1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:02,759 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 2 00:00:02,759 --> 00:00:32,119 Concise commentary 3 00:00:32,119 --> 00:00:35,200 on the book *Introductory Cards* 4 00:00:35,200 --> 00:00:37,719 *for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an* 5 00:00:37,719 --> 00:00:42,159 by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Naseef, 6 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:44,609 may Allah preserve him. 7 00:00:44,609 --> 00:00:46,609 Surah al-An'am. 8 00:00:46,609 --> 00:00:48,609 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 9 00:00:48,609 --> 00:00:51,799 Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. 10 00:00:51,799 --> 00:00:53,799 We are still engaging with this concise commentary, 11 00:00:53,799 --> 00:00:56,200 and today we arrive at Surah al-An'am. 12 00:00:56,200 --> 00:00:58,200 I would like to make three brief points regarding it. 13 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:00,780 The first point 14 00:01:00,780 --> 00:01:02,969 concerns the occasions of revelation. 15 00:01:02,969 --> 00:01:04,969 The author mentions eight occasions for this surah. 16 00:01:04,969 --> 00:01:06,969 Of course, I have explained before 17 00:01:06,969 --> 00:01:08,969 that this is according to 18 00:01:08,969 --> 00:01:10,969 the reference book adopted here, namely 19 00:01:10,969 --> 00:01:12,969 *Al-Sahih min Asbab al-Nuzul* (The Authentic Occasions of Revelation). 20 00:01:12,969 --> 00:01:15,060 It does not mean that 21 00:01:15,060 --> 00:01:17,060 no other occasions of revelation were mentioned 22 00:01:17,060 --> 00:01:19,060 except these eight across all books of 23 00:01:19,060 --> 00:01:21,060 occasions of revelation— 24 00:01:21,060 --> 00:01:23,260 that would be incorrect. 25 00:01:23,260 --> 00:01:25,260 Rather, the intended meaning of the adopted reference text 26 00:01:25,260 --> 00:01:27,260 is the authentic occasions of revelation. 27 00:01:27,260 --> 00:01:29,260 However, I wanted to address 28 00:01:29,260 --> 00:01:31,260 another matter, which is 29 00:01:31,260 --> 00:01:33,260 that having only eight occasions 30 00:01:33,260 --> 00:01:35,420 across more than twenty pages— 31 00:01:35,420 --> 00:01:37,420 given the length of this surah, which 32 00:01:37,420 --> 00:01:39,769 is not far removed 33 00:01:39,769 --> 00:01:41,959 from Al 'Imran 34 00:01:41,959 --> 00:01:43,959 and An-Nisa' in length— 35 00:01:43,959 --> 00:01:45,959 why are there so few 36 00:01:45,959 --> 00:01:48,250 occasions of revelation cited for it? 37 00:01:48,250 --> 00:01:50,250 The truth is that occasions of revelation 38 00:01:50,250 --> 00:01:52,250 in Meccan surahs are few 39 00:01:52,250 --> 00:01:54,250 when compared to Medinan ones. 40 00:01:54,250 --> 00:01:56,250 That is because in the Prophetic biography (Seerah), 41 00:01:56,250 --> 00:01:58,280 we know 42 00:01:58,280 --> 00:02:00,280 its details regarding the Medinan period far more 43 00:02:00,280 --> 00:02:02,280 than we know of its details 44 00:02:02,280 --> 00:02:04,310 regarding the Meccan period. 45 00:02:04,310 --> 00:02:06,310 This brings us to the second point, 46 00:02:06,310 --> 00:02:08,310 which is the dating 47 00:02:08,310 --> 00:02:10,310 of revelation—a distinct issue, 48 00:02:10,310 --> 00:02:12,659 as we agreed previously. 49 00:02:12,659 --> 00:02:14,659 Dating revelation during the Meccan period 50 00:02:14,659 --> 00:02:16,729 is difficult. It is easy 51 00:02:16,729 --> 00:02:18,729 to date a Medinan surah in most cases; 52 00:02:18,729 --> 00:02:20,729 indeed, sometimes you know that 53 00:02:20,729 --> 00:02:22,729 an entire surah was connected 54 00:02:22,729 --> 00:02:24,729 to a specific year, 55 00:02:24,729 --> 00:02:26,789 even if the surah is long, 56 00:02:26,789 --> 00:02:28,789 or medium-length spanning ten 57 00:02:28,789 --> 00:02:30,789 pages, such as Surah al-Anfal. 58 00:02:30,789 --> 00:02:32,789 But in Meccan surahs, 59 00:02:32,789 --> 00:02:34,789 you might find a short surah, 60 00:02:34,789 --> 00:02:36,789 such as al-Qari'ah or at-Takathur, 61 00:02:36,789 --> 00:02:38,949 or others, 62 00:02:38,949 --> 00:02:40,949 and yet you cannot determine 63 00:02:40,949 --> 00:02:42,949 a precise date for its revelation. 64 00:02:42,949 --> 00:02:45,110 Therefore, you often find 65 00:02:45,110 --> 00:02:47,110 scholarly opinions regarding Meccan surahs 66 00:02:47,110 --> 00:02:49,110 and their dating 67 00:02:49,110 --> 00:02:51,500 that rely merely on 68 00:02:51,500 --> 00:02:53,500 subjective taste and textual reflection, 69 00:02:53,500 --> 00:02:55,500 which can contain flaws 70 00:02:55,500 --> 00:02:57,500 or represent weak opinions 71 00:02:57,500 --> 00:02:59,500 lacking solid evidence— 72 00:02:59,500 --> 00:03:01,500 unlike Medinan surahs, 73 00:03:01,500 --> 00:03:03,849 where the abundance of narrations 74 00:03:03,849 --> 00:03:05,849 regarding occasions of revelation and other 75 00:03:05,849 --> 00:03:07,849 biographical events makes it easy 76 00:03:07,849 --> 00:03:10,039 for us to know 77 00:03:10,039 --> 00:03:12,039 the date of revelation with precision. 78 00:03:12,039 --> 00:03:14,039 For instance, consider the difference with the Isra' (Night Journey): 79 00:03:14,039 --> 00:03:16,039 when did the Isra' occur? 80 00:03:16,039 --> 00:03:18,039 There is a long-standing disagreement. 81 00:03:18,039 --> 00:03:20,039 You do not find such disagreement regarding the timing of 82 00:03:20,039 --> 00:03:22,039 Badr, Uhud, or other events; 83 00:03:22,039 --> 00:03:24,039 if you do find disagreement, it is minor 84 00:03:24,039 --> 00:03:26,039 or due to differences in terminology, 85 00:03:26,039 --> 00:03:28,300 which is addressed elsewhere. 86 00:03:28,300 --> 00:03:30,300 The point is that dating the revelation of Meccan surahs 87 00:03:30,300 --> 00:03:32,300 is far more difficult. So when you see 88 00:03:32,300 --> 00:03:34,300 someone speaking about a Meccan surah 89 00:03:34,300 --> 00:03:36,300 and asserting that a certain surah was revealed in such-and-such a year, 90 00:03:36,300 --> 00:03:38,680 exercise caution— 91 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:40,680 especially regarding Meccan surahs— 92 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:42,680 for overreaching has occurred 93 00:03:42,680 --> 00:03:44,680 in a number of studies and books. 94 00:03:44,680 --> 00:03:47,219 The third 95 00:03:47,219 --> 00:03:49,219 and final point regarding Surah al-An'am 96 00:03:49,219 --> 00:03:51,259 concerns its main sections. 97 00:03:51,259 --> 00:03:53,259 It can be divided into two parts: 98 00:03:53,259 --> 00:03:55,770 A part that introduces Allah 99 00:03:55,770 --> 00:03:58,020 and expresses wonder 100 00:03:58,020 --> 00:04:00,020 at the disbelief of the disbelievers, 101 00:04:00,020 --> 00:04:02,150 which is evident from the very first verse of the surah: 102 00:04:02,150 --> 00:04:04,150 "Praise be to Allah, who 103 00:04:04,150 --> 00:04:06,150 created the heavens and the earth 104 00:04:06,150 --> 00:04:08,150 and made the darknesses and the light." 105 00:04:08,150 --> 00:04:10,150 It introduces Allah, then says: "Yet those who 106 00:04:10,150 --> 00:04:12,150 disbelieve equate others with their Lord," 107 00:04:12,150 --> 00:04:14,150 expressing astonishment at the state of the disbelievers. 108 00:04:14,150 --> 00:04:16,149 In the second part, 109 00:04:16,149 --> 00:04:19,079 there is further introduction to Allah, 110 00:04:19,079 --> 00:04:22,079 as well as astonishment at the prohibitions imposed by the disbelievers 111 00:04:22,079 --> 00:04:24,079 and their legislating for themselves 112 00:04:24,079 --> 00:04:26,079 things for which Allah sent down no authority, 113 00:04:26,079 --> 00:04:28,079 along with an exposition of the true prohibitions. 114 00:04:28,079 --> 00:04:30,339 Thus, both parts trace back 115 00:04:30,339 --> 00:04:32,339 to the beginning of the surah. 116 00:04:32,339 --> 00:04:34,339 I want to emphasize that the introduction 117 00:04:34,339 --> 00:04:36,339 to Allah in this surah 118 00:04:36,339 --> 00:04:38,339 is perhaps unmatched by 119 00:04:38,339 --> 00:04:40,339 any other surah, 120 00:04:40,339 --> 00:04:42,339 because it is a long surah— 121 00:04:42,339 --> 00:04:44,529 among the longest Meccan surahs— 122 00:04:44,529 --> 00:04:46,589 and it is filled with introducing Allah, 123 00:04:46,589 --> 00:04:48,589 to the extent that some 124 00:04:48,589 --> 00:04:50,589 scholars noted that it is 125 00:04:50,589 --> 00:04:52,589 like Surah al-Baqarah 126 00:04:52,589 --> 00:04:54,589 among Medinan surahs. 127 00:04:54,589 --> 00:04:56,589 Surah al-Baqarah encompasses 128 00:04:56,589 --> 00:04:58,589 most of the legal rulings, whereas this surah 129 00:04:58,589 --> 00:05:00,589 encompasses the fundamentals of creed. 130 00:05:00,589 --> 00:05:02,589 It is as if the Medinan surahs 131 00:05:02,589 --> 00:05:04,589 are an elaboration of al-Baqarah, and as if 132 00:05:04,589 --> 00:05:06,589 the Meccan surahs are all linked 133 00:05:06,589 --> 00:05:08,589 to Surah al-An'am—a concept 134 00:05:08,589 --> 00:05:10,819 truly worth pondering. 135 00:05:10,819 --> 00:05:12,819 With this, I conclude my commentary 136 00:05:12,819 --> 00:05:14,819 on Surah al-An'am. 137 00:05:14,819 --> 00:05:16,819 I ask Allah to fill our hearts with His recognition, 138 00:05:16,819 --> 00:05:18,819 and may Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, 139 00:05:18,819 --> 00:05:20,819 and upon his family and all his Companions. 140 00:05:20,819 --> 00:05:22,819 Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.