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

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The commentary series

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on the book "Identification Cards

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for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an"

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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 al-Mujadilah.

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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 of the Prophets and Messengers,

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and upon his family and all his Companions.

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We continue with our commentary

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on the Identification Cards,

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and we have arrived at Surah al-Mujadilah.

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I have three main points to make regarding it.

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The first point concerns the opening of the Surah,

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for it begins with an informative statement

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affirming

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the Hearing of Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He:

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﴾Allah has indeed heard the speech of the woman who pleads with you...﴿

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“Allah hath heard the saying of her that disputeth with thee (Muhammad) concerning her husband, and complaineth unto Allah. And Allah heareth your colloquy. Lo! Allah is Hearer, Knower.” (58:1)

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﴾and complains to Allah,﴿

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﴾and Allah hears your dialogue.﴿

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Then He, Mighty and Majestic is He, said:

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﴾Indeed, Allah is All-Hearing,﴿

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﴾All-Seeing.﴿

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And this opening,

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as is typical of the openings of the Surahs,

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gives an indication of the overarching theme of the Surah.

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For even though this verse

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speaks about an incident

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that is not

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encompassing the entire Surah,

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but rather is an incident

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related to the opening verses of the Surah,

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nevertheless, this central meaning

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contained within it—which is the affirmation of Allah's Hearing

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and Allah's Sight,

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both of which necessitate

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the Knowledge of Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He—

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I say:

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this theme permeates

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the entire Surah.

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Numerous verses

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appear throughout the Surah connected

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to this reality:

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that Allah knows everything and is fully watchful

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over His servants wherever they may be;

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“Hast thou not seen that Allah knoweth all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth? There is no secret conference of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more but He is with them wheresoever they may be; and afterward, on the Day of Resurrection, He will inform them of what they did. Lo! Allah is Knower of all things.” (58:7)

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“Hast thou not seen that Allah knoweth all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth? There is no secret conference of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more but He is with them wheresoever they may be; and afterward, on the Day of Resurrection, He will inform them of what they did. Lo! Allah is Knower of all things.” (58:7)

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﴾...but He is their sixth...﴿

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“Hast thou not seen that Allah knoweth all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth? There is no secret conference of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more but He is with them wheresoever they may be; and afterward, on the Day of Resurrection, He will inform them of what they did. Lo! Allah is Knower of all things.” (58:7)

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“Hast thou not seen that Allah knoweth all that is in the heavens and all that is in the earth? There is no secret conference of three but He is their fourth, nor of five but He is their sixth, nor of less than that or more but He is with them wheresoever they may be; and afterward, on the Day of Resurrection, He will inform them of what they did. Lo! Allah is Knower of all things.” (58:7)

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This brings me

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to the second point:

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If the central theme of the Surah

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is evident from its opening,

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and from the recurring

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mentions of the Knowledge of Allah,

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Glorified and Exalted be He,

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then this draws our attention to the fact

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that creedal matters ('Aqidah)

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were not restricted

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to the Meccan Surahs alone.

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It is widely known that Meccan Surahs

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were

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primarily focused on creed,

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while Medinan Surahs contained

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more legal rulings.

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While this is true,

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creedal themes

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continued to recur

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until the very last verse revealed:

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“And guard yourselves against a day in which ye will be brought back to Allah. Then every soul will be paid in full that which it hath earned, and they will not be wronged.” (2:281)

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“And guard yourselves against a day in which ye will be brought back to Allah. Then every soul will be paid in full that which it hath earned, and they will not be wronged.” (2:281)

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﴾...every soul will be compensated for what it earned, and they will not be wronged,﴿

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according to a well-known scholarly view

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regarding the last verse revealed.

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It is a verse that reminds us

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of the Hereafter

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and of standing before Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He.

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Creed is something

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that a Muslim needs

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at the very beginning of his Islam,

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and thereafter

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his need for it continues

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throughout

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his life. Thus, for the Companions,

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there was no cessation

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of creedal verses

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revealed to them

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after the Meccan period;

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rather, they continued to be revealed

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until the Prophet,

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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

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met his Lord.

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This is something we must remain mindful of.

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Moreover, we must also realize

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that the verses of legal rulings

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themselves—and these verses are among them,

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for we have multiple legal rulings in this Surah—

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the verses of rulings themselves

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contain mentions

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of creedal matters

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and attach hearts to the Knower of the Unseen,

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Glorified and Exalted be He.

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This is a point that should not be overlooked by any Muslim

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in general, nor should it

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be overlooked by a student

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of sacred knowledge in particular,

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and it should never be overlooked,

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even more specifically, by the jurist

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who provides people with legal rulings;

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for he must inevitably connect that

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to Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He,

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and to His Wisdom

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and Knowledge, Exalted is He in the Highest.

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As for the third point,

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it concerns a phrase repeated

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in the Surah:

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﴾Indeed, those who oppose Allah and His Messenger...﴿

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“Lo! those who oppose Allah and His messenger will be abased even as those before them were abased; and We have sent down clear tokens, and for disbelievers is a shameful doom” (58:5)

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﴾...before them.﴿

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﴾Indeed, those who oppose Allah and His Messenger—﴿

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﴾those will be among the most debased.﴿

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This expression,

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which denotes severe,

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vehement opposition—when you say

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"So-and-so opposes (yuhadd) Allah and His Messenger,"

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it is a phrase that terrifies

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and makes the skin of a believer shudder.

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Yet if you look

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at the legal rulings mentioned in the Surah,

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they are rulings concerning

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zihar—

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the ruling of zihar, which was an expression

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the Arabs used to unlawfully declare their wives

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forbidden to them.

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They were prohibited from doing so,

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and specific boundaries were established,

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clarifying the lawful manner of separation

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and that this method was unlawful,

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along with other such rulings.

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One might not feel that these rulings belong to—

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or so one might superficially perceive,

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though this is a flawed view—

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one might not perceive them as core fundamentals

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of the religion that must never be violated,

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yet Allah termed violating them

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an act of opposing Allah and His Messenger.

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Look at Imam al-Tabari,

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when he

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explains this verse:

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﴾Indeed, those who oppose Allah and His Messenger...﴿

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He said: "Indeed, those who transgress

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against Allah regarding His boundaries and His obligations,

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setting up boundaries

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other than His boundaries—

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that

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is opposing Allah and His Messenger."

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And commenting on the verse at the end

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of the Surah—and whenever you find

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a word or phrase at the beginning of a Surah

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and at its end, it indicates the thematic coherence

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between its opening and its conclusion—

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he said regarding the second verse:

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"Indeed, those who oppose Allah

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and His Messenger regarding His boundaries

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and what He made incumbent upon them

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of His obligations, showing hostility..."

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Imagine

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the gravity of the matter

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when a person sets boundaries

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other than Allah's boundaries

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that He has demarcated, thereby violating

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Allah's boundaries; the matter is truly perilous.

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How many matters do we look

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upon as trivial, assuming they are

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merely minor sins

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in the record of deeds

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that Allah might easily forgive,

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when they may in fact constitute opposition

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to Allah and His Messenger! A person must therefore

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adhere strictly to the boundaries of Allah,

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even if a matter seems minor to him, such as

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an issue regarding inheritance,

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or in dealing with women,

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and the like; all of this is part of the religion.

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A person must

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abide by the boundaries of Allah

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and never transgress them.

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I ask Allah to grant me and you success

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in doing what He loves and is pleased with.

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