Messenger & Revelation: Surah Bayyinah l Ep 06 l Tafsir from Duhā to An-Nās | Imam Nadim Bashir

Surah Al-Bayyinah: Understanding Allah's Clear Proof

Last week we covered Surah Al-Alaq and today insha'Allah the next surah after Surah Al-Alaq is what? Surah Al-Qadr. No one knows? Surah Al-Qadr. Okay, إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَاهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ. However, Surah Al-Qadr is a surah that is more relevant to the time of Ramadan. And I remember that one of my khutbahs, I actually talked about this surah in great length, in great detail. So in this series insha'Allah, because it is more of a Ramadan topic, we're gonna insha'Allah skip this surah and go on to our next surah, which is Surah Al-Bayyinah.

Understanding the Context Through an Example

Now before I talk about Surah Al-Bayyinah, I want to give you some kind of an example so you can understand and relate to this surah. Imagine there was a dispute between you and a higher authority, let's just say you got into a disagreement, a conflict with your boss for example, and your boss says okay, what do you want? And you say that well, you know what, going forward, I want XYZ. And the boss says okay fine, you want XYZ? I'll give you XYZ. But in return I want ABC from you and you have some kind of an agreement. And then the boss also tells you that if you do not deliver, I will deliver on XYZ. But if you do not deliver on ABC, then I will have no choice but to then let you go. Seems like a fair deal, right?

Surah Al-Bayyinah is very similar in that sense. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala talks about the stubbornness of the mushrikun, He talks about the stubbornness of the kuffar, He talks about the stubbornness of the Ahl al-Kitab. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying, what do you want? And they put forth their demands. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, okay, I will explain to you, I will answer your demands. But then guess what? I have my own demands also. And now if you do not deliver on my demands, then I'll tell you at the end of the surah what's gonna happen to you. This is what this entire surah is all about.

A Special Honor for Ubay Ibn Ka'ab

Another interesting thing about this surah is that Rasul Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam - there's a hadith narrated by Anas ibn Malik radiyallahu anhu that the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam, when he was revealed, when he was inspired with this surah, he came to Ubay Ibn Ka'ab radiyallahu anhu and he says that Allah has commanded me to recite this surah to you.

And Ubay Ibn Ka'ab radiyallahu anhu - he was one of those distinguished personalities in the company of Rasul Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam - and he said, "Ya Rasul Allah, did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala name me? Like Allah took my name and He told you to recite to me?" Like Jibril alayhi salam is coming to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam and telling him that Allah wants you to recite this to Ubay Ibn Ka'ab, and he says that He took my name? And he says yes, He took your name. I mean think about the honor and the dignity that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is showing to Ubay Ibn Ka'ab radiyallahu anhu.

The Opening Verse and Its Relevance

Now coming to this very first ayah, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says لَمْ يَكُنِ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ مُنفَكِّينَ حَتَّىٰ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَةُ. Now though this surah, as I said earlier, Allah is talking to the mushrikun, He's talking to the kuffar, He's talking to Ahl al-Kitab. But one of the most beautiful things about this surah to be honest is that there's a lot of relevancy to us as Muslim community too. Because at the end of the day, one are stories of the past that you will find in the Quran. Allah is telling us that these are the crimes of Bani Israel - make sure you as an ummah, you do not fall into the same traps.

But a lot of times what happens with us as Muslims is that whenever Allah is talking about the kuffar and Ahl al-Kitab, we tend to turn away from those kinds of discussions. "Oh, this is not about me. This is about them." But if you go through every single ayah, and what I'll do is that I will share with you how these ayat are very relevant to us. And if we find ourselves in this kind of a situation, then believer or not - yes, we do say the kalima, but we are on the trajectory, we are on the path of those people who were the kuffar at the time of Rasul Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam. We are no different than the actions of the Ahl al-Kitab in the time of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam.

Understanding the Three Groups

So Allah says لَمْ يَكُنِ - meaning that they are not - what? Who is Allah talking about? الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا - those who did kufr. Who are those people? مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ - those who are the Ahl al-Kitab and those who are the mushrikun. Now before we go any further, we need to understand the distinction between these three groups.

When you talk about the Ahl al-Kitab, have the Ahl al-Kitab done kufr with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? Yes, they have done kufr with Allah. But Allah gave them a name in the Quran, which is known as the people of the book. Now why did Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala use this word Ahl al-Kitab? Because here Allah is trying to tell them - there's a subtle point that Allah is making - that you people in particular, the Ahl al-Kitab, one is the mushrikun. The mushrikun are believing in something based on false ideas. They are worshipping idols, believing that these idols are the ones who listen, they hear, they're the ones who provide rizq. They are in utter misguidance.

But you, the Ahl al-Kitab, it is in your books, in your Torah, it is actually in your original message that was sent, that was given, that was delivered by Isa alayhi salam - not the ones that we have right now.

A Contemporary Challenge to Scripture

And by the way, just as a side note, I remember that a few days ago, there was a young man who called me. He works in a hospital and he was telling me that he had a Christian friend who was telling him, and he was trying to make a point to this Muslim young man, that the Quran says لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ - that no one can change the words of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. So if Allah - if no one can change the words of Allah and you believe that the original Injil is from Allah, the Torah is from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, the original ones, then your own Quran is saying that the words cannot change.

What they're trying to do in essence is they're trying to authenticate the Bible that they have. They're trying to legitimize the Bible that they have and the Torah that they have. And these words لَا مُبَدِّلَ لِكَلِمَاتِ اللَّهِ are in reference to the original message that is with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, not that we have here. You see there is such a concentrated effort taking place today by many Christians to delegitimize the Quran and to legitimize the Bible. So that is why you see these kinds of things happening over and over again.

The Prophecy of Prophet Muhammad in Previous Scriptures

So Allah is saying to these people that if anyone, you people should understand that this is in your original message - that there is something called the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. And not only that, but our own Quran says that Isa alayhi salam is telling his people, he's telling his own people:

"I'm not the son of God, I'm a messenger of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala." That's number one. Number two is مُّصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ - I am showing the truth of what did exist in the Torah. What was in the Torah about the Prophet? There is someone called Prophet Muhammad sallallahu alayhi wasallam who will come. Because by the way, what led these Jewish rabbis who were in Medina to Medina? What led them to Medina? It was in their Torah that there will come a final prophet.

Now, why did they disagree with Rasul Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam? Because he was from Banu Ismail and the Prophet they were waiting for was from Banu Ishaq. That is what they had in mind. So the point is that Isa alayhi salam is telling his own community: إِنِّي رَسُولُ اللَّهِ إِلَيْكُم مُّصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيَّ مِنَ التَّوْرَاةِ وَمُبَشِّرًا بِرَسُولٍ يَأْتِي مِن بَعْدِي اسْمُهُ أَحْمَدُ - "There is going to come a prophet after me whose name is Ahmed."

The Recognition of the Prophet in Medina

And if you study Ibn Kathir, there was an incident that happened in the early days of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. When he went to Medina, if you remember, Abdullah the father of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam was originally from where? He was from the Medina area. So when he was six years old, the mother said, "You have never met this father's side of the family. Let me take you to Medina." Took him to Medina. There were some Jewish people there. They began to recognize Rasul Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam because he's considered as an outsider.

You know when you are part of a community, you can identify and sniff out the outsiders. Like when I went one time - back when I was when I went from England, when I went from my madrasa, I went to India, you go to the small towns, the small areas, they can sniff you out that you're a foreigner, the way you walk, the way you talk. So they sniffed out Rasul Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam and they started following him.

When they went to the house, they asked for that child. What did the mother of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam refer to him as? Ahmed, because this is one of the names of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam. That is when they got a whiff that this child could be that same child or that Prophet they were waiting for. Nonetheless, it was already in their books. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is telling these people, how can you people - how can you people reject the message of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala?

The Stubbornness of Rejection

Then He says مُنفَكِّينَ - munfakina means something that you let go of. Allah is saying لَمْ يَكُونُوا مُنفَكِّينَ - these people are not going to let it go. Why can they not accept the message of Allah? Why can they not accept the message of the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam? Because there is a blind type of attachment.

Why can they not accept it? Because of tribal loyalties. We all know why did Abu Jahl not accept Islam? Because he said, "My tribe and the tribe of Rasul Allah sallallahu alayhi wasallam are always at each other's necks. We're always trying to compete for loyalty. We're always trying to compete for royalty. And so if I accept Islam, it's almost as if I'm accepting defeat to the Prophet sallallahu alayhi wasallam." And that is why he did not accept Islam.

So whether it's tribal loyalty, whether it's religious pride, how many Christians today when you sit down with them and you explain to them every single thing and they're saying, "You know what? Yeah, it makes total sense. Islam makes total sense." Then why can you not leave it? "My people! What can I do? I cannot just change a religion because what am I going to say to my people?" So this attachment that does exist, Allah is saying they're not gonna let go until - now what is their demand?

You might give you the example of the boss and the employee. What is their demand? حَتَّىٰ تَأْتِيَهُمُ الْبَيِّنَةُ - until Allah sends down a clear proof.

How This Relates to Us as Muslims

Now as I said earlier, how is this relevant to us as a Muslim community? How many of us don't follow the Quran and the Sunnah? Why? Because of our attachment with our culture. You know wallahi, every single day, nearly every single day, I get calls - people have issues, people have problems in their families, between their parents, between their children. And every single time, the solution is one. I tell them all the time: you have put culture over religion and that is where your problem is. As long as you put culture over religion, especially when they both clash - why can they not let it go? Oh because the uncle, whoever it is, the godfather of the family, till he does not give me the green light...

The Politics of Faith: When Clear Proof Comes

I cannot do anything. Every single family has their own politics. Munafiqina - that's exactly what it is. They cannot let go. They cannot let go. And that is why they're stuck in this kind of problem.

Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says, "Okay, you want proof? I'll give you the proof." Two proofs. Number one, next ayah: Rasulun min Allah - this prophet within your midst is a proof from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The fact that Allah said Rasul Allah means what? This is not just a philosophical man. This is not a man who just came and starts sharing gems of life, anecdotes and wisdoms, words of wisdom. No, he was inspired by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You cannot just go and say "I'm Rasul Allah." You have to be inspired.

The Divine Revelation

And what did this Prophet do? Yatlu suhufan mutahharah - he recited. You know what the word "reciting" implies? That he cannot just say anything he wants. It has to be divinely inspired by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

That is why in Surah An-Najm, what did Allah say?

The Prophet never ever spoke out of desire. It was nothing except revelation from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

And then Allah says: Fiha kutubun mutahharah - in these scriptures, Allah is referring to the Quran, and then He says mutahharah - they are purified. What does purified mean here? It means that they are free from any kind of change. They are free from any kind of ambiguity. There are no contradictions in the Quran.

The Rectifying Guidance

And then Allah says: Fiha kutubun qayyimah - in these scriptures, in these pages that they have in their hands, these are books, these are things that they have written. Initially the Quran was written on wood, on pieces of wood, it was written on animal skin, but it was written in this kind of way.

Kutubun qayyimah - it is a kind of writing that will rectify you. Any community that applies the teachings of the Quran, it will rectify that community. Any community that is devoid of Allah and His Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, that community will decay.

Whether outside they want to show you - look at this country in itself. Look at this country in itself, how it is internally decaying on all certain levels, on all the levels you can possibly imagine. This is what happens to a society when they are devoid from the Quran and the Sunnah of Rasulullah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.

And how is this relevant to us as a Muslim community? Our Muslim community - when we stop following the Quran and the Sunnah of the Prophet sallallahu alaihi wa sallam, there will be an internal decay within us too. Look at all the problems. Look at every single problem that we have today in our Muslim community. It comes down to one simple thing: Rasulun min Allah - the Prophet taught us how to do things. Are we doing it that way? No. Yatlu suhufan mutahharah - He read to us the Quran. Are we doing things the Quranic way? No. That is where our problem is.

Division After Clear Proof

Then Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

And those who are given the scripture did not divide except after the clear proof had come to them. One is that you reject the message when the clear proof has not come. The clear proof has come to them, yet they are still rejecting the message of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, which tells you what? That this is not about misunderstanding. This is purely based on arrogance and is purely based on ignorance.

And that is why if you look at all these people, they did not have any clear proofs against Rasul Allah sallallahu alaihi wa sallam.

Allah's Demands: Pure Worship

Then Allah says: "I met your demands. Your demands were - you want a clear proof? I gave you Rasul Allah. I gave you the Quran. And I'm telling you that this Quran is free from ambiguity, free from contradictions, and if you apply this, it is going to rectify your life."

Now here are My demands, Allah is saying:

Listen to this - they were commanded, they were not commanded except to do what? Illa li ya'budu Allah - to worship Allah. Mukhlisina lahu ad-din - meaning that apply the highest level of ikhlas when it comes to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. You're not worshipping Allah because you want something in return.

Worship is Not a Transaction

And I've talked about this before. The other day I had a brother who called me. I don't know from where, but he called me and he says: "Sheikh, I have problems in my life." I said, "Okay." And he goes: "What's bothering me is that I pray to Allah, I read Quran for Allah, I do this for Allah, I do that for Allah. Why is Allah doing all this to me?"

And I had to explain to him: our ibadah and Allah's help is not like a transaction. This is the biggest problem that we have. If Allah gave us nothing, Allah still demands our worship and He is deserving of our worship. When we say لا إله إلا الله محمد رسول الله - there is no deity except for who is deserving, who is worthy of worship, but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So this is what we need to understand. We worship Allah mukhlisina lahu ad-din. Even for us, this is a good application for us. We worship Allah purely only for His sake. If Allah brought challenges upon me, insha'Allah, Allah will give me something in the akhira for it, but ikhlas.

The Foundation of All Worship

But what's beautiful about this verse is what Allah says in the next part. He says hunafa. Hunafa means to do something where you're inclined towards something - hunafa - you're inclined to Allah. And then Allah says: wa yuqimu as-salah - they established their prayers, wa yu'tu az-zakah - and they give their zakat.

It's beautiful because you know what? When the mufassirun they say: before Allah mentions salah, before Allah mentions zakat, He mentioned what? Ikhlas. Wa ma umiru illa li ya'budu Allah mukhlisina lahu ad-din hunafa wa yuqimu as-salah. Because if you don't have ikhlas, everything that we do is of a waste. We will not get anything. And so that is why we have to always apply the highest level of ikhlas when it comes to our matters.

Allah says: wa dhalika dinun qayyim - and this is the upright religion.

The Ultimate Consequences

Then Allah says - now you remember I told you the employer and the employee example? Consequences. Now here, the consequences:

Verily those who did kufr amongst the ahl al-kitab and amongst the mushrikeen - fi nar jahannam khalidina fiha - they will stay in the fire of jahannam. Ula'ika hum sharr al-bariyyah - these are the worst of the creation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. These are the worst of the creatures.

On the flip side:

Verily those people who do righteous deeds and they believe in Allah, they're amongst the best of the people.

The Choice That Defines Us

You see, there's a great scholar - he said very beautifully. This is, I believe, Sayyid Qutb. Sayyid Qutb in his book Fi Zilal al-Quran, he says: "People - the same people, same nature, whatever it is - some are the best of the people, some are the worst of the people, and all of this depends on how we react to the revelation of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala."

If I react to the revelation of Allah with humility, with submission - khayr al-bariyyah. If I react to the message of Allah, the revelation of Allah, with arrogance, stubbornness, questioning - sharr al-bariyyah. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying you're the worst of the people.

The Greatest Reward: Allah's Pleasure

Then Allah says: jaza'uhum - their reward. Whose reward? The righteous people. Jaza'uhum inda rabbihim - is with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

You know, one is like, for example, a father - sometimes he will buy a basketball for his child. After he buys a basketball, he says: "Beta, you play on your own. I have nothing to do with you." And so the child plays on his own, he enjoys himself, the father is not in the picture. All that the father did was he bought the basketball, he backed out, he got out of the picture.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, when He says inda rabbihim - their reward is with Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala - this implies that Allah will not just give Jannah to the people and just sit on the side. Like, I don't say sit like physically sit, but you get what I'm trying to say. Allah is not gonna just give Jannah to the people who are deserving of Jannah and remove Himself from the picture.

No, the greatest reward in the akhira, in Jannah, is going to be what? As Allah says at the end of this ayah:

The greatest pleasure of Jannah is to know that Allah is pleased with me. That is the greatest blessing of the akhira - to know that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is pleased with me. Radiya Allahu anhum wa radu anhu - Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Allah.

The Fear Born of Love

Dhalika liman khashiya rabbah - this is for those people who have the awareness and the awe of Allah.

You know, the word khashiya often is translated as fear, but then there is a word khawf in the Quran and there's khashiya in the Quran. What is the difference?

Khawf means you worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala because you are fearful of the consequences. Like there are some people, they will pray. Why will they pray? Because "I just don't want any punishment."

Like there are some people who go to work and they hate their jobs, and they do everything correctly. You know why they do it correctly? Because they just hate their boss so much that they just don't want to get a visit from the boss. They don't want to get a boss like "Okay, I need you, I need to see you." And because anytime the boss says "I need to talk to you," the anxiety builds up, the uncertainty builds up, the restlessness builds up. You just don't want to see your boss.

So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala is saying: Dhalika liman khashiya rabbah - these people, they did not worship Allah out of fear of the consequences.

Khashiya means to fear Allah because you love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Like, you know, when it comes to our fathers - why does a person not do something that openly is like disobeying his father or his mother? Why? Because not out of fear of what they will do. I mean, mama, baba, they're already old enough. What are they gonna do if the son does something that is wrong? What they're gonna do about it? They're gonna say "We'll make dua for you." But why do you not do something that hurts them? Because you do that out of love. You don't want to do something to them who have done so much for you that you want them to be hurt by your actions.

That khashiya means to not disobey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala, to fear Allah, but because of the reverence that you have for Allah in your heart.

And that is why even in the Quran, it's beautiful - when Allah talks about the people who go to the masjid, you know what He said?

Verily those people who go to the masjid are those people who believe in Allah. Wa aqamu as-salah - they establish their salah. Wa ata az-zakah - they give their zakat. Wa lam yakhsha illa Allah - they do not fear anyone but Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

I mean, they do not - their fear of - they have a fear of doing something that is wrong. Why? Because they love Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala so much. They have this awareness that Allah has given me everything I need in my life. Why would I disobey? Why would I disobey Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala? That's like we have that reverence for our parents.

So Allah says: Dhalika liman khashiya rabbah - this is for those people who have that khashiya for Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

So we will finish.