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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0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
0:03 "The Graceful Commentary on the Profile Cards of the Noble Qur'anic Surahs,"
0:38 by Dr. Muhammad ibn Abdulaziz ibn Umar Nassif, may Allah preserve him.
0:44 Surah Adh-Dhariyat.
0:46 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.
0:50 We continue with our graceful commentary on the profile cards,
0:53 now with Surah Adh-Dhariyat, regarding which I have three points to make.
0:56 The first point:
0:59 he mentioned among its virtues that it is part of the Mufassal.
1:03 If you observe what is at the top,
1:06 or at the beginning of each surah,
1:08 you will find that the first surah of the Mufassal is Surah Qaf.
1:12 The issue is disputed, but I adopted this view:
1:15 that Surah Qaf is the beginning of the Mufassal.
1:18 However, I did not mention the virtue of the Mufassal there
1:21 because Surah Qaf has specific virtues of its own.
1:24 As for Surah Adh-Dhariyat, I did not find an independent virtue for it,
1:27 so I established that virtue here.
1:29 It has been narrated regarding the virtue of the Mufassal that the core of the Qur'an
1:32 is the Mufassal, and the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) was favored
1:36 with the Mufassal, as in the hadith that has been cited
1:38 repeatedly, which divides the Qur'an
1:41 into the seven long ones (Tiwal), the hundreds (Mi'in), the oft-repeated (Mathani),
1:44 and the Mufassal, stating: "And I was favored with the Mufassal."
1:47 Thus, the Mufassal holds a tremendous status,
1:50 and Muslims ought to pay greater attention to it.
1:53 It is also fitting for the imams of mosques
1:56 to be keen on reciting from the Mufassal
1:59 in most of the audible prayers,
2:02 for this was the habitual practice of the Prophet (peace be upon him).
2:04 The jurists have explicitly stated this—
2:06 meaning for the majority of the recitation.
2:08 One may recite from anywhere in the Qur'an, but most of the recitation—
2:11 and I am not speaking here of the Tarawih prayers—
2:13 should be from the Mufassal: from its longer surahs in Fajr,
2:16 from its shorter ones in Maghrib,
2:19 and from its intermediate ones in Isha.
2:22 This was frequent in the recitation of the Prophet (peace be upon him),
2:25 although it has also been reported that he recited
2:28 from other surahs as well.
2:30 However, he would recite a surah from its beginning, as we mentioned earlier,
2:33 perhaps in this series or elsewhere.
2:36 Therefore, a person should be eager to recite the Mufassal,
2:39 and whoever is unable to memorize the entire Qur'an
2:42 may perhaps not be unable to memorize the Mufassal;
2:45 one should strive to memorize and review it.
2:48 If imams were to frequently recite these surahs,
2:50 as is the Prophetic guidance,
2:52 it would make it easier for people to memorize these magnificent surahs—
2:56 and the entire Qur'an is magnificent.
2:59 The second point concerns the chronological order of the surah's revelation.
3:02 Its chronological order was written incorrectly in the original book,
3:06 stating: "It is widely regarded as the one hundred and seventh."
3:09 This description applies only to a Medinan surah,
3:14 whereas Surah Adh-Dhariyat is Meccan,
3:17 so it cannot possibly be the one intended.
3:19 The mistake occurred here
3:22 due to confusion with Surah Al-Hujurat;
3:25 if you refer to Surah Al-Hujurat, you will find the exact same information:
3:28 "It is widely regarded as the one hundred and seventh."
3:31 So what is written here is an error,
3:33 though in the diagram it was written correctly:
3:35 that it is the sixty-fifth.
3:38 It is counted as the sixty-fifth, revealed after Al-Ahqaf and before Al-Ghashiyah,
3:41 so this should be corrected here.
3:43 What further corroborates this is his remark:
3:47 "Multiple occasions of revelation are associated with it."
3:49 Yet if you refer to the occasions of revelation for this surah,
3:51 you will only find a single occasion.
3:54 Here, I would like to add something, even if I elaborate a little:
3:57 this occasion of revelation was transmitted—as noted in the footnote—
4:01 through a chain containing weakness and interruption.
4:03 However, it has a corroborating report.
4:05 The general rule regarding occasions of revelation is that
4:07 when multiple transmissions of a report exist,
4:10 this indicates that
4:12 the occasion of revelation has a basis.
4:14 Such is the case here.
4:16 Perhaps
4:18 I should mention to you the other narration
4:20 that was referenced, which is the narration of Qatadah,
4:22 because it is somewhat clearer
4:24 in pointing to what is intended by citing this occasion here.
4:27 The purpose—
4:29 the purpose of mentioning this occasion is to illustrate
4:31 the Companions' profound relationship with the Noble Qur'an.
4:33 In At-Tabari, with his chain of transmission from Qatadah,
4:36 regarding His saying: "So turn away from them, for you are not blameworthy,"
4:38 he said: "It was narrated to us"—the speaker being Qatadah,
4:40 who is from the Tabi'un—
4:42 "it was narrated to us that when this verse
4:44 was revealed,
4:46 it weighed heavily upon the Companions
4:48 of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him),
4:50 and they thought that the revelation had ceased."
4:52 Imagine this verse: we might read it
4:54 without feeling any disturbance at all,
4:56 yet "So turn away from them" was an address to the Prophet (peace be upon him)
4:58 that weighed heavily upon the Companions
5:00 of the Prophet (peace be upon him), and they thought that the revelation
5:02 had ceased and that the punishment
5:04 had arrived—even though they
5:06 were believers! Glory be to Allah,
5:08 they did not say, "The punishment will only fall upon the disbelievers";
5:10 rather, they were terrified.
5:12 He said: "Thereupon, Allah Almighty revealed:
5:14 'And remind, for indeed, the reminder benefits
5:16 the believers.'" The third
5:18 and final point
5:20 concerns the overarching theme of the surah.
5:22 By examining its context,
5:24 it can be said that among its most essential themes
5:26 is directing the hearts
5:28 toward the worship of Allah
5:30 and fleeing to Him.
5:32 We might omit "and do not set up with Him another deity"—
5:34 it is present in the surah,
5:36 but for the sake of conciseness,
5:38 the overarching phrase mentioned
5:40 encompasses it.
5:42 Thus, among its most essential themes
5:44 is directing the hearts to singling out Allah
5:46 in worship and fleeing to Him.
5:48 The phrase "So flee to Allah"
5:50 in this context
5:52 is intrinsically linked to most verses of the surah,
5:54 as becomes evident upon reflecting
5:56 on the passages outlined
5:58 before you. For there are mentioned
6:00 in the surah cosmic signs,
6:02 signs concerning the destruction
6:04 of the oppressors, and the deliverance
6:06 of the believers;
6:08 all of which call
6:10 to fleeing to Allah,
6:12 Glorified and Exalted be He. The place
6:14 for elaborating and detailing this
6:16 lies beyond this brief commentary,
6:18 and I have previously presented
6:20 material on this subject.
6:22 I ask Allah to make us among those who flee
6:24 unto Him. It is fitting to note
6:26 that fleeing to Allah
6:28 has been discussed and detailed by the scholars;
6:30 Imam Al-Harawi addressed it
6:32 in "Manazil As-Sa'irin,"
6:34 and the commentators expounded upon his words,
6:36 foremost among them being Ibn Al-Qayyim,
6:38 who excelled brilliantly regarding the spiritual station of fleeing to Allah,
6:40 Glorified and Exalted be He.
6:42 Even so, among the best
6:44 means of truly understanding fleeing
6:46 to Allah is for us to recite,
6:49 learn, and attain deep comprehension
6:51 of Surah Adh-Dhariyat.
6:53 For the scholars,
6:55 when they spoke of the station of fleeing,
6:57 did not proceed primarily from this surah,
6:59 but rather spoke of
7:01 seeking refuge with Allah,
7:03 abandoning sins, and the like.
7:05 All of that is commendable;
7:07 however, the best starting point
7:09 for understanding any spiritual station of the heart
7:11 mentioned in the Qur'an
7:13 is to proceed from the Qur'an itself and from the surah
7:15 in which that station was mentioned:
7:17 "So flee to Allah.
7:19 Indeed, I am to you from Him a clear warner."
7:21 I ask Allah to make us among those who flee
7:23 unto Him, accepted in His presence,
7:25 and granted His forgiveness.
7:27 May Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, his family, and his Companions
7:29 altogether, and all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds.