Part of The Gentle Commentary (series completed)
· Lesson 64 of 117
The nice comment on the book of cards identifying the surahs of the Holy Qur’an | D. Muhammad Nassif | Surat Al-Dhariyat
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Transcript
Machine translation — may contain errors
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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"The Graceful Commentary on the Profile Cards of the Noble Qur'anic Surahs,"
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by Dr. Muhammad ibn Abdulaziz ibn Umar Nassif, may Allah preserve him.
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Surah Adh-Dhariyat.
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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.
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We continue with our graceful commentary on the profile cards,
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now with Surah Adh-Dhariyat, regarding which I have three points to make.
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The first point:
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he mentioned among its virtues that it is part of the Mufassal.
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If you observe what is at the top,
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or at the beginning of each surah,
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you will find that the first surah of the Mufassal is Surah Qaf.
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The issue is disputed, but I adopted this view:
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that Surah Qaf is the beginning of the Mufassal.
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However, I did not mention the virtue of the Mufassal there
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because Surah Qaf has specific virtues of its own.
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As for Surah Adh-Dhariyat, I did not find an independent virtue for it,
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so I established that virtue here.
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It has been narrated regarding the virtue of the Mufassal that the core of the Qur'an
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is the Mufassal, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was favored
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with the Mufassal, as in the hadith that has been cited
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repeatedly, which divides the Qur'an
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into the seven long ones (Tiwal), the hundreds (Mi'in), the oft-repeated (Mathani),
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and the Mufassal, stating: "And I was favored with the Mufassal."
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Thus, the Mufassal holds a tremendous status,
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and Muslims ought to pay greater attention to it.
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It is also fitting for the imams of mosques
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to be keen on reciting from the Mufassal
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in most of the audible prayers,
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for this was the habitual practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
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The jurists have explicitly stated this—
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meaning for the majority of the recitation.
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One may recite from anywhere in the Qur'an, but most of the recitation—
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and I am not speaking here of the Tarawih prayers—
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should be from the Mufassal: from its longer surahs in Fajr,
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from its shorter ones in Maghrib,
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and from its intermediate ones in Isha.
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This was frequent in the recitation of the Prophet (peace be upon him),
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although it has also been reported that he recited
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from other surahs as well.
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However, he would recite a surah from its beginning, as we mentioned earlier,
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perhaps in this series or elsewhere.
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Therefore, a person should be eager to recite the Mufassal,
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and whoever is unable to memorize the entire Qur'an
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may perhaps not be unable to memorize the Mufassal;
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one should strive to memorize and review it.
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If imams were to frequently recite these surahs,
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as is the Prophetic guidance,
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it would make it easier for people to memorize these magnificent surahs—
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and the entire Qur'an is magnificent.
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The second point concerns the chronological order of the surah's revelation.
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Its chronological order was written incorrectly in the original book,
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stating: "It is widely regarded as the one hundred and seventh."
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This description applies only to a Medinan surah,
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whereas Surah Adh-Dhariyat is Meccan,
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so it cannot possibly be the one intended.
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The mistake occurred here
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due to confusion with Surah Al-Hujurat;
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if you refer to Surah Al-Hujurat, you will find the exact same information:
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"It is widely regarded as the one hundred and seventh."
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So what is written here is an error,
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though in the diagram it was written correctly:
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that it is the sixty-fifth.
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It is counted as the sixty-fifth, revealed after Al-Ahqaf and before Al-Ghashiyah,
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so this should be corrected here.
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What further corroborates this is his remark:
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"Multiple occasions of revelation are associated with it."
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Yet if you refer to the occasions of revelation for this surah,
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you will only find a single occasion.
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Here, I would like to add something, even if I elaborate a little:
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this occasion of revelation was transmitted—as noted in the footnote—
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through a chain containing weakness and interruption.
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However, it has a corroborating report.
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The general rule regarding occasions of revelation is that
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when multiple transmissions of a report exist,
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this indicates that
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the occasion of revelation has a basis.
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Such is the case here.
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Perhaps
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I should mention to you the other narration
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that was referenced, which is the narration of Qatadah,
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because it is somewhat clearer
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in pointing to what is intended by citing this occasion here.
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The purpose—
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the purpose of mentioning this occasion is to illustrate
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the Companions' profound relationship with the Noble Qur'an.
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In At-Tabari, with his chain of transmission from Qatadah,
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regarding His saying: "So turn away from them, for you are not blameworthy,"
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he said: "It was narrated to us"—the speaker being Qatadah,
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who is from the Tabi'un—
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"it was narrated to us that when this verse
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was revealed,
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it weighed heavily upon the Companions
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of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
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and they thought that the revelation had ceased."
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Imagine this verse: we might read it
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without feeling any disturbance at all,
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yet "So turn away from them" was an address to the Prophet (peace be upon him)
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that weighed heavily upon the Companions
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of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and they thought that the revelation
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had ceased and that the punishment
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had arrived—even though they
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were believers! Glory be to Allah,
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they did not say, "The punishment will only fall upon the disbelievers";
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rather, they were terrified.
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He said: "Thereupon, Allah Almighty revealed:
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'And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits
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the believers.'" The third
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and final point
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concerns the overarching theme of the surah.
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By examining its context,
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it can be said that among its most essential themes
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is directing the hearts
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toward the worship of Allah
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and fleeing to Him.
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We might omit "and do not set up with Him another deity"—
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it is present in the surah,
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but for the sake of conciseness,
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the overarching phrase mentioned
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encompasses it.
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Thus, among its most essential themes
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is directing the hearts to singling out Allah
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in worship and fleeing to Him.
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The phrase "So flee to Allah"
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in this context
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is intrinsically linked to most verses of the surah,
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as becomes evident upon reflecting
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on the passages outlined
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before you. For there are mentioned
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in the surah cosmic signs,
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signs concerning the destruction
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of the oppressors, and the deliverance
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of the believers;
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all of which call
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to fleeing to Allah,
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Glorified and Exalted be He. The place
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for elaborating and detailing this
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lies beyond this brief commentary,
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and I have previously presented
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material on this subject.
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I ask Allah to make us among those who flee
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unto Him. It is fitting to note
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that fleeing to Allah
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has been discussed and detailed by the scholars;
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Imam Al-Harawi addressed it
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in "Manazil As-Sa'irin,"
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and the commentators expounded upon his words,
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foremost among them being Ibn Al-Qayyim,
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who excelled brilliantly regarding the spiritual station of fleeing to Allah,
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Glorified and Exalted be He.
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Even so, among the best
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means of truly understanding fleeing
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to Allah is for us to recite,
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learn, and attain deep comprehension
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of Surah Adh-Dhariyat.
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For the scholars,
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when they spoke of the station of fleeing,
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did not proceed primarily from this surah,
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but rather spoke of
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seeking refuge with Allah,
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abandoning sins, and the like.
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All of that is commendable;
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however, the best starting point
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for understanding any spiritual station of the heart
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mentioned in the Qur'an
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is to proceed from the Qur'an itself and from the surah
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in which that station was mentioned:
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"So flee to Allah.
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Indeed, I am to you from Him a clear warner."
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I ask Allah to make us among those who flee
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unto Him, accepted in His presence,
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and granted His forgiveness.
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May Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions
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altogether, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.