Exegesis of Surat Qaf, verses (30-35), and other selected verses, and what is derived from them.

The Shaykh : When He, Blessed and Exalted is He, says: "Day" is a temporal adverb. Temporal and spatial adverbs, as well as prepositions, must have a complement; that is, they must be attached to a verb or something that carries the meaning of a verb. So what is the complement of His saying: We say: it is omitted. The intended meaning is: "Remember the Day when We say to Hell." Know that in the Arabic language, words are sometimes omitted, and sometimes even entire sentences, when the context indicates them.
Here, the word to which "Day" is attached is omitted. The intended meaning is: "Remember the Day when We say to Hell: 'Are you full? And will you have more?'" Allah, Mighty and Majestic, asks it, "Are you full?" while He, Glorified and Exalted is He, knows whether it is full or not, for nothing is hidden from Him. But He asks it, "Are you full?" to confirm for it what He, Glorified and Exalted is He, promised it. For Allah says: So He asks it, "Are you full?" meaning, "Has what Allah promised come to pass?" Because Allah guaranteed to fill Paradise and to fill the Fire. Is "hal" here an interrogative noun or an interrogative particle? It is a particle. Is it an interrogative of request, meaning it seeks more, or an interrogative of negation, meaning it says, "There is no more than what is in it?" The scholars have two opinions on this. The first opinion is that the meaning is: meaning, "There is no more than what is in it." And does "hal" come for negative interrogation, as in His saying, the Exalted: meaning, "There is no creator." And on this basis, the Fire would be full if it said, "There is no more than that." So the meaning is that it is full. It was also said that "hal" is for request, meaning it seeks more. And when scholars differ in interpretation or otherwise, the reference is to what Allah and His Messenger said. So let us look at which of the two opinions is more likely to be correct. It is established from the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) that he said: So which of the two opinions is more likely to be correct? That it is an interrogative of request, meaning it seeks more. But the mercy of Allah preceded His anger. He, Mighty and Majestic, places His Foot upon it in the manner He willed, then some of it recedes, some of it folds in upon itself, and it narrows, and it says, "There is no more than that." First it seeks more, then the matter ends. The word of Allah has become true that He filled Hell with Paradise and people, all of them.
In the hadith I cited, there is an affirmation of the Foot or Leg for Allah, Mighty and Majestic. Is it a Foot in reality, or a Foot in the sense of "the one who brings forward," meaning the Lord, Mighty and Majestic, brings forward those He sends to the Fire until He fills it? And is the Leg a Leg in reality, or a Leg in the sense of a group, because it is said, for example, "a leg of locusts," meaning a group of locusts? Which is more likely? The first, meaning that the intended meaning is a Leg in reality for Allah, Mighty and Majestic, but it does not resemble the legs of the created beings in any way. We know with certainty that it is not like the hands of the created beings, like the legs of the created beings. From where do we know that it is not like the legs of the created beings?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : No, from where do we know that the Leg of Allah does not resemble or equal the legs of the created beings? What is it?
The student: ...

The Shaykh : No, no, pay attention, pay attention. From His saying, the Exalted: And the purpose of His saying, the Exalted: is to warn people, because each one of us does not know whether he will be among the fuel of Hell or among those who are saved from it. We ask Allah to save us and you from it.
Then He, Mighty and Majestic, said: meaning, "It is brought near to the righteous, a place not far." meaning, "What you see of the nearness of Paradise, what is it?" meaning, "This is what you are threatened with." For Allah, the Exalted, promised the believers who do good deeds Paradise, and He, Mighty and Majestic, fulfilled His promise. But for whom? "Al-Awwab" is an intensive form from "aaba" and "yu'ibu," meaning "he returned." So it is for every one who returns to Allah, that is, one who turns back to Him. "Hafiz" means one who is mindful of what Allah commanded them. This is like the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) to 'Abdullah ibn 'Abbas: The meaning is that he is mindful of the commands of Allah, he does not neglect them, nor does he meet them with laziness and delay, but he is diligent in them. And if he sins by leaving an obligatory act or doing a forbidden act, you find him returning to Allah. For every one who returns, he is one who returns to Allah, the Exalted, from sins to acts of obedience. And likewise, "Hafiz" means one who preserves what Allah commanded, guards it, and upholds it. This is what you are promised: for every one who returns, who is mindful.
This is a substitute for what came before it. "Khushi al-Rahman" means he feared Him with knowledge and insight, for fear does not occur except with knowledge of the evidence. His saying, the Exalted: So it is fear, meaning fear, awe, and magnification of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, because it proceeds from knowledge.
And His saying: has two meanings. The first meaning is that he feared the Most Merciful although he did not see Him, but he saw His signs that point to Him. The second meaning is that he feared Him in the unseen, meaning in his absence from people. He fears Allah while he is absent from people, because some people fear Allah when they are among people, but when they are alone, they do not fear Allah. Like whom? The hypocrite who shows off. When he is with people, you find him among the most fearful of people. When he is alone, he does not fear Allah. Likewise, some people have an outward fear, but the heart is not fearful of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. So it is in the unseen, meaning in what is hidden from people, whether his deed is in a private place or what is hidden from people in his heart, for the fear of the heart is the essence. It means that he died while he was turning back to Allah, so it is like His saying: The meaning is that he remained in turning back and returning to Allah, Mighty and Majestic, until he died, until he met Allah, for deeds are judged by their endings. We ask Allah to conclude for us and for you with good.
Then He, the Exalted, said: "Enter it" is a command. Is it a command of compulsion or a command of honor? It is a command of honor, because the Hereafter has no obligation or compulsion, but rather either honor or humiliation. So His saying, the Exalted, to the criminals: This is a command of humiliation. And His saying to the believers here: This is a command of honor. And His saying: The "ba" here is for accompaniment. The meaning is, "Enter with peace, a peace from what? A peace from every affliction. The people of Paradise are safe from diseases, safe from old age, safe from death, safe from anger, safe from envy, and safe from everything. Whatever safety is present, the people of Paradise are safe. meaning, "This Day." meaning, "The Day after which there is no destruction. Eternal, everlasting, with no end."
meaning, "For these righteous ones." meaning, "In Paradise." meaning, "More than what they desire and wish." Because a person, by virtue of being a created being, is unable to exhaust everything, and his hope is cut off such that he does not know what to wish for. But these people of Paradise, whatever they desire in it, it is present. Now, if a person desires a specific fruit, like pomegranates or grapes or the like, does he find it? He finds it.
The student: Yes.

The Shaykh : At what time? At any time. Whatever a person desires and seeks, it is present and does not end. Rather, Allah, Mighty and Majestic, said: meaning, "We give them more than what they desire and wish." And of the increase is the seeing of the Face of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. For this reason, the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) and others from the scholars of knowledge used this verse as evidence for affirming the seeing of Allah, Mighty and Majestic. And he said that this verse: is like His saying, the Exalted:
We ask Allah, the Exalted, to make us and you among them, and to grant us the seeing of His Noble Face in the Gardens of Pleasure. And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds. And may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and all his Companions. And to the questions. The rule is that each person has one question, and whoever is residing with us in the town here has no share in asking, but he will benefit, if Allah wills, by listening. Ask.
The student: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may the prayers and blessings be upon our Prophet Muhammad and his family and all his Companions. May Allah reward you with good, and may Allah benefit Islam and the Muslims through you.