Exegesis of verses from Surat Qaf and the meaning of His saying, the Exalted: “And the agony of death comes with the truth. That is what you used to turn away from.”
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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the righteous, and upon his family and all his Companions.
As for what follows: We have heard what our Imam recited from this great surah, Surat Qaf, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sometimes recited in the festival prayer. This is because it is a great surah containing clear verses and admonitions that serve as reminders. He (peace and blessings be upon him) also used to preach with it on Friday.
We will speak about a part of it, which is His saying, the Exalted:[Qaf 50:19-20].
This agony in which a person loses his mind and reason is not the intoxication of joy or the intoxication of drinking, but rather the agony of parting with this world. In that state, a person feels that he has departed, that he has left his family, his children, and his wealth, and that nothing remains but his deeds. Therefore, if he is a believer—and I ask Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to make me and you among the believers—it is said to his soul:, and he is given glad tidings of Paradise in that terrifying and momentous instant. His soul then departs willingly and easily, because he has been given glad tidings of something better than this world and what is in it. He transitions from this world, the abode of sorrows, griefs, and worries, to the abode of eternal bliss, as Allah, the Exalted, said: [An-Nahl 16:31-32], and He, the Exalted, said: [Al-Waqi'ah 56:88-89].
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says:[Qaf 50:19]. And what Allah promised is established, and the person becomes certain that he is transitioning from this world to the Hereafter. [Qaf 50:19] So is a relative pronoun, meaning: That which you used to turn away from and flee. But your fleeing from it will not save you from it. [An-Nisa 4:78], [Al-Jumu'ah 62:8]. By Allah, if there is something you flee from and it meets you, it will surely catch up with you. This death from which you flee does not walk behind you and follow you until you imagine that you will escape it; rather, it will meet you. You flee from it toward it, and there is no avoiding it.
“Those are the deaths, a valley you have descended *** Upon you the arrival, or upon it you will arrive”.
This is inevitable. Some scholars said that is a negation in His saying: [Qaf 50:19]
The two meanings do not contradict each other. We have previously established a rule: If a text contains two meanings that do not contradict each other, it is obligatory to apply it to both, unless there is a factor that gives preference to one of the meanings, in which case that one should be followed.
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the righteous, and upon his family and all his Companions.
As for what follows: We have heard what our Imam recited from this great surah, Surat Qaf, which the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) sometimes recited in the festival prayer. This is because it is a great surah containing clear verses and admonitions that serve as reminders. He (peace and blessings be upon him) also used to preach with it on Friday.
We will speak about a part of it, which is His saying, the Exalted:
(19) And the intoxication of death will bring the truth; that is what you were trying to avoid. (20) And the Horn will be blown. That is the Day of [carrying out] the threat.
وجاءت سكرة الموت بالحق ذلك ما كنت منه تحيد ونفخ في الصور ذلك يوم الوعيدThis agony in which a person loses his mind and reason is not the intoxication of joy or the intoxication of drinking, but rather the agony of parting with this world. In that state, a person feels that he has departed, that he has left his family, his children, and his wealth, and that nothing remains but his deeds. Therefore, if he is a believer—and I ask Allah, Mighty and Majestic, to make me and you among the believers—it is said to his soul:
Come out, O peaceful soul. Come out to a spirit and a fragrance, and to a Lord not angry.
أخرجي أيتها النفس المطمئنة، أخرجي إلى روح وريحان ورب غير غضبانThus does Allah reward the righteous - (32) The ones whom the angels take in death, [being] good and pure; [the angels] will say, "Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise for what you used to do."
كذلك يجزي الله المتقين * الذين تتوفاهم الملائكة طيبين يقولون سلام عليكم ادخلوا الجنة بما كنتم تعملون(88) And if the deceased was of those brought near to Allah, (89) Then [for him is] rest and bounty and a garden of pleasure.
فأما إن كان من المقربين فروح رويحان وجنة نعيمAllah, Mighty and Majestic, says:
And the intoxication of death will bring the truth
وجاءت سكرة الموت بالحقthat is what you were trying to avoid.
ذلك ما كنت منه تحيدnot
ماWherever you may be, death will overtake you, even if you should be within towers of lofty construction
أين ما تكونوا يدرككم الموت ولو كنتم في بروج مشيدةSay, "Indeed, the death from which you flee - indeed, it will meet you.
قل إن الموت الذي تفرون منه فإنه ملاقيكم“Those are the deaths, a valley you have descended *** Upon you the arrival, or upon it you will arrive”.
This is inevitable. Some scholars said that
not
ماwhat you were trying to avoid.
ما كنت منه تحيدThe two meanings do not contradict each other. We have previously established a rule: If a text contains two meanings that do not contradict each other, it is obligatory to apply it to both, unless there is a factor that gives preference to one of the meanings, in which case that one should be followed.