Part of The Gentle Commentary (series completed)
· Lesson 58 of 117
The nice comment on the book of cards identifying the surahs of the Holy Qur’an | D. Muhammad Nassif | Surah Al-Hadid
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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 concise commentary
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on the book *Profile Cards
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of 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 al-Hadid.
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of all the worlds.
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May peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers,
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and upon his family and all of his Companions.
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We continue with the profile cards
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of the surahs of the Noble Qur'an,
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and specifically with Surah al-Hadid.
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I have three reflections to share regarding it.
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The first reflection
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concerns what has been mentioned
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regarding its virtues:
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that it is among *al-Musabbihat* (the surahs that begin by glorifying Allah),
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which our Messenger,
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peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,
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recommended learning three of.
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This hadith
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was mentioned during our discussion of Surah Yunus,
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just as it is referenced here.
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This hadith
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opens wide horizons for
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comparative studies
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that weigh
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and contrast different surahs, or
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draw parallels between them.
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The hadith of the Prophet, peace be upon him, seems to urge
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the learning of those surahs
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that share similar openings
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all together. And we know
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that the learning of the Companions
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encompassed profound knowledge:
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they would not move past ten verses until
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they had learned the knowledge and practice contained within them,
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and it was not merely a matter of memorizing letters
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alone.
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Thus,
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this opens up horizons, as I said,
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for studying such surahs—
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meaning that it is possible
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to study these surahs
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together, namely the surahs of *al-Musabbihat*:
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"Exalted is He who took His Servant by night,"
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then "Glorified is Allah..."
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in several surahs, as well as "Glorifies Allah..."
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and "Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High."
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These *Musabbihat*
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can be studied—three of them
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or more—
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to compare and contrast them.
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Indeed, some works have been written on this;
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among what I have reviewed were comparisons between
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the openings of these surahs,
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or the openings of some of them,
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whether using the past tense *Sabbaha* or the present *Yusabbihu*,
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or the imperative.
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Material has been written on this, but it is possible
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to write further and examine them more deeply,
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for between them
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an in-depth study may reveal complementarity,
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mutual reinforcement, or
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further elaboration from one surah
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to another, along with other insights
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that research may uncover.
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This approach is not exclusive to *al-Musabbihat*;
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rather, it
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applies generally to all surahs that share
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similar openings, and I may have pointed this out
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more than once.
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The second reflection
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concerns what has been established
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regarding the exception of a specific verse
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within the surah.
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The surah, according to the most correct view, is Medinan;
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in fact, it explicitly mentions
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the Conquest: "Not equal among you are those who spent
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before the Conquest and fought..."
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“And what aileth you that ye spend not in the way of Allah when unto Allah belongeth the inheritance of the heavens and the earth? Those who spent and fought before the victory are not upon a level (with the rest of you). Such are greater in rank than those who spent and fought afterwards. Unto each hath Allah promised good. And Allah is Informed of what ye do.” (57:10)
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"...those who spent afterward and fought;
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and to all Allah has promised the best reward."
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Yet, despite this, there is a verse mentioned
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in the chronology of revelation that was noted,
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where it detailed the era in which
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the surah was revealed. This is a typographical
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error, for the era of revelation of
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the surah is not usually mentioned here throughout the book,
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but rather at the top of the page along with the surah's
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name; however, it was repeated here.
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The point to note is
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that the exception of the verse:
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"Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive..."
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“Is not the time ripe for the hearts of those who believe to submit to Allah's reminder and to the truth which is revealed, that they become not as those who received the scripture of old but the term was prolonged for them and so their hearts were hardened, and many of them are evil-livers.” (57:16)
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is authentic in *Sahih
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Muslim*.
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This opens a doorway
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among the doorways of contemplation and miraculous inimitability:
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a single verse
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established as having been revealed
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in Makkah,
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prior to the rest of the surah,
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and it is not placed at the beginning of the surah, for example—
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had it been at the beginning,
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the matter would be simpler—rather, it appears right in the middle
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of the surah. Contemplate its placement:
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when you recite it, you find before it
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a profound admonition: "On the Day you see the believing men and believing women,
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“On the day when thou (Muhammad) wilt see the believers, men and women, their light shining forth before them and on their right hands, (and wilt hear it said unto them): Glad news for you this day: Gardens underneath which rivers flow, wherein ye are immortal. That is the supreme triumph.” (57:12)
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their light proceeding before them and on their right:
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'Good tidings for you today: gardens...'" then He mentions
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“On the day when the hypocritical men and the hypocritical women will say unto those who believe: Look on us that we may borrow from your light! it will be said: Go back and seek for light! Then there will separate them a wall wherein is a gate, the inner side whereof containeth mercy, while the outer side thereof is toward the doom.” (57:13)
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the hypocrites saying to the believers: "Wait for us
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that we may acquire some of your light..."
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up to the end of the verses, and then He says:
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"Has the time not come for those
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who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive at the remembrance
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“Is not the time ripe for the hearts of those who believe to submit to Allah's reminder and to the truth which is revealed, that they become not as those who received the scripture of old but the term was prolonged for them and so their hearts were hardened, and many of them are evil-livers.” (57:16)
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of Allah..." You find its placement remarkably fitting
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right after that admonition. Then you find
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right after it: "Know that Allah gives life to the earth
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after its death," which is
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an allusion to hearts that
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die and are then brought back to life
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by whatever revelation and guidance
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Allah wills. Thus, the placement
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of this verse
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reveals to you something truly wondrous:
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how this verse preceded
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the rest of the surah in revelation, and yet
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it was placed in such a masterfully
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precise location within the surah, even though it originally served
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as a fitting gentle reproach
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to the Companions earlier in Makkah.
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As Ibn Mas'ud said:
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"There was no more between our acceptance of Islam and the time
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Allah reproached us with this verse:
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'Has the time not come for those who have believed that their hearts should become humbly submissive
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at the remembrance of Allah'—except four years."
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If the Companions were gently reproached for this—
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indeed, the senior Companions
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and the earliest foremost in Islam, including
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Ibn Mas'ud—then what should
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any one of us say? This surah
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is one we must contemplate and draw
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admonition from. The third
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and final reflection:
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it is readily observed
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that the beginning of the surah
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is praise and glorification of Allah,
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Exalted and Glorious is He, and an introduction to Him,
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the Exalted in His Majesty.
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Then came the very first command in the surah:
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“Believe in Allah and His messenger, and spend of that whereof He hath made you trustees; and such of you as believe and spend (aright), theirs will be a great reward.” (57:7)
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"Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend out of that in which He has made you successors."
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Notice how praise and introducing
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Allah take precedence over
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the direct command.
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It is as though this is a methodology
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we ought to adopt:
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before you command or forbid,
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make known the One who commands and forbids.
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We are often preoccupied with the commands and prohibitions
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at the expense of introducing the One Who
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commanded
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and prohibited, and to Whom alone belongs the right
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of commanding and forbidding,
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the right of legislation, and the absolute
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judgment,
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Exalted and Sublime is He. This is an approach
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one should diligently maintain.
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The Friday sermon preachers,
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for example, begin with praise
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of Allah, the Exalted.
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Yet often,
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this praise is delivered in a manner
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that fails to move the listeners, so they simply wait for
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what will be said afterward;
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this should not be the case.
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Of course, there is the well-known praise
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in *Khutbat al-Hajah* with which Friday sermons frequently
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begin, and it possesses
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profound grandeur and awe.
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One should take care to deliver it,
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and it ought to be recited with deep feeling.
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It should be delivered
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in a way
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that it is not heard as
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a mere routine
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matter; for mighty words,
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if recited
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as a mere habitual routine, lose
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their impact upon the hearts, just as sometimes happens
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with Surah al-Fatihah. However, the imams
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usually recite al-Fatihah with greater deliberation
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than the rest of the surahs, which gives it
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a strong resonance in the souls. Likewise,
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this praise—if it is from the Prophetic
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praise at the opening of the sermon—
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the preacher should strive to pronounce it
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while deeply sensing its meaning,
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so that he moves the hearts and prepares them
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for the admonition that follows.
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And if he uses another form of praise and commendation,
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there is no harm in that, provided he also strives
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to employ
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words free of artificiality,
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yet beautifully phrased
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and creating anticipation for what comes next.
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Above all,
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what the speaker most needs is to genuinely feel
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what he is saying. If I have digressed
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a little from the topic, that is fine,
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but the point is that the surah
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began with magnificent praise across six verses,
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which prepared the souls
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to listen to:
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"Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend..."
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For had our Lord, Glorified and Exalted be He,
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begun the surah directly with command
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and prohibition,
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He is indeed not questioned about what He does,
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while they are questioned. Yet He is Wise,
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Merciful, and Kind to His servants,
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so He provided them with this gentle introduction.
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We ought, therefore, to benefit
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from such a Qur'anic method.
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And may Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad,
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and upon all his family and Companions,
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and praise be to Allah, Lord of all the worlds.