Exegesis of the beginning of Surat al-Naziat.
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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 may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the righteous, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
As for what follows: This is Thursday, the fourth of the month of Jumada al-Ula in the year 1413, and it is the time for the weekly gathering every Thursday. We ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to continue His blessings upon us all, and to make these gatherings and others beneficial, and to grant us beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, and a good and abundant provision.
Our lesson today is the beginning of Surat al-Naziat.
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate:[An-Nazi'at 79:1-5]:
The Basmala is a verse from the Book of Allah that is independent; it does not follow the surah before it or the one after it. For this reason, the stronger position is that the Basmala is not part of Surat al-Fatihah, but is independent. The evidence for this is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, established in the two Sahihs, that Allah the Exalted said:Mishkat al-Masabih 823 and the rest of the hadith was mentioned.
It is also not a verse of the other surahs. What we see in the Mushaf, where it is made a verse in al-Fatihah and not in the others, is based on the opinion of some scholars. However, the correct view is what I mentioned to you: that it is an independent verse. For this reason, if a person limits himself in Surat al-Fatihah to saying:[Al-Fatihah 1:2] to the end of the surah, his prayer would be valid.
However, it does not appear at the beginning of Surat al-Bara'ah. The reason for this is that the verse of the Basmala was not revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) between the two surahs, so it was not present. As for the explanation by some scholars that it—meaning Surat al-Bara'ah—was revealed with the sword, that is a weak explanation that is not correct, because if the sword is used in a just cause, it is just and does no harm.
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate:[An-Nazi'at 79:1-5].
All of these are descriptions of the angels according to the deeds that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commanded them to perform.
So His saying: means: the angels in charge of taking the souls of the disbelievers; they pull them out with force, meaning: they pull them out with intensity.
means: the angels in charge of taking the souls of the believers; they draw them out gently, meaning: they ease them out with gentleness, like a noose. I think you know what a noose is; the tie that we call here "al-tikah" or similar words. It means a tie such that if you pull one end, the knot comes undone; this is undone quickly and easily.
So these angels in charge of taking the souls of the believers draw them out gently, meaning: they ease them out with gentleness. The reason for this is that the angels in charge of taking the souls of the disbelievers, when they call the soul to come out, address it with the ugliest descriptions. The angels say to the soul of the disbeliever: "Come out, O evil soul, that was in the evil body; come out to the anger of Allah," and similar words. So the soul recoils and does not want to come out to this, and it scatters in the body, may Allah protect us, until they take it with force and pull it out with intensity, so that the body nearly tears apart from the intensity of the pulling.
As for the souls of the believers—may Allah make me and you among them—when the angels descend to take them, they give them good news: "Come out, O good soul, that was in the good body; come out to the pleasure of Allah," and similar words that make it easy for it to part from the body it was accustomed to, so it comes out easily. For this reason, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:, because at that moment he sees that he will move to a home better than the home he left, so he rejoices, just as one of us rejoices when told: "Come out of the mud house to the reinforced concrete house and the beautiful, well-built palace," so he rejoices and loves to meet Allah. And the disbeliever—may Allah protect us—is the opposite; when he is given news of anger and punishment, he hates to die, he hates to meet Allah, and Allah hates to meet him.
So: are: the angels that pull out the souls of the disbelievers with force.
The angels that take the souls of the believers with ease and comfort.
Also, they are: the angels that hasten to the command of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. For this reason, the angels are swifter to the command of Allah and more upright in the command of Allah than the children of Adam. Allah the Exalted said in describing the angels of the Fire: [At-Tahrim 66:6], and He, Mighty and Majestic, said: [Al-Anbya 21:19-20], so they are swift to the command of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, in what He commands them; they do not disobey Him in what He commands them and do what they are ordered, because of their strength and their ability to perform the commands of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
He, the Exalted, said: Also, the angels glorify by the command of Allah, meaning: they hasten in it, just as the swimmer hastens in the water. And as He, the Exalted, said about the sun and the moon and the night and the day: [Al-Anbya 21:33].
So the meaning is that they glorify by the command of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, according to what Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, intended. And they—meaning the angels—are stronger than the jinn, and the jinn are stronger than humans. Look at His, the Exalted, saying about Sulayman:[An-Naml 27:38-40] meaning: if you extend your gaze and then return it, before it returns to you, I will bring it to you. [An-Naml 27:40]: The scholars said: The angels carried it until they brought it to Sulayman. From where?
From Yemen, and Sulayman was in the Levant, in an instant. So this indicates that the strength of the angels is much greater than the strength of the jinn, and the strength of the jinn is greater than the children of Adam, because no one from the children of Adam can bring the throne of the Queen of Sheba from Yemen to the Levant before a long time has passed. The result is that the angels glorify by the command of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with what He commands them.
Also, this is a description of the angels; they manage the matter, and it is one of the matters, meaning: the matters of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. There are angels who manage them. And to look: Jibril: in charge of the revelation; he receives it from Allah and brings it down to the messengers.
Israfil: in charge of blowing the Trumpet, which happens with him on the Day of Resurrection. He blows the Trumpet and the people are terrified and they die, then he blows it a second time and they are resurrected. He is also one of the bearers of the Throne.
Mikail: in charge of the rain and vegetation, the rain and the plants.
The Angel of Death: in charge of the souls.
Malik: in charge of the Fire.
Ridwan: in charge of Paradise.
[Qaf 50:17]: In charge of the deeds.
Each one manages what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commanded him to do: So all these descriptions are for whom?
These descriptions are for the angels according to their deeds.
And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, swore by the angels, because they are among the best of creations. And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, does not swear by anything except that it has a great status. Allah does not swear by anything except that it has a great status, either in His Essence or because it is among the signs of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
Then He, the Exalted, said:[An-Nazi'at 79:6-7]: This "the Day when the earth will tremble" is connected to an omitted word, and the estimation is: Remember, O Muhammad, and remind the people of this great day: [An-Nazi'at 79:6-7] and they are the two blows of the Trumpet.
The first blow: the people tremble and are terrified, then they all die, except what Allah wills. And the second blow: they are resurrected from their graves; the people stand up from their graves at once. Allah the Exalted said:[An-Nazi'at 79:13-14].
So when it trembles and the following tremor follows it, the people are divided into two groups:[An-Nazi'at 79:8-9] and these are the hearts of the disbelievers; they are agitated, meaning: afraid with intense fear.
means: they are humbled, barely able to look or gaze with strength, but they have lowered their eyes—may Allah protect us—because of their humiliation. Allah the Exalted said: [Ash-Shuraa 42:45].
We ask Allah the Exalted to take care of us and you in this world and the Hereafter, and to make us among those who are saved on that day from the punishment of Allah, and to make us among His awliya (close friends of Allah) who are righteous, and His party who are successful. Indeed, He is Generous and Noble.
And we limit ourselves to this part in order to receive questions from you. The rule is one question from each person, so that we complete the brothers present. And whoever has a specific question, please come forward after the general questions are finished; we will be with him in another place. Do we start from the right?
Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the righteous, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment:
As for what follows: This is Thursday, the fourth of the month of Jumada al-Ula in the year 1413, and it is the time for the weekly gathering every Thursday. We ask Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, to continue His blessings upon us all, and to make these gatherings and others beneficial, and to grant us beneficial knowledge, righteous deeds, and a good and abundant provision.
Our lesson today is the beginning of Surat al-Naziat.
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate:
(1) By those [angels] who extract with violence (2) And [by] those who remove with ease (3) And [by] those who glide [as if] swimming (4) And those who race each other in a race (5) And those who arrange [each] matter,
وَالنَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقاً * وَالنَّاشِطَاتِ نَشْطاً * وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحاً * فَالسَّابِقَاتِ سَبْقاً * فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْراًThe Basmala is a verse from the Book of Allah that is independent; it does not follow the surah before it or the one after it. For this reason, the stronger position is that the Basmala is not part of Surat al-Fatihah, but is independent. The evidence for this is the hadith of Abu Hurayrah, established in the two Sahihs, that Allah the Exalted said:
I have divided the prayer into two halves between me and my servant, and my servant will receive what he asks.” When the servant says, “Praise be to God the Lord of the universe,” God most high says, “My servant has praised me.”
قسمت الصلاة بيني وبين عبدي نصفين، فإذا قال: الحمد لله رب العالمين، قال الله تعالى: حمدني عبديIt is also not a verse of the other surahs. What we see in the Mushaf, where it is made a verse in al-Fatihah and not in the others, is based on the opinion of some scholars. However, the correct view is what I mentioned to you: that it is an independent verse. For this reason, if a person limits himself in Surat al-Fatihah to saying:
[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Lord of the worlds -
الحمد لله رب العالمينHowever, it does not appear at the beginning of Surat al-Bara'ah. The reason for this is that the verse of the Basmala was not revealed to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) between the two surahs, so it was not present. As for the explanation by some scholars that it—meaning Surat al-Bara'ah—was revealed with the sword, that is a weak explanation that is not correct, because if the sword is used in a just cause, it is just and does no harm.
Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate:
(1) By those [angels] who extract with violence (2) And [by] those who remove with ease (3) And [by] those who glide [as if] swimming (4) And those who race each other in a race (5) And those who arrange [each] matter,
وَالنَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقاً * وَالنَّاشِطَاتِ نَشْطاً * وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحاً * فَالسَّابِقَاتِ سَبْقاً * فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْراًAll of these are descriptions of the angels according to the deeds that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commanded them to perform.
So His saying:
And [swear] by those who pull out with force.
وَالنَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقاًAnd by those who drive out with speed.
وَالنَّاشِطَاتِ نَشْطاًSo these angels in charge of taking the souls of the believers draw them out gently, meaning: they ease them out with gentleness. The reason for this is that the angels in charge of taking the souls of the disbelievers, when they call the soul to come out, address it with the ugliest descriptions. The angels say to the soul of the disbeliever: "Come out, O evil soul, that was in the evil body; come out to the anger of Allah," and similar words. So the soul recoils and does not want to come out to this, and it scatters in the body, may Allah protect us, until they take it with force and pull it out with intensity, so that the body nearly tears apart from the intensity of the pulling.
As for the souls of the believers—may Allah make me and you among them—when the angels descend to take them, they give them good news: "Come out, O good soul, that was in the good body; come out to the pleasure of Allah," and similar words that make it easy for it to part from the body it was accustomed to, so it comes out easily. For this reason, when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
Whoever loves to meet Allah, Allah loves to meet him, and whoever hates to meet Allah, Allah hates to meet him. Aisha said: O Messenger of Allah, we all hate death. He said: It is not that, but when the believer’s time comes, he is given glad tidings of mercy from Allah and His pleasure, so he loves to meet Allah.
من أحب لقاء الله أحب الله لقاءه، ومن كره لقاء الله كره الله لقاءه، قالت عائشة: يا رسول الله! كلنا يكره الموت، فقال: ليس الأمر ذلك، ولكن المؤمن إذا جاءه أجله يبشر برحمة من الله ورضوان فيحب لقاء اللهSo:
And [swear] by those who pull out with force.
النَّازِعَاتِ غَرْقاًAnd by those who drive out with speed.
وَالنَّاشِطَاتِ نَشْطاًThen by those who race ahead with racing.
فَالسَّابِقَاتِ سَبْقاًover which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded.
عَلَيْهَا مَلائِكَةٌ غِلاظٌ شِدَادٌ لا يَعْصُونَ اللَّهَ مَا أَمَرَهُمْ وَيَفْعَلُونَ مَا يُؤْمَرُونَAnd those near Him are not prevented by arrogance from His worship, nor do they tire. (20) They exalt [Him] night and day [and] do not slacken.
وَمَنْ عِنْدَهُ لا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَلا يَسْتَحْسِرُونَ * يُسَبِّحُونَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لا يَفْتُرُونَHe, the Exalted, said:
And by those who swim with swimming.
وَالسَّابِحَاتِ سَبْحاًall [heavenly bodies] in an orbit are swimming.
كُلٌّ فِي فَلَكٍ يَسْبَحُونَSo the meaning is that they glorify by the command of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, according to what Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, intended. And they—meaning the angels—are stronger than the jinn, and the jinn are stronger than humans. Look at His, the Exalted, saying about Sulayman:
(38) [Solomon] said, "O assembly [of jinn], which of you will bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?" (39) A powerful one from among the jinn said, "I will bring it to you before you rise from your place, and indeed, I am for this [task] strong and trustworthy." (40) Said one who had knowledge from the Scripture, "I will bring it to you before your glance returns to you." And when [Solomon] saw it placed before him, he said, "This is from the favor of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful. And whoever is grateful - his gratitude is only for [the benefit of] himself. And whoever is ungrateful - then indeed, my Lord is Free of need and Generous."
قَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا المَلأ أَيُّكُمْ يَأْتِينِي بِعَرْشِهَا قَبْلَ أَنْ يَأْتُونِي مُسْلِمِينَ * قَالَ عِفْريتٌ مِنْ الْجِنِّ أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تَقُومَ مِنْ مَقَامِكَ وَإِنِّي عَلَيْهِ لَقَوِيٌّ أَمِينٌ * قَالَ الَّذِي عِنْدَهُ عِلْمٌ مِنْ الْكِتَابِ أَنَا آتِيكَ بِهِ قَبْلَ أَنْ يَرْتَدَّ إِلَيْكَ طَرْفُكَAnd when [Solomon] saw it placed before him, he said, "This is from the favor of my Lord to test me whether I will be grateful or ungrateful.
فَلَمَّا رَآهُ مُسْتَقِرّاً عِنْدَهُ قَالَ هَذَا مِنْ فَضْلِ رَبِّي لِيَبْلُوَنِي أَأَشْكُرُ أَمْ أَكْفُرُFrom Yemen, and Sulayman was in the Levant, in an instant. So this indicates that the strength of the angels is much greater than the strength of the jinn, and the strength of the jinn is greater than the children of Adam, because no one from the children of Adam can bring the throne of the Queen of Sheba from Yemen to the Levant before a long time has passed. The result is that the angels glorify by the command of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, with what He commands them.
Then, the angels who dispose of affairs
فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْراًIsrafil: in charge of blowing the Trumpet, which happens with him on the Day of Resurrection. He blows the Trumpet and the people are terrified and they die, then he blows it a second time and they are resurrected. He is also one of the bearers of the Throne.
Mikail: in charge of the rain and vegetation, the rain and the plants.
The Angel of Death: in charge of the souls.
Malik: in charge of the Fire.
Ridwan: in charge of Paradise.
on the right and on the left.
عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ الشِّمَالِ قَعِيدٌEach one manages what Allah, Mighty and Majestic, commanded him to do:
Then, the angels who dispose of affairs
فَالْمُدَبِّرَاتِ أَمْراًThese descriptions are for the angels according to their deeds.
And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, swore by the angels, because they are among the best of creations. And Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, does not swear by anything except that it has a great status. Allah does not swear by anything except that it has a great status, either in His Essence or because it is among the signs of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
Then He, the Exalted, said:
(6) On the Day the blast [of the Horn] will convulse [creation], (7) There will follow it the subsequent [one].
يَوْمَ تَرْجُفُ الرَّاجِفَةُ * تَتْبَعُهَا الرَّادِفَةthe blast [of the Horn] will convulse [creation], (7) There will follow it the subsequent [one].
تَرْجُفُ الرَّاجِفَةُ * تَتْبَعُهَا الرَّادِفَةُThe first blow: the people tremble and are terrified, then they all die, except what Allah wills. And the second blow: they are resurrected from their graves; the people stand up from their graves at once. Allah the Exalted said:
(13) Indeed, it will be but one shout, (14) And suddenly they will be [alert] upon the earth's surface.
فَإِنَّمَا هِيَ زَجْرَةٌ وَاحِدَةٌ * فَإِذَا هُمْ بِالسَّاهِرَةِSo when it trembles and the following tremor follows it, the people are divided into two groups:
(8) Hearts, that Day, will tremble, (9) Their eyes humbled.
قُلُوبٌ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَاجِفَةٌ * أَبْصَارُهَا خَاشِعَةٌTheir eyes downcast
أَبْصَارُهَا خَاشِعَةٌAnd you will see them being exposed to the Fire, humbled from humiliation, looking from [behind] a covert glance.
وَتَرَاهُمْ يُعْرَضُونَ عَلَيْهَا خَاشِعِينَ مِنَ الذُّلِّ يَنْظُرُونَ مِنْ طَرْفٍ خَفِيٍّWe ask Allah the Exalted to take care of us and you in this world and the Hereafter, and to make us among those who are saved on that day from the punishment of Allah, and to make us among His awliya (close friends of Allah) who are righteous, and His party who are successful. Indeed, He is Generous and Noble.
And we limit ourselves to this part in order to receive questions from you. The rule is one question from each person, so that we complete the brothers present. And whoever has a specific question, please come forward after the general questions are finished; we will be with him in another place. Do we start from the right?