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 A Gentle Commentary

0:32 on the book *Profile Cards*

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

0:38 by Dr. Muhammad Ibn 'Abd al-'Aziz Ibn 'Umar Nasif,

0:42 may Allah preserve him.

0:44 Surah Ya-Sin.

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

0:48 Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds,

0:50 and may peace and blessings be upon the seal of the prophets and messengers,

0:53 and upon his family and all his companions.

0:55 We are still with *A Gentle Commentary on the Profile Cards*,

0:58 and we have arrived at Surah Ya-Sin.

1:02 I have three points to make regarding it.

1:05 The first point is a very brief correction of some verse numbers

1:10 in the structural sections of the Surah.

1:12 The introduction runs from the first verse to the twelfth verse,

1:16 contrary to what is written.

1:18 The first section is from verse thirteen

1:20 to verse thirty,

1:22 also contrary to what is written there.

1:24 As for the second section, it begins at verse thirty-one,

1:28 up to verse seventy, which is correct,

1:30 just as written.

1:33 As for the sub-sections, they are:

1:35 thirty-one, then forty-eight, and then

1:37 sixty-six.

1:39 This pertains to the sections of the Surah.

1:44 As for the second point,

1:46 it concerns what was noted regarding the reasons for revelation (asbab al-nuzul).

1:49 The author mentioned two reasons, the first of which would make part of the Surah

1:52 Medinan, but this view is questionable.

1:54 Here I wish to point out something:

1:56 sometimes an occasion of revelation is transmitted

1:58 with an authentic chain of narration

2:01 and is explicit regarding causality,

2:03 showing that a verse

2:05 within a Meccan Surah

2:07 is Medinan, or vice versa.

2:09 There is nothing wrong with this,

2:11 nor is it problematic.

2:13 One should not object to this

2:15 by saying, "This Surah is Meccan, so how can an exception be made?"

2:17 Exceptions are entirely permissible.

2:19 However, the cited reason here

2:21 is that Banu Salimah

2:23 complained to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him,

2:25 about their homes being far from the mosque, so the verse was revealed,

2:27 and they remained in their dwellings.

2:29 This reported reason

2:31 is questionable from the standpoint of its chain of transmission.

2:33 Otherwise, had it been authentic,

2:35 uncontradicted, and explicit,

2:37 it would have been accepted, just as we saw

2:39 in Surah Hud, which is Meccan,

2:41 yet the verse, "And establish

2:43 prayer at the two ends of the day," was excepted from it and deemed Medinan.

2:45 This presents no problem whatsoever.

2:47 Here, however, the chain of narration

2:49 contains weakness,

2:51 and it contradicts

2:53 what is in the *Sahih*,

2:55 which makes no mention of this occasion of revelation.

2:57 This reinforces its deeming as weak,

2:59 as detailed in the book *Al-Muharrar*.

3:01 The book we rely upon here,

3:03 as I mentioned to you, is moderate in its critical evaluation;

3:05 at times it simply accepts the authentications of certain scholars.

3:07 Otherwise,

3:09 the soundest view—and Allah knows best—

3:11 which was adopted in the book *Al-Muharrar*

3:13 *fi Asbab al-Nuzul*

3:15 *min al-Kutub al-Tis'ah*,

3:17 is that this report is weak,

3:19 and its text is contradicted

3:21 from multiple angles.

3:23 Consequently, it cannot be relied upon

3:25 as an occasion of revelation.

3:27 Now, the third point

3:29 concerns the thematic segments of the Surah.

3:31 In truth, we observe that the introduction to the Surah

3:33 contains

3:35 a depiction of the sheer severity of the disbelievers' rejection

3:37 unlike anything illustrated in any other Surah.

3:39 He said, "Indeed, We have placed shackles upon their necks,

3:41 and they are up to their chins, so their heads are forced back,"

3:43 “And We have set a bar before them and a bar behind them, and (thus) have covered them so that they see not.” (36:9)

3:45 "...a barrier, and behind them..."

3:47 is not described in any other Surah.

3:49 This profound description

3:51 of the obstinacy of their disbelief

3:53 perfectly harmonizes with

3:55 the first section, which contains

3:57 the story of the people of the town.

3:59 It is a unique story,

4:01 unlike any other recounted in the Qur'an;

4:03 it is mentioned only in this passage,

4:05 and no parallel to it appears elsewhere in the Qur'an,

4:07 as it mentions three messengers

4:09 sent to a single town,

4:11 assigned to a single town,

4:13 assigned to a single town,

4:15 one single town:

4:17 "And present to them an example: the people of the city,

4:19 when the messengers came to it—

4:21 “When We sent unto them twain, and they denied them both, so We reinforced them with a third, and they said: Lo! we have been sent unto you.” (36:14)

4:23 when We sent to them two but they denied them, so We strengthened them with a third."

4:25 There is nothing like this

4:27 in the Qur'an.

4:29 Thus, this parable came

4:31 in complete accord with the preceding verses

4:33 in demonstrating the intensity of their denial.

4:35 Then follows the second section,

4:37 in which there are

4:39 tremendous signs.

4:41 We also observe a stylistic usage

4:43 not repeated elsewhere in the Qur'an,

4:45 namely His saying:

4:47 "And a sign for them..."

4:49 three times:

4:51 "And a sign for them..."

4:53 “A token unto them is night. We strip it of the day, and lo! they are in darkness.” (36:37)

4:55 "...and behold, they are plunged into darkness," and before it,

4:57 “A token unto them is the dead earth. We revive it, and We bring forth from it grain so that they eat thereof;” (36:33)

4:59 "...and We gave it life..."

5:01 Then He said, "And a sign for them is the night;

5:03 We strip from it the day..."

5:05 Then He said, "And a sign for them

5:07 is that We carried their forefathers in the laden ship."

5:09 Then He described their condition:

5:11 "We strip from it the day..."

5:13 Then He said, "And no sign comes to them from the signs of their Lord

5:15 except that they turn away from it."

5:17 Rather, they used to mock

5:19 and deny, saying, as He stated,

5:21 "When is this promise, if you should be truthful?"

5:23 Thus, this reminder

5:25 of the divine signs

5:27 and specifying that they were given "for them"

5:29 was suited to the sheer extremity of their denial,

5:31 urging them to

5:33 show gratitude to Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He.

5:35 For this reason, it arrived

5:37 as the central theme of the Surah:

5:39 awakening the heedless

5:41 by warning of divine retribution—

5:43 as recounted in the story of the town—

5:45 and reminding them of divine blessings,

5:47 as shown in these verses.

5:49 I ask Allah to grant success to me and to you

5:51 in that which He loves and is pleased with.

5:53 May the peace and blessings of Allah be upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions.

5:55 And all praise is due 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 Yasin

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