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

The reciter: "Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: When the verse was revealed to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him)

To Allah belongs whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth. Whether you show what is within yourselves or conceal it, Allah will bring you to account for it

لله ما في السماوات وما في الأرض وإن تبدوا ما في أنفسكم أو تخفوه يحاسبكم به الله

[Al-Baqarah 2:284]

, it was very hard for the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). So they came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and knelt on their knees, saying: O Messenger of Allah, you have burdened us with deeds that we are capable of, such as prayer, jihad, fasting, and charity, and this verse has been revealed to you, but we are not capable of it. Then the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do you want to say what the People of the two Books before you said, 'We heard and we disobeyed'? Rather, say:

We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination."

سمعنا وأطعنا غفرانك ربنا وإليك المصير

[Al-Baqarah 2:285]

When the people recited it and their tongues became accustomed to it, Allah the Exalted revealed after it:

The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and [so have] the believers. All of them have believed in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers, [saying], "We make no distinction between any of His messengers." And they say, "We hear and we obey. [We seek] Your forgiveness, our Lord, and to You is the [final] destination."

آمن الرسول بما أنزل إليه من ربه والمؤمنون كل آمن بالله وملائكته وكتبه ورسله لا نفرق بين أحد من رسله وقالوا سمعنا وأطعنا غفرانك ربنا وإليك المصير

[Al-Baqarah 2:285]

When they did that, Allah the Exalted abrogated it and revealed:

Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity. It will have [the consequence of] what [good] it has gained, and it will bear [the consequence of] what [evil] it has earned. "Our Lord, do not impose blame upon us if we have forgotten or erred.

لا يكلف الله نفسًا إلا وسعها لها ما كسبت وعليها ما اكتسبت ربنا لا تؤاخذنا إن نسينا أو أخطأنا

[Al-Baqarah 2:286]

He said: Yes.

Our Lord, and lay not upon us a burden like that which You laid upon those before us.

ربنا ولا تحمل علينا إصرًا كما حملته على الذين من قبلنا

[Al-Baqarah 2:286]

He said: Yes.

Our Lord, and burden us not with that which we have no ability to bear

ربنا ولا تحملنا ما لا طاقة لنا به

[Al-Baqarah 2:286]

He said: Yes.

And pardon us; and forgive us; and have mercy upon us. You are our protector, so give us victory over the disbelieving people."

واعف عنا واغفر لنا وارحمنا أنت مولانا فانصرنا على القوم الكافرين

[Al-Baqarah 2:286]

He said: Yes. Narrated by Muslim."

The Shaykh : In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. We have previously spoken about the beginning of this hadith, the hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) وأن الصحابة لما أنزل الله تبارك وتعالى قوله: وإن تبدوا ما في أنفسكم أو تخفوه يحاسبكم به الله أتوا إلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وجثوا على الركب وقالوا: أي رسول الله كُلفنا من العمل ما نطيق، الصلاة والجهاد والصيام والصدقة، وقد أنزل الله عليك هذه الآية يعني قوله: وإن تبدوا ما في أنفسكم أو تخفوه يحاسبكم به الله ونحن لا نطيقها، فقال النبي عليه الصلاة والسلام: أتريدون أن تقولوا كما قال أهل الكتابين من قبلكم سمعنا وعصينا And that the Companions, when Allah, Blessed and Exalted is He, revealed His saying: 'If you reveal what is in your souls or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it,' they came to the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and knelt on their knees, saying: O Messenger of Allah, you have burdened us with deeds that we are capable of, such as prayer, jihad, fasting, and charity, and Allah has revealed to you this verse, meaning His saying: 'If you reveal what is in your souls or conceal it, Allah will call you to account for it,' and we are not capable of it. So the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: Do you want to say what the People of the two Books before you said, 'We heard and we disobeyed'. This interrogative is for denial, meaning he denies to them that they should say such a statement. ولكن قولوا: سمعنا وأطعنا غفرانك ربنا وإليك المصير، فلما قالوا هذا ولانت لها نفوسهم، وذلت لها ألسنتهم أنزل الله بعدها آمن الرسول بما أنزل إليه من ربه والمؤمنون Rather, say: We heard and we obeyed. Forgive us, our Lord, and to You is the destination. When they said this, their souls became soft for it, and their tongues became accustomed to it, Allah revealed after it: The Messenger has believed in what was revealed to him from his Lord, and the believers Meaning, and the believers have believed. So Allah the Exalted clarified in this verse His praise of His Messenger and of the believers for saying: We heard and we obeyed, Forgive us, and to You is the destination. Then Allah revealed: What is not within a person's capacity, Allah does not burden him with it, and there is no blame on him for it, such as the whispers that strike the heart, but the person does not incline to them, does not believe them, and does not raise his head with them, for they do not harm him, because these are not within his capacity. And Allah the Exalted says: Satan may suggest to a person in his soul terrible, terrible, terrible, great matters, but if he turns away from them and seeks refuge in Allah from Satan and from them, they will disappear from him. ربنا لا تؤاخذنا إن نسينا أو أخطأنا قال: نعم Our Lord, do not hold us accountable if we forget or make a mistake. He said: Yes. ربنا ولا تحمل علينا إصرا كما حملته على الذين من قبلنا قال: نعم Our Lord, and do not place upon us a burden like that which You placed upon those before us. He said: Yes. And for this reason, Allah the Exalted described His Messenger Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) as: رَبَّنَا وَلا تُحَمِّلْنَا مَا لا طَاقَةَ لَنَا بِهِ قال الله: نعم Our Lord, and do not place upon us what we have no ability to bear. Allah said: Yes. And for this reason, Allah the Exalted does not burden in His Shari'ah what a person cannot bear. Rather, if a person is unable to do something, he moves to its alternative if it has one, or it is dropped from him if it has no alternative. As for burdening him with what he has no strength for, Allah the Exalted said here: Meaning: I do not burden you with what you have no strength for. وَاعْفُ عَنَّا وَاغْفِرْ لَنَا وَارْحَمْنَا أَنْتَ مَوْلانَا فَانْصُرْنَا عَلَى الْقَوْمِ الْكَافِرِينَ قال الله: نعم And forgive us, and have mercy on us. You are our Master, so support us against the disbelieving people. Allah said: Yes. So Allah pardons us and forgives us and has mercy on us. These are three words, each word having a meaning. Meaning: our shortcoming in the obligatory. Meaning: our transgression of the forbidden. Meaning: guide us to righteous deeds. So a person either leaves an obligatory act or commits a forbidden act. What is said regarding leaving the obligatory? Pardon us, pardon us for what we have shortchanged in the obligatory. Or he commits a forbidden act, so he says? Forgive us, meaning the sins we have committed. Or he seeks firmness, support, and encouragement for good in his saying: So these are three words, each word having a meaning. Meaning: the One in charge of our affairs in this world and the Hereafter, so take charge of us in this world. It may occur to a person that the intended meaning is our enemies from among the disbelievers, but it is more general, encompassing victory over Satan, because Satan is the head of the disbelievers. So we benefit from this noble last verse that Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, does not burden us with what we have no strength for, and does not burden us except with what is within our capacity. And the whispers that circulate in our chests, if we do not incline to them, do not rest in them, and do not act upon them, they do not harm us. And success is from Allah.