Exegesis of Verses (24 - 25) of Surat al-Hadid.

The Shaykh : We begin this session with what has become customary, which is to speak about what Allah Mighty and Majestic facilitates from the verses of the Book of Allah. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He says: They are stingy, meaning: they withhold what is obligatory for them to give of wealth, status, and knowledge. They are stingy, meaning: they withhold what is obligatory for them to give of wealth, status, and knowledge.
The first example is the one who is stingy with zakah, which is the greatest and most obligatory of what is spent, and spending on those whose maintenance is obligatory upon him, such as relatives and wives.
The second example is when a person finds a Muslim who is suffering from an injustice, and the situation requires that he intercede to remove this injustice, but he is stingy. What is he stingy with? His status.
The third example is being stingy with his knowledge, by refusing to teach people what Allah Mighty and Majestic has taught him, and being stingy with the answer and fatwa when asked about a religious issue and it becomes necessary for him to issue a ruling on it.
In the hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), he said: May Allah send prayers and peace upon him. This is a type of stinginess, because it is stinginess with what is obligatory upon him. It is stinginess with what is obligatory upon him, because the stronger position is that when the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is mentioned, it is obligatory for the one who hears it to send prayers upon him, based on the hadith in the Sunan that Jibril said to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family):
They command, meaning: these people say to the man: Do not spend from your wealth, for your wealth will decrease. Do not trouble yourself in interceding for so-and-so. Do not trouble yourself in teaching knowledge. These people were commanded to be stingy, so they became, may Allah protect us, corrupt. What? Corrupters. Allah Mighty and Majestic said: meaning: he turns away from the obedience of Allah, for Allah is Rich and Praiseworthy. Whoever takes as a protector, Allah has no need of him, so He Mighty and Majestic is Rich in His Essence from all His creations, and He is the Praiseworthy, meaning: the One praised for His Richness, for not every Rich One is praised. The Rich stingy one is not praised, but Allah Mighty and Majestic is Rich and Praiseworthy, praised for His Richness, for He Blessed and Exalted is He is vast in giving and abundant in giving. In this verse is evidence that the person who takes as a protector away from the obedience of Allah only harms himself and does not harm Allah in any way, for Allah is Rich. And in the Holy Hadith:

His saying Exalted and Majestic is He: Perhaps one of you will say: How does Allah Mighty and Majestic swear? How does Allah affirm His news with an oath, while He is the Truthful without that? This is a point of difficulty, and the answer, brother, you do not know.
The answer is to say: The Noble Qur'an was revealed—it was mentioned earlier that... the people—it was revealed in a clear Arabic language, and the clear Arabic language affirms important things or denied things with types of affirmations so that the addressee is reassured and the stubborn one does not persist in his stubbornness. So here we say: And this is repeated often in the Qur'an, and the estimation is as you heard: meaning: We gave them the revelation and commanded them to convey it to the people, this messenger. And His saying: meaning: with clear, obvious signs indicating that they are messengers from Allah. An example of that is that Allah Glorified and Exalted is He sent Musa to Pharaoh and gave him clear signs. Allah the Exalted said: Among them is the staff, the wondrous staff, an ordinary staff containing signs from the signs of Allah. It is that when the skilled, good magicians gathered by the command of Pharaoh and his support, and they threw their ropes and their staffs, and these ropes and staffs became as if they were snakes and vipers, terrifying the people until Musa (peace be upon him) felt fear in his soul, because it was beyond what skilled magicians could imagine. They came with all their strength and filled the earth with ropes and staffs, so these ropes and staffs became as if they were snakes and vipers. What? Allah inspired him to throw the staff. He threw it, and this staff turned into a great snake, and it began to swallow what they fabricated of the ropes they brought. It ate these ropes. This snake, this is one of the great signs of Allah. How can this snake eat all of this? Where does it go? But, as Allah knows best, as soon as it eats it, it becomes like vapor and goes away. Otherwise, the belly of this snake, yes, does not contain it. But this is a sign, is it not, my brothers? You are now imagining this event as a report, but what would you think if you saw it with your eyes? The matter would be more severe and greater. We now do not imagine it except in the report and in the mind only, but if you witnessed the matter, you would know that it is a great sign.
The second sign in this staff is that Musa asked for water for his people. They requested water from him, so he struck a stone, a stone from the stones, and it gushed forth as twelve springs. Water flowed from this stone that was struck with the staff, because the Children of Israel were twelve tribes. Is this not a sign? Yes, a mute stone from which springs flow without a digger and without anything. A sign from the signs of Allah.
The third sign is that when Pharaoh caught up with Musa (peace be upon him) and drove him to the sea, the companions of Musa were certain that they would be destroyed, and they said: We have no escape. The sea is before us; if we enter it, we will drown, and Pharaoh and his soldiers are behind us; they will destroy us. But look at the faith and certainty: They will not catch us. meaning: He will guide me to what is in salvation. So Allah inspired him: He struck the sea once with the staff, so it split into twelve paths, according to the number of the tribes of the Children of Israel, twelve paths. meaning: like the great mountain, the land immediately dried up. And the water was on their right and on their left like mountains. And look at the faith also, how they entered these paths and the water was on their right and on their left. But the faith, because they knew that they would be saved, and there is no doubt, this is one of the signs of Allah Mighty and Majestic.
'Isa ibn Maryam (peace be upon him) was given by Allah clear signs. He cured the blind and the leper by the permission of Allah, and these two diseases have no remedy for doctors to this day, may Allah except the blind, perhaps. He used to bring the dead to life by the permission of Allah. He would say to the funeral in front of people: Come to life, and it would come to life by the permission of Allah. He used to bring the dead out of their graves. He would stand on the grave and command the owner of the grave to come out, and he would come out alive. Who can do this? Except Allah Mighty and Majestic? He made it a sign for this prophet. He used to create from clay, from clay in the form of a bird, and he would blow into it, and it would fly. It would fly. Allah Mighty and Majestic said: And in a second reading: And when you combine the two readings, the meaning becomes: it became a bird by the permission of Allah that flies, because not every bird flies. The ostrich has wings but does not fly. But it becomes a bird that flies, seen in the sky, and he created it from clay. Who is capable of this? Resurrection after death and creation from nothing, this is not capable of except Allah. He made it a sign for 'Isa.
If someone says: Why did Allah single out Musa with the staff and single out 'Isa with bringing the dead to life and creating birds? The scholars said: Allah Mighty and Majestic is Wise, and He gives each prophet from the signs what suits the time and the condition of the people, so that He makes them unable to do anything. They say: Magic reached a far limit in the time of Musa, so Allah showed them a sign that they could not reach with their magic. For this reason, the magicians in the story of Musa, the magicians who knew magic, could not control themselves except to believe. Look, they threw themselves prostrating. They did not prostrate as if without choice; they were compelled and prostrated, and they declared:
'Isa (peace be upon him), medicine reached a great advancement in his time, so Allah the Exalted gave him a sign that doctors cannot bring the like of.
As for Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), he was sent in the age of great eloquence, which had reached the highest level among the Arabs. The Arabic tongue was the most eloquent and most expressive of what is in the heart. So Allah (Mighty and Majestic) sent him—Allah (Mighty and Majestic) sent him—with a Noble Qur'an that baffled the Arabs, so that they could not produce anything like it, and no one will ever produce anything like it, neither jinn nor humans. Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: complete Even if some of them had helped others, they would not have produced anything like it. And the truth of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) is that the Qur'an is the speech of Allah. Just as there is nothing like Allah, so there is no speech like His speech. And in the hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): until the proof is established. He said: And what was anticipated has come to pass, praise be to Allah, and what was hoped for. Most of the prophets were followers, but Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) is the exception, because his greatest sign is the Great Qur'an. The Great Qur'an remains, and all people read it and derive from its verses what increases their faith and by which they know the truthfulness of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
If someone were to ask: What is the need for giving the prophets signs? We say: The need is real, indeed it is a necessity, and it is also a matter of reason. It is not reasonable for a person to come and say, "I am a messenger," and then be followed without there being a proof indicating that he is a messenger. Do you understand? If a person came in a community other than the community of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) and said, "I am a messenger," but did not bring a sign, people would be excused if they did not follow him. Otherwise, everyone would claim to be a messenger. As for after the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), prophethood was cut off because he was the Seal of the Prophets. Therefore, it is necessary that the prophets have signs indicating their truthfulness and the validity of the Shari'ah they brought.
The Book is the revelation that Allah the Exalted revealed to him. And there is no messenger without a Book, unlike the prophet, for a prophet may not have a Book, but a messenger must have a Book. It is necessary that he have a Book because he is a messenger; he must give the people he calls something they can see with their own eyes. And his saying: Is it one, or is the meaning the genus? The meaning is the genus, meaning the Books, because he said: It is not one Book, but every messenger has a Book.
And his saying: means: the balance by which things are weighed and their measure and state are known. This clearly indicates that correct analogical reasoning (qiyas) is from what the messengers were sent with, because qiyas is equating a branch with a root in a ruling due to a common cause. And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) said: meaning: the balance and the weighing of matters. meaning: so that people stand in religion and worldly affairs with justice, with fairness in the right of Allah and the right of the servants. What is justice in the right of Allah? The justice in the right of Allah is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) mentioned to Mu'adh ibn Jabal when he said to him: meaning: that he does not punish one who worships Him and does not associate anything with Him. As for the right of the created, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: This is the proof: that you treat people in the way you would like them to treat you. If we treated people in this way, justice would be established, and no one would dare to oppress another. If we felt for people what we feel for ourselves, mercy and humility would settle in our hearts, because every person loves to be treated by people with mercy and humility. So treat people also with mercy and humility.
Then Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) mentioned what brings victory from another aspect, because victory comes through revelation and through might, which He mentioned in His saying: to the end of it. We will speak about it, if Allah wills, in the next meeting. We are now free for questions, and the questions are for the guests, and each guest has one question. Yes.