The important thing in every discipline is for a person to learn from its principles what will help him understand it and derive rulings from those principles
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The reciter: Praise be to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, seek His forgiveness, and turn to Him in repentance. We seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own selves and from the badness of our deeds. Whomsoever Allah guides, none can mislead, and whomsoever He leaves to mislead, none can guide. And I bear witness that there is no deity but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His slave and His Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him), and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment, and may peace be upon them abundantly.
As for what follows: "The important thing in every discipline is for a person to learn from its principles what will help him understand it and derive rulings from those principles, so that his knowledge is built on strong foundations and firm pillars. It has been said: 'Whoever is deprived of the principles is deprived of the goal'".
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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.
This lesson which we are beginning tonight, on the night of Saturday, the tenth of the month of Safar, 1416, is on the principles of exegesis, and we ask Allah the Exalted to facilitate its completion in a manner that is beneficial.
The author began his book with this introduction, the introduction of necessity: Praise be to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, seek His forgiveness, and turn to Him in repentance. "Turn to Him in repentance"—put this in parentheses because it is not in the hadith, but we said it following the practice of the previous scholars, and the hadith isSunan Ibn Majah 1892.
As for praise, it is describing the one being praised with perfection, accompanied by love and magnification; describing the one being praised with perfection, accompanied by love and magnification. Praise is for the perfection of the one being praised, and also for the favors of the one being praised; so it is grace and bestowal. When the one who eats has eaten, does he praise Allah Mighty and Majestic for His perfection or for His kindness and favor? The latter, due to the saying of the Prophet:Riyad as-Salihin 1396. The lam in the phrase "to Allah" is for entitlement and exclusivity. As for its being for entitlement, it is because Allah Mighty and Majestic is the most deserving of praise. As for its being for exclusivity, it is because praise encompasses all types of praise, because the alif-lam in "praise" is for totality. And who is exclusively entitled to all praise? Allah Mighty and Majestic. For this reason, we say: the lam in "Praise be to Allah" is for entitlement and what? Exclusivity.
The phrase "we praise Him" is a phrase of emphasis, an emphasis in meaning of the statement "Praise be to Allah."
"We seek His help": We ask Him for help.
"We seek His forgiveness": We ask Him for forgiveness.
As for help, it is assistance, and as for forgiveness, it is covering sins along with passing over them.
"And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own selves". "We seek refuge in Allah" means we take hold of Him for protection from the evils of our own selves. Do the selves have evils?
Yes, the selves have evils. Allah the Exalted said:[Yusuf 12:53].
The selves, or the souls, that appeared in the Qur'an and were described with three descriptions:
With the tranquil soul in the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He:[Al-Fajr 89:27-28], with the soul that incites to evil in His saying the Exalted: [Yusuf 12:53], and with the blaming soul in His saying the Exalted: [Al-Qiyamah 75:2].
So as for the tranquil soul and the soul that incites to evil, they are two opposites, because the tranquil soul commands good and forbids evil, and the soul that incites to evil commands evil and forbids good.
And as for the blaming soul, the correct view is that it is a description of both souls, so the soul that incites to evil blames you, and the tranquil soul blames you. When does the soul that incites to evil blame you? When you do good and when you leave off evil, it blames you. When does the tranquil soul blame you? When you do evil and leave off good. So the correct view is that the blaming soul is a description that applies to both souls, to the soul that incites to evil and to the tranquil soul.
Our selves contain evils, and the one who is protected is the one whom Allah protects, and for this reason we take hold of Allah for protection from the evils of our own selves.
"And from the badness of our deeds". Deeds, as you know, are of three categories: bad, good, and between them, neither bad nor good.
Do bad deeds have bad effects?
The answer: Yes, and listen to the saying of Allah the Exalted:[Al-Ma'idah 5:13] So Allah punished them with these punishments because they broke the covenant. So bad deeds, the badness of deeds, have bad effects, and no evil occurred except by bad deeds. [Ar-Rum 30:41] By what? [Ar-Rum 30:41] And He said the Exalted: [Ash-Shuraa 42:30].
"Whomsoever Allah guides, none can mislead". This means: whomsoever Allah guides by decree, or whomsoever Allah guides in reality, or both? Both. So whomsoever Allah decrees guidance for, he must be guided, even if factors that necessitate his misguidance are found for him. And whomsoever Allah guides in reality and he is guided, no one can mislead him, because Allah the Exalted has guided him. And the matter is in the hand of whom? In the hand of Allah Mighty and Majestic. And this phrase indicates, yes, and this phrase obliges the person to seek guidance only from Allah Mighty and Majestic, along with doing the causes. The causes are necessary. Ask Allah for guidance and work for its causes, such as learning the Shari'ah and seeking it out, and the like.
"And whomsoever He leaves to mislead, none can guide". Whomsoever He leaves to mislead in action, meaning in reality, or whomsoever He leaves to mislead by decree? Both. So whomsoever Allah wills to mislead, no one can guide him. And nothing is clearer than the action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) with his uncle Abu Talib. His uncle Abu Talib did great kindness to him, meaning to the Messenger, and he endured the boycott of Quraysh in order to be with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and he believed in him with his tongue.
As for what follows: "The important thing in every discipline is for a person to learn from its principles what will help him understand it and derive rulings from those principles, so that his knowledge is built on strong foundations and firm pillars. It has been said: 'Whoever is deprived of the principles is deprived of the goal'".
The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
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.
This lesson which we are beginning tonight, on the night of Saturday, the tenth of the month of Safar, 1416, is on the principles of exegesis, and we ask Allah the Exalted to facilitate its completion in a manner that is beneficial.
The author began his book with this introduction, the introduction of necessity: Praise be to Allah; we praise Him, seek His help, seek His forgiveness, and turn to Him in repentance. "Turn to Him in repentance"—put this in parentheses because it is not in the hadith, but we said it following the practice of the previous scholars, and the hadith is
Al-hamdu lillahi nahmadhu wa nasta`inuhu wa nastaghfiruhu, wa na`udhu billahi min shururi anfusina
الحمد لله نحمده ونستعينه ونستغفره ونعوذ بالله من شرور أنفسناAs for praise, it is describing the one being praised with perfection, accompanied by love and magnification; describing the one being praised with perfection, accompanied by love and magnification. Praise is for the perfection of the one being praised, and also for the favors of the one being praised; so it is grace and bestowal. When the one who eats has eaten, does he praise Allah Mighty and Majestic for His perfection or for His kindness and favor? The latter, due to the saying of the Prophet:
Allah is pleased with His slave who says: 'Al-hamdu lillah (praise be to Allah)' when he takes a morsel of food and drinks a draught of water.
إن الله ليرضى عن العبد يأكل الأكلة فيحمده عليها ويشرب الشربة فيحمده عليهاThe phrase "we praise Him" is a phrase of emphasis, an emphasis in meaning of the statement "Praise be to Allah."
"We seek His help": We ask Him for help.
"We seek His forgiveness": We ask Him for forgiveness.
As for help, it is assistance, and as for forgiveness, it is covering sins along with passing over them.
"And we seek refuge in Allah from the evils of our own selves". "We seek refuge in Allah" means we take hold of Him for protection from the evils of our own selves. Do the selves have evils?
Yes, the selves have evils. Allah the Exalted said:
And I do not acquit myself. Indeed, the soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil, except those upon which my Lord has mercy
وما أبرئ نفسي إن النفس لأمارة بالسوء إلا ما رحم ربيThe selves, or the souls, that appeared in the Qur'an and were described with three descriptions:
With the tranquil soul in the saying of Allah Blessed and Exalted is He:
(27) [To the righteous it will be said], "O reassured soul, (28) Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him],
يا أيتها النفس المطمئنة ارجعي إلى ربكAnd I do not acquit myself. Indeed, the soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil
وما أبرئ نفسي إن النفس لأمارة بالسوءAnd I swear by the reproaching soul [to the certainty of resurrection].
ولا أقسم بالنفس اللوامةSo as for the tranquil soul and the soul that incites to evil, they are two opposites, because the tranquil soul commands good and forbids evil, and the soul that incites to evil commands evil and forbids good.
And as for the blaming soul, the correct view is that it is a description of both souls, so the soul that incites to evil blames you, and the tranquil soul blames you. When does the soul that incites to evil blame you? When you do good and when you leave off evil, it blames you. When does the tranquil soul blame you? When you do evil and leave off good. So the correct view is that the blaming soul is a description that applies to both souls, to the soul that incites to evil and to the tranquil soul.
Our selves contain evils, and the one who is protected is the one whom Allah protects, and for this reason we take hold of Allah for protection from the evils of our own selves.
"And from the badness of our deeds". Deeds, as you know, are of three categories: bad, good, and between them, neither bad nor good.
Do bad deeds have bad effects?
The answer: Yes, and listen to the saying of Allah the Exalted:
So for their breaking of the covenant We cursed them and made their hearts hard. They distort words from their [proper] usages and have forgotten a portion of that of which they were reminded
فبما نقضهم ميثاقهم لعناهم وجعلنا قلوبهم قاسية يحرفون الكلم عن مواضعه ونسوا حظا مما ذكروا بهCorruption has appeared throughout the land and sea
ظهر الفساد في البر والبحرby [reason of] what the hands of people have earned so He may let them taste part of [the consequence of] what they have done
بما كسبت أيدي الناس ليذيقهم بعض الذي عملواAnd whatever strikes you of disaster - it is for what your hands have earned; but He pardons much.
وما أصابكم من مصيبة فبما كسبت أيديكم ويعفو عن كثير"Whomsoever Allah guides, none can mislead". This means: whomsoever Allah guides by decree, or whomsoever Allah guides in reality, or both? Both. So whomsoever Allah decrees guidance for, he must be guided, even if factors that necessitate his misguidance are found for him. And whomsoever Allah guides in reality and he is guided, no one can mislead him, because Allah the Exalted has guided him. And the matter is in the hand of whom? In the hand of Allah Mighty and Majestic. And this phrase indicates, yes, and this phrase obliges the person to seek guidance only from Allah Mighty and Majestic, along with doing the causes. The causes are necessary. Ask Allah for guidance and work for its causes, such as learning the Shari'ah and seeking it out, and the like.
"And whomsoever He leaves to mislead, none can guide". Whomsoever He leaves to mislead in action, meaning in reality, or whomsoever He leaves to mislead by decree? Both. So whomsoever Allah wills to mislead, no one can guide him. And nothing is clearer than the action of the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) with his uncle Abu Talib. His uncle Abu Talib did great kindness to him, meaning to the Messenger, and he endured the boycott of Quraysh in order to be with the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him and his family) and he believed in him with his tongue.