Exegesis of Surat al-Bayyinah up to the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And those who were given the Scripture did not differ until after the clear proof had come to them."

The Shaykh : After that, we will speak briefly about Surat al-Bayyinah because we have reached it. Allah the Exalted says: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful We have previously discussed the Basmala extensively in this gathering and others, and we clarified that the Basmala is a verse from the Book of Allah, spoken by Allah just as He spoke the Qur'an (Exalted and Majestic is He). However, it is an independent verse that is not counted among the verses of the surah that follows it, nor among the verses of the surah that precedes it. Rather, it is independent, and the surahs begin with it from al-Fatihah to "Say, I seek refuge in the Lord of mankind," except for Surat al-Bara'ah, for it is not established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he began Surat al-Bara'ah with the Basmala. For this reason, the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) omitted it, but out of caution and fear that it might be an independent surah, they placed a separator between it and Surat al-Anfal.
Allah the Exalted says: The People of the Book are the Jews and the Christians. They were named so because their scrolls remained until the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was sent, despite the alteration, distortion, and change within them. But they are the People of the Book; if you hear "People of the Book" in the Qur'an, who is meant by them? The Jews and the Christians. The Jews have the Torah, and the Christians have the Gospel. As for the polytheists, they are the worshippers of idols, of every kind, from among the Children of Israel and others. He says that these people were not separated, meaning they did not abandon the polytheism and disbelief they were upon and separate from it, until the clear proof came to them. So what is the clear proof? The clear proof is that by which the truth is made clear in every matter. Anything by which the truth is made clear is called a clear proof. For this reason, the Prophet (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) said: So whatever makes the truth clear is a clear proof, and it exists in every matter according to its nature. So what is the clear proof that Allah mentioned here? The clear proof, He said: And this Messenger is the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, Muhammad ibn Abdullah al-Hashimi al-Qurashi (may the prayers and peace of Allah be upon him). It was mentioned in the indefinite form "Messenger" to honor him, because he (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him) is worthy of the honor befitting him, without deficiency or exaggeration.
This means that Allah sent him to all the worlds as a bringer of good news and a warner. Allah the Blessed and Exalted said: And He said: So he is Muhammad (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him), sent from Allah through Gabriel (peace be upon him), because Gabriel is the Messenger of the Lord of the Worlds to His messengers, entrusted with the revelation, bringing it down upon whom Allah wills of His servants. So who is meant by the Messenger? The brother?

The questioner : ...

The Shaykh : Yes, who is meant by him? Muhammad. Good, who sent him?

The questioner : Allah.

The Shaykh : Allah, based on His saying: Who is the intermediary between the Messenger and Allah?

The questioner : Gabriel.

The Shaykh : Gabriel, because Gabriel is entrusted with the revelation, bringing it down upon whom He wills of the servants of Allah.
This means he recites it for himself and for the people. is the plural of "sahifah," which is a sheet or tablet or the like of what is written on. means purified from shirk (associating partners with Allah), from vile morals, and from everything that is bad, because it is pure and sacred. means: in these scrolls. "kutub" means: valuable writings. So "kutub" is the plural of "kitab" meaning a written document. The meaning is that in these scrolls are valuable writings written by Allah the Exalted. It is known that if a person goes through the Qur'an, he finds it to be so, meaning he finds that it contains "kutub," i.e., valuable writings. Look at what the Qur'an brought regarding the oneness of Allah (tawhid), praising Him, thanking Him, and glorifying Him; you will find it full of that. Look at what is in the Qur'an regarding the description of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and the description of his Companions, the Muhajireen and the Ansar, and the description of those who followed them with excellence. Look at what the Qur'an brought regarding the command to establish prayer, pay zakah, fast, and perform Hajj, and other noble morals. You will find that everything the Qur'an brought is "qayyim," meaning valuable in itself, and it is also "muqim" for others. So Allah informed in this verse that it is not possible for these disbelievers from among the People of the Book and the polytheists to separate until the clear proof comes to them. When the clear proof came to them, did they separate from their religion, meaning from their disbelief and shirk? Listen to the answer. He said: This means: when the clear proof came, did they believe? No, but they differed among themselves. Some believed and some disbelieved. From the Christians, some believed, such as the Negus, the King of Abyssinia. And from the Jews, some also believed, such as Abdullah ibn Salam (may Allah be pleased with him). So some believed and some disbelieved. Whoever Allah knew would seek good and seek the religion for Allah, He guided to faith. And whoever was not so, He guided to disbelief. Likewise, from the polytheists, some believed. And how many of the polytheists from Quraysh believed! So the people, before the sending of the Messenger (may the prayer and peace of Allah be upon him), remained upon the disbelief they were upon until the clear proof came to them. Then when the clear proof came to them, what happened? Hmm? They differed and disagreed, as He the Exalted said: The rest of the discussion on this surah will come, if Allah wills, because the time for questions has arrived now, as we have allocated one-third of this gathering for speech and exegesis, and two-thirds for questions. We will start from the right, and each person has one question so that he does not take the largest share from his brothers.