Exegesis of Verses (31 - 45) of Surat al-Rahman.

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and peace 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 ninety-first meeting of the meetings known as: The Open Door Meeting, which takes place every Thursday, and this is the sixteenth day of the month of Rajab in the year 1419 AH.
We begin this meeting, as is customary, with the exegesis of verses from the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), and we have reached the saying of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Rahman:
: The intent of this phrase is a threat, just as one who threatens another says: I will devote myself to you, meaning: I will devote myself to you and give you your due. It does not mean that Allah the Exalted is occupied with one matter over another, then finishes this one and comes to that one. He, Glorified and Exalted is He, manages everything at one time, in the east and west of the earth, and in the heavens and in every place, managing it all at one time, and nothing is too difficult for Him. So do not imagine that His saying: means that He is currently busy and will become free. No, this is a threatening phrase used by the Arabs, and the Noble Qur'an was revealed in their language.
In His saying: there is evident magnification, for He used the plural pronoun to magnify Himself, (Exalted and Majestic is He), even though He is One.
And His saying: means the jinn and mankind. This threat was directed to them because they, the two groups, are the ones subject to religious obligation.
The explanation of this has been mentioned previously, so there is no need to repeat it.
After the threat, He said: If you are able to pass through the quarters of the heavens and the earth, then pass through them, meaning: through their directions. Pass through them: but you are not able to do this. So the command here is for incapacitation, and for this reason He said:
meaning: and you have no power. No one can pass through the quarters of the heavens and the earth. Where would they go? I ask you?

The questioner : Nothing.

The Shaykh : Nowhere, and it is not possible.
Then He said: meaning: if you were able, or if you tried, this would be your reward. meaning: it is heated with fire. meaning: so you will not help one another. And this verse is in the context of a challenge.
And whoever claimed that it refers to what scientists have achieved in flight, until they exit the quarters of the earth and its gravity, and reach, as they claim, the moon or beyond the moon, has erred greatly. For the verse is clear in being a challenge, and a challenge is addressing those who are unable, and then these people say: Can they pass through the quarters of the heavens?
Even if we assume they passed through the quarters of the earth, they did not pass through the quarters of the heavens. The verse is clear that it is in the context of a challenge and does not refer to what these people claimed it refers to. And we say: We do not deny what has actually happened, but it does not follow from affirming it that the Qur'an or the Sunnah indicated it. What has happened has happened; they exited the quarters of the earth, but does it need evidence when it is a reality?
It does not need it. In its context, if you reflect on this verse, you will find that this challenge is on the Day of Resurrection, because: Then He mentioned: , then He mentioned: , then He mentioned what follows it on the Day of Resurrection.
meaning: they will be opened, and that is on the Day of Resurrection, as Allah the Exalted said: .
meaning: like the rose in redness.
like oiled skin.
meaning: so when they are split open, why?
Because everything is known, and the intent is that they are not asked a question of seeking proof or information, because everything is known. However, a question of affirmation is asked, such as His saying the Exalted: This is not an informational question to someone ignorant.
Allah the Exalted says: meaning: a question of information, because everything is known. However, a question of humiliation and rebuke is asked, as He the Exalted said: , and He the Exalted said: , and He the Exalted said to the people of the Fire while they are being thrown into it: , and there are many similar verses. So, what kind of question is it that they do not ask about their sin? The brother, what kind of question?

The questioner : They ask about the sin.

The Shaykh : But what kind of question, meaning do they never ask?

The questioner : A question of knowledge.

The Shaykh : Very well.

The questioner : They do not ask a question of seeking proof or information, but rather a question of humiliation and rebuke.

The Shaykh : And rebuke. That is it, meaning it is not a question that mankind and jinn ask about their sins, but it is not a question of seeking guidance, meaning did you do it or not. It is a question of humiliation and rebuke, and there is a difference between this and that. So the verses do not contradict. Do not say how is it that he is not asked about his sin, and in another verse they are asked? We say this reconciliation is: a question of seeking guidance and information, no, because everything is known and written, and it is only a question of rebuke.
meaning: by their mark. They are known by the mark. One of their marks, and may Allah protect us, is that their faces are black. Allah the Exalted said: And that they are gathered on the Day of Resurrection blue. Either they are blue sometimes and black sometimes, or their faces are black, their eyes are black, or they are blue with an intense blueness that a person considers black.
We seek refuge in Allah. By the forelocks, which is the front of the head, and the known feet, so his leg is taken to his forelock, and thus he is folded in humiliation and disgrace for him. And they are thrown into the Fire.
meaning: it is said: This is Hell which you used to deny. And He said: the criminals, and did not say: you deny it, indicating that they are criminals. And how great is the crime of the disbelievers who disbelieved in Allah and His Messenger, and mocked the verses of Allah and took them as mockery and play.
meaning: they move back and forth between it and scalding water, meaning: intense heat, and may Allah protect us. As for how that will be?
Allah knows best, but we believe that they will move between it and the scalding, intensely hot water, and Allah knows best about that.
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Then He mentioned the reward of the people of Paradise, and He said: And it will come, if Allah wills, in the next meeting. We now begin with the questions, from the right, for the guest only.