WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.759 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:32.299 A Gentle Commentary 00:00:32.299 --> 00:00:35.299 on the book "Identification Cards 00:00:35.299 --> 00:00:38.299 for the Surahs of the Noble Mus-haf" 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:42.299 by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nasif, 00:00:42.299 --> 00:00:44.329 may Allah preserve him. 00:00:44.329 --> 00:00:46.329 Surah al-Fatihah. 00:00:46.329 --> 00:00:48.329 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:48.329 --> 00:00:50.329 All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds, 00:00:50.329 --> 00:00:53.030 and may peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers. 00:00:53.030 --> 00:00:56.030 Our lesson today, within the gentle commentary 00:00:56.030 --> 00:00:58.030 on the identification cards, 00:00:58.030 --> 00:01:00.350 focuses on Surah al-Fatihah. 00:01:00.350 --> 00:01:04.349 Discussion on this surah could easily be vast and prolonged, 00:01:04.349 --> 00:01:09.790 but I shall confine myself to three main points. 00:01:09.790 --> 00:01:12.590 The first point 00:01:12.590 --> 00:01:15.590 concerns the author's text regarding the chronological order of its revelation. 00:01:15.590 --> 00:01:18.939 Surah al-Fatihah is not mentioned 00:01:18.939 --> 00:01:21.939 in the well-known transmission concerning the chronological order of revelation, 00:01:21.939 --> 00:01:26.170 although it is evident that it was revealed very early on. 00:01:26.170 --> 00:01:28.359 In the footnote, 00:01:28.359 --> 00:01:30.549 I indicated what is actually intended 00:01:30.549 --> 00:01:32.549 by the well-known transmission, 00:01:32.549 --> 00:01:35.319 contrary to what appears in the printed book. 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:37.319 For the author confined himself in the footnote 00:01:37.319 --> 00:01:39.609 to citing 00:01:39.609 --> 00:01:41.609 another weak transmission 00:01:41.609 --> 00:01:43.829 that ought not to have been mentioned. 00:01:43.829 --> 00:01:47.439 Anyone who has the book will find 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:50.049 this flaw in the footnote 00:01:50.049 --> 00:01:52.109 on page nineteen. 00:01:52.109 --> 00:01:54.109 As for the second point, 00:01:54.109 --> 00:01:56.689 it concerns the analysis of this narration itself: 00:01:56.689 --> 00:01:58.689 this well-known transmission 00:01:58.689 --> 00:02:00.689 upon which I relied. 00:02:00.689 --> 00:02:02.689 I will address it from three perspectives. 00:02:02.689 --> 00:02:04.689 First, its chain of transmission (isnad): 00:02:04.689 --> 00:02:06.689 its isnad contains weakness. 00:02:06.689 --> 00:02:09.689 Although some contemporary researchers declared it strong, 00:02:09.689 --> 00:02:11.689 they did so without any clear evidence. 00:02:11.689 --> 00:02:13.750 Nevertheless, the scholars 00:02:13.750 --> 00:02:16.069 relied upon it due to its renown, 00:02:16.069 --> 00:02:19.069 and its weakness does not warrant discarding it altogether. 00:02:19.069 --> 00:02:21.460 The scholars have thus relied upon it. 00:02:21.460 --> 00:02:23.620 This is the first matter, 00:02:23.620 --> 00:02:25.620 concerning the weakness in its isnad. 00:02:25.620 --> 00:02:27.620 The second matter relates to its text (matn): 00:02:27.620 --> 00:02:29.620 its text requires critical examination. 00:02:29.620 --> 00:02:31.620 Among the best 00:02:31.620 --> 00:02:33.620 of those who relied upon it 00:02:33.620 --> 00:02:35.620 and cited it 00:02:35.620 --> 00:02:37.620 in his Tafsir 00:02:37.620 --> 00:02:39.620 for every surah— 00:02:39.620 --> 00:02:42.129 while simultaneously critiquing its text— 00:02:42.129 --> 00:02:44.129 was Shaykh al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur. 00:02:44.129 --> 00:02:46.129 In his Tafsir, 00:02:46.129 --> 00:02:48.129 you will find him at the beginning of each surah 00:02:48.129 --> 00:02:50.129 saying, "It is counted as the ninth," 00:02:50.129 --> 00:02:52.129 "It is counted as the tenth," 00:02:52.129 --> 00:02:54.129 and the like. 00:02:54.129 --> 00:02:56.129 Then he mentions what contradicts 00:02:56.129 --> 00:02:58.129 that statement, 00:02:58.129 --> 00:03:00.129 or presents 00:03:00.129 --> 00:03:02.129 other evidence that he favors, 00:03:02.129 --> 00:03:04.129 scrutinizes, 00:03:04.129 --> 00:03:06.129 and uses to debate 00:03:06.129 --> 00:03:08.129 this well-known transmission. 00:03:08.129 --> 00:03:10.129 As for most others who relied on this transmission, 00:03:10.129 --> 00:03:12.129 to the best of my knowledge, 00:03:12.129 --> 00:03:14.129 they would simply cite it without 00:03:14.129 --> 00:03:16.129 significant critical scrutiny. 00:03:16.129 --> 00:03:18.129 Perhaps 00:03:18.129 --> 00:03:20.129 Muhammad 'Izzat Darwazah's book, 00:03:20.129 --> 00:03:22.129 "Al-Tafsir al-Hadith", 00:03:22.129 --> 00:03:24.129 also paid some attention to it, but it does not match 00:03:24.129 --> 00:03:26.129 the attention given by al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur. 00:03:26.129 --> 00:03:28.129 Indeed, al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur is among the finest to critique 00:03:28.129 --> 00:03:30.129 the text of Jabir ibn Zayd's transmission, 00:03:30.129 --> 00:03:32.129 the famous narration 00:03:32.129 --> 00:03:34.129 mentioned by al-Suyuti in 00:03:34.129 --> 00:03:37.469 "Al-Itqan" and other works. 00:03:37.469 --> 00:03:39.539 The third matter is that there is 00:03:39.539 --> 00:03:41.539 confusion in the sequencing of this transmission; 00:03:41.539 --> 00:03:43.539 that is, those who relied on this transmission 00:03:43.539 --> 00:03:45.539 confounded it, advancing some surahs and delaying others. 00:03:45.539 --> 00:03:47.539 Even al-Tahir ibn 'Ashur 00:03:47.539 --> 00:03:49.539 fell into this, among others. 00:03:49.539 --> 00:03:51.539 For this reason, I relied upon 00:03:51.539 --> 00:03:53.539 the narration that I referenced 00:03:53.539 --> 00:03:55.629 in the footnote 00:03:55.629 --> 00:03:57.629 on that very page, 00:03:57.629 --> 00:03:59.629 where the modification in the footnote occurred. 00:03:59.629 --> 00:04:01.629 I relied on the transmission of Abu 'Amr al-Dani 00:04:01.629 --> 00:04:03.659 in his book 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:05.659 "Al-Bayan fi 'Add Ay al-Qur'an", 00:04:05.659 --> 00:04:07.659 because it is a narration with a connected isnad; later authors transmitted it from it, 00:04:07.659 --> 00:04:09.659 yet when they transmitted it, 00:04:09.659 --> 00:04:11.659 errors occurred in their ordering. 00:04:11.659 --> 00:04:13.659 And this transmission, 00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:15.789 which is found with Abu 'Amr, 00:04:15.789 --> 00:04:17.790 may Allah have mercy on him, contains no mention of al-Fatihah. 00:04:17.790 --> 00:04:20.139 Therefore, al-Fatihah 00:04:20.139 --> 00:04:22.139 is not counted within 00:04:22.139 --> 00:04:24.370 the well-known transmission 00:04:24.370 --> 00:04:26.370 upon which I relied. These were two points, 00:04:26.370 --> 00:04:28.370 both of which were related 00:04:28.370 --> 00:04:30.370 to the chronological order of revelation. 00:04:30.370 --> 00:04:32.589 With each surah, 00:04:32.589 --> 00:04:34.589 we will attempt to pause over an aspect we have not previously addressed. 00:04:34.589 --> 00:04:36.589 We have now paused over the order of revelation, 00:04:36.589 --> 00:04:38.589 and with another surah we shall examine 00:04:38.589 --> 00:04:40.589 the occasions of revelation (asbab al-nuzul) and other matters, 00:04:40.589 --> 00:04:42.589 to clarify various issues, if Allah wills. 00:04:42.589 --> 00:04:44.879 The third point is the most important of all, 00:04:44.879 --> 00:04:46.879 so lend it your hearing 00:04:46.879 --> 00:04:48.879 and your hearts; 00:04:48.879 --> 00:04:51.139 I ask Allah to grant spiritual opening to me and to you, 00:04:51.139 --> 00:04:53.139 reminding both myself and my beloved listeners. 00:04:53.139 --> 00:04:55.899 Give your full attention to Surah al-Fatihah, 00:04:55.899 --> 00:04:58.060 for it is the greatest surah of the Qur'an. 00:04:58.060 --> 00:05:00.060 It is the one that encapsulates the entire Qur'an, 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:02.060 encompassing all of its core objectives. 00:05:02.060 --> 00:05:05.220 Here, I wish to draw attention 00:05:05.220 --> 00:05:07.339 to two essential dimensions: 00:05:07.339 --> 00:05:09.339 the scholarly and the practical. 00:05:09.339 --> 00:05:11.600 As for the scholarly dimension, 00:05:11.600 --> 00:05:13.600 I say: one must attain deep understanding (fiqh) 00:05:13.600 --> 00:05:15.629 of the meanings of al-Fatihah. 00:05:15.629 --> 00:05:17.629 Make a habit, every so often, of reading 00:05:17.629 --> 00:05:19.790 a Tafsir of al-Fatihah 00:05:19.790 --> 00:05:21.920 that you have not read before. 00:05:21.920 --> 00:05:23.920 If you read Ibn Kathir this month, 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:25.920 read al-Qurtubi the next month, 00:05:25.920 --> 00:05:27.920 then a third exegete, and a fourth. 00:05:27.920 --> 00:05:29.920 Read as abundantly as you can 00:05:29.920 --> 00:05:31.920 from the works of Tafsir on al-Fatihah, 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:33.920 because this continually renews 00:05:33.920 --> 00:05:35.920 what you already know and provides you with fresh 00:05:35.920 --> 00:05:38.269 insights. This is directly connected 00:05:38.269 --> 00:05:40.269 to the other dimension, which is the practical 00:05:40.269 --> 00:05:42.850 application: be diligent 00:05:42.850 --> 00:05:44.850 in contemplating al-Fatihah 00:05:44.850 --> 00:05:46.850 during prayer whenever you recite it or hear it. 00:05:46.850 --> 00:05:48.850 Never pass over it 00:05:48.850 --> 00:05:50.850 hastily; 00:05:50.850 --> 00:05:52.850 rather, know and be certain that it is greater 00:05:52.850 --> 00:05:54.850 than anything you will recite or hear after it. 00:05:54.850 --> 00:05:56.939 Indeed, 00:05:56.939 --> 00:05:58.939 as we mentioned, it encompasses the objectives of the Qur'an, 00:05:58.939 --> 00:06:00.939 serving as the key 00:06:00.939 --> 00:06:02.939 to understanding everything that follows it. 00:06:02.939 --> 00:06:04.939 When you recite al-Fatihah in prayer, 00:06:04.939 --> 00:06:06.939 realize that whatever follows is understood through it, 00:06:06.939 --> 00:06:08.939 and that it is the key to that understanding. 00:06:08.939 --> 00:06:10.939 So focus deeply upon it 00:06:10.939 --> 00:06:12.939 and give it its due reverence. 00:06:12.939 --> 00:06:14.939 In fact, al-Fatihah is the prayer itself, 00:06:14.939 --> 00:06:16.939 as indicated by the hadith: "I have divided the prayer 00:06:16.939 --> 00:06:18.939 between Myself and My servant into two halves." 00:06:18.939 --> 00:06:20.939 Thus, He designated al-Fatihah 00:06:20.939 --> 00:06:23.389 as the prayer itself, 00:06:23.389 --> 00:06:25.389 which is by way of elevating its supreme status. 00:06:25.389 --> 00:06:27.649 For that reason, it has been named 00:06:27.649 --> 00:06:29.899 the Surah of Prayer. 00:06:30.160 --> 00:06:32.160 I shall content myself with this discussion regarding this 00:06:32.160 --> 00:06:34.160 surah; otherwise, speech 00:06:34.160 --> 00:06:36.160 concerning it could extend indefinitely, as I noted. 00:06:36.160 --> 00:06:38.160 Whoever wishes 00:06:38.160 --> 00:06:40.160 may listen to the detailed commentary. 00:06:40.160 --> 00:06:42.160 Furthermore, seek an abundance 00:06:42.160 --> 00:06:44.160 of learning and spiritual tasting 00:06:44.160 --> 00:06:46.160 of Surah al-Fatihah, 00:06:46.160 --> 00:06:48.160 and you will find immense good, 00:06:48.160 --> 00:06:50.160 by Allah's leave. 00:06:50.160 --> 00:06:52.160 May peace and blessings be upon his family and all his Companions, 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:54.160 and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.