WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.759 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:32.299 The Subtle Commentary 00:00:32.299 --> 00:00:35.299 upon the book *Identification Cards* 00:00:35.299 --> 00:00:38.299 *for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an*, 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:42.299 by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nassif, 00:00:42.299 --> 00:00:44.420 may Allah preserve him. 00:00:44.420 --> 00:00:46.920 Surah al-Munafiqun. 00:00:46.920 --> 00:00:48.420 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 00:00:48.420 --> 00:00:49.920 Praise be to Allah, the Lord of all worlds, 00:00:49.920 --> 00:00:52.920 and peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers, 00:00:52.920 --> 00:00:54.920 and upon his family and all his companions. 00:00:54.920 --> 00:00:57.920 We continue with our subtle commentary on the *Identification Cards*, 00:00:57.920 --> 00:00:59.920 and we have arrived at Surah al-Munafiqun. 00:00:59.920 --> 00:01:01.920 I have three points of reflection regarding it. 00:01:01.920 --> 00:01:03.990 The first reflection: 00:01:03.990 --> 00:01:05.989 it opens with a conditional clause. 00:01:05.989 --> 00:01:09.280 There is an error in the book stating 00:01:09.280 --> 00:01:11.280 that it opens with an informative declarative sentence, 00:01:11.280 --> 00:01:14.400 whereas it is correctly stated in the diagrammatic chart 00:01:14.400 --> 00:01:16.400 within the very same book. 00:01:16.400 --> 00:01:20.400 It indeed opens with a condition, according to the classification 00:01:20.400 --> 00:01:23.400 adopted by al-Suyuti, 00:01:23.400 --> 00:01:25.400 which was mentioned at the beginning of the book, 00:01:25.400 --> 00:01:26.500 may Allah have mercy on him. 00:01:26.500 --> 00:01:29.689 Six other surahs share this opening feature with it, 00:01:29.689 --> 00:01:31.689 and it is beneficial to add that note here, 00:01:31.689 --> 00:01:34.849 because the shared openings among surahs 00:01:34.849 --> 00:01:37.849 are significant when comparing them 00:01:37.849 --> 00:01:42.879 and observing their points of similarity and difference. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.879 Thus, one may add that it begins with a conditional structure, 00:01:45.879 --> 00:01:48.879 a feature shared by six other surahs, 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:51.879 or alongside which six surahs share this opening: 00:01:51.879 --> 00:01:53.879 al-Takwir, al-Infitar, al-Inshiqaq, al-Zalzalah, 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:54.879 and al-Nasr. 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:57.879 This makes a total of seven surahs. 00:01:57.879 --> 00:02:00.879 We notice that five of these surahs 00:02:00.879 --> 00:02:02.879 are connected to the Day of Resurrection, 00:02:02.879 --> 00:02:05.879 whereas al-Nasr and al-Munafiqun, 00:02:05.879 --> 00:02:07.879 which precedes it in the codex order, 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:11.879 neither of them is about the Day of Resurrection. 00:02:11.879 --> 00:02:15.139 The common denominator among all these surahs 00:02:15.139 --> 00:02:17.139 that begin with a conditional clause 00:02:17.139 --> 00:02:20.139 is that they are tied to a momentous event. 00:02:20.139 --> 00:02:23.240 The share related to the Day of Resurrection 00:02:23.240 --> 00:02:25.240 consists of five surahs, 00:02:25.240 --> 00:02:28.240 which is fitting given that it is 00:02:28.240 --> 00:02:31.240 the greatest event that humanity will ever experience, 00:02:31.240 --> 00:02:34.240 occurring after the test concludes and the results are presented. 00:02:34.240 --> 00:02:36.240 I ask Allah to deliver us. 00:02:36.240 --> 00:02:39.360 The second reflection: it is mentioned here 00:02:39.360 --> 00:02:41.360 that it was revealed during the Expedition of Banu al-Mustaliq, 00:02:41.360 --> 00:02:43.360 regarding the chronological order of the surah's revelation. 00:02:43.360 --> 00:02:45.360 The author favored the view that it was revealed during the Expedition of Banu al-Mustaliq. 00:02:45.360 --> 00:02:48.360 Preceding that, the phrasing stated: 00:02:48.360 --> 00:02:51.430 "It is counted as the one hundred and fifth in the chronological order of revelation 00:02:51.430 --> 00:02:52.430 according to Jabir ibn Zayd; 00:02:52.430 --> 00:02:55.430 it was revealed after Surah al-Hajj and before Surah al-Mujadilah." 00:02:55.430 --> 00:02:58.430 Then he stated, "And it is also placed after al-Hajj in the other two transmissions." 00:02:58.430 --> 00:03:01.430 This part should be deleted, 00:03:01.430 --> 00:03:04.430 as it is not part of his original statement; 00:03:04.430 --> 00:03:08.430 rather, it was added through the editor's own exertion. 00:03:08.430 --> 00:03:10.430 Regarding the Expedition of Banu al-Mustaliq: 00:03:10.430 --> 00:03:12.430 why did they prefer the view that it was the Expedition of Banu al-Mustaliq? 00:03:12.430 --> 00:03:14.430 There is a scholarly difference of opinion on the matter, 00:03:14.430 --> 00:03:16.430 but several scholars favored this position. 00:03:16.430 --> 00:03:19.430 You can find this issue thoroughly discussed in the introduction 00:03:19.430 --> 00:03:22.560 to the Tafsir of Surah al-Munafiqun 00:03:22.560 --> 00:03:24.560 by al-Tahir Ibn 'Ashur. 00:03:24.560 --> 00:03:27.560 Among the points they examined regarding this issue is that 00:03:27.560 --> 00:03:31.560 the hypocrites said, "The more honorable will surely expel the more humiliated therefrom." 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:36.560 This statement is consistent with an earlier period of revelation, 00:03:36.560 --> 00:03:40.680 at a time when the hypocrites still held influence and strength, 00:03:40.680 --> 00:03:43.680 whereas the alternative opinion—that it occurred during the Battle of Tabuk— 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:46.680 was after the power of the hypocrites had already waned. 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:48.680 What al-Tahir Ibn 'Ashur mentioned here 00:03:48.680 --> 00:03:51.680 demonstrates that the scholars did not merely pass 00:03:51.680 --> 00:03:54.680 over historical reports passively; rather, they scrutinized, 00:03:54.680 --> 00:03:58.680 compared, reflected, and engaged their analytical faculties. 00:03:58.680 --> 00:04:01.680 These are self-evident matters obvious to anyone who has studied the sacred sciences, 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:05.680 yet I mention them because some contemporary critics who cast doubts 00:04:05.680 --> 00:04:07.680 upon the Sunnah and the hadith scholars 00:04:07.680 --> 00:04:11.680 create the illusion that they accepted any report or hadith indiscriminately 00:04:11.680 --> 00:04:14.680 without reflection. But look at their deep reflection here regarding the verse 00:04:14.680 --> 00:04:21.680 and the condition of the hypocrites at the time of revelation: 00:04:21.680 --> 00:04:23.680 does it fit the Battle of Tabuk, 00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:26.680 or does it align with the Expedition of Banu al-Mustaliq? 00:04:26.680 --> 00:04:29.680 This, along with much else, confirms their meticulous care 00:04:29.680 --> 00:04:32.680 regarding both chains of transmission and textual contents, may Allah have mercy on them, 00:04:32.680 --> 00:04:35.910 and may Allah reward them with good on behalf of the Ummah. 00:04:35.910 --> 00:04:40.040 The third reflection is truly a reflection 00:04:40.040 --> 00:04:43.040 on the structural harmony between the first and second sections. 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:46.040 We notice that the first section clarifies the reality of the hypocrites, 00:04:46.040 --> 00:04:48.040 but the second section 00:04:48.040 --> 00:04:50.040 shifts to address the believers: 00:04:50.040 --> 00:04:52.040 "O you who have believed, let not your wealth distract you..." 00:04:52.040 --> 00:04:54.040 “O ye who believe! Let not your wealth nor your children distract you from remembrance of Allah. Those who do so, they are the losers.” (63:9) 00:04:54.040 --> 00:04:58.040 "And whoever does that, then those are the losers." 00:04:58.040 --> 00:05:03.040 It is as though the believers, having learned the characteristics of the hypocrites, 00:05:03.040 --> 00:05:06.040 were commanded to focus on themselves 00:05:06.040 --> 00:05:07.040 and occupy themselves with their own spiritual rectification, 00:05:07.040 --> 00:05:11.040 out of caution lest they resemble the hypocrites 00:05:11.040 --> 00:05:16.040 or slip into hypocrisy through neglecting the remembrance of Allah, the Glorified and Exalted, 00:05:16.040 --> 00:05:19.040 and becoming engrossed in wealth and children. 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:23.040 What I wish to draw from this insight 00:05:23.040 --> 00:05:26.040 is that we should not become preoccupied with the affairs of the hypocrites— 00:05:26.040 --> 00:05:28.040 even though we ought to recognize their states— 00:05:28.040 --> 00:05:31.040 or with understanding the strategies and plots of the disbelievers, 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:34.040 to the point where that distracts us from ourselves, our own rectification, 00:05:34.040 --> 00:05:35.040 and taking proper care of our souls. 00:05:35.040 --> 00:05:37.040 I will suffice with this much. 00:05:37.040 --> 00:05:38.040 May Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, 00:05:38.040 --> 00:05:40.040 and upon all his family and companions, 00:05:40.040 --> 00:05:41.040 and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all worlds.