Asim Khan - The Heart of the Quran: Commentary on Surah Yasin with Diagrams and Illustrations

The Heart of the Qur n. A commentary on Surah Y s n with Diagrams & Illustrations

First published in England by

The Islamic Foundation, Markfield Conference Centre,

Ratby Lane, Markfield, Leicestershire, LE67 9SY, United Kingdom

Website: www.islamic-foundation.com

Email:

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P.M.B 3193, Kano, Nigeria

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Asim Khan 2020/1441 AH. All Rights Reserved

2nd impression, 2020.

Picture Credits: Syria Map: Wikipedia, Devar, Plants: Pixabay.com, Ship Sailing Vessel: Pixabay.com, Cyclone Iceland: Pixabay.com, Cow: Wikipedia Commons.

The right of Asim Khan to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patent Act 1988.

Cataloguing in-Publication Data is available from the British Library

ISBN Paperback: 978-0-86037-743-6

ISBN Ebook: 978-0-86037-748-1

Cover Design and Chapter Dividers: Mukhtar Sanders, Inspiral Design

Typesetting and Internal Design: Moghal Graphics, www.moghalgraphics.co.uk

Printed by: IMAK, Turkey

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Whoever has not thanked people, has not thanked Allh, said the Prophet Muhammad . This book is the result of the collaboration of many people. I am honoured to have studied the commentary of this Qurnic chapter with my mentor and esteemed teacher Shaykh Dr Haitham al-Haddd. I also thank my friends Ahmed Hammuda, Ali Shah and Aqeel Ashiq for their overwhelming support in helping me research and compile the building blocks of this work. Thank you to my wife Sobia Akram for your continued love and support. More gratitude than can be expressed goes to my mother and father who raised me well, loved me and taught me to aim high.

My four beautiful daughters. I hope you will read these words one day and find that they help you to confront whatever world you find yourself in.

Foreword by Dr. Haitham al-Haddd

All praise is due to Allh, and may peace and salutations be upon his Final Messenger . The Qurn is the source of light for humanity. It contains 114 chapters that deal with all aspects of life. Allh tells us in the Qurn :

Mankind, there has come to you a conclusive proof from your Lord, and We have sent down to you a clear light

Unless we spend our lives reading the Qurn, deeply studying its meanings, putting it into practice, and calling upon the rest of humanity to do the same, we will never fully expose ourselves to this vital light and its all-encompassing guidance and benefits.

This book, suitably titled 'The Heart of the Qur'n', and written by Sheikh Asim Khan, delves into the profound meanings, virtues, and guidance of Surah Ysn. It attempts to provide readers with an insight into the treasures of this great chapter of the Qurn . Surah Ysn is a chapter that is familiar to many; it is oft-read and frequently memorized due to the Hadith of Maqil ibn Yasaar in which it is referred to as being the Heart of the Qurn .

This discourse contains key features that are unique. It presents both a collection of the classical interpretations of each of the Surahs 83 verses and a deep, well-researched analysis of those interpretations. Readers are thus provided with access to the works of the earliest scholars, which are elucidated in contemporary language and style. This unique study is, therefore, orthodox in its approach but modern in its style and presentation. It is a study that aims to present the reader with a multitude of lessons extracted from these authentic interpretations, whilst highlighting the facets and subtleties of the miraculous and beautiful Qurn.

The reader is taken on a captivating journey that explores diverse topics, including creed, politics, spirituality, and sociology, in a smooth and coherent manner.

Unlike many books of Tafsir that have been translated into English from their native Arabic, this piece of work was written by an English-speaking author who lives in the West. Additionally, Sheikh Asim Khan has taught the explanation of this chapter numerous times and has published the initial study in the form of articles on the website Islam21c. Thus, it has benefitted from comments and feedback given by the many who have attended his lessons or read his articles. This has transformed the study from being merely an academic one to one that is the result of prolonged engagement with the book of Allh throughout the authors life.

Such facts, and many others, make me proud to write this foreword and give me a lot of hope that this Ummah is returning back to its source of honour and might: the word of its Creator. Soon, we will see it back in the worthy place that Allh chose for it.

I ask Allh to grant the distinguished author, Sheikh Asim Khan, more tawfq . May Allh bless his family, students, and friends who supported him throughout his journey with The Heart of the Qur'n.

Quran 4:174

Preface

The one who contemplates over the great Qurn will notice that Allh repeatedly describes it as being a light, unmistakable, clear in articulation, and beautiful in its instructions. He, the Most High, says:

So have faith in Allh and His Messenger and in the Light We have sent down

Light, as we know it, not only touches the surface of a leaf, but seeps beneath it to affect the entire plant through photosynthesis. This then nourishes the leaf, invigorating it and filling it with life. A plant will shrivel and harden without water. The tremor caused by water droplets hitting the hard, barren earth stimulates the emergence of lush green vegetation, and fruit, sweet in its essence and beneficial to humanity.

He who brings about such vibrant life from barren earth is the One who gives life to dead, hardened hearts. His words are the Qurn, sent down from the heavens, upon fertile hearts that tremble in its reception and are guided by its shining light. Amazingly, this very similitude comparing the Qurn to fertile lush rain and its impact on dry barren earth is used often in the Qurn itself:

Do you not see that Allh sends down water from the sky and threads it through the earth to emerge as springs and then by it brings forth crops of varying colours, which then wither, and you see them turning yellow and then He makes them into broken stubble? There is a reminder in that for people of intelligence.

According to commentators of the Qurn, such as Imam al-Qurtubi, this is a similitude which Allh puts forward of the Qurn and the hearts of people on this earth. This means that He sends down the Qurn from the sky and threads it through the hearts of the believers.

Just like leaves are made to tremble by water droplets hitting them, so too does the Qurn make the hearts of believers tremble in reverence. The Qurn says:

It is Allh Who has sent down the best messagea Book of perfect consistency and repeated lessonswhich causes the skin and hearts of those who fear their Lord to tremble

In fact, the word for tremble in Arabic ( taqshair ) refers to quivering that results in the hairs on the back of the neck to stand up, also known as goosebumps. The imagery depicts those listening to the Qur'an as humbled and moved.

Verses such as these illustrate just how distant the Muslim world has become from the great Qurn. Its purpose is far beyond being simply a Holy Book that is recalled now and again, quoted in gatherings, calligraphed on the walls of mosques, or recited at funerals. It is a guiding light, one that is totally indispensable to our very existence. It is the beacon to our success in this life and the next. According to Western historians, the Qurn transformed a number of heterogeneous desert tribes of the Arabian peninsula into a nation of heroes - and to Allh belongs all praise.