WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.759 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:32.299 A Gentle Commentary 00:00:32.299 --> 00:00:35.299 on the book "Introductory Cards 00:00:35.299 --> 00:00:38.299 to the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an" 00:00:38.299 --> 00:00:42.299 by Dr. Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn 'Umar Nasif, 00:00:42.299 --> 00:00:44.549 may Allah preserve him. 00:00:44.549 --> 00:00:46.549 Surah al-Mu'minun. 00:00:46.549 --> 00:00:48.549 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. 00:00:48.549 --> 00:00:50.549 All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, 00:00:50.549 --> 00:00:54.549 and peace and blessings be upon the seal of the prophets and messengers, 00:00:55.310 --> 00:00:58.859 and upon his family and all his companions. 00:00:58.859 --> 00:01:02.859 We continue with our gentle commentary on the introductory cards, 00:01:02.859 --> 00:01:06.079 and with Surah al-Mu'minun. 00:01:06.079 --> 00:01:08.530 I have three reflections regarding it. 00:01:08.530 --> 00:01:12.819 The first reflection concerns the placement of the surah. 00:01:12.819 --> 00:01:17.329 He said regarding its correlation to Surah al-Hajj, 00:01:17.329 --> 00:01:19.329 which is the surah immediately preceding it, 00:01:19.329 --> 00:01:23.579 that toward the end of the former it says: "that you may succeed," 00:01:24.340 --> 00:01:26.340 “O ye who believe! Bow down and prostrate yourselves, and worship your Lord, and do good, that haply ye may prosper.” (22:77) 00:01:26.340 --> 00:01:29.340 "and do good, that you may succeed," 00:01:29.340 --> 00:01:33.379 while the beginning of this surah states: "Certainly will the believers succeed." 00:01:33.379 --> 00:01:37.540 I have paused here specifically to point out 00:01:37.540 --> 00:01:41.540 that in discussing thematic links between surahs, 00:01:41.540 --> 00:01:44.540 even the slightest connection is sufficient, 00:01:44.540 --> 00:01:46.540 and this is not meant to be exclusive; 00:01:46.540 --> 00:01:48.540 there could very well be other connections, 00:01:48.540 --> 00:01:51.540 and in most cases, multiple correlations exist. 00:01:52.299 --> 00:01:55.299 At the end of the former surah, He says: "that you may succeed," 00:01:55.299 --> 00:01:59.299 and here He clarifies who the successful are, 00:01:59.299 --> 00:02:01.299 or rather, who those who have succeeded are, 00:02:01.299 --> 00:02:03.299 if we wish to be precise in our wording. 00:02:03.299 --> 00:02:06.549 This represents a form of correlation, 00:02:06.549 --> 00:02:10.550 which shows you that a correlation is not required 00:02:10.550 --> 00:02:13.550 to be purely conceptual and subtle; 00:02:13.550 --> 00:02:17.550 rather, it can be verbal, just like this example. 00:02:17.550 --> 00:02:19.550 The second reflection 00:02:20.500 --> 00:02:21.500 is that with this surah, 00:02:21.500 --> 00:02:23.500 if we look at its central theme, 00:02:23.500 --> 00:02:26.949 which is apparent from its opening 00:02:26.949 --> 00:02:28.949 and from the motifs recurring throughout it, 00:02:28.949 --> 00:02:30.949 its theme is strengthening faith 00:02:30.949 --> 00:02:33.500 and clarifying the qualities of its people. 00:02:33.500 --> 00:02:37.039 Consequently, it is appropriate 00:02:37.039 --> 00:02:40.039 that in studying the qualities of the believers in the surah, 00:02:40.039 --> 00:02:43.039 one should not merely look at its opening; 00:02:43.039 --> 00:02:47.460 rather, examine the entire surah for the qualities of the believers 00:02:47.460 --> 00:02:48.460 and for what renews faith. 00:02:48.460 --> 00:02:50.460 How could one not, when this is the very name of the surah? 00:02:51.219 --> 00:02:54.219 If you have a surah named al-Mu'minun (The Believers)— 00:02:54.219 --> 00:02:57.539 in the Qur'an there is a surah called al-Mu'minun— 00:02:57.539 --> 00:02:59.539 and you wish to learn about faith, 00:02:59.539 --> 00:03:01.539 it is inconceivable that it would be absent from your research 00:03:01.539 --> 00:03:04.539 among the sources you consult. 00:03:04.539 --> 00:03:06.819 Rather, it is essential to return to it. 00:03:06.819 --> 00:03:11.819 The same applies to surahs named after the names of Allah: 00:03:11.819 --> 00:03:13.819 how can you understand the name of Allah al-A'la (the Most High) 00:03:13.819 --> 00:03:16.819 without referring to Surah al-A'la? 00:03:16.819 --> 00:03:17.819 Or the name of Allah ar-Rahman (the Entirely Merciful), 00:03:17.819 --> 00:03:19.819 without reading Surah ar-Rahman? 00:03:19.819 --> 00:03:21.819 These are the fundamental sources 00:03:21.819 --> 00:03:24.819 for researching faith: 00:03:24.819 --> 00:03:27.860 returning to the Qur'an, and specifically to Surah al-Mu'minun. 00:03:27.860 --> 00:03:30.860 Naturally, other surahs also discuss faith, 00:03:30.860 --> 00:03:32.860 but this surah is named "The Believers." 00:03:32.860 --> 00:03:35.860 Therefore, attention should be paid to the title 00:03:35.860 --> 00:03:39.860 and to seeking its manifestations throughout the surah. 00:03:39.860 --> 00:03:42.860 At the beginning of the surah are their qualities, 00:03:42.860 --> 00:03:46.860 and in the middle of the surah there is also reference to them: 00:03:46.860 --> 00:03:49.889 "Indeed, they who are of apprehension of their Lord fearful..." through the verses, 00:03:49.889 --> 00:03:52.889 and at the end of the surah is a clarification of their destiny 00:03:52.889 --> 00:03:54.889 and the destiny of those who used to mock them. 00:03:54.889 --> 00:03:57.889 All of this is beneficial regarding faith, 00:03:57.889 --> 00:04:02.919 alongside other themes that stimulate the innate disposition (fitrah) 00:04:02.919 --> 00:04:05.919 in the hearts of the disbelievers so that they might believe— 00:04:05.919 --> 00:04:13.139 through warnings and through the call that seeks to stimulate the intellect, 00:04:13.139 --> 00:04:15.139 that provokes intellectual reflection: 00:04:15.139 --> 00:04:18.139 "Say, 'To whom belongs the earth and whoever is in it, if you should know?' They will say, 'To Allah...'" through the verses. 00:04:18.139 --> 00:04:22.459 The point is that faith and everything pertaining to it 00:04:22.459 --> 00:04:24.459 are prominent in this surah, 00:04:24.459 --> 00:04:28.459 so one should be keen to search for it 00:04:28.459 --> 00:04:30.459 and not settle only for the qualities mentioned at the beginning, 00:04:30.459 --> 00:04:33.459 even though they are truly magnificent qualities: 00:04:33.459 --> 00:04:36.459 "Certainly will the believers have succeeded: they who are during their prayer humbly submissive..." 00:04:36.459 --> 00:04:38.879 As for the third reflection, 00:04:38.879 --> 00:04:43.259 it is a link between two matters recurring across many surahs. 00:04:43.259 --> 00:04:45.259 You will notice in the chronological order of revelation, 00:04:45.259 --> 00:04:47.259 which is effectively dating the surah, 00:04:47.259 --> 00:04:51.420 he noted that it contains such warnings to the polytheists 00:04:51.420 --> 00:04:53.420 as to indicate a later period of revelation. 00:04:53.420 --> 00:04:57.420 Now, if you look at the sections of the surah, 00:04:57.420 --> 00:05:02.000 you will find warnings in them. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:05.259 In the second part of the surah, 00:05:05.259 --> 00:05:08.449 there are two warnings to the deniers: 00:05:08.449 --> 00:05:10.449 “Till when We grasp their luxurious ones with the punishment, behold! they supplicate.” (23:64) 00:05:10.449 --> 00:05:13.449 "...they cry out for help" in verse sixty-four; 00:05:13.449 --> 00:05:15.449 then a few verses later in verse seventy-six: 00:05:15.449 --> 00:05:17.449 "And We had already seized them with agony, 00:05:17.449 --> 00:05:19.449 but they did not submit to their Lord, nor will they supplicate humbly." 00:05:19.449 --> 00:05:21.449 “Until, when We open for them the gate of extreme punishment, behold! they are aghast thereat.” (23:77) 00:05:21.449 --> 00:05:23.449 “Until, when We open for them the gate of extreme punishment, behold! they are aghast thereat.” (23:77) 00:05:23.449 --> 00:05:24.449 “Until, when We open for them the gate of extreme punishment, behold! they are aghast thereat.” (23:77) 00:05:24.449 --> 00:05:27.449 Then comes a third warning involving death, 00:05:27.449 --> 00:05:28.449 which you will find in the final lines 00:05:28.449 --> 00:05:29.449 of the sections of the surah: 00:05:29.449 --> 00:05:31.449 a third warning involving death: 00:05:31.449 --> 00:05:32.449 "Until, when death comes to one of them, 00:05:32.449 --> 00:05:34.449 he says, 'My Lord, send me back...'" 00:05:34.449 --> 00:05:36.449 Then a fourth warning involving the Last Day: 00:05:36.449 --> 00:05:38.480 "So when the Horn is blown, 00:05:38.480 --> 00:05:40.480 “And when the trumpet is blown there will be no kinship among them that day, nor will they ask of one another.” (23:101) 00:05:40.480 --> 00:05:41.480 nor will they ask about one another." 00:05:41.480 --> 00:05:43.480 What do we infer from these warnings? 00:05:43.480 --> 00:05:46.509 We infer that they suggest 00:05:46.509 --> 00:05:48.610 a later revelation, 00:05:48.610 --> 00:05:50.610 because intense warning 00:05:50.610 --> 00:05:52.610 is predominantly expected to occur 00:05:52.610 --> 00:05:54.610 at an advanced stage 00:05:54.610 --> 00:05:55.610 of the Meccan period, 00:05:55.610 --> 00:05:57.610 even if only relatively speaking; 00:05:57.610 --> 00:05:59.610 it is not among the earliest revelations 00:05:59.610 --> 00:06:01.740 to contain such detailed exposition 00:06:01.740 --> 00:06:03.740 in threatening punishment. 00:06:03.740 --> 00:06:04.740 And Allah knows best. 00:06:04.740 --> 00:06:06.740 May peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, 00:06:06.740 --> 00:06:08.740 and upon his family and all his companions, 00:06:08.740 --> 00:06:10.740 and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.