In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
"The Graceful Commentary on the Book of Introductory Profiles of the Noble Qur'an's Surahs"
By Dr. Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Aziz Ibn Umar Nasif, may Allah preserve him.
Surah As-Sajdah.
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. All praise is due to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
We continue with our graceful commentary on the introductory profiles,
and we are now with Surah As-Sajdah.
I have three points to pause and reflect upon regarding it.
The first pause is to highlight several matters.
In fact, I committed myself in the book to including only what I deemed established as authentic (sahih) or acceptable (hasan).
Even though weak reports concerning many of the issues presented in this book
are considered acceptable to cite by many scholars,
I nevertheless preferred that the book adhere strictly to this standard.
Therefore, you find among the names of the Surah a narration from some of the Tabi'un;
in truth, I did not intend to include it,
yet it appears here.
The fact is, it ought to be deleted.
An oversight simply occurred in this regard.
I should only have noted that Al-Munjiyah was given this name because
it was described as such by some of the Tabi'un.
I said "it was reported" (wurida), and using this word was deliberate,
so that it is understood that it requires further verification.
Therefore, while still on this same point,
I point out that among the Surah's virtues is what was reported on the authority of Abu Hurayrah.
In fact, it is definitively established from Abu Hurayrah, as it is in Sahih al-Bukhari.
Thus, the appropriate word here is "it is established" (thabata).
Likewise, concerning what follows: "and it was reported that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
would not sleep until he recited
Alif-Lam-Mim Tanzil al-Sajdah."
All of these should use the expression "it is established."
An oversight occurred at times due to a lack of focus;
with a lapse in concentration, the word "established" sometimes gets replaced by "reported" or the like.
So this will be corrected, and I ask Allah to make that easy in the second edition.
Furthermore, among the virtues of the Surah, as is evident
and well known, is that it is recited during the Fajr prayer
on Friday, along with Surah Al-Insan.
This is even more well known than reciting it every night along with Surah Al-Mulk.
The Prophet, peace be upon him, would not sleep until he recited
As-Sajdah and Al-Mulk.
This encourages us to give it great care and attention.
Here, I would like to highlight something:
whenever it is established in the Sunnah to recite something at a specific time or place,
be eager to observe it, for it possesses a spiritual light
recognized by whoever strives to follow the Sunnah in such matters.
There is no need for me to turn to what is merely permissible,
such as reciting another surah,
when this particular surah exists, which the Prophet, peace be upon him, recited.
Why should I abandon the Sunnah for something else?
Am I claiming it is prohibited? No, I am not saying that,
nor am I anyone of authority to say so, nor does fiqh rule that doing so is forbidden
or disliked.
But why should a person abandon what is superior?
The superior choice is always to follow the Sunnah.
Occasionally, it may be for educational purposes
that one deviates from the Sunnah on rare occasions.
But as for deliberately seeking variation
in a matter where the Prophet, peace be upon him, recited
something established,
there is no doubt that adhering to it is best.
It contains a light known only to those who have experienced it.
Strive to follow the Sunnah in your recitation,
and in the designated places where
specific surahs are recited, and the like,
for in that lies immense good.
I recall someone mentioning:
"I used to recite Surah Al-A'la every night
in the Witr prayer,
in the two rak'ahs before the Witr.
Sometimes I would become lazy about it,
or I would want to recite
from where I had reached in my regular Qur'anic portion (wird).
Yet when I recited, I did not feel the presence of my heart,
whereas whenever I recited this particular surah,
I sensed its profound awe and reverence in this prayer."
Indeed, there is wisdom and profound secrets behind it;
we comprehend some, while much remains hidden from us.
It is sufficient for us that the Bringer of Glad Tidings,
peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
recited it on this occasion.
Then I move on,
in my third pause,
to the chronology of the Surah's revelation.
It is counted as the seventy-second surah
according to the well-known view, revealed after Surah An-Nahl
and before Surah Nuh.
A report has been narrated that may indicate it was—
the more precise
phrasing to write
is: "A report has been narrated that may indicate
that part of it..."
A report has been narrated that may indicate it was
prior to the incident of the Night Journey (al-Isra).
This is a subtle scholarly issue.
Some of the salaf (early generations)
interpreted the words of Allah the Exalted:
"And We certainly gave Moses the Scripture..."
“We verily gave Moses the Scripture; so be not ye in doubt of his receiving it; and We appointed it a guidance for the Children of Israel.” (32:23)
as referring to the Night of al-Isra,
so it served as a promise to the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
that he would meet Moses
on the Night of al-Isra,
and indeed, he met him, peace be upon him.
From this, I transition
to another matter, which is that
a comprehensive survey of all the reports
and traditions
found in the Prophetic biography (Seerah),
in the books of Tafsir,
and in other sources wherein
a verse is cited as evidence,
could unveil many critical insights for us
regarding the chronology of revelation.
Thus, this matter requires an extensive, meticulous survey
and demands a major
academic project sponsored by a university, for instance.
I would suggest
that this be carried out
by starting with the book
*Al-Tahrir wa al-Tanwir*
by Ibn Ashur, for he
pays an unmatched degree of attention to this subject, unlike
any other exegete within the scope of my reading.
He gives exceptional attention to the chronology
of revelation, and scrutinizes
many verses
with invaluable, precise analyses.
If these detailed remarks were compiled—and they are numerous—
a single doctoral dissertation would not suffice for them;
rather, even studying just
some of the long surahs, such as Al-Baqarah, might well suffice
for a master's thesis.
The meticulous care of Ibn Ashur
is truly immense.
These discussions need compilation
and thorough, deliberate study.
One should not merely settle
for what he mentions, may Allah have mercy on him, at the beginning
of each surah, for there he offers only a summary;
rather, when examining the individual verses, he scrutinizes them deeply,
remarking: "Perhaps it was revealed concerning such-and-such,"
or "Perhaps it was revealed prior to such-and-such, because it contains
this and that."
I believe that if his work were thoroughly studied,
we would also derive a comprehensive methodology
for determining the chronology of revelation.
Even though the chronology of revelation
has been treated in a fine, dedicated book,
it remains primarily theoretical
and concise; it is entitled
*Ilm Tarikh Nuzul*
*Ayat al-Qur'an al-Karim wa Suwarih* (The Science of the Chronology of the Revelation of the Qur'an's Verses and Surahs),
co-authored by Dr. Ahmad
Khalid Shukri and Mr.
Imran Samih Nazzal,
if my pronunciation of the name is correct,
and published in Jordan.
This book provides a sound theoretical framework,
but Ibn Ashur
applied this methodology extensively throughout his work.
Therefore, it truly deserves,
as I mentioned, to be adopted as an academic project
spanning several theses,
to comprehensively survey everything written by
the erudite scholar, may Allah have mercy on him,
on this subject.
I shall limit myself to this amount.
May Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions.
And all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.