Exegesis of Surat al-Hujurat, verses (15-16), and other selected verses, and what is derived from them.

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 twenty-seventh session after the hundredth of the weekly sessions known as "The Open Door," which take place every Thursday. This Thursday is the twenty-seventh of Muharram, 1417. We ask Allah for success for us and for you in what He loves and is pleased with.
Our session begins with a discussion on the exegesis of the end of Surat al-Hujurat. Allah the Exalted said: We have explained previously that these people did not attain the perfection of faith; that is, they possessed the foundation of faith, so they said, "We have believed." Absolute faith is not attributed to one whose faith is not complete. For this reason, Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: meaning: complete faith has not entered your hearts, but it is close, because the word "lamma" indicates the nearness of what follows it.
Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: It has been established that whoever comes with a good deed will have ten times its reward, up to seven hundred times, up to many multiples. And whoever comes with an evil deed will be recompensed only with its like, and they will not be wronged.
Then He the Mighty and Majestic said: "Innama" is a particle of restriction that affirms the ruling for what is mentioned and negates it for everything else. That is, the believers are none but these. The intended meaning of "the believers" is those whose faith is complete, namely those who believed in Allah and His Messenger. They believed by making a declaration that necessitates acceptance and submission. A mere declaration is not sufficient; rather, acceptance and submission are necessary. The evidence that a mere declaration is not sufficient is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed about his uncle Abu Talib that he is in the Fire, even though he believed in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) and affirmed his truth. He said in his famous poem:
"Indeed, they know that our son is not a denier *** with us, nor does he concern himself with the words of liars"
And he said regarding the religion of the Messenger:
"And you have surely known that the religion of Muhammad *** is the best of the religions of the earth in religion"
But, may Allah protect us, he did not accept this religion and did not submit to it. The last thing he said was that he was upon shirk (associating partners with Allah), upon the religion of 'Abd al-Muttalib. So those who believed in Allah and His Messenger are those who made a complete declaration of what Allah the Mighty and Majestic deserves and what the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) deserves, and they accepted that and submitted to it. The word "thumma" here is in one of the best positions. "Thumma" indicates sequence with a delay. That is, then they settled and remained firm in faith over a long period, and they did not doubt; meaning: doubt did not overtake them regarding faith in Allah and His Messenger.
Here we point out an issue that is frequently asked about at this time, even though its origin existed in the time of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). It is the whispers (waswas) that Satan casts into the heart of a person. Satan sometimes casts whispers and doubts into the heart of a person regarding faith, regarding the Qur'an, regarding the Messenger, or regarding the Lord the Mighty and Majestic. These are whispers that a person would wish to tear his flesh and break his bones rather than speak of them. What is the position of a person regarding this? The position of a person regarding this is that he should seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan and stop; he should turn away from it and not think about it at all. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) informed that such whispers are pure faith; that is, pure faith. This was pure faith because Satan does not come to a person who is doubting to make him doubt in his religion; rather, he comes to a person who is firm and settled to make him doubt in his religion and corrupt it for him. As for the believer whose faith has settled in his heart and whose heart has found tranquility in faith, yes, it is he whom Satan comes to corrupt. As for one who is not a believer, Satan does not come to him with such whispers because he has already given up on him. The important point is that His saying: indicates that they remained firm in faith, even if the period was long.
If someone asks: What is the path that necessitates the firmness and stability of faith for a person? We say:
First: that he should reflect on the creations of Allah the Exalted and that these great creations were not the result of chance and were not self-created. And he should also reflect on the Shari'ah of Allah and its perfection, and reflect on the biography of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his signs, and so on.
And he should also increase in the remembrance of Allah the Mighty and Majestic, for by the remembrance of Allah hearts find tranquility.
And he should increase in acts of obedience and righteous deeds, because acts of obedience and righteous deeds increase in faith, as is the position of the people of the Sunnah and the community (may Allah have mercy on them).
This is also connected to His saying: meaning: they are those who, along with their faith in Allah the Mighty and Majestic and their certainty and lack of doubt, desire to reform the servants of Allah. They desire to reform the servants of Allah by what? By jihad in the cause of Allah. They fight the enemies of Allah so that they may return to the religion of Allah and be upright upon it, not for revenge against them or for victory for themselves, but so that they may enter into the religion of Allah the Mighty and Majestic. Jihad in the cause of Allah is fighting so that the word of Allah is the supreme one, not for revenge. Fighting for revenge is nothing but defense of the self or taking revenge only. But jihad in reality is that a person fights so that the word of Allah is the supreme one. As for jihad for the victory of the self or defense of the self only, it is not in the cause of Allah. But there is no doubt that one who fights in defense of himself, if he is killed, he is a martyr, and if he kills his opponent, his opponent is in the Fire, as came in the hadith from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) regarding one who wanted to take his wealth. He said: So what is jihad in the cause of Allah? It is what? Fighting for what? So that the word of Allah is the supreme one. This is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) defined and explained clearly.
Those are the truthful in their faith and lack of doubt. As for those who said from among the Bedouins, "We have believed," but they did not truly believe, but rather they submitted, they are not truthful. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said: Yes.
The student: ...

The Shaykh : Not before it. This is a denial of the saying of those who said: "We have believed." That is, do you inform Allah the Exalted that you have believed, while He is All-Knowing of everything? "You inform Allah" means you tell Allah, and it is not intended that you remove His ignorance of your state, because He knows their state, the Mighty and Majestic, and He knows whether they are believers or not. But "you inform" here means what? You tell, and it does not mean you remove ignorance from Allah the Mighty and Majestic, because Allah is not ignorant of their state; rather, He is All-Knowing. meaning: when you said: "We have believed." In this verse is an indication that vocalizing the intention in acts of worship is blameworthy, because the person who says: "I want to pray," Allah the Exalted knows what he intends to do, and Allah knows. And the one who says: "I want to fast," likewise. And the one who says: "I intend to give charity," likewise. And the one who says: "I intend to perform Hajj," likewise. For this reason, vocalizing the intention is not prescribed in all acts of worship, not in Hajj, nor in charity, nor in fasting, nor in ablution, nor in prayer, nor in anything else. Why? Because the place of intention is the heart, and Allah knows that, so there is no need to inform Allah of it.
We have previously discussed this great attribute of Allah, which is among His most comprehensive attributes, the Exalted and Majestic, repeatedly. He is All-Knowing of everything, hidden or apparent, general or specific, the Exalted and Majestic. Then He the Exalted said: to the end of the surah, and we will complete it, if Allah wills, in the next session, because time has constrained us, and let us devote ourselves to the questions. Let us start from the right. Please.