In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
"The Graceful Commentary
upon the Book of Introductory Profiles
to the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an,"
by Dr. Muhammad ibn Abdul-Aziz ibn Umar Nasif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah al-Jathiyah.
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.
We continue with our graceful commentary upon the introductory profiles,
and we arrive at Surah al-Jathiyah.
I have three points of reflection concerning it.
The first point of reflection—
which pertains to all the surahs beginning with Ha-Meem—
is that certain figures among the salaf (early generations),
as noted regarding the virtues of this surah,
explicitly stated in connection with the virtues of this surah
and the virtues of the other "Family of Ha-Meem" surahs preceding and succeeding it,
they observed that some of the salaf gave special attention to these surahs.
This special attention warrants scholarly study,
requiring both the compilation of the narrations and the examination of their chains of transmission.
The third matter, which is no less important than the previous two,
is the effort to derive fiqh from them and understand the secret and wisdom behind this keen interest.
In Ibn Kathir, at the beginning of Surah Ghafir,
there is a collection of such traditions, along with remarks
by Imam Ibn Kathir on some of those reports that truly merit deep reflection,
or rather, on one specific report among them.
I have explicitly emphasized these three dimensions
because many researchers restrict themselves merely to compiling narrations,
or, along with compiling, they evaluate the chains of transmission,
both of which are undoubtedly important.
Yet the research is only made complete by this third element:
clarifying the fiqh and deeper understanding of these traditions.
As for the second point of reflection,
it pertains to the occasion of revelation mentioned
or referenced in the book.
For this surah, according to the relied-upon reference,
has only one occasion of revelation cited.
The author noted that it might not actually constitute an occasion of revelation,
because the narrated report referenced from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him and his father,
states: "An Arab man used to worship a stone;
when he found a better one, he would take it and discard the other."
Thereupon, Allah revealed the verse.
Now, among the fundamental criteria for an occasion of revelation to be validly considered as such—
as concluded in the book *Al-Muharrar*,
a work I repeatedly praise,
and which I only refrained from adopting because it restricted itself to the Nine Books,
whereas in terms of critical editing and meticulous precision
it is an invaluable work—
one of these criteria is that the occurrence must be an unprecedented event.
A new, specific incident must have occurred,
whether a spoken statement or an action,
to the end of what he stated.
Thus, there must be a novel event,
whereas this was an ongoing custom among the pre-Islamic Arabs,
or a practice well known among them
that the divine Law came to abolish;
hence, it cannot properly be called an occasion of revelation.
What further supports this view—
namely, that this narration does not constitute an occasion of revelation—
is that there is another narration in the book *Al-Isti'ab*,
graded as fair (hasan) by the author of the book,
*Al-Isti'ab fi Bayan al-Asbab*,
which does not contain the word "revelation" (nuzul) at all.
And knowledge belongs to Allah, the Exalted and Glorified.
The third and final point of reflection
concerns the thematic passages of the surah,
specifically in the second section.
The author stated: "In it is a digressive (idrabi),
transitional opening."
Of course, designating openings with such terms,
as previously mentioned, is a matter of scholarly ijtihad,
and it is intrinsically tied to linguistics.
Arabic linguistics is indispensable
for anyone studying the Tafsir of the Qur'an.
When you examine the opening of a verse
and wish to describe it,
you must employ the terminology of the linguists and rhetoricians.
Among these terms
is *idrab* (digression or retraction).
The most common way *idrab* is expressed
is through the use of
the particle *bal* (nay / rather).
Furthermore, *idrab* is of two kinds:
invalidating (*ibthali*), which refutes the preceding statement,
or transitional (*intiqali*),
which transitions to another discourse
without refuting the preceding one.
And this is what is employed here,
where it occurs as: "Or do those who..."
Here, "or" (*am*) serves the function of *idrab*,
an *idrab* of transition that does not invalidate
the preceding discourse.
I reiterate once more
that anyone who wishes to truly understand the Qur'an
is in dire need
of learning the disciplines
of the Arabic language:
syntax (nahw), morphology (sarf),
rhetoric (balaghah),
and others.
I conclude my remarks on this same point of reflection
with this verse:
﴾Or do those who commit evil deeds suppose...﴿
“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)
﴾...and do righteous deeds—﴿
﴾—that their life and death will be equal?﴿
Regarding this verse,
the scholars have paused for profound reflections.
I relay to you
what al-Tahir ibn Ashur remarked,
which is an essential observation,
because the context of the verses is addressing the disbelievers,
yet despite that,
it contains an admonition for the believer.
The Shaykh, may Allah have mercy on him,
illuminate his grave, and elevate his status, says:
"Know that this verse,
even though its primary application
is to the respective states of the polytheists and the believers"—
meaning it was revealed for this reason
originally—
"the fact that the ruling is linked
to the relative clause 'those who commit evil deeds'..."
That is, the relative noun was used:
"those who commit evil deeds";
Allah did not say: "Or do those who disbelieve suppose...?"
“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)
Rather, He said: "Or do those who commit
evil deeds suppose...?" Thus, He tied the verdict
to this relative clause, namely, the committing
of evil deeds. Why?
He said: "Linking the ruling
to the relative clause 'those who commit evil deeds'
serves as an implicit allusion to
the disparity between the states of the wrongdoers and the righteous
among the people of faith."
For the wrongdoers among the people of faith commit
misdeeds, even if they do not reach the level of disbelief.
He said: "An allusion to the disparity between the states of the wrongdoers and the righteous
among the people of faith, even if none
among the believers would suppose such a thing"—meaning that both the believer
who falls into error and the righteous believer know that the righteous
is superior to the wrongdoer in reward in the Hereafter,
yet this rhetorical phrasing
drew attention to this distinction as a poignant reminder.
He added: "It is reported regarding Tamim al-Dari
that he spent an entire night reciting this verse, bowing,
prostrating, and weeping until the morning."
This report is found in Tafsir Ibn Kathir,
authenticated by the editor of Ibn Kathir, Dr. Hikmat Bashir.
He said: "A similar account is narrated on the authority of al-Rabi' ibn Khuthaym,"
until he said: "Thus, this verse used to be called
'the weeping place of the worshippers' (*Mubkat al-Abidin*)."
That is, as if it were the sanctuary where devoted worshippers weep.
Glory be to Allah! Even though it is a verse we might pass by,
and someone might assume—as al-Tahir pointed out regarding context—
someone might assume it only concerns the disbelievers:
a surah speaking about the disbelievers and their disbelief,
so a Muslim's mind relaxes, thinking it addresses only the heads of disbelief.
But Allah honored us by choosing the expression:
﴾Or do those who commit evil deeds suppose...﴿,
so that it serves as an implicit hint and allusion to what may occur
of misdeeds among Muslims,
and that this impairs their standing before Allah.
This alerts us to rectify our affairs,
to remain heedful of our shortcomings,
and to remember that if we perform righteous deeds,
we will be raised higher in ranks.
And this, without doubt,
serves as a powerful incentive to righteous action.
May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad.