Understanding Surah Yasin

By Mohammad Saeed Bahmanpour

"Yā Sīn is the heart of the Qurʼān, no worshipper would recite it for the sake of God and seeking the Final Abode, unless all their sins are forgiven. So recite it over your deceased ones." Prophet Muhammad

This book contains Surah Yasin in Arabic and English and a verse by verse commentary of the surah by world renowed scholar S

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sun Behind The Cloud Publications Ltd
• Release date: Jun 21, 2018
• ISBN: 9781908110510

Book preview

COMMENTARY OF THE VERSES

In the Name of Allah, the All-beneficent, the All-merciful.

All chapters of the Holy Qur’ān, except for Chapter Nine (Surah al-Tauba), begin with the basmalah.

On the excellence and importance of the basmalah (Bismi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm) it is narrated from Imam Ali ibn Mūsā al-Ridha (as) who said, ‘Bismi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm is closer to the Greatest Name of Allah (al-ism al-a‘ẓam) than the pupil is to the white of the eye.’

Ibn Abbas has narrated from the Prophet (s) that, ‘As soon as a teacher tells a child to say Bismi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm and the child says it, Allah records immunity (from fire) for the child, his parents and for the teacher.’

Imam al-Ṣādiq (as) is reported to have said: ‘No Holy Book ever came down from Heaven except that it began with Bismi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm

It is reported from the Prophet (s) that, ‘Every work of significance not started with the bismi Allāh will remain incomplete.’

Reciting the Book of God is one of the most significant undertakings of those who are in search of divine guidance; and hence if we do not begin this by Bismi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm, the goal will remain unaccomplished. Considering this narration, one may wonder how people can accomplish great jobs without even believing in God, let alone mentioning his name. We should bear in mind that efforts which occur and end in this world without having any positive bearing on eternal life (akhirah), never have real significance. In other words, matters of this world are incomplete (abtar) in their nature.

Throughout history, there have been countless kings who have overthrown other kings, and accomplished their task. But are their actions of enduring significance? They shall not be remembered in any meaningful way by later generations. Rather, their efforts will be the basis of myths and legends. In this world, after a while, everything becomes insignificant except what is done for God. Everything is going to perish except what is done in his direction. ‘Everything is perishing except his way.’ (28:88)

The revelation of basmalah at the beginning of every surah teaches us how we should start reading the revealed guidance by seeking help from the one who revealed it; the one who is merciful to all, and merciful to the guided. Since basmalah is a part of every surah, and every surah has its own allocation; its special function and its part and share in the total guince of the Qur’ān; so the ba’ in Bismi Allāh may refer to a different form of help sought from Allah in every chapter. That is why some exegetes have suggested that Bismi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm in every surah has a different undertone linked specifically to that surah.

In any case, when we begin reciting the Qur’ān with reliance upon the supreme power of God, we connect to the source of wisdom, which is what we need most to understand the wisdom of the Qur’ān. We start with the name of God and seek help by his name, so that we grasp the intended purpose of this surah.

In discussing the verse, Bismi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm two aspects must be explored. The first is its interpretation and meaning, and the second belongs in the field of Qur’ānic Sciences which have significance in interpretation and jurisprudence.

The First Aspect - The Interpretation of Bismi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm

The bā’ in Bismi Allāh is for isti‘ānah, that is, to seek help. It means I read this surah by seeking help from God; for his guidance and assistance in following what I understand. It may also be for ibtida’ that is for beginning. It means I begin reciting in the name of God to seek his blessings in what I recite.

If we take the bā’ to be for ibtidā’ then the meaning would be ‘I begin my recitation by mentioning the name of God.’ This is mainly for blessing and to remember Him before proceeding with the recitation. If the ba’ is for isti‘ānah, then it means ‘I begin my recitation by seeking help from the name of God.’ In this latter case, the question arises as to why we seek help from the name of God and not from God himself. Why Bismi Allāh and not billāh? The answer is that ism used for Allah as name is not a word to be uttered. Rather it is an attribute, an act, or a quality that manifests one or more aspects of his eternal essence; and since Allah acts in his creation by those aspects or names, it follows that we seek help from them. ‘God has the finest names, so appeal to him by those names.’ (7:180)

In this sense, depending on the content of every surah, we may seek help from a different name of Allah when we begin our recitation. And this is what some commentators mean when they say the basmalah may have a different meaning for every surah.

In the verse Bismi Allāh al-Raḥmān al-Raḥīm there are three names of God: Allāh, al-Raḥmān and al-Raḥīm. There is a difference between these three names: Allah is the universal name of God; when we utter this name, we mean God considered with all his infinite names or attributes. It does not refer to any particular name or quality but refers to that supreme being with all his qualities.

However, al-Raḥmān and al-Raḥīm refer to specific qualities. The root word for both these attributes is Raḥma, which means ‘mercy’. But the difference in conjugation gives them different meanings. Both conjugates are for hyperbole ‘sīghat al-mubālaghah’, that is to magnify the essence of the quality in the word. They are used to show the extensiveness, the magnitude and the expansion of raḥma in God, in multiple ways. Usually, when we use words to magnify the attribute in Arabic, if they have different conjugants and forms, they emphasise that attribute in different ways. In this case, raḥma magnifies the quality of mercy in the sense of its generality, extensiveness, and inclusiveness for all. Therefore, al-Raḥmān, is someone who dispenses mercy in the most general and the most inclusive way. Raḥīm, on the other hand, emphasises the quality of mercy in terms of its continuation, permanence and depth. So, when we call Allah al-Raḥīm, it means he has continuous and permanent mercy which permeates into the depth of its subject.

The all-inclusive mercy of God includes everyone and everything. In other words, Allah as al-Raḥmān dispenses mercy to all. But the continuous, deep, penetrating mercy is only for those who can receive it. Thus, the ungrateful will be deprived of it because they are unable to accept it. They are deprived of the experience of God in their hearts because they have closed all the doors on him. Imam Ja’far as Ṣādiq (as) has concisely defined these two types of mercy. He said, "Al-Raḥmān is a proper noun with a general feature and al-Raḥīm is a common noun with a specific feature."

Al-Raḥmān as a descroption, is exclusively restricted to God, but its feature is that it includes everyone and everything. Al-Raḥīm, as an adjective can be attributed to God and to people but its feature is that it is restricted in its inclusiveness. In other words, someone who is very merciful could not be called Raḥmān; a human being can never be called Raḥmān; they can be called Raḥīm; Raḥmān is used only for Allah. So, Imam Ja’far as Ṣādiq (as) said that this is a special name only for Allah, but it has a general meaning, it means it encompasses everyone and everything. However, al-Raḥīm, is a common name, it is used for human beings and for God in the same sense but it denotes a very particular attribute of God, in the sense that it does not include everyone. Allah is Raḥmān towards everything and everyone but not Raḥīm towards everyone.

The Holy Qur’ān uses these two terms in the same sense as described by Imam Ja’far as Ṣādiq (as). There are numerous instances in the Qur’ān in which these two terms appear. For example, in Surah Maryam, there is a clear application of the meaning of