Zia Sheikh – Tafseer Of Surah AlWaqi`ah Session 5
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Today, inshallah, we're starting from ayah number 58
of Surah Al-Waqi'ah.
And in the previous lessons, we discussed that
Al-Waqi'ah talks about the event of
the Day of Judgment.
And after that, it talks about three main
groups that will be created on the Day
of Judgment.
One of them is going to be As
-Sabiqoon, the other one is Ashab ul-Yameen,
and the third one is Ashab ul-Shimal.
Asabiqoon refers to those people who are going
to be at the forefront, and they're going
to be the ones who are going to
get the most reward from Allah SWT for
the most sacrifices they made.
And Ashab ul-Yameen, they're also going to
be the people who are the recipients of
reward, but they're going to be a little
bit of a lower level than Asabiqoon.
And Ashab ul-Shimal refers to those people
that are going to get the punishment of
Allah SWT, those people that disbelieved or disobeyed
Allah SWT in this world.
So after mentioning Ashab ul-Shimal and the
punishment they're going to get, Allah SWT then,
in these ayahs that I'm going to be
explaining today, Allah addresses those Ashab ul-Shimal,
that why is it that you didn't pay
attention to Allah SWT?
Why didn't you obey His commands?
Why didn't you worship Him?
And to emphasize the power of Allah SWT
and to make people aware of His power,
Allah mentions certain things, everyday things that are
around us all the time, but we tend
to take for granted.
And the first thing that He mentions is
the creation of the baby.
So Allah says, أَفَرَأَيْتُمْ مَا تُمْنُونَ Do you
not see or do you see what you
are dripping?
So تُمْنُونَ أَنْ مَا يُنْمِي It means to
drop, and here it refers to dropping drops
of sperm into the womb, into the foetus,
into the uterus, so that it becomes a
baby.
So do you see this?
What you did was, you took this drop
and you put it in its correct place,
and then you hoped from Allah SWT that
you would be given a baby.
So who actually created that baby?
There are so many people in this world
that try for years and years and years,
but Allah SWT doesn't give them any children.
So Allah is the one who gives children.
Allah is the one who prevents children from
happening.
He doesn't give children, so that is from
Allah SWT.
And in addition to that, this thing that
we see, this creation of a baby within
the womb, it is a miracle, but because
again we see it on an everyday basis,
we tend to take it for granted.
Okay, it's another baby got born.
Okay, even parents, the first baby, it's all
miraculous and everything, and everybody's overjoyed, and by
the second or the third baby, it's an
everyday thing also for them.
So we have to appreciate the fact that
a life has been created.
A life has been created.
Arms, legs, eyes, nose, a head, the feet,
the toes, fingers, all created in perfect formation,
equality, and everything in the right proportion and
in the right place.
And this is for 99.9% of
all births that happen, and on the odd
occasion that there is a deficiency, deformity, that
is only for us to appreciate the fact
that Allah SWT, if He wants, He can
do that also.
So this day-to-day miracle, Allah SWT
is telling us about.
And the relevant thing in this also is
that when you, when we put this *
inside the uterus with the hope of having
a baby, do we see anything?
All we see is a liquid.
Unless we use a microscope and we basically
put it under the microscope, we can see
the little sperm cells running around and swimming
around in the liquid, but that is something
that is completely invisible to our eyes.
From that invisible thing, Allah SWT creates a
human being.
So the relevance within the previous ayat is
that Allah SWT, He created from an invisible
thing, He created a huge life.
He created a life, a walking, talking human,
that human that is going to become walking
and talking, and a person who is going
to go from place to place, who is
going to have eyes and ears and everything.
So that same creator who created this life
from nothing, He is the one who can
recreate the human after death also.
So this is the purpose of these verses.
Allah says, Do you create it or do
we create it?
Or are we the ones who are the
creators?
So the question is this very clearly.
Who is the one who does that?
We don't go into the womb and basically
determine what kind of a baby we are
going to want and all these kinds of
things.
This is something that is only from Allah
SWT.
So Allah is the one who makes that
creation happen.
Allah says that we have put the death
between you.
We have made it between you.
We have written it between you.
That all of you are going to die.
And you will be recreated again.
This is what it means that the death
is going to come and the next step
after death, it will be recreation.
So Allah has written death for us and
the death basically is written but we don't
know when it is going to take place.
In most occasions, the parents pass away before
the children and then the children pass away,
then the grandchildren pass away, then the great
-grandchildren.
But Allah SWT sometimes has it written opposite
to that.
Sometimes the parent has to bury his own
child.
It is a very difficult thing to do.
So Allah says, نحن قدرنا بينكم الموت We
have written this death between you.
And also, وما نحن مسبوقين We are not
going to be beaten.
We can do something else.
على أن نبدل أمثالكم Firstly, we can replace
you with something else.
We can replace you with another creation.
We can replace you with another race.
We can replace you with other people who
will do the bidding of Allah SWT as
He has done.
History tells us that sometimes, you know, for
many years, it was the Arabs who took
the banner of Islam and spread it far
and wide.
Then Farsi-speaking people.
They took the banner of Islam and spread
it far and wide.
Then Turkish-speaking people.
Then people from the Indian subcontinent.
So, this responsibility changed hands many, many times.
إِن تَتَوَلَّوا يَسْتَبْدِي الْقَوْمٍ غَيْرَكُمْ If you turn
your backs away, Allah SWT can change people
who are other than you.
So, على أن نبدل أمثالكم Allah can replace
you with people similar to you.
And also, وَنُنشِئَكُمْ فِي مَا لَا تَعْلَمُونَ And
recreate you in a way that you didn't
even know.
So, what's going to happen in the hereafter?
Now, we only have tongues that speak.
Our mouths speak.
Our vocal cords speak.
So, Allah is telling us that in the
hereafter, what's going to happen?
Our body parts are also going to speak.
Which is something that, you know, shouldn't be
too much of a surprise to us.
We've made so many things speak, right?
We've made videotapes speak.
We've made TV speak.
Radio speak.
Internet speak.
And telephone speak.
So, all of these sounds, they're being recreated.
So, the same Allah SWT who gave us
the intelligence to do those things, He can
make our body parts also talk.
So, Allah will create us in a way
that will be different to the way that
we were created first time.
In the way that our body parts will
be allowed to talk.
And also, bear witness for us or against
us.
So, And recreate you in a way that
you did not even know.
You've known the first creation, so, why is
it you don't take heed?
So, it actually means to create something from
nothing.
So, you've seen, our human beings, that Allah
created you from nothing.
Created your children from nothing.
Created your brothers and sisters and all humans
from nothing that you can see apparently with
your eyes.
You've seen that.
Then, why is it that you don't believe
that Allah can recreate you and give you
another life in the hereafter?
What's so difficult about that for Allah?
Why is it that you don't take a
lesson from this?
Why is it that you don't pay attention?
Do you see what you are harvesting?
Or you are farming?
Do you grow it?
Or do we grow it?
So, what does the farmer do?
All he has to do is throw the
seeds out.
Prepare the land and put the seed in
its place.
Is it up to the farmer now to
make it grow?
It's just in the hands of Allah SWT
now.
He does what he does and then the
rest is up to Allah SWT.
Allah is asking us this question.
Do you make it grow or do we
make it grow?
Undoubtedly, it is only in the hands of
Allah SWT.
And Allah, in His infinite power, He makes
these plants grow and through making those plants
grow, He shows us His power.
Allah says, ثُمَّ شَقَقَنَا الْأَرْضَ شَقَّ We make
the earth split up.
So, if you see the first buds of
a plant that come out, and if you
were to basically just touch it with your
fingertip, it would become squashed.
Alright?
But that same bud is the one that
pushed itself out through the ground.
How did that happen?
How does that small soft bud push itself
through sometimes a very hard, sometimes a very
rocky ground?
It does that.
Because Allah tells us that it's not the
plant that splits the earth and allows that
bud to come out.
It is only Allah SWT.
ثُمَّ شَقَقَنَا الْأَرْضَ شَقَّ We are the ones
who split the earth to allow this bud
to emerge from underneath.
So, يَا أَنتُم تَزْرَعُونَهُ أَمْ نَحْنُ الزَّارِونَ Allah
asks us this question.
Do you make it grow?
Or are we the ones who make it
grow?
لَوْ نَشَاءُ لَجَعَلْنَاهُ حُطَامًا فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ If we
wanted, we could turn it into a dry
waste product.
حُطَام It refers to the chaff of the
wheat, basically, which is the peeling of the
wheat, which is dry, unusable.
And also, in Arabic, حُطَامُ الْبَيْط refers to
the egg shells.
Egg shells, very dry, unusable, basically, not edible.
So, Allah says, that if you wanted, we
could turn these plants of yours into the
lush, green, and growing plants that you are
seeing in front of you that you are
using and utilizing and eating and selling and
buying.
If we wanted, we could just turn it
into a dry waste type of crop.
فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّونَ And you'd be astonished.
You'd be shocked.
You'd be in a state of shock at
what's happening.
Just imagine, one year of drought.
One year of poor crops that emerge from
the land and how difficult it becomes for
the society with this drought and this poor
yield of crops.
It becomes very difficult.
فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ So, فَظَلْتُمْ تَفَكَّهُونَ You're going to
be in a state of shock when that
happens.
إِنَّا لَمُغْرَمُونَ Indeed, we're at a loss.
What does غَرْم mean?
مُغْرَمُونَ مُغْرَم It refers to a person who
loses his money and doesn't get anything in
return.
That's مُغْرَمُونَ A person who basically loses it
all.
So, they all say, إِنَّا لَمُغْرَمُونَ All our
time, our effort, our seed, our water, our
land, all of the energy that we utilized,
we put it into this land, yet, what
happened?
We got nothing back in return.
So, our investment came out useless.
إِنَّا لَمُغْرَمُونَ بَلْ نَحْنُ مَحْرُمُونَ And then the
next step is that not only are we
losing out, we are, not only are we
basically losing everything, we are also being deprived
of using anything that we could have used
ourselves.
So, مُغْرَمُونَ The money that we lost, the
energy that we lost, we lost it, and
on top of that, we are also being
deprived of using this crop because it was
useless.
After that, Allah SWT then says, أَفَرَأَيْتُمُن مَا
الَّذِي تَشْرَبُونَ Do you see the water that
you drink?
The blessing of water.
Something about which people are saying that in
a few years, just like people are fighting
over oil, the next treasure that people are
going to fight over is water.
About which the Prophet SAW, he said, to
a person who is making wudu at the
edge of a river, you should not waste
the water.
You should not use more than is necessary.
So, the person, individual who is thinking that,
you know, what difference does it make if
I use a little bit more?
Okay?
Just one person, of course, it doesn't make
much difference.
But if every single person thinks the same
thing, what difference does it make if I
use a little bit more?
Okay?
Then, collectively, it's a lot of people thinking
the same thing, a lot of people wasting
resources and wasting energy, wasting water, resulting in
this lack of water and being deprived of
it.
So, wastefulness is something that we need to
avoid.
So, Allah SWT reminds us about that.
أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ الْمَاءَ الَّذِي تَشْرَبُونَ Do you see the
water that you are drinking?
أَأَنتُمْ أَنزَلْتُمُهُمْ مِنَ الْمُزْنِ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْمُنْزِلُونَ Are
you the ones who make it descend from
the sky?
Or are we the ones who do that?
Allah is the one who sends down the
rain.
Nobody can do anything.
Their hands are tied.
So many countries go through droughts for year
upon year upon year and nobody can do
anything about the droughts.
Only it is from Allah SWT.
So, أَأَنتُمْ أَنزَلْتُمُهُمْ مِنَ الْمُزْنِ أَمْ نَحْنُ الْمُنْزِلُونَ
لَوْنَ شَاءُ جِعَلْنَاهُ أُجَاجًا فَلَوْ لَا تَشْكُرُونَ If
we wanted, we could have turned this water
into salt water.
So, why is it you are not grateful?
So, if Allah had turned that water that
comes down in the rain into salt water,
then it would not be able to be
utilized.
Why you cannot drink the ocean water?
You cannot drink it because it is full
of salt.
And if you do try to drink it
and you overdo the drinking, what happens is
you actually go crazy.
You cannot drink that water.
And if you go to the Middle East
now actually, they have what's called desalination plants.
So, the majority of water that you get
in the Middle East plumbing system, the city
provides that water, it is actually desalinized water.
That water which is taken from the ocean,
put through these plants that remove the salt
and then make the water usable to a
certain degree.
But that water is still not drinkable.
Even after having all this salt removed, you
cannot drink that water.
It is actually bad for you.
It will make you sick.
And if you ever get the chance to
go to Saudi Arabia, wash a cup and
basically what people tend to do, you wash
the cup and as it is still wet,
you put it on the countertop to let
it dry.
When you remove that after it's dried, you
will see actually a circle of salt where
you left that cup to dry.
So, there is still salt content inside it.
You cannot remove it completely.
So, they've done it to a degree that
it's usable but still not drinkable.
So, the fact that Allah SWT gives us
water from the sky, which is drinkable, which
doesn't have salt in it, it is a
great blessing of Allah SWT.
There is a dua related about the Prophet
SAW.
He used to drink the water and he
used to say, الحمد لله الذي سقان عذباً
فراطاً برحمته It is all praise due to
Allah SWT who made us drink this beautiful
sweet water with His رحمة ولم يجعله ملحاً
أجاجاً بذنوبنا and He didn't make it into
salt water because of our sins.
So, the fact that Allah has given us
this water to drink and He did not
turn it into salt, this is a great
blessing.
لَوْ نَشَاءُ جَعَلْنَاهُ أُجَاجًا فَلَوْ لَا تَشْكُرُونَ If
we wanted, we could turn it into salt.
Why is it that you're not grateful?
And then he asked another question.
Something that we all take for granted.
أَفَرَأَيْتُمُ النَّارَ الَّتِي تُرُونَ Do you see the
fire that you light?
The fire that you light.
The fact that you are using fire for
cooking purposes.
For heating purposes.
And nowadays for energy.
You are using that, so Allah says أَأَنْتُمْ
أَنْشَأْتُمْ شَجَرَتَهَا أَمْ نَحْنُ الْمُنْشِئُونَ Did you make
its tree grow or were we the ones
who made it grow?
So, this goes back to the days when
people, what they used to do, they used
to take branches, they used to rub them
against each other.
Anybody who's been in Boy Scouts will know
how to light a fire by rubbing sticks
together.
You make a hole in a small stick,
you take another stick, you put it inside,
you rub it until it starts smoking and
then you put it inside some tinder, blow,
and it makes a fire.
So, the Arabs, they used to have two
specific types of tree.
They had a special name.
There was one called Marakh and the other
was called Ufar.
Marakh and Ufar.
And I'm sure people who are familiar with
this lighting of fires with trees, they know
that from specific branches you can do it,
not all branches.
For example, pine trees, they're very, very moist.
And if you try to light it, it's
not going to work.
So, it has to be dry branches, dry
trees, and only from those branches you will
be allowed to make the fire.
So, Allah SWT says, Who made the tree
through which you guys make fire?
Only Allah SWT did that.
Okay?
So, أَأَنْتُمْ إِنْشَأْتُمْ شَجَرَتَهَا أَمْ نَحْمُ الْمُنْشِئُونَ نَحْنُ
جَعَلْنَاهَا تَذْكِرَةً وَمَتَاعَ لِلْمُقْوِينَ We made it as
a reminder.
We made this fire as a reminder.
وَمَتَاعَ, a benefit لِلْمُقْوِينَ for the travelers.
مُقْوِي refers to a person who travels, and
there are different interpretations.
One, it means that a person who is
either a person who travels far off distances
and particularly in barren lands.
That is what المُقْوِي refers to.
So, it becomes a benefit for المُقْوِين.
So, how does it benefit?
It benefits by, number one, providing heat.
Number two, it provides comfort.
Okay?
And number three, it scares off wild animals.
Okay?
The fire, it scares off wild animals.
So, a person, he can be relaxed next
to this fire.
So, it is a benefit for the traveler.
That Allah SWT has enabled us to do
that.
So, then Allah tells us, فَسَبِّحْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ
الْعَظِيمِ After hearing all of these things that
have been mentioned to you, the creation of
a baby, the crops that you eat, the
fruit that you eat, the plants that you
eat, the water that you drink, the fire
that you light, all of these things you
are taking for granted, and you see them
happening in front of your eyes, then how
is it that you still disbelieve in Allah
SWT?
After hearing all of this, you should do
nothing but praise Allah SWT.
فَسَبِّحْ تَسْبِيحْ Glorify, purify Allah SWT from all
false, who is your great and exalted Lord.
Praise Him, glorify Him, meaning, have faith in
Him, believe that He exists, believe that He
has the power to do all of these
things, and believe that He will resurrect you
in the hereafter, after your deaths, and this
is the purpose of all of these verses
that have been mentioned, to make us understand
the greatness of Allah SWT, by pondering into
His creation.
With that, inshallah, we finish, and we will
continue with the lesson next week.
I pray that Allah SWT gives us tawfiq
to understand and practice what has been said
and heard.