The Study of Surah Yaseen Lesson 01 and 02

2 Introductory Points

Detailed Study of

Surat Ya-Seen Ustadh Asim Khan Introductory Points n a h K m i s A h d a t s U –

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The expectation of the course is to go through the surah ayah by ayah in some detail. We will focus on classical sources such as Tafseer Imam at-Tabari , Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi, and look at the ayaat in isolation to extract the meaning and take some of the guidance. We will build on that research by looking at the of the surah – how the ayaat come together such that the first links to the second, the second to the third and so on and so forth, as well as how the surah is presenting a message.

The word surah, though we translate it as chapter, it doesn’ t actually mean chapter. One of the meanings of the word surah is an encompassing wall. In fact, the Arabs of old would call the wall that encircles the city the “sur” because the idea is that it is supposed to protect the city from attack from outside. So Allah chose the word to identify identify what we would call a chapter. Why is that? One of the reasons is that a wall contains a city and the same way, the surah contains the message. And some of the later scholars said that each and every surah of the Qur’an re presents one unique message which is different to the other surahs. So we have 114 surahs and each and every one of them is expressing a very unique message. We will try to touch upon that t hat analysis – how do the ayaat come together to present this unique message? This will also build our appreciation of the Qur’an because anyone who reads the Qur’an (the translation for non-Arabs), and wants to understand it, he will see something which is slightly unusual in that when he sees the ayaat he will think that t he Qur’an is jumping from one subject matter to other subject matter in a way that he cannot understand why this was said and then this was said. For example, in Surah al-Baqarah. First Allah mentioned the believers, the muttaqeen, their characteristics. Then he mentioned the disbelievers, allazina kafaru, those who disbelieve or are bent on disbelief, it doesn’t matter whether you warn them or not. And then the munafiqeen. And then many other things. Somebody may ask, why did the surah start like this in the first place? Somebody may say, why is Surah al- Baqarah called the chapter of the Cow? What’s the wisdom behind that? Some of the scholars of Islam, later on especially, looked at these things – why is this said and then that said? And also the name – is the name telling us anything as well?

Introductory Points

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One of the interesting things is that in these times there are non- Muslim critics of the Qur’an, and one of the things that they wish to point out as a criticism of the Qur’an, and they don’t believe it s revelation, is that they say the Qur’an is incoherent. What does that mean? It means (or so they claim) that the Qur’an is not an organized book presenting coherent messages. Rather it is this followed by that and then this and there is no connection bet ween them. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Through Surat Ya- Seen we will present the reality of the Qur’an in that it is a well organized, coherent, sophisticated message being given to us by Allah We ask Allah to aid u s in this and to really allow us to benefit from this study of the Qur’an.

{from Lesson 2}

Connection with al-Faatir ayah 37 Surat Ya-Seen is surah 36. The surah before this is Surah Faatir. And Imam As-Suyooti wrote a book (the secrets behind the sequencing of the Qur’an), the way the Qur’an has been laid out, this surah first, then the next one, then the next one, what is the secret behind that? What are the links behind that? In that he mentions every single surah, and then he mentions why this surah came after that one.

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4 Introductory Points

And in response to Surat Ya-Seen – what is the connection between it and Surat Faatir, he said that in Surat Faatir, Allah mentions about the  coming: 1

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The disbelievers will be told on Yawm al-Qiyamah – did We give you life to search for the truth, and didn’t a warner come to you? Then he said that who is that warner? Surat Ya-Seen comes to explain who that warner is. 2

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Indeed you, [O Muhammad], are from among the messengers 3



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That you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they are unaware. You are of those that have been sent, and your job is to warn a people whose forefathers had not been warned. So he says that Surat Ya-Seen is almost like an elaboration and explanation of what came in Surat Faatir. Allah knows best. This is one of the scholars of Islam speaking about a link between the surahs.

Nazm focus - SOAS 4 interpolated after the death of the prophet . means it has an One of the things Ustadh Asim will try to do is show how the Qur’an has a organization, it has a flow. It has a beauty in the way in which things are interconnected. And this is important. Because what we will see is that Allah sent a surah and that surah is speaking about many different themes. And sometimes one theme shifts to another theme. And you might be reading and thinking why did that happen? For example it is speaking about the Day of Judgment, then it is speaking about a story, then it is speaking about laws, and then it is speaking about death. Is there a connection between them? What about the beginning of a surah and the end – is there a connection? This type of analysis is called a analysis. And this is being done more in our times than before. However, Ustadh Asim wanted to show us through Surat Ya-Seen that this is something which is very prominent in Surat Ya-Seen. Connections can be made throughout the surah. 1

Faatir 35:37 Ya-Seen 36:3 3 Ya-Seen 36:6 4 A university in London 2

Introductory Points

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And to give an example that is not part of Surat Ya-Seen, in Surat Luqman. Surat Luqman is named after that man who was a great father who gave an amazing piece of advice to his son. His son was a mushrik. His son as an idol worshipper. So when he gives advice to his son, it is so amazing, that Allah records the advice inside the surah and names it after him as well. And then at the end of the surah, Allah mentions, 5

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And fear a day when no father can avail his son. Is that a coincidence? It is not a coincidence. Because the message is, in this life, fathers out there, help your children as much as you can. Because soon a day will come when though you want to help your own son, you won’t help your own son. So do it now. Listen to the story of Luqman and take heed of it. And advise your children. Advise them because you will not be able to avail them on that day. This is a very good example about how a surah is linking itself up. Intra-surah relationships. Then there are the inter-surah relationships, one surah relating to another and so on and so forth. This is just to give some more insight into what is meant by of Qur’an.

Nazm still Ijtihaadi And to add to this, this is an ijtihaadi matter. Meaning, it could be right, it could be wrong. A scholar of Islam will analyse these things and will present what he believes to be true according to his knowledge. And that could be right, it could be wrong. So when we share these gems, someone should appreciate that this sounds amazing, definitely seems to be true, but let’s not say it is the absolute truth about this. Rather we just say that t his is the opinion of a scholar which could be right, and it could be wrong.

My Reflections


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6 Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen

Thematic Symmetry of Surah Surah Ya-Seen Verses 1-12 The Qur’an & the Heedless

Verses 69-83

Verses 13-32 Lessons from History

The Qur’an & the Arrogant    

Central theme: Establish the veracity of the Prophet’s Message & Belief in Resurrection



Verses 49-68

Verses 33-44 Lessons from Nature   

The Blind on the Day of Judgment   Verses 45-47 The stubborn & the blind    

This diagram is going to enable us to understand the whole surah in a summarized way. And what we say about Surat Ya-Seen is that it can be neatly divided into 6 passages. These 6 passages are telling the story of the surah s urah which ultimately is communicating 1 key message.

Virtues of Surat Ya-Seen

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Virtues of Surat Ya-Seen There is a hadith of the Prophet that everything has a heart and the heart of the Qur’an is Ya Seen. This hadith, according to the scholars of hadith is a weak hadith. But it is found in many books of tafseer. Why? Because it is to do with virtue. And when it comes to virtue, many of the scholars of Islam said a weak hadith can be used to speak about virtue. Why? Because they said this hadith is not going to be used to build any laws or any concepts in theology, t heology, rather it is going to just elaborate the virtue of something already known through authentic proofs. That is why it is mentioned. Building on that, some of the scholars said that perhaps one of the reasons why the Prophet referred to Surat Ya- Seen as the heart of the Qur’an is because of its core message. Its core message is like the heart of Islam, in that it speaks about 3 main things: 1.

The first of them is about the prophecy of Muhammad

, that

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is a core message of Islam. And Surat Ya-Seen will express that, will establish that, will put it beyond doubt. For example, in the very beginning, Allah swears by . To say what? To say (You, O Muhammad are from the Qur’an. those who have been sent), establishing that this man is not making up this message, rather, he has been been sent by god. He is one of the prophets of god. And this is said in many different ways throughout the Qur’an. 2. The second thing is that Surat Ya-Seen will establish belief in the hereafter. 

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.    back to life and We record everything as well. This is said in a different many ways. This is establishing belief in the resurrection.

Allah mentions that Indeed We bring the dead


3. And lastly, it is the belief in the oneness of Allah and His right to be worshipped. We will read a story of Ashab al-Qaryah, people who were told and called to worship Allah, they were idol worshippers, but they rejected and refused and so they were wiped out, they were punished by Allah . These are the 3 messages, the key messages of Islam. If someone were to say, what is Islam all about? Can you summarize it for me? I want to know. That person should receive the answer as mentioned in Surat Ya-Seen. Because Surat Ya-Seen will teach us these 3 things in a beautiful way. and that is one of the reasons why, scholars like Ibn ‘Ashur said that even though the hadith is weak, we can understand something, in that Surat Ya- Seen is actually the heart of the Qur’an in that the Qur’an communicates 3 key messages, and that is belief in Allah’s oneness, the belief in the h ereafter and the belief in the prophethood of Muhammad . A second hadith is that the Prophet apparently said, recite upon your dying (not, your dead dead), ), Surat Ya-Seen. This hadith again has been classed as weak by many scholars, however Ibn Taymiyyah said, that reciting Surat Ya- Seen on those that have died is a bid’ah. But reciting it on those that are


8 on their deathbed is mustahabb (recommended). (recommended). Meaning that though the the hadith may be weak, many scholars like Ibn Taymiyyah took the hadith and they acted on it. And one of the wisdoms why perhaps the Prophet was teaching us this is one of the things Surat Ya-Seen does is it builds hope in the heart of the believer. When a person is on his deathbed and is about to meet Allah, he is scared. Anyone who thinks about his death will become scared, because they think about their sins. And in that moment, he needs to be consoled about the mercy of Allah and paradise. In Surat Ya-seen, you have the story of Ashab al-Qaryah, and inside that, you have the story about the believing man who comes from Aqsa al-Madinah. He speaks to his people, tries to advise them, (it is said to him, they don’t listen to him and they kill him. As he is killed, the surah says  Enter Paradise) And when he is in paradise, he says, (if only my people knew, meaning, what I can see right now in paradise, if only my people could see what I can see right now. They would not have rejected me).



So when a person is on his deathbed, hears those verses, and understands them, he feels inclined to the mercy of Allah, he becomes reassured; he becomes hopeful that Allah will forgive him and enter him into paradise. So it makes that moment in his life easier. As for the person person who doesn’t understand, maybe it’s best to recite and read the translation as well. These are some of the virtues of Surat Ya-Seen.

My Reflections

Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen

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Thematic Symmetry of of Surah Ya-Seen Going back to the diagram, we said that Surat Ya-Seen can be divided into 6 neat passages. If we study them one by one, we will see that they all come together to gether in a very beautiful, organized way.

Verses 1-12 The Qur’an & the Heedless

Verses 69-83 The Qur’an & the Arrogant    

Verses 13-32 Lessons from History

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Central theme: Establish the veracity of the Prophet’s Message & Belief in Resurrection Verses 49-68 The Blind on the Day of Judgment  

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Verses 33-44 Lessons from Nature   

Verses 45-47 The stubborn & the blind    

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10 Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen

Central Theme: Establish the veracity of the Prophet’s Message & Belief in Resurrection

Verses 1-12 | The Qur’an & the Heedless The first passage is about the Qur’an and heedless people. Allah takes an oath by the Qur’an. Allah swears by the Qur’an which is Hakeem. One of the meanings is that it is full of wisdom. And then Allah will tell us why the Qur'an was sent down - li tunzira qawma (in order that you, O Prophet , will war n your people). That’s why the Qur'an is coming down - to give you a message which you can use to warn people about their fate if they don't believe. However, what are those people like? They are heedless. They don’t pay attention. They are in a state of p rocrastination. That is Passage 1 – about the Qur’an, and about the reaction of the people being that of h eedlessness.

Verses 13-32 | Lessons from History n a h K m i s A h d a t s U –


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Passage number 2 is a story. It is a historical account about a people who lived long before them, and they weren't sent one messenger - they were sent three. And on top of that, a believing man from amongst themselves also gives them advice, they reject all of that. What happens to them? Well the believing man goes to paradise, they are destroyed and they end up in the hellfire. What is the connection between passage 1 and 2? It is like this. Passage 1 is giving them a direct message. This is the Qur'an. It is true. This man is speaking the truth. You better listen and take a warning and change your ways. This is the direct message. But somebody may listen to that and think, well I am not going to accept that message. Do you leave it at that? No. You approach the same person from a different angle. This time, you ask them to reflect. Think about other people - people that came before. Tell them a story about other people who were also sent messages. Do you know what happened to them? They were also sent a messenger - in fact, they were sent three. And they were very obnoxious towards them. They were aggressive towards them. And one of them, from amongst themselves, he believed, and he tried to advise them in a very beautiful beautiful way, do you know what they did? They killed killed him. You know what happened to him? He went to paradise. You know what happened to those people? They were annihilated and they were punished by Allah . Now that person is thinking to himself, that's a lot like what's happening to us right now, isn't it? We have a messenger here as well. He is telling us the same kinds of things that they were told. If we treat him the same way, we may also also get the same treatment ourselves. Perhaps a person will take a sign from a story. So this is like the theory (passage 1) illustrated by a story (passage 2). Everyone loves stories. The same message, in the form of a story, everyone loves them. People are obsessed with stories. In our o ur time we call them movies. People spend time watching movies because they love a story. This is the second passage.

Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen

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A person is listening to a story in Surat Ya-Seen and he hears a story about people who were quite similar to him, in that they also quite heedless and rejected the message and then they met their fate. He is thinking, I should really pay attention to what is being said here. But then he thinks, stories are made up anyway. Who believes in these stories? They would say these are asateer al-awwaleen (made up fables). He says, they are not real. I don’t believe that. Did that really r eally happen? I don’t know about that. He rejects the story.

Verses 33-44 | Lessons from Nature-

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Then you say, let us approach the same person from another angle - passage 3, signs in nature. If you are not going to accept what is behind you, in terms of history, look at what is in front of you, in terms of nature. In one ayah in this passage, it is mentioned, and the sun, it is not befitting that it it catches up with the moon. It has its own orbit. It has its own course. And the sun, it runs its own course and then it stops in its place. This passage is telling people, people, look at what is around you, look at nature. You see amazing things. things. You see beauty. You see design. You see things which bewilder your mind. Do you think they came by coincidence? Don't you think someone put them there? Who put them there? Allah put them there. The One Who created you. The One this man is calling you to worship. Would you not accept this? Ustadh Asim was reflecting over this verse where Allah mentions in Surat Ya-Seen the sun swims/ runs its own course until it reaches its defined point. From the perspective of a human being on the earth, the sun has its own course throughout the day. And it always sticks to it. It doesn't change. But from another perspective, from outer space, we learn today that the sun has its own orbit around another sun at the centre of the universe. They call this the galactic orbit of the sun. And it takes some 250 million terrestrial years for it to complete its orbit and it doesn't move from its orbit. Someone is looking at these signs in nature (we call them science) and he should think to himself, this message must be true. There are so many reasons for me to believe now. What if he still doesn't believe? There is Passage 4.

Verses 45-47 | The Stubborn & the BlindPassage 4 is about the stubborn and the blind. They are blind to the signs that are in nature, the signs that are in history, and the signs that are being told to them directly - passage 1, 2 and 3. So Allah describes their stubbornness. When these people are told to feed the poor, they say, should we feed those whom, if Allah wanted, He could have fed them? You say, there are some poor people, why don't you give them some money? He says, give them charity? Well, if there really was a god, why would He let them starve? What an arrogant thing to say! When you think about it, isn't that the same thing that atheists say today? Why should I believe in god? If there was a god why is there so much injustice on the earth? Why is there so much killing? Why are there disabled people? Why are there people starving? Isn't



12 Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen that what they say? That is an expression of arrogance. It is not really a genuine concern. So Allah shows us the reason why they reject all these signs is because they are arrogant. And that is what is blinding them.

Verses 49-68 | The Blind on the Day of Judgment-

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The second last passage is about the Day of Judgment. All that is left to tell that person who can ignore so many different signs and be so obnoxious and boastful and filled with pride is to tell them, listen, you know where you're going to go? When the trumpet is blown, it is said inside that passage, then they will come out of their graves and they will be ushered, moving towards their master in haste. They will turn to the believers and they will say, who has woken us from our resting places? The dead are brought back to life and the disbelievers will turn to the believers and say, who has brought us back to life? What is going on here? The believers will say, this is what Ar-Rahman promised you and it is exactly the truth t ruth that the messengers were telling you about. This is amazing because first there is a verse which is history, then there are signs, which is the present, then the Day of Judgment which is the future. n a h K m i s A h d a t s U –


Verses 69-83 | The Qur’an & the Arrogant -

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Then the surah concludes itself in the last passage by going back to the very beginning again. The Qur'an and the arrogant. Allah mentions, this is not poetry and it is not befitting for him to recite poetry. He is not a poet and this is not poetry. This is a Qur'an which is a zikr (reminder) and it is mubeen (clear). And this is how the surah has been all this while. It has been a reminder (historical account, nature) and also it is very clear in the way it is presented as well. Anyone who really read Surat Ya-Seen with their heart would feel like he is given a very strong message which is a reminder. And one of the interesting things about calling the Qur'an a reminder is that if it is truly a reminder, then it means that what is speaks about is not new to the listener. Otherwise it can't be a reminder. How is it a reminder? Because all these core messages are not alien to the human being. Allah has already ingrained them inside every single human being. Every human being is built upon the fitrah. And that is how the Qur'an is very powerful and compelling. Because what it speaks about is already buried deep inside a person anyway, in terms of fitrah. And it just seeks to elaborate and build on that. That is why the Qur'an is called a zikr. This is like the summary of Surat Ya-Seen. All of these different passages, what are they communicating? They have a central message. And the central message, according to the book alMukhtassar tafseer, it is a new book on tafseer compiled by many scholars in Saudi Arabia, they said that the core message of this surah is to establish the veracity of the Prophet ’s message and to establish the reality of the Day of Judgment. Anyone who reads Surat Ya-Seen and wants to know what is is the the summary, what is the the key message here? It is, this man Muhammad , he truly is a messenger and his message is from god. And secondly, you will die and be brought back to life to stand before Allah This is the summary of Surat Ya-Seen. .

Passage 1 | The Qur’an and the Heedless

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Passage 1 | The Qur’an and th e Heedless • 1. Ya-Seen Ya-Seen is one of those ayaat that comes in the beginning of many surahs that begin with the disjointed letters. Disjointed letters in in Arabic are called . For example, Surat Al-Baqarah, alif-laam-meen; Surat Maryam kaf-ha-ya-ayn-saad; Surah Qaf, and so on and so forth, and this is one of those surahs and it begins with ya-seen. In general the huroof al- muqatta’aat, there are 2 views. Any chapter of the Qur’an that begins with these letters, the scholars are divided into 2 views. 1.

The first view is that these letters, though they have a meaning, we cannot speculate what the meaning is. La yufassar – we do not speculate as to what do the letters stand for, what do they mean.

2. However, the second view is that, though we do not know what they mean for sure, they do serve a purpose, and we can speculate as to what that purpose is. And then they have different views as to what that wisdom is.

One of the prominent views from the second camp is that these muqatta’aat, these disjointed letters represent a challenge to the Arabs of that time. And the way they represent a challenge is, the ayah says Ya-Seen, or Alif-Laam-Meem – these are all letters that make up your language. And you Arabs, especially at that time, you were obsessed with your language. language. It was the thing that made you great people. people. The Arabic knowledge happened back then. They were the masters in that language. They only declined after that. This Qur’an, you reject it, but it is composed composed of the very same letters that you establish your greatness upon. So if it is something that you are going to disbelieve in, then why don’t you use your letters to rival it? If you cannot rival the Qur’an, even though it is coming in the same letters that you use for your language, then it means that it is a miracle. Because you are the best at your language, but you cannot rival the Qur’an. So in that way they said the muqatta’aat are like (a challenge) to the Arabs at that time.

in this this Though the Qur’an is in world, it is not from not from this this world.

So they present a challenge in that they were showing that though the Qur’an is in this world, it is not from this world.



14 Passage 1 | The Qur’an and the Heedless Because these letters are the same letters that you use to create your own language which you are masters of. Yet the same letters, you cannot use them to match the Qur’an. Which shows that this Qur’an, though it is in this world, it is not from this world . It is from Allah . It is a mu’jiza (miracle). This is one of the wisdoms. This was the opinion of Shaykh al- Islam ibn Taymiyyah. He said that every time the muqatta’aat are given, in the beginning of a surah, you find, with the exception of 2 surahs, that the very next subject matter is the Qur’an itself. itself. Every time a surah surah begins with with these letters, letters, it starts off off mentioning something about the Qur’an. So there must be a link between the letters and the knows best. Qur’an. And this is one of the opinions. And Allah


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One of the interesting nuances to this is that the man Muhammad was unlettered, meaning that he did not know how to read or write. But he comes and he starts reciting a surah, alif-laam-meem. He starts with alif-laam-meem, reciting 3 letters of the Arabic language. A person who doesn’t know how to read or write, will he really know the letters of the alphabet? No. Because the only time you learn the letters of the alphabet is to learn how to read and write. Otherwise you don’t know the letters. You don’t know what they are. is coming and he is reciting and he is You’ve never learnt them. So when the prophet starting with letters, it is as if people being told, the man who doesn’t know letters is reciting letters to you. Why? Because they are not his words – they are the words of Allah And in that way it is a nuance to that second view, Allah knows best.

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However, when it comes to Surat Ya-Seen, there is an opinion from Ibn Abbas who said that Ya-Seen is actually like a shortened version of a statement, which is Ya Insaan (O Man). And this is the way the Habashi people would say Ya Insaan, by saying Ya Seen. Other scholars commented on this and they said, actually, this Habashi way of saying Ya Insaan by saying Ya-Seen, was Arabized. And the Arabs, what they would do is, instead of saying O man as Ya Insaan, they would say Ya-Seen as well. However, when they said Ya Seen, they meant Ya Unayseen. The difference is that when you say unayseen, it is like the smaller version of insaan. As an example, if you say Hey boy, and hey cute little boy, then you have just made that word into tasgheer, an affectionate word. So the Arabs, instead of saying insaan, to say it in a more endearing way, they would say unayseen. When you hear the word unayseen, what letter sticks out the most? Seen. So the Arabs cut down the whole word to the most dominant letter, which is the seen. That’s enough, we don’t need anything else, everything else is extra. And then they whack on the ya, which is the call. Ya seen, they said, is like saying Ya unayseen (O dear man). And that is why, other scholars said, this is actually a call to the Prophet . This is is another view. O dear man meaning, oh you, Prophet Muhammad .

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However, this is one view. The other view is that it is just one of the muqatta’aat letters, and what we say about it is what we say about all the others, like what we have explained.

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So this is how the surah starts - Ya-seen. A challenge put forward to the audience. This is important because who are the audience? The first audience to Surat Ya-Seen was the Quraysh in Makkah. Ibn Atiyyah said, all the scholars of Islam are in agreement agreement that surat Ya-Seen is Makki. It was revealed in Makkah.


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However, you don’t find many of the scholars speaking about when it was revealed in Makkah. How many years was the Prophet in Makkah? 13 years. And there is a lot that took place in the life of the Prophet in those 13 years. Whereabouts does Surat Ya-Seen come? Here, Ibn ‘Ashur seems to be one of the few who stipulated that Surat Ya-Seen was revealed after Surat al-Jinn. Surat al-Jinn came down in the 10 th year of prophecy. What is the 10 th year of prophecy is also known as? It is known as aam al-huzn (the year of sorrow), because devastating things happened to the Prophet that year, like the death of the wife of the Prophet Khadijah , like the death of his uncle Abu Talib who died as a mushrik, and also the rejection of the people of At- Ta’if – devastating things happened to him. So this is the year in which Surat Ya-Seen was revealed. This is important because if you were in Makkah at that time, you would have seen that the Muslims had it bad. We think that we see Islamophobia in our time, in the 10 th year in Makkah, the Muslims had been through a nightmare. Torture, they had been boycotted, many of them left to starve, unable to marry, businesses destroyed, and things are not looking to get better anytime soon. 10 th year was a very low period in that sense. And the prophet has been doing dawah for 10 years. Imagine. The Prophet , the most eloquent of all people, the most compassionate, the most loving, and he has been calling these people for 10 years – listen to me. Don’t wo rship stone anymore, worship Allah. I am a prophet of Allah. And for 10 years most of them have been neglecting him, rejecting him, and some of them even abusing him. In that environment, Surat Ya-Seen is revealed. Later on we will see, how do we understand some of the ayaat of Surat Ya-Seen - they seem to be very harsh. When you contextualize them, you will see that it makes sense to be that harsh. They have been told for 10 years to believe. He’s literally exhausted all of his efforts to persuade you, an d you are still rejecting him? You are still being so arrogant about things? All that is left now is to warn you, and to be very harsh. So this is how the context helps understand the tafseer or appreciate it.


{From Lesson 2}

Except Banu Salimah ayah 12 Surat Ya- Seen was revealed in Makkah, and according to Ibn ‘Ashur, it was revealed around the 10 th year of prophecy in Makkah, which was a very difficult year for the Prophet and the Muslim community in general. However, some of the scholars like al- Qurtubi and Ibn ‘Atiyyah mentioned that, ayah 12:

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Indeed, it is We who bring the dead to life and record what they have put forth and what they left behind, and all things We have enumerated in a clear register 6.

6

Ya-Seen 36:12


16 Passage 1 | The Qur’an and the Heedless According to them, that ayah was revealed in Madinah, and not Makkah, because there is a story 7 about Banu Salimah, one of the tribes that lived in Madinah originally and became the Ansaar, they lived on the outskirts of Madinah which is where Masjid Qiblatayn is. Currently it takes about 10 minutes to drive there from from Masjid Nabawi. It used to be about half and hours walk, or maybe more, and because it would take so long for them to reach the masjid, they were considering moving, all of them together as a tribe, and relocating closer to the Masjid of the Prophet . They asked the Prophet whether they should move or stay where they were, and the Prophet responded by quoting that ayah where wh ere Allah mentions:

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i.e., that their footsteps are being recorded, and what they present forward, what they left behind is also being recorded. Therefore he said, stay in your places, for your footsteps are being b eing recorded.


n e e s a Y

Meaning, every time you walk to the masjid, every footstep is being written for you, it is a reward for you. Therefore, why are you going to cut short your reward? Rather, struggle a little bit and earn more reward.

However, Ibn ‘Uthaymeen ‘Uthaymeen says, generally speaking, a surah was either revealed all together, together, maybe 8 even in parts, but in general in one place , either it was Makki or Madani. That was the general principle, either the surah is fully Makki or fully Madani. So he says, that what is more likely is this ayah was quoted by the Prophet in Madinah, as an answer to this question. Not that it was revealed for the first time in Madinah. It was revealed in Makkah, but the Prophet quoted it in an answer he gave to someone in Madinah, and that is why perhaps there is confusion about this ayah. So he says rather this t his is part of the surah, the surah is all Makki, even including this ayah. Maybe there is a difference of opinion here, amongst the scholars.

My Reflections

h a r u S f o y d u t S d e l i a t e D

7

8

Sunan Ibn Majah, Majah, Jami’ at-Tirmidhi

If we consider that the terms Makki and Madani to refer to the period of revelation rather than the place of revelation, meaning that before hijrah = Makki and after Hijrah = Madani, (which is the more common opinion), even then this would hold true, i.e. in Ibn 'Uthaymeen's opinion, the surah would have been revealed prior to hijrah, but the ayah was quoted in Madinah after hijrah.


17

 wi sdom • 2. I swear by the Qur'an full of wisdom What is the first thing the surah says? Ya- Seen by the Qur’an al -Hakeem. This second ayah, you have to really appreciate what is being said here. First of all, this ayah has an oath. The waw is a waw of qasm (an oath). Someone takes an oath for many different reasons. Why would someone take an oath in our times? If someone says I swear... why would he say that? In what circumstances would someone take an oath? 1. In a court of law. 2. When someone doesn’t believe you. 3. Sometimes you need to say something which is super important. And people need to appreciate that straight away. Sometimes you need to show the message. And the way you can do that straight away is to take an oath. 4. Another reason is when you are angry. Oaths have many different functions. {Lesson 2}

Allah swore an oath by the Qur’an. Whenever someone takes an oath, 1.

It is used in order to increase the emphasis about what they are about to say.

2. But, what they take an oath by immediately becomes significant as well. For example, a  ). Why do person (and we are not allowed to do this) says I swear by my mum’s life ( they choose their mum’s name? Because their mum is someone of huge significance, sacred almost. And that is one of the reasons why the Prophet said, whoever takes an oath by other than Allah, (he has committed shirk). Because he is making of (glorifying) something which Allah has not permitted p ermitted him to glorify. So when Allah takes an oath, of course Allah takes an oath by whatever He likes. And whatever He does take an oath by, immediately that thing becomes more important because Allah decided to take an oath by that thing, which means it is not like other things.

Two interesting things: 1.

Firstly, it was part of the Arab culture at that time, and even after, to be very honest, upright people. They felt that their dignity was attached to their honesty. Such that if you said



18 Passage 1 | The Qur’an and the Heedless

something, and you didn’t do it, you got no respect anymore and you had no self-respect anymore. How times have changed! People will easily lie and they feel that their integrity is based on what people think of them even if they have to lie . So the Arabs at that time were honest people in that if they gave their word, they would do it. And there is a saying in English as well that was coined, that I’d rather have an Arab on his word than a contract. That was actually a saying in the Western world. whether it is still true or not, but the point is that Arabs were known for their honesty. Despite that, Allah takes an oath. Even though, in that time, if you said something, you meant it. And on top of that, if you did take an oath, then what you were saying was super important. 2. The second interesting thing is that the man who is saying those words is already known as as

by people. The Prophet

,

even before he becomes a prophet, he is already

labelled as an upstanding, truthful, trustworthy person. If a trustworthy person is going to take an oath, then what does that have to say about what he is going to say? There is no way this could be a lie. He is already a truthful person and he’s taken an oath on top of that. n a h K m i s A h d a t s U –


In the Qur’an you find that al -Qasm (the taking an oath) has a different fu nction to what we’ve discussed. And that is, Allah will take an oath by something in order to make it serve as an evidence for a particular matter. As if to say that this is true because of this. For example, in Surat al- ‘Asr, it begins with an oath. What does Allah swear by? Time. To say what? What is the message that Allah is swearing to? Man is truly in loss. A statement. Jawab al-qasm. Man is truly in loss. What is the evidence for that? Time. Why? Because time has seen what man does over and over again. Every time nations rise up, they become tyrannical, oppressive, arrogant. This is the usual trend. And what is their fate? In the hellfire. This is what the Qur’an stories tells us, isn’t it? Many nations came, they achieved great things, but their greatness made them corrupt and so they ended up in the hellfire. Who has seen all of this happening over and over again? Time itself. So wa al‘Asr is as if to say that time is evidence that people keep messing up. With that in mind, Allah swears and oath by w hat? By the Qur’an. As if to say, I swear by the Qur’an, this Qur’an is an evidence for something. What is it an evidence of? That will come in the next ayaat. So Allah took an oath by Qur’an. To say what? What was it that Allah wanted to mention with the oath of the Qur’an? To validate the message of the Prophet . And before going on to , Allah described the Qur’an as being al -Hakeem. validate the message of the Prophet

Allah speaks about the Qur’ an in a particular way – Al-Qur’an al-Hakeem. That the Qur’an is an evidence in terms of its hakeem nature.

muhkam/m muhk am/muhki uhkim, m, h ākim hikmah ah ākim,, hikm What does hakeem mean? Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said it can mean 3 things:


1.

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The first is that the Qur’an is Haakim. It is aut horitative. It speaks with pure authority. It gives laws. It gives rulings. Meaning, if anyone reads the Qur’an they see that so many laws are coming down, and it speaks so authoritatively. The only person who can speak so authoritatively and give so many laws is Allah. It is turned to for ruling: 9

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If you ever differ about anything, go back to Allah A llah (meaning the Book of Allah). It should be a source of authority and legislation for you. Especially, this is the interesting thing, especially when those laws cause people to become angry. So the Qur’an comes down with laws, for example, don’t do shirk with Allah. Don’t worship idols. Laat and ‘Uzza are not worthy of worship. Worship only Allah. Don’t be unjust to the orphans. These are laws. Authoritative. What happens when the Prophet says this in society? He gets in trouble. And in Surat Ta-Ha, Allah mentions, Ta- Ha, We didn’t send this Qur’an down to make you miserable. Meaning, you have tasted misery after the Qur’an started coming down. Why? Because your world got turned upside down. You were the apple of people’s eyes in Makkah. People loved you. Then the moment you started reciting Qur’an to them, you became a man who frustrated them. A man who disappointed them. A man who made them angry. A man who started to say that all the things they hold dear and sacred is rubbish. And you kept on saying it, over and over again for 10 years. Why would you do that? Except, you are not doing it yourself, someone is telling you to do it. Allah is the one who is telling you to say these things. So the fact that Al- Qur’an is Hakeem, one of the meanings is that it is authoritative in what it speaks about and how it speaks about it. 2. The second meaning of Hakeem, Ibn ‘Uthaymeen said, is that it is muhkam or muhkim, which means that it is so well organized and tightly bound. The Arabs would say ahkama shay means rabtahu. If someone has done ahkam on something it means he tied it up very tightly. What this means about the Qur’an is that what it presents all comes tog ether beautifully as if it was tied up together. That’s another meaning of Qur’an being hakeem. And this is one of the other things that we want to show in this surah. That if you study it, you see that this links to that, which all comes together very beautifully. be autifully. It has itqan, mastery. And this is part of the organization of the Qur’an as well. And he mentioned as well, that it has (an amazing organization to it, an amazing flow, sequencing and organization). 3. It is zu al-hikmah. It is full of wisdom. Meaning, that it is so wise. If you really were to listen to what the Qur’an is saying, you would say that is so wise. Who speaks like that? One of the examples of this is where Allah mentions, 9

An-Nisa 4:59



20 Passage 1 | The Qur’an and the Heedless 10 .

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Man, what has deluded you from your generous master? Allah asked a question and He placed inside it the answer as well. How? Because Allah mentioned, what has deluded you from your generous master? Meaning, the generosity of your master has deluded you of Him. Because people, when they are showered with blessings and their life is good, they forget about Allah. Amazing! In one ayah, Allah said so much. So the Qur’an is so wise in what it says. With that in mind, putting it all together, Allah swears by the Qur’an and these things that the Qur’an is, that you truly are of those that have been sent. Meaning, that if anyone looks at the Qur’an, he thinks to himself that the Qur’an has so much wisdom, is so authoritative, is so well -structured, that it is impossible for a human being to come up with it. It is impossible. Anyone who reads it will know that it is beyond human endeavour and ability . That is how the Qur’an becomes an evidence that this man is not making it up. n a h K m i s A h d a t s U –


And this man has actually been sent. The Qur’an is an evidence in that way. There is too much wisdom. And it is too authoritative. And it is too well-structured for it to be something that someone could have just made up. There is too much wisdom to come from a man. Or even men. Or men and jinn. It is too authoritative for one man to come and speak about all these things with authority, especially when he is going to get into trouble when he says all these things and passes judgment. And also, it is too well organized to be coming from the mind of a man. So this way, Allah takes an oath by the Qur’an to serve as an evidence for this. If you think about it, the Prophet would just recite the Qur’an once. And as soon as he recited it, it was captured, that is Qur’an. If somebody wants to say something profound, he needs to prepare and he needs to think and he needs to revise and he may need to edit. When you say something, it is not like when you write something. Some people, when you read an email from a person, or a text message, and the only thing you know about this person is what they have said through their email or text message, you develop a certain perception about that person. Then, when you see him in real life, and he speaks, you may perceive a difference. People speak and write in 2 different ways. Which way would allow you to be more accurate and profound than when you are writing? Which one allows you to think more and ponder what you are going to say? When you write something, you can delete, use the thesaurus, edit. The Prophet just says it once, that part of Qur’an can never be changed now. How can h e do that? No man can do that. It must be the case that he is not doing it, he is conveying it. It is the words of Allah . So the Qur’an in this way becomes an evidence that this man is from those that have been sent.

10

Al Infitaar 82:6


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Everything in the Qur’an is full of wisdom Here, ibn ‘Uthaymeen mentioned a ve ry beautiful lesson. He said the fact that Allah described the Qur’an as hakeem, which means, one of the reasons, that it has incredible wisdom, shows us that everything the Qur’an mentions has wisdom. Including all the laws it passes. And every law Allah has given us, whether it is to do or not to do, is full of wisdom. Even if you cannot appreciate that wisdom, you should know that there is wisdom behind it. This is very important in our time, where many of the laws in Islam are being attacked, are being mocked at, are being called backward. Whether it is to do with criminal laws, whether it is to do with laws regarding sexuality, whether it is to do with laws regarding politics, whatever it may be, we know in our times that there is a lot of propaganda against that. However, what we are learning here in Surat Ya-Seen is that O Muslims, whichever laws you can think of that come in the Qur’an or the sunnah of the Prophet , just know that there is wisdom behind it. Sometimes that wisdom can be speculated, or sometimes it is even given to you – this is the wisdom wisdom behind that. And sometimes it is not given. But just know it is there. Ustadh Asim was thinking about this, that living in these times, where people are so far away from the Qur’an and the teachings of Islam, you begin to appreciate the wisdoms behind some of the things that Allah has mentioned in the Qur’an. For example, there are so many social ills in our time, it is unbelievable how much suffering there is on a social level in the Western world in particular, and even in the Eastern world. Once you disconnect yourself from Allah and and the teachings of Allah, there is no stopping how low you can go. And this is what we can appreciate in our times more than other times. And this should bring us to a new level of appreciation app reciation of Islam and the teachings of Islam Is lam and the Qur’an. So hakeem means that everything in the Qur’an is full of wisdom.


Will they believe the oath? [Razi] Ar-Raazi mentioned an interesting point. He said this is talking to the Quraysh – directly to the Prophet , but the audience is the Quraysh, the disbelievers in the Prophet who said he wasn’t a prophet. And to the m, Allah swears an oath to say that he is. Ar-Raazi said, what is the point of taking an oath to the Quraysh Quraysh when they don’t believe believe in the first place? What is the point swearing to the truth of something when the people are saying that we don’t believe you? What is the benefit of that? Ar-Raazi mentioned 2 things.

Divine Punishment Firstly, according to ancient Arab culture, they believed that if a man took an oath which was false – he was lying - then he was calling upon divine punishment. That the demi-gods/ idols would punish a man if he ever took a false oath. So when Allah takes an oath (which they see as the Prophet


22 Passage 1 | The Qur’an and the Heedless taking an oath), and oath after oath, and then another oath, and nothing is happening to him, then maybe it is the truth, because they believed that if one took a false oath, they would incur divine punishment. So he said this is one of the reasons.

Always Remain Defiant Defiant And the second reason is even more insightful. He said (paraphrasing) that you can’t give the enemies the last word on the matter. If you are having a discussion or debate, that you say this is the truth on the matter, you should listen to me, and then the other person says he doesn’t believe you, what do you do in that situation? Do you stop the conversation, finish the discussion and end on that note – on the note of the enemy denouncing you? Or should you still insist on saying it is the truth and then walk away?

n a h K m i s A h d a t s U

Which one would be better? Someone could say, they don’t believe me, what’s the point, I’ll just walk away now. If they don’t believe me, it’s up to them, I did my job. And everyone else, the last thing they heard was the person speaking and denouncing you, and then you walked away. That wouldn’t paint you in a good light, would it? Rather, you should be the one who has the last word of the truth. And this is very important, because it shows us that Muslims should be defiant. Muslims should be defiant. Even if people don’t believe us, or they claim they don’t believe us, we should show defiance. Whatever the case may be, I am sticking to my guns. This is the truth. I am convinced of it. And I will say it as many times as it is needed to be said. Because it is the truth and I will champion the truth, especially when they are trying to cut down the discussion regarding the truth.

[Don’t let the enemy have the last laugh - Uhud exchange]

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So he said that this is another role that the qasm serves. They don’t believe him, but he needs to make sure that the truth is always being championed, especially when it is being denied. So this is perhaps another reason of the qasm. Allah knows best.

My Reflections


23

 • 3. Most surely you are one of the messengers {Lesson 2} This is the subject. You have the qasm (oath) and then you have the jawaab of the qasm. Why did Allah take an oath? To say what? What does Allah want us to acknowledge? Indeed you are truly from those that have been sent. Here the Prophet is being addressed directly by Allah. You. And this message that you are of those that have been sent, meaning you are of those messengers that have been sent, like Adam, like Nuh, like Moosa, like ‘Essa, etc. – you are like one of those.

Triple Tri ple empha emphasis sis vali validate date his mess message age Allah swears an oath by the Qur’an to tell him that. Which means that this statement , that you are from the messengers, or from those that have been sent, is being emphasized in 3 ways: 1.

The oath emphasizes this.

2. The particle inna. Innaka denotes tawkeed, emphasis as well. Surely, truly. 3. The third linguistic tool to emphasize the message inside this ayah is the laam on la-min almursaleen. This is the laam of tawkeed as well. So Allah emphasizes this message in 3 ways to say truly you are of those that have been sent.


This ayah is very emphatic. It means that it is being very clear and direct in what it is saying. And this is shown by the word use of inna in innaka. Inna serves to emphasize something, it is one of the harf of tawkeed (particles to give emphasis) and it also has the meaning of izalatu as-shakk (to remove doubt). Contrary to what a person says or thinks, indeed he is a messenger. And Allah speaks directly to the Prophet himself. The second point of emphasis is the laam in la-min al-mursaleen. This laam is the laam of tawkeed. It is like adding the word truly into the translation. Truly, you are from al-mursaleen, those that have been sent. In this ayah, Allah will show us that one of the things that Qur’an proves is this fact. He is not just anybody, he is from those that have been sent. And this is said in a very emphatic way. And what we learn from this is that Allah told this this to the Prophet , not just to destroy the claims of the mushrikoon, but also to console his aching heart. We know from the Qur’an the Prophet ’s heart used to ache and pain p ain because the people used to reject him.


24 Passage 1 | The Qur’an and the Heedless 11

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Perhaps, [O Muhammad], you would kill yourself with grief that they will not be believers. This is the way the Prophet would feel. This is a beautiful lesson because it shows us the balanced view of disbelievers. The balanced view a believer should have of disbelievers. One extreme, a person sees others that have disbelieved, and they say, kuffar, go to hell. I don’t care . In fact, it’s good you go to hell. Who cares. The other extreme is, kuffar, we don’t know if they are going to hell. Who is to say? We don’t know. All paths lead to god. This is the other extreme. In the middle is the Prophet . He sees them, he knows they are messed up, he sees they are misguided, but he wants them to be guided. This is the way of the Prophet and this should be our view as well. Though we know the destiny of the kuffar, knowing that only makes us more compassionate t o want them to be guided.

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There are 2 points here. 1.

Why did Allah choose to say to the Prophet , instead of saying you are a Rasool (messenger), that you are mursal. Not a messenger, but someone who has been sent? 2. Why did Allah choose to say you are from those that have been sent instead of saying you are one who has been sent? The word mursaleen is plural, it is not singular.

m i s A h d a t s U

What is the wisdom behind this? 

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n e e s a Y h a r u S f o

Perhaps it is to console the Prophet . He is going through a very difficult time, especially th in the 10 year of prophecy, and he is being told you are from those that have been sent. Meaning, other people have come here and done this as well. They have had to endure similar things too. And just knowing that reassures you. For example, when we have to do a tough exam, and are told someone else went through this is reassuring. You are not alone, you are part of a team. A team of the messengers of Allah. They also were sent. And you are one of those who were sent.

Creates a question: who sent you?


not

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Mursal is like saying, you have been sent. So the question comes to mind, who has sent you? Who sent him? Allah sent him. This is one of the benefits of saying mursal instead of rasool, because it creates a question in the mind, which is almost rhetorical, Allah sent him.

{Lesson 2} 11

Ash-Shu’ara 26:3


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To create a question in the mind of the listener. When someone says that you are of those that have been sent, the person may start thinking, who sent you? It creates the question, who sent the Prophet Muhammad ? And this question is answered 2 ayahs down 12

Coming down gradually from Al-Aziz ar-Raheem. The question was asked, or created, who is it that sent him? Then the answer was ayah 5. It is Al-Aziz ar-Raheem who sent him. 

Another wisdom of mentioning that he is of those that have been sent, is that when the Prophet hears this, it will have a psychological impact in that, he will feel that Allah is validating him and his message. Allah is reassuring him, you are – don’t listen to what people are saying. This is amazing because the Prophet , there was no person with a stronger heart than the messenger of Allah . But this ayah shows us that he was affected by what people said. Otherwise why would Allah have to reassure him? If someone comes up to you and says you are a liar, and many people keep saying it to you, including your own family members, it can affect you. It is going to get to you. And this is what Allah mentioned to us in the Qur’an as well – in surat Ta-ha – and this is one of the early surahs in Makkah: 13

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We didn’t send this Qur’an down to make you miserable. Meaning, he felt sometimes miserable because of what was happening to him – because of the reaction and obnoxious behaviour of his people. It shows us that it was difficult for the prophet . It was really difficult for him. Allah is consoling him. This is the psychological impact it would have. He would feel consoled by Allah. It is okay. Allah, the Ultimate Authority says, you are from those that have been sent.

Not alone, part of team 

12 13

Another benefit for the Prophet is that he is being reminded that you are from those that have been sent. You are not one that has been sent, you are from those that have been sent. Meaning you are part of a family. You are part of a team. t eam. I know in this time of your life, you feel alone. Especially after the people of Ta’if rejected him in the 10 th year, he would have felt that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, it is getting worse and worse. When he hears that actually he is from those that have been sent, my brother Nuh, my brother Moosa, Moos a, my brother ‘Eesa, they also went through very difficult times. I find reassurance in

Ya-Seen 36:5 Ta-ha 20:2



26 Passage 1 | The Qur’an and the Heedless remembering them. So this is another benefit of putting in the plural as opposed to the singular. There is one lesson we can learn from this. If the Prophet is being reassured by Allah and one of the ways of reassuring him is telling him that you are part of a bigger team, then in the same way, us today, when we try to do challenging things in life, especially those things which will please Allah we should realize that we can do those things better if we do them together. If we do it together there is greater strength. And one of the benefits of being together is that there is an element of reassurance. When you feel down, somebody else can pat your back and say don’t worry, we can do this. The person may genuinely think he cannot manage anymore, he has come to the end of his tether. But then someone else assures him that he can do it, and he ends up doing it. Because of the support of others. ,



When we try to do challenging things in life, especially those things which will please Allah , we should realize that we can do those things better if we do them together.

If the Prophet is being consoled by Allah, and is being told he is part of a team, and knowing you are part of a team can reassure and help him, then how much more for those less than the Prophet who are far weaker and in need of more help than the Prophet ?

{Lesson 2}

Nazm Links We will highlight the nazm links. The nazm links will show how this ayah is connected to other ayaat that will come later in surat Ya-Seen. Ya- Seen.


27

 ayah 3

Indeed you, [O Muhammad], are from among the

messengers

 ayah 13

And present to them an example: the people of the city, when the

 ayah 16

ayah 52

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They said, "Our Lord knows that we are

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messengers came to it

messengers to you

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They will say, "O woe to us! Who has raised us up from our sleeping place?" [The reply will be], "This is what the Most Merciful had promised, and the messengers told the truth."

In this ayah, Allah mentions, you are from those who have been sent. In ayah 13, Allah mentions a story about ashab al-qaryah and mentions, when messengers came to the village or town. This is a story about not one, but 3 messengers coming to people to try and warn them and guide them. Yet the whole town rejected them. Allah begins that story by mentioning, just remember when murasaloon came to the qaryah. As if to say, you were told that you are from the mursaloon, and now you will be shown some of those mursaloon. The principle, and the illustration of the principle as well. There is another link. In ayah 16, Allah mentions that those messengers, when the people were rejecting them, and calling them liars, they said, our Master knows that we are mursaloon. He knows that we have been sent. Meaning, what matters to us is what Allah thinks. How is that ayah connected to ayah 3? What is the connection? Those messengers, when people were denying them, calling them liars, they said Allah knows that we are messengers. How is this connected to ayah 3? It is the internalized meaning of that ayah being mentioned in a human example. When you know that Allah knows that you are upon the truth, then when people deny you, you will say, I don’t care what people say, Allah knows. So you were taught a lesson, and then you internalized it, like those messengers internalized it. And that is pretty profound. If society is slating you, defaming you, calling you names, it gets to you. How are you going to rise above the propaganda? How exactly? Especially when some of them are family members, as in the life of the Prophet . Well, you’re going to have to say, what about Allah? Allah knows I am on the truth. I should find my strength in that. I should overcome the propaganda by realizing that Allah knows I am on the truth. And that’s all that matters. Allah’s validation matters, not the validation of the people. So that’s another link.



28 Passage 1 | The Qur’an and the Heedless And the last one is ayah 52, going towards the end of Surat Ya-Seen. A scene from the Day of Judgment. Allah mentions that the disbelievers will be resurrected, they will be brought back to life. When they are brought back to life, they exclaim, who is it that made us come out of this resting place? Who just made us come out of this grave? And who is going to bring this fate? Who is doing all this to us? The response will come from the believers. The believers will say to them, this is the truth that the Merciful One promised, and what the mursaloon kept on telling you. What those messengers kept on telling you. You are from the messengers. There were messengers that came before you. And people will remember you after they die. People will remember you even after they die and will regret not listening to you while they were in this life. This is what he was telling me all that time.

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The believers should console one another when they are going through difficulties.

Console each other The believers should console one another when they are going through difficulties. Where is this in the ayah? Where Allah consoles the Prophet . Consoling his aching heart that don’t worry, I am with you, I am validating you. Like Allah would mention to Moosa, 14

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I am with you, intently listening. Allah sees everything, hears everything and is with him. It is going to be difficult. And when believers go through difficulty, there should be other believers that come to their aid and support them. Allah supported His messengers, and the people that carry the message of the messengers need to support one another . This is very important in our times. Because what we see, in fact, is the opposite. When a Muslim organization becomes defamed by the media, for example, recently it was the turn of the Deobandis, front page of the newspaper being called extremists, being called backward, and what happened? We find that other Muslims from different organizations either said, it is happening to them, Alhamdulillah it is not happening to us. They just pushed them under the bus, not realizing that it will be their turn next. It doesn’t matter how liberal you are, as long as you say you are Muslim, they are going to come after you, that ’s for sure. But the other thing is, they are your Muslim brothers. And the people who are attacking them are not attacking them because they are Deobandis. They are attacking them because they are Muslim. 14

Ash-Shuara 26:15


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So if someone attacks a Muslim because they are Muslim, it is the duty of the other Muslims M uslims to come to their support. What we find in our times is that this is not happening. In fact the opposite is happening. People are saying, thank god it’s them. I won’t hang out with them. I don’t even want to see myself with those guys anymore, because they are going to say, they’re extremist so you must be extremist as well. Don’t be seen with them anymore. The Prophet told us in the famous hadith 15 that Allah so long as His servant comes to the aid of others.

comes to the aid of His servant

What is the Prophet teaching us here? The Prophet is teaching us that if you want Allah to help you, one way of guaranteeing Allah’s help is you help your Muslim brothers and sisters. And especially when you are living in very Islamophobic times, it is very important that the Muslim community come together as one and support each other in every way that they can, and to look out for one another, and when others are attacked amongst them, they come to their support and aid. Even a quick phone call, “I heard what people are saying about you. Don’t listen to them. What do they know? I know what you are like. Don’t pay any attention to them. Do you need any help? Anything I can do for you?” Do you know how much that helps? A very famous person, about ten years ago, became the most well-known scholar from amongst this group. And then there were a few mistakes made on his part, but the media jumped on this, th is, and they defamed him, destroyed his name and credibility. One of Ustadh Asim’s teachers decided to phone him. That person said, I cannot believe you have phoned me to say this to me, when my own people have deserted me. The inner circle abandoned him. It is devastating for a person. To give him moral support is a huge thing

Proof before case


Bring the proof before the case. In a court of law, a very good lawyer, what he does is, he says to the jury, my client has been accused of XYZ, is he innocent, is he guilty? Let’s listen to the evidence first. Then we will make our decision.

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In the same way, Allah begins Surat Ya-Seen, the evidence is brought forward, look at the Qur’an, it is a piece of evidence, it is so full of wisdom, so beautifully organized, so authoritative. Look at this evidence. Is it really possible that this man is making it up? He is truly one of those who has been sent. The evidence is the Qur’an.

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But which one of them came first, the evidence or the case? The evidence came first, and this is more compelling as well. It is more compelling to bring the proof before you state the case. When doing dawah, be smart, and this is the Qur’anic wisdom. Give the evidences before you furnish the case. This is more compelling as well.

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Sahih Muslim, Muslim, Sunan Abi Dawud, Dawud, Jami at-Tirmidhi, at-Tirmidhi,



Remain defiant To remain defiant is very important. Even when, apparently, you are the lower hand. Even when, on the face of it, you are suffering defeat. Even then you should remind defiant. In the Battle of Uhud, something amazing happens towards the end of the Battle of Uhud 16. The Muslims have to flee to the mountain range of Uhud, and they are hiding somewhere out there, in some of the parts of the mountain, they cannot be seen. But Abu Sufyan who is still a Qurayshi mukhrik at the time, and is a general of the army wants to come close to the mountain and talk rubbish to bring the Muslims down. An exchange takes place between the Muslims and Abu Sufyan.



The first thing he says is, is the son of Abu Quhafa (Abu Bakr) still alive? Is the son of Al-Khattab (‘Umar) still alive? To that, the Prophet said, don’t say anything. ‘Umar al -Khattab was getting very agitated. He wanted to say something. So he didn’t say anything. Then Abu Sufyan (because he knew they were there), said, be high, O Hubal (their idol). Then, the Prophet said, isn’t any of you going to respond to that? They said, ya Rasoolullah, what shall we say? He said tell him Allahu a’ala wa ajall (Allah is the Most Superior and the Most Magnificient). So ‘Umar al -Khattab shouted this out, and Abu Sufyan knew they were still alive, and defying as well. Then Aby Sufyan said, we have ‘Uzza and you have no ‘Uzza. The Prophet said, aren’t you going to respond to that? They said, ya Rasoolullah, what shall we respond to that? We don’t know what to say. He said, say to him, Allahu mawlana wa la mawla lakum (Allah is our protective friend and you have no protective friend). Abu Sufyan still continues to talk rubbish. He says, today is revenge for Badr last year. Then ‘Umar al Khattab respond, you liar, O enemy of Allah, our dead are in paradise, your dead are in hellfire. You have to appreciate where this is coming from. This is coming from Muslims who have suffered. They have suffered big time. They lost 70 companions that day. They were suffering. In fact, in Surat Aal-‘Imraan, 60 ayaat were revealed about the Battle of Uhud, of them, Allah mentions Himself, 17

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Don’t let your morale collapse, and don’t grieve. Madinah was g rieving after Uhud. They are told, you are truly the superior ones, if you have eeman, you are destined to prosper. This is the Islamic ethos, one of them – to champion the believer and to remain defiant. Even in times when, in a worldly sense, Muslims are down and suffering and being abased by their enemies, they should never talk like they are down. They shouldn’t have victim mentality. This is a big issue. You hear a lot of devastating news from around the Muslim world, bad things happening all over the place, Islamophobia, attacks, and so on. Though it is important for that information to be known, the problem with it being bombarded at you is that you start to develop a 16 17

Sahih Bukhari Aal-‘Imraan 3:139


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victim mentality where you think you are down, debased, lowly, defeated, a victim. And that brings forth its own backward mentality. Allah and the Prophet wanted us to be superior people and to speak like we are superior people, regardless of the situation. And there is one incident in the seerah 18, where a man, Khabbab bin Arat comes to the Prophet , he and another man. This is in late Makki phase where Muslims are being really persecuted. He says this to the Prophet , and the Prophet is leaning against the Ka’bah. And he says to him (the prophet), make dua to Allah that Allah helps us. The Prophet said, what is the matter with you? The people came before you, because they believed, they were put in the ground and then a saw was passed through their head right down to the body. What is the matter with you, other people came, and because they believed, a metal comb was passed through their flesh, taking it off their bones. You are a people who are just hasty. Who is he saying that to? He is saying that to a companion. Why is he being so harsh? He is saying to him, don’t speak like you are a defeated man. Don’t speak like that. Rather speak like you are a person who is great, because Allah has made you great. This is deep. And just to elaborate on this, one of the brothers, whose brother is a lawyer mentioned that there has never been a presidential candidate in America that ever criticized the American people for doing anything wrong. Rather, they all celebrate every little good thing an American does. Why? Because what that does, is it makes people feel great. When they feel great, they start behaving like they are great people. And this is part of the great American dream. Whether this is fictitious or not, the reality is that when you start pumping air there, that you are great people, you can do whatever you want, you can be the richest people, even if they are not the great people, they will believe that they are great people.

What then about great people like the believers who don’t think they are great? It is a tragedy. Though it is a tangent, it is important to mention here.

My Reflections


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Sahih Bukhari

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•4. On a straight path.

Validates the Man [Ibn Ashur] ‘Ashu r] This is, according to some, the second part of the oath. He took an oath first to say that you are of the messengers. Ibn ‘Ashur said, this validated the message of Muhammad . Then he said you are on the straight path, this validated the man himself. Allah validated the message, and then the man. How is he being b eing validated?

“committed to” [Razi]

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By saying that you are the straight path. As Ar-Raazi said, should not be translated as on, it means committed to/ attached to/ holding on to the straight path.

Ibn Taymiyyah on The word 

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is very, very unique. Ibn Taymiyyah said, 

has a number of connotations.

1.

The first is that it is a path that is wadih (clear). Every human being can recognize that it is the straight path. [Linguistically it is al- Tarīq, a pathway. It is said that it is al -Tarīq al-Wādih. It is said that it is al- Tarīq al-Mahdūd it’s sides are well-defined or demarcated. The same word is used to refer to the path that stretches over hell.]

2.

Secondly, it is something which is traversed at speed. It is something which people will move across at speed. This is because it has istiwaa (it is raised upwards). When you go up a hill, the person has to go fast to get to the top. So this is another connotation of the word. [ It’s also said that it has the connotation of ISTIWAA raised and I’TIDAA I’TIDAALL erect i.e., upwards such s uch that the person needs to pass over it with speed.]

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It is mahdud (clearly demarcated). This is the

4.

[Lastly the SIRAAT leads to an intended int ended goal/destination i.e., a place you want to be.]

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and this is outside the

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Putting this all together, what it shows us is: 1.

First of all, the path that leads to Allah is not obscure, or difficult to find for any person. Any human being who wants to know what Islam is can find it with ease. It is wadih (clear).


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2. Also, it teaches us that because it is on an incline, it leads to none other than Allah . 3. It is waasi’ (wide). Ibn ‘Uthaymeen mentioned this. Meaning that, as he said, it can accommodate every single human being from the time of the Prophet until the Day of Judgment. It is not the case that they can only be so many believers because there is not enough space for them. Rather, the path is waa si’ (wide) and it can accommodate any who wish to traverse it.

Tabari: Taba ri: “a clear c lear path with no crook c rookedne edness ss or o r deviat d eviation” ion” Then the word mustaqeem comes, and the word mustaqeem comes from qama, which means to stand. It just means that it is straight. La ‘iwaja fihi (it is not crooked). Ar-Raazi said that this means this path that leads to Allah is the quickest path to Allah as well as the only path. Because a path that is straight is the shortest path. It is the quickest path to Allah.

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Linguistically, the word siraat has no plural. The word tariq, the plural is turuq. Sabeel, subul. Siraat has no plural. Which means that Allah chose siraat to refer to Islam as if to say there is only one path, and the word itself doesn’t allow you to speak about other paths.

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What does this all mean? It is saying that the Prophet is on a straight path meaning his character and lifestyle is like a straight arrow. That is how it is validating him as a man. That if a person was to observe this man Muhammad , just to observe him as a person, not to listen to his message, he would say this person is not messed up as those people are saying. This person is straight, upright. He is a straight arrow. His character demonstrates that he is saying the truth. This is a validation of the Prophet ’s character.

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There is a very amazing hadith which demonstrates the height of the ethical standards of the Prophet . The hadith19 is in Sunan An-Nasai. It is classed as authentic by Shaykh al-Albaani . It is the amazing story of Abdullah ibn Sa’d ibn Abi Sarh. This man apostate d. He became Muslim, then he turned his back on Islam and he joined the enemies of Islam against the Muslims. On the conquest of Makkah, the Prophet gave a general amnesty except a few people. Ibn Abi Sarh was one of the few men on the blacklist. He cannot be forgiven. If he is found, he is to be killed because he was treacherous. Ibn Abi Sarh is the half- brother of ‘ Uthman bin Affan through breastfeeding. ‘Uthman bin Affan fires Abi Sarh, he says, listen, we have come to conquer Makkah, you can’t go anywhere now. The time has come to become Muslim. So ‘Uthman takes him by the hand to the Prophet . ‘Uthaman says ya Rasoolullah, accept the bay’a of Ibn Abi Sarh. The Prophet ignores him. He asks a second time, he ignores him. He asks a third time, he ignores 19

Abu Dawud

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34 Passage 1 | The Qur’an and the Heedless him. He asks a fourth time, and then the Prophet looks at his companions around him, and he says, that isn’t there a smart person amongst you, that you would realize that the reason I am not saying anything is because I am waiting for one of you to get up and kill him? The companions said, ya Rasoolullah, we didn’t know what you were thinking inside. So why didn’t you give us an indication with your eyes? He said, it is not befitting for a prophet to deceive someone with his eyes. Look at the ethical character, the level of ethics in the Prophet . It is on a whole new level. This situation, if there was ever an excuse to break that code, it would be now. But even in that situation, he can’t give a gesture with his eyes. His character doesn’t allow him to do that. We find that the Prophet ’s character bore testimony to the fact that he is a messenger.

Affirm Affi rm the Mess Message age then the Mess Messenger enger Allah validates the message and then validates the messenger. n a h K m i s A h d a t s U –


Super Lessons There are 2 super lessons:

Good character goes a long way The first super lesson is that good character goes a long way. As Muslims, we have to appreciate that having good character is not just a lifestyle choice, something good that we should do, rather it is incumbent upon someone to really reform his character and be an upright human being. Honest, good integrity, person who speaks well, person who behaves well, and when he is seen, people see that this person is of a sound character. This is being illustrated to us because, what is the need to highlight the character of the Prophet ? Surely, as someone would say today, I speak the truth. Fair enough, I do some dodgy st uff, but that doesn’t mean I don’t speak the truth. Is he right? If someone says, I do dawah, but the way I turn up late to work. But that doesn’t mean you don’t believe what I say, they are two different things.

As Muslims, we have to appreciate that having good character is not just a lifestyle choice, something good that we should do, rather it is incumbent upon someone to really reform his character and be an upright human being.


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Your character and what you say go hand in hand. Actions speak louder than words. This is a lesson

for us. The Prophet’s character bore testimony to his message and that means both are important – one’s character and one’s message.

Practice what you preach The Prophet is calling to a message and he is living by that message as well. He is doing both. And there is no disconnect between the two. In our times, we find many leaders, they speak fine words, but they don’t behave themselves. There is a disconnect between the two, but this should not be the case. They mention about Malcolm X, in his biography, one of the FBI agents who was outside his house, the secret service who were monitoring him, they said that what we found out about Malcolm, is that what he says in public, he lives by at home. This is what they found from listening to his conversations with his family. That goes a long way. That is very difficult to do, but it is what we should do. n a h K

My Reflections

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The Study of Surah Yaseen Lesson 01 and 02

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