Studying Surah Al Mulk - Part 1

Summa Amabad once again everyone. Assalaamu Alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa raqatu. Uh today we're attempting to go through some lessons um from Suratul Mulk and it is a difficult exercise to say the least for myself because Uh machan surahs of the Quran easily get uh underestimated uh and they get assumed to be all virtually the same or very, very similar.

So you get an overview kind of thing. This surah talks about the Akhirah, that one also talks about the Akhirah, this one talks about Tawhid, that one also talks about Tawheed, and we kind of kind of gloss over some of the beautiful nuances and intricacies that are unique and that are identities of each and every one of these remarkable gifts from Allah.

So my attempt is not only to kind of give you well Allah talks about this and He does deal with this elsewhere too. Well we're dealing with this, not elsewhere. We're gonna deal with this at a time. And I you know, my own you could say philosophy in dealing with the study of the Quran

Um that I hold very dear to myself is every surah has a unique signature and it has a unique message. Uh and Allah Azza wa Jal at the end of the day the conclusions may be virtually the same, but the way Allah arrives at those conclusions is unique. Right, so the argument the conclusion may be the same, but the argument used to present that conclusion is unique every single time and the kind of insights.

And the kinds of things Allah wants people to think about and ponder over are are different pathways, you know. Lanahdiana hum subulana. We'll guide them to our multiple pathways. And so each surah takes a unique pathway. And that's part of the beauty of the Quran. This surah is

Unique for many reasons. Um it's first of all its placement in the Quran, even though that'll be a later uh study exhaustively. Uh this is this begins the last chunk of Makkansurah in the Quran. So you have a a a cluster of Madani Surahs that are together. That start went s from Surat al Hadid all the way to Surat al Tahrim, uh so fifty seven to sixty six.

And from here on roughly to the end of the Mushaf you have pretty much Makan Qur'an. So this is the final s final area of the of the Quran where surahs get relatively shorter, the rhyme schemes are more apparent. The style of the surahs are very distinct. It's they actually have a unique signature to them by themselves. The way the surahs most of the surahs flow in this part of the Quran. Uh the other thing that's very beautiful and unique about this surah

is that it actually uh uh is is one in w about which the Prophet commented multiple times. So I mean typically you find one or two narrations about a surah and the Faba'il of a surah, especially you know, if if you don't distinguish between what is Sahih and what is generally found in some tafsir somewhere, you'll find

Tons of fadail, tons of benefits of a surah or blessings of a surah. But when you start discriminating in terms of what is authentic and what is not, that's reduced to maybe one or two. per surah. But Surahul Muqah is unique'cause there's multiple. Like it's it seems as though the Prophet had a peculiar interest in uh making sure Muslims remain connected with this surah uh on a all pretty much a daily basis.

And they give a lot of value to these words. So I will go through some of these narrations to introduce ourselves.

So it's a surah that from the book of Allah it is nothing but thirty ayat and it makes a case on behalf of a person. Shafa Addi Rajul it intercedes, meaning it makes a case for a person and gets him out of the fire and enters him into Jannah. سُبْحَانَ اللَّهُ That's actually to create a mystery. And it's also ta'iman, an incredible surah from the Quran made up of thirty ayahs that makes a case on behalf of a person, Hatta Hufirahu, until he has been granted forgiveness.

وَهِيَ سُورَةُ تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكَ And that's the surah that begins. تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكَ This is in Tirmidhi. أن النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم كان لا ينام حتى يقرأ ألم تنزيل

أَلَفْ لَعْمِمْ تَنْزِيلُ وَتَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ أَلَفْ لَعْمِمْ تَنْزِيلُ الْكِتَابِ The Surah, the, you know, he would recite that and he would recite Surah Al-Mulk altogether. So he would, he wouldn't go to sleep until he would recite these. The narration says, صلى الله عليه وسلم. Then, وَأَخْرَجَ التَّبْرَانِ فِي الْأَوْسَتِ ترجمة نانسي قرآن Right, so he it makes a case on behalf of the one not the one who recites it, but the one who accompanied it.

The one who became a companion to this surah. So the language of the Prophet ﷺ here is suggesting that one has to develop an intimate relationship with this surah. حَتَّى أَدْخَلَتْهُ الْجَنَّةِ Until it gets him into Jannah, into heaven. تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكِ سورة تبارك هي المانعة من عذاب القبر سورة تبارك اللذي بيديه الملك is a prevention. It prevents from punishment in the grave.

So if you notice all the other narrations were helping us get out of trouble on judgment day. And even pulling someone out of the fire, suggesting somebody may already be in the fire and then be pulled out of it because of this surah. That suggestion is there too. But here, before even Judgment Day begins, when you and I are in our graves.

We are warded off from danger because of the benefits of the surah. May Allah make us all a shab of this surah. Okay, so now just a little bit about how the surah is organized. I don't go into detail in the beginning. I like to have that unravel as the surah unfolds.

and kind of give you bits and pieces as we go along. But essentially the surah is broken up into six parts. The longest section of the surah is actually the second section. It's the longest it's a bit of uh of the surah. It takes much of the real estate and it's also unique in its Signature one thing that tells is very telling about this surah is that even though Allah will talk both about people who make it to heaven and put people who are gonna end up in hell, there's a huge amount of bias.

And much more real estate is granted to the people of Hellfire. So talk of Jannah is very little, talk of Jahannam is much more. And when that happens and sometimes that pendulum is swings. So you have some surahs where you have much more Jannah discussion, much less Jahannam discussion, right? So what does that mean? That actually suggests that these surahs are f you know surahs that have that, there's more talk of hell than there is of heaven, are focused more on disbelievers.

And the the the contention and the warnings and the discourse with the disbelievers has intensified. Right, so when when Indar is more and it's Akad, it's more emphasized, that actually suggests according to some of us who don't even they use that as a basis to say this must have been later on in Mecca.

As opposed to earlier on in Mecca. Because Indar takes a heavier toll, warning and being more aggressive. This is something that happened a little bit later on. Like the Quran is less less and less and less uh, you could say soft. in its rhetoric against those who came out and were d you know, they weren't just disbelievers, they were now enemies to Islam. They were aggressive against the Muslims. They were you know, things were g you know, getting heated up on both sides.

So even the language of the Quran gets heated up as things intensify, right? So that may be a suggestion that this is later Makan. Allahu ta'ala. Uh there's actually virtually no narrations about uh the the the uh Sabah Bun Nuzul of the Surah. And that's okay. That's actually uh a luxury.

So you have that for some surahs, but you don't have that for many surahs. But we know generally that it's Makkan. And from the style, it seems that it's later Makkan. وَاللَّهُ تَعَلَىٰ أَعْلَمُ تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَذِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيلٍ Let's get right into it, inshaAllah.

The word Tabarak uh is difficult to translate. I'll give you a rough translation and then rip it apart as we go. So Tabarak Aladdi Dihil Mulk, often translated Blessed is he in whose hand all dominion lies or all kingdom lies. Wahua Alakulishain Khadir and he's capable over all things. So that's a rough kind of general translation. Blessed is the one in whose hand is all kingdom, and he's over all things completely capable. But let's dig into the word tabaraka a little bit.

تفاعل من البركة it's the تفاعل pattern it's a certain verb pattern from the word بركة والبركة كثرة الخير وزيادته وأصل الكلمة تدل على البقاء Wahua Machudun Minbukil Baeir. This is a few things that I'd like you to take note of. You don't have to write this Arabic stuff down, but I'd like to read through it so I can refresh my thinking too, right? The first thing is uh the word baraka in Arabic, we kind of mean it to as as blessing, but in Arabic actually means excess in goodness.

Okay, excess in goodness. Barakatul Khay. Waziada to who and actually uh uh Mayazid Tawakkur other will say what is beyond expected. So for instance, this this this part for example you had one bowl or you know, one container of food. Tupperware of rice or whatever it is, and you have eight people uh to eat, and they all ate from it and they're all filled, and there's still some left, that little tupperware had baraka in it. It produced more good than was expected.

More good came of it than was expected, right? Similarly Barakar could be that, you know, you set some good advice. You gave somebody some good advice. Maybe you should consider, you know, try to memorize a surah too. Or something. You just said that. There's few a few words. But your words Allah gave them barakah, so what happened?

They ended up memorizing the entire Quran and then they made all of their children Khafaq and then they started a madrasa that teaches tahveed. And oh my God, all of that happened because you said maybe you should memorize Sur Khawtar. You know, so that would be baraka in your words.

It's enhancing something far beyond expectation. That's the first meaning of the word barakah. Okay? And we'll look at the the meaning of the word and then what it does in the ayah a little bit later. But let's just focus on the word for now. The second implication is

of this word is actually uh al al baka to of something to last, of something to remain, of something to become permanent. And that's why Burukul Baeir, when a when a camel sits down, it ain't bajan. You do whatever you want, it it's not gonna move. So that's called بروك البعير. They say بروك الطير also when birds are sitting for a long time on water على الماء.

When birds are just sitting there and they're not moving, that's also called Burukulma. And so the idea of it is not only goodness that increases, you know when something increases a lot that becomes unstable? Right, to give you a visual of that kids are playing with Legos or blocks and they're putting block block block block block block block and the more they add, guess what happens? the more s the more unstable it becomes. Uh, you know, the same thing happens with

I mean it's probably a bad example, but no such thing, I I guess. Uh masjids. When it's small, things are good. When they get really big, problems occur. Empires, governments. When Sahaba were a small band of people, no problem. When the numbers increase Instability. There's the the the the insertion of hypocrites, right? And a great the you know the great work of Allah turning into empire, for example. Right. When businesses are small, lean and mean. When they grow, bureaucracies.

Right? So in anything that grows and grows beyond expectation it comes with a lot of problems. But the word baraka is actually interesting in that it prevents that from happening. Not only is something growing, but it stays stable. It stays constant. It has thabat in it. So it's a it's an interesting play on both of those ideas together. So now let's look at the implications on the ayah of you know what is Allah saying about Himself?

تَزَايدَ خَيْرُهُ وَتَكَاثَرًا أي تَبَارَكَ فِي الْخَلْقِ بِمَا جَعَلَ فِيهِم مِنَ الْبَرَكَةِ The first meaning is the one who has this ability to instill barakah in everyone and everything that he created. So he he's the one who empowers what you do and what I do, what you say and what I say and what I earn and what you earn with barakah. He's the one who puts barakah inside a seed and it can grow into a tree.

Right. So by calling upon him with that with that attribute or that verb, that's what we're saying Allah enhances things beyond expectation.

That he himself is beyond what you would expect. And you can never compare him to any creation. That he himself is more than you can ever imagine. Every time you imagine Allah to be something, he will be more than that. So when we try to encompass the wisdom of Allah, whatever concept we have, he is more than we can encompass. When we try to encompass the Rahmah of Allah, the mercy of Allah, the care of Allah, the forgiveness of Allah, it will always be beyond what you can contain in your mind.

It'll always be more than that. So this is within the and it's always going to be a constant. It's not something that's going to go away. Our concept of Allah should be above our imagination. Like our our concept of hope in Allah should be above what we put like we think about hope in other people, right? We should think more or h m higher of Allah.

So this is this is the two implications. One he gives barakah to, or he enhances more than expected his creation in things they do and what they are, and himself he is enhanced more than we expect. Both of those meanings hold true. Then

The word تباركة. Some of you are students of the Arabic language. It's صغة تفاعل. This pattern of the Arabic language. إذا أسندت إلى واحد تدل على تكلف فعل. نحو تطاولا وتغابنا. In Arabic, when you say تفاعلة, it usually is two parties. It's usually two parties, like the Awan, it's two parties. Okay, or Tasharok is two parties. But if there's no other party and you use it singular by itself with certain words, this pattern usually occurs for two, you don't say tanafasa by itself.

You have to set that off a stop. Two people have to be involved. But when you have a verb by uh a verb by itself Like in the case of Tabaraka, this actually becomes a kind of hyperbole. Intensely empowered or embedded with the power to increase. It becomes intense. شدة القوة as they would say. قوة الفعل وشدةه مثل تواصل الحبل. Wasala for a rope to be connected, Tawasal or rope to be bound together. But Tawasal al Habal from that pattern, it's very tight, it's very well wound up.

So the idea of tabaraka is actually it's different from even uh you know you could say baruka actually in Arabic in a similar meaning, to to be full of blessing or to be full of barakah. But tabaraka is more empowered version of it. So extremely full of this power to enhance and extremely far beyond your expectation and more enhanced than you can ever imagine is the one Allah dibiyyad mulk. Notice Allah's name is not mentioned.

اللہ سے اس وَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ اَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ وَهُوَ أَعَلَى كُلِجِنْ قَدِيرٍ الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةِ No mention of Allah لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلَ You're not going to see Allah's name here.

It he he actually made it a mystery on purpose. He made it a mystery on purpose. And this is part of the rhetorical style of the Quran sometimes. Allah will not mention his name, he'll say the one in whose hand all kingdom lies. The one in whose hand all kingdom lies. Now the thing is when Allah removes Himself from the equation by not mentioning His name, this is actually to show the limited mindset. One of the things it does is it shows the limited mindset of people who did not believe in God.

So when they thought of someone who has all kingdom in his hand, you don't expect the mushrik to hear this and think of Allah. You he you expect the believer to hear this and they think about Allah. But when the kafir, the mushrik, the anad, when they hear this, they don't think about Allah. Unless you spell it out. They're thinking about some king. Some king who has kingdom all kingdom in his hand. And now they're racking their minds thinking from their point of view.

How do you have a king who's got all kingdom in his hand? But if he has all the kingdom in his hand, then how is there more? How is the'cause if he's already got everything, then how can there be more? You see what I'm saying? And so and what have we ever heard of a king that Is that stable? That just stays and there's no challenging his authority and You know, from the two meanings of Tabarak. Like he's actually establishing this unique kingdom of his first.

I want you to think about this kingdom that doesn't m budge from its place, doesn't move from its place. Now think about the words Biyadihilmu. يَدُلُّ عَلَى الْإِخْتِصَاسِ and Lama al-Istigraq al-Mulk, only in whose hand lies all kingdom. All kingdom. So it's exclusively belonging to Allah, and all of it belongs to Allah.

It's not some part of it is exclusive to Allah, all of it is exclusive to Allah. Now think about the word al Mulk. يجمع الصفات الجلال من القدرة والسلطان والعزة والتصرف والكبرياء كل صفات العظمة داخلة في صفة الملك Which I'm translating as kingdom or dominion. It actually includes every possible strand of meaning of grandeur. Everything associated with greatness is ca encapsulated in that one word mulk Jalal, glory, power, kudra.

Sultan, authority, Izah, respect and dign dignity and the ability to legislate, what the Sarruf and to do whatever one feels, while Kibriya and and greatness. From the point of view'cause remember there's so much mention of hellfire in the surah, so there are people who are obviously in denial that are addresses. So from their point of view, when they hear and he's over he's completely in control over all things.

Right? Uh and we h we'll have to un understand the difference between mustatiyyah and qadir too today. Mustatiyyah means capable. Famal Fakhbain al Qadir, Wal Qadir, Wal Mustatiya. Right. So we when we say he's control in control or capable, we'll dig into that in a second. But I want you to understand what's going on here as far as the theme of the ayah.

You have a king, I imagine just some king, not Allah. You know, Wa illah il mashalullah some king. And he's got a great kingdom. He's got a massive empire. Okay, and some villages rebelling. What's he gonna do? He's gonna send the army, isn't he? Somebody is speaking out against the king. Somebody's, you know, engaged in uh kind of uh a rebellion against the king and they're s they're speaking out. They should be punished. Is he gonna punish him himself or is he gonna send someone?

And by the way, did he hear the guy rebelling, or did he have to hear it from somebody who heard from somebody and it was reported to him?

Isn't that the case? So eve the the bigger his kingdom, the less direct control he has. Isn't that the case? He may have control over his minister. The guy right next to him. Of not all the servants in the land, but at least the servant that serves him water he has control directly. But everything else is indirect control. He has no direct input on anything else. He's simply delegating. This king is simply delegating, right?

But how is it that he has all kingdom in his hands, and he himself is capable over all things? You understand this contrast? On the one hand, you've got this macro view of kingdom. And on the other hand you've got this microscopic every last bit he's got control over, this uniqueness of Allah established in this beautiful, beautiful ayah. But the other thing is Qadir simply doesn't just mean capability. It does. It has the meaning of constantly and always capable, by the way.

And it's the Isam Sipha which which alludes to some kind of constancy, something that always lasts, right? Uh and we'll we'll get to that in a in a bit when we get to the next ayah. But understand one more thing here. The word kadir comes from the word qadr, which can mean a couple of things capability, but it can also mean limit.

قَدْ جَعَلَ اللَّهُ لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدْرًا اللہ has put a limit to all things and Allah is the one who sets limits on everything else Notice the first half half of the ayah gives limitless kingdom to Allah and only to Him. And then enhances him and enhances him and enhances him beyond imagination. And he enhances his creation beyond imagination if he wishes. But he's also the one who's capable of putting limits.

You know, he's the one, the one who's unlimited himself can limit all things else. He's the one who can put you know uh put a stop. هذا الكلام يجوز أن يكون مرادا به مجرد الإخبار عن عظمت الله. That's the next beautiful thing. This speech, it could be that it's simply a statement of fact. He is incredibly full of the power of Baraka and he's in complete and has complete dominion over all things and he's completely in control, right?

These could be statements of fact. وَيَجُوزْ أَنْ يَكُونَ مَعَ ذَلِكَ إِنْشَاءُ ثَنَاءٍ عَلَى اللَّهِ أَثْنَاهُ عَلَى نَفْسِهِ وَتَعْلِيمًا لِلنَّاسِ And you know, تَبَارَكَ could also be a statement of inshah. Now let me tell you what inshah is. Inshah in Arabic, It refers in linguistics to a statement you make out of emotion.

A statement you make out of emotion. Like for instance, the statement uh Alhamdulillah is a statement of fact. Praise and gratitude in fact is rightfully belonging to Allah. But when you catch the bus And you say, Go, Alhamdulillah. You're actually not making a statement of fact, you're expressing your emotions.

That's insha'a. Insha'a means when you say something emotional, not necessarily informational. An ikhbar, an informational statement, is either true or false. You say yes or no at the end of it. An emotional declaration is no yes or no at the end. You don't say Alhamdulillah and somebody says false. It doesn't make sense. That's that that's not how it works, right? So تَبَارَكَ الَّذِي بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكُ وَهُوَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٍ

Yes, he did. It's not Allah rewarded you, it's actually may Allah reward you. May Allah reward you. Right? It's not Allah forgave him. It's not even a fact. It's may Allah forgive him. Right? So similarly, may he be. May he be. Or how blessed is the one who? It's like a statement of emotion. Okay.

It's and this is actually now illustrating how one should be in awe of Allah when they begin reciting the surah. Like they're ha th it's you know, by the way, a statement of fact employs your mind, and a statement of emotion employs your heart. And so the beginning of this surah is conquering our hearts and our minds. Now just one quick comment about Al Mulk and we'll move on to the next ayah.

Which is just an interesting thought about ملك, the way Allah describes himself. You know, he says, تُقْتِ الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاءُ وَتُعِزُّ مَن تَشَاءُ وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَاءُ بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرِ He says you grant kingdom to whoever you want. That's what we say to Allah. You grant kingdom to whoever you want. You grant dominion to whoever you want. You take it away from whoever you want.

In other words, kingdom and authority and what it means is actually something that is defined by Allah. And if you look at it in that sense, what mulk actually means to Allah, then our shallow definitions disappear. Compare Yusuf to the the minister who throws him in prison, according to Allah who actually has mul.

You know, compare Musa alayh to Firaun, who actually has Al Mulk? It there's a Lahir of Al Mulk, there's Lahir of authority and dominion. But you know a kingdom a king is only as strong as the army standing behind him. Who's backing him?

So it changes our perception when we say بِيَدِهِ الْمُلْكِ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٍ If you're subjects of his kingdom and you're loyal subjects of his, then he's got you covered. He's the one who protects you. You know? So in this in this beginning ayah there's also not only the grandeur and the kingdom of Allah, it serves two purposes immediately. It serves the purpose of warning those who will stand against this king.

And immediately it serves the purpose of giving a sense of security to those who are loyal to this king. You know,'cause if we've w we're under his kingdom we should be all right. You're messing with that king? You're in serious trouble. So before you even say anything else That's established. That's where this is headed. You'll have to say about yourself, you'll have to declare about yourself which side of this kingdom you belong to.

Are you on the rebellion or are you under in submission? Now the last, I know I keep saying last, but another thing came to mind, so I should share it with you, is actually about what's going on in Mecca at the time. Who's considered the rebels? Qurasha consider the Muslims rebels. They consider them outcasts, crazy people that are questioning and defying authority. They're the ones in defiance.

The opening Ayah of the Surah actually flips that equation and says, You're the rebels and they're the ones respecting authority. So it actually criminalizes those who were criminalising the Muslims. And it flips that in equation entirely, subhanAllah. And just think about the fact that

Rasulullah has no standing army, has no authority in Quraysh. He is the laughing stock of these people, much less the the object of not just ridicule but also of torture and of scheming. You know, they by the end of the surah will learn they're hoping he dies. And some of them are even hoping to kill him. That's why إِنْ أَهْلَكَ نِيَ اللَّهُ وَمَمَّعِيَىٰ

You know? If Allah did even kill me, if he even did allow me to be killed, that comes up because they're hoping to kill him. And yet and you know when somebody comes alone, I just I want you to imagine this crazy scene'cause you guys don't watch movies, so I'll tell you. Um

You have this one guy, there's this huge army that shows up with like their king and their their cavalry and they've got their spears and their shields and all of that stuff and they show up and they're obviously now you're hoping the camera turns to the other side. And there's an equally large army on the other side before they run into each other, but there's one guy there, just standing there, unarmed. And he's just looking at them and he says, If you know what's good for you, turn around.

And they're all like, Who's gonna make us turn around? Like how do you who are you to say you're that's a that's a lot of big talk from somebody who's got nothing with him. You know? This is big talk. This is big this is very like aggressive speech. Coming from a person who has no physically, visibly no position to be speaking like this, this is extremely offensive to those in power. Quran was actually extremely offensive. Extremely off I have no qualms about saying it. It was.

It's not just a religious statement. It's not just about theology. You're challenging their authority to their face. And you're basically saying you guys are incapable of doing anything. When you say Allah is capable over all things First of all, you said you have no authority, he has all authority, all kingdom in his hand. And he's got more than imaginable. And whatever little you have, he gave you.

And by the way, he's capable of everything, which actually suggests that you're what's left for you? You're capable of nothing. What a slap in the face. This is how the surah begins. It empowers the believer as they understand that Allah is behind them. It it challenges the disbeliever in in this aggressive, non apologetic kind of way.

And then he goes on to describe that king. The one who has all power in his hand and says الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاةَ لِيَبْلُوَكُمْ أَيُّكُمْ أَحْسَنُ عَمَلًا The one who created death ومن أعظم ما تظهر فيه القدرة صفة الخلق

And the one of the most incredible you know manifestations of when he says, I'm capable over all things, well what's what could be a better demonstration of being capable than the power over death and life? What's a better cap you know, here's a sampling of what I'm capable of. Here's a sampling of what I'm capable of and by the way, there are several reasons why death precedes life here that we can think about.

And one of the first that comes from the texture and the tone of this surah is it is a surah of Indar, it's a surah of warning. And when you warn someone and you're talking about Allah warning you, then Allah is capable of Well he already gave you life. What's he capable of right now? Death. He actually sets the tone for those I'm capable of giving you people death.

And it's not just Al Ladi Amata waahya, like he says in other places. The one who gives life, the the one who gives death, the one who gives life. No, the one who created death. The one who created death and life. This is unique in the entire Quran. Allah does not talk about death as a creation other than here. He uses the verb he gave death, Amata, Yumitu.

And Yuchi, to give life, to give death and to give life, but to create the institution of death, that's this is the exclusive place where it is mentioned.

And it's actually illustrating a unique power of Allah. We think of we think of uh death as the absence of life. Right? But Allah is actually forcing us to change our thinking about death. It is an actual entity, it is a creation. It is a creation of Allah. And in the context in in which we think about death, it's very different from a disbeliever. We think of death actually as a a bridge that we pass and we enter into a different kind of life.

It's a different it's another creation of Allah that we enter. A another created phase for ourselves. Like this journey that we're going through in this world right now as I as I live and breathe is one phase that Allah created for me. And the other, the one the one that starts at the moment of my death, is yet another phase that he created for me. It's not the lack of existence. Death to the believer is not a lack of existing.

You know? So the words Khalak almout are very pointed. It's not just he gave you death so you ceased to exist. إنه ليس عَدَمُكُمْ عَدَمُّ وَجُودِكُمْ يَوْنَوْنَوْنَوْنَوْنَوْنَوْنَوْنَوْنَوْنَوْنَوْنَا If you're studying a passage about Yabani Israel, you better understand the Jewish point of view. He's talking to them, so what are they processing as they hear it? How would the rabbi think about this? Understand their point of view. If he's talking to the Quraysh,

Well, how would they process this? You know, we process this as revering believers. Right? And sometimes our Mufasirun, Urahimah, they will actually document their thoughts on these ayat as they are internalizing it from the point of view of revering you know, believers full of awe. But it's also equally important to understand this from the point of view of the one who didn't believe, because the Qur'an addressed all of them.

What was going on in their minds as they heard this? Has Allah been mentioned by name yet? No. Only a grand king who's capable over all kinds of things, who created the institution of death, meaning he's beyond it.

is beyond death. And by the way, think about kingdom. Think about kingdom. Imagine a king who's got every bit of control in the land. There's nobody that can stand up to him. What's the only thing that will get rid of his kingdom? Who's that? You could have absolute control. You could have every last subject in your kingdom love you and be loyal to you and be ready to take a bullet for you and take the arrow and the spear for you, but your kingdom is still gonna come to an end. Why?

'Cause you're gonna die. You can't you can't outlive your mortality. That's not that's gonna come to an end. And by the way, as you approach your death, you know what goes down? Uman Nu'amihunakishufil Khal? You become less and less capable. You become less and less capable. Your kudra goes down. بيده الملك وهو على كل شيء لم يقل قادر قال قدير He didn't say is capable, meaning immediately capable. He said constantly capable. He said constantly capable. Why? Because

Unlike any other king who as even as they approach death their ability starts going down, Allah's is beyond that. He created the institution of death for all else. But he is tabarak. He is above and beyond it. He is more than that. He is more than any king you can imagine. You see how the word Tabarak now comes into play? You know, it it it's now it's beyond your concept of death and life or or kingdom.

You can't think of him like any other king. He's taken that away now. So الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمُوتَ وَالْحَيَاةِ That's one thing. The second is, you know, The power to create anyway, even when he says the word al q uh like when he says khalaq, just in the word creating, the the fact that he's a creator. You know, when you think about a creator, you think about someone who is who who produces unique things, like an architect or an inventor, or an artist.

Uh and they s they do something only they can do. Like a work of art that somebody produces. Somebody could try to replicate it, but it's unique to them. Right? And it's something that they're it's their invention. Allah Azza wa Jal is saying he's the kind of king you could m by the way, somebody can make a beautiful building. Could another architect come along and replicate it?

It's possible. Sure. That's possible. Could somebody could could a great, you know, seamstress who's who's very creative come up with some kind of clothing garment and somebody else can replicate it? Could an artist make a painting and somebody makes the same painting? Possible. So anyone who creates, it's possible that someone else can replicate their creation. He creates the He created death. He created the institu and he created the institutional life. You want to try and replicate those?

It's far beyond you. He is mutabaric in that sense too. What he creates is above and beyond what you can ever do. تزايده على خلقه His enhancement way above and beyond His creation. So this is the second implication here. A lot of commentary you find in tafsir about why it's proceeding.

Li Annal Ashia Philip Tidak Kanatfi Hukmil Maut kan Nutfa Waturabana some say because in the beginning when he created, he created us lifeless. For example, the dirt that he created is from is lifeless, or the nutfa, the drop of semen is is lifeless, etc. Right?

وَكُنْتُمْ أَمْوَاتًا فَأَحْيَاكُمْ كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنْتُمْ أَمْوَاتًا فَأَحْيَاكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُحْيِيكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُونَ السُوَةِ الْبَقْرَةِ He'll tell us that the original state of view was what? Death. فَالْمَوْتُ هُوَ الْأَصْلِ فِي خَلْقِ اللَّهِ فذكر الموت أولا So he mentioned in Surah Al-Baqarah, you used to be dead and he brought you to life.

You know, and then he'll give you death and he'll bring you to life again, and then you'll be brought back to him. So he mentioned death first there, right? So he th some argue that this is the reason for which death is mentioned here first, because that's the original creation of Allah. الموت والحياة قدم الموت على الحياة لأن أقوى الناس داعيا إلى العمل من نصب موته بين عينيه

Allah mentions death here before He mentions life because he gives you a sense of urgency, I better show my loyalty to this king before he gives me the death penalty. Nothing will give you get your act together than the prospect of you dying. So he actually created a sense of urgency by saying I created death by the way. You're you're in my death, not the death we used to experience before, but the death that's looming over us. He's talking about the death that's coming.

And he put that first to give you a sense of urgency. Just to think about even its correlation with Wahuwa alakuli shin Kaden, Allah is in control of every single death. And every single breath of life. Wahuala Kulli Shain Kadi, like it rattles the imagination. But actually of these tafasir and these thoughts and these reflections on what death and life could imply here, the one that I found the most compelling and from a textual point of view, because of what's going on in the passage.

إذ كان بالموت عن الدنيا إذ هو واقع فيها وعن الآخرة بالحياة من حيث لا موت فيها He says death and life, and death is actually an illusory reference. It's a reference to what we have in this world. What you what y all you have in this world is actually some form of death. You know the Prophet was told, Innaka Mayitun wa innahu mayyutun Which translates into a number of things. It could mean you're gonna die and they're gonna die.

You're no doubt you're gonna die and no doubt they're gonna die. But actually as a Jumla ismi, it also suggests you are already dying and so are they. You're already dying. We're experiencing a little bit of death every day. Our life is running out. If you think of death as worldly death as the running out of your human life. The complete running out of human life. And that little sand is going through the hourglass.

A little bit of it is going through every single day, every single minute. So we're experiencing droplets of death constantly. And then a taste of it is given to us every night when we go to sleep. You know, so he he alludes to sleep as death too. So we're actually in this world, we act our exhaustion, our bodies decaying over time as we age, all of these are actually miniature aspects of death. And of course the ultimate decay is in the grave.

When the body completely goes through decay, but it's not like it's not going through decay now. What I was capable of doing, how I was capable of exerting my physical body when I was eighteen is not where where I am now. It's not gonna be the same. It's not gonna be the same thirty years from now. You know, or forty years from now, it's not gonna be. You know? The the the wrinkles on our skin we can't control, doesn't matter how much Botox you do, you know.

The the eyesight getting weaker, the hearing the hearing loss, the hair going away, things are gonna things are gonna happen to our body. These are all actually mini miniature deaths of some parts of our body. You know, it's not your whole being that's died, some part of you is constantly dying. So what I'm trying to say is when he says he created death, it's actually a reference to what ho what happens in life to you right now.

And he created life, which is the ultimate life. Where is there an institute when does the the phase of our existence begin when there is no more deterioration, you stay exactly as you are? Májero. So actually this is a reference to he created worldly life, which culminates in death. And he created the ultimate life thereafter, which lasts forever. الَّذِي خَلَقَ الْمَوْتَ وَالْحَيَاطَ

It makes the last part of this ayah fit beautifully. Lia blu akom a yukum a sanu amalan. So he may test you. Let's just stop there. Lia blua kum. So he may test all of you. Look, if death if this was referring to like not the the life that's coming afterwards. Then there's no point in mentioning a test. Why is this life a test for the believer?

How you know a a test is something which you either pass or fail by definition. When there's an iptila or a bala, you either pass it or you fail it. When are we gonna know if we passed or failed? When are this when is the benefits of passing? Or the consequences of failing faced by the human being. After death, in the next life. That's when I get to see whether I passed or failed.

Otherwise, if that's not my concern, none of this is actually really a test. It's just stuff I go through right now that has no consequences other than right now. The only reason you and I can call this a test is because in a test you're being evaluated and your value comes forward in the next slide.

The value of what you did or didn't do comes forward in the next life. So he created the institution of death and life thereafter, so that he may put all of you to the test. So he may test all of you. Subhanallah. Now, notice if I keep going back, I keep going back because it's so amazing the tanasukh and the the weaving of the words of Allah. We started with the word tabaraka, which means something that is constant.

An institution that's constant that doesn't fluctuate and also Tabarak means something that increases beyond expectation. Just like this world will let lead into death and after death, beyond your expectation, there's another life. So he's متabarak in what he created and one of the biggest samples of him being متabarak, being full of barakah to create more than what you expect is actually الموت وبعد الموت الحياة.

So it's actually a a a chronological sequence. He created death that's coming and life thereafter. So he may put you to the test. Now what is that test? Ayyukum Ahsanu Amada. So which of you is better than If some translations say bust, I don't like that translation. This is اسم تفضيل المقارنة. It's for comparison purposes. It's not أفضل التفضيل because it's a مضاف or islam التعريف. If you say الأحسن عملا, like بالأخصرين أعمال, that's actually superlative.

If you don't put the Lamatarif, then it's not superlative, it's comparative. Is who is better? Who is better in terms of deed? There's a difference between better and best, isn't it? You know when you're best Only one person can be the best. You can't have two people that are the best. Best means number one. But when you say better.

When you say better, you've got a lot of people that are better. And by the way, you may never be the best, but you can certainly become better. There will never be a day in my life where I'll say finally I'm the best that I can be.

But I could be able to say, Alhamdulillah, I'm doing what? I'm doing better. Right? It's actually a mercy of Allah that Allah did not expect perfection. Allah expected improvement. أحسن. لا ألا أحسن. It's A San Just just show me improvement. Show me improv and by the way, some people improve slowly, some people improve quickly.

Some people make long strides, some people are willing to give everything they own for the sake of Allah, and some people can give a percent of what they own, and that's that's improvement from zero. That's fine, you know? Waqullah Ad Allah Husna Allah has promised the most beautiful things to all of them.

You know, everybody will make progress in their own way. It's actually a beautiful thing that Allah created this institution to see which of you is gonna make strides to improve. So it's not a fatalistic view. That's the beauty of the side. It's not a fatalistic view. It's not death is coming, I'm not the best, I give up. You know? I uh this is very pointed to me because the of the culture I come from.

This hits me in a different way because of me being Pakistani. And for those of you that are Indian or Bangladesh, Southeast Asians. You know. You know why? Because we're instil it's we know it's instilled in us in our education system. If you don't score the highest in your class, I got fashion yay. If you didn't rank first in your class Why aren't you dead yet? Don't even show me your face. Why do we even send you for an education? What's the point? Number two? Two! You know like

And you know what? How many that that means the vast majority of children that are going through this education system expect the only way you're worth anything is if you are. The best. And if and by the way, those who are the best suffer from the most extreme form of arrogance. Right? They suffer from the most extreme I came number one in my class. And then that's that guy's on a that drug his whole life. You know, he can't get out of it. And the rest of them suffer from clinical depression.

And that repression doesn't just remain relegated to the sphere of education. It actually transfers the over into the kind of parents they become down the road, the kind of spouses they become, and the kind of view they have of their spiritual life. They'll say to themselves, Since I am not the best believer, what's the point anyway?

And they'll give up on all their practices, prayer altogether, practice altogether'cause I'm not perfect and the rationale they will argue is amazing. Look, I'm not perfect, okay, I can't do all that stuff. They'll actually offer that rationale. And that entire diseased mindset is crushed in just one word. Ahsanu. He didn't ask you to be perfect, stupid. He didn't ask you to be perfect. Subhanallah, ayyukum Aqsaru. Yeah, we're gonna be here till five. Okay, so

Now listen to this. لَيْسَ الْفَقِيهُ مَنْ يَعْلَمُ الْخَيْرِ مِنَ الشَّرِّ The one who understands properly isn't just someone who understands right from wrong, good from bad. بَلِلْفَقِيهُ مَنْ يَعْلَمُ الْخَيْرِ مِنَ الشَّرِّ مِنَ الشَّرِّ Actually, truly understanding this, who is better in terms of deed, is actually understanding if you can distinguish between good and better. And worse and worse.

In other words, you're constantly going to have to make choices in life. You have limited time. Death is looming. I have limited time. We can do so many good things in our life. Let's look at start at the positive. We can do so many good things in our life.

You and I have to prioritize what good thing can I do that is of maximum benefit to me and the people around me that I can present before Allah because I have limited time. I'll give you the analogy because analogies help us get understand stuff. You've got twenty minutes left and you have thirty questions. Some questions are worth three points, some are worth fifteen points, some are worth twenty-five points, etc. Which should you spend your time solving first?

The questions that are worth the most points you should probably tackle first before your time runs out. So even if your time ran out before you get to the extra credit or the one or two pointers. that you made the most of your time. Liabluwa kum ayyukumasan actually embedded in it, who is better in terms of deed, actually suggests you actually constantly have to make prioritizations in your deeds. What are the things I have to tackle right now?

What are the b what's the best thing I can do? That's on the positive side. But this actually has a as as a view on the negative side too. Asanu Amala also means to remove ugliness from our deeds. There are problems that I have. There are things I should better about myself.

Right? None of us are perfect. We all have flaws. But there are some flaws that are mission critical. We need to get those get rid of those. And some things are, you know, they can take some time. It's b it's nice if you got rid of them, but they're not mission critical. If for example someone's not praying. They're not praying and on top of that they're not reciting Quran every day. They're missing out on two things. Which of them should they take care of first?

You've got a bigger problem. This is this is deducting major points from your Akira. So why don't you get rid of this problem first, prioritize this, and then take care of the other because you have limited time. So understanding the value of good and bad, and understanding what big bad things I have to get rid of, what major flaws I have to work on, and what major good deeds should I be engrossed in right now, as opposed to things that can wait.

At the end of the day, even in worldly life, you and I have a list of things we wanted to accomplish in the next twenty four hours, and we never get through them. Right? I want to get da da da da da da da and we don't get through them. And you know what happens most of the time? You have two kinds of people. You have people that have don't go uh they don't have a good sense of time management. So they'll just do whatever came to their mind.

And then they at the end of the day they go, Ugh, I I had to do this, this and this and I forgot it. You know? I was supposed to put that in the mail, I was supposed to open the account, I was supposed to do that, and I completely forgot it now and pass the deadline. And then there are those who look at that list and say All right, what do I need to do today? And if I didn't do today, there'd be a problem. And they check mark those and they take care of those things first.

And then if there's time left over, this is smart time management, right? It's actually in the words خلاق الموت والحياة ليبلوكم أيكم أحسن معملاً is the entire philosophy of time management in the Qur'an in this small phrase. Okay? Now, yeah.

وهو العزيز الغفور

No one can overpower It's called the Aziz This actually furthers the idea of بيذيه الملك Doesn't it? And that's why it's actually even مقدم على الغفور It's actually mentioned before غفور Because the conversation is about Allah's authority primarily First and foremost Okay العزيز عصو هو الذي يهب العزة لمن يشاء من عباده

The one who also grants dignity and grants authority and grants capability to whoever he wants from among his slaves. The word Aziz or Izza in the Arabic language is a combination of two things. Ibn al Faris, a great linguist of the Arabic language, his philosophy actually was that most roots of the Arabic language have two flavors and then they blend.

They allude to two things and then they come together. So Izza actually has two things. It has elements of kuwa in it. It has elements of elements of power, authority, things like that. And it has an element of karam, uh dignity and nobility. وَلِلَّهِ الْعِزَّ وَلِرَسُولِهِ وَلِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ suggests Allah has the ultimate authority but also possesses dignity and that's why it's come as an antonym for لَيُخْرِجَنَّ الْأَعَزُّ مِنْهَا

Al Adal, right? It's comes as an antonym of those who are humiliated, those who are dignified. Al Az Al Azal. On the other hand you have Al Aziz, like Imra Atul Aziz, for example, right? Which is an authority. The implication there is authority. But it's actually a combination of both of those flavors because sometimes you have an authority that doesn't command respect.

That happens. And sometimes you have respectful people that have no authority. And then Aziz kind of combines both of them. Right? Both of them. So now Allah Azza wa Jal is that authority that commands respect. Uh, you know, a as the king, but it also as an implication is beautiful in that Allah is saying, Allah will grant you the authority to be able to do good deeds.

'Cause only he can. He's an Aziz, so he'll actually grant you the authority so you can do what you need to do to make the most of your life. Also, if you were to do good deeds, he's the one who will grant you respect. Doesn't matter if the Quraysh make fun of you or the disbelievers poke fun at you and everybody thinks you're crazy and humiliated The Izza doesn't come from them. He's al Aziz, he gives it. You just do good deeds and you let the dignity come from Allah, not from people.

We don't actually look for respect from people. We look for respect from Allah. We don't assume that we are only going to be able to act. You know, if we are granted authority by people, we're only assuming that we are going to be able to have that ability when that authority is granted by Allah. So Allah Aziz is actually it frees us from a lot of social pressure. That name and our relationship with that name frees us from a lot of those pressures. Now.

Fine, Allah has given me the ability and He's honored me with the ability to do these good things. Am I going to do them to perfection? No. Am I going to do make the most of my life? No. I'm going to try to do better, but I'll fall on my face quite a bit. So, you should also overlook, if he's only Al-Aziz, then I'm probably not going to meet his expectations. So beautifully, he actually says, وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزِ الْحَفُورِ

Rafir a one who forgives. Rafur one who forgives exceedingly. And this is different from Sipha necessarily. It is. Sifa is actually a dormant quality. That doesn't mean they're they're demonstrating their wisdom, that even if they're sleeping their hakim. Okay. But a ghapur is only ghafur when they're engaged in the act of forgiving and a lot in the act of forgiving. So it's an active quality. So Allah Azza by the way, his authority is in Islam Sifa.

The authority. He doesn't necessarily execute his authority on you all the time. He does, he gives you some freedom. You know, he'll give you some room. And he doesn't always grant dignity. But he is actively involved in giving forgiveness. This is actually uh empowering the meaning of Al Ghafur here at the end. And it's giving a lot of hope to the ones who listen that even if you've messed up before and you've been on the wrong side of this kingdom.

You can come on through, it's okay. You're gonna be forgiven. And he's not just forgiving, he's exceedingly forgiving. And by the way, never lose sight of the fact that this ayah began with Al Ladi. You can't lose out of that fact. You know why? تبارك الذي بيديه الملك وهو على كل شيء قدير تبارك الذي خلق الموت والحياة ليبلوكم أيكم أحسن عملا تبارك العزيز الغفور

That's actually what's going on here. The authority is above and beyond your imagination. His forgiveness is above and beyond your imagination, and it's a constant. It's gonna be there. So that's why the الَّذِي دِي سَمْ لَوْسُولِ You know, a continuation of what came before is critical. And then that same تَبَارُكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ سَبْعَ سَمَوَاتٍ طِبَقًا I know I've been going for a long time but I really want to finish the first section. Is that okay with you guys? Two Mariahs.

الذي خلق سبع سماوات التباق The one who created the seven skies. Seven skies. Tibakan. Tibakan means a couple of things. That's a that's a difficult word in this ayah. There are a couple of difficult words in this ayah. By the way, uh uh mulk has unique vocabulary. Right. So it's a challenge for vocabulary. So you'll have tafut, futur Hasi and Hasid. There's some interesting language in the in the surah. Anyway.

So let's deal with that first part. The one who created seven skies, you can say tibakan layers. Tabaka yutabiku tibakan wa mutabakatan that's that will be the suffer it. Mutabaka means for something to be uh well corresp corresponding to something else. Uh mutabaka can be the bricks on this wall. They correspond to each other, they connect with each other well. Okay? When things work well with each other, they have tatabuka.

Okay, when things work well with each other and they are seamless together, then they have mutabaka. Another word for mutabaka is tibak. So Saba Asamawatin Tibaka he made seven skies that are seamless, they fit into each other, they work with each other. مصفت به السموات للمبالغة أي شديد المطابقة Tibat here, it's incredibly well connected. Seven skies that are incredibly well connected where you cannot see where one ends and the other begins.

right it's perfectly seamless أي مناسبة بعضها لبعض في النظام that they are all so corresponding to each other and working well with each other synchronized with each other ويجوز أن تكون طباقا جمع طباق Tabak can also be the plural of the word tabak, which means layer. He made the seven skies into multiple layers.

So there are two meanings. He made the seven skies seamlessly fused with each other, and at the same time, he made seven skies into layers. Obviously seven layers. Right? Now the thing is, when you make things in layers, Like a building in layers, you can tell one floor from another. There's a distinct line, but this is also unique because the word.

suggest that they are in layers but they're also seamless. Cause one meaning of Tibak is it's seamless, it's just a continuous flow from as a master, and the other that it's actually at the same time levels. The question though arises, oh man, I'm gonna drop this on you now. What is this doing here? He was talking about creating death and life. All of a sudden he starts talking about what? Skies. What are skies doing here? You know?

Allah Azzawajal in the Quran on multiple occasions, listen to this ayah, this is in Baqarah, years later. This is years later. كَيْفَ تَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَكُنْتُمَّ مُوَاتًا فَأَحْيَاكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُمِيتُكُمْ ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ تُرْجَعُمْ How could you disbelieve in Allah? You used to be dead and He gave you life. Is there some similarity in subject to this, what we're studying now?

وَهُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيمٍ The next ayant Srutul Baqarah is he created seven skies. Death, life, followed immediately by what? Seven skies. Here what? Death, life, followed immediately by what again? Seven skies. It's not like the Prophet is consulting. What was said in Sultan Mul? Okay, let me do this here.

It's so seamless. This is kalam kalam und kalam al du tibakin. But listen to this. What's the correlation though? We I just told you for a non believer, death is the absence of life. It's the discontinuation, it's a cut. For the believer, what is it? No. It's a continuation. It's a continuation. Seamless continuation. Where you can't see where one ends and the other begins. The believer was lying there coughing and all of a sudden angels are saying, you know, La Tahzanu.

Wa Abshirjannah La Thafu Absurb and he's like he in a blink angels are congratulating him. It's completely seamless and he says in the next ayah, by the way, if you want to understand how seamless death and life are, I will remind you Every time you look at the sky. The one who created seven skies seamlessly. The one who also created seven skies in later. Incredible. Incredible what he does. Subhanallah.

I was thinking about this. You know why I thought about this? Like where I found the answer to what's the correlation? Quran. Where's the only other ayah that طبق is used? لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَنْ طَبَقٍ فَمَالَهُمْ لَا يُؤْمِنُونَ You are going to rise and by the way that ayah also starts with the sky. You know? So there Allah says you are going to ride one stage after another. You're gonna ride with an angel who's gonna be your driver and

Your cab driver, and he's gonna drop you off into your mom's womb. And you that's gonna be a tabak. Then you're gonna hang out inside the belly of your mom, not paying any rent. That's a tabak.

Then you're gonna come out of there and you're gonna cry like a baby because you're a baby. That's another tubak. Then you're gonna grow older, that's another tubak, you're gonna become an old man, that's another tubak. You're gonna die, that's a tubak, you're gonna go in the in your grave, that's a tubak.

You're gonna be raised at a tabak, latar kabuna tabakan an tabak. The word tabak was used for the layers of life that we are going to pass through, the levels of life that we're gonna pass through. And now Allah uses that same word levels for what? The levels of the sky. And I there's some other stuff to drop on you, but I'll wait.

ما ترى في خلق الرحمان من تفاوت Notice Allah didn't say Fi Khalkillah and this is the first time Allah's name is being mentioned in this surah. A surah that was supposed to be a warning to disbelievers, that was supposed to establish Allah's authority from the very beginning.

and warned them of death that is looming over them. Now first for the first time introduces Allah's name and not as Allah but as Al Rahman. Why? One they were in denial of that name, so it's a slap in their face. Two, you're missing out guys, he's a Rahman. Why are you in denial of him? It's not like he wants to punish you, he wants to take care of you. So the first introduction to Allah's name in this surah is actually Al Rahman.

وإضافة الخلق إلى الرحمن. You know, it's incredible. Allah didn't say, you will not see in disguise. Now when you say you're not going to see flaws in the sky, you're only talking about the skies. When you say you won't see flaws in the creation of a Rahman, then is the conversation limited to the skies? No. The conversation has now been open to what? All creation. Tell me this. What creation has thus been mentioned so far? What? No, no, no, not just this guy. Death?

life and the skies. And Allah says, now making the point Himself, just like you don't see any flaw or crack or gap between the skies, you and you don't see any flaw or gap or crack between death and life. It's a continuation. So will you see all of Allah's creation. He doesn't create things with a gap. He doesn't create things with a flaw. That's just not him.

And he is too merciful and caring and loving to do that. In other words, the fact that he gave you a new life after your death is an act of his care and love and mercy. And everything you see around you that he created The you know when you well you know how you say somebody creates something and they they call they call the engineer when he designs a new car? What was your motivation?

Or some musician came out with a new song. What was your motivation? Well my grandmother used to slap me on the back all the time and that's why I wrote this song, this country song, or whatever. You know. They asked what their motivation was. What is the motivation illustrated of Allah behind all creation in this ayah? Rahma.

ما ترى في خلق الرحمن ما ترى في خلق الرحمن And the reason you won't see flaw in it, the reason you won't see any gaps in it is because he put too much love and care into it. It's not it's not some mechanical thing, some factory that produced creation.

You know when you create something of your own and you just keep perfecting it and fixing it and you know, and a lot of care went into it. Like you know when a when a wife cooks something for her husband or something, or a mom makes a meal for her son? There you could you could taste the love in the barata. You could taste it.

You know? It's different from like the burger joint or something. It's different. You know, she could wife you your wife could make cereal for you, you'll taste the love in it. You'd be like, wow, it's really good. You know? Something about the spoon. I don't know.

And we don't see Allah's mercy, nor his care, nor his love. And he says, The reason you see things to complain about is you've removed Rahman from the equation. You're not conscious of the fact that this is Al Rahman's work, you know, the exceedingly unimaginab unimaginably loving and merciful. فإضافة الخلق إلى الرحمن إشارة أخرى إلى أن المخلوقات إنما خلقت جميعها بيد الرحمة التي مستها جميعا

It was c all creation was created with the with with mercy, with Allah's mercy, and it has touched everything He's ever made. Rahmati was my mercy, my mercy. In fact it has extended to all things. وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ So before it was, I'm in complete control over everything. And now he's saying, I haven't created a single thing that I don't put love and care into. Subhanallah.

By not by by limiting or not limiting the conversation to the seven skies or to the creation, Allah has actually opened our our eyes to explore Allah's kingdom more. He's actually invited the human being to look around and just constantly remind himself, Ma Tarafi Khalkir Rahman ibn tafawat. So next time you travel and you're looking at the sky or you're looking at a mountain and you're looking at a child playing and you're saying Ma Tarafi Khalkir

It's actually extended your view of this ayah to all of your experiences in life. You know? No. It is his extent by the way, in the in the context of the discussion though, in the context of the discussion, the primary creation Allah mentioned was death and followed by death a new life.

And that was corresponded with the seven skies. There was a correlation made between those two things. And if you tie that to the idea of Ar Rahman, it is the exceedingly merciful who didn't end your existence with death.

It's actually an exceeding act of his mercy that he gave you a new life thereafter. People should not think of the afterlife as a curse or something looming over them that's gonna destroy them. Why did Allah have to bring me on judgment day? Why was this no no no no no. The motivation behind it is is rahmah. What drives it is Rahmah. You know?

مَا يَفْعَلُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابِكُمْ اللَّهُ says, what's Allah gonna get out of punishing you? إِلَّا مَا رَحِمَ رَبُّكَ وَلِذَلِكَ خَلَقَهُمْ For the purpose of showing them mercy and love and care, that's why He created them. So now الاختلاف والعيب والتفرق Something that has contradiction, something that doesn't add up, something that is flawed, something that is divided up, broken up and doesn't go together. Laya Futu Babuhu Baaban it doesn't seem it doesn't skip one into the other.

لو كان كذا وكذا لكان أحسن يعني نقول فيما هو فيه تفاوت لو كان كذا وكذا لكان أحسن if something has تفاوت in it this word in it then you look at it and say man if it was that way it would have been better يأتي من الفوات والفوت فاتني شيء أي سبقني وذهب عني It comes from the word fawat, which means something that I skipped or missed. Allah has nothing that's ever been missed.

There's no time that's been missed. There's nothing that's been skipped. The word tafa would suggest anything that's been skipped. تفاوت الشيئان تباعد أما بينهما. Beautiful word, man. Oh my God. This is actually تناسق الكلمات. تباق meant something that goes seamlessly together. Now he says ما ترى في خلق الرحمن من تفاوت. تفاوت actually means Things that move far apart from each other and are clearly distinct from each other. تَبَا عَدَمَ بَيْنَهُمَ

So Allah does not create things that are distant from one another. And by the way, in the in in Quranic philosophy, I would even argue, and that's something I talked about in my previous lecture series in in Surto Nur this came up. Allah talks about natural phenomenon in the Quran, and he constantly in the Quran ties it to a spiritual reality.

In this case, seven skies, a physical phenomenon, was tied to the institution of death and life, right? So spiritual truth is connected to a physical, visible truth, right? And so even between the physical and the spiritual realm there's no tafawah. There's no gap. There's no I'm pondering over creation as opposed to I'm pondering over revelation.

It is actually seamlessly connected. So you can't possibly ponder over the sky without making you think of revelation. And you can't possibly think of revelation without making you think about the sky and the earth and the tree and subhanAllah. Matarafi Khalkir rahmani mintafawa.

فرجع البصر هل ترى بالفطور؟ strange language let's start with that strange language therefore therefore bring your gaze back Bring your gaze back. Return your gaze to Why not? I was in. Look. Farja el Basar, return your gaze. Returning suggests that you were already doing something, you left it and you came back to it. Doesn't it? But هل ترى من فطور؟

Allah is saying that you've been looking at the sky your whole life. He's saying you've been looking at Allah's creation all all this time. I'd like you to go back and look at everything again. فارجع المصر Look at it as though you've never seen it before. Don't make any assumptions. You'll be surprised what you see. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala in this incredible ayah is telling us it's all about the perception with which you see reality. Everything changes.

Everybody will see a tree. Someone will see a tree and say, man, this tree is so unkept. Another will see that tree and say, SubhanAllah. Allah brought that tree out of the dead earth like He will bring me out of the dead earth one day. Another will look at that tree and say, This tree offers shade and provides benefit. What kind of creature am I? I don't provide benefit to anyone.

It's that same tree, but how you look at it is gonna change everything. And now that you've understood that all creation is Khalkur Rahman Now the way you look at things should change entirely, so it's like you're looking at things for the first time. That's why فرجع البصر. Go back. And by the way, رجوع, we say in Islam, for example, إذا أسلم أحد رجع إلى فترته. When someone came to Islam, they have gone back to their original nature.

So now go back to look at reality as you were always supposed to have looked at. Don't look at it from a materialistic point of view, a scientific point of view only. You know? A soulless view. Change your view. Change your view. Do you see any flaw at all? Any crack at all? Any rip? Any tear at all? Now some have of course, because of its proximity to the previous ayah assumed, it's saying look at the sky, do you see any flaw?

But if you pay attention to the previous ayah, it's not limited to this guy. أشار إلى خلق الرحمن. All creation of الرحمن. So go out and look everywhere. Of course, beginning with the sky,'cause that's the most recently mentioned creation. But it's not limited to that. Go look around at everything. See if you find any futur. Now the word futur got me drove me crazy.

I've lost a lot of sleep over Future. Why? Because the word futur means a shukuk wasuldua, a rift, a crack, alchuruq, a breach, a tear. That's what the word like Ida Sama'un Fatarat when the sky tears open, right? تكاؤ السموات يتفطرنا. Right? The skies are going to tear open. Yet the same word is used in a positive sense. فاتر السموات والأرض الذي فطرني. The one who created, the translated is the one who created me.

ابن عباس رضي الله تعالى عنه ويقول ما كنت أدري ما فاتر السموات والأرض It's like okay. حتى أتاني أعربيان يختصماني في بئر فقال أحدهما أنا فطرتها أي أنا ابتدأت حفرها Until two Bedouin Arabs came to me arguing, and they looked they were arguing over a well, who owns the well? And one of them says, I am the father of it.

So then Allah says when he says Haltaram in Futur, it does mean both of those things, initial, beginning and rip. And let me tell you the correlation, like Ibn Faris will argue the the the correlation between Something that is initial and something that is ripped. When you are cl you know making an outfit, when a seamstress is making an outfit or tailor is making an outfit, what do they do first? They tear. They tear. When you are building something, what do you do first? You break, you mold.

You know the first phase of creation is actually manipulation, breaking, tearing, joining, right? So Futur captures that initial phase of creation. Okay. Now Allah is basically saying so can you see where it all began? Can you see the f can you if you look around, can you see where it all started? Are you able to see that? You know why he says that? Cause it's almost like he's asking us to asking us if we're witness to the when the beginning when the creation first started.

الله says elsewhere ما أشهدتهم خلق السماوات والأرض ولا خلق أنفسهم. I didn't make them witness the creation of the skies and the earth. And I didn't make them witness their own creation. You weren't around because what's the original state of creation? Death. Be humbled that the things around you that you see, are they in some kind of you know under construction phase or do you see them mature in their creation? Haltaram in futur? Do you see something that's not quite done yet?

You know, do you see some that just just started out or do you see them in full maturity? So he puts the human being in his place when he says Haltara minfutur. ثم ارجع البصر كارتين stare and gaze again twice over twice over here means دَالُّلْ عَلَى التَّرَخِيَ الرُّتْبِي ثُمَّ actually means take your time ponder over it come back and look at it again let me tell you why this is When you uh when you go to a new city Right, some place you've always wanted to go.

We went to Hawaii or something. You're amazed by the place. Everything was awesome. Then the next time you go, but it's not for just 24 hours, you go for a month. Still pretty cool, but do you start noticing certain problems? It's not as awesome. It's good, but you know it's got certain issues. So you start noticing things when you take a second look? So at the at at first glance something might seem very impressive? When you get a little closer, take a deeper look, it's not as impressive.

You're not as amazed by it? That's the nature of the experien human experience. Allah says in His creation, in what He created, take a look. and maybe if you take a second look, you might find some flaw. Why don't you look again? Okay, do it again. Do it another time. كَرَّتَينَ actually means كَرَّا بعد كَرَّا بعد كَرَّا بعد كَرَّا

You know how you say in English, look again and again. How many times do you say again? Twice. That's actually a an expedited expression, karateini. Look again and again. Look time and time again. مَرَّتَيْنِ مَعْنَاهُ مَرَّةً بَعْدَ مَرَّةٍ وَإِنْ زَادَ عَلَى الْمَرَّتَيْنِ It's actually again and again, even if it's more than two. It's an expression, keep on looking.

In this ayah there's also motivation for you to go back and stare and go back and stare and go back and ponder over Allah's creation over and over again. But it's actually you can tell from the language it's talking to the defiant first. Why don't you reflect? Why don't you go back and find a flaw this time? No w by the way, they're asked they're asked to use their eyes, are they not? This is an important bit of Quranic philosophy that you must internalize. The Quran is an oral message.

The Quran is an oral message. And people who disbelieve say we will not believe until we see. We're not interested in what you have to say and only in what we hear. We will only find something believable if we what? The Quran's response is there's plenty for you to see already. The Quran says go look at creation. That should be enough for you to see. And now listen. So they say show us something special, Allah will say what the sky isn't special enough?

This shows some miracle. He'll say your own creation isn't miraculous enough? But that's not enough? Have you even thought about it? That's the Quran's argument. They're looking for special effects. They're looking for a mountain turn into gold. They're looking for springs come out of the water. But Allah says you wouldn't be amazed by any such thing. If you saw it, you'd call it magic anyway.

أو سُكِّرَة أَبْصَارُنَا بَلْنَحْنُ قَوْمٌ مَسْحُرُونَ If even Quran came down floating paper from the sky, And came on your hands, you'll say, Sukirat Absal, our eyes have been drunk. We are some kind of drugged. What kind of magic has been cast? We're spellbound. So Quran doesn't waste its time trying to tell you that there yes some special effects miracle are coming. And then the Quran makes another argument. Have visually you know dazzling miracles come before.

They have. A staff has turned into a snake. Welder has parted before. Blind people have been able to see before. That this has happened. Did it help those people? No, and by the way, when he does show those things The track record has been people still didn't believe? And if he goes out of his way to show you something and you still disbelieve, what happens to you?

You get ripped apart in this world. Forget about the next. That's coming. You get destroyed in this world. So when did nations get destroyed? After miracles. So, in the Surah, he is not showing you a miracle. He's saying, if you want to see, look at the creation of Ar-Rahman, right? And now it gives you a new flavor of the meaning of Ar-Rahman. It is actually because he wants to continue to be excessively merciful to you that he's not showing you anything else.

If he showed you anything else, you would be following the same fate as everyone who came before you, you would be annihilated. This is a Rahmah of Allah that He's not answering your stupid question. You understand? This is actually the point that's being driven home here. Just look at this. No, show me something. Go back and look at it again. No wanna see something go back and look at it.

ثم مرجع البصر كرتين ينقلب إليك البصر خاصئاً وهو حسير This part also drove me nuts for a while like what is Allah saying here? Your eye shall come back خاصئ Your eye if you do exhaust yourself looking around, looking at the sky, looking at creation, your eye will come back exhausted. Like or or chase one of the meanings is exhausted, but it's actually one of the shav meanings of exhausted. Chase actually means Matrud. Shoot away. You do this for monkeys and dogs actually in Arabic literature.

Get away from me!

And I have certain thoughts on this, but first I'll give you the linguistic meaning a little bit. الخاصة البعيد الذي لا يترك أن يدنوى من الإنسان خاصة أي صاغرا الخاصة تباعد سخط In the Arabic language, they say someone who is may in sh you ensure that they're far away from you because it's not you you are uncomfortable with them being close to you.

Someone who you feel is so inferior or so beneath you or so disgusting to you that you want to keep them at a distance and khasi an al-Sahiran, someone who is Sahir doesn't mis just mean small, like liter figure is literally small. It actually means small in your eyes. Someone minuscule or insignificant is khasi. You wouldn't want to associate with them. That's a chase. Right? And then tabar ud-sachad, when you harshly kick someone away from you. That's actually the meaning of Hase. Now.

This is used for example, Gunu Pira Datan Hasi in turn into monkeys that are shooed away. Right. But what is sh who's being shoo your your eye will be shooed away? What does that mean? Your eye will be exhausted and shooed away, pushed away, kept at a distance?

What in the world does that mean? I'll give you an analogy to help you understand, inshallah, as best I can, and then Wahuwa Hasir will make sense too, and this is the last part of our first section. Four Ayat is the first section. Alhamdulillah. Okay. So here's what it is.

Um I look, I give weird analogies as a disclaimer ahead of time just to get the point if it gets the point across, it's my goal. Okay. Um So you're at you're kind of um newly got a job and you're making like forty five thousand dollars a year and you're on top of the world and you even got yourself like a and you got yourself like a you went to Macy's or something and you bought yourself a three hundred dollar watch and you're sitting next to this guy who's your age.

And he's kinda wearing like a dilapidated old T shirt. You know, and he's in the masjid and he's like, Hey, so what do you do? Uh I just kinda sit around. I have a job. Where do you live? Oh those apartments? That's yeah, see those big ones? Yeah I got I rented one of those.

Can can I come over to your place sometime? And you kinda you want to test his what's he done with his life? You've been away in you've been out of touch with him for a while, you guys went to the same school, and you're just catching up and he looks like he's homeless virtually. And you kinda wanna show him that, you know.

Come on, what you got? What you got? Come on, what do you drive? What do you drive? He goes, I just have a bicycle. All right, let's go to your place. Oh, he's got a bike. I got a car. Let's go to his place. So you pull over to his place and there's just a gate. You're like, where do you live outside this gate? He opens the gate and there's an endless driveway, trees on both sides, mansion, beachfront property. From here to there you can't see the end of it. And you're just like

You're the one that's security guards concerned. Is he with you? You know? You just got put in your place. Allah talks to the most arrogant and he turns to them and says, Go look at the creation of War Rahman. And if you genuinely take a look at it. You're gonna feel humiliated who you were questioning. Young Kali Bilaikal Basaru Khasiang. It's gonna come back to you with a sense of hum like you'll f you're gonna feel like a dog that should be shooed away.

And you're gonna regret what you just did. Wahwa Hasir. And your your eye you know people's r you can see the regret in their eyes? You can see people's regret and shame in their eyes. Your eyes will you you will make eye contact. That's why Yam Kali Bilaikal Basar won't look anymore. The eye will come back the gaze will come back back towards you. You just look down and you'll be filled with regret. If you have any ounce of shame in you. SubhanAllah. You know the word haseer. Amazing.

Someone who's wearing a helmet Alabi al Asi someone who's wearing a a milkfar is actually a darr. Someone whose helmet, their headgear, the thing that was protecting their head, which actually means protecting their pride, is taken off, they're called a Hasir. Hassara Kinaa Kina al Hammiani to remove something actually. You will feel like your pride has been removed. You will feel like your dignity has been removed.

if you truly gaze, you'll be humbled like you've never been humbled before حسر البصر من طول النظر ثم الحسرة التلحف والتأسف والنضام والغم حسرة actually means anxiety and feeling really sad and you know to be regretful and to be full of shame What have I done? How could I have done this? And by the way, Yankali Bilaik al Basaru Hasi and this is the the now concluding this passage, inshaAllah. What a passage subhanallah. This passage began with the kingdom of Allah.

Who's in complete control over everything? And at the end of it you started glimpsing at some of his kingdom and you realized how mi insignificant you are. In the beginning he's go he owns all kingdom, and by the end you're the one humiliated. Right? It's this contrast between the slave, the human being, and Allah. You notice that Allah Azza wa Jal talked about death and life.

Twice. Then twice he said Br take your eyes back and look. Take your eyes back and look. He mentioned creation t twice, he mentioned looking around twice. It's perfectly symmetrical. It's perfectly symmetrical. In the middle two ayat of this passage, he said seven skies. He created seven skies. He made them seamless with each other. Do you see Matarafi Khaktir rahmani minta fawut? You don't see any gap.

And then he tied it directly with Haltara min photor. Do you see any even rip? Gap is far away. Rip is when you rip something there the gap is even closer. إذا فرغبت أن تفاوت لن تفاوت فتور إذا فرغبت أن تفاوت فتور إذا فرغبت أن تفاوت فتور إذا فرغبت أن تفاوت فتور إذا فرغبت أن تفاوت فتور إذا فرغبت أن تفاوت فتور إذا فرغبت أن تفاوت

Look at look at g take take a gaze again twice over. Once for death, once for life. Karratin. I'll tell you one last thing about this uh this passage, then we'll we'll conclude. And this is gonna take two minutes, I promise. Uh and that is that um I personally uh I shared this with a couple of scholars and they agreed with me this is a possible reflection on this passage. Allah says He created the institution of death, and upon death a believer and a human being is taken up into the skies.

Their soul is taken up into the skies, and then they're brought back. Um and if Allah created seven skies, you can't appreciate how seamless they are from here. And that's pretty well established by the next passage, because as far as stars are concerned, that's still the first sky. Right? So if Allah says He created seven seamless skies, you wouldn't be able to appreciate that unless You went up there a little bit. Yeah?

So the Allah says He created the institution of death And then he says to us upon death. Go up there and see if you find any flaws. And as the soul is being taken up, It's looking around and it sees no flaws. And then it's brought back down. Some souls are taken all the way up to the seventh heaven. Some are just the first, some second, right? And then so as it's being brought down. It sees it again. You saw the skies on the way up? You're seeing the skies on the way?

Farje al-Basar. Thummar Ji al-Basar Karratain. See the sky and then see it again. And you know SubhanAllah. Subhanallah. So it's it's a remarkable, remarkable beginning to the surah. Barakallahu li walakum salamu alaikum rahmatullah.