlik said, This should not be done. This is his way of saying it is
arm. He said, The person will be called Ya Sn, and when people describe him, it
will not be appropriate and will not be dignified. For example, they may say, Ya
Sn did something wrong. It might come off as somehow demeaning and not
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appropriate. The abah did not name their children after the urfl-muqaat.
They did name their children Muammad and the names of the prophets and other
names with positive meanings. The names are the srahs are meant for the names
of the srahs.

By the Qurn, full of wisdom,

The waw is the wawl-qasam (the oath). This is translated as: I swear by the Qurn that
is al-akm. Allh is swearing and giving an oath. Why is an oath given? To
emphasize. Does Allh need to emphasize? No. Allh says, Who speaks more truth
than Allh? When Allh emphasizes, it means we have to pay attention.

Another point: We as humans are only allowed to give qasam using Allhs Names and
Attributes. We are not allowed to give qasam on any other object. This is a mistake that
is very common in many cultures. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said,
Whoever wants to give an oath, let it be with Allh. Why cant you say, I swear by
my honor? Ibn Abbs was making awf and heard two people arguing over
something. One man said, I swear by the Kabah that I am telling the truth. Ibn
Abbs said, Do not swear by the Kabah. Swear by the Lord of the Kabah. We dont
swear by the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) but we swear by the Rabb of the
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam).
Response: When someone accuses you of lying or you feel that you need to defend
yourself and say that you are speaking the truth, you will mention a being that is so
holy and respected and venerated that you wouldnt dare tell a lie after mentioning his
name and what being deserves such veneration? Only Allh. We only give qasam by
Allh and the Names and Attributes of Allh.

Allh swears by Himself. I swear by your Lord Allh can swear by makhlqt. Those
makhlqt are massive signs. If Allh swears by the creation, it gives honor to the
creation as being a great sign.

Can we swear by the Qurn? The Qurn comes into the category of swearing by Allh
because the Qurn is the Kalm of Allh which is uncreated; therefore, we are allowed
to give qasam by the Qurn and on the Qurn.

akm comes from ikmah, which means full of wisdom. The adjective akm is
typically used for living objects. It is not used for inanimate and dead objects. It is used
to describe living entities. Therefore, a reference is being given that the Qurn is life-
giving and is worthy of a description beyond inanimate. Allh is explicit that the
Qurn is a life-giving spirit. Of the names of the Qurn is ru. The Qurn gives life
to the dead, meaning the spiritually dead.

Allh is swearing by the Qurn that is full of wisdom. What is the point of swearing?
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Truly, you are one of the Messengers.

Inna is one of the most common participles in Arabic and is a participle that
emphasizes. The only purpose of it is to emphasize. Emphasizing used to be common
in medieval English; however, it has been lost in our times and when we use it, it
sounds antiquated. Because our ears are not accustomed to it, when we translate, we
lose the point.

The fact that the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is a prophet has been emphasized
in multiple ways.
1) It follows a qasam
2) arfl-tawkd (inna)
3) The lm. This is a lm that is not needed linguistically. This lm only serves the
purpose of emphasis.
4) It is jmlah ismiyyah

For us, it sounds redundant and awkward, but in Arabic, each one adds a nuance and
emphasis and builds up to the point of the qasam. Allh emphasizes this point in five
different ways, but we wont discuss all of them here because they involve Arabic
grammar.

The meaning of mursal is that he (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) has been sent. For anyone
who has been sent, there are three questions:
1) Who sent you?
2) Who have you been sent to?
3) What have you been sent with?

Allh (subnahu wa tala) is sending him (allallhu alayhi wa sallam). He (allallhu
alayhi wa sallam) is being sent to a nation whose forefathers were not warned. He
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is being sent with the revelation. Every question is
answered in the immediate aftermath of the question. This is why the qasam begins
with the Qurn.

On the straight path.

You are preaching a straight path.
The concept of straight path is discussed in the books of tafsr. The concept of Islam
being a straight path is a common motif of the Qurn and the Sunnah. We are on a
journey which ends in the Pleasure of Allh, and there is only one way to get to that
destination, which is irl-mustaqm. Allh mentions other paths as well, which are
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crooked. This is my path, so follow it, and do not follow the other paths. Notice that
throughout the Qurn, truth is singular and falsehood is plural. The irl-mustaqm is
one. In a adth in Tirmidhi, the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) drew a straight
path in the line and said, This is irl-mustaqm and then he drew lines going out
and said, These are the paths of falsehood and at the head of every one is a Shayn
calling.

There are two linguistic interpretations of this:
1. Innaka laminal-mursaln and ala irl-mustaqm are two separate sentences.
You are the Messenger of Allh. You are on the straight path.
2. We can join the two together and say: You are the one who has been sent to
those who are on the straight path.
Both of these meanings are valid and complement each other.

How does one get to the ir? The next verse. The tanzl (that which has come down).

Sent down by the Almighty, the Most Merciful,

The Tanzl is one of the most common names of the Qurn. The Qurn has five
common names: Qurn, Kitb, Dhikr, Tanzl,

Qurn and Kitb are the two most common and are complementary because Qurn is
that which is recited and Kitb is that which is written down. The reference to Tanzl is
that Allh (subnahu wa tala) sent it down. Tanzl comes from anzala unzilu. Anzala is
different from nazalah. How so? Anzala means Allh revealed the Qurn bit by bit.
Nazalah implies that the Qurn came down all at once. This was something unique only
for the Qurn. The Tawrh, Injl and Zabr all came down in one go. The only book that
came down piecemeal is the Qurn.

Also of the meanings of tanzl is that Allh is indicating the source: I am the One who
sent it down. There is a direct connection with Allh. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi
wa sallam) said, The Qurn is the rope of Allh dangling from the heavens. It is as if
Allh has sent down a rope, and if you hold onto it, then you have a direct link to Allh.

Allh says the tanzl comes from Al-Azz and Al-Ram. Al-Azz is a common Name of
Allh in the Qurn and has three primary meanings:
1) Comes from aza, meaning to strengthen. The One who is strong.
2) It also implies izzah, which means that Allh (subnahu wa tala) has izzah and
is the source of izzah. Izzah means honor and glory.
3) Of the meanings is the Unconquerable. The One who has power cannot be
conquered.

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Al-Ram comes from ramah. Al-Ramn and Al-Ram are the two most common
names in the Qurn after lafl-jallah. Al-Ramn and Al-Ram are derived from the
same root meaning to show compassion and mercy. By deriving multiple names from
the same root Allh is indicating His merciful nature. Al-Ramn is the One who is
merciful by nature, and Al-Ram is the one who demonstrates His mercy through his
actions. Important rule: whenever two Names are together, a third meaning is
derived. There is a wisdom why those two Names were chosen to be pairs.

Al-Azz Al-Ram: The joining of these two Names together indicates that contrary to
human disposition, which is that when a human gains power, he becomes unmerciful
and unjust and when a human is merciful it is because they dont have the power to
extract vengeance or revenge. Allhs Izzah comes without any negative cost of being
unjust, and His Ramah does not emanate from weakness.

For us, we forgive when we have no action. Allh indicates His Izzah does not negate
His Ramah and His Mercy does not emanate from weakness.

In order that you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they are heedless.

Who is the reference to the people whose forefathers were not forewarned? The
Quraysh.

Question: Wasnt the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) sent to all of mankind? Yes.
So why limit it?
Answer:
1) The primary audience was the Quraysh, so they have some privilege.
2) This is rare to hear but may be academically more sound: In the beginning of
his message, he (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) was only sent to the Quraysh. In the
beginning, he was sent to close people and then his family and then to all of the
Quraysh and then to all of mankind. One could say that this was expanded.

Question: The Quraysh are described as a group who never had a prophet, but didnt
they have Ibrhm and his son Isml as their prophets?
Answer: Yes, technically they did, but realistically they had forgotten what is a prophet
and didnt understand the concept of revelation. When the Prophet (allallhu alayhi
wa sallam) said he is a nabiyy, someone asked, What is a nabiyy?

Therefore, the reason why the Quraysh are described as not having a prophet is
because even though Ibrhm and Isml were sent to them thousands of years before,
the memories of their prophethoods were gone so Allh is saying it is as if they didnt
have a prophet.

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Ghfil means unaware. The reason to mention something that is potentially a
weakness is to make them listen. Isnt the listener being insulted? Why would he then
listen? When the weakness is pointed out in order to eliminate it, it becomes a favor.
The fact that they are getting a prophet means they should be thankful. This is an
appreciation. Allh (subnahu wa tala) is emphasizing something that could be
interpreted as a weakness, but because the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is right
there, it is a gift.

Indeed the Word has proved true against most of them, so they will not believe.

The word aqq has many meanings. The original meaning used by the ancient Arabs:
to conform and agree. If x and y match, then this is aqq. If they fit perfectly, then this
is aqq. From this original meaning, many meanings have been derived. The One who
brings about conformity is Al-aqq. The One who says what He does and does what He
says is Al-aqq. The issue which conforms with the previous statement is aqq and the
statement becomes aqq.

In many examples, Allh predicts the Day of Judgment. Those words are called aqq
because they are true. The Day of Judgment is called aqq because it is conforming
with the words that preceded it. The One who brought about that conformity (Allh) is
also called Al-aqq.

Laqad aqql-qawl. The statement I have said will be true and will be manifested as
truth. The reality will come to pass exactly as described.

The word has already been given on most of them that they will not believe. This
shows qadar. One of the fundamental characteristics of Sunni Islam is belief in qadar.

Allh says, Upon most of them, they will not believe. This yah could be problematic
in that most of Makkah eventually believes. How do we interpret this? They will not
believe as a result of his preaching, but they will believe when they are conquered. The
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is being consoled that his preaching is not the
problem and he is not at fault. They are at fault. Allh is beginning the consolation to
the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) that the qadar has already happened. The next
two or three verses are about the preaching of the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam).
They believed when they were conquered by force.

Ala aktharihim means a minority will believe. There is always hope and people will
always convert to the faith.

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Verily, We have put on their necks iron collars reaching to the chins, so that their heads are
raised up.

Allh (subnahu wa tala) says, We have placed around their necks aghlla. Aghll is
chains. Allh is saying He has placed chains around their necks. It is as if their necks
have chains and those chains force their chins to go upwards.

They are muqman. This is a very interesting noun. It is used for camels after they
drink water. After a camel drinks water, it raises its head backwards a few times. This
raising of the head backwards is muqman. Allh uses a noun typically associated with
camels. There is a derogatory notion intended here. More importantly, Allh is saying
their necks are jutting upwards and their faces are pointing upwards, which symbolizes
arrogance. They arent even looking at the truth. Their faces are jutting upwards.

And We have put a barrier before them, and a barrier behind them, and We have covered them
up, so that they cannot see.

Allh says, We have put a barrier in front of them and behind them, and we have
covered up their eyes so they dont even see. In other words, total immobility. They
cant see, look, or move. These are metaphorical aghll. In this world it is
metaphorical. In this world they are so arrogant and notsubmissive to the truth that
even if the truth is looking at them in the face, they wont look at it. Allh criticizes
them for their sheer arrogance and lack of desire to follow the truth.

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) was feeling somewhat let down because they
werent responding and werent becoming better. He (allallhu alayhi wa sallam)
blamed himself. Allh consoled him in dozens of verses. Naturally if any one of us has
a project and it doesnt turn out well, we feel bad. In this case, the Prophet (allallhu
alayhi wa sallam) is being told it isnt his fault but it is their fault. The ir is in front of
them. They are immobile and dont move at all. Their eyes are covered up and they
dont even look at the ir. It doesnt matter how loud you call or how clear the ir is,
they are not going to move.

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It is the same to them whether you warn them or you warn them not, they will not believe.

It doesnt matter what you do, they are not going to believe.

We find a deep and profound concept of qadar: No doubt, Allhs Qadar is operative and
effective. Allhs Qadar has a ikmah, and when they showed such arrogance, Allh says
they will not be guided.

In the next yah: You will be able to warn those who follow the guidance and fear the
Ramn in privacy; for this one, give him glad tidings and news of forgiveness.

You can only warn him who follows the Reminder, and fears the Most Gracious unseen. Bear you
to such one the glad tidings of forgiveness, and a generous reward.

For the one who fears Allh in privacy, he can be guided. Everything is with Qadar, but
Allhs Qadar is also based on wisdom and what you do. If you deserve to be guided,
then you will be guided. When you display humility and taqwa, you will be guided.
Allh explicitly says that because they are arrogant, you cannot guide them.

Everything is with qadar, but at the same time, qadar does not make us into robots.
Qadar is not unjust. Qadar is just and has a wisdom.

Allh mentions two characteristics for guidance. Who follows the dhikr.
1. He wants the truth. We firmly believe that if anyone wants to be guided, he will
be guided if he is sincere.
2. When people arent looking at him and he still acts in a good manner and
maintains taqwa, this is the one who can be guided.
Of the main characteristics of the mumin is his private conduct. When you are good in
such a state, it demonstrates your mn and means Allh will guide you.

Give him good news. Maghfirah and ajrin karm. The linkage of forgiveness and
generous reward is a very common theme of the Qurn. The reason this is the case is
that there is no reward without forgiveness. We cannot earn Jannah without first being
forgiven. Until Allh forgives, there will be no reward. Before there is a generous
reward, there has to be forgiveness.

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Our sins are too much. Allh says, If Allh were to give you what you deserve, then not
a single person would be left on this earth. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam)
said, None amongst you will enter Jannah because of his actions. They said, Not even
you, O Messenger of Allh? He said, Not even me unless Allh envelops me in His
Mercy. You have to be forgiven and then the reward will come. The amount of good
we do will never live up to the rewards of Jannah.

Verily, We give life to the dead, and We record that which they send before (them), and their
traces and all things We have recorded with numbers in imm mubn (a clear Book).

We will resurrect the dead.

What is the relevance of resurrecting the dead here? Allh is saying that this is not the
end. There will be a life after this life.

...and We are writing down all that they sent forward, so much so that even their
footsteps will be recorded

The first meaning: We write down what they have sent forward and the legacies they
left behind. thr also means legacy. The legacy is physical and spiritual. What
buildings did you leave behind? What effects did you leave behind? Your children and
what you teach others are your thr. The charity and praying and fasting are not seen.

The second meaning: The adth of Banu Salamah. Stay where you are and your
footsteps will be recorded. The second meaning is that everything is recorded, even
every footstep. Ibn Abbs said, If Allh were to have ignored anything, he would have
ignored our footsteps because even the wind gets rid of it.

And everything We have recorded. The word shay in Arabic is the broadest noun
possible because it means everything. Allh says kulla to emphasize. The verb
aaynhu: Aa isnt just to write down. The English translation is to meticulously
record and to record with precision. The department of accounting is iyiyyt.

imm mubn
This is al-Lawl-Maf. Why is the book called imm? The word imm comes from
umm, which means origin and that which you take as your role model or guide.
From this, imm becomes the one you take as your guide because he leads you in alh.
The word imm is used because it is as if we have the chart in front of us for our whole
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life. The imm is in front of us and we follow along as the imm goes. It is mubn
(clear) to those who have access to it (i.e. the angels).

Benefits of Benefits of Benefits of Benefits of yahs yahs yahs yahs 1 11 1- -- -12 12 12 12

- Allh (subnahu wa tala) is emphasizing the prophethood of our Prophet
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) and through him as well the ir he is upon and the
Qurn revealed to him.
- One of the main themes of this srah is resurrection. Just like the bodies will be
resurrected, so too will the deeds be resurrected. Their lives and their lifestyles
will both be resurrected. Physically they are resurrected and what they have done
will be resurrected.
- The emphasis on the meticulousness of recording is given. Even the footsteps are
recorded. Nothing is ignored by Allh (subnahu wa tala).

yahs yahs yahs yahs 13 13 13 13- -- -27 27 27 27: The Story of the People : The Story of the People : The Story of the People : The Story of the People

And put forward to them a similitude; the Dwellers of the Town, when there came Messengers to
them.

And give them the mathal
Mathal is a parable or example. It can be symbolic or real. The kalmah ayyibah is
symbolic. Here, this is an actual story that took place.

The people of Makkah are being told: If you are not going to learn from the Qurn and
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam), then learn from the histories of the people before
you.

Tell them the story of the people of the town / village.
Almost all mufasirn say that this village is Antioch, which is a very famous city that
used to be in ancient Shm or Syria under the Roman Empire. Today it is in the borders
of modern Turkey. The reference here was to the followers of Jesus Christ going to the
city of Antioch and preaching the message of Jesus Christ. Antioch was one of the first
cities where Christianity spread and where one of the first churches was built. It was a
main place where Jews resided. The early Jewish missionaries went there because
there were a lot of Jews.

Note: In the New Testament there is an equivalent of this story, which has similarities
and differences. We will not discuss this comparison.

when the mursaln came to them.
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If we interpret this to be Antioch, then these messengers are not prophets (do not have
a capital M). They were sent by Jesus Christ either directly or he said generically to
preach to the other Jews. They were sent with the message of sa b. Maryam. This was
under the Roman Empire. The majority of people under the Roman Empire were
pagans. Pre-Constantine, Christianity was a religion of the peasants and the poor.
Post-Constantine, it became the religion of the state and of the elite and of the political
bloc. He officialized the trinity and books of the Bible and what we have now. He
adopted Pauls version as the official one.

Give to them the story of the people of Antioch

Here, mursal doesnt mean prophet but means the daiys.

When We sent to them two Messengers, they denied them both; so We reinforced them with a
third, and they said: Verily, we have been sent to you as Messengers.

We initially sent to them two. They rejected them, and so we strengthened them with
a third. They said, We have been sent to you.

The Jews were the majority and the Christians were a minority. The pagans of Rome
were secondary, meaning they werent targeted for dawah, but if someone came to
convert, they would be accepted. There are references that people who were non-Jews
converted with sa. One of the tactics of the Jews was that when they got irritated with
one of their own, they did not have the government. They would have to call up the
Romans to complain about someone in their own ranks. According to the New
Testament, this is what they did with sa b. Maryam and falsely accused him of
claiming to be king. They accused him of challenging Caesar. They went to Pontius
Pilot who put him on trial. It was of their tactics to complain to the dominant power.

This is what they did with these three. They brought in the Romans and concocted lies
and caused trouble.

They said: You are only human beings like us, and the Most Gracious has revealed nothing. You
are only telling lies.
22

They said, You are only human beings, and Al-Ramn has not revealed anything. You
are only telling lies.

Each of these things the Quraysh said as well to the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam).
Notice that they use the Name Al-Ramn. This gives credence to the fact that they
were Jews. In the aqdah of the Jews to this day, they cannot utter the primary Name of
Allh. They call Him by other Names. Al-Ramn was also not something the pagans
would call Allh. There is an indication to the Quraysh that even others recognized
Allh as Al-Ramn while they denied this Name.

These are the standard claims that every prophet has faced. Allh says, Of course we
sent prophets to be humans. If we sent angels, you would have complained that they
were not human and would not follow them. Allh knows it is wiser to send a human.
These excuses are the excuses of the Quraysh.

The Messengers said: Our Lord knows that we have been sent as messengers to you,

They said, Our Lord knows (even if you reject us) that we have been sent to you.

This emphasizes a key point for those giving dawah. When we face ridicule and
persecution and hardships, we console ourselves by turning to Allh. Allh knows we
are on the truth and preaching the truth. When you are surrounded by ridicule and
persecution, turn to Allh and console yourself.

The lm here is the lm of emphasis.

And our duty is only to convey plainly.

We have been sent to you and our duty is only to preach to you.

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is also being told to seek refuge in Allh.

23

They (people) said: For us, we see an evil omen from you; if you cease not, we will surely stone
you, and a painful torment will touch you from us.

When they run out of arguments, they resort to illogical and superstitious arguments.
The Jews rejected sa because over the course of the previous centuries, they had
transmutated the concept of the Messiah and made him into a superhuman and into a
king who would fight against the Romans and establish a kingdom like that of David. In
their texts, the Messiah is a reformer and spiritual person. The Jews wanted power.
They made the Messiah into a person who will bring them back the power. sa is a
spiritual reformer and spiritual healer and not a political activist, so they rejected him.

Later, when the Dajjl comes with one eye and has a lot of power, they will accept him
as the Messiah.

They said, We have considered or found you to be bad luck / an evil omen

It is said there was a bad drought that year and they blamed these three. By this yah,
it is clear we are talking about a mixture of Romans and Jews. The Romans say that it is
because of their agitation that they had not had rain that year.

Taayyar comes from the same noun as a bird (ir) because the Arabs would have birds
as omens. The word for omens comes from the same word as bird. The Romans are
saying that these people are bad luck. We firmly believe that there is no such thing as
bad luck and there is no such thing as bad omens and this is a type of shirk because you
are ascribing powers to other than Allh.

They said, If you dont get out of here, we will stone you a severe punishment.

This shows that it was not just Jews but also Romans present because the Jews could not
punish without the Romans. The Romans were pagans. They are surrounded by the
Romans and were taunted and ridiculed.

They (Messengers) said: Your evil omens be with you! Because you are admonished. Nay, but
you are a people mischievous.

They said, Your omens are with you
This has two meanings:
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1) There is no such thing as omens, and your omens are with you mentally. You
are just inventing the omens, and they are a figment of your imagination.
2) Rather, you are the source of your bad luck, and not us. You have been deprived
of rain because of your own actions and not because of us.

Ain dhukkirtum is the first part of the sentence. When you are reminded. Meaning:
Is this your response when you are reminded? Rather, you are a people who have
gone beyond bounds.

It is the standard nature of evil to combat truth with brute and might and power. This
is what happened with Firawn and Msa. Eventually Firawn said that if Msa didnt
stop, then he would throw him in jail. You cannot stop the truth with logic and reason.

By this time, we get the impression they have been surrounded by the Romans and Jews
and the news has spread across the city that they have been surrounded.

And there came a man running from the farthest part of the town. He said, O my
people! Obey the Messengers.

A man comes from the very furthest part of the town running. He said, O my people,
follow these messengers.

This shows that no matter where you are, you will get help if you are upon the truth.
Help will come from the most unexpected places. They were at the center of the town.

One of the benefits of this yah is the fact that Allh (subnahu wa tala) has always
written that the truth shall be aided. Anyone calling for the truth will be helped from
sources they dont expect. The purpose of emphasizing that he came from the farthest
portion of the city is to mention that no matter where a person is, help will come. He is
running as he comes to the city center.

Some have pointed out that there is another wisdom: the person coming from the
farthest portion of the city is generally speaking not from the elite. In those days, the
elite lived in the center of the city. This person was not of the elite, which is why they
could kill him. This man is coming to help them.

He says, O my people, why dont you obey these messengers? Then he gives two
logical reasons and two characteristics that would generally imply a person is sincere
and worthy of being followed.

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Obey those who ask no wages of you, and who are rightly guided.

He doesnt ask money from you, so he himself is sincere. One of the biggest signs of
sincerity is not asking for any reward. This describes the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa
sallam).

He (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) has no gain to be preaching with the Quraysh and is
coming with the message of guidance, so why shouldnt you follow him.

And why should I not worship Him Who has created me and to Whom you shall be
returned.

This response indicates that they were questioning him. This man is a Roman. They
get angry at him and because he is one of their own, they can get away with him what
they cannot with other people. Rome was a provincial government and each province
ruled itself. If the three messengers were killed, it would create a problem, but this is a
Roman from Antioch, so they have more control over him and it will not cause a
scandal.

Notice that he links his acceptance of Islam and of sas message with the reality of
Allh (subnahu wa tala) being the beginning and the end.

Also, notice an interesting nuance: Allh created me, and you shall return to him.
There is a shift in pronoun.

Shall I take besides Him gods? If the Most Gracious intends me any harm, their intercession will
be of no use for me whatsoever, nor can they save me.

He is a convert from paganism. He attacks their idols and says, Do you really think it is
wise for me to take any god besides Allh to worship? If Al-Ramn wanted to harm me,
their intercession would not be of any benefit, nor could they save me.

26

This is a rhetorical question, and it is second one he is asking. A rhetorical question is
asked when the answer is already known. Both questions are directed towards the
pagans but he uses himself as the object. He does not use you.

Benefits:
- This is the religion of the Quraysh, and the Quraysh would turn to their idols for
intercession. This Roman convert says it doesnt make sense to worship a being
who couldnt save him.
- He calls Allh Al-Ramn. There is an indication that when this Name is used and
punishment comes after, it is as if Al-Ramn would never punish if you believe in
him. He is too merciful. Al-Ramn will never punish you for any reason other than
you yourself rejecting Him or earning that punishment.

Then verily, I should be in plain error.

I would be foolish to worship these gods.

Verily, I have believed in your Lord, so listen to me!

Notice: he changes tenses. Your Lord. Notice that this is one of the most important
morals: when you give dawah, never criticize your peoples culture or religion directly.
Take the criticism yourself and give the good to them. Notice how he gives dawah.

He doesnt challenge them. He says, I would be the fool. The real fool is them, but he
is not going to say you are fools. He takes the blame. He says, It would be my fault.
I would be the one to be foolish. Then he says, It is your God as well.

Allh created me. You will also return to him. He uses the first person because they
didnt believe that Allh created them. Notice his wisdom in preaching to his people
that he takes the criticism of his peoples theology on himself. He does not directly
criticize his peoples theology. He indirectly criticizes in a wise manner.

When we make dawah, be careful about not insulting others. We need to criticize, no
doubt, but it needs to be in a manner of not criticizing the ones were giving dawah to.

It was said: Enter Paradise. He said: Would that my people knew.

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This means they killed him. Allh does not mention they killed him, but it is inferred.
Scholars say he died a brutal death because the mob beat him up. They killed him by
beating him to death. Notice that the three messengers of sa were surrounded but
needed to be saved to go forward to other cities. When they were threatened, a fellow
Roman comes forth and diverts their anger onto him. The help came.

In their anger, the mob fell on the Roman and they knew no trouble would come
because he was a fellow Roman from Antioch. Allh saved the three by making this
man a martyr. Instantaneously, it was said to him, Enter Jannah.

The death is not described and is not mentioned. This is eloquence in the Qurn.
Remember the context of the verse. Do you think there is any sense in telling the
Quraysh that the messenger was killed? No. They would gloat and it may give them
ideas, which is not part of the message they need to get.

When we read the story, we can connect the dots and benefit. We understand he died a
martyrs death. This is not pertinent to the Quraysh and they did not need to hear it.
Allh tells us without telling them.

The only person who enters Jannah at the time of death is the shahd . All the rest of us
have to wait until after qiymah. The shahd enters in the body of a green bird. The
shahd enters but doesnt quite live in Jannah. He lives in Jannah meaning that he is
flying around and breathing the air of Jannah, but he is not living the life because he is
not in his body.

That my Lord (Allh) has forgiven me, and made me of the honoured ones!

Forgiveness and reward have once again been combined. If you pay attention, you will
see this many times in the Qurn. You have to be forgiven before you earn your
reward.

Benefits of Benefits of Benefits of Benefits of yahs yahs yahs yahs 1 11 13 33 3- -- -27 27 27 27

- What are some of the main differences in style from the New Testament? The
details. The Bible gives so many details that you lose the plot. The moral of the
story becomes almost couched in all of the names and genealogies. What is
mentioned in the Qurn is anything relating to the morals of the story. This is one
of the fundamental differences between the Qurn and Bible: the Qurn only tells
you what you need to know.

What is relevant is the fact that the people came and preached and the man came
and was a martyr.

28

- The Qurn uses multiple ways of giving dawah. Stories are one of the main ways of
giving dawah in the Qurn. There are also enticements and rewards and direct
threats and natural yt. We have to realize that giving dawah is a long process and
we have to try different avenues.

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) spent 23 years of giving dawah, the bulk of
the people only converted at the conquest. So what about the rest of us? There are
varieties and different ways of giving dawah.

- We benefit from his style of dawah. When he speaks about the follies of idol
worship, he ascribes it to himself if he were to be on their methodology. This is an
interesting way of doing it. He criticizes the concept if he were to follow it. This is
very ingenious. Look at the beauty of how precise his words were and the impact
on his people.

- We derive that the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is being consoled with these
verses. Some tried before and were even killed, but he is to console himself
psychologically that he is on the truth, and Allh knows he is telling the truth.

- It is of the tactics of those who oppose Islam to threaten it with force or with
ridiculous arguments. They cannot respond to the simple, logical, rational
arguments of Islam.

- Of the benefits: you put in the work, and you will find helpers. Once you show your
dedication, put your trust in Allh and you will be helped even from sources you did
not expect.

- One of the signs of the true teaching is the person is sincere and his message is
logical and rational and full of guidance.

- The torture of the man is not mentioned, and we dont want the Makkans to gloat
or get ideas. The more gruesome or negative or harsh details are glossed over, and
the Qurn concentrates on the positive. The descriptions of Jannah are much more
than the descriptions of Jahannam. Concentrate on the good and overlook the bad.

This culture has done the exact opposite and concentrates on the negative and goes
into vivid detail on things, which is not good for the psyche. Hearing about these
types of things desensitizes you and makes your heart hard.

- One of the benefits: his sincerity for his people and how concerned he was for
them. Even after they killed him, his thoughts are on his people and he wanted to
help his people. Ibn Abbs said, This was a man sincere to his people, alive and
dead. Even when he died in this world, his heart was still attached to them and he
wanted good for them. This shows us that you cannot preach Islam to others when
you have no concern for them. If you dont care about your people, how are you
going to preach Islam to them?
29

If you dont really care about Islam or the people you are preaching to, you will not
be able to give dawah. This man loved his people so much that he even ignored
their murdering him, which is the height of forgiveness. This is how much love he
had for his own people. Indirectly, the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) and we
are being told that we need to have concern for our people. You need to have a
genuine love and concern for others.

- The importance of overlooking foolishness from your own people. Forgive and
forget and move on. The man forgave murder, and everything else is less than that.

This is the story of the three people. After this, Allh mentions the response of those
who rejected.

yahs yahs yahs yahs 28 28 28 28- -- -32: Woe to the Disbelievers 32: Woe to the Disbelievers 32: Woe to the Disbelievers 32: Woe to the Disbelievers! !! !

The Quraysh are directly being addressed. The tone shifts now and we are going to talk
about a warning and a threat. It is the people of the Quraysh who are being addressed.
The Quraysh are being given a direct threat.

And We sent not against his people after him an army from the heaven, nor was it needful
for Us to send (such a thing).

We didnt send upon the people of Antioch after him

This yah clearly indicates that the man is not there, which is the beauty. This goes
over the head of the Quraysh, but every Muslim who ponders it will realize this man
was killed.

We did not send any army from the heavens, nor would We do so.

Sometimes Allh did, but not usually. Most of the time the cities are not destroyed in a
melodramatic fashion.

It was but one ayah and lo! They (all) were still.

30

ayah means a shout, but in this it refers to the blowing of the trumpet. Khmidn is a
very beautiful verb. Khamada is the verb referring to the last bit of the candle as it is
extinguished. Allh is saying that all that is needed is one ayah and all of a sudden
they will be khmidn and extinguished.

What is this a reference for? Some have said that this is a reference to the possibility of
Allh punishing them, and all that needs to be done is one shout. Allh doesnt need to
send an army from the heavens. This is problematic in that there was no destruction of
Antioch. Antioch was not destroyed. This has led another group to say that it wasnt
Antioch but it was another city. Allhu alam.

Some scholars have said that the three people sent were actual prophets of Allh.
Others object and say that never have three prophets ever been sent to the same
people, and the general sunnah is one prophet or messenger for any ummah. Once in a
while there will be two, such as Allh gifting Msa Hrn because he wanted support.
In Shaykh Yasirs humble opinion, it makes sense that it was Antioch, and the New
Testament mentions the same. There is no problem reading their stories. It makes
sense that three daiys were sent.

The only problematic issue: what does it mean that there was one ayah and they are
all killed when Antioch is still there? The response is:
1) Allh is saying, If I wanted to destroy, then all I needed to do was one shout.
2) This is a reference to Yawml-Qiymah.

Alas for mankind! There never came a Messenger to them but they used to mock at him.

Yaasrah: alas, regret. It expresses remorse.

Who is saying this? Some scholars say this is the creation itself expressing remorse at
mankind. Others say it is the angels expressing remorse at mankind. Do these objects
have consciousness? We respond that Islamically yes, they do have a consciousness
differently than ours. Perhaps they dont have the type of consciousness we have, but
every creation has some type of consciousness and recognition. Even the creation is
expressing its pity for mankind that never does a messenger come except that they
mock him.

asrah is the strongest type of pity / remorse. It comes from the verb asrah. asr
means to become tired. The word asrah is like as if your heart has become tired of
grieving. It is an extreme form of sadness.

31

Never is any prophet sent except they reject and do not believe.

If this is from the creation or the angels, there is an added eloquence that even the
other creations of Allh see our foolishness and stupidity and arrogance in rejecting
what is so obvious. It is as if we are the only obstinate creation left and the other
creation feels pity for us. If Allh expresses this Himself, He could change the situation
in any way He wants, so it makes more sense for the creation to express it. Allh knows
best.

The term asrah means extreme regret and remorse, and Allh (subnahu wa tala) is
not characterized with asrah. It is not of the if of Allh; therefore, it cannot be
coming from Allh; therefore, it is coming from the creation or angels or both.

Do they not see how many of the generations We have destroyed before them? Verily, they will
not return to them.

If they dont learn from prophets, then let them learn from history. they will not
return to them means that every nation rises and falls and every nation has its time to
shine. Allh is saying to look in the past and see where those nations are now.

It is saying to the Quraysh: Look at your glory now and how long will it last? Can you
resurrect the glory of previous nations?

And surely, all every one of them will be brought before Us.

The emphasis here: they will be gathered simultaneously in front of Allh.
Benefits of Benefits of Benefits of Benefits of yahs yahs yahs yahs 28 28 28 28- -- -32 32 32 32

- Actual punishment is not mentioned for the people of Antioch. Just because the
destruction doesnt come, the Quraysh shouldnt think they are right. Allh is
saying that they were not the first nation and previous nations did worse but if
Allh wanted to, He could destroy them as He could destroy them.

- Allh wants us to learn from history. We as Muslims should make it a point to learn
from history. There is a book The Rise and Fall of Nations discusses why nations
rise and fall. History always repeats itself. The exact same issues come and people
32

react in the exact same ways. When every nation reaches its pinnacle, it doesnt
learn from the past. Perhaps the greatest civilizations were the Roman civilization
of antiquity and England 150-200 years ago. Allh is saying to learn from history.

This applies to all of us. We make the same mistakes. Therefore, one of the
interesting points of this yah is that Allh is encouraging us to benefit from social
sciences and history and anthropology and sociology. We as Muslims can learn a lot
from these sciences.

- There is no return to this world. Every one of us is giving one chance. Even if you
try to bring them back you would not be able to do so.

- Man is in such a pitiful state that even the creation and the angels show pity on us.
How foolish is man. Wont they get the point and wont they believe? The Qurn
mentions in multiple verses their amazement of people entering Jahannam. In
Sratl-Mulk, the angels say, Didnt any warner come to you? The angels dont
understand how foolish we are. Our stupidity is beyond them.

yahs yahs yahs yahs 33 33 33 33- -- -4 44 44 44 4: Proofs that : Proofs that : Proofs that : Proofs that A AA All ll ll llh h h h has has has has G GG Given to Resurrect the Dead iven to Resurrect the Dead iven to Resurrect the Dead iven to Resurrect the Dead

Allh mentions three proofs, three yahs. Allh has hinted in the previous verse that
He can bring them all back simultaneously.
1. Dead land
2. Night and the day
3. Issue of the ship

And a sign for them is the dead land. We give it life, and We bring forth from it grains, so that
they eat thereof.

The word yah indicates a sign. It is something that signifies something else. It is like a
flag. A flag is sometimes called an yah. It is something that leads to something else,
which is why yah has been translated as miracle. It is supposed to make you think
about another fact. It is a point to observe / ponder over. Allh is saying, If they cant
believe I can resurrect the dead, let me show them the reality.

Look at the dead land and how We bring it back to life. We bring from it grains and
fruits that they can eat from. This element of bringing the dead land back to life is not
something many of us know. It is not a natural phenomenon for us. We plant
evergreens and barely leave the city.
33

For those living in Arabia and other lands, the world literally seems dead. The plains
are all sandy and it rains and pours once every one or two years and then it seems like a
different world. The sand dunes become luscious green and vegetation comes out.

We rarely see this phenomenon, especially in this part of the world. We know for a fact
that Allh can use the land that cannot be harvested or planted. The One who can do
that can bring you back from the dead. Not only does Allh cause it to produce fruit
and grain, but you eat from this fruit and grain.

And We have made therein gardens of date palms and grapes, and We have caused springs of
water to gush forth therein.

Grapes and dates are two of the most common fruits mentioned in the Qurn. Societies
that grow these always cherish them. To this day, we know that dates have a lot of
nourishment and glucose in them. Grapes are those fruits we all enjoy to eat. Allh
(subnahu wa tala) mentions these two.

So that they may eat of the fruit thereof and their hands made it not. Will they not then give
thanks?

Allh is saying that your hands did do something, but where did the raw material (land,
water, grain, seeds) come from? You planted and irrigated, but where did the rest of
the material come from?

The two main meanings of ma are negation and that which. Which one is
referenced in the verse? The majority say, and that which their hands have done. It
is also completely valid theologically and linguistically to translate it as: and their
hands have not done this because Allh is saying you could not bring it about.

Glory be to Him Who has created all the pairs of that which the earth produces, as well as of their
own kind, and of that which they know not.
34

Subna is the complementary opposite of al-amdu. These go hand in hand, and you
wont understand one without the other. Al-amdu means to praise Allh for the
perfection He possesses. Subna means to glorify Allh for the imperfections that He
does not possess. Al-amdu: you affirm the positives. Subna: you negate the
negatives.
Why wont they thank Me? Allh is exalted above those idols. When they ascribe to
Allh a son, Allh says, Subnahu When Allh needs to negate a negative, He says
subna. Generally speaking, subna is used in the concept of idols and shirk.

Allh (subnahu wa tala) is talking about the miracle of creation and the miracle of
life and the fact that all of us are in pairs. Allh created all types of pairs. In other
verses, He says that He created everything in pairs.

Some people may say bacteria and amoebas dont have pairs. The response: it is a
generality of the majority position. This is the way things are. It doesnt mean that
there isnt a single exception. Some people are trying to be a little too literalistic.
There is no problem in saying Allh has created everything in pairs because this is the
general rule.

There are certain ways to emphasize generality. Negating an affirmation shows 100%
exclusivity.

If Allh had wanted, all of creation would be one gender. Plants are also of two genders.

And a sign for them is the night. We withdraw there from the day, and behold, they are in
darkness.

Allh is saying one of the signs they should think about is the night. We peel away the
day until they are left in darkness. This is a very beautiful verse, and it has been used
to talk about the scientific miracles of the Qurn. YQs position: in our times we have
exaggerated the usage of scientific miracles of the Qurn, but there is an element of
truth to it. What is amazing about the Qurn scientifically is not the details it gives but
whatever it says, the words that it uses are very precise. Of those words is naslakh.
This is not a word associated with night and day. What immediately comes to mind
from this verb is the peeling of the skin of a dead animal.

When you skin an animal, you literally put your hand in and start peeling the skin back.
This is salakha. Why is this so precise? Allh is saying that He peels away the layers one
after the other. If you look at the sun setting, every degree the sun goes down another
layer goes away. The brightness of the light diminishes. When everything has been
peeled away, darkness is left. It is not the details given but the accuracy. It is so
accurate.
35

And the sun runs on its fixed course for a term (appointed). That is the decree of the Almighty,
the All-Knowing.

The sun is moving quickly to its appointed place. This is the apportioned time.

We learn that the sun is moving. When the Qurn came down, the bulk of mankind
believed that either the earth was stationary or the sun was stationary. The Qurn
references the earth moving and the sun moving. There was no astronomical model at
the time that posited the sun moving and the moon moving and the earth moving. This
is something that has only occurred in the last 150 years. The notion of celestial objects
moving was known after the Qurn was revealed.

Allh specifically says the sun is moving, and for the longest time the predominant
model was from Copernicus, which is the sun is stationary and we are moving around
the sun. The reality is something so mind-boggling. Only experts in astronomy can
really understand this. The sun is itself going in its orbit, and the sun is hurtling
through space and the earth is going around the sun as it is moving. The earth is not
just going in one elliptical orbit. The earth is catching up with the sun as the sun is
going that fast. Allh is indicating this phenomenon to the Arabs and they would
understand it at their level, and for us it is even more mind-boggling.

Only someone full of Power and Knowledge can do this.

And the moon, We have decreed for it stages, till it returns like the old dried curved date stalk.

The manzil of the moon are very specific. There are 28 in number. On the 29
th
night
we look to see if we can see it. Urjn is the stalk that you pluck the dates from. Once
you have plucked the dates from the date palm, the fiber becomes useless and it
becomes yellow and shrivels up and semicircular and very frail and thin. Allh
describes the moon exactly like something they witness around them: frail, thin,
semicircular, yellowish in color.

The moon comes back until finally the first day it returns like the frail, flimsy, yellow
semicircular date palm.

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It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day

Falak is an arch. The modern Arabs call an orbit a falak.

Allh is describing the precision of the sun and moon put together and the earth
thrown into the mix. The precision could not emanate except from a being so powerful
that He can also bring the dead back to life. We understand the mechanisms but dont
understand why and how. How do these massive objects come to be and how are they
in sync and harmony?

The One who has control over all of these objects can also resurrect the dead. We bring
about our time from them. We dont time them, but rather, our time is taken from
their motion. Our months and years and time cycles are from these objects. We have it
down to milliseconds.

Allh is asking: Who made these massive objects in such synchronization and such
harmony that neither will the sun crash into the moon or any change? It can only
come from Al-Azz Al-Alm and therefore He can resurrect the dead as well.

The word mustaqar has one of two meanings:
1) In classical Arabic, it usually meant the place of rest.
In this interpretation, it is as if the sun goes and rests in a place and then comes
back and does its job again. This is the interpretation of most classical
interpreters because they didnt have the concept of the entire solar cycle.

2) The other meaning: according to its schedule.
Everything is in its exact time and Allh has a schedule. There is a adth that
seems to indicate the first meaning. In Bukhri and Muslim: The Prophet
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) asked Abu Dharr al-Ghifri: Do you know that the
sun sets? He said, Allh and His Messenger know best. The Prophet
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, The sun goes until it prostrates under the
Throne of Allh, and then it asks permission from Allh to come back up. [in
one version: Every day Allh will give the sun permission to go back, but one
day the sun will be told to go from the same direction it came].

Those who try to bring doubts in the Qurn and Sunnah cast doubts in this
adth, but Ibn Taymiyyah says: Why is this problematic? The sajdah of the sun
is relative to the sun just like the sajdah of the creation is relative to the
creation.

37

And an yah for them is that We bore their offspring in the laden ship.

Interpretations of this yah:
1) The ship is a reference to N, and Allh is saying, We carried their children
(meaning the children of mankind), and the ship was laden (meaning with the
other animals).
2) We carried them (the Quraysh) and their children (the Qurayshs children)
with laden goods.
Both interpretations are valid. The first interpretation is talking about a previous
miracle and the second is talking about a modern miracle.

And We have created for them of the like thereunto, on which they ride.

Allh is saying, Thank Me for every mode of travel that you have. Allh gifted the
construction of the ship to N. If Allh had not taught N how to build a ship, we
would never have discovered it.

Allh has given other kinds of vehicles, which include those that are natural (such as
camels and horses), and cars and trains. We should thank Allh for these.

We also believe that Allh has directly taught us many of the sciences and with other
knowledge He has given it to us indirectly. For example, Allh taught dam how to
speak. Also, building ships, writing with pens, communication, how to write our
syllables and sounds so that anyone in the world can get a piece of paper and hear our
thoughts and ideas expressed. Allh says, I taught The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa
sallam) said the very first person to write was Idrs. Allh taught Idrs how to use a pen.
Allh taught Dwd how to make iron malleable. Allh is saying these are blessings He
has given us.

Just because we now understand the dynamic, it shouldnt take away from the miracle.
Some ships carry more than a small city. We see it and are used to it, but think about it!
A small pebble will sink in water.

And if We will, We shall drown them, and there will be no shout for them, nor will they be saved.

arkh means a shout. Here, it applies to help. When you need help, you shout out.
The Arabs called the response to the shout arkh also.

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Unless it be a mercy from Us, and as an enjoyment for a while.

Mat means to enjoy. It is mat for a time being. This means that Allh has allowed
them to enjoy the blessings. It is a direct blessing.

Be Be Be Benefits nefits nefits nefits of of of of yahs yahs yahs yahs 33 33 33 33- -- -44 44 44 44

- The prophets of Allh are calling people to believe in Allh, yet there are signs so
powerful that you dont even needs prophets. These signs testify to the power of
Allh directly. Indirectly, they testify that Allh is so powerful that He can
resurrect the dead.

- We also learn the blessings of being in pairs. Each one has strengths and
weaknesses.

- The perfection of how Allh (subnahu wa tala) describes the night as being the
absence of the day. The night is the stripping away of the day. This is very precise
scientifically. The sun envelops us in layers of light. When all the layers are gone,
we are immersed in darkness.

- The sun itself has been explicitly described as moving. The moon is moving. The
moon has manzil and a specific schedule. We have now calculated the schedule
down to a millisecond. Think about the size of these objects.

- Allh says that we did do something when planting, but Allh is saying that we
could not do it without what He has given us. You can do nothing without Allhs
direct help. We need something that Allh has created and then we change it. We
cannot create from nothing. Only Allh creates from nothing. The shams, qamar,
and fulk are mentioned in Sratl-Ramn.

- Even though we can understand the laws of nature, they have been put by Allh
(subnahu wa tala). It is Allh (subnahu wa tala) who has explicitly told us that
it is so because He has made it so. If Allh had willed, it would not be so. For
example, Allh mentions things that are physically impossible such as: If I had
wanted to, I could have made the rain water salty. Allh has put these laws into
place. Allh has done this for our benefit.

39

yahs yahs yahs yahs 45 45 45 45- -- -4 44 47 77 7: The Response of the Quraysh and the : The Response of the Quraysh and the : The Response of the Quraysh and the : The Response of the Quraysh and the Kuf Kuf Kuf Kufr r r r when These when These when These when These
Miracles are Shown Miracles are Shown Miracles are Shown Miracles are Shown

In the previous section, we talked about the proofs of Allh bringing life back. What is
the response of the kufr to these proofs? We learn this in the following verses. The
response is complete ignoring. They dont care about Allh or the signs of Allh.

And when it is said to them: Beware of that which is before you, and that which is behind you, in
order that you may receive mercy.

Taqwa means to develop protection from the punishment of Allh. It means to
immunize yourself from Allhs anger. You are conscious of Allh and fear Allh.

Ma bayna aydkum means what is in front of you. What does before you and
behind you mean?
Interpretations:
- The blessings you are going to be given and have been given should cause you to
have taqwa.
- The punishments in this world and the punishments in the next.
- The punishments that previous nations have gotten and the punishments you
will get in the next.
The most correct in terms of context is: have taqwa based upon what has happened in
the past and what will happen in the future so that Allh may have mercy on you.

When it is said to them have taqwa, they ignore it.

And never came an yah from among the yt of their Lord to them, but they did turn away from
it.

The term yah encompasses many things: every verse in the Qurn, every natural
phenomenon, every previous historic event. Their response: they are murin, which
is the height of arrogance because they have turned their back on it. They have refused
to acknowledge the existence.

40

And when it is said to them: Spend of that with which Allh has provided you, those who
disbelieve say to those who believe: Shall we feed those whom, if Allh willed, He would have fed
You are only in a plain error.

The kufr say to the believers, Do you expect us to give food to those whom if Allh
had wanted to, He could give food? Rather, you are those who are in clear error.
Notice that the people giving them dawah tell them two things: have taqwa and give of
your money. This shows us that when we call others to Islam, we dont just call them to
theology and fearing Allh, but we call them to good manners and morals. The
believers are telling them to be generous and give money. Dawah is not just theology
and not just the pillars of mn. Perhaps preaching the idols of Islam (mercy and
compassion) and the truth of our morals and ethics will have a bigger impact.

In the time of Makkah, there were no laws and zakh was not wjib. Charity is still being
mentioned because certain ethical laws were given generically: be generous, give to
the poor, and take care of the orphans. This is of those laws. Being generous was
revealed even before generosity was made wjib. This shows us the importance of
being charitable. This is one of the easiest chapters of attaining Allhs Mercy. The
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, Nothing extinguishes Allhs Anger like
charity.

Be regular in your adaqah. Give to the poor. It is a part and parcel of mn. This yah is
a clear indication of that. Even before it became wjib, the believers are charitable.
Even the terms for charity are profound. The most common Qurnic term is adaqah.
Before the Qurn came down, the Arabs did not know the term adaqah. Pre-Islamic
poetry doesnt mention this term. adaqah comes from idq, which means truth.
adaqah is a sign of how true you are to Allh. It is literally called truthfulness and
charity. Nothing tests your truth like giving your money believing that Allh will give
you more. Do you believe in Allh? Your adaqah says you believe in Allh. We believe
it will come back in this world and the next.

The Qurn tells us that the believers are giving dawah through different ways:
teaching taqwa, teaching about Allh, being charitable. Allh has blessed you with this
money.

They respond, Do you expect us to feed those whom if Allh had wanted to, He could
have fed? Notice about their response: they change the noun. The command is anfiqu
(be charitable). Allh tells us their respond and say aam. Food is the most commonly
available item. Everyone who is not starving has food. Food is the most needed charity
to those who get it. By changing the noun from nafaqa to aam, Allh is showing how
stingy they were. They were not even going to give of the most commonly available
item, which is the most needed for mankind to receive. This is the height of
callousness and coldness that they wont feed those who need to be fed. Food is the
easiest and most common of all charities. It will save people from dying, and the
Quraysh still ask why they should do this.

41


- Allh says, No yah comes except that they turn away. From this, we benefit that
anybody who ignores Allhs yt has a symptom of the symptoms of kufr in him.
Therefore, of the purposes of yt is that our mn should go up. When the believer
is exposed to the yt of Allh (subnahu wa tala) there are many yt, but they
are primarily Qurnic yt, natural yt, and historical yt (Ya Sn mentions all of
these) our mn should go up. If it doesnt go up, then it is a disease and a
symptom that we should not have. No yah comes to the Quraysh except that they
turn away.

- If the kufr dont benefit from advice, then the flip side is that those who do benefit
from advice have mn. Allh explicitly mentions this in the Qurn: Remind each
other because reminding benefits the believers. Therefore, the next time someone
gives you advice that you know is true, know that you dont demonstrate mn in
that response. A Muslim does not say: Who are you to give me advice? Mind your
own business. If the advice is true and correct, the Muslim says, Jazk Allh khayr,
akhi. What you have said is true.

- Being charitable is of the most important correlations of mn. Even before giving
charity was wjib, it was part of our religion. Therefore, being charitable is
something that goes hand in hand with mn.

- The existence of evil is explained. Notice here that the kufr said, This evil should
be dealt with by Allh. This is why atheists are atheists. They ask how there are
tsunamis and poverty. The kufr of Quraysh were being arrogant and the atheists
are even more arrogant. The believers are the ones feeding the poor. Allh uses
the good people to take care of the evils of society. Through this, the good people
become good. It is a sign of their goodness.

One of the wisdoms of evil is to bring about good. Without evil, there could be no
good to combat it. You need hunger in order to be charitable. If there were no
suffering, there would be no compassion. Evil people dont want to stop the evil
that makes them evil. The good people want to stop the evil that makes them good.
The believers see this as an opportunity to bring about their good, and this makes
them good. For those who are suffering, we believe Allh will reward them for their
suffering, and it becomes a source of mercy for them. This yah proves the
existence of evil has many benefits.

- mn leads to morality and a softening of the heart. When you have mn, your
heart will be soft for other people. You will be moral and good. Especially charity
and within charity feeding the poor is a characteristic of mn. Allh mentions this
in many verses.

In Sratl-qqah v. 33-34, Neither did he believe in Allh nor did he encourage
charity to / feeding the poor.
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In Sratl-Mn, Do you not see the one who rejects the religion and the Day of
Judgment? He is the one who doesnt encourage the feeding of the poor.

Feeding the poor and mn are intrinsically linked. If you have mn, you will want
to feed the poor. If you dont, you will not want to. mn and good deeds are linked
together because you need to have good theology in order to be a good person. You
may have good here and there, but you cannot 24/7 be a good and morally upright
person unless you believe in Allh.

- Even if a group has rejected Islam, you invite them to morality and ethics. It may be
their door to Islam. It is part of our religion to preach the truth.

yahs yahs yahs yahs 48 48 48 48- -- -54 54 54 54: The Misguidance of the Idolator : The Misguidance of the Idolator : The Misguidance of the Idolator : The Misguidance of the Idolators ss s

And they say: When will this promise be fulfilled, if you are truthful

Once they have rejected the message, they add to this message with sarcasm. They
challenge the threat of Allh and say, When is this promise / threat that you have
promised us come? Sarcasm or challenging Allh (subnahu wa tala) or making fun
of Allh and the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is not something that can ever
occur from the heart of a believer. They sarcastically ask, If you are telling the truth,
when will be this promise?

They await only but a single ayah which will seize them while they are disputing!

All that they are waiting for is one ayah. They are arguing over anything that people
argue over: prices, politics, etc. The Day of Judgment will come to them completely by
surprise. The fact that Allh describes Yawml-Qiymah in such vivid detail shows us
that Allh controls it and it will happen exactly as this. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi
43

wa sallam) said, The Day of Judgment will come and two people will be arguing over a
priceThe Day of Judgment will come with such a sudden surprise that it is so quick it
is like the twinkling of an eye or even faster than that.

Then they will not be able to make bequest, nor they will return to their family.

This means that they will die where they are.

And the Trumpet will be blown and behold from the graves they will come out quickly to their
Lord.

Faidha usually means suddenly, therefore, immediately. They will be exiting towards
their Lord. They will be resurrected when the trumpet is blown and rushing towards
their Lord.

They will say: Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep. (It will be said to them):
This is what the Most Gracious had promised, and the Messengers spoke truth!

Marqad is the place you take a nap or rest. It is a place of rest and comfort. There is
supposed to be a stop (sakta). You stop your breath and continue with the same breath.
There are only four saktas in the Qurn according to af and Aim. You pause and
stop and dont breathe in or out and then move on. The reason you do this is because
you end a quote and being another quote.

Some have said the angels will respond. By context, it appears the believers will
respond. In the previous yah, the kufr and people of mn are being talked about.

Marqad means a place of rest. Yet, we know that in the graves the kufr will be
tormented. How can they call the graves a place of rest? There are two opinions:
1) The kufr will go to sleep between the two trumpets.
2) Even though the punishments of the grave are severe, compared to the terror of
Yawml-Qiymah, they will seem trivial. Therefore, it will seem like a resting
place and will be a marqad even though it was a place of adhb. This is the
stronger opinion and makes more sense.

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One interpretation: Woe to us because we have been resurrected. Another
interpretation: Who has done this to us?

It will be but a single ayah, so behold they will all be brought up before Us!

Notice that the first time around Allh says they are only waiting for the ayah in
verse 49. Now Allh says it is only one ayah and no waiting. When the first trumpet
is blown, people are conscious. When the second trumpet is blown, they are not
conscious.

There is a controversy on how many trumpets will be blown.
Some opinions say three trumpets will be blown. This is the position of Ibn Taymiyyah,
Ibn Kathr, al-Shawkni, al-Qi Iyyd. Their evidence: the Qurn and one adth. As
for the Qurn, the Qurn mentions a number of trumpets: There is the trumpet of
terror in Sratl-Naml v. 87. The second trumpet is the trumpet of falling down
unconscious in Sratl-Zumar v. 68. The trumpet will be blown and everyone in the
heavens and earth will fall unconscious. The third is the trumpet of standing up. This
is also in Sratl-Zumar v. 68. According to this opinion, the trumpet will be blown once
and everyone is terrified, and then the second time everyone will fall dead, and after
the third one they get up.

The other opinion is that of al-Qurtubi, al-Kushayri and others and has more solid
evidence. This opinion is that there are two trumpets. They say that the trumpet of
terrifying and killing is the same. The evidences for this are more explicit. In a
Muslim, the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, Between the two trumpet blows
are forty. Putting all of these together, Allh knows best, there will only be two
trumpets. Srah Ya Sn also suggests two trumpets.

Isrfl will blow the trumpet, and the trumpet is being held on his lips. This happened
during the lifetime of the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam). A adth: the first sign of
the Day of Judgment was the coming of the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam). The
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) one day appeared very worried. They said, Why
are you worried? He said, Why should I not be worried when Isrfl has put the
trumpet on his mouth and is looking at the Throne waiting for the command to come.

In another adth in al-Tirmidhi, the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, Isrfl
has raised his head and is listening carefully waiting for Allh to give the command.

In the Mustadrak of al-kim, it is mentioned that the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa
sallam) said, Isrfl has not blinked his eyes since he has been created, staring at the
45

Throne, and his eyes have become as white as pearls. He is not blinking them in order
to not miss the commandment of Allh.

This Day, none will be wronged in anything, nor will you be requited anything except that which
you used to do.

On this Day, no soul will be wronged in any manner
In Arabic, one way to indicate there are no exceptions is to negate. Negating is not the
same as affirming. When you negate something, this is nkhirah (without the alif-lm),
it is one of the ways of indicating no exceptions. For example: the kalmah.

Here, there are two nkhirahs, and both are negating and nothing is affirmed.
Therefore, this is a complete rule with no exceptions.

Shaya means anything and everything. It is the broadest nkhirah.

No soul shall be wronged in the slightest without any exceptions in the souls and
without any exceptions in the slightest. You will not get back anything except what
you yourselves used to do.

Allh (subnahu wa tala) is threatening the kufr and reassuring the believers.

Yawm here is for Yawml-Qiymah.


- The suddenness of Yawml-Qiymah.

- The fact that Allh describes the qiymah in so much detail is an indication that it is
true and Allh will cause it to occur.

- When the qiymah occurs, people will have their faculties and senses and will be
intelligent enough to ask questions and give responses.

- The fact that the believers are able to give a calm response and mention the name
of Al-Ramn shows that they will not be terrified the way the Quraysh and kufr
will be terrified. To give a response means your mind is working at a more calm
level.
- The terror of uncertainty is sometimes worse than the terror of physical pain. We
know this from our own uncertain situations. This is proven here that on Yawml-
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Qiymah the terror of adbl-qabr becomes marqad (a resting place) because the
terror of qiymah will overshadow the punishments of the grave.

- We can indirectly derive from this that those who know Yawml-Qiymah and believe
in the descriptions from Allh have nothing to fear on that Day. The believers are
saying, Because they believed in the promise of the Messengers and the promise of
Allh, they are calm. If you believe in these descriptions, you will not have to face
terror. If you rejected those descriptions, then you will be terrified. Anyone who is
certain of Yawml-Qiymah, which brings about mn and amal, have nothing to fear.
Those who reject and deny need to fear.

yahs yahs yahs yahs 55 55 55 55- -- -58: The Life of the People of Paradise 58: The Life of the People of Paradise 58: The Life of the People of Paradise 58: The Life of the People of Paradise

Verily, the dwellers of the Paradise, that Day, will be busy with joyful things.

This yawm is not Yawml-Qiymah. It is post-Day of Judgment. From this, we derive an
interesting benefit. We read an explicit description of the terror of the kufr and what
is going to happen to them. We did not read explicitly about the believers on the Day of
Judgment. They are glossed over. For the believers, the Yawm begins post-qiymah and
it is as if qiymah is a quick stop on the way to their destination.

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, For the believers, the qiymah will be like
between ar and maghrib. This is the shortest time of the day.

The believers were talked about now. Qiymah is a temporary place and not something
to be worried about. For some believers, it may be a little awkward, and for others,
there will be some punishment and terror which Allh will use to forgive them, but
when they get to their resting place, it will be a memory that is gone.

Ab means those who are companions. Jannah has become their companion. Shugul
means busy. Fkihn comes from fakhah, which is related to fkihah (generic fruits).
In classical Arabic, every fruit is fkihah. Fkihah is that which you enjoy to eat. Fakhah
is that which you enjoy in other ways, and it applies to conversations as well. Fakhah
has a connotation of merriment and enjoyment and conversation. To combine between
these is awkward in meaning. You are not busy in merriment. Busy has a
connotation of being tense and under stress. Allh says the people of Jannah will have
so many things to do of merriment and enjoyment and will be busy chilling out.

They and their wives will be in pleasant shade, reclining on thrones.

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They and their spouses will be in shades under shades on couches leaning back.

Allh (subnahu wa tala) says there will be merriment in Jannah. Zawj means both
husband and wife. People will be with their families in Jannah. A person loves to be
with those whom He loves. Pleasure that you achieve alone is minimal. You always
want to enjoy anything with those whom you love. Going on a vacation just by yourself
without knowing anyone at all in the place you are going to is quite boring.

This demonstrates for us that people in Jannah will be with those whom they love. The
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, The person will be with those whom he
loves. Allh explicitly says this in the Qurn in Sratl-Rad v. 23: They shall enter
Jannatu adn and live in it forever along with those who are good of their parents,
spouses, and children.

Allh says that as long as the family made it to Jannah, they will be in it together.

One of the biggest beauties of Jannah is that once you get into Jannah, which is by
Allhs Mercy and then your actions, you can instantaneously get a free upgrade if
someone higher up wants you there. It doesnt work when you are outside of Jannah.
Once you get in, everybody will get a free upgrade if they know someone up there. This
is the beauty of a person being with those whom they love.

This is why we should try our best to marry righteous spouses and raise good children
and be amongst the righteous. Suppose we get to Jannah but know someone who really
liked us who is way up there. Then you get a free upgrade. This shows for us that of
the greatest blessings of Jannah is companionship.

The pleasures of Jannah are mentioned as being the greatest pleasures of this world
because the only pleasures we know are the pleasures of this world. We only know
eating, drinking, romance, and intimacy. Jannah is mentioned as being full of these
pleasures and even more that we wont be able to understand. What is the purpose of
mentioning pleasures we dont understand? It wont be enticing.

This is why when non-Muslims ask why our Jannah is such a sensual Jannah, we say:
What else is enticing except the pleasures of this world, and Allh says, and they have
much more. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, In Jannah is that which the
eyes have never seen and the ears have never heard and the mind has never
conceived. We only know the pleasures of this dunya.

One of the connotations is conversation because that is what fkihn means:
pleasurable company and conversation. Of the pleasures of Jannah is good
conversation. We learn from aadth that people will reminisce of their days in the
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dunya. Isnt this how we reminisce and form such good bonds and memories? The
people of Jannah will have all the time to reminisce.

They will be fi illin which means in the sun. Sunny days are the days when you feel
energetic and active and want to do something. In the nights, you feel lethargic and
sleepy. Jannah will not have sleep because sleep is the brother of death and you have no
need of sleep there. You will lie down and recline. Reclining is the epitome of chilling.
You cannot recline ever except that you are in complete ease and comfort. If you have
the slightest worry, you cannot recline except that you have no problem at all. Allh is
saying that the people of Jannah will be reclining. The posture of reclining is the
posture of enjoyment.

Arik literally means couches. Muttakin means reclining on it.

They will have therein fruits and all that they ask for.

Notice here that in a very beautiful and clean way, we are told of sensuality and
romance. We are told of fkihah, which is physical pleasure. We are told of eating and
drinking and ambience and good companionship.

Look at how all of this is succinct in two verses. They will have food to eat and
anything they want. This is a beautiful way of saying anything they make du for
(anything they ask for). This is the beauty of Jannah.

A abi came to the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) and said, Ya Messenger of
Allh, I love to cultivate. Will I be able to cultivate in Jannah? The Prophet (allallhu
alayhi wa sallam) said, Yes, you will. Not a seed will you plant except right then and
there it will grow to be the best thing imaginable. Another abah commented, He
must be from the anr because the muhjirn hate cultivation.

Anything they want they will get in Jannah.

(It will be said to them): Salm (Peace!) a Word from the Lord, Most Merciful.

The wording here indicates that the salm seems to come as a surprise. It comes out of
nowhere. They are busy in enjoyment and the salm comes. Then it is explained that
the salm is a statement that came from an ever Forgiving and Merciful Lord.

The salm from Allh (subnahu wa tala) will be of the greatest blessings of Jannah
because it is mentioned the last on the list. After Allh says they will get everything
49

they want, then Allh mentions another blessing beyond what they could have ever
wanted. Salam is a phrase that will come to their from a Merciful and Loving and
Generous Lord.

It is as if they are being told that in addition to all that they want, they will
unexpectedly get a surprise of Allh speaking to them directly. The best blessings of
Jannah are hearing and seeing Allh (subnahu wa tala). There is no blessing higher
than this blessing.

The term salm is very comprehensive. It literally means to be free of any harm.
This is why when you see a Muslim, you say, May no harm ever come to you. Of the
Names of Allh is Al-Salm because Allh is free of any evil and Allh is the source of
protection and peace. Of the names of Jannah is drl-salm because it is the only place
there is no evil and no harm. Therefore, those who believed in Al-Salm, when they
enter drl-salm, Al-Salm will greet them with the greetings of salm, and after Al-
Salm has said salm, those he said salm to will never suffer any problem, thus making
it drl-salm.

When Allh says salm to any being, who can harm you? Therefore, when Allh says
salm to people in drl-salm, it is what makes it drl-salm.

We learn from this as well that the best blessing is hearing and seeing Allh. This is the
direct connection with Allh (subnahu wa tala).

Q&A:
Allh says, It destroyed everything (the wind that went to Ad). It clearly didnt
destroy the world or the mountains. Kullu has exceptions.

The talk returns to Yawml-Qiymah in yah 59. There is a shift. This shows us that
Yawml-Qiymah will be a very traumatic time for the people who rejected Allh. The
fact that the believers are glossed over shows that it wont be traumatic for those who
believe in Allh.

yahs yahs yahs yahs 59 59 59 59- -- -68 68 68 68: The : The : The : The Isolation of the Disb Isolation of the Disb Isolation of the Disb Isolation of the Disbelievers & Their Rebuke on the Day of elievers & Their Rebuke on the Day of elievers & Their Rebuke on the Day of elievers & Their Rebuke on the Day of
Judgment Judgment Judgment Judgment

(It will be said): And O you the criminals! Get you apart this Day.

Imtza means get away, get aside. Get away, you criminals. You will be separated.
Every single way of life will have their own group. This is one reference to that.

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Did I not command you, O Children of dam, that you should not worship Shayn
Verily, he is a plain enemy to you.

This yah clearly indicates that one of the primary meanings of worship is obedience.
The majority of people dont worship Shayn in the English sense of the word
worship. They obey Shayn; therefore, obedience is a primary indication of worship.

Notice that Allh is saying He already told us this. When did Allh tell us? SubnAllh,
when did He not tell us? Before dam entered Jannah, He told him. When dam
entered Jannah, He told him. When dam came to earth, He told him. Shayn is our
mortal enemy and before we were created Shayn threatened man. When dam was
created, Shayn refused to bow down. His animosity is so clear and he is an open
enemy.

And that you should worship Me. That is the straight path.

Allh told us to worship Him and this is the straight path. The straight path is
referenced again.

And indeed he did lead astray a great multitude of you. Did you not then understand

Afalam taklu: when will you ever pay heed?

This is Hell which you were promised!

Because you denied it, you are entering it.

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Burn (enter) therein this Day, for that you used to disbelieve.

Notice here that only those who denied Jahannam will enter it.

This Day, We shall seal up their mouths, and their hands will speak to Us, and their legs will bear
witness to what they used to earn.

For believers, al-yawm begins with Jannah. For the disbelievers, it begins with Yawml-
Qiymah.

Allh mentions many times in the Qurn that you will not be able to lie. Tongues that
used to lie will be sealed, and your own body will testify. Your hands will speak and
your feet will testify. Your hands will speak because they did most of the crimes, and
the feet only happened to be present / walking and will testify. It is with the hands
that most of the sins are done. On that day, their mouths will be sealed up. In Srah
Fuilat, people will say to their own skins: Why did you testify against us? Their
limbs and skins will respond, The One who makes everything talk made us talk as
well.

This is the height of justice. No one wants an external witness or anyone else to testify.
The rocks and stones could have been used to testify, but the height of perfection is
that you cannot reject your own testimony. Your own bodies will become a witness in
the court of Allh (subnahu wa tala). This is the perfection of Allhs infinite justice.
No external witness will be brought into the court of Allhs Law. How can you possibly
discredit yourself? There will be no injustice and you will testify against yourself.

And if it had been Our will, We would surely have wiped out their eyes, so that they would
struggle for the path, how then would they see?

If We were to wipe away their eyes, they would be blinded. They would try to search
for the path, but they cannot find it because they cannot see the path.

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This can be a metaphorical or literal meaning. The metaphorical meaning is irl-
mustaqm. Allh is saying, If We wanted to, We could blind them with the blindness of
the heart. Even if they wanted to find the ir, they wouldnt be able to find it because
they cannot see.

Or it could be a physical meaning and it refers to any path. They are physically blind
and cannot find any path.

And if it had been Our will, We could have transformed them in their places. Then they would
have been unable to go forward (move about) nor they could have turned back.

The purpose of yt 66-67 is to threaten the Quraysh with the ultimate power of Allh.
If Allh wanted to, He could get rid of all faculties and could transform them as they
stand where they are standing now. Masakhah means to transmutate and transform.
Allh has done this to previous nations. Allh said some nations were transformed to
apes and pigs. If that happened, they could not save themselves.

The point is to demonstrate Allhs full power over the Quraysh and threaten them.

And he whom We grant long life We reverse him in creation. Will they not then understand?

If these two threats will not move you and you want to move a long life, do you not
realize that even long life is its own punishment?

The older one gets, they lose their memory and they need to be taken care of just as
when they were born. Whoever is given a long life is turned around in reverse where
he began.

Allh mentions this in the Qurn: Some of you will be let to live to a very old age until
after knowing a lot he returns to a state of knowing nothing. Even those who dont
have Alzheimers forget everything and become irritable and dont recognize people.
Allh says that if you are not threatened by immediate punishment and are greedy for
life, what will life give you?

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) made du to Allh: O Allh, I seek refuge in
You from being allowed to live until Im decrepit, old and senile. We dont want to live
53

to that age when we become decrepit, old and senile. When we are healthy, we make
du that we dont live to that age where we become reliant on other people.

Even if the punishment isnt immediate, how long will you stay here? Eventually you
will be completely in Allhs control and power. Everything comes back to Allh.

yahs yahs yahs yahs 69 69 69 69- -- -76 76 76 76: : : : Status of the Messenger of Status of the Messenger of Status of the Messenger of Status of the Messenger of All All All Allh h h h

Another motif begins, which is the status of the Messenger of Allh. In the previous
yt, Allh mentions the fundamentals of tawd and khirah and the fundamental of
rislah is left. These are the three fundamentals of aqdah.

And We have not taught him poetry, nor is it suitable for him. This is only a Reminder and a plain
Qurn.

The Quraysh called it poetry, and this is the only thing they could say. They said this is
amazing poetry, and Allh challenges them in the Qurn multiple times. In one verse
Allh says: I lived a lifetime amongst you and didnt have poetic talents or writing and
yet all of a sudden this comes. Where does it come from? What is the explanation for
it?

To this day in Western academia, this is one of the hottest topics of non-Muslims who
study Islam. The image they have of the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is a
superhuman academic. There wasnt a single library in all of Arabia and his society had
never heard of the stories of Msa, Ysuf, Khidr. The Arabs had nothing to do with the
stories of Jews and Christians, yet the Makkan srahs are full of these stories before the
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) came into contact with any Jewish rabbi or
Christian monk. As for the non-Muslims, the Arabic style is not that powerful because
they are not Arabs. Even Arabs who are not Muslims consider the Qurn to be the
pinnacle of evidence.

He (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) was not known for poetry or writing, so where does it
come from? Who taught him? Nobody. It is not poetry, and he is not a poet. It is not
befitting for him to know poetry.

Some poetry that has a good cause is positive and excellent, but too much poetry
becomes makrh and when poetry prevents you from ibdt or being a good Muslim or
the content is vulgar, then it becomes arm.

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That he or it may give warning to him who is living, and that Word may be justified against the
disbelievers.

The purpose of the Qurn is to warn the living: the one whose soul and heart is alive
and has spiritual life the Qurn will be useful for him. For the person whose heart is
dead, the Qurn will not be useful unless Allh brings his heart back to life.

Do they not see that We have created for them of what Our Hands have fashioned, the cattle, so
that they are their owners.

This shows us that Allh has created animals for us. This is a refutation for those who
say that it is inhumane to eat animals and that we shouldnt eat animals because it is
disgusting.

Allh explicitly says that He created animals for us.

When the angels are brought in, then they are in charge of nature. When the angels
are brought in, we say that the angels are also doing it. For example, they take charge
of the mountains, rain, and oceans.

We cannot use this verse to say animals were fashioned by Allh because the angels are
in charge of everything, but when it comes to humans, Allh ascribes the fashioning of
humans to Himself in the singular and describes His two hands as fashioning dam.

And We have subdued them unto them so that some of them they have for riding and some they
eat.

And We have made these animals meek for them.

Horses are much more powerful than humans and can easily kill a human. Cows can
kill humans if they wanted to by their sheer force and size, but Allh says, We made
these animals docile for them.

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And they have (other) benefits from them, and (they get to) drink. Will they not then be grateful?

They have many benefits: fur, honey, milk, etc.

Why dont they thank Allh (subnahu wa tala)?

And they have taken besides Allh, gods, hoping that they might be helped.

Instead of thanking Allh, they turn to others beside Allh and worship others beside
Allh, hoping that these gods will help them, but the exact opposite is true.

They cannot help them, but they will be brought forward as a troop (against those who
worshipped them).

This is a very powerful verse illustrating the weakness of the idols. The idols can never
help them.

Wa hum lahum has different interpretations.
- One of the interpretations of this is: you become armies fighting for your idols.
In other words: you become defenders of your own gods, so how do you expect
them to help you? They are fighting over their gods because other tribes
insulted their gods.
- Another interpretation: The idols and people who worship them will become
adversaries on the Day of Judgment. As sa himself says: O Allh, I didnt tell
them to worship me!
Both of these are totally different and yet complementary.

So, let not their speech then grieve you. Verily, We know what they conceal and what they reveal.

They are so foolish to worship these gods, how can you be grieved at their speech? To
be grieved at their speech is human nature. When any one of us is criticized, we feel
grieved. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is told to not be worried. Allh knows
what they say in private and public. Allh knows they know they are lying, and they
know they know they are lying.
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The issue of poetry and the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam):

Allh says that he (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) doesnt have poetry. Yet, we have
authentic aadth in Bukhri and Muslim that the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam)
versified lines of poetry. When they were building the trench, the Prophet (allallhu
alayhi wa sallam) was saying poetry along with the people. In another adth, he
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, The most authentic line of poetry is that of Labd:
everything besides Allh is vain / useless.

How do we understand this in light of the verse?
He (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) did not initiate those lines. He (allallhu alayhi wa
sallam) did not write those lines but is merely repeating them. He is not a poet when he
simply says poetry. Allh denies him being a poet. As for quoting poetry, it does not
make you a poet.

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is not a poet and never once composed a line of
poetry.

- The srah begins and ends by affirming the prophethood of the Prophet (allallhu
alayhi wa sallam).
- The miracle of the Qurn. The Qurn is the ultimate miracle.

- Nature around us is Allhs gift to us. Even if we believe in evolution, we will
believe in guided evolution, which is that Allh (subnahu wa tala) guided
evolution in this manner. Allh (subnahu wa tala) created animals in this form
for us.

- Of what we can affirm from this is the fact that many who reject the Prophet
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) reject him publicly while affirming him privately.

- When someone is in distress and troubled, we should console them and calm them
down and be sympathetic to them. Allh (subnahu wa tala) consoled the Prophet
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam). He told him (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) not to worry. If
Allh is consoling our Rasl (allallhu alayhi wa sallam), then every one of us needs
to be consoled at times of distress. We are in far more need of consolation. It
soothes the soul.

Q&A:
The aadth that are eloquent are not poetry for many reasons. They never go beyond a
line or two. Also, Arabic poetry occurs in specific meters. Arabic poetry was composed
of certain meters called bars.

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Any time Allh mentions a plural in the Qurn, Ibn Taymiyyah says it indicates a real
plurality and not just the royal We. It means Allh and the angels. This is why in the
Qurn Allh says, We have revealed the Qurn / We sent rain down but He says,
Worship Me.

yahs yahs yahs yahs 77 77 77 77- -- -83 83 83 83: The : The : The : The Denial of Life after Death, and the Refutation of This Idea Denial of Life after Death, and the Refutation of This Idea Denial of Life after Death, and the Refutation of This Idea Denial of Life after Death, and the Refutation of This Idea

Does not man see that We have created him from nufah. Yet behold he (stands forth) as an open
opponent.

Yet lo and behold, here he is arguing openly.

The reference in these yt is to al-. b. Wail. This is why these yt were revealed.
Al- waved a bone in front of the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) and said, Ya
Muammad, do you think Allh will cause this bone to come back to life after it has
decayed?

From verse 77 to the end of the srah, it is about the arrogance of al-. b. Wail. Allh
revealed, Doesnt al-. b. Wail and those who argue see that We created them from a
despised fluid and yet they are still arguing in front of Us? Does he not see the miracle
of life as he himself lives it? So why can Allh not bring the dead back to life when He
extracted life from the dead.

The reference is to the arrogance of al-. b. Wail. Allh is asking how they can forget
their own origin and have the audacity to challenge Him. There is clearly a reference
to the arrogance displayed from someone who forgets where he himself came from. It
is arrogant to ignore Allhs Power and the fact that we are created from a drop. No
one wants to think about where we came from. Allh says, When you have this origin,
what gives you the right to be arrogant in front of Me? There is an indication of a
person not being worthy of arrogance because of his lowly origin.

And he puts forth for Us a parable, and forgets his own creation. He says: Who will give life to
these bones after they are rotten and have become dust
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He brings forth this parable all the while forgetting where he himself came from. The
creation of the heavens and earth is a bigger feat than the creation of man. The
miracles of the world are bigger than the creation of man.

Say: He will give life to them Who created them for the first time! And He is the All-Knower of
every creation!

Allh says, Allh has created the creation, and He will create it all over again, and it
will be easier for Him. When Allh says it will be easier for Him, Ibn Abbs comments,
Nothing is difficult for Allh such that it would be easier, but if it were difficult, then it
would be easier the second time.

He Who produces for you fire out of the green tree, when behold you kindle therewith.

Allh calls the trees green. There is a reference here to the power even of colors.
There is an indication of the beauty of colors. The dark blue water feeds trees, which
come out green, and green trees give red fire. Allh is saying He is the One who has
created from the green trees fire. Where could fire come from unless Allh created it?

Is not He Who created the heavens and the earth, able to create the like of them? Yes, indeed! He
is the All-Knowing Supreme Creator.

Al-Khallq is the One who is creating and recreating and recreating. Allh is Al-Alm.
You cannot create without knowledge. The one who is an architect and designer needs
to have a knowledge of what he is building. The One who sustains life is fully Al-Alm.

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How can you deny the resurrection when there are so many powerful signs around you
indicating the power of Allh? Isnt the One who created the heavens and the earth
able to create something similar to them?

Verily, His command, when He intends a thing, is only that He says to it, Be! and it is!

Innama is exclusivity. It means all He needs to do. No other creation and no other
false deity and no other object has the power to will and it is. That is the ultimate
Creator.

So glorified be He and exalted (above all that they associate with Him), and in Whose Hand is the
dominion of all things, and to Him you shall be returned.

Subna The connotation is that you have denied that Allh has this power.
Subna is used when you are negating from Allh a negative. You are negating from
Allh something that is derogatory. When you deny Allh has the power to bring back
the dead, Allh is exalted from this creation.

Even if you deny the resurrection, you cannot deny that you will go back to Allh. No
one can deny the return to Allh. Think about the reality and your end when you will
return back to Allh.

- How arrogant is man to deny the power of Allh (subnahu wa tala) when he
himself is a living testimony to that power. It is the height of arrogance to deny
Allhs Qudrah while ignoring your own possibilities and capabilities and life and
power. These verses apply to atheists. How dare they deny the existence of Allh
when their own existence is a proof of His existence? This leads us to the issue of
the proofs for the existence of God.

Ibn Taymiyyah said to Ibn al-Qayyim, How do you expect me to go about finding
proofs for the existence of Allh when everything around me is a proof of His
existence?

Allh is saying we are a sign of Allhs Power and His existence. In Islam, we dont
waste our time with those who deny Allhs existence because it is sheer existence.

- Allh indicates that man comes from a drop of despised fluid and is now challenging
the existence of Allh (subnahu wa tala). A nobleman came and passed by and
everyone would stand up and respect him. The scholars did not do anything in
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front of him. The man became irritated and said, Dont you know who I am? He
said, Yes, I know who you are. You are the one who has come from a drop of
despised fluid and you are now carrying around your defecation inside of you and
you will become a body which no one wants to touch and worms will eat.

Kibr is one of the sins Allh says He will not forgive. Humbleness and humility is a
sign of mn and a part of faith. Anyone who thinks they are better is indicating
they dont understand who they are and who Allh is.

- Allh is telling us there are so many signs around us indicating Allhs Power.
There are so many signs around us, so what is so strange about believing in life after
death? Each proves Allh is capable of resurrecting the dead. The creations of the
heavens and earth is a bigger miracle than the creation of man.

- Allh (subnahu wa tala) does not need to do anything to get His goal done. He
simply needs to intend it, to will it. There is no entity in existence that has that
power other than Allh (subnahu wa tala). Of the benefits of these series of
verses: Surely a God that is that powerful and majestic is deserving of ultimate
gratitude and praise. We glorify Him because of that power. He is worthy of being
worshipped because of who He is.

The number one reason we worship Allh is because of who He is. The second reason is
because He created us. Even if there were no creation, He would still be worthy of
worship because of who He is. Listen to the lecture online: The Journey of Worship
Primary Lessons of Primary Lessons of Primary Lessons of Primary Lessons of S SS Srah rah rah rah Ya Ya Ya Ya S SS Sn n n n

- Of the primary motifs of Srah Ya Sn is to establish the prophethood of our Prophet
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam). This is done at the beginning, throughout, and the end
of the srah.

- There are people who will not accept Islam no matter what you do. Therefore, if
that is the case, then move on to those who have more hope of responding. If you
find people who are so stubborn and obstinate, then move on to others you sense
genuine sincerity in. You will not change everybody.

- The recording of our deeds. Allh writes down all that we are doing and our
footsteps. This is mentioned a number of times in this srah.

- The story of the people of Antioch. It was relevant to the people of Makkah. Allh
mentioned certain facts and did not mention other facts, which shows us the
wisdom of using stories in the proper context.

- Dont criticize your people as you give dawah to them. It is foolish to launch a
frontal assault on them. We see this in the story of the man preaching to the
people.
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- The numerous rational and textual evidences for the resurrection. This is the
primary motif in this srah. Allh can bring the dead back to life.

- There are so many different signs about the Power of Allh and the Majesty of Allh
and Qudrah of Allh. Allh reminds us we are created from sperm. Allh reminds us
of the creation of the heavens and earth.

- Jannah and Jahannam are mentioned. The punishments of Jahannam are not directly
mentioned, but the punishments of Yawml-Qiymah are mentioned.

- Allh emphasizes so many blessings He has given us.

- Mans own creation and the creation of the world around him is the biggest sign of
the existence of Allh and the truth of Yawml-Qiymah. This is an indication that
Allh can recreate him again and resurrect the dead.

- This is the primary message of the entire Qurn: only Allh (subnahu wa tala) is
worthy of being worshipped.

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S SS Sratl ratl ratl ratl- -- -Ra Ra Ra Ra m mm mn n n n

B BB Blessings of lessings of lessings of lessings of S SS Sratl ratl ratl ratl- -- -Ra Ra Ra Ra m mm mn n n n

- It is part of the mufaal. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, I have been
preferred over all of the prophets with the mufaal.

- In the muaf of Ibn Masd, Ibn Masd had Sratl-Ramn as the beginning of the
mufaal. His arrangement of srahs was different from that of Uthmn. Ibn
Masds arrangement was unique to him. Srah arrangement is not from the
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam), according to one opinion. In our muaf, the
mufaal begins with Srah Qf.

- It is narrated in Sunan al-Tirmidhi that once the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam)
recited Sratl-Ramn in front of the abah. The fact that he recited the entire
srah outside of alh is a very big blessing because most srahs he did not recite
fully to the abah outside of alh.

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said to the abah, I recited this srah to
the jinn on laylatl-jinn and they responded better than your response. The abah
said, What did they respond, O Messenger of Allh? He (allallhu alayhi wa
sallam) said, Every time I said, Fabiayy li rabbikuma tukadhdhibn, they
responded, Not with any of Your blessings will we attempt to deny, O our Lord, for
all praise is due to You.

From this, we extract that of the blessings of Sratl-Ramn is that the Prophet
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) decided to recite this srah to the jinn on laylatl-jinn.
Laylatl-jinn was a night in Makkah when the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam)
disappeared from their midst. The abah searched the entire city and they could
not find him. They became terrified something happened to him. He (allallhu
alayhi wa sallam) said, One of the jinns came to me and asked me to come to their
camp. I went to them to preach Islam and spent the night with them. Ibn Masd
said he even showed them the remnants of their camp and the fire they had built
the next morning.

This was laylatl-jinn. Some scholars said it occurred more than once. Laylatl-jinn
was when the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) taught the jinn, and the abah of
the jinn studied with him. The jinn of the abah taught Islam to the rest of the
jinn. Our Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) must have taught them the fiqh that
they need to know. We know bits of that fiqh because some overlaps with ours. For
example, we are not supposed to cleanse ourselves with bones because the Prophet
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) told us that any meat that has been slaughtered with
bismillh will have meat for the Muslims of the jinn, so we are not supposed to
make it filthy.

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The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) recited Sratl-Ramn to them. This shows
us that out of the entire Qurn, he chose to recite this, which is a blessing.

- The books of srah mention (it is not in books of adth and its authenticity is not
known) that one of the abah said to another abah: The Quraysh have not yet
heard the Qurn, so who will recite it publicly to them for the first time? Ibn
Masd said he wanted to, but the abah said he could not because he was not
from the Quraysh and they were worried he would be harmed. Ibn Masd insisted
on having the honor of reciting the Qurn for the first time in public. They gave
him that honor. He went in front of the Kabah and recited Sratl-Ramn.

Ibn Masd was the first to ever recite the Qurn in public in front of the public,
and he chose to recite Sratl-Ramn. This shows that Sratl-Ramn was revealed
in the early Makkan revelations.

This shows us that Sratl-Ramn is of the earliest revelations because they hadnt
heard Qurn recited in public before.

There is no explicit adth on Sratl-Ramn.

Reason for Revelation Reason for Revelation Reason for Revelation Reason for Revelation

There doesnt appear to be any sababl-nuzl. Some have said that it was revealed
because the Quraysh questioned who is Al-Ramn. They denied Al-Ramn.

The majority of scholars say it is an early Makkan revelation.

Names of Names of Names of Names of S SS Sratl ratl ratl ratl- -- -Ra Ra Ra Ra m mm mn n n n

Of the names given is arsl-Qurn. Many people understand this to mean bride, but
ars means the most well decorated. It means the most beautiful of the Qurn.
Some of the scholars of the salaf called Al-Ramn the most decorated part of the
Qurn.

The entire srah deals with the Name of Allh Al-Ramn and is a direct explanation of
the Name of Allh Al-Ramn. Every single yah goes back directly to Al-Ramn and
explains who is Al-Ramn and why He is Al-Ramn.

The repetitive verse Fabiayy li rabbikuma tukadhdhibn makes sense in this srah. It
is as if Allh is saying, My ramah is something you use every single day and every
single instance, yet you still end up denying Me. Only Al-Ramn gives l. This
repetitive verse fits in perfectly with the theme of Al-Ramn.

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Uniqueness of This Uniqueness of This Uniqueness of This Uniqueness of This S SS Srah rah rah rah

This srah is unique in two ways:

1. The repetitiveness of the yah. No other srah comes close to this repetitiveness.
The yah is repeated 31 times.

2. It begins directly with a Name of Allh, and this Name of Allh is the first yah, and
it is a complete yah. No other srah has just the Name of Allh as the first yah,
which is a great blessing.
Tafs Tafs Tafs Tafsr r r r

Al-Ramn!

Al-Ramn is one of the most powerful and common Names. It occurs 60 times in the
Qurn. Al-Ramn is unique in that it is pretty much the only Name other than lafl-
jallah that is used to indicate Allh (subnahu wa tala) directly without any other
Name attached to it. In other words, Allh and Al-Ramn are the only two Names
which occupy such a position that they are used independently frequently more than
other Names.

Allh says, Call upon Allh or call upon Al-Ramn. Whichever Name you use, all
Names belong to Him. Allh (subnahu wa tala) uses Al-Ramn independently for
Himself frequently. Srah Ya Sn uses the Name Al-Ramn more than lafl-jallah.

Every single verse that talks about Allh creating the heavens and earth and then rising
on the Throne always uses Al-Ramn. Most of the time when the Day of Judgment is
mentioned, Al-Ramn is mentioned in it.

In Srah Maryam: All that is in the heavens and the earth will come in front of Al-
Ramn.

Question: Can we say some Names are more powerful than others?
Answer: Yes, we can. Some Names are more powerful than others. All Names of Allh
are the most powerful.

The Quraysh denied the Name Al-Ramn and said they had never heard of it and did
not believe in it. In one opinion, it is said that Allh revealed this srah because of this.

There is an opinion that urfl-muqaat represent Allhs Names. Sad b. al-Jubayr, a
student of Ibn Abbs, held this opinion and said Al-Ramn is a combination of alif-lm-
ra and ha-mm and nn. This is not a position held by many scholars.

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He has taught the Qurn.

He created man.

He taught him al-bayn.

Notice here the beautiful order. The Qurn is mentioned first and then man and then
speech. From this, we get our priorities in order. The Qurn is far more important
than the creation of man. Religious guidance is more important than physical
existence. Even before we were created, the purpose of our creation has already been
laid out. Our existence was not an existence until after the reason for our existence
already existed. Before we came into being, how we are supposed to live and why we
are supposed to live was already there.

Allh guiding us through the Qurn is more important than our own existence. Allh
says, Did man think he would live without any guidance?

Another interesting point from these yt: look at the verbs used. He taught the
Qurn. He created man. From this, Imam Amad and many classical scholars used
this to prove a theological point: the Qurn is not created. The Qurn is from Allhs
Ilm, and Allhs knowledge is not created. Allhs Kalm, according to ahll-sunnah wal-
jamah, is uncreated. The progressives who want to change the Qurn say that they
follow the Mutazali position that the Qurn is created so that they dont have to stick
to the letter of the law and can go with the spirit of the law. If the Qurn was created,
it would not be divine and it would not be perfect, and if it is imperfect, then they could
pick and choose from it.

The Qurn is not created. Imam Amad used this srah as an evidence. The Qurn has
been taught and man has been created. The fact that Qurn has been taught shows
that it is from Ilm, which is not created.

Benefits:

- It is not mentioned who Allh taught the Qurn to because the Qurn is for all of
mankind and is not restricted. Everyone has access to the Qurn because Allh
taught it. Anyone who wants guidance can find it from the Qurn.

- Allh taught man bayn (speech). Speech is something that separates us from all
other animals and creation. No doubt, animals communicate with one another and
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do speak at some rudimentary level. We know this from the Qurn and from
science. The Qurn told us that ants are communicating to one another. Modern
science has managed to record conversations (i.e. humpback whales). Animals only
have basic communication, whereas man has risen to the level of poetry, arts,
history, analysis and a much higher level of communication than any other
creature. We are the only creation we know of in the physical world with this
notion of speaking. Language is the number one thing that separates humans from
other creation. Scientists and anthropologists dont understand how it came about.
Monkeys and apes all have vocal chords, but they dont have speech.

We believe that speech came down directly from Allh. Allh taught Adam how to
speak, and all languages go back to Adam.

Our biggest blessing is qawl and that we have rational faculties higher than any
other animal. Why didnt Allh say he blessed us with aql? Response: You cannot
have bayn without aql. It is a necessary precondition of bayn. You cannot write
without having analysis and a level of intellect. By concentrating on bayn, aql is
already included. You have to have ilm and aql in order to get to bayn.

- The Qurn and bayn are complementary in that bayn is eloquent speech. It is not
just any speech. The Qurn is the most eloquent speech and the meaning of Qurn
is that which is recited. It is as if Allh is saying, I only taught you bayn in order
to understand and recite the Qurn. Qurn means that which is recited. The fact
that Qurn and bayn are mentioned is an indication that one of the primary
purposes of bayn is to recite and understand the Qurn. Qatdah, the student of
Ibn Abbs said, Allh taught him bayn to make clear to him arm and all.

- The tone of the srah is being set from the very beginning: only Allh is one and
unique. Everything else is in pairs. The whole srah is speaking in duals except for
the first verse. Allh is One, and everything else is not. Allh is Unique, and
everything else is not unique. The duality is emphasized from the very beginning.

The sun and the moon (run) on fixed courses.

usbn means perfect harmony. The sun and moon have complete courses that have
been pre-calculated. The sun and moon are in perfect harmony. What is really
amazing is that we dont time those objects, but those objects are what give us our time,
which is mind-boggling. Our time is extracted from those objects.

Allh mentions the shams and qamar because our lunar and solar calendars come from
these celestial objects.

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And the najm and the trees prostrating.

The najm are the stars. The shajar are the trees. The word najm has two meanings to
it.
1) Stars.
If this is the case, then there is a good parallel given. Even the stars and the
trees are prostrating.

2) The vines that crawl on the ground.
Even the shrubs on the ground and the tall trees are prostrating.

In both cases there is a contrast from the high to low and low to high. Both are valid.
Prostration is something all creatures and living objects and inanimate objects do.
Allh says even the shade prostrates to Allh (subnahu wa tala), and we dont have
any problem believing in this. There is nothing that exists except that it sings its
praises but you do not understand it.Uud loves Allh and Allh loves it. There are
many aadth mentioning to us that even inanimate objects have feelings which are
beyond our consciousness (i.e. the rocks, the tree trunk).

And the heaven He has raised high, and He has set up the balance.

Rafaa and waa are opposites. The mzn is usually translated as scale. It does apply
to the scales used in the old days, but the real meaning of mzn is justice, to be fair, to
be just. The scales are an indication of justice. The meaning of the verse is: Allh has
made everything to be just and to act with justice.

The sam literally means all that is above us. Therefore, al-sam means everything in
the heavens and not just the blue skies but also the celestial objects beyond them.

Allh is saying He is the one who has raised up everything in the heavens and has
established the scales of justice.

In order that you may not transgress the balance.

Do not go to extremes in the mzn. Do not diminish that justice. Allh mentions
justice and mzn. Some abah said the meaning of mzn here is the Qurn itself
because that is the ultimate mzn and ultimate criteria between good and evil.

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And observe the weight with equity and do not make the balance deficient.

Allh is saying, I have created everything in perfect justice so that you as well can
operate with one another in perfect justice and harmony.

And the earth He has put down (laid) for al-anm.

Allh has created the creation and subjugated portions of it to mankind. Here Allh is
saying He made this world for the creation. Anm means primarily men and jinn. Some
have said it only means men and not the jinn, but in this srah, pretty much all blessings
are for men and jinn.

Therein are fruits, and date palms producing akmm.

Every one of these yahs link back directly to Al-Ramn. The whole srah is a tafsr of
Allhs Name Al-Ramn. Of the signs of Allhs Mercy is that he created the creation
and put in all types of fruits. Nakhl is date palms. Dates are a type of fkihah but are
referenced specifically because for the Arabs of the time, dates were the most prized
fruits.

Akmm is the plural of kim, which is a covering. The date palm is that which shelters
and covers and gives shade.

The nakhl is one of the most common fruits mentioned. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi
wa sallam) praised nakhl in many aadth. What did the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa
sallam) say about the nakhl? The nakhl represents Islam or Muslims.

And also corn, with (its) af, and rayn.

The seeds are the ones that give af and rayn. Scholars have differed over what are
af and rayn, but these differences are minimal. Af is one part of the tree and rayn
is another part of the tree. Af is the stem or trunk, and the rayn is the flowers and
vegetation. The seeds give the stalk / trunk and the flowers and the fruits.

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Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny?

The letter fa is a fa of response. It translates as therefore or in light of what has
preceded.

Therefore, which one

l comes from ilyun, which means a blessing or a favor. It is something given as a
favor or a blessing. You dont deserve it and you dont earn it. The Prophet (allallhu
alayhi wa sallam) used it in a adth and said, Think about the blessings of Allh, and
dont think about Allh. [abarni].

The word l also occurs in the Qurn in Sratl-Arf v. 69. Allh says, The Prophet
Hd tells his people: Think of the l of Allh if you want to be successful. This yah
is unique to Sratl-Ramn. There is no other like it in the Qurn. The end of Sratl-
Najm has an yah that is similar to it.

Which of the blessings of your Lord will you argue about? [Al-Najm, 55]

Which of the blessings of the Lord of both of you will the both of you deny?
What is this duality?
- The predominant position, and the one that is clearly proven by the context of
the srah and the fact that the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) recited it to
the jinn, is that it is men and jinn. The other opinion is that the duality refers to
Muslims/non-Muslims or men/women.
- Of the opinions is that the reference is to the singular in a form that is meant to
emphasize the one person. One of the devices of classical Arabic is to speak to
the person in the dual in order to emphasize what you are saying. In Srah Qf,
the dual is used: The both of you throw into Jahannam. This is used as
emphasis to the singular.
- One position holds that the duality is not actually a duality but an emphasis.
This is allowed in Arabic.

All of these are legitimate opinions, but when you look at the context, the only opinion
that makes the most sense is the duality is jinn and ins. Allh knows best.

Kadhdhaba means to reject, to consider something false. In this case, it can have
three meanings. There are three types of tukadhdhibn.
1) The worst type: To deny that Allh has given you that blessing. Atheists do this.
Ibls and Qrn are guilty of this.
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2) The kufr of shirk. This is to acknowledge that Allh has given you this blessing,
but instead, you worship someone else besides Allh. This is the type of
tukadhdhibn that the Quraysh were guilty of.
3) Kufr of nimah. This is a type that Muslims can fall into. It is minor kufr. It is to
be ungrateful to the One who gave you that gift. Many of us fall into this type of
tukadhdhibn. You havent acknowledged the gift and thanked Him the way He
deserves to be thanked.

This verse is repeated 31 times. The purpose of this repetition is to emphasize each of
these blessings one after the other.

Siddiq Hasan Khan, the famous Indian scholar, wrote a tafsr of the Qurn in which he
mentions that this verse occurs 31 times. He died 110 years ago. He said, If you look at
these 31 times, the first 8 are following Allhs blessings in this world. Then comes 7
that come after threats of Allhs punishment, which is because Jahannam has 7 doors.
Then come 8 as a description of the highest levels of Jannah, for Jannah has 8 doors.
Then come another 8 describing the lower levels of Jannah. Whoever acknowledges the
first 8 will be saved from the next 7 and entered through all of the second 8 to get to
the final 8 as well.

He created man from clay like [that of] pottery.

This clearly shows that the previous yah is a reference to jinn and man because this
yah and the next about jinn and man. Allh mentions the creation of man before the
creation of jinn even though jinn were created before men. (Allh tells us that jinn were
created before men). Why? Men have been preferred over jinn.

There is an emphasis here to show how the jinn and men were created. Here He says
that He created man from all, which is a dry clay used by potters when they make
their pottery. It reverberates when knocked on.

Allh (subnahu wa tala) has told us that He created men, and He uses many different
nouns as the source.
- Water: Allh says, I have created man from water. He says, He is the One
who has created from water, man.
- Turb: dried sand.
- Earth (ar): He is the One who has created you from earth.
- n: clay. Clay is sticky and Allh says, He is the One who has created you from
nl-lzib.
- all: potters clay. It is clay that becomes dry, and when it is knocked upon, it
reverberates. Fakhkhr means the clay that the potters use.
- amin masnn: dark and hardened clay from the oven.

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How do we put all of these nouns together? Allh talks about how He created us from
water and sand, which are the two base mixtures. From water and sand you get teen.
Ar is one version of n. Earth is moist and has water in it. nl-lzib is sticky n. We
became all and then amin masnn. There is a spectrum of stages of creation, and
Allh references the stages in creation.

And He created the jinn from a smokeless flame of fire.

Mrij is a mixture of fire. Allh is saying, We have created jinn from different types of
fire. The classical scholars would say this means red, white, orange, and blue fire. In
Shaykh Yasirs opinion: Jinns are a type of energy and nr is a reference to energy and
not necessarily fire, which is indicated by Allh saying smokeless fire. We know jinns
are a type of energy because in our modern world, we can have some types of
detections at times of these entities.

What is the original shape of the jinn? This is from our own paradigm and world view
that everything has a shape.


The purpose of repetition is to emphasize and set the unique tone of the srah. This
yah acts like a marker and repetitive reminder throughout the entire srah. Al-usayn
b. Fal said, By repeating the verse, heedlessness (ghaflah) is removed and the
evidence is established.

(He is) the Lord of the two easts and the Lord of the two wests.

The duality itself is made dual. Two easts and two wests. Why two? Throughout the
year and every single day the sun rises and sets on a slightly different degree. There
are only two days of the year when it is dead center, which is the equinox. The times of
fajr and maghrib change throughout the year because of this. This knowledge was not
known to the Arabs, but it was known to ancient civilizations.

Every single day there is a different east and west. The two easts is the spectrum it goes
in between, and the two wests is the spectrum it goes in between. Allh is referencing
the rising and setting of the sun on slightly different axes.

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Another opinion: It is simply saying the four points of the compass and includes north
and south. This is allowed in Arabic to indicate the duality in this manner.

Another opinion: This is a reference to the east and the west of the sun and the east
and the west of the moon.

Some have said that this is an indication of the differences in seasons and timings in
alh. The reason we have different seasons and timings is because of the two easts and
two wests.


He has maraja the two seas.

Between them is a barrier which none of them can transgress.

After mentioning the east and the west, the human mind typically stops at the land.
The word maraja could be to mix or to extend forth / allow to forth. Allh is saying that
water is not stagnant, and water flows and runs. The waters of the world are all
interconnected. Of His Mercy, Allh is talking about the flow of water and the water
cycle.

To this day, we have no explanation for the cycles of water. We dont know why
streams and rivers flow in from everywhere and meet together.

Some have said two oceans is a reference to the fresh and salty waters. The reference
to this phenomenon of a barzakh they dont pass is a rare phenomenon. It is the
hallocline phenomenon. A number of conditions need to be met, including the salinity
of the water, the temperature of the salt and fresh waters need to be in a certain range,
the pressures. In a few places in the world, when these two waters mix together, we
find a type of shimmering barrier that can be seen by people on a ship and by scuba
divers. If this is the interpretation, then it doesnt mean the waters dont mix, but
there is an illusion of that barrier. Allh is saying there seems to be a wall the water is
not crossing over. It is not a physical wall but you can go through it.

Another opinion is that the barayn are two specific waters: the Persian waters and the
Gulf of the Red Sea; therefore, the barzakh is the Arabian Peninsula.

Another interpretation: this is a reference to the land and the sea. If Allh had willed,
there would be no barrier, and the oceans would have swallowed us all up.

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Out of them both come out pearls and al-marjn.

From the both of these waters, He extracts pearls and al-marjn.

In the qirah of Nafi it is yukhraju (he extracts). Yakhruju means Allh extracts.
Both meanings are correct.

Al-lulu are pearls from oysters, and al-marjn is coral. Many civilizations of the past
would use corals for necklaces and other things of beauty.

If someone were to say, Why does Allh mention two things which are vanities /
decorations and not the most beneficial from the ocean? Response: By mentioning
that which is the least useful and yet also by knowing that these items are so useless
but prized, Allh is saying you get things that are not important but you use it for other
things.


And His are al-jawrl-munshat, (meaning the ships that float in the seas), like alm.

Jawri is the plural of jriyah, which means a young girl. A young girl is called this
because young boys and girls are always running around and cant sit down in one
place. It signifies the motion of ships.

Al-munshat means constructed. These ships are not natural. They didnt just come
there, but you had to make them. Allh is hinting at the fact that He allowed
knowledge of creating the ships, which is also mentioned in Ya Sn as well.

Al-alm means mountains. Allh calls ships mountains for two reasons:
1) Indicating their size and eight. Ships can carry things heavier than an entire
town / village.
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2) The water in the ocean is completely flat, and any ship sticks out like a
mountain. They can be seen from afar and can be pinpointed like any
mountain.


Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish.

All who are on earth shall perish.

Some of the blessings of Allh (skies, lands, etc.) have been mentioned. Now Allh
reminds people of the temporality of these blessings. The topic now changes to the
next life. The shift occurs by talking about how all of these pleasures are temporary.

Fn literally means to be extinguished / to perish. It is more powerful than dying.
From this we get the term fana as well. Allh is talking about the complete annihilation
of any living person. Nothing will be left.

And the Face of your Lord dhul-jall wal-ikrm will remain forever.

The one thing that shall remain is the Face of your Lord. This Face has been
described as a Face of honor and ikrm (of bestowing favors). Anyone who sees this
Face has been bestowed the highest honor and favor.

Ahll-sunnah affirm that Allh has a Wajh that is befitting Him. Note: face is only used
for humans but wajh is used for many things in Arabic, and it is best to leave it in
Arabic. Other groups say wajh is metaphorical for beauty or something else. Allh
describes His Wajh with adjectives. Dhul-jall wal-ikrm is a description of the Wajh. By
using adjectives, Allh is emphasizing that it is a true Wajh.

Also, we learn in the adth of the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) narrated in a
Muslim: The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, Allhs ijb is nr. If Allh
were to life His veil, the rays that come from His Wajh will destroy everything that His
eyes see.
Allhs Wajh has rays. Allh has taken a ijb to protect us from His own beauty. In this
life, we cannot see that beauty. It is only in the hereafter that we pray that Allh allows
us to be of those who see His beauty and Wajh.

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Why only mention Wajh? Response: By mentioning the most noble aspect of Allhs
ift, the other ift are automatically included.

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) says, Whoever asks you by the Wajh of Allh,
never refuse him what he wants.

Some people have derived from the phrase wa yadqa be wajhik the Name of Allh Al-
Baqi. This goes back to a controversy. You can derive Names with conditions. It is not
allowed to take any verb and transform it into a noun. Specialists decide which verb is
appropriate. Not every verb becomes a noun. The only reference we have is this one,
so Al-Baqi is controversial. Some scholars affirmed it and others did not.

When Allh says kullu man alayha fn, some think that everything is destroyed, but
that is not true. Jannah, Jahannam, the Throne are not destroyed. It means that the
humans and jinn and animals will be destroyed. The word kullu does not mean that
there are no exceptions, but it means the general rule.

Allh says in the Qurn that the hudhud says about the Queen of Sheba: She has been
given of everything. Kullu means a lot of things but not everything.


Whosoever is in the heavens and on the earth begs of Him. Every day He is (engaged) in some
affair!

After mentioning the characteristic that Allh will remain forever, Allh mentions
another characteristic, which is that Allh sustains. The combination of Allh
remaining forever and Allh sustaining creation is the combination of Al-ayy and Al-
Qayym. The strongest opinion amongst the scholars of Islam is that the greatest Name
is Al-ayy Al-Qayym. The concepts are given here: He is the One who remains and He
shall give what everyone needs.

All that is in the heavens and earth ask Him. What if someone says, This is not true.
The kfir asks Allh. Response:
1) This is the general and there can be exceptions.
2) The kfir does ask Allh in times of need.
3) They might not ask with the tongue of asking, but theyll ask with the
circumstance of asking. They know they need something beyond what they
have.

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Every creature begs Allh for everything. Every single day Allh is in a matter of
importance. Shan means importance.

What does it mean that every day He is engaged in matters of importance?
Abu Darda narrated that the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, From the shan is
that He forgives a sin, alleviates a suffering, raises a group and debases another group.
This gives us hope that Allh is actively involved in our daily lives. Every day He is busy
in something of importance. We ask Allh for our needs.

Scholars say that there are five levels of qadar.
1. External qadar that exists in Allhs knowledge.
2. The Qadar in al-Lawl-Maf and the qalam.
3. The Qadar that is the qadar of our birth. When the ru is blown into us and we
come down to the world, the angel writes down our qadar and asks Allh how
long we will live, the sex, our amal, if we will be in heaven or hell.
4. The yearly qadar. On laylatl-qadr, Allh announces the qadar of the upcoming
year. On this night, the qadar is decreed for the next year. The angels have
assignments and Allh gives those assignments.
5. The daily qadar.

The lower levels of qadar can change, but the higher levels do not change. There is no
clear mark as to what is lower and higher. The change occurs within them. For
example, the qadar at the time of creation and the daily qadar and yearly qadar can
change one another, but they have been recorded in the eternal qadar and Al-Lawl-
Maf.

For example, Allh can decree that a certain person will live for 60 years when he is in
the womb of his mother. Because he is righteous and pious and has gone for ajj and
Umrah and has been good to his parents, Allh will tell the angels to give him an
extension. These changes have already been recorded in the eternal qadar. Lots of
du changes qadar as well.


We shall attend to you, O thaqaln!

The seen here means very shortly, soon. Very soon, very quickly We will make
ourselves empty except for being busy with you. We will stop everything else and
concentrate just on you, O you two mighty nations / creations.

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Allh calls the jinn and ins thaqaln to signify their importance. Ibn Abbs said, Allh
is not in need of stopping anything to concentrate on something. He is not in need of
concentrating on one thing at the expense of another. Rather, it is a means of
terrifying us that all of His concentration will be on us. Ibn Abbs is saying
sanafrughu lakum is not something Allh needs to do. Allh does everything
simultaneously and it doesnt harm anything. This is a threat to His servant. Allh is
not busy with anything such that He needs to free Himself for us.

Also, this is one of the many evidences used to prove that the jinn along with the ins will
be judged. The jinn will be rewarded and punished, and the ins will be rewarded and
punished.

This also proves the fact that the other creation will not be rewarded and punished.
Animals will not be rewarded and punished. On Yawml-Qiymah, there will be a calling
to account but there wont be reward for animals.


O assembly of jinn and men! If you are able to pass beyond the zones of the heavens and the
earth, then pass beyond (them)! But you will never be able to pass them, except with authority
(from Allh)!

O groups of jinn and ins!...

Both groups are mentioned. The duality in Sratl-Ramn is to jinn and ins.

Allh mentions jinn before ins here. In the beginning, he referenced ins over jinn. Why?
When it comes to breaking through the barriers of the heavens, the jinn do this and not
the men. This verse is more applicable to them.

This is a challenge meant to indicate how weak they are. It is meant to indicate who in
reality we are and who is Allh. The challenge is to go through and beyond the zones of
heaven and earth.

Suln means permission and authority from Allh.

SubhanAllh, if you look at the creation around us, we as humans even with the latest
technology cannot travel intergalactically unless we invent something even our minds
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cannot comprehend. This is just within our own galaxies and constellations and stars.
Jannt and samawt are separate. Seven samawt are one layer after the other. The
world that we are in (the entire galaxy and creation) is the lowest of the samawt. What
is in the other samawt? Allhu alam. This is our sam. The Jannt seem to occupy the
seventh sam (the seventh sky).

Even the jinn can only go to a certain level, and even that Allh has prevented them.

We think ourselves so mighty and powerful, but how deep can we go in the earth?
Even with all of our technology and might, the deepest exploration into the crust of the
earth is around 5.5 miles. When you get to that level, anything we have just melts. We
have literally just scratched the surface. We have no idea about the structure of this
world despite our technology.


There will be sent against you both, shuw of fire and nus, and you will not be able to defend
yourselves.

The reference is to the meteorites that are sent upon the jinn. Shuw is a smokeless
flame. Nus is either copper or a flame that is the color of copper. In Sratl-Jinn, Allh
tells us that the jinn used to go up and then found the skies closed. The skies were
closed when the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) was born. Allh has not allowed
them the same type of access as before. They have partial access if Allh allows them to
have it. They have to sneak and hide from the angels when they go up there.

Meteorites are a dull, yellowish, copper color.

The description of the smoke being without any smoky particles is very precise. Smoke
comes from the particles in our air. Up there, the fires that exist dont have smoke
because there is no atmosphere.


Then when the heaven is rent asunder, and it becomes wardah like dihn.

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The word idha means lo and behold, suddenly.

Lo and behold, when the skies are broken apart, they will be wardah. Wardah is rose
red. The skies will be crimson red. It is in our firah that a red sky is terrifying. Allh
says that on that Day, the skies will turn a rose red.

Dihn has two meanings:
1) Used oil. This has a yellowish color.
2) A leather that has been tanned.
The color being given is the yellowish-reddish tinge.

The concept of the skies folding up and breaking apart is in Juz Amma. The entire
system we know will come to a screeching halt and they will be crashing into each
other. When that happens, it will cause a terrifying effect in the dunya. This will cause
the beginning of Yawml-Qiymah.


So, on that Day he will not be questioned about his sin, (neither) human nor jinn.

No human or jinn will ever be asked about his sins. Allh says here that they will not be
asked about their sins, yet in other verses Allh says they will be asked about their sins.
In Sratl-ijr v. 92-93:

By your Lord, We will ask every one of them what they used to do. [Al-ijr, 92-93]

Sratl-fft v. 24:

And stop them; indeed, they are to be questioned. [Al-fft, 24]

How is it possible that Allh is saying they will not be asked and then that they will be
asked?
Response: Yawml-Qiymah will last like an eternity for the kfir, and at certain points
he will be punished by not being given the opportunity to speak, and at other times he
will be punished by being asked. Imagine being brought forth in a court of law that
too is its own punishment.

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Another interpretation is that this yah talks about the very end of qiymah after
judgment has taken place and heaven and hell have been assigned. Both of these
interpretations are valid.

Nothing is more tortuous than the ignoring by Allh (subnahu wa tala).


The criminals will be known by their marks, and they will be seized by their foreheads and feet.

Notice that Allh begins by talking about the punishment. Then He mentions the
rewards. It is human nature to be motivated by the fear of punishment instead of the
incentive of reward. The laws of the land are meant to make you scared and terrify
you.

Also, the punishments are mentioned first because the Qurn generally speaking
emphasizes the positive over the negative and the rewards over the punishment.

Also notice that the punishments are a few yt but the rewards are many more yt.
This also demonstrates the methodology of the Qurn to elaborate more on the mercy
than the punishment.

The mujrim is a criminal. The sinner is a criminal in the court of Allh, and there is no
greater crime than transgressing against Allhs Law. The first broad category of
opinions is that every single sin will leave a particular mark on its carrier. The other
interpretation is the mark of the sinner is the absence of the mark of the believer. The
mark of the sinner is that he doesnt have the marks of the believers. The marks of the
believer are sajdah, wu. Whoever has never prayed and never prostrated and never
done wu will not have those marks.

Nawsi means their foreheads. They will be held by their foreheads and feet. This
shows us the utter humiliation and complete incapacitation. If somebody holds you
from your forehead and your feet, there is nothing you can do and you are completely
immobilized. These mujrims are not believers in Allh.

Every believer, even if he is punished, has a different punishment than the punishment
of the kfir, and the severity will be different.

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This is the Hell which the criminals denied.

There is a clear indication that if you believed in it, then you wouldnt be here.

They will go between it and amm n!

Yafn means to go back and forth. amm and n are descriptions that are similar:
scalding, boiling water. They are combined for emphasis. Water is something that
gives you comfort and extinguishes fire, but the water in Jahannam will be such that
they find the water worse than the fire and they go back to the fire and then back to
the water.


Now there is a new section on the believers. The punishments are mentioned in a few
yt, and the rest of the srah is about the details of the righteous and Jannah. Here we
find a number of opinions about these levels of Jannah that are mentioned.

But for him who fears the standing before his Lord, there will be two Gardens.

Contrast this yah with verse 62: And below these two, there are two other Gardens.

Different Opinions:

1. The majority opinion, which is the opinion we will go with in this class, is what is
being talked about is two levels of Jannah: a higher level (v. 46 on) and a lower level
(v. 62 on).

This opinion has a lot of Qurnic evidence. Multiple times in the Qurn Allh
references three categories: two of them are good and one category of the sinners.

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Sratl-Wqiah: abl-yamn, abl-shiml, sbiqn.

Another explicit evidence is Srah Fir v. 32:

Then we caused to inherit the Book those We have chosen of Our servants; and
among them is he who wrongs himself, and among them is he who is moderate, and
among them is he who is foremost in good deeds by permission of Allh. That
[inheritance] is what is the great bounty. [Fir, 32]

We know that the number of sinners is going to be more than the number of
righteous so the categories of sinners is more, yet Allh lumps all the sinners in one
and gives two categories for the righteous. Why? There are more details for good
in order for encouragement and excellence. The bad is so bad that you dont want
to go there and there is no need to go into gruesome details.

2. Another opinion is that Allh is mentioning everyone will get all four of these
Jannt. They will have two high and two low.

3. A third opinion: Some will get all four and some will get two higher and some will
get two lower.
Some people will get everything, but overall the Qurn divides mujrimn into one
category and the righteous into two.

The maqm has two meanings:
1. The status.
This translates as: Whoever fears the status of Allh and the rank Allh is
deserving of will get two Jannahs.
2. Your own standing.
This translates as: Whoever fears his own standing in front of Allh on Yawml-
Qiymah.

Jannatn is dual. Is this literally meant as a dual or is it a generic way of saying multiple
Jannt? One of the ways of emphasizing something is to mention it in the dual and it
doesnt literally mean dual. Allh gives us references to duality meaning plurality.
Example: Srah Sab v. 15: The people of Sab had a great miracle. They had two
jannahs, one on the right and one on the left. From history, we know the people of
Sab had many gardens. The point is that perhaps by saying Jannatn Allh is
generically saying they have many Jannt. This is a valid opinion and makes sense.

You can be literalistic and say it means two Jannahs. This is also allowed.

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Each person will get the number of Jannahs according to their rank.

One opinion is that yah 46 and 62 are a reference to one person. In a Bukhri:
Everyone will get two jannahs of silver and two jannahs of gold. This is a valid
interpretation that all four will be given to one person.

Allh links getting those Jannahs to khawf (fear). There are three primary emotions
needed to enter Jannah. Allh only mentions fear because the most important factor
preventing us from committing sins is fear, and any time one emotion is mentioned,
the other two are implied.


With afnn.

Dhawta means the both of them are full of branches (afnn). You dont describe a
garden by describing branches. You always describe a garden by its fruits and what
not. The fact that Allh (subnahu wa tala) chooses to describe it with an item that is
not the most commonly thought of when you think of beauty, it is as if Allh is saying
that as for what makes the garden beautiful cannot be described. The fruits and
flowers are beyond description.

Your mind immediately wonders what is hanging from the branches and how green
they are and what kind of flowers they have. This is the perfection of eloquence.


In them (both) will be two springs flowing (free).

There is a duality: aynn. It could mean literally two or lots. In them are two springs
which are running.

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In them (both) will be every kind of fruit in pairs.

The duality is itself made dual in this yah. There are two different species and two
different stages of development. There will be different kinds of strawberries and
apples and grapes. It means that every single type of fruit that you want will come in
varieties.


Reclining upon the couches lined with istabraq, and the fruits of the two Gardens will be near at
hand.

Ittika is the epitome of chilling and laziness and luxury. They are lying back on
couches. The inner lining of these couches is istabraq, which is the finest type of silk.
The fact that Allh says this is the inner lining, then automatically the outer lining is
beyond description.

Wajanal-jannatayn is alliteration: using words that sound similar. They dont even
need to stand up to pluck the fruits.

Notice the order: it begins with the property, the description of it, the water, what
grows and lives in it and the furniture on it.


Wherein both will be qirtl-arf, whom never deflowered a human before nor jinn.

It is okay to question the wisdom and to say you dont understand the wisdom, but it is
not okay to reject it or find it disgusting. Understand that Allh has created men and
knows them best. Jannah would not be Jannah for men without rl-ayn. Every single
man wants that blessing far more than the other blessings that are mentioned. This is
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their firah and the way Allh created them. This description is to make a man better
and strive for perfection to get those rewards.

The detail is straightforward and not vulgar. Once we get into Jannah, there will be no
asad and no jealousy.

Those women who do not have spouses will have a spouse in Jannah. The Prophet
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, There is nobody who is single in Jannah. Being single
is not a state of perfection. Getting married is more of a perfect state. In Jannah,
nobody will be imperfect. Who will be the spouses of women who dont have husbands
in this world? Will they be a creature similar to the rl-ayn or will they be men from
this world? Both positions have been posited, and Allh knows what is best.

In them are qirtl-arf
Qirtl-arf means: their gaze will be diverted down. No ins or jinn has ever polluted
them. The word amithah means to break the hymen. The meaning is clear that they
were just created for their husbands and no one has touched them. Their sole purpose
of creation is to be with them.

There are two meanings of qirtl-arf:
1) The rs themselves are qirtl-arf and lower their eyes, meaning they have no
desire to love anyone else and their only attention is to their husbands. Our
first loves are the most powerful and overwhelming.
2) Qirtl-arf means the mens gaze will not need to go beyond their wives. This
means the r are so beautiful that the men have no desire to look at any other
women.

The wives will have a higher rank than the r. ishah (rayAllhu anha) said, If the
r are as they are described, we will boast over the rs and will tell the rs that we
were the ones who fasted and prayed and obeyed their husbands. It is understood that
the relationship of the husband and wife will be sacred. This is in Srah Ya Sn: them
and their wives

The relationship of the two spouses will be of more than just pleasure. The r are not
objects of communication. It is a physical pleasure but just a physical pleasure. There
is no emotion. The emotional bond is not mentioned for the rs.

no ins or jinn has been physical with them.
This shows that the jinns marry and have intercourse and have children through that
intercourse. They have their own types of rs.


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They are like yaqt and marjn.

It is as if they are yaqt wal- marjn. Yaqt is rubies. Marjan can mean corals, or in this
case, it is also one of the names of pearls. Most of the scholars yaqt and marjn to be
reddish and white as if they are rubies and small pearls.

The meaning that has been mentioned by scholars of tafsr is that yaqt is the redness of
the blushing that every man is attracted by.

Marjn means pearls. This could be an illusion to their beauty, fragility, delicateness.
Qatdah said their purity shall be like rubies and their whiteness shall be like pearls.


Is there any reward for good other than good?

This yah is what demarcates the higher jannahs from the lower jannahs. Al-Rzi said,
This is one of those yt that the scholars have over a hundred interpretations of.
These interpretations are similar. Of them are:
- What is the response of the isn of humans when they perfected their worship
of Allh other than Allh will perfect His reward for them. This is a correct
meaning. When humans perfected their worship, Allh will perfect His reward.
Allhs perfection is infinitely more perfect than humans perfection.

- Isn means tawd here and means Jannah there.

- Hal jazaal-isn is isn as per the adth of Jibrl. It means that you worship
Allh as though you see Him. Illal-isn is isn back from Allh (subnahu
wa tala), which is ultimate perfection. This shows that the people in the
highest Jannahs cannot have anything greater because Allhs isn cannot be
broken or made higher.

Isn means the perfection or the highest level of excellence and some have defined it
when it comes to our own relationship with others as giving more than what is
expected and receiving less than what is deserved.

The verse is very clear: if you do good to Allh, Allh will do good to you. Your good to
Allh will not be perfect. Allhs good to you will be perfect.
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There is an allusion that worship in this world pays off in forgiving worship in the next.
This means that when you worship Allh in this world, you dont have to worship Him
in the next after that. This is mentioned only for the highest level of Jannah because
the highest level only has those things which the lower level doesnt.

The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said, In the highest levels of Jannah is that
which no eye has seen and no ear has heard and no mind has even conceived of. This
also explains why Allh tempts us in Jannah with physical pleasures. We know the
pleasures of taste and food and drink and intimacy and brocades and cushions and
palaces. Jannah does have other pleasures. How can Allh entice us with those
pleasures when we have never tasted them in this world?


And below these two, there are two other Gardens.

The most common interpretation is that these two Jannahs are not as high and not as
elite as the upper Jannahs. Doon in Arabic means lesser than. Notice the quantity is
the same but the quality is different. This is what we notice throughout these two
comparisons. Each blessing is mentioned for both levels, but there is a slight tweaking
for each blessing.


Mud-hmmatn.

This means: the both of them are dark green in color. This verse is a unique verse
because it is the smallest verse that is a complete sentence in the whole Qurn.

Dark green is the color that is the most pleasing. It soothes us and shows life. It shows
lushness.

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In them (both) will be two springs nakhatn.

Nakhatn means bubbling out.


In them (both) will be fruits, and date palms and pomegranates.

From this list we are not told of differences. They have fkihah (fruits) and dates and
pomegranates. These are all very beautiful fruits, but the fact that there is a list
automatically shows that it is not as blessed or diverse as the higher level of Jannah.


Therein (Gardens) will be khayrt isn;

Notice here that in the whole srah, it was fhima and when it comes to rs, Allh says
fhinna. In every verse, Allh says fhima and now fhinna. The participle changes. Why
does Allh change from the both of them to in them? Scholars say that all of the
other blessings are in public view for all to see, but the blessing for the r no man
wants anyone to see, so for them, embedded inside somewhere and covered inside.
Allh is subtly indicating that the r are not in public view.

Khayrt is the opposite of sharr (evil). These women have no evil and are completely
pure. Scholars say this is pure physically and spiritually.

They have isn, which is the plural of asna, which means stunning, beautiful. They
are pure internally and externally. They are stunningly beautiful.

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r (beautiful, fair females) guarded in pavilions;

The word r does not have any translation in English. It comes from awara, which
means a woman who has a large whiteness of her eyes contrasted by the darkness of
her pupils. The large eyes that are pure white and the pupils are small and black. This
is one of the most important characteristics of beauty in the past.

No man judges the overall beauty of the woman just by eyes. This is just one of the
characteristics and may not even be the most important. Why does Allh mention r
as being one of the main characteristics?
1) If their eyes are so perfect, then how about the rest of their creation?
2) It is not befitting that the Qurn describes other parts in an explicit manner.
The general rule is that it doesnt describe in such vivid detail.
Maqsurt means that they have been set apart. Qirt is that they are the ones causing
the eyes to be put down, and maqsurt means they have been sequestered. The qirt
are at a higher level than the maqsurt. The qirt have more emotion and passion
because they are causing the men to lower their gaze.

Fil-khiym = in tents. The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) said that in Jannah
there will be tents carved in pearls 60 miles in length, almost translucent, and in every
corner shall be in inhabitants that others cannot see, and the believers will take turns
visiting those inhabitants.

In both levels, the rs are created only for the men they are assigned to.


Whom never deflowered a human before nor jinn.


Reclining on green rafraf and rich beautiful abqariyy.

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Rafraf could be a cushion between you and the floor, or it can be used to describe the
floor. They are luxurious green. Green is a color that brings comfort to the eyes. They
will be abqariyy.

Note: Many times non-Muslims ridicule our Jannah and say it is full of date-palms and
rivers flowing and palaces, yet you cannot change the nature of men and women.
When we on this earth build the most luxurious palaces and mansions, what do we do
except we combine fancy mansions with water and greenery? You cannot change the
nature of humans. They can mock as much as they want, but their actions belie their
mocking.

Abqariyy comes from abqar, which means the legendary capital of the land of the jinns.
Anything that seems to be superhuman or super nice or super strong or super
intelligent was called abqariyy. It is amazing, beyond human. In classical Arabic,
abqariyy meant anything beyond human and from the land of the jinns. It is something
that amazes and astounds the minds. Allh is saying the cushion is beyond our
imagination and it is isn. isn comes from asan, which means perfect, beautiful.

If you notice, every single thing went parallel for the two Jannahs except for the
cushions, which come after in the lower Jannah and before in the higher Jannah.
Scholars didnt address this. There must be some wisdom and reason but YQ has not
managed to find anything that makes sense.


Blessed be the Name of your Lord, dhil-jalli wal-ikrm.

Allh concludes by praising Him. It is a common custom in the Qurn to begin and end
srahs with Allhs praises.

Tabrak comes from barakah. The verb here means that Allh has reached the pinnacle
of barakah. Barakah means the source of good, blessings. Allh is the ultimate source of
all good, and no evil is attributed to Him. It means: May He be exalted and glorified; He
has all good.

Tabraka ismu rabbik. It is common in the Qurn to sometimes praise Allh and
sometimes praise the Name of Allh. If even the Name of Allh is worthy of praise, then
how much more so is Allh worthy of being glorified.

Allh described Himself as your Lord. This is singular. This reference is to the
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam). This direct and explicit pronoun is the only
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reference to the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) in the srah. It is an honor for the
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) to be referenced as his Lord even though He is the
Lord of all of us. The fact that Allh mentions your Lord is an honor for our Prophet
(allallhu alayhi wa sallam).

In this Rabbika, it accomplishes as well many things:
- The honor of the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam).
- The Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is being reminded, especially in the
early Makkah phase, that Allh is his Rabb. Allh will take care of him.
- There is an indication that all of these blessings that have been mentioned the
Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) will have the ultimate share of. One of the
meanings of Rabb is to give, nourish, and sustain.
- There is clearly an indication that whoever wants these blessings must praise
Allh to get these blessings. Allh concludes after mentioning the blessings His
praise.
- There is also the indication by the kf that if you want these blessings, then
you too must affirm the relationship between the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa
sallam) and Allh. You must affirm the Prophet (allallhu alayhi wa sallam).
Allh is saying that the only way to properly worship Him is to acknowledge
that Muammad (allallhu alayhi wa sallam) is His special servant.

Dhil-jalli wal-ikrm. In the beginning of the srah it was dhul-jall and went back to the
Wajh of Allh. In this yah, Allh says, Your Rabb is dhil-jalli wal-ikrm. Jall means
might and honor. It is a description that Allh is full of honor and glory. Allh is Ikrm,
meaning generous and the One who gives.

This srah is all about appreciating Allhs generosity.

Tafsīr Sūrat'L-Ra Mān and Ya Sīn (Denial) (Hosna)

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