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.

0:30 The gentle commentary

0:32 on the book "Introductory Cards

0:35 to the Surahs of the Noble Qur'an"

0:38 by Dr. Muhammad ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz ibn 'Umar Nassif,

0:42 may Allah preserve him.

0:44 Surah al-Ahzab:

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

0:48 All praise is due to Allah, the Lord of the worlds,

0:50 and may peace and blessings be upon the Seal of

0:52 the Prophets and Messengers, and upon his family.

0:55 We are still with the gentle commentary

0:57 on the introductory cards,

0:59 and with Surah al-Ahzab, I pause with it

1:01 for three observations.

1:03 The first pause

1:05 concerns the opening of the Surah, for it

1:07 begins with a vocative address in general,

1:09 and specifically, it opens with addressing the Prophet,

1:11 peace and blessings of Allah be upon him.

1:13 We have previously mentioned that a Surah

1:15 opened with a vocative address allows

1:17 tracing the vocative calls throughout it

1:19 to help outline its division,

1:21 recognize its sections,

1:23 and indeed grasp its central objective.

1:25 However, here

1:27 I would like to make an addition, because this

1:29 vocative address carries a unique distinction:

1:31 it is among the verses of

1:33 the Surah that opens with a vocative call,

1:35 yet it specifically commences by addressing

1:37 the Prophet, peace be upon him.

1:39 And we know that the Prophet, peace be upon him,

1:41 was addressed at the beginning of several Surahs

1:43 with the description of Prophethood.

1:45 Yet no Surah comes addressing him

1:47 at its very beginning,

1:49 in its opening verse,

1:52 with: "O Messenger,"

1:54 but rather with: "O Prophet."

1:56 Among them is this magnificent Surah.

1:58 This establishes a general principle:

2:01 whenever a Surah begins

2:03 by addressing the Prophet, peace be upon him,

2:05 the general rule is

2:07 that this Surah accords

2:09 special care

2:11 to the Prophet, peace be upon him,

2:13 and to highlighting his lofty stature.

2:15 For Prophethood differs from Messengership,

2:17 and among their differences

2:19 is that Prophethood, according to some views,

2:21 signifies an immensely elevated rank.

2:23 This is clearly manifest in this Surah.

2:25 Other Surahs also begin in this manner,

2:27 though I do not intend to trace

2:29 every Surah that begins with "O Prophet" here;

2:31 if you trace them, you will find them

2:34 likewise, while some of them

2:36 require deeper contemplation, such as Surah al-Talaq.

2:38 One may refer to the statements of

2:40 the exegetes regarding it and why it opened

2:42 in that particular matter

2:44 by addressing the Prophet, peace be upon him,

2:46 concerning divorce.

2:48 Here, Allah said: "O Prophet."

2:50 Thus, alongside the Surah's special connection

2:52 to the Prophet, peace be upon him—

2:54 and indeed it is so, as I have stated—

2:56 and although the Surah establishes the Muslim community

2:58 upon piety as its core theme,

3:00 it nevertheless possesses a distinctive emphasis:

3:02 namely, the aspect of proper etiquette

3:04 toward our master, the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him.

3:06 You will find a number of verses

3:08 that clearly demonstrate this,

3:10 such as: "O Prophet!

3:13 Indeed, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings,

3:15 a warner, and a caller to Allah by His permission,

3:17 and an illuminating lamp."

3:19 “Lo! Allah and His angels shower blessings on the Prophet. O ye who believe! Ask blessings on him and salute him with a worthy salutation.” (33:56)

3:21 "And send blessings upon him and salute him with peace."

3:23 And other such verses.

3:26 One can trace this theme of showing proper reverence

3:28 toward the Messenger of Allah all the way to the verses:

3:30 “O ye who believe! Be not as those who slandered Moses, but Allah proved his innocence of that which they alleged, and he was well esteemed in Allah's sight.” (33:69)

3:32 "Then Allah cleared him of what they said."

3:34 Thus, addressing the Prophet, peace be upon him,

3:36 with this specific title

3:38 is an artistic opening (bara'at al-istihlal)

3:40 that points us toward the overarching aim of the Surah,

3:42 as well as an essential matter that ought

3:44 to be observed throughout the Surah: his revered status, peace be upon him.

3:46 The second pause:

3:48 looking at the two aforementioned

3:50 halves of the Surah,

3:52 we find that the end of the first half

3:54 contains a strong exhortation

3:56 to remember Allah abundantly:

3:58 "O you who have believed,

4:00 remember Allah with much remembrance," and the following verses.

4:02 Meanwhile, the beginning of the second half

4:04 is a fragrant commendation

4:06 of the Prophet, peace be upon him:

4:08 "O Prophet!

4:10 Indeed, We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner,"

4:12 which are the verses I previously cited.

4:14 Through this, I wish to address an important point:

4:16 namely, that Medinan Surahs,

4:18 while discussing legal rulings

4:20 across many of their chapters,

4:22 including this Surah,

4:24 are never devoid of moral and spiritual admonition.

4:26 This is distinctly evident

4:28 in this Surah and in Surah an-Nisa'

4:30 in particular, as well as in other Surahs.

4:32 Yet each Surah

4:34 possesses a unique character in its admonition.

4:36 Here, we find that uniqueness lies

4:38 in occupying oneself with remembrance of Allah,

4:40 invoking blessings upon the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him,

4:42 and recognizing his esteemed rank.

4:44 It is as though this corresponds

4:46 to several verses

4:48 found within the Surah;

4:50 for among the historical events tied

4:53 to the Surah was the incident

4:55 of the marriage of the Prophet, peace be upon him,

4:57 to the woman who had previously been married

4:59 to Zayd,

5:01 his adopted son—

5:03 whom he had adopted before

5:05 divine legislation was revealed abolishing

5:07 adoption—so the Prophet, peace be upon him,

5:09 married the former wife

5:11 of his adopted son.

5:13 In such circumstances, there can be much

5:15 idle gossip and rumors.

5:17 Therefore, there came the command: "Remember Allah

5:19 with abundant remembrance,"

5:21 followed by: "Indeed, Allah and His angels

5:23 confer blessings upon the Prophet," and: "Indeed,

5:25 We have sent you as a witness, a bearer of glad tidings, and a warner."

5:27 Thus, occupying oneself with the remembrance of Allah

5:29 during times of confusion and civil discord

5:31 is a demanded duty—not merely in this specific incident,

5:33 but as a general rule.

5:35 Likewise, recognizing the stature of the Prophet, peace be upon him:

5:37 when people engage in wrongful chatter, one must realize

5:39 and be mindful that the Prophet's rank

5:41 is truly immense.

5:43 This brings us to the third pause,

5:45 which concerns the occasions of revelation (asbab al-nuzul).

5:47 Twelve occasions have been mentioned for this Surah,

5:49 varying in their authenticity

5:51 and in the strength of their indication of revelation.

5:53 Some of them can help

5:55 in determining the chronology of its revelation.

5:57 I had written here "order of revelation,"

5:59 but no, they help in determining the chronology of revelation.

6:01 The occasions of revelation mentioned in the Surah,

6:03 along with others,

6:05 help establish the timeline of revelation.

6:07 He then cited a narration

6:09 regarding the Battle of Uhud,

6:11 at the end of which

6:13 Anas said: "We used to see,

6:15 or think,

6:17 that this verse was revealed concerning him

6:19 and those like him,"

6:21 to the end of the verse.

6:23 Here arises an objection that was not suitable

6:25 to mention

6:27 in the book for the sake of brevity:

6:29 namely, that this phrasing—

6:31 "we used to see"

6:33 or "we used to see or think"—

6:35 might lead one to believe the matter

6:37 was not definitively asserted.

6:39 However, al-Hafiz Ibn Hajar pointed out

6:41 that this hesitation did not come from the Companion;

6:43 rather, it was from one

6:45 of the narrators of the hadith, whereas the definitive wording

6:47 is established in the narration of Sahih Muslim

6:49 and the Musnad of Imam Ahmad.

6:51 So this verse was revealed after

6:53 the Battle of Uhud,

6:55 whereas the verses preceding it and following it

6:57 speak about the Battle of the Trench—

6:59 the Battle of al-Ahzab.

7:01 This is what I missed noting regarding the dating of revelation

7:03 in the book;

7:05 I will include it in the next edition.

7:07 I wrote: "All of this

7:09 helps determine the dating of much of it."

7:11 It should have been added that

7:13 a portion of it was revealed during the Battle of al-Ahzab,

7:15 and the Battle of al-Ahzab,

7:17 according to the well-known view, took place in the fifth year

7:19 Fifth, there is a minor disagreement

7:21 regarding this matter, though it is merely

7:24 a semantic difference. I do not wish

7:26 to delve into the Prophetic biography (Seerah),

7:28 but I would note that knowledge of the Seerah

7:30 is instrumental in understanding the Qur'an,

7:32 discerning the chronology of revelation,

7:34 and other such matters.

7:36 I will suffice with this much,

7:38 and send peace and blessings

7:40 upon our master Muhammad,

7:42 and upon his family and all his Companions.

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

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