The Study of Surah Yaseen Lesson 01 and 02

2 Introductory Points
Detailed Study of
Surat Ya-Seen
Ustadh Asim Khan
Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan
Introductory Points
The expectation of the course is to go through the surah ayah by ayah in some detail. We will focus
on classical sources such as Tafseer Imam at-Tabari , Ibn Kathir, Qurtubi, and look at the ayaat
in isolation to extract the meaning and take some of the guidance. We will build on that research by
looking at the of the surah how the ayaat come together such that the first links to the second,
the second to the third and so on and so forth, as well as how the surah is presenting a message.
The word surah, though we translate it as chapter, it doesnt actually mean chapter. One of the
meanings of the word surah is an encompassing wall. In fact, the Arabs of old would call the wall that
encircles the city the sur because the idea is that it is supposed to protect the city from attack
from outside. So Allah chose the word to identify what we would call a chapter. Why is that? One of
the reasons is that a wall contains a city and the same way, the surah contains the message. And
some of the later scholars said that each and every surah of the Quran represents one unique
message which is different to the other surahs. So we have 114 surahs and each and every one of
them is expressing a very unique message. We will try to touch upon that analysis how do the ayaat
come together to present this unique message?
This will also build our appreciation of the Quran because anyone who reads the Quran (the
translation for non-Arabs), and wants to understand it, he will see something which is slightly
unusual in that when he sees the ayaat he will think that the Quran is jumping from one subject
matter to other subject matter in a way that he cannot understand why this was said and then this
was said.
For example, in Surah al-Baqarah. First Allah mentioned the believers, the muttaqeen,
their characteristics. Then he mentioned the disbelievers, allazina kafaru, those who disbelieve or are
bent on disbelief, it doesnt matter whether you warn them or not. And then the munafiqeen. And
then many other things. Somebody may ask, why did the surah start like this in the first place?
Somebody may say, why is Surah al-Baqarah called the chapter of the Cow? Whats the wisdom
behind that? Some of the scholars of Islam, later on especially, looked at these things why is this
said and then that said? And also the name is the name telling us anything as well?
Introductory Points
One of the interesting things is that in these times there are non-Muslim critics of the Quran, and
one of the things that they wish to point out as a criticism of the Quran, and they dont believe its
revelation, is that they say the Quran is incoherent. What does that mean? It means (or so they
claim) that the Quran is not an organized book presenting coherent messages. Rather it is this
followed by that and then this and there is no connection between them. This couldnt be further
from the truth. Through Surat Ya-Seen we will present the reality of the Quran in that it is a wellorganized, coherent, sophisticated message being given to us by Allah We ask Allah
to aid us in this and to really allow us to benefit from this study of the Quran.
{from Lesson 2}
Surat Ya-Seen is surah 36. The surah before this is Surah Faatir. And Imam As-Suyooti wrote a
book ( the secrets behind the sequencing of the Quran), the way the Quran has been
laid out, this surah first, then the next one, then the next one, what is the secret behind that? What
are the links behind that? In that he mentions every single surah, and then he mentions why this
surah came after that one.
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Connection with al-Faatir ayah 37
4 Introductory Points
And in response to Surat Ya-Seen what is the connection between it and Surat Faatir, he said that in
Surat Faatir, Allah mentions about the coming:
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The disbelievers will be told on Yawm al-Qiyamah did We give you life to search for the truth, and
didnt a warner come to you?
Then he said that who is that warner? Surat Ya-Seen comes to explain who that warner is.
Indeed you, [O Muhammad], are from among the messengers
That you may warn a people whose forefathers were not warned, so they are unaware.
You are of those that have been sent, and your job is to warn a people whose forefathers had not
been warned. So he says that Surat Ya-Seen is almost like an elaboration and explanation of what
came in Surat Faatir. Allah knows best. This is one of the scholars of Islam speaking about a link
between the surahs.
Nazm focus - SOAS4 interpolated after the death of the prophet

One of the things Ustadh Asim will try to do is show how the Quran has a . means it has an
organization, it has a flow. It has a beauty in the way in which things are interconnected. And this is
important. Because what we will see is that Allah sent a surah and that surah is speaking
about many different themes. And sometimes one theme shifts to another theme. And you might be
reading and thinking why did that happen? For example it is speaking about the Day of Judgment,
then it is speaking about a story, then it is speaking about laws, and then it is speaking about death.
Is there a connection between them? What about the beginning of a surah and the end is there a
connection? This type of analysis is called a analysis. And this is being done more in our times than
before. However, Ustadh Asim wanted to show us through Surat Ya-Seen that this is something
which is very prominent in Surat Ya-Seen. Connections can be made throughout the surah.
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Faatir 35:37
Ya-Seen 36:3
3
Ya-Seen 36:6
4
A university in London
2
Introductory Points
And to give an example that is not part of Surat Ya-Seen, in Surat Luqman. Surat Luqman is named
after that man who was a great father who gave an amazing piece of advice to his son. His son was a
mushrik. His son as an idol worshipper. So when he gives advice to his son, it is so amazing, that Allah
records the advice inside the surah and names it after him as well. And then at the end of the surah,
Allah mentions,
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And fear a day when no father can avail his son.
This is a very good example about how a surah is linking itself up. Intra-surah relationships. Then
there are the inter-surah relationships, one surah relating to another and so on and so forth. This is
just to give some more insight into what is meant by of Quran.
Nazm still Ijtihaadi

And to add to this, this is an ijtihaadi matter. Meaning, it could be right, it could be wrong. A scholar
of Islam will analyse these things and will present what he believes to be true according to his
knowledge. And that could be right, it could be wrong. So when we share these gems, someone
should appreciate that this sounds amazing, definitely seems to be true, but lets not say it is the
absolute truth about this. Rather we just say that this is the opinion of a scholar which could be right,
and it could be wrong.
My Reflections
Luqman 31:33
Is that a coincidence? It is not a coincidence. Because the message is, in this life, fathers out there,
help your children as much as you can. Because soon a day will come when though you want to help
your own son, you wont help your own son. So do it now. Listen to the story of Luqman and take
heed of it. And advise your children. Advise them because you will not be able to avail them on that
day.
6 Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen
Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen

Verses 1-12
The Quran &
the Heedless

Verses 69-83
Verses 13-32
Lessons from
History

The Quran &

the Arrogant

Central theme:
Establish the
veracity of the
Prophets
Message & Belief
in Resurrection
Verses 49-68
Verses 33-44
Lessons from
Nature

The Blind on the

Day of
Judgment

Verses 45-47
The stubborn &
the blind
This diagram is going to enable us to understand the whole surah in a summarized way. And what we
say about Surat Ya-Seen is that it can be neatly divided into 6 passages. These 6 passages are telling
the story of the surah which ultimately is communicating 1 key message.
Virtues of Surat Ya-Seen
Virtues of Surat Ya-Seen

There is a hadith of the Prophet that everything has a heart and the heart of the Quran is YaSeen. This hadith, according to the scholars of hadith is a weak hadith. But it is found in many books
of tafseer. Why? Because it is to do with virtue. And when it comes to virtue, many of the scholars of
Islam said a weak hadith can be used to speak about virtue. Why? Because they said this hadith is not
going to be used to build any laws or any concepts in theology, rather it is going to just elaborate the
virtue of something already known through authentic proofs. That is why it is mentioned.
Building on that, some of the scholars said that perhaps one of the reasons why the Prophet
referred to Surat Ya-Seen as the heart of the Quran is because of its core message. Its core message
is like the heart of Islam, in that it speaks about 3 main things:
The first of them is about the prophecy of Muhammad , that
is a core message of Islam. And Surat Ya-Seen will express that, will establish
that, will put it beyond doubt. For example, in the very beginning, Allah swears by
the Quran. . To say what? To say
( You, O Muhammad are from
those who have been sent), establishing that this man is not making up this
message, rather, he has been sent by god. He is one of the prophets of god. And this is said
in many different ways throughout the Quran.
2. The second thing is that Surat Ya-Seen will establish belief in the hereafter.

Allah mentions that Indeed We bring the dead
back to life and We record everything as well. This is said in a different many ways. This is
establishing belief in the resurrection.
3. And lastly, it is the belief in the oneness of Allah and His right to be worshipped. We will read
a story of Ashab al-Qaryah, people who were told and called to worship Allah, they were idol
worshippers, but they rejected and refused and so they were wiped out, they were punished
by Allah .
These are the 3 messages, the key messages of Islam. If someone were to say, what is Islam all
about? Can you summarize it for me? I want to know. That person should receive the answer as
mentioned in Surat Ya-Seen. Because Surat Ya-Seen will teach us these 3 things in a beautiful way.
and that is one of the reasons why, scholars like Ibn Ashur said that even though the hadith is weak,
we can understand something, in that Surat Ya-Seen is actually the heart of the Quran in that the
Quran communicates 3 key messages, and that is belief in Allahs oneness, the belief in the hereafter
and the belief in the prophethood of Muhammad .
A second hadith is that the Prophet apparently said, recite upon your dying (not, your dead),
Surat Ya-Seen. This hadith again has been classed as weak by many scholars, however Ibn Taymiyyah
said, that reciting Surat Ya-Seen on those that have died is a bidah. But reciting it on those that are
1.
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on their deathbed is mustahabb (recommended). Meaning that though the hadith may be weak,
many scholars like Ibn Taymiyyah took the hadith and they acted on it.
And one of the wisdoms why perhaps the Prophet was teaching us this is one of the things
Surat Ya-Seen does is it builds hope in the heart of the believer. When a person is on his deathbed
and is about to meet Allah, he is scared. Anyone who thinks about his death will become scared,
because they think about their sins. And in that moment, he needs to be consoled about the mercy
of Allah and paradise.
In Surat Ya-seen, you have the story of Ashab al-Qaryah, and inside that, you have the story about
the believing man who comes from Aqsa al-Madinah. He speaks to his people, tries to advise them,
they dont listen to him and they kill him. As he is killed, the surah says ( it is said to him,
Enter Paradise) And when he is in paradise, he says, ( if only my people knew,
meaning, what I can see right now in paradise, if only my people could see what I can see right now.
They would not have rejected me).
So when a person is on his deathbed, hears those verses, and understands them, he feels inclined to
the mercy of Allah, he becomes reassured; he becomes hopeful that Allah will forgive him and enter
him into paradise. So it makes that moment in his life easier. As for the person who doesnt
understand, maybe its best to recite and read the translation as well.
These are some of the virtues of Surat Ya-Seen.
My Reflections

Going back to the diagram, we said that Surat Ya-Seen can be divided into 6 neat passages. If we
study them one by one, we will see that they all come together in a very beautiful, organized way.
Verses 69-83
The Quran &
the Arrogant

Verses 13-32
Lessons from
History

Central theme:
Establish the
veracity of the
Prophets
Message & Belief
in Resurrection
Verses 49-68
The Blind on the
Day of
Judgment
Verses 33-44
Lessons from
Nature

Verses 45-47
The stubborn &
the blind

Verses 1-12
The Quran &
the Heedless
Central Theme: Establish the veracity of the Prophets Message & Belief in
Resurrection
Verses 1-12 | The Quran & the Heedless-
The first passage is about the Quran and heedless people. Allah takes an oath by the Quran. Allah
swears by the Quran which is Hakeem. One of the meanings is that it is full of wisdom. And then
Allah will tell us why the Qur'an was sent down - li tunzira qawma (in order that you, O Prophet ,
will warn your people). Thats why the Qur'an is coming down - to give you a message which you can
use to warn people about their fate if they don't believe. However, what are those people like? They
are heedless. They dont pay attention. They are in a state of procrastination. That is Passage 1
about the Quran, and about the reaction of the people being that of heedlessness.
Verses 13-32 | Lessons from History-
Passage number 2 is a story. It is a historical account about a people who lived long before them, and
they weren't sent one messenger - they were sent three. And on top of that, a believing man from
amongst themselves also gives them advice, they reject all of that. What happens to them? Well the
believing man goes to paradise, they are destroyed and they end up in the hellfire.
What is the connection between passage 1 and 2? It is like this. Passage 1 is giving them a direct
message. This is the Qur'an. It is true. This man is speaking the truth. You better listen and take a
warning and change your ways. This is the direct message.
But somebody may listen to that and think, well I am not going to accept that message. Do you leave
it at that? No. You approach the same person from a different angle. This time, you ask them to
reflect. Think about other people - people that came before. Tell them a story about other people
who were also sent messages. Do you know what happened to them? They were also sent a
messenger - in fact, they were sent three. And they were very obnoxious towards them. They were
aggressive towards them. And one of them, from amongst themselves, he believed, and he tried to
advise them in a very beautiful way, do you know what they did? They killed him. You know what
happened to him? He went to paradise. You know what happened to those people? They were
annihilated and they were punished by Allah .
Now that person is thinking to himself, that's a lot like what's happening to us right now, isn't it? We
have a messenger here as well. He is telling us the same kinds of things that they were told. If we
treat him the same way, we may also get the same treatment ourselves. Perhaps a person will take a
sign from a story. So this is like the theory (passage 1) illustrated by a story (passage 2).
Everyone loves stories. The same message, in the form of a story, everyone loves them. People are
obsessed with stories. In our time we call them movies. People spend time watching movies because
they love a story. This is the second passage.
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A person is listening to a story in Surat Ya-Seen and he hears a story about people who were quite
similar to him, in that they also quite heedless and rejected the message and then they met their
fate. He is thinking, I should really pay attention to what is being said here. But then he thinks, stories
are made up anyway. Who believes in these stories? They would say these are asateer al-awwaleen
(made up fables). He says, they are not real. I dont believe that. Did that really happen? I dont know
about that. He rejects the story.
Verses 33-44 | Lessons from Nature-
This passage is telling people, look at what is around you, look at nature. You see amazing things.
You see beauty. You see design. You see things which bewilder your mind. Do you think they came
by coincidence? Don't you think someone put them there? Who put them there? Allah put them
there. The One Who created you. The One this man is calling you to worship. Would you not accept
this?
Ustadh Asim was reflecting over this verse where Allah mentions in Surat Ya-Seen the sun swims/
runs its own course until it reaches its defined point. From the perspective of a human being on the
earth, the sun has its own course throughout the day. And it always sticks to it. It doesn't change.
But from another perspective, from outer space, we learn today that the sun has its own orbit
around another sun at the centre of the universe. They call this the galactic orbit of the sun. And it
takes some 250 million terrestrial years for it to complete its orbit and it doesn't move from its orbit.
Someone is looking at these signs in nature (we call them science) and he should think to himself,
this message must be true. There are so many reasons for me to believe now. What if he still doesn't
believe? There is Passage 4.
Verses 45-47 | The Stubborn & the Blind-
Passage 4 is about the stubborn and the blind. They are blind to the signs that are in nature, the signs
that are in history, and the signs that are being told to them directly - passage 1, 2 and 3. So Allah
describes their stubbornness.
When these people are told to feed the poor, they say, should we feed those whom, if Allah wanted,
He could have fed them? You say, there are some poor people, why don't you give them some
money? He says, give them charity? Well, if there really was a god, why would He let them starve?
What an arrogant thing to say! When you think about it, isn't that the same thing that atheists say
today? Why should I believe in god? If there was a god why is there so much injustice on the earth?
Why is there so much killing? Why are there disabled people? Why are there people starving? Isn't
Then you say, let us approach the same person from another angle - passage 3, signs in nature. If you
are not going to accept what is behind you, in terms of history, look at what is in front of you, in
terms of nature. In one ayah in this passage, it is mentioned, and the sun, it is not befitting that it
catches up with the moon. It has its own orbit. It has its own course. And the sun, it runs its own
course and then it stops in its place.

that what they say? That is an expression of arrogance. It is not really a genuine concern. So Allah
shows us the reason why they reject all these signs is because they are arrogant. And that is what is
blinding them.
Verses 49-68 | The Blind on the Day of Judgment-
The second last passage is about the Day of Judgment. All that is left to tell that person who can
ignore so many different signs and be so obnoxious and boastful and filled with pride is to tell them,
listen, you know where you're going to go? When the trumpet is blown, it is said inside that passage,
then they will come out of their graves and they will be ushered, moving towards their master in
haste. They will turn to the believers and they will say, who has woken us from our resting places?
The dead are brought back to life and the disbelievers will turn to the believers and say, who has
brought us back to life? What is going on here? The believers will say, this is what Ar-Rahman
promised you and it is exactly the truth that the messengers were telling you about.
This is amazing because first there is a verse which is history, then there are signs, which is the
present, then the Day of Judgment which is the future.
Verses 69-83 | The Quran & the Arrogant-
Then the surah concludes itself in the last passage by going back to the very beginning again. The
Qur'an and the arrogant. Allah mentions, this is not poetry and it is not befitting for him to recite
poetry. He is not a poet and this is not poetry. This is a Qur'an which is a zikr (reminder) and it is
mubeen (clear). And this is how the surah has been all this while. It has been a reminder (historical
account, nature) and also it is very clear in the way it is presented as well. Anyone who really read
Surat Ya-Seen with their heart would feel like he is given a very strong message which is a reminder.
And one of the interesting things about calling the Qur'an a reminder is that if it is truly a reminder,
then it means that what is speaks about is not new to the listener. Otherwise it can't be a reminder.
How is it a reminder? Because all these core messages are not alien to the human being. Allah has
already ingrained them inside every single human being. Every human being is built upon the fitrah.
And that is how the Qur'an is very powerful and compelling. Because what it speaks about is already
buried deep inside a person anyway, in terms of fitrah. And it just seeks to elaborate and build on
that. That is why the Qur'an is called a zikr.
This is like the summary of Surat Ya-Seen. All of these different passages, what are they
communicating? They have a central message. And the central message, according to the book alMukhtassar tafseer, it is a new book on tafseer compiled by many scholars in Saudi Arabia, they said
that the core message of this surah is to establish the veracity of the Prophet s message and to
establish the reality of the Day of Judgment. Anyone who reads Surat Ya-Seen and wants to know
what is the summary, what is the key message here? It is, this man Muhammad , he truly is a
messenger and his message is from god. And secondly, you will die and be brought back to life to
stand before Allah . This is the summary of Surat Ya-Seen.
Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless
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1. Ya-Seen
Ya-Seen is one of those ayaat that comes in the beginning of many surahs that begin with the
disjointed letters. Disjointed letters in Arabic are called . For example, Surat Al-Baqarah,
alif-laam-meen; Surat Maryam kaf-ha-ya-ayn-saad; Surah Qaf, and so on and so forth, and this is one
of those surahs and it begins with ya-seen.
1.
The first view is that these letters, though they have a meaning, we cannot speculate what
the meaning is. La yufassar we do not speculate as to what do the letters stand for, what
do they mean.
2. However, the second view is that, though we do not know what they mean for sure, they do
serve a purpose, and we can speculate as to what that purpose is. And then they have
different views as to what that wisdom is.
One of the prominent views from the second camp is that these muqattaaat, these
disjointed letters represent a challenge to the Arabs of that time.
And the way they represent a challenge is, the ayah says Ya-Seen, or Alif-Laam-Meem these
are all letters that make up your language. And you Arabs, especially at that time, you were
obsessed with your language. It was the thing that made you great people. The Arabic
knowledge happened back then. They were the masters in that language. They only declined
after that. This Quran, you reject it, but it is composed of the very same letters that you
establish your greatness upon. So if it is something that you are going to disbelieve in, then
why dont you use your letters to rival it? If you cannot rival the Quran, even though it is
coming in the same letters that you use for your
language, then it means that it is a miracle.
Because you are the best at your language, but
you cannot rival the Quran. So in that way they
said the muqattaaat are like ( a challenge)
to the Arabs at that time.
Though the Quran is in this

world, it is not from this
world.
So they present a challenge in that they were

showing that though the Quran is in this world, it
is not from this world.
In general the huroof al-muqattaaat, there are 2 views. Any chapter of the Quran that begins with
these letters, the scholars are divided into 2 views.
14 Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless
Because these letters are the same letters that you use to create your own language which
you are masters of. Yet the same letters, you cannot use them to match the Quran. Which
shows that this Quran, though it is in this world, it is not from this world. It is from Allah
. It is a mujiza (miracle). This is one of the wisdoms. This was the opinion of
Shaykh al-Islam ibn Taymiyyah. He said that every time the muqattaaat are given, in the
beginning of a surah, you find, with the exception of 2 surahs, that the very next subject
matter is the Quran itself. Every time a surah begins with these letters, it starts off
mentioning something about the Quran. So there must be a link between the letters and the
Quran. And this is one of the opinions. And Allah knows best.
One of the interesting nuances to this is that the man Muhammad was unlettered,
meaning that he did not know how to read or write. But he comes and he starts reciting a
surah, alif-laam-meem. He starts with alif-laam-meem, reciting 3 letters of the Arabic
language. A person who doesnt know how to read or write, will he really know the letters of
the alphabet? No. Because the only time you learn the letters of the alphabet is to learn how
to read and write. Otherwise you dont know the letters. You dont know what they are.
Youve never learnt them. So when the prophet is coming and he is reciting and he is
starting with letters, it is as if people being told, the man who doesnt know letters is reciting
letters to you. Why? Because they are not his words they are the words of Allah .
And in that way it is a nuance to that second view, Allah knows best.
However, when it comes to Surat Ya-Seen, there is an opinion from Ibn Abbas who said that Ya-Seen
is actually like a shortened version of a statement, which is Ya Insaan (O Man). And this is the way the
Habashi people would say Ya Insaan, by saying Ya Seen. Other scholars commented on this and they
said, actually, this Habashi way of saying Ya Insaan by saying Ya-Seen, was Arabized. And the Arabs,
what they would do is, instead of saying O man as Ya Insaan, they would say Ya-Seen as well.
However, when they said Ya Seen, they meant Ya Unayseen. The difference is that when you say
unayseen, it is like the smaller version of insaan. As an example, if you say Hey boy, and hey cute little
boy, then you have just made that word into tasgheer, an affectionate word. So the Arabs, instead of
saying insaan, to say it in a more endearing way, they would say unayseen. When you hear the word
unayseen, what letter sticks out the most? Seen. So the Arabs cut down the whole word to the most
dominant letter, which is the seen. Thats enough, we dont need anything else, everything else is
extra. And then they whack on the ya, which is the call. Ya seen, they said, is like saying Ya unayseen
(O dear man). And that is why, other scholars said, this is actually a call to the Prophet . This is
another view. O dear man meaning, oh you, Prophet Muhammad .
However, this is one view. The other view is that it is just one of the muqattaaat letters, and what
we say about it is what we say about all the others, like what we have explained.
So this is how the surah starts - Ya-seen. A challenge put forward to the audience. This is important
because who are the audience? The first audience to Surat Ya-Seen was the Quraysh in Makkah. Ibn
Atiyyah said, all the scholars of Islam are in agreement that surat Ya-Seen is Makki. It was revealed in
Makkah.
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This is important because if you were in Makkah at that time, you would have seen that the Muslims
had it bad. We think that we see Islamophobia in our time, in the 10th year in Makkah, the Muslims
had been through a nightmare. Torture, they had been boycotted, many of them left to starve,
unable to marry, businesses destroyed, and things are not looking to get better anytime soon. 10 th
year was a very low period in that sense. And the prophet has been doing dawah for 10 years.
Imagine. The Prophet , the most eloquent of all people, the most compassionate, the most
loving, and he has been calling these people for 10 years listen to me. Dont worship stone
anymore, worship Allah. I am a prophet of Allah. And for 10 years most of them have been neglecting
him, rejecting him, and some of them even abusing him. In that environment, Surat Ya-Seen is
revealed.
Later on we will see, how do we understand some of the ayaat of Surat Ya-Seen - they seem to be
very harsh. When you contextualize them, you will see that it makes sense to be that harsh. They
have been told for 10 years to believe. Hes literally exhausted all of his efforts to persuade you, and
you are still rejecting him? You are still being so arrogant about things? All that is left now is to warn
you, and to be very harsh. So this is how the context helps understand the tafseer or appreciate it.
{From Lesson 2}
Except Banu Salimah ayah 12

Surat Ya-Seen was revealed in Makkah, and according to Ibn Ashur, it was revealed around the 10th
year of prophecy in Makkah, which was a very difficult year for the Prophet and the Muslim
community in general. However, some of the scholars like al-Qurtubi and Ibn Atiyyah mentioned
that, ayah 12:

Indeed, it is We who bring the dead to life and record what they have put forth and what they left
behind, and all things We have enumerated in a clear register6.
Ya-Seen 36:12
However, you dont find many of the scholars speaking about when it was revealed in Makkah. How
many years was the Prophet in Makkah? 13 years. And there is a lot that took place in the life of
the Prophet in those 13 years. Whereabouts does Surat Ya-Seen come? Here, Ibn Ashur
seems to be one of the few who stipulated that Surat Ya-Seen was revealed after Surat al-Jinn. Surat
al-Jinn came down in the 10th year of prophecy. What is the 10th year of prophecy is also known as? It
is known as aam al-huzn (the year of sorrow), because devastating things happened to the Prophet
that year, like the death of the wife of the Prophet Khadijah , like the death of
his uncle Abu Talib who died as a mushrik, and also the rejection of the people of At-Taif
devastating things happened to him. So this is the year in which Surat Ya-Seen was revealed.

According to them, that ayah was revealed in Madinah, and not Makkah, because there is a story7
about Banu Salimah, one of the tribes that lived in Madinah originally and became the Ansaar, they
lived on the outskirts of Madinah which is where Masjid Qiblatayn is. Currently it takes about 10
minutes to drive there from Masjid Nabawi. It used to be about half and hours walk, or maybe more,
and because it would take so long for them to reach the masjid, they were considering moving, all of
them together as a tribe, and relocating closer to the Masjid of the Prophet . They asked the
Prophet whether they should move or stay where they were, and the Prophet responded
by quoting that ayah where Allah mentions:
i.e., that their footsteps are being recorded, and what they present forward, what they left behind is
also being recorded. Therefore he said, stay in your places, for your footsteps are being recorded.
Meaning, every time you walk to the masjid, every footstep is being written for you, it is a reward for
you. Therefore, why are you going to cut short your reward? Rather, struggle a little bit and earn
more reward.
However, Ibn Uthaymeen says, generally speaking, a surah was either revealed all together, maybe
even in parts, but in general in one place8, either it was Makki or Madani. That was the general
principle, either the surah is fully Makki or fully Madani. So he says, that what is more likely is this
ayah was quoted by the Prophet in Madinah, as an answer to this question. Not that it was
revealed for the first time in Madinah. It was revealed in Makkah, but the Prophet quoted it in
an answer he gave to someone in Madinah, and that is why perhaps there is confusion about this
ayah. So he says rather this is part of the surah, the surah is all Makki, even including this ayah.
Maybe there is a difference of opinion here, amongst the scholars.
My Reflections
Sunan Ibn Majah, Jami at-Tirmidhi
If we consider that the terms Makki and Madani to refer to the period of revelation rather than the place of revelation,
meaning that before hijrah = Makki and after Hijrah = Madani, (which is the more common opinion), even then this would
hold true, i.e. in Ibn 'Uthaymeen's opinion, the surah would have been revealed prior to hijrah, but the ayah was quoted in
Madinah after hijrah.
17

2. I swear by the Qur'an full of wisdom
1. In a court of law.
2. When someone doesnt believe you.
3. Sometimes you need to say something which is super important. And people need to
appreciate that straight away. Sometimes you need to show the message. And the way you
can do that straight away is to take an oath.
4. Another reason is when you are angry.
Oaths have many different functions.
{Lesson 2}
Allah swore an oath by the Quran. Whenever someone takes an oath,
1.
It is used in order to increase the emphasis about what they are about to say.
2. But, what they take an oath by immediately becomes significant as well. For example, a
person (and we are not allowed to do this) says I swear by my mums life () . Why do
they choose their mums name? Because their mum is someone of huge significance, sacred
almost.
And that is one of the reasons why the Prophet said, whoever takes an oath by other
than Allah, ( he has committed shirk). Because he is making of (glorifying)
something which Allah has not permitted him to glorify.
So when Allah takes an oath, of course Allah takes an oath by whatever He likes.
And whatever He does take an oath by, immediately that thing becomes more important
because Allah decided to take an oath by that thing, which means it is not like other things.
Two interesting things:

1.
Firstly, it was part of the Arab culture at that time, and even after, to be very honest, upright
people. They felt that their dignity was attached to their honesty. Such that if you said
What is the first thing the surah says? Ya-Seen by the Quran al-Hakeem. This second ayah, you have
to really appreciate what is being said here. First of all, this ayah has an oath. The waw is a waw of
qasm (an oath). Someone takes an oath for many different reasons. Why would someone take an
oath in our times? If someone says I swear... why would he say that? In what circumstances would
someone take an oath?

something, and you didnt do it, you got no respect anymore and you had no self-respect
anymore. How times have changed! People will easily lie and they feel that their integrity is
based on what people think of them even if they have to lie . So the Arabs at that
time were honest people in that if they gave their word, they would do it. And there is a
saying in English as well that was coined, that Id rather have an Arab on his word than a
contract. That was actually a saying in the Western world. whether it is still true or not,
but the point is that Arabs were known for their honesty. Despite that, Allah takes an oath.
Even though, in that time, if you said something, you meant it. And on top of that, if you did
take an oath, then what you were saying was super important.
2. The second interesting thing is that the man who is saying those words is already known as
as by people. The Prophet , even before he becomes a prophet, he is already
labelled as an upstanding, truthful, trustworthy person. If a trustworthy person is going to

take an oath, then what does that have to say about what he is going to say? There is no way
this could be a lie. He is already a truthful person and hes taken an oath on top of that.
In the Quran you find that al-Qasm (the taking an oath) has a different function to what weve
discussed. And that is, Allah will take an oath by something in order to make it serve as an evidence
for a particular matter. As if to say that this is true because of this.
For example, in Surat al-Asr, it begins with an oath. What does Allah swear by? Time. To say what?
What is the message that Allah is swearing to? Man is truly in loss. A statement. Jawab al-qasm. Man
is truly in loss. What is the evidence for that? Time. Why? Because time has seen what man does over
and over again. Every time nations rise up, they become tyrannical, oppressive, arrogant. This is the
usual trend. And what is their fate? In the hellfire. This is what the Quran stories tells us, isnt it?
Many nations came, they achieved great things, but their greatness made them corrupt and so they
ended up in the hellfire. Who has seen all of this happening over and over again? Time itself. So wa alAsr is as if to say that time is evidence that people keep messing up.
With that in mind, Allah swears and oath by what? By the Quran. As if to say, I swear by the Quran,
this Quran is an evidence for something. What is it an evidence of? That will come in the next ayaat.
So Allah took an oath by Quran. To say what? What was it that Allah wanted to mention
with the oath of the Quran? To validate the message of the Prophet . And before going on to
validate the message of the Prophet , Allah described the Quran as being al-Hakeem.
Allah speaks about the Quran in a particular way Al-Quran al-Hakeem. That the Quran is an
evidence in terms of its hakeem nature.
muhkam/muhkim,

hkim, hikmah
What does hakeem mean? Ibn Uthaymeen said it can mean 3 things:
1.
19
The first is that the Quran is Haakim. It is authoritative. It speaks with pure authority. It gives
laws. It gives rulings. Meaning, if anyone reads the Quran they see that so many laws are
coming down, and it speaks so authoritatively. The only person who can speak so
authoritatively and give so many laws is Allah. It is turned to for ruling:
If you ever differ about anything, go back to Allah (meaning the Book of Allah). It should be a
source of authority and legislation for you.
And in Surat Ta-Ha, Allah mentions, Ta-Ha, We didnt send this Quran down to make you
miserable. Meaning, you have tasted misery after the Quran started coming down. Why?
Because your world got turned upside down. You were the apple of peoples eyes in Makkah.
People loved you. Then the moment you started reciting Quran to them, you
became a man who frustrated them. A man who disappointed them. A man who made them
angry. A man who started to say that all the things they hold dear and sacred is rubbish. And
you kept on saying it, over and over again for 10 years. Why would you do that? Except, you
are not doing it yourself, someone is telling you to do it. Allah is the one who is telling you to
say these things. So the fact that Al-Quran is Hakeem, one of the meanings is that it is
authoritative in what it speaks about and how it speaks about it.
2. The second meaning of Hakeem, Ibn Uthaymeen said, is that it is muhkam or muhkim, which
means that it is so well organized and tightly bound. The Arabs would say ahkama shay
means rabtahu. If someone has done ahkam on something it means he tied it up very tightly.
What this means about the Quran is that what it presents all comes together beautifully as if
it was tied up together. Thats another meaning of Quran being hakeem.
And this is one of the other things that we want to show in this surah. That if you study it,
you see that this links to that, which all comes together very beautifully. It has itqan, mastery.
And this is part of the organization of the Quran as well. And he mentioned as well, that it
has ( an amazing organization to it, an amazing flow, sequencing and organization).
3. It is zu al-hikmah. It is full of wisdom. Meaning, that it is so wise. If you really were to listen to
what the Quran is saying, you would say that is so wise. Who speaks like that?
One of the examples of this is where Allah mentions,
9
An-Nisa 4:59
Especially, this is the interesting thing, especially when those laws cause people to become
angry. So the Quran comes down with laws, for example, dont do shirk with Allah. Dont
worship idols. Laat and Uzza are not worthy of worship. Worship only Allah. Dont be unjust
to the orphans. These are laws. Authoritative. What happens when the Prophet says this
in society? He gets in trouble.

10
Man, what has deluded you from your generous master?

Allah asked a question and He placed inside it the answer as well. How? Because Allah
mentioned, what has deluded you from your generous master? Meaning, the generosity of
your master has deluded you of Him. Because people, when they are showered with
blessings and their life is good, they forget about Allah. Amazing! In one ayah, Allah
said so much. So the Quran is so wise in what it says.
With that in mind, putting it all together, Allah swears by the Quran and these things that the Quran
is, that you truly are of those that have been sent. Meaning, that if anyone looks at the Quran, he
thinks to himself that the Quran has so much wisdom, is so authoritative, is so well-structured, that
it is impossible for a human being to come up with it. It is impossible. Anyone who reads it will know
that it is beyond human endeavour and ability. That is how the Quran becomes an evidence that this
man is not making it up.
And this man has actually been sent. The Quran is an evidence in that way. There is too much
wisdom. And it is too authoritative. And it is too well-structured for it to be something that someone
could have just made up. There is too much wisdom to come from a man. Or even men. Or men and
jinn. It is too authoritative for one man to come and speak about all these things with authority,
especially when he is going to get into trouble when he says all these things and passes judgment.
And also, it is too well organized to be coming from the mind of a man. So this way, Allah takes an
oath by the Quran to serve as an evidence for this.
If you think about it, the Prophet would just recite the Quran once. And as soon as he recited it,
it was captured, that is Quran. If somebody wants to say something profound, he needs to prepare
and he needs to think and he needs to revise and he may need to edit.
When you say something, it is not like when you write something. Some people, when you read an
email from a person, or a text message, and the only thing you know about this person is what they
have said through their email or text message, you develop a certain perception about that person.
Then, when you see him in real life, and he speaks, you may perceive a difference.
People speak and write in 2 different ways. Which way would allow you to be more accurate and
profound than when you are writing? Which one allows you to think more and ponder what you are
going to say? When you write something, you can delete, use the thesaurus, edit. The Prophet
just says it once, that part of Quran can never be changed now. How can he do that? No man can do
that. It must be the case that he is not doing it, he is conveying it. It is the words of Allah .
So the Quran in this way becomes an evidence that this man is from those that have been sent.
10
Al Infitaar 82:6
21
Everything in the Quran is full of wisdom

Here, ibn Uthaymeen mentioned a very beautiful lesson. He said the fact that Allah described the
Quran as hakeem, which means, one of the reasons, that it has incredible wisdom, shows us that
everything the Quran mentions has wisdom. Including all the laws it passes. And every law Allah has
given us, whether it is to do or not to do, is full of wisdom. Even if you cannot appreciate that
wisdom, you should know that there is wisdom behind it.
Ustadh Asim was thinking about this, that living in these times, where people are so far away from
the Quran and the teachings of Islam, you begin to appreciate the wisdoms behind some of the
things that Allah has mentioned in the Quran. For example, there are so many social ills in our time,
it is unbelievable how much suffering there is on a social level in the Western world in particular, and
even in the Eastern world. Once you disconnect yourself from Allah and the teachings of Allah, there
is no stopping how low you can go. And this is what we can appreciate in our times more than other
times. And this should bring us to a new level of appreciation of Islam and the teachings of Islam and
the Quran. So hakeem means that everything in the Quran is full of wisdom.
Will they believe the oath? [Razi]

Ar-Raazi mentioned an interesting point. He said this is talking to the Quraysh directly to the
Prophet , but the audience is the Quraysh, the disbelievers in the Prophet who said he
wasnt a prophet. And to them, Allah swears an oath to say that he is. Ar-Raazi said, what is the point
of taking an oath to the Quraysh when they dont believe in the first place? What is the point
swearing to the truth of something when the people are saying that we dont believe you? What is
the benefit of that?
Ar-Raazi mentioned 2 things.
Divine Punishment
Firstly, according to ancient Arab culture, they believed that if a man took an oath which was false
he was lying - then he was calling upon divine punishment. That the demi-gods/ idols would punish a
man if he ever took a false oath. So when Allah takes an oath (which they see as the Prophet
This is very important in our time, where many of the laws in Islam are being attacked, are being
mocked at, are being called backward. Whether it is to do with criminal laws, whether it is to do with
laws regarding sexuality, whether it is to do with laws regarding politics, whatever it may be, we
know in our times that there is a lot of propaganda against that. However, what we are learning here
in Surat Ya-Seen is that O Muslims, whichever laws you can think of that come in the Quran or the
sunnah of the Prophet , just know that there is wisdom behind it. Sometimes that wisdom can be
speculated, or sometimes it is even given to you this is the wisdom behind that. And sometimes it
is not given. But just know it is there.

taking an oath), and oath after oath, and then another oath, and nothing is happening to him, then
maybe it is the truth, because they believed that if one took a false oath, they would incur divine
punishment. So he said this is one of the reasons.
Always Remain Defiant
And the second reason is even more insightful. He said (paraphrasing) that you cant give the
enemies the last word on the matter. If you are having a discussion or debate, that you say this is the
truth on the matter, you should listen to me, and then the other person says he doesnt believe you,
what do you do in that situation? Do you stop the conversation, finish the discussion and end on that
note on the note of the enemy denouncing you? Or should you still insist on saying it is the truth
and then walk away?
Which one would be better? Someone could say, they dont believe me, whats the point, Ill just
walk away now. If they dont believe me, its up to them, I did my job. And everyone else, the last
thing they heard was the person speaking and denouncing you, and then you walked away. That
wouldnt paint you in a good light, would it? Rather, you should be the one who has the last word of
the truth.
And this is very important, because it shows us that Muslims should be defiant. Muslims should be
defiant. Even if people dont believe us, or they claim they dont believe us, we should show
defiance. Whatever the case may be, I am sticking to my guns. This is the truth. I am convinced of it.
And I will say it as many times as it is needed to be said. Because it is the truth and I will champion the
truth, especially when they are trying to cut down the discussion regarding the truth.
[Dont let the enemy have the last laugh - Uhud exchange]
So he said that this is another role that the qasm serves. They dont believe him, but he needs to
make sure that the truth is always being championed, especially when it is being denied. So this is
perhaps another reason of the qasm. Allah knows best.
My Reflections
23

3. Most surely you are one of the messengers
{Lesson 2}
This is the subject. You have the qasm (oath) and then you have the jawaab of the qasm. Why did
Allah take an oath? To say what? What does Allah want us to acknowledge?
Indeed you are truly from those that have been sent. Here the Prophet is being addressed
directly by Allah. You. And this message that you are of those that have been sent, meaning you are
of those messengers that have been sent, like Adam, like Nuh, like Moosa, like Essa, etc. you are
like one of those.
Allah swears an oath by the Quran to tell him that. Which means that this statement, that you are
from the messengers, or from those that have been sent, is being emphasized in 3 ways:
1.
The oath emphasizes this.
2. The particle inna. Innaka denotes tawkeed, emphasis as well. Surely, truly.
3. The third linguistic tool to emphasize the message inside this ayah is the laam on la-min almursaleen. This is the laam of tawkeed as well.
So Allah emphasizes this message in 3 ways to say truly you are of those that have been sent.
This ayah is very emphatic. It means that it is being very clear and direct in what it is saying. And this
is shown by the word use of inna in innaka. Inna serves to emphasize something, it is one of the harf
of tawkeed (particles to give emphasis) and it also has the meaning of izalatu as-shakk (to remove
doubt). Contrary to what a person says or thinks, indeed he is a messenger. And Allah speaks directly
to the Prophet himself.
The second point of emphasis is the laam in la-min al-mursaleen. This laam is the laam of tawkeed. It
is like adding the word truly into the translation.
Truly, you are from al-mursaleen, those that have been sent. In this ayah, Allah will show
us that one of the things that Quran proves is this fact. He is not just anybody, he is from those that
have been sent. And this is said in a very emphatic way.
And what we learn from this is that Allah told this to the Prophet , not just to destroy the claims
of the mushrikoon, but also to console his aching heart. We know from the Quran the Prophet s
heart used to ache and pain because the people used to reject him.
Triple emphasis validate his message

11
Perhaps, [O Muhammad], you would kill yourself with grief that they will not be believers.
This is the way the Prophet would feel. This is a beautiful lesson because it shows us the
balanced view of disbelievers. The balanced view a believer should have of disbelievers. One
extreme, a person sees others that have disbelieved, and they say, kuffar, go to hell. I dont care. In
fact, its good you go to hell. Who cares. The other extreme is, kuffar, we dont know if they are
going to hell. Who is to say? We dont know. All paths lead to god. This is the other extreme. In the
middle is the Prophet . He sees them, he knows they are messed up, he sees they are misguided,
but he wants them to be guided. This is the way of the Prophet and this should be our view as
well. Though we know the destiny of the kuffar, knowing that only makes us more compassionate to
want them to be guided.
not
There are 2 points here.

Why did Allah choose to say to the Prophet , instead of saying you are a Rasool
(messenger), that you are mursal. Not a messenger, but someone who has been sent?
2. Why did Allah choose to say you are from those that have been sent instead of
saying you are one who has been sent? The word mursaleen is plural, it is not singular.
1.
What is the wisdom behind this?
Perhaps it is to console the Prophet . He is going through a very difficult time, especially
in the 10th year of prophecy, and he is being told you are from those that have been sent.
Meaning, other people have come here and done this as well. They have had to endure
similar things too. And just knowing that reassures you. For example, when we have to do a
tough exam, and are told someone else went through this is reassuring. You are not alone,
you are part of a team. A team of the messengers of Allah. They also were sent. And you are
one of those who were sent.
Creates a question: who sent you?
Mursal is like saying, you have been sent. So the question comes to mind, who has sent you?
Who sent him? Allah sent him. This is one of the benefits of saying mursal instead of rasool,
because it creates a question in the mind, which is almost rhetorical, Allah sent
him.
{Lesson 2}
11
Ash-Shuara 26:3
25
To create a question in the mind of the listener. When someone says that you are of those
that have been sent, the person may start thinking, who sent you? It creates the question,
who sent the Prophet Muhammad ?And this question is answered 2 ayahs down
12
Coming down gradually from Al-Aziz ar-Raheem. The question was asked, or created, who is
it that sent him? Then the answer was ayah 5. It is Al-Aziz ar-Raheem who sent him.
Another wisdom of mentioning that he is of those that have been sent, is that when the
Prophet hears this, it will have a psychological impact in that, he will feel that Allah is
validating him and his message. Allah is reassuring him, you are dont listen to what people
are saying.
This is amazing because the Prophet , there was no person with a stronger heart than
the messenger of Allah . But this ayah shows us that he was affected by what people
said. Otherwise why would Allah have to reassure him?
If someone comes up to you and says you are a liar, and many people keep saying it to you,
including your own family members, it can affect you. It is going to get to you. And this is
what Allah mentioned to us in the Quran as well in surat Ta-ha and this is one of the early
surahs in Makkah:
13
We didnt send this Quran down to make you miserable. Meaning, he felt sometimes
miserable because of what was happening to him because of the reaction and obnoxious
behaviour of his people. It shows us that it was difficult for the prophet . It was really
difficult for him. Allah is consoling him. This is the psychological impact it would have. He
would feel consoled by Allah. It is okay. Allah, the Ultimate Authority says, you are from
those that have been sent.
Not alone, part of team
12
13
Another benefit for the Prophet is that he is being reminded that you are from those
that have been sent. You are not one that has been sent, you are from those that have been
sent. Meaning you are part of a family. You are part of a team. I know in this time of your life,
you feel alone. Especially after the people of Taif rejected him in the 10th year, he would have
felt that there is no light at the end of the tunnel, it is getting worse and worse. When he
hears that actually he is from those that have been sent, my brother Nuh, my brother Moosa,
my brother Eesa, they also went through very difficult times. I find reassurance in
Ya-Seen 36:5
Ta-ha 20:2

remembering them. So this is another benefit of
putting in the plural as opposed to the singular.
There is one lesson we can learn from this. If the
Prophet is being reassured by Allah and one of
the ways of reassuring him is telling him that you
are part of a bigger team, then in the same way, us
today, when we try to do challenging things in life,
especially those things which will please Allah

, we should realize that we can do those
things better if we do them together. If we do it

together there is greater strength. And one of the
benefits of being together is that there is an
element of reassurance. When you feel down,
somebody else can pat your back and say dont
worry, we can do this. The person may genuinely
think he cannot manage anymore, he has come to the end of his tether. But then someone
else assures him that he can do it, and he ends up doing it. Because of the support of others.
When we try to do
challenging things in life,
especially those things which
will please Allah
, we should realize that
we can do those things better
if we do them together.
If the Prophet is being consoled by Allah, and is being told he is part of a team, and
knowing you are part of a team can reassure and help him, then how much more for those
less than the Prophet who are far weaker and in need of more help than the Prophet
?
{Lesson 2}
Nazm Links
We will highlight the nazm links. The nazm links will show how this ayah is connected to other ayaat
that will come later in surat Ya-Seen.
27

ayah 3
Indeed you, [O Muhammad], are from among the messengers

ayah 13
And present to them an example: the people of the city, when the messengers came to it

ayah 16
They said, "Our Lord knows that we are messengers to you

They will say, "O woe to us! Who has raised us up from our sleeping place?" [The reply will be], "This is what the Most Merciful
had promised, and the messengers told the truth."
In this ayah, Allah mentions, you are from those who have been sent.
In ayah 13, Allah mentions a story about ashab al-qaryah and mentions, when messengers came to
the village or town. This is a story about not one, but 3 messengers coming to people to try and warn
them and guide them. Yet the whole town rejected them. Allah begins that story by mentioning, just
remember when murasaloon came to the qaryah. As if to say, you were told that you are from the
mursaloon, and now you will be shown some of those mursaloon. The principle, and the illustration
of the principle as well.
There is another link. In ayah 16, Allah mentions that those messengers, when the people were
rejecting them, and calling them liars, they said, our Master knows that we are mursaloon. He knows
that we have been sent. Meaning, what matters to us is what Allah thinks.
How is that ayah connected to ayah 3? What is the connection? Those messengers, when people
were denying them, calling them liars, they said Allah knows that we are messengers. How is this
connected to ayah 3? It is the internalized meaning of that ayah being mentioned in a human
example. When you know that Allah knows that you are upon the truth, then when people deny you,
you will say, I dont care what people say, Allah knows. So you were taught a lesson, and then you
internalized it, like those messengers internalized it.
And that is pretty profound. If society is slating you, defaming you, calling you names, it gets to you.
How are you going to rise above the propaganda? How exactly? Especially when some of them are
family members, as in the life of the Prophet . Well, youre going to have to say, what about
Allah? Allah knows I am on the truth. I should find my strength in that. I should overcome the
propaganda by realizing that Allah knows I am on the truth. And thats all that matters. Allahs
validation matters, not the validation of the people. So thats another link.
ayah 52

And the last one is ayah 52, going towards the end of Surat Ya-Seen. A scene from the Day of
Judgment. Allah mentions that the disbelievers will be resurrected, they will be brought back to life.
When they are brought back to life, they exclaim, who is it that made us come out of this resting
place? Who just made us come out of this grave? And who is going to bring this fate? Who is doing all
this to us? The response will come from the believers. The believers will say to them, this is the truth
that the Merciful One promised, and what the mursaloon kept on telling you.
What those messengers kept on telling you. You are from the messengers. There were messengers
that came before you. And people will remember you after they die. People will remember you even
after they die and will regret not listening to you while they were in this life. This is what he was
telling me all that time.
Super Lessons
Console each other

The believers should console one another when they are
going through difficulties. Where is this in the ayah? Where
Allah consoles the Prophet . Consoling his aching heart
that dont worry, I am with you, I am validating you. Like
Allah would mention to Moosa,
14
The believers should console

one another when they are
going through difficulties.
I am with you, intently listening. Allah sees everything, hears everything and is with him.
It is going to be difficult. And when believers go through difficulty, there should be other believers
that come to their aid and support them. Allah supported His messengers, and the people that carry
the message of the messengers need to support one another.
This is very important in our times. Because what we see, in fact, is the opposite. When a Muslim
organization becomes defamed by the media, for example, recently it was the turn of the Deobandis,
front page of the newspaper being called extremists, being called backward, and what happened?
We find that other Muslims from different organizations either said, it is happening to them,
Alhamdulillah it is not happening to us. They just pushed them under the bus, not realizing that it will
be their turn next. It doesnt matter how liberal you are, as long as you say you are Muslim, they are
going to come after you, thats for sure.
But the other thing is, they are your Muslim brothers. And the people who are attacking them are
not attacking them because they are Deobandis. They are attacking them because they are Muslim.
14
Ash-Shuara 26:15
29
So if someone attacks a Muslim because they are Muslim, it is the duty of the other Muslims to come
to their support. What we find in our times is that this is not happening. In fact the opposite is
happening. People are saying, thank god its them. I wont hang out with them. I dont even want to
see myself with those guys anymore, because they are going to say, theyre extremist so you must
be extremist as well. Dont be seen with them anymore.
The Prophet told us in the famous hadith15 that Allah comes to the aid of His servant
so long as His servant comes to the aid of others.
A very famous person, about ten years ago, became the most well-known scholar from amongst this
group. And then there were a few mistakes made on his part, but the media jumped on this, and they
defamed him, destroyed his name and credibility. One of Ustadh Asims teachers decided to phone
him. That person said, I cannot believe you have phoned me to say this to me, when my own people
have deserted me. The inner circle abandoned him. It is devastating for a person. To give him moral
support is a huge thing
Proof before case

Bring the proof before the case. In a court of law, a very good lawyer, what he does is, he says to the
jury, my client has been accused of XYZ, is he innocent, is he guilty? Lets listen to the evidence first.
Then we will make our decision.
In the same way, Allah begins Surat Ya-Seen, the evidence is brought forward, look at the
Quran, it is a piece of evidence, it is so full of wisdom, so beautifully organized, so authoritative.
Look at this evidence. Is it really possible that this man is making it up? He is truly one of those who
has been sent. The evidence is the Quran.
But which one of them came first, the evidence or the case? The evidence came first, and this is more
compelling as well. It is more compelling to bring the proof before you state the case. When doing
dawah, be smart, and this is the Quranic wisdom. Give the evidences before you furnish the case.
This is more compelling as well.
15
Sahih Muslim, Sunan Abi Dawud, Jami at-Tirmidhi,
What is the Prophet teaching us here? The Prophet is teaching us that if you want Allah to
help you, one way of guaranteeing Allahs help is you help your Muslim brothers and sisters. And
especially when you are living in very Islamophobic times, it is very important that the Muslim
community come together as one and support each other in every way that they can, and to look out
for one another, and when others are attacked amongst them, they come to their support and aid.
Even a quick phone call, I heard what people are saying about you. Dont listen to them. What do
they know? I know what you are like. Dont pay any attention to them. Do you need any help?
Anything I can do for you? Do you know how much that helps?
Remain defiant
To remain defiant is very important. Even when, apparently, you are the lower hand. Even when, on
the face of it, you are suffering defeat. Even then you should remind defiant.
In the Battle of Uhud, something amazing happens towards the end of the Battle of Uhud16. The
Muslims have to flee to the mountain range of Uhud, and they are hiding somewhere out there, in
some of the parts of the mountain, they cannot be seen. But Abu Sufyan who is still a Qurayshi
mukhrik at the time, and is a general of the army wants to come close to the mountain and talk
rubbish to bring the Muslims down. An exchange takes place between the Muslims and Abu Sufyan.
The first thing he says is, is the son of Abu Quhafa (Abu Bakr) still alive? Is the son of Al-Khattab
(Umar) still alive? To that, the Prophet said, dont say anything. Umar al-Khattab was getting
very agitated. He wanted to say something. So he didnt say anything. Then Abu Sufyan (because he
knew they were there), said, be high, O Hubal (their idol). Then, the Prophet said, isnt any of
you going to respond to that? They said, ya Rasoolullah, what shall we say? He said tell him Allahu
aala wa ajall (Allah is the Most Superior and the Most Magnificient). So Umar al-Khattab shouted
this out, and Abu Sufyan knew they were still alive, and defying as well. Then Aby Sufyan said, we
have Uzza and you have no Uzza. The Prophet said, arent you going to respond to that? They
said, ya Rasoolullah, what shall we respond to that? We dont know what to say. He said, say to him,
Allahu mawlana wa la mawla lakum (Allah is our protective friend and you have no protective friend).
Abu Sufyan still continues to talk rubbish. He says, today is revenge for Badr last year. Then Umar alKhattab respond, you liar, O enemy of Allah, our dead are in paradise, your dead are in hellfire.
You have to appreciate where this is coming from. This is coming from Muslims who have suffered.
They have suffered big time. They lost 70 companions that day. They were suffering. In fact, in Surat
Aal-Imraan, 60 ayaat were revealed about the Battle of Uhud, of them, Allah mentions Himself,
17
Dont let your morale collapse, and dont grieve. Madinah was grieving after Uhud. They are told, you
are truly the superior ones, if you have eeman, you are destined to prosper.
This is the Islamic ethos, one of them to champion the believer and to remain defiant. Even in times
when, in a worldly sense, Muslims are down and suffering and being abased by their enemies, they
should never talk like they are down. They shouldnt have victim mentality.
This is a big issue. You hear a lot of devastating news from around the Muslim world, bad things
happening all over the place, Islamophobia, attacks, and so on. Though it is important for that
information to be known, the problem with it being bombarded at you is that you start to develop a
16
17
Sahih Bukhari
Aal-Imraan 3:139
31
victim mentality where you think you are down, debased, lowly, defeated, a victim. And that brings
forth its own backward mentality.
Allah and the Prophet wanted us to be superior people and to speak like we are
superior people, regardless of the situation.
Who is he saying that to? He is saying that to a companion. Why is he being so harsh? He is saying to
him, dont speak like you are a defeated man. Dont speak like that. Rather speak like you are a
person who is great, because Allah has made you great. This is deep.
And just to elaborate on this, one of the brothers, whose brother is a lawyer mentioned that there
has never been a presidential candidate in America that ever criticized the American people for doing
anything wrong. Rather, they all celebrate every little good thing an American does. Why? Because
what that does, is it makes people feel great. When they feel great, they start behaving like they are
great people. And this is part of the great American dream. Whether this is fictitious or not, the
reality is that when you start pumping air there, that you are great people, you can do whatever you
want, you can be the richest people, even if they are not the great people, they will believe that they
are great people.
What then about great people like the believers who dont think they are great? It is a tragedy.
Though it is a tangent, it is important to mention here.
My Reflections
18
Sahih Bukhari
And there is one incident in the seerah18, where a man, Khabbab bin Arat comes to
the Prophet , he and another man. This is in late Makki phase where Muslims are being really
persecuted. He says this to the Prophet , and the Prophet is leaning against the Kabah. And
he says to him (the prophet), make dua to Allah that Allah helps us. The Prophet said, what is
the matter with you? The people came before you, because they believed, they were put in the
ground and then a saw was passed through their head right down to the body. What is the matter
with you, other people came, and because they believed, a metal comb was passed through their
flesh, taking it off their bones. You are a people who are just hasty.

4. On a straight path.
Validates the Man [Ibn Ashur]

This is, according to some, the second part of the oath. He took an oath first to say that you are of
the messengers. Ibn Ashur said, this validated the message of Muhammad . Then he said you are
on the straight path, this validated the man himself. Allah validated the message, and then the man.
How is he being validated?
committed to [Razi]
By saying that you are the straight path. As Ar-Raazi said, should not be translated as on, it
means committed to/ attached to/ holding on to the straight path.
Ibn Taymiyyah on
The word
is very, very unique. Ibn Taymiyyah said,
has a number of connotations.
1.
The first is that it is a path that is wadih (clear). Every human being can recognize that it is the
straight path. [Linguistically it is al-Tarq, a pathway. It is said that it is al-Tarq al-Wdih. It is
said that it is al-Tarq al-Mahdd its sides are well-defined or demarcated. The same word is
used to refer to the path that stretches over hell.]
2. Secondly, it is something which is traversed at speed. It is something which people will move
across at speed. This is because it has istiwaa (it is raised upwards). When you go up a hill, the
person has to go fast to get to the top. So this is another connotation of the word. [Its also
said that it has the connotation of ISTIWAA raised and ITIDAAL erect i.e., upwards such that
the person needs to pass over it with speed.]
and this is outside the

3. It is mahdud (clearly demarcated). This is the
.
4. [Lastly the SIRAAT leads to an intended goal/destination i.e., a place you want to be.]
Putting this all together, what it shows us is:
1.
First of all, the path that leads to Allah is not obscure, or difficult to find for any
person. Any human being who wants to know what Islam is can find it with ease. It is wadih
(clear).
33
2. Also, it teaches us that because it is on an incline, it leads to none other than Allah
.
3. It is waasi (wide). Ibn Uthaymeen mentioned this. Meaning that, as he said, it can
accommodate every single human being from the time of the Prophet until the Day of
Judgment. It is not the case that they can only be so many believers because there is not
enough space for them. Rather, the path is waasi (wide) and it can accommodate any who
wish to traverse it.
Tabari: a clear path with no crookedness or deviation
Ar-Raazi said that this means this path that leads to Allah is the quickest path to Allah as well as the
only path.
Because a path that is straight is the shortest path. It is the quickest path to Allah.
Linguistically, the word siraat has no plural. The word tariq, the plural is turuq. Sabeel, subul. Siraat
has no plural. Which means that Allah chose siraat to refer to Islam as if to say there is only one path,
and the word itself doesnt allow you to speak about other paths.
What does this all mean? It is saying that the Prophet is on a straight path meaning his character
and lifestyle is like a straight arrow. That is how it is validating him as a man. That if a person was to
observe this man Muhammad , just to observe him as a person, not to listen to his message, he
would say this person is not messed up as those people are saying. This person is straight, upright.
He is a straight arrow. His character demonstrates that he is saying the truth. This is a validation of
the Prophet s character.
There is a very amazing hadith which demonstrates the height of the ethical standards of the
Prophet . The hadith19 is in Sunan An-Nasai. It is classed as authentic by Shaykh al-Albaani .
It is the amazing story of Abdullah ibn Sad ibn Abi Sarh. This man apostated. He became Muslim,
then he turned his back on Islam and he joined the enemies of Islam against the Muslims. On the
conquest of Makkah, the Prophet gave a general amnesty except a few people. Ibn Abi Sarh
was one of the few men on the blacklist. He cannot be forgiven. If he is found, he is to be killed
because he was treacherous. Ibn Abi Sarh is the half-brother of Uthman bin Affan through
breastfeeding. Uthman bin Affan fires Abi Sarh, he says, listen, we have come to conquer Makkah,
you cant go anywhere now. The time has come to become Muslim. So Uthman takes him by the
hand to the Prophet . Uthaman says ya Rasoolullah, accept the baya of Ibn Abi Sarh. The
Prophet ignores him. He asks a second time, he ignores him. He asks a third time, he ignores
19
Abu Dawud
Then the word mustaqeem comes, and the word mustaqeem comes from qama, which means to
stand. It just means that it is straight. La iwaja fihi (it is not crooked).

him. He asks a fourth time, and then the Prophet looks at his companions around him, and he
says, that isnt there a smart person amongst you, that you would realize that the reason I am not
saying anything is because I am waiting for one of you to get up and kill him? The companions said,
ya Rasoolullah, we didnt know what you were thinking inside. So why didnt you give us an
indication with your eyes? He said, it is not befitting for a prophet to deceive someone with his eyes.
Look at the ethical character, the level of ethics in the Prophet . It is on a whole new level. This
situation, if there was ever an excuse to break that code, it would be now. But even in that situation,
he cant give a gesture with his eyes. His character doesnt allow him to do that. We find that the
Prophet s character bore testimony to the fact that he is a messenger.
Affirm the Message then the Messenger
Allah validates the message and then validates the messenger.
Super Lessons
There are 2 super lessons:
Good character goes a long way

The first super lesson is that good character goes a long
way. As Muslims, we have to appreciate that having good
character is not just a lifestyle choice, something good
that we should do, rather it is incumbent upon someone
to really reform his character and be an upright human
being. Honest, good integrity, person who speaks well,
person who behaves well, and when he is seen, people
see that this person is of a sound character. This is being
illustrated to us because, what is the need to highlight the
character of the Prophet ?
Surely, as someone would say today, I speak the truth.
Fair enough, I do some dodgy stuff, but that doesnt
mean I dont speak the truth. Is he right? If someone says,
I do dawah, but the way I turn up late to work. But that
doesnt mean you dont believe what I say, they are two
different things.
As Muslims, we have to
appreciate that having good
character is not just a
lifestyle choice, something
good that we should do,
rather it is incumbent upon
someone to really reform his
character and be an upright
human being.
35
Your character and what you say go hand in hand. Actions speak louder than words. This is a lesson
for us. The Prophets character bore testimony to his message and that means both are important
ones character and ones message.
Practice what you preach

The Prophet is calling to a message and he is living by that message as well. He is doing both.
And there is no disconnect between the two. In our times, we find many leaders, they speak fine
words, but they dont behave themselves. There is a disconnect between the two, but this should
not be the case.
My Reflections
They mention about Malcolm X, in his biography, one of the FBI agents who was outside his house,
the secret service who were monitoring him, they said that what we found out about Malcolm, is
that what he says in public, he lives by at home. This is what they found from listening to his
conversations with his family. That goes a long way. That is very difficult to do, but it is what we
should do.

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2 Introductory Points

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

Connection with al-Faatir ayah 37

Indeed you, [O Muhammad], are from among the messengers

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

Nazm focus - SOAS4 interpolated after the death of the prophet

And fear a day when no father can avail his son.

Nazm still Ijtihaadi

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

6 Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen

Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

The Quran &

The Blind on the

Virtues of Surat Ya-Seen

Virtues of Surat Ya-Seen

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen

Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

10 Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

Verses 13-32 | Lessons from History-

Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen

Verses 33-44 | Lessons from Nature-

Verses 45-47 | The Stubborn & the Blind-

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

12 Thematic Symmetry of Surah Ya-Seen

Verses 49-68 | The Blind on the Day of Judgment-

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

Verses 69-83 | The Quran & the Arrogant-

Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless

Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless

Though the Quran is in this

So they present a challenge in that they were

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

14 Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless

Except Banu Salimah ayah 12

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

16 Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

Sunan Ibn Majah, Jami at-Tirmidhi

Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless

Two interesting things:

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

18 Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

labelled as an upstanding, truthful, trustworthy person. If a trustworthy person is going to

Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

20 Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless

Man, what has deluded you from your generous master?

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless

Everything in the Quran is full of wisdom

Will they believe the oath? [Razi]

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan

22 Passage 1 | The Quran and the Heedless

Always Remain Defiant

Detailed Study of Surah Ya-seen Ustadh Asim Khan