Quran Kaisay Samjhain - Part - 4 - How to Understand Quran - Muhammad Hassan Ilyas

Introduction to the Qur'an.

Themes, Subjects and Characters.

Addressees, Language and Difficulties.

Verses, Surahs and Groups.

How to understand Qur'an.
Mohammad Hassan Ilyas.

[Hassan Ilyas] Gratitude is only
for the Lord of the worlds.

May peace and blessings be upon his
Trustworthy Prophet, Muhammad

and his family, his companions
and those who follow him.

I seek refuge with Allah
from the accursed Devil.

I begin in the name of Allah,
most gracious, forever merciful.

Dear viewers, we are
studying the Holy Qur'an.

This is the fourth session of the series.

In the previous session,
we read and understood

the introduction and the text
of Surah Al-Fatihah.

We tried to know the message that
this first Surah of the Holy Qur'an,

which is also the preface or
introduction of the Qur'an is giving.

We had learnt that this
Surah is actually a prayer,

and a kind of summary whose details
are to be explained in further Surahs.

It is the prayer, the answer to which
comes under discussion in further Surahs.

What was that prayer?

That prayer was, "Ihdinas
siratal mustaqeem."

Meaning, Oh God, the Lord of the worlds,
Nourisher of the worlds,

Gratitude is only for You.

You are the one who created
this world by virtue of His mercy.

You are the one whose
compassion is eternal.

Your blessings in this world are
perpetual, everlasting and eternal.

You are the one who gave us the
ability to will and choose.

Hence, it is You who is the Master
of the Day of Recompense.

We only worship You and from
You alone do we seek help.

Show us the straight path.

What is that straight path?

And it had also been asked
in that prayer that,

"The path of those upon whom You
bestowed Your favor, not the path of

those people or nations who incurred
Your wrath and those who went astray.

After Surah Al-Fatihah, the next Surah
is Surah Al-Baqarah.

This should be kept in mind that these
Surahs have been named by human beings.

As we will read further in this Surah,

there comes the mention of the
nation of Prophet Moses [AS].

There is an apparent symbolic aspect
of the 'cow' present in that mention.

Cow is called "Al-Baqarah"
in the Arabic language.

The scribes who took down the dictation of
the Holy Qur'an and memorized it,

they also gave these symbolic names to
these Surahs for their own memorization.

And these are the names that
have continued till now.

But when we will study Surah Al-Baqarah,
it will be clear that the names

that Allah has named these Surahs,
have been made part of those Surahs.

That is, either in the beginning
of the Surahs,

or in other verses of some Surahs,
these parts come under discussion.

Our method of studying the Holy Qur'an
should be recalled in every session.

That should be up front.

And that method is that whichever
Surah one begins to study,

the central theme of that Surah,

the context of the events under discussion
in that Surah should be well known.

And the central theme or the grand topic
of the Holy Qur'an around which all of its

Surahs and groups revolve,
should also be remembered

that it is actually Prophet's [PBUH]
account of warning to people.

That is, when He [PBUH] cautioned
people after coming to this world,

the chronicle of that has been
written in the Holy Qur'an.

Hence, it needs to be decided
in every Surah now

that which stage of drawing people's
attention or to caution them,

is under the discussion
in the given Surah.

Surah Al-Baqarah and Aal-e-Imran
are two twin Surahs.

We also had read that the Surahs in
these seven groups arrive in pairs.

It is like having a message that one
Surah describes about one nation,

and the same message or some
other aspects of that message,

are described about that same
nation in some other Surah.

Similarly, sometimes a nation is
being addressed in a Surah,

and the matter is being
brought to their notice.

And in its second twin Surah, its pair,

the same thing happens
regarding the other nation.

We all know the effect of dividing
the theme in this way.

Its effect is that one is able to convey
one's matter in a focused manner.

That is, it is not the case that
the address is happening

with everybody at the same time.

Rather one group is being addressed
at one time from one aspect.

And the same group is being addressed
from another aspect at some other time

or some other group is being addressed.

So Al-Baqarah and Aal-e-Imran,
they both are twin Surahs.

They are a pair, they are joined.

The teacher writes that,
"In terms of the subject matter,

both of these Surahs are twins."

That is, they have come in the
form of a pair, they are twins.

"After the completion of God's proof
on Jews in the first Surah,

and particularly on Christians along with
Jews in the second Surah,

there is an announcement of the
establishment of the new Ummah,

the Muslim Ummah, from the
children of Ishamel.

Although the Prophet [PBUH] also has
been tacitly addressed in them,

as well as the polytheists of the Arab,

however, the actual addressees of both
the Surahs are the People of the Book,

and then the Muslims.

It is clear from the themes of these
Surahs that they have been revealed

in Medina after the migration at the time

when the Muslim state had
been formally established.

And the Prophet [PBUH] was completing
God's proof on the People of the Book,

and was cleansing and purifying Muslims.

The subject of the first Surah,
Al-Baqarah,

is the description of the completion of
God's proof on the People of the Book,

an establishment of a new Ummah in their
place and a description of their duties.

The subject of the second Surah,
Aal-e-Imran,

is completion of God's proof on the People
of the Book, especially on Christians,

an establishment of the
new Ummah in their place,

and its cleansing and purification."

You may remember the discourse regarding
the introduction of the Holy Qur'an,

that we discussed in the initial sessions.

In that, we had said that unless and until

one doesn't keep the theme
of the Qur'an in one's mind,

one can't understand the
context in which these Surahs

of the Holy Qur'an are speaking,
or which nations are they conversing to,

or whose characteristics they are
describing. We can't know any of this.

And these introductions are so important
that if we will not know them,

then the consequence of this ignorance
is so deadly and serious that

the biggest reason for people distancing
themselves from the Holy Qur'an nowadays,

is to overlook this very aspect.

We will formally study the Surah.

This thing will also come under the
discussion there, by implication.

But let me just initially clear this thing
by an example so that during the study

of the Surah, this point stays up front
with great consideration that

in what context is the
matter being discussed,

who are being talked to,
who are the addressees,

what characters are
under discussion in it,

and what is the reason for bringing
them under discussion?

This is because, if in this Surah,
it will be said about some nation,

that 'This nation has gone astray now,
it has deviated from the right path.

And for this reason, it has had to
taste the torment of Allah.

And now you will have to
distance yourself from them.

They cannot be your friends.

They can't be your helpers
or well wishers.

They will not be satisfied until
you enter into their religion.

And now, break up all relations
and turn away from them.'

So unless and until we won't understand
the context of this instruction,

we will describe it as a general
or universal injunction.

And just imagine, when we say to our
children and to the future generations,

about the Book of Allah in this day
and age with full confidence,

that the last message of God
is inscribed in this,

what message do we give to them?

If you look at the children, especially
those who live in western countries,

when they study the Holy Qur'an,
without understanding its introduction,

without determining its theme,
its topic and its subject,

they fall victim to the dilemma,
that does the Qur'an say the

same about their friends, those People
of the Book having good character,

who are present all around them, that
there can't be any friendship with them?

Does Qur'an say the
same about them that

now they have to now taste the
torment of God?

Does Qur'an instruct us to distance
ourselves from them too?

So all these topics of discussion
and all these issues,

will arise during the study of
the holy Qur'an. They can arise.

This is the reason that the
introduction of every Surah,

the stage at which a given
Surah has been revealed,

the responsibility under which
the Messenger [PBUH]

is speaking given his status and position,

and what He [PBUH] is speaking about
and to whom, will come under discussion.

Here our teacher has told us that,
in terms of the subject matter,

both of these Surahs have
come in the from of a pair.

Jews have been addressed in the first
Surah, and in the second one,

particularly Christians along with
the Jews have been addressed.

And they are addressed in the context
which we had also learnt earlier,

which is the basic theme
of the first group,

that this nation which was given the
responsibility, the children of Israel,

they didn't fulfill their responsibility.

Hence, the children of Ishmael,
the descendants of Abraham,

are now being appointed.

The children of Ishmael are
being established at a place

where the responsibilities which were
once in charge of the children of Israel,

as well as in charge of
the children of Ishmael.

But they didn't fulfill them.

So now a new Ummah is being
appointed from them, a new group,

that has now to take on this
responsibility to continue the

same mission as a nation in the world,

that the Prophets of God used to
champion.

This point also got clarified from this
introduction that this Surah...

And Surah Al-Baqarah is the longest
and detailed Surah of the Holy Qur'an.

And that's why it is very important
to know its context,

i.e, whom it has been revealed to
and to address what?

It becomes clear from reading the Surah
that it has been revealed in Medina.

This is because in the course of this
Surah, after describing the mistakes

done by Jews and Christians, their
rebellion, deviation and wickedness,

when Muslims are sanctified and purified,
the commandments that they are being given

become clear by reading the Surah, that
the relation of those commandments is with

an organised and systematic society.

That is, this is not possible that Muslims
stand in Mecca at an individualistic level

and they are given the commandments
regarding the society.

So this is quite clear that these Surahs
have been revealed in Medina.

Let us begin the study of the Surah.

"Bismillahir rahman nirrahim.

In the name of Allah, who is wholly
merciful, whose compassion is eternal.

This Surah is 'Alif-Laam-Meem'.

This is a Book from God
and there is no doubt in it.

It is the guidance for these
God fearing people,

who believe without seeing, and
are watchful of their prayers.

And spend in the way of God out of
whatever we have provided for them.

And who also believe in what has been
revealed to You (Prophet Muhammad),

as well as in that what was
revealed before You.

And who really believe in the hereafter.

These are the ones who are upon
the guidance of their Lord.

And these are the ones who are
going to be successful and saved."

This thing should also be in everyone's
mind during our study of the Holy Qur'an,

that like the way we converse
under normal circumstances,

the message that we want to
communicate in that conversation,

if we communicate that
by writing that down,

then that gets distinguished
in the form of a paragraph.

That is, taking a topic from
one point to another fixed point,

even though that topic is only a
part in relation to the entire theme,

i.e. it is not completed.

However, the complete message is
conveyed to a reader in that paragraph,

by the speaker who wants to convey it.

The same is the case in the Qur'an,
that all these series of verses together

communicate a certain point to the people.

So as you may have noticed
that when I read the translation,

I only translated from the first verse
to the fifth verse of Surah Al-Baqarah.

This is because from the
first verse to the fifth verse,

there is one paragraph, one complete topic
that has been conveyed to the world.

We said that this Surah is
'Alif-Laam-Meem'.

And then we said that it is a Book from
God and there is no doubt in it.

So what is this 'Alif-Laam-Meem'?

You may have noticed that when we Muslims
are invited to study the Holy Qur'an,

to hold the Holy Qur'an
firmly in our lives,

and to make it as the guide as
it is the only wealth worth having.

And when we want to read the
Qur'an and open it to read,

then just in the initial Surah, there
comes some word whose meaning

does not happen to be mentioned in
the translation of the Holy Qur'an.

A reader gets surprised, thinking that
I had just opened the Book of God,

in order to benefit from it,
to understand it,

to know what guidance or
instructions are in it for me,

and to know about the warnings
mentioned in it,

but it begins with something which if we
say in plain and simple language,

are strange kind of words that
come in the beginning of it.

'Alif-Laam-Meem'.

I mean, if you open some
lexicon or ask some Arab,

or try to know the meaning of this word
by examining the Arabic literature,

that if 'Alif-Laam-Meem' is any word?

If yes, then what is the meaning
and connotation of it?

So we are told that these are
"Huroof-e-Muqatta'at" (disjoined letters).

And their meanings and connotations
are known to Allah alone.

So this question arises in one's mind that
if only Allah knows the meaning of a word,

then what is the purpose of having
that word in this Book (Qur'an)?

And that Book which will become the
cause of your and mine guidance

till the Day of Resurrection,

why is a student or a reader like me put
to this test as soon as he opens it up,

that a word has been written here and it
is said that a human being cannot know

its meaning and connotation?

We will highlight these aspects during
our study of the Holy Qur'an.

The aspects that create hindrance and
resistance for an ordinary reader and

an ordinary Muslim to associate themselves
with the message of the Qur'an,

with fervour and with real conviction.

That is to say that although a Muslim
wants to make Qur'an a shining beacon

or guide of his life, but he
encounters some aspects that

subconsciously prevent him from
attaching himself to the Book (Qur'an).

This Surah is 'Alif-Laam-Meem',
as I had said that the teacher

has written it in the translation.
What does it mean?

You may have come across different
views and opinions about this.

You can read about them in any of the
translations or commentaries.

There are wide range
of opinions about it.

But the thing that turns out
to be most clear and correct,

and which is qualified by the
discourse and its history itself,

is that these are the names of the Surahs.

We find this style in the Arabic language,

that when you have to decide
the title of some discourse,

or write its name or decide its topic,
you write it in a combination of letters.

These letters are separate,
like 'Alif' is separate,

'Laam' is separate and so is 'Meem'.

The other languages of the world,
for example, Chinese language,

or other languages like Hebrew langauge,

sometimes in those languages too,

these alphabets do not just
simply represent some sound,

rather they also express the
symbol of a given thing.

For example, if you see in the
Hebrew language, then even today,

the shape that is drawn to describe
a fish is like the letter "Nun".

You write the letter "Nun" like this.

A semi-circle and a dot at the center.

Actually when we wanted to communicate the
shape or form of a fish to the people,

we did it by taking just
one aspect of its shape.

For example, if you look
at it from one aspect,

then that (letter Nun) describes the
mouth and an eye of a fish,

and if you look at it from another
perspective, then its tail is just like

the semi-circle of the letter "Nun".

So what human beings did in the beginning,
when they wanted to communicate something,

for example, that 'I need a fish', they
communicated it by the word "Fish",

or by the shape of a fish or by drawing
an element of that shape.

So, these words refer to
both sounds and symbols.

These words appear in more or less
thirty Surahs of the Holy Qur'an,

and these are called "Haroof-e-muqatta'at"
meaning "Disjoined letters".

So these letters are actually a kind of
codes that indicate a given shape.

The Holy Qur'an itself makes
this thing quite clear

in Surah Nun, by the letter Nun.

But since we know that the
meaning of "Nun" is a fish,

so the story that is further
discussed in that Surah,

is of Sahib-ul-Hut, Prophet Younis [AS].
And He was a fisherman.

So, this prominent aspect of this
Surah was picked up and then

written by highlighting
it in the form of a symbol.

This style started to fade over time.

And it also didn't last in that way even
in the Arabic language itself.

This is the reason that we can say it
about certain letters with full certainty

that whose symbols are they, what codes do
they contain and what are they describing,

but we have no knowledge
about some other letters.

It is not like that God has not given
this knowledge to humans,

rather what happened was that a
style that was normally in vogue,

did not continue in that way.

However, scholars are
still researching on it.

And they are also making it clear to the
world that which symbols or things

do these letters represent.

This aspect should also be kept in view
that if we did not yet know that

what these letters as names represent
or what their meanings are?

Then it wouldn't have made any difference
if we can't even know the subjects

of a given Surah which is
named by these letters.

This is because if my name is Hassan,

and if you don't know the
meaning of the word 'Hassan',

then that doesn't cause any
difficulty or trouble in knowing

the qualities and traits
of my personality,

my knowledge, my views and my opinions.

So this is the first thing that every
Muslim should keep in mind.

And let me say that the translations
of the Holy Qur'an may be present

in your cupboards, so you can
read them if you want to.

In this session, we will also try to know
that as a young person, just like I read

and understood this Book (Qur'an),

and as persons inhabiting
this modern era,

when other people read this (Qur'an),
then what questions arise in their minds?

If you reflect, then the present era
is the era of critical thinking.

The present era is the era of
reason and argumentation.

The present era is the era of freedom
and freedom of thought.

You cannot hand over the Book of Allah to
your child and then expect that your child

doesn't ask the question such as what
is meant by 'Alif-Laam-Meem?

Or if I do not know the meaning of it,
then you are giving me such a Book of God

that I am unable to know!

So these questions will come before us.

Gone is that age when we used to
shut down questions merely on the

emphasis of respect, literature,
imitation and tradition.

This is the age when we need to
consciously pass the knowledge

of religion to our children
and future generations.

Therefore, we need to
critically analyze things,

raise questions about them
and understand them.

However, this should be kept in view
that we have already accepted that

this is the Book of Allah.

This exercise of understanding things is
for the better understanding of the Book,

and for our own confidence that we also
understand the Book that we believe in.

When we will understand and know the Book,
then it will also be easy to act on it.

So it was said that this
Surah is 'Alif-Laam-Meem'.

Meaning 'Alif-Laam-Meem' is the name
of the Surah Al-Baqarah.

"This is a Book from God and
there is no doubt in it."

That is, it was made clear in the very
beginning that all over the world,

different discourses, books, testaments
and different media come into existence,

in order to communicate things.

But this thing should be kept in mind that
there shouldn't be any doubt regarding

the Book of God in terms
of its divine nature.

That is, if you imagine the time when the
Prophet [PBUH] was reciting these verses

to His people, then what
was He saying to them?

He was saying to them that these
words are not My invention.

These words are not My creation
or the result of My thoughts,

or the ideas that have evolved
over a lifetime of thinking.

Rather, this is the word of God
that I am reciting before you.

These are not My words
but the words of God.

And these Surahs, consisting of these
very words, these collection of Surahs

and this entire Book, i.e. the Book,
by which is meant the Holy Qur'an,

is the Book of Allah.

So bear this in mind that this is a Book
from God and there shouldn't be any doubt

in the fact that this is a divine book.

The teacher said, "This is the
guidance for God fearing people,

who believe without witnessing (with
their eyes)."

Guidance for God fearing people
who believe without seeing.

We know that guidance is needed
to walk on a given path,

as well as to find that path.

That is, we can ask someone to tell us
how can we get to the right path?

Or which route do we have to
take to start the journey?

So these inspired scriptures actually
come to keep us on the guided path.

That is to say, that these scriptures
show you the definite path.

They show you the definite way
which you have to stick to.

They don't just guide you a pointer
and then leave you free

to adopt a Shari'ah of your making,

or to create ways to relate with God
through your own conceptions.

No! Rather the guidance that is
required to walk on that path,

that complete guidance is
given in the Holy Qur'an.

And all the inspired scriptures actually
come for the same purpose.

So the teacher said, "This is a Book
from God and there is no doubt in it,

A guidance for these God fearing people,
who believe without seeing" (or observing)

For the God fearing people.

We had stated that the context
of this Surah is that

Jews are actually addressed in it.

So what was then just said?

That is, those people who were standing
in front of the Messenger of Allah [PBUH],

the companions of Prophet [PBUH],
who had believed in Him,

they are being told who gets the guidance?

Only those get the guidance,
who fear God with a sincere heart

after recognizing the limits set
by Him.

In our culture, when you introduce God
and His Book (Qur'an) to Muslims,

then an early and a very prominent
objection comes to the fore,

that why is this fear being created
with the concept of God?

Why is it often said that
we should fear God?

Why is it not being said that
we should love God?

Why doesn't the concept of a God
comes as a compassionate Lord?

People who are in the initial phase of
reading the Qur'an, especially the youth,

usually ask me this question that why we
come up with a scary concept of dread,

anxiety, fear and pressure,
in case of God?

And when we begin with the Holy Qur'an,
then it also says that it is the guidance

for these God-fearing people, who
believe without seeing (with their eyes).

So here this point should be kept in mind
that we read in the beginning of the Surah

that God is merciful and compassionate.

Even Surah Al-Fatihah
started with the same.

And this thing was also noted
in its contents and text.

And then this Surah also began by saying
that God is merciful and compassionate.

This is crystal clear that God
doesn't want to oppress us.

That God doesn't want to frighten us.
He doesn't want to make us afraid.

It is His attribute of being Merciful and
an attribute of His compassion,

that He created this Universe,
and He wants to make us the

citizens of His paradise by giving us
an eternal life in His kingdom.

His whole scheme is based
on love and compassion.

His whole scheme is not
based on intimidation.

It is indeed based on love.

It is His kindness, just kindness!

Otherwise, God who is imperishable,
unique, eternal and such a power

that has always been and always will be,

whether He would have created the Universe
or not, that wouldn't have made

anydifference in His grandeur,
status and greatness.

He actually had mercy on me that

after putting me to the initial
test of fifty to sixty years,

he set up life of billions of years for me
and such a life in which there is neither

the regret of the past
nor the worry of future.

So it becomes clear from all of this
that He is an absolute mercy.

His compassion is eternal.

He wants, "Walayn ardha libaadihi l kufr",
that you don't go astray.

And He is more compassionate
than seventy mothers.

There is this much of love in Him.

But what is the demand of this love?

The demand of this love is that as much
as God wants me to come to Him,

this yearning, urge, desire, wish, longing
and passion, should also be present

in a decent, rational, and believing
Muslim after believing in God.

And this word that appears at various
places in the Holy Qur'an i.e. "Mutaqeen",

it never refers to those people who
fall victim to some dread or fear.

Rather it refers to those who are
aware of the limits (set by God).

And they fear the seriousness of those
limits, that if they transgressed them,

then their relationship with
God will be affected.

So "These God fearing people who
believe without seeing", refers to

those who know that God has been
so merciful to them and after that

has shown them the definite
path (of guidance),

so therefore if they strayed
from this path now,

then God will be displeased from them.

So this is the fear of His displeasure.

This is the dread of His displeasure
because of which a believer

obeys His commandments.

"A guidance for these God fearing people,
who believe without seeing & are watchful

of their prayers and spend in our way out
of what we have bestowed upon them."

When you hand over the
Holy Qur'an to people,

and when you invite them
to read the word of God,

then as I pointed out certain
things in the very beginning,

for example, the discourse seems strange
if one is not aware of the theme of it,

the characters seem strange.

Similarly, the 'Alif-Laam-Meem',

whose meaning is known
to God and not to us.

Likewise dread and fear, that gets
attached to the concept of God.

The same case happens
in the next sentence.

And all of this actually being the
description of that covenant and

the adverse attributes of the Jews
who were present before that.

It is being described that
they (Jews) do not fear God.

For them, the concept of God
has become a ritualistic concept.

They believe in God.

They are also attached to the
traditions of God's Prophets.

But do they really believe in God?

Do they really fear God?

You will further read that if the sign of
being oblivious of God's guidance arises

in nations, after they believe in God,
then what are those attributes and traits

towards which the Holy Qur'an points to?

That will later come under
discussion in detail.

So when it was said that, "A guidance
for these God fearing people.",

it was actually said about
that covenant of Jews

and the adverse attributes of the Jews
who were present before that,

to the companions of the Prophet [PBUH],
that they (Jews) are not God fearing.

But you have to be God fearing.

And then it is said,
"Allazeena yuminuna bil ghayb."

Meaning those who believe
without seeing (with their eyes).

So this is the verse that when
Muslims usually read it,

a wrong orientation of the
whole religion gets created.

And then it is being said that see Allah
Almighty has said, "Yuminuna bil ghayb".

Referring to those who believe
in the unseen (blindly).

The translation that we did here is that,

"A Guidance to these God fearing people
who believe without seeing."

Who believe without witnessing
with their eyes.

We didn't translate it as,
"Those who believe in the unseen".

What is the reason for this?

The reason for this is that when you
ponder over the words of the Holy Qur'an,

then it becomes clear, and when
one reads the very same

topics of discussions of the
Qur'an further in the Surah,

in the light of the attributes of that
nation, then it becomes even clearer

that what exactly is being
negated or denied?

As I said that by this verse,
it is usually understood

that all the commandments of religion,

all the guidance and
instructions of religion,

actually need to be believed blindly.

To believe in what is unseen!

To believe in things that
you can't understand.

Things that you can't even question.

Hence, it has an effect, that is seen in
our Muslim culture and society.

And that effect is that when you go to the
Muslim scholars and ask them a question,

and that question can be of any type.

That can be about the
whole concept of religion,

or that can be about the existence of God,

or that can be about God's qualities or
about the characteristics of His being.

So, the matter that is often presented is
the very same verse of the Holy Qur'an.

Saying that see this whole religion is all
about believing blindly in the unseen.

That one doesn't need to question,
rather one needs to blindly believe,

because we believe in
things that we can't see.

This verse of the Holy Qur'an
is never ever saying this thing.

Rather the exact opposite
thing is being discussed here.

What is that thing that is
being described here?

The thing that is being described is that
Allah Almighty did not just give man a

mere material existence
like other animals.

Rather, man has been bestowed with an
intellectual and a spiritual personality.

Man deduces the unknown from the known.

He infers fire from seeing the smoke.

If he is driving a car and a ball comes
in front of him, then his intellect asks

him to slow the car, as a child could
also be running after the ball.

So even the animals believe after seeing.

A Buffalo believes, a sheep believes,
a dog also believes after seeing.

The difference between humans and animals
is this very thing that humans infer.

They assess things, they deduce
the unknown from the known.

Therefore, if your demand is,
"Anara llaha jahra.",

meaning we won't believe
until we see Allah outright,

then this is the answer to
that which is being asked,

that why do you need to see God?

Is it because that you will then come
to believe that there is a God?

And is it because that you will then
have a firm faith or confidence

about the existence of the
Creator of the Universe?

If so, then the question is
that this whole Universe,

this greenery, these flowing streams,
this sound of the waterfall,

these mountains, these valleys,
these oceans, these gardens,

these galaxies, this colorfulness
of the world, its diversity,

its wonders and variegation,

so can you believe that all of this got
created all by itself, without a Creator?

Can you accept that the affairs of this
creation after creating it ...

I mean it wasn't the case that the Sun
and the Moon were just created randomly,

rather they come out at specified time
and from specified places.

Do you ever see that the sun
rise from the east on one day

and then from the west
on the next day?

Or that everything happens all by itself?

So if you are a rational being and
you have a spiritual personality,

and you assess things and deduce what was
unknown from the known facts,

then what kind of a question is it that

we won't believe until we see
God by our very eyes.

So Allah Almighty said to the companions
of the Messenger [PBUH]

that some people asked this question.

And later on, this too shall be clear

that the purpose of the
question was not to believe.

If the purpose of the question
would have been to believe,

then for believing, there are way more
stronger, convincing and greater proofs

which have been put in this Universe.

They are both in the Universe and
in the human soul and nature.

So God gave a rational and moral
understanding to a man.

And He gave him the aesthetic sense and
created these wonders in the Universe,

so after all this, who can even question
on the existence of the Creator?

So here it was not said that,
"Those who believe in the unseen",

which is how it is usually translated.

Rather it was said that,
"Those who believe without seeing".

"Bil Ghaybi", while it is in the Ghaib.

I mean those who know the Arabic
language know that this letter "baa",

is used to denote 'capacity'.

So it is being said that if for example
something is hidden from my sight,

then my human existence
believes or recognizes that

only seeing is not the means
of acquiring knowledge.

In fact what's so special about seeing
as a form of knowledge?

If seeing and lifting of curtains
is indeed what one wants,

then where is the test?

Not seeing is actually that veil and
curtain behind which you need to

use your intellect and knowledge.

It is the knowledge and intellect that
makes a human being, a human being.

Man decides all matters of his life
in the light of rationality.

The concept of good and evil has been
inspired in this nature and personality

of a man, under the light of which he
decides all matters of his life.

So the question arises that why isn't the
same thing being done in case of God,

which is done in all the
other matters of life?

So the point here is to tell that man
is not merely a material being.

Rather he is a rational
and spiritual being.

So it was said that, "A Guidance for
these God fearing people,

who believe without seeing"

Without seeing!

If we ponder over it, then when someone
asks us that since you believe in God,

so where is God?

We become worried. We become afraid.

And we usually say that such questions
shouldn't be asked as it is a sin.

Well, you can never stop this
world from questioning.

So what we should be doing is that we
should have such a strong and firm

belief, faith and confidence
in the Book of god,

that we should expect this Book
to give answers to the questions

that come in our minds.

So why do we believe in God?

If someone asks us that why do you
believe in God when you can't see him?

Then we will reply by saying that
He is even seen by blind people.

That is so because even if a
person looses his eyesight,

his rational existence still remains.
He still learns a language.

He still recognizes relations.

He still creates the basis
for different skills within himself.

So it is an animal who
believes only after seeing.

It is an animal that is not rational
and doesn't have the understanding.

The greatest honor and distinguished
feature of a man is that he discovers

facts by assessing things, by means of
rational inference, induction,

and by getting the results from the given
information by inferring things and

by deducing the unknown from the known.

And man in every field of the world,

advances his knowledge on
the very same principle.

So why do we believe in God?

We believe in Him without seeing Him
because God has clearly proved

His existence in every single atom in
this Universe, by proving that

the Universe is a creation
and hence needs a Creator.

When we say that we are the creation,
that everything is created,

then what question does the human
intellect and his spiritual being asks?

It asks that if everything is created,
then who has created it all?

If a table is put before me, then I know
that this table has been made,

that it didn't make itself.

Hence, I just recognized the Creator.

So Allah Almighty said that, "A guidance
for these people who believe in the unseen

and are watchful of their prayers.

And spend in our way out of
whatever we provided them.

The thing that the teacher clarified
about the prayer in the translation here

is that they are watchful
of their prayers.

I mean he didn't merely say
that they offer prayers,

or are offering prayers.

No! He said that they take care
of their prayers.

What does that mean?

It means that prayer is such
a sensitive topic in their life,

that they are committed to it.

That they with all their efforts, strife,
endeavor and complete faith,

stand by it in a very
disciplined manner.

This is what the Holy Qur'an has
termed as "Iqaamat-e-salaat".

And it also got clarified from this that
when the Messenger of Allah [PBUH]

is saying to his addressees that the
earlier nations did not have this

sensitiveness in them to express
their relationship with God,

or to worship Him, meaning to pray.

So the mention of the word 'Prayer' made
it clear that the concept of prayer wasn't

alien to the people of the Arab or to the
nation of the Prophet [PBUH].

They knew about it as prayers were always
offered in the religion of the Prophets.

Though some shortcomings were made
in them, which Prophet [PBUH] then

corrected and made some additions in it
and then passed it on to the entire Ummah.

So here the thing that we read to
determine the subject of the Qur'an,

should also be kept in view that the
guidance of Allah which was present

among all the Prophets, began with Adam
and that Prophet Muhammad [PBUH]

is the last Messenger of that tradition.

So this also makes it clear that when
it was commanded to offer prayers,

then people were aware of
the concept of the prayer.

This word (Prayer) or any
other term cannot be used

until its addressees are
not aware of its concept.

Otherwise, in the very beginning of the
Qur'an, it would have been said

that people who perform
such and such act and then

the details of the prayer would
have come under discussion.

But such isn't the
case in the Qur'an.

Usually, this question is also raised by
people that why isn't there a mention

of the prayer in the Holy Qur'an?

That is, why isn't it explained
how to perform prayers?

The reason for this is that people were
already aware of the prayers.

People used to perform prayers.

Yes, there were some shortcomings
which were made in them.

But the Prophet [PBUH] is the
only source of the religion.

Just like he conveyed Qur'an to us,
he also renewed, reformed and

modified those practical
aspects of religion,

and after that passed them
to the entire Ummah.

So this is one thing that was said.

The second thing that was said is that
they spend in the way of God.

"And they are watchful of their
prayers and spend in our way

out of whatever we provided them."

That is, believers offer prayers to
express their relationship with God.

What does God get from one's prayers,
from one's bowing down,

from one's prostration and standing?

By performing these acts
of worship in the world,

what would God, the selfless being,
the one who doesn't need anyone,

get from these acts?

So actually one offers prayer to express
one's own relationship with God.

So the relationship with the Creator is
expressed by offering prayers.

And the relationship with the creation
is expressed by spending on them.

So the teacher described these
two very detailed qualities.

and said that the believers in Allah are
actually adorned by these two qualities.

The same thing was also described
in the previous scriptures.

In the Gospel of Matthew,
Jesus Christ [PBUH],

also described the same thing
in a slightly different style.

In that, it is written that,
"And among them,

a scholar of exegesis asked
in order to test him that,

'O teacher, which is the greatest
commandment in Torah?',

and he replied to him saying,
'Loving your Lord and God with

all your heart, soul and mind, is the
greatest and the first commandment.

And second one like it is to love
your neighbour as yourself.

The entire Torah and the
scriptures of the Prophets

are based on these two commandments."

Hence, it is stated everywhere
in the revealed traditions that

these two qualities, i.e. relationship
with God and love for God's creatures,

should be present in those
who believe in God.

This subject of the initial paragraph
of Surah Al-Baqarah is continuing.

The time for our session ends here.

"Aqoolu qawli haaza wa astagfirullah li wa
lakum walisairil muslimin."