Exegesis of Verses (63 - 74) of Surat al-Waqi'ah.

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 four-hundredth session of the well-known Al-Bab al-Maftuh (The Open Door) gatherings, which take place every Thursday. This Thursday is the twenty-seventh of the month of Muharram in the year 1420.
We begin this session with what has become customary, which is the exegesis of the Book of Allah the Exalted. In the previous lesson, we mentioned regarding the saying of Allah: that what is above the gold is smoke, and it became clear to us afterwards that it is pure smoke. Thus, Yahmum is smoke, and Allah described it as not cold, as is the case with shadows, and not noble, meaning pleasant to look at, because it is smoke that is ugly to look at and hot to the touch. We ask Allah for well-being. We reached the saying of the Exalted: meaning, inform us, O you who deny the Resurrection, about what you sow in the tilled land. Are you the ones who bring it forth as a crop after the seed, or are We the planters? The answer: What is the answer? Rather, it is You, O Lord, You are the one who plants it, meaning, You cause it to grow until it becomes a crop, as He the Exalted said: So no one can split this seed until it becomes a plant, or this pit until it becomes a palm tree, except Allah the Exalted. He the Exalted said: and He the Exalted did not say: "If We willed, We would not have brought it forth." He said: So after it comes forth and becomes a crop, and souls become attached to it, Allah the Exalted makes it wreckage. This is the most severe cause of sadness and regret, because before it comes forth, souls are not attached to it. But when it comes forth and becomes a crop, and then Allah sends upon it a calamity so that it becomes wreckage, meaning, destroyed with no benefit, it is the most severe cause of remorse. meaning, you are engaged in idle talk, seeking to dispel your sadness, so you say: meaning, we have incurred a loss with this crop that became wreckage. Then you resume and say: meaning, we were deprived of this crop, and it became wreckage, so we lost it.
Then Allah the Exalted moved on to another matter, which is the matter of life, namely water. He said: meaning, inform us about it, who created it? Who brought it into existence? ? The answer: Rather, it is You, O our Lord. Meaning, did you send down the water that you drink from the clouds, meaning, from the sky, or are We the ones who send it down? The answer: It is Allah the Exalted, because He sends it down from the clouds, and it remains hidden in the ground. What the ground drinks, Allah the Exalted causes to flow as springs in the earth, which are extracted by machines from wells and flow from springs. So the origin of the water we drink is from the clouds, from the sky. Therefore, when rain is scarce in some regions, water becomes scarce and hidden, and people need water. He the Exalted said: meaning, We made it salty and unpleasant in taste, so it cannot be drunk. And here He says: and He did not say: "If We willed, We would have hidden it" or "We would have prevented its descent," because the fact that they see the water with their eyes but cannot drink it is a greater cause of remorse than if it did not exist. And Allah the Exalted wants to challenge them with what is the greatest thing in the remorse of their souls. meaning, so why do you not thank Allah the Exalted for sending it down from the clouds, and for it being a flowing, sweet, pleasant-tasting water that is easy to digest? Then Allah the Exalted moved on to a third matter that makes food and drink suitable, which is fire. He said: meaning, you kindle. The answer: Rather, it is You, O our Lord. The tree of fire is a known tree in the Hijaz, and it may be known in other places, called Al-Murkh and Al-Ghafar. This tree has a property: when it is struck with a stick or something else, it sparks upon contact and bursts into flame, and it is used for kindling. It is well known, which is why it is said:
"In every tree there is fire, *** But seek the Murkh and the Ghafar"
Meaning: this fire that we kindle, cook our food with, heat our water with, and benefit from is the greatest of them. The answer: Rather, it is You, O our Lord. It reminds you of the fire of the Hereafter, even though the fire of the Hereafter is superior to this fire by sixty-nine parts compared to all the fire of this world, including its intensely hot fires. meaning, for travelers, they benefit from fire for warmth and for indicating the location, because at that time, and until recently, people would identify locations by a fire they placed in a place... It guides the lost, and the example of guidance is struck with knowledge, like fire, as Al-Khansa said, mourning her brother Sa'ad:
"And Sa'ad, the guides follow him, *** As if he were a banner"
Meaning: a mountain
"With a fire on its peak"
People find their way to it. meaning, glorify Allah the Exalted with this name, so say: "Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great." Tasbih means that Allah the Exalted is free from every deficiency and flaw. So if you say: "Glory be to Allah," the meaning is that I free You, O Lord, from every deficiency and flaw.
And His saying: meaning, the One of supreme greatness. When this verse was revealed, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) said: And when it was revealed: he said: Therefore, it is recommended for a person, when he is praying and says: "Glory be to my Lord, the Most Great," to keep in mind the command of Allah and the command of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The command of Allah is in His saying: and the command of the Messenger is in his saying: so that he combines sincerity to Allah and following the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family).
And with this, this brief discourse on the exegesis of these noble verses ends. Now, let us devote ourselves to the questions, and we will start with the right side, for the guests first.