Exegesis of the beginning of Surat al-Ghashiyah up to the saying of Allah the Exalted: "And faces on that Day will be soft."

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send prayers and blessings upon our Prophet Muhammad, 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 fifty-ninth of the regular meetings held every Thursday, and this Thursday is the last Thursday of the month of Dhul-Hijjah in the year 1414, which is the twenty-ninth day of the month. We ask Allah the Exalted to conclude our year for us and for you with forgiveness, pardon, and satisfaction.
We begin this session with the exegesis of Surat al-Ghashiyah. Allah Mighty and Majestic says: In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. The basmalah is a verse from the Book of Allah, independent, not part of the surah before it nor the surah after it, but rather an independent verse. For this reason, the stronger position is that it is not part of Surat al-Fatihah, and that the beginning of al-Fatihah—come forward here, and the beginning of al-Fatihah is: and so on.
Allah the Exalted says: The address is either to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) or to everyone to whom the address is valid. This occurs frequently in the Qur'an, where Allah directs the address, and it is for the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) or for everyone to whom the address is possible and valid. However, sometimes it is specified to be for the Messenger (peace be upon him), such as: This cannot be for anyone but the Messenger (peace be upon him). This cannot be for anyone but the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him).
And sometimes the generality is stronger, such as: So the beginning of the address is to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and its end is: which is general.
So His saying: It is permissible that the address is directed to the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) alone, with his Ummah following him, and it is permissible that it is general for everyone to whom the address is possible. The interrogation here is for suspense, like His saying the Exalted: And it is permissible that it is for magnification, due to the greatness of this report about al-Ghashiyah.
Meaning: its news. And al-Ghashiyah: it is the great calamity that covers people, and it is the Day of Resurrection about which Allah speaks frequently in the Noble Qur'an, describing it with great descriptions, such as His saying the Exalted: .
Then Allah Glorified and Exalted is He divided the people on this Day into two groups, saying: "Khāshi'ah" means: humble, as Allah the Exalted said: So the meaning of "khāshi'ah" is: humble.
Working a work that causes exhaustion, which is fatigue.
The scholars said: That is because they are burdened on the Day of Resurrection with dragging chains and shackles, and wading in the Fire of Hell, refuge with Allah, as a man wades in mud. So they are working, tired from the work they are burdened with on the Day of Resurrection, because it is a work of punishment and retribution, we ask Allah for safety. It is not as some people said: that the intended meaning is the disbelievers: This is because Allah qualified this with His saying: Meaning: the Day when al-Ghashiyah comes, and this does not occur except on the Day of Resurrection.
So: they are working and exhausted by what they are burdened with, dragging chains and shackles, and wading in the Fire of Hell, may Allah protect us and you from it.
Meaning: they are thrown into the Fire of Hell, refuge with Allah, the scorching fire which has reached in its heat that it is preferred over the fire of this world by sixty-nine parts. Meaning: the entire fire of this world, with the most intense heat it has, the Fire of Hell is more intense than it by sixty-nine parts.
And what indicates the intensity of its heat is that this sun's heat reaches us despite the distance between us and it, and despite it passing through atmospheres that are extremely cold, this heat that you perceive reaches us, especially in the days of summer. So the Fire, may Allah protect us and you from it, is a scorching fire.
When He showed us their place, refuge with Allah, and that they are in the scorching Fire of Hell, He showed their food and drink, saying: Meaning: the faces. Meaning: extremely hot. This is regarding their drink. And with this, this drink does not come with ease or whenever they are thirsty they are given it. No, rather they are given it whenever their thirst intensifies, refuge with Allah, and they call for help, as He the Exalted said: This water, when it approaches their faces, it burns them and their flesh falls off. And when it enters their bellies, He the Exalted says: So: they do not benefit from it, neither externally nor internally. Not externally by cooling the faces, nor internally by quenching thirst. But they, refuge with Allah, are given relief with this water. For this reason He said: .
So if someone asks: How can this spring be in the Fire of Hell, and the custom is that water extinguishes fire, is that not so? The answer is: that the matters of the Hereafter are not measured by the matters of this world. If they were measured by the matters of this world, we would not be able to imagine how it would be. Is it not so that the sun approaches the heads of people on the Day of Resurrection by the distance of a bow? And the bow is either the bow of the kohl applicator, which is half a finger, or the bow of distance, which is a kilometer and a third or similar. And even if it were so, if the Hereafter were like this world, it would roast people. But the Hereafter is not measured by this world.
Also: people are gathered on the Day of Resurrection in one place. Some of them are in severe darkness, and some of them are in light. They are gathered in one place and they sweat. Some of them the sweat reaches their ankles, some of them it reaches their knees, and some of them it reaches their waist. And yet they are in one place.
So the conditions of the Hereafter are not permissible to be measured by the conditions of this world. So if someone asks: How can there be water in the fire? We say: First: the conditions of the Hereafter are not measured by the conditions of this world.
Second: that Allah is Able to do all things.
Here we now find that fire is kindled from green trees, as He the Exalted said: The green tree is moist, and yet if some of it is struck against some, or struck with a fire-steel, it ignites and a hot, dry fire comes out of it, while it is moist and cold. So Allah is Able to do all things. So they are given to drink from a spring that is scalding in the fire, and that does not conflict with the power of Allah Mighty and Majestic.
As for their food, He said: "Ad-Dari'." They said it is a thorny tree with great thorns. When it dries, it is not grazed by cattle or beasts. And if it is green, camels graze it. It is called among us "al-Shubriq." This "ad-Dari' is a thorny tree; when it dries, it is not grazed because it is thorny, and when it is green, camels graze it. They, refuge with Allah, are in the Fire of Hell and they have no food except from this "ad-Dari'. But do not think that the "ad-Dari' in the Fire of Hell is like the "ad-Dari' in this world. It differs from it greatly. For this reason He said: So it does not benefit the bodies externally. So it does not benefit them internally. So there is no good in it. It contains nothing but thorns and great swallowing, and bitterness and a foul smell from which they do not benefit anything.
Then Allah Mighty and Majestic mentioned the second group of the divisions of people on the Day of al-Ghashiyah, saying: to the end of it. And we will mention them, if Allah wills, in the next session. We ask Allah the Exalted to protect us and you from the Fire, and to grant us and you the abode of permanence. Indeed, He is Able to do all things.
And now to the questions. The custom is that the questioner is not entitled to more than one question. Yes.