Continuation of the explanation of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Is he to whom Allah has opened his breast to Islam, so he is upon a light from his Lord...?”

The student:

The Shaykh : I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: The hamza here is for interrogation, and the fa is a conjunction, and what it is conjoined to is what preceded it, according to one of the two views among the scholars of grammar. It was also said that the fa is a conjunction to an implied word after the hamza, and the implied meaning is: “Did you not neglect and thus fail to grasp this matter?” So, he to whom Allah has opened his breast to Islam is upon a light from his Lord, unlike he who was not so. We have a rule that when the grammarians differ on a matter, we follow the easier one, because the issue is a matter of independent legal reasoning. If that is the case, then we see that the hamza is for interrogation and the fa is a conjunction to what preceded it, and the position of the hamza is after the fa of conjunction, after the fa of conjunction, and the implied meaning is: “So believe, [for] Allah has opened his breast.” And His saying, Exalted and Majestic is He, “Sharaha” means to expand, and from this is “sharaha al-kitab,” meaning they expand and spread it out. And His saying, The intended meaning of “sadr” (breast) here is the heart, because it is its location, so it was used to refer to it. It may also be said that the intended meaning of “sadr” is the actual breast, as evidenced by the fact that when a person is worried, he feels his breast as if it were burdened with the stones of a millstone from tightness, without realizing that this affects his heart. Thus, the intended meaning of “sharh” here is the opening of the breast itself, and the outcome is the same. And His saying “bi al-Islam” means by accepting it and committing to it. Islam has two meanings: the first is general, and the second is specific. The general meaning includes everyone who submits to Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, by obeying Him when the divine law was established. It includes everyone who submitted to Allah by obeying Him when the divine law was established. And on this basis, were the Jews in the time of Jesus, in the time of Moses, ...?
The student: Muslims.

The Shaykh : Muslims, and in the time of Jesus, disbelievers. And the Christians in the time of Jesus were Muslims, and in the time of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), they were disbelievers. May Allah have mercy on you. And for this reason, we find that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, describes people as Muslims, the people of Noah and those after him. As for the specific meaning of Islam, it is what was specific to the law of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). The people after the sending of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) are either Muslims or disbelievers. The Muslims are those who followed the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and no one else, and this is called specific Islam. So, what does His saying “Indeed, the religion in the sight of Allah is Islam” mean? It means the Islam with which Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) was sent. No one can claim for anyone that he is a Muslim after the sending of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) unless he is following him, because Islam after his sending became specific to those who followed his law. So here, do we interpret it with the general meaning or the specific meaning? If we interpret it with the general meaning, it includes even those to whom Allah opened their breasts to Islam in the era of the previous prophets, and those to whom Allah opened their breasts to Islam in the era of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family). So which do you see?
The student: The general meaning.

The Shaykh : The general meaning, the general meaning, because among those who came before, those to whom Allah opened their breasts to Islam, Moses (peace and blessings be upon him) said: But if the address is directed to what is after the sending of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him and his family), then it is necessary that the intended meaning is the specific one. And His saying, What is the meaning of “light”? Spiritual light, spiritual light, in which a person walks upon the law of Allah, as if he has a lantern in his hand by which he finds the way, because Allah has opened his breast to Islam, so he does not feel tightness with it, and he is upon a light from his Lord. What remains for us is the hamza in for interrogation. So where is the counterpart? Its counterpart is what corresponds in meaning to the opening of the breast, namely one whose breast was tight with Islam. “Is he to whom Allah has opened his breast to Islam like one whose breast was tight with it?” And the answer is: Yes or no? Meaning, are they equal, the one to whom Allah opened his breast to Islam and the one whose breast was tight with it? No. So the counterpart, or the equivalent if you wish, the equivalent is omitted, and the context indicates it, and the meaning is: “Is he who was so like one who was not so?” So, he to whom Allah has opened his breast is not like one to whom Allah did not open his breast. Undoubtedly, the difference between them is immense, further than between the heaven and the earth, because the one to whom Allah has opened his breast to Islam—and I ask Allah to make me and you among them—finds himself accepting the laws of Islam, pleased with them, rejoicing when he performs an act of obedience to Allah, and grieving when he commits a sin against Allah. Even those who have reached the pinnacle in this matter grieve over any flaw that occurs in them, even if it was not intentional. Meaning, if an act of worship is missed, he finds himself in sorrow and grief, and he is not aware, and he is not aware of it. And I give an example of this with the Prophet (may Allah’s prayers and peace be upon him). When he finished the two rak'ahs of the midday prayer, what did he do? He turned away from his prayer as if he was troubled. He stood up, unlike his usual habit, to a wooden board in the mosque and leaned on it, and placed his hands like this, as if he was angry, as if he was angry. Why? Because his prayer was not completed, so his soul contracted from where he did not realize. But this is due to the perfection of his rank, (peace and blessings be upon him), that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, places a contraction in the soul of a person, even if he is not aware, because the required act of worship was not completed. He leaned on it and interlaced his fingers like this, like the sitting of a worried person. So, the one to whom Allah has opened his breast to Islam finds himself at ease, pleased with performing the laws of Islam. And conversely, if he neglects something of them or violates a sin from the sins of Allah. Good. And His saying,