Exegesis of Verses (10 - 12) of Surat al-Hadid.

The Shaykh : As for what follows:
This is the two hundred and fifteenth session of the Open Door, which takes place every Thursday. This Thursday is the twentieth of Jumada al-Thani in the year 1420. We begin this session with what Allah Mighty and Majestic facilitates from what we have reached in the exegesis of the Noble Qur'an, in which I call upon all Muslims to reflect upon the words of Allah Mighty and Majestic, for it is not possible to act upon the Qur'an unless one understands its meaning. We have reached the saying of the Exalted: meaning, what prevents you from spending in the cause of Allah Mighty and Majestic? Wealth is not permanent for you, for you will leave it behind. Therefore He said: Some scholars have said that stinginess in spending wealth is foolishness in reason, because this wealth will either be exhausted in your lifetime and you will lose it, or it will remain after your death and be inherited by people of good who will spend it, and the reward of the spending will be theirs; or it will be inherited by people of evil who will use it to aid in the disobedience of Allah, in which case you are a loser in any case. Here the Exalted says: for this wealth will not remain for you, but it will be inherited, and all matters return to Allah Blessed and Exalted is He.
meaning, they are not equal: those who spent before the Conquest and fought. The Conquest referred to here is the Treaty of Hudaybiyyah, which took place between the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his family and Quraysh. This was in the month of Dhul-Qa'dah in the sixth year of the Hijrah. It was called a Conquest because it brought expansion for the Muslims and also for the polytheists; people mixed with one another and felt safe from one another, until Allah Mighty and Majestic facilitated the breaking of the treaty by Quraysh. After that came the greatest Conquest, the Conquest of Makkah, in the eighth year of the Hijrah in Ramadan.
Allah Mighty and Majestic said: Allah the Sublime and Exalted rewards with justice among His servants. However, since the preference of the earlier ones might be understood to mean that there is no merit for the later ones, He said: No, who? Those who spent before the Conquest and fought, and those who spent after and fought. Allah has promised them the best, meaning Paradise. meaning, He is All-Knowing of the inner aspects of your affairs just as He is of their outward aspects; nothing is hidden from Him. And since He is All-Knowing of them, Allah Exalted and Majestic will reward every worker according to what he did. Allah the Exalted said: The Conquest referred to here, my brother? Yes?
The student: The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah.

The Shaykh : The Treaty of Hudaybiyyah. And what is meant by "the best"?
The student: Paradise.

The Shaykh : Paradise. So all the Companions have been promised Paradise by Allah the Exalted. We testify for all the Companions that they are in Paradise, but we do not testify for any specific individual except for those for whom the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and his family testified.
Then the Exalted said, encouraging and motivating spending in His cause: meaning, where are those who lend to Allah a good loan, meaning they spend in what He has commanded them to spend in? Allah pointed to two things here: sincerity and following. Sincerity is in His saying: meaning, they do not desire anything other than Allah Mighty and Majestic. And following is in His saying: because a good deed is what conforms to the Islamic Shari'ah. These two, which I mean sincerity and following, are conditions for every deed: that it be sincere for Allah and that it follow the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and his family. Allah the Exalted described spending in His cause as a loan, likening it to a loan that a person lends to another, because if you lend to someone else, you are confident that he will return it to you. Similarly, good deeds will be returned to the person without doubt.
Therefore He said: The multiplication here means increase. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He has specified its amount in Surat al-Baqarah, saying: So if you spend a dirham, what is its reward? Seven hundred dirhams, as a reward from Allah Mighty and Majestic. And the favor of Allah the Exalted is greater than His justice, and His mercy is more expansive, and His mercy has preceded His anger. So He multiplies it for him to how much? To seven hundred, or even more, as came in the hadith, to many multiples.
meaning, good and vast. This is what they will find in Paradise. In it is what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and what has not occurred to the heart of any human being.
Then the Exalted said: meaning, remember for the Ummah the day when, O human being, you will see the believing men and believing women on the Day of Resurrection. meaning, before them. It will be from the front and from the right. As for the front, it is so that the person may follow it, because if light is before a person, he follows it. And as for the right, it is to honor the right hand. It will be before them and on their right hands.
And His saying: indicates that this light is according to the degree of faith. Because when a ruling is conditioned by a description, it is strong according to the strength of that description and weak according to its weakness. So their light is according to their faith, male and female. Brother, why did He specify "before their hands and on their right hands"?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes, you have done well.
The angels will say to them, "Congratulations," meaning, congratulations on what you are being promised. meaning, on the Day of Resurrection. And these Gardens contain what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and what has not occurred to the heart of any human being. In them is what souls desire and what eyes delight in. In them is what they will, as Allah Mighty and Majestic said: He used the plural because they are multiple, varied Gardens, with different degrees according to the strength of faith and deeds.
And His saying: meaning, flowing. And "rivers" is the plural of "river." Allah Blessed and Exalted is He specified in Surat al-Qital that they are of four types: These rivers do not need digging of canals or channeling; they flow on the surface of the earth wherever their people wish. Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
"Their rivers flow without a channel, *** Glory to the One who holds them back from overflowing" They do not go to the right or the left except where their people wish. He pointed in His saying: to the height of their palaces and trees, meaning these rivers are beneath these high palaces and noble trees. meaning, abiding therein. Many verses have come indicating that this abiding is permanent, with no end, no interruption, and no change.
"That" refers to what Allah has promised them: the Gardens under which rivers flow. "It" is what scholars call a demonstrative pronoun of separation, which serves to emphasize and specify. That is, this which is mentioned is the great success, because there is no success like it, nor any greater success. We ask Allah to make us and you among its people. Indeed, He is Able to do all things. Now, to the questions. We begin with the right side.