Omar Suleiman – Tafsir Surat Al-Mulk – Part 2
AI: Summary ©
The transcript discusses the complexities of creating and growing food from animals, protecting from stormy conditions, and using language to create warfare. It emphasizes the need for everyone to be aware of their behavior and consider its consequences, as well as the importance of learning to handle one's behavior and the desire for everyone to be present in the future. The list is not a conversation or dialogue, it is a list of numbers and characters.
AI: Summary ©
Alhamdulillah, wassalatu wassalamu ala rasulillah wa ala alihi
wa sahbihi wa man wala.
So subhanallah, this surah, as I told you,
literally we could have spent an entire session
on tabaraka and what that means.
Tabaraka ar-Rahman.
So now when you hear mashallah, tabaraka Allah,
you know what you're saying bi-idhnillahi ta
'ala.
And when you start your salah, by the
way, what's the dua that you make?
Watabarakasmuka.
So it combines what we said, tasbih, saying
subhanallah, as well as tabaraka Allah, because the
connotations are different for both of those statements,
yet both of them are exclusively to Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And they beautifully branch out.
Subhanallah, freeing any type of, or freeing Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala from any imperfection that's
associated to Him, glorifying Him in His uniqueness
and His perfection.
Tabaraka Allah, referring to Allah as the source
of all blessing, and anything is blessed only
by Him subhanahu wa ta'ala, watabaraka ar
-Rahman.
Now, what makes this surah so beautiful, and
the whole Quran, is coherent.
And honestly, I don't think there's anything that
quite raises the iman of a person, like
properly reading the Quran, the words of Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala, and appreciating the structure,
appreciating the beauty, and appreciating the implications, and
the perfection of the words, and the perfection
of the placement of the words.
So, we talked about the beginning, and then
the consequences of the choice that you make
with the seen and the unseen.
So how you interact with the seen and
the unseen, and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
calls you specifically to ponder upon the seen,
so that you can come to the conclusion
that there is an unseen God that creates
this perfection, as you see it, right?
Now, as Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gives
you the first half of the surah, look
what happens at this turn of the surah.
After Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells you
about what you see, and what you perceive,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then gives you
His perspective of His creation.
So this is what you're seeing, so you
have the imagery of a person that's standing
outside, and looking around.
And you know, subhanAllah, if you watch the
Jannah trailer again, and again, and again, which
I hope you will inshaAllah as you share
it, but that scene of a person who's
looking around and lost, who sees everything as
scattered particles around them, wa huwa haseer, strained
vision, fatigued, confused, lost.
The most miserable people in the world are
the people that don't know why they're here.
You could give them all the luxury of
the world that you want.
They could try to fill that void, but
the most miserable people in this world are
the people that don't know why they're here.
Looking around, confused, and lost.
Wa huwa haseer, strained eyesight.
Now subhanAllah, one thing I think about that,
I remember reading something that was just really
profound, and I actually gave a khutbah about
this topic.
Vacations in classical times were actually not a
thing.
The concept of a vacation is a modern
concept to make up for unhealthy work-life
balances that we live today.
But if you read at any point in
history, the idea of a vacation was not
a thing.
Because people already factored in certain things, right?
How they travel the earth, how they take
time out, how they divide their lives.
Now you work too hard, and you're under
this illusion that if you take three days
off, you're going to be happy, but the
problem is that after you take your vacation,
you come back, and because of the work
that you missed while you were on vacation,
you're even more miserable than before you took
the vacation.
So that's one element of it from a
time perspective.
I'm not saying that you shouldn't take vacations.
I'm just saying it's a modern concept.
But the other element that's profound.
You know, if you take a moment and
you appreciate the sunrise and the sunset.
Believe it or not, it happens in Detroit
too.
Sometimes the sun rises and sets here, and
you can see it sometimes.
Alright?
Most of the time, you don't take the
moment to appreciate it unless you're on vacation.
So I'm going to watch the sunrise, and
watch the sunset, and it looks so gorgeous
and majestic.
But it was the same sun that was
outside your door every day of your life.
You just never took a moment to look
at it, and to glorify Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
Why?
You had a mindset.
While you were traveling, you had the mindset
of, I'm going to look with the purpose
of appreciating beauty and derive tranquility through that.
And Allah is saying, the believer is always
like that.
The believer is always paying attention to the
elements around them, and coming to a place
of glorifying Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And everything mentioned in the first part of
the surah, were things that are observable, things
that are seen, things that connect you to
His Majesty, and to His sustenance, and how
that sustenance is part of His mercy.
Now the perspective switch.
Okay?
أَلَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ اللَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ Does
He who created not know, while He is,
the subtle and the acquainted.
لَطِيفُ خَبِيرُ Ever subtle, ever acquainted.
Subhanallah, this is the perfect coherence of the
Quran.
And if I rush, it's just because I'm
trying to convey as much as I can
in a short period of time.
But, what were the first two names of
Allah that we heard in this surah?
العزيز والغفور And if you take that section
afterwards, everything fits either to the name العزيز
or to the name الغفور.
العزيز, Allah does not test you for purposelessness,
and He is also عزيز, He doesn't need
you to believe.
He doesn't require that.
He punishes whom He wills, He rewards whom
He wills.
His honor is completely independent of anyone else.
And whoever believes in Him is عزيز only
by virtue of believing in العزيز.
So His honor is preserved, He punishes whom
He wills, He rewards whom He wills.
He is too honorable to test without purpose,
and He is too great to be moved
by those of no purpose.
عزيز, غفور إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ الْغَيْبُ لَهُمْ
مَغْفِرَةٌ وَأَجْرٌ كَبِيرٌ He's غفور, He's forgiving.
Now, you'll notice that the next section of
the Quran, of surah al-Mulk, all fit
اللطيف الخبير.
These two names will now shape the next
section.
So Allah gave you two new names of
Himself.
And likely, by the way, when you study
the order of revelation, I haven't specifically studied
this particular ayah, but you gotta understand, they're
just being introduced to these names of Allah.
So you've heard the name al-Lateef, you've
heard the name al-Khabir, but they're just
being introduced.
وَهُوَ الَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ He is al-Lateef al
-Khabir.
أَنَا يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ So He already established
that He created, and that He created perfectly,
and that everything functions within a system, the
seen and the unseen, and in a way
that you can appreciate even with that which
He has given you exposure to.
And nothing is merely decoration.
وَلَقَدْ زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِعٍ وَجَعَلْنَاهَا رُجُومًا
لِّلشَّيَاطِينَ Even the things that might seem like
just decorative elements, they also serve a purpose
because Allah does not create without purpose.
Then Allah says, don't you think He then
knows what He created better than anybody else
knows what is created?
وَهُوَ الْنَطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ So He knows your internal
parts.
He knows your thoughts.
He knows the seen and the unseen of
even the observable things around you.
SubhanAllah, as microscopic as science allows us to
get with the world around us, there will
always be something more to discover.
You can never get too microscopic, and however
microscopic you get, you will never get to
what Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala sees.
Okay?
So He knows you, and He knows what
He created.
وَهُوَ الْنَطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ Now, so this switch happens,
right?
Here's what you should be seeing and hearing,
now here's what Allah sees and hears.
Here's what you should be seeing and hearing,
and now here's what Allah sees and hears.
Another thing to point out here which is
really important, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does
this in Surah Qaf as well.
I keep relating Surah Al-Mulk to Surah
Qaf because the timing of revelation is similar,
and so the tone is very similar as
well.
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ وَنَعْنَمُنَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُ وَنَحْنُ
أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ Before Allah talks
about the heedlessness of man, Allah talks about
how acquainted and it's very intimate.
I hear what you whisper to yourself.
I'm closer to you than your jugular vein.
مَا يَلْفِظُ مِنْ قَوْلٍ إِلَّا لَدَيْهِ رَقِيمٌ عَدِيدٌ
Everything you say is perfectly preserved.
I know you, I see you, I hear
you.
Then Allah brings it out, right?
Surah Al-Mulk kind of happens in the
opposite way but still the same format.
So, Al-Lateef, Al-Khabir.
The deepest perception that you can possibly have
as a human being through the ghafla of
this world, through the heedlessness of this world
is the perception of Allah's sight upon you.
And that is what drives you constantly.
If you're in tune as a believer with
Allah's sight upon you, you're aware of it,
Allah's sight upon you, and that drives you,
it will lead you to taqwa and to
ihsan.
It will lead you to a place of
leaving off that which is prohibited and then
acting lovingly for that which is extra.
Because this is what ihsan becomes.
تَعْبُدُ اللَّهَ كَأَنَّكَ تَرَى You worship Allah as
if you can see Him, and if you
know that you can't see Him, then you
know that He sees you.
And that becomes your driver in life.
So you're connected, you're in tune with Allah's
sight upon you.
When you think something to yourself, when you
think about doing something, you immediately are governed
by, Allah hears this right now.
When you're about to do something, Allah sees
this right now.
So whether it is to hold you back
from a sin, that everybody else is committing,
or that no one else sees you doing,
or to inspire you to a good deed,
when no one else is watching, Allah is
watching me right now.
Allah hears me right now.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is in tune
with what I'm even thinking to myself.
Allah knows what I'm doing, and Allah knows
why I'm doing what I'm doing.
And that becomes your driver.
So you've completely now freed yourself from the
zina of this world, from the embellishments of
this world.
You see through it.
You're the opposite of one who is heedless.
And you're in tune with al-latif al
-khabir.
I know Allah is ever subtle yet ever
acquainted.
And I'm trying to acquaint myself with the
sight of the acquainted.
I want to act now in accordance with
that and be particularly and especially in tune
with that.
So why would Allah azza wa jalla say,
wa huwa al-latif al-khabir?
Because as subtle as Allah is, as acquainted
with the details He is.
Allah and His mercy does not allow us
to see and hear everything of the unseen.
So there's an element of test here.
There's also an element of mercy.
I'll give you an example.
The Prophet salallahu alayhi wa sallam mentioned that
had he not feared that we wouldn't bury
our dead, he would ask Allah to allow
us to hear the punishment of the graves,
salallahu alayhi wa sallam.
But could you imagine how difficult it would
be for us to function as human beings
if when we drove by the graveyards we
heard screaming?
We wouldn't be able to function.
We would be completely paralyzed by that, right?
So it's out of mercy for you that
some of the stuff is left in the
unseen, if that makes sense.
That can also be a mercy for you.
But the believer from a functional perspective knows
that that realm exists, and so they do
everything they possibly can to escape the punishment
of the graves, even though they don't hear
it and they don't see it.
They're very well acquainted with the acquainted, subhanahu
wa ta'ala.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions, أَلَا
يَعْلَمُ مَنْ خَلَقَ وَهُوَ النَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ Now when
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, وَأَسِرُوا قَوْلَكُمْ
أَوَجْهَرُوا بِهِ إِنَّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ السُّدُورِ There's one
more thing to say here, that conceal your
speech or publicize it, Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala knows what is in your chest.
Allah knows the secrets and that which is
even less than that.
He knows what you say, he knows what
you conceal, and he knows what is even
less than that.
So, وَهُوَ النَّطِيفُ الْخَبِيرُ He's ever subtle, yet
he's ever acquainted.
And subhanAllah, what was the name of Allah
that Yusuf alayhi salam connected with?
اللطيف That he was subtle, he was subtle
throughout my affairs, but the whole time, he
was غالبٌ على أمري Allah azawajal was in
charge of my affairs, but subtle, ever present,
yet ever subtle.
Now, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, هُوَ
الَّذِي جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ ذَلُولًا فَمْشُوا فِي مَنَاكِبِهَا
وَكُلُوا مِنْ رِزْقِهِ وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورِ He is the
one who made the earth subservient to you.
Meaning, he allowed the surface of this earth
to be walkable, to be livable, to be
a place of agriculture, to be a surface
from which you can construct.
He is the one who gave you a
surface that is inhabitable.
Right?
And subhanAllah, when you think about what's an
inhabitable planet, right now when they're talking about
that, they're looking at the surface first and
foremost.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala even starts with
that.
جَعَلَ لَكُمُ الْأَرْضَ ذَلُولًا It is submissive to
you.
فَمْشُوا فِي مَنَاكِبِهَا وَكُلُوا مِنْ رِزْقِهِ وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورِ
So walk on its shoulders, meaning walk its
paths that are suitable for travel, and eat
from its provision, but know that to him
will be the ultimate resurrection.
The scholars mentioned that if you look at
the earth, subhanAllah, in this regard, how has
Allah made it zalula, how has Allah made
it submissive to you?
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave you what
you need of this earth to travel upon.
So first and foremost, as-safar, travel.
Secondly, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave you
its softness so that you could dig within
it.
So you could plant within it.
Imagine if the surface of the earth was
all concrete or metal.
But Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave you
the parts of the earth that are soft.
So you can plant within it, you can
also stake within it.
When you need to build something, you need
to obviously plant something deep into the ground
to give it its foundation so you can
use the soft parts of the earth.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made the earth
fertile so you can grow plants in it.
You can sustain from it your lives.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made it manageable.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala allowed it
to be stable enough so that it does
not crumble away when we stand on it.
It's for us to use the way that
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has allowed us
to use it.
And this is connected to when Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala says زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِحٍ
So Allah azawajal tells you how he decorated
the lowest heaven for you.
But there is a function to that decoration
and the function of the stars.
Now Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying
so if you can't consider the function of
that which is above you, look at the
function of that which is below you.
So the ulama are saying look at the
switch.
Allah started off with the surah by saying
look to the heavens and consider the function
of the stars.
And if you can't benefit from that, now
look to the earth beneath you which you
are far more acquainted with and consider the
function of the earth beneath you.
And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala by doing
so, by bringing this to a greater sense
of immediacy, allows you to appreciate the complexity
of his creation that you've been taking for
granted.
Now what do I mean by that?
Taking for granted.
If you were to pull someone out from
a hundred years ago and show them the
technology that we have today that we don't
even bat an eyelid over anymore like just
whatever, right?
They would think this is insane.
What is this?
But you don't appreciate the complexity of it
because you have not been burdened with creating
that complexity.
Alright?
You're just concerned with the function.
Like think about satellite TV.
Right?
Sounds crazy to someone that's never seen satellite
TV.
What in the world?
Where did that come from?
Right?
The transmission of signals.
And then you think about the internet and
you think about the web and you think
about GPS and you think about all these
things that are happening right now.
I mean we haven't even gotten to AI.
Who knows if they'll be running the next
retreat.
Might not have like real people presenting to
you.
But if they replace anyone, hopefully it'll be
Sheikh Abdullah Waheed.
He's not here.
I can't mess with him.
Where's Sheikh Abdullah?
He's not here?
Oh man.
You'll have to tell him about it.
But you don't appreciate the complexity because from
a functional perspective you're not tasked with creating
that complexity.
So think about the Arabs.
Allah Azzawajal is saying first and foremost look
at the ground beneath you.
Think about how amazing it is.
How complex yet simple and beautiful Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la has made the
earth to you.
That you know what's stable, what's not stable.
That you can build from the soft parts
of the earth what is suitable for building
buildings.
Right?
Constructing entire lofty buildings.
Making it hard enough.
And then you can plant it back into
the earth and make an entire building stable.
And you can bury your dead in it.
And you can grow your food out of
it.
Think about that.
That is incredible.
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la the surface
of the earth is incredible.
So for example when Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
Ta-A'la says أَفَلَا يَنظُرُونَ إِلَى الْإِبِرِ
كَيْفَ خُلِقَتْ Don't you think if we all
had an understanding of the complexity of our
cars, we would appreciate them more.
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is
saying look at your camels.
Look at your camels.
Do they not see the camels that have
been created, that they ride upon?
Like if you think about the camel, it's
a weird animal.
It really is.
Skinny legs, yet it can hold those massive
burdens, the types of travel that it's suitable
for.
It's an incredible, Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A
'la, an incredible animal.
And Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
is saying you just took that for granted.
You came into this world, and as you
grew up, oh there are camels.
You can ride this type of camel, and
that type of camel, and you can benefit
from it in this way.
But the complexity of it is incredible.
Right?
To where the believer looks at that and
says, Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, Tabaraka
Rahman.
There is no way that this was humanly
invented.
How did I take this for granted?
And so if you were stripped of the
technology and the things that are available to
you today that make life so easy for
you, and you were able to see them
come into being, you would have a much
greater appreciation for them.
It's like dial-up internet when it first
came out.
Some of you are like, what is that?
So you used to take the CD.
Some of you are like, what's that?
AOL CD, 1990s.
You pop it in, and it made these
weird sounds.
I'm not even going to try to make
those sounds on here, because then someone might
take those sounds and put them online.
But some of you know what I'm talking
about, right?
And those weird sounds, oh my God, you're
connected to the internet.
And now you're sitting here talking about speeds.
Like if you lived that time, that's incredible,
subhanAllah, tabarakAllah.
But you take the things that are so
complex for granted once you are not burdened
with the actual inventing and creation of those
things.
Now why is this important to the rest
of the surah?
Because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, فَمْشُوا
فِي مَنَاكَبِهَا وَكُلُوا مِنْ رِزْقِهِ Go ahead and
walk on the earth and benefit from its
provision.
وَإِلَيْهِ النُّشُورُ But know that one day, you
will be put into it, and you will
be resuscitated out of it.
To him is the resurrection.
Now subhanAllah, if you think about it now.
One day, we will all be buried in
this earth, and then grown out of it
like food.
If you think about it, subhanAllah, even the
process of vegetation, of rizq, that you plant
seeds, you put something in the ground, and
then you see these trees come out, not
something that's even distant from us, agriculture.
Like basic things that other times in human
civilization, they could see this and they could
appreciate its beauty right away.
Like you plant these seeds and you see
these lush trees, and lush fruits and vegetation
come out.
And Allah is giving you a sign that
one day you will be put into that
earth.
And something will come from the sky and
strike the earth the same way.
That rain comes from the sky when Allah
subhanAllah allows it.
And something will grow out of it.
And that will be you.
You're what's being planted into the earth.
فَمْشُوا فِي مَنَاكَ بِهَا وَكُلُوا مِن رِزْقِهِ Go
ahead.
Benefit from it now.
Eat from its sustenance.
But realize one day it's not you planting
and eating the food.
One day you are being planted and resurrected
out of this earth.
Hence the profound nature of منها خَلَقْنَاكُم We
brought you out of it.
وَفِيهَا نُعِيدُكُم And we put you right back
into it.
And then to Him you return.
It's incredible.
This is not a foreign process to you.
You understand the process.
You just don't understand that one day you
are the product.
So you get it.
You see it, right?
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says after
that By the way أَمِنْتُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ
أَن يَخْسِفَ بِكُمْ الْأَرْضِ فَإِذَا هِيَ تَمُورُ أَنْ
أَمِنْتُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ أَن يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا
فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ كَيْفَ نَذِيرٌ So what gives you such
confidence that the earth beneath you will not
shake and swallow you when you realize you
have absolutely no control over it أَمِنْتُمْ مَنْ
فِي السَّمَاءِ So what gives you that sense
of security that he who holds that place
that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will not
swallow you into this earth فَإِذَا هِيَ تَمُورُ
And then suddenly it would sway أَمْ أَمِنْتُمْ
مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ يُرْسِلَ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاصِبًا فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ كَيْفَ
نَذِيرٌ May Allah have mercy on our brothers
and sisters that passed away in these earthquakes
I've never been in an earthquake subhanallah but
actually I've been in like small tiny ones
these little tremors in the earth but it's
really interesting because Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
talks about in surah إِذَا زُزِلَتِ الْأَرْضُ زِلْزَالَهَا
وَأَخْرَجَتِ الْأَرْضُ أَثْقَالَهَا وَقَالَ الْإِنسَانُ مَا لَهَا Like
a human being looks to the ground beneath
them as the greatest sense of safety and
security you're on a ship alright it gets
stormy the weather alhamdulillah we made it we
docked at the land when you're in a
flight and the flight starts to get turbulent
and you're afraid it's not gonna land you
land alhamdulillah we're on the ground but what
happens when the earth beneath you starts to
shake مَا لَهَا what is wrong with it
because you feel a sense of entitlement to
it right like this is the given the
earth beneath me is not supposed to shake
and so hence a confusion because it's a
foreign feeling so Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta
-A'la is saying أَأَمِنْتُمْ مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ
what gives you such confidence that that's not
going to happen that this place that becomes
a place of stability and risk for you
will not suddenly become a place of chaos
and harm for you you're not the one
who dictates what's happening there now again remember
how however microscopic you get SubhanAllah like I
don't want to get too into the science
here but just think about like the tectonic
plates and stuff like that with all the
science we have you can't predict when an
earthquake is gonna happen you can get as
deep into it as you want and see
as much but you don't know because you
don't hold that authority and hence the power
of language is so pervasive here أَأَمِنْتُمْ مَنْ
فِي السَّمَاءِ do you feel secure that the
one in the heavens will not shake the
earth beneath you فَإِذَا هِيَ تَمُورْ أَمْ أَمِنْتُمْ
مَنْ فِي السَّمَاءِ يُرْسِلْ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاسِبًا Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la mentions the heavens
so here Allah Azawajal particularly mentions أَن يَخْصِفَ
بِكُمْ الْأَرْضِ because people in the past were
swallowed by the earth out of punishment now
earthquakes don't necessarily happen to a people out
of punishment but there are people that are
punished through خَصْف through the earth swallowing them
and one of the signs of the day
of judgment is خَصْف once again happening to
people may Allah protect us right so the
idea of people being swallowed into the earth
as a form of عذاب from Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la أَمْ أَمِنْتُمْ مَنْ
فِي السَّمَاءِ يُرْسِلْ عَلَيْكُمْ حَاسِبًا فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ كَيْفًا أَذِيرًا
and then you look to the sky and
the sky from which you've come to expect
rain and goodness and you look forward to
the rain why do you have such confidence
that it won't rain upon you stone instead
of water who makes that call from amongst
you and of course Subh'anaHu Wa Ta
-A'la this is now the opposite side
of you know زَيَّنَّا السَّمَاءَ الدُّنْيَا بِمَصَابِحٍ right
you look to the sky and you can
admire its beauty so what's the difference here
now obviously again there are people قَوْمْ لُتْ
were destroyed by stones from above them the
people of Abraha who we mentioned وَادِي مُحَسِّر
Allah Azawajal rained down upon them طَيْرًا أَبَابِيل
تَرْمِيهِمْ بِحِجَارَةٍ مِّن سِجِيل that they were rained
down with stones upon them now Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la what ends up happening
is that you can become so confident about
how that process goes that you could be
like the people who said هَذَا عَارِضٌ مُمْطِرُنَا
بَلْ هُوَ مَسْتَعَجَلْتُمْ بِهِ right so the people
of Hud عليه السلام they saw the clouds
coming they said oh this is rain coming
no this is not rain coming these clouds
are not bringing rain you have a false
sense of confidence here that you get to
control and dictate what rains from the sky
and what comes from beneath the earth so
what is the what is the tie that
the ilmah mentioned here the sky above you
and the ground beneath you are sources of
rizq are sources of sustenance so long as
you obey Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A
'la they become sources of azab once you
disobey them they become sources of punishment once
you disobey them so right now اللطيف الخبير
تبارك اسمه they are sources of rizq for
you when you obey them when you disobey
them they become sources of azab and Allah
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says أَأَمِنْتُمْ
do you feel a sense of safety security
now the believers don't feel pure amn even
though they believe they don't feel full safety
even though they believe the disbelievers feel safety
even though they disbelieve right and this is
the meaning of the hadith Qudsi where Allah
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says I
don't combine in my servant two feelings of
amn ولا خوفين two feelings of safety or
two feelings of fear إِنْخَافَنِي فِي الدُّنْيَةِ if
they fear me in this life آمَنتُمْ then
I will give them safety in the hereafter
and if they felt safe for me in
this life then I will cause them to
fear me in the next now some of
you might say that and say well what
about the hadith اَنَا عِنْدَ ظَنَّ عَبْدِي بِي
that I am what my servant expects of
me so how do we make this happen
we have hope in Allah but we don't
have hope in Allah that comes out of
our own sense of entitlement or arrogance but
our hope is in his mercy and we
fear Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
not because we believe Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
Ta-A'la is a vengeful God but
we fear the result of our own sins
and so both of those feelings drive us
to seeking safety and security in him Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la because we are
removing the trust that we have in ourselves
and placing our trust in his names and
his attributes alright so the believer always feels
like I could be doing better and does
not feel and you know Subh'anaHu Wa
Ta-A'la I it's hard to even
use this word but there was you know
one of these prominent atheists who said referring
to the technological revolution he said we have
conquered God there's no need for religion anymore
we've conquered him and I thought to myself
that guy's ending is going to be so
bad if he doesn't repent to Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la can you imagine
the arrogance saying you know basically we live
in a world now we've produced all the
tools like I said as microscopic as you
think you've gotten you actually haven't gotten anywhere
at all right but we've produced the tools
so religion was born out of a need
for God in the past now we don't
need it Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
this is what the attitude Allah is referring
to here a'mintu man fissama right and Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la the idea here
by the way and this is important for
you to think about the world as it's
unfolding as mankind develops more tools mankind becomes
more arrogant and Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta
-A'la humbles us over and over and
over again so the most powerful nations in
the world can't figure out how to deal
with the weather think about that they can't
they can't figure out how to deal with
the weather so Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta
-A'la puts us in our place constantly
and the believer whatever whatever as righteous as
they may be or as plentiful as their
Salah may be they never feel a sense
of safety alright from Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
Ta-A'la's punishment they find safety in
Al-mu'min they find safety in him Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la as Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la but they always
fear the consequences of the actions of man
and of course the greatest example of that
is the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam who even
when the wind would blow hard the man
Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam who was promised paradise and
forgiveness and promised that the punishment would not
come while he is amongst the people Taghayyara
Wajhuhu Alaihi Wasallam his face would change and
he would flee to his worship immediately Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam and he was always grateful beyond
expectation and would call upon Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la without any limitation so
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says
after that this was my warning and of
course who is Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta
-A'la speaking to here this is important
by the way because you're like you can
almost feel like why am I being spoken
to this way this is Khitab Al-Kafireen
this is speaking to the arrogant disbelievers and
there is benefit for the believers to understand
this as well this is a warning to
them how do you feel safe and Allah
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la says Walaqad
kathaba allatheena min qablihim fa kayfa kana nakir
and there are examples of people that came
before you that denied and how terrible was
my punishment for them Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
Ta-A'la mentions that he has left
behind Athar, left behind signs of the punished
nations and of punished peoples and we can
see that all around us and Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la leaves that as
an example for us Sheikh Mohammed Al-Shanawi
talks about the example of Firaun, how Allah
Azawajal promised the preservation of the pharaoh that
you could look at him as an example
for all other pharaohs to come, now does
that ever stop all people?
No we have pharaohs in every generation right,
people that become Firaunic in every generation but
so that those people that have Taqwa would
see that and they would be reminded and
they would hold back from transgression and oppression,
so Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
mentions look at their homes, the people of
Ad, the people of Thamud, look at their
places so that you can understand, people came
before you that faced this fate as well,
then Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
says notice
the name Al-Rahman comes up multiple times
here, Al-Rahman especially in early Meccan Qur
'an is the most revolutionary name of Allah
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la Surah Al
-Rahman was the first surah recited in public
Abdullah bin Mas'ud radiAllahu ta'ala recited
it in public next to the Kaaba do
you know of anyone named Al-Rahman other
than him before him, this name carries so
much from Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A
'la, it's a name that only belongs to
him Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la so
here Allah is mentioning the various layers of
Al-Rahman as it affects us, and Allah
says look at the birds above you with
their wings outspread sometimes and then folded in
nothing is holding them up there except Al
-Rahman, it's not their wings can you think
from up here, again this is if you
woke up to the world and birds didn't
exist and then suddenly, just try to imagine
this you're 25 years old, and suddenly we've
made these birds that can fly around the
world travel in colonies in formations and patterns
pigeons that can deliver messages military messages between
leaders, by the way that's how communication used
to happen, right I mean train birds to
carry messages around the world before digital technology
you know, like Salahuddin couldn't text one of
his commanders he sends birds and you think
about what's carrying them up there through violent
weather being able to fly for months on
end without taking a break sometimes, Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la Subh'anaHu Wa Ta
-A'la that's a lesson for you, by
the way this ayah always gets me in
the plane when the turbulence starts like I
just think about it, I'm like there is
nothing that should be holding this plane up
right, especially I feel like those pilots that
come out of Mecca and Medina have a
lot of tawakkul in Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
Ta-A'la, so they take off like
what are you all doing, right, but I
don't even know if they trained or they
just you know prayed in the haram for
a few years and then suddenly got appointed
what are you doing?
what's holding these planes up?
but we've taken it for granted air travel,
you think about like talk to someone thousand
years ago and tell them about air travel
what?
you're crazy right, this is something out of
a cartoon it doesn't make sense but now,
you don't think when you board a plane,
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, look at
the mechanics unbelievable, we get to be you
know, tens of thousands of feet in the
air and eat the same food and drink
that we eat and connect as well text
people on the earth like that's a lot
to take in now look at the simplicity
of the beauty of a bird and what
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is
showing you, and Allah is saying, you think
it's their wings that are carrying them up
there?
you really think that they develop wings?
now here's the thing what makes you any
different from that bird?
right, what makes you any different from that
bird?
right, you think it's your brain you think
it's your functionality, you really think you got
this?
ma yumsikuhunna ila ar-rahman nothing carries them
except ar-rahman and nothing sustains you except
ar-rahman don't think it's anything you developed
on your own you came from nothingness just
like they did allathee khalafal mawta wal haya
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la also the
complexities, the scholars say once again the complexities
of the bird I'm fascinated by birds I
really am, I love, Subh'anaHu Wa Ta
-A'la I love all the different types
of birds I remember we went to the
zoo and I tell this story multiple times
because it made me think about Jannah when
the zookeeper was showing us a particular type
of eagle and saying these eagles if you
were to hang a newspaper six football fields
away they could read the fine print I
thought Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, that's
amazing I said wow, what's our vision like
in Jannah bi-idhnillahi Ta-A'la kif
Allah Azawajal is giving you an example like
that incredible the hummingbirds, you know that a
hummingbird weighs what a penny weighs these are
incredible creatures and Allah is saying look at
them look up, again the ulama say Allah
is citing as-sama'at dunya He's not
tasking you to look beyond that Allah is
not talking about the angels now what's more
amazing than those birds up there?
The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam saying that there
is not a hand span in the entirety
of the heavens think about this not a
hand span in the entirety of the heavens
except that there is an angel that is
standing or bowing or prostrating and glorifying Allah
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la not this
much you know how big the universe is
what's observable even if you could shine a
lens on that and you could see the
angels if Allah revealed, remember Allah took away
one lens and said I'm going to let
you see the angels and you saw all
the angels in the heavens you would be
overwhelmed by it Allah is saying look at
the birds so you see the birds you
know ahead of you and nothing holds them
except Ar-Rahman Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta
-A'la sees all things and Allah says
do you really think that there could be
an army to then aid you against one
who creates like this verily the disbelievers are
in nothing but delusion and Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la as he gives us
this imagery, of course there's an immediate function
of this which is these are the people
that are living within one generation of the
destroyed army of Abraha so some people their
fathers saw what happened to the army of
Abraha that tried to destroy the Ka'bah
right, there might have even been people living
because Aam al-Feel is not that much
before that, there may have been people even
living that witnessed the year of al-Feel
as the Qur'an is coming down to
allude to it, so those birds that you
look to for beauty, what if they start
raining down pelting stones upon you can you
imagine that?
are you going to facilitate, are you going
to prepare an army that can fight right,
fight back if Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta
-A'la waged war upon you what are
you going to do with the one who
creates and created your ability to think and
always knows and facilitates and allows what you're
able to make and by the way every
tyrant in history at some point writes the
story for their own destruction and you can
always see the path of that arrogance they
think that they're independent, they think that they've
got something that no other people have and
that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la
humbles them and teaches them a lesson, I
always think about the Israeli army, I know
I'm saying it on camera and I don't
care, you know, they use Subh'anaHu Wa
Ta-A'la, they use military equipment and
they think they're so smart and they think
they've achieved the peak of intelligence of creation
and they're experimenting with these weapons on these
people, may Allah grant them shahada in Gaza
wallahi, with full certainty one day Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la will humble them
without any doubt right, so they think they
think that the next time you see it,
because we know how they act in Ramadan
the next time you see it know that
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la ghalibun
ala amri Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A
'la will handle that as he has handled
those like them before, that thought they reached
the place where we are immune, and Allah
says amman hadha lali huwa jundun nahu do
you think you have an army yansurukum min
dunur rahman may Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta
-A'la allow us to see that victory
for our brothers and sisters, and Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la then says afterwards,
amman hadha lali yarzukukum in amsak rizqa ballaju
fi utuwan wa nufur who is it that
would provide for you if Allah withheld provision,
if Allah caused the drought, what are you
going to plant, what are you going to
bring out of this earth, and Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la before Dajjal comes, the
Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam mentioned, that the world
would experience drought with all of the technology
that we have the world would experience severe
drought for years severe drought, right so that
earth becomes barren and all the technology you
are able to produce and all the plant
based foods, what happens when you can't make
the plants to make the plant based foods
and it's all gone so Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la is saying who is
going to provide for you if he holds
back his rizq ballaju fi utuwan wa nufur,
but rather they persist with this pride and
they flee from the truth now Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la mentions after that
afaman yamshi mukibban ala wajhihi ahda amman yamshi
sawiyan ala siratan mustaqim so is the one
who walks fallen on his face better guided
or the one who walks standing straight on
the straight path now what is this referring
to there is a profound message here Allah
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la created us
with certain norms that we can take for
granted and when Allah Azawajal gives you an
image that is foreign to you you think
to yourself how is that possible, not thinking
the reality that is familiar to you is
also not supposed to be possible, so when
the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam said that on
the day of judgment people will be walking
on their faces may Allah protect us, that
there will be people walking on their faces,
the natural question from the sahaba was Ya
Rasulullah, how do they walk on their face
because you think to yourself how can someone
walk on their face and the Prophet Sallallahu
Alaihi Wasallam said what the one who caused
them to walk on their legs will cause
them to walk on their faces who made
it so that you walk on legs Allah
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la will switch
it so that they now walk on their
faces, so you don't take that for granted,
and that's one tafsir of the ayah by
the way, so some of them refer to
the forms of ibadah and things of that
sort in this life, others said that this
is actually referring to the day of judgment
as it fits into the theme as it
goes forward so Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta
-A'la says qul huwa allathee ansha'akum
wa ja'ala lakum assama'a wa al
-abasara wa al-af'ida qaleena ma tashkuroon
this is the summary of the surah say
he is the one who produced you and
made for you hearing and vision and your
ability to perceive how little do you show
gratitude, wasa'il al-ma'arif as we
said, the faculties by which you came to
know or you should be coming to know
Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, so
Allah has given you now at this point
of the surah as we come to the
last ten of the surah Allah has given
you the explanation of what exists around you
of your existence of the seen and the
unseen and why you have been given the
blessings to be able to perceive the truth
when it is presented to you, so Allah
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la is saying
huwa allathee ansha'akum he produced you, just
like those plants he produced, he produced you
wa ja'ala lakum assama'a wa al
-abasara wa al-af'ida and he gave
you your hearing he gave you your vision,
he gave you your perception, qaleena ma tashkuroon
see Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, the
tone shifts here, some of the ulama mention
that when you are admonishing someone you may
use in the beginning of your admonishment you
know, first and foremost, a tone of punishment
but then and all of the moms and
dads are like, yeah I use that, I
switch you then switch to like come on,
all that I've done for you everything I've
done for you the tone of gratitude and
that is a tone that has not yet
shown in this particular part of, in this
surah until now, where Allah Subh'anaHu Wa
Ta-A'la is saying how ungrateful are
you like, I gave you all of this,
not just so you can believe, but how
ungrateful are you to turn away from the
one who gave you all of this and
then gave you the ability to understand it
and appreciate it, and benefit from it ja
'ala lakumu al-sama'a wa al-abasara
wa al-af'ida qaleena ma tashkuroon how
little do you show of gratitude qul huwa
lazee dara'akum fil-ard wa ilayhi tuhshahoon
say, it is he who spreads you throughout
this earth, and to him you will be
gathered in like manner SubhanAllah, think about all
of the graves in the world today and
just the sight of everyone rising, and being
spread throughout this earth once again and Allah
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la, as he
made the earth suitable for all of these
different functions in this life Allah Subh'anaHu
Wa Ta-A'la makes the earth of
qiyamah suitable for only one purpose resurrection the
entire ard al-mahshar the entire land of
assembly is one surface it's all the same
color, it's all the same type, and it
is only for the purpose of holding you
so that you could now be held accountable,
that's it so there is no longer any
variation in the different types of earth that
have been produced qul innama al-'ilmu wa yaqooloona
mata hadhar wa'du in kuntum sadiqeen they say,
well when is this going to happen if
you're telling the truth so now, Allah Subh
'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la speaks to an
apprehension inside of them many people who reject
religion today, reject it because they find it
to be inconvenient to what they think they
can accomplish right now, so they want to
live a certain type of lifestyle, they want
to enjoy certain types of life and they
have in their minds that one day, when
the time comes, I can make the switch
as is necessary so I'll catch that window,
it's the delusion of youth, young people that
think I'll get religious later I'll figure this
all out later and many of those who
lived around the Prophet ﷺ were waiting it
out okay they had a feeling that what
he was saying was true ﷺ but they
also did not want to bear the inconveniences
of believing in him and so they thought
to themselves, we'll wait till this all kind
of pans out and then at that point,
should the opportunity present itself and it be
convenient then we'll join team Muhammad ﷺ that's
how they were weighing this so they start
to ask from a place of apprehension either
from a place of apprehension or from a
place of intimidation go ahead and make it
happen that's one group of people go ahead
and make it happen which is what the
people of Nuh ﷺ did we're sick of
you warning us go ahead, make it happen,
challenging and intimidating another group that actually wanted
to know if they could have time to
make the switch in time, so like if
the Prophet ﷺ says I'm telling you 20
years from now alright that I'm waiting 19
years okay, I seem pretty healthy I think
I can escape death for the next 19
years that's a chance I'm going to make,
so I'm waiting 20 years or 19 years
to make that switch so there were two
groups that the ulama mentioned here two camps
that were asking the Prophet ﷺ متى هذا
الوعد إن كنتم صادقين قل إنما العلم عند
الله اللطيف الخبير say that, that knowledge is
with Allah stop being silly he is the
one who knows everything he is the one
who is subtle and acquainted وإنما أنا نذير
مبين I'm just the warner here, a plain
warner now the one thing that Allah has
not mentioned of the punishment to come was
the seeing of it, subhanallah he mentioned them
hearing the punishment them feeling the punishment and
now البصرة Allah seeing the punishment فَلَمَّا رَأَوْهُ
زُلْفَةً سِيئَتْ وُجُوهُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا وَقِيلَ هَذَا لَذِي
كُنْتُم بِهِ تَدْدِعُونَ so when they see it
approaching, you will see their faces distressed, so
Allah is giving you you know he is
giving you two visions here his perspective and
then the perspective of everyone else, here Allah
is saying what they are seeing and how
they are being seen so if you could
see the faces of those same people and
if they could see what they've been warned
of all this time and they are told
this is that which you have been promised
finally and I'm over time, I apologize قُلْ
أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَهْلَكَنِي اللَّهُ وَمَنَ مَعِيَ أَوْ رَحِيمَنَا
فَمِنْ يُجِيْرُ الْكَافِرِينَ مِنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ Say, have
you considered if Allah was to cause my
death and those with me or have mercy
upon us who would protect you from a
painful punishment, meaning what the greatest rahma that
Allah has sent to you is rahmatan lil
alameen the prophet salallahu alayhi wasalam this message
مَا أَنْزَلْنَ عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَى was not sent
to punish or deprive or cause you anxiety
it was sent to redirect you and grant
you salvation that just as Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala brought you about in this earth
and gave you these blessings Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala can bring you about once again
and give you blessings that you would have
never imagined فيه ما لعين رأت that which
no eye has ever seen, no ear has
ever heard and no perception or imagination has
ever grasped so Allah is giving this to
you for a reason so if you hate
me so much and you hate the Muslims
so much and you want to get rid
of us have you considered who's going to
save you we'll go on our way but
who's going to save you قُلْ هُوَ الرَّحْمَٰنَ
آمَنَّا بِهِ وَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَلْنَا Say, he is the
most merciful we have believed in him and
upon him we have placed our trust فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ
مَنْ هُوَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينَ then you will
come to know who is in clear error
at some point the scholars say about this,
the profound message Allah azawajal gives of this
dunya to those whom he loves and those
who he does not love but Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala only gives jannah to those
that he loves ok إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَعْتِدْ دُنْيَا
لِمَنْ يُحِبْ وَمَنْ لَا يُحِبْ Allah gives this
dunya to those that he loves and those
who he does not love but he only
gives jannah to those that he loves and
when hardship comes in this world Allah gives
hardship in this world to those that he
loves and those that he does not love,
however the people who say هُوَ الرَّحْمَنَ آبَنَّ
بِهِ وَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَلْنَا those people are not tested
in this world out of punishment they're tested
in this world out of elevation so even
the tests that come to them are هُوَ
الرَّحْمَنَ آبَنَّ بِهِ وَعَلَيْهِ تَوَكَلْنَا because they're means
of elevation for them as well so distinguish
yourself by saying هُوَ الرَّحْمَنَ آبَنَّ بِهِ وَعَلَيْهِ
تَوَكَلْنَا فَسَتَعْلَمُونَ مَنْ هُوَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ قُلْ
أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَصْبَحَ مَآءُكُمْ غَوْرًا فَمَنْ يَأْتِيكُمْ بِمَآءٍ
نَحِيمٍ Say have you considered if your water
was to become sunken into the earth then
who could bring you flowing water سبحان الله
the surah started off with the great affair
of life and death and it ended with
the simple need for water throughout mankind, throughout
history the one necessity of life is water
and if Allah took away that water then
mankind falls apart no human civilization can survive
without water, no matter how powerful no matter
how advanced it is and what is the
powerful function here قُلْ أَرَأَيْتُمْ إِنْ أَهْلَكَنِي أَرْحْمَنُ
Say if Allah was to take us away
water is also guidance or guidance is also
likened to water so if the guidance was
taken away from you where are you going
to find it if guidance is taken away
from you, where will you find spiritual life
and where will you find that sense of
purpose physically if it was taken away from
you where are you going to find water
what technology, what tools have you developed that
will get you out of a drought if
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala were to take
away that water الرَّحْمَان may Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala make us from عِبَادُ الرَّحْمَان from
the servants of the most merciful and may
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us from
his punishment and make us amongst those that
are rewarded generously on the day of judgment
اللهم أمين