Dear brothers, this is lesson No. 5 of interpreting Surat Al-An'am.

Tawheed is the gist of all prophets' Messages:

We will start with interpreting the Ayah No. 17 in which Allah says:

﴾And if Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things.﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 17]

As if this Ayah includes the concept of Tawheed (monotheism), as the gist of Da'wah (call to Allah) of the Prophets is Tawheed.

﴾And We did not send any Messenger before you (O Muhammad PBUH) but We inspired him (saying): La ilaha illa Ana [none has the right to be worshipped but I (Allah)], so worship Me (Alone and none else)."﴿ 

[Al-Anbiya', 25]

﴾Whatever of mercy (i.e. of good), Allah may grant to mankind, none can withhold it, and whatever He may withhold, none can grant it thereafter. And He is the All-Mighty, the All-Wise.﴿ 

[Fatir, 2]

Shirk is the manifestation of weak Tawheed:

You resort to Allah alone when you believe beyond doubt that Allah is the Only Bestower, Preventer, Exalter, Abaser, Bestower of Honor and Humiliator, but when your Tawheed is not strong enough, you would not resort to Him alone, and associate partners with Allah. Thus, Shirk (polytheism) reflects  weak Tawheed. Shirk is not only to worship partners besides Allah, it also means that  you believe that this or that person have the power to exalt or humiliate you, and that this or that person can bestow on you or withdraw from you. You become a true believer when you believe without any doubt that Allah is the Only Bestower, Preventer, Exalter, Abaser, Bestower of Honor and Humiliator, and only then you will resort to Him alone rather than resorting to anyone else.

﴾So decree whatever you desire to decree,﴿ 

[Ta-Ha, 72]

The sorcerers of Fir'aun (Pharaoh) addressed the fiercest oppressor on earth saying:

﴾So decree whatever you desire to decree, for you can only decree (regarding) this life of the world.﴿ 

[Ta-Ha, 72]

And:

﴾They said: "We prefer you not over the clear signs that have come to us﴿

[Ta-Ha, 72]

Had those people not believed beyond doubt that everything was in the Hand of Allah, they would not have dared to confront such a tyrant.

You can taste the sweetness of faith only when you believe in Allah Alone: 

Allah says:

﴾They said: "We prefer you not over the clear signs that have come to us, and to Him (Allah) Who created us. So decree whatever you desire to decree, for you can only decree (regarding) this life of the world* "Verily! We have believed in our Lord, that He may forgive us our faults, and the magic to which you did compel us. And Allah is better as regards reward in comparison to your [Fir'aun's (Pharaoh)] reward, and more lasting (as regards punishment in comparison to your punishment)."﴿ 

[Ta-Ha, 72-73]

Dear brothers, you ca not taste the sweetness of faith, or reap its fruits, you will not be honest with Allah and you will not avoid hypocrisy unless you are believe in Allah as the only God.

﴾And if Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things.﴿

 [Al-An'am, 17]

All your ambitions, hopes and dreams can be fulfilled by Allah the Almighty, Who also has the power to save you from all your fears. 

Allah mentions stories in Quran so that we can learn from them:

In the Quran, the stories are moral and right to the point. When the believers were with Musa (Moses), they had no hope of survival as they were chased by Fir'aun and the sea was in front of them, and they were very few compared to Fir'aun's power, tyranny, army, weapons and grudge, so they said:

﴾The companions of Musa (Moses) said: "We are sure to be overtaken."* [Musa (Moses)] said: "Nay, verily! With me is my Lord, He will guide me."﴿ 

 [Ash-Shu'ara', 61-62]

Also when Yunus was in the belly of the whale, Allah said:

﴾But he cried through the darkness (saying): La ilaha illa Anta [none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)], Glorified (and Exalted) are You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]. Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers." So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress. And thus We do deliver the believers (who believe in the Oneness of Allah, abstain from evil and work righteousness).﴿ 

[Al-Anbiya', 87-88]

((Anas narrated from Abu Bakr, may Allah be pleased with them both, saying: "O Messenger of Allah, if anyone  of them were to look down, they would certainly be able to  see us underneath his feet" The Prophet PBUH said to him, "What is your thought about two, the third of whom is Allah?"))

[Agreed upon by Anas]

This strong faith is shown also by the people of the cave (Ahlul Kahf) when they were inside the cave and by Ibrahim PBUH when he was thrown into the fire:

﴾We (Allah) said: "O fire! Be you coolness and safety for Ibrahim (Abraham)!"﴿ 

[Al-Anbiay', 69]

The strong faith was also manifested when our Master Yusuf was dumped in the well. Keep in mind that the stories in the Qur'an were mentioned neither to enrich our knowledge nor to tell us about the past, but rather Allah told us about them in the Noble Quran, so that we learn from them, and to make sure that only Allah is the Bestower, Preventer, Exalter, Abaser, Bestower of Honor, Humiliator, Afflicter and Propitious.

The harm in worldly life is a small sample of Allah's Torment on the Day of Resurrection:

Dear brothers, Allah says:

﴾And if Allah touches you with harm,﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 17]

What is the meaning of the following Ayah?

﴾And if Allah touches you ﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 17]

The Divine Touch mentioned in this Ayah is similar to the touch when you put some saliva on the tip of your finger and you touch the iron slightly in a very small area in order to see if it is hot enough. Had the earthquake, which hit an area far from Asian shores by 1600 kilometers, hit near mainland, millions of people would have died, but since it hit a remote area, only 200.000people died. This is but a Divine Touch. All the afflictions in the worldly life are but Divine Touches. Namely, the calamities we suffer are reduced doses. Kidneys' pain is unbearable, so is the pain of spasms  in the intestine, and these are but Divine Touches of Torment:

﴾And if Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He,﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 17]

When you pin your hopes on this or that person, when you count on your money, when you rely on your position, and when you put your trust in your people, this behavior reflects  Shirk. In fact, man  resorts to a powerful party (other than Allah) to find security when he has weak Tawheed, but the Divine Treatment for such a person is of the same nature, for Allah will make this party, whom he relies on, turn him down, and he will be shaken by the same side he puts his trust in. This is the Divine Treatment for these cases: 

﴾And if Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He,﴿

[Al-An'am, 17]

I heard about a very rich man whose kidney failed, so he resorted to the best doctor he knew to remove the failed kidney, but instead the doctor removed the good one and thus he became without kidneys.

Putting your trust in Allah while using the available means is faith

When you put your trust in an earthy party and dispense with Allah the Almighty, you should be ready to receive the Divine Treatment, for this party will let you down, will be the barrier between you and your goal and will unarm you of all the means you have. Therefore, you should first use the means you own as if they are everything, and then you should put your trust in the Lord of Lords as if these means are nothing.

Indeed it is true that you, as a father, should look for the best doctor to treat your sick son, and you should follow his instructions and give your son the needed medication carefully, but you should beside that believe beyond doubt that Allah is the only Healer, so you should invoke Him to heal your son, and you should donate money in that cause. Thus, you use the means as if they are enough to get what you want, and then you put your trust in Allah as if they are useless.  This is the true faith.

People usually use means and forget Allah the Almighty, but you should know that using the means and dispensing with Allah in your subconscious is not part of the religion. This is exactly what westerners do. They depend totally on the means exalting them to the Divine Status and dispense with Allah, and this is why every now and then Allah turns them down despite all the means they use. On the other hand, the Muslims are disappointed, because they put their trust in Allah without using the means they have, and this is also wrong, and it is called (Tawaakul). Therefore, the one who uses the means and exalt them to the Divine Status is Mushrik, whereas the one who does not use the means and he only puts his trust in Allah is committing an error. Tawakkul (using means and putting trust in Allah) is pretty much like a road with a deep ditch on the right side (using the means) and another deep ditch on the left side (ignoring the means), so when you use the means alone and you put your trust in them,  you will fall in the ditch of Shirk, whereas when you neglect  the means, you will fall in the ditch of disobedience.

﴾And if Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He,﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 17]

It is proper here to talk about using the means, for you should use the means and then you should put your trust in Allah. You should use the means as if they suffice you, then you put your trust in Allah as if they make you no benefit. Keep  in mind that when you resort to other than Allah, you will be frustrated and your deeds will be in vain.

Depending on means alone and dispensing with Allah leads man to Shrik:

Some doctors whose major is rare mistakenly assume that they will not be patients of their own major because they put their full trust in their knowledge. Surprisingly, the doctor who is superior in a certain specialty and who puts his trust in it will become a patient of his own major, and the architect who assumes that his knowledge is enough to give him security upon building his house, might make a grave mistake in building his own house. Well, this does not mean that I am against perfecting your job or specializing, but I am against Shirk.
 
A doctor in a western country was fanatic about jogging, and he believed that it is the best way to maintain a healthy heart and protect it from diseases, so he used to jog 20 kilometers every day, he had interviews on T.V, he wrote essays and he attended conferences, but he assumed that jogging alone is enough to protect man from all sorts of diseases. Oddly enough, he died at the age of 42 while he was jogging. When man uses means, depends on them and dispenses with Allah, he will fall in the ditch of Shirk, and this is the main disaster. The Prophet PBUH said:

((The servant of Allah should not fear except his sins, and should not hope except in his Lord))

[Musannaf Ibn Abi Shaibah, by Ali]

Sins are the only thing man should fear. Should the believer fear any party other people associate with Allah? The answer is, yes and no, but how is that? Our Master Ibrahim PBUH answered this question in the following Ayah when he said:

﴾And I fear not those whom you associate with Allah in worship. (Nothing can happen to me) except when my Lord (Allah) wills something.﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 80]

Any earthy party should not scare the believer if Allah decrees to protect him from it, but if Allah does not decree to, then he should fear it. Hence, the matter is in the Hand of Allah. It is like a bunch of leashed monsters in the hand of a powerful person; in this case, man should not fear the monsters, but he should fear the one who controls them, for if he unleashes them, they will get to him, and if he keeps them away, he  will survive. Therefore, your connection should be with the One in control (Allah), not with the one under control (the earthy party).
 

﴾Say (O Muhammad PBUH): "O Allah! Possessor of the kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You will, and You endue with honour whom You will, and You humiliate whom You will. In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are Able to do all things.﴿ 

 [Aal-'Imran, 26]

Unless we disbelieve in Taghoot we will not establish a connection with Allah:

If any hardship befalls a person, he should believe that Allah the Almighty afflicts him for a profound wisdom. Hence, in order to survive this hardship man should turn back to Allah, put his trust in Him and use the means to clear it like supplicating and invoking Allah. Hardships are Allah's discipline to some of His believing servants, so if a believer assumes that his problem will be solved by resorting to this party or that or by cringing in humiliation before this person or that, he will be turned down by all of them and will reach a deadlock. On the other hand, if this believer resorts to Allah and invokes Him to open all the blocked paths, Allah will find him a way out of his hardship. Allah says:

﴾And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty).﴿ 

[At-Talaq, 2]

Pay attention to this Ayah:

This Ayah indicates that when all possible earthy solutions are useless, and when this believer accordingly establishes a connection with Allah, reconciles with Him, turns to Him with sincere repentance, worships Him alone, humiliates himself before Allah alone, puts his trust in Him alone and disbelieves in whoever party other than Allah, only then Allah will make a way for him to get out of his difficulty.

Dear brothers, we will never establish a connection with Allah unless we disbelieve in Taghut. Believe me, as long as Muslims are putting their trust in a powerful party, as long as they fear being seized by its  force and as long as they yearn to please it  at the expense of their religion, they will not be able to free themselves from its confines.  Allah says: 

﴾Whoever disbelieves in Taghut and believes in Allah, then he has grasped the most trustworthy handhold that will never break. And Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower.﴿ 

[Al-Baqarah, 256]

Among Allah's Graces upon Muslims is that after 9/11 the powerful countries helped us disbelieve in them, and as I see it, this is the most important Islamic breakthrough following 9/11, for after the westerners relinquished every humane value, the principles and values of Islam are all that  left for the world.  

Shirk means that you are resorting to a helpless party: 

Allah says:

﴾And if Allah touches you with harm, none can remove it but He, and if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things.﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 17]

There is no harm if someone is grateful to people according to the deep meaning of this Ayah, for he who is not grateful to people cannot be grateful to Allah. It is fine to appreciate people's help and bestowal and this is considered an act of worship, because man is ordered to thank the one who does him a favor. Nonetheless, it is not allowed to think that this favor came only from that person without believing that Allah inspired and allowed him to do this favor to this person, because this is a kind of Shirk. There is an Arabic proverb that goes as follows, "Beware of whom you have been charitable to." If you are charitable to a man, but this man forgets that Allah is the One Who inspired you to give him money,  he is involved in Shirk, and so you should expect evil doing from his side because of his Shirk.

﴾ And if He touches you with good, then He is Able to do all things.﴿ 

 [Al-An'am, 17]

Everything you long to is in the Hand of Allah, your hopes, your ambitions, your provision, your health, your wife, your children, your future, your social position, your reputation, your peace of mind, your happiness, your tranquility, your security, your consent and everything else you long to. Thus, the only sin Allah never forgives is Shirk, do you know why?  Because when you associate a partner with Allah you are actually resorting to someone who owns nothing, but when you are a true believer, you resort only to the One Who owns everything. What do you need in your life? Is it health? Is it a successful marriage? Is it an abundant Halal income? Is it peace of mind? Is it tranquility? Is it high position? Everything you long to is in the Hand of Allah, but when you resort to a party other than Allah, you will get nothing, and even that party  will burden you beyond your scope.

Allah is not only a Creator but also a Doer: 

Dear brothers, one of the greatest torments in the worldly life is mentioned in the following Ayah:

﴾So invoke not with Allah another ilah (god) lest you be among those who receive punishment.﴿ 

 [Ash-Shu'ara', 213]

Whoever counts on his money will go astray. Man sometimes mistakenly assumes that money solves all problems. I was at a cardiologist's clinic once when he got a phone call from a rich man who was begging him to find his relative any place in the world to treat his medical condition, and that he would pay any sum of money, but the doctor's answer was, "Unfortunately, there is no hope, and his condition is incurable". Whoever counts on his money will be Divinely disciplined through being afflicted with a problem that cannot be solved by money. A man, who I think is a true believer, made a mistake, when  he said, "Money solves all problems". A while later he was involved in a situation which led him to the solitary confinement cell for 60 days, and though he owned the money,  it did him no good. Some people are afflicted with diseases that cannot be cured even if they pay lots of money.

Tawheed is the essence of the religion, and you are considered a believer when you are Muwahid, and do not ever think that Tawheed is to believe that Allah created the heavens and the earth, for even the devil believes in that. In fact most people believe in this truth, and none denies it. However, those people, such as westerners only believe in Allah as a Creator, not a Manager of all affairs of on earth.

Let me get you back to the crisis of the tsunami; so far 200. 000 people died  in this disaster, and this number might reach 500. 000, while the financial losses are close to 50 billion dollars. This country  needs at least 10 years of continuous work to return back to its condition before this disaster. Still there are people who believe that such as earthquake was  just the outcome of a collision between two plates and not  a Divine Torment from Allah. Allah says:

﴾ And when Allah Alone is mentioned ﴿ 

[Az-Zumar, 45]

This means that when you bring forward an explanation of the disaster in the light of faith, people will reject it, but if you explain this disaster scientifically, they will believe it at once.  Actually, believing only in the scientific interpretation of the disaster, and that it is the result of a collision between two plates which caused the destruction of everything, this will indicate that you believe that Allah is a Creator only, not a Manager of all matters.

﴾Not a leaf falls, but he knows it.﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 59]

His knowledge reaches every leaf that falls, so how about an earthquake, is  Allah not aware of it?

Tawheed means  you believe that Allah's Hand is over people's hand:

Dear brothers, Tawheed is the most crucial concept in the religion, and it is fulfilled by believing that the Hand of Allah controls  the hand of mankind.

﴾ The Hand of Allah is over their hands. ﴿ 

[Al-Fath, 10]

Allah says:

﴾ And you (Muhammad PBUH) threw not when you did throw but Allah threw ﴿ 

[Al-Anfal, 17]

Tawheed means believing that the Power is for Allah alone and no one else's. All these tyrants and criminals are in the Hand of Allah the Almighty, and He can allow them to move, or He can stop  them, for in Allah's Hand lies goodness and harm. Yet, The scholars of Aqidah said, "It is not appropriate to say that Allah harms people though among His Beautiful Names is the name The Afflicter, so  we should mention the two opposite names combined together and say, the Propitious and the Afflicter in pairs, the Preventer and the Bestower, and the Abaser and the Exalter". Do you know why?  Because Allah afflicts man in order to bring goodness to him, Allah tests man to reward him, Allah abases man in order to exalt him and Allah humiliates man in order to bestow  honor upon him, and this is the Divine Policy. 

Test your faith by your Tawheed since  religion is all about Tawheed:

The Almighty Allah says:

﴾And verily, We will make them taste of the near torment (i.e. the torment in the life of this world, i.e. disasters, calamities, etc.) prior to the supreme torment (in the Hereafter), in order that they may (repent and) return (i.e. accept Islam). ﴿ 

[As-Sajdah, 21]

Your faith is not measured by how much facts you know, but it is measured by how much Muwahid you are, given Tawheed is the gist of the religion and "the servants of Allah have not been taught anything better than Tawheed." All perils on earth are in the Hand of Allah, and surviving these perils is based on  being included in the Divine Providence and Protection. Fulfilling your ambitions is dependent on  Allah's Prosperity as well. Thus, you will resort to Allah alone when you believe beyond doubt that harm and goodness, bestowal and withdrawal and exaltedness and abasement are all in His Hand. This is exactly what is required from you. In other words, you are required to resort to Him alone and to disbelieve in whoever party other than Him. Allah then says:

﴾And He is the Irresistible, above His slaves, and He is the All-Wise, Well-Acquainted with all things.﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 18]

The Divine Overcoming is not only in place given the Divine Status is very Exalted, and everything in the universe is in need of Allah in all aspects. Thus, matters are in His Hand alone.

﴾And He is the Irresistible, above His slaves,﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 18]

Glory be to Allah who overcomes His servants by death. Man is able to find solutions to any problem on earth, and believe me there are solutions that dazzle the mind. However, death has no solution whatsoever:

﴾And He is the Irresistible, above His slaves,﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 18]

Glory be to Allah who overcomes His servants by death.

﴾ And He is the All-Wise, Well-Acquainted with all things.﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 18]

Allah is Wise in His Actions and He is the Well-Aware of His servants. Therefore,  whatever Allah decrees to happen, shall come to pass lest Allah would have been blamed, and whatever is not decreed by Allah to happen, shall not come to pass lest any flaw would have been  ascribed to Allah's Wisdom.

When man's Tawheed is sound, all his deeds will be right and he will survive:

The Almighty Allah says:

﴾ We shall punish them gradually from directions they perceive not. ﴿ 

[Al-Qalam, 44]

The richest people in the world visit the shores of the Indian Ocean around this time of the year, and these shores are the most beautiful ones in the world. Those people book their rooms in the most luxurious touristic places  where all major sins are committed and all forbidden pleasures in the three Divine religions are enjoyed. As a result,  their sins brought them gradually to their demise by this tsunami, for the numbers of victims are about  250.000. 
 

﴾And He is the All-Wise, Well-Acquainted with all things.﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 18]

Dear brothers, I would like to clarify this point:  Not every victim of an earthquake is a sinner, for generalization indicates blindness. Every person dies according to his intention, and he will be judged according to his deeds. I must be specific when I talk about an earthquake, for this disaster is a torment to the sinner, a test to the believer who died and he might be considered a martyr and a warning to the survivals of the disbelievers. I do not want anyone to get involved in accusing everyone who died in this disaster of being a sinner. Allah says:

﴾ And Sufficient is your Lord as an All-Knower and All-Beholder of the sins of His slaves.﴿ 

[Al-Isra', 17]

﴾And He is the Irresistible, above His slaves,﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 18]

They are in need of Allah in everything, for Allah is needed by everything and in everything, and Allah overcomes His servants by death.

﴾And He is the All-Wise, Well-Acquainted with all things.﴿ 

[Al-An'am, 18]

This means that Allah is Wise in all His Actions and is All-Aware of His servants' deeds. The two Ayat  interpreted in this lectures are about Tawheed, and as I said earlier, if man's Tawheed is right, his deeds will be right and he will survive. One might ask, how can man stay on the right path towards Tawheed? He can do that by  getting to know Allah better through His creations,  His actions and His Words (the Noble Qur'an). Allah's Words can be a means to know Him by contemplating them, His actions can be a means to know Him by observing them and His creations can be a means to know Him by pondering over them. Hence, when you get acquainted with Allah as you should be, when you become upright on His Path and when you observe His actions which are in favor of the believer, only then your Tawheed will increase and your Aqidah will strengthen by your supplication. When you supplicate Allah and invoke Him in regard of something, His answer to you is either by  making things easy for you, or by  keeping you away from them. Things sometimes are beyond man's scope, so he resorts to Allah believing that Allah hears him and will respond to him, and that everything is in His Hand. Hence, the more you deal with Allah and witness His wonders the more your Tawheed will become right and strong.

Dear brothers we will continue interpreting the rest of Ayat  in the next lecture insha' Allah.