Exegesis of Verses (28 - 29) of Surat al-Hadid.
Machine translationRead the Arabic original
The Shaykh : We return to the lesson in exegesis. Allah the Exalted says: [Al-Hadid 57:28] [Al-Baqarah 2:104] The intended meaning is this Ummah. So His saying: [Al-Hadid 57:28] means: remain firm in faith; do not renew faith, for faith has already been established, as He said: [Al-Baqarah 2:104] So the meaning is: O you who believe with your hearts, fear Allah with your limbs meaning: realize faith and remain firm upon it. Not everyone who believes is truly a believer. This is what the scholars mean by saying that this is a negation of the perfection of faith, like his saying: Sahih al-Bukhari 13 The intended meaning is not the negation of faith in its absolute sense, but the negation of complete faith. Some exegetes have claimed that this verse is about the People of the Book because He said: But this is a very weak opinion. It is not possible for Allah the Exalted to address the People of the Book, who are disbelievers, with the description of faith, ever. I mean, it is not possible that the intended meaning of His saying: [Al-Baqarah 2:104] is: O you Jews and Christians, because when the Qur'an was revealed, if they remained in their Judaism and Christianity, they were not believers. [Al-Hadid 57:28] And the intended meaning of "His Messenger" here is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). And belief in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) includes belief in all the messengers, as He the Exalted said: [Al-Baqarah 2:285] This means in belief in them, not in following them. In following, we distinguish between the messengers; we follow Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) from among them. But belief in all of them is on the same level; we believe that they are truly the messengers of Allah.
[Al-Hadid 57:28] Meaning: two shares of the mercy of Allah. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) compared this Ummah to those before it to a man who hired workers: a group from the beginning of the day to midday, a group from midday to the afternoon, and a group from the afternoon to the setting of the sun. So he gave each of the first group a dinar, each of the second group a dinar, and each of the third group two dinars. So the first group objected: Why do you give these people two dinars when they have done less work than us? He answered them by saying: Did I deprive you of anything from your wages? They said: No. He said: That is my favor, which I give to whom I will. (Praise be to Allah). So this Ummah has twice the reward of the previous nations. [Ali 'Imran 3:31]
The student: And He will make for you a light.
The Shaykh :[Al-Hadid 57:28] Meaning: if you believe and realize faith along with the fear of Allah, He will reward you with two rewards. [Al-Hadid 57:28] Meaning: knowledge by which you proceed to Allah the Exalted with insight. In this is evidence that the fear of Allah is among the causes of attaining knowledge. How many are there who seek knowledge, seeking memorization, meaning they ask for it, seeking understanding? We say that attaining it is easy, and that is through the fear of Allah the Exalted and the realization of faith, which is the obligation of knowledge. Act upon what you have learned, and you will attain what you have not learned. So the fear of Allah the Exalted is among the causes of the increase of knowledge, without doubt. For this reason, He said: [Al-Hadid 57:28] Meaning: you proceed by it—meaning, by its cause, you proceed correctly, leading you to Allah the Exalted. Meaning: He covers them for you and forgives you, so there is no punishment and no disgrace. [Al-Baqarah 2:218] Meaning: He is the One who forgives and is merciful, as Allah the Exalted said: [Ar-Ra'd 13:6] And He the Exalted said: [Al-Kahf 18:58] So "Al-Ghafur" means the One who forgives, and "Al-Rahim" means the One who is merciful. And that is because the human being is in need of forgiveness for sins that have occurred from him, and of mercy that guides him and by which he avoids sins and finds the way to repentance if he disobeys. Then He said: [Al-Hadid 57:29] [Al-Baqarah 2:109] So He the Exalted says here: [Al-Hadid 57:29] No giving, and what? No withholding. And the favor is in the hand of Allah the Exalted, who is the Manager of everything He wills according to what His wisdom requires. [Al-Baqarah 2:105] Meaning: the Owner of the great favor. And how great is the favor of Allah the Exalted upon His servants! He the Exalted said: [An-Nahl 16:53] We ask Allah the Exalted to grant us and you from His favor, and to bestow upon us from Him mercy. Indeed, He is the Bestower. And may Allah send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his Companions.
The student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, the questions. Now we begin with the guests, for they have a right.
O you who have believed, fear Allah and believe in His Messenger; He will [then] give you a double portion of His mercy
يا أيها الذين آمنوا اتقوا الله وآمنوا برسوله يؤتكم كفلين من رحمتهO you who have believed
يا أيها الذين آمنواfear Allah and believe in His Messenger
اتقوا الله وآمنوا برسولهO you who have believed
يا أيها الذين آمنواAnd believe in His Messenger
وآمنوا برسولهNone of you will have faith till he wishes for his (Muslim) brother what he likes for himself.
لا يؤمن أحدكم حتى يحب لأخيه ما يحب لنفسهAnd believe in His Messenger
وآمنوا برسولهO you who have believed
يا أيها الذين آمنواfear Allah and believe in His Messenger
اتقوا الله وآمنوا برسولهThe Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], "We make no distinction between any of His messengers."
من الرسول بما أنزل إليه من ربه والمؤمنون كل آمن بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله لا نفرق بين أحد من رسلهbelieve in His Messenger; He will [then] give you a double portion of His mercy
آمنوا بالله ورسوله يؤتكم كفلين من رحمتهand forgive you your sins. And Allah is Forgiving and Merciful."
ويغفر لكم ذنوبكم والله غفور رحيمThe student: And He will make for you a light.
The Shaykh :
make for you a light by which you will walk
ويجعل لكم نورا تمشون بهmake for you a light by which you will walk
ويجعل لكم نورا تمشون بهmake for you a light by which you will walk
يجعل لكم نورا تمشون بهAnd He will forgive you your sins
ويغفر لكم ذنبوكمAnd Allah is Forgiving and Merciful.
والله غفور رحيمAnd indeed, your Lord is full of forgiveness for the people despite their wrongdoing
وإن ربك لذو مغفرة للناس على ظلمهمAnd your Lord is the Forgiving, full of mercy
وربك الغفور ذو الرحمةso that the People of the Scripture may know that they are not able [to obtain] anything from the bounty of Allah
لئلا يعلم أهل الكتاب ألا يقدرون على شيء من فضل اللهMany of the People of the Scripture wish they could turn you back to disbelief after you have believed, out of envy from themselves
ود كثير من أهل الكتاب لو يردونكم من بعد إيمانكم كفارا حسدا من عند أنفسهمso that the People of the Scripture may know that they are not able [to obtain] anything from the bounty of Allah
لئلا يعلم أهل الكتاب ألا يقدرون على شيء من فضل اللهand Allah is the possessor of great bounty.
والله ذو الفضل العظيمAnd whatever you have of favor - it is from Allah. Then when adversity touches you, to Him you cry for help.
وما بكم من نعمة فمن الله ثم إذا مسكم الضر فإليه تجأرونThe student: ...
The Shaykh : Yes, the questions. Now we begin with the guests, for they have a right.