WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.200 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:05.160 --> 00:00:08.039 A summary of the Tafsir of al-Tabari. 00:00:08.539 --> 00:00:12.740 Abridged by Dr. Aqil ibn Salim al-Shammari. 00:00:14.029 --> 00:00:15.949 Surah al-Hijr. 00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:22.480 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:22.480 --> 00:00:28.149 Alif, Lam, Ra. 00:00:28.149 --> 00:00:34.310 “Alif. Lam. Ra. These are verses of the Scripture and a plain Reading.” (15:1) 00:00:34.469 --> 00:00:40.869 “It may be that those who disbelieve wish ardently that they were Muslims.” (15:2) 00:00:42.250 --> 00:00:44.280 Alif, Lam, Ra. 00:00:44.280 --> 00:00:48.520 These are the verses of the scriptures that preceded the Qur'an, 00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:50.880 Such as the Torah and the Gospel. 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:57.200 And they are verses of a Qur'an that clarifies for those who contemplate and reflect upon it their path to righteousness and guidance. 00:00:57.200 --> 00:01:02.280 Those who disbelieved in Allah and denied His oneness will perhaps wish, 00:01:02.600 --> 00:01:05.840 Had they been Muslims in the worldly life. 00:01:07.189 --> 00:01:16.269 “Let them eat and enjoy life, and let (false) hope beguile them. They will come to know!” (15:3) 00:01:17.430 --> 00:01:22.030 Leave them, O Muhammad, these polytheists, to eat in this world, 00:01:22.510 --> 00:01:26.390 And to enjoy its pleasures and their desires therein, 00:01:26.750 --> 00:01:29.469 Until their appointed time which has been decreed for them. 00:01:29.909 --> 00:01:34.909 And let false hope distract them from taking their share of obedience to Allah while in it. 00:01:35.469 --> 00:01:42.269 For they will soon know tomorrow, when they are brought before Him, that they were in loss and ruin. 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:51.959 “And We destroyed no township but there was a known decree for it.” (15:4) 00:01:52.239 --> 00:01:58.400 No nation can hasten its appointed time, nor can they delay it. 00:01:59.569 --> 00:02:06.209 And We have not destroyed, O Muhammad, any of the people of the towns that We destroyed in the past, 00:02:06.609 --> 00:02:10.729 But that it had a fixed time and a known duration. 00:02:11.129 --> 00:02:13.210 Likewise are the people of your town; 00:02:13.569 --> 00:02:18.530 We do not destroy its polytheist inhabitants until their decree has reached its end. 00:02:19.120 --> 00:02:22.599 No nation’s destruction is advanced before its appointed time, 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:27.960 Nor is its destruction delayed beyond the time that has been set for it. 00:02:29.389 --> 00:02:38.150 “And they say: O thou unto whom the Reminder is revealed, lo! thou art indeed a madman!” (15:6) 00:02:38.469 --> 00:02:48.069 “Why bringest thou not angels unto us, if thou art of the truthful?” (15:7) 00:02:49.349 --> 00:02:51.629 These polytheists said, 00:02:52.069 --> 00:02:55.030 "O you to whom the Qur'an has been sent down, 00:02:55.389 --> 00:02:59.270 Which Allah has used to remind His creation through the admonitions it contains, 00:02:59.750 --> 00:03:05.949 You are surely mad in your call for us to follow you and abandon our gods. 00:03:06.509 --> 00:03:11.509 Why do you not bring us the angels to bear witness for you regarding the truth of what you say, 00:03:12.069 --> 00:03:17.270 If you are truthful in your claim that Allah the Exalted has sent you to us as a messenger?" 00:03:18.620 --> 00:03:28.099 “We send not down the angels save with the Fact, and in that case (the disbelievers) would not be tolerated.” (15:8) 00:03:29.860 --> 00:03:35.729 We do not send down Our angels except with the truth—with the message to Our messengers, 00:03:36.289 --> 00:03:39.009 Or with punishment for those whom We intend to punish. 00:03:39.689 --> 00:03:44.050 And if We had sent a sign to these polytheists and they disbelieved, 00:03:44.569 --> 00:03:47.129 They would not be granted respite, nor would they be delayed from the punishment. 00:03:47.770 --> 00:03:53.770 Rather, they would be hastened to it, just as We did with the nations before them when they asked for signs; 00:03:54.370 --> 00:03:59.409 They disbelieved when the signs came to them, so We hastened their punishment. 00:04:01.229 --> 00:04:09.060 “Lo! We, even We, reveal the Reminder, and lo! We verily are its Guardian.” (15:9) 00:04:10.479 --> 00:04:15.800 Indeed, it is We who have sent down the Qur'an, and indeed, We are its guardians, 00:04:16.360 --> 00:04:19.439 Protecting it from having falsehood added to it that is not part of it, 00:04:20.040 --> 00:04:25.199 Or having anything removed from it that belongs to it, such as its rulings, boundaries, and obligations. 00:04:26.509 --> 00:04:33.110 “We verily sent (messengers) before thee among the factions of the men of old.” (15:10) 00:04:33.670 --> 00:04:41.110 “And never came there unto them a messenger but they did mock him.” (15:11) 00:04:42.730 --> 00:04:47.370 And We have certainly sent, O Muhammad, messengers before you among the former nations. 00:04:48.199 --> 00:04:51.360 And no messenger ever came to the former people whom Allah sent, 00:04:51.879 --> 00:04:54.360 But that they would mock the messengers. 00:04:55.860 --> 00:05:01.300 “Thus do We make it traverse the hearts of the guilty:” (15:12) 00:05:01.819 --> 00:05:09.540 “They believe not therein, though the example of the men of old hath gone before.” (15:13) 00:05:11.310 --> 00:05:15.670 Just as We instilled disbelief in the hearts of the ancients through their mockery of the messengers, 00:05:16.310 --> 00:05:20.670 So do We act in the hearts of those who have committed crimes by disbelieving in Allah. 00:05:21.529 --> 00:05:26.769 Your people, in whose hearts We have instilled denial, will not believe in this Qur'an, 00:05:27.250 --> 00:05:29.449 Until they see the painful punishment. 00:05:30.050 --> 00:05:34.290 We have taken from them the Sunnah of their predecessors among the polytheists before them, 00:05:34.689 --> 00:05:37.209 From the nations that denied their messenger, 00:05:37.810 --> 00:05:40.730 And did not believe in what came to them from Allah, 00:05:41.250 --> 00:05:44.490 Until the wrath of Allah befell them and they were destroyed. 00:05:46.279 --> 00:05:55.480 “And even if We opened unto them a gate of heaven and they kept mounting through it,” (15:14) 00:05:55.879 --> 00:06:06.300 “They would say: Our sight is wrong - nay, but we are folk bewitched.” (15:15) 00:06:06.660 --> 00:06:11.699 And if We had opened for these polytheists, O Muhammad, a gate from the heaven, 00:06:12.339 --> 00:06:15.139 And they continued to ascend and climb through it, 00:06:15.860 --> 00:06:21.740 And it was said that the angels continued to ascend through it while they watched them with their own eyes, 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:26.339 These polytheists would still say, "This is not the truth; 00:06:27.180 --> 00:06:29.980 Our eyes have only been dazzled and bewitched, 00:06:30.459 --> 00:06:33.220 So we do not see things as they truly are." 00:06:34.800 --> 00:06:44.720 And We have placed constellations in the heaven and beautified it for the beholders. 00:06:46.069 --> 00:06:50.310 And We have placed in the lowest heaven stations for the sun and the moon. 00:06:50.949 --> 00:06:55.629 And We have adorned the heaven with stars for those who look at it and perceive it. 00:06:57.209 --> 00:07:03.810 “And We have guarded it from every outcast devil,” (15:17) 00:07:04.290 --> 00:07:11.250 “Save him who stealeth the hearing, and them doth a clear flame pursue.” (15:18) 00:07:12.730 --> 00:07:18.050 And We have protected the lowest heaven from every devil whom Allah has pelted and cursed. 00:07:18.730 --> 00:07:23.449 However, a devil may steal a hearing of what is spoken in the heaven, 00:07:24.009 --> 00:07:28.089 So a flaming meteor follows him, revealing its effect upon him, 00:07:28.569 --> 00:07:32.490 Either by striking and corrupting him or by burning him. 00:07:34.089 --> 00:07:41.730 And the earth We have spread out, cast upon it firm mountains, and caused to grow therein, 00:07:42.170 --> 00:07:48.930 “And the earth have We spread out, and placed therein firm hills, and caused each seemly thing to grow therein.” (15:19) 00:07:50.579 --> 00:07:56.819 And the earth We have leveled and spread, and cast upon its surface firm mountains. 00:07:57.420 --> 00:08:02.819 And We have caused to grow in the earth everything in a measured and known quantity. 00:08:04.470 --> 00:08:11.790 “And we have given unto you livelihoods therein, and unto those for whom ye provide not.” (15:20) 00:08:13.209 --> 00:08:16.529 And We have provided for you, O people, means of livelihood on the earth, 00:08:17.089 --> 00:08:20.329 And We have placed therein those for whom you are not the providers, 00:08:20.769 --> 00:08:24.250 Such as slaves, bondwomen, beasts, and livestock. 00:08:25.660 --> 00:08:42.179 “And there is not a thing but with Us are the stores thereof. And we send it not down save in appointed measure.” (15:21) 00:08:44.429 --> 00:08:56.029 And there is no thing except that We have its storehouses, and We do not send it down except in a known measure, for every land has its limit and extent known to Us. 00:08:57.700 --> 00:09:12.860 “And We send the winds fertilising, and cause water to descend from the sky, and give it you to drink. It is not ye who are the holders of the store thereof.” (15:22) 00:09:14.610 --> 00:09:21.610 And We have sent the fertilizing winds; it is a fertilizer and a pollinator, and its pollination is its carrying of water. 00:09:22.289 --> 00:09:28.679 Its pollination of the clouds and trees is its function, so We sent down rain from the sky. 00:09:29.320 --> 00:09:34.200 So We gave you that rain to drink, for the irrigation of your land and your livestock. 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:40.039 And you are not the keepers of the water that We sent down, so you cannot withhold it from those whom We give to drink, 00:09:40.519 --> 00:09:44.600 Because that is in My hand; I give it to whom I will. 00:09:54.870 --> 00:10:02.549 And indeed, it is We who give life to those who were dead if We will, and We cause to die those who are alive if We wish. 00:10:03.029 --> 00:10:10.230 And We shall inherit the earth and whoever is upon it by causing them all to die, so that no one remains alive but Us. 00:10:12.340 --> 00:10:20.179 “And verily We know the eager among you and verily We know the laggards.” (15:24) 00:10:20.820 --> 00:10:29.299 “Lo! thy Lord will gather them together. Lo! He is Wise, Aware.” (15:25) 00:10:30.730 --> 00:10:35.610 And We have certainly known the dead among you, O children of Adam, whose death has come early, 00:10:36.250 --> 00:10:40.570 And We have certainly known those who are the latecomers whose death has been delayed. 00:10:41.370 --> 00:10:47.929 And your Lord, O Muhammad, is the one who will gather all the first and the last before Him on the Day of Resurrection. 00:10:48.730 --> 00:10:54.809 Indeed, your Lord is Wise in His management of His creation, All-Knowing of their number and their deeds, 00:10:55.370 --> 00:11:00.490 And of the living among them and the dead, and the early ones and the late ones. 00:11:02.090 --> 00:11:10.970 “Verily We created man of potter's clay of black mud altered,” (15:26) 00:11:12.679 --> 00:11:17.639 And We created Adam from dry clay that had not been touched by fire. 00:11:18.440 --> 00:11:25.639 So when you tap it, it rings, and you hear a clinking sound from clay that has changed to black. 00:11:27.340 --> 00:11:37.450 “And the jinn did We create aforetime of essential fire.” (15:27) 00:11:38.759 --> 00:11:45.159 And Iblis, We created him before Adam from the scorching, hot fire that kills. 00:11:46.870 --> 00:12:03.350 “And (remember) when thy Lord said unto the angels: Lo! I am creating a mortal out of potter's clay of black mud altered,” (15:28) 00:12:03.830 --> 00:12:11.429 So when I have fashioned him and breathed into him of My spirit, then fall down before him in prostration. 00:12:12.950 --> 00:12:20.789 And mention, O Muhammad, when Allah said, "I am creating a human being from dry clay that has changed to black. 00:12:21.590 --> 00:12:24.149 So when I have created him, prostrate to him." 00:12:24.950 --> 00:12:28.950 So when I have created him and formed him, and perfected his form, 00:12:29.590 --> 00:12:33.429 And breathed into him of My spirit, he became a living human being. 00:12:34.070 --> 00:12:38.950 So fall down before him in prostration of greeting and honor, not prostration of worship. 00:12:40.679 --> 00:12:47.799 So the angels prostrated, all of them together. 00:12:48.200 --> 00:12:54.759 “Save Iblis. He refused to be among the prostrate.” (15:31) 00:12:56.179 --> 00:13:00.580 So when Allah created that human and breathed the spirit into him, 00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:03.940 The angels prostrated, all of them together, 00:13:04.259 --> 00:13:09.059 Except Iblis; he refused to be with those who prostrated. 00:13:09.620 --> 00:13:13.860 He did not prostrate to him with them, out of arrogance, envy, and transgression. 00:13:15.370 --> 00:13:22.490 He said, "O Iblis, what is the matter with you that you are not with those who prostrate?" 00:13:22.730 --> 00:13:37.769 “He said: I am not one to prostrate myself unto a mortal whom Thou hast created out of potter's clay of black mud altered!” (15:33) 00:13:39.159 --> 00:13:43.639 Allah said, "What prevented you from being with those who prostrate?" 00:13:44.440 --> 00:13:51.320 Iblis said, "I would not prostrate to a human whom You created from clay, while I am from fire, 00:13:51.879 --> 00:13:53.879 And fire consumes clay." 00:13:55.129 --> 00:14:00.169 He said, "Then get out of it, for you are rejected." 00:14:00.730 --> 00:14:07.450 “And lo! the curse shall be upon thee till the Day of Judgment.” (15:35) 00:14:09.019 --> 00:14:13.019 Allah said, "Then get out of it, for you are cursed, 00:14:13.580 --> 00:14:19.659 And the wrath of Allah is upon you for His expelling you from the heavens and driving you away from them, 00:14:19.899 --> 00:14:24.139 Until the Day of Recompense," which is the Day of Resurrection. 00:14:25.700 --> 00:14:31.860 He said, "My Lord, then respite me until the Day they are resurrected." 00:14:32.580 --> 00:14:37.220 He said, "Then you are of those respited, 00:14:37.779 --> 00:14:42.100 Until the day of the known time." 00:14:43.539 --> 00:14:49.220 Iblis said, "My Lord, since You have expelled me from the heavens and cursed me, 00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:53.620 Then respite me until the day You resurrect Your creation from their graves, 00:14:53.940 --> 00:14:56.419 And gather them for the station of the Resurrection." 00:14:57.220 --> 00:15:01.299 Allah said to him, "You are of those whose destruction is delayed 00:15:01.700 --> 00:15:05.779 Until the day of the known time for the destruction of all My creation." 00:15:07.179 --> 00:15:17.899 He said, "My Lord, because You have misled me, I will surely beautify for them on earth, 00:15:17.980 --> 00:15:22.299 And I will mislead them all, 00:15:22.779 --> 00:15:26.940 Except Your chosen servants among them." 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:31.799 Iblis said, "My Lord, because of Your misleading me, 00:15:32.200 --> 00:15:34.360 I will surely make their disobedience appear fair to them, 00:15:34.919 --> 00:15:37.559 And I will make them love it on earth, 00:15:38.200 --> 00:15:41.000 And I will surely lead them astray from the path of righteousness, 00:15:41.480 --> 00:15:44.919 Except for those whom You have chosen by Your guidance and guided, 00:15:45.399 --> 00:15:50.519 For they are those over whom I have no authority and no power." 00:15:51.820 --> 00:15:56.139 “He said: This is a right course incumbent upon Me:” (15:41) 00:15:56.620 --> 00:16:05.500 “Lo! as for My slaves, thou hast no power over any of them save such of the froward as follow thee,” (15:42) 00:16:07.049 --> 00:16:11.049 Allah said, "This is a path that returns to Me. 00:16:11.450 --> 00:16:13.690 I will recompense everyone for their deeds. 00:16:14.169 --> 00:16:17.129 Indeed, My servants—you have no authority over them, 00:16:17.610 --> 00:16:23.610 Except for those who follow you in the misguidance to which you called them, from among those who went astray and perished." 00:16:24.889 --> 00:16:31.929 “And lo! for all such, hell will be the promised place.” (15:43) 00:16:32.409 --> 00:16:40.250 “It hath seven gates, and each gate hath an appointed portion.” (15:44) 00:16:41.580 --> 00:16:44.779 And indeed, Hell is the promised place for all of those who follow you. 00:16:45.500 --> 00:16:47.500 Hell has seven gates. 00:16:48.059 --> 00:16:52.940 For every gate, there is a portion and a share allotted for the followers of Iblis. 00:16:54.919 --> 00:17:03.080 Indeed, the righteous will be within gardens and springs. 00:17:03.559 --> 00:17:08.359 "Enter them in peace, safe." 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:14.519 And We will remove whatever is in their chests of resentment, as brothers. 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:20.279 “And We remove whatever rancour may be in their breasts. As brethren, face to face, (they rest) on couches raised.” (15:47) 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:27.799 “Toil cometh not unto them there, nor will they be expelled from thence.” (15:48) 00:17:29.130 --> 00:17:32.890 Indeed, those who feared Allah through obedience and were mindful of Him, 00:17:33.450 --> 00:17:35.450 Will be in gardens and springs. 00:17:36.089 --> 00:17:41.609 It will be said to them, "Enter them in peace, safe from the punishment of Allah." 00:17:42.250 --> 00:17:48.970 And We will remove what is in the chests of these righteous people of hatred and malice toward one another. 00:17:49.609 --> 00:17:52.650 As brothers, some of them facing others, 00:17:53.130 --> 00:17:56.009 No one turns his back on another to look at his rear. 00:17:56.650 --> 00:17:59.609 No fatigue will touch these righteous people, 00:18:00.089 --> 00:18:03.849 And they will not be removed from Paradise and its bliss. 00:18:03.849 --> 00:18:09.269 A summary of the Tafsir of al-Tabari.