-notes by Sr.Hamda
Surat al-Hashr ayah 18:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا اتَّقُوا اللَّهَ وَلْتَنظُرْ نَفْسٌ مَّا قَدَّمَتْ لِغَدٍ وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ
O ye who believe! Fear Allah, and let every soul look to what (provision) He has sent forth for the morrow. Yea, fear Allah: for Allah is well-acquainted with (all) that ye do.
Allah azza wa jal refers to death as tomorrow in this verse of Quran (ayah 18). Why? A time will come when death will be tomorrow. (Because for each and every one of us death will come one day and that day will be tomorrow).
Reflect: What comparison can be made between the length of your life to that of the day of judgement (50 000 years)? And the day of judgement to eternity?
Most of what we amass in this world, whether it is clothes, cars, houses, etc., will not go to the next world.
* Have the taqwa of Allah and know that He has the real knowledge of what you do*
Surat al- Hashr ayah 19:
وَلَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ نَسُوا اللَّهَ فَأَنسَاهُمْ أَنفُسَهُمْ أُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَاسِقُونَ
And be ye not like those who forgot Allah; and He made them forget their own souls! Such are the rebellious transgressors!
In this ayah (19) Allah ta’ala tells us not to be among those who forget Allah. The meaning of forgetting Allah here is to forget the commandments and obligations of Allah.
Gem: When you forget Allah, Allah will cause you to forget yourself, and this is because you forget the reason for which you were created. The irony (or contradiction in a sense) of the situation is apparent when you realize that the reason for which you forget Allah is because you focus too much on yourself (i.e. animalistic instincts).
When your purpose of life is taken away- you will never feel useful.
Hadeeth: The Messenger of Allah sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam said: The space of a width of a whip in Jannah is better than all that is in this world (i.e. all that it contains, all that you have ever dreamed to attain etc.)
Hadeeth: The Prophet sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam was once praying when he saw before him Jannah and a fruit therein. He, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, said that had he taken the fruit, the people would be eating from it from this day until the Day of Judgement.
Hadeeth: You can smell the fragrance of Jannah from 500 years away.
* Regardless of how success if defined in this world, the real prize if Jannah and its people are the real winners*
Surat al-Hashr ayah 21:
لَوْ أَنزَلْنَا هَذَا الْقُرْآنَ عَلَى جَبَلٍ لَّرَأَيْتَهُ خَاشِعًا مُّتَصَدِّعًا مِّنْ خَشْيَةِ اللَّهِ وَتِلْكَ الْأَمْثَالُ نَضْرِبُهَا لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ
“Had We sent down this Quran on a mountain, verily, thou wouldst have seen it humble itself and cleave asunder for fear of Allah. Such are the similitudes which We propound to men, that they may reflect.”
Gem: Our lips recite Quran, our hearts memorize it, and our minds understand it. Yet hardly a tremble passes through our spines and bodies even though Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala testifies that if this same Quran had been revealed to a mountain, then it would have crumbled for the sheer fear of Allah and the weight of the message contained in Quran.
Same Quran, different reactions.
By saying: ‘and be not like those who forgot Allah’- Allah is telling us to remember Him.
But how do we be among those who remember Allah?
1. By knowing who He is: through His names and attributes: and that’s why- when Allah ends off Surat al-Hashr with His names and attributes (Allah gives us the solution to the problem)
Q. And which name of Allah is the primary and ultimate of them all?
A. Allah
a. Allah, the other names begin with this one name.
Ex/1 Eloh= Allah and Elohim= Allahu: As mentioned in the Torah and Bible
Root of Allah: Al-Illah
Meaning: The only deity of being that is worthy of worship and that one can love, put one’s trust in, that one will make du’a to, that one will fear etc.
Why is Allah the primary name?
Because He who is worthy of worship must be characterized by the most perfect characterizations, the most beautiful names, and the most majestic attributes.
Gem: This one name (i.e. Allah) implies and necessitates all the other names because He who is worthy of worship would have to be Al-Aleem, Al-Ghafoor, Al-Rahman, Al-Razzaq etc.
All the other names of Allah are a tafseer or explanation of this one name- Allah.
Surat Al-An’am ayah 59:
وَعِندَهُ مَفَاتِحُ الْغَيْبِ لاَ يَعْلَمُهَا إِلاَّ هُوَ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا فِي الْبَرِّ وَالْبَحْرِ وَمَا تَسْقُطُ مِن وَرَقَةٍ إِلاَّ يَعْلَمُهَا وَلاَ حَبَّةٍ فِي ظُلُمَاتِ الأَرْضِ وَلاَ رَطْبٍ وَلاَ يَابِسٍ إِلاَّ فِي كِتَابٍ مُّبِينٍ
"With Him are the keys of the unknown (Mafatih al-Ghaib), none but He knows them. He knows what is in the land and the sea; not a leaf falls but He knows it; not a grain amid the darkness of the earth, naught of wet or dry but (it is recorded) in a clear record."
Gem: Imagine the quantity of tress on the earth. And then the number of leaves on those trees and finally- which of those leaves fall to the ground and which of them remain when the wind blows etc. Such is the all-encompassing nature of Allah’s knowledge.
We all acknowledge that Allah knows the:
Past: Allah recounts in Quran incidents of which Rasool Allah sal Allah alayhi wa sallam had no knowledge of prior to Allah’s revelation.
Present: Surat Al-Room
Future: What will happen on the Day of Judgement, those who will be admitted to hell and heaven etc.
However, Allah’s knowledge is not limited to those 3 aspects- rather it is far more extensive.
Take for example the Decree of Allah:
1. No one is permitted to return to this earth once they have departed (i.e. have died)
Is it then possible that someone can return to the earth once they are put into their grave? No. But such is Allah’s knowledge that He knows the outcome of the impossible were it to become possible.
Ex/1 Were Allah to allow the wrong-doers to come back to the earth when they plead with Allah in the hereafter (to give them a second chance in order to redeem themselves), Allah knows that they would return to that which they used to do (i.e. disobey Allah).
2. Allah has decrees on that which is possible and yet does not allow it.
Ex/2 Is it possible for there to be another God? No.
And yet Allah ta’ala knows what would happen if there were because His knowledge is so complete, that if the possible were to become possible, He would know the result. The heavens and the earth would collapse one another (i.e. if there were 2 Gods).
Surat al-Hashr ayah 22:
هُوَ اللَّهُ الَّذِي لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا هُوَ عَالِمُ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ هُوَ الرَّحْمَنُ الرَّحِيمُ
Allah is He, than Whom there is no other god; - Who knows (all things) both secret and open; He, Most Gracious, Most Merciful.
Allah is Al-Rahman and Al-Raheem: And both names are derived from the same root.
Gem: ‘Your Lord has decreed that He shall be merciful’: No one can put a condition on Allah, and yet Allah has put this condition on Himself.
Surat al-Araaf ayah 156:
وَاكْتُبْ لَنَا فِي هَـذِهِ الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الآخِرَةِ إِنَّا هُدْنَـا إِلَيْكَ قَالَ عَذَابِي أُصِيبُ بِهِ مَنْ أَشَاء وَرَحْمَتِي وَسِعَتْ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ فَسَأَكْتُبُهَا لِلَّذِينَ يَتَّقُونَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَـاةَ وَالَّذِينَ هُم بِآيَاتِنَا يُؤْمِنُونَ
"And ordain for us that which is good, in this life and in the Hereafter: for we have turned unto Thee." He said: "With My punishment I visit whom I will; but My mercy extendeth to all things. That (mercy) I shall ordain for those who do right, and practise regular charity, and those who believe in Our signs.”
In the above ayah (156) Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala testifies that His rahma encompasses everything. Thus we could not exist had it not been for this manifestation of Allah’s rahma.
Na’la: removal of Allah’s mercy
Because of this rahma, we know the purpose of this life!
Surat Ibrahim ayah 34:
وَآتَاكُم مِّن كُلِّ مَا سَأَلْتُمُوهُ وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعْمَتَ اللّهِ لاَ تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ الإِنسَانَ لَظَلُومٌ كَفَّارٌ
And He giveth you of all that ye ask for. But if ye count the favours of Allah, never will ye be able to number them. Verily, man is given up to injustice and ingratitude.
Allah ta’ala tells us in the above ayah (34) that we cannot even count the favours which he has bestowed upon us.
Al-Rahman describes the nature of Allah.
Ex/1 Because of this merciful nature of Allah, He provides even for those who disbelieve in him.
As for Al-Raheem, it is a description of Allah’s actions
Ex/2 Allah chooses those to whom He shall be merciful (i.e. the believers) and this is selective rahma- reserved for those who are mu’mineen (wa kaana bil mu’mineena raheema) - this action is extended to the believers alone.
Ex/3 Surat al-Ahzab ayah 43:
هُوَ الَّذِي يُصَلِّي عَلَيْكُمْ وَمَلَائِكَتُهُ لِيُخْرِجَكُم مِّنَ الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ وَكَانَ بِالْمُؤْمِنِينَ رَحِيمًا
He it is Who sends blessings on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the depths of Darkness into Light: and He is Full of Mercy to the Believers.
