Analysis of Surah Al Rahman with Mufti Abdul Wahab Waheed | Session 1

Introduction

As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh. Alhamdulillah. JazakAllah khair for coming and tuning in online for the class, and for those that are watching on other platforms, you guys are also welcome and hopefully you guys enjoy the session.

The plan is, inshaaAllah, that we cover — not an ayah by ayah breakdown of course — but as much as we can of the entire surah, a breakdown of the surah and its themes, within the next four hours, inshaaAllah. Two hours today and two hours tomorrow. For those that come today, please do make sure to come tomorrow as well, because we will have the remaining part of the surah left for tomorrow. Today inshaaAllah we'll cover the first portions of this surah inshaaAllah ta'ala.

For those that have not heard much about Surah ar-Rahman, inshaaAllah hopefully this becomes a means of you creating a very strong attachment to this surah, and perhaps becoming a means of you trying to memorize it in this time that we have at home inshaaAllah ta'ala.

Bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim. Nahmadullaha wa nusalli ala rasoolihil kareem. Amma ba'd. Faqad qala Allahu jalla wa 'ala fi kitabihil azeez — ba'da a'udhu billahi minash shaitanir rajim, bismillah ar-Rahman ar-Rahim:

And the Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 5027)

Dear brothers and sisters, today we will be reciting and learning about a surah which is extremely beloved to the Prophet ﷺ. From the prophetic narration and tradition we find that the Sahabah themselves had a very strong attachment to this surah. They loved it, they were connected to it, and they used to recite it openly in front of the public to show them the beauty of the Qur'an.

We will start this session today beginning with the virtues of this surah — why this surah is virtuous, why we should love it, and why we should have an attachment to it. From there we will go on to speak about the connection of this surah with the surahs before it, and with Surah al-Waqi'ah, which is the surah after. And then inshaaAllah we will begin talking about the themes, and hopefully from there we can start diving into the actual ayat of this surah.

Virtues of Surah Al-Rahman

Why is Surah al-Rahman virtuous in its own sense? Why do we have an attachment towards it beyond the fact that it sounds nice and has a nice rhythm?

The Prophet ﷺ was given this surah — according to many scholars, and this is the accepted opinion — in Mecca. It is a Meccan surah. This surah was given to the Prophet ﷺ when the people of Mecca became stubborn. The style, the tone, and the feel of this surah is that Allah is speaking to the people of Mecca. And therefore there is a repetition within it:

That repetition is to show that Allah is directly speaking to the people of Mecca, and of course by extension also speaking to us.

First Virtue: A Reminder of Allah's Blessings

One of the virtues of this surah is that the Prophet ﷺ mentioned to us that this is a surah which reminds us about our ni'am — our blessings — and it connects us to Allah by reminding us of the blessings that we have in our life. In this time today, perhaps more than ever before, we need that reminder. Because sometimes we sit down and we feel that we're not blessed. But Surah ar-Rahman is an open call and an open declaration that every single person here is blessed in so many ways.

Second Virtue: The Response of the Jinn

The Prophet ﷺ mentions that when he started reciting this surah to the humans — to the Sahabah, radiyallahu anhum ajma'een — he told them that the jinn, when he recited this surah to them, had a better response than you. He said:

(Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Hadith 3291)

That when I recited this surah to the jinn on the Night of the Jinn — which happened in the 10th or 11th year of prophethood, confirming it is a Makki surah — they had a better response. And their response was that every single time the Prophet ﷺ would recite:

They would respond by saying:

"There is not a single blessing of Yours, O Allah, that we can ever reject or ever deny." So the Prophet ﷺ says whenever he recited this to the jinn, this was their response.

Third Virtue: The Bride of the Qur'an

There is a second narration narrated by Ali radiyallahu anhu, where he says:

(Al-Bayhaqi, Shu'ab al-Iman)

The beauty — the bride — of the Qur'an, which is what brings out the beauty of the Qur'an, is found in Surah ar-Rahman.

Fourth Virtue: Recitation on the Day of Judgment

In a third narration — which has some weakness but we can take it for the sake of virtue — we are told that on the Day of Judgment, Allah will turn towards mankind and jinnkind. And Allah will say to one and all: those that have not listened to haram in their life, do you want to listen to something beautiful? And we will all respond: Na'am ya Rabbi ya Allah — please let us hear something beautiful.

Allah will order Dawud alayhi salam to recite from the chapters of the Zaboor. And we know Dawud's voice — it was one of the most melodious voices the world has ever seen. We will listen and we will be marveled, and we will say: Ya Allah, we have never heard something as beautiful as Dawud's alayhi salam recitation.

Then Allah will tell the Prophet ﷺ to recite — and in some narrations the Prophet will recite from Surah Taha, and in others from Surah Yasin. Once again our response will be: O Allah, we have never heard anything as beautiful as the Prophet's recitation.

Then Allah will turn towards us and say: do you want to hear something more beautiful? And Allah Himself — ar-Rahman Himself — will recite Surah al-Rahman. And on that day, that will be His declaration of His mercy for all of those human beings that are able to hear it and benefit from that recitation.

Fifth Virtue: Sahabah Embracing Islam Through This Surah

Ibn Kathir rahimullah mentions that there were many Sahabah that became Muslims just by hearing Surah al-Rahman, and he counts more than seven. One of them he mentions by name — the Sahabah is Qais ibn Aasim.

Qais ibn Aasim came to Mecca and when he came, he saw the Prophet ﷺ and was told: this man says that he is a prophet. So he goes to him and says:

"Recite to me that which has been revealed to you." The Prophet ﷺ chooses to recite Surah al-Rahman. And when the Prophet ﷺ recites it to him, he says: A'idha — Ya Rasool Allah, please repeat it. Repeat it. Repeat it. And he says it three times.

When he finishes, he says: I have never heard something more beautiful and melodious in my life. This surah — this cannot be the words of a human being:

"A human being can never come up with such beautiful words." And he says:

And he becomes a Muslim. There are multiple narrations about Sahabah becoming Muslim by hearing Surah al-Rahman.

Connections Between Surahs — نَظْمُ الْقُرْآنِ

I am a student of knowledge indeed, but I am also a vivid student of how Allah has arranged these surahs and what sequence He has brought them in, and if there are any internal connections that we can find within them. That is a science of its own called نَظْمُ الْقُرْآنِ — the tartib, the order in which Allah connects the surahs. In this surah, there are many connections.

Connection 1: Surah Al-Qamar Ends with Allah's Power; Surah Al-Rahman Begins with Allah's Mercy

Allah ends off His previous surah, Surah al-Qamar, by saying:

That the people of Jannah on the Day of Judgment will be given a seat next to Allah. Malikin Muqtadir — all-capable, with absolutely no limitations. This gives us perhaps a powerful feel towards Allah. Perhaps He will punish us. So Allah starts off the very next surah reminding us that that Allah — who is all-capable, who has no limitations — is also Ar-Rahman. He is also Ar-Rahman.

It is Imam Fakhruddin ar-Razi rahimullah, the giant, who says that we find a consistent theme in the Qur'an: wheresoever Allah speaks about His power and His punishment, He automatically connects His mercy and His forgiveness with it. So a person neither becomes consumed by fear, nor becomes too loose and too hopeful in the mercy of Allah to the extent that there is no balance in their life. Allah says فِي مَقْعَدِ صِدْقٍ عِنْدَ مَلِيكٍ مُقْتَدِرٍ — this Allah who is all-capable. But that Allah is also Ar-Rahman. He is extremely merciful and He will show you mercy on the Day of Judgment.

Connection 2: The Miracle of Jalal vs. the Miracle of Love

Surah al-Qamar starts off with the ayah:

Which is one of the miracles that Allah gave the Prophet ﷺ in Mecca. When the people of Mecca asked for a miracle, Allah allowed the Prophet ﷺ to split the moon in half and place it on different sides of each mountain. This miracle was a sign of Allah's anger. It showed Allah's jalal, it showed Allah's 'azamah, it showed Allah's power.

The next surah — Surah ar-Rahman — also begins with a miracle. But that miracle shows the mercy and the love that Allah has for us. And that is the miracle of the Qur'an, which is the greatest miracle the Prophet ﷺ was ever given.

Connection 3: Making the Qur'an Easy

Another connection is that Allah repeats over and over again in Surah al-Qamar:

"We have made the Qur'an easy for you. Is there anyone there to come and learn it, recite it, and memorize it? Is there anyone to take it?" And Surah al-Rahman begins with:

"We have already made the Qur'an easy for you. Now all you have to do is pick it up and learn it."

So let me ask you to remember these three connections:

Number one: Surah al-Qamar ends with the name of Allah talking about His power. Surah al-Rahman begins with the name of Allah speaking about His mercy.

Number two: Surah al-Qamar starts with a miracle that shows Allah's jalal and power. Surah al-Rahman starts with a miracle that shows Allah's love.

Number three: The repetition of وَلَقَدْ يَسَّرْنَا الْقُرْآنَ in Surah al-Qamar connects beautifully to عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ in Surah al-Rahman.

Connection with Surah Al-Waqi'ah

The 27th Juz — which is the Juz that Surah al-Rahman is found in — the entire Juz has a very similar theme, and that is the theme of speaking about the greatness of Wahi, the Day of Judgment, and the blessings of Jannah. We'll see that in Surah al-Rahman as well.

I believe that the sequence of the Qur'an is not a coincidence. This is divine — ordained by Allah. So there must be a reason behind why these surahs are placed in their sequence. The connection between the surahs is there, but it's hidden. And it requires study to understand why Allah brought these surahs together.

The Five Themes of Surah Al-Rahman

There are five themes that Allah speaks about in Surah al-Rahman. These are the underlying themes, and within them Allah brings different connections. These same five themes are also found in Surah al-Waqi'ah — but they are flipped.

Theme 1: The blessing of the Qur'an — the blessing of Wahi. The greatness of the Qur'an is displayed as the first theme in Surah al-Rahman.

Theme 2: The blessings that we absolutely require for our survival. Allah speaks about those blessings that no one can truly deny, because every single person is actually benefiting from them.

Theme 3: Jahannam — the punishment of Allah. How the punishment of Allah comes to the disbelievers and those that earn the wrath of Allah.

Theme 4: The people of Jannah — what we can call Jannah A, the first level of Jannah.

Theme 5: Jannah B — a second, higher level of Jannah.

So to summarize: Number one — the Qur'an. Number two — the blessings we require to survive. Number three — the people of Jahannam. Number four — the people of Jannah. Number five — the people of Jannah at a higher level.

These Themes Are Mirrored in Surah Al-Waqi'ah

Now look at Surah al-Waqi'ah. These same themes come up, but they are flipped. The first theme in Surah al-Waqi'ah is the higher level of Jannah — As-Sabiqoon wal-Muqarraboon. We believe there are three levels of people in the Akhirah:

One is that they go forward and go above and beyond. Number two are those that just do what is required. And number three are those وَمِنْهُمْ ظَالِمٌ لِنَفْسِهِ — who messed up and didn't pass their exam.

So the first theme of Surah al-Waqi'ah is As-Sabiqoon — the higher level of Jannah. The second theme of Surah al-Waqi'ah is the lower level of Jannah — Ashabul Yameen, ma Ashabul Yameen. The third is the people of Jahannam. The fourth theme in Surah al-Waqi'ah is also Allah's blessings, where Allah speaks about the blessings that we cannot deny. And the last theme in Surah al-Waqi'ah is the first theme in Surah al-Rahman — the blessing of the Qur'an. Where Allah ends off Surah al-Waqi'ah by saying:

These same themes are found in both surahs, but they're just flipped in the opposite direction. That's how Allah is speaking between the lines — as if saying: if you didn't understand it in Surah ar-Rahman, you better get it in Surah al-Waqi'ah.

Beginning of the Surah

Ayah 1 — الرَّحْمَٰنُ

Ar-Rahman is obviously one of the prestige names of Allah. One of the names of Allah that we connect to because it speaks about His mercy. It is interesting that Imam al-Qurtubi rahimullah quotes Imam Mujahid — who was a great Mufassir — and he says that Ar-Rahman is a combination of three different ways that surahs begin. Some surahs begin with الر, giving the sound of Ra. Some surahs begin with حم, giving the Ha and Meem. And one surah — Surah al-Qalam — begins with ن, the Noon. So Ar-Rahman is a combination of all of those: the Ra from الر, the Ha and Meem from حم, and the Noon from Surah al-Qalam.

And Allah starts off Surah ar-Rahman by beginning with this name and telling us something very interesting. He is saying: regardless of what you hear in this surah, regardless of how much I speak about the fire of Jahannam — recognize and understand that I began with Ar-Rahman. That means all of these punishments and all of these hardships that I am speaking about, I am speaking about them because I love you. I am coming from a tone of love for you. Because I love you, I am telling you about what can happen if you don't believe in these blessings.

It is like a father creating some negative reinforcement for the benefit of his son or daughter. A father who says to his son: "You better take care of this, or else you'll end up on the streets." No one would say that is a father without love. No, that is a father — or a mother — who is looking out for their child's future. So Allah, who loves us more than anyone else in this world, is looking out for our future. He is saying: I really love you. Ar-Rahman.

Ar-Rahman comes from the root letters of رَحِمَ — and Ar-Rahim is the womb of a mother. The womb of a mother is the greatest display of love in this world. That child is able to get all of its needs from the womb of the mother. It doesn't need anything else. Similarly, dear brothers and sisters, to survive in this world, all we truly need is Allah to be Ar-Rahman for us. If Allah is Ar-Rahman for us, that means Allah will be Ar-Razzaq for us. That means Allah will show us His love. That means Allah will be there for us in difficult times.

Ar-Rahman coming in the beginning of the surah allows us to understand that this entire surah is not to instill fear within us, but rather to remind us that regardless of how far you've gotten, I am still Ar-Rahman for you, and I can still forgive you and I will still forgive you. That's how Allah begins.

Someone once came to me. I was speaking in a masjid that had some non-Muslims there as well. A young Muslim sister came to me and said: "Dear Shaykh, tell me — why does Allah instill fear within us in the Qur'an if He is supposed to love us? I don't understand the logic behind why Allah speaks about fear if He loves me." I asked her: which ayah talks about fear that you're referring to? She said, the ayah in Surah ar-Rahman:

"Whosoever fears Allah — they will get Jannah." Why is Allah speaking about fear? I asked her: how many times is fear mentioned in the Qur'an? She said she didn't know. I said: in the entire Qur'an, words that give the meaning of fear are mentioned 126 times. How many times are words in the Qur'an that speak about Allah's mercy mentioned? 624 times. Not double, not triple — four to five times more than the times Allah mentions fear. He mentions His mercy and His love for us.

وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتَانِ is to tell us that Allah loves us. That's why He's telling us about all these punishments — so that we take them into our minds, understand they are real, and because of that we're able to benefit and receive Allah's mercy, which is Jannah.

Ar-Rahman is a key to all of Allah's other names. And it is the only name of Allah that is used alone — independently from any other name. Generally, Allah's practice in the Qur'an is that when He brings His names or qualities, He combines two together. You will see عَزِيزٌ وَهَّابٌ, you will see غَفُورٌ وَدُودٌ — Allah's names combined together as a phrase. But Ar-Rahman is the only name in the Qur'an which comes alone, and it does so three times. That shows its preference and its status over other names of Allah.

All of Allah's names are beautiful and all of them are special, but Ar-Rahman has a unique specialty. And Ar-Rahman is the first ayah. Allah is saying: remember, regardless of what you heard in Surah al-Qamar — many nations were destroyed — and regardless of what you will hear here, remember that I am your Rahman. لَا يُسْأَلُ عَمَّا يَفْعَلُ — no one can question Allah in what He does. I can make it happen for you. You just have to remember that I am Ar-Rahman for you and your family as well.

Ayah 2 — عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ

The first theme in Surah ar-Rahman was the blessing of the Qur'an. So Allah says: it is out of My sheer mercy for you and for all of humanity — عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ — that He has taught the Qur'an. عَلَّمَ — with a shaddah on the lam — means to teach, not merely to know. One of the greatest blessings of Allah is that He taught us the Qur'an.

So Allah speaks about being Ar-Rahman — being merciful. Generally, when a mother is talking to her son and saying "I love you so much, I did this for you," she starts with the greater blessings: "I brought you into this world, I fed you, I clothed you." That's how you start when you want to show your blessings upon someone. So Allah is saying: Ar-Rahman — I am all-merciful — and the greatest sign of My mercy is عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ: that He has taught the Qur'an.

The greatest blessing that we have in this world is that we have the ability to understand the words of Allah, because understanding the words of Allah grants us deep value — there is a communication that we're having with Allah by understanding the Qur'an. So the greatest blessing that Allah speaks about is not خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ — that is ayah number three. Rather, Allah speaks about عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ — our purpose — before He speaks about our existence. The purpose of your existence is that you have been taught the Qur'an. And we find this in other verses of the Qur'an:

Allah taught Adam the ability to speak and to learn. The first Wahi that He gave our Habib ﷺ in the cave of Hira was:

"You have been taught that which you never knew before." So Allah is saying: عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ is a sign that the greatest blessing we have in our life is the ability to recognize the greatness of Allah.

If خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ is there — meaning our creation, we are alive, we are existing, we are present — but if we don't have a purpose that is with us, our existence means nothing. Our existence is only valuable when our purpose is supplemented to it. And our purpose is عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ — that we recognize and understand what Allah is saying to us, and by understanding that, we understand the greatness of Allah.

So Allah says عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ. There is no explicit subject mentioned — so we say that Allah is the One who taught the Prophet the Qur'an, and by extension every single person that learns the Qur'an. Why? Because my teacher was taught by another teacher, who was taught by another teacher, and it goes all the way back to the Sahabah, who were taught by the Prophet, who was taught by Jibreel, who was taught by Allah. So in a way, our grand-grand-grand teacher is Allah — because He was the One that taught the Qur'an to the Prophet ﷺ and it went forward from there.

You know how people take pride in their institutions — "I graduated from this school." Guess what? We are learning, by extension, from Allah Himself. No one can understand or learn the Qur'an if it were not for the blessing of Allah. The Prophet ﷺ said:

(Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 4981; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 152)

"I have not been given any miracle except for the Qur'an," because the Qur'an serves as a miracle until the Day of Judgment.

Ayah 3 — خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ

The second display of Allah's mercy is that He created us. Imam al-Ghazali rahimullah says that one of the greatest blessings of Allah, and one of the only things we need to have in our life to be grateful to Allah, is wujud — that we are present, we are alive, we are existing. If Allah wanted He could have taken us away without anyone asking Him any questions. So just being here is in itself one of the greatest blessings of Allah.

Now where does the word insan come from? Insan can come from two different root letters in the Arabic language.

First: It can come from the word نَسِيَ — nasiya — which means to forget. So insan as humans are forgetful creatures. We forget, and it is actually a blessing for us to forget. If we were people that never forgot, we would always store negative things in our minds and be unable to get over the hump.

Second — and this one I enjoy more: It can come from أَنِسَ — anisa — which means to be a creature that requires compassion and love, and a form of societal belonging. That makes so much sense. Because the greatest punishment a human being can be given in this world is solitary confinement. Why? Because a human being needs to see people, interact with people, and see love from people. If we don't see love from people, we become depressed, we become lonely, and that leads to other psychological problems.

So it is in the mercy of Allah that He created us from such a being — that we require seeing love from people. That is a blessing, because if we did not require love from people, our relationships would mean nothing. Why have children? Why get married? Why be respectful to your parents? All of this is a sign that Allah loves us — that He allowed us to show love to people, and to see and benefit from the love of people.

And we are what we call أَشْرَفُ الْمَخْلُوقَاتِ:

Allah has given us the most honor beyond anything else — beyond any angels, beyond any other creation. Allah has made us the most beautiful and most perfected creation:

We also have three types of beings in this world. First, Allah — who has no Ibtida' and no Intiha', no beginning and no ending:

The greatest being is Allah because He has no beginning and no ending. The second type of creations are those that have a beginning and also have an ending — like animals, like mountains, like the earth itself. That is the weakest type of creation. And the third type of creation are those that have a beginning but never have an ending — and that is human beings. We have a beginning:

There was a time that no one knew who we were, what our names were — we were never even thought about. So we had a beginning, but we don't have an ending. Because once we leave this world, our second life starts, which is the life of the Hereafter.

The reason why عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ — "taught" — comes before خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ — "created" — is to show that you become the greatest creation once you implement the recognition of Allah in your life. And if you have an absence of Allah's recognition in your life, then you are not the greatest creation. That's why Allah brings it in between.

Ayah 4 — عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانَ

Allah taught that human the ability to speak and to communicate. عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانَ comes from the root letters of بَيَّنَ — bayyana — which means to be clear, to be able to speak, to have a conversation. One of the beautiful blessings that humans have is that we're able to converse. Children as toddlers can't speak — they grunt, they make noises, they cry. But a blessing of Allah is that He has given us the ability to actually speak.

And why has Allah taught us speech? We have to go back to ayah number two. Allah taught the human being how to communicate so that he can communicate that which he learns. Allah in the middle speaks about the creation of insan, but before and after that He speaks about our existence and our purpose. Number one: we have been created to learn. Number two: we have been created to teach. التَّعْلِيمُ وَالتَّعَلُّمُ — عَلَّمَ الْقُرْآنَ, we've been created to learn about who Allah is. But it doesn't end there. It continues to عَلَّمَهُ الْبَيَانَ — our second portion of our creation is to go on and teach people:

"There is no one better than a person who calls people towards Allah." One of the three job duties of the Prophet ﷺ was يَتْلُو عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتِهِ — that he was sent to teach people the Qur'an and to call people towards Allah:

A caller towards Allah — a shining lamp. Both interpretations are valid and found in the books of tafsir: either Allah taught the Prophet and by extension all of us, or Allah taught insan in its entirety the ability to learn.

Again: the greatest sign of Allah's mercy is that He has given us the ability to learn the Qur'an and understand who He is. Then the second sign of Allah's mercy — going back to Ar-Rahman — is that He created us and made us special. He made us His very close creation.

The Second Theme: Blessings We Cannot Deny

Ayah 5 — الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ بِحُسْبَانٍ

The sun and the moon are very precisely calculated. This is the second theme of Surah ar-Rahman — the blessings in our life that no one can deny. We are in need of the sun and we are equally in need of the moon. We need the day and we need the night.

Bihusban means that the sun and the moon are precisely calculated. One meaning is that the moon and the sun know exactly when to come out and when to leave — they know when it is their turn. If they didn't know when their turn was coming, they would take over each other's spots. Husban means that everything — the sun and the moon — are precisely calculated.

Another way of understanding it — which I also enjoy — is that الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ is referring to the entire universe, that the earth, the solar system, the planets — they all know what they're doing. They have been made to follow the commandments of Allah robotically, and they know exactly when to come out. This is why Allah says:

Allah says: if I were to make the entire 24-hour cycle darkness and night, who would bring you light? No one. And if I were to make the entire 24 hours the day, who would bring you night? So it is calculated — when the day comes and when the night comes. The sun and the moon are not contradicting each other and are not taking over each other's times.

Another meaning of husban is that they know when their time will come to an end. Husban also means destruction. الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ بِحُسْبَانٍ means that the sun and the moon know when their time will come to an end, and they are just waiting. As if they have been told: at this appointed moment your time will come to an end. Continue doing your job until then, and when that moment comes you will be destroyed. That's another meaning.

Ayah 6 — وَالنَّجْمُ وَالشَّجَرُ يَسْجُدَانِ

By الشَّمْسُ وَالْقَمَرُ Allah is describing to us the blessings that we get from above. Three ayahs come back to back to explain the blessings of above, and the next few ayahs talk about the blessings of the earth. Both are different types of blessings, but we are entirely in need of them.

Allah created the stars — نجم speaking about the blessings of the sky — and the trees — شجر speaking about the blessings of the world. As I found in Imam al-Alusi's tafsir, النَّجْمُ, الْقَمَرُ, and الشَّمْسُ are all speaking about the blessings of the sky — blessings that we require. And الشَّجَرُ speaks about the blessing of the world.

Why are people up in arms about cutting trees? Because trees create oxygen. If there are no trees in this world, we don't survive. The greenery of this world, the trees of this world, create life — they are the source of life for us. So if we take away all the trees, we are also limited in how long we can live. That is why there are many organizations against cutting trees. So Allah is saying وَالشَّجَرُ — one of the most basic elements of life is that there are trees in this world, because trees allow you to survive.

So Allah says: all of these things that create life for you — the sun creates life for you, the moon creates life for you, the stars create life for you from the sky, and the trees in this world create oxygen for you — guess what? All of these things perform sajdah in front of Allah. They prostrate to Allah. How do they prostrate? Only Allah knows, but there are various tafaseer which say that the prostration of the moon and the sun is when they set — that is their prostration. What is the prostration of the trees? When the branches, because of the weight of the leaves or the fruits, they hang — that is the prostration of the trees. But we understand that the prostration of these things happens however Allah wants it to happen. Allah says in another verse:

Every single creation in this world performs sajdah to Allah. Imam Sayyid Qutb rahimullah mentions that sajdah here means they obey Allah — they obey Allah and whatever Allah wants from them, they do it without any question.

Ayah 7 — وَالسَّمَاءَ رَفَعَهَا

Allah speaks about the architecture of the sky. If we walk into any house or banquet hall, one of the first things we notice is the ceiling — does it have a high ceiling or a low ceiling? How does it look? Is it attractive? The sky has no pillars. That's one of the greatest blessings of the sky. Try to put up a room without pillars — it will fall. It needs a support system. The sky has no pillars. Also, Allah speaks about the idea that the sky has no flaws in it. It's a very high ceiling, it's a beautiful ceiling, and it has a lot of light in ash-Shams. And when you want to make it less bright, you have al-Qamar. And if you want to dwindle the light a little bit more, you have an-Najm.

So السَّمَاءَ رَفَعَهَا — as-sama' is referring to the skies, not heaven. Allah says: We have raised it to an extent that everyone can benefit from it and enjoy it. That's where our blessings come from. That's where water comes from — He sends water down from the sky, and that water gives us sustenance through the life of the crops and the life of the earth. Those crops are eaten by animals, and we eat those animals, and so on and so forth. So a blessing of Allah is that He has blessed us with this ceiling — the sky — which is beautiful, very high, has different light variations based upon what we need and when we need it.

Ayahs 7–8 — وَوَضَعَ الْمِيزَانَ / أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ

Then Allah changes the tone — changing from speaking about the skies. He says: وَوَضَعَ الْمِيزَانَ — all of this has been set on a balanced rotation. And your responsibility, in order for you to continue benefiting from these blessings, is أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ — don't transgress in the balance that Allah has set.

What is that balance? The balance of knowing how to deal with people. The balance of knowing how to worship Allah. The balance of not cheating people in business. The balance of not lying to people. أَلَّا تَطْغَوْا فِي الْمِيزَانِ — don't transgress in the balance that Allah has set. The balance Allah has set is what allows the world to continue. And the moment you break that balance, Allah also holds back His blessings.

The Prophet ﷺ mentions — khamsun bi-khams — five things happen because of five things. The first of which is very relatable to us right now, so I will speak about it. He says:

(Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 4019)

There is no community, no nation, that openly starts disobeying Allah and loses their sense of modesty, except that Allah brings plagues and sicknesses upon them that they never heard about before — but now it is happening. So if we break the balance that Allah has set, then Allah takes away those blessings. The blessings that we receive are in lieu of the a'mal that we do. The more a'mal we do, we believe that Allah brings more blessings into our life.

Ayah 9 — وَأَقِيمُوا الْوَزْنَ بِالْقِسْطِ

Establish the correct wazn — establish the correct weights — bil-qist — with justice. Allah says:

Be just, even if it is upon your own family. That justice is what creates Islam and makes Islam — that there is justice within our community. Till today the world is looking for the right formula of justice. Allah already set that formula by telling the world through the Prophet ﷺ:

(Musnad Ahmad, Hadith 23489)

"There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab except by taqwa." There is no racism in Islam. Everyone is equal and everyone has their rights. There is justice: an orphan should not be robbed of his or her money. There is justice that children should be given their rights. There is justice that parents should be respected. There is justice that you cannot cheat people in business:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 101)

"Whoever cheats us is not from amongst us." If you lie, that is breaking the justice of Allah. If you harm someone else, Allah, through the right justice system of Islam, allows that person to take retribution. All of that is وَأَقِيمُوا الْوَزْنَ بِالْقِسْطِ وَلَا تُخْسِرُوا الْمِيزَانَ — don't break this, don't make it deficient.

We will stop at ayah number 9 and continue from ayah number 10 after a short break for Salah. JazakAllah khair.