Ayah 6

The word ( bakhi') comes from the word ( bikha') according to the Tafseer
scholar called Zamakhshari. It refers to the vein at the back of the neck, and so if
someone is it means he is slaughtering himself all the way to the back of
the neck - so a complete slaughter. 'Perhaps you (Oh Muhammad) will kill
yourself over their footsteps...' The word ( athar) means footprints/steps,
linguistically referring to the traces left behind by the bedding when they camped.
These words are being used metaphorically for the Prophet to say
that: Perhaps you will destroy yourself, because they reject you and turn away, just
as someone turns and leaves a place and the onlooker looks at their footprints and
grieves. 'Perhaps you will destroy yourself out of extreme grief because
they do not believe in the Quran.' This verse is a consolation for the Prophet
because it is comforting him and preparing him for eventuality that these people
he is calling to Islam may not actually come to believe. We are gaining an insight
into his personality , how he used to be and think, and how great
his concern was for the people. That concern must carry on. The world is crying
for this message, and we must have this concern for humanity. Just imagine how
depressing it is for even one soul to enter into hellfire. This care and compassion
was so strong in the Prophet - that he almost killed himself out of
grief. He didn't grief over the suffering that they inflicted upon him, rather it was
for their souls to be saved. We need to embody this mindset for dawah. We cannot
have a judgemental attitude towards those who don't believe, we are du'at (callers)
not qu'dat (judges). This is the personality we need to embody for dawah.
Ayah 7
This ayah reformulates your attitude and then makes you reinterpret your values,
'Indeed We have made whatever is on the earth as a glittering show, to
test them, which one of them is best in deeds.' So this is a test, making us
detached from all this materialism. Therefore, whenever you come across things
and events in your life that pull on your heartstrings, and make you feel the desire,
then understand that this a signpost for you to understand that this is a test. It has
been placed in your life specifically to test you. What this verse does is remove the
pretty veil of veneer from this life. There are some people who are blinded by the
illusion of this hijab, but the people who are trained by this verse, are able to look
past this veil and are able to see things as they are. What this ayah does is it breaks
your dependency to the gravity of this earth, so you move to a higher orbit, so no
longer is this dunya your centre of gravity, and so nothing can shake you.

We are all sitting an exam and the only difference is that some of us know it and
some of us don't. The answers are not written with a pen, rather they are written
with our lives. This is the answer to the question of life. This is the purpose of life
that so many philosophers seek. Therefore, when you walk through your life then
know that each temptation has been placed there as a test for you. This is why one
of the most oft repeated dua the Prophet used to make was: 'Oh
changer of hearts, make my heart firm upon you religion.' The Prophet
said: 'Indeed the dunya is green and sweet and Allah has placed
you in there and Allah will see how you act, so be cautious of the temptations of
dunya and be cautious of the temptations of women.'
Ayah 8
'And Indeed We will make everything on this earth a sa'eedan juruza (a barren, an
infertile plain). Sa'eed means a white plain surface and juruz is when the earth has
no plants. We learn from this verse that there will come a day, when this attraction
will turn into dust... as if it was a mere illusion... as if people spent all of their days
thinking it was their paradise... but to their shock the illusion has lifted and all they
see is a barren dessert. Everything on this Earth will become a barren and infertile
plain, because its purpose has finished. When its purpose was to test us all, it
was adorned, but when the Day of Judgment comes, the purpose of this world as
a test will cease, so it will be levelled to dust to show that it is was just an illusion.
Ayah 9
'Do you think that the people of the Cave and Ar-Raqeem were one of our
amazing signs?' The first 8 ayat were a powerful introduction of the themes that
pervade this Surah: Hamd and Nature of Guidance, Purpose of Revelation, Eternal Reward,
The Notion of Divine Conception, Speaking without knowledge or authority, Extreme concern for
the Prophet, Life is a Test, The World is Temporary; - Now we are introduced to the story
of the People of the Cave. According to some reports, the Prophet
was asked three questions: the King Dhulqarnain, The People of the Cave and the
Soul. Although this Hadith is weak, it is mentioned in all Tafseer Books. Whenever
the Quran answers questions, it is beneficial, and whenever the answer comes, it is
stated in a beneficial manner. Therefore, the most important aspect of the story is
mentioned first. This verse is addressing the Prophet but it intends
to address other people as well, in this case the people who brought the questions
to the Prophet. The Quran states that the miracle is not that they slept 300 years,
the miracle is who these young men were and what they did. This is why the very
first verse talks about who these people were. This is the message we need to take
from this story. The miracles of Allah are all around us, we just need to look.