Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And they said, 'We have heard and we have obeyed.'"
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The Shaykh :[Al-Baqarah 2:285] To whom does the pronoun refer?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : And the rest refers to the Messenger and the believers, because He said: "The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him, and the believers" meaning: the Messenger and those who believed in him: They do not say: "We have heard and we have disobeyed," but they say: meaning: we complied with what we were commanded and left what we were forbidden from. And part of obedience is believing the news. So if someone were to ask: Why did they not say: "We have heard and we have believed"? Because the books contain commands and prohibitions, and they contain news. Obedience is for what? For the commands and prohibitions, and belief is for the news. We say: And part of obedience is that we believe in the news, because it is obligatory for us to believe in every news report that comes in these books, provided the transmission is authentic.
Then it is obligatory that we hear and obey, whether we know the wisdom or not. Whoever does not obey unless he knows the wisdom is not a believer. Pay attention, why? Because he followed his desires. If a person says: "I will not pray until I know what the wisdom of prayer is! I will not purify myself until I know what the wisdom is!" We say: Then you are not a believer. The believer says: "Pray the midday prayer four rak'ahs." One person says: "Okay, what is the wisdom? Why four? Why not two or six?" He says: "No, he does not pray." Is this a believer? No. The believer says: And for this reason, Allah the Exalted said in Surat al-Ahzab: [Al-Ahzab 33:36].
"Your forgiveness." We ask the grammarians why "your forgiveness" is in the accusative case, even though it is at the beginning of the sentence? It would seem that it should be in the nominative case, because when a noun occurs at the beginning of a sentence, it becomes the subject. So why is it "your forgiveness" here?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Here... Okay, take a break. The responder says that this is in the accusative case due to a deleted verb, meaning: "We ask You for your forgiveness." Glory be to Allah. They say "We have heard and we have obeyed," and then they say "We ask You for your forgiveness," because a person, even if he obeys, there may be what in his work? Deficiency and shortcoming.
All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], "We make no distinction between any of His messengers." And they say, "We hear and we obey.
كُلٌّ آمَنَ بِاللَّهِ وَمَلائِكَتِهِ وَكُتُبِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ لا نُفَرِّقُ بَيْنَ أَحَدٍ مِنْ رُسُلِهِ وَقَالُوا سَمِعْنَا وَأَطَعْنَاThe student: ... .
The Shaykh : And the rest refers to the Messenger and the believers, because He said: "The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him, and the believers"
And they said
وقالواWe have heard and we have obeyed
سمعنا وأطعناWe have heard and we have obeyed
سمعنا وأطعناThen it is obligatory that we hear and obey, whether we know the wisdom or not. Whoever does not obey unless he knows the wisdom is not a believer. Pay attention, why? Because he followed his desires. If a person says: "I will not pray until I know what the wisdom of prayer is! I will not purify myself until I know what the wisdom is!" We say: Then you are not a believer. The believer says:
We have heard and we have obeyed
سمعنا وأطعناWe have heard and we have obeyed
سمعنا وأطعناIt is not for a believing man or a believing woman, when Allah and His Messenger have decided a matter, that they should [thereafter] have any choice about their affair. And whoever disobeys Allah and His Messenger has certainly strayed into clear error.
وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْراً أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ ضَلَّ ضَلالاً مُبِيناً"Your forgiveness." We ask the grammarians why "your forgiveness" is in the accusative case, even though it is at the beginning of the sentence? It would seem that it should be in the nominative case, because when a noun occurs at the beginning of a sentence, it becomes the subject. So why is it "your forgiveness" here?
The student: ... .
The Shaykh : Here... Okay, take a break. The responder says that this is in the accusative case due to a deleted verb, meaning: "We ask You for your forgiveness." Glory be to Allah. They say "We have heard and we have obeyed," and then they say "We ask You for your forgiveness," because a person, even if he obeys, there may be what in his work? Deficiency and shortcoming.