Distinguishing the fortunate from the deprived

Authorship of the scholar Muhammad Sultan Al-Makki, verification and commentary by Ali Hassan Abdul Hamid Introduction to the verification All praise be to Allah, we praise Him, seek His help, and ask for His forgiveness. We seek refuge in Allah from the evil of ourselves and from the bad of our deeds. Whomever Allah guides, there is no misleader for him, and whomever He misguides, there is no guide for him. I bear witness that there is no god but Allah alone, with no partner, and I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and Messenger. As for what follows: Indeed, the glorious Qur'an has an impact on the souls of its reciters, and a strange effect on the minds of those who contemplate its commands and prohibitions. Our Lord, the Most High, commanded us to ponder His verses and reflect on their content, saying: "Do they not reflect on the Qur'an, or are there locks upon their hearts?" (1). This noble verse is a warning to everyone who reads without pondering, and recites without reflection and thought. It strikes the ears and stirs the hearts and souls. Then, the Qur'anic verses have varied styles and multiple methods of speech, including stories, rulings, and beliefs, and so on. Some are addressed with "O people," and others with "O you who believe..." and others besides. Each of these addresses has its own impact, purpose, and effect. Abdullah ibn Mas'ud, may Allah be pleased with him, said: "When you hear Allah saying: 'O you who believe,' listen carefully, for it is either good that He commands or evil that He forbids." (1). The compiler of this book, may Allah have mercy on him, collected many verses that contain these two types of speech, dividing them into two categories: general and specific (2). He also said, may Allah have mercy on him (p. 89), after citing the verses with the address "O you who believe": "Know that these forty verses are each directed by Allah, the Lord of the worlds, to every individual among the children of Adam. No one among them escapes these explicit addresses... All are addressed by these commands and are commanded and responsible for them." And he said (p. 318), after citing the verses with the address "O you who believe": "These hundred verses... Allah, the Most High, has addressed all His believing servants, called them, commanded them, forbade them, given glad tidings, warned them, rebuked them, and instilled fear in them, saying: 'O you who believe,' and He did not say: 'O scholars,' or: 'O Arabs,' or: 'O chiefs and nobles.' But He addressed all believers with 'You' and 'You all,' and 'You were.' So, all believers are equal in obligation, and all are addressed with these divine addresses. Just as all humans are addressed with 'O people,' and 'O children of Adam,' thus the address is directed to them. Each one of them is capable of understanding this as long as they are sane and adult. For if they were not capable, Allah would not have addressed them nor tasked them." This is the general plan of the book. However, the author, may Allah have mercy on him, incorporated in his interpretation of these noble verses various types of Islamic sciences, religious issues, and examples of admonitory warnings, as well as various forms of rebuking advice. The author mentions (p. 162) the date of writing this book, which was in the year 1366 AH, after the end of World War II, a critical phase in modern history that caused division and splitting in the entire world, especially in our Islamic world. Due to the similarity of the current phase — with its storms, trials, and fitan (seditions) — this book seems as if it was written today for the sons of the fifteenth Hijri century, and for what they are experiencing of worries and sorrows. And so as not to prolong the wait for the dear reader, I will summarize and limit the discussion, so that he may benefit from the pure Salafi interpretation of the Book of Allah, and benefit — to benefit — from the scholarly guidance and practical warnings scattered throughout the author's book; asking Allah, the Almighty, to bring relief to this nation in its affairs, and to make for it an exit from its fitan. Indeed, He is the Hearing, the Responding. And our last supplication is praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds. Written by Abu Al-Harith Al-Halabi, may Allah have mercy on him, by His grace on the 19th of Shaaban, 1411 AH, in Zarqa, Jordan.