Interpretation of the Quran- Al-Imran Surah (3)- Lesson (02-60)- Verses [3-6]-

Transcription

1 Interpretation of the Quran- Al-Imran Surah (3)- Lesson (02-60)- Verses [3-6]- Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet Muhammad, the faithful and the honest. Oh, Allah, w e know nothing but w hat You teach us. You are the All- Know er, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us w hat is good for us, and benefit us from w hat You taught us, and increase our know ledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep aw ay from them. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and know ledge, and from the muddy shallow s of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity. Dear brothers, this is our second lesson on Surat Al-i Imran. Allah the Most High says in ayaat 3-4: It is He Who sent dow n to you (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming w hat w ent before it; and He sent dow n the Torah (of Musa) and the Injil (of 'Isa). Before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent dow n the Criterion (of judgment betw een right and w rong). Then those w ho reject Faith in the Signs of Allah w ill suffer the severest penalty, and Allah is Exalted in Might, Lord of Retribution. It is He Who sent down to you(step by step), in truth, the Book, 1- What is Truth? Dear brothers this Book -the Holy Qur'an- w as sent dow n to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, in truth. Truth denotes something that is stable, something that opposes falsehood. Also, Truth is that w hich is meaningful, in opposition to w hat is trifling. One of the merits of the Noble Qur'an is that its ayaat explain one another. Hence, Truth is something that is fixed, stable and constant. How ever, falsehood is something that w ill vanish into the air. Here is an example of the truth: A university might be established to achieve great goals. Leaders and scientists can be its fruitful outcome. On the other hand, as an example of falsehood: A nightclub might be established to extort people's money and make them miserable. So w hen Allah, glory to Him, says: "He has created the heavens and the earth w ith truth" (at-taghabun, 64:3) It means that there is Truth in the creation of the heavens and the earth; and, furthermore, this Universe is created to last. How ever, and "All that is on earth w ill perish." "Everything (that exists) w ill perish except His Face." (ar-rahman, 55:26) (al-qasas, 28:88) After this life, either there is Paradise forever or Hellfire forever. So, if you say that Allah created me in

2 truth, it means that you are created to remain, and death is just an accidental situation: "Every soul shall have a taste of death." (Al-Imran, 3:185) and They w ill cry: "O Malik! Would that thy Lord put an end to us!" He w ill say, "Nay, but you shall abide!" (az-zukhruf, 43:77) Hence Truth is stable, has a goal and a noble aim. On the other hand, entertainment is an action w ith no aim at all. The one w ho plays Backgammon is occupying himself w ith a meaningless, nerve-racking activity; just w asting his time. Anything that lacks aim and is not conducive to something beneficial in one's life is said to be merely entertainment, and playing games is entertainment. So if it is said that this Book w as sent in truth, the truth is w ith it. Hence, "No falsehood can approach it from before or behind it." (Fussilat, 41:43) It has been revealed by Allah, Who created the w hole Universe, w hich means that it is definitely stable. Its aim is to guide people to Truth, to the w ays that lead to their safety and happiness. "Verily this Qur'an does guide to that w hich is most right (or stable)." (al-isra', 17:9) 2. The Qur'an was sent down in Truth: It is indeed incredible. You have a book betw een your hands w hich contains a complete Methodology. Moreover, you have its explanation in thousands of ahadith. This Book w as sent dow n in truth. It is totally right, its aims are very noble indeed. There had been other Books sent dow n by Allah. Therefore, this Book must confirm those previous Books, It is He Who sent dow n to you (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming w hat w ent before it; Hence, falsehood perishes even if it is the greatest pow er in the w orld. "For Falsehood is (by its nature) bound to perish." (al-isra', 17:81) There w ere many pow ers in the w orld that w ere demolished like the spider's house because they w ere false. Everything that is false perishes; everything that is incorrect does not last; everything that goes along w ith the Qur'an and the sunnah continues to be alive. Due to the fact that Islam is Truth, it lasts; it is like a high mountain that never trembles. On the other hand, falsehood collapsed although its supporters w ere strong. The tribe of the Quraish w as very pow erful; it opposed Truth, and because Allah supports Truth through His Prophet, Truth w ins. Those w ho stood up to the Prophet, like Abu Jahl, Abu Lahab, and Safw an ibn Umaya, ended up in the darkness of history.

3 The real strength lies in being on the side of Truth because it survives, contains an objective, and is steady. 3. Don't attach your destiny to something short-lived Sometimes, one might be devoting one's entire life to a person. So, if this person goes aw ay, one loses everything. Therefore, this person is ephemeral and thus false. Islam, on the other hand, lasts, so it is Truth. The real strength is not to attach yourself, your future, or your destiny to something that is ephemeral. One of the believer's merits is that he relates himself w ith Allah the Almighty, w ho is the Ever-Lasting One. So, anyone w ho attaches himself, his life, or his destiny to any earthly pow er is gambling because w henever this earthly pow er gets shaken, everything is lost. The believer feels w hat others feel only w hen they lose it. The believer does not have doubts about his creed. While science is being developed, the facts of Islam are being confirmed. Nevertheless, if you find a difference betw een the scientific facts and the religious facts, it w ill be due to the defects of science. The Muslim does not discover suddenly that he is on the w rong track, or that w hat he believes in is incorrect, or else that w hat he attaches his life to perishes. This never happens. The believer is w ith Allah the Most High and if you are w ith Him, He w ill be w ith you, w ill support and protect you. "It is He Who sent dow n to you (step by step), in truth, the Book, confirming w hat w ent before it; and He sent dow n the Torah (of Musa) and the Injil (of 'Isa)." (Al-Imran, 3:3) Before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent down the Criterion. 1- The Old and the New Testament were in accordance with the Qur'an before their distortion: There are differences in these tw o books because both w ere distorted. In their origins they w ere in accordance w ith the Holy Qur'an; but w hen they w ere distorted, there arose a big difference: And He sent dow n the Torah (of Musa) and the Injil (of 'Isa). Before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent dow n the Criterion (of judgment betw een right and w rong). Then those w ho reject Faith in the Signs of Allah w ill suffer the severest penalty, and Allah is Exalted in Might, Lord of Retribution 2- Allah does not leave His servants without guidance: Allah does not leave His servants w ithout clear guidance. "Verily We take upon Ourselves to guide," Which means that Allah gives guidance to all people... "Now have We caused the Word to reach them themselves, in order that they m ay receive adm onition." (al-layl, 92:12) (al-qasas, 28:51)

4 It is impossible for a father not to w arn his child if he is fooling about near a fireplace. This mercy of the father is nothing against Allah's mercy. The role of the father is to guide, w arn and instruct. He may grasp his child's hand to push him aw ay from the fireplace. Allah, glory to Him, commits Himself to guiding people. Whenever the w ord "ala" (upon) comes w ith the name of Allah, it means that Allah the Most High commits Himself to guidance: "Verily We take upon Ourselves to guide," (al-layl, 92:12) This guidance is manifested in the Holy Books that He sent dow n to His Messengers: Zabur (Psalms), Torah (the Old Testament), Injil (the New Testament), and the Qur'an. Only this last Book has Allah protected from distortion: "We have, w ithout doubt, sent dow n the Message; and We w ill assuredly guard it (from corruption)." (al-hijr, 15:9) This is due to the fact that the Qur'an is the miracle of Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, so it must be protected. On the other hand, Prophet Isa s (Jesus) miracles w ere to heal those born blind and the lepers, and to bring back the dead, by Allah's leave. Prophet Musa s (Moses) miracles w ere his rod, parting the sea, and so on. Hence, Allah the Most High did not protect the previous tw o Books and that is w hy they w ere distorted and corrupted for a certain purpose w hich Allah only know s and according to His Wisdom, "And He sent dow n the Torah (of Musa) and the Injil (of 'Isa). Before this, as a guide to mankind, and He sent dow n the Criterion (of judgment betw een right and w rong)." 3- The Qur'an is the Methodology of the Creator, the All-Knowing, so it must be followed: After you read, grasp, meditate and understand the Holy Qur'an w ell, you w ill be able to distinguish betw een Truth and Falsehood; good and evil; halal and haram (permitted and prohibited); w hat should be done and w hat should be avoided; w hat makes you happy and w hat makes you miserable. Just as drinking w ater, breathing air, and eating food are a must to keep you alive, so is grasping and understanding this Qur'an because it is the Methodology of man's life. It is the w ay conducive to his safety and happiness; a clarification of everything. When you buy a very expensive and complicated machine, and you find w ith it an instruction manual, you feel happy and read it w ith interest. For example, there are now computers that can analyze blood in no time at all. Just a drop of blood is draw n and put into it, then you press the button, and about tw enty seven results come out! You can order them to be printed if you w ant. One analysis may cost 3,000 pounds, and there might be 100 people w aiting for their turn. Here, you just need to press the button. How amazing! Suppose that this computer comes in w ithout a manual. It w ould be useless. In this case, the instruction manual is more important than the machine itself. It might break dow n if not used according to the manufacturer's instructions. That is w hy Allah says: "(Allah) Most Gracious! It is He Who has taught the Qur'an. He has created man: He has taught him speech (and Intelligence" (ar-rahman, 55:1-4)

5 4- The existence of man is meaningless without a methodology: The Qur'an has been taught, the man has been created! Is this order a logical one? The scholars of Tafsir (i.e. interpretation of the Qur'an) say that this is a ranking order not a chronological one. It means that there is no sense in man's existence w ithout the Holy Qur'an. Your existence means nothing w ithout a methodology that you should follow. This Book show s the permitted and the forbidden; the difference betw een good and evil, and the w ay to safety and happiness. There are also numerous ayaat w hich talk about the Universe, about gone peoples, about the approaching future and the times past. Everything is included in the Noble Qur'an. We have, furthermore, w onderful explanations by Prophet Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace. Then those who reject Faith in the Signs of Allah will suffer the severest penalty. 1- The disbelief in Allah's Signs It is certain that "those w ho reject Faith in the Signs of Allah", either the Quranic ones or those regarding the Universe, w ill receive a severe punishment. They are those w ho do not care about the Qur'an, abandon it, never read it, or even ask about w hat it calls to. Now, dear brothers, w hy are you here? To learn something about Allah's Book. It is this great task that makes you move. There is not a greater objective in our lives than understanding Allah's Book. You bought this computer to make money; the best thing to do is to read the instruction manual to know how to use it in order to get this money. It is the same w ith you attending a session on Allah's Book. You are carrying out one of the most important objectives because you come to the Masjid to learn Allah's Orders, w hat is good and w hat is evil, permitted and prohibited. So, 'Those w ho reject Faith in the Signs of Allah w ill suffer the severest penalty' 2- The disbelief in Allah's Signs is followed by His Punishment Man has desires and his movements may stem from these desires w ithout follow ing a method. Therefore, w hen he gains money unlaw fully, he gets punished. If he rapes w omen or mistreats people, he gets punished. They get severely punished because they have acted w ithout a method. For instance, if one of the most splendid cars is driven by a drunken man w ho misuses it and causes an accident, there w ill be a curse on him. So, 'Those w ho reject Faith in the Signs of Allah w ill suffer the severest penalty' It is quite normal that those disbelievers w ill act w ithout a method. The problem is that they meet w homever they w ant, eat w hat they w ant, take any money that they w ant. There are no rules, no limits, no values, and no aims. As a result, they enjoy w hat they do not deserve, take money unlaw fully, and rape w omen. That is w hy they must be punished: "Then those w ho reject Faith in the Signs of Allah w ill suffer the severest penalty, and Allah is Exalted in Might, Lord of Retribution."

6 3- and Allah is Exalted in Might, Lord of Retribution The meaning of al-aziz and al-muntaquim Scholars of the Interpretation of the Qur'an (al-tafsir) say that the Lord of Retribution (al-muntaqim) is the One Who deters His sinful servant w ho thinks that he can do w hatever he w ants. What is the meaning of that? Allah deters him from doing w rong as a token of His Mercy. Allah can not be defeated or defied because He is the Almighty (al-aziz). One of the most beautiful meanings that I read of "the Almighty is": the One and the Only w ho has no partner, Whom it is impossible to reach; Whom everything else needs for everything. More clearly: It is impossible to grasp His Greatness as a w hole. For instance, you can reach the sea and stand on the beach; how ever, you cannot reach each point on it as a w hole. It is impossible. Hence, you can ask Allah w hatever you w ant, pray to Him, get to know Him, but to be aw are of His Greatness is impossible. Allah is Exalted in Might, Lord of Retribution. So: "It is He Who sent dow n to thee (step by step) the Book, in truth" The truth, w hich is something stable and meaningful. Why is it stable? Because it is Truth. Why is it Truth? Because it is stable. What is the meaning of stable? It is the Book that contains only the facts w hich are firm. It is know n, for example, that metals exposed to heat expand. It is a law w hich operates w herever you go, thus, it is firm. Therefore, if you grasp the fact that this Book is stable, you w ill attain happiness. 4- The kafir (disbeliever) will not be left uncontrolled Before I tackle this ayah he w ho disbelieves in Allah's Signs w ill not be left alone: And let not those w ho disbelieve think that they can outstrip (escape from the punishment). Verily, they w ill never be able to save themselves (from Allah's Punishment). (al-anfal, 8:59) It means that sooner or later, the sinful w ill be punished. If the disbeliever thinks something else or that he did something against Allah's Will, he is a fool. No-one can do anything unless Allah permits it to happen. So, Allah permits the disbeliever to do w hat he does, and then punishes him. It is an indirect threat. Then those w ho reject Faith in the Signs of Allah w ill suffer the severest penalty, Surely, w hen they disbelieved, they acted follow ing their desires w hich are w ithout limits, and that turned into transgression. A man admires a w oman, so he simply rapes her. He just w ants to enjoy his lust; he rapes a w oman, and he is punished. It is a fair sequence. Then those w ho reject Faith in the Signs of Allah w ill suffer the severest penalty, and Allah is Exalted in Might, Lord of Retribution. He is the Exalted in Might that cannot be defeated, the Lord of Retribution that cannot be opposed. From Allah, verily nothing is hidden on earth or in the heavens. 1. Allah's knowledge is related to everything and encompasses everything: His know ledge is related to everything that can be; He know s w hat w as, w hat is, and w hat w ill be; and He

7 know s w hat w as not, and if it had been, He w ould know how it w as. Nothing is hidden from Him: "(Allah) know s of (the tricks) that deceive w ith the eyes, and all that the hearts (of men) conceal." He know s your secrets and that about you w hich is hidden even from you. "For verily He know s w hat is secret and w hat is yet more hidden." So, "From Allah, verily nothing is hidden on earth or in the heavens." (Ghafir, 40:19) (Taha, 20:7) 2. Foolishness: To conceive the possibility of deceiving Allah the Most High: Allah, the Great and Almighty, says: "They seek to deceive but it is Allah Who w ill deceive them;" "Mighty indeed w ere the plots w hich they made, but their plots w ere (w ell) w ithin the Sight of Allah." If one comes to think that one can deceive Allah, he is both foolish and dense: "From Allah, verily nothing is hidden on earth or in the heavens" (al-nisa', 4:142) (Ibrahim, 14:46) (Al-Imran, 3:5) He it is Who shapes you in the wombs as He pleases.. 1- Allah's creation of the human being: The fertilized ovum is a cell that has membrane, cytoplasm, and a nucleus. Inside the nucleus, there are millions of genes. Some say that there are five million genes; I read that there are 5,000 million. Each one is programmed for a certain period of time. "He it is Who shapes you in the w ombs as He pleases." (Al-Imran, 3:6) He gives the human being all the abilities, both mental and emotional ones. He creates for the man muscles, bones, eyes, hair and face There a lot of things to be said about that... "He it is Who shapes you in the w ombs as He pleases. There is no god but He,

8 the Exalted in Might, the Wise." (Al-Imran, 3:6) 2- The Creator (al- Khaliq), the Supreme Fashioner (al-musawwir) is the Wise (al-hakim) It means that the Only One Who controls this Universe is Allah the Most Hight. Consequently, there is nothing that deserves to be w orshipped in truth except Him. He is the Almighty (al-aziz) and the Wise (al-hakim). Al-Aziz means that no-one can defeat Him. Al-Hakim means that all His actions are according to a (certain) w isdom. If these actions had not happened, Allah w ould have been blamed. The most accurate explanation for al-hakim is that everything that happens is according to Allah's Will; that everything Allah has w anted to happen, has happened. Allah's Will is related to the Absolute Wisdom, w hich is related to the Absolute Goodness. 3- Why isn't man wise? It might be because of his ignorance, for w isdom requires know ledge. Sometimes, he might be under strong pressure, so he might do something he is not convinced of. It might not have been w ise on his part to say those w ords or assume that attitude. Therefore, he is not w ise either due to pressure, his ignorance or irresistible temptation. Allah, Exalted be He, is the All-Know ing, and He cannot be otherw ise. There is no pow er in the w orld that can put pressure on Him or that can tempt Him. All those characteristics that are related to the human beings cannot be applied to Allah. So, He is al-hakim, the Wise, because if anything had not happened according to the w ay it should have happened, Allah w ould have been blamed. It could be considered a deficiency in His Wisdom. Abu al-darda' narrated that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Everything has truth; and w hen the w orshiper reaches the truth of faith, he realizes that anything that happens to him has been destined and w hat does not happen has also been destined." [Reported by Al Imam Ahmad] 4- This Truth makes the Muslim happy: Dear brothers, the believer is happy due to the Quranic Truth. Firstly, w hen you believe that nothing can be hidden from Allah, you w ill never try to deceive Him. You w ill deal w ith Him clearly. When you believe that He is the Strong One (al- Kaw iy), the Lord of Retribution (Al-Muntqim), w ith any sin you do and insist on doing, you know that you w ill not escape Allah's Punishment. These facts make you adhere to the right path. The more you believe in them, the more rightly you are follow ing the Method of Allah. It has been transmitted to us that a scholar w as once asked by a certain man for advice as regards one's disobedience to Allah. The scholar said: - If you do five things, you w ill never be hurt by w rongdoing. - That's something w onderful! What are these things? - If you w ish to disobey Allah, you should never live in His lands. - So w here am I to live? - How could you live in His lands and disobey Him? Is it reasonable? If a person has w elcomed you in his home as a guest, is it reasonable that you should hit his son w hile you're there? Is it reasonable that you should poison his food w hile you're there?

9 - Tell me the second thing. - If you w ish to disobey Allah, you should never eat of His sustenance. - So w hat am I to eat? - Is it reasonable that you should live in His lands, and eat of His sustenance, then disobey Him? - Tell me the third thing. - If you w ish to disobey Allah, you should do this in a place w here He cannot see you. - But he can alw ays see me! - Is it reasonable that you should live in Allah's lands, eat of His sustenance, and disobey Him, know ing that He sees you? -Tell me the fourth thing. - If you w ish to disobey Allah, and the Angel of Death comes to take your soul, do not go w ith him! - I can't do that. - So, you live in His lands, eat of His sustenance, disobey Him w hile He sees you, and you cannot avoid the Angel of Death? - Tell me the fifth thing. - If you w ish to disobey Allah, and the Angels of Torment come to take you to Hell, don't go w ith them. - I can't do that! - So, you live in Allah's lands, eat of His sustenance, disobey Him w hile He sees you, and you can avoid neither the Angel of Death nor the Angels of Torment! Have you heard enough? As a result, w hen you believe deeply that He know s about all your action and inaction; w hen you believe that nothing in the skies or on the earth can be hidden from His know ledge and everything is w ithin His Hands, including your relations w ith others, your health, your marriage, your five senses, your heart, your veins, your kidneys, and everything else, how ever small if you believe in this, you w ill obey Him. These ayaat are enough to make us obey Allah, the Great and the Almighty. In the next lesson, insha' Allah, w e w ill tackle the ayaat w hich follow : It is He Who has sent dow n to you the Book (this Quran). In it are verses that are entirely clear, they are the foundations of the Book-; and others not entirely clear. So as for those in w hose hearts there is a deviation (from the truth) they follow that w hich is not entirely clear thereof, seeking al-fitnah ( polytheism and trials ), and seeking for its hidden meanings, but none know s its hidden meanings save Allah. And those w ho are firmly grounded in know ledge say: "We believe in it ; the w hole of it (clear and unclear ayaat) are from our Lord." And none receive admonition except men of understanding. Translation : Nusaiba al-dali Auditing : Naj at Rozko