The Presenter:
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, the Lord (The One and Only) of the Worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Master Muhammad, upon his family and his companions.
Dear brothers and sisters, we were discussing in the last four days of the series In the Light of Faith according to the Book of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, and the guidance of the great Prophet, Muhammad, peace be upon him.
In this episode, it is our pleasure to welcome again Dr. Muhammad Rateb Al-Nabulsi, the lecturer of Scientific Miracles of the Noble Quran and Prophetic Sunnah at the Faculty of Islamic Law and the Faculty of the Fundamentals of Islamic Religion.
Dr. Rateb, Assalamu Alaikum wa Rahmatu Allah wa Barakatoh.
Dr. Rateb:
Wa Alaikum Assalam wa Rahmatu Allah wa Barakatoh Ustaz Jamal.
The presenter:
Dr. Rateb, man is the dearest creature to Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, and Allah the Almighty is He Who has created him in the best stature. I would like to refer to constructing man morally, the one whom the Noble Quran influences (i.e. shapes his beliefs, morals and values).
. This side of man is important since the good morals and sublime principles tell what type of a man he is, so may you elaborate this point, please?
Man is the utmost creature who is Divinely honored and assigned:
Dr. Rateb:
In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, The Most Merciful. Praise be to Allah, The Lord (The One and Only) of the Worlds, and blessings and peace be upon our Master Muhammad, the honest and the trustworthy.
Ustaz Jamal, may Allah reward you. Man is the utmost creature, for Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Truly, We did offer Al-Amanah (the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allah has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allah's Torment). But man bore it. ﴿
Man is the honored creature, as Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And indeed We have honoured the Children of Adam, and We have carried them on land and sea, and have provided them with At-Taiyibat (lawful good things), and have preferred them above many of those whom We have created with a marked preference.﴿
Man is the creature whom Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, has assigned to worship Him, for Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And I (Allah) created not the jinns and humans except they should worship Me (Alone). ﴿
The believer's commitment to Allah's Way:
The most accurate definition of worship is that it is a voluntary act of worship that is mixed with heartedly love, based on certain knowledge and leads to eternal bliss. In this definition there are three major bases, one of them is scientific, the second is behavioral and the third one is aesthetic.
The behavioral base is the basic one, so bear in mind that if the Muslim is not committed to the Way of Allah, Al-Wahid, Ad-Daiyyan, not only in Ramadan, but also in the other months of the year, he will never be able to reap the fruits of this religion.
Religion to the one who is not religiously committed is mere culture. By the way, there are common phrases said nowadays such as, "This person has Islamic interests", "That man has Islamic background", "This person has Islamic tendencies", and so on, while Islam is totally something else; it is commitment (to Allah's Way). Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Verily, those who believed, and emigrated and strove hard and fought with their property and their lives in the Cause of Allah as well as those who gave (them) asylum and help, – these are (all) allies to one another. And as to those who believed but did not emigrate (to you O Muhammad PBUH)… ﴿
The presenter:
Well, Dr. Rateb, this means that Islam is a set of good morals, high principles, tolerance, and affection, and man should be a reflection of these humanitarian values, and should apply them correctly, so that Allah the Almighty will cast the light of faith into his heart, right?
Whoever follows Allah's Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress:
Dr. Rateb:
In fact, man has a reason that conceives things, a heart that loves people and things, and a body that moves. the reason is nourished by knowledge, the heart is nourished by love and the body is nourished by food and drink. If these needs are satisfied properly, man will never be an extremist. The reason should be filled with facts, so that man knows the truth about the universe, life, and man. Also, when man learns the Way of Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, he will be included in the following Ayaat:
﴾ "…Then whoever follows My Guidance shall neither go astray, nor fall into distress and misery. ﴿
﴾ …Then whenever there comes to you Guidance from Me, and whoever follows My Guidance, there shall be no fear on them, nor shall they grieve. ﴿
[ Al-Baqarah, 38
]
If you connect the two Ayaat together, the meaning will be that whoever follows the Guidance from Allah, he will never gets his mind misguided and his ownself distressed, and he will neither regret the past nor fear the future.
Man's cognitive power is the most precious thing he has:
Allah the Almighty has created in the utmost creature the cognitive power, which is the most precious thing man has. Better yet, it is what distinguishes man from all other creatures. If man tries to boast about the tangible things he has, he should know that they are all surpassed by animals. For instance, the smelling sense he has is surpassed a million folds by the dog. Also, his sight is surpassed by the eagle whose sight is eight folds better than man's. furthermore, the whale surpassed his weight, because it is 150 tons. As for his speed, the bird flies at the speed of 125 km/h. Hence, man surpasses all the other creatures by his cognitive power, which Allah the Almighty has blessed him with, in order to meet its need. Actually, if man's sublime needs are not met, he will be degraded from the level of humanity.
Making man a hero is the greatest miracle of the Quran:
In the previous episodes, may Allah reward you, we talked the issue of the scientific inimitability of the Noble Quran and the Prophetic Sunnah, and in this episode, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the greatest miracle of the Noble Quran is making a hero out of man. You will never find a book in the earth that can make a hero out of an ordinary person. The hero is a distinguished person. Regarding this point, pay attention to what our Master Ja'far, may Allah be pleased with him, said:
(( O king, we were a people in a state of ignorance and immorality, worshipping idols and eating the flesh of dead animals, committing all sorts of abomination and shameful deeds, breaking the ties of kinship, treating guests badly and the strong among us exploited the weak. ))
[ Ahmad, on the authority of Umm Salamah ]
What did the Noble Quran do to his people? Man will not be a true human being if the Noble Quran does not change him totally or does not turn him into a hero in his thoughts, manners, feelings, sacrifices, and interests. The Noble Quran is as Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
﴾ Verily, this Qur’an guides to that which is most just and right… ﴿
The Noble Quran prevents man from having a misguided reason or a miserable ownself. Besides, it fills his mind with knowledge, and his ownself with good feelings.
The presenter:
Dr. Rateb, what are the exalted traits and the high morals he whom the Noble Quran makes and shapes should have? We appreciate that you highlight this point.
The believer is distinguished by his manners:
Dr. Rateb:
Well Ustaz Jamal, what do you expect from a person who is connected with the Infinite; The Creator of the heavens and the earth, Ar-Raheem (the Most Merciful), Al-Ghani (the Self-Sufficient)? He will definitely derive mercy from Allah and will be dependent on Allah Alone. In fact, the believer is a distinguished person, not by his acts of worship, but rather, he is so by his manners, heroism, and exaltedness above mundane things. He is known for his mercy, forgiveness, modesty and wisdom.
The presenter:
He is known for his tolerance as well.
Dr. Rateb:
Yes, of course. Also, he is distinguished by supporting the weak.
The presenter:
By his chivalry too.
Dr. Rateb:
Chivalry, honesty, and trustworthiness, are noble traits. O Ustaz Jamal, the most remarkable things about the believer are that if he talks, he tells the truth, if he deals with people, he is always trustworthy, and if his desires are incited, he never fulfills them unlawfully. These traits are mentioned in the words of our Master Ja'far:
((We remained in this state until Allah sent us a Prophet (peace be upon him), one of our own people whose lineage, truthfulness, trustworthiness and integrity were well-known to us… ))
[ Ahmad, on the authority of Umm Salamah ]
The presenter:
Dr. Rateb, Amanah (the trust) is an essential concept that should be included in the traits man has, what do you think?
Dr. Rateb:
Amanah in its limited sense is the trust man is entrusted with by others. So, in such a case he has to bring back others their trusts in their due times. However, in its wide sense, Amanah is more complicated than that, because Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
﴾ Truly, We did offer Al-Amanah (the trust or moral responsibility or honesty and all the duties which Allah has ordained) to the heavens and the earth, and the mountains, but they declined to bear it and were afraid of it (i.e. afraid of Allah's Torment). But man bore it. ﴿
In its most precise definition, Amanah is your ownself:
﴾ Indeed he succeeds who purifies his ownself (i.e. obeys and performs all that Allah ordered, by following the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism and by doing righteous good deeds)* And indeed he fails who corrupts his ownself (i.e. disobeys what Allah has ordered by rejecting the true Faith of Islamic Monotheism or by following polytheism, etc. or by doing every kind of evil wicked deeds). ﴿
Amanah is to accustom your ownself to worship Allah the Almighty after getting it know Him properly, and it is to get closer to Allah through the acts of worship, giving others and sacrifice in order to deserve Jannah (Paradise).
People belong to two groups:
We can simply categorize people to belong to two groups regardless of their sect, ethnicity, gender, color, and beliefs. They belong to one of these two groups; those who believe in the Hereafter and in Jannah. Based on his belief in Jannah, whoever belongs to this group refrains from disobeying Allah, and he gets closer to Him through making his life based on giving others from his money, giving some of his time or sacrificing his own comfort to help them. and helping others by sharing his experience, wisdom, and whatever Allah the Almighty gives him. The proof is in the following Ayah:
﴾ As for him who gives (in charity) and keeps his duty to Allah and fears Him* And believes in Al-Husna. ﴿
Al-Husna is Al-Jannah. When you believe that you are basically created for Jannah, your actions should reflect this belief. Before knowing Allah, man mistakenly thinks that intelligence lies in taking from others. When the Prophets, peace be upon them, came to this worldly life they gave others, and they never took from them. The powerful, on the other hand, take everything from others, and they never give them.
Once, I read a great passage of an author who wrote a book about Allah's Messenger, peace be upon him. He said, "O you, who came to this life to give others, and you never took from them. O you, who honored man's existence and cared for humanity, who exalted man's reason and defeated herd's instincts. O you, whose excellence made you exalted above all people, but you lived like everyone else. O you, whose mercy was manifested in his delight, whose justice was the principle of dealing with others, whose love was deeply rooted in him, whose sublime manners were reflected in his actions, and whose acts of worship were manifested in solving people's problems.
The presenter:
Muhammad, peace be upon him, is the man whom the Noble Quran, shaped, and we always strive and do our best to have his values and manners, so that we may become the man you refer to, O Dr. Rateb, whom the Noble Quran shapes ( i.e. shapes his beliefs, morals and values).
Whoever knows Allah and acts upon His Way is a great hero:
As long as man knows Allah the Almighty, acts upon His Order, and gets closer to Him, he is considered a great hero. Man is distinguished by his cognitive power, his feelings, and his behavior.
Ustaz Jamal, I would like to confirm this truth: people belong to one of two groups. The first group include those who know Allah, and so they are committed to Allah's Way, they are kind to His creations and they are pleased in the worldly life and the Hereafter. The second group of people include those who are heedless of Allah, and so they are deviated from His Way, they treat His creations badly, and they are miserable in the worldly life and the Hereafter.
Conclusion:
The presenter:
Dr. Rateb, we ask Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, to make us deserve the intercession of Muhammad, peace be upon him. We thank you deeply Dr. Rateb for discussing these exalted values and sublime virtues.
As-Salamu Alaikum wa Rahmatu Allah wa Barakatoh.
Dr. Rateb:
Wa Alaikum As-Salam wa Rahmatu Allah wa Barakatoh.
