Continuation of the benefits of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “... their skins shiver from it, those who fear their Lord, then their skins and their hearts soften at the remembrance of Allah. That is the guidance of Allah, by which He guides whom He wills, and whom Allah leaves astray, for him there is no guide.”

And among the benefits of this noble verse is that this Qur'an is the best of speech, as Allah the Exalted said: And so, the speech of Allah the Mighty and Majestic is the best of speech. Allah the Exalted said:
And among the benefits of this verse is that the Qur'an is written, as He said: And it was previously mentioned that it is written in what?
The student: In three places.

The Shaykh : In three places: the Preserved Tablet, the scrolls in the hands of the angels, and the scrolls in our hands.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is that the Qur'an is ambiguous (mutashabih), as Allah the Exalted said: And when it is sought to reconcile this verse with the saying of Allah the Exalted: Yes, So, in this verse, Allah made the Qur'an of two types: clear (muhkam) and ambiguous (mutashabih). And in the verse in Surah al-Zumar, He made it of one type: ambiguous. The reconciliation between them is to say that the ambiguity mentioned in al-Zumar is not the same as the ambiguity mentioned in Al-Imran. The ambiguity mentioned in al-Zumar is that some of it resembles some of it in perfection and quality. The ambiguity mentioned in Al-Imran is the obscurity and concealment of the meaning. So, in this respect, the Qur'an is divided into two parts: clear, meaning its meaning is evident, and the second is ambiguous, meaning its meaning is obscure. Do you understand? So the reconciliation is to say that the ambiguity in Al-Imran is not the ambiguity in al-Zumar. The ambiguity in al-Zumar is that some of it resembles some of it; the entire Qur'an is ambiguous in this sense. As for the ambiguity in Al-Imran, it is the obscurity... one comes forward, one comes forward... And as for the ambiguity in Al-Imran, it is the obscurity meaning the obscurity of the meanings. So, part of the Qur'an is clear and evident, and part of it is ambiguous, known only to those firmly grounded in knowledge. Good. In some verses, the Qur'an is described as wise (hakeem) without mentioning ambiguity, such as the saying of Allah the Exalted: And this means clear and precise, that which does not contradict itself, so it is the opposite of the ambiguous. Yes, the clear that does not contradict. Stop here. So, when the Qur'an is described as entirely clear, it means it is all clear and precise, not contradicting itself; if it had been from other than Allah, they would have found much inconsistency in it. When it is described as entirely ambiguous, it means some of it resembles some of it in perfection and quality. When it is described as part clear and part ambiguous, it means part of it is evident in meaning and part is obscure in meaning. Perfect. Good. An example of the evident meaning is the sky, the earth, the stars, the sun, the moon, and man, and the like of this; it is clear. An example of the ambiguous is when there are two verses whose apparent meanings seem to contradict, such as the saying of Allah the Exalted: And in another verse: So how do you reconcile them? In this verse, they deny, and in the verse before the one we mentioned, they do not conceal from Allah any word. So a person comes and says, "I do not know, I do not know the aspect of the contradiction." But those firmly grounded in knowledge know how to reconcile these two. The reconciliation between them is that on the Day of Resurrection, people will have different states, because that day is measured at fifty thousand years. So at one time they conceal, and at another time they confess and do not conceal from Allah any word. Also, Allah mentioned that the criminals will be gathered on the Day of Resurrection with blue faces, and He said: So how do we reconcile one saying they turn black and another saying they turn blue? Yes, the answer is to say that some of them are like this and some are like that, or that at one time they are blue and at another time they are black, or that the dark blue tends toward blackness, so it is called black, or that the blueness is in their eyes and the blackness is in the rest of the body, and the like of that. The important thing is that those firmly grounded in knowledge know how to reconcile, but for others, it remains obscure. For this reason, the scholars say that the Qur'an is described as ambiguous in a general sense, and as clear in a general sense, and as part clear and part ambiguous. And the reconciliation is as you have heard.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is that the Qur'an has reached the pinnacle of eloquence, the most perfect of eloquence, because it comes in pairs. Branching from this benefit is that it is befitting for one who speaks in admonishing people not to use absolute encouragement (taraghhib) nor absolute warning (targhib). This is because if he uses absolute encouragement, it leads them to hope, and they become negligent. And if he uses absolute warning, it leads them to despair, and they lose hope in the mercy of Allah. So what is befitting for the person who speaks to people in admonitions is that he should always speak sometimes with this and sometimes with that, so that he does not lead people to despair or to a hope that leads to security from the stratagem of Allah. And among the benefits of this noble verse is that the believer is affected by the Qur'an; his skin shivers from it and he fears, and then afterwards he returns to it, and tranquility and softness of the heart return to him.
Branching from this benefit is that if you see yourself in a state other than this, know that your faith is weak, because this is a report. A report from whom? A report from Allah the Mighty and Majestic, so it is impossible for the reporter to be in error. So every believer's skin shivers from what he hears of the noble Qur'an in the warnings. And if you are not so, then your faith is weak.
And among the benefits of this noble verse is that the remembrance of Allah the Mighty and Majestic is a cause for the softening of hearts and their tranquility. May Allah have mercy on you. As He said: And witnessing to this is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
And among the benefits of the noble verse is the favor of Allah the Mighty and Majestic upon these people with guidance, as He said:
And among its benefits is the affirmation of causes, as He said: The letter "ba" indicates causality, as we have passed through in the exegesis. And the affirmation of causes is in accordance with both the transmitted texts and reason. As for the transmitted texts, how many verses are there that affirm causes? And the verses on this matter are numerous. And reason also indicates this. O servant of Allah, what does it indicate? It indicates the affirmation of causes and that they have an effect on their effects. We all know that striking glass with a stone breaks it, and that the stone broke by striking the glass, and that the glass broke by striking the stone. This is contrary to those who denied causes and said that causes have no effect on their effects. Their statement is contrary to the Shari'ah and contrary to reason. It was even said to them, "Does not the paper burn in the fire?" They said, "It does not burn in the fire, not by the fire." And it was said to them, "Does not the glass break when a stone is thrown at it?" They said, "It does not break by the stone, not with the stone." Why? They said, "Because if we affirmed the effect of causes on their effects, we would associate partners with Allah and make with Him an effective actor. And no one is pleased to associate anything with Allah." Our answer to this doubt is to say that the causes did not effect by themselves, but they effected by the powers that Allah deposited in them. The evidence for this is that Allah said to the fire of Ibrahim: So it became coolness and peace, and it did not burn. So if we say that these effects resulting from causes are only by the effective powers that Allah deposited in these causes, then in that, we have not associated with Allah. Others went to an extreme from another angle and said that causes have an effect by themselves, and that we know that if a stone is sent at glass, it breaks it by itself. But these are the ones who made partners with Allah. We say that if Allah had willed that this stone not break the glass, it would not have broken it, just as when Allah willed that the fire not burn Ibrahim, it did not burn him. So the people of the Sunnah and the community are the middle path between these two extreme groups: the one that exaggerates in causes and the one that exaggerates in the will of Allah. We say that causes are effective, but by the will of Allah.
Among the benefits of this noble verse is the affirmation that guidance is by the will of Allah, as He said: And this is good. This verse is one instance of many proofs indicating that the actions of the servant occur by the will of Allah. Among these is His saying: And in this context, a great conflict occurred between three groups: two extreme groups and one moderate group. The two extreme groups are as follows: One said that a person wills his own actions and Allah has no connection to them; the person is free to act as he wishes, and Allah has absolutely no intervention in it. He guides himself and he misguides himself. They said that if that were not the case, Allah’s punishment of the disobedient would be injustice, and His reward of the obedient would be futile. Because if you say that the person is not free, he is controlled, and a controlled person is not praised for good nor blamed for evil. It is known that Allah the Exalted has established blame for the disobedient and praise for the obedient. This indicates that the action of the servant is an independent action. As for the other extremists, they said that the person has no will, no power, and no choice in his action, but he is compelled, unable to deviate. He is compelled to eat, compelled to drink, compelled to stand, and compelled to sit, and he has no choice in any state. And Allah’s punishment of the wrongdoer is not injustice, even if the wrongdoer acts without choice, because Allah’s punishment of him is a disposition in His dominion, and Allah, Mighty and Majestic, does what He wills, and there is no refuting His judgment. Therefore, the argument used by the first group—that if the person were not completely free, the punishment of the disobedient would be injustice and the reward of the obedient would be nonsense—does not apply to us. We say that the punishment of the wrongdoer is not injustice even if he is compelled. Why? Because Allah is the Owner and does with His property what He wills, just as you do with your property what you will: you demolish the house, you build the house, you sell the car, you buy another in its place, and so on. This group is called the Jabriyyah (the Compulsionists), and the first group is called the Qadariyyah (the Free Willists). The first group is called the Qadariyyah because they deny the divine decree of Allah the Exalted regarding the action of the servant. These are called the Jabriyyah because they see that the servant is compelled in his action. In the view of these people, the one who descends the stairs gently and calmly, step by step, is the same as the one who is pushed from the top of the stairs until he falls on his face. They say it is all the same; they are all compelled. As for the people of the Sunnah and the community, they took the middle path and said: We affirm the proofs indicating that everything occurs by the will of Allah, and we affirm the proofs indicating that the person has choice and will. Thus, we combine the proofs and say: The action of the servant occurs by his will, but his will is under the will of Allah. So if I will something, I know that Allah willed it. If I will something, I know that Allah willed it. And it is not possible for me to know that Allah willed something except after it occurs, for the decree of Allah is a hidden secret that we do not know about. But when it occurs, we know that Allah willed it. So I do not will except what Allah wills, but at the same time, I have the freedom to will what I will, except that I believe that this will of mine was... what? It was by the will of Allah. This is indicated by the fact that a person sometimes resolves to do something, and while he is heading toward it, his resolve is overturned to another direction or to canceling the action. Do you not realize this? There is a power above your power, but this power is not known; it is not known except by its effects. It was said to a Bedouin, "By what do you know your Lord?" He said: "By the overturning of resolves and the diverting of desires." A Bedouin, a desert dweller, answered with this wonderful answer: "I know my Lord by the overturning of resolves," meaning I resolve to do this thing, and then my resolve is overturned without a cause, and "the diverting of desires," I desire something to the right, and then I find myself turning to the left without a cause, except from...