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﴿ فَاسْأَلُوا أَهْلَ الذِّكْرِ إِن كُنتُمْ لَا تَعْلَمُونَ ﴾

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Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "

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The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
When the author (may Allah have mercy on him) mentioned in the previous chapter the abundance of the paths to good, he explained in this chapter that a person should be moderate in his obedience. He said: "The chapter on moderation in obedience". Moderation is for a person to be in the middle between extremism and negligence, because this is what is required of a person in all his circumstances: to remain between extremism and negligence. Allah the Exalted said:
And [they are] those who, when they spend, do so not excessively or sparingly but are ever, between that, [justly] moderate وَالَّذِينَ إِذَا أَنْفَقُوا لَمْ يُسْرِفُوا وَلَمْ يَقْتُرُوا وَكَانَ بَيْنَ ذَلِكَ قَوَاماً
[Al-Furqan 25:67]
Likewise, one should be moderate in obedience; indeed, it is obligatory for you to be moderate in it, so do not burden yourself with what you cannot bear. When the news of the three men reached the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), one of whom said:
I do not marry women. And the second said: I fast and do not break my fast. And the third said: I stand in prayer and do not sleep. The Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) delivered a sermon and said: What is the matter with a group of people who say such and such? I pray and I sleep, I fast and I break my fast, and I marry women. Whoever prefers to abandon my Sunnah is not one of me. إني لا أتزوج النساء، وقال الثاني: أصوم ولا أفطر، وقال الثالث: أقوم ولا أنام، خطب عليه الصلاة والسلام وقال: ما بال أقوام يقولون كذا وكذا، إني أصلي وأنام وأصوم وأفطر وأتزوج النساء، فمن رغب عن سنتي فليس مني
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) disavowed the one who preferred to abandon his Sunnah and burdened himself with what he could not bear. Then the author cited the words of Allah the Exalted:
(1) Ta, Ha. (2) We have not sent down to you the Qur'an that you be distressed طه ما أنزلنا عليك القرءان لتشقى
[Taha 20:1-2]
"Ta-Ha" are two letters from the alphabet, one is "Ta" and the other is "Ha." They are not a name of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) as some have claimed, but rather they are from the alphabetic letters with which Allah began some of the noble surahs of His Noble Book. These are letters that have no meaning, because the Qur'an was revealed in the Arabic language, and the Arabic language does not assign meaning to alphabetic letters unless they are combined to form a word. However, they have a great significance. This great significance is the apparent challenge to these disbelievers in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him). These disbelievers in the Messenger (peace and blessings be upon him) were unable to produce anything like the Qur'an, not a surah, not ten surahs, not even a verse; they were unable to do so. And yet, this Qur'an that baffled them did not come with strange letters they did not know, but rather it came with the letters from which they construct their speech. Therefore, you hardly find a surah that begins with these letters without the mention of the Qur'an following it. In Surat al-Baqarah:
This is the Book about which there is no doubt آلم ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لا رَيْبَ فِيهِ
[Al-Baqarah 2:2]
In Ali 'Imran:
(2) Allah - there is no deity except Him, the Ever-Living, the Sustainer of existence. (3) He has sent down upon you, [O Muhammad], the Book in truth آلم اللَّهُ لا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ الْحَيُّ الْقَيُّومُ نَزَّلَ عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ بِالْحَقِّ
[Ali 'Imran 3:2-3]
In Al-A'raf:
(1) Alif, Lam, Meem, Sad. (2) [This is] a Book revealed to you, [O Muhammad] - so let there not be in your breast distress المص كِتَابٌ أُنْزِلَ إِلَيْكَ فَلا يَكُنْ فِي صَدْرِكَ حَرَجٌ
[Al-A'raf 7:1-2]
In Surat Yunus:
Alif, Lam, Ra. These are the verses of the wise Book آلر تِلْكَ آيَاتُ الْكِتَابِ الْحَكِيمِ
[Yunus 10:1]
And so on. We find that after every set of alphabetic letters, the mention of the Qur'an follows, indicating that this Qur'an was composed of these letters from which the speech of the Arabs is constructed, and yet it baffled the Arabs. This is the correct view regarding the meaning or the intended sense of these alphabetic letters. And His saying, Mighty and Majestic:
We have not sent down to you the Qur'an that you be distressed ما أنزلنا عليك القرآن لتشقى
[Taha 20:2]
means that Allah did not reveal this Qur'an to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) so that he would attain misery through it, but rather so that he would attain happiness, good, and success in this world and the Hereafter, as Allah the Exalted said in this same surah:
And if there should come to you guidance from Me - then whoever follows My guidance will neither go astray [in the world] nor suffer [in the Hereafter]. (124) And whoever turns away from My remembrance - indeed, he will have a depressed life, and We will gather him on the Day of Resurrection blind." (125) He will say, "My Lord, why have you raised me blind while I was [once] seeing?" (126) [Allah] will say, "Thus did Our signs come to you, and you forgot them; and thus will you this Day be forgotten." فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ مِنِّي هُدىً فَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ هُدَايَ فَلا يَضِلُّ وَلا يَشْقَى وَمَنْ أَعْرَضَ عَنْ ذِكْرِي فَإِنَّ لَهُ مَعِيشَةً ضَنْكاً وَنَحْشُرُهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ أَعْمَى قَالَ رَبِّ لِمَ حَشَرْتَنِي أَعْمَى وَقَدْ كُنْتُ بَصِيراً قَالَ كَذَلِكَ أَتَتْكَ آيَاتُنَا فَنَسِيتَهَا وَكَذَلِكَ الْيَوْمَ تُنْسَى
[Taha 20:123-126]
I ask Allah not to let me or you forget His remembrance.
And thus do We recompense he who transgressed and did not believe in the signs of his Lord. And the punishment of the Hereafter is more severe and more enduring. وَكَذَلِكَ نَجْزِي مَنْ أَسْرَفَ وَلَمْ يُؤْمِنْ بِآياتِ رَبِّهِ وَلَعَذَابُ الْآخِرَةِ أَشَدُّ وَأَبْقَى
[Taha 20:127]
We have not sent down to you the Qur'an that you be distressed مَا أَنْزَلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْقُرْآنَ لِتَشْقَى
[Taha 20:2]
But rather so that you may be happy in this world and the Hereafter. Therefore, when the Muslim community was the community of the Qur'an, holding fast to it and following its guidance, it attained honor, might, and elevation above all nations. They conquered the east and west of the earth. And when it lagged in acting upon this Qur'an, it lost its might, victory, and honor to the extent that it lagged in acting upon this Qur'an. Then the author cited another verse, which is the saying of Allah the Exalted:
Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship يريد الله بكم اليسر ولا يريد بكم العسر
[Al-Baqarah 2:185]
This means that Allah intends for us, in what He has legislated for us, ease. As most of you know, this verse was revealed regarding the verses of fasting. One might think that He obligated it upon people for the sake of hardship and fatigue, but Allah clarified that He intends for us ease and does not intend for us hardship. Therefore, one who travels is not obligated to fast; he makes it up from other days. One who is ill is not obligated to fast; he makes it up from other days. This is part of the ease.
Allah intends for you ease and does not intend for you hardship يريد الله بكم اليسر ولا يريد بكم العسر
[Al-Baqarah 2:185]
Therefore, this Islamic religion, praise be to Allah, is a religion of leniency, ease, good, and simplicity. I ask Allah to grant me and you the ability to hold fast to it, to die upon it, and to meet our Lord upon it. O Allah, send blessings upon Muhammad.
The reciter: The author (may Allah have mercy on him) quoted: "From 'A'ishah (may Allah be pleased with her):
The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) entered upon her, and there was a woman with her. He said, “Who is this?” She said, “This is so-and-so; she mentions her prayer.” He said, “Enough! Stick to what you are able to do, for by Allah, Allah does not get tired until you get tired. And the most beloved of religion to Him is what is done consistently.” أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم دخل عليها وعندها امرأة قال: من هذه؟ قالت: هذه فلانة تذكر من صلاتها، قال: مه، عليكم بما تطيقون فوالله لا يمل الله حتى تملوا وكان أحب الدين إليه ما دوام صاحبه عليه
, agreed upon by al-Bukhari and Muslim. 'Mala' is a word of prohibition and warning. The meaning of 'Allah does not get tired' is: He does not cut off your reward and the recompense of your deeds, nor does He treat you as one who gets tired until you get tired and leave off. You should take on what you can maintain so that its reward remains for you and its benefit continues for you"
.
Source alathar.net

The Arabic text is copied verbatim from the original source, without any edits.

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