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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

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A Gentle Commentary

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on the Book "Identification Cards

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for the Surahs of the Noble Mus-haf"

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by Dr. Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Aziz Ibn Umar Nasif,

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may Allah preserve him.

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Surah Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

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In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

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All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation,

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and may peace and blessings be upon the Seal

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of the Prophets and the Messengers,

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and upon his family and all his Companions.

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We continue with our gentle commentary,

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and we are with Surah Muhammad,

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peace be upon him.

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I would like to pause here with three points.

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The first point relates to the occasion of revelation.

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Reference was made to an occasion of revelation

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which indicates that it was revealed on the route of the Hijrah,

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but its transmission contains an abandoned narrator (matruk).

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Therefore, more than one scholar has ruled

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that the hadith is extremely weak;

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it is defective due to this abandoned narrator.

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Someone might say here:

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"Well, why did you mention it?"

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I mentioned it because the primary reference work adopted here cited it.

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This shows that although this book

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is generally good,

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such that it is suitable to serve as a foundational study for a person,

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it nevertheless requires review and verification

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regarding the authentications it contains,

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especially when an authentication is made exclusively

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by the authority from whom the author—

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may Allah preserve him—transmitted here,

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namely Imam al-Qurtubi in his Tafsir,

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*Al-Jami' li-Ahkam al-Qur'an*.

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Its theme constitutes the second point.

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As for its theme, he said it is obvious from its name,

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which is fighting (qital);

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thus, its core theme is fighting.

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However, I would like to add

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that its other mentioned names

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contain an allusion to aspects of its subject matter.

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For its name "Muhammad," peace be upon him,

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points to the cause of victory,

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which is alluded to at its very beginning.

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He said: "Those who disbelieved..."

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“Those who disbelieve and turn (men) from the way of Allah, He rendereth their actions vain.” (47:1)

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Scholars of rhetoric state that such relative clauses

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“Those who disbelieve and turn (men) from the way of Allah, He rendereth their actions vain.” (47:1)

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serve to indicate

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the reason and justification

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for the outcome: the outcome being, "He rendered their deeds worthless."

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Why? Because they disbelieved and averted people from the path of Allah.

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Then He said: "And those who believed

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and did righteous deeds..."

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“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)

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And it is well known that this addresses the Muslims.

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Why then specify faith in our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him,

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even though all believers

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must believe in that by default?

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This indicates

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that the reason for victory,

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and the reason for what is mentioned here—

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"And those who believed and did righteous deeds"—

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“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)

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“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)

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is: "He will remove from them their misdeeds

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and amend their condition." Thus the outcome

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is built upon the cause.

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Moreover, if we look at the entire context,

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we say that one of the greatest

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causes of victory—in fact, it is

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a prerequisite among the causes of victory—

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is that Muslims truly believe

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in that which was revealed

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to their Prophet Muhammad,

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may Allah bless him and

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his family and Companions.

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Furthermore, the third name that

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was mentioned by Imam al-Biqa'i,

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and which he affirmed in the book,

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is *Al-Ladhina Kafaru* ("Those Who Disbelieved").

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The reality is that the surah identifies those who disbelieved;

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you will find their traits described in a manner that calls

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for fighting them,

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clarifies their ultimate fate,

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and shows that it is utter ruin.

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There is no doubt

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that keeping the traits of the disbelievers in mind

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is exceptionally important

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in such a context.

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Hence, the surah drew contrasts

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illustrating the qualities of the believers

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so that their resolve might be elevated,

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while exposing the conditions of the disbelievers

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so as to strengthen the believers

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in fighting them.

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The third and final point

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concerns the word *thumma* ("then").

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I may have mentioned this before,

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but I want to state it explicitly here

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so that it stands as

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an independent point

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and receives proper focus.

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This is a consistent convention throughout the book,

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except for whatever human errors

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or typographical mistakes might occur.

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The word *thumma* ("then"),

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whenever it appears in the context

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of the surah's thematic sections,

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indicates

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the start of a new section.

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Observe with me, in Surah

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Muhammad, peace be upon him,

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under the division of its parts,

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he said it contains three sections,

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and then he listed numbers: 7,

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16, and 25.

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These numbers are the beginning verses of each section.

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Then we notice,

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since they are three sections,

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the discussion of the first section begins with his words:

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"In it is an encouragement toward victory..."

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Here begins the discussion of the first section.

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Then, when the word *thumma* appears,

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the discussion has moved

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to the second section, which begins with verse

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sixteen.

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Then the subsequent *thumma* marks the section beginning with verse

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twenty-five.

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This helps one track

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the various sections.

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Someone might ask: "Why did you not print

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the actual verses that begin the sections?"

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This was a matter

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about which consultation took place,

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and I, along with those I consulted, concluded

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that it is preferable to omit them so that

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the book does not become overly lengthy.

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Thus, this word *thumma* points to

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the sections; if one keeps the Mus-haf

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close at hand and follows the sections,

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they can write the verse down in their own copy,

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if they wish, in the margin,

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for example.

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And this is the last thought I will conclude with:

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it is highly recommended

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to read the book alongside one's complete recitation (khatmah)

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of the Qur'an.

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When you complete the Qur'an in Ramadan,

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before you begin a surah, pause

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for five minutes,

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read its introductory profile,

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and then proceed.

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For that, by Allah's leave, will have a wonderful impact.

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I will suffice with this much.

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May Allah bless Muhammad, and his family and all his Companions.

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All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation.