Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Alameen Wa bihi nasta'eenu ala umuri dunya wa al-deen وَالْعَاقِبَةِ الْمُتَّقِينَ وَلَا عُدْوَانٍ إِلَّا عَلَى الظَّالِمِينَ وَصَلَى اللَّهُمَّ وَسَلَّمَ عَلَى نَبِيْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ وَعَلَى آلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ أَجْمَعِينَ Inshallah ta'ala, this is our second session where we were learning about the tafsir of Surah Al-Baqarah. Last week when we started, I gave a general introduction to tafsir studies and how tafsir was studied and some of the rulings regarding it. Today, inshallah ta'ala, I hope to start and inshallah we will start. start at the beginning verses of Surah Al-Baqarah and before I do what I want to talk about is why I chose to go through Surah Al-Baqarah and some of the virtues that this surah has.
Now we know that the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is a blessing sent by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. It is a guidance to mankind. It is a book that in it has our salvation if we follow it and act upon it and if we don't then...
This is a consequence you must face. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us. So, the book of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is a guidance.
It guides to that which is correct and upright. يَهْدِي لِلَّتِهِ أَقْوَمُ Like Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, إِنَّ هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ يَهْدِي لِلَّتِهِ أَقْوَمُ This book, it guides to that which is the most upright. Now, specifically Surah Al-Baqarah, one of the reasons I chose this number one, it is a surah that contains almost everything.
If you want Tawheed This surah talks about Tawheed If you want Ahkam and rulings The do's and don'ts The prayer, the fasting This surah talks about it If you want to learn about Hajj This is the surah to go to If you want to learn about the people of the past And the stories This is the surah that you will go to If you want to learn more about The kind of people there are With regards to the guidance that is being sent down This is the surah that you want to go to So one of the reasons why I chose it Was because while we are going through through these verses, we will be able to expand upon our understanding and knowledge of the deen in general. So when we go through the stories of the Banu Israel, you'll get more information about the people of the past, what did they do right, what did they do wrong, what did Allah say about them. You will learn more about the Prophets, Prophet Adam is spoken about in the Surah extensively, Prophet Ibrahim. So your information and your knowledge regarding these things will increase.
But also, a lot of rulings are mentioned in the Surah. Which is why if you're understanding of the prayer, you're understanding of hajj, you're understanding of fasting, you will learn a lot. Also many other rulings related to divorce and marriage and the orphans, rulings related to financial transactions, interest and riba. Even to the extent that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this surah speaks about when someone is borrowing money and the rulings related to that, loans. So it's a surah that...
that is really extensive in the subject it talks about, which is why I wanted to go through the Surah and hopefully we can all benefit inshaAllah ta'ala. This is why some scholars have said that this Surah, if you don't see the overarching theme, the general maqsid and objective of the Surah, it would look like it's many different chapters put together. And regarding the overarching theme of Surah Al-Baqarah, I'll speak about it in a bit, but let's speak about some of the virtues and the...
a hadith related to this that the Prophet ﷺ spoke about. In one narration, the Prophet ﷺ said, take hold of Surah Al-Baqarah, recite Surah Al-Baqarah and take hold of it, فَإِنَّ أَخْذُهَا بَرَكَةً for taking hold of it and acting upon it and reading it, it is a blessing. وَتَرْكُهَا حَسَرًا and leaving it off is a grief. And the sorcerers do not banish it or the sorcerers do not allow it.
and the evil magicians and evildoers will not be able to harm you if you're constantly reciting Surah Al-Baqarah. In another narration, the Prophet ﷺ mentioned that on the Day of Judgment, as we know, the Qur'an will be brought as a witness, and the Qur'an will either be against you or for you. وَالْقُرْآنُ حُجَّةً لَكَ أَوْ عَلَيْكَ And the Prophet ﷺ mentioned in the narration that when the Qur'an is brought forth, it will come as a witness on behalf of those, and as a shafi'ah, as an intercede.
interceding or intercessor on behalf of those who used to recite it. So the Quran will be interceding on your behalf if you used to recite it and the Prophet then said that will be being led by Surah Al-Baqarah. By Surah Al-Baqarah and another narration by Surah Al-Baqarah and Al-Imran, which is the third Surah in the Quran, the Surah after Surah Al-Baqarah. Now from here we learn again there is a special emphasis on this Surah.
We know that the greatest single verse in the Quran is Ayatul Kursi, which is in Surah Al-Baqarah. We know that Prophet ﷺ said, whoever recites the last two verses of Surah Al-Baqarah, it will be sufficient for him, for the person's protection. We know that Prophet ﷺ said that the shaytan does not enter into a house where Surah Al-Baqarah is recited.
So there are so many different virtues that one can relate to this particular surah, which is one of the reasons why I chose this. So now... what I urge all of you to do is while we go through the tafsir and the explanation of these verses and these ayat, that you try and memorize a portion every week. We have this session once a week.
So during that week, maybe if you can try and memorize the portion that we have read or we have explained. And by the time, inshallah ta'ala, if Allah wills, when we are done with this tafsir, then you have memorized Surah Al-Baqarah, which is a great thing. And Really it's an amazing achievement for not just to memorize the surah but to understand it as well It has been narrated by Imam Malik that Ibn Umar, Abdullah Ibn Umar, the son of Umar Al-Khattab When he learned the surah that it took him eight years and another narration mentions ten years So again, it shows you that the way the Sahaba studied the Quran is very different than the way we do it They wouldn't just memorize the statements.
They will truly study the Quran and try to act upon it. Why did I choose Surah Al-Baqarah? Because of its virtue and also because of how many of its content. We will be learning about different subject matters, which again is very good for the person that wants a general understanding of the religion. Now, before I enter into the explanation of the surah and the first ayat, I want to mention a few things.
One is that, my brothers and sisters, that the Qur'an... It has a maqsad. Every chapter, whether it is a small chapter like إِنَّا أَعَطَيْنَا كَالْكَوْثَرُ which consists of just three verses, or it is a larger chapter like Surah Al-Baqarah which consists of 286 verses.
And one might, especially in the larger surahs, one might think that they seem to be talking about different things. One moment we're talking about Adam, then about Ibrahim. One moment we're talking about the people of Bani Israel, then we're talking about the rulings of fasting.
And you might think that there is no overarching theme, but there always is, and some scholars have dedicated works to just look at the overarching theme of the surah. What do all of these different things have in common? Now, one famous mufassir that is known for doing that, before entering into the surah, is Tahir ibn Ashur in his Tafseer al-Tahrir wal-Tanweer, the Tunisian scholar. He will always mention the Hidayat al-Sura, or the Maqas of the Surah, the objective of this chapter, before embarking on the actual Tafseer of the Ayat. And there are other scholars that did so as well, and there are some contemporary works.
Sheikh Tahir ibn Ashur was technically contemporary. But yes. Al-Muhim. So what is the Maqsad, or the objective, or the overarching theme of Surah Al-Baqarah.
Now, Ikhwani fi Allah, it can be summarized into, or it can be said it is the obedience of Allah, the importance of the obedience of Allah and the danger of disobeying Allah Almighty. Now, we know this Qur'an is here to guide us, and we must take this guidance on board. We must take it and act upon it, and in that will be our salvation.
And we will live a good life in this world and an even better one in the next. If we don't act upon that which is revealed to us, then we will go astray. This point of obedience and a willingness to accept the message and act upon it is what this surah is going to teach you.
Now, you can immediately see that in the beginning of the surah, when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about the three types of people there are. In the beginning of the surah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will talk about the believers and their descriptions. First, Allah says that this Qur'an is a guidance to those who have taqwa.
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes the people in relation to this guidance that came from Allah. Allah into three categories. You have the believers that will be mentioned in the following verses, الذين يؤمنون بالغيب, those who believe in the unseen, ويقيمون الصلاة, establish the prayer, etc.
And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, so that's the first group, the people that accepted the guidance and believed in it, that is one category. They obeyed. Then you have those who didn't obey, which are of two categories, the actual disbelievers, those who did openly, and they are the kuffar. And then after that, Allah speaks about the hypocrites and the munafiqun that acted as if they obeyed but deep down didn't.
So already you're learning about the categories of people in relation to the guidance, did they accept it and obey or did they not? Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about the story of Adam alayhi salam. And why is that significant when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala starts speaking about Prophet Adam and when Allah mentions to the angels that he's going to create Adam. This story is a story of obedience.
Iblis refusing to obey Allah and then being damned and cursed. Adam and Hawa disobeying Allah and then what they did to gain forgiveness. Again, the theme is obedience and disobedience.
So as Allah is telling us, this is an example of your father, Prophet Adam, who made this mistake of not listening. to the commandments of Allah when Allah told him to not obey or listen to the Shaytan. Now Adam of course then immediately repents to Allah which is a lesson that we can take. Sometimes you will make mistakes and you will not obey what you do, do what your father Adam did. As we move along, Allah then tells us about a Ummah, a nation, not just a person but a whole Ummah, a whole nation, the nation of Bani Israel who collectively If you will, there are of course good people in them, but as collectively disobeyed so many times.
And Allah tells us when Allah starts talking about them from the surah, يَا بَنِ إِسْرَاءِ إِلَىٰ اذْكُرُوا نِعْمَتِي الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ وَأَوْفُوا بِعَهْدِي أُوفِي بِعَهْدِكُمْ وَإِيَّا يَفْرْهَبُونَ وَآمِنُوا When Allah is telling them, believe in that which has been revealed to you. وَلَا تَكُونُ أَوَّلَ كَافِرٍ بِهِ Don't be the first one that denies it. And then Allah says to them, وَأَقِيمُوا صَلَوَاتُوا to zakah, establish the prayer and give charity again, commandments which they will disobey. And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells them how they disobeyed. And then there is a story that talks about their relationship to guidance and revelation.
And that is the story of the cow. This story that is talking about the cow is named, this whole chapter of Surah Al-Baqarah, which means the cow, is named after that one incident. What's the relation?
This surah speaks about so many things, fasting and hajj and faith and iman and tawheed and prophets. Why was it named after this one incident? Because it is in the mudaj. It highlights this theme, which is of an acceptance of the revelation and then obeying it. Because when Prophet Musa, who was getting revelation from Allah, tells his people, the people of Israel, that there will be a guidance.
And they go to Prophet Musa and they tell them there was a person that was killed. Again, when we get to those verses, I will speak about them in detail. But the story goes, they go to the Prophet for guidance.
Someone was killed and they wanted to find out who the perpetrator was. They go to the Prophet. That's very good that they went to the Prophet.
Then the Prophet gives them, Prophet Musa gives them a commandment. A commandment. اذبحوا بقرة Slaughter a cow.
That's a commandment. What should they have done? Do as the Prophet tells you. Do as the Wahy, the revelation tells you. Obey.
Instead, what did they do? They started saying, أَتَتَّخِذُ لَهُزُوًا Are you taking us as a mockery? And then they kept on pestering and asking different questions.
questions and then more detail and again something that our Prophet warned us about and said among the reasons why the people that came before you were destroyed was كثرة مسائلهم many questions especially the kind of badgering questions that wasn't them seeking knowledge but more so bothering the Prophet and just the Prophet Musa and just keep asking him unnecessary questions and unnecessary details as that story goes along, what does Musa tell them? he says فَفْعَلْوُ مَا تُؤْمَرُونَ he pleads with them, do what you're being told obey and then they keep going and keep going now as the story of the people of Banu Israel progressed in Surah Al-Baqarah in the end they were an example of a nation, an Ummah that Allah blessed but then as soon as they disobeyed Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala took away that blessing and they became among the lowest of the low then Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala gives us another example and that example is the example of Prophet Ibrahim Alayhi Salaam now again what does Allah say about Prophet Ibrahim when Allah trialed and tested Ibrahim with commandments فَأَتَمَّهُنَّ Then he acted upon them and completed them And obeyed An example of one who obeyed Again The theme of this surah Is obedience Look at Prophet Ibrahim and how he made him an Imam A leader One that is loved by Allah He ended up becoming the Khalil of Allah The close companion of Allah Because he obeyed When Allah tells him to build a Kaaba, he builds the Kaaba. When Allah tells him to leave his family in the desert, he does.
When Allah tells him to slaughter his son, he's ready to do it. He obeys. طَاعَ And استجابة. Then, after Allah...
giving us these examples, the categories of the people in relation to the guidance they are receiving. Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about Adam as the first example, and Iblis. And then tells us about the nation of Banu Israel. Then tells us about the pinnacle of hidayah and guidance and acceptance and ta'a and submission, Prophet Ibrahim.
Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us about our commandments. This is where the commandments in Surah Al-Baqarah start. And interestingly enough, one of the salaf said, that Surah Al-Baqarah فيها ألف أمر و ألف نهي و ألف حكم There are a thousand commandments and a thousand prohibitions and a thousand verdicts in this Surah.
So this Surah is filled with things that we must do, the do's and don'ts. So after Allah preparing us and telling us of those who obeyed and how they were blessed and those who didn't obey and how they were destroyed, Allah then tells us... Okay, so here are your commandments, starting with Tawheed. And this is why Allah ﷻ in this surah, surah 163, says, وَإِلَٰهُكُمْ إِلَٰهٌ وَاحِدٌ لَا إِلَهِ إِلَّهُ وَالرَّحْمَنُ الرَّحِيمُ And the one who is worthy of your worship, your Lord, is one. The most merciful, especially merciful to the believers.
In the following verses, we'll talk about Tawheed. Later on in surah, in verse 177, Allah ﷻ talks about the other commandments, the prayer and the zakat. And then at verse 183, Allah ﷻ speaks about fasting.
After that, Allah ﷻ speaks about fasting. speaks about hajj, after that Allah speaks about matters related to the family how to get married, rulings of divorce etc, then Allah speaks about financial transactions and their rulings all of these, what do they have to do with the overarching theme? these are do's and don'ts do what you're being told فَفْعَلْوِ مَا تُؤْمَرُونَ obey and stay away from the prohibitions until the end of Surah Al-Baqarah when Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then finally gives us another example of the of the people that flourished in their obedience. And because they obeyed, they were forgiven. آمَنَ الرَّسُولِ وَأُنزِئِ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُونَ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ The second last ayah of this verse is talking about our Prophet Muhammad ﷺ and his companions and how they had faith and believed and acted upon it and obeyed.
Then Allah ﷻ, knowing we have shortcomings, said the final verse in the surah, لَا يُكَلِّفُ اللَّهُ نَفْسًا إِلَّا وُسْعَهَا That Allah ﷻ does not burden anyone with that which they cannot do. You will have shortcomings, you will make mistakes If you do, Adam is your example And Hawa, repent to Allah If you have shortcomings, remember Allah will never burden upon you That which you cannot bear This is a general theme A theme of obedience I spent way too much time on that Because I was hoping to start the tafsir of the surah today InshaAllah ta'ala So now you know, so I want you always to keep that in mind when we are talking about any aspect of the surah. This is the theme of the surah, it's ta'a and istijabah. BarakAllahu feekum.
Tayeb. InshaAllah ta'ala, we're going to start the tafsir now. Bismillahirrahmanirrahim. Alif, Lam, Meem. That is the Book, there is no doubt in it, a guidance for the righteous.
Those who believe in the unseen and establish prayer, and spend from what We have provided for them. And those who believe in what was revealed to you and what was revealed before you, and in the Hereafter, they are certain. Those are on a guidance from their Lord, and those are the successful.
Allah is saying, In the name of Allah, I start my recitation, my learning, I start with the name of Allah seeking blessings and aid. In the name of Allah, Ar-Rahman the most merciful, Ar-Rahim the especially merciful to the believers. These two words, Ar-Rahman and Ar-Rahim are among the names of Allah.
Ar-Rahman means the most merciful, that showers his mercy on the people. mercy upon all of his creation, whether they are believers or non-believers, whether they are animals or humans, it doesn't matter. Allah showers his blessings upon all of his creation and this is what the term Rahman means.
Ar-Raheem is more specific, it means especially merciful to the believers, which is why Allah says in Surah Al-Ahzab, وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا Indeed Allah is merciful to the believers. Allah says in Surah Al-Ahzab, He is the one that shows mercy and is the most merciful. Ar-Rahim, the giver of mercy.
So the first name Ar-Rahman is talking about who Allah is, whereas Ar-Rahim is talking about what Allah does. Ar-Rahman, the one who is the most merciful. Ar-Rahim, the one who gives mercy and shows mercy.
And Allah knows best. Al-Muhim, Bismillahir-Rahmanir-Rahim. You will find this in every single chapter of the Qur'an.
In the beginning, it starts with the Basmala. The Basmalah, this is what Bismillah ar-Rahim for short, scholars call it the Basmalah. You will find it in every single surah except for Surah Al-Bara'ah or Surah Al-Tawbah. And the scholars, they discuss, is Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim actually a verse in the Quran? Is it not a verse and it's there just to separate between chapters?
Also, Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim, is it part of the chapter itself and you add it or is it not? And there is a lot of kalam and the scholars have discussed this. So if I say, to say that the strongest opinion is that definitely Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim is an ayah in the Quran, it is a verse in the Quran and many scholars have said it is its own verse, it is mustaqil, ayatun mustaqillah, it is a verse that is standing on its own and it is there to separate between the chapters.
So it is a verse, it is an ayah, you get the reward of reciting the Quran but it is there to separate between the suras, the chapters, it is not part of the chapter, except for Surah Al-Fatiha, which the scholars differ over, and many have said that it's part of it, and also the verse in Surah Al-Namlah, إِنَّهُمْ مُنْ سُلَيْمَانَ وَإِنَّهُ بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرُّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ And Allah knows best. Then Allah says, أَلِفْ لَمِّمْ And whenever we come across these letters, أَلِفْ لَمِّمْ the Tafsir, the explanation, Of these letters is Allah knows best what they mean. Allah knows what they mean. Now, yesterday, not yesterday, last week when I was talking about our methodology of tafsir, I said that one of the first places you go to to understand the Qur'an is the Qur'an itself. If not, then the sunnah of the Prophet ﷺ.
Why? Because Allah says in the Qur'an, وَأَنزَلْنَا إِلَيْكَ ذِكَرًا لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِلِ إِلَيْهِمْ O Muhammad, you have sent upon... upon you, the Qur'an, so that you can clarify to the people what has been revealed to them. So, we have no such clarification from the Prophet ﷺ. There is no narration from the Prophet ﷺ telling us, alif, la, meem, means this, this, or this.
No such thing. So, if we do not have tafsir from the Prophet ﷺ explaining to us what these terms mean, remember I said among the ways you understand the Qur'an is you refer back to the Arabic language. And, In the Arabic language, letters by themselves without any haraka, alif, la, meem, they do not carry any known meaning in the Arabic language.
So that didn't help either. So then the scholars of Tafsir had to understand what these terms meant. And they all, or most of them, there are some people that made some attempts, but they don't have any evidence to back their attempts, whether it means this or that, or it is referring to something. But the correct opinion is... that Allah knows what they mean.
Now does that mean they have no use? No, they definitely have a use and the حروف المقطع these letters that come in the beginning of surahs they are mentioned 29 times in the Quran or 29 chapters in the Quran have the these huruf and sometimes they come in one letters like noon well a column you may assume or off or a little more and the deed sod or and the dick one letter noon off sod they come in two letters ha me ya seen Baja they come in three letters alif la me tossing me they also come in four letters kafa yeah I mean sod and of course I'm sorry, those are five letters. Those will come in four letters.
Alif, la, meem, saad, and sut al-a'raf, and alif, la, meem, ra, and ra'ad, and the likes. So it comes in different numbers. You have one, two, three, four, and five. What do they mean?
I said, But the scholars, they said there are a lot of benefits in these letters. And another thing that has been noted is every time Allah does use these letters, it is is followed up by a mentioning of the Qur'an. قَافْ وَالْقُرْآنِ الْمَجِيدِ صَادْ وَالْقُرْآنِ الْذِكْرِ أَلِفْ لَامِمْ ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ That book. طَاهَا مَا أَنزَلْنَ إِلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنِ So, whenever these letters are mentioned, the Qur'an is talked about.
So, what are some of the benefits of this? Now, as we all know, when our Messenger Muhammad ﷺ, peace and blessings be upon him, would recite the Qur'an, upon Quraysh. Quraysh, the tribe of the Prophet ﷺ in Mecca, they didn't like that. And they would try anything they could to stop the Prophet from reciting the Qur'an. And from the things they would do was, they would say, like Allah says in Surah Fussilat, وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لَا تَسْمَعُوا لِهَذَا الْقُرْآنِ وَالْغَوْفِهِ So they would say, Allah says in the Qur'an, that the disbelievers would say, do not listen to this Qur'an.
In fact, drown it out with noise. So whenever the Prophet ﷺ prophet will try to recite Quran they would drown it out with noise they would whistle and clap and play and make noises just so that the Prophet would not be able to recite or so that they would not be able to hear now when the Prophet would say for example Alif Lamim or Hamim this is something they've never heard of these people were experts in the Arabic language they were poets and they were people that loved poetry and they would boast over their usage of the language and over their comprehension, etc. So then when they hear Rasulullah ﷺ saying, حَامِيم they will be like, wait, what? So this would grab their attention.
That's why the scholars of the Seenah said, لِلْتَنْبِيهِ to grab their attention. And that would happen. And then after that, Allah will talk about ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ الْأَرَيْبَ فِيهُ ذَلِي الْمُتَّقِينَ So why would it grab their attention?
Like the Arabs say, كُلُّ جَدِيدٍ لَهُ لَذَّةً When something is new, something is new. something you haven't heard of, you're curious, you want to hear more. So this is one of the reasons why the حروف المقطع are used.
Other scholars have mentioned other reasons as well, such as للتعجيز, to challenge. And this was because هذا القرآن, this book, this قرآن, it consists of هذه الحروف, these letters. This قرآن consists of these letters, أَلِفْ لَمْ مِمْ and هَا مِمْ and عَيْن سِنْ قَافْ These letters.
that you guys all know is what the Qur'an consists of. Yet, you guys cannot bring even one chapter similar to it. So it's almost like the challenge of, these are the letters that the Qur'an consists of, here they are, why don't you bring one like it?
And we all know, especially in some of the beginning chapters of Surah Al-Baqarah, when we get there, beginning verses, the second page, Taghriban, Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la will pose this challenge. And in the Qur'an, you will find that Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la poses a challenge. to the disbelievers. If you believe that this Qur'an is something that anyone can make, anyone can make up, then bring something like it. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala first says, لَيْنِ اجْتَمَعَتِ الْإِنسُ وَالْجِنُ وَعَلَىٰ أَن يَأْتُوا بِمِثْلِ هَذَا الْقُرْآنِ لَا يَأْتُونَ بِمِثْلِهِ وَلَوَ كَانَ بَعْضُهُمْ لِبَعْضٍ ظَهِرًا Even if the jinn and humankind would come together to produce something like the Qur'an, they would not be able to do so.
And then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala made it easier and said, Bring ten chapters. make it even easier you will come in Surah Al-Waqar when Allah says فَأْتُوا بِسُورَةٍ مِنْ مِثْلِهِ bring one chapter like it Even if it's the smallest one, إِنَّا عَطِيْنَاكَ الْكَوْثَرَ Three verses, can you produce something like the Qur'an in its beauty, in its melody, in its rulings, in its wisdom, in its precision? No, no one can do that. Why? Because it comes from Allah Almighty.
So, these are the two reasons. What I want you to know is Alif, La, Meem, and any other verses similar to it, like Hamim, and Taha, and Yasin, and Saad. that whenever you want to learn its tafsir, what is the reason, what does it mean?
Allah knows. What are some of the benefits of this? التنبيه والتعجيز التنبيه to grab their attention, right? When they hear this and they haven't heard it before, it would grab the attention of Quraysh, and also للتعجيز to remind them, it is these letters that the Qur'an consists of, yet can you produce anything like it? And the answer is no. وَلَنْ تَفْعَلُوا طيب So بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيمِ In the name of Allah The most merciful Especially merciful to the believers أَلِفْ لَمِّمْ Allah knows their meaning ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ That is the book Now a lot of books of Tafsir and translation will say this instead of that.
This in Arabic word is هذا. That, الإشارة للبعيد, is ذلك. We want to say that.
That over there. It signifies that what is being talked about or pointed towards or mentioned is far away. ذلك الكتاب Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, that is the book.
لا ريب فيه In which there is no doubt. هدى للمتقين It is a guidance to those who have Taqwa. So why did Allah say that and not say that? Why did Allah speak about the book as if it is far away?
Now one of the reasons, my brothers and sisters, is that that is the book, it shows that it is elevated, high, up there, which is why we are required to say that, to show how honored and how high. and how elevated this book is. Another reason, Ikhwan fil-Lah, is that when the Qur'an was being recited, This verse, the Qur'an wasn't collated and collected, so there was no particular book.
So what book is it referring to? It's referring to the book that is with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ There is no doubt in it.
المُهِمُ The Qur'an, there is no doubt in it. That is the book in which there is no doubt. لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ When we say لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ There is no doubt in it. It means two things.
لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ There is no doubt that this Qur'an is from Allah Almighty. Right? This is the book.
That is the book in which there is no doubt. There is no doubt that it is from Allah Almighty. Because if it was from a human being, you will find it in many contradictions.
If it was from other than Allah, you will surely find in it many contradictions, which there isn't any. It is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because of its prediction. its prophecies, its wisdom, its perfection. It is from Allah and there is no doubt. Also, ikhwan fi Allah, ذَٰلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ This book, there is no doubt in it.
Meaning what? The commandments and the statements are in this book are all perfect. Like Allah says in the Quran, وَتَمَّتْ كَلِمَةُ رَبِّكَ صِدْقًا وَعَدْلًا And the word of your Lord has been perfected. Perfected. The words of the Qur'an have been perfected.
Sidqan in truth wa adlan in justice. Truth in its statements and just in its rulings. Just as rulings and truthful in statements. So the Quran is all truth. There is no doubt in it.
ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ That is the book. لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ In which there is no doubt. There is no doubt it's from Allah.
There's no doubt in it. It's all true. هُدًى It is a guidance. لِلْمُتَّقِينَ To those who have taqwa. أَخْوَانِ فِي اللَّهِ Taqwa.
The muttaqeen, those who have taqwa, are the pious people. Those who fear Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Hope in Allah's mercy.
Those who obey. Those who obey. And remember that overarching theme of this surah is one of obedience.
So, now Allah tells us about the descriptions and qualities of those who obey. Also, Ikhwan ifillah, since this Qur'an is a guidance, do you want to know what that guidance is? Do you want to know more detail about that guidance? Iqra'hadhi surah.
Read the surah and in it you will find the guidance that you need. The answers that you're looking for. Fihi huda.
لا ريب فيه There is no doubt in it Read and you will find Most definitely That there is no doubt in it أَلِفْ لَمِيم Allah knows what it means ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لَا رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِلْمُتَّقِينَ That is the book of Quran In which there is there is no doubt a guidance to those who have taqwa. Now Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala describes the people of taqwa, the people who accept this guidance, who are they? Remember earlier I mentioned that the Qur'an, I mean that Sultan al-Baqarah will discuss three categories of people, those who accept the guidance and obey, those who disobey, which were two categories, the disbelievers, the outright disobeyed, and the hypocrites who claim to be believers but actually were not. In the following verses, Allah will first tell us about the Qur'an.
the qualities of the believers, than the qualities of the disbelievers, than the qualities of the hypocrites. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us in this verse, the third verse, about who the believers are. Allah says, الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ They are those who believe in the غَيْب. They believe in the unseen.
وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةَ And they establish establish the prayer, وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ and they spend out of that which we have provided for them. Here Allah mentioned three qualities. Number one, الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ They are those who believe in the unseen.
Ikhwan-i-Fillah. This is one of the characters of the believers. They believe in Allah, they have not seen Allah.
They believe in Jannah and Naar, they have not seen Jannah or Naar. They believe in the Hereafter, they have not seen the Hereafter. They believe in the angels, and they have not seen the angels.
They believe, although they have not seen. يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ Allah praises the believers and mentions that their first quality is that they believe in the unseen. I want to share with you a hadith.
And this hadith... is mentioned in Mustadrak al-Hakim, and many scholars have authenticated, including al-Bani, who mentioned that it's Hasan, that the Prophet ﷺ, he asked the companions a question. He said, من أعجب الخلق إيماناً?
Who has the most amazing iman from Allah's creation? And then the companions, so the Prophet is asking the companions, who do you think has the most amazing iman from amongst his creation? أَعْجَبُ الْخَلْقِ إِمَانًا And then they said, when the Prophet asked them, they said, الملائكة, the angels. Then the Prophet ﷺ said, وَمَا لَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ وَهُمْ حِنْدَ رَبِّهِمْ And why would they not believe? Why would the angels not believe and they are with their Lord?
Angels are with their Lord, why would they not believe? And that's why Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Quran, إِنَّ الَّذِينَ عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَيُسَبِّحُونَهُ وَلَهُ يَسْجِدُونَ When Allah was talking about the angels, Allah said, they obey Him and they believe in Him, and they glorify Him and they prostrate to Him. These are the angels. would believe? Why wouldn't they when they are with their Lord?
Then the companion said that they are the prophets. And the Prophet said, and similar, he said, وَمَا لَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ وَالْوَحْيُ يُنَزَلُ عَلَيْهِمَا كَمَا قَالَوا And why would they not believe When they are receiving revelation from Allah Then the companion said Is it us, the Sahaba Then the Prophet said Why would you not believe And I am here with you You met me, you met the Prophet of Allah And then the Prophet described The people that have the most amazing faith And they said They are the people who received They received a message A letter, a book And they believed what was in it Never having met the Prophet Or the unseen يؤمنون بالغيب I ask Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala To make us of those That the Prophet was talking about In that narration Those whom Allah spoke about In the Qur'an And they say رَبَّنَا آمَنَّا بِمَا أَنزِلْتَ وَاتَّبَعْنَا الرَّسُولُ فَاكْتُبْنَا مَعَ الشَّهِدِينَ O our Lord آمَنَّا بِمَا أَنزِلْتَ We believe in that What you have revealed وَاتَّبَعْنَا الرَّسُولُ And we have followed the messenger O Allah, rightness among those who witness the truth. Ameen, Ya Rabbil Alameen.
Allahumma ja'alna minhum. Tayeb. So, there is so much virtue in believing in the unseen. And as believers, we must believe in the unseen. If you deny the jinn, Or the angels, you're not a believer.
You have to. To believe. That which is mentioned in the Quran and the Sunnah, you must believe. This is the character of the Muslim.
The character of those who accept the guidance and obey is what? يؤمنون بالغيب And then Allah said, ويقيمون الصلاة And they perform or establish the prayer. إخواني في الله Allah did not say, ويصلون And they pray.
ويقيمون الصلاة And there is more meaning in إقامة الصلاة than there is in الصلاة or أن تصلي To establish the prayer. The scholars of Tafsir said, means, that you do all of the things including the salah, you do the pillars, everything in the salah, you won't leave something off just because it's sunnah, you establish the prayer and pray like the Prophet prayed, like he said, I teach a fiqh class and a lot of times we are discussing in the fiqh class, at the moment I'm doing the fiqh of the prayer, We discuss, okay, so this is, what are some of the actions in the Salah that if you leave off, your Salah is still valid? And what are the actions that if you leave off, your Salah breaks?
And then we also discuss some of the actions in the Salah that you leave off purposely. Does your Salah break? For example, let's say you purposely didn't say, رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِي in between the sujoods.
Does that break your Salah? And the answer is no, it doesn't break your Salah. It's among the hay'at or the sunan. It is among the recommended acts in the Salah. Now...
That being said, I always repeat this in my class as well. When we're learning the do's and don'ts and the details of the salah and what breaks it and what doesn't break and what invalidates it. We're learning about fiqh here, the rulings. But when it comes to our actual salah, we shouldn't be looking at those things. We should pray in the best way possible.
Like Allah says, الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ صَلَاةً They establish the prayer. Don't do everything. Don't leave off the Salat ala al-Nabi in your tahiyyat. Don't leave off the dua towards the end.
Do everything in your Salat. Pray like the Prophet prayed. This has the most reward in it, and this will be more likely that you are part of those who accept the guidance, they establish the prayer. Again, out of all... the acts of worship mentioned, Allah started with the prayer, highlighting its importance.
Okay. الذين يؤمنون بالغيب, those who believe in the unseen. ويقيمون الصلاة and they establish the prayer.
ومما رزقناهم ينفقون أن and they spend from that which we have given them, Allah said. They spend from that which we have provided for them. Subhanallah. Again, among the characters of the believers and those who accept the guidance from Allah is that they spend from that which Allah has given them.
First, Allah reminds us here that whatever you own, Allah gave you. Whatever you own, Allah gave you. That's why Allah did not use the word kasaba, what you've earned. وَمِمَّا كَسَبْتُمْ تُنفِقُونَ No, وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ From that which we have given them, provided for them. for them because in everything that we have is a provision and a risk from Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala nima razaqnahum yunfiqoon quwani fi Allah Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala said wulaika ala astaghfirullah walladhina yu'minuna bima unjili ilayka walladhina yu'minuna bima unjili ilayka then Allah gives another quality of the believers they are those who believe walladhina yu'minuna those who believe in what?
bima unjili ilayka in that which has been revealed upon you O Muhammad or revealed upon the prophet Prophet ﷺ, al-wahyu, revelation. They believe in all that has been revealed to the Prophet ﷺ. Some of the tafsirs they mention, they say it is the Qur'an, which is correct, but that's not the only thing. At-ta'beer al-awlah wal-wahyu, it is better to say it is all revelation, because even the sunnah is revealed from Allah ﷻ, like Allah ﷻ mentioned in many places in the Qur'an, that Allah ﷻ reveals upon the Prophet ﷺ, the Qur'an wal-hikmah and the sunnah. So...
What are the characters of the believers? Verse number 3 said, They are those who believe in the unseen, establish the prayer, and spend from that which we have given them. And that spending could be charity, the zakat, it could be sadaqah, it could even be something that is not necessarily related to money. They also spend, they also, مِمَا رَزَقَنَا مِنْفِقُونَ That includes those who teach the deen. Allah has provided them with the knowledge and they propagate that knowledge.
Allah will give you wealth, you... Give that wealth to those who are in need And here what's interesting is also Allah did not mention who is being given to They give from that which you spent Give it to If you want to learn who is being given to You have to read the surah And you will find more detail I mentioned in my last week's tafsir That the ayat sometimes will generalize something And you will find more details In another verse As we go along the surah You will find out who you should be spending on Like Allah says Say what you spent from your wealth It is for who? It is for your parents, it is for the poor, for the orphans, for those in need, etc.
So Allah will give you more details as you go along. Then Allah says in verse 4 وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنزِلْ إِلَيْكَ They are those who believe in that which has been revealed to you, the Qur'an and the Sunnah. وَمَا أُنزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ And that which has been revealed before you, O Muhammad. Which is what? They believe in the Torah of Musa, in the Injil of Isa.
They believe in the Suhuf of Ibrahim, and the Suhuf of Musa, and the Zabur of Dawud. They believe in all. the books that have been revealed, all the scriptures that have been revealed, whether they are named or not named, right?
Like we said, أَمَنَ رَسُولِ مَنْ أُنزِئِ اللَّهِ مِنْ رَبِّهِ وَالْمُؤْمِنُ كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُوبِهِ They believe in that which has been revealed upon you, O Muhammad. and that which has been revealed before you. مِنْ قَبْلِكَ بِفُورْ يُوْ وَبِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ And they believe in the hereafter.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala said, and they believe in the day of resurrection with certainty. يُوقِنُونَ comes from the يَقِين which is to believe with certainty. So they are certain in their belief in the hereafter.
Again, among the qualities and the character of the believers is what? That they believe in the hereafter. So how many qualities...
that Allah gave us here? Let's count them. Who are those who accepted the guidance and gained salvation? They are those who believe in the unseen.
الَّذِين يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ Number one, they believe in the unseen. وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَاةِ They establish the prayer. وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ They spend from that which Allah has given them. وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنزِلِ إِلَيْكَ And they believe in that which has been revealed to you, O Muhammad.
وَمَا أُنزِلَ مِنْ قَبْلِكَ And they believe in that which has been revealed to you, O Muhammad. before you, meaning the previous scriptures. وَبِالْآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُقِنُونَ And they believe in the hereafter with certainty. Those are the six characteristics that I mentioned here regarding the believers, those that have the character trait of those who obey and believe and accept the God. guidance from Allah.
So what do they get in return after all of this? Allah says أُولَٰئِكَ عَلَى هُدًى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَأُولَٰئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ Allah said that they are upon guidance from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala أُولَٰئِكَ they are أَلَا هُدًى أُولَٰئِكَ أَيْا الْمُوصُوفُونَ بِهَا دِهِ السِّفَاتِ those who have these qualities and these descriptions are أَلَا هُدًى مِن رَبِّهِمْ they are upon guidance from their Lord وَأُولَٰئِكَ and they are هُمْ الْمُفْلِحُونَ those who are successful indeed they and only they are the ones who are successful so ikhwan ifillah from here we learn that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala promised as a true success if we embody these qualities. Your belief in the unseen, the establishing of the prayer, the giving of charity, and of course, the believing in the Qur'an and the Sunnah and in the previous scriptures. So, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala tells us here, ikhwanifillah, that they are the successful.
I'm going to conclude my lesson here. What does it mean to be successful? If you want to learn what true success is, what are the pillars and the keys to success? success, I urge you to read Surah Al-Asr, where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, وَالْعَصْرِ إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ Allah says, by the time, indeed mankind is in loss, except الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ Those who have faith, iman, and do righteous actions, and they recommend each other the truth, and they recommend each other patience. These four characteristics will make you among the successful if you do.
But what is true success? Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala mentions in Surah Imran فَمَنْ زُحْسِحَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدَ فَازُ Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala said Whoever is removed away from the fire And enters into paradise has indeed become successful So that's success my brothers and sisters To be saved from hellfire and to enter into Jannah Ask Allah to make us among those who are successful. Ask Allah to forgive our sins. Ask Allah to accept our good deeds from us and to make us of those that receive the guidance and obey. I'm going to stop here, inshallah.
We carry on next week, starting from the sixth verse. إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفُرُوا صَوَانًا عَلَيْهِمْ هَذَا وَأَخُرُوا دَعْوَانًا لِلْحَمْدِ لِلْأَرْبِعَالِمِ السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته.