Recitation by Shaykh Mishary Rashid al Afasy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmQHoh9WUKY
Recitation with Malay/Indonesian transliteration,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uRaN2TkvO_o
Commentary of ayat 1 to ayat 38 , by the late dr ahmed israr,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoDKOqhUngo&feature=relmfu
THIS SURAH WAS REVEALED at Makkah and it shares many of the feautres we have seen in al-An'am and al- Isra'. Like them, its main theme is to guide man to his Creator by means of observation, contemplation, and reflection upon God's vast creation. In my view, the Makkan approach which was, in the first instance, directed at the pagan Arabs who were mainly idol-worshipers, and which proved very effective in stimulating their minds and reviving their dormant intellectual instincts that would lead them to believe in God and put their trust in Him, would be just as effective today in dealing with agnostics, secularists, and other atheists.
One of the general features of the Qur'an, both Makkan and Madinan sections, is that it is a Book about and for humanity which appeals in earnest to the human mind and soul to wake up, seek God, and prepare for meeting Him. As a matter of course, the Qur'an had also to address the People of the Book, the Jews and the Christians, and deal with the various issues and disputes they raised. This is most apparent during the Madinan period.
Idol-worshipers were overwhelmed by materialistic logic, which relied entirely on the senses, and were totally preoccupied by worldly gain. This is reminiscent of what we observe in many contemporary societies. In these societies, the majority of people have no interest in God or any yearning to know Him.Establish religion has no lasting impact in these people, because they live for the moment and have no cause to look beyond the life they live here on earth. They leave matters of faith to the church and its clergy who perpetrate and promote largely outdated, lifeless rituals and practices, based on dogma and doctrines which are devoid of common sense and rational appeal.
A loyal student of Orientalism advanced the ludicrous idea that the Qur'an's approach in Makkah had been emotional, but then turn rational in Madinah as a result of influence from the Jewish community there. But, when the same scholar came to point to the use of scientific logic in the section of the Qur'an revealed in Madinah, he quoted: "If there were therein Gods beside Allah, then verily both (the heavens and the earth) had been disordered. Glorified be Allah, the Lord of the Throne, from all that they ascribe (unto Him)." (al- Anbiya : 22), which is in fact a Makkan one.
The Qur'an constantly emphasizes the fact that our existence in this life is no more than a prelude to another one, and that those who recognize God and acknowledge Him here shall have the privilege of knowing Him there as well. We may conclude that existence is a continuum, part of which is experienced here in this life, the realm of obligations and responsibility, while the rest is experienced in the life hereafter, the realm of accountability and reward. Yet, modern thinking rejects such notions and concepts. In this world, we are required to praise God, thank Him, and carry out the obligations and duties which He has charged us. But in the hereafter, all that shall be done instinctively and without any effort or struggle on our part:
Lo! those who believe and do good works, their Lord guideth them by their faith. Rivers will flow beneath them in the Gardens of Delight, (9) Their prayer therein will be: Glory be to Thee, O Allah! and their greeting therein will be: Peace. And the conclusion of their prayer will be: Praise be to Allah, Lord of the Worlds! (10)
Those who enjoy the worship and company of God in this life shall enjoy complete happiness in His company in the hereafter. But those who reject Him now shall have nothing pleasant to look forward to in the life to come. Total preoccupation with the 'here and now' and the deliberate neglect of what might lie beyond the present is a distinguishing feature of contemporary Western civilization. Advocate of traditional religions in the West repeatedly defend ideas and dogma which have no influence whatsoever on the direction in which this civilization is heading: "Lo! those who expect not the meeting with Us but desire the life of the world and feel secure therein, and those who are neglectful of Our revelations, (7) Their home will be the Fire because of what they used to earn."(8) .
Because it relies on the senses alone, materialist logic finds the Qur'an, and divine revelation as a whole, eccentric and incomprehensible. It is an arrogant and pretentious approach which only recognizes empirical evidence for everything! Yunus opens with a depiction of this attitude:
These are verses of the Wise Scripture. (1) Is it a wonder for mankind that We have inspired a man among them, saying: Warn mankind and bring unto those who believe the good tidings that they have a sure footing with their Lord? The disbelievers say: Lo! this is a mere wizard. (2)
Religious belief[ iman ] is an instinctive and natural human inclination. It is only blurred or obscured by dogmatic 'professional' clergy or dogged ignoramuses.
This surah highlights the close and direct link between belief and good deeds [ al-amal al-salih ]. The one, inter alia, neccesitate the other. God says: "Unto Him is the return of all of you; it is a promise of Allah in truth. Lo! He produceth creation, then reproduceth it, that He may reward those who believe and do good works with equity; while, as for those who disbelieve, theirs will be a boiling drink and painful doom because they disbelieved." (4) , and, "Lo! those who believe and do good works, their Lord guideth them by their faith. Rivers will flow beneath them in the Gardens of Delight, "(9)
Therefore, iman and al-amal al-salih go hand-in-hand. Several verses later, God says: "For those who do good is the best (reward) and more (thereto). Neither dust nor ignominy cometh near their faces. Such are rightful owners of the Garden; they will abide therein." (26). The Arabic term used here is 'ihsan' , which denotes the combination in life between pure and sincere faith and righteous deed within the framework of God's guidance and under His care. The surah also offers a definition of ' awliya Allah ' meaning ' the friends of God ' or ' the men of God ' as those who have faith and fear God. It says: "'Lo! verily the friends of Allah are (those) on whom fear (cometh) not, nor do they grieve? (62) Those who believe and keep their duty (to Allah). "(63).
It is fitting to recall here that what Prophet Muhammad is quoted in the surah as saying: "....Lo! if I disobey my Lord I fear the retribution of an awful Day. "(15). One may also recall God's words: "And those who earn ill-deeds, (for them) requital of each ill-deed by the like thereof; and ignominy overtaketh them - They have no protector from Allah - as if their faces had been covered with a cloak of darkest night. Such are rightful owners of the Fire; they will abide therein. "(27), and: "....Lo! Allah upholdeth not the work of mischief-makers. (81]
Muslims are treated as any other religious community by being told that, when it comes to judgement, they shall not be afforded any special concessions. For them, as for all mankind, rewards shall be commensurate with deeds and actions. Since earlier communities and nations had no special treatment and were rewarded in line with their activities, the Muslims would be no exception. The surah says:
We destroyed the generations before you when they did wrong; and their messengers (from Allah) came unto them with clear proofs (of His Sovereignty) but they would not believe. Thus do We reward the guilty folk. (13) Then We appointed you viceroys in the earth after them, that We might see how ye behave. (14)
From beginning to end, the surah stresses the following simple fact:
Say: O mankind! Now hath the Truth from your Lord come unto you. So whosoever is guided, is guided only for (the good of) his soul, and whosoever erreth erreth only against it. And I am not a warder over you. (108) And (O Muhammad) follow that which is inspired in thee, and forbear until Allah give judgment. And He is the Best of Judges. (109)
By comparing this fair statement which comes at the end of the surah, with what Muhammad is told at its beginning, that he should "Warn mankind and bring unto those who believe the good tidings that they have a sure footing with their Lord? The disbelievers say: Lo! this is a mere wizard." (2), it becomes clear that the essence of the Prophet's mission was to establish justice, affirm what is right, and eradicate evil. It is further clear from the surah as a whole that the Muslim community he was to establish would be a fair and virtuous one whose members acknowledge God, call on others to recognize Him, follow His path, and look forward to meeting Him in the hereafter.
Such a community is incorruptible by wealth and power and is free from oppression. It is a community that rejects and oppose tyrants and dictators and calls on the Lord, as Moses is quoted in the surah to have done, to "... Destroy their riches and harden their hearts so that they believe not till they see the painful doom." (88)
Muhammad al-Ghazali
[ 1997 - 1996 ]
Excerpt from " A Thematic Commentary On The Qur'an "
Reflection and commentary by Dr Israr Ahmed:-
[ verse 1 to verse 38 ]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoDKOqhUngo&feature=relmfu
...............................
kitab al tafakkur
part 5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CF5nUDLMmCI
part 6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEuCVPkBOMI
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