Mohammad Elshinawy – Lessons From Surat Al-Bayyinah
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AI: Transcript ©
In the name of Allah, all
praise and glory be to Allah, and may
his peace and blessings be upon his messenger
Muhammad and his family and his companions and
all those who adhere to his guidance, may
Allah purify our hearts and minds with the
Quran and rectify our intentions and beautify our
actions.
And deem us all worthy to be his
servants and the bearers of his book, Allahumma
ameen.
So we welcome everyone back to our reflections
on the short surahs of the Quran.
We have reached, moving from the end of
the Quran inward, we have reached Surat Al
-Bayyinah.
Surat Al-Bayyinah.
Anyone know what Al-Bayyinah means?
Yes.
Al-Bayyinah is a clear proof or a
clear evidence.
Or some say clear evidence is proof.
You don't add the word clear to proof.
But that's an English discussion, not an Arabic
one.
But essentially it is proof or clear evidence.
Something that sets apart the truth from falsehood.
Bayyin means something clear, evident, standing out, obvious.
And this surah, I mean, of what has
been mentioned in the sunnah about it, is
that the Prophet ﷺ in the famous hadith,
he went to Ubayy ibn Ka'ab and
he said to him, Allah has instructed
me to recite to you Surat Al-Bayyinah.
And so Ubayy ibn Ka'ab, may Allah
be pleased with him, he cried.
And he said, Did my Lord mention me
by name?
In another narration he said, Have I really
been identified, named up there?
Up there meaning in the heavens.
Why was the Prophet ﷺ instructed to recite
Surat Al-Bayyinah to Ubayy?
I mean, obviously hindsight is 20-20.
We know that Ubayy ibn Ka'ab was
of the premier master reciters of the Qur
'an.
That those who memorize the Qur'an today,
fast forward 1500 years, right?
The recitations are traced back to a few
major companions, right?
Like Abdullah ibn Mas'ud and Ubayy ibn
Ka'ab, right?
But also the scholars said perhaps the Prophet
ﷺ was teaching him.
Obviously the Prophet is the teacher, right?
So reciting to you means you're checking my
recitation.
So how does that work if I'm the
teacher, right?
And so they said it was teaching him
how to test others.
Teaching him that he should be listening to
people's recitation and checking them on their recitation.
And that became the standard by which the
Qur'an was transmitted throughout the centuries.
It would never be sufficient to just have
a sheet of paper passed around, right?
Or an AI app checking the recitation.
That's never going to be enough.
There is a sacred person-to-person tradition
that this Qur'an will be passed down
through that medium.
And that was first established by Jibreel ﷺ
to the Prophet ﷺ and the Prophet ﷺ
to the most direct sahaba that received the
most Qur'an from him, like Ibn Mas
'ud and Ubayy.
But Surah Al-Bayyinah was mentioned here, and
so we thought to include it among our
discourse on this surah.
Okay, why was it called Surah Al-Bayyinah?
Because it is mentioned in the first verse
of the surah wherein Allah ﷻ says, لَمْ
يَكُنِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ مُنْفَكِّينَ
حَتَّىٰ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَ Those who have disbelieved among
Ahlul Kitab, the people of the scripture, which
means Jews and Christians by scholarly agreement, among
the people of the scripture, وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ and the
pagans, which means the other pagans, because they
are polytheists.
Ahlul Kitab, the Jews and Christians at least
from Ahlul Kitab, they are polytheists.
They have conflated with Allah ﷻ others.
And so here we translate mushrikeen as pagans
even though Ahlul Kitab are mushrikeen.
Does that make sense?
Ahlul Kitab are a subset of polytheists.
You're looking at me like you're focusing or
you're asleep.
It's clear?
Okay.
They are a special class of polytheists.
They are the closest, if you will, doctrinally
speaking in terms of their creed to the
Islamic monotheist, Islamic believer in one God, the
Muslim.
So they are closer because there are remnants
of the original truth, but they still have
fallen into polytheism, the worship of multiple gods,
and we'll get into that inshallah.
But what I mean is these are not
necessarily two separate categories.
So those who have disbelieved among the people
of the scripture, meaning the Jews and Christians,
wal mushrikeen, and the polytheists, meaning and the
other polytheists, these groups will not be munfakkeen.
I'll leave that alone.
That's the whole discussion is gonna be on
the word munfakkeen here.
Will not be munfakkeen until the bayyinah comes
to them, until the clear proof comes to
them.
So what is munfakkeen mean?
Most of the time, the scholars of tafsir
will say that this ayah is referring to
the fact that they will not be separated,
they will never disengage, walk away from what
they believe until the clear proof of Islam
comes to them.
Is that clear?
That's how they understand the word munfakkeen, separated.
The Jews, Christians, pagans will not separate away
from their beliefs until the clear proof comes
to them.
Is that meaning clear?
Okay.
There is another meaning here that some of
the scholars mentioned, which is that munfakkeen here
actually means will not be left alone.
Will not be left alone, meaning will not
be left without a message so that if
they decide to stay to their ways, they
have stayed at that point without an excuse.
It's just as Allah Azzawajal said, وَمَا كُنَّا
مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى لَبْعَثَ رَسُولَةً Other verses, Allah says,
we would not punish someone without first sending
a messenger, right?
So munfakkeen according to the second interpretation would
mean matrukeen.
You know, I know we haven't really gotten
into much of the surah yet, but there's
already an important lesson here and the whole
point is to take the lessons.
Allah Azzawajal is telling you that people will
never leave their ways that they're accustomed to,
that they've been socialized upon unless they have
a glaring reason to be, right?
Society will not change, even individuals will not
change until there is a Quran, something as
glaring in its truth as the Quran.
And also a person that is carrying that
Quran, calling to that Quran, embodying that Quran,
a Quran walking on the earth.
They asked Aisha radiallahu anha, what was he
like salallahu alayhi wasalam?
She said, كان خلقه القرآن His character, his
personality type was Quran, right?
That's how he reformed society.
It was the Quran that he promoted, the
Quran that he taught, and the Quran that
he walked, he walked the talk, salallahu alayhi
wasalam.
Okay, so they will not desist from their
kufr and their shirk until the bayyinah, the
clear proof comes to them.
Now we can, we've set the stage if
you will, we can operate a bit faster
now.
What is this bayyinah?
Second verse now.
رَسُولٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ يَتْلُو صُحُفًا مُطَهَّرًا He is
a messenger.
This clear proof is the messenger.
The messenger is the proof, right?
That's why the proofs of prophethood are so
important.
He in and of himself is of the
greatest of proofs.
And Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah, he said this.
He said that the people who claim to
be prophets and messengers, they wind up being
the worst of people and the best of
people.
So there's no room for confusion, right?
Anyone who says I'm a prophet, there's no
gray area.
They wind up being the best of the
best of humanity and that is why Allah
Azzawajal elected them to an even higher level
of prophethood or they're the worst of the
worst of humanity, right?
The scum of the earth, right?
He's saying and so anyone who says he's
a prophet, just look at his character.
Look at the individual, you'll find no middle.
They're one of two extremes.
Extremely virtuous or extremely horrible, corrupt, villainous.
Always.
And so what is the clear proof?
Rasulun minallah, a messenger from God, yatlu suhufan
mutahara.
yatlu, you know yatlu from tilawa, from tela,
but not exactly.
I'll explain that in a minute.
Or not only.
Yes, exactly, but not only.
yatlu suhufan mutahara.
Reciting to them suhuf that are mutahara.
Mutahara means what?
Purified.
Purified pages.
A messenger from God reciting to them suhufan
mutahara, purified pages.
So first of all, why is it mentioned
that he's not just reciting a message to
them, he's not sharing some news with them,
right?
He's reciting to them a scripture, a corpus.
The first reason the scholars mention that this
is an indication that the Qur'an is
destined, the Qur'an is bound, bound to
be bound, bound to be documented in a
book.
So this is a prophecy that this Qur
'an, which is being passed down verbally right
now, will be in a book till the
end of time.
It will be suhuf.
It will be transcribed into manuscripts.
It will be scripted until the end of
time.
And then they said, this was especially necessary
to be said here.
Why?
Because usually throughout the Qur'an, why are
they even asking this question?
Because throughout the Qur'an, when the messenger
is mentioned, usually it says, يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ
He recites to them his verses.
Allah sends a messenger, the messenger recites to
them his ayat, his verses and his signs.
Here though, it is reciting to them suhuf,
pages, like pages of a book.
They said it's because this surah is primarily
addressing Ahlul Kitab.
It's primarily addressing the people of the book.
Why is it primarily addressing the people of
the book?
How do we know that?
Because the first verse started with the people
of the book.
Okay?
Those who have disbelieved from the people of
the book and all the other pagans.
It singled them out in mention.
They also say because the reason for this
surah, some may say, the reason for this
surah was that the mushrikeen, this happened many
times throughout the prophet's biography, the pagans were
so stumped that they went to Medina and
said, how do we get rid of this
guy?
You guys have a book.
We don't have books, we're an illiterate people.
They went to the Jews of Medina, people
of scripture, right?
They have the Torah, or the remnants of
the Torah, the Torah.
So give us something to stump this guy
with, right?
He said, yeah, yeah, yeah.
We will arm you to be able to
debunk his claims.
And so this comes now and says, bayyinah,
clear proof comes, a messenger, an impeccable, right?
Spotless in his track record.
Messenger reciting verses?
No, not this time.
He's reciting a book.
This is a book the same way you
have a book, right?
You should recognize books.
You should recognize books.
You know what your books contain, now look
at what this book contains.
It is from the same God.
Yatlu sohufan, reciting pages that are mutahara, that
are purified.
What does purified mean?
Purified from corruption is one of the meanings.
And again, of the beauty of the Qur
'an is the multiplicity of its meanings.
It has layers of meaning at once.
They're all compatible, or many a times they
are all compatible.
So it is purified from corruption, right?
wa innahu lakitabun azeez la yateehil baatilun min
bayni yadayhi wala min khalfih It is a
mighty book that falsehood cannot approach from any
angle.
But also, mutahara, meaning in its teachings, it
is purified from being incorrect, right?
It's not just that man didn't touch it,
but also man is flawed.
So the flaws that would come of man
do not come of this book.
This is how we know that this messenger
is just a messenger, and he didn't produce
this book, or else he would have had
mistakes.
Right or wrong?
You know when Allah Azawajal says, it's a
very beautiful ayah, and some people don't sort
of explain it correctly, and so we should
try to add some clarity here.
The famous ayah, afala yatadabbaruna alqur'an Surah
An-Nisa Don't they ponder over the Qur
'an?
walaw kana min indi ghayri Allahi la wajadu
fihi ikhtilafan kathira And if it were from
other than Allah, they would have found in
it, in this Qur'an, much discrepancy, much
contradiction.
Much.
It doesn't mean if this book was from
man, there would have been a mistake in
it.
No, no, no.
What comes from man has many mistakes in
it.
Right?
That's the idea.
And it doesn't mean what is from Allah
will have few mistakes in it.
What comes from Allah has zero mistakes in
it.
And while we're reflecting on this ayah, what
does it mean?
That if it were from other than Allah,
what is it here?
Is it the words or is it the
meanings?
If it were from other than Allah, they
would have found many contradictions.
In the words or in the meanings?
Huh?
The meanings.
The meanings.
Because words are dynamic.
Right?
Words can mean different things in different contexts.
Right?
That is part of eloquence, by the way.
That is part of eloquence.
When a language is versatile, and the speaker
is able to use language in an artistic
way.
Right?
This is part of eloquence and articulation.
And so, everything in this Qur'an, when
you understand it correctly, as intended by Allah
Azza wa Jalla, will never have a contradiction
in it.
People always find contradictions in the Qur'an
when they want to understand it, when they
want to understand it the wrong way.
Does that make sense?
Is that clear?
If you want to misunderstand the Qur'an,
if you want to see the Qur'an
filled with contradictions, you will be able to.
And that is why this is so important.
Wanting the truth is so much more important
than finding the truth.
This is the harder job.
To be objective.
To be impartial.
To be sincere.
You know, I was reading online, it was
just an exercise for some of my students,
my 12th graders, about like some of the
most common objections to the Qur'an on
the algorithm.
I don't want to get too far off
track here, but you know the ayat where
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says, We have
shown Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam, the Malakut, the kingdom
of the cosmos, so that he may be
of those who are certain.
When he said to his people, and after
he had seen a star, this is my
Lord, then it disappears, and then he sees
the moon, and it disappears, and then he
sees the sun, and then it disappears, and
then he says, you know, I am clear,
I am innocent of all that you worship.
I have vowed, I've turned my face to
the originator of the heavens and the earth,
solely, without any partners.
This guy said, this guy said, that this
is factually incorrect.
Muslims want us to believe that Ibrahim Alayhi
Salaam lived in a cave somewhere, where he
never saw the star, or the moon, or
the sun before.
You understand what they're trying to say?
That is why he was surprised by the
brightness of the star, then he got surprised
by the brightness of the moon, then he
got even more surprised by the brightness of
the sun.
And I couldn't, alhamdulillah, alhamdulillah for guidance, but
I couldn't help but laugh.
Because that set of verses is about Ibrahim
Alayhi Salaam telling his people, be open-minded.
How can you worship something that disappears?
And this guy was reading the ayat about
open-mindedness with such a close-minded view.
He thought it meant that Ibrahim was in
a cave.
You get it?
Why?
Because he entered with the prejudice.
I want to disprove the Qur'an.
Anyway.
Yes, ma'am.
Okay.
رَسُولٌ مِنَ اللَّهِ يَتْلُو صُحُفًا مُطَهَّرًا A messenger
from God reciting pages that are purified.
The last thing we should say about this
ayah, يَتْلُو, يَتْلُو Reciting purified pages.
The Qur'an, when it says يَتْلُو, it
could have said so many other words.
Like يَقْرَأْ يَقْرَأْ is recite also.
But يَقْرَأْ means to recite from your mouth.
To read with your eye or recite from
your mouth.
It would have been correct here.
But يَتْلُو had an additional meaning that was
relevant here.
You see when the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam
was in the cave, Jibril Alaihi Wasallam said
to him, what?
يَقْرَأْ Recite.
Because the task at hand was what?
To pronounce.
قَرَأْ But تَلَ could mean to recite, but
could mean to follow along.
So when Allah Azzawajal says for example, وَالشَّمْسِ
وَضُحَاهَا I swear by the sun and its
brightness, or its early brightness.
وَالْقَمَرِ إِذَا تَلَاهَا And I swear by the
moon as it does tilawah.
تَلَ Does that mean the moon is saying
something?
No.
The moon when it follows.
Meaning night and day, night and day, night
and day.
So the moon making tilawah is the moon
following the sun.
In the rotation, the circulation, or the alternation
of night and day.
Clear?
And so when you use تَلَ يَتْلُو with
the Qur'an, it adds an additional nuance
that you're not just pronouncing it, you're also
embodying it.
You're living it out.
That's why we said earlier, the clear proof
is the Qur'an and the individual who
embodied that Qur'an صلى الله عليه وسلم.
Any attempt to reform society without that will
be incomplete.
There's no Qur'an, it's gonna be a
half-baked solution.
Right?
It's gonna be like throwing a blanket on
a fire.
It's gonna put out the fire for about
four seconds.
And then it's just gonna add to the
fuel of the fire.
And societies will crash over and over again.
Right?
Looks intelligent for about a generation or two.
Then it becomes what you see all around
you in societies.
Okay.
يَتْلُو صُحُفًا مُطَهَّرًا Recites and embodies these purified
pages.
فِيهَا كُتُبٌ قَيِّمًا In it, in these purified
pages are كُتُب.
What are كُتُب?
Books.
That are قَيِّمًا.
What is قَيِّمًا mean?
قَيِّمًا means straight.
Right?
So like قِيَامُ اللَّيْل is when you stand
at night.
قِيَامُ اللَّيْل Or اِقَامَةُ الصَّلَاة is when you
get up.
اِقَامَة, you get up for ṣalāt.
Or when Allah عز و جل says, وَلَوْ
أَنَّهُمْ أَقَامُوا التَّوْرَى If they had just established
أَقَامُوا التَّوْرَى Right?
It's to erect something.
And things don't stand well when they're crooked.
So to straighten something out.
To erect something.
Right?
So in this, in these purified pages, is
كُتُبٌ قَيِّمًا Are books, scriptures, that are قَيِّمًا.
That are straight.
Straight here means?
No contradiction.
Perfectly straight.
Sharp and straight.
Okay.
Why is it called كُتُب?
In these صُحُف, in these pages, are كُتُب.
What does that mean?
There are books inside the pages.
Shouldn't there be pages inside the books?
Hmm?
Say it again, just be confident.
Even if you're wrong, it's about confidence.
What is it?
Okay.
So there is mention of incidents, of accounts,
of records, such as those of the previous
Prophets.
Anybody else have something?
Sisters.
Anybody wanna swoop in for the save?
Not that we're not saved without you, you're
right.
But is there any additional meaning you want
to add?
Okay.
So, the best of the best, of what
existed in the previous scriptures, right?
Like the account of Musa Alayhi Salaam and
his story, right?
Like the account of Yusuf Alayhi Salaam and
his story.
Like the teachings of the previous nations, that
were or are fit to be timeless.
You know, because Allah Azza wa Jal did...
You know, sometimes in da'wah they tell
you like, you're saying God couldn't protect his
book, why are you saying our books are
distorted?
No, it's not.
Don't project on God.
You're assuming God wanted this to be permanent.
No.
He didn't.
This was intended to be temporary, because he
knew you would distort it.
Right?
Or it could be because he knew that
it would only be fit for a certain
period.
Right?
Like, some people also struggle with the concept
of Mansukh.
And I know it's a little bit of
a tangent, but it is worth it.
With Mansukh, it's something, a rule that is
changed, a rule that is abrogated.
No, a rule could be temporary.
Can't you have a rule for your kid
when he's five, that doesn't apply when he's
ten?
Likewise, there could be a rule that applies
to humanity when they're five, 5,000 years
old, that doesn't apply when they're 15,000
years old, or 100,000 years old.
Didn't Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala set a
rule on Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam?
Kill your son.
And when that rule served its purpose, which
was what?
For him to show his willingness, then Allah
removed the rule, because then there's no point
in the rule after it served its purpose.
It was only intended for a particular objective,
which is Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam's willingness to sacrifice.
That's it.
Then the rule got overturned.
So likewise, the best of the best of
the teachings of the previous nations, no distortions,
no temporary rulings are included in this Qur
'an.
These purified pages, they are a reference to
the whole Qur'an, in them are the
most upright, most fit, most perfect accounts, and
most perfect legislations until the end of time.
Timeless.
Is this clear?
فيها كتب قيمة Okay, good.
Then the next verse says, وَمَا تَفَرَّقَ الَّذِينَ
أُوتُوا الْكِتَابَ إِلَّا مِن بَعْدِ مَا جَاءَتْهُمُ الْبَيِّنَةِ
And the people of the book did not
become divided except after the clear proof came
to them.
You know, by the way, this verse is
the reason why they debated on the meaning
of the first verse.
Because the first verse seems to say, that
once the بَيِّنَة comes to them, they're gonna
leave their disbelief, right?
But this verse is saying, when the بَيِّنَة
did come to them, they became divided.
They didn't leave their disbelief, right?
However, what most scholars will say is like,
no, no, no, you're misunderstanding.
What's meant here is that, if they were
to leave, they'll only leave after the بَيِّنَة
comes, after clear enough proofs come.
But people prior and during the lifetime of
the Prophet ﷺ, when it actually did come,
they became divided.
Some believed, some disbelieved.
And those that disbelieved, they got divided among
themselves further and further and further.
They kept schisming and splitting beyond that.
But that's an important lesson.
Let's just jump straight to the lesson now
that it's clear.
There are many people that say, if only
I had clear proof.
And this is just them masking their stubbornness,
masking their pride, masking their lack of willingness.
If only we had a Prophet, if only
Muhammad could answer those questions, right?
ﷺ Then the questions are answered.
You know that the Jews, by the way,
they used to threaten the pagans.
The Jews of Medina would tell the pagan
Arabs of Medina, we have a Prophet coming,
it's in our books.
And once the Prophet comes, we're gonna slaughter
all of you.
And we're gonna become kings.
This back and forth tribal warfare is gonna
end as soon as we get our Prophet.
This is in the Quran.
وَكَانُوا مِن قَبْلُ يَسْتَفْتِحُونَ عَلَى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا The
Jews, Allah says, prior, they used to cite
the fact that they would get their victory
to the disbelievers.
You disbelievers who really disbelieve, you don't even
have a book.
They're both disbelievers, right?
You just wait till the Prophet comes.
Now when the Prophet came, wait a minute.
He's from the Arabs.
He's not from our tribe.
We're not following.
And they would ask him question after question
to stump him.
Do you believe?
They would tell him if I answer this.
They say, yes, if you answer this.
He'll answer it ﷺ.
Do you testify now that I'm a Prophet?
Till they ultimately said, نَعَمْ نَبِيٌ لِلْأُمِّيِّينَ Yes,
you are a Prophet for the Arabs.
They explained it away by saying, but you
don't apply to us.
You're a Prophet just not for us.
وَالْعَيَاثُ بِاللَّهِ But this is a common theme
in the Qur'an.
You know Allah Azza wa Jal says, وَلَوْ
فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَابًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَظَلُّوا فِيهِ يَعْرُجُونَ
If we were to open up for humanity,
this is a rule until the end of
time.
If we were to open up for humanity
and see a gate to the skies, we
open the skies, and they continue to ascend,
to climb up a staircase, a ladder in
the skies.
لَقَالُوا إِنَّمَا سُكِّرَتْ أَبِصَارُنَا They would say, something
is wrong with our eyes.
We're bewitched.
We're dreaming.
We're intoxicated.
We're under the influence.
بَلْ نَحْنُ قَوْمٌ مَسْكُرُونَ No, perhaps rather we
are a people that have been touched by
magic.
We're under some sort of spell or otherwise.
And this is why, by the way, in
this day and age, when people think they
disbelieve in God or want you to think
they disbelieve in God, and they ask you
for proof, you got to first assess are
they willing to accept proof.
Maybe you have to even break to them
the realization that you are not willing to
accept any proof.
So return the question back to them.
What would constitute proof?
Like if God came down, would you believe
it?
Many have said, no.
Maybe marijuana is in the air, right?
Maybe I'm high.
How would I know?
So thank you.
It's exactly what our verse says, right?
It's not about the absence of evidence.
It's about the presence of arrogance.
And so that arrogance has to be sort
of mitigated.
The hearts need to be sort of tenderized.
Fear and hope need to be evoked in
order for them to become willing, inshaAllah, if
there is hope in them, if Allah has
written life for their hearts, for them to
consider this.
And the other similar verse here, elsewhere in
the Quran, Allah says, وَلَوْ أَنَّنَا نَزَّلْنَا إِلَيْهِمُ
الْمَلَائِكَةِ And if we have sent down the
angels to them, وَكَلَّمَهُمُ الْمَوْتَى And the dead
come out and start speaking to them, وَحَشَرْنَا
عَلَيْهِمْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ And we gather all of
these remarkable events in front of them, قُبُلًا,
in front of them.
مَا كَانُوا لِيُؤْمِنُوا They still wouldn't believe.
إِلَّا أَنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهِ Unless Allah would permit
otherwise.
وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ يَجْهَلُونَ Rather, most of them are
choosing ignorance.
Rather, they are behaving foolishly.
And so there is a lot to be
said here, but just Allah Azawajal is pointing
out.
And the people of the Book, after the
Bayyinah came to them, only then did they
become divided.
So why didn't He mention the Mushrikeen here?
The first verse says, the people of the
Book and the Mushrikeen will not give up
their Kufr until the Bayyinah comes.
This verse says, and the people of the
Book, when the Bayyinah came to them, they
became divided.
There's no mention of Mushrikeen.
Why?
Any guesses?
Okay.
That could work.
Anybody else?
Huh?
Some of Ahlul Kitab became Muslim too?
So perhaps the reason is, that Ahlul Kitab
of all people should have become united because
of the Bayyinah.
Right?
Meaning, you became divided because you disputed over
your book.
Right?
And so when I send you a clarifying
book, if that was the only problem, right?
I sent you a clarifying book, you're supposed
to be united now.
You have the means to become united.
You all agree there's supposed to be a
God, we're supposed to be worshiping Him, there's
supposed to be morality, right?
But then it got a little foggy.
Okay, here's the clarifier.
Here's a reset.
Why are you becoming divided now?
There's more to the story here.
Check inside yourselves.
And so then you move on to the
next ayah which further clarifies this.
وَمَا أُمِرُوا إِلَّا لِيَعْبُدُوا اللَّهِ And they, these
people of the book who became divided, وَمَا
أُمِرُوا They were not commanded, meaning in this
scripture, in this revelation, they were not instructed
with anything except worshiping Allah.
See?
Where's the dispute here?
Worshiping Allah.
مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينِ Sincerely.
Sincerely.
حُنَفَا Inclined to Him.
وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَى And establishing the prayer.
وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَى وَيُؤْتُوا الزَّكَى And they pay the
zakah.
وَذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمَى And that is the straight
system.
You know, subhanAllah, this is, you have to
see because we recite this surah a lot,
right?
You have to see that these are the
answer to the ayah before it.
Like these are the proofs of Islam being
true.
ذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمَى It ends by saying, this
is the true religion, this is the upright
religion.
Why?
Because they were commanded.
By the way, if a religion is not
commanding you of anything, any system is not
commanding you of anything, it's not worth your
attention, right?
Something can be right today and wrong tomorrow,
wink wink, right?
If things are fluid, this is not what
you expect of a merciful God who's showing
people the way out of the dark, right?
How can a God be love, or a
God be mercy, or a God be just,
and He leaves you lost.
A God who gave you the planet, and
gave you oxygen, and gave you everything you
need for your physical survival, He will not
give you your greatest need, which is how
to live an upright life, how to have
a relationship with Him, how to do right
by Him, and by yourself, and by your
family, and by society.
If there's no instructions, means there's no guidance,
then this religion is not worth anything, right?
They were commanded.
What were they commanded?
To worship Allah.
There's nothing more rational or logical than the
one that we got everything from, we devote
our lives to.
And this is in every scripture, in every
book, and it should be.
Also because of our need.
You know, some people get caught up in
the question of like, why does God want
me to worship Him?
Why does God ask me to worship Him?
Make no mistake about it.
Allah wants you to worship Him.
Allah asks you to worship Him, for you,
not for Him.
Because you need it, not because He needs
it.
And because Allah عز و جل knows that
human beings will be tested in this life,
and of those tests, or the tests of
the whispers of Shaytan, in the verses about
worshiping Him, He follows them up exactly with
that premise.
So offset that whisper.
He says, وَمَا خَلَقْتُ الْجِنَّ وَالْإِنسَ إِلَّا لَيَعْبُدُونَ
I didn't create the jinn or the humans
except to worship Me.
مَا أُرِيدُ مِنْهُمْ رِزْقٌ وَمَا أُرِيدُ أَنْ يُطْعِمُونَ
I don't need for them to provide for
Me in any way.
I don't need for them to feed Me.
إِنَّ اللَّهُ وَالرَّزَّاقُتُ الْقُوَّةِ الْمَتِينُ He says, Allah
is the one who is the provider, the
bearer of great strength.
So it is because He has no needs
that He deserves to be worshiped.
He's the only true independent.
He's the only true constant, right?
And it is also because He is the
provider of all of our needs that we
should be worshiping Him.
It's ABCs, right?
For someone who is not conditioned, corroded, corrupted
by sort of the herd effect, He commands.
And the first command is to worship Him.
أَهْلُ الْكِتَابُ You should have been believing this
already.
No, you say you believe this.
Not you should be, you say you believe
this.
Then the next one it says, مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ
الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءٌ Sincerely to Him, devoutly sincere to
Him, right?
This is where they messed up.
This is where they messed up by the
way.
They worship Allah.
But it's not worshiping Allah that makes us
Muslim, right?
It's that we worship only Allah.
That's what makes us Muslim.
That's what made them mushrik.
That they allowed the rights of Allah to
be shared by others.
You know whether it is أَهْلُ الْكِتَابُ with
their priests and rabbis who legislate.
Or the so-called supposed sages of world
history that get like, they have good reception
from the heavens whenever the incense is right.
And they share these wisdoms with the world
that turn out to be not so wise
sometimes.
Or it is sort of the thinkers of
liberal thought in our day and age, right?
Whose ideas are like the idols that the
pagans used to worship.
Then you chew them up, right?
Same way the pagans used to chew up
their idols when they made them out of
dates.
Whatever it's going to be, right?
This is called shirk, right?
Allah's right to determine guidance.
This is where a lot of the shirk
happened.
It's not just in the belief that there
are sub-gods and semi-gods or lesser
gods that you worship, meaning you pray to.
It is also to give others the right
to dictate your life.
That's the crowding of Allah's right.
You know actually, Adi Ibn Hatib radiallahu anhu,
in the time of the Prophet ﷺ, when
the ayah came down in Surah Al-Ma
'idah, اتخذوا أحبارهم ورهبانهم أرباباً من دون الله
that they, the people of the book, they
accepted their ahbar, their scholars, monks, and ruhban.
So they're rabbis and they're monks.
They're learned and they're righteous, basically, as arbab,
as a rab, as a lord, من دون
الله instead of Allah or alongside Allah.
Glorified is Allah عَمَّا يُشْرِكُونَ over their shirk.
So Adi said, يا رسول الله because he
used to be Christian, we didn't used to
worship them, worship them.
The Prophet ﷺ said, didn't they make halal,
lawful, what Allah made haram, unlawful?
And didn't they make haram, unlawful, what Allah
made halal?
He said, yes.
He said, تِلْكَ عِبَادَتُهُمْ That is how you
worship them.
That is how you worship them.
That is worship.
You let Allah and them, right?
Allah says right, they say wrong.
Allah says wrong, they say right.
تِلْكَ عِبَادَتُهُمْ Okay.
مُخْلِصِينَ لَهُ الدِّينَ حُنَفَاءٌ وَيُقِيمُوا الصَّلَاةُ الزَّكَاةُ And
to devote yourself to Allah, there's like a,
there are ritual devotions to anchor and refresh
your belief.
And there are communal obligations like zakah and
looking out for the poor of society.
These are sort of basic, fundamental, universal truths.
What's the problem, right?
وَذَلِكَ الدِّينُ الْقَيِّمَةُ And this is the clear
religion.
The next ayah says, I'm speeding up now,
inshallah.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا The next verse now.
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ فِي
نَارِ جَهَنَّمَ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أُولَٰئِكَ هُمْ شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّةِ
Those who disbelieved from the people of the
book and the mushrikeen, and the pagans as
well are in the fire of *.
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا Abiding therein.
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا Abiding therein.
أُولَٰئِكَ هُمْ شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّةِ They are the worst
of creation.
Those who received the message and rejected it
are those who are the worst of creation.
Those who recognize the truth of Islam and
then reject it and die upon that, become
the worst of creation.
This verse is talking about the hereafter, right?
Every human being has human dignity.
وَلَقَدْ كَرَّمْنَا بَنِ آدَمٍ We have honored the
human beings, right?
And they are all entitled to our kindness
and justice, absolutely.
Except the aggressors amongst them, right?
But even the aggressors among them, obviously, you're
not supposed to be kind and sweet and
compassionate with someone lifting arms against you or
your wife or your Ummah, right?
So all of them are entitled to human
dignity, kindness and justice, right?
They are our brothers and sisters in humanity.
Except the aggressors among them, but the aggressors
amongst them, that will dictate what?
Our conduct with them in their state of
aggression.
But do we sort of declare their fate?
Absolutely not, no matter what.
Some of the greatest companions of the Prophet
ﷺ, some of the best of the creation
were at one point in time, not just
disbelievers, but disbelieving aggressors, militant aggressors against the
Ummah, right?
So just keep that in mind.
This is not some indefinite, the one who's
currently a disbeliever, شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّ is the worst
of creation.
No, no, this is speaking about the hereafter.
The hereafter, those who heard the message and
died upon rejecting what they've recognized to be
the truth from Allah, they are the worst
of the creation of Allah Azzawajal.
You know, one of the Salaf, the early
Muslims, he read the hadith of the Prophet
ﷺ, this hadith, well-known hadith, Sahih Muslim,
where he said, ﷺ, وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ I
swear by the one whose hands is my
soul, لا يَسْمَعُ بِأَحَدُ مِنْ هَذِي الْأُمَّةِ يَهُوْدِيٌّ
أَوْ نَصْرَنِي ثُمَّ لَا يُؤْمِنُ بِالَّذِي جِئْتُ بِهِ
إِلَّا وَكَانَ مِنْ أَهْلِ النَّارِ No one of
this nation will hear of me, whether they
be, even if they be a Jew or
a Christian, and they do not believe in
what I have been sent with, except that
they will be of the people of the
fire.
No one from this nation, be they a
Jew or a Christian, does that mean the
Jews and the Christians are from the Ummah?
He said that, O Salam, you can't say
no.
He said no one from this Ummah, even
a Jew or a Christian, that hears of
me and doesn't believe in what I came
with, except that they will be of the
people of the fire.
So how do you reconcile this?
Huh?
Sisters, help us.
Yes, it depends is always the right answer.
So the word Ummah has many usages.
There is the wider Ummah.
The Ummah meaning the nation to which the
Prophet is sent.
Every Prophet is sent to a nation, right?
So the nation to which a Prophet is
sent.
And in that sense, everybody is from the
Ummah.
From the time of the Prophet ﷺ till
the end of time.
In that definition, Donald Trump is from the
Ummah.
The crime minister of Israel is from the
Ummah.
Right?
In that sense.
Meaning the message of the Prophet ﷺ, he
is subject to it.
He is addressed by it.
That's all.
And then there is a group within that
which is Ummatul Ijabah.
The Ummah, that is the more common usage
now, that has accepted his message.
That believes in it.
That has responded to the invitation.
So there is the Ummah of Dawah.
Ummah that is being invited.
And there is the Ummah of Ijabah.
The Ummah that has accepted the invitation.
Right?
Which is what we usually use.
But that's the idea.
But the point is, no one from this
Ummah hears of me, hears of me.
That's important.
Your liability is not activated until you heard
the message, you understood the message, and only
Allah knows.
We're talking about hereafter.
Right?
And then you died upon rejecting it.
Right?
Your final state was a state of rejection.
May Allah protect us from that.
So one of the early Muslims heard this
hadith, and he said, I never hear a
hadith of the Prophet ﷺ except that I
find it confirmed in the Qur'an.
Like how well they always point to each
other.
He's not saying he's dismissive of the hadith.
He's saying it's amazing how they're so consistent.
He said, And so I looked in the
Book of Allah and I found it in
the Qur'an when Allah Azzawajal said, وَمَنْ
يَكْفُرْ بِهِ مِنَ الْأَحْزَابِ فَالنَّارُ مَوْعِدُهُ And whomever
disbelieves in it or disbelieves in him, it
works both ways.
Because even if you say it, disbelieves in
the Qur'an, the Qur'an points to
Muhammad.
Or believes in him, disbelieves in him, him
is Muhammad ﷺ.
Either way.
Whomever disbelieves in him, فَالنَّارُ مَوْعِدُهُ then the
fire is his appointment or the fire is
his promised abode.
He is promised the fire.
Then the next ayah goes on to say,
اِنَّ الَّذِينَ I'm sorry, there's one more point
that we wanted to cover very quickly.
We said, Those who die upon disbelief while
having recognized the truth of Islam are the
worst of creation.
But the worst of them, the worst of
the worst are who?
Those who not only disbelieved but got in
the way of others believing.
You see, we said this surah is primarily
not just responding to the pagans casting doubt
about the Prophet ﷺ, but the Jews who
are enabling them, who are feeding them talking
points to respond to the Prophet ﷺ.
Those are the worst of the worst of
creation, right?
That's why Allah Azzawajal said, اِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا
وَصَدُّوا عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ زِدْنَاهُمْ عَذَابًا فَوْقَ الْعَذَابِ
Those who disbelieve and deter from the path
of Allah, we increase them in torment, we
compound for them the torment on top of
their torment.
It gets doubled.
It's not just one undifferentiated category.
Okay, now let's move on.
The next verse says, اِنَّ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا
الصَّالِحَاتِ أُولَٰئِكَهُمْ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّةِ Those who believe and
work righteousness, they are the best of creation.
جَزَاؤُهُمْ عِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ I'll just combine these two
verses for time.
Their reward with their Lord.
جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِيَ الْأَنْهَارِ Are gardens underneath
which rivers flow.
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا Abiding therein.
أَبَدَا Forever.
رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ Allah is pleased
with them, and they are pleased with Him.
ذَٰلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ رَبَّهِ These are those who
fear their Lord.
This is sort of the basic meaning here,
right?
So there's a few things to mention.
The first of them is the difference between
this ayah and the ayat before it.
The ayat before it say those who disbelieved
from the people of the book and the
pagans are in the fire.
خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا Abiding therein.
This one says, those who believe in work
righteousness are going to paradise.
Abiding therein أَبَدَا Abiding therein forever.
That's one difference.
So it doesn't say أَبَدَا It doesn't say
forever with the fire.
It says forever with paradise.
Why?
Some scholars say this is a subtle indication.
This is a minority view, to be honest.
But it does exist.
And it's reported about some of the sahabah.
And Ibn Al-Qayyim r.a, he spent
over 20 pages defending this view and championing
it.
But it is a very minority view among
the scholars.
I'm just mentioning it here.
Not just for the sake of academic honesty,
or intellectual honesty, but also for the sake
of the fact that some people until their
iman becomes stronger to trust Allah's justice, they
may find some peace momentarily in knowing this
opinion exists.
That the hellfire may not be forever.
That's all.
Okay?
And so the scholars agree.
By the way, other places in the Qur
'an do say أَبَدَا They do say أَبَدَا
about the fire.
But not everywhere.
Right?
And so all scholars agree.
There is no discrepancy whatsoever on a few
things.
Let's just keep that in mind.
Let's set up these guardrails.
Number one, paradise is forever.
No, paradise is forever.
And those who enter paradise, may we enter
paradise, will be there forever.
Case closed.
Zero discrepancy there.
No controversy whatsoever.
Okay.
Number two, those guilty of kufr, of disbelief,
meaning they recognize the truth and rejected it,
or died in a state of rejection of
it, they will never enter paradise.
Agreement.
Another agreement.
The disagreement is where?
The minority opinion is where?
There is a minority opinion on whether or
not they will exit the fire.
They're not going to paradise.
But some have said that the fire itself,
at a time will come when it will
cease to exist.
Meaning those who remain in it will also
cease to exist along with it.
Is that clear?
Just to clarify the opinion, what it actually
is saying.
Got it?
Good.
This is attributed once again to Abdullah al
-Mas'ud, radiyallahu anhu.
And Ibn al-Qayyim rahimallah is very famously
known for defending it and among others, but
most famously him.
Okay.
So that's the first difference.
What else can we say here?
Let us just mention one final point and
then just close.
Which is why did Allah azza wa jal
say here those who disbelieve are in the
fire, they are the worst of creation.
Those who believe and work righteously are the
best of creation and their reward is this
wonderful reward.
Right?
Paradise and Allah's pleasure which is even greater
than paradise.
Right?
Because everyone can do good deeds but can
you guarantee your good deeds are pleasing to
Allah azza wa jal?
Never fully.
Right?
Okay.
Anyway.
But in both of these, it says, أُولَٰئِكَهُمْ
شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّ These are the worst of creation.
Category one.
These are the best of creation.
This is category two.
However, it doesn't say they are the best
of the خَلْق which is creation.
Or the worst of the خَلْق, the creation.
It also doesn't say the best of the
دَوَاب or the worst of the دَوَاب.
That exists elsewhere in the Qur'an.
إِنَّ شَرَّ الدَّوَابِ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ The worst of
the دَوَاب, the worst beasts.
Meaning the worst creatures with Allah.
Other verses say they have ears they don't
hear with and eyes they don't see with.
They are like cattle.
Herd effect.
Socialization, right?
بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلْ Rather they are more misguided.
أُولَٰئِكَهُمْ الْغَافِلُونَ Because they are heedless.
They don't use the faculties.
Right?
So it's not saying the worst of creatures.
It's not saying the worst of خَلْق.
It says they're the worst of the بَرِيَّ
What is بَرِيَّ?
The usage of the word بَرِيَّ is operative
here.
So you know one of Allah's names, what
is helpful to understand the beautiful nuance here
is one of Allah عز و جل's name
is الخالق, the creator.
And the other name is البارئ.
البارئ And I don't know the good word
for البارئ in English.
But سورة الحديد in the end, sorry.
A little bit of a zoom out, you'll
appreciate it inshallah.
Allah عز و جل says, هُوَ اللَّهُ الْخَالِقُ
الْبَارِئُ الْمُصَوِّرُ He is Allah, who is الخالق,
the creator.
البارئ, I have no idea how they translate
it.
To be honest.
But either way we have to explain it.
المصوِّر, the fashioner.
So الخَلْق is really to bring something out
of non-existence.
To bring something into existence.
So Allah created us out of what?
Out of nothing.
Then out of mud.
There was no person there.
And then He is the مصوِّر, He fashioned
you, gave you your سورة.
He imaged you, He gave you your image.
Right?
Internally, externally, the point.
He fashioned you.
سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى I'm obviously using this hand.
I'm going this out of habit, obviously.
The hand of Allah is not like our
hand.
But in the middle here is البارئ.
So He is الخالق, البارئ, المصوِّر.
They said the reason for this order, this
sequence, is that البارئ means the one who
removes you to a better state.
Removes you to a better state.
Where did they get this from?
So بَرِئَ مِنَ الْمَرَضِ بَرِئَ means to recover,
to become cured.
بَرِئَ بَرِئَ means to become cured, to get
removed to a better state.
Right?
Or the ayah in the Qur'an says,
فَتُوبُوا إِلَى بَارِئِكُمْ Make tawbah, repent to البارئ,
to the one who can remove you from
that state.
You get it?
Okay.
So obviously from being mud to being a
handsome human being, handsome, intelligent, you have to
get removed from this muddy state.
Right?
You get transformed into that.
Right?
Transformation.
And so it does mean creation, but it
means creation as it was intended, which is
to be special.
Allah chose the children of Adam.
So when He says, أُولَٰئِكَهُمْ شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّ They
are the worst of the creation.
This is sort of like an indirect or
a subtle gesture towards the fact that you
were supposed to be better.
You had a scripture.
You had a book.
And it was the reason for your division.
And it was the reason for your rebellion
because of your corruptness.
Does that make sense?
That's the idea.
And you could have been better than the
angels, but you chose to be lesser than
the animals.
That's what happened.
You know, Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah, he reports this
from some of the early Muslims.
He says, Abu Bakr ibn Abdul Aziz from
the Hanbalis and others.
He says, Allah created angels, humans, animals.
Right?
He created angels with intelligence and no desires,
and animals with desires and no intelligence, and
humans with intelligence and desires.
Right?
He says, And so, if the human being
uses his intelligence to restrain his desires, he
becomes superior to the angels.
Because the angels did not have any patience
to exhibit because they had no desires, pressing
them in another direction.
So you've outdone the angels.
Right?
And whomever allows his desires to overcome his
intelligence, then he becomes worse than the animals.
Because the animals didn't have any intelligence to
restrain them.
This is why the ayah says, أُولَٰئِكَ الْأَنْعَامُ
They are like herds of animals, cattle, livestock.
بَلْ هُمْ أَضَلْ Rather, they are more astray.
Because you were equipped to do better.
You could have been بَرِئًا You could have
been cured from this, from this animalistic way.
And it is also to suggest, as the
scholars have said, that the most harmful people
to humanity are those who distance them, who
deter them from the wahi of Allah عز
و جل.
Because that is the cure.
It's the revelation that you're getting in the
way of people accessing.
And the most beneficial people to humanity are
those who bring them closer to the wahi,
to the revelation.
You know, you even find this in the
Qur'an, this contrast, that Allah تبارك وتعالى
said, إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنزَلْنَا مِنَ الْبَيِّنَاتِ
وَالْهُدَىٰ مِن بَعْدِ مَا بَيَّنَّاهُ لِلنَّاسِ فِي الْكِتَابِ
أُولَٰئِكَ لَعَنُوهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَعَنُهُمُ اللَّعِنُونَ Those who conceal,
what we sent down to the people of
clear proofs and guidance after we've made it
evident for the world, these are those who
will be cursed by Allah and the angels,
cursed by Allah and cursed by all those
who can curse, right?
إِلَىٰ الَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَأَصْلَحُوا Except those who repent
and rectify وَبَيَّنُوا and clarify, share the message,
then Allah will accept their repentance.
Then the verse after is أَصْلَطُ الْبَقَرَةِ Then
the verse after it says what?
Those who die like this, having concealed the
message, upon them is the لعنة, the curse
of Allah and the angels and all of
humanity.
That's one image, right?
These are the worst and worst of people.
Those who get in the way of Allah,
these are worse than people who keep oxygen
away from people.
These are worse than people that keep food
away from people.
These are worse than people that steal money
from people, those who get in the way
of the revelation.
On the other hand, you have the Prophet
ﷺ saying what?
إِنَّ اللَّهَ وَمَلَائِكَتَهُ وَأَهْلَ سَمَاوَاتِهِ وَأَهْلَ أَرْضِهِ حَتَّى
النَّمْلَةَ فِي حُجْرِهَا وَحَتَّى الْحُوتُ فِي الْمَاءِ لَيُصَلُّونَ
عَلَى مُعَلِّمِ النَّاسِ الْخَيْرِ Allah and His angels
and the residents of the skies and the
earth, everybody, even the ant in its hole,
even the fish in the water, they pray
for, they send their blessings for, the one
who's teaching people goodness.
Look at the contrast.
Cursed by the universe, prayed for and blessed
by the universe, if you will, I'm using
the term blessed here loosely, by the universe
because of what?
Whether you're getting in the way of revelation
or you're paving the way and sharing revelation.
أُولَٰئِكَهُمْ خَيْرُ الْبَرِيَّ These are the best of
creation.
أُولَٰئِكَهُمْ شَرُّ الْبَرِيَّ These are the worst of
creation.
Well, here, right?
وَاللَّهُ تَعَالَى أَعْلَمُ وَصَلَى اللَّهُ وسَلِّمُ بَارَكًا نَبِيِّنَا
مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ