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1. By those (angels) who pull out (the souls of the
disbelievers and the wicked) with great violence 2. By
those (angels) who gently take out (the souls of the
believers) 3. And by those that swim along (i.e.
angels or planets in their orbits, etc.) 4. And by those
that press forward as in a race (i.e. the angels or
stars or the horses, etc.).5. And by those angels who
arrange to do the Commands of their Lord, (so verily,
you disbelievers will be called to account) 6. On the
Day (when the first blowing of the Trumpet is blown),
the earth and the mountains will shake violently (and
everybody will die) 7. The second blowing of the
Trumpet follows it (and everybody will be raised up)
8. (Some) hearts that Day will shake with fear and
anxiety 9. Their eyes cast down 10. They say: "Shall
we indeed be returned to (our) former state of life?
11. "Even after we are crumbled bones?" 12. They
say: "It would in that case, be a return with loss! 13.
But only, it will be a single Zajrah (shout) 14. When,
behold, they find themselves over the earth alive
after their death

Assalamualaikum Warahmathullahi wabarakaathuh

Insha Allahu thaala we are beginning our study of Surah
An-Naziat today. The first comments, very briefly that well
make is that its a Makki Soorah, just like the Soorah

before it, Soorah An-Naba. And were going to try to

understand the conclusion of Soorah An Naba connected
to the introduction to Soorah An-Naziat. Towards the end
of Soorah An Naba, the Soorah right before this one, Allah
AzzawaJal said :
Yaqmu Ar-Ru Wa Al-Mal'ikatu affan L
Yatakallamna 'Ill Man 'Adhina Lahu Ar-Ramnu Wa
Qla awban
Yawma

Dhlika Al-Yawmu Al-aqqu

There is reference over and over again to the final day, the
Last Day. Thats the conclusion to Soorah An-Naba. Right
after the introductory comments of this Soorah are done,
we go back to the Last Day again.
Yawma Tarjufu Ar-RjifahuTatba`uh Ar-RdifahuQulbun
Yawma'idhin Wjifahun (again Yaum) Abruh
Khshi`ahun
When we get to these Aayath, InshaAllah, well see the
commentary on them. But, it seems like its a continuation
with a small lapse, its again a continuation of that Final
Day. Wow, how the previous Soorah concluded, its tied to
the introduction of this Soorah. Now in the beginning of
the Soorah there are a series of oaths, Aksaam, and this is
a dedicated subject in the Quran, Al Aksaam fil Quran Al
Hakeem, Allah AzzawaJal He swears by things. So before
we talk about these oaths particularly, we need to
understand some fundamental things about Aksaam in the
Quran, the oaths in the Quran.
From among the thaabioon and the earliest of scholars,
there has been commentary on the function and the
wisdom on the oaths in the Quran. And one of the most
common opinions has been, that when Allah swears by
something, it is something sacred or it is something
powerful, or something awe inspiring. So for instance,
Allah AzzawaJal swears by the sun: Wa Ash-Shamsi Wa

uh, or by the moon: Wa Al-Qamari 'Idh Talh, or by

the morning: Wa As-Subahi 'Idh Asfar, or by the bright
morning: Wa A-u, or by the night: Wa Al-Layli 'Idh
Saj; you know these famous oaths in the Quran, or: Wa
Al-`Ari. These are the many many many cases of oaths in
the Quran. One of the opinions of the thabioon has been:
that these oaths have to do with something sacred. But
that in and of itself is not enough. There is more to know
about the oaths than just that they are speaking of
something sacred or honoured by Allah AzzawaJal. Actually
a contrary opinion also exists. For example, Ibn Al-Qayyim
(rahimahu Allah) in his book: Al-Muin fi Al-Aksam fil AlQuran, he dedicated himself just to the study of oaths in
the Quran. And he says: just saying that the oaths are
sacred is not enough. Because when we have: Wa At-Tni
Wa Az-Zaytni, Wa ri Snna, Wa Hadh Al-Baladi
Al-'Amni.
These are oaths in one Soorah. And then you have oaths
in another Soorah: Wa Ash-Shamsi Wa uh, Wa AlQamari 'Idh Talh.
If the only thing to know is that they are sacred, then you
could take the ones from here and put them there; and
take the ones from there and put them here: what
difference does that make?? There necessarily has to be
more to it than that. So he argues that actually the
fundamental thing to know is not the sanctity of the object
that is being sworn by; but rather how it connects to the
rest of the Soorah. So when an oath is taken, its an
introduction, its a powerful means of introducing a topic
that is coming in the rest of the Soorah. And thats really
how the entire precedent of the Soorah is set.
For example: one of the biggest example or the easiest to
understand even would be: L 'Uqsimu Biyawmi AlQiymah. Allah AzzawaJal, in the beginning He swears by
two things: He swears by the Day of Resurrection: Yawmi

Al-Qiymah Wa L 'Uqsimu Bin-Nafsi Al-Lawwmahi: the

blame worthy self. He swears by two things. When you
study Soorah Al Qiyamah: you will find only two things:
you will find the mention of Al-Qiyamah and you will find
the mention of the blame-worthy self: Kall Bal Tuibbna
Al-`jilaha, Wa Tadharna Al-'khiraha. Etc etc, right? So
these are the only two things youre going to find in the
entire Soorah, connected to the introductory oaths that
have been mentioned.
So long story short, some other things that you should
know about oaths: in daily speech, in peoples common
discourse: when is an oath used? Especially in ancient
times: It is used 1. When the audience that you are
speaking to, they do not believe what you are saying. For
example, when you speak to someone: you say to them: I
was at this place yesterday; they dont believe you, you
say: I swear I was there yesterday. Right? And even we do
this nowadays right? In the olden times, you had to swear
by something to make yourself believable. So I swear by
Allah Subhanahua Thaala or something like this, right?
Even the mushrikoon would swear by other things. He
would swear by his child or by his tribe or by his family or
by his health. Right? That he was such at such and such
place. So its a means of giving testimony, which is why
even in contemporary society, people take an oath or they
swear before they testify in court. They have to swear that
they are telling the truth. This is one function of oaths.
Another function of oaths is that it is an illustration of
anger. Because the one who swears is someone who is not
being taken seriously or what they have to say isnt being
given its full due, so they are brought to a point where
they have to swear. In common language nowadays, we
say to each other: Man,I swear to you, you better stop.
Right?? We say something like that. And when do we say
this? When the other person is making us angry. Or two
friends may be at an argument and one of them may say: I

swear Im gonna kill you if you do this; or you dont do

this. Right? So, they dont really mean it but its an
expression of anger.
In Quran, sometimes the oath is an expression of anger.
Other times it is an expression of, Subhanahua Thaala,
the idea what is being presented coming forward is not
being taken seriously by most people. Whatever Allah is
about to present, people are taking it lightly. So to give it
importance and to make them realize this is a heavy thing,
Allah AzzawaJal swears. So this is the second reason. And
by the way when you swear, I dont use it in the modern
sense. You know. In the modern sense, to swear is to use
profanity, to use foul language. But I mean it in the sense
of the ancient English: to take an oath, by something.
Then finally, the oath as a consistent component of the
Quran, is necessarily an introduction, or precursor to
arguments that are coming in that Soorah, in that very
Soorah: and thats what we are going to see here,
InshAllahu Thaala.
For the very beginning oath we have An- Nzi`t:
Wa An-Nzi`ti Gharqan.
Allah swear by An-Naazi, comes from Naze, which means
to yank something out violently to pull something out with
full force. Ok? An- Nzi`t, Allah swears by the ones that
pull out. Gharq: having dove (past tense of dive) in.
Gharq, here is Mafool muthlaq. Actually its called (i.e) the
gramatic term is called Mafool muthlaq min ghairi
lafdhihi. Meaning the word Gharqan is used to emphasize
the act of pulling out without using the same root instead
of saying Wa An-Nzi`ti Nz, its Wa An-Nzi`ti
Gharqa. And the idea is, whatever Allah is swearing by;
these are some creatures or some objects that dives deep
in and yanks whatever is deep inside and pulls it out. The
vast majority of the mufassiroon in regards to what these
things are, they mention that these are angels: the vast

majority of them. And they are actually sourced in one

opinion. Baghwi reports on behalf of Ibn Abbas Radhi
Allahu anhu, that Ibn Abbass opinion (Radhi Allahu anhu)
that the An-Nzi`t, and then An-Nshit and so on: all of
the oaths here that have `t at the end, all of them are
referring to angels, and thats become the popular opinion
among the mufassiroon. The second opinion about this is:
that these are the An-Nujoom, that these are the stars.
That also exists. For example: HassanAl-Basri, rahimuhu
Allah, his opinion is that these are stars that Allah is
speaking about. Stars that are being yanked out of the
sky, or that are falling, which was from the experience of
the Arabs when they would see a comet or something like
that: that they would comment on that: that this is Najm:
that this is yanked out of the sky.
Anyhow, the third opinion that I will present InshaAllah; of
these two obviously the most popular one is the angels.
Thats the one youve probably heard also. But there is a
third opinion that I would like to share and then tie them
all together, InshaAllahu Thaala. The thing we have to
understand about Quran is that sometimes the text is
ambiguous. Allah AzzawaJal didnt spell out explicitly that
these are angels. First we should be honest and know that
that is the case. Allah did not spell out specifically that
these are angels. The second thing to know is: when there
are a variety of opinions especially in the first generation;
that in itself is an illustration that this was ambiguous.
That in itself is a proof that this is not something mutlaq,
its not absolute, its not one way and everything else is
kufr. So youll find in the history of the mufassiroon, you
have argument supporting: ok, this is your opinion: what
are the evidences that make this opinion stronger than
that opinion. Or what are the evidences that this opinion is
rather weak as opposed to other opinions. So even though
these opinions exists, there are opinions among later
ulama that critique these opinions, and try to weigh, not

just by popularity, but by what other supporting evidence

is there to see what opinion is the strongest. So Ill present
you one such opinion.
One such opinion is that An-Nzi`t refers to the winds.
(*repeat) that An-Nzi`t refers to the winds.The alif tha at
the end has been used consistently in the Quran in other
places with strong linguistic evidence that its also winds:
Al-Mursalti (Wa Al-Mursalti `Urfan), Ath`thari`t, AlJaari`t. There are many instances where the language
suggests and the context suggests that they are in fact
referring to winds. So one opinion is that: it is referring to
winds. But again, we already said: whats the most
popular opinion? That its the angels. So we have to try to
figure out what criticism do these scholars have, for
example Islahi rahimahuAllah, has the opinion that this is
winds, what basis does he have.
The first criticism that he offers is this: An-Nzi`t is the
feminine plural: its called Jama Muannas Salim, the alif
tha at the end, this is the feminine plural. And Allah
AzzawaJal, in the Quran, speaks against attributing
femininity to the angels. In the Quran itself Allah speaks
against attributing femininity to the angels And He speaks
about those who attributed femininity to the angels in one

place, and in another place:

waththakhdha min al mala-ikathi inatha? Has your lord
taken daughters? Or from the angels, has he taken these
feminine creatures? right? So theres a criticism in the
Quran of this.
The second issue that he brings up is, when Allah does
speak about the angels in the Quran, what we find
consistently is Jama Muzakkar Salim We find munzaleen,
musawwimeen, murdafeen, yadriboona wujoohahum wa
adbaarahum qaaloo so you have these words that are all
masculine in nature. When the plurality of the angels is

mentioned consistently in the Quran, we find the

masculine.
Another case, is that Allah AzzawaJal, even when he does
say something like Qalathil malaaika: for those of you who
know a little bit of Arabic, Qaalath is feminine, right?: So
even when that does occur thats not because of
femininity, that coz of jamm thakseer: broken plurals in
Arabic: you use the feminine singular for them, so thats in
the beginning. But after this, like if you say qaalathil
malaaika, if you reverse it, you dont say al malaaikathu
qulna, you say al malaaikathu qaaloo. You use the
masculine ones again. Ok? So that how its found in the
Quran. So thats his literary criticism. That in the Quran
consistently the masculine is used so why would this be
angels if the feminine is being used. Thats one criticism.
The other criticism thats tied together with this is that:
you know how Allah AzzawaJal speaks about the souls
being pulled out after the angels diving in, Gharqan, right,
so they are going into the body. But if you study the
ahaadeeth about the soul leaving, that the soul leaves
from where, do you know? Where is it pulled out of? From
the toe. And the imagery depicted and the depictions in
the ahaadeeth are of such that the angels are not entering
the body rather they are pulling the soul out of the body.
So he argues this as the criticism of this position. Also,
furthermore that its not explicitly mentioned anywhere
else.
So we have both opinions now. We have a majority of
ulama saying that this is angels, but also a pretty strong
position that its not. It may be something else. Now, how
do you reconcile these two? This actually has to do with
the versatility and the comprehensive nature of the
message of the Quran. We have to understand, first and
foremost, Makkan Quran is talking to whom? Who is it
talking to? Its talking to people who dont believe. Its the

kalam thats coming out of the mouth of RasooluAllah

SallaAllahu alihi wa sallam, that the angel has revealed to
him, but the audience, the vast majority of them are
people that dont believe him. And when they hear these
words, they are not gonna come to him and say give me
tafseer of Naaziat, what is your opinion of what this
means?. They are not going to come. They hear this and
they walk away. They take it at face value. So one of the
most important considerations in interpreting Makkan
Quran especially is: when these words were used in the
Quran, what was going on in the head of the mushrik
Arab. How did he understand these words? How is he
processing this information? And that is the, probably, if
you want to understand the methodology of daawah in
the Quran, that takes precedence. This doesnt nullify the
other opinions. Because it may have relevance for us as
Muslims in a more spiritual sense, in a deeper sense, but,
and for the mushrik perhaps in a more shallow sense, but
still it has, you know, some relevance to them. And may
be the first thing that doesnt come to the mushriks mind
is angels. The last thing you want to think is the mushrik
heard Quran and they said what is that they are talking
about, I dont get it. No the Quran was very relevant
daawah to the mushrik. It was directly talking to him. And
this is what baffled the mushrikoon that it was speaking to
them in clear, bi lisaanin arabiyan mubeenan, clear and
clarifying Arabic speech.
So, one more example of this, before we go on, to just
wrap this subject up, inshaAllah, Allah AzzawaJal says:
Yalamu ma yaliju fil ardi wama yakhruju minha (34:2) He
knows what enters into the earth and what comes out of
the earth. When the mushrik hears that, whats he
thinking? Hes thinking of the rain going into the earth and
the plant coming out of the earth. This is as far as his
imagination goes. But when the believer hears that theres
more going on, theres deeper knowledge. And the deeper

knowledge is: no, we also will go into the earth and we will
also be coming out of the earth. So its the same
statement but people are understanding it at different
depths. So these are not contradictory statements Im
putting before you, these are at different levels. Or,
different audiences are getting different levels of the same
statement, appreciating different things.
So, Islahis arguments and others, basically the summary
of it is: this is perhaps how the mushrik processed it: he
thought of the winds. And then how would he then
understand the rest of the message of the Soorah. But we
keep the interpretation of the angels as ,still of course, as
valid and majority.

Anyhow, )
Wa An-Nzi`ti Gharqa. Finally
the evidence that is suggested among some scholars that
this is referring to the winds is, Allah AzzawaJal says: inna
arsalana alaihim reehan sarsaran fi yaumi nnahsi
musthamir, thenzi un-nasa: the word thenziu, in the
Quran, to snatch and yank out and pull out has been used
for reeh, has been used for wind. So he uses this as
further supporting evidence.
Anyhow, so if it is winds, then what this means is Allah is
swearing by hurricanes or tornado winds that yank trees
out of their roots, or buildings out of their foundations, like
its digging deep into the ground and pulling them up,
plucking them up right away. Right? And on the other hand
if this is referring to angels, its the angels that are diving
deep into the body and they are pulling and ripping the
soul out that wants to stay inside the body. This is the soul
of the kaafir.
)

Wa An-Nshiti Nasha.
And then Nasht, Nasht in the Arabic language: it refers to
undoing a knot without making any effort. It refers to
undoing a knot without making any effort *(repeat).

Another way nasht is used, is when you have a loose knot

and you kind of leave the animal and it wiggles a little bit
and kinda gets undone by itself without any effort, this is
also where nashata is used. So this is mafool muthlaq
which means these winds or the angels: if its referring to
the angels, its referring to angels that seamlessly enter
the body and take out the soul. Very smooth process like
the undoing of a loose knot, no force necessary to apply.
And if its referring to the winds, its referring to smooth
breeze: the breeze that is a source of calm and peace and
even pleasure, on the face of the one experiencing it. So
two contradictory kinds of wind, if this is wind, right: the
winds that are a means of destruction, and then winds
that are a means of comfort, and a means of even
relaxation, of course especially in desert life.
Then Allah AzzawaJal says: )




Wa AsSbiti Saba
This, if referring to the angels, its been interpreted as:
Sabh, by the way, literally means to swim quickly, or to
swim in a rapid smooth way: you know you can swim and
youre splashing and its not smooth, or when youre
swimming smoothly? Then this is sabh. Ok? So, this
perhaps is referring to the angels as a dive in, and they
are diving inside the body of the person, thats how some
ulama have commented on this. That they swim into the
body seamlessly and they are looking for the soul and
they pull it out. Others have commented: no, if this is the
wind, these are the clouds that are swimming in the air,
floating in the air by means of the clouds that are or the
winds that are pushing them.
And then, finally, )



Flssbiqti Sabqa.
Then the word sabaq is actually in the reference to race.
When one thing is taking the lead over the other, this is
Flssbiqti. And theres a Fa there, if you notice for those
of you are following along. What this means is it is

connected to Wa As-Sbit. So, Wa As-Sbiti Saba

Flssbiqti Sabqa, are together. The others are
separated and we already knew they were opposites,
right? Wa An-Nzi`ti Gharqa Wa An-Nshiti Nasha
were two very different kinds of wind. Or very different
kind of angel situations. So they are separated by a waw.
But Wa As-Sbiti Saba Flssbiqti Sabqa, is
necessarily a process: a and then b: a. being Wa AsSbiti Saba, b. being Flssbiqti Sabqa. So the
angels are racing back, taking these souls racing back for
their judgment. Also, the clouds, from the view of the
Arab, he would see the cloud: some of the cloud moving
faster than the others, some of them taking a lead over
the others. So this is part of the view of the arab.
Flssbiqti Sabqa.

And then, finally,

Flmudabbirti 'Amra.
This is very powerful statement, and should be understood
both ways: one in terms of the angels that we spoke of,
and also in terms of the interpretation that its wind. First
of all lets look at the word thadbeer. The word
mudabbiraath is an ism faail from the word thadbeer.
Thadbeer, includes the meaning of planning, organization,
executing a matter, its complete, you know, execution.
And its similar and has contrast with another word that
will come in this Soorah, where Allah says: Thumma
'Adbara Yas`. Its a similar word but its a different
structure. And it creates a different kind of meaning. But
for now, understand, thadbeer, is thorough planning,
thorough organization, thorough execution of a plan. So
Allah is swearing by: again fa, these Sbiti and
Flssbiqt continuing these three, that these are the
ones that execute the command of Allah, 'Amr. Amran
being the command mafool bihi. So Allah swears by those
who execute the command of Allah, diligently in an
organized fashion. If this is referring to the angels, it is the
angels that are assigned different tasks by Allah AzzawaJal

and they do a diligent, organized job of executing those

commands. If its referring to the clouds, as is the case of
Soorah al-Mursalat, we find Wa An-Nshirti Nashra
Flfriqti Farqa, ok? There also we find the winds: they
distribute clouds in every direction. And these clouds are
racing against one another. What else does the wind
distribute? The wind also distributes dust; and pollen. Also
by means of the winds, the clouds that are distributing,
the clouds are gonna bring rain. So, if you think about it,
winds are the means by which life is sustained on the
earth. Everything you need for life on the earth is plant
life, and plant life cant be sustained without pollen, which
we know is now delivered by wind. And on the other hand,
the rain from the sky, without which plant life cant exist:
the clouds are delivered by the wind. So, Allah has
executed this organized plan of delivering these clouds:
some places wont get any; some places will be dried up
and become places of death, and famine; other places will
be flooded with water, other places will turn into lush
gardens; all part of an executed plan from Allah
Subhanahu Wa Thaala. All of these plans are being
executed by means of the wind. So this is the other
interpretation of Flmudabbirti 'Amran.
There are other words for planning that we should know
about, that are used in the Quran. So, we used the word
thadbeer: mudabbiraath. Then, we find the word kayd
also. Like Allah says: fa inkaanalakum kaydun fa keedoon,
right? Also, we find wa kadhalika kidna li yousuf. Whats
the difference between thadbeer which is planning, and
kayd which is also planning? Kayd is actually a secret plan.
The fundamental element in kayd is secrecy. So, its a plan
which you dont want anybody else to find out about
because part of exposing it will be to spoil the plan. It
wont be any good if it comes out in the open. Another
word used for planning is makr. And makr has an element
of conflict in it: a plan that necessarily has to do with

retaliation against an enemy. And when Allah is used with

makr: like wa makaru makar Allahu wallahu khair ulmaakireen: its only used in the retaliatory sense: meaning
whenever Allah mentions he is planning against an
opposing force, its always mentioned that they took the
first step. They did makr first.so, wa makaru, first and then
makar Allahu wallahu khair ul-maakireen. So theres a
difference. We dont usually normally typically use makr
with Allah Subhanahu wa thaala unless in that reaction, to
the makr that was done by the wrong doer to begin with.
Then finally, we have another word heela: like wal wildaan
la yasthathioona heelathan. Heela is a kind of plan that
you make to.. nowadays there is a lot of heela in society
by the way; its a clever plan, the idea of which is to
maximise ones benefit or minimise ones harm, without
breaking the law, but at least trying to bend it,
manipulating the system, working around the system. So,
accountants are really good at heela for example during
tax season, right? Some of the scholars spoke about the
heela in the ancient times: in the times of Islamic rule:
that the person would give all of their wealth as a gift to
their wife right before zakah season, and then they would
make the wife gift it back to them after the zakah season
is done. So, this was kind of you know, working around the
law. Dont get any ideas. But this was the kind of heela
that was done before. Anyhow, so these are different kinds
of plans Allah AzzawaJal specifically mentions.
Flmudabbirti 'Amra here. The word includes planning,
organization, execution, diligence and actually means
taking a step back before you take an action: because it
comes from Dubr, which is the back of something. And is
to turn back from the affair, think it through and then
come back and execute it. Thats the interpretation of the
word thadbeer.
Anyway, now that Allah AzzawaJal has taken an oath by
these few things; Wa An-Nzi`ti Gharqa, by those who

dive deep in and yank out; Wa An-Nshiti Nasha ,

those who sail smoothly like the undoing of a knot; then
Wa As-Sbiti Saba Flssbiqti Sabqa: those who
swim or float effortlessly, seamlessly; those who race
against one another diligently; and then finally those that
plan the, or execute the affair with thorough planning.
After all of these oaths, Allah AzzawaJal moves on to
another subject. And yes, last time we talked about, the
subject matters of the Quran, the paragraphs in the
Quran, incredibly organized in the sense of even their
rhyme scheme. So the first few were uffs in the Quran and
they all rhyme. So if you recite them, you will hear the
rhyme scheme:
Wa An-Nzi`ti Gharqa
Wa An-Nshiti Nasha
Wa As-Sbiti Saba
Flssbiqti Sabqa
Flmudabbirti 'Amra
Now, if you look at the next few aayaath, youll just hear it
even. Even if you dont read tafsir youll hear it:
Yawma Tarjufu Ar-Rjifah
Tatba`uh Ar-Rdifah
Qulbun Yawma'idhin Wjifah
You hear the scheme, right? Because its a united subject.
So even phonetically its united, Subhana Allah. Now we
come to this next part, but before we do, understand that
when an oath is taken: you took an oath, but now you
wanna say something. Like: I swear by X, Im gonna do
this. Now, the Im gonna do this part. What am I swearing
by, what is the statement that Im about to make? That is
actually hadf here. The mahdoof here, its not mentioned.
The reason its not mentioned is because this is a part of a

series of Soorahs where it has been mentioned. And it

forces us to look at the tafsir of this Soorah in soorahs that
are similar to it. So for instance: you find: Wa Al-Mursalti
`Urfa Fl`ifti `Afa Wa An-Nshirti Nashra
Flfriqti Farqa Flmulqiyti Dhikra `Udhran 'Aw
Nudhra and then, jawab al-qasam: 'Innam T`adna
Lawqi`un. All of those oaths were taken for what
conclusion?: No doubt about it, whatever you have been
promised, is bound to occur. That conclusion is
understood here because its part of that chain of
discourse. Its understood that when they hear these
oaths, the next thing to expect is resurrection. But Allah
AzzawaJal doesnt spell it out, which has benefits. One of
the benefits is that it forces you to look at other texts in
the Quran. AlQuranu yufassiru baedahu wa baeda. The
other thing it forces to do is: the person who hears oaths is
expecting to hear what these are oaths about, whats he
going to talk about? So now they are in more anticipation
of what is to come. But Allah doesnt give them what they
were expecting, so they keep on listening. They still
havent figured out what exactly is this thing about.
So now Allah AzzawaJal speaks about the depiction of the
day of resurrection. Here, before continuing, understand a
contrast with Soorah An- Naba. In Soorah An- Naba in the
beginning we had `Amma Yatas'alna `Ani An-Naba'i
Al-`Ami Al-Ladh Hum Fhi Mukhtalifna. You know,
there was a depiction of the sceptic. They are asking each
other: what is this, when is this gonna happen, you know.
And Allah threatens them they will soon find out. And then
He starts talking about the hereafter. So He spoke of the
sceptic first, and the hereafter second. In this Soorah, He
reverses the sequence. Here He mentions the hereafter
first, and He will mention the sceptic later: Yaqlna
'A'inn Lamarddna F Al-firahi: thats later. So there
is a reversal. This actually in Arabic literature is a
mechanism called al- laf wa an-naksh ala al-aqs: that you

fold something up and then you unfold it in its reflexion or

in the opposite. So you know how the mirror, if you put an
object before the mirror, they are exactly the same except
that they are organized opposite? You lift your right hand;
the mirror is lifting the left hand, etc, right? So thats the
idea here. One soorah is organized one way and this will
do the flip organization of the ideas presented in Soorah
An-Naba in many ways: one of which is this.

Yawma Tarjufu Ar-Rjifahu

You know Rajaf in Arabic is related to some other words,
insha Allah well discuss some of these words, bi
ithniAllah. The first thing to note is: rajaf has to do with
rattling or shaking, ok? And there are bunch of words in
the Quran for this. And its important when you come to a
word that has other synonymous terms in the Quran, that
you should highlight the differences between them:
because it gives clarity to one particular text over the
other. Other words that are used in the Quran, for example
zalzala: iza zulzilathil ardu zilzaalaha. The origin of that
word is from zalla, which means when someones feet slip;
and zalzala because of the repetition of the phonetics, you
know, in the sounds; it actually alludes to repetition
meaning that someones feet keep on slipping, keep on
slipping. When does that happen: during an earth quake.
Thats why its called zalzala, because ones feet keep on
tripping up. So thats one. The other is rajj: itha rujjathil
ardu rajja. Allah AzzawaJal speaks about rajj. And this is
actually an initial jerk: like something was stationary and
all of a sudden it was put into motion. This is rajj. Ulama
commented this is the first moment of the experience of
an earthquake, thats rajj: very beginning of the
experience of the earthquake. Then we have maara,
yauma thamooru as-samaa-u Maura. This is actually used
when youre, for example, riding a horse or running really
fast, or somebody for example a large animal passes by
you running fast and it simulates the feeling of an

earthquake. Its not really an earthquake but everything is

shaking because of the rapid motion; that is called maara.
Finally we come to this word thats used in this ayah; Allah
uses, Yawma Tarjufu Ar-Rjifahu. That which is meant to
rattle, rajifah, the rattling one, will eventually rattle. Allah
AzzawaJal did not here, mention the earth. In another
place in the Quran, Allah says yauma tharjufu ul ardu wa
al-jibaal wa kaanath al-jibaalu katheeban maheela; the
day on which the land, the earth, and the mount, the large
boulder mount, they are going to rattle, they are going to
shake and vibrate. As though they were katheeban
maheela:as though they were sand dunes. You know,
when you shake a pile of sand, the sand keeps tripping
over, and falling off, right? As though they were that soft.
Thats how the earth is going to shake that Allah
describes. Imagine salt in a salt shaker, basically. Thats
the image that Allah depicts. But, there He said the earth
and the mountains are going to shake. Here he said:
Yawma Tarjuful ardu wal jibaal? No, Yawma Tarjufu ArRjifahu. Ar-Rjifahu means that which is meant to shake.
What this illustrates is the purpose of the creation of the
heavens and the earth, its final destination is the point
where its going to shake. Its gonna be rattled. This is its
destiny, it cant be avoided. So much so that its called ArRjifahu. So much so that the fail isnt ardh or jibaal, that
its Ar-Rjifahu itself. So, its a profound declaration in the
Quran about the reality of that shaking. Finally, just a
comment about the word rajaf, its a highly uncomfortable
motion. And it actually doesnt just depict the motion
itself, it depicts the state of the one who is affected by
that motion That they are in a state of discomfort and
disarray.
Now,

Yawma Tarjufu Ar-Rjifahu. Then Allah says:


) Tatba`uh Ar-Rdifahu
It will be followed by a raadifah. Radf in Arabic implies,
you know when youre riding a camel or a horse and
somebodys sitting behind you, then they are raadif. They
are riding behind you. People sitting in the back seat in
your car nowadays: they are raadif. They are following
right along: where ever you go, they are going: coz they
are on the same ride. So Allah AzzawaJal mentions that it
will be followed by another vibration, another jerking,
another violent movement: one successively following the
other. One meant to follow the other. A lot of the ulama
are pretty much in agreement on this raadifah: this
following shaking and vibrating: that the first one/the first
time the trumpet will be blown: you know, in the previous
Soorah we said: wa nufikha fi al-soor: right, youve heard
those words, and now thats being opened up. There is the
tafsir of the pervious text in the next Soorah. Ok. So now,
how many times will the trumpet be blown? Twice. The
first one: Yawma Tarjufu Ar-Rjifahu. Then the second one:
Tatba`uh Ar-Rdifahu. So there is a long gap between
them but they are one to succeed the other one: one
comes so necessarily the other is on its way. Radf literally
implies: like we said to sit behind: and you know when
words come one after another in meaning, if they are very
close to each other in meaning but they are not exactly
the same, but theyre still very close, they are called
mutharaadiff. So synonyms in Arabic are called
mutharaadifaath for example: because they are very close
to one another. Other words that speak of following in the
Quran are khalfa. Khalfa actually refers to when you follow
something chronologically. Meaning: something came,
then thereafter something else came. Thats khalf . Radf
literally right behind, like we said, situated right behind
and moving along with. Then we have thala, which is to
follow something carefully and repeatedly. Like, for

example, its used for the sun and the moon. Because the
sun and the moon follow a path repeatedly. Anyhow.

Qulbun Yawma'idhin Wjifah


Allah says, first of all, the earth will violently shake when
the trumpet is blown. And then the second time it will be
shaken another time. And this other time is when we will
be raised. The first one was for death, and the second one
is for resurrection. So, now at the time of this resurrection,
Allah depicts the first thing. He says Qulbun Yawma'idhin
Wjifah. Hearts on that day: and actually quloobun, by
mentioning it first and not putting the Al on it, which is
normally the case in jumla ismiyya, by not putting Al on it,
theres interesting nuanced meaning thats generated.
Some hearts on that day: some hearts particularly on that
day: will experience what Allah depicts as Wjifah. Here I
know this is a long list, but I still want to illustrate this list,
or atleast express some of the meaning in this list, before
we go onto the word Wjifah: because its critical for you
to appreciate the depth of the words in Arabic. One of my
agendas in these duroos is to try to highlight how
incomplete translations are. Even my own translation: how
incomplete it is! Because how deep the words go and how
intricate the meanings are connected to one another. And
we have to be careful in coming to conclusions about
tafaaseer of Quran.
Allah AzzawaJal speaks about the word Wjif and most
translations will say petrified, horrified. You know, terrified,
scared. These are the words, basically words associated
with fear. Now here are some words in the Quran that are
used for fear. Just so we know how they are different. One
of the words used for fear is khauf. You probably heard this
word before, its a very famous word: la khaufun alaihim
wa la hum yahzanoon. Khauf is used for a perceived
danger. When you actually perceive a physical danger,
then the word used is khauf. Another word is khashya.

Like: wala thakthulu awlaadakum khashyatha imla. Ok.

Khashya is used when you are afraid of the magnitude of
something. Specifically out of the magnitude of whatever
is coming that is scaring you: that is khashya. Khauf is
more of a physical danger, while khashya is you know the
greatness of something. The magnitude/implications of
losing ones job, or the magnitude or just the idea of the
day of judgement, will lead you to khashya for example.
Then there is the word, khushoo, which we use for
example in salah. This is a fear that manifests not only in
your heart but it actually takes hold of your face and your
limb. This fear shows on your face and your limb: an
overpowering and instilling kind of fear. And this is the
kind of fear we are supposed to have in salah. That
actually our faces have khushoo not just our hearts. That
khushoo comes out of the heart and starts affecting other
limbs of the body. Then there is the word taqwa, which is
very common, ithaqa yathaqi, this is actually to fear the
consequences of ones actions, to fear not something
dangerous, but the consequences of what Im doing
myself. This is actually called taqwa. It comes from wiqaya
which is to protect. And taqwa literally means to protect
yourself from the consequences of your own future
actions. Ok. Thats how in the literary sense its
understood. Then there is hadhr, like hadhar al-mouth,
right: out of fear of death. Again the translation will say
hadhr means fear: but hadar is actually: out of fear to try
to escape something or to be very careful of something.
You see something scary and you try to escape it, this is
hadhar. That specific kind of fear: Which means you are in
proximity of the thing that is dangerous. Or the thing you
are trying to get away form. Then there is raaa: to startle
someone. When you jump up on somebody or you show
up out of nowhere or the person was just reading and they
unexpectedly heard the door open, the initial reaction is
raav: the fear is immediate but it subsides immediately
also. This is the kind of fear that Ibrahim AS first felt when

the angels came but it departed from him. It left from him.
This is raaa. ok. Then there is awjasa, or wajs: it comes
from. And this is actually a fear when you hear something.
You know, like when you hear something you get scared?
Or you hear something that scared you: some news or
some event you overheard and it scared you. That is
awjas. Also means to actually hide your fears within you,
you dont let the person that is scaring you or the thing
that is scaring you know that you are actually scared. Ok.
Naqarahum wa awjasa minhum kheefa. This is actually
spoken about Ibrahim AS. Like you know, he saw them, he
didnt recognize them, he dint know who these guys are.
So he was kind of scared but he didnt let them see that
he was scared. Awjasa is used; he ddint let them see that
he was scared. Then there is waja: itha zukira Allah
wajihath quloobuhum. Now waja is to have a fear that
penetrates deep into your heart, a fear that penetrates
into the very depths of your heart. Rahb is a fear that is
actually mixed with love. So its a kind of fear you have, of
disappointing the one you love. When youre afraid of
disappointing the person that you love, then rahb is used.
Allah AzzawaJal speaks for example of believers saying
yadoonana rahban rahban. They call on us with
inclination: they are inclined towards their lord and they
are also afraid. But what kind of fear? The fear of
disappointing Allah Subhanahu Wa Thaala. Thats rahb.
Then finally: raab: actually to be overwhelmed with
intense fear. This is: waqatha fi quloobihim ruba: also rub
comes from this, right? To have overwhelming terrified
fear of someone that makes you lose your reason. Then
ashfaqa: this is a kind of fear all of us have: this comes
from, its actually related to the word shafiqa ala, to have
you know shafqa over someone: is to take care of them, to
be concerned with their wellbeing etc. right? To show good
to them. But then ashfaqa means that youre afraid that
some harm will come to them. The one youre taking care

of, youre also scared that some harm might come their
way.
So many different kinds of fear, illustrated in so many
different places where it is supposedly best situated in the
Quran. Of all of these finally, we come to the word wajaf,
which is Qulbun Yawma'idhin Wjifah. Thats the word
thats used here. What is special about this kind of fear?
Its a fear mixed with discomfort. And actually it is
illustrated: the one who is feeling wajf is the one whose
heart is pounding so hard they can feel it, out of fear.
Thats when wajaf is used. And this is also used when you,
you know, you strike your horse, and its heart starts
pounding and it races forward; so you say awjafthul khaila:
I made my horse race forward by making its heart race. So
thats the kind of fear that Allah depicts on that day. When
that second strike will fall, when that second shaking will
occur: some hearts on that day will be basically beating
out of their chests. Thats the illustration here. Qulbun
Yawma'idhin Wjifah. Especially on that day some hearts
will be beating out of their chests. The language/sentence
structure here also illustrates that these hearts right now-
they are not scared. Right now they are at peace. They
have no discomfort at all. But these are the very same
hearts, especially on that day: Yawmaidhin: they are
going to experience this wajifa. Then also, wajifah is an
ism fail, its a nominal form: what that illustrates is: you
know when your heart starts pounding, a few minutes
later it comes to rest, it calms down. The choice of the
word in the ayah illustrates that the heart will start
pounding and it wont come to rest. Itll continuously keep
pounding. You know the terror wont subside. Qulbun
Yawma'idhin Wjifah.
Then Allah says something beautiful:

)



' Abruh Khshi`ah

Again: depicting the terror of that day. You know

sometimes Allah depicts the terror of that day by things
that are ginna happen on that day like the sun and the
moons collision, and big big things. Sometimes he depicts
the terror of that day looking at the person and how
scared they are: not at the scary things that are
happening: but their reaction to those things. So this is a
Soorah that is highlighting more so the reaction to the
events of the day of judgement of this person. Allah says
'Abruh Khshi`ahun: their vision: the visions of those
hearts: their here refers to the hearts, not the people:
because its not absaruhum, its absaruha. What this tells
us is that the vision is directly connected to the heart.
Thats a very important reality to understand. What you
see and how you perceive what you see is directly
affected by what you have in your heart. When you have
iman in your heart, what you see will be a reminder for
you. When you feel the wind, when you see the sun, when
you see the clouds, you get a reminder out of it. When you
dont have iman in your heart, those same eyes will do
nothing for you. So now, on that day, people will not see
except from a believing heart because now iman is haq-ulyaqeen and ayn ul-yaqeen. Theyve seen it. So now those
hearts/those eyes that are connected to the hearts that
are petrified: whats going to happen to those eyes?
Khshi`ah. They will be overpowered, overwhelmed,
humbled. Their muscles will be relaxed. These eyes will be
overwhelmed by the fear that is going to be presented
before them. Now this was the state of these some
hearts: that dont feel any fear now; but they will fear this
terrifying day then. Now immediately there is an ilthifa:
there is a transition. This transition illustrates irony. The
irony of the whole thing is: as it stands now

Yaqlna 'A'inn
)

)
Lamarddna F Al-firahi

Rough translation: they say is it really the case that were

going to be returned to the original state. Were gonna
come back to life as we are now? Right back where we
started is the expression we use in English: thats for
hafirah, you know. If somebody says for example in Arabic:
fulaanun rajaa ila haafiratihi or fi hafiratihi: this is
expression in ancient Arabic. This person came back right
where they started. So when they hear this whole thing
about us coming back to life, our hearts pounding, you
know, the first reaction they have is: oh come on is this
where we are going to come back right to this again?
Some of the scholars commented on the word haafirah
which is an important word here. But a couple of things
here: number one: the word mardood. 'A'inn
Lamarddna: are we really going to be returned? But this
radd: refers to a kind of return, when you go somewhere
and you werent accepted and you were returned. Like you
tried to cross the border and they didnt accept your paper
work and they sent you back. This is radd. So they are
saying we are going to be rejected and sent back like this?
Our death wasnt acceptable enough, now we have to be
brought back to life? This is a means of sarcasm of the
disbeliever. Then He says al-haafira. Al hafira is literally
from hufr, which is a ditch in the ground that you dig. Or
mihfar is actually a shovel. Thats how its used. So theyre
basically saying: you know the imagery in language, you
have to understand imagery in classical Arabic is: you
know when you dont dig the ground the way its supposed
to be. And then you make all this effort of digging it. And
then you are asked to bring it back exactly where it used
to be: back to normal again. So theyre saying come on!
Our graves are dug, were set the way we are, were not
gonna come out of this now. Its done deal. Inn
Lamarddna F Al-firahi. This resurrection after death
doesnt seem like its a very possible prospect

)
) A'idh Kunn `Iman Nakhirah

And it might have been possible may be if I just died,

right, my muscles are still intact. The only thing is that Im
not breathing any more, right may be in a couple of
hours may be somebody will be able to revive me: I still
might believe it. But youre talking about the time 'A'idh
Kunn `Iman Nakhirahan: even at the time when our
bones will have been decayed to the point Nakhir: means
that the bone will be empty on the inside from decay, all
thats left is a shell and air passage thru it, right, and
produces a smelly kind of experience. When we are
reduced to that much decay, youre saying we are going
to be raised again. 'A'idh Kunn `Iman Nakhirahan
) Ql Tilka 'Idhan Karratun




)
Khsirah
Now, notice, before we said Yaqlna 'A'inn
Lamarddna; Yaqlna is the present tense: they say and
they will say. But Qalu is past tense. What this illustrates
is: this statement, that we are about to read about, was
only made once or twice. Its lesser in its frequency. Ok.
Because al-maadhi yadonnona ala al-qudooth.(45:05)
Past and present in nowadays: when you hear of the past
tense you think of the past; and when you hear present
tense, you think of the present. In classical Arabic, past
present future tense; they had different functions. Not just
timelines. They actually serve the function of something
being a onetime thing and something being a continuous
thing. If its a onetime thing: past tense; if its continuous:
present tense. For example, we find: when Allah speaks
about murder: you know there are two kinds of murder,
simply speaking, there is the guy who kills somebody by
accident and there is the guy who committed, you know,
murder on purpose. Homicide, right? So there is
manslaughter which is kind of by mistake and homicide
which is on purpose. When Allah spoke of manslaughter,
when you kill somebody by mistake, He said: wa man
qathala muminan khatha an. Whoever killed: past tense:

killed a believer by mistake. When He speaks about killing

on purpose, He says: wa man yakthul muminan
muthaammilan: whoever kills a believer on purpose. So
whats the difference? The one who kills on purpose might
do it again. There is going to be continuity and may have
done it before, so the present tense is more appropriate.
And when the past tense is used for singular event. So the
one who killed by mistake, chances are hes not gonna do
it again. He is not gonna come back in a few weeks and
say: guess what I made another mistake. Thats not likely.
So qathala is used. Here qaaloo illustrates that some of
them actually gave this some thought. They actually gave
this some thought. Even though they said this in a
sarcastic tone, it illustrates that some of them did reach
the conclusion: if there is the slight possibility that what
youre saying is the truth: that we will be revived from
death again, if that is even the slightest possibility, then
they made the statement
Tilka 'Idhan Karratun Khsirahun
Then this is going to be a karra: a return that is full of loss,
khasirah: A return full of loss. Its gonna be a terrible
return. Now karra: the word literally doesnt just mean
return. It actually, in Arabic its also used for attack. So
this will be an attack on us. You know the Arabs used to
say, one of the military strategies they had was called
karra wa farra. What that means is you attack, and you
run away. Then you attack later and then you run away,
right. This was a military strategy. So karra here not just to
return but this will be an attack against us thats gonna
cause a lot of damage to us. Now theyre saying this in a
sarcastic tone, but it actually illustrates at least they
entertained the idea. At least once, somebody entertained
the idea that if this does happen we will, in fact, be in very
big trouble. Ql Tilka 'Idhan Karratun Khsirah.

Now Allah ends all of this discourse. In Soorah An-Naba

the way Allah ended that discourse: Kall Saya`lamna
Thumma Kall Saya`lamna. Allah ended it: No, not at all!
They are going to find out. We read about those ayaat.
Now Allah ends this discourse in another way. There He
yelled at them directly saying they will find out. Here He
says:

Fa'innam Hiya Zajratun Widahun
)
There is only going to take one yelling. Zajara really
nowadays when a parent is yelling at their child, this is
zajara. There are different kinds of yelling but when its
very loud and its offensive to the one youre yelling at,
then zajr is used. Its used against the Messenger
sallaAllahu alaihiwasallam :wa qaloo majnoonun wa azzdujir. Right. That they said he is insane, and he was
yelled at in order to make him run away. Like they started
howling at him and cussing at him: maa zallaAllah, so that
he would run off and not give then daawa anymore.
Thats the aayah wa az-zdujir. Here zajara is used. Zajara
literally in the meaning of Allah AzzawaJal will basically
scold them and that scolding will be enough. Some have
commented that this zajara is the blowing of the second
trumpet. That in itself is a scolding, thats all its going to
take. Zajratun Widahun.

Fa'idh Hum Bis-Shirahi
)

Then as a consequence: we know its consequence
because its fa sababiya, it illustrates consequence, then as
a result: idh: all of a sudden, Hum Bis-Shirah: they are
going to be at displace, that is in Arabic its illustrated as
as-Shirah. Lets talk briefly about what Shirah means.
Sahr literally means that your sleep has disappeared. Its
disappeared. You cant sleep anymore. And it was used to
in reference to an open field. So the Arab imagined as
travelling and this open open open field: as far as the eye
can see. Hes got nowhere to rest. So he sticks his bag on

the ground and he lies down. But you know when you can
see far in the distance, hes worried if he goes to sleep,
somebody will see him from a distance, come and rob him
and run off. So he loses his sleep because hes not hidden.
Hes too exposed. So sahr was used in the reference of an
open field but also in the sense of losing ones sleep
because the two things are related to the Arab experience
ok. So now Allah speaks: they will be in this place where
they will lose their sleep. Saahira: also it will be an open
field.
Here are some comments that the ulama have made
about it: one is: we talked about the open field. Also, its
referred to as a mirage. Like one travelling in the desert
and they see a mirage and what do they see in the
mirage? Water, right? So when youre almost asleep out of
the exhaustion in the travel of the desert, what you see.. a
possibility of water in front of you, what happens to your
sleep? It disappears. Now you cant sleep because now
there is a goal in front of you. So some of them have
commented saahira is used for this reason. Others have
said, this is actually the field or the opening: and saahir
literally is a kind of ground that is pale and crusty, its one
colour, its almost white and its flat, completely
completely flat, as far as the eye can see. This is a
saahira. And some have commented this is actually the
field and the land in which all human beings will be
gathered for resurrection. So Fa'idh Hum Bis-Shirah.
Immediately they will be at the location of as-Shirah.
In tafsir Haqqani we find one additional comment on this
aayah. He says this is like losing your sleep coming out of
the grave. That as soon as the trumpet is blown, you will
come out of your grave and you will lose your sleep
forever because you know, in another place Soorah Yaseen
for example: man bathana min marqadina. Who has
raised us from this place of sleep? This has been used. So
now their sleep is gone forever. The sleep has been lost

forever. Because once the paradise comes and the hell fire
comes, and the Day of Judgement comes, theres no more
sleep. Theres no more partial death. Theres no escape:
from either the pleasures or the tortures. So, Fa'idh Hum
Bis-Shirahi
Hal 'aTka adthu Ms
Complete shift of subject. You had: in the beginning a few
oaths, regarding the power of Allah subhanaHu wa thaala,
especially in regards to the winds. Last time we talked
about why the winds are important, Ill recap some things.
The winds are critical because the Arabs said whats this
hereafter, this whole unseen punishments you talk about
that seems so far off. The closest thing to the unseen in
this seen world is the wind. The closest thing that we can
experience but we cant see is the wind. And Allah
illustrates His power of destruction and His mercy by
means of the wind. Some winds come and destroy entire
towns, other winds come and they are the means by which
entire life on the earth is sustained, right? So basically the
idea is Allah doesnt need to make special arrangements
for the kafir to bring some special military arrangement to
bring him to punishment. All Allah needs to do is unleash
his wind. Thats enough for him. So whose power are you
questioning? Thats the idea of winds being used as an
oath. Then you come forward and Allah AzzawaJal started
talking about the day itself. The day on which, what your
state of affairs is gonna be. Watch what youre saying.
Before Allah even mentions what He says, He says your
hearts are going to be like that that day, by the way, you
seem to be talking, you know, all this trash now, Yaqlna
'A'inn Lamarddna F Al-firahi'A'idh Kunn
`Iman Nakhirahan Ql Tilka 'Idhan Karratun
Khsirahun. Now, all of this, Allah brings to an end and
takes us back to judgement day again: Fa'innam Hiya
Zajratun Widahun Fa'idh Hum: all of them together:
Bis-Shirahi. Now, youre not the first ones to rebel. Youre

not the first one to be sceptics. Youre not the first ones to
poke fun at the truth and make smart comments. Allah
turns his attention to his Messenger, sallaAllahu alaihi
wasallam, how do we know he turned his attention to the
messenger? Hal 'aT ka adthu Ms: did the news of
Musa come to you, oh Muhammed, sallaAllahu alaihi
wasallam. This ilthifaat, what this illustrates is: imagine
there is an audience in front of us, right. Allah AzzawaJal is
speaking, one of the audience is the believers, one of the
audience is the disbelievers, part of the audience is the
messenger himself sallaAllahu alaihi wasallam. And
imagine there is a teacher, put it in human terms, imagine
there is a teacher in an auditorium. Theres a section A,
theres a section B, theres a Section C and there is the TA
standing next to him, right. Sometimes the teacher is
talking to A, sometimes hes talking to B, sometimes hes
talking to C, sometimes hes talking to the TA. Sometimes
for example A did really well on the exam. So hes talking
to B and he says to B: you know you guys should be more
like A, right. So hes not talking to A but hes talking about
them, even though everybodys listening. Sometimes hes
telling his TA: dont worry about them, I know they are
getting rowdy now but you should relax, well get them
under control or something. In other words, the true
instructor, the true teacher has different audiences in
different scenarios of education. Allah says about Quran,
allam al-Quran: He taught the Quran. And these are
components of teaching. You talk to someone, when they
are being bad students, when they are not listening; these
people are poking fun: now Allah turns to Musa AS and
starts talking to him instead. Even though they are still
listening, they learn now that Allah is no longer addressing
them. Hes tired of talking to them pretty much in this
discourse. So He turns to the messenger sallaAllahu alaihi
wasallam and says: Hal 'aT ka adthu Ms. The word
hadeeth, which is interesting; Allah didnt say khabar; or
Allah dint say you know, naba or other words that are

used in other places. Hadith specifically. Hadith is used for

something that is manifest. Its also used for so old and its
forgotten that when you are reminded of it, it sounds like
its new: altogether new. And the power of that word here
is when Allah says: did the hadith of Musa come to you. In
other words, roughly translated: did the news of Musa
come to you? You are being reminded of this legacy and
you will feel like this is the first time you are hearing it.
Thats how relevant it is to this discussion. Thats why the
word hadith is used. So did the hadith or the event of
Musa, didnt it already come to you?
'Idh Ndhu Rabbuhu Bil-Wdi Al-Muqaddasi an
When his lord called onto him, nida in Arabic is to call
someone. Loudly. So when his lord forcefully called him,
with a tremendous voice He called him, Bil-Wdi AlMuqaddas, in the sanctified valley. Thaqdees in Arabic; like
we do thaqdees of Allah: wa nuqaddisu lak for example,
right. Thaqdees is to speak of Allah in a way that is
appropriate of Allah. And to remove from Allah any
attributions that are not appropriate to Him. Muqaddas is a
place/it can be a place that is specified for declaring the
perfection of Allah. A place that is specially arranged,
specially designed to exalt Allah subhanaHu wa Thaala. In
simple English words, its a holy place or a sanctified place
is probably a better term. So Bil-Wdi Al-Muqaddas: in the
sanctified valley of thua. Already there is a parallel.
Remember Allah is talking to His Messenger sallaAllahu
alaihiwasallam, Allahs messenger called his Lord. Without
even him realizing He called him to the cave of Hira. He
called him to that cave. And He gave him revelation. Here
He reminds him, Musa AS was called to the valley of thua.
Why, for what? For revelation. And then the revelation was
given,
idh/hab 'Il Fir`awna 'Innahu agh

Go to Firoun. Now, in other places we find faithya firaun.

Go approach Firaun all the way. Here it says idhhab 'Il: go
to: head in that direction: meaning: get started on your
mission. The ila here illustrates: just get started on this
mission right away. So, who is the Messenger to go to? He
is to go to Quraish. He is to go to the disbelievers. Just like
Musa AS was to go to Firaun. Now, why was he to go to
Firaun? 'Innahu agh: There is no doubt that he has
engaged in an act of rebellion. Tughyaan is used in Arabic
when you, for example, if you have a pot and you fill water
in, and you put too much in and it starts spilling out, this is
tughyaan. Tughyaan is used for oceans when they start
boiling over, like a flood. This is tughyaan also. So there
are limits set on a human being of the things they can do
and say, when they cross those limits, they have engaged
in tughyaan. So he has done tughyaan in two ways that
weve learnt of in Quran. First: he declared himself rabb;
second: he enslaved bani-Israel. Because when Musa AS
came to him, he addressed these two things. Inna rasool
ur-rabbil aalameen an arsil maa ala bani Israel. These
are the two great acts of rebellion of Firaun. Anyhow: so,
go to Firaun: he has rebelled just like you people have
rebelled. What this actually illustrates is your problem
really isnt that you dont believe in the hereafter, or
youre sceptical. Your real problem is, just like it was
illustrated in the previous Soorah, your real problem is
your love of rebellion. You dont want any limits put on
you. You dont want to be told you can do this you cant do
this, you cant live like this, you cant live like this. These
are putting limits on you and you love your free lifestyle.
Nowadays we call it freedom. We love our freedom, right,
a carefree lifestyle. This is what you are really in love with
and that was the crime of Firaun before you. 'Innahu
agh.
Faqul Hal Laka 'Il 'An Tazakk

Well conclude after this aayah. Well conclude the Soorah

after the salah.
Then say to him, and this statement is very powerful, Hal
Laka 'Il 'An Tazakk: the closest thing to, we can figure in
English, hall laka maylun first of all, theres a word
understood here: do you have any inclination inside you at
all that you want to cleanse yourself of the filth that you
are infested with. Do you have any voice or reason inside
you that wants to make you a better person? Meaning the
messengers: their mission was yathloo alaihim aayaathi
wa yuzakkihim wa uallimuhum al-azaaba wa al- hikmah:
tazkiya- purification was one of the core components of
the work of the messengers. What does tazkiya mean?
Purification.
It is to take the elements of ones
personality that are flaws, that are evil, that are rebellious,
and to cleanse oneself of them. So the question Musa AS
asks Firaun is the same question that is now to be put to
the people who fear or who dont fear the hereafter. The
real question is do you find any voice or reason, any
conscience deep buried inside yourself that tells you that
you should become a better person? Is that little bit of
voice still alive because if it is then there is hope for you?
But if that voice is gone, then there is nothing left in you.
Theres nothing left making dawah to. So thats not only
my message is convincing; and my message has good
reason. Part of the dawah is what is the goodness that is
inside of you: that is clicking with the message that I am
giving you. There has to be something inside you for the
two lights to come together, noorun ala noor. So, Faqul
Hal Laka 'Il 'An Tazakk
Finally, insha Allahu Thaala, as far as this word the Hal
Laka 'Il, its a very powerful expression in Arabic, in that
it illustrates not just the presence of goodness, but ones
desire to bring out that goodness. So Musa is asking
Firaun, hes not questioning the goodness, coz Allah put
goodness inside of every human being, they deny that

goodness. Thats a separate story. Hes saying do you

have any desire left in you to let that goodness in you
flourish. This is basically the last resort. Ive given you all
the daawa I could, and youve rebelled beyond all reason,
but there still might be hope for you, if you will let your
own conscience be the better judge of the truth. Insha
Allahu thaala with this we take a break
Subhanaka Allahumma wa bihamdik, ash hadu an la ilaha
illa antha asthagfiruka wa athoobu ilaik.