The nice comment on the book of cards identifying the surahs of the Holy Qur’an | D. Muhammad Nassif

0:00 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:02 Concise commentary

0:32 on the book *Introductory Cards*

0:35 *for the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an*

0:37 by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Naseef,

0:42 may Allah preserve him.

0:44 Surah al-An'am.

0:46 In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

0:48 Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.

0:51 We are still engaging with this concise commentary,

0:53 and today we arrive at Surah al-An'am.

0:56 I would like to make three brief points regarding it.

0:58 The first point

1:00 concerns the occasions of revelation.

1:02 The author mentions eight occasions for this surah.

1:04 Of course, I have explained before

1:06 that this is according to

1:08 the reference book adopted here, namely

1:10 *Al-Sahih min Asbab al-Nuzul* (The Authentic Occasions of Revelation).

1:12 It does not mean that

1:15 no other occasions of revelation were mentioned

1:17 except these eight across all books of

1:19 occasions of revelation—

1:21 that would be incorrect.

1:23 Rather, the intended meaning of the adopted reference text

1:25 is the authentic occasions of revelation.

1:27 However, I wanted to address

1:29 another matter, which is

1:31 that having only eight occasions

1:33 across more than twenty pages—

1:35 given the length of this surah, which

1:37 is not far removed

1:39 from Al 'Imran

1:41 and An-Nisa' in length—

1:43 why are there so few

1:45 occasions of revelation cited for it?

1:48 The truth is that occasions of revelation

1:50 in Meccan surahs are few

1:52 when compared to Medinan ones.

1:54 That is because in the Prophetic biography (Seerah),

1:56 we know

1:58 its details regarding the Medinan period far more

2:00 than we know of its details

2:02 regarding the Meccan period.

2:04 This brings us to the second point,

2:06 which is the dating

2:08 of revelation—a distinct issue,

2:10 as we agreed previously.

2:12 Dating revelation during the Meccan period

2:14 is difficult. It is easy

2:16 to date a Medinan surah in most cases;

2:18 indeed, sometimes you know that

2:20 an entire surah was connected

2:22 to a specific year,

2:24 even if the surah is long,

2:26 or medium-length spanning ten

2:28 pages, such as Surah al-Anfal.

2:30 But in Meccan surahs,

2:32 you might find a short surah,

2:34 such as al-Qari'ah or at-Takathur,

2:36 or others,

2:38 and yet you cannot determine

2:40 a precise date for its revelation.

2:42 Therefore, you often find

2:45 scholarly opinions regarding Meccan surahs

2:47 and their dating

2:49 that rely merely on

2:51 subjective taste and textual reflection,

2:53 which can contain flaws

2:55 or represent weak opinions

2:57 lacking solid evidence—

2:59 unlike Medinan surahs,

3:01 where the abundance of narrations

3:03 regarding occasions of revelation and other

3:05 biographical events makes it easy

3:07 for us to know

3:10 the date of revelation with precision.

3:12 For instance, consider the difference with the Isra' (Night Journey):

3:14 when did the Isra' occur?

3:16 There is a long-standing disagreement.

3:18 You do not find such disagreement regarding the timing of

3:20 Badr, Uhud, or other events;

3:22 if you do find disagreement, it is minor

3:24 or due to differences in terminology,

3:26 which is addressed elsewhere.

3:28 The point is that dating the revelation of Meccan surahs

3:30 is far more difficult. So when you see

3:32 someone speaking about a Meccan surah

3:34 and asserting that a certain surah was revealed in such-and-such a year,

3:36 exercise caution—

3:38 especially regarding Meccan surahs—

3:40 for overreaching has occurred

3:42 in a number of studies and books.

3:44 The third

3:47 and final point regarding Surah al-An'am

3:49 concerns its main sections.

3:51 It can be divided into two parts:

3:53 A part that introduces Allah

3:55 and expresses wonder

3:58 at the disbelief of the disbelievers,

4:00 which is evident from the very first verse of the surah:

4:02 "Praise be to Allah, who

4:04 created the heavens and the earth

4:06 and made the darknesses and the light."

4:08 It introduces Allah, then says: "Yet those who

4:10 disbelieve equate others with their Lord,"

4:12 expressing astonishment at the state of the disbelievers.

4:14 In the second part,

4:16 there is further introduction to Allah,

4:19 as well as astonishment at the prohibitions imposed by the disbelievers

4:22 and their legislating for themselves

4:24 things for which Allah sent down no authority,

4:26 along with an exposition of the true prohibitions.

4:28 Thus, both parts trace back

4:30 to the beginning of the surah.

4:32 I want to emphasize that the introduction

4:34 to Allah in this surah

4:36 is perhaps unmatched by

4:38 any other surah,

4:40 because it is a long surah—

4:42 among the longest Meccan surahs—

4:44 and it is filled with introducing Allah,

4:46 to the extent that some

4:48 scholars noted that it is

4:50 like Surah al-Baqarah

4:52 among Medinan surahs.

4:54 Surah al-Baqarah encompasses

4:56 most of the legal rulings, whereas this surah

4:58 encompasses the fundamentals of creed.

5:00 It is as if the Medinan surahs

5:02 are an elaboration of al-Baqarah, and as if

5:04 the Meccan surahs are all linked

5:06 to Surah al-An'am—a concept

5:08 truly worth pondering.

5:10 With this, I conclude my commentary

5:12 on Surah al-An'am.

5:14 I ask Allah to fill our hearts with His recognition,

5:16 and may Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad,

5:18 and upon his family and all his Companions.

5:20 Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds.

The nice comment on the book of cards identifying the surahs of the Holy Qur’an | D. Muhammad Nassif | Surah Al-An'am

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