The Features of Madeenan Revelations
In contrary of Makkan revelations , Madeenan revelations are all those verses and chapters of the Qu'ran which were revealed after the Hijrah. It includes verses revealed during the battles , as well as those revealed in Makkah and Minaa during and after the Farewell Pilgrimage. All of these verses are considered Madeenan because they represent the revelations of the second stage of the Islamic movement in which the consolidation of the Islamic state took place. Main characteristics of Madeenan verses : 1. Laws When Madeenah ( former name : Yathrib ) had become the new center of Islamic movement , the Islamic state was finally born.Our Prophet became the ruler over the Muslims of Madeenah as well as the Jews and the Arab idol worshippers who lived there. The verses during the Madeenan stage contained the many social , economic and spiritual laws which were necessary for the organization and development of an Islamic stage. This was at this exact period that the last 3 pillars of Islaam , ( Zakaah , Sawn = Fast , and Hajj =Pilgrimage ) were revealed and during this period that drinking alcohol , eating swine ( pork) and gambling were all forbidden. 2. People of the Book Muslims came in contact with the Jews for the first time in Madeenah. The Jews used to shake the beliefs of Muslim by asking the Prophet various questions about Allah, the earlier prophets and the unseen and also questions about the origin of the soul and what it was made of. As a response of their questions , Madeenan verses represented the answers raised by the Jews. Muslims of Madeenah also came in contact with Christians on a larger scale. This is the reason why we find a number of Madeenan verses clarifying Christian misconceptions about Prophet Jesus and Allah. The verses pointed out that Jesus's birth was not greater than that of Adam's who had neither father nor mother. Allah said in the Qu'ran regarding this statement : " Surely the likeness of Jesus in Allah's sight is as the likeness of Adaam..He created him from dust , then said to him " Be! " and he was" ( Soorah al 'Imraan (3:59) These verses cleared all that miracles of Jesus such as bringing the dead back to life , were only by Allah's permission. Thus , Jesus was not a god nor the son of Allah , and Allah was not the third of three ( trinity) 3. The Munafiqoon In Makkah , Muslims were oppressed and attacked so no one would enter Islaam unless he truly believes because we find people entering Islam yet not believing in it ( since the beginning of final message). On contrary , Muslims of Madeenah were strong and they ruled the city. Before the Prophet arrived in Madeenah , 'Abdullah ibn Ubay Salool , was about to be crowned King of Madeenah. But The Prophet was made the ruler of Madeenan and Ibn Salool's hopes were ruined. Why ? because since the Muslims were strong and he could not openly oppose to them , he has to accept Islam but in order to work against it from within. This is what most of hypocrite did to reject the Message of Islam. That man became the head of Munafiqoon ( hypocrites ) , thus the Madeenan verses warned the Muslims about the dangers of the hypocrites and taught them how to deal effectively with them. 4. Jihaad The right of fight against the enemy was given for the first time in Al-Madeenah because during the Makkan period , Muslims were forbidden to fight back , for basic reasons : 1)Muslims people were a minority and could easily be wiped out . 2) Only the strong could survive. Thus , a number of Madeenan verses taught Muslims the Islamic principles of war. They taught how to deal with prisoners of war and they forbade retreat during an attack exept as a trick to trap the enemy. They also encouraged the Muslims to prepare themselves with the best weapons and battle gear they could find. 5. Long verses As i said earlier , Makkan verses tended to be shorter than those of Madeenan , so obviously , Madeenan verses were longer.The longest Soorah of Qu'ran is Surat al Baqarah and the shortest is the Makkan Soorah al Kawthar. In any ways , the need to catch the attention of unwilling listeners was no longer there because Islaam had become strong and its followers were many. The audience at this stage was quite willing to listenn attentively to longer verses teaching the vital laws of Islam 6. Order of the Soorahs Although all of the Makkan verses were revealed during the same period , they were neither memorized nor written in the same order in which they were revealed. Verses from various Soorahs were revealed at once. Whenever a single verses were revealed , the Prophet would tell his scribes to write it in the Soorah to which it belonged. If a new Soorah was revealed , he would recite the Soorah in order it was to be recorded.But of course , the Prophet would reorder the verses and Soorah of the Qu'ran according to Allah's command. The reason for that was that the verses were revealed according to the needs of a developing community, whereas the order for reading purposes needed to be varied so as not to make the Qu'ran seem one-sided in its presentation.The mixture of verses and chapters from the two stages give the reason a more balanced picture of the Message of Islam. In the next article i will talk about the reasons why a distinction needs to be made between Makkans and Madeenan verses and Soorah.
2 Comments
As we all know , the Qu'ran was revealed in sections to Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him) from the beginning of his prophethood until shortly before his death ( 23 years ).
The Qu'ran came down continuously . Many of the sections of The Qu'ran were generally revealed to solve the problems which existed among the Muslim communities in both Makkah and Madeenah. Since the problems and needs of Makkah were totally different from those of Madeenah , obviously , the revelations of Makkah and Madeenah have special characteristics. The question you may wonder is , why is it important to know the difference between the revelations of Makkah and Madeenah? Well , firstly , it is for the Qu'ran to be clearly understood. Secondly , let's learn about it below. THE FEATURES OF MAKKAN REVELATIONS Makkan revelations are all the verses and chapters of the Qu'ran revealed before the Hijrah ( emigration of the Prophet to Madinah). This includes verses which were revealed in other areas of Makkah. To shorten , these revelations represent the first stage of the Islamic movement in which its fundamentals were established. Futhermore , Makkan Revelations mostly speak about : 1. Tawheed When Islam was first introduced to the Makkan , they were in a state of disbelief , but most of them clearly believed in Allah therefore they put between themselves and Allah many intermediaries. (We have to understand that people who worship idols along or instead Allah are considered kuffar ( disbelievers) for Allah.) , They made idols to represent these intermediaries and worshipped them instead of Allah. Thus , the first Makkan revelations taught the people about Allah's unity ( Tawheed) , about His power over all things. Consequently , they told people that Allah was without partners , offsprings or parents... These revelations taught also about that idols could not bring any good or evil and questionned the logic of worshipping things which could not even see or hear. 2. Salaah ( Prayer ) After the first verses of revelation came informing the Prophet that he has been chosen for Prophethood , Allah sent Jibreel to teach the Prophet the best method of prayer. This was necessary because the correct method could not be logically reasonned. Early verses called upon the Prophet and his early band of followers to make their Salaah regularly and they were also aimed at clarifying the misconception of worshipping idols in the belief that these home-made gods would carry their prayers to Allah for them. ( Makkan habits). So generally , the verses taught that Salaah should only be made for and to Allah , as He is the only one who can answer them. Why Salaah ? because of its relationship to Tawheed and correct Salaah directed to Allah alone is the most basic way of putting Tawheed into practice ! 3. The Unseen Since there was no way that human beings could possibly come to know about the unseen world , earlier verses taught them about its wonders , its mysteries and its horrors. The verses describing Paradise and its pleasure in order to encourage the believers to continue to do good deeds and to assure them of a reward. They also described the Hell-Fire and its torments in order to encourage the belivers to strive to avoid evil deeds. Descriptions of the fire and its inhabitants also reassured the believers that those who do wrong in this life will not escape Allah's punishment. Such description also aimed at scaring the disbelievers into reconsidering their position before it becomes too late. Some of the verses also reasoned with those who could not accept the resurrection by giving examples from nature such as rain falling on dead earth bringing it back to life. Allah proved in the Qu'ran " And it is Allah who sends the winds sturring the clouds and We drive them to the earth after its death.Likewise (will be) the Resurrection" ( Soorah Faatir (35:9) This is why is it really important to relfect and medidate on every verses we read. Others pointed out logically that the recreation of life would be easier than its creation , although is it all the same to Allah. " And it is He who originates the creation , then recreates it ( after it has perised ) which is easier for Him" ( Soorah ar Room (30:27)) 4. Allah's Existence Among Makkans , there were some individuals who aere in doubt about Allah's very existence. Some of the early verses presented logical arguments proving Allah's existence , some proofs were taken from nature and the creatures common to the society , Allah asked the Makkans : " Why didn't they look at the camels and how there were created , and the sky and how it was raised , and the mountains and how they are firmly fixed and the earth and how it was spread out ?" ( Soorah al Ghaashiyah (88:17-20) ) Allah also asked them if they were created from nothing or by themselves : " Were they created of nothing , or were they themselves the creators " ( Soorah at Toor (52:35) ) If you are agree with this statement , The answer had to be one or another , since they knew they had not created themselves , the had to realize that they were created . Even if theyr said that they came from their parents and their parents came from their parents and so on. The numbers eventually decrease to one who came from nothing , right? Thus Allah , the Creator , has to be accepted for our existence to make sense. 5. Challenges In order to prove to the Qu'raish ( Members of the tribe that reigned Makkah ) that the Qu'ran was from Allah and that Muhammad was a Prophet , some of the Makkan verses challenged the Arabs to imitate the Qu'ran. Many of the chapters began with individual letters like " Alif , Laam , and Meem" , "Saad or "Noon" * in order to tease the Makkans with the same letters of the alphabet that they made their flowery speeches and poetry with. Allah made the Qu'ran with the same letters , but they just could not imitate it. Since the Arabs were unable to produce even a chapter resembling the smallest chapter of the Qu'ran , the miraculous nature of this Book and its divine orign were clearly proven to the people at the time. However , many of them preferred to look at the Qu'ran as a magical spell and the Prophet as a master magician. *Note : do not try to understand the letters " Alim , Laam , Meem , Saad" at the beginning of some verses , it has no meaning for us , only Allah knows the significance of these words. Trying to understand their meaning is an unreachable goal 6. The People of Old Makkan verses often mentioned historical examples of earlier civilizations like the 'Ad and the Thamood. They were mentioned in order to warn those who had rejected the message of Islaam.. The verses spoke about the wonders of the ancient civilizations. They listed the many blessings which Allah had bestowed on the people of those civilizations. Then they recounted how the people disobeyed Allah and denied Hid blessings and how Allah's punishment caught them when they were totally unaware of what could become of them if Allah so willed. These examples were quite familar to the Arabs because the ruins of such civilizations could still be seen. For example , the stone tombs of Madaa' in Saalih were directly on the trade route to Syria. 7. Emaan ( faith ) Very fews laws were revealed in the Makkan verses. Instead the verses concentrated on principles which would build the Eamaan of the early Muslims. These verses spoke of the importance of fearing Allah and being aware of His presence and knowledge of all things. They were often filled with advice about being patient , perseverant, truthful and trustworthy , in order to build the moral spiritual character of the ealry Muslims who were in a minority and under a lot of pressure from Makkan society. 8. Short verses The Makkan Soorahs usually had short verses , catchy rhymes and a very strong rhythm. You must wonder why most of Makkan surats were short ? here's the answer . Short verses were meant to catch the attention of listeners who were basically opposed to the message of Islam. The verses had to be short because the audience would not be willing to listen to long , drawn-out statements. As soon as they heard any of the Qu'ran they would stick their fingers in their ears and turn away. Thus , the verses often had to strike home immediately. Let's the the story about Madeenan Revelations on the next article !!! 12/11/2015 Why did Allah preserve the Qu'ran and allowed His earlier books to be changed or lost?Read NowThe total number of Companion who had memorized all of the Qu'ran before Prophet's death , were only 8 and many memorized it after his death. In fact , in every succeeding generation of Muslims , the numbers of those who had memorized all of the Qu'ran had increased.
Today , hundreds of thousands of Muslims throughout the world memorized it Ma sha ALLAH ! There is no other book , religious or others , which has been memorized. Imagine , the Qu'ran is about four fifths the length of the New Testament of the Christians , yet not a single person is known to have memorized this book completely. If all books in the world were somehow to be destroyed , the only book which could be rewritten , word for word without a single mistake is the Glorious Qu'ran. Significance of the Qu'ran's preservation. Allah even promised in the Qu'ran that He would take responsibility of the protecting His final Word from loss. He said " Verily , We have revealed the Reminded ( Qu'ran) and verily we shall preserve it" ( Surat al-Hijr (15:9). Thus , the Qu'ran has been preserved in both the oral as well written from the way no other religious book in history has been. We always wonder , why Allah preserved the final Book and not His earlier books of revelation ( Gospel and Thorat ) to be changed ? The answer to that question is : 1. The Prophet Muhammad was the last prophet whom Allah sent , and he was not sent to a particular people or a particular time.He was sent to all of mankind untill the end of world. 2. The earlier prophets and their Books were sent on particular people in accurate period time ( history). So, once the period ended , a new prophet was sent with a new Book to replace the previous Book.It was then not necessary that these Books be preserved by Allah.The preservation of these earlier Books was left up to the people as a test for them.Thus , when the people went astray , they changed what was written in the books which the prophets brought just to make allowable the things which were forbidden to them. 3. The Qu'ran was the main miracle which was given to Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him) to prove that he was a true prophet of God and not an imposter. So , the Qu'ran had to be saved to prove to the later generations that Muhammad was really the last prophet of Allah. The significance of the Qu'ran's preservation , is that Islaam has been kept in its original purity because of it. Man can always return to the sources of Islaam no matter what people may have added or forgotten in time. For example , the loss of the Gospel of Jesus means that Christians can never return to the true teachings of their Prophet Jesus exept by accepting Islam.Simirlary , the original Torah was lost when Prophet Soloman's Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians , thus as Christians , Jews cannot return to the pure teaching of Prophet Moses exept by accepting Islam. Allah Himself said : " Verily the only acceptable religion to Allah is Islaam" ( Soorah al 'Imraan (3:19) The First Writing
During these wars known as the Riddah ( apostasy) , many of those who learned large portion of Qu'ran were killed. 'Umar ibn al-Khattab feared that the Qu'ran would be lost in the future for next generation of Muslims. So he went to Abu Bakr ( 1rst Caliph ) and advised him to have the Qu'ran written in one book in order to preserve it, but Abu Bakr , first refused because he thought that idea could be an innovation into the religion. ( prophet warned them about changing religion). Like Christians who had gone astray after changing the religion which Prophet 'Essa ( Jesus) brought after he left. However , after thinking over the situation very carefully , he came to realize that 'Umar advice was correct. Before his death , the Prophet ( peace be upon him ) , ordered them to write down various verses and chapters of the Qu'ran , while it was being revealed to preserve it. Caliph Abu Bakr asked Zayd ibn Thabit to be in charge of collecting and writing down the whole Qu'ran.He also refused for the same reasons as Abu Bakr. But why did Abu Bakr chose Zayd?? Because : 1) He was one of the best reciters of Qu'ran 2) He was one of the few who had memorized the whole Book during the Prophet's lifetime. 3) He was one of those whom the Prophet asked to write down the Qu'ran 4) He was one of the few who were present when the Prophet recited the whole Qu'ran during the last Ramadhan of his life. So , Zayd , began the process and then gathered around him all of those who had also memorized all of the Qu'ran or large portions of it. If all agreed , he would write it down on pages of leather. The whole Qu'ran was written down during the reign of the first Caliph. After this , Zayd turned it over to Abu Bakr who kept it until his death ( 2 years after he had become Caliph) Before his death , he gave it to 'Umar ( choosen to be the 2nd Caliph). 'Umar at his turn , kept it with him until his death ( 10 years later ). Then , Hafsah ( 'Umar's daughter and one of Prophet Muhammad's wives) kept the Qu'ran in her house in al-Madeenah , but she made it available to anyone who to make copies from it or check the accuracy of what they had memorized. C.THE ERA OF 'UTHMAN 644-656 After the death of 'Umar , a committee made up of six of the most famous companions of the Prophet's chose Uthman ibn 'Affan to be the 3rd Caliph. During 'Umar reign , the Islamic state expanded beyond the Arabian peninsula into Egypt , Syria and Iraq, and during reign of 'Uthman , the expansion continued on into Persia , India , Russia , China , Turkey and across North Africa. Many of the people of these regions accepted Islaam and learned the recitation of Qu'ran from early Muslim. The Qu'ran was revealed to the Prophet in seven different Arabic dialects and the early Muslims taught the Qu'ran in its different readings. The Second Writing In the Muslim provinces , some arabs began to boast that their dialect was superior to that of others. For that reason , when new Muslims made mistakes in their recitation of Qu'ran , it was sometimes difficult to tell if it was really an error or whether it was one of the seven readins ( dialects) which were taught by the Prophet. These problems became a source of confusion in the Muslims provinces outside of Arabia. One of Prophet's companion , Hudayfah ibn Al-Yaman , noticed this confusion while he was in Itaq , and feared that it might lead to a breakup of the Muslim nation and the changing of Qu'ran. On his return , he informed 'Uthman of what he had heard and see and the 3rd Caliph realized the seriousness of the situation and called the major Sahaabah ( companions) together in order to find a solution for this problem. They then decided to make official copies of the Qu'ran from the one compiled in Caliph Abu Bakr's time and limit the people to its recitation. Uthman then asked Hafsah for the original copy of Qu'ran and called on Zayd to head a committee of four Qu'ran scholars who would take on the tast of making the official copies. A total of seven copies were made and one was sent to Makkah , another , to Syria , to Basrah , to Yemen , one to Bahrain and one was kept in the capital , Madeenah. Uthman sent an official Qu'ran's reciter and ordered to destroy all other copies of the Qu'ran in case any problem might later arise. All new copies were made from the official copy called " Mus-haf Uthman" . Before learning how the Qu'ran was collected , it's important to know this Arabic term. The Arabic word Tasfeer is used to mean " explanation of the Qu'ran" . The science of Tasfeer is called Usool at tasfeer which refers to the fundamental rules and information necessary for the correct understanding of the Qu'ran. We will now look at how the Qu'ran was written and compiled into one book. A. ERA OF THE PROPHET (609-632) The Qu'ran was revealed to Prophet Muhammad in sections ( parts) thoughout the 23 years of his prophethood. Whenever Allah wanted to give the Prophet and his followers special advices , Allah would send angel Jibreel with a part of the Qu'ran which he would recite to the Prophet. Thus , the Qu'ran was not revealed all at once in its complete form , but in parts over a period of time. Preservation of the Qu'ran When Jibreel first recited a part of the Qu'ran to the Prophet , the Prophet tried to repeat after it after him , word for word. Then Allah later told Jibreel no to do so. He was instead told to listen to the Qu'ran carefully. When the Prophet did that , Allah caused him to be able to remember everything without any effort , plus He could not write or read. You may wonder , how it is possible for us to memorize after listenning once ? Yes it is hard for us , because we come from a Written Culture , which mean that we memorize only if we write , but at the time of Prophet , they were from a Oral Culture , they were extremely attentive and remembered everything once they heard it. Subhanallah! the reason for that is before , they didn't have any paper or book to write words down. Nowadays , like in Egypt , teachers of Al Madinah university ( Saudia Arabia) teach students without even reading their note . In fact they don't even have note , they are like an encyclopedia , because they were taught in the time of Oral Culture. The Prophet , of course , passed on all of the Qu'ran to his companions before he died. He used a number of different ways to make sure they would memorize and record it exactly as he learned it. 1. He used to recite aloud various part of the Qu'ran in the Salaahs ( Congregational Prayers)., In that way , his followers used to hear parts of the Qu'ran. 2. The Prophet informed his followers that the best of them were those who learned and taught the Qu'ran. Thus , this encouraged them to make even greater efforts to memorize Qu'ran and teach it to others 3. Those who were able to read and write were told by the Prophet to write down the various sections of the Qu'ran as they were revealed. He would also tell them the order in which they record the verses. ( At the time , the Companions wrote the verses of Qu'ran on date palm leaves , flat stones , tree bark , wood , dried animal skins and even the shoulder blades of sheep of camels. But only a few of them heard all of the Qu'ran directly from the Prophet) Still , when the Prophet died in the year 632 , the whole Qu'ran was not written down in one complete book. As seen earlier , it was recorded on various pieces of written material and kept in the possession of different followers of the Prophet ( peace be upon him).The verses of the Qu'ran continued to be revealed up until a few months before the Prophet's death and the companions were more concerned with memorizing and recording than putting it all together in one Book. Consequently , the gathering of the Qu'ran into one text was not done during the Prophet's lifetime. B. THE ERA OF ABU BAKR 632-634 After the death of the Prophet , 3 main groups born , opposed to Islaam in the Arabian peninsula. 1. The first group was made up of those who decided that they did not want to pay the Zakaah ( Islamic tax) , to anyone other than the Prophet. They didn't consider Zakaah was a pillar of Islam like , Salaah (prayer) , Sawm ( Fast) and so on. Instead , they considered Zakaah as a tribute. So , when the Prophet died , they felt that they were no longer concerned to pay it. When Abu Bakr became the leader of the Muslim state , this group refused to pay the Zakaah and sent armies to the capital ( Madeenah ) , in order to topple ( turn down) , the Muslim state. They then demanded to be excused from paying , Zakaah or they would attack and destroy the centers of Islaam ( blackmail ) 2. The second group was joined by those who had entered Islaam in for the only purpose to escape defeat. This group did not believe in Allah and His Messenger at all. They just wanted to be on the winning side. 3. This group was the false prophets and prophetesses. In the region of Yamaamah ( Najd) , an Arab from the tribe of Haneefah ( Abu Haneefah) named Mysaylima claimed to be a prophet. Another Arab woman called Sajaah from the Tameem tribe also claimed prophethood and rose in arms against the Muslim state. All of those false prophet invited people to leave Islaam by claiming that Allah had revealed to them new laws making allowable most of the things which were forbidden by Prophet Muhammad.First of all before saying how the qu'ran was collected we should explain the arabic term Tasfeer . Tasfeer is used to mean " explanation of the Qu'ran" , but the science of tasfeer is called " usool at-tasfeer" which refers to the fundamental rules and information necessary for the correct understanding of the Qu'ran. Let's see how the Holy Book was written and assembled into one book. (This is a following subject about Purpose of Creation , i just changed its title.)
Calamities Tests of this life also come from in the form of "misfortune" and calamities which contribute to the spiritual growth of the true believers and purify them of sin. Life's tests of misfortune remind errant believers to return to the correct path and they punish disbelievers in this life before the next Patience Calamities are the foundation on which the higher spiritual quality of patience is developed.Consequently , as we can see in our daily lives , righteous are subject to many tragedies and difficulties in their lives. Sa'd reported that he asked the Prophet who among mankind had the most trials , he replied " The prophets , then those most like them , then those most like them.Man is tested according to the level of his faith. If his faith is firm, his trials increase in severity, and if there is weakness in this faith , he will be tried accordingly" ( Collected by at-Tirmithee) . True patience is the product of complete trust in God in time of calamity. Allah further , assures humankind that if they put their complete trust in Him , He will be sufficient for them in their most trying times. " Whoever trusts in Allah will find Him sufficient"(65:3) The trials by which Allah tests human beings are specifically tailored (adapted) to their own individual needs and circumstances. He said " Allah does not burden a soul beyond its capacity" (2:286) Despair Allah taught us to not be despaired by killing ourselves as many people do in some countries , when they didn't succeed or are being opressed when something bad happen to us , we shall trust Him the best we can : "Do not kill yourselves for surely Allah is merciful with you"(4:29) Hope The divine promises of justice and mercy fill the believers with the confidence necessary to patiently face the difficulties of this life.Consequently , hope in the mercy of God is an essential part of faith. Paradise is the reward for patience based on sincere belief in God. He informs the believers of their reward as follows " ...so announce glad tidings ( of paradise) to those who are patient , those who , when afflicted with calamity , say " Truly we belong to Allah and to Him we will return" (2:155-6) Patience is also based on the belief that whatever befalls ( happen to )mankind is a consequence of their own evil deeds. Yes, all of corruption on earth is a product of human misdeeds. He warned us " Whatever befalls you is a result of what your hands have earned.and He pardon much" (42:30) In fact and thankfully , Allah excused humans for much of their devil. If He were to punish us strictly because of our deeds , we and all on earth would be destroyed. " And if Allah were to punish people for what they earned, He would not leave a living creature on the face of the earth" (35:45) See how Allah is Clement ! However , if the believers experience a life devoid of any problems , it should be taken as a sign that something is wrong.Living a perfect life without trials is impossible. The true believer must take time out and reflect on the realities of his or her life.Either the tests are not obvious and they are unaware of them or they have deviated from the right path. But ! This is not to say that believers should yearns for problems and calamities in their lives , for Allah has taught them to pray " Our Lord , do not put on us a burden like what you placed on those before us" ( Surat al Baqarah (2:286) ) Instead , we should thank Allah for whatever trials He has spared us.Also , in time of ease we must remain vigilant and not become forgetful ( oblivious) to tests , for success and happiness often blind people to the trials of life. Reminder Why Tests? because tests serve as a punishing reminder to those who have gone astray and an encouragement for them to return to the correct path.When people deviate , they rarely listen to the advice of those around them. However , when a calamity strikes them , or those near them and dear to them , it jolts those who still have some faith into recognizing their error. The test of calamities which remind humankind of their deviation may come in the form of man's inhumanity to his fellow man , as in the case of Saddam's brutal invation of Kuwait for example..... " Corruption has appeared on the land and in the sea because of what man's hands have earned , in order that Allah may make them taste a part of what they have done , and in order that they may return ( to the right path) (30:41) Therefore , calamities also expose those who falsely claim faith as well as show those who disbelive that they choose hell by their own free will. Punishment Those who transgress the limits set by God expose themselves to punishment in this life and the next. In the Qu'ran , Allah describes numerous past nations who rejected divine guidance and were destroyed. These stories help us to be warned of the consequences of rebellion against the commandments of Allah. " Let those who contradict his command beware a trial or a severe punishment" (24:63) Therefore , you may wonder if punishments are various. Sure they are. They come in a variety of different ways. The most obvious and famous punishment afflicting humankind in all countries today is the disease AIDS. AIDS appeared for the first time in medical history in the beginning of the 80's. 1400 years ago , our Prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him) predicted the coming of such a trial. Subhan'Allah. Ibn 'Umar quoted him as saying " Whenever promiscuity is openly practiced among a people , a plague and anguish will spread among them which was unknown to their predecessors" ( Collected by Ibn Maajah , Sahih Sunan Ibn Maajah) Before AIDS , a warning came in the form of another disease called herpes which become widely spread among the sexually promiscuous beginning in the 1960s and '70's. The Best of Creation
Indeed , those who believe in One unique God , without partners , and do righteous deeds ( according to the 2 conditions mentionned earlier) come the crown of creation. That is although humankind is not the greatest creation of Allah , they have the potential to become the best of His creation. In Chapter al-Bayyinah , Allah states : " Surely , those who believe and do righteous deeds are the best of creation" (98:7) Why Did God create Mankind on Earth ? The question concerning the purpose of mankind's creation may be expanded to include to the in which we live. The question would then be " Why did God create human beings in this world?" He said " It is He who created death and life to test which of you is the best in conduct.and He is the Mighty, The Forgiving" (67:2) also " Surely I have created all that is on the earth as its ornaments that I may test which of them is the best in conduct" (18:7) However , the tests of conduct are not to inform God about humankind , because He obviously knew everything there was to know about us before He created us. The tests serve to confirm on the Day of Judgment that those going to hell deserve it and those going to paradise only got there by God's grace. The test of conduct serves 2 basics purposes : 1) Human spiritial growth 2) Punishment or reward. Spiritual Growth Generosity and Contentment. For example , in all human societies , the qualities of generosity and contentment are considered among the noble characteristics. But neither of these traits can be developped if everyone has the same amount of wealth right? Generosity can only be acquired when the human soul know that sharing with the needy is good. On the other hand , contentment is produced when the soul defeats evil of evil and greed. Allah wisely distribued unequally wealth in this world : " Allah has favored some of you over others in sustenance" ( 16:71) He also stated : " He raised some of you over others in rank to test you with what He granted you" (6:165) The desire to accumulate weather cannot be satisfied in this life because , the more human beings have , the more they want. The Prophet quoted : " If a man had a valley of gold , he would desire another , for nothing will fill his mouth but the dirt( of his grave). And Allah forgives whoever sincerely repents" ( Sahih al Bukhari) Craving for wealth is further enhanced by envy. God instructed us not to desire what He has given others. The Prophet taught us to no envy others by saying " Look to those less fortunate than you , and do not look to those above you: it is better for you in order that you do not deny what Allah has blessed you with" ( Sahih al Bukhari) and Abu Hurayrah reported " Wealth is not mesured in property but in contentment" ( Sahih al Bukhari) The meaning of Worship
To understand why human beings need to worship God , one must first understand what is meant by the term " worship". The english term " worship" comes from the Old English weorthscipe meaning "honor". Consequently , worship in the English language is defined as ' the performance of devotional acts in honor of a deity' , According to this meaning , man is instructed to show gratitude to God by glorifying Him. However in Arabic , the language of the final revelation , worship is called 'ibaadah, which is closely related to the noun 'abd meaning 'a slave'. What is a slave ? a slave is one who is expected to do whatever his mater wills. Consequently, worship according to the final revelation , means " obedient submission to the will of God". This was the essence of the message of all the prophets sent by God to humankind. The Will of God , is contained in the divinely revealed laws which the prophets taught their followers. Obedience to divine law is the foundation of worship. In this sense , glorification also becomes worship when humans choose to obey God's instructions regarding His glorification. The Need for Worship But the real question is , why do human need to worship and glorify God by obeying the divinely revealed laws ? Just because obedience to divine law is the key to success in this life and the next. Let's take an example , the first human beings , Adam and Eve , were created in paradise and later expelled from paradise for disobeying the divine law. The only way for us to return to paradise is by obedience to the law. Remembrance of God All of the various acts of worship contained in the divine laws are designed to help humans remember God. Allah said " Verily , I am Allah , there is no god beside Me , so worship Me and establish regular prayer for my Remembrance" ( 20:14) The believers are encouraged to remember Allah as much as possible. Why ? Because remembrance of God is stressed as sin generally committed when God is forgotten. " Satan got the better of them and caused them to forget Allah.Those are the party of Satan.Truly the party of Satan are the real losers" (58:19) Allah also prohibited , intoxicants and gambling because they cause human to forget God. The Religion of Islaam The most complete system of worship is found in the religion of Islam. The name " Islam" means "submission to the will of God". Although it is commonly referred to as " the third of the 3 monotheistic faiths" , Islaam isn't a new religion at all. It is the religion brought by all of the prophets of God for humankind. Islam was the religion of Moses, Jesus and Abraham. How ? Allah adressed this issue with regard to Prophet Abraham saying : "Abraham was neither a Jew nor a Christian but he was a upright Muslim who did not worship others besides God" ( 3:67) Allah didn't prescribe one religion for the Jews and another for Indians. Every act is Worship In the Islamic system , each and every human act can be transformed into an act of worship. In fact , Allah commands the believer to dedicate their whole lives to Him. He said " Say " Surely my prayer , my sacrifice , my living and dying are for Allah , the Lord of all the worlds" (6:162) However , for that dedication to be acceptable to Allah , each act must fulfill two basic conditions : 1) The act must be done SINCERELY for the pleasure of God and not for the recognition and praise of people. We have the be conscious of God while doing the deed to insure that it is not something forbidden by Allah and the last Messenger. 2) The act must be done in accordance with the prophetic way ( Sunnah in arabic).Thus the only acceptable way to worship God is according to the way of the prophets. Innovation in religious affairs would be considered by God among the worst of all evils. Prophet Muhammad said " The worst of all affairs is innovation in religion, for every religious innovation is a cursed , misleading innovation leading to the hellfire " ( Sahih Muslim) and " He who innovates something in this matter of ours , that is not of it , will have it rejected" ( Sahih al Bukhari , reported by 'Aisha) Divine Grace
What we should know it that we won't solely enter in paradise based to our good deeds. It is the grace of Allah which will ultimately carry us there , The prophet Muhammad said in this regard " Try your best to do right and be happy. For none will enter paradise only because of his deeds" His companions asked " Not even you?" He replied " Not even I , unless Allah envelops me in His mercy and grace. And bear in mind that the deed most loved by Allah is one done constantly , even though it is small" ( Reported by 'Aisha and Abu Hurayrah) However , God's grace is not arbitrary . It is based on both correct faith and righteous deeds. " Whoever brings a good deed , will have ( the value of ) ten like it , and whoever brings an evil deed will only be punished with one like it , and they will not be wronged" ( 6:160) No one's good deeds would outweigh their evil deeds. However , God has manifested His grace by multiplying the value of good deeds , while keeping eveil deeds at their face value. But this does not mean that deeds have no role. Deeds surely have a major role , but they are not the deciding factor , because Allah's grace outweigh them. Also , The prophet Muhammad ( peace be upon him) said ( reported by Ibn 'Abbas) to have said " Reflect pf the creation of Allah but do not reflect on Allah" because reflecting on the reality of Allah is to reflect on the infinite. If Allah has told humankind why He decided to do something , it is not for them to question why He decided to decide. Such questions are without end and are beyond human's skill. The Prophet , also warned satanic forces would seek to introduce doubt in the hearts of the believers by raising unanswerable questions about Allah. Abu Hurayrah related that the prophet said " Satan will come to everyone of you and ask " Who created this and that?" until he question " Who created your Lord ?" when he comes to that , one should seek refuge in Allah ( Say : I affirm my faith in Allah and His prophets and avoid such thoughts) Why did God create Mankind? In the final revelation , this question is answered without any ambiguity. Humans are first informed by Allah that every human is born with an innate consciousness of God. In fact , belief in God is imprinted on each and every sould. Thus , the essential purpose for which humankind was created is the worship of God. However , we should understand that , The Almighty is not in need of human worship , He did not create human beings out of a need on His part. If not a single human worshipped God , it would not diminish Hid glory in any way , and if all of mankind worshipped Him , it would not increase His glory as well. The Merciful the Forgiving
In the creation of humankind , the divine attributes of forgiveness , mercy and kindness are also manifested.Human beings were created good and pure with a natural awareness of good and evil. Allah also created in us , desires and gave them an ability to control those desires according to divine law or to turn them loose and follow them blindly. God created mankind knowing that they would disobey Him. Consequently as our religion is complete , He taught us , beginning with Adam , how to repent and thereby purify themselves of their sins. Adam and Eve represent a pattern for all mankind to follow. They forgot the commandment of God , and Satan played on their desires. After they had disobeyed God , they turned back to Him in repentence and He forgave them. But this is normal for us to commit sins as Prophet Muhammad said " if you did not commit sins and turn to Allah seeking Hid forgiveness , He would have replaced you with another people who would sin , ask Allah's forgiveness and He would forgive them" ( Sahih Muslim) , Can you imagine that a second? Everyone of us who begins prayers start with " In the name of Allah , the Beneficient , The Most Merciful" Allah's attributes of mercy and forgiveness are stressed to encourage humans not to fall into despair. Yes , no matter how great the sins may be , Allah can forgive them if man turns back to Him in sincere repentance. The Messenger ( peace be upon him) quoted : " When Allah created the Universe , He made an obligation of Himself in a document kept by Him " My mercy supersedes my wrath" ( reported by Abu Hurayrah) If Allah wished , He could have created mankind like angels , incapable of commiting sin.However , that was not His wish , as He had already created angels. Human beings were created capable of making mistakes znd when they realize their errors and seek God's forgiveness , the divine attributes of mercy and forgiveness become manifest. In the judgment of mankind at the end of this world , God's attributes of supreme justice and fairness also become manifest. Let me explain ; I'm sure you already thought about that. God could have created all members of the human race who were to live on earth and immediately placed some of them in paradise and the remainder in hell. Before creating man , Allah already knew what choices they would make in this life , what provision , and opportunities. If God had immediately place those headed for paradise in paradise , they would not question God's decision. Those in paradise would happily accept an everlasting life of bliss and be thankful that they were not placed in hell. However , those immediately placed in hell would ask why.They would feel a sense of unfairness due to their ignorance of what they would have done had they lived on earth.Those in hell would relentlessly argue that had they been given a chance to live out their lives on earth , they would have believed and done righteous deeds. Consequently , Allah allows human beings to live out their lives on earth and make all choices they would have madee , so that everyone who enter in hell will kow that they chose hell by themselves. They will recognize God's mercy in their lives and acknowledge their sin in rejecting God signs and guidance. They will still beg for another chance to do in this world , as Allah says in Chapter as Sajdah " If only you could see when the sinners will bow their heads before their Lord , saying " Our Lord" We have now seen and heard , so send us back and we will do righteous deeds.Verily , we now believe with certainty" ( 32:12) But we know that if Allah were to send them back to this world having forgotten what they had seen of hell , they would again choose eveil and end up in hell as before. In Chapter al Al-an'aam " But if they were returned ( to this world) they would certainly go back to what was forbidden to them , Indeed they are liars" (6:28) Divine Love God's love is manifest in beings brought into existence , whether believer or disbeliever , to enjoy life , if only for a brief moment. It is also realized in the creation of paradise for those who choose righteousness over evil. Allah stated in the final revelation that He loves those who do good (5:13) , those who are just (5:42) ; those who are pious (9:4) those who are patient (3:146) those who put their trust in Him(3:159) and so on. Consequently , those who follow the prophets are most beloved to God. But , the prophets should be followed not only in the compulsory acts ordained by God but also in their eargerness to do acts of voluntary worship. The love of God is also manifest in His mercy and blessings which He grants to those who deserve them as well as those who do not, but particularly manifest in His willingness to forgive the sins of whomsoever turns to Him in sincere repentance. |
Details
AuteurAs salam aleykum dear visitors ! Archives
October 2016
Catégories |