Part of The Gentle Commentary (series completed)
· Lesson 34 of 117
The nice comment on the book of cards identifying the surahs of the Holy Qur’an | D. Muhammad Nassif | Surat Al-Takwir
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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 "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 at-Takwir.
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah,
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and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
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We are continuing with the identification cards
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for the surahs of the Noble Qur'an,
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and specifically with Surah at-Takwir.
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We have three points of reflection here.
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The first reflection
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concerns what has been mentioned regarding its virtue.
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He, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him, said:
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"Whoever is pleased
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to look at the Day of Resurrection
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as if
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with their very eyes,
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let them recite: 'When the sun
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is wrapped up...'" — the hadith.
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Notice the expression: "Whoever is pleased."
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"Being pleased" means being delighted by something,
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and a human being
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naturally takes pleasure in beautiful,
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reassuring, and glad-tiding things.
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So how can a person be pleased
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and delighted to see such a terrifying event?
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"When the sun is wrapped up,
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and when the stars fall dispersing,
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and when the mountains are moved..." These verses
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inspire fear, so how
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does one derive
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joy from this?
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The reality is that a sensible person,
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when alerted to an impending danger
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and made deeply aware of that threat,
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will be pleased with receiving this warning;
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for having been cautioned
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about the matter before it happens,
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they are enabled to prepare for it.
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The same applies here:
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a person should be eager
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to look at the Day of Resurrection
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as if seeing it with their very eyes
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through reciting such a surah as this.
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Thereby,
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one attains such an amount of fear
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and hope
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as will drive them to righteous action
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before this momentous appointment arrives.
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The second reflection
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concerns the chronological order of the surah's revelation.
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He stated that it is considered the sixth,
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according to the well-known narration,
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which indicates its early revelation.
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There is also internal evidence supporting this early date:
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he noted that the mention of seeing Gabriel
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likewise suggests an early period of revelation,
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as in it occurs the words of the Exalted:
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"And he certainly saw him on the clear horizon."
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And Gabriel—
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it is established in the Seerah
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from general evidence
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that this event took place early on,
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meaning the visual sighting of Gabriel.
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Thus, this serves as corroborating evidence
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reinforcing that the surah was among the earliest
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of what was revealed.
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As for the third
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and final reflection,
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it pertains to the opening of the surah
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and its initial section.
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He remarked that the opening of the surah begins with conditional clauses (idhā),
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and I may have previously paused
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to reflect upon these conditional clauses
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in Surah al-Waqi'ah,
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noting that these are future
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appointments
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which we must pay utmost attention to:
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"When the Inevitable Event befalls,"
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"When the sky breaks apart,"
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"When the sun is wrapped up,"
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"When the sky is split open."
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"Idhā" denotes a future condition.
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He said that the repeated "when" (idhā)
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signifies that this future condition
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is bound
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to happen.
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This aligns seamlessly
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with his saying, peace be upon him:
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"Whoever is pleased to look at the Day of Resurrection
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as if with their very eyes..."
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It means that you ponder every single
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word in these verses,
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so that it aids you in actively bringing to mind
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this momentous scene.
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Among these is "when" (idhā), with its implication
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that the event is inevitable;
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then the verses follow consecutively,
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word by word,
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each word further increasing
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your capacity
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to
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visualize this momentous scene.
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It goes without saying
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that this cannot be achieved through hurried
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recitation, nor
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at a time when a person is
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distracted; rather, you must dedicate
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a night of your
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nights to this surah,
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or dedicate this surah
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to one of your nights,
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standing in prayer during it
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for half an hour, an hour,
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or more,
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according to what Allah opens up for you,
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pondering deeply over this surah.
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I ask Allah to grant me and you success
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in doing what He loves and is pleased with.
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May Allah send peace and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and upon all his family
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and Companions, and all praise is due to Allah,
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the Lord of the worlds.