Tafseer Maryam Day 19 Ayat 59-64

previously, Allah talks about the previous messengers and how Allah has blessed them and how those who believe and follow them are similarly blessed by Allah
Quran is not a form of entertainment for them but when ayat of Ar Rahmaan is recited upon them they fall down in prostration
this happens frequently and they do this with utmost sincerity
they cry abundantly and frequently
significance :
they do sujud – physical act of sajdah
wa bukiyyan – they cry -> this is being explicitly mentioned to show that they don’t just do physical sujud but they do internal sujud as well, it’s the element we refer to as khushu’
they are internally absorbed by prayer
we see in many different narrations of Prophet saw he (saw) mentions virtues of coming to tears, this is something very honorable and distinguished, praiseworthy
cry when you make dua
narration (authenticity up to discussion among muhadithoon) – if you can’t cry then at least feign crying and try hard to do it because it’s sign of humility
supplication mentioned in narrations of Prophet saw tafseer of Imam Qurtubi :-
Allahumaj’alni min ibaadikal mun’am alayhim minal mahdiyeena saajideenalak al baakiina inda tilaawati aayaatik
Oh Allah make me from your slaves that you have blessed, blessings have been showered upon them and they are rightly guided that they do sujud just for your sake and they cry when they recite your ayaat
when the recite ayat of Quran or when they look at signs around them
this is implicitly reflecting on the internal aspect of prayer
practicality of this :- we live in culture where sometimes we can be a little too self conscious and so we are insecure about the wrong things
today, crying over Quran may be a little over the top
when Qari or imam begins crying it’s like “Okay here we go again.”
“I’m a man, I don’t cry.”
it’s a completley warped perspective because you’re not crying for sake of crying, but it’s crying before Allah, the One that creates, sustains you, whom you’ll have to go back to one day
how often does it happen when people watch movies and they start to cry ?
you cry because a cartoon Panda cry
that made you cry
I’ll cry because a fiction dog in a movie died, but I feel it’s against my manliness to cry for Allah – this is a warped perspective
Prophet saw is an example of what it means to be a man
the sahabah – Allah Himself calls them men
and their condition is such that Abu Bakr ra.s. would spend entire night crying in prayer
Uthman r.a. woudl sit at the graveyard and cry for hours and hours, “What will happen to you Uthman when you go in these graves?”
Umar r.a. would begin reciting surah Taha in salat fajr and break down crying, so much so that sometimes he literally he would start to lose his balance from excessive crying

Ayat 59

Sahih International

But there came after them successors who neglected prayer and pursued desires; so they are going to meet evil –

fakhalafa min ba’dihim khalfun:- but then they left behind after them some people/a group/type of people
many mufasiroon, lughiyoon, say khalfun (with sukoon on lam) is a word in classical Arabic that means bad progeny, leaving bad people behind
but khalafun (with fatha on lam) = very good, exemplary people
some people followed after them who were very very bad
think from perspective of Muhammad saw, he’s reading these ayaat, about these unbelievably amazing people and he’s looking around him in Makkah (this was in early stage when message first went public) and sees these people at their worst
so Allah is saying don’t let these people take away from how amazing those prophets were
these people are unworthy
then Allah elaborates – how do things go bad?
this part is extremely relevant to us
how do you go from that good to this bad?
Allah tells us:

adhaa’u salaata – they neglected the prayer

they were negligent about the prayer
what does that mean?
Imam Qurtubi gathered a lot of these quotes in his tafseer :-
they weren’t particular about the timing of prayer, they were not punctual about timing of prayer
that’s something we should self critique, analyze ourselves about
some of them say it means that they were lackadaisical about the focus and quality of the prayer
so they would pray 5 times a day but no khushu’, not on time
Hasan Basri -: adhaa’u salah = “They started leaving the masajid empty.”
they would still pray but they became so absorbed by their business pursuits, hobbies, past times that they didn’t have time for the masjid anymore
adhaa’u salah = combination of all these put together

wattaba’u shahaawati – and they followed the desires

shahwatun – carnal animal desires within human being
Quran tells us that when person follows desires long enough, they just follow them but eventually their own desires become their god
this is the beginning of that slippery slope
how do we treat prayer?
when we read about mushrikoon of Makkah or the ahlul kitaab at that time, we might think, “Those are messed up dudes, that could never happen to us, we’re not perfect but that could never happen to us.”
but the ball starts rolling somewhere, there is a slippery slope somewhere and it’s the adhaa’u salah
everything builds and it’s all downhill from there
Umar r.a. mentioned in Muwatta of Imam Malik, he wrote letter to his governors saying, “The most important of any of your dealings is the prayer. Because whosoever will be neglectful of the prayer will be even more neglectful of everything else. The person who can’t be good to Allah, why would you expect that person to be good to anyone else?”
salah is that first step
we have to VERY cautious about it
never belittle it
Prophet saw alluded to it being the best of actions in deeds – praying as soon as the time comes in
discipline yourself about salah
praying when time comes in may be more practical than we think
cellphone call azhaan
I hear my phone go off -> Allahu Akbar
if that is not practical of someone, fix a time for prayer, don’t fix zuhr at 4 pm, fix it at 2 pm, at least fix it
at masjid, for example, iqamah time is so fixed that even if the imam is not there, it’s go time
when time is fixed then no matter where I am I am going to make wudhu, pray
mothers who are home be disciplined about that
no mystery why when we have children who are older and they have trouble praying on time
we have to set the example
pray as a family, together, have a place of prayer at home, for purpose of taleem
when people pray individually, in a corner of their own room at their own time, children don’t get to see it
pray in a common open prayer in the home
fix the time
children will learn it
Isa a.s. says wa awsaani bisalaati wa zakaati – and my lord has enjoined on me salat and zakaat
for Ismail a.s. it is said that he ordered his family to stick salat and zakaat
here it says they wasted their prayer and follow their desires but no mention of zakaat
because when talking about the opposite end, when things go bad, rather than talk about zakaat, Allah talks about the reason behind that
the causes that lead to leaving zakaat
we see similar type of discourse in Muddathir 44-47
43
Sahih International

They will say, “We were not of those who prayed,
Problem #1: we didn’t use to pray regularly
44
Sahih International

Nor did we used to feed the poor.
Problem #2: we don’t feed the poor
when we don’t pray regularly, it led us to not feeding the poor
when you lose that spiritual connection you lose motivation to do good
when you have no relationship with Allah, after a while you start to question yourself, “It’s about me now, why do I have to do that anymore?”
now when you have
45
Sahih International

And we used to enter into vain discourse with those who engaged [in it],
Problem #3 – start indulging in useless things with people who indulge in useless things
bad company who do bad things
46
Sahih International

And we used to deny the Day of Recompense
eventually -> outright deny day or retribution
when someone advises you, guilt start to kick in and he starts to become defensive and come to say to the adviser ,”Hey, why don’t you live for your fairy tale Day of Judgment and let me live in the here and now!”
but then they regrettably say
47
Sahih International

Until there came to us the certainty.”
they know now who’s right and who’s wrong
it shows that progression
when you follow desires you don’t have money to spare for charity etc

fasawfa yalqawna ghayya – so then soon in the future, they will meet ghayyan

ghayyan/ghayyun – refers to 2 things
literal understanding – comes from ghawa yaghwu – referring to being completely lost or astray due to corruption of beliefs, they completely lost track and perspective of what’s right and wrong
information :- Ibn Mas’ood tells us in his tafseer -: this is a cave within hell which will have the most severest of punishment specially allocated to occur there
Ibn Abbas – it is a cave in hell where there is such severe torment and punishment there will such nefarious individuals there that even jahannam itself seeks refuge with Allah from that place
when you read something like that you can’t help but feel a little overwhelmed – that being neglectful about prayer can lead us to such a place
but this is mercy from Allah
Allah opens door for hope
that is reality
when someone really cares about you, they’re honest with you, that’s a sign they care about you
Allah loves us more than our mothers do so He’s honest with us

Ayat 60

Sahih International

Except those who repent, believe and do righteousness; for those will enter Paradise and will not be wronged at all.

He says, “Don’t despair. Don’t feel ike it’s a hopeless case”
Illa – except
there is an exception to this

man taaba – whoever will repent

“Fine’ he’s gotten off track but when he sees the on-ramp back to siraat mustaqeem, when he has opportunity to open book of Allah, when he hears azhan and has opportunity to go and pray and when he has chance to go to house of Allah and put his face on ground for Allah, he seizes that chance”

wa’amila saalih7an – and he did good deeds

reason why Allah mentions this -:
sheikh has been asked this question many times because of the need of the time
in public lectures, we are engaging with the common peiple and so what is talked about is the mercy of Allah, and often get certain questions that has good intention to it
but at what point though are we just coddling people and enabling their behavior by just saying “forgiving merciful, forgiving merciful”
when we read ayaat ad ahadeeth that talks about mercy of Allah , we find that it’s impossible to overemphasize mercy of Allah
it overcomes His wrath (in Hadith Qudsi)
however there ids something stated in Quran that talks about being sincere in that repentance to Allah, and not taking advantage of Allah being forgiving and merciful
yes Allah will forgive over and over again but you have to prove that you are sincere in your asking forgiveness and repenting
how can you prove that sincerity?

‘amala salihan – walk the talk

back it up with deeds
if you’re saying “Oh Allah forgive me, I haven’t been praying.” in about 20 minutes when it’s time to pray Isha, now it’s time to prove it, back it up, stand up and pray isha

ulaaika yadkhuloonal jannah wa la yudzhlamoona shay”a – those they will enter jannah and they won’t be wronged in the least bit

this is consolation to the believers, those who stuck to the truth, who stuck to maintaining their relationship with Allah, even though it seems as if the ‘world was passing them by’, ‘missing out on fun’ here, didn’t capitalize here, etc
in worldly perspective it looks as if they were the losers
ulaaika –
if they hang in there, just for a little bit longer, because eventually….
that’s why yadkhuloona – they will enter (in present/future tense)
those are the people who will not be wronged in the least bit
every single moment, sacrifice they made will be recalled and brought up and they will be compensate more than they expect
in ayat 59 when Allah kind of gave the real talk – one ayah
in 3 words – fasawfa yalqawna ghayyan – warning is done
now Allah talking about reinforcement of good, encouraging, motivating and then Allah goes on more, continues

Ayat 61

Sahih International

[Therein are] gardens of perpetual residence which the Most Merciful has promised His servants in the unseen. Indeed, His promise has ever been coming.

not just one jannah but multiple paradise
we know from authentic narration of Hadeeth of Propet saw that the last person to go to Jannah, his possession will be 10 times the size of this world

‘adn –

literal meaning :- eternity, never ending
gardens of eternity
information about this -: ‘adn is name of place in Jannah that will be up a very high position and that person will be able to look out at rest of Jannah ( room with a view)
party is going to go on forever
if you miss party in dunya you will get party forever in Akhirah
allati – it is that place

wa’ada rahmaanu ‘ibaadahu bil ghayb – he has promise Ar Rahman His slaves with the unseen

repetition of that attribute of Allah in this surah
this is mentioned here because this is a motivating passage
Allah has promised
He promises His slaves

bil ghayb – with the unseen

What does that mean?
Allah has promised them that which they have not seen
Allah has promised them to believe in something they have not seen (like implicitly referring to iman bil ghayb)
the greater the task the greater the reward
it’s more difficult to believe in a promise you can’t see, touch, feel
but if you are willing to believe in it the reward will be much greater

innahu kaana wa’duhu ma”tiyyan :- most definitely He, His promise has always been and will always be ma”tiyyan

kaana here is not to put it in past tense but it’s emphasizing it, has always been and will always be
ma”tiyyan – it will arrive
from ityaan ataa ya”ti – a coming that is easier and lighter, more facilitated
not just arriving but arriving with ease and comfort
it’s a done deal, nothing to worry about
mufasiroon says if wa’d refers to jannah and paradise, ma”tiyyan can also be dharf (place of arrival) -> Jannah is a place that the arrival of has been promised
in surah zumar , this has been described
39:73
Sahih International

But those who feared their Lord will be driven to Paradise in groups until, when they reach it while its gates have been opened and its keepers say, “Peace be upon you; you have become pure; so enter it to abide eternally therein,” [they will enter].
like a grand opening, entrance and gate keepers are giving salam, honored and dignified
describing that scene
imagine arriving at Jannah, what a scene it will be, everything was worth it, and so much more we’re willing to do just for this
Allah continues talking about Jannah in following ayah, 3rd ayah in a row, to motivate us

Ayat 62

Sahih International

They will not hear therein any ill speech – only [greetings of] peace – and they will have their provision therein, morning and afternoon.

there is taqdeem and ta”kheer here in laa yasma’oona fieha laghwan (abnormal sentence structure)
saying that Jannah is the only place where you won’t hear ‘noise’ disturbing, annoying
in dunya there is always someone annoying you, someone doing something you don’t like
if you have children you know what real noise is – parents are now saying, “Sign me up!”

Illa salaaman – except salam

salam is not just greeting, but it means honored and respected
everybody honored to meet them
imagine that level of dignity and respect
illaa – except for
there is an issue al istithnaa al munqati’ – where sometimes the thing being made an exception doesn’t necessarily belong to the group of what it was made an exception
what follows Illa doesn’t belong to the group of what precedes the illa
it doesn’t mean that the only noise they will hear is people saying salam that they would say, “Man, these people can’t stop giving salam.”
it’s to completely flip the script
they won’t hear any type of noise, the only thing they will enjoy is being said salam to
it mentions about shaytaan – all angels made sujud except Iblis >- iblis doesn’t belong to the group of angels

walahum rizquhum feeha – and exclusively reserved for them their sustenance morning and evening

rizq doesn’t just mean food, water, but anything a person benefits from, anything they like to enjoy

bukrata wa ‘ashiyyan– morning and evening

is it prison, they only two meals a day?
no, it’s an expression – meaning ‘whenever’
they’ll get what they want when they want it
plenty of ahaadeeth talking about this:
tree will bend to reach the person and person can get the fruit easily, literally feed the person the fruit from the tree
person will simply think about something, e.g. sees a bird and thinks, “That looks tasty” and he gets it roasted, whatever right in front of him
every morning and every evening in Jannah there will be a celebration, party
you get all excited about parties, it’s in human nature
Allah even tells us to celebrate the good things

Ayat 63

Sahih International

That is Paradise, which We give as inheritance to those of Our servants who were fearing of Allah .

this is 4th ayah in a row continuing to talk about jannah
tilkal Jannah – that is Jannah
like proclamation, excitement mentioning ‘That is jannah!”

noorithu min ‘ibaadina – We will inherit from Our slaves

reason why iraath, word ‘inheritance’ is used is for eloquent reason
why not just say We will give them Jannah
there is balaghaah in this
a son inherits from the father, it’s the son’s right to inherit from the father, if someone tries to deny that son’s inheritance, we would say it’s zdhulm
so here Allah is saying these people are so deserving of Jannah that to deprive them of it would be zdhulm
min is used – ‘from’
tragedy is it wont be everyone, just some of our slaves
those who would be willing to
we got to repent, as long as we ‘re willing to d that Allah is more than willing to take care of us

man kaanaa taqiyyan

taqiyyun – refers to quality of taqwa, being aware of your action and your deeds
taqiyyan – in that permanent adjective form
kaana – for extra emphasis
this person stuck to this quality of being constantly conscious
“does this please/displease Allah? – that person always live with this in mind

Ayat 64

Sahih International

[Gabriel said], “And we [angels] descend not except by the order of your Lord. To Him belongs that before us and that behind us and what is in between. And never is your Lord forgetful –

the Prophet saw especially in moments of adversity and difficulty, and people became violent, it was a very emotionally difficult thing to deal with, the constant negativity
Prophet saw’s source of comfort used to b in receiving divine revelation
when you receive message from someone you have a deep connection with, it puts a smile on your face
one time Jibril came after a bit of a break
Prophet saw said to Jibril -: why don’t you visit us more than you already do visit us?
We look forward to your visit. Visit more often
Prophet saw started to feel anxious at times
this is addressed in taha 114
Sahih International

So high [above all] is Allah , the Sovereign, the Truth. And, [O Muhammad], do not hasten with [recitation of] the Qur’an before its revelation is completed to you, and say, “My Lord, increase me in knowledge.”
that’s when this ayah (Maryam 64) is revealed
the person doing the talking here is Jibril, speaking on behalf of angels and speaking to Prophet saw
“We don’t come down except by permission/command of your Lord.”

natanazzalu from tanazzul

this particular verb pattern, one of implication is to try to do something, has element of struggle in it
so thus saying ->”we can’t even try to come down except through command of your Rabb”
why?

lahu ma bayna aydinna wa ma khalfanaa wa maa bayna zhaalik – for Him alone that which is in front of us, behind us and between everything

He’s in charge, we can’t do anything without His permission

wa maa kaana rabbuka nasiyan – Your Rabb is not forgetful in the least bit

reflection -:
what’s the benefit of having the angels say this?
to honor the Prophet saw
almost as if the angel is apologizing to Prophet saw
“Our apologies, we don’t mean any disrespect. But we can’t do anything without your Rabb’s command.”
Angels showing honor and humbling themselves before Prophet saw, so as to not belittle the adversity he (saw) was dealing with
“We know you’re going through a lot but we can’t come down unless command has been issued by your Rabb”
this also refutes a corrupt form of belief because now we are transitioning to another section of the surah that addresses the mushrikoon of Makkah, so it’s a refutation of the belief of Mushrikoon that angels are daughters of Allah and that they will intercede for them
when Prophet saw told them not to do shirk, they say “We’re worshipping those angels you talk about. They will intercede for us.”
But here, it’s refuting that
angels are saying they are completely bound by Allah’s authority, they can’t do anything otherwise
And your Rabb is not forgetful in the least bit –
that alludes to saying “oh Muhammad we know you are gong through a lot, but your Rabb hasn’t forgotten about you and will never forget about you, don’t worry, He will take care of you.”
reminders don’t hurt, it in fact aids the believers
that’s a reminder for us too
we all go through adversities at time
Allah has forgotten us
it’s a test for us to see whether we turn to Allah at that moment of adversity or not