Exegesis of the remainder of Surat al-'Alaq, from the saying of Allah the Exalted: "Have you seen the one who forbids * a servant when he prays..."

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and his Companions, and upon those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows: This is the eighty-fourth session of *Liqaa al-Bab al-Maftuh*, which takes place every Thursday of every week. This is the fourth Thursday of the month of Sha'ban in the year 1415 AH. We begin it by speaking about the remainder of the exegesis of Surat al-'Alaq.
Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said: All of this is a threat, a threat to this man who used to forbid the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) from praying, to the extent that he threatened him and said, "I will trample his neck when he prostrates." But Allah the Exalted refused that. He intended to do it, but he turned back on his heels and saw great terrors that stood between him and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
And His saying: It is possible that this is from the vision of the eye, and it is possible that it is from the vision of knowledge, and both are correct. The Lord, Mighty and Majestic, sees with His knowledge and sees with His sight, Exalted and Majestic is He; nothing is hidden from Him on earth or in the heavens. The meaning of this phrase is: a threat. That is to say, did this man not know that Allah the Exalted sees him and knows him, and He, Glorified and Exalted is He, is encompassing of his deeds, so He will reward him for them, either in this world or in both this world and the Hereafter.
Then He said: "Kalla" here means "truly." It is also possible that it is for deterrence, meaning to deter him from the evil deed he was doing toward the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). Or it means: "Truly, We will seize by the forelock." The phrase "We will seize by the forelock" is the answer to an implied oath. The implied meaning is: "By Allah, if he does not stop, We will seize by the forelock." The answer to the condition was omitted, and the answer to the oath remained, because this is the rule in the Arabic language: when an oath and a condition meet, the answer to the later one is omitted. Ibn Malik said in his *Alfiyyah*:
"And omit, when a condition and an oath meet, *** the answer to what you delayed; that is the commitment"
Here, the later one is the condition "la'in" (if), and the oath is prior to it, as its implied meaning is "By Allah, if he does not stop, We will seize by the forelock." The meaning of "We will seize" is "We will take by force." The *naasiyah* is the forelock, the front of the head. The *al* in *al-naasiyah* is the *al* of covenant, meaning: what is the covenant? The mental covenant. The *naasiyah* referred to here is the forelock of Abu Jahl, who threatened the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) regarding his prayer and forbade him from it. That is: "We will seize by his forelock." Is the meaning that he is seized by the forelock in this world, or in the Hereafter, where he is dragged by his forelock into the Fire? Both are possible. It is possible that he is seized by the forelock, and he was indeed seized by his forelock on the Day of Badr when he was killed along with the disbelievers who were killed. It is also possible that he is seized by his forelock on the Day of Resurrection and thrown into the Fire, as Allah the Exalted said: If a verse is suitable for two meanings that do not contradict each other, it is obligatory to apply it to both meanings, as is well known, and as we have established previously and establish now: if a verse is possible for two meanings that do not negate each other, it is obligatory to take both meanings.
His saying, the Exalted: The *naasiyah* is a substitute for the first *naasiyah*. It is a substitute of the indefinite for the definite, which is permissible in the Arabic language. He said: in order to prepare for the description that follows, which is His saying: "Lying," meaning that it is described as lying. There is no doubt that the greatest of lies is what comes from the disbelievers who claim that there are other gods besides Allah, for this is the most lying of people and the ugliest of actions.
Meaning: one who commits an error intentionally. Let it be known that there is a difference between *kha'it* (one who errs intentionally) and *mukhita'* (one who errs unintentionally). The *kha'it* is the one who committed the error intentionally, and the *mukhita'* is the one who committed it out of ignorance. The second is excused, and the first is not excused. Allah Blessed and Exalted is He said: Meaning: those who commit a sin intentionally. And He, the Exalted, said: So Allah said: .
Similarly, the *qasit* (one who transgresses) and the *muqsit* (one who is just). The *qasit* is the one who is unjust, and the *muqsit* is the one who is just. Allah the Exalted said: And He, the Exalted, said: .
So, *kha'it* means one who commits a sin intentionally. The *lam* here is for challenge, meaning: if he is truthful and has strength and ability, let him call his *naadi* (gathering place). The *naadi* is the gathering of the people for talking among themselves, communicating, understanding, and taking pleasure in each other's company. Abu Jahl was highly respected among the Quraysh, and he had a *naadi* where people gathered to him and spoke about their affairs. So here, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, says: if he is truthful, let him call his *naadi*. This is undoubtedly a challenge, just as you say to your enemy, "If you have people, come forward," and similar words indicating a challenge.
He said: Meaning: We have those who are greater than this man's *naadi*, and they are the *Zabaniyyah*, the angels of the Fire. We ask Allah for safety. Allah the Exalted described the angels of the Fire as: Rough in nature, severe in strength, Rather, they obey everything Allah commands them to do, They are not incapable of it. So He described them with two descriptions: that they are in complete submission to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and that they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, and that they are in complete capability, and the non-implementation of the command of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is either due to incapacity or due to disobedience. For example, the one who does not pray the obligatory prayer standing may be doing so due to incapacity or due to stubbornness; so he does not implement the command of Allah. But the angels over the Fire do not have incapacity; they have strength, they have ability, and they do not have arrogance toward the command. Rather, they have complete humility and submission. These *Zabaniyyah* cannot be matched by this man and his people and his *naadi* ever. For this reason, He said: If someone asks, where is the *waw* in His saying: ? We say: it is omitted due to the meeting of two static letters, because the *waw* is static and the *hamzah* is a *hamzat al-wasl* (connecting hamzah) which is static. And when two static letters meet, if the letter is sound (*sahih*), it is broken (*kasr*), and if it is not sound, it is omitted. Ibn Malik (may Allah have mercy on him) said in *Al-Kafiyyah*:
"If two static letters meet, break what preceded *** And if it is soft, its omission is due"
Meaning: if two static letters meet, if the first letter is sound and not from the letters of weakness (*huruf al-'illat*), it is broken, as in the saying of Allah the Exalted: And its original form was *lam yakun*, because *lam* when it enters a verb makes it jussive, as in the saying of Allah the Exalted: But here, two static letters met, and the first was a sound letter, so it was broken. As for if the first is a letter of softness, meaning a letter from the letters of weakness, it is omitted, as in this verse: It is said: what was said about the first one before it applies here. The address in His saying: means: do not obey this one who forbids you from praying. Rather, prostrate and do not care about him. And if Allah forbade His Prophet to obey this man, this means that He, Exalted and Majestic, will defend him. That is: do what you are commanded, and do not be concerned with this man, and prostrate to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. The meaning of *sujud* here is prayer, but *sujud* was used for prayer because *sujud* is a pillar of prayer, and it is not valid without it, so it was used to refer to it.
And His saying: Meaning: draw near to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, because the one who prostrates is closest to his Lord, as the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: And he, peace and blessings be upon him, said: Meaning: it is likely that it will be answered for you.
This great Surah, as we have heard, is a great Surah. Allah the Exalted began it with what Allah bestowed upon His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) of revelation, and then He concluded it with prostration and drawing near to Allah, Mighty and Majestic. We ask Allah the Exalted to grant us and you the ability to carry out His obedience and draw near to Him, and to make us among His awliya (close friends of Allah) who are mindful of Him, His successful party, and His righteous servants. Indeed, He is Generous and Noble.
And to the questions, we ask Allah for success in giving the correct answer.