Mustafa Abu Rayyan – 64 Tafseer Surah alBaqarah Verse 260
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AI: Transcript ©
Tonight inshallah to Allah we're continuing from ayah
260
of Surah Al Baqarah.
We
discussed the final lesson.
The story of
the man whom Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
took his life for a 100 days and
then brought him back to life.
And the lesson before that it was the
story between Amrud
and Ibrahim.
And
all of these they
came after Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said,
That Allah
is the
of the believers.
And that Allah
demonstrates
that
through these stories. When Allah tells us that
He is the protector
and the guardian of those whom He believes.
Then Allah tells us how He protected and
guarded
the Ibrahim alayhi salam against Nimrud and how
Allah gave him the ability to defeat Nimrud
intellectually.
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells the story
of a man
who Allah increased his
in life after death
by himself dying for a 100 years and
then coming back to life and now we
have a similar story with Ibrahim alayhi salatu
sallam.
Allah
And remember and mention
when Ibrahim said
Oh my rob, oh my lord,
show me
how do you bring back,
how do you give life
back to the dead?
How do you bring back the dead to
life?
So Ibrahim is asking this question to who?
To Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
Now what's interesting is
if you could just go 2 ayers back,
you have Ibrahim alaihi salatu wa sallam
entering into a debate
with Namrut
saying
My lord is the one that gives life
and takes it. So clearly Ibrahim already believes
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala can give life
and take life. And he believes in Allah's
power. He is the great prophet of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So why then ask the question? Why
say
Why say, Oh Allah, show me how you
revive the dead?
What you have to understand, my brothers and
sisters, is
faith and iman
or certainty and is
not
on the same level.
If I tell you all
something
and you trust me, you will believe that.
That will not be the same as when
you see it.
That will not be the same as when
you experience it.
If I,
tell a whole lot of emotion here that
in my pocket is a particular I don't
know. As what's your favorite chocolate,
is it what? Snickers? Twix? What is it?
Do you have a favorite? Twix.
If I say to Marcin,
I have Twix,
bars in my pocket.
Why would I lie about that? He may
believe me, he may not believe me. Right?
If he's convinced I'm telling the truth
because he trusts me and he believes that
I'm not lying,
then he will have a belief, a that
I have that in my pocket. Correct?
Then if I take it and put it
on the table,
and he actually sees it, will his increase?
It will increase.
Now when he takes it and I eat
it, will it increase even more? It will
increase even more. Allah mentions this type of
certainty levels and this yakin levels in the
Quran.
You have something called
and then you have
Each one of us here believes in Allah,
believes in the hereafter, believes in Jannah. That
belief that we have, that certainty we have,
that there is a Jannah, that we will
meet Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, that's knowledge, that's
in our hearts. We believe
it. But when we see it,
when we stand there, inshallah ta'ala one day
and we see the gates of Jannah, that
will be a different types of Yaqeen. And
when you finally enter it and maybe all
will enter it, that will be
So
None.
So here you have Ibrahim already has.
He believes Allah is the lord. He believe
Allah is able to do all things. He
literally says,
oh my lord. The word rub. You know
what that means? The one that's able to
do everything. The one that sustains everything. The
one that controls everything. So he's already saying
which means he clearly believes Allah can revive
your death.
He said it to Namrud.
My lord is the one that brings that
gives life and gives death.
So when he's asking,
he wants to increase his yaqeen. He wants
to what?
Increase it. He's not against it, he wants
to increase it. And this,
this is very normal and if fact is
encouraged
when Musa alaihis salatu wa salam
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala chose prophet Musa
to be someone
that hears Allah Almighty. Allah spoke to him
directly, which is why prophet Musa is known
as Kalimullah.
The one Allah spoke to directly.
Musa wanted more.
He said,
oh Allah, I want to see you. This
is not Musa saying, oh Allah, I need
to see you or else I don't believe.
No. It's I wanna increase my iman even
more. I wanna increase my yaqeen even more
because al yaqeen can increase.
Right?
Which is why
this is the type of question that Ibrahim
asked. Oh Allah, show me how you revive
the dead. And seeing something is not the
same as hearing something.
And a great example of that is
when the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam told
us
what happened between Musa and his people.
So as you all know and you are
familiar with the story of Musa alaihis salam
when he went to receive the Torah from
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala and he took with
him a group of,
of his tribesmen, the bina Israel. What while
he was gone, what did the bina Israel
do?
This is a heinous crime. What did they
do? They start worshiping what?
The calf. They start worshiping the calf.
When does Musa
find out
that his people started committing shirk?
He finds out to Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
Before he even comes to them, he already
knows that they're doing shirk. He already knows.
So then he rushes back to his people,
then he actually sees them doing it, and
then he throws
the tablets.
Now
what changed? He already knew they were doing
shirk.
What changed?
He saw it. That's why the prophet
said
hearing about something is not the same as
seeing with your own eyes. Right? So when
Ibrahim is saying, O Allah, show me how
you revive a death. This is a, attempt
of Ibrahim to want him to even increase
his even
more, to increase his belief even more. And
Allah asks him,
Do you not believe?
We have,
a a, it looks like a Corsa
DS
67,
blocking
Barclafiq.
Do you not believe?
Which begs the question, if you already believe
with certainty that Allah is able to revive
the dead, then what do you want?
He said
but I want
my heart to be stronger in faith.
That iman becomes even more tranquil. In other
words, you Allah, I want to increase my
iman.
I already believe that you can revive your
death because you're all powerful but I wanna
see with my own eyes.
It is said
that, one of the narrations of the scholars
of tafsir, they mentioned that Ibrahim alaihis salam
was walking on the shore and he came
across
a deceased animal
and others were feast crows and and birds
were feasting on it. Other things were feasting
on it. And he realized this animal is
dead, and many of its parts have been
consumed by others.
And how will Allah
not does Allah have the power, but how
will it actually happen? How will this
be brought back? And how does Allah bring
back the dead?
Then Allah
accepted
it from Ibrahim, this prayer that he made
when he said
Oh my lord, show me how you revive
your dead.
Now what's interesting is what's important to pause
on is this was a dua.
Oh my lord show me how you revive
your death.
Right? He used the word rub and the
word rub is very integral in dua.
The word rub when you're making dua
That word rub uses a lot in your
dua.
Because what you'll notice is in the Quran
most of the time the prophets when they're
calling upon Allah they say rub. They say,
oh my lord. Oh my
And when you're making you're the same thing.
Allah says,
Right. Always they use the word So in
your dua, among the ethical of dua is
that you use the the the statement You
Rabbi. In fact, there's a famous hadith where
the prophet talks
about a man,
and this man was fulfilling all the conditions
for his dua to be accepted,
but
his dua was still not accepted
and he was filling all the conditions. He
was raising his hands. He was being humble.
He was saying.
But
of course he was consuming haram and wearing
haram and these were things that led for
it to not be accepted. But what you
also learn from the hadith is what to
do including using the word
oh my lord.
Show
me how to revive your dead.
Did you not believe, oh Ibrahim?
But, of course I believe Allah.
But I want my heart to be tranquil.
I wanna increase my iman. I wanna go
from to
Then Allah
says to him,
Here, we enter into what Ibrahim experienced and
what he saw. And like I mentioned I
think this is the last yes. This is
definitely. This is the last story
of a resurrection
that is in Surat Al Baqarah.
There were 5 main ones.
A story of people dying and then being
resurrected.
The first one was the man with the
story of the cow where he killed
his nephew or his nephew killed him and
then Allah ordered the bir Israel to take
a portion of the cow hit to the
deceased. He woke up and pointed at the
killer. Right? This was the first time in
Surat Al Baqarah where you see Allah revive
someone back to life and then you had
of course the story of the Benu Israel
or Allah
Subhanahu
Wa
Ta'ala. Them revived you after you've lied. Right?
They were killed and they that Allah revived
them. Then you had a story about
the many, many, many people that fled a
town
trying to escape death. They were trying to
escape death, and scholars differ over what they
were fleeing from. Was it battle? Was it
a list? Main thing is a whole town
runs fleeing death, but Allah says,
Allah told them to die and they all
dropped dead.
He brought them back to life. And it's
another story where Allah showed his power of
bringing
the dead back to life. And then you
had the story of the last lesson where
it's the man that was walking in a
town that was completely abandoned, destroyed, and then
he said,
how is Allah going to revive this after
it's been gone? And death
that Allah
killed him for a 100 years, and he
was dead.
Then he resurrected him. And finally this is
the final story of Ibrahim alaihis salam.
I mentioned these are all very miraculous and
amazing stories
of someone dying and then coming back to
life. But we also experience that and Allah
mentions Allah of time in the Quran. Isn't
Allah the one that revives the earth after
it dies? The trees after they die. So
we see a version of resurrection every single
time when the seasons when the season changes.
And the lord that can do that can
clearly bring back whomever he wants from, death
to life. And this is of course believing
in Allah's and Allah's power.
Now,
take 4
birds.
Allah did not talk about what type of
birds they were.
The scholars
of the fasir, you'll find mention of this.
They mention that
it was a
a peacock,
a,
rooster,
a pigeon,
and a crow.
Very different birds.
And
some say it wasn't a it was a
it wasn't,
a pigeon but a hawk.
And each of these birds represents a characteristics
of the human beings that is blameworthy.
Each of these birds represents a characteristics
of the human being that's blameworthy.
Let's see if you guys can figure out
which one is which. What does the peacock
represent?
What does it what does it like to
do?
Arrogance and vanity.
And,
that's 1.
And
the rooster
likes to
reproduce often,
and mate often and pair often.
This is again
a a desire within man
and and that is
if done excessively can be what also?
Blameworthy.
And then you have
one of the birds,
it's the final characteristic was to constantly eat
and this is the seeking of rizq and
food constantly.
And,
so they mention some of these characteristics of
each of these birds.
But
the evidence
that suggests exactly how what kind of birds
they were is they are different wayat but
there wasn't a lot of focus on it
in the Quran and the sahaba didn't necessarily
mention often. And I think it's not important
because the point of the story is what
is the resurrection.
So, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells them to
gather 4 birds.
Then Allah
says, incline them towards you. Bring them close.
Bring them close. Examine them, see them, experience
them, see them living.
And also get to know them
because
then he was told to slaughter them and
cut them into pieces.
Right?
And he was also told
to mix
it or mix them all up
to make it as difficult as possible. Right?
And then put each one in a separate
mountain or hill.
And then call them and Allah said they
will come to you in haste. They will
come to you
and could mean they will come to you
rushing. It can mean they'll come to you
flying.
It can mean they will come to you
walking. And that's one of the strongest words
implies
that their feet were on the floor.
And some of the relevant mentioned that the
reason for this is is because
the soul that was put back into them
is a new soul. It's almost like a
bird trying to learn how to walk again.
And Allah said that they they literally came
to him walking so he can see them,
examine them. Are they the same bird and
really
experience
the power of
Allah In any case, Allah
allowed prophet Ibrahim to experience this and bring
these birds
back to
life.
Which mountains were they? Right?
Were they some say there was
in all directions. In the 4 different
directions. North, south, east and west. Others say
they were just around the mountains. The point
of it was to show Ibrahim
the the way Allah
brings to that back to life. And then
Allah says,
and know and Allah. Indeed Allah is Aziz
an almighty
hakeem all wise. What's interesting is there's a
narration from the prophet
where the prophet said
That if anyone because there there is an
easy assumption that one can make and I
briefly mentioned this in the beginning. That was
Ibrahim doubtful of the resurrection? Is that why
he asked?
Was he doubtful of the resurrection and is
that why he asked? The prophet
nation. We are more deserving of doubt than
Ibrahim. Meaning if the meaning,
Ibrahim would never doubt. Right?
Just like you would never doubt
Rasoolullah Muhammad al Salamabi certainty,
Ibrahim is even more deserving
of that. That he it wasn't an issue
of doubting
more so than it was an issue of
wanting to increase his iman and increase his
yaqeen. You'll find a similar situation with the
disciples of Isa alaihis salam.
The disciple of Isa alaihis salam. But even
the way they asked wasn't the best way.
When they said
Right?
When they said is your lord able to
descend upon us a
from the a plate full of food from
the heavens.
Right? But what did they say?
Is your lord able? And that's not the
right way to ask. Compare that to Ibrahim.
Oh Allah show me how you,
revive the dead. Right? But what did the
reason say to them?
Fair Allah, if you believers.
And then they said, with the reason
we want our hearts to be tranquil. So
the, the statement is the same that they
want their hearts to be tranquil and filled
with faith. But,
of course the approach of Musa'a'alice of the
approach of, Allah Musa'an of Ibrahim alaihis salam
was much much much better.
Now
there's a narration where the prophet that same
narration where the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam
says,
we if
don't ever assume
and the prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam would
always try
to
he would always try
The prophet
would always try to ensure that we see
the other prophets in the best light possible,
in the best light possible, which is why
the prophet is saying, just in case anyone
reads the aya of Ibrahim asking
starts thinking that,
he was doubtful,
he says, no. If anyone wants to be
doubtful, it would have been asked meaning just
as it's impossible for Rasulullah to be doubtful,
it is just as impossible,
if not more so, for Ibrahim who's the
of Allah, who's the one whom we all
are told to follow, who's the greatest prophet
after prophet Muhammad alaihi wasallam. For him to
be doubtful, it was a question of increasing
his, his yaqeen. But in that same hadith,
when he says,
he also mentioned other prophets. And he says,
for example,
may Allah have mercy on Lord. Lord made
a made a statement
in Surat Uhud where he says
When he was,
frustrated
with his people and the crimes they were
committing and the sin they were engaged in
and how they were not really listening to
him, he said,
If only I had strength and meant to
overpower you because he was alone
and his family. If only I could do
something
or I could take myself
a powerful support. So this is a statement
that Laud alaihi wa sallam made in frustration.
He's, I wish I had support with me.
Rasulullah alaihis salam said may Allah have mercy
on hold. He did have support with him.
Who was his support?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. And then he said,
Rahim Allahu Yusuf or he mentioned Yusuf as
well. He said, ask for Yusuf
when he went to prison. When he went
to prison,
as you know the story, he was accused
of something he didn't do.
Then he stayed in prison for many years.
And as he was in prison for many
years,
finally,
the interpretation
of the king's dream was required.
And one of the people that was with
the king
knew about Yusuf because he once interpreted the
dream for him while he was imprisoned with
him. You all know the story.
Then they come to Yusuf
and they say, come out of prison. The
king wants for you to interpret his dream.
Did Yusuf agree? He said, no. I'm not
going to come out of the prison. He
said,
I am not gonna go
to anyone
unless I am cleared. My name is cleared.
So rasulullah Muhammad alaihi wa sallam said, may
Allah have mercy on Yusuf, I would have
left.
Meaning,
so Yusuf after many years in prison
had the patience to stay even longer until
his name is cleared. What he didn't want
was because the reason that the king is
asking him, is it because they believe he's
innocent or because he didn't interpret the dream?
He didn't intend to interpret the dream. Yusuf
said no. He said no. If I'm leaving
this prison, it will be because I am
cleared of my of the accusations.
So rasulullah said if I was in Yusuf's
place I would have left because it was
an opportunity for his freedom
regardless of how that may came to be.
So rasulullah in the in the hadith when
he mentioned different prophets, he started by saying
Ibrahim was not what? Was not doubtful. But
rather he wanted to increase his yakin. Yakin.
Let's read the eye one more time.
When Ibrahim said, Ibrahim sometimes in some is
Ibrahim. Ibrahim.
Both are correct.
Rabbi, oh my lord. Show me how you
give life to the dead. Allah says,
do you not believe?
Ibrahim said
Yes but I want to be stronger in
faith. I want to go from
to
Allah
says, and know Ibrahim that indeed Allah is
Aziz, Allah is almighty,
Hakimun,
all wise.
The following ayat and brothers and sisters are
connected and it's all about sadaqa and charity
and giving others. And inshallah will try and
connect those ayahs all together and speak about
a lot of the, the etiquettes, and
the related to giving the reward of it,
why we should do it, how we should
do it, how often should we do it,
etcetera. We cover that next week. Today, we'll
stick we'll stick it with this one.