Dark Mode
20-05-2024
Logo
Surat Al An'am (006)- Lesson (14-73)- Ayat 47-48: Applying Islamic Ruling
   
 
 
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful  
 
Praise be to Allah, the Lord (the One and Only) of the Worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Master, Prophet Muhammad, the Truthful and the Faithful. O Allah, we know nothing but what You teach us, You are the All- Knower, the Wise. O Allah our Lord, teach us what is useful for us, let us make use of what You have taught us and advance us in knowledge. O Allah, show us the righteous things as righteous and help us do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us keep away from them.  O Allah our Lord, make us amongst those who listen to the Word and follow the best meaning of It, and admit us, by Your Grace, to the ranks of Your righteous servants.

Dear brothers, this is lesson No. 14 of interpreting Surat Al-An'am.

Divine Discipline to believers:

I will start with Ayah number 47, where Allah says:

﴾ Say: "Tell me, if the punishment of Allah comes to you suddenly (during the night), or openly (during the day), will any be destroyed except the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doing people)?" ﴿

 

[ Al-An'am, 47 ]


Some ignorant people believe that calamities befall people randomly, and common people say, "The mercy is for certain people, whereas calamities befall all people." These claims have no religious ground at all in Islam.

﴾ Say: "Tell me, if the punishment of Allah comes to you suddenly (during the night), or openly (during the day),  ﴿

 

[ Al-An'am, 47 ]


Thus, the punishment might occur suddenly, and this was also expressed by the Prophet PBUH:

(( Ibn 'Umar (RAA) narrated, 'The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to supplicate saying, "O Allah! I seek refuge in you from the withholding of your favor, the decline of the good health you have given, the suddenness of your vengeance and from all forms of your wrath." Related by Muslim. ))

[ Muslim by Ibn 'Umar ]


Calamity might befall suddenly, like a stroke in the brain which might cause paralysis to man, and according to which the patient will leave everything behind him, his position, his commerce, his house, his activities, his travelling and all the pleasures of life, for everything will be over for him. In other times sudden calamities might be accidents.

﴾ Say: "Tell me, if the punishment of Allah comes to you suddenly (during the night), or openly (during the day), ﴿

[  Al-An'am, 47 ]


Man might be disciplined by Allah privately, but there are humiliating Divine Punishments that are observed by all people. Perhaps it is out of the Divine Honoring that  Allah disciplines His believing servant secretly (between Allah and the believer), but how does that happen? Man is secretly punished when he is veiled from Allah the Almighty. For instance, a respectful person with good reputation prays, but he does not feel anything, he reads the Quran, but it does not get into his heart or He remembers Allah, but he does not shed a tear, so this person is veiled and this is how one is punished secretly.  In other cases, man might be punished publically when he is scandalized, and everyone tells his story: 

﴾ And We made them as Ahadith (the true stories for mankind to learn a lesson from them). ﴿

[  Al-Mu'minun, 44 ]

He, who is with Allah, shall never be destroyed:

Pay attention to this simile: Life is like a theatre, where there are a stage and seats for spectators. While the upright man has his seat among the spectators, watching the play with all its problems, scandals, oppression and calamities, the deviated man is dragged to the stage, and he becomes a story observed by spectators.

A pious scholar used to make Du'a by saying, "O Allah, I seek refuge in You from making me a moral lesson from which people learn. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from using what pleases You to please someone else. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from doing something which makes me beautiful in the eyes of people but makes me shameful in Your Sight. O Allah, I seek refuge in You from making others happier than me by the knowledge You taught me". Hence:

﴾ Say: "Tell me, if the punishment of Allah comes to you suddenly (during the night), or openly (during the day), will any be destroyed except the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doing people)?" ﴿

[  Al-An'am, 47 ]


It is rather thousand times impossible for someone who is with Allah to be doomed, because "If Allah supports you, who can defeat you? But if Allah abandons you, who can support you?"

﴾ Say: "Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us.  ﴿

[  At-Taubah, 51 ]


Allah's Providence includes Divine Protection, Victory, Support and Prosperity.

﴾ Verily, We will indeed make victorious Our Messengers and those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism) in this world's life and on the Day when the witnesses will stand forth, (i.e. Day of Resurrection), ﴿

 

[ Ghafir, 51 ]

Proofs from the Noble Quran that Allah the Almighty will never waste your good deed:

Allah says:

﴾ Or do those who earn evil deeds think that We shall hold them equal with those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, in their present life and after their death? Worst is the judgement that they make. ﴿

[  Al-Jathiyah, 21 ]


Allah also says:

﴾ Will any be destroyed except the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doing people)?" ﴿

 

[ Al-An'am, 47 ]


In another Ayah, Allah says:

﴾ And never do We requit in such a way except those who are ungrateful, (disbelievers).  ﴿

 

[ Saba', 17 ]


These are Divine Laws. Allah the Almighty says:
 

﴾ Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that stands firm.  ﴿

[  Ibrahim, 27 ]


These words are the ones of the Creator of mankind. Thus, wherever you are; whether in an underdeveloped or an advance country, in a dictator or a democratic country, or in a rich or poor country, whatever social class and sect you belong to and whenever you live; whether in the past or at the end of days, you should know beyond doubt that Allah the Almighty never wastes your good deeds.

﴾ And We shall not decrease the reward of their deeds in anything. Every person is a pledge for that which he has earned. ﴿

[  At-Tur, 21 ]


These Ayat are your guarantee granted by Allah.

﴾ Or do those who earn evil deeds think that We shall hold them equal with those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, in their present life and after their death? Worst is the judgement that they make. ﴿

[ Al-Jathiyah, 21 ]

Proofs from daily life about Allah's Punishment to oppressors:

A doctor paid me a visit and told me a story about a woman who came to him to examine a cancerous tumor in her breast. That  tumor was in its late stages which made the doctor angry- due to his loyalty to his career- with her husband and he said to him, "If only you had brought her few months or one year earlier, she would have had high chances of being cured, but now the cancer reached its furthest stages". Then, he added between him and the husband, "You are a criminal, because you neglected her like this", but the husband said, "We have been treating her at the clinic of such and such doctor for a year, but he never told us that it was a cancerous tumor. Instead, he told us that it was just an inflammation." The doctor whispered in my ear and said, "A student at the Faculty of Medicine can figure out that this is a cancerous tumor, but the doctor wanted to blackmail that husband and take his money, so he gave him the impression that it was an inflammation and he treated it with anti-biotic and cortisone". 

Upon knowing that the husband dropped to the floor whining like a little child, and he invoked Allah saying, "O Lord, if You exist, then You punish that doctor". The husband linked the punishment to the Divine Existence, not to the Divine Justice. The doctor (who told me the story) swore to Allah that 11 months later, that very doctor came to him as a patient of lung cancer, and he assured me according to his experience, that his cancer started 11 months ago; it started on the day that husband offered that Du'a (supplication). Allah is Great.

Dear brothers, a person was driving on the road to the airport once, and he wanted to show off his driving skills after he spotted a poppy on the side of the road. The poppy was stretching its front legs on the asphalt to get some warmth (the asphalt keeps warmth since it preserves the sunrays during the day) in the chilly winter, so he directed his car straight to the front legs of the poppy and cut them off with his vehicle wheels without killing it. Then, he laughed out loud hysterically. 

The man who happened to be riding with him that night said that the following  Saturday (a week after the incident), the car of that very driver broke down at the same spot, and he needed to change the flat tire, so he jacked up the car and removed the flat tire, but suddenly the jack failed and the car fell on the tire which fell on his both hands and crushed them from the wrist. After being hospitalized, his hands had to be cut off from the wrist, exactly like the front legs of that poor poppy. Allah is Great.  
The Noble Prophets were tested by Allah in order to unfold their perfection:

The more you know Allah the more you will fear Him:


﴾ Say: "Tell me, if the punishment of Allah comes to you suddenly (during the night), or openly (during the day), ﴿

[  Al-An'am, 47 ]


Pay attention to the following: 

﴾ Will any be destroyed except the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doing people)?"  ﴿

 

[ Al-An'am, 47 ]


This fact has to be pointed out dear brothers. Each one of us has heard only the last chapter of thousands of stories, and telling this last chapter to people is meaningless. Someone may say, "Such person was run over, that person committed suicide or that one got seriously ill. "On the other hand, all of us have heard full stories from the very beginning to the end, and upon hearing them, you are sometimes amazed by the Divine Justice, Wisdom, Might and Retaliation sometimes. Thus, I advise you, including myself, to make the full stories we know a standard according to which we evaluate the so many stories whose last chapter we heard, because Allah the Almighty says: 

﴾ And never do We requit in such a way except those who are ungrateful, (disbelievers). ﴿

[ Saba', 17 ]


﴾ Will any be destroyed except the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doing people)?"  ﴿

 

[ Al-An'am, 47 ]


Please, dear brothers, do not think generalizing, because generalization reflects blindness. The Noble Prophets, peace be upon them, were tested by Allah the Almighty, but their calamities were reasons to disclose their perfection. When the Prophet PBUH was hurt in Al-Ta'ef, his perfection was apparent.  Believers are tested by Allah to draw closer to Him and to exalt in His Sight, while testing  the oppressors is another story, for calamities of oppressors destroy them, because they deviated from Allah's Path, oppressed His servants and built their triumph on people's wrecks. Therefore, they deserved the Divine Destruction:

﴾ Say: "Tell me, if the punishment of Allah comes to you suddenly (during the night), or openly (during the day), will any be destroyed except the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doing people)?"* And We send not the Messengers but as givers of glad tidings and as warners. So whosoever believes and does righteous good deeds, upon such shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve. ﴿

 

[ Al-An'am, 47-48 ]

The Noble Quran is a warner because it contains scenes from the Day of Resurrection:
Imam Al-Qurtubi, may Allah have mercy upon his soul, commented on the following Ayah upon reading it:

﴾ (Allah will reply): "Did We not give you lives long enough, so that whosoever would receive admonition, - could receive it? And the warner came to you. ﴿

[  Fatir, 37 ]


Allah the Almighty says:

﴾ And the warner came to you.  ﴿


What does the warner refer to? He said, "The warner refers to the Noble Quran, because it has many scenes of the Day of Resurrection, and man's destiny will be either in Hellfire where there is an everlasting torment, or in Paradise where there is eternal bliss. 

The Prophet PBUH mentioned in some of his Ahadeeth that the believer says upon seeing his seat in Paradise, "I have never had a hardship", and he forgets all about the hardships he has gone through in the worldly life, whereas the non-believer screams upon seeing his seat in Hellfire making a loud cry that would cause the death of the people on earth if they  heard it. Accordingly, both the Noble Quran in which  scenes of the Day of Resurrection are mentioned and the Prophet's words are considered a warner. Al-Qurtubi went further than that, and he said, "Reaching the age of 40 is a  warner as well".

﴾ (Allah will reply): "Did We not give you lives long enough, so that whosoever would receive admonition, - could receive it?   ﴿


Whosoever reaches the age of 40 is already close to the Hereafter (close to death). When a traveler spends two thirds of his trip, he starts getting ready to go back home, so he books a ticket, he buys gifts, and he considers getting back home seriously. Much in the same line, when man becomes 40 years old, he is already close to the Hereafter. For that reason, "Whoever reaches 40 years of age and his goodness does not overcome his evil, let him get ready to enter Hellfire." Al-Qurtubi also said, "Reaching 60 years old is the warner." At that age man reaches the stage before the final end (death), for "death usually occurs in the 60s or 70s of man's age."
Dear brothers, let me ask you this crucial question: Is it possible that we wake up every day just like the day before endlessly? This is unlikely to happen, because each one of us has to leave the worldly life one day regardless of the reason; whether it is a disease in the liver, a disease in the stomach, a stroke in the brain, a kidney failure, a heart failure or other uncountable diseases. These fatal diseases are people's exits from the worldly life. How will someone leave the worldly life? He will leave it due to a disease or an accident. The following Hadith is very serious: 

(( Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Hasten to do good deeds before you are overtaken by one of the seven afflictions." Then (giving a warning) he said, "Are you waiting for poverty which will make you unmindful of devotion, or prosperity which will make you corrupt, or a disease which will disable you, or senility which will make you mentally unstable, or sudden death which will take you all of a sudden, or Ad-Dajjal who is the worst expected, or the Hour; and the Hour will be most grievous and most bitter." ))

[ At-Tirmizi by Abi Hurairah ]

Calamities are warnings as well:

I have just asked a very clear question and the answer is that it is impossible for us to wake up every day just like the day before, because one day there will be something new in our life that will afflict our body. Thus,  we will pay the physician a visit, run some lab work, do some x-rays or even go under the knife. Eventually, our life  will end with death and an obituary.  Every human being, whether he is a Prophet, a righteous man or an ordinary man, death is the exit gate for all of them from the worldly life. Whatever disease man may suffer from other than the fatal disease can be cured. I repeat again, the warner is the Noble Quran, the Prophet's words and the ages from 40 to 70. 

The gray hair is considered "the warner". It was reported in the relic that Allah the Almighty says: 

(( O, My servant, you have got by now gray hair, weak sight and hunched back, so take Me into your consideration as I take you in My consideration. ))

Due to very profound Divine Wisdom, when man reaches his 50s  or 60s,  he starts having health problems, such as having  a stomachache, a pain upon moving, and pains in his bones and in his joints. Also, his sight starts to weaken, and he uses artificial teeth. All these changes are kind messages from Allah which say to man at this age, "O My servant, you are so close to meet me, but are you ready?"

 The man who strives a lot in life for a long time, believe me, will long to meet with Allah when he is close to death. Unlike him, the one who is physically healthy and active will find getting closer to death very difficult to him. 

For how long will you be involved in desires 

Although you'll be held responsible for all your deeds?


You disobey the Lord while you claim to love Him! 

What a shameful claim it is! 

Had your love been sincere, you would have obeyed Him. 

Verily, he who loves someone does obey him.


Calamities are also the warner "alert". Things in life sometimes are fine and suddenly a problem occurs at home, with man's health, at work, with the son, with public relations or with the boss, and such problems are Divine Messages to people. Messages are usually verbal, but there are other means  used to send a message, for example an explosion might be a message from one party to another. Much in the same line, calamities are messages from Allah to His servants, and through which  He seems to be saying to man, "O My servant, you are so close to meet me".

Messengers of Allah give glad tidings to the believer and warn the disbeliever:

Relatives' death is also "the warner":

﴾ And We send not the Messengers but as givers of glad tidings and as warners. ﴿

 

[ Al-An'am, 48 ]


Messengers of Allah, peace be upon them, give glad tidings to the believer, and they warn the non-believer. Allah says:

﴾ So whosoever believes and does righteous good deeds, ﴿


 

[ Al-An'am, 48 ]


Do not mistakenly think that faith without deeds is useful, for Allah says in more than 200 places in the Quran:

﴾ Those who believe and do righteous deeds. ﴿

 

[ Al-Kahf, 30 ]


﴾ So whosoever believes and does righteous good deeds, ﴿

[  Al-An'am, 48 ]


This means they believe in Allah and apply His Orders; they control their limbs, donate, fear Allah, strive in Allah's Cause and take honorable decisions. Without stances, actions, devotion or discipline, one's faith is worthless.

﴾ So whosoever believes and does righteous good deeds ﴿

[  Al-An'am, 48 ]


Dear brothers, pay attention to these two words, for by Allah the Only Deity even the heavens and the earth altogether will not equal them:

﴾ So whosoever believes and does righteous good deeds, upon such shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve. ﴿

 

[ Al-An'am, 48 ]


The Ayah indicates your actions in the present and in the past, and the second part of it indicates the future: 

﴾ So whosoever believes and does righteous good deeds, upon such shall come no fear,  ﴿

 

[ Al-An'am, 48 ]


This Divine Promise will be fulfilled in the future:

﴾ Nor shall they grieve. ﴿

[  Al-An'am, 48 ]


This refers to the Devine Promise to the believer who never grieves whatever took place in the past, and he shall never fear the future, so is there greater happiness than this? Allah says:

﴾ Then whoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery.  ﴿

 

[ Ta-Ha, 123 ]


Allah says in the following Ayah:

﴾ So whosoever believes and does righteous good deeds, upon such shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve. ﴿

[  Al-An'am, 48 ]


If you put this Ayah with the one in which Allah says, "then whoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery",  you will come with the conclusion that the brain of the one who follows the guidance of Allah the Almighty- pay attention- shall never go astray nor shall his soul fall into distress and misery, and he will never regret anything happened in the past or fear anything that is awaiting him in the future. Furthermore, wherever and whenever he is, he shall be included in the Divine Providence, Protection, Prosperity, Triumph and Support.

Let me tell you this: The people of the ditch were burnt by the king who claimed a Divine Status, but did they win or lose? I believe  that they won though they were burnt, and this sort of victory is the minor one (when someone dies while defending  his principles and keeping his faith), and they died as believers. You might be weak and helpless in a certain era, whereas the disbeliever is strong, and he oppresses  the weak, but keep in mind, and I hope the point I would like to refer to is clear to you, that no matter how long the worldly life lasts, no matter how powerful man might become, no matter how rich he is, no matter how long he oppresses people and no matter how strong he gets, he will absolutely die. 

Every creature will die

and only the Glorified and Mighty shall remain

No matter how long night might last, 

dawn surely will break

No matter how long one might live, 

 He will inevitably end up in the grave

The value of worldly life is zero compared to the Hereafter: 

The difference between the evanescent worldly life and the everlasting Hereafter is like the difference between nothing and everything. Man might live 86 years, yet this long life is nothing when it is compared with eternity. There are people in the worldly life who could not get their rights since they are oppressed and tyrannized, and they are killed sometimes, like the people of the ditch who were burnt by the king. Those people are initially triumphed just like some people in the Islamic states who are killed in hundreds because of one bomb.  

In the occupied regions, bombing raids might kill an upright believer whose Aqeedah is sound, and this man died as a believer and got his own minor victory. However, the perfect situation is to gain the traditional major victory by taking back our occupied lands and overcoming the colonialists, which we hope to  happen soon. Meanwhile, there are open gates for all of us (just like the people of the ditch who were praised by Allah though they were burnt) to have our own minor victories especially when we are helpless. What should we do in such cases? We strive to make Muslims stronger, but if we are oppressed and killed while striving in the cause of the truth,  we will enter Paradise. This is the minor victory we can get, and this is the meaning of the following Ayah:

﴾ So whosoever believes and does righteous good deeds, upon such shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve ﴿

[  Al-An'am, 48 ]


The worldly life is worthless comparing with the Hereafter, and so it is more trivial to be a reward or an honoring means for anyone. Better yet, it is even more trivial to be a punishment means for someone, and the proof is that Allah gives the gains of the worldly life to those whom He does not like, such as Fir'aun (Pharaoh) who said:

﴾  "I am your lord, most high",  ﴿

[  An-Nazi'aat, 24 ]

He also said:

﴾ "O chiefs! I know not that you have an ilah (a god) other than me.  ﴿

[  Al-Qasas, 38 ]


Allah also gave the gains of the worldly life to Qarun who said:

﴾ "This has been given to me only because of knowledge I possess." ﴿

[  Al-Qasas, 78 ]


The gains of the worldly life were also given to wise Sulaiman and to Abdul Rahman Ibn Awf. Therefore, since the gains of the worldly life are given to those Allah likes and those Allah does not, owning them is meaningless:  

(( Anas bin Malik narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "How many are there with disheveled hair, covered with dust, possessing two cloths, whom no one pays any mind to - if he swears by Allah then He shall fulfill it." ))

[ At-Tirmizi by Anas bin Malik ]

If we turn away from Allah, Allah will turn away from us:

When you establish a strong relationship with Allah, and when you seek pleasing Him,  you are very significant in His Sight regardless of the law social position you occupy. . A trimmed nail of a janitor (who is a devoted believer) might equal a thousand rich strong deviated sinful people. 
 

﴾ Verily, the most honourable of you with Allah is that (believer) who has At-Taqwa [i.e. one of the Muttaqun (pious - see V.2:2)].  ﴿

[  Al-Hujuraat, 13 ]


((  A person came to the Prophet PBUH so the Prophet said to him: ''let me welcome the one whom Jibrael told me about his coming.'' The man asked: "Did Jibreal tell you about me?"  The Prophet PBUH said to him: "Yes, brother he did. You are one low profile person on earth but a beacon in Allah's Sight".))

[ Mentioned in the relic ]


The Prophet PBUH said:

(( Seek exaltedness in the Sight of Allah ))

[ At-Tabarani by Abi Hurairah ]


I am not urging you to give up, but I am soothing the hearts of those who are decreed by Allah to be weak, oppressed and helpless. Unfortunately, this is  the current situation of the entire Muslim world despite all the potentials we have. This is the truth, because we are helpless, but what we can really do  is increasing our faith, cooperating with one another, giving more to one another, raising our children according to Islamic teachings, applying Islam in our household and at work and fortifying our unity and collaboration in order to thwart the plot of our enemies. This is exactly what we are capable of for the time being.

Muslims are having hard times, and as I say repeatedly: There is a third world war declared against Islam aiming  at impoverishing, misguiding, humiliating and perishing Muslims. Knowing this bitter truth is a thousand times better than living in a comfortable delusion, but keep in mind that Allah exists, He does what He intends (or wills), He is Oft-Forgiving, full of love and He is the Owner of the throne, the Glorious.

﴾ He does what He intends (or wills).  ﴿

[  Al-Burooj, 16 ]


However, when we neglect Allah's Orders, we will be neglected in return by Allah.

No power can stop Allah's Guidance to His servants: 

Dear brothers, let me tell you these words  from heart to heart, there is no powerful party in the  world, no matter how oppressive it is, who can stand in the way of Allah's Guidance to His servants. Islam is unbelievable in the sense that the more it is oppressed, the stronger it gets. It is like putting out fire by pouring oil on it, so what will happen to the fire? The fire will get more blazed.

Islam is the fastest widely spread religion in the world, but what have made it like this?  In the near past, the west used to be the center of attraction by all people in the globe, but that was before  9/11. Before that event the west proved itself as the strongest, richest, smartest and the most beautiful world where there are universities, values and freedom. Let me be realistic with you; the principles which are adapted by westerners are amazing. As you know establishing freedom is something not easy, so the west have freedom democracy, human rights and globalization. Moreover, they respect all religions. All these principles were applied  in the west, and they fascinated Muslims to such an extent that whoever had the green card (the chance) to live there was considered as if he lived in Paradise.  Nevertheless, after 9/11 the west showed their ugly face, so it has been disdained as a civilization, and it turned into an oppressive power, didn't it? 
Islam remains after that event the only religion which sticks to values and worthwhile principles, and this is a golden chance for Muslims to prove themselves and spread the word of the truth, because the salvation of the entire world lies in Islam.  In other words,  the world is in need of  Islam, because all man-made laws hit rock bottom and could grant people neither happiness nor safety.

All the eyes on Muslims who have to do a hard mission, for they cannot spread their religion and call people to it unless they fulfill three conditions. The first condition  is to fully comprehend their own religion. A foreigner intended once to embrace Islam in Egypt, so he met with a very traditional scholar who kept him studying the rulings on  water for six months till the man could not take it anymore, and he refused to embrace Islam because of the irrational complication he noticed in religion Then that very person met another scholar (Muhammad Abdo), who summarized the ruling on water in few words. He said, "The water you drink is the one you use for Wudu and Ghusl." As simple as that. 

Nowadays, we are in dire need of simplifying our religion instead of making it mazes, riddles, quizzes, opinions,  evidences and counter-evidences, because such complexities make man keep away from it.  How can we describe the religion? It should be as simple as  the air we breathe. No one, no party, no group, no school of thought, no sect, no cult, no era and no country on earth can claim that religion is theirs. People need religion as much as they need air, so we should introduce it to people in a simple was, we should rational while explain it and we should apply it. 
Muslims should fully comprehend their religion and apply it in order to gain victory:
A western scientist met the Islamic Community in London, and he said to Muslims, "I do not believe the Muslim  world is able to catch up with the west in the short run, because of the wide gap between the two, yet I firmly believe that the whole world will come to its knees before Muslims, not due to their power but because the salvation of the world lies in Islam, provided (pay attention to the conditions he mentioned) that Muslims fully comprehend their religion, apply it and rightly introduce it to the world." These are the three conditions I have pointed out to earlier.

I was once in America, and a sister asked me, "I am a doctor, and sometimes I have to shake hands with male doctors in the hospital. When I do not do that I am very embarrassed, so what should I do? I mean what is the ruling on shaking hands with strange men?" Of course the answer is very clear, it is not permissible, because of the following Hadith: Muhammad bin Munkadir said that he heard Umaimah bint Ruqaiqah say:

(( I came to the Prophet (PBUH) with some other women, to offer our pledge to him. He said to us: '(I accept your pledge) with regard to what you are able to do. But I do not shake hands with women.' ))

[ At-Tirmizi and An-Nasa'i by Umaimah bint Ruqaiqah ]


However, I wanted to pass this ruling to her in another way so I said, "No one is permitted to shake hands with Queen Elizabeth but seven men, because her status is very exalted according to the British law, and the same goes for the Muslim woman, for no one but seven of her Maharem (a woman's husband or a man whom that woman cannot marry at all, like the brother, the uncle the nephew…) are allowed to shake hands with her according to the Quranic law." My answer was very acceptable to her.

The way you introduce Islam to others must be very attractive. A man said to me once, "Is it rational to consider the testimony of a woman as a half testimony of a man? This is unfair." I said to him, "What do you think  if I say to you that one billion and 300 million Muslims around the world are obliged to offer an act of worship if one woman testifies? Do you know how would this happen? It would happen if a woman sees the new moon of the month of Ramadan and reports it to the lawful, so Muslims around the world agree to offer Sawm on the same day. Her testimony would be enough to make them all start offering Sawm of Ramadan."

Consider this  example about the testimony of the woman. If a man died and left 100 billion Liras for his heirs, and his widow delivered his son after his death, this baby son will be entitled to the entire money or to his share according to Islam, if he took his first breath and cried, but if this baby son was born dead, he would take no penny. Who will testify that this baby son was born alive or dead? The midwife or the female doctor, who delivered him, will testify, right? Hence, these billions will go to this baby son because of the testimony of one woman.

On the other hand, sexual crimes and financial cases such as contractions are very far from woman's interest and domain, so they need two women's testimonies, given women are modest and timid in nature. However, as I said previously, there are cases where one woman's testimony is enough. When I conveyed this issue to him  that way, he accepted it.

Our main problem as Muslims is that we are facing a war against Islam. Whenever we mention applying Shari'ah rulings, people from here and there refer to the ruling of cutting the hand of the thief. Is this what Islam is all about? Islam is a complete method which considers justice, cooperation and unity and not only cutting the hand of the thief. I invoke Allah the Almighty to bring Muslims together, to make them one with one heart and to help them act according to Allah's Method, so that they might deserve the Divine Victory insha Allah (if Allah the Almighty wills.)

﴾ And We send not the Messengers but as givers of glad tidings and as warners. So whosoever believes and does righteous good deeds, upon such shall come no fear, nor shall they grieve. ﴿

[  Al-An'am, 48 ]


Other Languages

Hide Images