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 16 of interpreting Surat Al-An'am.
Whoever refuses to see and listen to Al-Haqq intends not to believe:
I will start with the Ayah No. 51 where Allah says:
﴾ And warn therewith (the Qur'an) those who fear that they will be gathered before their Lord, when there will be neither a protector nor an intercessor for them besides Him, so that they may fear Allah and keep their duty to Him (by abstaining from committing sins and by doing all kinds of good deeds which He has ordained).﴿
Dear brothers, Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Verily, those who disbelieve, it is the same to them whether you (O Muhammad PBUH) warn them or do not warn them, they will not believe.﴿
Whoever refuses to listen to and see Al-Haqq (the truth), veiling his eyes from seeing it cannot be guided (to the Path of Allah), because he decides not to believe. A thinker said, "I have never seen deafer than the one who refuses to listen."
﴾ And those who disbelieve, say: "You (O Muhammad PBUH) are not a Messenger."﴿
Accordingly, when man seeks Al-Haqq, when he reckons himself and asks where he comes from, where he is heading to and why he exists intending by that to know the secret behind his existence, why he is in the worldly life, what his mission is, what happens after death and what pleases the One Who created him, and when man seeks the answers for all these key questions, he deserves to be given glad tidings that his questions will be answered, and he will respond to the Messenger's call.
Allah's Ayat confirm that it is impossible to know Al-Haqq without pursuing it:
The one who seeks his desires only, on the other hand, is someone who draws a veil on his sight and closes his ears, and the Quran for him is as follows:
﴾ And it (the Qur'an) is blindness for them ﴿
Allah also says:
﴾ And it increases the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers) nothing but loss.﴿
Allah says:
﴾ And if We had revealed it (this Qur'an) unto any of the non-Arabs* And he had recited it unto them, they would not have believed in it.﴿
[ Ash-Shu'ara', 198-199 ]
It is rather impossible for someone to know Al-Haqq without seeking it, and it is rather impossible to find Al-Haqq without pursuing it. This is the precise meaning of so many Ayat in the Quran:
﴾ Surely, therein is a sign for you, if you believe. ﴿
One might say, "I believe in Allah's Ayat", but if what he says is true, then why does he not make use of these Ayat? What does that mean? It means that unless you willingly take a decision to seek Al-Haqq, you will never make use of it. Hence, I consider the one who does not comprehend Al-Haqq a very expensive advanced camera which has the potentials to take the best photos, but it does not have a film inside it.
Allah the Almighty guides whoever pursues Al-Haqq:
Some Muslims say, "Those who invented all the scientific breakthroughs will definitely be admitted to Paradise", but who gave you the permission to pass judgments? This inventor may seek money, fame and superiority in the worldly life only, so why do you give him credit of seeking the Hereafter in his invention? Why do you involve him in something he never pursued in the first place? You are not a guardian for any human being, and only the Creator judges servants, so relax and let others relax. People can only judge what they apparently see, whereas Only Allah judges the intentions. Allah says:
﴾ And warn therewith (the Qur'an) ﴿
He is warned with the Quran:
﴾ Those who fear that they will be gathered before their Lord, ﴿
Some companions, may Allah be pleased with them all, said, "We were bestowed faith before the Quran was revealed", which means that they sought Al-Haqq and reached it. Allah says:
﴾ As for those who strive hard in Us (Our Cause), We will surely guide them to Our Paths (i.e. Allah's Religion - Islamic Monotheism). And verily, Allah is with the Muhsinun (good doers)."﴿
When you ask Allah where Al-Haqq is, be sure that Allah will guide you to Al-Haqq. Your quest is deep and sincere, so Allah will accomplish the mission of guiding you to Al-Haqq. Allah says:
﴾ Truly! Ours it is (to give) guidance, ﴿
Allah the Almighty is the One Who guides those who seek Al-Haqq, and so it soothes man when he reads:
﴾ Had Allah known of any good in them, He would indeed have made them listen﴿
Do not worry about people who seek Al-Haqq, because whoever seeks Al-Haqq no matter how far he is, Allah will guide him to it, or bring it to him. This fact is inevitable, because Allah promises to guide His Creations, given He created them to grant them happiness, to guide them to Him, to push them close to His doorstep and to make them happy in the worldly life and in the Hereafter. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Except him on whom your Lord has bestowed His Mercy (the follower of truth - Islamic Monotheism) and for that did He create them.﴿
The meaning of Tawheed (monotheism):
Turn a deaf ear to those who say, "Allah created us to torture us". This is a satanic thought, and it is , because Allah created us to grant us happiness and guidance.
Dear brothers:
﴾ And warn therewith (the Qur'an) those who fear that they will be gathered before their Lord,﴿
Those are the ones who will listen to you, those are the ones who will most likely respond to you, and those are the ones who will survive torment in the worldly life and in the Hereafter:
﴾ And warn therewith (the Qur'an) those who fear that they will be gathered before their Lord, when there will be neither a protector nor an intercessor for them besides Him.﴿
This is what Tawheed (monotheism) is all about. They know beyond doubt that Only Allah will protect them, and they believe that no matter how powerful or rich man is, his richness and power will do him no good in the Sight of Allah, and that uprightness and following Al-Haqq are the only things that matter in the Sight of Allah. That is why we always say in the supplication, "There is no refuge from Allah but unto Him Alone" and "We seek refuge from Your Wrath by Your Contentment"
﴾ When there will be neither a protector nor an intercessor for them besides Him,﴿
Allah will handle their matters.
There will be no intercessor for them on the Day of Resurrection when people come individually, whereas in the worldly life they summon, plot and support one another in the cause of falsehood.
The believer abides by the Quran (the book of Allah):
There are two lines of poetry which reflect the double standard policy practised in our era:
Killing a man in a forest is an unforgivable crime
While killing Muslim people is a controversial matter
People plot with the powerful man, because they fear his tyranny, and they long to what he owns, so they step on their principles, but on the Day of Resurrection, people will come singly to their Lord without any supporter, defender or protector. It was reported in the relic that on the Day of Resurrection, a mother may see her son and say to him, "O My son, I fed you from my breast, I carried you in my womb, and I let you sleep in my lap. May you grant me only one good deed of yours, so that I can benefit from it?" Her son will say to her, "O my mother, I wish I could. I am suffering from what you are suffering."
﴾ And warn therewith (the Qur'an) those who fear that they will be gathered before their Lord,﴿
The self-reproaching person will be worried upon sinning, and he will hold his own self responsible for his errors. The heedless person acts randomly, so he is like a four-footed creature in the Sight of Allah unlike the believer who abides by Allah's Book (the Noble Quran). The self-reproaching person reckons himself severely, and the one who does so in the worldly life will get easy reckoning on the Day of Resurrection unlike the one who goes easy on reckoning his ownself in the worldly life, for he will be severely reckoned on the Day of Resurrection.
Fearing Allah is the head of Hikmah (wisdom), and the more you know Allah, the more you fear Him, because you know a lot about His Justice and you know that He is Al-Haqq (the Judge) and Al-Adl (the Just). Also, you believe that on the Day of Judgment all accounts will be settled, and the oppressed shall get his rights from the one who oppressed him. Had the oppressor in the worldly life known how the oppressed man would be treated by Allah, he would have wished that he had been the oppressed.
A man said once to a scholar, "You backbit me" to which the scholar answered, "Who are you to backbite you. Had I backbitten someone, I would have chosen to backbite my parents, because they are the ones who deserve to have my righteous deeds granted to them." Had the oppressor in the worldly life known how much the person he oppressed shall take from Allah, he would have wished that he had been the oppressed.
﴾ So, by your Lord (O Muhammad PBUH), We shall certainly call all of them to account* For all that they used to do.﴿
(( Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "On the Resurrection Day, the rights will be paid to those to whom they are due so much so that a hornless sheep will be retaliated for by punishing the horned sheep which broke its horns." ))
[ Muslim by Abi Hurairah
]
If a sheep with horns butts a hornless sheep, the latter will be retaliated for on the Day of Resurrection. If a man gunned down a bird for fun or out of practicing his hunting hobby, and not for the purpose of eating it, this bird will have a humming sound under the Divine Throne complaining, "O Lord, ask him why he killed me?
Pleasing Allah is what counts:
By Allah dear brothers, if people know the strict reckoning which is awaiting them, they will count to billion before they oppress any creature. Nowadays, entire nations are killed and in the end times only Allah knows how wide the oppression will prevail. The Prophet PBUH mentioned that in the following Hadith:
(( The world will not perish until a man from my offspring takes charge of my Ummah. He will fill it with justice as it shall become full of oppression and injustice.))
[ Ahmad by Abi Sa'eed Al-Khudri ]
Dear brothers, the one who fears the day when he will be resurrected and called to account for all his deeds has goodness in him, and Allah asked His Prophet to address the people like this one as follows:
﴾ Therefore remind (men) in case the reminder profits (them).﴿
A poet said:
Only alive people will hear you upon calling them
However your calling is falling on deaf ears
If you are blowing on fire it will blaze,
but you are blowing on ashes
The believer has no doubts that everything is in the Hand of Allah Alone. If all people praise you while you are not praised by Allah, their praising is worthless, but if all people get angry with you while Allah is pleased with you, their anger shall never harm you. Therefore, what really counts is to please Allah.
﴾ Verily, The Muttaqun (pious), will be in the midst of Gardens and Rivers (Paradise)* In a seat of truth (i.e. Paradise), near the Omnipotent King (Allah, the All-Blessed, the Most High, the Owner of Majesty and Honour).﴿
Context and occasion of the Revelation of this Ayah:
Dear brothers, let us move to the following Ayah:
﴾ And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon seeking His Face. You are accountable for them in nothing, and they are accountable for you in nothing, that you may turn them away, and thus become of the Zalimun (unjust).﴿
The chiefs, the leaders and the elite of Quraish realized that those who were following the Prophet PBUH were from the lower class people, they were mob and weak, and they were called vagabond in pre-Islamic period as. Usually such people are socially insignificant, they are not missed and they are not recognized when they are absent, so when Quraish realized that fact, given the chiefs of Quraish were powerful and rich, and they belonged to the high class people.
They refused to sit in the Prophet's assembly, and they said, "O Mohammad, if you want us to come to your assembly (and listen to you), you should throw them out because we cannot be with them in one place, for this will affect our social position negatively and compromise our prestige. Therefore, if you want us to come to you, you should throw them out."
﴾ And turn not away those who invoke their Lord,﴿
When the Prophet PBUH refused their offer they suggested a comprise asking him to have two separate assemblies; the first one would be for them and after they would be done with him, the second assembly with the weak and poor would start. Because the Prophet PBUH was very keen on guiding people to the Path of Allah, and because he believed that if those powerful chiefs embraced Islam, their followers would follow them, he reconsidered their suggestion, and he almost accepted their solution of having two assemblies: one assembly would be for the chiefs and the leaders and the other one would be for the poor and the weak, but upon considering that, he received the Divine Lamentation.
The Divine Lamentation is of two kinds:
We should believe undoubtedly that the Divine Lamentation is of two kinds: One is in your favor and one is against you. How would the Divine lamentation that is "in your favor" be? To make the answer easier for you consider the example of a father who sees his son studying all night long without getting enough sleep. In this case, the father will say to him, "O son, you should get some sleep to rest your body which is your vehicle". Is his lamentation in his son's favor or against him? His lamentation is in the favor of his son and this lamentation is significantly different from the other kind. On the other hand, if this father is sure that his son is not studying at all, he is wasting his time, he wanders in the streets and he neglects his homework, he will laments him negatively.
Concerning the Divine Lamentation, it was in the favor of the Prophet PBUH, and Allah knows that the Prophet PBUH reconsidered their suggestion out of being keen on guiding his people to the Path of Allah and taking their hands towards Al-Haqq. Allah also knows that the Prophet PBUH longed to guide all those leaders to Islam, so that their followers would follow them. Yet he received the Divine Lamentation which was in his favor; as if Allah said to him, "O Muhammad, leave them be since there is no goodness in them, and do your best with those weak and poor, because only those are the ones who are seeking Allah's Countenance."
The daily life in the worldly life makes people come up with worldly oriented terms and values according to which the rich, the powerful, the smart and the handsome are respected though they might commit major mistakes. These are the worldly standards according to which people measure one another, but according to the Noble Quran, these values are worthless unlike different set of Quranic values. Allah says:
﴾ Allah will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and those who have been granted knowledge.﴿
Allah also says:
﴾ And taught you that which you knew not. And Ever Great is the Grace of Allah unto you (O Muhammad PBUH).﴿
[ An-Nisa', 113
]
In another Ayah, Allah says:
﴾ For all there will be degrees (or ranks) according to what they did.﴿
There are only two values in the Quran: the value of knowledge and the value of deeds. In other words, these are the only values considered in the Noble Quran while evaluating people, and thus we should say, the Ummah will never awaken unless she uses the Quranic values as a reference. As for the values of money, kin and power, they are worthless and rejected by the Quran.
Seek exaltedness in Allah's Sight:
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon seeking His Face.﴿
[ Al-An'am, 52
]
Those are the ones who seek Allah's Countenance and long to please Him. It is said, "O Lord, You are my destiny and pleasing You is my aim." Those are the ones who seek Allah's everlasting Blessings, they long to please Him, they strive to draw close to Him and they pursue His Content. Though they might be considered according to the worldly values the low class people, they are in the highest ranks and levels in the Sight of Allah. Accordingly, "Seek exaltedness in Allah's Sight."
(( Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "Many a person with shaggy and dusty hair, dusty and driven away from doors (because of their poverty and shabby clothes) were to swear by Allah (that something would happen), Allah will certainly make it happen."))
[ At-Tirmizi by Anas Ibn Malik ]
I was once in Morocco to attend a conference in one of the classiest hotels. In the early morning I heard the voice of a man, who was a janitor in the hotel, reciting the Quran in Fajr Salah. His voice was very beautiful, and upon listening to him it crossed my mind that the nail trim of that unnoticed man in that hotel might equal thousands of the very rich men who were customers of that hotel.
Difference between disbelievers and believers according to the Quran:
Dear brothers, the worldly measures are worthless in the Sight of Allah, and the proof of that is that Allah gave Qarun great wealth though He does not like him, and He gave Fir'aun (Pharaoh) the kingdom though He does not like him, but what did Allah give the Prophets, peace be upon them, on the other hand? He gave them knowledge and wisdom.
﴾ And when he attained his full strength, and was perfect (in manhood), We bestowed on him Hukman (Prophethood, right judgement of the affairs) and religious knowledge [of the religion of his forefathers i.e. Islamic Monotheism]. And thus do We reward the Muhsinun (i.e. good doers - see the footnote of V.9:120).﴿
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ "Are those who know equal to those who know not?" It is only men of understanding who will remember (i.e. get a lesson from Allah's Signs and Verses).﴿
Allah says:
﴾ Is then he who is a believer like him who is Fasiq (disbeliever and disobedient to Allah)? Not equal are they.﴿
In another Ayah, Allah says:
﴾ Shall We then treat the (submitting) Muslims like the Mujrimun (criminals, polytheists and disbelievers, etc.)?﴿
He also says:
﴾ Is he whom We have promised an excellent promise (Paradise), which he will find true, like him whom We have made to enjoy the luxuries of the life of (this) world, then on the Day of Resurrection, he will be among those brought up (to be punished in the Hell-fire)? ﴿
[ Al-Qasas, 61
]
Allah also 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.﴿
The worldly life is the farmland for the Hereafter:
I hope to see the spirit of the obedient believer in its best shapes, because he is a pious and righteous servant of Allah.
﴾ So do not become weak (against your enemy), nor be sad, and you will be superior (in victory) if you are indeed (true) believers.﴿
We, Muslims, should never admire the money and children of the heedless people who are arrogant and haughty, and who disdain the believers. We should never admire their power, might, money or their scientific breakthroughs. Instead, we should believe beyond doubt that this worldly life is the farmland for the Hereafter, and the one who knows His Lord, acts upon His Method and strives to please Him is the real winner. Allah says:
﴾ And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and made to enter Paradise).﴿
Allah also says:
﴾ And whoever is removed away from the Fire and admitted to Paradise, he indeed is successful. The life of this world is only the enjoyment of deception (a deceiving thing).﴿
As if Allah said to the Prophet PBUH lamenting him: O Muhammad, you were so keen on guiding people to Me, and you thought that if those chiefs of Quraish embraced Islam, their followers would do the same, but do not give any weight to them, and instead be keen on the poor and the weak, because those are the ones who are seeking My Countenance.
Leave the mission of judging people to Allah Alone:
A rich person might listen to Al-Haqq just to add a spiritual pleasure to the other materialistic pleasures of his, but he does not change himself and he does not abandon sins. All he does is just adding another glory to his many glories by inviting this or that scholar to his daughter's wedding ceremony, so that the scholar gives a religious speech in it, given his money might be from unlawful ways and his relations might be unacceptable in Islam.
Unless man responds to Allah the Almighty and to his Messenger PBUH, he is insignificant in the Sight of Allah despite his wealth and power. Once a wedding ceremony was held in a very classy hotel, where the wedding cost tens of millions, wine was served, dancers were invited and endless of sins were committed in that ceremony. Yet, they wrote on the invitation cards the following Ayah, "good women are for good men and good men are for good women"!!!
﴾ And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon seeking His Face. You are accountable for them in nothing, and they are accountable for you in nothing,﴿
"Your duty is to convey (the Message)" means that you are not in charge of judging them. Some people might say, "Those weak and poor people resorted to you so that you would solve their problems", but how did they know? When a man goes to Masjid a foe of his might say, "Well, he goes there just to get benefits", but who told you so? Did you open his heart? Did you know the unseen? Are you aware of that which Allah hides from all creations? Do not appoint yourself as a guardian for people. Leave evaluating people to Allah Alone, and do not pass judgments, because you are not accountable for their deeds, and they are not accountable for yours. Thus, your limits allow you to judge what you see, but Only Allah judges the intentions.
The word "fitnah" (adversity) is condemned for its results:
Dear brothers, Allah says:
﴾ You are accountable for them in nothing, and they are accountable for you in nothing, that you may turn them away, and thus become of the Zalimun (unjust)* Thus We have tried some of them with others, that they might say: "Is it these (poor believers) that Allah has favoured from amongst us?" Does not Allah know best those who are grateful?﴿
Allah the Almighty might give a person full health and inflict another with diseases, but both men are Divinely tested; the test of the healthy man lies in thanking Allah for his good health, and the test of the sick man is to endure his sickness. Richness and poverty are also Divine Tests to mankind. In fact the test (or trial) is not a bad thing, but the results of the test might be bad (if man fails in his test). The Almighty addressed Musa by saying:
﴾ Then you did kill a man, but We saved you from great distress and tried you with a heavy trial.﴿
This means that Musa was tested and he succeeded in the test. Hence, man is tested when he is granted a blessing and when he is deprived of it. For instance, if he is rich, his test is richness, and if he is poor his test is poverty, if he is powerful his power is the test, and if he is weak, weakness is his test. You are tested in the blessings bestowed upon you and in the things withdrawn from you, and this is how man is tested twice.
The rich man might succeed in his test or might not, and so might the poor. Thus, the results of the test are what really count. The poor man might pass the Divine Test and deserves the Paradise which is as wide as the heavens and the earth, whereas the rich man might fail in the Divine Test and deserves everlasting torment in Hellfire. This indicates that it is not about the test itself, but it is all about the results (success).
﴾ Thus We have tried some of them with others, that they might say: "Is it these (poor believers) that Allah has favoured from amongst us?" Does not Allah know best those who are grateful?﴿
We are tested in everything which is withdrawn from us, and in everything we were endowed with. Accordingly, among the Prophetic supplications is the following:
(( 'Abdullah bin Yazid Al-Khatmi Al-Ansari narrated that the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) used to say in his supplication: "O Allah grant me Your love and the love of those whose love will benefit me with You. O Allah, whatever you have provided me of that which I love, then make it strength for me for that which You love. O Allah, and what you have kept from me of that which I love, then make it for me a period of rest in that which You love. ))
[ At-Tirmizi by Abdullah Ibn Yazid al-Khatmi ]
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