The nice comment on the book of cards identifying the surahs of the Holy Qur’an | D. Muhammad Nassif | Surah Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

0:30 A Gentle Commentary

0:32 on the Book "Identification Cards

0:35 for the Surahs of the Noble Mus-haf"

0:38 by Dr. Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Aziz Ibn Umar Nasif,

0:42 may Allah preserve him.

0:44 Surah Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

0:48 In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

0:50 All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation,

0:52 and may peace and blessings be upon the Seal

0:54 of the Prophets and the Messengers,

0:56 and upon his family and all his Companions.

0:58 We continue with our gentle commentary,

1:00 and we are with Surah Muhammad,

1:02 peace be upon him.

1:05 I would like to pause here with three points.

1:07 The first point relates to the occasion of revelation.

1:09 Reference was made to an occasion of revelation

1:11 which indicates that it was revealed on the route of the Hijrah,

1:15 but its transmission contains an abandoned narrator (matruk).

1:17 Therefore, more than one scholar has ruled

1:20 that the hadith is extremely weak;

1:22 it is defective due to this abandoned narrator.

1:25 Someone might say here:

1:27 "Well, why did you mention it?"

1:29 I mentioned it because the primary reference work adopted here cited it.

1:32 This shows that although this book

1:34 is generally good,

1:36 such that it is suitable to serve as a foundational study for a person,

1:38 it nevertheless requires review and verification

1:41 regarding the authentications it contains,

1:43 especially when an authentication is made exclusively

1:45 by the authority from whom the author—

1:47 may Allah preserve him—transmitted here,

1:49 namely Imam al-Qurtubi in his Tafsir,

1:51 *Al-Jami' li-Ahkam al-Qur'an*.

1:54 Its theme constitutes the second point.

1:58 As for its theme, he said it is obvious from its name,

2:00 which is fighting (qital);

2:01 thus, its core theme is fighting.

2:03 However, I would like to add

2:05 that its other mentioned names

2:07 contain an allusion to aspects of its subject matter.

2:10 For its name "Muhammad," peace be upon him,

2:14 points to the cause of victory,

2:16 which is alluded to at its very beginning.

2:18 He said: "Those who disbelieved..."

2:20 “Those who disbelieve and turn (men) from the way of Allah, He rendereth their actions vain.” (47:1)

2:22 Scholars of rhetoric state that such relative clauses

2:25 “Those who disbelieve and turn (men) from the way of Allah, He rendereth their actions vain.” (47:1)

2:28 serve to indicate

2:30 the reason and justification

2:33 for the outcome: the outcome being, "He rendered their deeds worthless."

2:36 Why? Because they disbelieved and averted people from the path of Allah.

2:38 Then He said: "And those who believed

2:40 and did righteous deeds..."

2:42 “And those who believe and do good works and believe in that which is revealed unto Muhammad - and it is the truth from their Lord - He riddeth them of their ill-deeds and improveth their state.” (47:2)

2:44 And it is well known that this addresses the Muslims.

2:46 Why then specify faith in our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him,

2:49 even though all believers

2:51 must believe in that by default?

2:53 This indicates

2:55 that the reason for victory,

2:57 and the reason for what is mentioned here—

2:59 "And those who believed and did righteous deeds"—

3:01 “And those who believe and do good works and believe in that which is revealed unto Muhammad - and it is the truth from their Lord - He riddeth them of their ill-deeds and improveth their state.” (47:2)

3:03 “And those who believe and do good works and believe in that which is revealed unto Muhammad - and it is the truth from their Lord - He riddeth them of their ill-deeds and improveth their state.” (47:2)

3:05 is: "He will remove from them their misdeeds

3:07 and amend their condition." Thus the outcome

3:09 is built upon the cause.

3:11 Moreover, if we look at the entire context,

3:13 we say that one of the greatest

3:15 causes of victory—in fact, it is

3:17 a prerequisite among the causes of victory—

3:19 is that Muslims truly believe

3:21 in that which was revealed

3:23 to their Prophet Muhammad,

3:25 may Allah bless him and

3:27 his family and Companions.

3:30 Furthermore, the third name that

3:32 was mentioned by Imam al-Biqa'i,

3:34 and which he affirmed in the book,

3:36 is *Al-Ladhina Kafaru* ("Those Who Disbelieved").

3:38 The reality is that the surah identifies those who disbelieved;

3:40 you will find their traits described in a manner that calls

3:42 for fighting them,

3:44 clarifies their ultimate fate,

3:46 and shows that it is utter ruin.

3:48 There is no doubt

3:50 that keeping the traits of the disbelievers in mind

3:52 is exceptionally important

3:55 in such a context.

3:57 Hence, the surah drew contrasts

3:59 illustrating the qualities of the believers

4:01 so that their resolve might be elevated,

4:03 while exposing the conditions of the disbelievers

4:05 so as to strengthen the believers

4:07 in fighting them.

4:09 The third and final point

4:11 concerns the word *thumma* ("then").

4:13 I may have mentioned this before,

4:15 but I want to state it explicitly here

4:17 so that it stands as

4:19 an independent point

4:21 and receives proper focus.

4:23 This is a consistent convention throughout the book,

4:25 except for whatever human errors

4:27 or typographical mistakes might occur.

4:29 The word *thumma* ("then"),

4:31 whenever it appears in the context

4:33 of the surah's thematic sections,

4:35 indicates

4:37 the start of a new section.

4:39 Observe with me, in Surah

4:41 Muhammad, peace be upon him,

4:43 under the division of its parts,

4:45 he said it contains three sections,

4:47 and then he listed numbers: 7,

4:49 16, and 25.

4:51 These numbers are the beginning verses of each section.

4:53 Then we notice,

4:55 since they are three sections,

4:57 the discussion of the first section begins with his words:

4:59 "In it is an encouragement toward victory..."

5:01 Here begins the discussion of the first section.

5:03 Then, when the word *thumma* appears,

5:05 the discussion has moved

5:07 to the second section, which begins with verse

5:09 sixteen.

5:11 Then the subsequent *thumma* marks the section beginning with verse

5:13 twenty-five.

5:15 This helps one track

5:17 the various sections.

5:19 Someone might ask: "Why did you not print

5:21 the actual verses that begin the sections?"

5:23 This was a matter

5:25 about which consultation took place,

5:27 and I, along with those I consulted, concluded

5:29 that it is preferable to omit them so that

5:31 the book does not become overly lengthy.

5:33 Thus, this word *thumma* points to

5:35 the sections; if one keeps the Mus-haf

5:37 close at hand and follows the sections,

5:39 they can write the verse down in their own copy,

5:41 if they wish, in the margin,

5:43 for example.

5:45 And this is the last thought I will conclude with:

5:47 it is highly recommended

5:49 to read the book alongside one's complete recitation (khatmah)

5:51 of the Qur'an.

5:53 When you complete the Qur'an in Ramadan,

5:55 before you begin a surah, pause

5:57 for five minutes,

5:59 read its introductory profile,

6:01 and then proceed.

6:03 For that, by Allah's leave, will have a wonderful impact.

6:05 I will suffice with this much.

6:07 May Allah bless Muhammad, and his family and all his Companions.

6:09 All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all creation.

The nice comment on the book of cards identifying the surahs of the Holy Qur’an | D. Muhammad Nassif | Surah Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him

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