WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.100 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:32.189 "The Gentle Commentary 00:00:32.189 --> 00:00:35.210 on the Book of Profile Cards 00:00:35.210 --> 00:00:37.869 for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an" 00:00:37.869 --> 00:00:42.170 by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nasif, 00:00:42.170 --> 00:00:43.869 may Allah preserve him. 00:00:43.869 --> 00:00:46.179 Surah Hud. 00:00:46.179 --> 00:00:50.759 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. 00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:54.060 We continue with our gentle commentary on the profile cards, 00:00:54.060 --> 00:00:56.560 and now we turn to Surah Hud. 00:00:56.560 --> 00:00:59.259 God willing, I will pause over it with three reflections. 00:00:59.259 --> 00:01:00.759 The first reflection: 00:01:00.759 --> 00:01:03.780 regarding this name, "Hud." 00:01:03.780 --> 00:01:08.879 It is named after the story of Hud mentioned within it, and as we noted, one can reflect more deeply and contemplate further, 00:01:08.879 --> 00:01:11.680 as I mentioned in Surah al-A'raf. When you reflect, 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:14.579 you find that this surah has counterparts. 00:01:14.579 --> 00:01:15.980 There are several surahs 00:01:15.980 --> 00:01:18.609 named after prophets: 00:01:18.609 --> 00:01:20.810 among them is Yunus, before it, 00:01:20.810 --> 00:01:22.209 and among them are Yusuf 00:01:22.209 --> 00:01:23.609 and Ibrahim, 00:01:23.609 --> 00:01:24.909 after it, 00:01:24.909 --> 00:01:26.609 along with other surahs, 00:01:26.609 --> 00:01:28.310 such as Nuh, peace be upon him. 00:01:28.310 --> 00:01:30.909 Some scholars looked at the totality of these surahs, 00:01:30.909 --> 00:01:32.010 and they observed 00:01:32.010 --> 00:01:34.510 that the surahs named after 00:01:34.510 --> 00:01:35.709 individuals 00:01:35.709 --> 00:01:37.109 are mostly named after prophets— 00:01:37.109 --> 00:01:39.409 though Luqman is not a prophet— 00:01:39.409 --> 00:01:41.010 and they are generally 00:01:41.010 --> 00:01:43.609 the leaders of Tawhid and faith. 00:01:43.609 --> 00:01:45.310 This is the common thread 00:01:45.310 --> 00:01:49.709 that unites them and qualifies their names 00:01:49.709 --> 00:01:50.810 to be immortalized 00:01:50.810 --> 00:01:52.599 as names of Qur'anic surahs. 00:01:52.599 --> 00:01:53.900 It also gives us 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:57.200 another dimension: that Islam is not an ethnicity, 00:01:57.200 --> 00:01:58.900 nor is it restricted to a race, 00:01:58.900 --> 00:02:00.200 nor 00:02:00.200 --> 00:02:01.000 a color; 00:02:01.000 --> 00:02:02.700 rather, it is 00:02:02.700 --> 00:02:03.599 one 00:02:03.599 --> 00:02:04.859 unified religion, 00:02:04.859 --> 00:02:07.459 beginning all the way back with the very first messenger, 00:02:07.459 --> 00:02:09.360 Nuh, peace be upon him. 00:02:09.360 --> 00:02:11.159 Then comes another question 00:02:11.159 --> 00:02:13.520 that requires further contemplation, 00:02:13.520 --> 00:02:14.120 which is: 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:15.919 why these specific names? 00:02:15.919 --> 00:02:20.319 Musa, peace be upon him, despite his immense virtue and status, as well as 'Isa— 00:02:20.319 --> 00:02:22.919 neither has a surah named after him according to the well-known designations; 00:02:22.919 --> 00:02:24.620 neither Musa nor 'Isa. 00:02:24.620 --> 00:02:26.819 Yet we find Yunus, even though 00:02:26.819 --> 00:02:28.219 we do not know of him receiving 00:02:28.219 --> 00:02:31.319 the same honor from Allah that we know Musa received, 00:02:31.319 --> 00:02:32.719 namely Allah speaking directly to him. 00:02:32.719 --> 00:02:35.919 So the question, to which I currently have no definitive answer— 00:02:35.919 --> 00:02:38.419 and I often raise such questions—is: 00:02:38.419 --> 00:02:41.419 why were these particular names chosen—Hud, Yunus, 00:02:41.419 --> 00:02:43.819 and the rest of those after whom 00:02:43.819 --> 00:02:45.319 surahs of the Qur'an were named— 00:02:45.319 --> 00:02:46.919 rather than other prophets of Allah? 00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:48.719 This is not an absolute preference 00:02:48.719 --> 00:02:50.120 of them over others, 00:02:50.120 --> 00:02:52.520 but rather they possess a unique significance, 00:02:52.520 --> 00:02:54.719 or their narratives contain a distinctive quality 00:02:54.719 --> 00:02:56.639 that necessitated this. 00:02:56.639 --> 00:02:58.860 The second reflection 00:02:58.860 --> 00:02:59.860 concerns 00:02:59.860 --> 00:03:01.060 the chronological order of the surah's revelation, 00:03:01.060 --> 00:03:02.060 which we have previously explained to be, 00:03:02.060 --> 00:03:04.159 in reality, the historical dating of the surah's descent. 00:03:04.159 --> 00:03:06.259 He mentioned the verse count, then stated 00:03:06.259 --> 00:03:09.460 that a part of the surah was revealed in Medina. 00:03:09.460 --> 00:03:10.659 Therefore, 00:03:10.659 --> 00:03:12.159 there is scholarly discussion on this matter: 00:03:12.159 --> 00:03:14.460 regarding its period, it is Meccan 00:03:14.460 --> 00:03:17.889 by consensus, except for verse 114, 00:03:17.889 --> 00:03:20.650 as noted at the top of page 00:03:20.650 --> 00:03:23.479 fifty-seven. 00:03:23.479 --> 00:03:24.680 Nevertheless, this intertwines 00:03:24.680 --> 00:03:25.780 with the issue of its historical dating, 00:03:25.780 --> 00:03:27.580 because chronologically, 00:03:27.580 --> 00:03:29.180 most of it was revealed in Mecca, 00:03:29.180 --> 00:03:30.680 while certain indicators suggest a later 00:03:30.680 --> 00:03:32.080 period of revelation. 00:03:32.080 --> 00:03:34.080 Yet, despite this, it contains 00:03:34.080 --> 00:03:36.080 this verse that was revealed in Medina: 00:03:36.080 --> 00:03:37.780 "And establish prayer at the two ends of the day 00:03:37.780 --> 00:03:39.280 and at the approach of the night." 00:03:39.280 --> 00:03:40.379 Here, 00:03:40.379 --> 00:03:41.979 I emphasize that in identifying 00:03:41.979 --> 00:03:42.879 the Meccan and Medinan passages 00:03:42.879 --> 00:03:44.479 and their exceptions, 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:46.379 this is perhaps the very first verse 00:03:46.379 --> 00:03:47.580 we have encountered in the Qur'an 00:03:47.580 --> 00:03:49.180 where the exception is genuinely authentic. 00:03:49.680 --> 00:03:51.680 For verses in al-Baqarah were claimed to be exceptions, 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:53.580 but no exception in it proved authentic; 00:03:53.580 --> 00:03:54.979 and verses in an-Nisa' were claimed to be exceptions, 00:03:54.979 --> 00:03:56.680 but the exception in it was not authentic— 00:03:56.680 --> 00:03:58.979 meaning that their dating before or after the Hijrah was not soundly established. 00:03:58.979 --> 00:04:01.360 The same applies 00:04:01.360 --> 00:04:03.360 to all the verses claimed 00:04:03.360 --> 00:04:04.419 to be exceptions. 00:04:04.419 --> 00:04:05.159 And the first authenticated 00:04:05.159 --> 00:04:07.060 exception 00:04:07.060 --> 00:04:09.110 occurs in Surah Hud, 00:04:09.110 --> 00:04:11.110 based on the two academic dissertations 00:04:11.110 --> 00:04:13.110 mentioned at the beginning of the book 00:04:13.110 --> 00:04:15.139 regarding the Meccan and Medinan surahs. 00:04:15.139 --> 00:04:17.339 They are two rigorous, 00:04:17.339 --> 00:04:18.939 scholarly dissertations; 00:04:18.939 --> 00:04:34.300 the first—covering Surah al-Fatihah to al-Isra'—is more thoroughly vetted, but even the second half is well-researched and represents the finest work I have found on the subject, so I adopted their conclusions and did not diverge from them except regarding a note in Surah al-Fatihah 00:04:34.300 --> 00:04:37.779 concerning the possibility of multiple revelations. 00:04:37.779 --> 00:04:42.779 The point is that this verse is an exception, and this calls for deeper reflection. 00:04:42.779 --> 00:04:52.839 It serves as evidence for what is stated at the beginning of Surah Hud: "A Book whose verses are perfected and then presented in detail from One who is Wise and Acquainted." Allah, Exalted is He; and thorough acquaintance (khibrah) 00:04:52.839 --> 00:05:11.639 is more precise and specialized than general knowledge. When a human author attempts to insert something into a work of his that people have already heard and examined, it requires reworking its flow; 00:05:11.639 --> 00:05:21.709 yet this verse sits as though it inherently belongs there—indeed, it truly belongs there, even though it was revealed some time after what precedes and succeeds it. 00:05:21.709 --> 00:05:25.709 For what precedes it and what follows it is Meccan, while this single verse is Medinan. 00:05:25.709 --> 00:05:33.959 This verse, whose status as an exception is authentically established, is worthy of deep contemplation regarding how seamlessly it integrates with what comes before and after it. 00:05:33.959 --> 00:05:39.160 There remains the third and final reflection, which concerns the Qur'anic narratives. 00:05:39.160 --> 00:05:49.160 We notice that Surah Hud contains multiple narratives spanning more than eighty verses of the surah— 00:05:49.160 --> 00:06:02.889 that is, most of the surah consists of stories. If we reflect on the beginning of the surah, its conclusion, and the stories themselves, we find that these verses were sent down to grant steadfastness to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. 00:06:03.889 --> 00:06:10.889 And bringing steadfastness to the Messenger of Allah also provides steadfastness to whoever seeks to follow his path and call to Allah. 00:06:10.889 --> 00:06:18.339 At the beginning of the surah: "Then possibly you would forgo some of what is revealed to you and your breast will be constrained by it because they say, 'Why has there not been sent down to him a treasure or come with him an angel?'" 00:06:18.339 --> 00:06:22.339 It mentions the arguments and disputations of the disbelievers. 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:28.339 In the middle of the surah, amidst the narratives, following the conclusion of the story of Nuh: "That is from the news of the unseen which We reveal to you." 00:06:28.339 --> 00:06:34.339 “This is of the tidings of the Unseen which We inspire in thee (Muhammad). Thou thyself knewest it not, nor did thy folk (know it) before this. Then have patience. Lo! the sequel is for those who ward off (evil).” (11:49) 00:06:34.339 --> 00:06:42.339 And at the end of the surah: "And each story We relate to you from the news of the messengers is that by which We make firm your heart," preceded by: "So remain on a right course as you have been commanded." 00:06:42.339 --> 00:06:49.339 In the final verse: "And to Allah belongs the unseen of the heavens and the earth and to Him will be returned the matter, all of it, so worship Him and rely upon Him. 00:06:49.339 --> 00:06:54.339 And your Lord is not unaware of that which you do." Thus, the entire surah is built around granting steadfastness to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. 00:06:54.339 --> 00:06:58.339 Among the greatest sources of steadfastness are these narratives. Here I caution, emphasize, and reiterate: 00:06:58.339 --> 00:07:06.339 never assume, as some Muslims mistakenly do, that these stories are merely for children or for someone hearing them for the first time. 00:07:06.339 --> 00:07:15.339 These stories were directed to the master of mankind to grant him firmness; therefore, our need for them is all the more dire whenever trials intensify and grow severe. 00:07:15.339 --> 00:07:23.439 When you need greater patience, among the things that foster patience are these Qur'anic stories, so we must give them our utmost attention. 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:32.439 How wonderful it would be if a person had a dedicated interest in Qur'anic narratives—reading what has been written about them, studying them with his brethren, and pondering them in solitude! 00:07:32.439 --> 00:07:34.439 For indeed, therein lies immense steadfastness for a person. 00:07:34.439 --> 00:07:37.439 May Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family and Companions. 00:07:37.439 --> 00:07:38.439 All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.