Sciences of Quran 1-22-06 Very important since its related to teh book of Allah.If you get a letter from a dear friend, youll be happy, how much more for the words of Allah? Purpose of revealing Quran: sheikh Uthaymeen lists 3 reasons: 1) reciting and memorizing the Quran. Allah says "and recite the Quran with a good recitation." 2) pondering on the meaning of it. Allah says "Don't they ponder on the meaning of the Quran?" 3) Applying it in daily life. other purposes, yes, but not necessarily to muslims: 1) challenging the disbelievers. Allah asks them to bring a likeness. hadith (weak): - the strong rope of Allah to hold - the message of wisdom to believe - the straight path to follow - evil thoguths will never corrupt it and wicked tongues will never distort it. - how much you study it, it will never cease to inspire - scholars will never be able to fathom its depths - whoever utters is peaks the turth - whoever acts upon it shall be rewarded - whoever judges upon it does justice. - whoever preaches it calls to truth - whoever turns away from it in arrogance is doomed, and wehoever seeks guidance elsewhere is lost sheikh says this part was an unauthentic hadith Quran What is the meaning of "Quran"? root - qa ra a. Qaf, ra, alif. means "read" - the Quran is read over and over. also means to gather - it gathers all the rulings and the news. What is the Quran? - miraculous book of Allah which is revealed to Mohd (saw) starting with al Fatiha and aneding with an Nas. - what is the diff btw hadith qudsi and Quran? cannot recite qudsi in salat, quran is miraculous, etc. imam suyuti - book called itkaan fi uloom al Quran "perfection of the sciences of Quran - that's why this subject is called uloom al Quran. We could just call it tafseer, but tafseer is just one subject within uloom al Quran. among the subject: 1. reasons for revelation 2. makki and madani and knowing what came when. 3. the way the Quran was revealed - sometimes Jibraeel came as a man, etc. 4. How many surahs and ayats in the Quran. 114 surah and 30 juz. 5. stories in the Quran. 6. miracles of the Quran 7. different recitations 8. proverbs in the Quran 9. preservation of the Quran 10. scribing the Quran 11. dividing the Quran into Juz, half juz and so on, even numbering ayats. related to scribing, but its own subject
12. waqf and ibtida. knowing when to stop, etc. 13. the first thing revealed and the last thing. 13. the seven different styles - are they qira'a or whatever 14. Tafseer - interpretation and so on.. imam suyuti mentioned 80 subjects virtue of recitation of Quran Hadith: I dont say "Alif Lam Mim Harf", I say "ali harf lam harf mim harf" it means each letter counts as 10 hasanat. each letter of recitation is 10 hasanat. Virute of memorization of Quran hadith: on the DofJ the quran will come like a frail man. The one who memorized the Quran will be told read and raise and recite as you used to recite in Dunya for your rank will be on the last aya you'll stop at. teh reward - he'll be crowned with a crown - the emerald of which will be worth more than the earth. the parents will be given garments better than anything on earth and they'll ask "why did we get this" - and it'll be told to them becuase you taught your children Quran. anybody can memorize even if you dont know arabic. Allah says "we have made the Quran easy" sheikh knows a syrian woman that memorized Quran in the kitchen while taking care of her kids.
1-28-06 Miracles of the Quran. Missing notes from first 30 minutes - start webex recording at 20 minutes. Definition of a Miracle - a miracle is an extra ordinary thing a human being can't have. a3jaz from teh root mu3jaza - disability. to be unable to do something. if you find a diamond that's really big, do you consider that a miracle? no, it's something supernatural. example of types of miracles: 1 - the challenge - "Say; if mankind and jinn gathered in order to produce the like of this Quran they could not produce the like of it, even if they were to each other supporters" 17:88 2- the preservation: "indeed we have revealed the Quran and we're preserving it 15:9 Muslims are too weak to protect themselves let alone Quran. try to change one letter of this book - nobody will accept it. compare to a torah - they talked to a Jew once and copied down some torah with some changes - he didn't notice. he had copied down some Quran with some changes and the muslims rejected it. he said "I know this is authentic." 3 - scientific miracles: - day and night . 10:24 (they didn't know that it was day and night in the same place) - mountains of clouds 24:43 (we can see now that clouds are like mountains in shape) - waves upon waves 24:40 ( - eruption of the seas. 82:3, 81:6 - splitting of the moon 54:1 - barrier of the Sea 55:20 - surat amma 78.
4- Eloquence of the Quran: This requires knowledge of the arabic language. No doubt the Quran was higher than anything the arabs knew. The disbelievers acknowledged that. 5- historical miracles: - the king 12:43, 12:50, 12:54 - the beginning of surat al-rum 6- miracle in the transmission: it was multiply transmitted in every stage of time the companions who took it form the Messenger. the successors who took it from the companions, yet eveybody got it right. no "telephone game"
*need the whole hours of notes. these are only slides. 1-29-06 Information about the Quran 114 suras in the Quran. Sura means bondary. soor means wall. Sura means to encompass something. Also, sura means rank like menzeela. Poetry - dont you see that Allah has given you sura(rank)? So how can we relate the meaning of sura as rank to the word sura for chapter of Quran? when you read Quran, you elevate in rank. 6236 ayas in Quran. this is the number of the people of kufa (kufiyeen). 6216 is another count by ___. The Quran itself is the same, the way they counted the ayas is different. the difference comes in where do you end certain ayahs. what is the meaning of aya. Sign or miracle. How can we relate this linguistic meaning to the Quran? every aya is a miracle. first sura revealed - mudatthir. (first aya was revealed was iqra followed some more.. 5 ayaats total, but this was not a total sura). Last sura revealed was Nasr. Proof is when Abu Bakr heard it after the last hajj and started to cry. Last aya revealed was 2:281. A lot of people think it's "on this day i have perfected your religion." but this was revealed on the day of arafat and the Prophet died 3 montsh later. 82 mekkan suras and 20 madinan suras. what about the other 12? Scholars differed about the others. Read the intro to tafseer ibn kathir. 77439 words in the Quran. 340740 letters. Why do we know this? because every letter is 10 hasanat. read the Quran is more than 3 million hasanat. 30 juz, each juz is divided to 2 hizb and each hizb is divded to 4 parts. Each quarter hizb is about 2 half pages. Who put in these divisions? Aws ibn huthayfa asked the companions of the messnger how they divided the Quran? They answered 3,5,7,9,11, 13 and the rest [ahmed abu dawood ibn maja]. They had 7 divisions on average. it means you finish the Quran in 7 days. 3 divisions means you finish Quran in 3 days. 30 divisions means 30 days, etc. Uthman sometimes read the entire Quran in one night. Imam shafi used to read the Quran twice a day in ramadan. 7 divisions work out like this (explains the hadith.. the first division is 3 suras, second division is 5) 3: albaqara - al imran - an nisa 5: al maida through at-tawba 7: etc etc. 9: 13:
Qaf until the rest. Who arranged the Quran? difference of opinion. Some peopel think it was different. What about hadith jibrail? that jibrael used to read the Quran with the prophet in ramadan. It means it has a specific order. Sheikh personally believes that the order was from the Prophet.sheikh's evidence is that the hadith is clear that the Prophet used to ask a companion to put it in a certain place. The other issue is the order of the suras - we know the Quran was preserved, it makes sense it is preserved in an order. Certainly, the quran was preserved on the tablet and then revealed in pieces. People dispute because one night the Prophet (saw) got up to read in the night and read fatiha and baqara and then nisa. Although it was not like that at his time, it was copiled and written in the time of abu bakr and the time of othma, yet during the life of the Prophet whenever an aya was revealed he used to tell them "put it in that place". names of the suras are from both the Prophet and the companions. Some the prophet gave specific names to suras and sometimes multiple names. Example, sura tauba is sometimes known as sura assaif. Exam - we might be asked to list 5 or 6 sciences of the Quran. Q. should we read the Quran in order? yes, there is a hadith about how you shouldn't go backwards.. reading from juz 20 and then juz 15. some scholars said that was wrong.
2-4-06 The revelation of the Quran the message started with Iqra and ended shortly before he died.. so revelation spanned over 23 years. wisdom in taking 23 years? - in the Quran, when Musa was asked to leave his people who were worshipping the calf (this is in sura baqara and sura 3araf) so he left in order to get the Torah. He was supposed to be gone for 30 days and then he cleaned his mouth for 30 days with miswak and Allah said "dont do that Allah loves the smell of the mouth of someone who is fasting" and it took 40 days instead of 30. Allah can reveal it in 1 hour if he wanted to. 1. assuring the heart of the Messenger. The kuffar asked him why the Quran wasn't revealed at once - in order to assure your heart. Sura Furqan, page 3. 2. Challenging the Kuffar. The kuffar said something and Allah would refute them. 3. Easier to memorize and understand. The companions used to memorize only 10 ayats at once. 4. Easier to implement and respond to: first prayer, then zakat, etc. 5. humoring the incidents and gradual legislation. Example, alcohol was allowed in the beginning of Islam. First, Allah said "dont pray drunk". Then, Allah said "there are some advantages, but the disadvantages outweigh to balance." Then Allah said "this is impurity so avoid it." Aisha (ra) said that if it had been prohibited all at once, people would not have been able to do it. Meccan and Madinan Suras - 82 Meccan Suras and 20 Medinan Suras and 12 in between. - Define: measure the sura by the time of Hijra.. so that if it is after hijra even though it was revealed in Mecca, we still consider it Medinan sura. - Some Medinan suras have Meccan ayahs like sura an-naam. Characteristics of Meccan Suras: - Most of them call to Tawheed. (most of the ayahs that are about tawheed are meccan)
- Warning against Shirk (it was relevant to what the people in Mecca did) - Eloquence in style, words, meanings. They used to challenge Prophethood so Allah would answer their challenges with style. - Refuting the suspicions of the idolaters (ayahs that say "the kuffar say this. Say to them this") - Every ayah has the word: "Nay" "Kalla" is a Meccan ayah. Not to the exclusion of ayahs that dont have this.. - Short sentences, generally. Characteristics of Medinan Suras: - Calling for Jihad. The people in Mecca were ordered to have patience. Allah said "do not fight back". Ayat Jihad is Medinan. - Explaining the rulings of Islam. Fasting, zakat, family law, etc. - Exposure of the hypocrites. In Mecca there were no hypocrites. In Medina Islam was strong so some people wanted to have the privilege of being Muslim. - Any sura discussing hypocrites or hypocrisy is madinan. - Long ayat usually. - Easy style with details. Benefits of Knowing Meccan vs. Medinan Suras - helps to interpret the Quran correctly by knowing chronology. - knowing the seera of the Messenger - Tasting the different styles of the Quran. - "Whoever lived in a land he's weak in it or in time of weakness then let he implement the aya of Patience and forgiveness, but the strong people should apply the aya of fighting the disbelievers" - ibn Taimiyya [drawn sword against the offender of the Messenger 1/224]. Allah says "do not curse their gods because they will say the same thing back". Quiz Meccan vs Medinan? 5:1 medinan 53:19-21 Meccan 48:27 Medinan 5:3 Medinan (even though it was in Mecca, it was after Hijra) Reasons for Revelation - ayat of the Quran are divided to 2 categories: 1. ayat revealed initially without a reason but for further instructions and commands. Most are that way.Means without an incident the ayah is responding to. Every ayah has a reason but might not be referring to something.. like "oh you who believe, fasting is prescribed to you." No particular incident this is responding to, just telling people to fast. 2. Ayat revealed for a reason: several like this - to answer a question. Kuffar would pose a question and Allah would answer. - an incident needs clarification and ruling. This happened a lot in Hajj, like the guy who wanted to shave his head - something Allah wanted to caution the believers against or to avoid. example "when a stranger comes to you with news, verify it." when aisha was slandered, 10 ayats were revealed in sura noor. Benefits of knowing the reason of revelation - proving the Quran is from Allah. The jews asked the Prophet "what is the spirit? Say: the matter of the spirit is for Allah." We learn the Quran is from Allah... a human could make the mistake. - Sometimes the Prophet is asked about somethign and he doenst know so he waits until the wahi comes down with an answer. Sura kahf was a good example of that. - defending the Messenger. - understanding the aya correctly. Abu ayub al ansari, a sahaba, was in battle when one of the muslims threw himself over the wall to open a door. When the sahaba found him, they thought he had committed
suicide and destroyed himself by that ayah in surah baqara. Abu Ayub said no this ayah was revealed to keep people in jihad instead of taking care of their families or else they'll fall into destruction. - Showing the mercy of Allah. ex "tayammum" - Aisha had lost her necklace and the army was searching and they needed wudu and they needed water so Allah sent ayah tayammum. - Sometimes there is more than one incident that the ayah is revealed for. Q. There is some dispute over sura fatiha - some people think it's medinan and was revealed when salat became mandatory. some think it was revealed both in mecca and medina.
2-6-06 How did the Quran come to us? During the Prophetic era, he used to have scribes for the Wahi - zaid ibn thabit, ubay ibn kaab, ali ibn abi talib, muawiya ibn abu sufyan, they wrote on like leather, cloth, leaves, etc. but the written Quran was not a big deal for them. The real Quran was the memorized Quran. arranging the Quran - during the time of the Prophet (saw), whenever an aya was revealed, he used to tell the companions to put it in this place. All of the Quran was written but it was not in one book. many of the companions memorized the Quran - abu bakr, omar, ibn abbas, zaid ibn thabit, ubay ibn kaab, ali ibn abi talib, uthman, ibn masood, abu zayd ibn al-ashari people who criticize the compilation of the Quran dont account for it being memorized to commonly.
After the death of the Prophet. after the battle of yamama, many huffath were martyred (they say more than 70). there felt a need to save and preserve the Quran. This is the main incident that inspired the compilation of the Quran. Abu Bakr sat down to do this and was hesitant because the Prophet didn't do that. they established a committee and apointed zaid ibn thabit. why him? he knew his Quran pretty well - he witnessed recitations of the Quran from Gibrail to the Prophet (saw). He's smart. The Prophet trusted him. zaid's method. they didn't accept any aya without 2 witnesses that it's written during the life of the Messenger (saw). he missed the last aya of sura tauba - he caught his mistake. Finally, khuzayma came to him as one witness, but like the statement of the Prophet, the witness of khuzayma is like 2 men. - Omar kept this Quran and when he died, it was given to hafsa. - Othman was told that two people were disputing over how to recite the Quran. Othman ordered zaid to make copies of the Quran with hafsa and make some copies (6 or 7 depending on opinion) and he distributed them to the different parts of teh muslim world. The Quran was scribed in a way that accomodated different qira'a like writing maalik (meem apostrophe lam instead of meem alif lam) - it wasn't until the time of Ali that ______ put the dots on the letters and dashes. Often, two readings are accepted - yamaloon and tamaloon. dafan and doofan. - basran and kufan schools would compete and do different things. There is a qaf written like a fa with only one dot on it - tha'ts what the basrans did. - each qira'a has two narrations - hafs and asim. libya = qaaloon, sudan has a different qira'a. because of the ottoman empire? but there is no clear answer. One answer is that the qira'a we use is more consistent with arabic. - why only one qira'a now. today we recite hafs al asim al kufi. all the Qira'a - two in basra - abu amr and yaqoob, 4 in kufa - hamza, asim, and al qisai, khalaf. 2 in medina - nafia and abu jabir 1 in meccca - ibn kathir, 1 in sham each qira'a has two ways of writing them out - asim and hafs.
2-11-06 Fundamental and allegorial and similar ayat (al-muhkam wa mutashabih - literally means similar) relfect on this ayat 3:7 "it's He who sent down to you a book. In it are ayat that are entirely clear (muhkimaat), they are the foundations of the book; and others not entirely clear(mutashabih). So as for those in whose hearts there is a deviation they follow that which is not entirely clear thereof, seeking al-Fitna." it means there are 2 categories of ayat. Some are entirely clear and some are not entirely clear. (last week we talked about mecci and medini - perhaps this is a further division). 11:1 "a book whose ayat are perfected and then presented in detail." (the adjective in this ayat is oohkum - which is where we get muhkum) 39:23 "Allah has sent down the best statement, a consistent book." (the adjective in this ayat is mutashabih - which is where we get mutashabih) seems to be a contradiction. Allah is saying in sura 3 that the ayats are both muhkimat and mutashiabihat. then in sura hud, Allah says the ayats are muhkum, then in sura zumr that the ayats are mutashabih. How do you resolve this? have to understand the meaning of Allah. From this aspect we divide the Quran into 3 types: 1- the general "Ihkam" - from this perspective, all the ayats are muhkimaat. means the eloquence and fluence is in all the ayats of the Quran. Also, all the news of the Quran is true. 2- the gereral "Similarity - all the ayats are mutashabihat. means all the ayats are similar in value and truthfulness and perfection. 3- the specific "ihkam" and "similarity". The specific Ihkam means the interpretation of the aya. The specific "similarity" means the meaing is unclear to many people. Some ayats the meaning is known, some are impossible like "alif lam meem" Two Types of Mutashabih 1. Real mutashabih - mutashibih haqeeqi. All people will never be able to know the reality of it, like alif lam meem. 2. Partial mutashabih - mutashabih juz,ee. for some people, it's difficult to understand. whenever there is an aya we dont understand, we ask people of knowledge. the difficult ayas tempt the hearts of those who have fitna in them. when scholars says the aya is mutashabih, then we have to stop. imam malik was asked by a man "what is the meaning of rising (stow)? how does Allah rise over the throne." Imam malik said "we know what rising means but we dont know how. I most likely think you are an innovator" and he kicked him out of the masjid. when ibn abbas and ibn masood say they know the time and place of revelation of each aya and we know when it was revealed. ibn abbas said "tafsir is 4 types: 1- tafsir that the arab know in their language 2- tafsir that no one is excused of being ignorant of. things that are very clear - like the prohibition of riba. 3- tafsir that scholars know - meaning even if you are arab and you try to explain the aya, it requires further knowledge to understand. 4- tafsir that only Allah knows - ex. "how Allah rises above the throne"
Interpreters of the Quran from the companions: 1- Ali ibn abi talib 2- ibn abbas - we know the Prophet (saw) prayed for him to know Quran, tafsir and fiqh. 3- ibn masood - "there is not one aya except I know where and when it was revealed. I dont know any human being that knows more than me about quran and if I did, I would go to study with him"
4- ubai ibn ka'b - Prophet endorsed his knowledge. when ubai ibn ka'b guessed ayat kursi was the greatest aya. from the successors: 1- in mecca: mujahid(i stopped ibn abbas at every aya 3 times), ikrima, ata' ibn abi rabah (students of ibn abbas) 2- in kufa: qutada, alqama, and asha'bi (students of ibn masood). abu hanifa took from hamad who took from alqama who took from ibn masood. Ibn masood said "everything that ibn masood knows, alqama knows" 3- in madina: abu alalia, zaid ibn aslam. (ubai ibn ka'b) How should we interpret the Quran. 1- Quran is interpreted by the Quran itself. So if you found a general aya, you may find it's itnepretation in another place. ex. "we have certainly given musa 9 clear miracles" and in another aya "and we have given him very detailed miracles" and lists them. ex. "the awliya of Allah should not grieve" - and then next aya explains who they are. "those who believe and have piety" 2- Sunnah - "we revealed the dhikr to you in order that you might explain it" 3- companions - prophet said to follow the companions. 4- the successors - you cannot reach the knowledge of people like mujahid. 5- the language
2-12-06 meaning of tafseer - explaining the meaning of the Quran. bayaan maan al-Quran. read pages 29-35 page 29 or ibn taimiyya page 53. pg . 56 amr ibn al as found 2 scrolls with narrations from the children of israel. we know the prophet said to narrate from them. narrations of bani israel are of 3 types. 1. confirms our religion - takes it. 2. contradicts us - rejects it. 3rd type we don't have info on - we can take it or not, but we cannot say it's true. ex. story of musa. color of the stick that musa used. or the color of the people that are in the cave.
2-18-06 in class - read pages 28-41. discussed the issues with having unreliable hadeeth, etc. for unverifiable hadeeth (ahl al kitab), generally the 3 types: - we reject, because they contradict ours - we accept because they confirm ours - we dont say one way or the other because we cannot know and we dont want to reject a truth and we do not want to confirm a falsehood. we accept what the sahaba say about the Quran page 42-52 example - prophet said shirk is zulm. types of tafseer: there are some that only just explain an ayah with antoher ayah. there are some that include everything - explain the verse with the verse, hadith, time and places of revelation. - like tafseer al-qurtubi, it's called jamiah w'al ahkam al-Quran. because he showed the rulings in the Quran and how they supported the maliki opinions. - tafseer ibn katheer is easy, that's why it's so famous. there are some that only use the arabic language, etc.
tafsir surat al-fatiha. what is the meaning of al-fatiha? the opening. we call any beginning of anything al-fatiha. what are the other names of al-fatiha? these are on page. 42. - um al-kitab, um al-Quran, the seven similarities (pearls) virtues of this sura. - it is said that all the meaning of the Quran is included in this sura - it's a cure - ruqya. abu saeed al-khudri went to a group of people that woudln't let him pass. the leader of the tribe was bit by a scorpion so they negotiated a price for abu saeed to cure him. he went and just read al-fatiha and he said he could see the poison come out. - Prophet (saw) said it's the greatest sura in the Quran. hadith where ubay ibn kaab was in teh masjid and the Prophet said ( shall I teach you the greatest surah in the Quran before we leave the masjid?) and then they got up to leave and right before they left ubay said "wait you didn't teach me yet" and the Prophet said "it is al-fatiha". Also another hadeeth by abu seed al muallah. how many ayats? 7 is bismillah an ayah? 2 opinions: no, it's not: anas ibn malik said I prayed behind the Prophet, abu bakr, omar, ali and they all started with "alhamdu lillah" but even this opinion says you read it to yourself silently. if you count it out, you most likely end up not counting bismillah. you can easily get 7 ayats without it. yes, it is: imam shafi says it is an ayah. you read it outloud. the evidence is when you divide fatiha you get 6, you add bismillah to make 7. abu hurayra said he used to hear the Prophet recite it outloud and he himself used to do it. (study these two opinions in tafseer ibn katheer). bismillah implies "I begin with" do you pronounce it in prayer? yes or no, there are two opinions. shafi says yes you pronounce it out loud. alhamd the "al" in al-hamd means "all of the hamd" just like "kul al-hamd". al-hamd means to praise with love hard to translate into english. it's different from shukr even though it overlaps. you can thank someone and praise someone for the same action, but you can also be thankful in your actions and hamd is only in tongue. Sometimes hamd is more general and sometimes shukr is more general. Some people say alhamd has to be praise with love and with "glorifying". lillah you say "li Allah" because it limits the praise to Allah.. so all praises only to Allah. the li is exclusive so it's like tawheed. rab al-alamin. rab means lord but it's not really accurate. If you refer to yourslef as rab that is shirk. you have to associate you being rab with someone.. I am the rab of this car for example. alamin is plural it means all of everything to reflect the greatness of Allah. arahman arahim why are we mentioning this again. we just mentioned that God is all powerful and the owner and then we reiterate that he is merciful. as if to say God is the owner but dont worry he is merciful. malik yaum ad-din two qira'a malik (king) and maalik (owner). why mention it here? even though Allah is the owner or king, and there are other kings, on the day of Judgement, Allah is the only one who can say they are king.
eeyaka na3bodu wa eeyaka nastaeen. only you do we worship and only you we ask for help. they say that this ayah "only you do we worship" is the essence of tawheed al-uloohiya. ehdina sirat al-mustaqeem. two types of hidaya. 1) hidaya al-bayaan. ex. Prophet could show people what' right and wrong but he make people believe 2) hidaya that Allah gives 3) hidaya of instinct. like what birds and animals follow. real hidaya is not just in religious things, it's in al things. when you ask Allah will guide you, he will guide you in all things. what is sirat al-mustaqeem? path of the righteous. also maybe a road in paradise sirat al-ladina an-3amta 3alayhim the way of those upon you have bestowed your grace. ghayr al-maghdhoobi 3alayhim people who earn the anger. wa la ad-dhaaleen nor of those who went astray. difference is dhaaleen is people who didn' know they were going away where as maghdhoobi alaihim is people who know the truth but are arrogant.
3-4-06 First test 3-11-06 Recitations The Prophet (saw) recited all of the qira’a How many are there? 10 different qira’a. some said 7 because it was thought that there was 7 until the time of imam ibn aljazari (d.833H) who tracked all the chains of narrators. He completed the 10 qira’a by following the chains. - remember that all 10 qira’a are mutawatir. - remember when the Quran was first compiled (Abu Bakr asked zaid ibn thabit to put the writings of Quran into one book. We talked about this process.. he asked for witnesses. In the time of Othman, he made 6 or 7, diff of opinion, copies of the book of abu bakr.), people were not prohibited from writing the Quran differently, but during the time of Othman, he wanted to recite the ummah under one Quran. How did the Qira’a evolve? - during the time of the Messenger, these qira’a were not extracted separately. - The Prophet used to recite with all of them, how? During the time of abu bakr, omar, Othman, and ali, there was no significant change. Muslims must believe that the prophet revealed the qira’a. Hadith, sahih al bukhari, omar was praying behind one of the companions (hisham ibn hakim) who recited surah al furqan, but his recitation was different. Omar knows the surah but he heard it differently. He was about to jump over right in the middle of prayer but he waited until after the prayer. Then Omar dragged the guy to the Prophet who said “what? Let him go” - ubay ibn kaab used to have doubts until the Prophet clarified. Mutawatir qira’a – 3 conditions: 1. acceptable linguistically. We know the arabs were from different tribes so sometimes they say things differently. Doesn’t have to be acceptable to the majority of tribes or anything. 2. has to be accommodated in the othmani script. 3. has to be multiply narrated.
- imam ibn aljaziry (d.833H) if any condition is missing, the qira’a is not mutawatir. What are the 10 qira’a? 4 in Kufa – importance during the time of Ali. The khalipha was in kufa so the knowledge went to there also so medina lost its importance. - Asim D. 127. This is what we read today. Hafs al-Asim - Hamza D.156 - al-Kisaie D.189 (means clothing because he used to go for hajj a lot) - khalaf D.229 (one of the students of hamza, but then he took the qira’a separately) 1 in Mecca – AbdAllah ibn kathir al-mekki. D.120H. 2 in Medina. Abu jafar D.130 and nafia D.169 (he was also the student of abu jafar) 2 in Basra. Yaqub D.205. Abu Amr D.154. (he wrote a very famous book on it. The manuscript is still around) 1 in Damascus. Ibn Amir D.118 Out of these 10, all are except abu jafar yaqub and khalaf. Qira’a Asim told shuba I taught you what I took from zil ibn hubaish who took it from Ali ibn abi talib. Asim told hafs I taught you what I took from abu abdur rahman as-sulami who took it from Othman ibn affan Qira’a Nafi Ibn katheer Ibn amir Abu amir Asim Hamza Alkisaie Abu Jafar Yaqub Khalaf recitor #1 qalun al bazzi hisham adduri Shuba Khalaf Adduri ibn Jammaz Rawh Idrees recitor #2 warsh qunbul ibn thakwan assusi hafs Khallad Abul harith ibn Wardan Ruwais ishaq
4 more qira’a (these are not mutawatir) Ibn muhaisin Al-hassan al basri Al amash Al yazeedi Examples
3-12-06 lengthy discussion of sheikh’s ijaza. Imam shatibi was born blind. He wrote a poem teaching people the qira’a and stuff… In his biography, it’s said he saw the Prophet in his dream who said whoever memorizes this poem will enter paradise. Also, he used to sit in the masjid and people would correct their books of sahih al-bukhari, etc. against his
memory. He would also give people ijaza Quran – whoever came first would read first. Once, the person who came first had janaba and imam shaatabi asked for the second person to go first. The first person was offended until he realized he was junub. When he came back. Imam shaatabi said “let the person who came first now begin.” This is from the mercy of Allah. Benefits of knowing the Qira’t 1. it’s a miracle – how can you accommodate all the qira’a with just changing the script and things like that. 2. Fiqh rulings based on it, expands the tafseer for rulings.
3-18-06 Surat al-Baqara What is significant? It’s the longest. The Prophet said “the one who reads it will be shaded by it on the day of judgment.” Also, the Prophet said “read surah al baqara because shaitan will not be able to enter a house where sura baqara is being recited. It has the longest ayah in the Quran (282). Also, Prophet (saw) said “read sura baqara for there is a blessing in it. If you leave it, there is remorse. Also, the magicians will not be able to overcome it.” It means that sura baqara is a protection. 286 ayahs. So 3 points: it intercedes for you, it protects you, it’s a blessing. Name of the sura = the cow. Why? Well, there is a story of the cow in it, but it’s not completely about the cow. Surah yusuf is all about sura yusuf from beginning to end. So sometimes the sura is named after an incident inside. Who gave this sura the name? The Prophet (saw) gave this sura this name – we just saw the hadith above. He gave all the suras their names (since he named this one, he named the others – that is the majority opinion). Issue – sometimes suras have more than one name ex. Anfaal is also named kitaal (fighting) also isra is sometimes named bani Israel. Does the different name change anything? No. but we believe the Prophet named the suras. Note about qira’a. do you have to recite bismallah at the beginning of each sura? (qira’a hamza regarded the entire quran as one sura so he would end one sura and start the next without reading bismallah) since the qira’a are mutawatir, you can read it with bismallah or without. Beginning: alif lam meem. . ا ل مthese are letters. Several suras begin like this. We call them haruf almuqata. What is the meaning of it? 4 opinions: 1. there is a meaning for it, whether it’s a meaning or name of Allah, or it’s a name of the surah or it’s an indication for the length of the ummah (letters symbolize numbers – one scholar claimed that if I knew when the tablet was recorded, I could tell you when it was lifted). 2. it’s alphabetical letters so there’s no meaning at all. 3. there is a meaning for it for sure, but only Allah knows. 4. we don’t discuss it, Allah knows best. (sheikh agrees with opinion number 2. he’s not saying the letters are irrelevant or have no significance, just that those letters have no meaning – they’re just letters. Sheikh also says that the disbelievers at the time didn’t challenge these letters. Ayah 2. “that’s the book, there is no doubt in it, guidance for those who have piety.” Most translations say “this is the book” but ذلكdhalik in Arabic means that as in far away, and hatha means this. Two ways to recite it. 1) first you recite this is the scripture whereof there’s no doubt. Second, you say “in it, a guidance for the believers” 2) first, that’s the book no doubt in it. Second, a guidance to those who are pious. So basically,
1) This is the scripture no doubt. In it, a guidance
ذلك الكتاب ال رية
2) This is the scripture no doubt in it. A guidance …
ذلك الكتاب ال رية فية
Notice the 3 dots on either side of the “fihi” – فيةthey are called waqf t3aanook .ولف َ َا ُكMeans you تع ن can stop on either side of the word but not both or you have the option to not stop at any of it. What is the fihi refer to? Seems like “the book” but what if someone said the it refers to islam? RULE, in tafseer, whenever you have several names, objects mentioned, the pronoun at the end refers to the last thing mentioned. What do you learn from the phrase “no doubt”? 1) it means that it is from Allah, and that every book written from people has some mistake in it, but not Quran. Human books begin with acknowledgements. Also, it implies obedience by “no doubt”. 2) Also, it means if you read it with “in it is a guidance” that it is certainly a guidance or that it is a undoubtedly a guidance. So the two ways to read the ayah lead to many lessons. 3) means you should have proof for what you say. 3-19-06 Surah baqara v. 3-4. Description of the pious If people are not pious or not willing to get the guidance, they wont get it. How many characters are mentioned 3 for unjust to believers 2 for disbelievers 13 for hypocrites Characteristics of the pious 1 – they believe in the unseen (if everything is seen, what is the wisdom behind belief?) 2 – establish prayer (Allah did not mention that they merely pray, it says “establish the prayer”) 3 – of what we provided them, they spend (says that the miserly person cannot be truly pious) 4 – belief in what was revealed to the Prophet (saw) (“and what was revealed before you” – there were jews at the time of the Prophet who didn‟t accept Mohd because he wasn‟t‟ jewish. So it‟s not enough to just believe in the previous prophets or “all the prophets” because at the time, they didn‟t accept mohd as a prophet) 5 – they are certain in the hereafter (how is “certain” different from “belief”? why doesn‟t Quran say believe in the hereafter. Certainty is stronger than belief in this case. When you are certain of something, you will recognize it in all your actions – your daily actions will reflect this certainty.
""يولنونis the word for certainty here as opposed to ""يؤمنونmeaning to believe.
What are the lessons from this ayah? - It‟s not enough merely to pray. You must be the person who establishes prayer. Perhaps it means do extra prayers, not just obligatory. - they do extra charity. Abu dharr understood that you give away all your money constantly. But most people just think it means you give more than just the zakat. Also, it says from what God has provided you. So you do and give out of what God has given you with. Also, not just charity – it says to spend. Also you don‟t get rewards for spending money that‟s not your own.
Ayah 6. “verily those who disbelieve, it is the same to them whether you warn them or do not warn them, they will not believer.” Does this ayah mean that you don‟t have to work hard in dawah? That everything is predetermined? No, first of all we don‟t know who is a disbeliever and who is not. Some people will disbelieve their entire lives and then believe at the end. Context - When the prophet organized a conference for ahl al kitab, they disbelieved in him as soon as he showed up. Here, it‟s just like consoling the Prophet. Ayah 7. “Allah has set a seal on their hearts and on the hearings, And on their eyes there is a covering. Theirs will be a great punishment.” Usually this is translated as a “torment” but torment implies that they didn‟t deserve it. This is more like punishment, like what a judge sentences a prisoner for. Can the seal be removed? Allah can do what he wants, but generally it‟s considered very hard. The lesson from this ayah is to stay away from sins. This is like the hadith that says when you sin, you get a small black dot on your heart until your heart turns to black and then it is sealed. Or he keeps asking for forgiveness until his heart is shining.” Also, the seal was not put in the beginning, it was put after that person disbelieved – according to their actions.
3-25-06 Page 124 in tafsir ibn kathir Did Allah say “now I‟m going to mention the description of the hypocrites?” No, he didn‟t but instead he described them. Wouldn‟t it have been easier? In the beginning, Allah said the “pious” and then he said “and then there are those who disbeliever” but why not say “and then the hypocrites are so and so”? reasons – it is not obvious, you have to find them. It‟s a sign of the Quran that not everything is clear. How many ayats about the hypocrites? 13 Why not start with them? Aren‟t they more dangerous? Aren‟t they going to be in the lowest part of hell? Well, first you start with what‟s good . good news, guidance, etc. Also, there are 13 ayats so it‟s detailed, difficult. Definition of munafiq: Linguistically,
= نفاقhypocrisy the root is نمثmeans tunnel underground.
Nifaaq, There is an animal in the desert, gerboat, it‟s bigger than a rat. It has one way to enter underground, but two ways to exit out of the ground. Religiously, it means concealing disbelief and showing belief. If you say showing something and believing in another thing, that‟s not religious nifaq since there are hypocritical people. This is specifically people that Allah is describing – the people who say they believe but they do not. It started in medina. In mecca there was nifaaq, there was even the opposite, people used to conceal their belief. All the ayats that discuss nifaaq are medina. Types of Nifaq – two types 1) Hypocrisy in belief – you are not a muslim, you are munafiq. 2) Hypocrisy in action – you are a muslim, but you are doing things that munafiqeen do. Hadith where the Prophet mentions the 3 characteristics – “lying, breaking promises, breaching trust. If you are all 3, you are complete hypocrite.” There‟s another hadith where the Prophet mentions four things. These hadiths are dealing with the second type. Even if you are all these things, you are still Muslim. Ayat 8 “and of mankind there are some who say: We believe in Allah and the last day, while in fact they do not believe.”
We know from this ayah that among the characterterics of the hypocrites is that they do not actually believe in Allah and the Last day. Also, we know that they are not muslim for that reason. Why not call them kuffar then? We don‟t treat them as kuffar. The Prophet did not kill them. Despite this, they will be like kuffar on the day of judgment. (it says “mankind” so maybe there‟s no jinn among the munafiqeen.. Allahu Alim) So among the lessons of ayat 8: - the eloquence of the Quran - saying only is not sufficient without the submission of the heart - the hypocrites are not believers Ayat 9 “they try to deceive Allah and those who believe while they only deceive themselves, and perceive it not” The word is not deceive in both places. The first one means to try to deceive and the second instance means they deceive themselves. Also, they perceive it not? What does that mean – sheikh says it means that they are fools. Lessons: - the nature of the hypocrite - the hypocrites harm themselves the most - caution against the hypocrites – Allah is telling us they deceive so be careful - evil deeds blind your heart. We learn this from “they perceive it not” – this is what happens when you follow the footsteps of the shaitan. You don‟t see the reality of the situation. Ayat 10 “In their hearts is a disease and Allah has increased their disease. A painful punishment is theirs because they used to tell lies.” Means disease of the heart. Also we cannot look into the heart, only Allah can. So why is Allah even telling us about all this? Also, what about Allah increasing their disease. If you love your son, would you increase their disease? Allah is more merciful than a mother to her child. Allah is giving people what they want . hadith – Allah says “I am as my servant thinks of me”. So if you want Allah‟s mercy, you get it. If you want to disbelieve in Allah, then Allah increases you in it. Also, marad means disease, when you don‟t have anything after it, it means a serious disease. Means it‟s difficult to cure. Lessons: - The disease of the hypocrites is chronic. How do we know this? Because Allah increased it. - Fear of Sins. The hypocrites started with a sin. Since they insisted on it, Allah kept them on it. - Allah is the just. They wanted to remain in hypocrisy so Allah gave them what they wanted. - The punishment that‟s waiting the hypocrites on the day of judgment. - Lying is a great sin. We learn this from seeing how lying is attached to a painful punishment. Sheikh also said that most people are somehow guilty of the minor type of nifaaq. And then he used riya in salat as an example of minor nifaq.
3-26-06 Start at 4:25 of the recording.
4-1-06 Page 150-169.
Ayah 23-24 “and if you are in doubt concerning that which we have sent down to Our servant then produce a Surah the like thereof and call upon your witneses if you are thruthful. Sheikh highlights “doubt” – there are two words for it. often fearful about truth and this is the basis of their doubt.
= شكdoubt and = ريةdoubt with fear. Disbelievers are
The story of utbah where he came to the Prophet (saw) and said “we want you to xyz stop this and stop that. The Prophet asked him “are you finished” he said “yes” then he continued.” what happened was utbah was that he was scared and just rambled a lot. It shows that his doubt exists in an element of fear. Allah refers to the Prophet (saw) as “our servant” because the highest level of ibaada makes you a servant. We also learn that he‟s a slave of Allah, not something to be worshipped. The main issue though is the challenge. Bring one surah. This is medinana, in Mecca in surah Isra, Allah asked them to produce the entire Quran and said if man and jinn got together they couldn‟t do it. Then 10 surahs, then one ayah, etc. “but if you do not and you can never do it, then fear the Fire whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for disbelievers” Shows that hell is real, hellfire is already prepared, that the fire is unlike anything we have never seen on earth. Why did God already make hell fire is he is merciful? To warn us with something. Hell fire is real because here it says that it is already prepared. Also, the Prophet (saw) saw the hellfire during miraj. Notice also that Allah says that hellfire is prepared for the disbelievers. Who are the disbelievers in this situation? Those who disbelieve in the Quran so Jews and Christians. This is a clear proof that the Jews and the Christians of today are disbelievers. Is it fair to punish people forever? Someone who lived 70 years, etc. can be punished forever? Allah says that those who would go on to live if they were given a second chance, they would do the same thing. Ayah 25. “and give glad tidings to those who believe and do righteous good deeds, that for them will be Gardens under which rivers flow. [26] every time they wll be provided with a fruit thereof, they will say: “this is what we were provided with before” [27] and they will be given things in resemblance. [28] and they shall have therein purified spouses. And they will abide therein forever. This is the nature of jannah. If we only think about hellfire, we‟ll stress. If we know that our exam is tomorrow for $200 bucks, we‟ll go study. We should prepare for Day of judgment. This ayah is hope and encouragement. The previous ones were punishment. “this is what we provided with before and they wll be given things in resemblance” – two interpretations of it in the book.
4-02-06 Parables of the Quran Pages 169-179 This is a separate science of the Quran. The benefits of parables is so that we understand and it shows the mercy of Allah.
Surah ibrahim, 14:25 and also in 59:12 “so that they may learn in general.”. the purpose is to give you a better purpose, understanding of the Quran for the believers and also the disbelievers. Baqarah ayah 26&27 “verily Allah is not ashamed to set forth a parable even of a mosquito or so much more when it is bigger or less when it‟s smaller than it. Here, Allah uses the parable of a mosquito. Elsewhere, Allah gives the parable of a fly (these others that you worship, they cannot create a fly) – there is also a whoel surah based on a spider. There is also the bee and the ant. Also, fama qawfaha means bigger or smaller than it – the underlined part. Why does Allah mention the mosquito? The reason for revelation. The kuffar in Mecca used to say “what are all these insects mentioned? This is supposed to be the book of Allah. Here in what is likely a medina revelation, God is saying, it matters little what examples are used, it is the message that counts. Also, God mentioned the fly in the Quran “22:73” And also God mentions the spider in Quran as having a flimsy house. The word Mosque comes from “mosquito” because the Spanish used to call masjids mosquitos and say “we‟re going to smash the mosquitos” so sheikh doesn‟t like that word mosque – he prefers masjid. Additionally, the mosquito is something so small and so insignificant that you don‟t even feel it when it touches you, yet it can leave a lot of pain once it‟s gone and it can even kill with malaria. So don‟t‟ have pride. “and as for those who believe, they know that it is from the truth from the lord but as for those who disbelieve, they say: what did Allah intend by this parable?” ”by it he misleads many, and many he guides thereby.” Does Allah really mislead people? That‟s not really fair if he does.. the key is “by it” people are misleaded. Here, Allah mentions the Fasiqoon. The seed form the date, when it‟s pulled out, it‟s called fisq.
Lessons. 1 – Allah misguides the disbelievers due to his own rejection. 2 – The nature of the disbeliever 3 – the mosquito
Ayah 27. There‟s an indication that Allah is describing the losers in Islam. Perhaps the fasiqoon, but there‟s also an indication that it might be the munafiqoon. You can see it says they broke the covenant and then spread mischief in the world.
Missing notes from 4-8-06 (no recording either) 4-9-06 Ayah 37: “Then Adam received from his Lord Words. And his Lord pardoned him. Verily, He is the One who forgives, the Most Merciful.” Adam asked for forgiveness in sura araf. Note it says please forgive “us” and “we” wrong ourselves showing it was not just eve, they both sinned. We learn from this aya, Allah‟s mercy. Allah gave them the words and pardoned them from those words.
it is said that Adam did not raise his head for four years because of this sin.
Ayah 38 & 39: “We said: get down all of you from this place, then whenever there comes to you guidance from Me, and whoever follows My guidance, there shall be no fear on them, nor shall they grieve.” What is the homeland of the believer? Paradise, according to ibn al qayyum. “but those who disbeliever and belie our Ayat, such are the dwellers of the fire. They shall abide therein forever.” Note the contrast, you use both carrot and stick Aya 40 “oh Children of Israel, remember my favor which I bestoed to you and fulfill my covenant and fear me and fear me alone” Who is children of Israel? Children of Jacob. Why yaqub? Because he is the father of the 12 tribes of Israel. The 12 asbaat. Is it permissible to name your child Israel? Yes. You should not curse the word Israel, God used this word in the Quran. What‟s the favor of Allah upon them? And covenant – this is in sura baqara. They are all mentioned in sura baqara.
Ayah 41 “And believe in what I have sent down (this Qur'ân), confirming that which is with you, and be not the first to disbelieve therein, and buy not with My Verses [the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] a small price (i.e. getting a small gain by selling My Verses), and fear Me and Me Alone.” What do you mean by what was sent down? It‟s talking about the torah – the Quran is a confirmation for it and this is proof of it. Be not the first to disbelieve? What does that mean? Didn‟t people already disbelieve. “and mix not truth with falsehood” – like when the the adulterers were judged by the tora. “and perform prayer and pay zakat and bow down along with the raki‟n” – some scholars took from this that salat in juma is required. Even though this is a speech for the bani Israel, it still applies to muslims.. muslims cannot say it‟s ok to mix truth with falsehood since this applies to jews. Ayah 44. “enjoy you al birr on the people and you forget yourselves, while you recite the scripture. Have you no sense?” Al birr (every act of obedience). We learn this word in verse 177 “it is not righteousness that you turn your faces towards east and west…” Read hadith muawiya about the person in hellfire that did not benefit from what he used to call people to. Does this mean you just don‟t tell people to avoid bad things because you do them? No, you try your best to avoid things and stop your bad habits. You don‟t conceal your own bad things and think it‟s ok for you while you advise
people against these things. Hasan al basri was asked to give a speech on the superiority of freeing a slave. He waited one whole year to do it and when the man asked him why he said “ I didn‟t want to call people to something that I did not myself do.”
4-15-06, 4-16-06 = test
4-22 Covering ayahs 45-59 (pages 215-243 in ibn katheer)
Ayah 45&46
45. Nay, seek ((Allah)'s) help with patient perseverance and prayer: it is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit,46. Who bear In mind the certainty that They are to meet their Lord, and that They are to return to Him.
This ayah is in the context of bani Israel. Allah is telling you to seek help through prayer and fasting. Some scholars say that “sabr” here means patience. The command here is directed originally towards the children of Israel, so does it only apply to jews? No, the ruling is general. For example, if a ruling was revealed to the Prophet (saw) does the meaning only apply to him and not to us? No. Same for this. Also, notice that 46 uses the word certainty. Remember the context of certainty in the beginning of sura bakarah. We learn from this ayah the virtues of salat and from patience. The Prophet used to practice this – whenever he had difficulty, he used to be patient and pray.
Ayah 47.
47. Children of Israel! call to mind the (special) favour which I bestowed upon you, and that I preferred you to all other (for My Message). Imagine if a jew comes to you and says “your book says my people are preferred over all people.” How do you respond – Allah says in another ayah “you are the best nation that has been brought forth and produced in mankind.” – also in another ayah “indeed, religion is Islam in the eyes of Allah.” So from this ayah, we understand that bani Israel was preferred at their time over the other nations of their time. This ayah is like the one about maryam where they said she was preferred to all woman - does not mean all time, it means for her time.
48. Then guard yourselves against a Day when one soul shall not avail another nor shall intercession be accepted for him, nor shall compensation be taken from him, nor shall anyone be helped (from outside). The ayahs preceding this were leading to this – the bani Israel are supposed to follow Mohd (saw). Also, nobody can be held responsible for your sins. It says nobody will avail another and no intercession will be accepted.
49. And remember, we delivered you from the people of Pharaoh: They set you hard tasks and punishments, slaughtered your sons and let your women-folk live; therein was a tremendous trial from your Lord. Pharoah was like Hitler – he used to kill lots of jews. It‟s not just pharaoh either, it‟s the people of pharaoh – notice the ayah. Why did pharaoh kill the man and spare the women? The dream where he saw moses and that the savior would come from the sons of Egypt so pharaoh killed all the sons. Pharoah enslaved the women. Not just any trial, it‟s a mighty trial.
50. And remember we divided the sea for you and saved you and drowned Pharaoh's people within your very sight. How many blessings from Allah in this ayah? 1) separating the sea. The people said “we will be caught” 2) they were saved 3) pharoah‟s people were drowned 4) and you saw it. Seeing it is a blessing for the oppressed to know that the oppressor is gone. In just this short ayah, 4 blessings from Allah. Yet these people did not believe.
51. And remember we appointed forty nights for Moses, and In His absence ye took the calf (for worship), and ye did grievous wrong. 52. Even then we did forgive you; there was a chance for you to be grateful. 53. And remember we gave Moses the Scripture and the Criterion (Between right and wrong): there was a chance for you to be guided aright.
On ayah 51 – Allah appointed 40 days for moses to meet Allah and receive the Torah. This is in itself another blessing, then they worshipped the calf – ingratitude. On ayah 52 – despite the shirk, Allah still forgave them. This is another blessing.
54. And remember Moses said to His people: "O My people! ye have indeed wronged yourselves by your worship of the calf: so turn (in repentance) to your Maker, and slay yourselves (the wrong-doers); that will be better for you In the sight of your Maker." then He turned towards you (in forgiveness): for He is Oft- Returning, Most Merciful. Shows the severity of their actions – the repentance of shirk for these people was to kill each other. This isn‟t in sequence in the Quran, first it says they worshipped the calf and then they were forgiven, and then later, here, it says under what circumstances they were forgiven. They had to kill each other. There is a minority opinion that only the mushriks had to be killed. The majority opinion is that all the people had to be killed. Question – was the women and children killed? The Prophet, etc. – the sheikh says he doesn‟t know -
just means kill yourselves. Not all
of them were killed. Musa asked for the killing to stop and so it did. Also you learn that any sin can be forgiven so long as the repentance is there. Do we have to do specific things to repent? If there is a specific evidence. Also, remember that the punishments were harder on them.
55. And remember ye said: "O Moses! we shall never believe In Thee until we see Allah manifestly," but ye were dazed with thunder and lighting Even As ye looked on. 56. Then we raised you up after your death: ye had the chance to be grateful. So despite all these things that Allah did for them, they still said they want to see Allah or they wont believer. This was after they were saved from pharaoh, after the sea was split, etc. Notice, they don‟t address Musa (saw) respectufully. They say “oh Musa” instead of “rasul” or “nabi” and no “alay salam.” Shows the rudeness of these people. Despite all this, God forgave them. Finally, they were raised. On ayah 56, some say they literally all died and they were raised up.
57. And we gave you the shade of clouds and sent down to you Manna and quails, saying: "Eat of the good things we have provided for you:" (But They rebelled); to us They did no harm, but They harmed their own souls. Shade is another blessing. We might not think of it this way in these days because we always seem to have some shade. But think about sitting in the hot sun of the desert for six hours with no shade. There is a difference of opinion over al-mann. Some people say it is sweet deserts. They ate of these things and they rebelled.
4-29-06
58. And remember we said: "Enter This town, and eat of the plenty therein As ye wish; but enter the gate with humility, In posture and In words, and we shall forgive you your faults and increase (the portion of) those who do good." 59. But the transgressors changed the word from that which had been given them; so we sent on the transgressors a plague from heaven, for that They infringed (Our command) repeatedly. What town is “this town”? Jerusalem according to ibn kathir and sheikh says this is the right opinion. When did Allah tell them to enter Jerusalem and eat bountifully? After they had been saved from Pharoah. Where do we get details of the jews entering Jerusalem? In sura maidah (remember sura taha is about the cave). Ibn kathir mentions other punishments and other details. Also, they were rebellious: - they did not want to enter the city – they said to Musa “you and your Lord, you go fight.” - Then when they entered, they did not obey Allah. Allah told to enter prostrating” but they entered on their backs - Also, Allah told them to enter asking for forgiveness, which is said “hit‟a” but they said “hint‟a” which means “my seeds”
Ayat 60 Miracle of musa notes from kathir? Eat and drink what? Anwa musala . the food Allah provided for them to eat and drink Ayat 61.
61. And remember ye said: "O Moses! we cannot endure one kind of food (always); so beseech Thy Lord for us to produce for us of what the earth groweth, -its pot-herbs, and cucumbers, its garlic, lentils, and onions." He said: "Will ye exchange the better for the worse? go ye down to any town, and ye shall find what ye want!" They were covered with humiliation and misery; They drew on themselves the wrath of Allah. This because They went on rejecting the Signs of Allah and slaying His Messengers without just cause. This because They rebelled and went on transgressing. There is some difference of opinion over the word “garlic” it could be “foom” or “toom” which could be garlic or something else, but it doesn‟t matter. Look at how they talk to their messenger. “O Musa” instead of “Oh Mesenger” or “oh Prophet” Their punishment – humiliation and misery, etc. “killed their prophets” – while the English says past-tense, the Arabic is in the present. “they kill their prophets.” Why is it written in the present tense? Alah is aysing that it is their nature to disbelieve and kill the prophets. That even if there was a prophet today, they would kill him. Also, it is a sign that they would try to kill the Prophet (saw) and they did try 3 times to kill him until he was finally poisoned by jews. Ayah 62. The people before Islam 62. Those who believe (in the Qur'an), and those who follow the Jewish (scriptures), and the Christians and the Sabians,- any who believe In Allah and the Last Day, and work righteousness, shall have their reward with their Lord; on them shall be no fear, nor shall They grieve. How do you respond to this when people say there is salvation for the non-muslims? The prophet (saw) said “verily in whose hand my soul is, nobody who believes in me whether Jew or Christian and then disbelieves is in Hellfire.” Sahih Muslim. Salman al-Farsi asked the Prophet (saw) about the people that came before Islam and the Prophet (saw) answered with this ayah.
Ayah 63. 63. And remember we took your Covenant and we raised above you (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai) : (Saying): "Hold firmly to what we have given you and bring (ever) to remembrance what is therein: Perchance ye may fear Allah."
64. But ye turned back thereafter: had it not been for the Grace and Mercy of Allah to you, ye had surely been among the lost.
Story of the cow: How did the story of the cow start? There was a murder and the people came to Musa and asked him how to found out who did the murder. Where do we get these details? The next ayah says “and remember when you killed.” Musa responds to them “verily Allah has commanded you to slaughter a cow?” and they responded “do you make fun of us?” – is this any way to speak to a messenger? Then they said “call upon YOUR Lord for us that he may make plain to us what it is.” – this is not an appropriate question. Should say call upon our lord. Shows their ingratitude. He said: “He said – means Musa said, Allah said.
Yellow cow? Is there any yellow cow? Close but not really. Read what ibn kathir says about a yellow cow. “Verily to us all cows are alike.” This is stupidity – if all cows are alike then why argue. Why ask to make it clear if cows are really all alike to you. You want its color, now you want the different specifics for what? The worst person in the sight of Allah is the one who asks and something is made haram because of his question. Like the person who asked about hajj whether it was every year. The Prophet (saw) said nothing and the man asked again x3. Finally, the Prophet said “no, but if I had said yes, it would be obligatory and you would never be able to do it.” Musa responds to them “he says it is a cow neither trained to till the earth nor water the fields, sound, having no blemish in it.” They said “now you have brought the truth.” So they slaughtered it though they were near to not doing it. They were commanded to strike the boy with a part of the cow – what part? It doesn‟t say because it‟s not important – the lesson is learning that Allah can resurrect. They used to worship a golden calf. This is a lesson from that. Allah says “they killed” - did they all kill ? no, but if you let the injustice happen, you are responsible for it. Need to know the details of this story – we learna lot of lessons from it.
Ayat 74. 74. Thenceforth were your hearts hardened: They became like a rock and Even worse In hardness. for among rocks there are some from which rivers gush forth; others there are which when split asunder send forth water; and others which sink for fear of Allah. and Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.
Why did the hearts harden? This is like the total opposite of what should happen – it should becomes soft. The hearts become like stones. Why does Allah talk about stones that rivers gush forth from? Some stones are useful whereas the hard hearts are not. And there are stones that sink for fear of Allah. So you see, stones are not “bad” as the stones all glorify Allah, yet the hard hearts are like stones. Why does Allah end with “Allah is mindful of what you do?” – because
Ayah 75 Does this mean not to give dawah? That we should be like dont convert the people that will toy with the religion? No, this was sent to comfort the messenger (saw). Ayah 76 What does it mean? What do they say to each other? – well they used to say they believe in the messenger but they did not say he is the messenger for all mankind – they say he is a messenger for for your ummah. So when they were together, they would say to conceal what is in the torah about mohd because if they showed them, it would be clear they coudlnt‟ be jews anymore. You learn three things: 1) they knew mohd was a messenger 2) the description of mohd was in the torah 3) it‟s not enough to say “you believe” – there has to be more than that.
Ayah 77 And Allah knows what they conceal. – fitting. Ayah 78. And then there are some who have no knowledge but they trust on false desires. Another meaning of emaani, “false desires” means dictation. Ayat 79 “woe to those that write the book with their own hands” – it means the torah is not preserved and it means that there is a grave punishment. Ayah 80 “the fire shall not touch us but for a few numbered days.” – this is still unbearable. It‟s too much. Remember, one day in hellfire is like one thousand years of this life. The DOJ is 50k years. Hadith “The poor immigrants will enter heaven 500 years before the rich ones.” When asked why, he said “because the rich ones have money that they will be asked about.” Also, how do they know, do they have a contract with Allah.? Ayah 81 & 82. Balance, etc.
4-30-06 Tabish‟s notes
04/30/06 Sunday Tafseer
Ayah 83:
83. And remember we took a Covenant from the Children of Israel (to This effect): worship none but Allah. treat with kindness your parents and kindred, and orphans and those In need; speak fair to the people; be steadfast In prayer; and practise regular charity. then did ye turn back, except a few among you, and ye backslide (even now).
Salah was prescribed in the 10th year of Dawah. Zakah & Siam in same year in the second year of Hijrah. This Ayah tells even Children of Israel had to pay zakah. Also Salah was ordained on children of Israel per Musa‟s conversation with Muhammad SAW on Mairaj. Only a few of them used to pray.
Ayah 84-85:
84. And remember we took your Covenant (to This effect): shed no blood amongst you, nor turn out your own people from your homes: and This ye solemnly ratified, and to This ye can bear witness. 85. After This it is ye, the same people, who slay among yourselves, and banish a party of you from their homes; assist (Their enemies) against them, In guilt and rancour; and if They come to you As captives, ye ransom them, though it was not lawful for you to banish them. then is it only a part of the Book that ye believe in, and do ye reject the rest? but what is the reward for those among you who behave like This but disgrace In This life?- and on the Day of Judgment They shall be consigned to the Most grievous penalty. for Allah is not unmindful of what ye do.
Children of Israel did not fulfill the covenants. The covenant here was also given through Muhammad SAW on his last Khutbah – „that you will regard the blood of your brother as sacred‟. Here, Children of Israel were also witness to this covenant. So they knew exactly what they were doing. But they killed one another – this is referring to the Jews of Medina here. The Aws and Khazraj used to fight, and third tribe used to take one side. Allah SWT is reminding them here that they should keep their covenant. Also they used to ransom the captives. Their covenant was not to fight amongst themselves (Jews), but rather they would fight and then free the prisoners with ransom. So they took the part they wanted to fulfill and left the rest. That‟s what Allah SWT is referring to here. Does this Ayah apply to Muslims? YES! Many Muslims
are doing the same thing these days. They fight among themselves, take from religion what they like and leave what they don‟t. This Ayah is a clear warning against them as well.
Possible oral exam question: 10 things that children of Israel disobeyed Allah SAW on.
86. These are the people who buy the life of This world at the price of the Hereafter: their penalty shall not be lightened nor shall They be helped.
The punishment will not be lightened means they will have punishment for eternity. So this Ayah doesn‟t apply to Muslims, as they will eventually come out of hellfire (if they go in there) when their due punishment is completed. Also this Ayah means the Allah‟s punishment will be at different levels for different people.
87. We gave Moses the Book and followed Him up with a succession of apostles; we gave Jesus the son of Mary Clear (Signs) and strengthened Him with the holy spirit. is it that whenever there comes to you an apostle with what ye yourselves desire not, ye are puffed up with pride?- some ye called impostors, and others ye slay!
If you follow your desires, you are in trouble. You have clear messenger yet you disbelieved, disbelieving in one messenger is as if disbelieving in all of them.
88. They say, "Our hearts are the wrappings (which preserve Allah.s Word: we need no more)." Nay, Allah.s curse is on them for their blasphemy: Little is it They believe.
Go back and check Katheer on differences between stamping, sealing and screening pf the heart.
89. And when there comes to them a Book from Allah, confirming what is with them,- although from of old They had prayed for victory against those without Faith,- when there comes to them that which They (should) have recognised, They refuse to believe In it but the curse of Allah is on those without Faith.
Jews are disbelievers per this Ayah of Quran, as the context is Jews. Here book refers to Quran, confirming that which is in Taurah. The later part of Ayah refers to Aws and Khazraj Jews of Medina, they used to fight among themselves. Aws and Khazraj were in fact waiting for a messenger, yet they didn‟t believe in Muhammad‟s message.
90. Miserable is the price for which They have sold their souls, In that They deny (the revelation) which Allah has sent down, In insolent envy that Allah of His Grace should send it to any of His servants He pleases: Thus have They drawn on themselves wrath upon Wrath. and humiliating is the punishment of those who reject Faith.
How did they sell their souls? They kept themselves in their positions and status (they were getting money and fame for it), not following what messenger came with. They purchased the status in this life at the expense of hellfire. They wanted to keep their positions and status while not believing in the message of Muhammad SAW. It was as if they were saying (in pride) that the revelation should be sent to one of them rather than Muhammad SAW. The wrath upon wrath is first they disbelieved, the second wrath is why they disbelieved (because they denied after clear signs came to them).
91. When it is said to them, "Believe In what Allah hath sent down, "they say, "We believe In what was sent down to us:" yet They reject all besides, Even if it be truth confirming what is with them. say: "Why then have ye slain the prophets of Allah In times gone by, if ye did indeed believe?" 92. There came to you Moses with Clear (Signs); yet ye worshipped the calf (Even) after that, and ye did behave wrongfully.
93. And remember we took your Covenant and we raised above you (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai): (Saying): "Hold firmly to what we have given you, and hearken (to the Law)": They said:" we hear, and we disobey:" and They had to drink into their hearts (of the taint) of the calf because of their Faithlessness. say: "Vile indeed are the behests of your Faith if ye have any faith!"
Covenant is worshipping Allah alone, enjoining good, forbidding evil etc. The mountain is Toor in Sina (desert area). It was raised above their heads (Surah Araf last 4 pages – mountain was
lifted over their heads like an umbrella). Holding to the belief is a reminder here. They said “we hear and disobey”. They absorbed the love and worship of a calf. Allah said, “worst indeed is that which your faith enjoins on you if you are the believers”. They had some belief, but the Ayah indicates complete belief is necessary.
94. Say: "If the Last Home, with Allah, be for you specially, and not for anyone else, then seek ye for death, if ye are sincere."
Jews said they were the chosen people for paradise. Allah says, if you are chosen, then long for death, but they are not sincere in longing for death, ie they don‟t like to die (see # 95). This Ayah was a challenge to the Jews.
95. But They will never seek for death, on account of the (sins) which their hands have sent on before them. and Allah is well-acquainted with the wrong-doers.
96. Thou wilt indeed find them, of all people, Most greedy of life,-even more than the idolaters: Each one of them wishes He could be given a life of a thousand years: but the grant of such life will not save Him from (due) punishment. for Allah sees well all that They do.
The Jew disbelievers are greedier than idolators. They are of the greediest people for life. They wish they could be given a life of thousand years. But then they would still die and face Allah‟s punishment. Disobeying Allah will not save you. Per this Ayah, no one lived more than 1000 years. This is a lesson for us as well, do not postpone or delay anything in religion‟s practice.
97. Say: Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel-for He brings down the (revelation) to Thy heart by Allah.s will, a confirmation of what went before, and guidance and glad tidings for those who believe,98. Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and apostles, to Gabriel and Michael,- Lo! Allah is an enemy to those who reject Faith.
Allah told messenger SAW to tell the jews. Why is Gibriel an enemy to Jews. Because he brought the message to Muhammad SAW. Gibriel didn‟t bring Quran by himself, he didn‟t make
up anything, it was brought down by Allah‟s permission. Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers whoever disbelieves in Gibriel and apostles
Omar‟s notes: Ayah 89
89. And when there comes to them a Book from Allah, confirming what is with them,- although from of old They had prayed for victory against those without Faith,- when there comes to them that which They (should) have recognised, They refuse to believe In it but the curse of Allah is on those without Faith.
Are the jews believers or not? No, it‟s right here in the Quran, let the curse of Allah be on the disbelievers. When it comes to them a book – they mean quran. Confirming what is with them, Torah. They invoked Allah to get victory over al-aws and al-khazraj (the jews used to threated the other side by saying a messenger will come and we will kill you. This is why al-aws and al-khazraj accepted the Prophet (saw) because the jews had told them a prophet was coming.)
90. Miserable is the price for which They have sold their souls, In that They deny (the revelation) which Allah has sent down, In insolent envy that Allah of His Grace should send it to any of His servants He pleases: Thus have They drawn on themselves wrath upon Wrath. and humiliating is the punishment of those who reject Faith.
Did they literally sell their souls in a marketplace? They kept their status as jews in order to disbelieve. In another ayah “indeed Allah has purchased the souls of the disbelievers.” – So It‟s as if they traded heaven in order to keep their status. The envy stems from the idea that the revelation should be sent to a jew instead of “any servant He pleases.” So they got wrath upon wrath. 2 things, first they disbelieved, then it‟s as if they told Allah “hey this isn‟t right.”
91. When it is said to them, "Believe In what Allah hath sent down, "they say, "We believe In what was sent down to us:" yet They reject all besides, Even if it be truth confirming what is with them. say: "Why then have ye slain the prophets of Allah In times gone by, if ye did indeed believe?" 92. There came to you Moses with Clear (Signs); yet ye worshipped the calf (Even) after that, and ye did behave wrongfully.
What are the clear proofs musa came with? The rod turning into a snake, saving the jews, the story of the cow, many many signs.
93. And remember we took your Covenant and we raised above you (the towering height) of Mount (Sinai): (Saying): "Hold firmly to what we have given you, and hearken (to the Law)": They said:" we hear, and we disobey:" and They had to drink into their hearts (of the taint) of the calf because of their Faithlessness. say: "Vile indeed are the behests of your Faith if ye have any faith!" What covenant? Many kinds of things, pray, be good to your family. What mountain? The mountain of toor in the area of Sinai, the mount itself is not called Sinai. What happened here? In Sura araf in the last four pages. , the mountain was lifted over their heads like an umbrella. Despite all the signs, they still disbelieved. Their hearts “absorbed” the calf. Means they love and worship it. Their hearts absorb – this is the highest level of worship. (this is why Allah chose for them a cow to slaughter). “Worst indeed is that which you believe even if you are disbelievers” this is because they said Mohd was the messenger of the unlettered, so this is some kind of belief.
94. Say: "If the Last Home, with Allah, be for you specially, and not for anyone else, then seek ye for death, if ye are sincere." 95. But They will never seek for death, on account of the (sins) which their hands have sent on before them. and Allah is well-acquainted with the wrong-doers.
Do jews rush to death? They should want to die if they really think they are the chosen ones. Same with Christians who think their salvation is guaranteed. Muslims want to die shaheed because they know what is waiting for them.
96. Thou wilt indeed find them, of all people, Most greedy of life,-even more than the idolaters: Each one of them wishes He could be given a life of a thousand years: but the grant of such life will not save Him from (due) punishment. for Allah sees well all that They do. Greediest for life means a few possible things depending on where you stop. Does it mean greedier than idolaters? They wish they could be given a life of 1000 years. This is kind of natural. Even when the angel of death came to musa and offered him to live as many years as the hairs on the back of a donkey, but then wanted to die right away since he was going to die anyway. According to this, 1000 years is the longest someone can live, and Adam was 940 years (40 given to dawood or something) and Nuh was more than 950 years but we don‟t say he lived more than 1000. Also, the shia are wrong who say their imam has been alive more than 1200 years. So don‟t postpone or delay things – no matter how long you live, you will meet Allah.
97. Say: Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel-for He brings down the (revelation) to Thy heart by Allah.s will, a confirmation of what went before, and guidance and glad tidings for those who believe,98. Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and apostles, to Gabriel and Michael,- Lo! Allah is an enemy to those who reject Faith. Allah is telling Mohd to tell the jews “whoever is an enemy to gibreel” – why gibreel? One opinion is that they said gibreel is their enemy since the Prophethood was sent to Mohd. Antoher is that because the punishment was sent down from gibreel. Another ayah that says that the Quran is just to confirm what was in the Torah.
5-6-06
05/06/06 Saturday Tafseer The story of Harout & Marout Ayah 101-102
101. And when there came to them an apostle from Allah, confirming what was with them, a party of the people of the Book threw away the Book of Allah behind their backs, As if (it had been something) They did not know! 102. They followed what the evil ones gave out (falsely) against the power of Solomon: the blasphemers Were, not Solomon, but the evil ones, teaching men Magic, and such things As came down at babylon to the angels Harut and Marut. but neither of these taught anyone (Such things) without saying: "We are only for trial; so do not blaspheme." They learned from them the means to sow discord between man and wife. but They could not Thus harm anyone except by Allah.s permission. and They learned what harmed them, not what profited them. and They knew that the buyers of (magic) would have no share In the happiness of the Hereafter. and vile was the price for which They did sell their souls, if They but knew!
Which Messenger here? Muhammad SAW. Allah SWT is talking about the jews that the jews threw away the book. Scholars derived from this Ayah that whoever did magic is a disbeliever. Shaytan teaches men magic. Why Solomon mentioned here, saying that Solomon disbelieved not, shaytan disbelieved? Solomon was given a kingdom that no one else was given. Jews believed he was a king and dealt with magic. Some jews said he was a prophet, but many said he was merely a king. Muhammad was sent to correct the jews in this belief. Shaytan used to spy in heaven and come down to earth with changed news, and with magic. When Solomon came, he prevented all that. Jews related Solomon to magic, that‟s why Solomon is mentioned here. Allah SWT declared Solomon‟s innocence, saying that Shaytan did magic, not Solomon. Then Harout and Marout are mentioned. Were angels commanded by Allah SWT to teach people magic? NO. Allah SWT sent down the angels to teach them the desires of human beings, be like them (because they had asked). So the angels were sent down as two humans and they were taught magic. One story mentions they disobeyed Allah after they were given the desires of humans. Allah asked them if they accepted punishment in the Hereafter or in the world, they chose the latter. So they were punished in this world, and they will be punished until the DOJ. Allaho-Alam. Through magic, they could influence a man and his wife. So we learn from this Ayah that magic could have physical impact, and that magic is real. If jinns or shaytan are used by humans for magic, it is Kufr, and Allah will give recompense in the Hereafter. Jinn/Shaytan would not teach humans magic unless they disbelieved in Allah SWT. Muslims cannot learn magic until they disbelieve in Allah SWT. Angels learnt what harms humans and what profits them not.
103. If They had kept their Faith and guarded themselves from evil, far better had been the reward from their Lord, if They but knew! 104. O ye of Faith! say not (to the Messenger. words of ambiguous import, but words of respect; and hearken (to him): to those without Faith is a grievous punishment.
105. It is never the wish of those without Faith among the people of the Book, nor of the Pagans, that anything good should come down to you from your Lord. but Allah will choose for His special Mercy whom He will - for Allah is Lord of Grace abounding.
Raina in the language of jews has a bad meaning. While in Arabic, it means “listen to us”. So jews used to be happy when people told messenger SAW “Raina”. Just like ASSalaam vs Assaam (death). There is a right way and a wrong way to mention some things, choose the right way. We also learn from this Ayah that jews are disbelievers. Jews were not happy that the messenger was not from among them, he was from the Arabs.
5-7-06 “aya 106
106. None of Our revelations do we abrogate or cause to be forgotten, but we substitute something better or similar: Knowest Thou not that Allah hath power over all things?
This proves that some ayah are abrogated. It also says that the new aya is better or similar. Why is there abrogation? Shouldn‟t Allah have known what we should have done first? It is also an evidence of Allah‟s mercy both ways – when things become harder, it shows Allah‟s mercy by easing us into it. When things become easier, we can remember that we didn‟t have it has hard as Allah could have made it. Also, abrogation does not come to the major things like idolatry, etc. Three types of abrogation in the Quran: 1) naskh of the ruling but the ayah is still in the Quran. You read the ayah but don‟t apply the ruling. (Muslims were commanded to pray ½ or 1/3 of the night and then that ruling was removed. The abrogation is not in the Quran.) 2) Naskh of the recitation of the ayah but the ruling is still valid. (ayah of stoning was removed. Why was it removed? Perhaps once the ruling has been established, there is no need to keep reading it. Also there used to be an ayah that said 10 known times of nursing makes the baby a son or daughter. Then it was abrogated with an ayah that said 5 times, but the ruling was there.) 3) Naskh of the ayah and the ruling. You don‟t read the ayah and you don‟t practice the ruling. (example: sheikh will tell us at the oral exam)
How many ayats were abrogated? Ibn jawzi recorded 200 different claims of abrogation, but modern research has shown that maximum, 9 claims are valid.
108. Would ye question your Messenger As Moses was questioned of old? but Whoever changeth from Faith to Unbelief, hath strayed without doubt from the Even way.
Who does is this ayah revealed to? Some say jews (since the Prophet is still their messenger) and some say the Prophet (saw). Ibn kathir mentions hadiths revealed. The man who asked repeatedly about hajj being obligatory every year. The prophet finally said “no, and had I said yes, it would have become obligatory and you would not be able to do it.” Also, the worst person is the one who asks and something is made haram because of his question.
111. And They say: "None shall enter Paradise unless He be a Jew or a Christian." those are their (vain) desires. say: "Produce your proof if ye are truthful." 112. Nay,-whoever submits His whole self to Allah and is a doer of good,- He will get His reward with His Lord; on such shall be no fear, nor shall They grieve. Everybody claims that are the successful. The hypcroties claim they are peacemakers!
Ayah 113
113. The Jews say: "The Christians have naught (to stand) upon; and the Christians say: "The Jews have naught (to stand) upon." yet They (Profess to) study the (same) Book. like unto their word is what those say who know not; but Allah will judge between them In their quarrel on the Day of Judgment.
Why was this ayah revealed? What incident is it referring to:
Some Christians from najaran came and were arguing with the Prophet (saw) and the jews jumped in and started disputing with the Christians and finally they said this to each other. This is an evidence that that scripture was changed. Both sets of people profess to follow the same book yet they act differently. Also, the judgment refers to the judgment of their argument.