Recitation by Shaykh Abdul Rahman as-Sudais,
[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNJsY7s0LHA ]
THIS SURAH ADDRESSES Prophet Muhammad in his capacity as the guide and leader of the Muslim nation., on five occasions, giving him instructions on the specific matters relating to his present conduct as well as to the overall organization of the community.
On the first occasion, the surah says:
Prophet! Keep thy duty to Allah and obey not the disbelievers and the hypocrites. Lo! Allah is Knower, Wise. (1) And follow that which is inspired in thee from thy Lord. Lo! Allah is Aware of what ye do. (2) And put thy trust in Allah, for Allah is sufficient as Trustee. (3)
The importance of these instructions is to reassure the Prophet of his position and reassert his loyalty to God and his steadfastness in conveying His message to the world.
But there was, however, a personal matter to which he had to see. Before re received God's revelations, the Prophet had, as was the Arab custom in those days, adopted a son by the name of Zayd ibn Harithah. Islam did not approve of adoption, and hence God's words:
Allah hath not assigned unto any man two hearts within his body, nor hath He made your wives whom ye declare (to be your mothers) your mothers, nor hath He made those whom ye claim (to be your sons) your sons. This is but a saying of your mouths. But Allah sayeth the truth and He showeth the way. (4)
The question then arises as to what is to be done regarding existing adoptions? The surah answers:
Proclaim their real parentage. That will be more equitable in the sight of Allah. And if ye know not their fathers, then (they are) your brethren in the faith, and your clients. And there is no sin for you in the mistakes that ye make unintentionally, but what your hearts purpose (that will be a sin for you). Allah is Forgiving, Merciful. (5)
Natural parents have the sole parental rights over their children, but if parents are unknown or cannot be traced, then the kinship of Islam takes the place of blood relationship. A Muslim society embraces and provide care for all foundlings, whether orphans, abandoned children, or children with unknown parents.
Muslims today are guilty of neglecting this vital practise. Indeed it is shameful to see certain Muslim countries' orphanages, refugee centers and similar institutions that cater for children, set up and run by foreigners and non-Muslims.
The surah emphasizes the value and superiority of religious bondage by saying: "The Prophet is closer to the believers than their selves, and his wives are (as) their mothers. And the owners of kinship are closer one to another in the ordinance of Allah than (other) believers and the fugitives (who fled from Mecca), except that ye should do kindness to your friends. This is written in the Book (of nature)." (6)
Muhammad is a spiritual father-figure for the whole nation of Islam; no one is keener to guide this nation and lead it to safety. Muhammad is the symbol of Islam and Islam is the religion which has taken the Muslims from darkness to light. Accordingly, Muhammad himself is reported to have said:
I take responsibility for every Muslim in this life and in the hereafter. Read, if you please, God's words that, "the Prophet has a close affinity with the believers..." The wealth of any believer who does shall be inherited by his next of kin, whoever they are, but whoever leaves a debt...let him come to me [ in the hereafter ] and I shall act as his guardian.
Prior to the mention of verse 6, the Prophet was reluctant to give a full Muslim burial to those who died leaving behind unpaid debts. After this revelation, however, and with the growth of the community, the situation changed and he was able to pay such debts and provide for the orphans and the homeless.
This made the Prophet a father-figure for the believers and his wives were accorded the same status as that of mothers in both the legal and spiritual sense. They were a vital link between the Prophet and the rest of the community, conveying the revelation he received and acting as teachers and role models. Accordingly, none of them was eligible to marry anyone else after the Prophet's death.
The second set of instructions concerns the behavior of the Prophet's wives and the general conduct of his household. The surah says: "O Prophet! Say unto thy wives: If ye desire the world's life and its adornment, come! I will content you and will release you with a fair release." (28)
Unlike a royal household, the Prophet's was modest, decent, respectable, and totally unpretentious. However, while the Prophet himself led a simple and dignified life, his wives, having come from wealthy and noble families, had been brought up in comfort and opulence. As the fortunes of the Muslim community markedly improved, it was not very long before those wives started to make demands on the Prophet.
However, the revelation came to establish the fact that, although he was the undisputed leader of Arabia and God's messenger to all humankind, the Prophet's household was to remain one of humble means and humble appearance. His wives were expected to support him in his mission and observe all the requirements of the religion he was advocating. The Prophet's family could not be given special protection if the Muslim community were to come under threat or had to live under siege.
The Prophet was instructed to give all his wives an ultimatum: to stay with him and suffer what he and the rest of the Muslims were suffering or to be granted a divorce by him. They were given a choice: '"....But if ye desire Allah and His messenger and the abode of the Hereafter, then lo! Allah hath prepared for the good among you an immense reward. '"(29)
Despite the potential hardship, all of the Prophet's wives chose to remain part of his noble household, thereby meeting their highly regarded, dignified, and special status amongst Muslims and within Islam as a whole.
On the third occasion, the surah says: "O Prophet! Lo! We have sent thee as a witness and a bringer of good tidings and a warner. (45) And as a summoner unto Allah by His permission, and as a lamp that giveth light. "(46)
Whereas earlier prophets and messengers were sent to specific communities, Muhammad was the first prophet to be sent to the whole of humankind. His was the final and universal message.
" A Thematic Commentary On The Qur'an "
Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali
Commentary and reflection by Mufti Waseem Khan of Trinidad/ Tobago
Part 1 :
[ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fdf3n1aCyvU ]
Starts at 30.00 minute
ayat 1 to ayat 2
friends, dato and tansri,
in the opening gambit of surah al ahzab, allah categorically states,
fear allah
do not listen to unbelievers and al munafikuns.....
put your trust in allah
unbelievers are easy to identify[ bush, blair ,obama, sarkozy, john, mcgedebe and msgedebe etc and etc ].
al munafikuns are a motley lot and has chemeleon characteristics.
in nabi's time they just spoke in arabic and has quraish and medinan names[ abdullah bin ubay et al ], joined nabi in prayers etc and etc but not generally seen at subuh prayers; and
gave all kind of excuses and mc's during badr, ahzab, khandak and uhud.
modern day al munafikuns are even more difficult to identify.
they come in all sizes, forms and colours.
they transcend all top professions, even theologians
they go to haj, celebrate eid and eidul adzhar, like you and me.
may even wear the songkok more than you and me!
their turbans, if they do wear them , may be bigger, and multi-coloured.
oftentimes,they have prefixes before their names, and even after their names [ eg sir turnbull samuel al haj ];
the bright ones go to harvard and cambridge; have posh office and drive the occasional bentley turbo.
they may run bank, ceos of companies and dg's of ministries and ambassadors etc and etc
some even run their own universities and schools
some are even princes and princesses waiting in line to be numero unos in their relevant countries
to compound the problem of identification further,rarely they even have a phd or two in comparative theology from berkeley.
now, these last type of 'animal' is the most dangerous ones.
they speak and write on 'ugama' under the various cloaks of 'liberal islam; 'progressive proffesional muslims', 'non-hadith islam';
some even professed to be 'secular humanists within islam' [ even in my relative ignorance of the ugama, i am quite sure this 'animals' is not within the broad confine of islam! however lax one choose to be in it's definition.]; etc and etc.....the female version even wanted to be imam and be allowed to wear skirts and no 'tudung' at the same time etc and etc.
in 600 something ce,when umar al khatab r.a heard that nabi had come up with a list of all possible al munafikuns of that time and confided that definitive list to another prominent sahabat of his, huzaifah r.a , umar met this sahabat in confidence and asked:
"....am i included in the list!!?? "
in 2016 , fast approaching 2017, in the genus called "muslims", the al munafikun as a specie is a dominant specie. from being a minority mutation during nabi's time, this specie now percolate all levels of society, especially within the financially and cerebrally gifted.
they are the majority in my humble estimation. in any conversation, you just need to sit back and listen carefully, you will get the general drift.......if you still can't, just mention the majic word , 'hudud'. and their true colours come out very prominently. forget about implementation, just the word 'hudud' will bring out adjectives such as 'barbarism','primitive', 'out of date', etc and etc
for our very own salvation we all need to reexamine our souls and be honest with ourselves.
it behooves all of us to ask the same famous umar alkhatab's question:
" am i in that list? "
if you are, do something about it.
it is back to ilm, ilm and ilm.....and iman.
i add iman here because any amount of ilmu without iman is useless
just look back at the jews of bani nadir of najran, the place bordering madinah.
they were there in the 1st place because of ilm. in their 'book' they knew the coming of the new prophet will be in madinah. they anticipated and hoped 'one of their children' will be the prophet.
it was not to be.
salman al farisi, born a majusi, also knew this after decades of waiting and searching.
his ilm was laced with iman.
salman became the gifted while the jews of najran, full with ilm, but laced with false pride, fell into historical ignominy.
but al munafikuns, my friends, their posterity will be worse than the jews of najran....
for allah has promised all al munafikuns one thing very definitively.
this is mentioned many times over in the qur'an as you go along..
at the end of time they will be at the lowermost of the burning cauldron!
and if you can ask HIM why....
because unlike the unbelievers and the outright kuffar, the al munafikuns are 'not only lost in themselves but they have great capacity and propensity to make others lost along with them as well! '
'anda sesat dan anda amat menyesatkan!'
we move on to ayat 3 to ayat 5 with mufti waseem of trinidad/tobago, in part 2
Part 2 :
fear allah
do not listen to unbelievers and al munafikuns.....
put your trust in allah
unbelievers are easy to identify[ bush, blair ,obama, sarkozy, john, mcgedebe and msgedebe etc and etc ].
al munafikuns are a motley lot and has chemeleon characteristics.
in nabi's time they just spoke in arabic and has quraish and medinan names[ abdullah bin ubay et al ], joined nabi in prayers etc and etc but not generally seen at subuh prayers; and
gave all kind of excuses and mc's during badr, ahzab, khandak and uhud.
modern day al munafikuns are even more difficult to identify.
they come in all sizes, forms and colours.
they transcend all top professions, even theologians
they go to haj, celebrate eid and eidul adzhar, like you and me.
may even wear the songkok more than you and me!
their turbans, if they do wear them , may be bigger, and multi-coloured.
oftentimes,they have prefixes before their names, and even after their names [ eg sir turnbull samuel al haj ];
the bright ones go to harvard and cambridge; have posh office and drive the occasional bentley turbo.
they may run bank, ceos of companies and dg's of ministries and ambassadors etc and etc
some even run their own universities and schools
some are even princes and princesses waiting in line to be numero unos in their relevant countries
to compound the problem of identification further,rarely they even have a phd or two in comparative theology from berkeley.
now, these last type of 'animal' is the most dangerous ones.
they speak and write on 'ugama' under the various cloaks of 'liberal islam; 'progressive proffesional muslims', 'non-hadith islam';
some even professed to be 'secular humanists within islam' [ even in my relative ignorance of the ugama, i am quite sure this 'animals' is not within the broad confine of islam! however lax one choose to be in it's definition.]; etc and etc.....the female version even wanted to be imam and be allowed to wear skirts and no 'tudung' at the same time etc and etc.
in 600 something ce,when umar al khatab r.a heard that nabi had come up with a list of all possible al munafikuns of that time and confided that definitive list to another prominent sahabat of his, huzaifah r.a , umar met this sahabat in confidence and asked:
"....am i included in the list!!?? "
in 2016 , fast approaching 2017, in the genus called "muslims", the al munafikun as a specie is a dominant specie. from being a minority mutation during nabi's time, this specie now percolate all levels of society, especially within the financially and cerebrally gifted.
they are the majority in my humble estimation. in any conversation, you just need to sit back and listen carefully, you will get the general drift.......if you still can't, just mention the majic word , 'hudud'. and their true colours come out very prominently. forget about implementation, just the word 'hudud' will bring out adjectives such as 'barbarism','primitive', 'out of date', etc and etc
for our very own salvation we all need to reexamine our souls and be honest with ourselves.
it behooves all of us to ask the same famous umar alkhatab's question:
" am i in that list? "
if you are, do something about it.
it is back to ilm, ilm and ilm.....and iman.
i add iman here because any amount of ilmu without iman is useless
just look back at the jews of bani nadir of najran, the place bordering madinah.
they were there in the 1st place because of ilm. in their 'book' they knew the coming of the new prophet will be in madinah. they anticipated and hoped 'one of their children' will be the prophet.
it was not to be.
salman al farisi, born a majusi, also knew this after decades of waiting and searching.
his ilm was laced with iman.
salman became the gifted while the jews of najran, full with ilm, but laced with false pride, fell into historical ignominy.
but al munafikuns, my friends, their posterity will be worse than the jews of najran....
for allah has promised all al munafikuns one thing very definitively.
this is mentioned many times over in the qur'an as you go along..
at the end of time they will be at the lowermost of the burning cauldron!
and if you can ask HIM why....
because unlike the unbelievers and the outright kuffar, the al munafikuns are 'not only lost in themselves but they have great capacity and propensity to make others lost along with them as well! '
'anda sesat dan anda amat menyesatkan!'
we move on to ayat 3 to ayat 5 with mufti waseem of trinidad/tobago, in part 2
Part 2 :
Part 3 :
ayat 6 to ayat 7
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eUrxm-mmc2Q
part 4 of mufti waseem khan's commentary related still to ayat 5 to 7, is still on the 'housekeeping rules and regulation related to gift and wasiat to close friends,
and inheritance to blood relation....the business part of our ugama
Part 4 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAA49F0jDdo
part 5 , deals with the 'day of the alast'...a day before time,
when allah addresses all souls:
'alastubirabbikum?'..am i not your lord?
"bala shahidna! ".........yes! indeed you are!
[some commentaries added the element of ' surprised ,at the question asked '....how can the souls at that juncture, to know, that the ensuing centuries of almost total ghaflah and heedlessness in the 'earth-phase' of existence, would actually be the most predominant sentiment. ]
here also mufti waseem discusses the geopolitical realities of that time around 5th to 6th year post hijrah...
put yourselves in the position of the nabi:
in the south you have the belligerent quraish.
from within the peripherry of madinah, you are faced with the jews of bani nadhir and other belligerent tribes who suddenly became turncoats
and from within the city, you have abdullah bin ubays and company...
Part 5 :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eEeyS0KzoA4
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