In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
A Gentle Commentary
on the Book "Identification Cards
for the Surahs of the Noble Mus-haf"
by Dr. Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Aziz Ibn Umar Nasif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation,
and may peace and blessings be upon the Seal
of the Prophets and the Messengers,
and upon his family and all his Companions.
We continue with our gentle commentary,
and we are with Surah Muhammad,
peace be upon him.
I would like to pause here with three points.
The first point relates to the occasion of revelation.
Reference was made to an occasion of revelation
which indicates that it was revealed on the route of the Hijrah,
but its transmission contains an abandoned narrator (matruk).
Therefore, more than one scholar has ruled
that the hadith is extremely weak;
it is defective due to this abandoned narrator.
Someone might say here:
"Well, why did you mention it?"
I mentioned it because the primary reference work adopted here cited it.
This shows that although this book
is generally good,
such that it is suitable to serve as a foundational study for a person,
it nevertheless requires review and verification
regarding the authentications it contains,
especially when an authentication is made exclusively
by the authority from whom the author—
may Allah preserve him—transmitted here,
namely Imam al-Qurtubi in his Tafsir,
*Al-Jami' li-Ahkam al-Qur'an*.
Its theme constitutes the second point.
As for its theme, he said it is obvious from its name,
which is fighting (qital);
thus, its core theme is fighting.
However, I would like to add
that its other mentioned names
contain an allusion to aspects of its subject matter.
For its name "Muhammad," peace be upon him,
points to the cause of victory,
which is alluded to at its very beginning.
He said: "Those who disbelieved..."
“Those who disbelieve and turn (men) from the way of Allah, He rendereth their actions vain.” (47:1)
Scholars of rhetoric state that such relative clauses
“Those who disbelieve and turn (men) from the way of Allah, He rendereth their actions vain.” (47:1)
serve to indicate
the reason and justification
for the outcome: the outcome being, "He rendered their deeds worthless."
Why? Because they disbelieved and averted people from the path of Allah.
Then He said: "And those who believed
and did righteous deeds..."
“And those who believe and do good works and believe in that which is revealed unto Muhammad - and it is the truth from their Lord - He riddeth them of their ill-deeds and improveth their state.” (47:2)
And it is well known that this addresses the Muslims.
Why then specify faith in our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him,
even though all believers
must believe in that by default?
This indicates
that the reason for victory,
and the reason for what is mentioned here—
"And those who believed and did righteous deeds"—
“And those who believe and do good works and believe in that which is revealed unto Muhammad - and it is the truth from their Lord - He riddeth them of their ill-deeds and improveth their state.” (47:2)
“And those who believe and do good works and believe in that which is revealed unto Muhammad - and it is the truth from their Lord - He riddeth them of their ill-deeds and improveth their state.” (47:2)
is: "He will remove from them their misdeeds
and amend their condition." Thus the outcome
is built upon the cause.
Moreover, if we look at the entire context,
we say that one of the greatest
causes of victory—in fact, it is
a prerequisite among the causes of victory—
is that Muslims truly believe
in that which was revealed
to their Prophet Muhammad,
may Allah bless him and
his family and Companions.
Furthermore, the third name that
was mentioned by Imam al-Biqa'i,
and which he affirmed in the book,
is *Al-Ladhina Kafaru* ("Those Who Disbelieved").
The reality is that the surah identifies those who disbelieved;
you will find their traits described in a manner that calls
for fighting them,
clarifies their ultimate fate,
and shows that it is utter ruin.
There is no doubt
that keeping the traits of the disbelievers in mind
is exceptionally important
in such a context.
Hence, the surah drew contrasts
illustrating the qualities of the believers
so that their resolve might be elevated,
while exposing the conditions of the disbelievers
so as to strengthen the believers
in fighting them.
The third and final point
concerns the word *thumma* ("then").
I may have mentioned this before,
but I want to state it explicitly here
so that it stands as
an independent point
and receives proper focus.
This is a consistent convention throughout the book,
except for whatever human errors
or typographical mistakes might occur.
The word *thumma* ("then"),
whenever it appears in the context
of the surah's thematic sections,
indicates
the start of a new section.
Observe with me, in Surah
Muhammad, peace be upon him,
under the division of its parts,
he said it contains three sections,
and then he listed numbers: 7,
16, and 25.
These numbers are the beginning verses of each section.
Then we notice,
since they are three sections,
the discussion of the first section begins with his words:
"In it is an encouragement toward victory..."
Here begins the discussion of the first section.
Then, when the word *thumma* appears,
the discussion has moved
to the second section, which begins with verse
sixteen.
Then the subsequent *thumma* marks the section beginning with verse
twenty-five.
This helps one track
the various sections.
Someone might ask: "Why did you not print
the actual verses that begin the sections?"
This was a matter
about which consultation took place,
and I, along with those I consulted, concluded
that it is preferable to omit them so that
the book does not become overly lengthy.
Thus, this word *thumma* points to
the sections; if one keeps the Mus-haf
close at hand and follows the sections,
they can write the verse down in their own copy,
if they wish, in the margin,
for example.
And this is the last thought I will conclude with:
it is highly recommended
to read the book alongside one's complete recitation (khatmah)
of the Qur'an.
When you complete the Qur'an in Ramadan,
before you begin a surah, pause
for five minutes,
read its introductory profile,
and then proceed.
For that, by Allah's leave, will have a wonderful impact.
I will suffice with this much.
May Allah bless Muhammad, and his family and all his Companions.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation.