Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "Allah has sent down the best of speech, a Book similar in its parts"
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The questioner:
To begin with, may Allah bless you. This person is asking about the interpretation of the saying[Az-Zumar 39:22-23] [Az-Zumar 39:23] from which he returned.
The Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says:[Az-Zumar 39:23] meaning the Noble Qur'an. It is the best of speech, the truest of speech, and the best of speech. It is the best of speech; Allah has sent down the best of speech. So the Qur'an is revealed from Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, through Jibril, the Trustworthy of Revelation (peace be upon him), and Jibril conveyed it to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and Muhammad conveyed it to his Ummah. This is the chain of the Qur'an: from Muhammad, from Jibril, from Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. And the Qur'an is the best of speech because it is the speech of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He; it is the best of speech.
Yes,[Az-Zumar 39:23] The Qur'an is a Book similar in its parts; its parts resemble one another in beauty, quality, and truth. So the entire Qur'an is similar in this respect; it is all similar, and it is all clear and decisive (muhkam), meaning it is perfected. The entire Qur'an is clear and decisive, and some of it is clear and decisive while some of it is ambiguous (mutashabih). This means that the clear and decisive... the clear and decisive Qur'an... its meaning becomes clear from the language in which it was revealed, which is the Arabic language.
And it is all clear and decisive, meaning perfected; it is all similar, meaning it all resembles one another in beauty, truth, and perfection. And some of it is clear and decisive and some of it is ambiguous. The clear and decisive is that whose meaning is apparent. Its meaning is apparent from the Arabic language in which it was revealed. And the ambiguous is that whose meaning does not appear except by combining it with the clear and decisive. So the clear and decisive interprets the ambiguous. Yes.
The questioner:
Yes, may Allah bless you,[Az-Zumar 39:23]?
The Shaykh:
"Taqsh'ar" means to be afraid; to be afraid[Az-Zumar 39:23] So when you hear the promise and the warning, and the mention of punishment and the mention of the Fire, the skins shudder from this warning. But then they find peace through the remembrance of Allah and its affection. And they love it and act upon it. Yes.
The questioner:
Now, regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Az-Zumar 39:23].
The Shaykh:
Yes, in the other verse:[Az-Zumar 39:36-37] So guidance and misguidance are in the hand of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. So the Muslim should ask Allah for guidance. And Allah has sent down to us in Surat al-Fatihah, which we recite in every rak'ah of our prayer: [Al-Fatihah 1:6-7] We recite this in every rak'ah of our prayer, and in it is this great supplication by which we ask Allah to guide us.
And not to misguide us. And Allah, (Exalted and Majestic is He), is near and responsive. He is the One who legislated this for us, and He is the One who responds to us, Glorified and Exalted is He. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
To begin with, may Allah bless you. This person is asking about the interpretation of the saying
of Allah. Those are in manifest error. (23) Allah has sent down the best statement: a consistent Book wherein is reiteration. The skins shiver therefrom of those
اللَّهِ أُولَٰئِكَ فِي ضَلَالٍ مُّبِينٍ اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًا مُّتَشَابِهًا مَّثَانِيَ تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَwho fear their Lord; then their skins and their hearts relax at the remembrance of Allah. That is the guidance of Allah by which He guides whom He wills. And one whom Allah leaves astray - for him
يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِ ذَٰلِكَ هُدَى اللَّهِ يَهْدِي بِهِ مَن يَشَاءُ وَمَن يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُThe Shaykh:
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, says:
Allah has sent down the best statement
اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِYes,
Allah has sent down the best statement: a
اللَّهُ نَزَّلَ أَحْسَنَ الْحَدِيثِ كِتَابًاAnd it is all clear and decisive, meaning perfected; it is all similar, meaning it all resembles one another in beauty, truth, and perfection. And some of it is clear and decisive and some of it is ambiguous. The clear and decisive is that whose meaning is apparent. Its meaning is apparent from the Arabic language in which it was revealed. And the ambiguous is that whose meaning does not appear except by combining it with the clear and decisive. So the clear and decisive interprets the ambiguous. Yes.
The questioner:
Yes, may Allah bless you,
The skins shiver therefrom of those who fear their Lord
تَقْشَعِرُّ مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْThe Shaykh:
"Taqsh'ar" means to be afraid; to be afraid
The skins shiver therefrom of those who fear their Lord; then their skins and their hearts relax at the remembrance of Allah.
مِنْهُ جُلُودُ الَّذِينَ يَخْشَوْنَ رَبَّهُمْ ثُمَّ تَلِينُ جُلُودُهُمْ وَقُلُوبُهُمْ إِلَىٰ ذِكْرِ اللَّهِThe questioner:
Now, regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And one whom Allah leaves astray - for him there is no guide.
وَمَن يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَادٍThe Shaykh:
Yes, in the other verse:
And whoever Allah leaves astray - for him there is no guide. (37) And whoever Allah guides - for him there is no misleader. Is not Allah Exalted in Might and Owner of Retribution?
وَمَن يُضْلِلِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِنْ هَادٍ وَمَن يَهْدِ اللَّهُ فَمَا لَهُ مِن مُّضِلٍّ أَلَيْسَ اللَّهُ بِعَزِيزٍ ذِي انتِقَامٍ(6) Guide us to the straight path - (7) The path of those upon whom You have bestowed favor, not of those who have evoked [Your] anger or of those who are astray.
اهْدِنَا الصِّرَاطَ الْمُسْتَقِيمَ صِرَاطَ الَّذِينَ أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيْهِمْ غَيْرِ الْمَغْضُوبِ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا الضَّالِّينَAnd not to misguide us. And Allah, (Exalted and Majestic is He), is near and responsive. He is the One who legislated this for us, and He is the One who responds to us, Glorified and Exalted is He. Yes.
The presenter:
May Allah reward you,
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، برنامج (فتاوى) (205) لمعالي الشيخ صالح الفوزان بتاريخ [1441-05-07] - كبار العلماء — youtube.com (0:48)
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.