Exegesis of Surat al-Balad up to the saying of Allah the Exalted: "Indeed, We have created man in hardship."

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 those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment.
As for what follows:
This is the sixty-ninth of the weekly gatherings known as "The Open Door Gathering", which take place every Thursday, and this is the tenth Thursday of the month of Rabi' al-Awwal in the year 1415.
We begin this gathering with the exegesis of Surat al-Balad, because we have completed the exegesis of the Juz 'Amma, from Surat an-Naba.
Allah Mighty and Majestic says: : The Basmala is a distinct verse, and it is from the speech of Allah, but it is not part of the surah before it, nor of the surah after it, but rather it is a distinct verse with which the surahs are opened, except for Surat al-Bara'ah, for opening Surat al-Bara'ah with the Basmala is an innovation and a departure from the methodology of the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them). Indeed, we know that the Basmala did not descend between Surat al-Anfal and Surat at-Tawbah, for if it had descended, it would have been preserved, by the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He: , but it did not descend. However, when the Companions were gathering the Quran—open the door, open it a bit so those outside can hear—when the Companions were doing the final writing of the Quran, it was difficult for them to determine whether Surat al-Bara'ah was part of al-Anfal or independent, so they placed a separator without the Basmala.
Allah Mighty and Majestic says: .
And I will make a brief detour to what was mentioned in the previous lesson regarding the saying of Allah the Exalted: , for I read them this way and interpreted them according to this reading, because in the two verses mentioned there are two readings: the first reading, which is in the Mushaf, is , meaning: no one inflicts a punishment like the punishment of Allah, rather the punishment of Allah is more severe, and no one binds a binding like the binding of Allah, rather His is more severe.
As for the reading: , meaning: no one is punished with the punishment of this man, and no one is bound with the binding of this man, and this is how we read the two verses and interpreted them, so for this reason the note was made.
Allah Mighty and Majestic says: . This "la" is for the opening of the speech and for emphasizing the speech, and it is not a negation, because the intended meaning is to affirm the oath, meaning: I swear by this land, but this "la" comes here for attention and emphasis.
And . The oath: emphasizing a thing by mentioning something exalted in a specific manner, emphasizing a thing by mentioning something exalted in a specific thing. So: everything by which an oath is taken must necessarily be exalted in the eyes of the one swearing, and it may not be exalted in itself. For example, those who swear by al-Lat and al-'Uzza, they are exalted in their eyes, but in reality they are not great nor exalted.
So the oath, or the oath, or the vow—and the meaning is the same—is: emphasizing a thing by what? By mentioning something exalted in the eyes of whom? In the eyes of the one swearing, in a specific manner.
And the letters of the oath are: the ba, the waw, and the ta.
And what is in the noble verse here is: . Which letter? The ba.
. The land here is: Makkah, and Allah swore by it for its honor and greatness, so it is the most sacred of the places on earth, and the most beloved of the places on earth to Allah Mighty and Majestic, and for this reason the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was sent from it, who is the master of mankind, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him.
So it is worthy of this safe land that an oath be taken by it, but we do not swear by it, because it is a created thing, and we do not have the right to swear by a created thing, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: , but Allah Mighty and Majestic swears by whatever He wills, and for this reason He swore here by Makkah: .
. It was said: the meaning is: I swear by this land while you are in it, because the presence of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) in Makkah increases its honor to its honor. And it was said: the meaning is: and you are making this land lawful.
So the oath of Allah the Exalted by Makkah is while it is lawful for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), and that was in the year of the Conquest, because Makkah in the year of the Conquest was made lawful for the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and it was not made lawful for anyone before him, and it will not be made lawful for anyone after that, as he (peace and blessings be upon him) said: .
So the oath of Allah the Exalted by this land is restricted to when it is lawful for the Messenger, and when is that? In the year of the Conquest, because on that day it increases in honor to its honor, where it was purified from the idols, and the polytheists were defeated, and their lands were opened to them by force, and this land, after it was a land of disbelief, became a land of faith, and after it was a land of shirk, became a land of tawhid, and after it was a land of stubbornness, became a land of Islam, so the most honorable state for Makkah, the most honorable state for it, was at the time of the Conquest.
So: in His saying: , there are two meanings, I hope they are on your minds.
He the Exalted said: : meaning: and I swear by the parent and what he bore, so who is intended by the parent? And who is intended by the child? It was said: the intended parent is: Adam, and the intended child is: the sons of Adam.
And on this, means , meaning: and the parent and whoever bore, because is for the rational beings, and is for the non-rational beings.
And it was said: the intended parent and what he bore is: every parent and what he bore, the human, the beasts, and everything, because the parent and the born are both from the signs of Allah Mighty and Majestic. How does this born come out alive and sound, hearing and seeing, from a drop of water? So this is proof of the perfection of the power of Allah Mighty and Majestic. This sound child comes out from a drop, , likewise the insects and others come out weak and thin, then they grow to whatever limit Allah the Exalted wills.
. So: the correct view is that this is general, including every parent and every born.
He the Exalted said: . The lam here: falls in the answer to the oath to increase the sentence in emphasis, and it may also increase the sentence in emphasis, so the sentence of is emphasized by three emphatics, which are: the oath, and the second? The lam, and the third? Qad.
. The human is a generic name that includes every one of the sons of Adam.
. It has two meanings: the first meaning: in uprightness, meaning: that he was created in the most perfect form in creation, upright, walking on his feet, and raising his head, and his body is balanced, and the beasts are the opposite, the head is at the level of the rear.
Is that not so? But the sons of Adam are not, the head is raised above the body, so it is like His saying the Exalted: .
And it was said the intended meaning of "kabd" is: struggling with things, and enduring them, and that man endures hardship in the matters of the world, in seeking sustenance, in repairing the harvest, in other things, and he also endures a greater endurance with himself and struggling it to obey Allah, and avoiding the sins of Allah, and this is the jihad that is more severe than the endurance of seeking sustenance, especially if man is afflicted with a deviant environment, and becomes a stranger among them, then he will find hardship in enduring himself, and in enduring people also.
So if someone asks: is it not possible that the verse includes both meanings?
So the answer is: yes, and thus it should be when you find in the noble Book a verse that can bear two meanings, and there is no contradiction between them, then take it on what? On both meanings, because the Quran is more comprehensive and broader, so if there is a contradiction between them, then look at the stronger position, for example His saying the Exalted: . So "quru'" is the plural of "qar'", with an open qaf, so what is the "qar'"? It was said: it is menstruation, and it was said: it is purity, here it is not possible to take the verse on both meanings, why? Because of the contradiction, but seek the one that strengthens one of the two sayings, and take it.
So here we say: . It is correct that the verse includes both meanings: meaning: in good stature and uprightness, and in "kabd" in enduring the hardships of things.
And let us limit ourselves to this amount of the clear verses of Allah, to free ourselves for the questions.
And we ask Allah Glorified and Exalted is He to make us all among those who recite His Book with true recitation, and to grant us from it mercy, for He is the Bestower.
So we begin first with the question of the brothers who are not from Unayzah, because they are guests, and they have the right of hospitality, and they do not come in the week except once, but those in Unayzah, praise be to Allah, we and they are the same, people of one house. Yes.