In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The gentle commentary
on the book "Introductory Cards
to the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an"
by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nassif,
may Allah preserve him.
Surah al-Ahzab:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds,
and may peace and blessings be upon the Seal of
the Prophets and Messengers, and upon his family.
We are still with the gentle commentary
on the introductory cards,
and with Surah al-Ahzab, I pause with it
for three observations.
The first pause
concerns the opening of the Surah, for it
begins with a vocative address in general,
and specifically, it opens with addressing the Prophet,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.
We have previously mentioned that a Surah
opened with a vocative address allows
tracing the vocative calls throughout it
to help outline its division,
recognize its sections,
and indeed grasp its central objective.
However, here
I would like to make an addition, because this
vocative address carries a unique distinction:
it is among the verses of
the Surah that opens with a vocative call,
yet it specifically commences by addressing
the Prophet, peace be upon him.
And we know that the Prophet, peace be upon him,
was addressed at the beginning of several Surahs
with the description of Prophethood.
Yet no Surah comes addressing him
at its very beginning,
in its opening verse,
with: "O Messenger,"
but rather with: "O Prophet."
Among them is this magnificent Surah.
This establishes a general principle:
whenever a Surah begins
by addressing the Prophet, peace be upon him,
the general rule is
that this Surah accords
special care
to the Prophet, peace be upon him,
and to highlighting his lofty stature.
For Prophethood differs from Messengership,
and among their differences
is that Prophethood, according to some views,
signifies an immensely elevated rank.
This is clearly manifest in this Surah.
Other Surahs also begin in this manner,
though I do not intend to trace
every Surah that begins with "O Prophet" here;
if you trace them, you will find them
likewise, while some of them
require deeper contemplation, such as Surah al-Talaq.
One may refer to the statements of
the exegetes regarding it and why it opened
in that particular matter
by addressing the Prophet, peace be upon him,
concerning divorce.
Here, Allah said: "O Prophet."
Thus, alongside the Surah's special connection
to the Prophet, peace be upon him—
and indeed it is so, as I have stated—
and although the Surah establishes the Muslim community
upon piety as its core theme,
it nevertheless possesses a distinctive emphasis:
namely, the aspect of proper etiquette
toward our master, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.
You will find a number of verses
that clearly demonstrate this,
such as: "O Prophet!
Indeed, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings,
a warner, and a caller to Allah by His permission,
and an illuminating lamp."
“Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation.” (33:56)
"And send blessings upon him and salute him with peace."
And other such verses.
One can trace this theme of showing proper reverence
toward the Messenger of Allah all the way to the verses:
“O ye who believe! Be not as those who slandered Moses, but Allah proved his innocence of that which they alleged, and he was well esteemed in Allah's sight.” (33:69)
"Then Allah cleared him of what they said."
Thus, addressing the Prophet, peace be upon him,
with this specific title
is an artistic opening (bara'at al-istihlal)
that points us toward the overarching aim of the Surah,
as well as an essential matter that ought
to be observed throughout the Surah: his revered status, peace be upon him.
The second pause:
looking at the two aforementioned
halves of the Surah,
we find that the end of the first half
contains a strong exhortation
to remember Allah abundantly:
"O you who have believed,
remember Allah with much remembrance," and the following verses.
Meanwhile, the beginning of the second half
is a fragrant commendation
of the Prophet, peace be upon him:
"O Prophet!
Indeed, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner,"
which are the verses I previously cited.
Through this, I wish to address an important point:
namely, that Medinan Surahs,
while discussing legal rulings
across many of their chapters,
including this Surah,
are never devoid of moral and spiritual admonition.
This is distinctly evident
in this Surah and in Surah an-Nisa'
in particular, as well as in other Surahs.
Yet each Surah
possesses a unique character in its admonition.
Here, we find that uniqueness lies
in occupying oneself with remembrance of Allah,
invoking blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,
and recognizing his esteemed rank.
It is as though this corresponds
to several verses
found within the Surah;
for among the historical events tied
to the Surah was the incident
of the marriage of the Prophet, peace be upon him,
to the woman who had previously been married
to Zayd,
his adopted son—
whom he had adopted before
divine legislation was revealed abolishing
adoption—so the Prophet, peace be upon him,
married the former wife
of his adopted son.
In such circumstances, there can be much
idle gossip and rumors.
Therefore, there came the command: "Remember Allah
with abundant remembrance,"
followed by: "Indeed, Allah and His angels
confer blessings upon the Prophet," and: "Indeed,
We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner."
Thus, occupying oneself with the remembrance of Allah
during times of confusion and civil discord
is a demanded duty—not merely in this specific incident,
but as a general rule.
Likewise, recognizing the stature of the Prophet, peace be upon him:
when people engage in wrongful chatter, one must realize
and be mindful that the Prophet's rank
is truly immense.
This brings us to the third pause,
which concerns the occasions of revelation (asbab al-nuzul).
Twelve occasions have been mentioned for this Surah,
varying in their authenticity
and in the strength of their indication of revelation.
Some of them can help
in determining the chronology of its revelation.
I had written here "order of revelation,"
but no, they help in determining the chronology of revelation.
The occasions of revelation mentioned in the Surah,
along with others,
help establish the timeline of revelation.
He then cited a narration
regarding the Battle of Uhud,
at the end of which
Anas said: "We used to see,
or think,
that this verse was revealed concerning him
and those like him,"
to the end of the verse.
Here arises an objection that was not suitable
to mention
in the book for the sake of brevity:
namely, that this phrasing—
"we used to see"
or "we used to see or think"—
might lead one to believe the matter
was not definitively asserted.
However, al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar pointed out
that this hesitation did not come from the Companion;
rather, it was from one
of the narrators of the hadith, whereas the definitive wording
is established in the narration of Sahih Muslim
and the Musnad of Imam Ahmad.
So this verse was revealed after
the Battle of Uhud,
whereas the verses preceding it and following it
speak about the Battle of the Trench—
the Battle of al-Ahzab.
This is what I missed noting regarding the dating of revelation
in the book;
I will include it in the next edition.
I wrote: "All of this
helps determine the dating of much of it."
It should have been added that
a portion of it was revealed during the Battle of al-Ahzab,
and the Battle of al-Ahzab,
according to the well-known view, took place in the fifth year
Fifth, there is a minor disagreement
regarding this matter, though it is merely
a semantic difference. I do not wish
to delve into the Prophetic biography (Seerah),
but I would note that knowledge of the Seerah
is instrumental in understanding the Qur'an,
discerning the chronology of revelation,
and other such matters.
I will suffice with this much,
and send peace and blessings
upon our master Muhammad,
and upon his family and all his Companions.