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 A Gentle Commentary

0:32 on the Book: Identification Cards

0:35 for the Surahs of the Noble Mus-haf,

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

0:42 may Allah preserve him.

0:44 Surah Yusuf.

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

0:47 Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds,

0:49 and peace and blessings be upon the Seal of the Prophets and Messengers.

0:53 We continue with the gentle commentary on the identification cards,

0:56 and we have arrived at Surah Yusuf, peace be upon him.

0:59 I have three reflections to share regarding it.

1:01 The first reflection concerns the placement of the surah,

1:04 which is an aspect I have not paused over

1:06 with any preceding surah

1:08 in this series.

1:12 The placement of the surah

1:13 refers to

1:15 its correlation with what precedes it in the Mus-haf;

1:19 that is, examining the arrangement of the surah within the Mus-haf

1:22 by explaining the thematic correlation of each surah to the one before it.

1:27 And indeed,

1:28 we clarified in the introduction

1:30 that the primary work relied upon for this

1:33 is the book by Imam al-Suyuti, *Tanaasur al-Durar

1:36 fi Tanaasub al-Suwar*.

1:38 In fact, I deviated slightly from it

1:41 in certain places,

1:42 should you find in my discourse anything

1:44 ambiguous.

1:46 It is a work—

1:47 I mean the book *Tanaasuq al-Durar*—

1:48 that is truly precious and well-deserving of dedicated scholarly study,

1:53 because it establishes general principles.

1:55 It is fitting here

1:57 to mention one of those principles,

1:58 which is his view that every surah provides detail for what came in the surah before it.

2:04 This is plainly evident in the correlation mentioned here:

2:08 he noted that among its correlations—that is, Surah Yusuf—

2:11 is its elaboration of what was mentioned in summary within Surah Hud

2:15 regarding Allah's blessings upon the family of Ibrahim.

2:19 Over there in Hud, He stated:

2:20 "The mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, people of the house."

2:25 And among the family of Ibrahim,

2:27 from his lineage, was Yusuf, peace be upon him.

2:31 This leads us to another point:

2:34 among the Companions were those who yearned

2:38 to complete a surah,

2:40 as when one was struck by an arrow, then a second, and a third,

2:42 while he was reciting the Qur'an,

2:44 yet he disliked cutting short a surah he had begun.

2:46 This reflects a kind of yearning to bring the surah to completion.

2:50 Furthermore, among the Companions was 'Uthman, may Allah be pleased with him,

2:53 who recited the entire Qur'an in a single rak'ah,

2:56 as is authentically established from him.

2:58 It is as though each surah creates longing for the one following it,

3:01 and Allah Almighty knows best.

3:03 As for Ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him,

3:04 we will see when we reach Surah Ghafir—

3:06 as you will find at the beginning of that surah—

3:08 that he used to liken the reciter of the Qur'an

3:11 to someone strolling about, seeking the traces of lush vegetation and rain,

3:16 until he reaches the family of Ha-Mim surahs;

3:18 so it is as if he transitions from beauty to beauty, and then to what is most beautiful.

3:24 Thus, understanding these interrelated ties

3:29 between the surahs

3:30 can foster this very feeling—

3:33 a person's inner yearning

3:36 to recite the next surah

3:37 immediately upon completing the one before it.

3:40 I ask Allah for His favor for me and for you.

3:43 Then, the second reflection

3:45 concerns the abundance of moral lessons within the story of Yusuf, peace be upon him.

3:50 For this reason, numerous dedicated works have been composed exclusively on this surah.

3:53 Many surahs have had dedicated treatises written about them,

3:57 distinct from full-scale Tafsir works covering the entire Mus-haf.

4:00 There are particular surahs granted independent treatises

4:02 in Tafsir and other disciplines,

4:04 and among these standalone works is Surah Yusuf;

4:05 indeed, it has been treated individually very frequently.

4:07 Here I would like to draw attention

4:10 to a book that has virtually no peer,

4:15 namely the book *Mu'tamar Surah Yusuf* (The Conference of Surah Yusuf)

4:18 by Shaykh 'Abdullah al-'Alami.

4:23 In this book, the author imagined

4:25 that a conference was convened,

4:27 gathering a number of Muslim scholars

4:31 from various regions;

4:32 they assembled in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem)

4:34 and began studying Surah Yusuf together

4:37 in a delightful manner,

4:39 rich in elaboration and deep reflections

4:42 that you might not find in traditional Tafsir works.

4:45 What I stated at the outset is that it is a rare book,

4:47 meaning that you will not find another book like it—

4:50 or at least within the scope of my reading, I have not encountered

4:52 another book

4:53 presenting a surah of the Qur'an in this manner.

4:56 Instead of interpreting it verse by verse,

4:58 it follows the order of the surah

5:01 while framing it as a dialogue within a fictional conference.

5:05 It is truly a delightful and unique book of its kind.

5:08 Likewise, among such works is the book *Ithaf al-Ilf*

5:11 *bi al-Fawa'id al-Alf wa Nayyif*

5:13 on Surah Yusuf by Salim al-Hilali,

5:17 alongside a co-author

5:19 whose name eludes me at the moment.

5:22 The point is that the lessons in the story of Yusuf are exceedingly numerous,

5:25 which is why everyone finds what they seek within it;

5:29 one cannot claim there is merely a single lesson

5:32 to be drawn from the story,

5:34 or just one single theme.

5:36 Rather, the story contains many facets

5:38 and very numerous subtleties.

5:42 The third reflection

5:44 relates to the preceding reflection regarding

5:49 the central theme of the surah.

5:50 If we look at the theme of the surah in the notes,

5:52 we find it is establishing that the Qur'an is the word of Allah,

5:56 as evidenced by the detailed recounting of the story of Yusuf, peace be upon him.

6:01 He said: "along with what the story contains"—or it is better

6:05 to phrase it: "alongside the fact that the story contains

6:08 an immense number of lessons."

6:10 For the narrative indeed holds immense lessons,

6:12 yet it was primarily brought forth to fulfill an objective: proving

6:16 that the Qur'an is the word of Allah.

6:19 This is because the opening of the surah states:

6:21 "Alif-Lam-Ra.

6:23 These are the verses of the clear Book.

6:25 Indeed, We have sent it down as an Arabic Qur'an so that you may understand."

6:29 “We narrate unto thee (Muhammad) the best of narratives in that We have inspired in thee this Qur'an, though aforetime thou wast of the heedless.” (12:3)

6:31 And at the end of the surah:

6:33 “This is of the tidings of the Unseen which We inspire in thee (Muhammad). Thou wast not present with them when they fixed their plan and they were scheming.” (12:102)

6:37 "while they were plotting."

6:38 This serves as a reminder

6:40 that the Prophet, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

6:42 brought this narrative to them

6:43 without having been present when it occurred;

6:44 thus it is proof of his prophethood

6:47 and that divine revelation was coming to him from the heavens.

6:51 This, as far as it appears to me, is

6:54 the core theme of the narrative.

6:55 Nonetheless, I followed it with the statement:

6:56 "alongside the immense number of lessons the story contains,"

6:59 so that a person does not miss out on those lessons

7:02 by focusing solely on this primary objective.

7:03 This objective is plainly evident throughout the story,

7:05 and across the surah as a whole,

7:07 unlike what was asserted on the preceding page

7:10 stating that the theme of the surah is merely "the story of Yusuf"—

7:11 just like that.

7:12 Such an assertion is an oversimplification and lacks precision;

7:15 rather, the story of Yusuf came to achieve a purpose,

7:18 which is proving that the Qur'an is from Allah,

7:23 Glorified and Exalted be He.

7:25 I will suffice with this much.

7:26 May Allah send blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad,

7:28 and upon his family and all his Companions,

7:29 and 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 | Surat Yusuf

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