Exegesis of Verse (25) of Surat al-Hadid.

The Shaykh : We begin by discussing the saying of Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He: — at your place there, do not constrain us — Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: This sentence is affirmed by three affirmers according to the rules of Arabic grammar. The first affirmer is the implied oath, the second is the lam, and the third is qad, because the implied meaning of the statement is: "By Allah, We have indeed sent Our messengers with clear proofs." The affirmation here is not attached to the sending of the messengers, because the sending of the messengers is known , but it is attached to His saying: , meaning: that the messengers came with clear proofs. "Clear proofs" is a description of a described noun that is omitted, and the implied meaning is: with the clear signs, meaning: the clear indicators pointing to the truth and correctness of their message. Indeed, Allah the Exalted did not send a prophet except that He gave him from the signs what would make humans believe in its like. This is from the wisdom and mercy.
As for it being from the wisdom, it is because it is not from the wisdom for a man from the children of Adam to come and say to people: "I am the messenger of Allah to you," without a sign, without a clear proof. And as for it being from the mercy, it is because if people were obligated to believe in messengers who had no clear proofs with them, there would be in that a great hardship. So from the mercy of Allah is that Allah supported the messengers with clear, apparent signs. The scholars said: By Allah, from His wisdom and mercy, He made for every prophet from the signs what makes his message clear. And they said: Moses, peace be upon him, came with clear proofs that the magicians were unable to match, despite the strength of the magicians' knowledge and the spread of magic, but they were unable to bring forth the like of what he brought. It is not hidden that Moses, peace be upon him, had with him a staff; when he threw it, it became what? A living snake. And when he carried it, it became a staff with which he would strike his sheep and lean upon it, and he had other needs for it. As for Jesus, peace be upon him, they said that medicine had spread in his time and reached a high level, so he came with a sign that the doctors were unable to match, which is reviving the dead and bringing them out of the graves, and curing the blind and the leper, and this is beyond the capability of medicine. As for Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, he came in a time when eloquence in the Arabic language had flourished and reached its highest human levels, so Allah the Exalted revealed to him this Qur'an which baffled these eloquent Arabs from bringing forth its like, and they were challenged several times. Once, Allah the Exalted said to His prophet Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him and his family: , and the meaning of is, O brother...
The student: Helper.

The Shaykh : Its meaning is a helper. And He, Mighty and Majestic, said: . And He, Mighty and Majestic, said: . And He, Mighty and Majestic, said: , meaning: a discourse, and they were unable to do that. So the important point is that all the prophets, peace and blessings be upon them, came with clear signs so that no excuse remains for people.
The intended meaning is, O brother...
The student: The Qur'an.

The Shaykh : No, yes.
The student: Books.

The Shaykh : The books; the intended meaning is books, so it is a generic name, because Moses, peace be upon him, was revealed the Torah, and Jesus the Gospel, and David, Allah gave him the Psalms, and Abraham, Allah gave him the Pages. So "the Book" here is a generic name that includes all the books. No messenger came except with a book containing command, prohibition, news, stories, and other things that the situation requires. The balance means justice, as Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: , the justice by which things are weighed in everything, even in the weighing between the idols and the Lord of the servants. Look at the saying of Allah the Exalted: , He weighs , and the answer is: Allah is better. This is justice , and many things contain justice, because Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, does not wrong people in anything, so His judgments are all justice and His news is all truth. For this reason He said: . And the scholars, may Allah have mercy on them, used this verse as evidence that analogical reasoning (qiyas) is a legal proof, and it is true. Analogical reasoning in jurisprudential rulings is a legal proof with no doubt in it, and it has proofs, but this is not the place to mention them.
, meaning: with justice, because as long as it was written by the revelation of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, it is a balance by reason, so people must stand by what? By equity. The lam in His saying: is for causation, meaning: We sent the messengers and We revealed with them the Book, We revealed with them the balance for this wisdom . For this reason, you will not find more just than the religion of Allah the Exalted in every time and place, and whatever contradicts the religion of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is tyranny and injustice. For this reason, the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, informed that the most unjust of injustice is that you make for Allah an equal while He created you, when he was asked: . So if people walked upon the Shari'ah of Allah, they would stand by equity, but everyone who does not walk upon the Shari'ah of Allah is a tyrant. Allah the Exalted said: , what? And among you is one who is a tyrant.
The student:

The Shaykh :, meaning: and of the path is what is a tyrant, and it is the path of the wrongdoers. , meaning: We created it for them from the minerals. Some scholars derived from His saying: , that the mineral, if it is in the peaks of the mountains, is stronger and more beneficial than if it is in the lower parts, because the descent is only from the highest. Allah knows best. This returns to the science of geology. But "We revealed" means We placed for them iron, which is a known mineral, one of the strongest minerals. , with severe strength in war; swords and daggers and all war tools are made from it. And it was mentioned after the mention of the books because the religion does not stand except with this, with the call and fighting. If the disbelievers refuse that the religion of Allah is the exalted one, then at that time they are fought, and with what? With iron, with iron. , meaning: in war. , the plural of benefits, because their kinds cannot be counted, let alone their types and individuals. Who can count for me the benefits that are obtained from iron? Who? We give you a week's respite; you cannot count them, you cannot. For this reason, it came in the plural known as the form of the ultimate plural. The form of the ultimate plural is , religious and worldly, individual and social.
is conjoined to , and His saying: , the intended meaning is the knowledge of manifestation that is followed by reward or punishment. As for the knowledge that it will be, that is prior, prior to the sending of the messengers and the revelation of the books, because Allah has not ceased and does not cease to be knowing of everything, so the matter does not pose a difficulty for you. Do not say: "Allah does not know except after this." We say: Yes, knowledge is two types: knowledge of a thing before its existence, and knowledge of a thing after its existence. Which is the knowledge that is followed by reward and punishment? The second or the first? The second, because the prior knowledge is not followed by reward or punishment until people are tested. So , meaning: knowledge of manifestation, meaning that it appeared and occurred in reality. This is one, and knowledge that is followed by what?
The student: Reward.

The Shaykh : Reward and punishment. As for the knowledge that it will be, that is known from eternity. , He supports him, meaning: He supports his religion, and the meaning is not that He supports Allah Himself, no, because Allah is free from the needs of the worlds. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said: . So He supports him with what? How do you interpret it? He supports his religion. So if someone said to you: How does He support his religion, and Allah says: ?! This is an interpretation that contradicts the wording. And you reject those who interpret the Qur'an with what contradicts the apparent wording. So what is the answer? The answer is: We do not reject people if they interpret the Qur'an with what contradicts the apparent wording if that is with evidence. If this is with evidence, then we do not reject them. For this reason, if someone said regarding His saying, the Exalted: , if someone said: The meaning is, if you read the Qur'an, meaning: you intended to read it, this is an interpretation contrary to its apparent meaning. Do we say: Is this interpretation correct or not correct?
The student: Correct.

The Shaykh : Yes, that is correct, because a person seeks refuge in Allah when he intends to read, and when he has completed the recitation, based on the action of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). And because this is what benefits the person seeking refuge in Allah before he reads, so that he reads while Satan is far from him. In any case, if someone asks you: How do you interpret the saying of Allah the Exalted: meaning: Who supports His religion? And you criticize those who interpret the Qur'an contrary to its apparent meaning? The answer, according to you, is: We do not criticize those who interpret the Qur'an contrary to its apparent meaning if there is evidence for it. If there is valid evidence, the evidence that the meaning is "He supports His religion" is His saying: He does not need anyone; He is Strong, Mighty, Prevailing. He prevails with a strength that is not accompanied by weakness. And His saying, Exalted is He: Does the support of the messengers mean that the messenger supports himself, or that He supports the Shari'ah he brought? No, it means both. If the messenger is alive, the meaning is that He supports the messenger himself and his Shari'ah. After his death, He supports his Shari'ah. In this is evidence that supporting the Shari'ah is supporting the one who brought it. Therefore, it is not problematic that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, may cause a messenger to die before he sees widespread victory for him, because we say: Supporting his Shari'ah is supporting him.
And His saying: meaning: He supports Allah, Exalted is He, and He supports His messengers, and they have not seen Allah, because Allah the Exalted supports but is not seen. He is not seen in this world. For this reason, some of the Salaf said: "They support Him but do not see Him" interpreting His saying: They support Him but do not see Him. The meaning is that they do not see Him in this world. As for the Hereafter, we ask Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, to grant us the vision of Allah the Exalted. The vision of Allah the Exalted is a confirmed reality in the Qur'an and the Sunnah and the consensus of the Companions. So, meaning: They support Allah while He is unseen. It is also possible that the meaning is meaning: By their being hidden from people, their being hidden from people. In this is evidence of their sincerity, and that they are not among those who worship Allah only when they are among people, but they worship Allah the Exalted in secret and in public. However, the support is for His religion. We ask Allah to make us and you among the supporters of His religion. Indeed, He is Able to do all things. And here ends the discussion of this noble verse. Let us take the questions and start with the guests.