Exegesis of Verses (16 - 21) of Surat al-Hadid.

The Shaykh : From the Al-Bab al-Maftuh meetings that take place every Thursday, and this Thursday is the fifth of the month of Rajab in the year 1420.
We begin this meeting with what we have become accustomed to beginning our meetings with, which is a brief discussion on the exegesis of the Noble Qur'an.
Allah the Exalted said: Meaning: Has it not become obligatory for these believers that their hearts should become humble at the remembrance of Allah? That is, that they should be submissive and obedient to the utmost degree of obedience to the remembrance of Allah the Exalted in their hearts, tongues, and limbs. Meaning: The Noble Qur'an, which is a remembrance of Allah, but it is His remembrance specifically due to its importance. Meaning: And that they should not be like those who were given the Scripture before them, namely the Jews and the Christians. Meaning: Time has passed for them and they have forgotten a share of what they were reminded of. May Allah protect us from that. Some of them are upright. In this Noble verse, Allah Blessed and Exalted is He clarifies that it has become obligatory for the believers that their hearts should become humble at the remembrance of Allah and the Book of Allah, and that they should not be like those who were given the Scripture before them, for time has passed for them and their hearts have hardened due to their distance from the time of the revelations. In this is an indication that the first of the Ummah is better than the last and more humble in heart, due to their proximity to the era of the message. And a hadith has been authenticated from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) regarding this, in which he said: .
And in this is a complete condemnation of the Jews and the Christians, because their hearts have hardened due to the length of time that has passed for them.
And in it is the complete justice in the ruling of Allah Mighty and Majestic, where He said: And He did not generalize. And this is obligatory upon whoever speaks about a group of people: to clarify the reality. Because some people, when they see deviation in some of a group, generalize the ruling to all of them. The obligatory thing is justice: if the majority are open sinners, say "the majority of them"; if many of them are open sinners but not the majority, express it with "many" according to what the situation requires. Because it is obligatory for a person to speak with justice, even if it is against himself, or his parents, or his closest relatives.
Then He said, Mighty and Majestic: Previously, the command was to race, and the command came in another verse to hasten. So a person combines racing—which is running hard while walking—with hastening, which is being the first to do good, to the forgiveness of your Lord. That is by doing the causes of forgiveness. Among the causes of forgiveness is that you ask Allah for forgiveness, saying "O Allah, forgive me," or saying "I seek forgiveness from Allah and I repent to Him." And among the causes of forgiveness is doing what leads to forgiveness, such as the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): And the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) regarding one who performs ablution thoroughly and then prays two rak'ahs without letting his mind wander: And his saying (peace and blessings be upon him): And there are many examples of this.
The important thing is that racing to forgiveness means respond, meaning what leads to forgiveness, such as directly asking for forgiveness by saying "O Allah, forgive me," or doing what leads to forgiveness, like... you, the one who leads to forgiveness, like what?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Yes, fasting Ramadan out of faith and seeking reward. Charity also extinguishes the sin, just as water extinguishes fire.
Paradise is the abode of bliss that Allah Mighty and Majestic has prepared for the righteous. In it are fruits, palm trees, pomegranates, carpets, honey, milk, and other things. But do you think that what is in it resembles what is in this world? The answer is: No, do not think that, because Allah says: And there is nothing in Paradise from what is in this world except the names only. The name pomegranate, but it differs from the pomegranates of this world. Fruits that differ from the fruits of this world. Carpets that differ from the carpets of this world, and so on. Pay attention to this: do not think that the names mentioned in Paradise correspond to the things in this world. This is not possible, as you heard from the verse: And in the Holy Hadith: .
And in Surat Al-Imran: And there is no contradiction, because the first is a simile comparing its width to the width of the sky, and the second: is also a simile, but the people of rhetoric call it a clear simile.
Answer! No one can. The heavens, with their vastness, the lowest heaven is very wide. What is the distance between it and the earth, and it encompasses it. The second heaven is above it and is wider than it, and the third is wider, and so on until you reach the Footstool. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said regarding the Footstool: A ring, a ring. The ring of the helmet is not the large ring of the door; the ring of the helmet is small. I mean the ring of the armor is very small. Throw it in a desert, what would it be compared to the desert? Nothing. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: So who can comprehend the width of the heavens and the earth? No one can. Paradise is as wide as the heavens and the earth. And therefore, the lowest of the people of Paradise in rank is one who looks at his kingdom from a distance of two thousand years. He looks at its farthest point as he looks at its nearest point. And Allah the Exalted mentioned that its width is the width of the heavens and the earth in order for us to strive to fill this earth, the earth of Paradise. And in the hadith, Ibrahim (peace be upon him) said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): So strive, my brother, to fill what you deserve of this Paradise with the remembrance of Allah, recitation of His Book, and other things that bring one closer to Allah. For whom is this Paradise whose width is as the width of the heavens and the earth?
Allah Mighty and Majestic said: Prepared. Who prepared it? Allah Mighty and Majestic prepared it, as He said, Mighty and Majestic: And the meaning of preparation is arranging a thing. They believed in Allah and everything that Allah has made obligatory to believe in. So faith in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day, and the divine decree, its good and its evil.
And His saying: Includes all the messengers, the first of whom is Noah and the last of whom is Muhammad. But our faith in the messengers differs from our faith in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). Our faith in the messengers is that we believe that they are truthful conveyors from Allah, and we believe in everything that is authentic from their reports. But following them, no. Following is for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). They share with the Messenger that we believe that they are truthful, and that everything they reported is truth, and that everything they brought is justice and suitable for the conditions of their nations in their time. But following, we do not follow except one of them, and that is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him).
And His saying: The evidence? They disbelieved in Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), and the one who disbelieves in one of the messengers is a disbeliever in all of them. How, when Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) came with the abrogation of all previous laws? Have you not heard the saying of Allah Mighty and Majestic: ? Answer!
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : Okay, did anyone precede Noah among the messengers? How does it say: ? The answer is: Because whoever lies to one of the messengers has lied to all the messengers. So how about the one who lied to Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), whose law abrogated all laws, and about whom Allah said: So He took the covenant of all the prophets, the covenant of all the prophets, when I brought you a Book and wisdom, and then a Messenger came to you confirming what is with you, you will surely believe in him and you will surely support him. He said: Who is this Messenger? Answer, O Ummah of Muhammad!
The student: Muhammad.

The Shaykh : Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him). All the messengers must believe in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Therefore, on the night of the Isra, who was the imam? Their imam in their prayer was Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). So the Jews and the Christians are not from the people of Paradise after the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). Why? They did not believe in his messengers because they disbelieved in Muhammad. Rather, they disbelieved in their messengers too, due to the saying of Allah the Exalted: And because Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) announced to them Muhammad. Allah Mighty and Majestic said: Yes, in Surat Al-Saff: So when this Messenger whom Isa announced came to them, they said, "This is clear sorcery," and they disbelieved in him. So they disbelieved in Isa and rejected his announcement and denied it. And it is never permissible for us to say that the religions of the Jews and the Christians today are correct religions. Rather, they are invalid religions not accepted by Allah, as He said, Mighty and Majestic: .
I return to the verse. Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: That is: what Allah has prepared for these believers in Allah and His Messengers is the favor of Allah. The favor of Allah is that they believed in Allah, they believed in His Messengers, they followed the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and they were rewarded with these Gardens. The favor of Allah is given by Him to whom He wills. O Allah, give us from Your favor.
His saying: Do you think that this will is mere will? No, it is a will accompanied by wisdom. That is, whoever is worthy of the favor, Allah gives him the favor, and whoever is not worthy of it, He does not give it to him. The evidence is the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: So He will not place His message except in one who is worthy of it. And Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: And He the Exalted said: Do not think that Allah gives His favor to whom He wills without a cause. There must be a cause. So when Allah knows good in the heart of a person—O Allah, make our hearts full of good—when Allah knows good in the heart of a person, He gives him the good. Allah the Exalted said: Rectify your heart between you and Allah, and you will find all good. That is: the One who possesses the great favor, the Mighty and Majestic. So no one has a greater favor than Allah the Exalted. He created you from nothing, He provided for you and sustained you with blessings, He made guidance easy for you and guided you to it. Who has a greater favor than Allah? No one. And for this reason, Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: And when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) gathered the Ansar during the Battle of Hunayn, when he distributed the spoils of war among those whose hearts were to be reconciled, he would assert it to them. He said to them: Every time he said something, they said, "Allah and His Messenger are the most trustworthy," meaning: the greatest favor. So the result is that Allah the Exalted is the One who possesses the great favor, but He gives His favor to those who are deserving of it, as He the Exalted said: O Allah, we ask You from Your great favor that You guide our hearts, rectify our deeds, and conclude our affairs with good, for You are capable of all things.
And now to the questions. We begin with the oath.