Tafseer of Sura Qaaf part 2

Khalid Mustafa Abdul Kader/Royal Holloway College/Univ. of London /UK.

A-úthu billáhi minash shaytánir rajeem. Bisilláhir rahmánir raheem.

My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Islam,

To continue with the tafseer of Surat Qaaf, I would like to state that it would be highly rewarding for us to contemplate on the meaning of the ayaat and surahs that we recite or listen to being recited. That is the command of Allah (swt) and what His Messenger (pbuh) enjoined.  Unfortunately, we do not often do, but this is neither new nor unique for our generation.

Sometimes whilst reciting certain ayaat or listening to a recitation the ayaat acquire a specific, perhaps new, significance. They may acquire a greater proportion than we had hitherto realised. Therefore, it is extremely important for us to understand the context of the ayah and the circumstances of the revelation.  Furthermore, we should always bear in mind that the Holy Qura’an is a whole book and that each ayah supplements and compliments the others.  The divisions of Surahs should not be looked upon as providing compartments separating Surahs from each other. The ayaat recited earlier come from Surat Al-Naml (The Ant) and may be translated as follows:

'And he (referring to Sulaiman, peace be upon him) sought among the birds and said: how is it that I see not the hoopoe, or is he among the absent?  I verily will punish him with hard punishment or I verily will slay him, or he verily shall bring me a plain excuse. But he was not long in coming and he said: I have found out (a thing) that you apprehend not, and I come unto you from Sheba with sure tidings. Lo! I found a woman ruling over them and she had been given abundance of all things, and hers is a mighty throne. I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah; and Satan makes their works fair-seeming unto them and debars them from the way of the Truth, so that they go not aright.'

 Allah Who enabled the birds to talk and Who blessed Sulaiman with the ability to understand their speech. (Glorified be Allah) these are the words and this is the logic of a bird. This bird ended his speech saying:

 ' Allah, there is no God save Him, the Lord of the Tremendous Throne'

Yet man quite rightly prides himself to be the most intelligent of Allah's creations.  But Allah (swt) informs us that the unbelievers and the doubters, because of their lack of faith, are utterly confused.

 ' But they deny the truth when it comes to them, so they are in a confused state' 

They are incapable of telling right from wrong, good from evil and follow their whims and desires. They can only think of human power and capability and cannot conceptualise a divine Being - the

All-Mighty, the Creator and Sustainer of all forms of life. Therefore Allah (swt) states in Surat Qaaf:

 'Do they not look at the sky above them? How We have made it and adorned it and there are no flaws in it? 'And the earth, We have spread it out and set thereon mountains standing firm, and produced therein every kind of beautiful growth in pairs?' 

But such people, because of their disbelief, cannot even contemplate on these wonderful creations of Allah (swt). Therefore He states in the ayah that follows:

 ' Firm insight and a reminder to every servant turning to Allah'.

Arabic du’a to close

Second Khutbah

Arabic introduction

We shall continue with the tafseer of Surat Qaaf in future khutbahs, but for now let us remind ourselves of one of the most beautiful and graphic examples that the Holy Qura’an provides about the Resurrection. In one short verse (ayah 259 of Surat Al-Baqara- The Heifer) Allah (swt) shows one man through a personal experience how He does resurrect the dead and provides for mankind the proof that no sane person can deny.

 ' Or take the similitude of one who passed by a hamlet all in ruins to its roots'

' He said : 'Oh! How shall Allah bring it ever to life after this its death?'

 'But Allah caused him to die for a hundred years then raised him up again'

 'He said how long did you tarry thus?'

 'He said perhaps a day or part of a day'

‘He said: Nay, you have tarried thus a hundred years'

'But look at your food and your drink, they show no signs of age and look at your donkey and that We may make you a sign unto the people.'

'Look further at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe them with flesh'

‘'When this was shown clearly to him he said: I know that Allah has power over all things'

[Arabic Dua to close]

Ameen!                     Aqeemus salaah!

Your feedback will help us to improve our khutbahs. Please let us have your comments and suggestions., by writing to : kaderkm@aol.com Jazakallah Khairan!

Royal Holloway Khutbahs    All Khutbahs A to Z   Khutbahbank Homepage