WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.620 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. 00:00:02.620 --> 00:00:37.500 A Gentle Commentary on the Book "Identification Cards for the Surahs of the Noble Mus-haf" 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:43.539 by Dr. Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn 'Umar Nasif, may Allah preserve him. 00:00:43.539 --> 00:00:46.179 Surah ash-Shura. 00:00:46.179 --> 00:00:50.609 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. 00:00:50.609 --> 00:00:54.210 We continue with our gentle commentary on the identification cards, 00:00:54.210 --> 00:00:57.729 and we are now with Surah ash-Shura, concerning which I have three reflective pauses. 00:00:57.729 --> 00:01:00.609 The first pause pertains to the chronological dating of the surah's revelation. 00:01:00.609 --> 00:01:04.609 I have mentioned previously that the well-known report is the one cited first, 00:01:04.609 --> 00:01:07.799 though it is sometimes contradicted. 00:01:07.799 --> 00:01:14.799 Here, however, we have an example where the well-known report aligns with other supporting evidence. 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:20.200 Specifically, the well-known transmission lists the surahs that open with "Ha-Meem," 00:01:20.200 --> 00:01:24.200 from Ghafir to al-Ahqaf consecutively, with the exception of ash-Shura. 00:01:24.200 --> 00:01:28.299 That is, Surah Ghafir is the fifty-ninth in the chronological order of revelation, 00:01:28.299 --> 00:01:37.810 followed sequentially by Fussilat as the sixtieth, then az-Zukhruf as the sixty-first, and the rest in uninterrupted sequence. 00:01:37.810 --> 00:01:44.189 Surah ash-Shura is the only one placed apart, being ranked sixty-eighth according to the well-known transmission. 00:01:44.189 --> 00:01:50.450 If we examine its verses, we find an element that sets it apart from the other related surahs, 00:01:50.450 --> 00:01:57.450 or rather a distinct verse that distinguishes it, which is the verse praising the one who retaliates after being wronged: 00:01:57.450 --> 00:02:03.450 "And whoever retaliates after being wronged, for those there is no cause of blame against them." This verse and those around it 00:02:03.450 --> 00:02:10.449 suggest that the Muslims had reached a stage where they experienced a degree of victory and self-defense. 00:02:10.449 --> 00:02:15.449 We know that prior to that, they were commanded to withhold their hands from fighting, 00:02:15.449 --> 00:02:20.280 as indicated in Surah an-Nisa': "Have you not seen those who were told, 'Restrain your hands'?" 00:02:20.280 --> 00:02:25.280 This implies that ash-Shura was revealed later than the other surahs that open with "Ha-Meem." 00:02:25.280 --> 00:02:30.280 This internal evidence confirms the well-known transmission, so I felt it worthwhile to point it out. 00:02:30.280 --> 00:02:38.439 For a well-known report may be corroborated by other transmissions, or contradicted by them, 00:02:38.439 --> 00:02:42.439 or there may be no alternative transmission, in which case we simply rely upon it. 00:02:42.439 --> 00:02:47.789 As for the second pause, it concerns the overarching theme of the surah, which can be deduced from its structural sections. 00:02:47.789 --> 00:02:53.789 It can be said that its theme is divine revelation, its intrinsic worth, and the necessity of adhering to it. 00:02:53.789 --> 00:02:57.819 Notice with me its sections: the first section is naturally the introduction. 00:02:57.819 --> 00:03:02.020 The surah consists of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The introduction begins with disjointed letters: 00:03:02.020 --> 00:03:08.020 "Ha-Meem. 'Ayn-Seen-Qaf," after which Allah says, "Likewise He reveals..." using the simile particle "likewise." 00:03:08.020 --> 00:03:12.020 Therefore, it opens with disjointed letters followed immediately by an opening simile. 00:03:12.020 --> 00:03:16.180 The central section also begins with an opening simile: 00:03:16.180 --> 00:03:19.300 "And thus We have revealed to you an Arabic Qur'an..." 00:03:19.300 --> 00:03:23.300 And the conclusion likewise begins with an opening simile: 00:03:23.300 --> 00:03:26.300 "And thus We have revealed to you an inspiration of Our command." 00:03:26.300 --> 00:03:28.300 You will notice that all of them— 00:03:28.300 --> 00:03:32.300 the introduction, setting aside the disjointed letters "Ha-Meem. 'Ayn-Seen-Qaf," 00:03:32.300 --> 00:03:36.300 along with the central section and the conclusion—all begin with a simile. 00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:39.300 This is a pattern that does not occur frequently in the Qur'an. 00:03:39.300 --> 00:03:41.300 Why these simile-based openings? 00:03:41.300 --> 00:03:49.330 Regarding simile, we know that it inherently requires a subject of comparison and an object of comparison, 00:03:49.330 --> 00:03:52.330 and as the scholars of rhetoric state, the default principle 00:03:52.330 --> 00:03:56.330 is that the object of comparison must possess the shared quality more intensely than the subject. 00:03:56.330 --> 00:03:58.330 Thus, you say, "Zayd is like a lion." 00:03:58.330 --> 00:04:01.330 The lion is more famous for courage, 00:04:01.330 --> 00:04:03.330 so when you say, "Zayd is like a lion," 00:04:03.330 --> 00:04:08.330 you have sought to elevate Zayd's status by drawing a comparison to the lion. 00:04:08.330 --> 00:04:14.419 In these Qur'anic similes, however, the subject and the object of comparison are not distinct entities; 00:04:14.419 --> 00:04:16.420 rather, the subject of comparison is identical to the object of comparison itself. 00:04:16.420 --> 00:04:18.420 This is not exclusive to Surah ash-Shura; 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:21.420 this stylistic construction appears across many other surahs as well, 00:04:21.420 --> 00:04:24.420 and several exegetes have drawn attention to it. 00:04:24.420 --> 00:04:26.420 It is among the most subtle and elegant rhetorical constructions, 00:04:26.420 --> 00:04:28.420 where something is compared only to itself, 00:04:28.420 --> 00:04:32.420 signifying that it has no peer and no equal whatsoever. 00:04:32.420 --> 00:04:37.550 For example, you might see an outstanding student who strives diligently and surpasses his peers, 00:04:37.550 --> 00:04:41.550 prompting the teacher to say, "Like this, students should be!" 00:04:41.550 --> 00:04:45.550 He compares the student's conduct to his own conduct, 00:04:45.550 --> 00:04:49.550 praising him and demonstrating that he has no equal. 00:04:49.550 --> 00:04:53.870 And here, Allah says: "Likewise He reveals to you and to those before you," 00:04:53.870 --> 00:04:56.870 and: "And thus We have revealed to you an Arabic Qur'an," 00:04:56.870 --> 00:04:59.870 and: "And thus We have revealed to you an inspiration of Our command." 00:04:59.870 --> 00:05:03.870 This Qur'an that has been revealed is without parallel and without equal. 00:05:04.870 --> 00:05:07.870 As for the third and final pause, 00:05:07.870 --> 00:05:10.870 it pertains to what was mentioned in the conclusion. 00:05:10.870 --> 00:05:14.870 In summarizing the conclusion of the surah and its openings, 00:05:14.870 --> 00:05:17.870 the author noted an opening simile regarding the revelation of the Qur'an 00:05:17.870 --> 00:05:20.870 to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, 00:05:20.870 --> 00:05:23.870 and the reminder that it is a spirit and a light— 00:05:23.870 --> 00:05:27.870 that is, the Qur'an—and that he possessed no prior knowledge of it, 00:05:27.870 --> 00:05:30.870 and that through this revelation, he—peace be upon him—became 00:05:30.870 --> 00:05:33.870 a guide to the path of Allah. 00:05:33.870 --> 00:05:37.870 Here we should add: "to Whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, 00:05:37.870 --> 00:05:39.870 and to Him do all matters return." 00:05:39.870 --> 00:05:41.870 Why should we add this? 00:05:41.870 --> 00:05:44.870 We add it so that you notice 00:05:44.870 --> 00:05:48.870 the profound correspondence between the beginning of the surah and its end. 00:05:48.870 --> 00:05:53.160 For at its very beginning: "Likewise He reveals to you and to those before you— 00:05:53.160 --> 00:05:55.160 Allah, the Exalted in Might, the Wise. 00:05:55.160 --> 00:05:58.160 To Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth." 00:05:58.160 --> 00:06:03.160 And at the end of the surah: "The path of Allah, to Whom belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth." 00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:07.160 Note this correspondence, which scholars designate as 00:06:07.160 --> 00:06:09.160 "connecting the end to the beginning" (radd al-'ajuz 'ala as-sadr). 00:06:09.160 --> 00:06:12.160 The conclusion of the surah returns directly to its opening, 00:06:12.160 --> 00:06:16.160 reinforcing this truth: that to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. 00:06:16.160 --> 00:06:20.220 Note that a person who does not read the surah in its entirety, 00:06:20.220 --> 00:06:24.220 but rather reads it in fragmented passages as we often do, 00:06:24.220 --> 00:06:28.220 deprives himself of perceiving this exquisite subtlety, 00:06:28.220 --> 00:06:31.220 which demonstrates that the surah from its very beginning to its end 00:06:31.220 --> 00:06:33.220 is enveloped by this cardinal reality: 00:06:33.220 --> 00:06:38.220 that to Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth, 00:06:38.220 --> 00:06:39.220 glorified and exalted is He. 00:06:39.220 --> 00:06:42.420 Therefore, there should also be added to the summary of the introduction 00:06:42.420 --> 00:06:45.420 an explicit reference showing that revelation to the Prophet, peace be upon him, 00:06:45.420 --> 00:06:46.420 and to those before him 00:06:46.420 --> 00:06:50.420 is inextricably bound to Allah's ultimate might and wisdom, 00:06:50.420 --> 00:06:53.420 and that to Him belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth. 00:06:53.420 --> 00:06:58.509 Thus, whoever reads this becomes keenly aware of the structural harmony 00:06:58.509 --> 00:07:03.540 and coherence between the beginning of the surah and its end. 00:07:03.540 --> 00:07:05.540 This is the device known, as I mentioned, 00:07:05.540 --> 00:07:09.540 among exegetes in particular as "connecting the end to the beginning," 00:07:09.540 --> 00:07:11.540 and rhetoricians term it similarly, 00:07:11.540 --> 00:07:13.540 though they impose technical constraints on it 00:07:13.540 --> 00:07:15.540 that would exclude many such verses from the definition. 00:07:15.540 --> 00:07:17.540 I do not wish to delve further into that technical discussion now. 00:07:17.540 --> 00:07:19.540 May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and Companions all together. 00:07:19.540 --> 00:07:21.540 And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.