The benefits derived from His saying, the Exalted: << يآأهل الكتاب قد جآءكم رسولنا يبين لكم . . . . . . . . . . . . . >>

I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan. Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, said: Why have we not mentioned its benefits? This verse has several benefits, among which is that it is befitting for a person to be addressed by a description that implies he should act upon what he is directed to do, as in His saying: This is found in the Arabic language; when you address a believer, you say, "O you who believe," and when you address a man, you say, "O you man," as if you are reminding him of what he ought to do in order to listen to you and comply with what you direct him to. In this, there are benefits in that we direct the address by calling out with a description that implies compliance. First: it serves as a rebuke for this man if he disobeys, because it is not befitting for him to disobey while possessing this attribute. Second: it encourages him to comply based on this attribute he possesses. For this reason, we find that the Messenger, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him, always says: . Another benefit is establishing blame upon them from others. Among the benefits of this noble verse is that Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, was sent to the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians, as in His saying: meaning to them. And among its benefits is that those who disbelieved in Muhammad, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him and his family, from among these people, that is, from the Jews and the Christians, are disbelievers, because they disbelieved in the Messenger who was sent to them. As for their claim that they believe in Allah and the Last Day, we say that this is not sufficient; one must believe in Allah, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the Last Day. Among the benefits of this noble verse is the praise of the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him and his family, for being a Messenger from Allah, as in His saying: . And among its benefits is establishing the proof against the Ummah, in that this is the Messenger of Allah, and he is a proof, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him; the moment Allah testified that he is His Messenger, that became a proof. And Allah the Exalted said: . Among the benefits of this noble verse is that the Messenger, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him and his family, has no share in any of the Lordship. What is the indication of this? That he is a Messenger, and a Messenger cannot be a partner to the One who sent him in what is specific to Him. Among the benefits of this noble verse is that the Prophet, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him, is a clarifier for creation, and there is no ambiguity or riddle in what he brought, as in His saying: . And among its benefits is the refutation of those who attribute the names and attributes of Allah to a vague meaning, who say that we do not know anything of the meanings of the names and attributes of Allah, and that our duty is to recite and not interpret. This statement is among the greatest and most corrupt statements, to the extent that the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, said that it is among the worst statements of the people of innovation and deviation. It is regrettable that many people, and even some scholars, think that this is the methodology of the Salaf, and they say that the methodology of the Salaf is attributing the names and attributes to a vague meaning, when in reality they have not known the methodology of the Salaf. The methodology of the Salaf is attributing the names and attributes to a vague meaning regarding the *how*, because the mind is incapable of comprehending it and the Shari'ah has not come with it; as for the meaning, they believe in it, affirm it, establish it, and interpret it where interpretation is needed, and this is a known matter from their books. Among the benefits of this noble verse is that the Messenger, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him, is a clarifier for the Arabs as he is a clarifier for the Children of Israel, the People of the Book. If someone were to ask: How does he clarify to them when his language differs from their language? For the language of the Jews, even those in Medina during the time of the Messenger, differs from the Arabic language? We say: through translation. For this reason, Islam did not spread in non-Arab lands except through translation. And among the benefits of the noble verse is that if we need to know foreign languages to clarify the Shari'ah, that is among the attributes of the Prophet, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him, that he clarifies to people by any means. Did you understand? And on this basis, whoever learns a language other than Arabic for the sake of calling to Allah is rewarded for it, because it is a means for what? For conveying the Shari'ah and spreading it. Among the benefits of the noble verse is that the message of the Prophet, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him, came after a long interval from the messengers, with no messenger between him and 'Isa, as in His saying: . And among its benefits is that the longer the time of the message, the greater the people's need for the Messenger. For this reason, Allah made that a great favor upon the People of the Book, as He came to them after a long interval. And you know that this also occurs in tangible reality; the person who drinks water while thirsty has a greater longing for water and need for it than a person who drinks while not thirsty. Among the benefits of this noble verse is affirming the previous messages to the Messenger, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him, as in His saying: . It appears to me that this indicates that the Messenger, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him and his family, is the last of the prophets, as in His saying: meaning there is no messenger after him. And this is what Allah the Exalted stated explicitly in His Book in His saying: . And consider His saying: and He did not say "the Seal of the Messengers," even though He said: because a person may be a prophet and not a messenger, and Muhammad, the Messenger of Allah, may Allah's prayers and peace be upon him, is the Seal of the Prophets. Among the benefits of this noble verse is the mercy of Allah the Exalted to creation, in that He sent the messengers so that the proof would not be established against Allah. This is taken from His saying: . And in this is proof that whoever the message did not reach is excused, and this is apparent from His saying: . Among the benefits of this noble verse is that a person has no excuse by divine decree to disobey the messengers. Where is this taken from? Because if they were on the truth, they would not benefit from the sending of the messengers. Is that clear? And it is so. Among the benefits of this noble verse is that the messages are limited to two things, with no third, and they are glad tidings and warning, because people are divided with regard to the messages into two groups: the obedient, for whom there are glad tidings, and the disobedient, for whom there is warning. Among the benefits of this noble verse is the strength of the proof of these people if Allah had not sent a messenger to them, as in His saying: meaning a bringer of glad tidings. This is for emphasis, as if they are certain that no bringer of glad tidings or no warner came to them. Among the benefits of this noble verse is the confirmation of semantic emphasis, and I do not mean the grammatical emphasis. Grammarians say that emphasis is of two types: semantic emphasis and verbal emphasis. What is done by repeating the word is verbal, and what is done by the known tools is semantic. But I do not mean that; I mean that the meaning can be confirmed by a complete sentence, which is His saying: . And among its benefits is that whenever emphasis is needed, there is no defect in repetition. For this reason, it is among the etiquettes of the sermon that a person repeats in important places, and this is not considered a mistake or an addition. Among the benefits of the noble verse is that the message of the Prophet, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him, includes these two principles in the messages, which are glad tidings and warning, as in His saying: meaning by this Muhammad, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him and his family. And among its benefits is affirming the power of Allah, Mighty and Majestic, as in His saying: . And among them is that nothing is excluded from the power of Allah the Exalted; everything is within the power of Allah, and nothing is excluded. As for the statement of some, such as the author of al-Jalalayn, that the essence of the intellect is excluded and He is not able to do it, this is an error, except that it is based on the principle of those who deny voluntary actions, who consider it correct. That is, there are people in this Ummah who say that Allah, Mighty and Majestic, is not subject to voluntary actions; He is not able to do them. For example, descending to the sky is forbidden for them, rising above the Throne is forbidden, laughing is forbidden, coming on the Day of Resurrection is forbidden. All voluntary actions that He does by His will are forbidden for them. All actions that He does by His choice and will, they consider forbidden. Why is it forbidden? They said because it is impossible, and the impossible, by its name, is not subject to power, such as combining two opposites. It is said to them: This is an exaggeration. Rather, there are things that Allah cannot be attributed with, such as sleep, for example. It is impossible for Allah to sleep, is that clear? It is impossible for Him to sleep, it is impossible for Him to eat and drink. So if someone were to ask: Is Allah able to eat and drink or sleep? We say this is a statement that is not answered at all, because it is impossible. But is He able to descend to the lowest heaven and come to judge between the servants, and rise above the Throne, and laugh and be pleased? Yes, it is possible, because this does not contradict perfection, unlike eating, drinking, and sleeping, which contradict perfection. Among the benefits of this verse is that it is befitting to conclude speech with what is appropriate to the occasion, to conclude speech with what is appropriate to the occasion. The indication of this is that the disobedience of the People of the Book to the Messenger, may Allah's prayers and blessings be upon him, means that they are exposed to punishment, and Allah is not incapable of punishing them due to the perfection of His power.