Insignificance of a Human Being and Significance of Creation
Allah SWT has created us from nothing and into something that all creations envied. The status of the creation of Insaan has been described by Allah SWT as a clot or as a germ cell or sperm cell. That is in reality what our origin is, and nothing more.
Allah SWT made us to realize this aspect from the first verses that were revealed:
اقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ -خَلَقَ الْإِنسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ-اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ-الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ-عَلَّمَ الْإِنسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ
Proclaim! (or read!) in the name of thy Lord and Cherisher, Who created-
Created man, out of a (mere) clot of congealed blood:
Proclaim! And thy Lord is Most Bountiful,-
He Who taught (the use of) the pen,-
Taught man that which he knew not.
-Asking man to ponder over where he came from
ثُمَّ خَلَقْنَا النُّطْفَةَ عَلَقَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْعَلَقَةَ مُضْغَةً فَخَلَقْنَا الْمُضْغَةَ عِظَامًا فَكَسَوْنَا الْعِظَامَ لَحْمًا ثُمَّ أَنشَأْنَاهُ خَلْقًا آخَرَ فَتَبَارَكَ اللَّهُ أَحْسَنُ الْخَالِقِينَ
Then We made the sperm into a clot of congealed blood; then of that clot We made a (foetus) lump; then we made out of that lump bones and clothed the bones with flesh; then we developed out of it another creature. So blessed be Allah, the best to create!
-Asking man to wonder of how he was created and transformed into this beautiful form
لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنسَانَ فِي أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِيمٍ
We have indeed created man in the best of moulds,
-Realization of the creation and the realization of the creator
-Once realized, will understand the responsibility towards Allah, towards other creations, towards other human beings, towards himself
Allah SWT has instilled in ourselves a system of understanding good or evil and use our intuitions to follow one or the other. Insaan now thinks that he has explored the outer space so he has achieved something…he has explored the seas, so he has achieved something… he has invented new technology to please his nafs,so he has achieved something… The truth is that insaan has forgotten of Who created this fitrah to explore, to invent, to find solutions… he has forgotten his creator.
A human being that comes into this world, comes with a pure mind and pure heart and that is all he has when he steps into this cruel environment, that sometimes teaches him to become thankful to Allah SWT and sometimes it pushes his Nafs to a level where he becomes munkir of Allah SWT.
So Allah SWT reminds us that although the insaan is created in the best of its forms that is the most stable in physique, the most ideal in psychology, the best in terms of the Zaahiri aspect and the best in terms of the baatini aspect for any being but that this insaan should not forget that his origin was merely a speck , a germ cell or
Or a dot.
Now I would like to share a poem with you that deals with this amazing journey of Insaan towards his creator. Look at this person who came to this duniya with all the pure thoughts and whose mission was to find his creator and suddenly he finds himself trapped in the duniya and the fear of becoming part of it. Then a low point comes in his life when he sees others around him trapped in materialism and he almost looses his hope but still keeps on reminding himself about his own reality. After much struggle he does finds others who are also searching for Allah and that gives him some relief that by keeping this company of righteous people, he will be able to overcome all the hurdles of this tyrant duniya.
Walking on the muddy path I cross the forest of Solitude,
The greenery, the freshness, is magnificent, let alone the magnitude,
My mind is all focused, my heart full of courage,
The journey begins to search for my Creator, to respond to His Message,
O Allah! This is I, a speck, a clot, a dot!
The cold breeze go by my face, makes my hair swim in the air,
Trees swaying, plants dancing, creating harmony everywhere,
Somewhere I see streaks of rays of golden sparkling sunlight,
Forcing their way through the canopy, I wonder at Allah's might,
O Allah! This is I, in search of you, a dot!
There I see a drop of dew just about to fall,
In it are seven colours of life, all trees short and tall,
I hear the water flowing in a nearby stream,
Singing glories of my Creator, knitting a beautiful dream,
O Allah! This is I, in search of you, a dot!
I enter into a town, a town called Materialism,
Where people are known to be selfish, trapped in their own prism,
They have their own values, misery and greediness,
This all looks so dark, full of sadness and no happiness,
O Allah! This is I, in need of Your help, a dot!
Walking on the side of the street, I see many faces in cry,
It seems they have lost the path, the destiny, the urge, the hope to try,
Their looks are so empty; their desires have no aim,
They like to pull each other's leg to get all the fame,
O Allah! It's I, trapped in dunya, a dot!
Women walk bare-chest, attracting others on the way,
Men hovering around them like bees, forgetting about the Day,
Tears flow in my eyes, trickle down the cheeks and dry,
These are specks, dots, clots, who gave up to try,
O Allah! Be Merciful, I am just a dot!
Absorbed in my mind, I cried, my tears soaking the ground,
When suddenly I heard some footsteps that made me turn around,
I saw some people looking at me with hope in their eyes,
Who want to follow the Truth, the Message, and not the made up lies,
O Allah! Be the Guidance, I am just a dot!
The hopelessness will perish; the faith will prevail,
We will work together, to succeed and not to fail,
The Creator will guide us to spread the Truth to all,
So that we may all rise, and not to face the Fall,
O Allah! Bless us with Your Mercy, we are just dots!
My journey carries on to search for my Creator,
Telling others His Message and that no one else is greater,
He is the Master; we are the slaves,
Who showed us the light and let us out of the caves,
O Allah, it's still I, a speck, a clot, a dot!
Wama Taufiqi Ilallah Billah!
June 23, 2006
Showing posts with label jumma. Show all posts
Showing posts with label jumma. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Tauba
Assalam o allaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Wabarakatuhu, my dear respected brothers, sisters and elders.
Qalallau Taala Az Wajal, Allahu la ilaha illa hual Hayyul Qayyum……..
In the name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the most merciful. Salutations be upon our august master Nabi Mohammad SAW, his noble companions and the pious scholars who transmitted this true deen to us.
One day Adam AS said to Allah SWT that O Allah you have given so much power and control to Shaytan over me. How will it be possible for me to save myself from Shaytan. You have given so much power to Shaytan over myself and I am expected to not follow the footsteps of Shaytan in this imbalance of power and temptation.
Allah SWT then said to Adam AS that O Adam, I have appointed such beings over every one of your kind, means over each and every child of Adam AS to protect them from the onslaught of the Shaytan. It is mentioned in the Ahadeeth that every human being has Malaikah or angels over them to protect them. If it were not the mercy of Allah and these angels, the human beings would have been destroyed by the attacks of Shaytan or probably would have not even been existing in the state as we are today or if existed probably would have been worse than the animals.
Adam AS then requested to Allah SWT, that O Allah SWT, You have blessed me with this bounty, then give me another bounty. Allah SWt then said to Adam AS, O Adam, every good thing that you do, We will multiply it by 10 times and if you will do any bad deed it will be counted once. This has been a great bounty of Allah SWT.
Adam AS then said to Allah SWT, O Allah increase for me. Then Allah SWT obviously talks about the increase in the context of Shaytan having power of mankind. Allah SWT then said, My doors of repentance (tawba) will be open right until a person dies.
Now these are three bounties that Allah SWT has given to each one of us as a deterrent against Shaytan.
The Faqeeh and Muhaddith Abul Lays Al Samarqandi narrates an incident from Rasulallah SAW that gives a glimpse of how vast the mercy of Allah SWT is.
Once Umar RA came of Rasulallah SAW and he was crying very very severly. Umar RA, you know what type of a person he was and those who have learnt from ahadeeth will know that he was person of strong heart and when Rasulallah SAW saw him crying, it was very surprising for the prophet.
Nabi Kareem SAW said, O Umar, Ma U'teeka... What is that is making you cry?
Umar RA said that there is youngster that is standing at the door. He is crying so profusely that his crying is making me cry. Rasulallah SAW said to Umar RA that , O Umar call the youngster inside. Rasulallah SAW asked the youngster, Why are you crying? You cried in such a manner that you made even a person like Umar RA cry?
The youngster replied that he had committed a major major, a severe sin. Rasuallah SAW told him, If your sins are equivalent to the seven skies, seven earths and all the mountains on the earth, even then you do not have to worry because Allah SWT will forgive you.
The youngster replied that O Prophet of Allah, my sin is even more than the seven skies, seven earths and the all the mountains on the earth. Rasuallah SAW then asked him, Is your sin greater than the Kursi of Allah SWT?
He said, O Prophet of Allah, according to the understanding I have, my sin is even greater than the Kursi of Allah SWT. Rasuallah SAW then asked him, Is your sin greater than the Arsh of Allah SWT? He said, O Prophet of Allah, my sin is even greater than the Arsh of Allah. Rasuallah SAW then asked him, Is your sin greater than Allah SWT himself? It is a rhetorical question, Is your sin greater or Allah SWT greater. Obviously Allah SWT is greater over all things.
Nabi SAW then asked him, What is the sin you committed that is greater than seven skies, seven earths mountains, the kursi of Allah and even the Arsh of Allah SWT ? He said, O Prophet of Allah, I was a thief who used to steal the Kafan ( the burial shrouds) from the graveyard. Once a young girl was buried in the grave yard and after the family left, I took off her shroud, leaving her naked, and I ran away from there. When I was running I was over-powered by Shaytan and I returned to the grave and committed zina with that dead girl in the Qabr.
Abu Layth Samarqandi says, that, Then Allah SWT out of His Qudrat and Mercy gave life to that girl.
The girl addressed to that man, Are you not ashamed, firstly that you left me naked in the army of the dead where everyone had kafan except me and on top of that you left me infront of Allah SWT in a state of Janaabah. Don't you feel ashamed about it?
So this sin of mine left me paralyzed in my mental faculty and I believe that it is a sin that is greater than the seven skies, earths and the mountains and the kursi and Arsh of Allah SWT.
Nabi SAW heard this, and Nabi SAW sent him away. This person after the meeting with Rasulallah
SAW spent his time making tawba to Allah SWT.
For many days he would ask Allah SWT to forgive him and he made a dua to Allah SWT that if Allah SWT were to forgive him, then first inform Rasulallah SAW about his forgiveness.
Jibraeel AS came to Rasulallah SAW and asked him,
Did you create creation, or Allah created?
Allah created.
Do you provide sustenance to the creation or Allah SWT provides?
Allah provides.
If a person disobeys Allah, is he disobeying Allah or is he disobeying you?
He is disobeying Allah.
Then Jibraeel AS informed Rasulallah SAW that this person made such sincere tawba that Allah SWT has forgiven him. Faqeeh Abul Layth Al Samarqandi says that Rasulallah SAW called this person and gave him the bashaarah of his tawba.
Allah SWT has made each one of us weak and Shaytan does overpower us due to this weakness but one should not feel despondent and should not give up hope from Allah SWT. Each one of us is in the same boat and one should not feel that since our sin is so big we will be left alone by our creator. No, Allah SWT, will definitely forgive us , only if we seek repentance from Him sincerely.
One of the sahabi of Rasulallah SAW known as Wahshi RA. He was the qatil of Hamza RA ( the uncle of Prophet SAW) in the battle of Uhud. He wrote a letter to Rasulallah SAW, that I wish to accept Islam but I have some reservation. The reservation is that Allah SWT says in Quran al Kareem that those who do not commit shirk with Allah SWT, those who do not kill other people, and those who do not commit zina, Allah SWT forgives them. I would accept Islam but I have reservation, that all these three things mentioned in the Quran, I have committed all of them. I committed shirk, I killed people including your uncle and I also committed zina.
So if my tawba is accepted then that means that it is as if I have not done these three things but I HAVE done these three things. So Rasulallah SAW, wrote him back and said,
إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُوْلَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
25:70 "Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful,"
Wahshi RA sent a message back, I still have a reservation. Allah SWT says in this verse that one has to repent, believe and do amaal saalih. This puts the conditions on my forgiveness. I want a forgiveness that is unconditional, what if I don't do amaal al Saleh, then my forgiveness is not complete. To this Rasulallah SAW replied to him,
إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا
4:48 "Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed."
So Nabi Kareem SAW made clear to him Allah SWT says that Allah SWT will forgive anyone except that who does not commit shirk. So as long as he does not commit shirk, he has high chance of forgiveness.
He writes back to Rasulallah SAW,
For this too I have some reservation that Maghfirah is Muallaq on the Masheeat of Allah SWT. What this means is that although I seek forgiveness from Allah SWT, it is upto Allah SWT to forgive me. There is no way of knowing if indeed I am forgiven or not. I want to be forgiven completely and unreservedly. Upon that Rasulallah SAW replied to him with the ayah:
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
39:53 SAY: “[Thus speaks God:] ‘O you servants of Mine who have transgressed against your own selves! Despair not of God’s mercy: behold, God forgives all sins - for, verily, He alone is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!’ ”
That Allah SWT says those who have become despondent of Allah’s mercy, do not lose hope for Allah’s mercy has no bounds.
So my dear respected brothers and sisters, do not let ourselves lose the sight of the vast mercy of Allah SWT. The doors are open and it is upto us to take the path of tawbah and ikhlas. If we take this path, the mercy of Allah SWT is waiting for us and with this mercy our duniya and akhira can become successful. May Allah SWT give us the taufeeq to ask forgiveness for our past sins and give us the ability to be steadfast on the path of righteousness. Ameen.
November 03, 2006
Qalallau Taala Az Wajal, Allahu la ilaha illa hual Hayyul Qayyum……..
In the name of Allah, the most Compassionate, the most merciful. Salutations be upon our august master Nabi Mohammad SAW, his noble companions and the pious scholars who transmitted this true deen to us.
One day Adam AS said to Allah SWT that O Allah you have given so much power and control to Shaytan over me. How will it be possible for me to save myself from Shaytan. You have given so much power to Shaytan over myself and I am expected to not follow the footsteps of Shaytan in this imbalance of power and temptation.
Allah SWT then said to Adam AS that O Adam, I have appointed such beings over every one of your kind, means over each and every child of Adam AS to protect them from the onslaught of the Shaytan. It is mentioned in the Ahadeeth that every human being has Malaikah or angels over them to protect them. If it were not the mercy of Allah and these angels, the human beings would have been destroyed by the attacks of Shaytan or probably would have not even been existing in the state as we are today or if existed probably would have been worse than the animals.
Adam AS then requested to Allah SWT, that O Allah SWT, You have blessed me with this bounty, then give me another bounty. Allah SWt then said to Adam AS, O Adam, every good thing that you do, We will multiply it by 10 times and if you will do any bad deed it will be counted once. This has been a great bounty of Allah SWT.
Adam AS then said to Allah SWT, O Allah increase for me. Then Allah SWT obviously talks about the increase in the context of Shaytan having power of mankind. Allah SWT then said, My doors of repentance (tawba) will be open right until a person dies.
Now these are three bounties that Allah SWT has given to each one of us as a deterrent against Shaytan.
The Faqeeh and Muhaddith Abul Lays Al Samarqandi narrates an incident from Rasulallah SAW that gives a glimpse of how vast the mercy of Allah SWT is.
Once Umar RA came of Rasulallah SAW and he was crying very very severly. Umar RA, you know what type of a person he was and those who have learnt from ahadeeth will know that he was person of strong heart and when Rasulallah SAW saw him crying, it was very surprising for the prophet.
Nabi Kareem SAW said, O Umar, Ma U'teeka... What is that is making you cry?
Umar RA said that there is youngster that is standing at the door. He is crying so profusely that his crying is making me cry. Rasulallah SAW said to Umar RA that , O Umar call the youngster inside. Rasulallah SAW asked the youngster, Why are you crying? You cried in such a manner that you made even a person like Umar RA cry?
The youngster replied that he had committed a major major, a severe sin. Rasuallah SAW told him, If your sins are equivalent to the seven skies, seven earths and all the mountains on the earth, even then you do not have to worry because Allah SWT will forgive you.
The youngster replied that O Prophet of Allah, my sin is even more than the seven skies, seven earths and the all the mountains on the earth. Rasuallah SAW then asked him, Is your sin greater than the Kursi of Allah SWT?
He said, O Prophet of Allah, according to the understanding I have, my sin is even greater than the Kursi of Allah SWT. Rasuallah SAW then asked him, Is your sin greater than the Arsh of Allah SWT? He said, O Prophet of Allah, my sin is even greater than the Arsh of Allah. Rasuallah SAW then asked him, Is your sin greater than Allah SWT himself? It is a rhetorical question, Is your sin greater or Allah SWT greater. Obviously Allah SWT is greater over all things.
Nabi SAW then asked him, What is the sin you committed that is greater than seven skies, seven earths mountains, the kursi of Allah and even the Arsh of Allah SWT ? He said, O Prophet of Allah, I was a thief who used to steal the Kafan ( the burial shrouds) from the graveyard. Once a young girl was buried in the grave yard and after the family left, I took off her shroud, leaving her naked, and I ran away from there. When I was running I was over-powered by Shaytan and I returned to the grave and committed zina with that dead girl in the Qabr.
Abu Layth Samarqandi says, that, Then Allah SWT out of His Qudrat and Mercy gave life to that girl.
The girl addressed to that man, Are you not ashamed, firstly that you left me naked in the army of the dead where everyone had kafan except me and on top of that you left me infront of Allah SWT in a state of Janaabah. Don't you feel ashamed about it?
So this sin of mine left me paralyzed in my mental faculty and I believe that it is a sin that is greater than the seven skies, earths and the mountains and the kursi and Arsh of Allah SWT.
Nabi SAW heard this, and Nabi SAW sent him away. This person after the meeting with Rasulallah
SAW spent his time making tawba to Allah SWT.
For many days he would ask Allah SWT to forgive him and he made a dua to Allah SWT that if Allah SWT were to forgive him, then first inform Rasulallah SAW about his forgiveness.
Jibraeel AS came to Rasulallah SAW and asked him,
Did you create creation, or Allah created?
Allah created.
Do you provide sustenance to the creation or Allah SWT provides?
Allah provides.
If a person disobeys Allah, is he disobeying Allah or is he disobeying you?
He is disobeying Allah.
Then Jibraeel AS informed Rasulallah SAW that this person made such sincere tawba that Allah SWT has forgiven him. Faqeeh Abul Layth Al Samarqandi says that Rasulallah SAW called this person and gave him the bashaarah of his tawba.
Allah SWT has made each one of us weak and Shaytan does overpower us due to this weakness but one should not feel despondent and should not give up hope from Allah SWT. Each one of us is in the same boat and one should not feel that since our sin is so big we will be left alone by our creator. No, Allah SWT, will definitely forgive us , only if we seek repentance from Him sincerely.
One of the sahabi of Rasulallah SAW known as Wahshi RA. He was the qatil of Hamza RA ( the uncle of Prophet SAW) in the battle of Uhud. He wrote a letter to Rasulallah SAW, that I wish to accept Islam but I have some reservation. The reservation is that Allah SWT says in Quran al Kareem that those who do not commit shirk with Allah SWT, those who do not kill other people, and those who do not commit zina, Allah SWT forgives them. I would accept Islam but I have reservation, that all these three things mentioned in the Quran, I have committed all of them. I committed shirk, I killed people including your uncle and I also committed zina.
So if my tawba is accepted then that means that it is as if I have not done these three things but I HAVE done these three things. So Rasulallah SAW, wrote him back and said,
إِلَّا مَن تَابَ وَآمَنَ وَعَمِلَ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا فَأُوْلَئِكَ يُبَدِّلُ اللَّهُ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ حَسَنَاتٍ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا
25:70 "Unless he repents, believes, and works righteous deeds, for Allah will change the evil of such persons into good, and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful,"
Wahshi RA sent a message back, I still have a reservation. Allah SWT says in this verse that one has to repent, believe and do amaal saalih. This puts the conditions on my forgiveness. I want a forgiveness that is unconditional, what if I don't do amaal al Saleh, then my forgiveness is not complete. To this Rasulallah SAW replied to him,
إِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يَغْفِرُ أَن يُشْرَكَ بِهِ وَيَغْفِرُ مَا دُونَ ذَلِكَ لِمَن يَشَاء وَمَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللّهِ فَقَدِ افْتَرَى إِثْمًا عَظِيمًا
4:48 "Allah forgiveth not that partners should be set up with Him; but He forgiveth anything else, to whom He pleaseth; to set up partners with Allah is to devise a sin Most heinous indeed."
So Nabi Kareem SAW made clear to him Allah SWT says that Allah SWT will forgive anyone except that who does not commit shirk. So as long as he does not commit shirk, he has high chance of forgiveness.
He writes back to Rasulallah SAW,
For this too I have some reservation that Maghfirah is Muallaq on the Masheeat of Allah SWT. What this means is that although I seek forgiveness from Allah SWT, it is upto Allah SWT to forgive me. There is no way of knowing if indeed I am forgiven or not. I want to be forgiven completely and unreservedly. Upon that Rasulallah SAW replied to him with the ayah:
قُلْ يَا عِبَادِيَ الَّذِينَ أَسْرَفُوا عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ لَا تَقْنَطُوا مِن رَّحْمَةِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يَغْفِرُ الذُّنُوبَ جَمِيعًا إِنَّهُ هُوَ الْغَفُورُ الرَّحِيمُ
39:53 SAY: “[Thus speaks God:] ‘O you servants of Mine who have transgressed against your own selves! Despair not of God’s mercy: behold, God forgives all sins - for, verily, He alone is much-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!’ ”
That Allah SWT says those who have become despondent of Allah’s mercy, do not lose hope for Allah’s mercy has no bounds.
So my dear respected brothers and sisters, do not let ourselves lose the sight of the vast mercy of Allah SWT. The doors are open and it is upto us to take the path of tawbah and ikhlas. If we take this path, the mercy of Allah SWT is waiting for us and with this mercy our duniya and akhira can become successful. May Allah SWT give us the taufeeq to ask forgiveness for our past sins and give us the ability to be steadfast on the path of righteousness. Ameen.
November 03, 2006
Care for our fellow human beings
Bismillahirahmanirrahim,
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Aalimeen, Wal Aqibatu Lil Muttaqeen, Wasalatu Wassalam o ala Rusulihil Kareem,
Amma Baad,
Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb Dear brothers, sisters and elders,
In the name of Allah, the most benevolent, the most merciful, the master of the day of judgement, who has blessed with the naima of this life and who has sent Quran for our guidance towards the successful path. The one, who sent His last messenger as a haadi to all mankind. Salutations be to this guide and the companions who transmitted to true knowledge of the words of Allah SWT
Come and witness this scene which the Qur’an depicts in the verse: “Sulaiman
gathered an army comprised of Jinn, men and birds; they were all kept under strictdiscipline. Once in expedition he was marching with his army when they came across a valley of ants, one of the ants said:
حَتَّى إِذَا أَتَوْا عَلَى وَادِي النَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
“O ants get into your habitation, lest Sulaiman and his army crush you under their feet without them noticing”.
So Sulaiman smiled laughing at their statement, and said:
فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًا مِّن قَوْلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَى وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِي بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِي عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِينَ
“O Lord! Inspire me to give thanks for the favours you have bestowed on me and on myparents, and to do such good that will please, and admit me, by your mercy among your righteous servants.”
Here it was; Sulaiman, the messenger of Allah, passing by among his range of troops comprising Jinn, men and birds, in order and harmony. You can imagine this great number of troops who were all under his command. Sulaiman went by a valley that was occupied by a community of ants; hence Allah named it the Valley of Ants. The kingdom of ants, like its counterpart the bee, is a complex organisation with differentiated roles for different sectors- a true division of labour. They enjoy working in support of each other with administrative, management and legal obligation on all. All this is achieved subconsciously and in impressive harmony; something that perhaps mankind fails to achieve despite what they have been given in terms of knowledge,intellect and comprehension.
As soon as one of the ants saw this formidable army it called out(its now immortal, instruction which the Koran has recorded):
“O ants get into your homes, lest Sulaiman and his army crush you under their feet without them noticing”
Yes the Koran has recorded this statement from a mere ant which we would barely be able to see…Why should these words be written down out of all words that are uttered? It is invariable that an endless number of words are said by the various creatures in this wide globe. But it is by Allah’s Divine wisdom that He has chosen to preserve the ant’s short statement.
Allah has preserved these words as they contain wisdom, justice, pure sincere advice, and consideration for the Prophet Sulaiman who was the ruler and king at the same time. It is also a reference to the right of society on the individual.
These, dear brothers and sisters, are noble and high values which are at the core of Islam.Within this short statement is an indication of the responsibility of the individual towards their community. The ant could have sought survival for itself alone, leaving behind each to fend for themselves, or face their fate. But it did not; it sounded a warning to them all, stating clearly what the threat was (“Lest Sulaiman and his army crush you”) and informing them that it wasn’t deliberate, but rather an inadvertent threat. The Ant knew that it was justice which came from Heavens that prevented such an event and further it was not in the tradition of Prophets to kill without right, even ants!
Just as (the ant) sought survival for itself, it desired it for the others too. It felt direct responsibility for their safety. Such has been the command of Islam as the Prophet has stated:
“Desire for your brother what you desire for yourself”
Islam asserts the individual’s responsibility towards the wider community. Every individual within a community is in charge of an aspect in life. The Prophet says: “You are all responsible, and each one of you will be asked about his responsibility”. Each Muslim must have a similar sentiment to that of the ant. Each one of us must sense that he is responsible for Islam, his community, in addition to the enjoining of good and forbidding of evil which is but another feature of the individual’s responsibility towards society.
One should not seek escape for himself alone or to be isolated from their surrounding.Allah says in the Qur’an:
“And watch out for a tribulation that will not inflict those who commit wrong alone”.
We, as individuals of this community have similar obligations upon us. We as individuals here will responsible for our roles here on the day of Judgement. We, as individuals here, will be held accountable for these obligations.
Caring about our fellow muslims is the first step to be closer to them. This is the blessed month of Ramadan and there is no better time to shake ourselves within and ask ourselves that we have a task to do. The work to take care of those around us. If we are breaking our fast, then the thought should come in our minds if the brother next to me has enough to break the fast. If we are to enjoy a bounty of Allah, the feeling should come within us if the muslim next to me has the same liberty to enjoy that bounty. The effort should be made to know more about the muslims we know so we can learn what situations they are in and effort must be made to help them in anyway we can.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Be as the Qur’an has told you about the ant and as the Prophet described the believers: Believers, in their bond and sympathy towards each other are like a single body. If an organ within it falls ill, the whole body gathers in support by staying awake.
Be like this one whole body.
Wama Taufiqi Ilallah Billah
September 29, 2006
Alhamdulillahi Rabbil Aalimeen, Wal Aqibatu Lil Muttaqeen, Wasalatu Wassalam o ala Rusulihil Kareem,
Amma Baad,
Assalam o allaikum Wr. Wb Dear brothers, sisters and elders,
In the name of Allah, the most benevolent, the most merciful, the master of the day of judgement, who has blessed with the naima of this life and who has sent Quran for our guidance towards the successful path. The one, who sent His last messenger as a haadi to all mankind. Salutations be to this guide and the companions who transmitted to true knowledge of the words of Allah SWT
Come and witness this scene which the Qur’an depicts in the verse: “Sulaiman
gathered an army comprised of Jinn, men and birds; they were all kept under strictdiscipline. Once in expedition he was marching with his army when they came across a valley of ants, one of the ants said:
حَتَّى إِذَا أَتَوْا عَلَى وَادِي النَّمْلِ قَالَتْ نَمْلَةٌ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّمْلُ ادْخُلُوا مَسَاكِنَكُمْ لَا يَحْطِمَنَّكُمْ سُلَيْمَانُ وَجُنُودُهُ وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ
“O ants get into your habitation, lest Sulaiman and his army crush you under their feet without them noticing”.
So Sulaiman smiled laughing at their statement, and said:
فَتَبَسَّمَ ضَاحِكًا مِّن قَوْلِهَا وَقَالَ رَبِّ أَوْزِعْنِي أَنْ أَشْكُرَ نِعْمَتَكَ الَّتِي أَنْعَمْتَ عَلَيَّ وَعَلَى وَالِدَيَّ وَأَنْ أَعْمَلَ صَالِحًا تَرْضَاهُ وَأَدْخِلْنِي بِرَحْمَتِكَ فِي عِبَادِكَ الصَّالِحِينَ
“O Lord! Inspire me to give thanks for the favours you have bestowed on me and on myparents, and to do such good that will please, and admit me, by your mercy among your righteous servants.”
Here it was; Sulaiman, the messenger of Allah, passing by among his range of troops comprising Jinn, men and birds, in order and harmony. You can imagine this great number of troops who were all under his command. Sulaiman went by a valley that was occupied by a community of ants; hence Allah named it the Valley of Ants. The kingdom of ants, like its counterpart the bee, is a complex organisation with differentiated roles for different sectors- a true division of labour. They enjoy working in support of each other with administrative, management and legal obligation on all. All this is achieved subconsciously and in impressive harmony; something that perhaps mankind fails to achieve despite what they have been given in terms of knowledge,intellect and comprehension.
As soon as one of the ants saw this formidable army it called out(its now immortal, instruction which the Koran has recorded):
“O ants get into your homes, lest Sulaiman and his army crush you under their feet without them noticing”
Yes the Koran has recorded this statement from a mere ant which we would barely be able to see…Why should these words be written down out of all words that are uttered? It is invariable that an endless number of words are said by the various creatures in this wide globe. But it is by Allah’s Divine wisdom that He has chosen to preserve the ant’s short statement.
Allah has preserved these words as they contain wisdom, justice, pure sincere advice, and consideration for the Prophet Sulaiman who was the ruler and king at the same time. It is also a reference to the right of society on the individual.
These, dear brothers and sisters, are noble and high values which are at the core of Islam.Within this short statement is an indication of the responsibility of the individual towards their community. The ant could have sought survival for itself alone, leaving behind each to fend for themselves, or face their fate. But it did not; it sounded a warning to them all, stating clearly what the threat was (“Lest Sulaiman and his army crush you”) and informing them that it wasn’t deliberate, but rather an inadvertent threat. The Ant knew that it was justice which came from Heavens that prevented such an event and further it was not in the tradition of Prophets to kill without right, even ants!
Just as (the ant) sought survival for itself, it desired it for the others too. It felt direct responsibility for their safety. Such has been the command of Islam as the Prophet has stated:
“Desire for your brother what you desire for yourself”
Islam asserts the individual’s responsibility towards the wider community. Every individual within a community is in charge of an aspect in life. The Prophet says: “You are all responsible, and each one of you will be asked about his responsibility”. Each Muslim must have a similar sentiment to that of the ant. Each one of us must sense that he is responsible for Islam, his community, in addition to the enjoining of good and forbidding of evil which is but another feature of the individual’s responsibility towards society.
One should not seek escape for himself alone or to be isolated from their surrounding.Allah says in the Qur’an:
“And watch out for a tribulation that will not inflict those who commit wrong alone”.
We, as individuals of this community have similar obligations upon us. We as individuals here will responsible for our roles here on the day of Judgement. We, as individuals here, will be held accountable for these obligations.
Caring about our fellow muslims is the first step to be closer to them. This is the blessed month of Ramadan and there is no better time to shake ourselves within and ask ourselves that we have a task to do. The work to take care of those around us. If we are breaking our fast, then the thought should come in our minds if the brother next to me has enough to break the fast. If we are to enjoy a bounty of Allah, the feeling should come within us if the muslim next to me has the same liberty to enjoy that bounty. The effort should be made to know more about the muslims we know so we can learn what situations they are in and effort must be made to help them in anyway we can.
Dear brothers and sisters,
Be as the Qur’an has told you about the ant and as the Prophet described the believers: Believers, in their bond and sympathy towards each other are like a single body. If an organ within it falls ill, the whole body gathers in support by staying awake.
Be like this one whole body.
Wama Taufiqi Ilallah Billah
September 29, 2006
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