بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
4-9-1438
الأقسام في القرأن
(Oaths in the Qur'an)
Oaths consist of two parts:
1) المقسم به - What you swear by
Allah can swear by whatever He wills, as for us, our مقسم به can only be Allah.
2) جواب القسم - The subject of the oath
E.g. "Wallah, I didn't steal"
Ibn Al-Qayyim رحمه الله mentioned all the verses in which Allah swears. Most of the oaths can be found in Juz 29 and 30. These Surahs are called Mufassal, because the verses are short. Although most of the Mufassal were revealed in Makkah, you find them at the end of the Qur'an. The oaths increase towards the end of the Qur'an, which shows us that Allah wants us to believe and have certainty;- To increase our belief and certainty as we go to the end.
We believe that Allah is the greatest; no one is greater than Him. He can swear by whatever He wants.
As for us, we can only swear by the Greatest.
In Surah al-Anbiya [21:23]:
"He is not questioned about what He does, but they will be questioned."
We cannot question Allah's actions. How can you, made out of sand, ask the Creator why. You find Muslims who have doubts about the actions of Allah although they may pray and fast. That is why the Companions said: تعلمنا الإيمان قبل القرآن (We learnt faith before we learnt the Qur'an).
We need to have faith. If we do not have faith in Allah; in whose كلام this is, we will not deal with it correctly or we will read and it will increase us in doubt. Allah said in Surah at-Tawbah [9:124-125]:
"And whenever a surah is revealed, there are among the hypocrites those who say, "Which of you has this increased faith?" As for those who believed, it has increased them in faith, while they are rejoicing."
"But as for those in whose hearts is disease, it has [only] increased them in evil [in addition] to their evil. And they will have died while they are disbelievers."
المقبس به - What is sworn by
Allah swears by whatever He wants, and when He swears by something, it is for a wisdom. In Surat an-Naml [27:6]:
"And indeed, [O Muhammad], you receive the Qur'an from one Wise and Knowing."
Allah swears by:
1) نفسه الكريمة - His Honourable Self
2 آياته - His Signs
Signs lead you to something. The signs of Allah (ءايات الله) lead you to لا إله إلا الله.
E.g. The night and day in succession, Allah putting mercy and love between husband and wife who were previously strangers to each other, etc.
3) مخلوقاته - His Creation itself
جواب القسم - The Subject of the Oath
1) غير موجود (Not Present)
Sometimes, there is no جواب القسم, because:
a) It is understood (مفهوم).
b) The جواب القسم is the same as the مقسم به
E.g. Swearing by the sun for the sun.
2) موجود (Present)
When the جواب القسم is present, it is either:
a) جملة خبرية
E.g. "فورب السّماء و الأرض إنه لحق"
b) جملة طلبية
E.g. "فوربك لنسئلنهم أجمعين"
(ما الغرض من القسم) - What is the purpose behind taking oaths?
التوكيد و التحقيق - For emphasis and affirmation
Surah Al-Qiyamah - سورة القيامة
Surat al-Qiyamah is about what will happen on Yawm al-Qiyama, about the Prophet ﷺ, and about the Qur'an. Allah swears by two things in the beginning of the Surah:
Verse 1:
"I swear by the Day of Resurrection;"
Surely, the Day of Resurrection will occur.
"لآ أقسم"
As-Sa'di رحمه الله said:
ليست لا هاهنا نافية و لا زائدة و إنما أتي بها للإستفتاح و الإهتمام بما بعدها و لكثرة الإتيان بها مع اليمين لا يستغرب الأستفتاح بها و إن لم تكن في الأصل موضوعة الإستفتاح
This لا is not لام النافية (Lam of Negation) nor an additional Lam, but to open the speech and to draw attention to what is to come afterwards. Even though it is not originally used for الإستفتاح, it is not strange that it is used here to start the speech, because it is commonly used along with oaths.
What is المقسم به?
يوم القيامة - The Day of Judgement
What is الجواب القسم?
يوم القيامة - The Day of Judgement
Allah swears by the Day of Judgement for the Day of Judgement. It is true and it will occur.
فالمقسم به في هذا الموضوع هو المقسم عليه و هو البعث بعد الموت و قيام الناس من قبورهم ثم وقوفهم ينتظرون ما يحكم به الرب عليهم
What is sworn by is the same as what it is sworn for; and it is the resurrection after death, and the standing of people from their graves, then waiting for what their Lord judges regarding them
For those who do not believe in the Day of Judgement, this oath should make them believe. And for those who believe, this oath should increase their faith and certainty in the Day of Judgement.
When you believe with certainty in the Day of Judgement, the problems and issues of the Dunya become something small.
"يوم القيامة"
The Day of Judgement is called this because it is:
1) The Day of Standing
You will stand from your grave and you will continue standing and waiting for judgement. So prepare for that standing.
The best of prayers are those with long standing. One of the pillars of the Salat is قيام (standing).
إِنْ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَيَقُومُ لِيُصَلِّيَ حَتَّى تَرِمُ قَدَمَاهُ أَوْ سَاقَاهُ، فَيُقَالُ لَهُ فَيَقُولُ " أَفَلاَ أَكُونُ عَبْدًا شَكُورًا "
The Prophet (ﷺ) used to stand (in the prayer) or pray till both his feet or legs swelled. He was asked why and he said, "Should I not be a thankful slave?" [Al-Bukhari]
Ibn al-Qayyim رحمه الله said: Every individual must stand before Allah twice: when he stands before Him in prayer and when he stands before Him on the Day he meets Him. Whoever stands before Him as he should in the first instance, the second standing will be made easy for him, but whoever is heedless with regard to this standing, and does not stand before Him (in prayer) as he should, that standing (on the Day of Resurrection) will be made difficult for him. [End quote from al-Fawaa’id (p. 200)]
You will not be rewarded for any standing in this life, except when you stand for Allah; Allah will appreciate it.
In Surat al-Mutaffifeen [83:6]:
"The Day when mankind will stand before the Lord of the worlds"
2) Great Matters will be Established (قائمة) on that Day
Verse 2:
"And I swear by the reproaching soul"
When you remember about the Day of Judgement you start re-assessing and blaming yourself for your shortcomings. النفس اللوامة is the self accusing soul.
المقسم به in this verse is also the same as الجواب القسم.
"بالنفس"
Our bodies have no value without our soul.
As-Sa'di رحمه الله said in his explanation of Verse 7 in Surat ash-Shams:
النفس آية كبيرة من آياته التي حقيقة بالأقسام بها فإنها في غاية اللطف و الخفة، سريعة التنقل و الحركة و التغير و التأثير و الانفعالات النفيسة من الهم و الإرادة و القصد و الحب و البغض و هي التي لولاها لكان البدن مجرد لا فائدة فيه و تسويتها على هذا الوجه آية من آيات الله العظيمة
The Nafs is a great sign among Allah's signs, deserving to be the subject of Allah's oath. The Nafs is soft and transparent, swift in motion and movement, subject to change and transformation, full of emotions such as having intention, will, aim, love, and hate. Without the soul, the body would just be a motionless statue of no benefit or value. Creating the soul in this manner is one of Allah's great signs.
"اللوامة"
There are different type of souls mentioned in the Qur'an:
1) النفس اللوامة - The Self-Reproaching Soul
2) النفس أمارة بسوء - The Soul which Commands with Evil
In Surah Yusuf [12:53]:
"And I do not acquit myself. Indeed, the soul is a persistent enjoiner of evil, except those upon which my Lord has mercy. Indeed, my Lord is Forgiving and Merciful.""
3) النفس المطمائنة - The Tranquil Soul
In Surat al-Fajr [89:27]:
"(It will be said to the pious): "O (you) the one in (complete) rest and satisfaction!"
This soul is at rest and balanced in all circumstances.
Allah swore by النفس اللوّامة in Surat al-Qiyama because remembering the Day of Judgement in the Dunya makes you blame yourself.
Ibn Abbas رضي الله عنهما said:
كل نفس تلوم نفسها يوم القيام يلوم المحسن نفسه أن لايكون ازداد إحسانا ويلوم المسيء نفسه أن لايكون رجع عن إساءته
Every soul will reproach itself on the Day of Judgement. The good people will reproach themselves for not increasing in good and the evil-doers will reproach themselves for doing evil.
ليس من نفس برة ولا فاجرة إلا وهي تلوم نفسها إن كانت عملت خيرا قالت : هلا ازددت خيرا ؟ وإن كانت عملت سوءا قالتك يا ليتني لم أفعل
There is no soul, good or bad, except that it will blame itself. If it used to do good, it will wish that it increased in good. And if it used to do evil it will wish it never did evil.
The good doers will blame themselves, because there are degrees and ranks.
Which soul blames itself in the Dunya? The soul of the believer. He does not look at everyone else, he blames himself.
Allah said in a Hadith Qudsi:
يَا عِبَادِي، إِنَّمَا هِيَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ أَجْعَلُهَا عَلَيْكُمْ، فَمَنْ وَجَدَ خَيْرًا فَلْيَحْمَدِ اللَّهَ، وَمَنْ وَجَدَ غَيْرَ ذَلِكَ فَلاَ يَلُومُ إِلاَّ نَفْسَهُ
My slaves! It is only your actions which I have appointed for you. Whoever finds good should praise Allah. Whoever finds other than that should only blame himself. [Al-Adab Al-Mufrad]
The way out is to seek forgiveness.
Ibrahim عليه السلام said (as mentioned in 26:80):
"And when I am ill, it is He who cures me"
He did not attribute the sickness to Allah. If you accuse and blame someone other than yourself, it will make you full of yourself. Reproach yourself, and seek forgiveness.
وأن المؤمن - والله - لاتراه إلا يلوم نفسه على كل حالة لأنه يستقصر في كل ماتفعل فيندم ويلوم نفسه
You do not see the believer except that he reproaches himself in all situations because he has shortcomings in everything he does, so he regrets and reproaches himself.
If he does a sin, he reproaches himself. If a decree befalls on him, he reproaches himself. If he does a good deed, he reproaches himself (I.e. saying had it not been for Allah's mercy and grace, I wouldn't have been able to do this, etc.).
Source:
- التبيان في أقسام القرآن by Ibn AlQayyim
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