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The Study of Surah Yaseen Lesson 03
The Study of Surah Yaseen Lesson 03
Lesson 3
We need to appreciate that every single word in the Quran has been chosen by Allah. And what that
means is, the word that has been chosen by Allah and placed inside an ayah, it is unlimited, it is
mubarak, it is full of blessing, full of meaning. Somebody could never exhaust and find out the depth
of the meaning of the Quran, even if they spent their lifetimes doing it.
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5. [This is] a revelation of the Exalted in Might, the Merciful
We have reached the point now in Surat Ya-Seen where Allah has created a question in the mind of
the listener by saying
Indeed you, [O Muhammad], are from among the messengers
The question was, who has sent Muhammad ?He is one of those who has been sent, who has
sent him? This question is answered in this ayah i.e., who is it that has sent him?
The message is coming down from Allah and He is described with 2 names:
1. Al-Aziz, denoting His power and authority and
2. Ar-Raheem, which denotes His care and compassion and love for His creation.
The ayah after this answers another question, and that is: what is the purpose of sending this man
Muhammad ?
In order to warn a people that is his function, that is his role to warn a people.
So this is how the surah is flowing. It began by stating he is one been sent. Then Who has sent him.
That is spoken about. Then what is his role is spoken about thereafter.
means to come down, to send down. It is speaking about the Quran, and the way that it came
down to the Prophet . When someone hears that it came down to the Prophet , immediately
what it negates is that what the Prophet is saying, and the message he came with, is coming
from the East or the West. It is not coming from the Byzantine Empire in the East. Nor is it coming
from the Persians of the West. Rather, it is coming from the heavens.
For a few hundred years, many Orientalists have tried to concoct explanations of the message of the
Prophet by saying that it is merely just taken from previous scriptures from the Romans, from
This is showing that the origin of this Quran is not even from this world, never mind from other
people. It is coming from the heavens.
Usually, the way the word should end is
( with a dhammah, a rafa). This is the original state of a
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word in the beginning of a sentence. But it is
. Now there is another recitation which is
.
But why is it
? There are 2 opinions as to why it is
:
, , , , , , 20
, , ,
vs
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= hikmah
As for anzala or inzal, it means it came down to him in what sense? Either it means when it first came
down from al-Lawh al-Mahfoodh (the divine preserved tablet) to the lowest heaven. All of a sudden
it came down and then it started to be revealed slowly. So would refer to that. Or, it means,
when it was ultimately all sent down and completed in its revelation, it was then. i.e., at the
end of the Prophet s life, it had completely come down in its total form. This is the nuance
behind the word tanzeel.
either the start when it came down to lowest heaven or end when its revelation had
which is which means to come down. But then you have nazzala and
Indeed We
,
which means to come down as well. What is the difference? They said the difference is
means to
come down gradually, part by part, and this is how it came to the Prophet . Over the course of 23
years, the Quran was revealed to him slowly but surely.
Umar al-Khattab is taken aback. It was as if someone read his mind. And do you know what he
thought next? Maybe it is the saying of a fortune-teller.
And it is not the statement of a fortune-teller. How little do you think and contemplate.
This was the very next statement that was revealed. And that struck his heart like an arrow. And he
started to think, what is this? If this is not the statement of a poet or a fortune-teller, what is it?
[It is] a revelation from the Lord of the worlds.
This is one of the few things that happened before his conversion that made his heart soften.
What this teaches us is that there is amazing wisdom in the Quran coming down in parts. And of
them, is to develop the community slowly but surely. We will speak about this in regards to lessons.
Allah mentioned in this ayah that it is gradually coming down to him. And the fathah at the end adds
an exclamation, so it is gradually coming down, this Quran!
Who is it coming down from? 2 names are mentioned here:
The first name, Al-Aziz, comes from the root izzah. Izzah has a meaning of power, and of being
overpowering. So they say about Allah, that la yujizuhu shay (nothing can resist Allah). If Allah
wants something to happen, there is nothing in this universe that could resist Him . That is
one of the meanings of izzah. The second meaning is about having authority and respect. Allah is Al21
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Aziz, meaning He has the ultimate authority and respect. That is very beautiful, because what we
know from human behaviour, and human experience, is that sometimes a person may have a lot of
authority, but they have no respect. Sometimes a person may have respect, but they have no
authority. Sometimes, someone has neither.
Imam Asim thought about the police in America. They are going through a lot of turbulent times.
They have authority, but no respect. They have no respect at the moment. Some people have
authority and they have no respect.
Allah is Al-Aziz. He has ultimate authority and ultimate respect. This is the first name Allah chose to
describe the origin of the Quran. It is coming down from the one Who has the ultimate authority,
power and respect.
The second name is very different to this name. Which seems to be almost like the opposite end of
the spectrum. Because the first name, when you hear it, it is referring to Allah in a way that scares
you. It strikes fear in your heart. And that is why At-Tabari said, Al-Aziz, meaning the One who will
punish the disbelievers. This is the meaning, at-Tabari said, of Al-Aziz here the One who will punish
the disbelievers.
As for ar-Raheem, it comes from the root word of rahmah. And rahmah means mercy. This is what
they say it means. However, this may not be an accurate translation. Because the word rahmah, alAsfahani said it comes from the root word of rahm (the womb of the mother). That is where it is
derived from.
And when you think of this, it is the place where the baby is surrounded in love, mercy and care. And
that is why, even the Prophet said himself in a hadith22, that the word rahm (womb) is taken
from the name of Allah ar-Rahman. At-Tirmidhi said this hadith is hasan sahih. It is authentic. The
word the Arabs use for womb is taken from Allahs name ar-Rahman.
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Some people have respect, but no authority. Like sometimes teachers, they have got a lot of respect.
But, because of the way society is at the moment, if a teacher wanted to show his authority, he could
get into trouble. Even the students know this. He can say what he wants, maybe he has some
respect, he has got no authority. You cant touch me if you touch me, I will go to the authorities. So
sometimes one has one, they dont have the other.
The idea of mums love for the children comes from Allah
Himself. Which means that Allah loves His creation more
than the mother loves her son or daughter. Allah loves His
creation more than the mother loves her children.
The Quran is coming down from the One who is the ultimate authority and is so loving, caring and
merciful.
Why
together?
They are very different names. Why did Allah bring them together here? Whats the
wisdom behind that? You hear the name Al-Aziz, which kind of makes you scared. And then you hear
the name Ar-Raheem, right next to it, which makes you think that Allah loves you, will have mercy on
you, will forgive you, and that makes your heart warm to Allah. And they are placed right next to
each other. What is the benefit of that?
For the believers, Allah has a lot of love, care and compassion. But if you disbelieve in Allah, dont
think you can disbelieve, and thats it, thats the end of the story. Allah will punish you if you
disbelieve.
What is the most common couple when it comes to names of Allah? Which is the most common pair
in the Quran? Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem come together more than 100 times in the Quran. The name
Al-Aziz usually comes with Al-Hakeem, not with Ar-Raheem. So this is a very rare combination. So we
should ask ourselves, why are those 2 names being brought together?
There are a few reasons:
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Emotionally compelling
It is emotionally compelling. What does that mean? We need to appreciate when this was revealed
in the 10th year of prophecy where the Prophet has given dawah to all these people of Makkah,
and most of them have rejected him. Now Surat Ya-Seen is coming, and it is telling them, you better
listen up. This man has been sent. Who is sending him? Al-Aziz. Now someone who is in the audience
appreciates all the nuances that we have mentioned in the language. He listens to the message and
he has been rejecting this man for 10 years now. He may hear this and feel, this is coming from AlAziz. He will destroy me if I dont listen to this. The arrogance in his heart softens. It begins to break.
But once a persons arrogance breaks, he then needs to be made a call of mercy to come forward.
Someone might be scared and not want to reject, but they might not have the motivation to come
forward. When they hear Al-Aziz they become scared, when they hear ar-Raheem straight
afterwards, they feel that despite all the bad I have done, the One calling me is Ar-Raheem. Hell look
after me now. It is emotionally more compelling.
Allah knows best.
Each word is really selected by Allah. You can really focus and think about things.
ayah 5
ayah 26
It was said, "Enter Paradise." He said, "I wish my people could know
ayah 29
It was not but one shout, and immediately they were extinguished.
ashShu'ara
In terms of the connection of the nazm, the connection between this ayah and the surah itself, we
find that this is a principle being illustrated here, and then it will be expressed through a story. And
that is the story of Ashab al-Qaryah.
Because in that story what we find is there was a whole city, they rejected 3 prophets. What
happened to them? They were destroyed. Allah mentions there was just one violent blast that came
and they were like people, like a fire had been put out, that is how their end was. So which name is
that expressing? Al-Aziz. You heard Allah is al-Aziz, He will destroy people who disbelieve in Him,
and then you are shown in a story, how He destroyed a nation once upon a time.
As for Ar-Raheem, that is also inside the story. Because a man who came from Aqsa al-Madinah, he
tried to advise his people and tried to warn them. But they wouldnt listen to him. He was killed.
What happened to him? It was said to him, enter paradise. And he said, if only my people knew what
I am getting now. And this is a token of Allahs mercy. In fact, the very sending of the prophets
themselves, to those people is an act of mercy from Allah. Because what is going to be their fate if
they dont get the messengers? They are going to go to the hellfire. So the story illustrates this.
There is one other thing as well. The pair Al-Aziz Ar-Raheem, comes 9 times inside one surah. In surat
Ash-Shuara, it appears 9 times. A series of stories is presented, starting with Moosa , then the people
of Hud, then Thamud, then Lut, then Shuayb, and every time, what the story ends with is they
rejected their messenger, and they were obnoxious, and they were destroyed. And then the story is
sealed every time by mentioning,
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The same statement comes 9 times inside that surah. The 9th time, it appears slightly differently, but
8 times in a row it appears in the same way. Why? Why is Allah sealing the stories with the same
words
And indeed, your Lord - He is the Exalted in Might, the Merciful.
Why? Because the story shows Allah is al-Aziz Ar-Raheem. Al-Aziz because Allah destroyed them in
such a horrific way. So just listen to this story. It will show you how Allah is al-Aziz. And secondly, arRaheem because Allah sends these people time and time again messengers. Over and over again.
They come and say the same thing. They exhaust their efforts in trying to advise them and every
single time, they are abused, rejected, and mocked at. Every time Allah sends prophets. Why does
Allah do that? Because Al-Aziz Ar-Raheem.
So this is how the words are appearing inside the surah and how the connections are made. Allah
knows best.
Lessons
There are 3 lessons we learn from this ayah. Very important lessons.
[Because the Prophet who came, came to help them find their way to paradise = rahma but they
rejected it and Allah punished them = izzah.]
And there is a very beautiful hadith23 in Sahih Bukhari where Aishah explains this. She
says, the first thing that was to be revealed in the Quran was al-Mufassal. Al-Mufassal refers to Surah
Qaf until the end of the Quran. And then she says, the reason why that was when the hearts of
people became firm on Islam, then Allah revealed halal and haram. Then she said, had the people
been told dont drink alcohol in the beginning, they would have said we will never stop drinking
alcohol. She said if they were told dont commit zina, dont indulge in adultery, fornication, they
would have said we would never have stopped doing zina . This is what she said.
She is explaining this wisdom that what you need to do first is you need to take it slowly, gradually.
And secondly, what is more important than the laws is the spirit. What does that mean? It means that
the reason a person is going to pray and fast and wear hijab and abandon drugs and alcohol and so
on and so forth is because they believe in their hearts that if they do this they will get reward and if
they abandon it they will get punished. Thats what it comes down to.
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Sahih al-Bukhari
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And Ibn Taymiyyah said that every instruction to do something from Allah, and every prohibition
to stay away is for the benefit of the human beings such that whatever instructions they are told to do,
if they did them, there is a maslaha (a benefit) for that person even if he cannot see the benefit. And
everything He told him to stay away from, in that there is a protection from a marsada (a harm). If he
stays away from it, he will be protected from a harm, even if he cannot see it. That is everything that
Allah has asked. It is something to benefit you. And it is not something to make your life difficult.
My Reflections