In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.
The commentary series: "At-Ta'liq al-Latif
'ala Kitab Bitaqat at-Ta'rif
bi-Suwar al-Mushaf ash-Sharif",
by Dr. Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn 'Umar Nasif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah al-Insan.
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.
We continue with the commentary series,
exploring the profile cards of the surahs, now with Surah al-Insan.
I would like to make three brief reflections on it.
The first reflection
concerns the virtues of this surah.
Reciting this surah during the Fajr prayer
on Friday,
alongside Surah as-Sajdah,
is from those surahs that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, used to recite
in specific prayers
or at specific times.
One should be eager to observe them,
first and foremost out of following the Sunnah,
and out of a desire—
a desire to imbibe
what a person needs spiritually
in this prayer, secondly.
For the Prophet, peace be upon him, would not specify
a surah except for profound wisdom,
peace and blessings be upon him.
We are in need of listening to
and reciting this surah
in this specific setting, even if it may seem somewhat long;
yet in reality, it is not long.
That is, reciting both as-Sajdah and al-Insan together
constitutes a moderate recitation in prayer,
not a lengthy one,
even if we tend to perceive it as long.
Thirdly, for the imams:
if they choose to practice this Sunnah,
they ought to recite deliberately and calmly.
That is, they should recite
at the same pace at which they normally recite
in their prayers throughout the rest of the week.
Reciting more Qur'an does not mean one should rush,
especially if rushing
undermines reflecting on the meaning
and moving the hearts.
I recall once
that an imam,
whose own mosque was undergoing
renovation,
would attend another mosque.
I happened to pray behind him there.
The regular imam was delayed,
so they put this visiting imam forward to lead.
He decided to recite Surah as-Sajdah and Surah al-Insan,
but perhaps felt pressured by the congregants,
so he rushed at an alarming,
extreme speed,
to the point that
he made an egregious mistake in an ayah where no one normally errs
in Surah al-Insan.
As he was reciting,
he suddenly realized that
he had made a glaring mistake—
no,
he simply carried on reciting,
then tried to correct it and continued.
What compelled him to slip into such an error
that could potentially invalidate his prayer?
It may sometimes be beneficial
to forego this Sunnah,
or to vary
the recitation,
for a valid Sharia interest.
However, if
you are able to uphold this Sunnah,
give it its proper due of deliberate composure
in recitation and melodious chanting (tartil).
For it is a magnificent surah that we truly need.
As for the second reflection,
it relates to what was mentioned regarding
the placement of the surah: namely, that it comes
right after Surah al-Qiyamah. The former described
the Day of Resurrection, whereas this one details
Paradise, while also referencing the Hellfire.
One notices that Surah al-Qiyamah
was more intense in inducing awe and dread;
from beginning to end,
warning and fright were predominant,
though not entirely devoid of encouragement.
Here, it is the reverse, which is why the exegetes noted:
this surah gives a detailed account of Paradise—
the description of Paradise is elaborated at length—
while only briefly alluding to the Fire:
"Indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains..."
aside from a few other scattered verses.
But the majority of the surah
focuses on Paradise. Therefore,
whoever wishes to read extensively about Paradise,
among the finest
and most beautiful passages
that a person
ought to ponder are the verses of Surah al-Insan,
while consulting the books of Tafsir
that have paid special attention
to elucidating these verses
through hadith and through other Qur'anic verses
prior to that,
as well as the sayings of the Companions and the Tabi'un.
The third and final reflection
deals with
the thematic sections of the surah.
It was mentioned that the first section
contains an urging to succeed in life's test
through showing gratitude to Allah.
One might also add,
for clarity: "and through not falling into disbelief,"
based on His words, Exalted is He:
“Lo! We have shown him the way, whether he be grateful or disbelieving.” (76:3)
and before that: "from a drop of mingled fluid... and We made him hearing and seeing,"
"Indeed, We guided him to the way, be he grateful..."
“Lo! We have shown him the way, whether he be grateful or disbelieving.” (76:3)
"...or ungrateful."
Thus, both gratitude
and ingratitude were indicated, whereas here
only gratitude was highlighted in the outline.
Of course, whoever upholds gratitude
is safely protected from disbelief;
nevertheless, stating it explicitly is fitting
given what follows immediately after. He then mentioned a brief
reference to the fate of the disbeliever,
followed by a detailed description of the fate of the grateful.
Notice how He said: "either grateful
or ungrateful,"
indicating two paths
and two distinct groups.
Then He said: "Indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers
chains and shackles and a blaze."
This corresponds to the ungrateful disbeliever.
Then He said: "Indeed, the righteous...",
and the verses proceeded to speak at great length
about what corresponds to the grateful,
along with all the delightful details contained therein.
So the opening mentioned
the grateful first, then the ungrateful;
subsequently,
He described the ungrateful very briefly,
and then elaborated on the grateful
at length.
This deliberate shift in order—
where the default expectation might be to mention "either grateful or ungrateful",
and then discuss the grateful first,
followed by the ungrateful—
was inverted.
Such inversion holds subtle benefits
and rhetorical points in every single context.
Whenever you observe such advancement or deferral
between the mention of the people of Paradise and the people of Hell, seek out the underlying wisdom,
for this is among the things that aid contemplation;
then consult the works
of the scholars.
Among what is said here
is that since the discussion
of the grateful would be long, it was placed last,
even though gratitude was introduced first,
signaling its primacy and honor.
Yet it was deferred in detail
because the verse "Indeed, We have prepared for the disbelievers chains..."
is concise;
once concluded,
the listener's mind is left completely free and receptive thereafter
to dwell upon the mention of the people
of obedience.
And Allah is the Granter of success.
May Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and Companions.