Zia Sheikh – Ramadan Khatira Day 26
AI: Summary ©
The Surahs, a series of words used in Arabic literature, are discussed, including the use of the words "najs" and "ars" to describe the greatness of Islam, the history of the Bible's use of the word "frustration," and the significance behind "has the light come on" in Islam. The history of the Prophet A.S.'s use of the word "has the light come on" in reference to the message of the Prophet A.S. when he sends a message of truth, and the cultural interpretations of the Prophet A.S. and their impact on the culture of Islam.
AI: Summary ©
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious,
the Most Merciful.
In the name
of
Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Last night we completed the 27th juz' and
in it we have some very beautiful surahs.
And the one that I am going to
talk about is surah an-Najm, the first
few ayat.
And this is, actually if you read this
surah, and the one after that also, surah
al-Qamar, the one after that surah al
-Rahman, it becomes very evident that these words
are not the words of a human.
And especially not the words of a person
who is unlettered, doesn't know how to read
or write.
Why?
Because these surahs, these are very rhythmical surahs.
They rhyme and the wording is completely complete.
You see what happens in Arabic poetry, if
people are familiar with it, what the Arab
poets used to do, they used to cut
up words to try to make the rhyme
and the rhythm fall into place.
If you look at these words, look at
these sentences, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala has
not cut up any words to make the
words rhyme.
The sentences are completely complete and yet they
continue to rhyme.
So surah an-Najm, وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَىٰ مَا
ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُمْ وَمَا غَوَىٰ وَمَا يَنْفِقُ وَعَنِ الْهَوَىٰ
إِنْهُوَا إِلَّا وَحْيُ يُوحَىٰ It just continues with
the a sound at the end, right until
the end of the surah.
Surah al-Qamar, and again, amazing, it's a
surah which ends all the way through with
ra.
اِقَتَرَلَتِ السَّاعَةُ وَانْشَقَّ الْقَمَرَ وَإِنْ يَرَوْا آيَتَهِ يُعْرِضُ
وَيَقُولُوا سِحْرٌ مُسْتَمِرٌ Every single ayah ends with
ra.
And then the surah after that, surah ar
-Rahman, it ends with words mostly, which ends
with an.
اَلْرَحْمَانِ عَلَّمَنَا الْقُرْآنِ خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانِ عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانِ All
the way through, and we all know that
verse, right?
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ So that's surah ar
-Rahman.
All three surahs are Makki surahs, and the
general trend of Makki surahs is talks about
the greatness of Allah SWT and the truthfulness,
talking about the truthfulness of the message that
the Prophet SAW has brought and condemning the
disbelievers who reject the message that the Prophet
SAW has brought, the truth that has been
brought to them.
So surah an-Najm is a surah which
was revealed at the beginning of Islam, around
the 5th of the year of Prophethood.
And according to Mufassireen, it is the first
surah in which the Sajdat al-Tilawah was
revealed.
And this surah was so powerful that the
Prophet SAW, he gathered all the Quraysh one
day, and he recited it in front of
them.
He read it all completely, and the last
verse is an ayat of Sajdah.
When he read this ayat of Sajdah, the
Muslims fell down in frustration, and the disbelievers,
they couldn't help themselves also.
They all fell down in frustration too.
Except for a couple of them, one of
them being Umayyah bin Khalaf, who basically took
some sand and put it on his forehead.
And he said, that's enough for me.
And of course, he died a miserable death
later on.
But the power of the surah was evident
that even the disbelievers, they could not help
themselves when the command came.
At the end, Allah SWT commanded the people
that fall down in frustration and worship, they
all fell down and made Sajdah.
And it was also because of this misunderstanding
that the people in Abyssinia, who had migrated
to escape the persecution, they heard about this
sudden frustration of the disbelievers, and they thought
that everybody had become Muslim.
So they thought that it's time now to
go back home, because now we don't need
refuge in Abyssinia.
So they left, went back home, realized that
the situation was pretty much the same, and
this led to the second migration to Abyssinia.
In any case, I'm going to talk about
the first few ayat of Surah An-Najm.
So Allah SWT, He takes an oath by
An-Najm.
وَالنَّجَمِ إِذَا هَوَا I swear by the star.
What is this star?
Some scholars say it refers to Thuriyah, a
specific star that the Arabs used to know
and like and used to use as guidance.
Some say it refers to the planet Venus.
The Arabs used to actually use the word
An-Najm to talk about a specific type
of star.
So generally speaking, what we say is, when
we say the north, it doesn't necessarily mean
exactly up north.
When we say the north, it means anything
that is north from here, even though that
we may travel in a northeast direction or
a northwest direction.
But anything north of here, we regard as
north.
So similarly, the people used to use the
word An-Najm to talk about a specific
star.
The scholars differ as to what that star
was.
So some say that it refers to Thuriyah,
some say it refers to the planet Venus.
And specifically planet Venus, even amongst the western
understanding, the planet Venus is known as the
morning star.
And you may, if you have ever come
for Fajr, right after dawn, if you looked
in the horizon, you will see a specific
bright star.
It's much brighter than anything else and it's
usually more prevalent in the morning time.
And it's very, very bright.
So this is actually the planet Venus, it's
not a star.
So Allah SWT says, وَالنَّجْمِ إِذَا هَوَىٰۙ I
swear by the star when it sets.
إِذَا هَوَىٰۙ When it sets, what happens when
the stars set?
It means that the daytime has emerged, right?
And Venus being the star which even shines
after dawn time, and even after that disappears,
it means that Allah SWT is swearing by
the time when the daylight is very, very
clear, to such an extent that even the
brightest of the stars has disappeared.
So Allah says, I swear by the star
when it sets, meaning when the daylight has
completely appeared and the darkness has disappeared.
And then, so that's the oath, what is
the Jawabul Qasam?
ما ضَلَّ صَاحِبُكُمْ وَمَا غَوَىٰۙ Your companion is
not misguided nor is he astray.
So what's the connection between the Qasam and
the Jawabul Qasam?
The Qasam is when you say, I swear
by Allah, and whatever follows that is known
as Jawabul Qasam.
So the first ayah was the Qasam, I
swear by the star when it sets, meaning
it's broad daylight now, I swear by the
broad daylight, and the Jawabul Qasam is that
your companion is not astray nor is he
misguided.
What it means is that the Prophet SAW,
his bringing you the Wahi and the revelation
and the message of Islam, it's not something
that he took out of the darkness.
It's something that is clear as day.
It's clear as the daylight you see after
the stars have disappeared.
This message is pure and pristine and clear
and not to be confused as you might
be confused in the night time when it's
dark.
It cannot be confused because it is something
which is as clear as the day.
And also Allah SWT uses the word, صَاحِبُكُمْ
here, your companion.
The Prophet SAW is referred to as your
companion, your friend, the person who's been with
you for the past 45 years.
The person you've known to be a Sadiq
Al-Ameen.
Not a stranger that suddenly appeared and you've
never seen him before.
You've known his truthfulness, you've known his character,
you've known his integrity.
So how come all of a sudden when
he brings this message of truth, you are
now saying it's false.
So he's not astray, he's not misguided.
وَمَا يَنطِقُ وَعَنِ الْهَوَى إِنْ هُوَ إِلَّا وَحْيُ
يُوحَى And he's not talking from his desires,
what he's saying is indeed it is a
Wahi that has been revealed to him from
Allah SWT.
So this has two meanings.
وَمَا يَنْطِقُ وَعَنِ الْهَوَى It can mean that
it's not that the Prophet SAW chose this
responsibility upon himself.
Just as a pastime or something that he
wanted to do or something that he chose
to do or he was inclined to do
as some type of a pastime.
It is a huge responsibility that he didn't
want to take.
When he got the message from Jibreel A
.S. that he was to be a Prophet,
he said, you know, how can I do
this?
And he was upset and worried for a
long time that how can I take this
responsibility and take the message.
So وَمَا يَنْطِقُ وَعَنِ الْهَوَى means that it's
not something that he wants to do, it's
not something that he chose to do.
But it was put upon him, the responsibility
was given to him.
And the second meaning is that whatever he
says, it's not from his desire, but it
is a revelation from Allah SWT that is
given to him.
So in two forms, either the Qur'an
that is revealed to him, that is a
Wahid, and also the Hadith that he says
to you, meaning religious teaching that he gives
you, that is also Wahid from Allah SWT
and inspired to him by Allah SWT.
Now also remember that the Prophet A.S.
used to say things which were of a
worldly nature and were not religiously inclined, that
were not related to religion.
So those things would be things that he
said from himself.
So there's a very famous incident that happened
where the Prophet A.S. told the farmers
that were planting date palm trees, why don't
you do this with your trees, and he
guided them to do a certain thing with
their trees.
And they did it, and the crop failed.
They came and complained to the Prophet A
.S. and said, Ya Rasulullah, you told us
to do this, and this happened, our crop
failed, and we got no dates.
So the Prophet A.S. responded by saying,
Antum a'lamu bidunyakum, you know more about
your dunya than myself.
I don't know anything about it, I just
gave a suggestion.
So sometimes when he's talking about worldly things,
then that was something that was from himself,
that was not a form of Wahid.
So other than that, religious teaching, religious instruction,
things related to the hereafter, these were things
that the Prophet A.S. was inspired by
Allah SWT.
And the Hadith that he mentioned was a
form of Wahid in addition to the Quran.
This was taught to him by the one
of severe strength, meaning Jibreel A.S. Jibreel
A.S. Mentioned in Surah Takwir, he is
the kuwa, he has the strength, and he
is makeen, he has a position with Allah
SWT.
He's one of the closest angels to Allah
SWT.
So he a'allamahu shadidul kuwa, the one
that has the strong strength, he is the
one that taught him.
Dhu mirratin fastawa, dhu mirra, dhu mirra means,
some scholars they say that it means also
strength.
Others say dhu ray, meaning he has a
ray himself, he has a conviction himself, he
has an opinion himself.
Dhu mirra, fastawa, and he is elevated.
Wahuwa bil ufuqil a'ala, while he was
in the highest horizon.
So the Prophet A.S. saw him while
he was in the horizon, he saw him
in his original shape.
What horizon?
Some scholars say it refers to the eastern
horizon.
But other scholars say that if you look
at the sky, in any direction, that's a
horizon.
So the Prophet A.S. saw Jibreel A
.S. in his original form, in the horizon,
and he saw him basically filling up the
sky.
Thumma danaa fatadalla, after he was in his
original shape, he came close to the Prophet
A.S. And then he came even closer,
danaa means close, fatadalla, he became even closer.
Fa kaana qaaba qawsayni aw adnaa, and the
closeness or the distance was the distance of
qawsayn.
Qaws means the bow, when you have the
bow and arrow.
So this is the qaws, so he was
as close as two qaws or even closer.
And some scholars refer to qaws as dhiraa,
which means the cubit, meaning the distance between
your hand and the elbow.
Dhiraa, so he was two dhiraa close to
the Prophet A.S. when he gave the
revelation to him.
Fa awhaa ilaa abdihimaa awhaa, and he gave
him the revelation to his slave, whatever he
wanted to reveal.
So this is referring to the general method
of revelation when Jibreel A.S. used to
come to the Prophet A.S. The heart
did not lie about what he had seen,
meaning that the Prophet A.S. actually saw
Jibreel A.S. It was not something that
he imagined, it was not something that was
in his mind, it was something that he
physically saw with his own eyes.
Are you disputing with him about what he
saw or what he is seeing?
So Allah A.S. is addressing the Quraish
and telling them that there is no use
in disputing, what he is saying is the
complete truth.
Now keep in mind also that some scholars
have referred to the seeing of the Prophet
A.S. as the seeing of Allah.
Instead of Jibreel, they interpret these verses to
mean Allah A.S. himself.
But there are hadiths to indicate that the
Prophet A.S. didn't ever see Allah A
.S. with his physical eyes.
So there is a hadith in which Aisha
A.S. she asked the Prophet A.S.
did you ever see Allah A.S. on
Laylatul Mi'raj for example, did you see
him?
So he said Noorun anna araahu, he was
Noor, how can I see him?
So the chosen opinion here is that it
was Jibreel A.S. that is being talked
about and not Allah A.S. So these
are the verses which refer to that.
And he saw Jibreel A.S. in his
original form and another time at Sidratul Muntaha,
at the low tree which is right at
the end.
There is a low tree which is growing
at the furthest distance, some scholars say the
6th sky, some scholars say the 7th sky.
But this low tree, Allah A.S. knows
the reality of what it is and why
it's growing there.
But Jibreel A.S. was shown to the
Prophet A.S. at this low tree on
the night of Mi'raj also.
Aindaha Jannatul Ma'wa, where is this low
tree?
It is at a Jannah which is known
as Jannatul Ma'wa.
The paradise which is known as Jannatul Ma
'wa.
Al Ma'wa refers to, from Awaya Ya
'wi, it means the place of abode or
the place of refuge.
And it's known as Al Ma'wa for
a few reasons, Mufassirin have mentioned a few
reasons.
Some say that it is the gathering place
or the refuge of all the souls of
the martyrs, the shuhada that are killed in
jihad or in fighting for the sake of
Allah A.S. There all their souls gather
and it is a place of refuge for
them.
So that's why it's known as Jannatul Ma
'wa.
Other scholars say that when Adam A.S.
was in Jannah, this is the place where
he sought refuge and this is basically why
it's known as Jannatul Ma'wa.
So anyway this low tree, it is at
this Jannah which is called Jannatul Ma'wa.
And the Prophet A.S. saw Jibreel A
.S. in his original form also at this
low tree.
And at that time this low tree was
covered by whatever it was covered with.
So what was it covered with?
Again the Mufassirin have mentioned various things.
It was covered with some say golden locusts,
some say the knowledge, some say angels and
some say different things.
But Allah A.S. didn't mention what it
was covered with.
This low tree which is right at the
end in the seventh sky or the sixth
sky.
What was it covered with?
Allah A.S. only knows best.
Ambiguity sometimes it opens up the door for
generality and that is also it becomes more
inclusive.
It becomes more inclusive in the sense that
you could say more things and have more
opinions about it.
But Allah A.S. didn't explain what it
was that actually covered the low tree.
So I'm going to stop there.
But anyway this surah is a very, the
one more ayah.
The Prophet A.S. when he saw this
happening, he said that Allah A.S. is
saying that the eyes didn't flinch from there
and they didn't transgress.
Meaning that when the Prophet A.S. was
seeing this in front of him, Jibreel A
.S., this tree and whatever was covering the
tree.
When he was seeing all of these wondrous
events going on, he didn't look here or
there or become distracted.
He was focusing exactly on what was going
on.
Meaning he saw again unflinchingly, very clearly and
without any kind of doubt he saw what
was going on in front of him and
he didn't let anything distract him.
Indeed the Prophet A.S. saw from the
signs of his Lord the greatest sign, meaning
this episode and this event of Jibreel A
.S. seen in his original form.
So like I said this surah is a
very beautiful surah.
If you read it, the rhythmical recitation of
it, it's very pleasing and it sounds wonderful.
And on top of that, the meanings are
also very very beautiful.
If you want to find out further meanings,
you can go into a tafseer and insha
'Allah research it.
Insha'Allah you will enjoy reading it and
researching it.
I pray that Allah A.S. gives us
tawfiq to understand and practice what has been
said and heard.
Al Fatiha.