Now a new chapter, and it is the twenty-fourth chapter after the hundred, "The Chapter on Being Open and Approachable to People."

The Shaykh : We are now entering a new chapter, the twenty-fourth chapter after the hundred, "The Chapter on Being Open with People." This means dealing with people with a broad chest, gentleness, and a pleasant face. The author narrated here a hadith with his authentic chain from 'Ata ibn Yasar, who said, "I met 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As and I said: . 'Ata ibn Yasar is a famous Tabi'i, and he is asking 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As, a famous Companion. 'Ata says to 'Abd Allah ibn 'Amr ibn al-'As: "Inform me about the description of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Torah." He said: "Yes, indeed, by Allah, he is described in the Torah with some of his description in the Qur'an: . This is a verse in Surat al-Ahzab, well known. These three attributes came; the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) was described with them in the Torah just as he was described in the Qur'an: Thus, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) was described in the Torah that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) will send him as a witness, a bringer of good news, and a warner. It also came in the Torah, appended to these three descriptions: "And a protector for the unlettered. You are My servant and My messenger. I have named you al-Mutawakkil. You are not harsh or rough, nor do you shout in the markets. You do not repay evil with evil, but you pardon and forgive. And Allah (the Exalted) will not take you until He establishes through you the crooked religion by saying, 'There is no god but Allah,' and opens with it blind eyes, deaf ears, and sealed hearts." These are among the descriptions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Torah, to make it clear to the Jews and the Christians that a man will come after them, Ahmad ibn 'Abd Allah, the Messenger of Allah, and these are among his descriptions. So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) described the Messenger before his mission to the People of the Book, so that when they realized his mission and found those descriptions fulfilled in him, they would believe in him. If they did not believe, they had disbelieved, because the argument had been established against them by these descriptions that preceded the coming of the Messenger (peace be upon him), which our Lord (Blessed and Exalted is He) revealed to Musa (peace be upon him) in the Torah, so the description of the Messenger (peace be upon him) came in the Torah with these attributes. The first three attributes are mentioned in our book today: What is the meaning of "witness," "bringer of good news," and "warner"? "Witness" means a witness for Allah (Mighty and Majestic) regarding His oneness of worship, and a witness over the people on the Day of Resurrection, as indicated by the noble verse: . So the meaning of His saying (the Exalted): is a witness for Allah regarding His oneness, and a witness over your nation in general and your people in particular that you called them to worship Allah alone, so you testify against them with that. And so, when the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) ordered some of his companions, Abu ibn Ka'b or 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud—I am uncertain now—and the stronger opinion is that it was Ibn Mas'ud, he said: اقرأ عليَّ القرآن ، قال : يا رسول الله أقرأ عليك وعليك أنزل ! قال : اقرأ فإني أحبُّ أن أسمَعَه من غيري ، فقرأ حتى إذا بلغ هذه الآية : فَكَيْفَ إِذَا جِئْنَا مِنْ كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ بِشَهِيدٍ وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَى هَؤُلَاءِ شَهِيدًا Read to me the Qur'an. He said: O Messenger of Allah, shall I read to you while it was revealed to you? He said: Read, for I love to hear it from someone other than myself. So he read until he reached this verse: So how will it be when We bring from every nation a witness, and We bring you as a witness over these? It was said that 'Abd Allah ibn Mas'ud used to recite like this, casting his gaze to the ground, out of etiquette first in the recitation, and out of etiquette in sitting before the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). He said: فلما وصلت إلى هذه الآية : وَجِئْنَا بِكَ عَلَى هَؤُلَاءِ شَهِيدًا رفعت بصري وإذا برسول الله - صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم - عيناه تدمعان When I reached this verse: And We bring you as a witness over these, I raised my gaze, and there was the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) with his eyes weeping Because he will testify against his people regarding what he witnessed from them of disobedience, tyranny, and disbelief in Allah and His Messenger, as happened with many of his people. This is something that saddens the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So when he remembered that situation, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) wept and his eyes were filled with tears, because he must perform the testimony as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) testified. So means: a witness for Allah regarding His oneness, and a witness over your nation on the Day of Resurrection. This is the meaning of these three attributes.