Part of The Gentle Commentary (series completed)
· Lesson 51 of 117
The nice comment on the book of cards identifying the surahs of the Holy Qur’an | D. Muhammad Nassif | Surat Al-Taghabun
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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 at-Taghabun.
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In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds,
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and peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers,
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and upon all his family and Companions.
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We are still with the concise commentary on the profile cards,
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and we have arrived at Surah at-Taghabun.
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I have three observations regarding it.
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The first observation
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concerns the central theme of the surah.
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For it is stated here
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that its theme is the call to faith
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and its prerequisites,
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through introducing Allah, His attributes, and His actions.
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It is better to adjust this
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to state that
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its theme is
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the call to faith and its prerequisites,
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along with a warning
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against what hinders from it,
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and we remove "through introducing Allah, His attributes, and His actions."
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This
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is superfluous detail.
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There is no doubt that the call to faith includes
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introducing Allah and His attributes,
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and through this, the call to faith was made.
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Therefore, as is evident to us, this introductory prelude came
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at the beginning by introducing Allah,
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His attributes, and His actions.
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However, what I have proposed is better
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so that it encompasses the entire surah;
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for it contains a call to faith,
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and it contains a warning against what hinders
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from faith.
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The second observation relates
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to the surah's placement [in the Qur'anic order].
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For it comes after Surah
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al-Munafiqun. It has been mentioned
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in the book regarding the placement
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of the surah, based on what is derived
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from the book of Imam as-Suyuti,
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that al-Munafiqun concluded
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with the urging to spend before the arrival of death,
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while this surah mentions mutual disillusion (at-Taghabun).
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Also among these connections is that the former
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urged remembrance, while this one mentions
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the continuous glorification of all creation.
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All of this is sound, and it can
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be added to this that
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this surah preserves
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faith, and preserving
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faith protects, by Allah's
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leave, from hypocrisy.
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Perhaps what was pointed out
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by Imam as-Suyuti—that the former,
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meaning al-Munafiqun, concluded
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with the urging toward remembrance, while this one mentions
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the continuous glorification of all creation—
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highlights here the benefit
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of the present-tense verb here.
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For the surah that opened with glorification
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using the present-tense verb is al-Jumu'ah,
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and it has already been discussed, as well as this surah.
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For after
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He said, "Let not your wealth
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or your children distract you from the remembrance of Allah," He said in this surah:
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"Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is on the earth glorifies Allah."
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It is as though He is pointing out
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that those who engage in remembrance
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are simply joining the procession
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of all creation that glorifies
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Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.
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Therefore, the opening of the surah
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should be amended; of course, it is written here
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that it opened with a declarative sentence, which is an error;
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rather, it is among the surahs that open
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with glorification (Tasbih),
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and the glorification came
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in the present-tense verbal form.
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That is, the phrasing should be adjusted to match
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what was amended in Surah al-Jumu'ah.
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So let the section
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of the concise commentary on Surah al-Jumu'ah be consulted.
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There remains
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the third and final observation.
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We notice
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that the surah contains an introduction,
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a first passage commanding faith,
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and a second passage
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addressing the people of faith: "O you who have believed,
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indeed, among your spouses
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and your children are enemies to you,
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so beware of them."
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If you compare this
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second passage in Surah at-Taghabun
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with the second passage
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in Surah al-Munafiqun, you will find
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a similarity between them. There,
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it explained the states of the hypocrites,
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then directed
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an address to the believers
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urging them to remember Allah;
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and here,
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with an address to the believers
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and an urging toward faith:
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"So believe in Allah and His Messenger
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and the Light which We have sent down."
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Then He warned them,
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just as He warned them there: "Let not your wealth [or your children distract you],"
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“O ye who believe! Let not your wealth nor your children distract you from remembrance of Allah. Those who do so, they are the losers.” (63:9)
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so He said: "Indeed, among your spouses and your children
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are enemies to you."
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Thus we find that the two passages—
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the final ones in each surah—
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we find between these two passages
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a clear similarity.
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We also find them alongside
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the end of Surah al-Jumu'ah:
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"And when they saw a transaction or a diversion,
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they rushed to it and left you standing."
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These intertextual correspondences (munasabat)
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are endless to discuss,
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and I merely suffice here
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with such brief indications.
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Whoever explores further will find
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a great deal more than
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what I have mentioned. I ask Allah to grant opening to me and to you.
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May Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad,
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and upon all his family
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and Companions,
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and all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds.