Part of The Gentle Commentary (series completed)
· Lesson 95 of 117
The nice comment on the book of cards identifying the surahs of the Holy Qur’an | D. Muhammad Nassif | Surah Taha
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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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A Gentle Commentary
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on the book "Identification Cards
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for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an"
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by Dr. Muhammad Ibn Abd al-Aziz Ibn Umar Nasif,
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may Allah preserve him.
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Surah Ta-Ha.
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
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We are still continuing with our gentle commentary on the identification cards,
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and here we are with Surah Ta-Ha.
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The first point of reflection
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concerns the opening of the Surah.
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He mentioned here in the book that it opens generally with the letters of the alphabet,
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which are known as the disjointed letters (al-huruf al-muqatta'ah).
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In truth, I followed in this regard the source
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upon which I relied, namely al-Suyuti,
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who followed those before him
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in classifying the openings of the Surahs
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into ten categories,
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among which are the disjointed letters,
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and he included "Ta-Ha" among them.
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Otherwise, "Ta-Ha"
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is not considered one of the disjointed letters
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by consensus.
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We have "Alif-Lam-Mim",
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which is definitively among the disjointed letters,
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and we have "Alif-Lam-Mim-Sad", which is also among the disjointed letters.
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As for "Ta-Ha", there is disagreement concerning it,
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and Imam al-Tabari preferred
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a different view,
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giving preponderance to the meaning: "O man."
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However, I followed
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al-Suyuti's classification
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for the sake of simplicity.
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Here is a second point of reflection,
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and this second point
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stems from the first:
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namely, that the disjointed letters
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should not all be treated
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in the exact same manner.
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Imam al-Tabari,
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across many Surahs,
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states: "The discussion regarding the disjointed letters has preceded,"
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and then he cites some other narrations.
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Yet his methodology requires further induction
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in the way he cites
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the discussion on the disjointed letters throughout the different Surahs.
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In certain Surahs, however,
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such as Surah Ta-Ha,
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he mentions a dispute that takes it outside the category of disjointed letters,
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and indeed,
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he concluded, as I mentioned to you,
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that "Ta-Ha"
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means: "O man."
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This is what is expected of a researcher:
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the disjointed letters
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are not all equal
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in terms of the certainty of their belonging to this category.
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There are certain openings
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concerning which there is extensive debate,
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and which warrant
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closer examination,
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such as Surah Qaf, Surah Ta-Ha,
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and Surah Nun.
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These,
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even if the preponderant view
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among the reciter or reader
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is that they are disjointed letters,
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ought not to be treated
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in the same way as those that are
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unequivocally considered disjointed letters by consensus.
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It is an issue that requires
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thorough research,
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and perhaps some researchers will step forward
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to undertake this matter.
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The third and final point of reflection
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concerns the occasions of revelation (asbab al-nuzul) of the Surah.
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He said: "No occasion of revelation has been mentioned for it."
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I have previously clarified
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that when I say "none has been mentioned for it,"
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it differs from saying "I did not
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find any for it."
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When I state on the very same page,
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regarding the virtues of the Surah: "and I did not find for it
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an independent virtue,"
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this means that I searched across various works
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to the best of my ability and found none.
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However, "no occasion of revelation has been mentioned for it" is said
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because regarding the occasions of revelation,
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despite the abundance of references, I relied
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specifically on sources where no occasion of revelation was recorded for it.
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Otherwise, the author himself,
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Dr. Isam al-Humaydan,
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the author of "Al-Sahih min Asbab al-Nuzul",
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in his critical editing
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of al-Wahidi's "Asbab al-Nuzul"—
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meaning, this scholar
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critically edited al-Wahidi's "Asbab al-Nuzul"—
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and in al-Wahidi's work,
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an occasion of revelation is mentioned for the beginning of the Surah,
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but it was not deemed acceptable
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by Isam al-Humaydan in terms of chain of transmission (isnad),
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so he did not cite it.
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I have noted that once a person reads al-Humaydan's book,
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they gain a sound conception of the occasions of revelation,
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after which they should expand further,
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according to whatever Allah grants them,
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by reading other works on the occasions of revelation.
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One should add to it whenever finding a report
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that appears verified or suitable
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for citation, incorporating it
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into what they already know.
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With this, I conclude
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these points of reflection
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on Surah Ta-Ha.
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May the blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad,
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and upon his family and all his Companions.
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And all praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.