Tafsir Of Surah Yaseen (36) - 6/8

A'uzubillahi min al-shaytan al-rajim. Bismillah al-rahman al-rahim. Al-hamdulillah rabb al-'alameen wa sallahu 'ala sayyidina wa habibina habibi ilahal 'alameen Muhammad wa 'ala alihi tayyibeen at-tahireen, al-masumeen al-muntajibeen.

Welcome to another episode of Wisdom from the Holy Quran in which we are following some wisdom from Sura as Yasin as far as we can understand and grasp.

Last week we talked about the maghfira and good news and good reward, which is awaiting those who fear Al-Rahman in secret Innamaa tunziru manit taba 'az-Zikra wa khashiyar Rahmaana bilghaib, fabashshirhu bimaghfiratinw-wa ajrin kareem (36:11). Now, this week we continue with verse number 12. A'uzubillahi min al-Shaytan Al-Rajim, Innaa Nahnu nuhyil mawtaa wa naktubu maa qaddamoo wa aasaarahum; wa kulla shai'in ahsainaahu feee Imaamim Mubeen (36:12)- indeed it is We who revive the dead and write what they have sent ahead and their effects which they left behind and We have figured everything in a manifest Imam.

Now, I mentioned that this majestic We, which is used at the beginning: Innaa Nahnu nuhyil mawtaa denotes the power of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala. One may ask how are these going to happen? How is it possible for the dead to be revived? Now, suppose it is revived, how it is possible to actually bring the account of all these people in one place. How is it possible - things which have gone by for millions and billions of years to be accounted for again? Now Allah uses this majestic We here - it is We who do it: Innaa Nahnu nuhyil mawtaa, wa naktubu maa qaddamoo - do not think that things would disappear in this world; We write it. Now, kitaba is not just writing by hand. Anything which is recorded could be called a kitab. And therefore Allah has written many things in this world that we see. They work exactly the way Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala has written them.

I mentioned the example of our DNA. Our DNA is a book. Now, you may say, well, it's very different from the ordinary books, but the way it works, the way it opens and the way it is read by our body, when it grows, it shows that, yes, it's a book. It's a book that Allah has written. And wow, our body exactly acts according to that book, nothing less and nothing more. That is how Allah writes things. And when He writes our deeds, it's the same thing. These things are actually collected in something which is like a DNA for our future life. Now it includes our acts, our deeds, our words, our intentions, our levels of sincerity. All these are recorded in a small book; we may call it small or big, it doesn't matter. It's not just like these physical books. It may be an angel just like those two angels who record things. It's not that these two angels write them. When we say they record the good and bad deeds - they capture them. It is written in them. And then eventually, this is one possibility of thinking about it, they become our books and we would develop in the next world based on that book.

You see, everything is very systematic. Don't think that it's just like a court, that we go there and Allah conventionally decides who should go to hell, who should go to paradise. It systematically develops. We have a DNA and that's the book of acts for that world. As we had a DNA for this world, we will have a DNA for that world and we would develop based on that DNA. And then, of course, we place hope in Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala, but even that placing hope is written in that DNA that we have created in this world Inna hadha ma kuntum ta'maloon' - this is what you used to do. It has come in a book and you are following that book. You are developing in that way.

Now that book consists of two things: naktubu maa qaddamoo whatever they have sent forth. We may have sent forth good or evil, charity or stealing from other people for example. We may have sent forth helping other people or injuring other people. Everything is recorded and put in that DNA that is actually going to be put on our neck and it will open on that day. Listen to this verse from Sura Isra, Wa kulla insaanin alzamnaahu taaa'irahoo fee 'unuqihee (17:13) - every human being We have tied his taaa'ir - taaa'ir is omen, whether good or bad, and that is actually our book because we develop, flourish based on that book. If that book is good, then we have good luck. Of course there's no meaning for luck here, but it is used metaphorically here. If that book is bad, then we have bad omen there. Omen, I will describe Inshallah in the following verses. Omen is from our actions. There is no good or bad omen in this world - its what we do. Wa kulla insaanin alzamnaahu taaa'irahoo fee 'unuqihee wa nukhriji lahoo Yawmal Qiyaamati kitaabany yalqaahu manshooraa (17:13)- on the Day of Judgement, We bring out a book for him which he visits, means its open. So that book is now closed. Its just like a DNA - its closed. It's not working, it's just getting information. The information is going into that book now and one day that book starts to develop, opens - yalqaahu manshooraa.

On that day they would meet that book open. Now what is in that book? maa qaddamoo - what they sent forth, wa aasaarahum (36:12) - and what they haven't sent forth, but remains after them for years of years. Their impact, their effect is not only what I do in this world during my lifetime. This is very, very accurate - Allah is telling us that be careful, what you do does not only have impact on you in your life or your surroundings, it may have effects after you. You just drop an atomic bomb on a city, then not only tens of thousands of people die in that city, but for several generations, people are paralyzed, crippled with all sorts of mental and physical diseases - We write that too. You do a good thing. You give a charity and for example, you establish a charitable fund or charitable institution. And this works after you, looks after orphans, looks after people in need for generations, after generations. We write that for you, too. So it's not only what you send forth before you die. What comes after you as well is that We write. Innaa Nahnu nuhyil mawtaa - We revive the dead, wa naktubu maa qaddamoo - We write. Well, writing I mentioned - what does that mean? It's not a pen and paper that Allah writes it and there is a sort of archive on the Day of Judgment. All these books are brought. No. It's just like our DNA, the way it develops, the way it grows, the way it unfolds.

Naktubu maa qaddamoo wa aasaarahum - what they send forth, what is left behind after them, whether it's good or evil; wa kulla shai'in ahsainaahu feee Imaamim Mubeen - Subhan Allah, this is the power of God, this is the knowledge of God - Everything We have figured in a manifest book. Now some people say, what's the use of this manifest book if it is in the knowledge of Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala? Well, of course, we see around ourselves there is knowledge of Allah everywhere, but we need that DNA. Allah has written the knowledge of how we have to develop, the information that our DNA molecule should give to our cells, the way they should develop is written there. It is our kitabul mobeen and everything should act based on that. Now Allah knows what is in there. Allah knows. Of course, this is 'ilm ul-ghayb - Allah only knows what is in there and what's going to happen later on. And not only physically, but mentally, ethically, morally, how this DNA is going to develop.

This is what is mentioned as 'ilm ul-ghayb - 'wa ya'lamu maa fil arhaami' (31:34) - it is only He who knows what is in the womb. It doesn't mean whether [it is] male or female - no. What type of person is in the womb? What's going to happen later until the Day of Judgment? This fetus which is in the womb, We know him or her. We know very clearly. So this Imam mubeen is something that Allah has set for the process of creation. Now everything has an Imam Mubeen, of course, every human body has one Imam Mubeen, which is that, so to speak, DNA based on which the body developed. Animals have it, plants to have it. Now, about many things we don't know, for example, about the universe. We don't know what is the DNA of the universe, how Allah has written that it should expand and develop. We may find out one day, but we yet don't know. And about the universe the whole DNA of creation. Now, there is an imam mubeen for the whole creation, including man, angels, jinn, ruh, everything. There is a DNA for that.

And that is what is called al-lawh al-mahfuz - the protected tablet. That is the DNA of creation. Everything comes according to that. Now, if someone has knowledge of that lawh al-mahfuz, that is huge knowledge, of course, huge knowledge, knowing how things are created, how they are going to develop, what things are going to happen in the future. Of course, no one has absolute knowledge of that lawh al-mahfuz. Or then there is another book above that which is very complicated. Anyhow, so al-lawh al-mahfooz, which is mentioned in many quotations, is that book - as I said, when I say book, you should not imagine a written book on paper, no; like a DNA, just like a molecule - in which the whole information of the world is written.

Now, when Allah says, kulla shai'in ahsainaahu feee Imaamim Mubeen (36:12)- everything I have figured in a manifest book, it means that that book, Imam Mubeen, that book is so clearly written, so accurately written, that nothing in this world can happen without getting command and instruction from that book - lawh al-mahfooz. Your actions, yes, its there. Of course, I have written it there based on your free will. This doesn't interfere with free will at all. As i said, its DNA of creation, just like we have a DNA, it does not interfere with our free will. We have free will based on, of course, the way we are structured and we are constructed.

And in that lawh al-mahfuz, everything is there. This is how Allah creates, it is knowledge of Allah coming into creation. When it comes into creation, it comes in different levels: first, the information of everything and then everything develops based on that information. So 'kulla shai'in ahsainaahu feee Imaamim Mubeen' - everything We have figured in or We have compiled, We have put together, We have not left out anything unless We have written it in that manifest and clear Imam.

Imam means something that you follow. Now, it is a very good word for the book. You can say your DNA is the imam of your body. Your body absolutely follows the instructions of your DNA. Now that book, that book in which the information of everything in this world is written is actually followed, so its Imam. Every act, everything, every movement happening in this world follows that book, and that's why it's Imam, Imamim Mubeen.

Now, however, some exegetes have said that so this Imamim Mubeen is the protected book - al-lawh al-mahfooz, where every information of creation is there and creation actually follows its pattern, follows its instructions. Some exegetes have said that it doesn't fit very well here, that Imamim Mubeen should be that lawh al-mahfuz. It should be something related to human acts, not human creation or whatever is written in the creation and things like that, so we can say that kulla shai'in 'min a'maalihim' ahsainaahu feee Imaamim Mubeen - and that imamim mubeen is the book of their actions.

So we have many different books and instructors in this world - we have that lawh al-mahfuz, which is the instructor of the whole creation, how the creation should develop, then for every human body we have one instructor, one DNA, for every animal we have one DNA; when it comes to human actions, for every human being, we have one book of action, 'Wa kullu shai'in fa'aloohu fiz Zubur' (54:52)- everything they have done are in books.

So when we say Zubur, it means that every human being has one particular book for himself. Why its a book? Because things are recorded there and then on the Day of Judgment, our development follows that recording, follows that book. 'Wa kullu shai'in fa'aloohu fiz Zubur; Wa kullu sagheerinw wa kabeerin mustatar' (54:52-53)- be it big or small, it is put in lines there. It is something which its terrifying, isn't it? Because sometimes we think that, OK, we go there, we say, ya Allah forgive me, it doesn't work like that. It's very systematic. You have done something. Actually it has become part of your DNA of the next world and you develop in that way.

And of course Allah is generous, merciful, He wipes many things out, He erases many other things. He tries to keep this DNA in a way that we eventually succeed. But despite all this, this is our DNA anyhow, this is what we have done.

So then we can say, based on that 'Wa kullu shai'in fa'aloohu fiz Zubur', or Wa kulla insaanin alzamnaahu taaa'irahoo fee 'unuqihee' (17:13), for every human being We have tied their taair, their omen today and that's the book to their necks and on the Day of Judgment they would meet it opening. It's now closed. It's just like it undeveloped DNA, it will open on that Day. Based on that, we can say 'kullu shai'in min a'maalihim ahsainaahu feee Imaamim Mubeenin lahum,' so every act they have done, there is one book for them which would speak very clearly.

As I said, some people would think that, well, everything is in Allah's knowledge. What's the meaning of writing, recording? Now we see that this is how Allah creates, this is how things work. Instructions are given to everything individually, collectively, and these instructions are actually part of the created world, and that works in that same way. Now, before closing this session, we have to deal with a couple of traditions which seem a bit difficult.

One is a tradition reported from Ibn Abbas, alaiyhi rahma, from Amir al-Mu'mineen (as), who said, 'ana wallah al-Imaamul Mubeen' - I am al-Imaamul Mubeen'. Ubayyinul haqqa minal baatil warrastohu an Rasul Allah Sallal-lahu alayhi wa alii wa sallam' - I am the manifest Imam, manifest book. Ubayyinul haqqa minal baatil - I distinguish between Haqq and Batil and I have inherited this from the Prophet. That means that the original Imamul Mubeen is the Prophet actually, and then he has inherited this from the Prophet, peace be upon. We don't have much difficulty in explaining this hadith because here Imamul Mubeen is very different from the Imaamim Mubeen, which is mentioned in Sura Yasin. That Imamim Mubeen, 'kulla shai'in ahsainaahu feee Imaamim Mubeen,' is the recording of everything where everything is recorded; here Imamul Mubeen means a clarifying leader, a leader which clearly can distinguish between Haqq and Baatil and can lead you.

So here this imam is different from, of course, imam as a book. Imam means book, imam means leader as well. So here 'ana wallah al-Imaamul Mubeen' - I am al-Imaamul Mubeen, it means that, well, I am the manifest imam, an imam who can clarify things for you. However, we have another hadith here, in the Tafsir as-Safi, it has mentioned this hadith from Imam Al-Baqir, alayhi assalam, about Amir al-Mu'mineen Ali ibn abi Talib, that the Prophet, peace be upon him, said, 'huwa haadha' - that Imamim Mubeen mentioned in this Sura is this Ali ibn abi Talib - he actually pointed to Imam Ali, alayhi assalam, 'annahul imamul lazee ahsanlaahu fihe 'ilma kulli shayin' - this is the imam that Allah has figured the knowledge of everything in him, has actually written knowledge of everything in his soul and in his heart.

And that's why 'kulla shai'in ahsainaahu feee Imaamim Mubeen' (36:12), some people would say this is Imamul Mubeen is Ali ibn abi Talib (as). However, Allama Tabatabei (ra) says, supposing that these two traditions are correct because they are not from very sound sort of chains of transmission, supposing it is correct, this is from Butoon al-Quran, from hidden meanings. This is Ta'weel, this is not tafseer - this is not something that we can understand from this verse [36:12]. What we can understand from this verse is what we explained. This is something that we do not know. However, again, even in this hadith, it means that Allah Subhana wa Ta'ala has given the knowledge of everything to Imam Ali alayhi assalam.

Sometimes, you know, in our ordinary language, we say this is a walking dictionary because of the huge knowledge of words and things, or this is a walking library, for example. In that sense, yes, it is possible that the Prophet, peace be upon him, have said to Amir al-Mu'mineen, alayhi assalam, that this is the Imamal Mubeen, like what the Quran says, because in Imamal Mubeen Quran says: everything We have figured and compiled in the Imamal Mubeen and if you want to see a human being in whom all types of knowledge is compiled and can be called Imamal Mubeen, this is Ali ibn abi Talib.

These are some thoughts about these traditions. If, as Allama Tabatabei (ra) mentioned, that if these traditions have sound chains and if we regard them to be reliable, then we have to give them a meaning which is compatible with a reasonable understanding and it is not certainly the tafsir of what is mentioned here as kulla shai'in ahsainaahu feee Imaamim Mubeen.

Inshallah, Allah will guide us by the Quran, by the Prophet and by his holy family. Wa salallahu 'ala Muhammad wa alihi at-tahireen.