WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.000 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:03.000 --> 00:00:32.539 A gentle commentary 00:00:32.539 --> 00:00:35.539 on the book of identification cards 00:00:35.539 --> 00:00:38.539 for the images of the Noble Qur'an, 00:00:38.539 --> 00:00:42.539 by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nasif, 00:00:42.539 --> 00:00:44.570 may Allah preserve him. 00:00:44.570 --> 00:00:46.570 Surah al-Qasas. 00:00:46.570 --> 00:00:48.570 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, 00:00:48.570 --> 00:00:51.820 and may prayers and peace be upon the Messenger of Allah. 00:00:51.820 --> 00:00:53.820 We continue with our gentle commentary 00:00:53.820 --> 00:00:55.820 on the identification cards 00:00:55.820 --> 00:00:57.820 for the images of the Noble Qur'an 00:00:57.820 --> 00:00:59.820 by Muhammad ibn 'Umar Nasif, 00:00:59.820 --> 00:01:01.820 now with Surah al-Qasas. 00:01:01.820 --> 00:01:04.209 I have three observations regarding it, 00:01:04.209 --> 00:01:06.209 all of which will be connected 00:01:06.209 --> 00:01:08.209 to the science of thematic coherence (munasabat). 00:01:08.209 --> 00:01:10.819 The first observation 00:01:10.819 --> 00:01:12.819 concerns the placement of the Surah, 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:14.819 which I have previously stated 00:01:14.819 --> 00:01:16.819 aims to clarify the relationship of the Surah 00:01:16.819 --> 00:01:18.819 to the one preceding it. 00:01:18.819 --> 00:01:20.819 He says here that its coherence 00:01:20.819 --> 00:01:22.819 with An-Naml and Ash-Shu'ara' 00:01:22.819 --> 00:01:24.819 lies in its detailed elaboration 00:01:24.819 --> 00:01:26.819 of the story of Musa, peace be upon him, 00:01:26.819 --> 00:01:29.200 which is mentioned in both of them. 00:01:29.200 --> 00:01:31.200 Thus, the coherence here is not 00:01:31.200 --> 00:01:33.200 related only to the preceding Surah, 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:35.200 which is An-Naml, 00:01:35.200 --> 00:01:37.200 but to the two preceding Surahs: 00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:39.200 Ash-Shu'ara' and An-Naml. 00:01:39.200 --> 00:01:41.200 These three Surahs— 00:01:41.200 --> 00:01:43.200 Ash-Shu'ara', An-Naml, and Al-Qasas— 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:45.200 are called the "Tawasin." 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:47.200 They are united by the similarity in their opening, 00:01:47.200 --> 00:01:49.200 even if the similarity is complete between Al-Qasas, 00:01:49.200 --> 00:01:51.200 Ash-Shu'ara', and An-Naml, 00:01:51.200 --> 00:01:53.200 [all starting with] "Ta-Sin" without a "Mim." 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:55.459 Here, I would like to speak 00:01:55.459 --> 00:01:57.459 about what some brothers mentioned. 00:01:57.459 --> 00:01:59.459 One asked me, saying: 00:01:59.459 --> 00:02:01.459 "Do these thematic coherences have 00:02:01.459 --> 00:02:03.459 a fixed rule 00:02:03.459 --> 00:02:05.459 that is consistent?" 00:02:05.459 --> 00:02:07.459 Although I have pointed 00:02:07.459 --> 00:02:09.460 to something of this before, there is no harm 00:02:09.460 --> 00:02:11.620 in repeating it. 00:02:11.620 --> 00:02:13.620 I say, firstly, 00:02:13.620 --> 00:02:15.680 these thematic coherences 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:17.710 are not a matter 00:02:17.710 --> 00:02:19.710 of consensus among scholars; 00:02:19.710 --> 00:02:21.710 they are a matter of ijtihad (scholarly exertion), 00:02:21.710 --> 00:02:23.710 and one may be satisfied 00:02:23.710 --> 00:02:26.289 with the slightest connection. 00:02:26.289 --> 00:02:28.289 Furthermore, this specific connection— 00:02:28.289 --> 00:02:30.289 a connection that Al-Suyuti saw 00:02:30.289 --> 00:02:32.289 in his book *Tanasuq al-Durar*— 00:02:32.289 --> 00:02:34.289 is consistent throughout the Qur'an, 00:02:34.289 --> 00:02:36.289 [the idea] that a Surah elaborates on what preceded it. 00:02:36.289 --> 00:02:38.289 This requires research; 00:02:38.289 --> 00:02:40.289 meaning, the book *Tanasuq al-Durar* 00:02:40.289 --> 00:02:42.289 by Al-Suyuti needs 00:02:42.289 --> 00:02:44.289 to be examined for the general rules 00:02:44.289 --> 00:02:46.699 he mentioned, 00:02:46.699 --> 00:02:48.699 and to verify those rules 00:02:48.699 --> 00:02:50.699 by looking 00:02:50.699 --> 00:02:53.310 at the Qur'an. 00:02:53.310 --> 00:02:55.310 In truth, he mentioned 00:02:55.310 --> 00:02:57.310 subtle points that deserve study, 00:02:57.310 --> 00:02:59.310 among them this [notion] that every Surah elaborates 00:02:59.310 --> 00:03:01.310 on what preceded it. 00:03:01.310 --> 00:03:03.310 He did not present the argument just like that; 00:03:03.310 --> 00:03:05.310 rather, he provided multiple proofs 00:03:05.310 --> 00:03:07.310 scattered throughout his book 00:03:07.310 --> 00:03:09.310 for this matter. 00:03:09.310 --> 00:03:11.979 The second observation: 00:03:11.979 --> 00:03:13.979 what helps in understanding thematic coherence 00:03:13.979 --> 00:03:16.270 is the study of the reasons for revelation (asbab al-nuzul). 00:03:16.270 --> 00:03:18.270 We have two reasons in this Surah 00:03:18.270 --> 00:03:20.430 that may help in dating the revelation. 00:03:20.430 --> 00:03:22.719 Of course, not 00:03:22.719 --> 00:03:24.719 the dating of the entire Surah, 00:03:24.719 --> 00:03:26.719 because it was revealed— 00:03:26.719 --> 00:03:28.719 or the two reasons were revealed in verses close to each other, 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:30.719 almost within the same period. 00:03:30.719 --> 00:03:32.719 However, [this applies to] some verses of the Surah. 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:34.719 Therefore, we say it is better to say 00:03:34.719 --> 00:03:36.719 that it indicates the dating of 00:03:36.719 --> 00:03:38.719 the revelation of some verses of the Surah; 00:03:38.719 --> 00:03:41.490 this is more precise. 00:03:41.490 --> 00:03:43.490 They are two reasons that may help in dating the revelation, 00:03:44.740 --> 00:03:46.740 but if you reflect upon them, 00:03:46.740 --> 00:03:51.370 you will find they also help in thematic coherence. For the first reason for revelation: 00:03:51.370 --> 00:03:56.400 ﴾And We have conveyed the word to them so that they might remember. Those to whom We gave the Book before it, they believe in it. And when it is recited to them, they say...﴿ 00:03:56.400 --> 00:04:00.280 [The verses continue] regarding spending from what We have provided, until it says: ﴾Indeed, you do not guide whom you love.﴿ 00:04:00.280 --> 00:04:04.080 “And when it is recited unto them, they say: We believe in it. Lo! it is the Truth from our Lord. Lo! even before it we were of those who surrender (unto Him).” (28:53) 00:04:04.080 --> 00:04:08.560 “These will be given their reward twice over, because they are steadfast and repel evil with good, and spend of that wherewith We have provided them,” (28:54) 00:04:08.560 --> 00:04:15.240 Abu Talib, and the preceding verses were revealed regarding some of the Jews who 00:04:15.240 --> 00:04:19.519 accepted Islam, the connection becomes clear. Thus, the science of thematic coherence does not rely on 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:23.480 one thing alone. It may rely on language, 00:04:23.480 --> 00:04:28.879 it may rely on 00:04:28.879 --> 00:04:33.500 rhetoric, it may rely on the history of revelation, it may rely on... 00:04:33.500 --> 00:04:36.300 Therefore, we find among the sources of Imam Al-Tabari in the coherences he 00:04:36.300 --> 00:04:40.660 mentions are the reports (athar) he narrates from the Tabi'un, which indicates that this 00:04:41.660 --> 00:04:48.550 science is authentic—the science of thematic coherence. And it came in the reasons for revelation after 00:04:48.550 --> 00:04:54.860 mentioning the first reason, 00:04:54.860 --> 00:05:01.589 and there is evidence indicating that this was before the Hijrah. 00:05:01.589 --> 00:05:05.430 Meaning, the identification of this incident was reported. This was reported, and though I have not verified 00:05:05.430 --> 00:05:10.470 it, some have strengthened it, as in the *Seerah Dhahabiyyah*. 00:05:10.470 --> 00:05:15.819 However, it needs further examination. Its absence does not harm [the argument], in the sense that 00:05:15.819 --> 00:05:23.060 the fact that the first verses speak about people who believed even though they were 00:05:23.060 --> 00:05:26.379 distant, and the verses that follow are about Abu Talib—who was 00:05:26.379 --> 00:05:30.579 very close to the Prophet, peace be upon him, and did not believe—means the connection 00:05:30.579 --> 00:05:34.420 is established. But if it is proven that this was before the Hijrah, it is useful 00:05:34.420 --> 00:05:38.899 also for dating the revelation. So, this is the second observation, 00:05:38.899 --> 00:05:44.240 which is that the reasons for revelation assist in the science of thematic coherence. The third 00:05:44.240 --> 00:05:48.480 and final issue is regarding the sections of the Surah. You notice in the 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:55.120 last two lines of the second part of the Surah, there is a reminder to the 00:05:55.120 --> 00:06:00.339 Prophet, peace be upon him, of the blessing of the Qur'an with the promise 00:06:00.339 --> 00:06:04.060 of a return to a place of return: ﴾Indeed, He who imposed the Qur'an upon you will return you to a place of return.﴿ 00:06:04.060 --> 00:06:09.550 This "return" is connected to the beginning of the Surah, as explained by Al-Suyuti 00:06:09.550 --> 00:06:18.050 and Al-Biqa'i, may Allah have mercy on them all. Therefore, you find at the beginning 00:06:18.050 --> 00:06:21.970 of the Surah: ﴾Indeed, We will return him to you,﴿ then He said: ﴾So We returned him to his mother.﴿ 00:06:21.970 --> 00:06:28.370 Allah returned Musa after he left in fear to Madyan; 00:06:28.370 --> 00:06:35.189 Allah returned him to Egypt as a righteous prophet and caller, and granted him victory over 00:06:35.189 --> 00:06:40.629 Pharaoh. Thus, the "return" is repeated in the Surah, 00:06:40.629 --> 00:06:45.220 in wording and in meaning. 00:06:45.220 --> 00:06:49.629 Therefore, it can be added here in the third line of the 00:06:49.629 --> 00:06:53.509 first section: "Then the mention of the situation of the mother of Musa, the picking up by 00:06:53.509 --> 00:06:58.629 the family of Pharaoh, and returning him to her"—meaning returning Musa to her. 00:06:58.629 --> 00:07:02.839 Then the maturation and establishment of Musa, then the journey to Madyan, then 00:07:02.839 --> 00:07:07.399 the sending of Musa, peace be upon him, and his discourse, then his return 00:07:07.399 --> 00:07:10.879 to Egypt—this sentence can be added—and the calling of 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:17.290 Pharaoh and his destruction. Why did I say it is appropriate to mention 00:07:17.290 --> 00:07:21.250 the word "return"? To draw attention to the connection between the beginning of the Surah, 00:07:21.250 --> 00:07:28.279 the first section, and the end of the second section. And this connection 00:07:28.279 --> 00:07:30.800 is not of the type of connection we spoke about before; 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:35.079 this is a connection between the parts of the Surah, and this 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:39.220 is clearer than the connection between the Surah and the one preceding it. 00:07:39.220 --> 00:07:42.860 For the Surah and the one preceding it, as I said, scholars differed; 00:07:42.860 --> 00:07:45.899 a number of scholars stated that one should not be preoccupied 00:07:45.899 --> 00:07:49.139 with it, while some were interested in it. The connection there 00:07:49.139 --> 00:07:53.300 is subtle and light, perhaps based on the slightest association. But 00:07:53.300 --> 00:07:56.100 this one, which is inside the Surah, is very precise, 00:07:56.100 --> 00:08:02.579 clearer, with manifest wording and precise matters. 00:08:02.579 --> 00:08:06.629 I ask Allah to grant me and you success in what He loves and is pleased with, and that He 00:08:06.629 --> 00:08:09.990 gives us understanding of His Book and makes it a proof for us, not a proof 00:08:09.990 --> 00:08:11.829 against us. And may Allah send prayers upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon 00:08:11.829 --> 00:08:15.990 his family and all his companions. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds.