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Day 15: Tafsir Part 10

SURAH KAHF AYAH 2 (PART 2)

Description
This video continues with the second ayah of Surah Kahf.

Grammatical Analysis on the word

Translation so far: All praise and gratitude are due to Allah Who sent the book and [2nd state of the book: having ensured
that the book be upright and a source of protection, a corrector, a caretaker] especially upon His ultimate slave alone
while ( )not furnishing the book with any possibility of [1st stage of the book:] deviation.

is a state of how the book came down

Make it an interjection All praise and gratitude are due to Allah Who sent the book and He didnt furnish the
book with any possibility of deviation by the way especially upon His ultimate slave alone and having ensured
that the book be upright and a source of protection, a corrector, a caretaker.

This book is not just there to be perfect. It is perfect so that it can fix and set the world outside of itself straight.

You can go inside the book and learn things from it, but you need to comment on society and reality and our
state of affairs. That is what we are saying Alhamdulillah for.

You are not really going to be able to offer something substantial to the world unless you dive in and study the
Quran more. Through deep reflection only does Allah unlock hearts. And when hearts are unlocked, only then
do they unlock other hearts.

Theres so much cohesion inside this book that you just get re-enforced that there is no deviation and . You
experience the observed reality of no .

or interjection means you are so in awe of the perfection of the book that before you even think about
how it corrects society you think about the book in and of itself.
o Huge social ramification People want to quote the book of Allah to use it as a way to change society
upside down and turn it into what the Quran wants it to be.
That is not how the Quran works. Its perfection has to be internalized and when it does, people
will become upright on their own.

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The first rectification of this book is of the hearts, thinking, and mentality of people. The Quran
came to conquer the heart and mind. Everything else is secondary.
The Quran addresses the root problem which gives you sustainable solutions. If you only
address the branch, it might even get worse.

What did this Book become for?

Meanings of

something intense
- the brave one
Punishment that could be in this world or the next
War
the problems that occur before war; when the drum beats of war have begun and borders are shutting
down and shops are closing and problems begin to happen because there is fear mongering in the society. When
spreads you start to feel the harm yourself (). In the middle of the war itself. Tanks are rolling down the
street. It is the time of
- figure of speech; no problem at all; not a big deal; no harm
Dua - oh Allah lift and relieve us of the intense problem, or get rid of a war

The book is upright, stands to protect and correct so that it (or He) can warn of an intense war.
Differences between ( war) and
( war) doesnt suggest that any harm fell upon you. If youre engaged in a ( war) you may have been
victorious without any harm befalling you.
If youre engaged in a that indicates youve been harmed.
o any party involved in it will be damaged. Every side will take damage.

Ibn Ashoor says

- The word so that is used to give reasons so that He could warn about a war, or so that the Book
could warn, or so that the Messenger could warn.
They boil down to the same thing and the inseparability of Allah, His Book and His Messenger.
o This ayah suggests that these 3 entities as far as guidance is concerned are inseparable.
o In worship, Allah is alone. In guidance and how we receive guidance, these entities are inseparable.
o Jibreel is inseparable from the Messenger, and they are inseparable from the Book, and all three are
inseparable from Allah swt.
o When it comes to accepting revelation, if you take any of these parts of the chain out youve committed
shirk.
o Accepting guidance and learning the wisdom is through the Messenger (pbuh).
In this ayah, Allah fuses all three. The warning is from Allah, the Book and the Messenger.
o He didnt mention all 3 but there was room in the language to capture all three.

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The book came down so Allah/Quran/Messenger can warn of an intense war.

But this isnt the only reason the Book came down.
does not mean exclusivity. Had it been earlier there would have been
The placement of

(exclusivity). Actually this book came down for many reasons among which is the one being highlighted here, the
intense war.
is related to
2 opinions on what

so that He may warn (as related to revelation and )

1.

He sent the book down, and it was sent down for the purpose of warning.
If you understand it with this opinion, then one of the fundamental reasons and goals that the Quran came
down and was revealed is to issue a warning.
o It follows then, that if our relationship with the Quran becomes mere academics and we do not use it to
warn one another and humanity, then we are denying a fundamental goal for which Allah Himself sent
us the Quran this is somewhat problematic.
One of the great goals of this book is to warn of the intense conflict that is coming between the people that
believe in the unseen and the people that believe in materialism. It is to warn people of that ultimate conflict.
2. Or so that He may warn (as related to )
The book was made upright and timeless and standing straight forever so that it could warn of a war.
o The warning of a war is either related to the revelation or it is related to the book being upright.
The fact that the book remains timeless suggests that its warnings are also timeless. Meaning, the things that it
is warning about are relevant to every generation. Its warnings are always going to be applicable.
It is the only thing that will stand straight. In a time when everything else will bend and deviate, the only thing
that will be standing straight will be the book of Allah.
o Which means nobody else will see a problem except someone who is holding on to this book. Everybody
else will be fine and wont see a problem.
o To warn of a problem you would have to see it as a problem.
The only one that would see a striking difference between where society has deviated and
is also associated with .
where the Book stands, is the book itself. Thats why

What is
referring to?

The book of Tafsir by Ibn Hayyan and the book of Tafsir by Al-Zamakhshari say that it could
be referring to an intense war in this dunya (this life) or in the akhirah (the afterlife).
Ibn Ashoor says it might be dunya, in this world or it might be in the next world
o if it is in this world then this intense war must be
figuratively intense, i.e. its a war that Allah has decreed that this may happen in the world
o and if its in the akhirah then its directly from Allah
o directly from Allah and it might be that Allah decreed in dunya and in the
akhira.

Manazer Ahsan Gilani Analysis and Commentary

He argues that the use of in the Quran is exclusively for dunya. Examples:
1.
fight in the path of Allah

no burden has been put on you except that of your own,

and incite and inspire the believers,

it may very well be that Allah may put

a stop to the war of those that disbelieve. [Surah An-Nisa: 84]

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The
is the war of those who disbelieve this is obviously in dunya

2.


And Allah may make you taste each others wars. [Surah Al-Anaam: 65]
o A punishment on this Earth may be the Allah may make you taste each others wars this is clearly
about dunya.
3. Historical account of Jewish History

the Israelites
o When the first promise of Allah to them was fulfilled, which
were told that their destiny was that they are going to cause a great deal of corruption in the land twice.
[Surat Al-Isra: 4]
If youre in a position to cause a great deal of trouble, it means youll have a political rise. But its
going to happen twice so it means theyre also going to have a fall.

When the first fall happened, we


put slaves of ours that were capable of intense war. [Surat Al-Isra: 5]
This is also related to dunya. Its a historical account
4. The advisors of Queen Sheba ( )said this when she said to them this is the letter that
Suleiman gave me, what is our foreign policy decision and what should we do? Her generals and advisors said,
we possess a lot of power and we are capable of intense war [Surah Al-Naml: 33] this is again about
dunya.
5.

the general who became Muslim amongst the chiefs of the Pharaoh. He addressed

the senate and was saying, my nation today you have power, and are dominant on the land,



who is going to aid us against Allahs war if it comes? He is warning them about the land being taken out.
This is the same warning the Musa alayhi alsalam has been giving them that if they dont change their ways
theyre going to be wiped out. [Surah Ghafir: 29] again this is about dunya.

The Muslims are told that soon youre going to have to fight a nation


6.


capable of great war, i.e. the Romans [Surah Al-Fat-h: 16]
o At Hudaibiya, when good news of victory was given, tell those who stay back with the Bedouins and
those that dont fight unless they see a benefit in it for them, tell them theyll fight a nation capable of
great war, i.e. the Romans
7.

- And we send along with them the Book and the scale,
so people can stand


upright with justice,

And we sent Iron in which there is capability of intense war. Iron has
potential for great warfare. Dunya!
There is no reason to take this ayah (Ayah 2) of Surah Kahf and say that this one place where Allah used it
means akhirah. No it means dunya.
o And if Allah is saying especially from him it must be some special war that can only be allowed
by the special permission of Allah. A war like no other before.
o The Christians will call it Armageddon the great terrible wars at the time of the conflict
between the Muslims and the army of Dajjal.
This ties together well in this explanation. And this Surah has much to do with the fitnah of
Dajjal.
And if you see him in front you then recite these ayahs. And if you recite these ayaat then youll
recite to him that Allah will protect and warn believers with this book against an intense war.

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Youre reciting these ayaat in Dajjals face and youre telling him Im covered from the intense
war. Which intense war? The one that is going on with Dajjal. Theres a context that is making
this abundantly clear.

The other remarkable thing is there is another promise of Allah that is being fulfilled. Judgment Day has many
signs. One of its signs is , Gog and Magog coming out.
o This surah also has the story of Gog and Magog. Allahs promise will be fulfilled.
[Surah Kahf: 98]
Meaning from the beginning to the end there are many elements that remind us of Judgment
Day in this Surah.

Stages of the Ummah

The Prophet (pbuh) told us that the Ummah is going to go through certain stages.
1. The first stage is going to be as Allah wants it to be. the rule of Islam.
a. Muslims will live under the guidance that Allah has given them. Its a time of peace and spreading of the
beauty of Islam.
2. Then theres going to be a time where Kingship takes over. And its going to be a tough kingship.
a. In Islamic History, a time came when the Islamic rule turned into a kingship and dynasty.
b. They were tough against Muslims and scholars were killed. They werent the most glorious times.
3. Then there will be a period where you will have enforced kingdom on you. Meaning others will rule over you
and force their rule on you.
a. Weve gone through a lot of that in our history. The most vivid example would be Europe when it
colonized most of the Muslim world. Between the French, Germans and the British, they colonized
pretty much the entire planet.
4. After that there will be a time where there will be Islamic rule once again. And Islam will come back.
Manazer Gilani says
Between the Muslims being ruled and the Muslims coming back is when all the fitnah and trouble will happen.
He says, if I place ourselves in Islamic history, I would place us somewhere where the clutches of those who
ruled over us are slowly lifting and we are now slowly coming back up (he said this about 100 years ago). That is
what he saw of the Muslims. Colonizing powers were letting go of the Muslim lands.
His analysis is that Allah chose this Surah to warn us against those great times because this surah actually has a
lot to do with the future of the Muslim Ummah and the way theyll deal with the fitnah of Dajjal.
Just like the previous Surah al- Isra has to do with the history of the Israelites.
o Timeline history of Israelites means history of former Muslims seeping into the future of the current
Muslims. This surah is the future of the current Muslims.
o Hadith -

- The same things will fall upon my Ummah as what fell onto
the Israelites.
Our history will be very similar to the history of the Israelites.
Surah Bani Israel is very similar to surah Kahf in structure.
Manazer Gilani Commentary Continued
Surah Kahf has four stories
1. The Muslims were colonized and they couldnt fight the British or French so the scholars decided to protect
themselves and go into monasteries and seminaries.
a. They went into a kind of cave for a couple of centuries.
b. Finally, the rest of the Muslims were able to fight off the influences of the colonizing forces and were
able to politically emancipate themselves and become free.

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c. Then the scholars came out of the cave, people said they belong in Masajid, they dont belong in the
university or parliament or the marketplace or wall street.
i. They dont belong in any other area of governance except in the masjid.
ii. Then he says in the meantime while the scholars were incubated protecting Islam and studying
it and preserving the tradition, the rest of the Muslims became materialistic leads to second
story.
2. The second story is about a gardener who is entirely materialistic. Just like much of the Muslims who rely on
materials.
a. And one Muslim is warning the other not to be so materialistic.
b. And Allah then teaches the gardener a lesson by taking all of his material wealth away
c. He then makes tawbah and
d. Gilani says perhaps the Muslims wont learn their lesson until the resources are stripped away from
under them. Otherwise they are suffering from intense materialism the same that was suffered by the
gardener in Surah Kahf.
3. The third story is the Muslims looking around and saying, why is this happening? Why are Muslims being killed?
Why is society getting worse and worse? What did the innocent people do to get their ship damaged? What did
these young ones do to not get a job? Why was an innocent child killed?
a. Theyre thinking, if we live in such a corrupt society, whats the point of even building a school?
b. Musa builds a wall in a corrupt city. Why? nobody cares about it. Theres no point.
c. Building a wall in a corrupt city is very similar to planting a tree when Dajjal is there. You dont see a
point.
d. Muslims are going to question why things are happening around them.
e. Are we somewhat in the times where muslims question whey things are happening around them?
f. The point of the third story was there is a larger plan in place whether you get it or not. You need to be
patient and learn. You need to be in a position of patience and observe what is happening and
internalize certain things.
4. The final story is of Dhul Qarnayn, who wherever he goes establishes justice and everything in between.
a. The final stage of this Ummahs career will be Islam being spread East and West and everywhere you go.
That is the final stage.
b. But before that stage there will be fitnah. And we wont understand why there is so much of it.
The four stories here are directly associated with the fitnah of Dajjal because they are telling us where we are in history.
These four stories are telling us where we are headed and we have to be optimistic.

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