Exegesis of Verses (83 - 96) of Surat al-Waqi'ah.

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 all his Companions.
As for what follows:
This is the six-hundredth session of the sessions known as The Open Door, which take place every Thursday. This Thursday is the twelfth of the month of Safar in the year 1420. As is customary, we begin this session with the exegesis of verses from the Book of Allah (Mighty and Majestic).
And we had reached the saying of Allah the Exalted in Surat al-Waqi'ah:
means the spirit, and the context here specifies the referent, as in the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): "It set," meaning the sun, although it had not been mentioned previously, but the context indicates it. Thus, the referent of the pronoun is sometimes mentioned and sometimes known either by context or by something else. The halqum is the passage of the breath, and at the bottom of the neck or on the side of the neck at the bottom, there are two passages: the passage of the breath and the passage of food and drink. The passage of food and drink is called the esophagus, and the passage of the breath is the halqum. It consists of soft, open, circular beads, whereas the esophagus is the opposite, as it is like one of the intestines. The reason for this is that the passage of the breath must be open, for if the passage of the breath were closed, breathing would be difficult. But out of the mercy of Allah, Allah made it like a pipe, but soft, with round beads, so that it is easy for a person to raise his head and lower it. As for the esophagus, it is like the ordinary intestines, and food and drink are strong and open it when they descend into it. Allah mentioned the halqum and not the esophagus because the halqum is the passage of the breath, and when it is cut off, the person dies. That is, when the spirit reaches the halqum, ascending from the bottom of the body to this place, and at that time, the ties to the world are cut off, and the person knows that he has turned toward the Hereafter and finished with the world.
: That is, you look at the dying person and the hardships and agonies he suffers, and you are unable to turn that away from him, even if you were his closest relative and his dearest beloved, for no one is able to prevent the spirit when it reaches the halqum.
means that Allah the Exalted is closer to the halqum than his family is to him, but the intended meaning is closer by our angels. Therefore, He said: And Allah the Exalted attributes a thing to Himself when His angels perform it, because the angels are His messengers (peace be upon them). This is not a case of distorting words from their places, but a case of interpreting a thing by what the context requires.
Do you know why I said this? Because perhaps someone might say that the apparent meaning of the verse: is that the closest is Allah the Exalted, so why do you distort it? We say that we do not distort it, but we interpreted it by what its apparent meaning requires, because Allah said: And it is known that Allah was not on earth to be the preventer from that, from seeing Him, for we do not see Him. So, it is the angels, but we do not see them. If you ask how Allah attributes a thing to Himself when the angels are intended, we say there is nothing strange in that, for Allah attributes a thing to Himself when it is the action of the angels, because they are? Answer?
The student: His messengers.

The Shaykh : His messengers, so their action is His action. Have you not seen the saying of Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He): When we read it, the intended meaning is that he read it? Jibril, and not that Allah read it, but He attributed the action of Jibril to Himself because it was by His command and He is the one who sent him with it. Therefore: means that the spirit of the dying person reached the halqum, ascending from the bottom of the body, and you, O relatives and friends, are looking.
At that time, means our angels are closer to him than you, because they were present to take the spirit. And Allah (Blessed and Exalted is He) has preserved the human being in his life and after his death. In his life, there are angels who preserve him by the command of Allah. After his death, angels take his spirit and preserve it, not neglecting it at all. So they are close to the dead person, but we do not see them, because the angels are a hidden realm that is not seen.
: That is, so if you are not recompensed, meaning not sent and not rewarded for your deeds, would you return it if you were truthful? The answer is that it is not possible. And at that time, you must believe in the Resurrection and the recompense, because you are not able to return the spirit so that you are not recompensed. So be certain of the Resurrection.
Then Allah the Exalted divided the dying into three categories, and He said: O Allah, make us among them.
The student: Amen.

The Shaykh : As for those who are among the Muqarrabun, they are those who performed the obligatory acts, left the forbidden acts, performed the recommended acts, and kept themselves away from the disliked acts, meaning they perfected their religion. The Muqarrabun are the foremost, the foremost who were mentioned at the beginning of the surah, the foremost in good deeds.
The exegetes differed regarding His saying "so a spirit." It was said "so a comfort," because the believer, although he dislikes death, finds comfort in it, because he is given glad tidings at the time of death of spirit and fragrance and a Lord not angry, so he is pleased and rejoices and does not dislike death at that time, but loves to meet Allah the Exalted. And this is undoubtedly comfort for him from the hardship, toil, worries, and sorrows of the world. It was also said that "spirit" means mercy, as Allah the Exalted said about Ya'qub when he said to his sons: meaning from His mercy. And this meaning is more comprehensive than the first, because mercy is more comprehensive than being comfort or comfort with the attainment of the purpose. And if the meaning is more comprehensive, it is preferable to apply the verse to it. So "a spirit" means mercy. And mercy from what? Answer?
The student: Comfort.

The Shaykh : Comfort, good.
It was said that the intended meaning of "fragrance" is everything that pleases the soul, and it is not specific to the plant known as fragrance with its beautiful or pleasant smell, but everything in which there is comfort and pleasure for the soul, whether eaten, drunk, worn, married, or smelled. It was also said that the intended meaning of "fragrance" is the pleasant smell, like the known fragrance. Which is more comprehensive?
The student: The first.

The Shaykh : The first is more comprehensive, so the verse is applied to it. means a Paradise in which he is blessed, and it is the home that Allah prepared for His awliya (close friends of Allah). May Allah make me and you among them.
The student: Amen.

The Shaykh : A Paradise of bliss, in which a person is blessed in his body and his heart, so he does not tire, does not toil, does not get sick, and he does not grieve, does not worry, does not be distressed, but he is in perpetual bliss. The world has bliss, but its bliss is spoiled, as the poet said:
"A day against us and a day for us *** A day we are humbled and a day we are pleased"
And so the world, if you are pleased one day, prepare for harm the next day, and if you are harmed one day, you may be pleased the next day or not. In any case, the blessings of Paradise in the Hereafter are a home of bliss in the heart and bliss in the body. And as for those who are among the people of the right hand, they are those who performed the obligatory acts and left the forbidden acts, but they have a deficiency in the recommended acts and keeping away from the disliked acts.
Peace, meaning safety, for you: that is, O dying person, meaning you are among the people of the right hand. And the meaning is, so peace be upon you in the state that you are among the people of the right hand. Who are the first ones?
The student: The Muqarrabun.

The Shaykh : The Muqarrabun, who are the foremost. These are the people of the right hand, not foremost and not forsaken, in between, but they are saved from the punishment. Therefore, He said: .
The third category: The liars regarding the news, the astray in action, so no belief and no commitment, like whom? The disbelievers, every disbeliever falls under this verse, even the hypocrite. meaning so for him is a descent of scalding water. And "descent" means the hospitality that is offered to the guest first when he arrives. These, may Allah protect us and you from them, their share is this descent: a descent of scalding water. Scalding water is intensely hot.
meaning they enter the Jahanam and are made to abide therein, and Jahanam is one of the names of the Fire. May Allah protect us and you from it.
And the truth of Allah the Exalted, it is not possible for people to go out of these three categories, which are the?
The student: The Muqarrabun...

The Shaykh : Yes, the Muqarrabun, the people of the right hand, and the liars who are astray. It is not possible for them to go out of this.
"Subhan" means to purify, and the one who purifies Allah the Exalted is from every deficiency and flaw, or from being likened to the created. So He is purified from every deficiency due to the perfection of His attributes, and from being likened to the created. Allah the Exalted said: , and He said the Exalted: meaning from fatigue and exhaustion.
And His saying, “In the name of your Lord,” it was said that the preposition *ba* is superfluous and that the meaning is “Glorify the name of your Lord,” just as He the Exalted said: It was also said that it is not superfluous and that the meaning is “Glorify Allah by His name,” so it is necessary to pronounce the glorification, and you say, “Subhan Allah!” As for if you glorify Him with your heart, that is not sufficient. On this view, the *ba* indicates accompaniment, meaning “Glorify Allah, yes, with a glorification accompanied by His name.” The Lord is the Creator, the Owner, the Manager, and the Magnificent, Possessor of majesty and grandeur (Exalted and Majestic is He).
If this surah had not been revealed in the Qur'an except for itself, it would have been sufficient to encourage doing good and leaving off evil.
Allah the Exalted mentioned the Day of Resurrection at its beginning: Then He divided the people in it into how many? Three categories: the foremost, the companions of the right, and the companions of the left. Then He mentioned at its end the state of the person at death and divided all people into three categories: those brought near, the companions of the right, and the liars who are astray. So it encompasses everything. And as He mentioned the beginning of creation in His saying: and provision from food and drink and what makes them wholesome, it is a complete surah. For this reason, a person should reflect upon it when he reads it, just as he reflects upon the rest of the Qur'an. But it contains great meanings. And here the speech on this surah ends. We begin the questions from the right.