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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

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"The Graceful Commentary

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upon the Book of Introductory Profiles

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to the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an,"

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by Dr. Muhammad ibn Abdul-Aziz ibn Umar Nasif,

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may Allah preserve him.

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Surah al-Jathiyah.

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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.

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We continue with our graceful commentary upon the introductory profiles,

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and we arrive at Surah al-Jathiyah.

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I have three points of reflection concerning it.

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The first point of reflection—

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which pertains to all the surahs beginning with Ha-Meem—

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is that certain figures among the salaf (early generations),

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as noted regarding the virtues of this surah,

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explicitly stated in connection with the virtues of this surah

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and the virtues of the other "Family of Ha-Meem" surahs preceding and succeeding it,

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they observed that some of the salaf gave special attention to these surahs.

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This special attention warrants scholarly study,

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requiring both the compilation of the narrations and the examination of their chains of transmission.

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The third matter, which is no less important than the previous two,

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is the effort to derive fiqh from them and understand the secret and wisdom behind this keen interest.

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In Ibn Kathir, at the beginning of Surah Ghafir,

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there is a collection of such traditions, along with remarks

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by Imam Ibn Kathir on some of those reports that truly merit deep reflection,

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or rather, on one specific report among them.

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I have explicitly emphasized these three dimensions

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because many researchers restrict themselves merely to compiling narrations,

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or, along with compiling, they evaluate the chains of transmission,

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both of which are undoubtedly important.

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Yet the research is only made complete by this third element:

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clarifying the fiqh and deeper understanding of these traditions.

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As for the second point of reflection,

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it pertains to the occasion of revelation mentioned

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or referenced in the book.

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For this surah, according to the relied-upon reference,

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has only one occasion of revelation cited.

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The author noted that it might not actually constitute an occasion of revelation,

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because the narrated report referenced from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father,

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states: "An Arab man used to worship a stone;

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when he found a better one, he would take it and discard the other."

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Thereupon, Allah revealed the verse.

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Now, among the fundamental criteria for an occasion of revelation to be validly considered as such—

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as concluded in the book *Al-Muharrar*,

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a work I repeatedly praise,

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and which I only refrained from adopting because it restricted itself to the Nine Books,

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whereas in terms of critical editing and meticulous precision

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it is an invaluable work—

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one of these criteria is that the occurrence must be an unprecedented event.

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A new, specific incident must have occurred,

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whether a spoken statement or an action,

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to the end of what he stated.

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Thus, there must be a novel event,

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whereas this was an ongoing custom among the pre-Islamic Arabs,

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or a practice well known among them

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that the divine Law came to abolish;

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hence, it cannot properly be called an occasion of revelation.

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What further supports this view—

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namely, that this narration does not constitute an occasion of revelation—

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is that there is another narration in the book *Al-Isti'ab*,

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graded as fair (hasan) by the author of the book,

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*Al-Isti'ab fi Bayan al-Asbab*,

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which does not contain the word "revelation" (nuzul) at all.

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And knowledge belongs to Allah, the Exalted and Glorified.

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The third and final point of reflection

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concerns the thematic passages of the surah,

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specifically in the second section.

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The author stated: "In it is a digressive (idrabi),

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transitional opening."

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Of course, designating openings with such terms,

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as previously mentioned, is a matter of scholarly ijtihad,

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and it is intrinsically tied to linguistics.

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Arabic linguistics is indispensable

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for anyone studying the Tafsir of the Qur'an.

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When you examine the opening of a verse

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and wish to describe it,

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you must employ the terminology of the linguists and rhetoricians.

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Among these terms

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is *idrab* (digression or retraction).

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The most common way *idrab* is expressed

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is through the use of

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the particle *bal* (nay / rather).

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Furthermore, *idrab* is of two kinds:

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invalidating (*ibthali*), which refutes the preceding statement,

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or transitional (*intiqali*),

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which transitions to another discourse

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without refuting the preceding one.

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And this is what is employed here,

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where it occurs as: "Or do those who..."

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Here, "or" (*am*) serves the function of *idrab*,

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an *idrab* of transition that does not invalidate

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the preceding discourse.

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I reiterate once more

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that anyone who wishes to truly understand the Qur'an

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is in dire need

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of learning the disciplines

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of the Arabic language:

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syntax (nahw), morphology (sarf),

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rhetoric (balaghah),

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and others.

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I conclude my remarks on this same point of reflection

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with this verse:

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﴾Or do those who commit evil deeds suppose...﴿

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“Or do those who commit ill-deeds suppose that We shall make them as those who believe and do good works, the same in life and death? Bad is their judgment!” (45:21)

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﴾...and do righteous deeds—﴿

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﴾—that their life and death will be equal?﴿

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Regarding this verse,

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the scholars have paused for profound reflections.

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I relay to you

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what al-Tahir ibn Ashur remarked,

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which is an essential observation,

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because the context of the verses is addressing the disbelievers,

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yet despite that,

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it contains an admonition for the believer.

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The Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him,

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illuminate his grave, and elevate his status, says:

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"Know that this verse,

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even though its primary application

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is to the respective states of the polytheists and the believers"—

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meaning it was revealed for this reason

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originally—

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"the fact that the ruling is linked

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to the relative clause 'those who commit evil deeds'..."

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That is, the relative noun was used:

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"those who commit evil deeds";

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Allah did not say: "Or do those who disbelieve suppose...?"

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“Or do those who commit ill-deeds suppose that We shall make them as those who believe and do good works, the same in life and death? Bad is their judgment!” (45:21)

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Rather, He said: "Or do those who commit

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evil deeds suppose...?" Thus, He tied the verdict

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to this relative clause, namely, the committing

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of evil deeds. Why?

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He said: "Linking the ruling

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to the relative clause 'those who commit evil deeds'

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serves as an implicit allusion to

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the disparity between the states of the wrongdoers and the righteous

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among the people of faith."

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For the wrongdoers among the people of faith commit

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misdeeds, even if they do not reach the level of disbelief.

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He said: "An allusion to the disparity between the states of the wrongdoers and the righteous

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among the people of faith, even if none

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among the believers would suppose such a thing"—meaning that both the believer

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who falls into error and the righteous believer know that the righteous

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is superior to the wrongdoer in reward in the Hereafter,

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yet this rhetorical phrasing

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drew attention to this distinction as a poignant reminder.

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He added: "It is reported regarding Tamim al-Dari

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that he spent an entire night reciting this verse, bowing,

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prostrating, and weeping until the morning."

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This report is found in Tafsir Ibn Kathir,

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authenticated by the editor of Ibn Kathir, Dr. Hikmat Bashir.

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He said: "A similar account is narrated on the authority of al-Rabi' ibn Khuthaym,"

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until he said: "Thus, this verse used to be called

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'the weeping place of the worshippers' (*Mubkat al-Abidin*)."

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That is, as if it were the sanctuary where devoted worshippers weep.

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Glory be to Allah! Even though it is a verse we might pass by,

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and someone might assume—as al-Tahir pointed out regarding context—

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someone might assume it only concerns the disbelievers:

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a surah speaking about the disbelievers and their disbelief,

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so a Muslim's mind relaxes, thinking it addresses only the heads of disbelief.

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But Allah honored us by choosing the expression:

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﴾Or do those who commit evil deeds suppose...﴿,

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so that it serves as an implicit hint and allusion to what may occur

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of misdeeds among Muslims,

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and that this impairs their standing before Allah.

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This alerts us to rectify our affairs,

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to remain heedful of our shortcomings,

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and to remember that if we perform righteous deeds,

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we will be raised higher in ranks.

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And this, without doubt,

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serves as a powerful incentive to righteous action.

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May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad.