Discussion of the meaning of the statement of Allah the Exalted: “Thus Our signs came to you, but you forgot them, and thus you will be forgotten today.”

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The Shaykh : They became open sinners because of their turning away from the obedience of their Lord, especially in the five daily prayers. You find them living that straitened life that our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) described for those who turn away from the remembrance of Allah completely, and they are the disbelievers. Therefore, the Muslim who is an open sinner and neglects prayer has a share of that straitened life because of his turning away from the remembrance of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and his forgetting it, meaning his neglect of it. And so He (Blessed and Exalted is He) said:

⁽¹²⁴⁾ And whoever turns away from My remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind." ⁽¹²⁵⁾ He will say, "My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?" ⁽¹²⁶⁾ [Allah] will say, "Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot them

وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنكًا وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَى قَالَ رَبِّ لِمَ حَشَرْتَنِي أَعْمَى وَقَدْ كُنتُ بَصِيرًا قَالَ كَذَلِكَ أَتَتْكَ آيَاتُنَا فَنَسِيتَهَا

[Taha 20:124-126]

The intention here by “forgetting” is not the forgetting of memory, but rather the forgetting of the obligatory obedience required of him. In this matter, he says: The hadith that states:

Indeed, whoever forgets the Qur'an will come on the Day of Resurrection with his tongue cut off.

إن من نسي القرآن جاء يوم القيامة و هو أجذم

, or as it is said, this hadith which gives this severe warning to the one who memorizes the Qur'an and then forgets it is not authentic from the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). The verse has no connection to this weak hadith such that we would strengthen its meaning with the verse. Rather, the intention is:

Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot them

أَتَتْكَ آيَاتُنَا فَنَسِيتَهَا

[Taha 20:126]

, meaning you neglected it. That is, you treated it as something forgotten with you, as if you had not recited it, as if you had not read it. And so Allah (Mighty and Majestic) countered this forgetting with the forgetting that means neglect and indifference, by His saying (Glorified and Exalted is He):

And thus you will be forgotten today.

وَكَذَلِكَ الْيَوْمَ تُنسَى

. Our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) does not forget, obviously, because deficiency is a deficiency of humans. As for our Lord (Mighty and Majestic), He does not forget. Rather, He said:

We will make you recite, [O Muhammad], and you will not forget,

سَنُقْرِئُكَ فَلا تَنسَى

[Al-A'la 87:6]

, meaning He protected His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) from forgetting, because that is what befits his protection, except what Allah (Mighty and Majestic) wills by His wisdom in His Shari'ah:

And thus you will be forgotten today.

وَكَذَلِكَ الْيَوْمَ تُنسَى

, meaning you are left neglected. Where? May Allah forbid, in the bottom of Hellfire, in the lowest of the lowest. For this reason, it is not permissible for the Muslim to neglect prayer, because he has this bad outcome in this world before the Hereafter.

Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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