Exegesis of Verses (16 - 19) of Surat al-Hadid.

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 Pious, 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 the eighteenth meeting after two hundred of the Open Door meetings, which take place every Thursday, and this Thursday is the twelfth of Rajab in the year one thousand four hundred and twenty.
We begin this meeting, as usual, with what Allah Mighty and Majestic facilitates of the exegesis of the Noble Qur'an, then we follow it with questions. Each person has one question, and the guests take precedence over the locals.
Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said: Know: This is a command verb, commanding knowledge of this important matter, which is that Allah gives life to the earth after its death. That is, you find the earth dry with no vegetation, so Allah sends down rain upon it, and it grows, lives, and increases. When we know this, and we are aware of it and witness it, we use it as evidence of the power of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He to give life to the dead. For people are alive now, then they die, then they are resurrected on the Day of Resurrection. So the One who is able to give life to the earth after its death is able to give life to bodies after their death for the purpose of reckoning and recompense. For it is not wisdom for Allah Blessed and Exalted is He to create a creation, command them and forbid them, and permit the blood and wealth of those who do not respond, and then the result is that the human being simply dies. Rather, it is necessary, O brothers, for there to be life, a life that is the true life, as He Mighty and Majestic said: The meaning of "life" here is the true life after which there is no death. It does not mean animals or beasts. The intended meaning of "life" is complete, perfect life. You are now seeing the earth dry with no green leaf, so Allah sends down rain, then answer me, then it grows, lives, and increases. So the One who is able to make these dry branches green and growing is able to give life to the dead with a single word. Allah the Exalted said: And He Mighty and Majestic said: .
Meaning: We made them apparent to you. The signs are the indicators pointing to the perfection of the power of Allah Exalted and Majestic is He and the perfection of His mercy. I give you an example: If Allah sends down rain and the earth grows and the animals are sated and the weather becomes pleasant, this is from the effects of what? Answer! It is from the effects of His mercy. We use this as evidence of the mercy of Allah. We use what Allah created in the universe, such as the sun, moon, and stars, and what Allah the Exalted created on earth, such as mountains and rivers and others, as evidence of the perfection of the wisdom of Allah Mighty and Majestic. For if you reflect upon it, you will find in it wisdom that dazzles the mind. So "signs" is the plural of "sign," which means the indicators pointing to the perfection of the power and dominion of Allah Mighty and Majestic.
"L'alla" here is for causation, not for hope, although in the Arabic language it often comes for hope. But here it is for causation, because hope is not possible in the case of Allah, since hope involves asking for something that has a degree of difficulty. But it is not conceivable to attribute hope to Allah Mighty and Majestic. But "l'alla" comes for what? For causation, meaning: so that you may understand. The intended meaning of "understanding" here is the understanding of guidance, meaning: understand with an understanding that guides you and serves as a proof for you regarding what is in good.
"The believers" originally is "the ones who give charity," but the taa was changed to a saad for a known grammatical reason among the grammarians. That is: the men and women who give charity and lend to Allah a good loan, meaning: spend in the path of Allah with good spending. And good spending, O our brothers, meets two conditions: the first is sincerity for Allah Mighty and Majestic, and the second is following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). So does the one who spends with showing off lend to Allah a good loan? No. That is, a person gives charity to a poor person so that people see him and say so-and-so gives a lot of charity. This is a show-off, and his charity? Answer! It does not benefit him and is not accepted from him, because every deed intended for other than Allah is not accepted. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said in the Holy Hadith: Another person worships Allah the Exalted with acts of worship that are not prescribed; he is an innovator, but he is sincere. If you asked him why he did this, he would say: I want the reward of Allah, I want to draw near to Allah. Does his worship benefit him? No. Why? Because of the lack of following. So the saying of He Mighty and Majestic: means what? It means: sincere in it for Allah and following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
And here is a question: Is Allah poor so that He should be lent to? Answer! By no means, He is not poor. And those who said, "Indeed, Allah is poor and we are rich," have disbelieved. So how does He say, "Lend to Allah"? He says this, Exalted and Majestic is He, to make clear that their reward is guaranteed, just as a loan is guaranteed. Do you understand? To make clear that their reward is guaranteed, just as a loan is guaranteed. If I lend a person a thousand riyals, it is established in his liability and he must pay me back. Similarly, Allah Mighty and Majestic made worship of Him in the position of a loan, meaning: it is guaranteed that the good deed will be returned to him multiplied. How? Ten times its like up to seven hundred times up to many times. But how can one become ten, and this is usury in a loan? How can this be? The answer: First, there is no usury between the servant and his Lord, there is no usury between the servant and his Lord.
Second: If the borrower gives you something without a condition, it is lawful. That is, if you lend someone a thousand riyals and he gives you a thousand and one hundred without a condition, it is lawful. Because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) borrowed a she-camel, a she-camel meaning a young camel, and returned something better than it, and said: Did the lender benefit or not? He benefited, but he benefited without a condition. For this reason, you find the phrase of the jurists: "Every condition that brings benefit to the lender is usury". See, they said "every condition," not "every increase." So the important thing now, the answer: If someone says, "Allah Mighty and Majestic rewards the good deed with ten times its like up to seven hundred times up to many times, and Allah the Exalted called spending in His path a loan, how is it correct that He rewards the good deed with ten times its like up to seven hundred times?" We say, the answer, brother?
The student: There is no [usury] between the servant and his Lord.

The Shaykh : From two aspects.
The student: There is no [usury] between the servant and his Lord.

The Shaykh : The first: that there is no [usury] between the servant and his Lord.
The student: Usury.

The Shaykh : Usury. Second?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : That the increase, if it is not a condition, is permissible. This indicates the generosity of the one who pays.
"He will multiply for them" is the predicate of "in." That is, the men and women who give charity and lend to Allah a good loan, meaning: they are given their reward multiplied. How much? Answer, everyone! Ten times up to seven hundred times up to many times. And they have a noble reward, meaning a noble recompense. And the noble is the good, the pure. And that is because Paradise contains what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and what has not occurred to the heart of any human being. This is noble, and the origin of nobility is goodness. The evidence for this is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to Mu'adh ibn Jabal when he sent him to Yemen. He said to him: Meaning: If you take the zakah, avoid the best of the wealth, meaning its finest parts. .
Then He Mighty and Majestic said: "Those who believed in Allah and His Messenger." Belief in Allah includes, O brothers, four things. First: belief in His existence. Second: belief in His Lordship. Third: belief in His Divinity. Fourth: belief in His names and attributes. I repeat, it includes four things. The first: belief.
The student: In His existence.

The Shaykh : The second?
The student: In His Lordship.

The Shaykh : In His Lordship. The third? In His Divinity. The fourth: In His names and attributes. Complete.
Belief in the existence of Allah is not denied except by one who is obstinate. In reality, no one denies it from their heart at all. Because every person, every person knows that this stable, organized universe must have a Creator and an Organizer. Every person. Who is the Creator and the Organizer? Allah Mighty and Majestic. Because every person also knows that no human being can act in this universe. Who brings the night while the day exists? Who brings the day while the night exists? No one is able to. So every rational person is a believer in his heart, and even if he denies it with his tongue, he is a believer in the existence of Allah Mighty and Majestic. The explanation of that is that this great creation must have a Manager.
If someone were to say: "It came about by chance," then who brought it about? And if something comes about by chance, it cannot be organized. If someone were to say: "It created itself," we would say: this is also impossible rationally. How can it create itself when it is nothing? This is not possible. Therefore, it must have a Creator. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said in Surat al-Tur: What is the answer? What is the answer? No, our Lord, we are not able to create a human being. We cannot create a fetus in the womb of its mother, ever. Allah Mighty and Majestic said: So listen, O people. This is an address to all people, the disbeliever and the believer. Therefore, when you read the verse, you must listen. All of them. This lowly fly; they cannot create it even if they all gathered to do so. Did you understand? None of the objects of worship can create a fly, and it is one of the smallest, most humble, and most fragile of animals. Add to this meaning: if the fly were to take something from these idols, they would not be able to rescue it from him. The scholars said: the meaning is: if the fly were to land on one of these idols and suck up some of the fragrance in it, for they perfume their idols, the idols would not be able to rescue it.
I say once again: no one can deny, from the depths of his heart, the existence of Allah Mighty and Majestic, ever. Because it is the consensus of the people of intellect that every created thing must have a Creator, and no one creates this universe except Allah Mighty and Majestic. This is the first point.
The second point: belief in His Lordship, meaning that He alone is the Creator, the Owner, and the Manager of all affairs. He is Allah alone. He is the Creator, what? The Owner and the Manager of all affairs. So there is no Creator except Allah, no Manager of the universe except Allah, and no Owner of the universe except Allah Mighty and Majestic. Even the ownership of a human being over what is in his hand is not true ownership. What is the evidence? It is that he cannot dispose of what is in his hand as he wishes. Now, this is a pen and it belongs to me, is that not so? But I do not have the right to dispose of it as I please. If I wanted to burn it or break it, I am prevented by the Shari'ah; it is forbidden for me, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) forbade the waste of wealth. Therefore, the ownership of a human being over what is in his hand is not true ownership, but rather he is merely distinguished by it from others.
The third point: that He alone is unique in managing affairs. No one can manage affairs, ever. Al-Uluhiyyah (oneness of worship) is to believe that there is no god but Allah. There is nothing in the universe that is worshipped in truth except Allah Mighty and Majestic, ever. Is the worship of idols in truth or not in truth?
The student: Not in truth.

The Shaykh : Not in truth. The idols themselves are called gods, but are they a true god? No, as Allah Mighty and Majestic said: So al-Uluhiyyah is to believe that there is no god but Allah, meaning there is no true object of worship except Allah Mighty and Majestic, and whatever is worshipped besides Him is invalid. Consequently, worship is not directed to anyone but Allah.
And the fourth point: belief in the Names and Attributes. His Names and His Attributes. Does Allah have Names? Yes. Does He have Attributes? Yes. His Names are the Most Beautiful. Allah Mighty and Majestic said: His Attributes are likewise the Most High. There is no attribute of deficiency. Allah the Exalted said: meaning: the highest description. So it is upon us to believe in the Names of Allah and to believe in the Attributes of Allah. The Names of Allah the Exalted are numerous; they cannot be limited, no matter how much you try, it is not possible to count them.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : No matter how much you try, it is not possible to count them. The evidence is the hadith of 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, and memorize it because it is beneficial. It states that no person is struck by worry, grief, or sadness, then says: "O Allah, I am Your servant, the son of Your servant, the son of Your maidservant. My forelock is in Your hand. Your judgment is executed upon me, and Your decree is just for me. I ask You, O Allah, by every Name that is Yours, by which You have named Yourself, or which You have revealed in Your Book, or which You have taught any of Your creation, or which You have kept exclusive to Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen with You" So Allah made the Names into three categories. What He revealed in His Book, for example? The example of the Name that came in the Qur'an is al-Rahman (The Most Merciful). Or which You have taught any of Your creation, for example: al-Rabb (The Lord) and al-Shafi (The Healer). These are not in the Qur'an, but they came in the Sunnah. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: And he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Did He reveal this in His Book or teach it to any of His creation? The second one, or the first one? The second one. Good. Or which You have kept exclusive to Yourself in the knowledge of the unseen with You. This is the third category: what Allah kept exclusive to Himself in the knowledge of the unseen. "Kept exclusive" means He was unique in it. So what Allah was unique in knowing, and did not reveal in the Book, and did not teach any of the creation, is it possible to encompass it? It is not possible. Therefore, the Names of Allah cannot be encompassed, nor are they limited to a number, because we do not know them all. As for his saying (peace and blessings be upon him and his family): This is the meaning. And the meaning of "enumerates them" is that he knows them by their wording, knows their meaning, and worships Allah in accordance with them. It is not intended that you merely memorize them and be done with it. No, it is necessary to memorize the wording, secondly: understand the meaning, and thirdly: worship Allah in accordance with them. For example: if you know that Allah Glorified and Exalted is al-Ghafur (The All-Forgiving), you turn to seeking forgiveness. You do not say: "Allah is al-Ghafur, so I can commit sin whenever I want." You turn to seeking forgiveness, you seek forgiveness from Allah, and you find that Allah is al-Ghafur, al-Rahim (The Merciful). If you know that Allah is al-'Aziz (The Almighty), you worship Allah in accordance with this, you fear Him, and you beware of Him, and so on. So now we will stop here for the sake of questions, and the rest will come, if Allah wills, in the next meeting. We entrust the matter to our brother Musa to remind us, if Allah wills.