Comments on the Lectures lectures: Surah (Al-Insan)

Part 2 Side A

In interpreting Surah 76, verse no. 9: “ Wajh in Arabic language means the essence,  all the ul’ama of kalam (scholars of theology) are, almost categorically in agreement on this, even though all of this is considered mutashbih (i.e. unclear/confusing matter) almost all the ul’ama (scholars) say that this means the essence of Allah SWT but it is still considered from the mutashabihat (i.e. unclear/confusing matters) so we always say Allahu a’lam, no’emeno bihi ala muradi-llah (Allah knows best, we believe in it as Allah wants)… The wajh in Arabic language means face but it also means the essence.

Comment:

1. The is fundamental contradiction here, how come, all the scholars are in agreement that “Wajh” means the essence and yet its meaning still considered mutashabih (a confusing matter)?

2. The primary meaning of “Wajh” from a literal linguistic point of view, is the front part of anything e.g. for a human being the Wajh is the face.  It has a secondary meaning which is the essence. Both meanings are used in different verses of the Quran. Here is what 2 major sources for classical Arabic say about the meaning of Wajh (please note how their definition is exactly the opposite of what he used above):

a. “The meaning of the wajh is very well-known i.e. the face.”  (Lisan al-Arab by Ibn Mandhoor – died 711 H- Vol. 13, page 555. Dar Sadir, Beirut. First edition 1990)

b. “The wajh is the front side of anything. It might be used to mean the essence.”  (Mujmal al-lughah by Ibn Faris – died 395 H-, Vol. 3 page 917. Published by mussat ar-Resalh, Beirut. First Edition 1984.

3. More details on this will be provided subsequently, .

Side B

Comment: In verse no.19 of surah 76, Allah mentions some of the pleasures of Paradise. The translation of the verse is “And around about them will (serve) boys of everlasting youth. If you see them, you would think of them as scattered pearls.”  

Hamza Yusuf: When interpreting of this verse, Hamzah Yusuf said in the tape titled (Surat al-Insan part 2) side B:

“These are creatures that are created for service. This is what they love to do. There is no exploitation or anything like that in the modern politically-correct world we live in. These people are created for this. This is their I’badah (worship) to Allah. If you –the prophet SAAWS- saw them you would consider them scattered pearls and this is just indicating how beautiful they are”

This contradicts what he said in his interview by Michael Enright about the September 11 that was aired on September 23, 2001, the source of which is given below:

http://www.ihyaproductions.com/articles/hyCBCtranscript.htm

Michael: When you read the coverage in some of the more fulminating columnists and commentators, it comes up time and time again, this business about the Qur’an promising the martyrs or the suicide bombers that if they die in the course of their mission they will go immediately to heaven where they will be greeted by ten or fifteen or sixty-eight or something or other, virgins. You must have seen that. What is that?

Hamza Yusuf: You know, again this is the problem with religious language for the modern mind. The Qur’an, just to give you an example, says that there is nothing like God and immediately after that – it’s in a chapter called Shura (The Council) – and immediately after that it says and He is the All-Seeing, the All-Hearing. So here’s a verse that says there’s nothing like Him and then it’s immediately followed by saying He hears everything and He sees everything. Well, how do we know what seeing and hearing is if we don’t have a likeness in this world of it .So on the one hand there is pure transcendence and on the other hand there’s the imminent aspect of God’s manifestations, his attributes in the world. If you look in the Qur’an about the pleasures of paradise, the definitive verse in the Qur’an is that the pleasures of paradise are those, which no eye has seen, no ear has heard of, and has never occurred to the heart of a human being. So that is the definitive verse about the pleasures of paradise. Now, there are some Hadiths, it’s not in the Qur’an, there is mention of beautiful youths as well as beautiful women, and that’s more metonymy in rhetoric.

Michael: It’s an allegory.

Hamza Yusuf: Exactly, it’s an allegory, exactly.

Comment:

The interpretation of the Quran on the pleasures of Heaven here was after September 11th, 2001. However as noted in the tapes former to that date Br. Hamza had a different opinion about the 'beautiful youths in paradise' being 'allegorical' or real creatures. 

It seems painfully clear that the brother is referring to living creatures here and is denying there existence above, which one is correct ? 

We wonder, is it normal for true scholars of Islam to change there opinions about the Quran. This revelation has not been changed in 1400 years why doesn't the brother simply go to a Tafseer (explanation) and read what is really said about this subject!!