Exegesis of Surat al-Hujurat, verse (1), and other selected verses, and what is derived from the verses.

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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 those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows: On this day, Thursday, the first of the month of Rajab in the year 1416, we meet with our brothers in the meeting known as: "The Open Door Meeting", and this is the one hundred and ninth meeting.
We completed the exegesis of Part 'Am, Surat al-Naba', in the last meeting, and we decided to return and begin with the exegesis of the Mufassal surahs, which begin with Surat Qaf according to some scholars, or with Surat al-Hujurat according to others.
We will speak about Surat al-Hujurat because of the great and beneficial etiquettes it contains, which Allah began with His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He:
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Know that when Allah the Exalted begins an address with His saying: , it is as 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "It is either good that you are commanded to do, or evil that you are forbidden from, so give it your full attention and listen to it for the good it contains".
And when Allah begins an address with: , that indicates that adhering to what one is addressed with is a requirement of faith, and that opposing it is a deficiency in faith.
He, Mighty and Majestic, says: :
It is said that the meaning of: is: do not precede Allah and His Messenger, meaning: do not anticipate Allah and His Messenger in speech or action. It is also said that the meaning is: do not put anything before Allah and His Messenger. Both meanings converge on the same point, which is: do not anticipate Allah and His Messenger in speech or action.
Examples of this have occurred. Among them is the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): For this reason, 'Ammar ibn Yasir said: .
Among such precedences—meaning precedences before Allah and His Messenger—are religious innovations in all their types, for they precede Allah and His Messenger. Indeed, they are the most severe form of precedence, because the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , and he informed that , and he (peace and blessings be upon him) spoke the truth. The reality of the innovator's state is that he adds to Allah and His Messenger what he claims to be good, as if he is saying: the Shari'ah was not complete, and he has completed it with the innovation he brought. This is a complete contradiction of the saying of Allah the Exalted: . It is said to this man who innovated: Is what you did a completion of the religion?
If he says: Yes, then his statement entails or necessitates the denial of the saying of Allah the Exalted: .
And if he says: It is not a completion of the religion, we say: Then it is a deficiency, because Allah says: .
So religious innovation, as it is misguidance in itself, is in reality an attack on the religion of Allah, claiming that it is deficient, and that this innovator has completed it with what he claimed to be from the Shari'ah of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
So all innovators have preceded Allah and His Messenger and did not care about this prohibition. Even if their intention is good, their action is misguidance. They may be rewarded for their good intention, but they are burdened with sin for their bad action. For this reason, it is obligatory for every innovator who knows he is upon an innovation to repent from it, return to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, and adhere to the Sunnah of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the Sunnah of the Rightly Guided Caliphs after him.
Religious innovation has many types: innovations in creed, innovations in speech, and innovations in actions:
As for innovations in creed, they revolve around two things: either likening Allah to creation, or denial of the divine attributes:
Either likening Allah to creation: by affirming the attributes of Allah but in a manner of similarity. This is an innovation, because it was not the way of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Rightly Guided Caliphs, so it is an innovation. For example, one affirms that Allah has a Face and makes it similar to the faces of the created, or a Hand and makes it similar to the hands of the created, and so on. These are innovators without doubt, and their innovation is a denial of the saying of Allah the Exalted: , and His saying: , and His saying: .
As for denial of the divine attributes: it is the opposite of this. Denial of the divine attributes is to deny what Allah described Himself with. If the denial is rejection and denial, it is disbelief. If the denial is figurative interpretation, it is distortion of a text's meaning, and it is not disbelief if the wording allows for it. If the wording does not allow for it, there is no difference between it and denial by rejection. For example, if a person says: Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, said: , and the meaning of the hands is grace, the grace of religion and the grace of this world, or the grace of this world and the grace of the Hereafter. This is distortion, because grace is not one, nor a thousand, nor millions: . So grace is not two, neither in kind nor in type. This is distortion and an innovation, because it is contrary to what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and his Companions and the Imams of Guidance after them received. This is an innovation in creed.
Innovation in speech: such as those who innovate glorifications, or glorifications of Allah, or takbirs that are not in the Sunnah, or who innovate supplications that are not in the Sunnah and are not among the permissible supplications.
As for actions, it is likewise, such as those who clap during dhikr, or shake their heads during recitation, or similar types of innovations. Also, those who rub themselves against the Ka'bah other than the Black Stone and the Yemeni Corner. Also, those who rub themselves against the chamber of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), his noble grave. Also, those who rub themselves against the pulpit which is said to be the pulpit of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the Prophet's Mosque. Also, those who rub themselves against the walls of the al-Baqi' cemetery or other such places.
The important point is that innovations are many: creedal, verbal, and practical. All of them are precedences before Allah and His Messenger, and all of them are disobedience to Allah and His Messenger. For Allah says: , and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) says: .
Among the innovations is what is done in Rajab, which begins today, such as the prayer of al-Ragha'ib, which is prayed on the night of the first Friday of the month of Rajab. It is one thousand rak'ahs, and they worship Allah with it. This is an innovation that does not increase them in anything from Allah but distance, because everyone who approaches Allah with what He has not legislated is a misguided innovator. Allah does not accept his worship, as it is established in the two Sahihs and others from 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: .
Among the precedences before Allah and His Messenger is for a person to say a statement by which he judges between Allah's servants or about Allah's servants, and it is not from the Shari'ah of Allah. For example, to say: this is forbidden, this is lawful, this is obligatory, this is recommended, without evidence. This is a precedence before Allah and His Messenger. And upon the one who said a statement and it became clear to him that he erred in it, it is obligatory for him to return to the truth. Even if the statement became widespread among the people and spread and people acted upon it, it is obligatory for him to return and to announce his return, just as he announced his opposition, which he may be excused for if it was issued from independent legal reasoning. It is obligatory to return to the truth. If a person persists in opposing the truth, he has preceded Allah and His Messenger.
Then He, Mighty and Majestic, said: . This is a generalization after a specification, because preceding Allah and His Messenger is contrary to mindfulness of Allah, but it was specified and mentioned first for its importance.
Then He said: , meaning: take protection from the punishment of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. This is not realized except if a person performs the commands and leaves the prohibitions. Performing the commands to draw near to Allah the Exalted and out of love for His reward, and leaving the prohibitions out of fear of the punishment of Allah, Mighty and Majestic.
Among the people is one who: : so he became arrogant in himself, and became proud in himself, and delved into sin, and his neck veins swelled, and he said: Should one like me be told: fear Allah?
And the poor man did not know that Allah addressed one who is nobler than him, and one who is more mindful of Allah among His servants, and commanded him to fear Allah. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: , and in the same surah He said: . And who is not worthy of being commanded to fear Allah?
Every one of us deserves to be commanded to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic). It is obligatory that when he is told, "Fear Allah," he should increase his fear of Allah, review himself, and look at what he has been commanded to do. He has not been commanded to fear so-and-so and so-and-so, but rather he has been commanded to fear Allah (Mighty and Majestic). And if we define taqwa (mindfulness of Allah) by what we have said, namely that it is: "taking precautions against the punishment of Allah by doing His commands to draw near to Him and out of love for His reward, and leaving His prohibitions out of fear of His punishment", then any person who leaves an obligatory act has not feared Allah, and his taqwa has decreased by the amount of his disobedience. For example, leaving the prayer causes taqwa to be completely lost, because the one who leaves the prayer is a disbeliever, as indicated by the Book of Allah and the Sunnah of His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and the statements of the Companions. Some scholars even reported the consensus of the Companions that the one who leaves the prayer is a disbeliever in a way that takes him out of the religion. Among them is the famous Tabi'i (successor) Abdullah ibn Shaqiq (may Allah have mercy on him), who said: "The Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not consider any act whose abandonment is disbelief except the prayer". Likewise, Ishaq ibn Rahawayh transmitted their consensus. It is not authentic from any Companion that he said: "The one who leaves the prayer is in Paradise," or that he is a believer, or anything similar to that.
So, the violation of taqwa varies; it may be disbelief, or it may be less than that.
The fornicator has not feared Allah, because he committed fornication, thereby opposing the command of Allah and disobeying Him. The thief has not feared Allah. The one who drinks intoxicants has not feared Allah. The one who is undutiful to his parents has not feared Allah. The one who severs his family ties has not feared Allah. And there are many examples of this.
So, His saying, the Exalted: is a general, comprehensive word that includes the entire Shari'ah.
This phrase is a warning to us not to fall into what we have been prohibited from, namely advancing before Allah and His Messenger, or opposing what has been commanded of His taqwa.
Meaning: He is Hearing of what you say.
Meaning: He is All-Aware of what you say and what you do, because knowledge is more comprehensive and broader, since hearing is related to what is heard, and knowledge is related to what is known. And Allah the Exalted encompasses everything with knowledge, .
The scholars say -may Allah have mercy on them-: The hearing by which our Lord (Mighty and Majestic) is described is divided into two categories:
Hearing of perception, and hearing of response:
So, hearing of perception means: that Allah hears every sound, whether hidden or apparent. Indeed, He (Mighty and Majestic) says to His Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him): Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) said: And Allah (Mighty and Majestic) informed that He heard, and He hears everything that passed between this woman and the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). We call this hearing of perception.
Then, hearing of perception may be intended to indicate comprehensiveness and inclusiveness, or it may be intended as a threat, or it may be intended as support. These are three types:
It may be intended to indicate comprehensiveness and inclusiveness, like this verse.
And it may be intended as a threat, like His saying, the Exalted: , and look how He said: when they described Allah the Exalted with deficiency before He said: , which indicates that describing Allah with deficiency is greater than killing the prophets. This is hearing intended as a threat.
The third is: hearing intended as support. Among this is His saying, Blessed and Exalted is He, to Musa and Harun: , so the intended meaning of hearing here is support, meaning: I hear what you two say and what is said to you.
As for hearing of response, its meaning is: that Allah responds to whoever calls upon Him. Among this is the saying of Ibrahim: meaning: The One who responds to supplication.
And among this is the saying of the one praying: "Allah hears the one who praises Him," meaning: He responded to him, He responded to the one who praised Him and rewarded him.
I do not know if we understand the meaning of what we say in our prayer, or if we say it as an act of worship without knowing the meaning?
When you say: "Allah is the Greatest" in the takbir of ihram, it means: Greater than everything, (Mighty and Majestic), and we do not encompass that, because He is too great for our minds to encompass.
And when we say: "Allah hears the one who praises Him," it means: Allah responded to the one who praised Him. The meaning is not that He only hears him, because Allah hears the one who praises Him and the one who does not praise Him when he speaks. But the intended meaning is that He responds to the one who praises Him with reward. So this hearing necessitates responding to whoever calls upon Him.
As for His saying, the Exalted: the intended meaning is that He is the One of vast knowledge. Allah the Exalted said: .
When you believe, O brother, that Allah is Hearing and that Allah is All-Aware, is it possible, while you are of sound mind, to say what He does not approve of? Answer?
No, because He hears you, so it is not befitting for you to let Allah hear what He does not approve of from you. Let Him hear what He loves and approves of. If you truly believe that Allah is Hearing, I believe that if your father prohibited you from saying certain things, would you dare to let him hear what he does not approve of, or what he prohibited you from? No. So Allah is greater and more noble, so beware of letting Allah hear what He does not approve of from you.
If you believe that He is All-Aware of everything, and this is broader than hearing, because it includes speech, action, and the whispers of the heart, even what your soul whispers, He (Mighty and Majestic) knows it. If you know that, is it possible to do something He does not approve of?
No, because the purpose of Allah informing us that He is All-Aware of everything is not just for us to know this and believe it. No, the purpose is this, and the purpose is something else, which is the fruit and result that follows from our knowledge that He is All-Aware of everything. If we know that He is All-Aware of everything, will we say what He does not approve of?
No, because He will know it. If we know that He is All-Aware of everything, will we believe what He does not approve of? No, because we know that He knows what is in our hearts. Allah the Exalted said: .
Rather, He said, the Exalted: He interposes between you and your heart.
So in any case: It is obligatory upon us, O brothers, when a name of the names of Allah or an attribute of the attributes of Allah passes by us, that we believe in this name and this attribute, and that we do what is the fruit of believing in this name or attribute.
I ask Allah the Exalted to grant us and you uprightness in our religion and our worldly affairs, and to bestow upon us from Him mercy. Indeed, He is the Bestower.
And now to the questions. We start with the right side, other than the people of the town, because the people of the town have the greater share of the time.