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[1] There is no god but Allah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

[2] Muhammad r is the Final Messenger of Allah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

[3] Allah Does Each and Everything, Creation Cannot do Anything

Without the Will of Allah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14

[4] Allah Can do Anything With Means, Without Means and

Against Means . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18

[5] Allah Gave Forms & Qualities of Everything - Nothing is

Beyond His Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23

[6] For Every Creation Allah Created a Condition for It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

[7] Benefit & Harm Lies in the Hands of Allah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32

[8] Allah Has Infinite Treasures - Sahaba f Learnt to Take From It

Directly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

[9] Distribution of Rizk: Conditions & Means are all From Allah . . . . . . . . 41

[10] Promises & Qudrah of Allah are With Eman & A’mal, Not

With Asbabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45

[11] Only With Firm Yaqin One Can Leave Means for A’mal . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50

[12] Allah Will Test Eeman of the Person, Community & Nation, He

Will Exhibit Their Reality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

[13] Allah Made Transient Dunya a Place to Discharge Duties,

Eternal Akhira for Retribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

[14] Trials & Adverse Conditions are Necessary for Our Own

Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64

[15] Allah Does not Look at One’s Looks or Possessions, But He

Looks at the Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70

[16] Power, Fame and Wealth are Intoxicants - Those Who Have it

Think Success Cannot be Gained Without it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76

[17] Straight Path is of Eeman & A’mal. Stray Path is of Means

& Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

[18] When Allah Wants to Punish a Person or Nation, He Leaves

Them on the Path of Oppression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84

[19] Allah Kept Complete Success (of Dunya and Akhira) of the

Whole Humanity in Complete Deen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88

[20] True Understanding of Deen Flows From the Sahabaf,

Meaning of Qur’an & Hadith is Elusive Without Them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92

[21] Sahaba f Vowed to Follow Rasulullah r in Ease & in

Difficulty, Whether They Liked it or not . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

[22] The Dunya of Those Who Have Deen Will Be Clean & Pure . . . . . . . 100

[23] The Revealed Rules Are More Serious Than the Apparent

Rules Governing the Creations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106

[24] Promises of Allah & Messenger is With His Deen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110

[25] Help of Allah is With His Obedience - Corrupt Eman, Yaqin

& A’mals Hinder it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114

[26] Help of Allah is With Ameer & Jama’ah . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119

[27] Prophets Were Not Sent for Material Well-being, They are

Sent With Guidance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125

[28] This Deen Will Enter Every Home on Earth, Either to Honour or

Disgrace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130

[29] Allah Wants Sacrifice & Perseverance for His Sake . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132

[30] Da’wah to Allah - Its Necessities & Virtues of Da’wah are

Like no Other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138

[31] Field of Da’wah is the Heart - Where Eman & Yaqin Reside . . . . . . . 144

[32] Men of Da’wah - Selfless, Single-Minded & Relentless . . . . . . . . . . . 150

[33] Da’wah to Allah - Purpose of This Ummah, Mark of Its

Distinction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156

[34] Da’wah to Allah - It’s Everyone’s Issue, Not Just for Ulama . . . . . . . 160

[35] Spend Health, Wealth & Time in Four Channels: Carnal

Needs, Angelic Worship, Vicegerent Care & Prophetic Effort . . . . . . . . . . 167

[36] Have Good Expectation of Allah, With Good Deeds He Will

Bring Good Conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 171

[37] The End Product of the Effort & Sacrifice of Rasulullah r

was Sahaba f, Similar Effort & Sacrifice Will Bring Similar Result . . . . . . 174

[38] Only by Returning to Da’wah, can This Ummah Change its

Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177

[39] Tabligh For the True Soul & Essence of Deen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 184

[40] Victory is Inevitable When the Hidden System of Allah

Comes to Support . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 192

[ ] ! Chapter Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199

[ ] ! Words of Maulana Ilyas Khandlawi ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 210

[ ] ! Words of Maulana Yusuf Khandlawi ? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 214

[ ] ! Glossary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219

[ ] ! Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227

There is no god but Allah I

Allah I is our creator. He is the supreme creator & sustainer of the whole universe and everything inside it, whether we see it or not. Bringing eman in Allah I entails belief in Him with all His names and attributes.

Allah I was not dependent on any other being to create this universe or any creation within it. He did not consult anybody for this to come into existence and it didn’t tire Him in any way. He gave life & nobody-else can give life. Allah I is fully aware of the needs of all His creations, He guides them, and He is the only one who sustains them.

Creations are finite in space and time - they are dependant on Allah I for their coming into existence, sustenance & demise. Human beings and jinns are no different, except that they will face the Day of Judgement after their temporal life in this world and then divided into eternal dwellers of Jannah or Jahannam. In this worldly life Allah brings into existence their deeds, good or bad, and they remain accountable for the intentions they make and the deeds they perform.

Allah I desires success for humans and jinns in this life as well as the next. Thus He has bestowed on them all the means of guidance: soundness of body & mind; ability to exert intellect & limited free will; good and bad con-ditions to be grateful, patient & reflective; and thousands of prophets and

messengers. The most important of their messages is: . ُهّللا اّلِا َهَلِا ٓال Unlike other prophets and messengers, who were sent to a particular tribe or locality, Muhammad r came as the final messenger of Allah - he r is the universal messenger for all humans and jinns to come before the Day of Judgement. Muhammad r came to complete the message:

There is no god but Allah and Muhammad ِهّللا لُوُسَر ٌدَّمَحُم ُهّللا اّلِا َهَلِا ٓالr is the messenger

of Allah.

This statement is the foundation of Islam. It’s not a mere statement - a firm eman & yaqin on this kalima will unlock the means to profoundly shape the lives of individuals, communities and nations. This only occurs when its deepest meanings are internalised. Thus sahaba f spent thirteen years in Makkah, talking about it, listening about it, getting persecuted for bearing it. They became the leaders in belief, worship, behaviour and perseverance to such an extent that Allah used them to bring eman, peace, security & hon-our to many nations beyond Makkah. While some were raised for bearing it, many other mighty nations were debased for opposing it!

Thus we must understand its meaning the way sahabaf understood it and go through the same struggle & sacrifice that they went through to take benefit from this statement as they benefited and benefited others.

Allah I created us with weaknesses and needs. Our biggest weakness is that, left alone with our own devices - our understanding of reality, the re-ality of our existence, the reality of the cause and effects of events - is only shaped by what is apparent to us.

Our perception of hearing, seeing, touch etc. are severely limited. Our knowledge is limited and defective, whereas the knowledge of Allah is com-plete and all-encompassing. We see a dynamic view of our surroundings in incredible resolution as our brain recognise in real-time and interpret what we see, yet we cannot see beyond a wall or behind our head. We hear, recognise and recollect a vast array of sounds from a young age, and yet fail to listen to several people at the same time.

Our senses have direct links to the heart. Any information that enters our body through our senses or mind which provokes thoughts or gets inter-preted - it leaves an experience and some eventually turn into beliefs which can settle in the heart over time. This belief then drives the person.

The belief resides at the centre of the heart - it then directs all actions of the limbs just like the army general who commands the footsoldiers. Rasulullah r said:

Beware! There is a piece of flesh in the body if it becomes good

(reformed) the whole body becomes good but if it gets spoilt the

whole body gets spoilt and that is the heart [3, 4].

The following anecdote illustrates this process of how yaqin or certainty of the heart takes root:

A baby, seeing its mum feeding day in day out, will rely on mum for food. Similarly, the mum, seeing her husband bringing food every day, will con-sider him the provider. The husband, in turn, will have built the belief that it’s the hard work, the job that is the provider. Here all three individuals are seeing three different providers. This is the apparent system of the world that everyone sees but this understanding is profoundly flawed.

Here all three individuals were developing corrupt beliefs upon means. In reality:

• Allah created this apparent system for the sustenance of all three.

Had Allah not created the love between the child and parent, had

Allah not created the systems within mum to produce and deliver milk

of correct nutrients, tastes and temperature, had Allah not created

the capacity in the husband to work, had Allah not grown vegetation

beyond what farmers do, then none of them would have survived!

Further, it is Allah, by His power & permission that one digests and

takes benefit from the food and protects from its harm.

• Allah is the one who sends the rain from the sky - how it is formed and

distributed? He is the one who brings gases to the plants and makes

them excrete. It is Allah who puts qualities into the plants 1 to grow

from seeds and produce pulses, vegetables and fruits etc.

Consider the growth of a single grain of rice, from germination to ma-

turity, from green to formation of husk consisting of hard materials

like silica and lignin to protect the seed that matures and hardens in-

side. This process has been continuing from the first day Allah intro-

duced the plant in the world. Indeed, it is from the signs of Allah.

• Their role was minimal. Did anyone perform research or planning or

resourcing to develop say the love in the mother, the rice plants, water

cycle etc.? There is no miniature factory behind each grain! No other

creatures or the plants themselves have been involved in developing

the system. In reality, these are from the hidden systems of Allah.

The three individuals may not be aware of the fact that their convictions are based on superficial observations! All three love the respective means (ie, mum, husband, job), they feel the need of those means to fulfil their inter-nal needs, they fear the loss of those means and their heart is naturally in-clined to seek these means. It’s their environmentally-induced beliefs that condition their hearts to approach the means. Rather, it’s Allah whose near-ness they should have sought and appreciated - if only they knew that Allah is behind their apparent source of enjoyment, hope, fear & love! How many people Allah I sustains without mum, husband or job etc.? He sustained the Children of Israel without any work:

اًنْيَع َةَرْشَع اَتَنْثا ُهْنِم ْتَرَجَفْناَف ۖ َرَجَحْلا َكا َصَعِب ْبِر ْضا اَنْلُقَف ِهِمْوَقِل ٰىَسوُم ٰىَق ْسَتْسا ِذِٕاَو

َنيِد ِسْفُم ِضْرَٔاْلا يِف اْوَثْعَت اَلَو ِهَّللا ِقْزِر ْنِم اوُبَر ْشاَو اوُلُك ۖ ْمُهَبَر ْشَم ٍساَنُٔا ُّلُك َمِلَع ْدَق ۖ

And [recall] when Musa prayed for water for his people, so We

said, “Strike with your staff the stone.” And there gushed forth

from it twelve springs, and every people knew its watering place.

“Eat and drink from the provision of Allah, and do not commit

abuse on the earth, spreading corruption.” [2:60]

اَنْلَّزَنَو َنَمْئَاْلا ِروُّطلا َبِناَج ْمُكاَنْدَعاَوَو ْمُكِّوُدَع ْنِم ْمُكاَنْيَجْنَٔا ْدَق َليِئاَرْسِٕا يِنَب اَي

ٰىَوْلَّسلاَو َّنَمْلا ُمُكْيَلَع

O Children of Israel, We delivered you from your enemy, and We

made an appointment with you at the right side of the mount,

and We sent down to you manna and quails. [20:80]

Thus man’s belief goes into the apparent system and they remain aloof from divine will, even though it is Allah who brings both the apparent and hidden system into existence. They begin to talk about events happening because of such and such a thing instead of saying that it happens by His will. One feels that: “the more effort I make in earning money the more I will fulfil my needs”. This is a trap that both Muslims and non-Muslims fall into - hence da’wah & reminder is necessary for maintaining correct yaqeen.

If the means fail to fulfil man’s needs, they feel depressed, they commit suicide. This is because they do not realise that the need is not fulfilled by the effort of man but by the qudrah of Allah I. Money does not fulfil the needs of man, but Allah fulfils their needs with money or without money. So if there is a delay in rizq, we should not turn to haram sources. We must control our tongue and not say in one place (masjid) that “Allah I does” and another place (outside the masjid) that, “money does”.

Allah is not dependant on means to fulfil their needs, it’s just His way. We should leave means to fulfil the commands of Allah just as we approach means to fulfil the commands of Allah. It is Allah who commanded Nooh u to build the ark even though Allah is not in need of the ark to protect Nooh u and his followers. In the same way, Allah was not in need of Musa u to hit the sea with his staff to split the water.

What’s more, people begin to worship such objects and means, which they consider sources of sustenance, fear & hope, benefit or harm etc. Thus peo-ple worship fire, cows, jinns, mountains, money, power, fashion, influence and systems. In this way, they make the environment the object of their worship. Their hearts are saturated by the relations connected to that en-vironment - because of the relentless reminders they receive about these means and materials from childhood and which continues until they die, the more reminders and the more effort they make for these the stronger their false belief becomes.

The demand of the deen is that whatever we see, eg. power, authority, technology, are ultimately just deceptions, and so must be negated. Our intellect informs us that our rizk is on earth but Allah informs us that it de-scends from the sky:

َنوُدَعوُت اَمَو ْمُكُقْزِر ِءاَم َّسلا يِفَو

And in the heaven is your provision and that which you are

promised. [51:22]

Those who rely on eyes, ears and intellect instead of revelation are de-ceived, their faculties fail them again and again. History is replete with their examples: Pharaoh, Qarun and Haman, to name but a few - none of them failed to amass means but to no avail. Pharaoh was deceived by his own power. The nation of Sabah was deceived by their gardens. Whether indi-vidual or society, when deceived, they must get the result of it!

In surah Kahaf Allah mentioned some beautiful stories which illustrate how the reality can be totally opposite to what is apparent. What appears to be a strength could be a weakness in reality and vice versa, and what appears to be a calamity could be an opportunity and vice versa, and what appears to be freedom could be slavery in reality and vice versa.

Hunger is not removed by the food but by Allah, thirst is not quenched by water but by Allah. Sleep comes from the treasures of Allah and not from the luxury mattress. We are not protected against the cold by the blankets or warm clothes but by Allah. In the same way all means are incapable of manifesting its qualities and achieving its goals to benefit or harm without the permission of Allah I.

Sahaba f are the prime example in front of us when it comes to correctly dealing with means. Their yaqin was not on means, rather on the creator of means. When Rasulullah r called sahaba f to prepare for the Tabuk expedition, the munafiqs begun to taunt and put fear into the hearts of sahaba that this was going to deprive them of the harvest for which they worked all year round. The sahaba f had the perfect reply to that, who said, “We are leaving rizk and going to Razzak.”

In this manner whenever the command of Allah comes, we should sacrifice whatever we are attached to. We get a training for this daily, we leave our jobs, shops, sleep, relations etc. to pray, to assert that Allah is our sustainer,

ّبَّرلا , that is the true tawheed ar-rububiyah. If we uphold what we say in salat, ىَلْعَٔالا َيِّبَر َناَحْبُس

“ ”, “ ” and “ ” in our life out-َنيِمَلاَعْلا ِّبَر ِهَّلِل ُدْمَحْلا ِميِظَعْلا َيِّبَر َناَحْبُس

side salat, only then we can hope to correctly answer the first question in ؟ َکُّبَّر ْنَم

the grave, “ .” The more people sacrifice like this the more they will

progress towards sound yaqin and clean their hearts of taghut and false belief.

Ibrahim u negated stars, sun, moon etc. Those who do not negate these objects or creations become worshippers of them. Everything will give da’wah to Allah, if we care to ponder. Eg. sun says, “Allah created me to shine.” So,

by witnessing: , one negates all kinds of deity and at the same ُهّللا اّلِا َهَلِا ٓال

time asserts that Allah is the doer of each and everything and only Allah deserves all manners of worship.

The mushriks of Makkah believed that Allah is our creator and sustainer even before Muhammad r started preaching. The greatest sin they were

involved in was associating partners with Allah, in that they made means or intermediaries a condition for Allah.

When eman is low, and yaqeen is corrupt, and no effort of their rectification is made, then even Muslims will make means and intermediaries necessary conditions for Allah to do anything just like the way mushriks of Makkah made 360 idols intermediaries, each one to fulfil a particular need. These same Muslims will also behave like the munafiqs of Madina who were putting fear into the hearts of the Muslims about poverty before Tabuk expedition.

So, we negate what is apparent, that is the first part of the above statement,

َهَلِا ٓال. To summarise:

• negates our observations (mushahada). Only Allah I knows the َهَلِا ٓال

truly reality, thus we seek guidance from Him.

• negates any form of deification of means, thereby freeing human- َهَلِا ٓال

ity from the servitude of creation.

This witnessing is also incredibly empowering, as it builds a firm relationship with Allah I by keeping our sight locked on the almighty Allah rather than on the strength or weaknesses of our means. This is so because whatever the status of the means it is still dependent on Allah to do anything.

When Allah I is with us then we are strong even if we lack all the means but if we do not have Allah I with us then we are weak even if we have all the apparent means.

Maulana Yusuf Kandhlawi ? said:

Anything or any being other than Allah I that has an effect in

the heart (which must be taken out), Allah I will bring that un-

der the feet. The effect of other than Allah I , which is still in

the heart (eg. love fear of money, fame, property), Allah I will

enslave the person to that thing.

He also said:

Don’t make things the object of your worship, don’t place your

hope on things. Don’t get drawn to structure, they can’t do any-

thing. It happens by the master of all things, it happens by the

master of all structures. Learn about Him, know Him, obey Him.

… " …

Muhammad r is the Final

Messenger of Allah

Allah I said in the Qur’an:

ٌفوُءَر َنيِنِمْؤُمْلاِب ْمُكْيَلَع ٌصيِرَح ْمُّتِنَع اَم ِهْيَلَع ٌزيِزَع ْمُكِسُفْنَٔا ْنِم ٌلوُسَر ْمُكَءاَج ْدَقَل

ٌمي ِحَر

Verily, there has come unto you a messenger from amongst your-

selves. It grieves him that you should receive any injury or diffi-

culty. He is anxious over you for the believers (he is) full of pity,

kind, and merciful. [9:128]

َهَّللا َرَكَذَو َرِخٓاْلا َمْوَيْلاَو َهَّللا وُجْرَي َناَك ْنَمِل ٌةَن َسَح ٌةَو ْسُٔا ِهَّللا ِلوُسَر يِف ْمُكَل َناَك ْدَقَل

اًريِثَك

Indeed in the messenger of Allah you have a good example to

follow for him who hopes in Allah and the Last Day and remem-

bers Allah much. [33:21]

Jews who settled in Madina have long been waiting for his arrival. Allah I says in the Qur’an:

ۖ ْمُهَءاَنْبَٔا َنوُفِرْعَي اَمَك ُهَنوُفِرْعَي َباَتِكْلا ُمُهاَنْيَتٓا َنيِذَّلا

Those to whom We gave the Scripture (Jews and Christians) recog-

nise him as they recognise their sons. [2:146] Rasulullah r was sent as the mercy for the whole universe, he is the seal of prophethood. His mission was to propagate the beautiful deen of Allah I

to both jinn and man. Allah I 2 sent him to expound the meaning of Qur’an,

to be role model 3 4 5 , to legislate (not lawgiver) and to be obeyed.

Following sunnah of messenger Muhammad r in performing any kind of worship is a precondition for its acceptance by Allah I. In order to achieve

the success of this life and next we must follow his footsteps - this is the ِهّللا لُوُسَر ٌدَّمَحُم second part of the statement, “ .” We should implement the sunnah of Rasulullah r in every way possible:

• Sunnah in appearance and habits

• Sunnah in the manner of dealing with others

• Sunnah in worship

• Sunnah in fikr, the purpose for which he was sent.

For the sake of this mission he went through the most difficult tests in life: orphanhood, ridicule, hunger, fear, social & economic boycott, war, be-trayal, attempts at his life, stoning by street urchins, persecution of his com-panions & divorce of his daughters etc. He had to flee Makkah as a fugitive and emigrate to Madina.

Taariq bin Abdillahd narrated that he was in the Dhul Majaaz marketplace when a man passed by wearing a shawl with red threads. He was saying to the people, ”0 people! Say ’Laa Ilaaha Illallah’ and you will be successful.” He was being trailed by another man who had injured former’s heels and legs, causing them to bleed. The second man was saying, ”0 people! Do not follow him because he is a liar!” The first person was prophet Muhammad r and the person following was his own uncle, Abu Lahab.

Once Rasulullah r was offering prayers at the Ka‘ba. Abu Jahl and his com-rades conspired to put camel entrails on the back of Rasulullah r when he went to sujud. So when the most unfortunate of them did so they started laughing and falling on one another. Rasulullah r could not lift his head up till Fatima g came and threw entrails away from his back. Rasulullah r said thrice, ”O Allah! Punish Quraish.”

He further made dua: ”O Allah! Punish Abu Jahl, ‘Utba bin Rabi‘a, Shaiba bin Rabi‘a, al-Walid bin ‘Utba, Umaiya bin Khalaf, and ‘Uqba bin al-Mu’it ….

‘Abdullah bin Mas‘udd said that he saw the dead bodies of those criminals

were counted by Rasulullah r in the Qalib (well) of Badr [3].

Allah I protected Rasulullah r and aided the Muslims with angels and many miracles to strengthen the believers and establish this deen till the Hour. Victory only comes from Allah I. This is why after the conquest of Makkah Rasulullah r was uttering the following dhikr while ascending the mount Safa:

ِّلُك ىَلَع َوُهَو ُتيِمُيَو يِيْحُي ُدْمَحْلا ُهَلَو ُكْلُمْلا ُهَل ُهَل َكيِرَش َال ُهَدْحَو ُهَّللا َّالِٕا َهَلِٕا َال

َباَزْحَٔالا َمَزَهَو ُهَدْبَع َر َصَنَو ُهَدْعَو َزَجْنَٔا ُهَل َكيِر َش َال ُهَدْحَو ُهَّللا َّالِٕا َهَلِٕا َال ٌريِدَق ٍء ْىَش

ُهَدْحَو

None has the right to be worshipped but Allah alone, with no

partner or associate; His is the dominion, all praise is due to Him,

He gives life and causes death and He is able to do all things.

None has the right to be worshipped but Allah alone; He has no

partner or associate, He fulfilled His promise, granted victory to

His slave, and defeated the Confederates alone [7].

The Quraish didn’t leave any stone unturned to stop the da’wah of Rasulul-lah r. They even tried to entice him with money, power & women. Rasulul-lah r emphatically told his uncle Abu Talib: “O my uncle! by Allah, if they put the sun in my right hand and the moon in my left on condition that I abandon this course, until Allah has made me victorious, or I perish therein, I would not abandon it.”

We cannot be successful without following the guidance brought by Rasul-ullah r and imitating his sunnah. Related by Abu Hurairahd:

Rasulullah r said: “All my followers will enter Jannah except those

who refuse.”

When sahabaf enquired what he meant by refusal Rasulullah r

said: ”Whoever obeys me will enter Jannah and whoever disobeys

me has refused [3].”

Sahabaf sought to implement sunnah in their lives the most meticulously. Zayd ibn Aslam relates that he saw Ibn Umard performing salat whilst the buttons of his garment were open. He enquired about this and Ibn Umard informed him that he had witnessed Rasulullah r performing salat in that

manner on one occasion 6.

Allah I promised His love and forgiveness in following the footsteps of Rasulullah r:

ٌمي ِحَر ٌروُفَغ ُهَّللاَو ۗ ْمُكَبوُنُذ ْمُكَل ْرِفْغَيَو ُهَّللا ُمُكْبِبْحُي يِنوُعِبَّتاَف َهَّللا َنوُّب ِحُت ْمُتْنُك ْنِٕا ْلُق

Say [O Muhammad]: If you (really) love Allah, then follow me,

Allah will love you and forgive you your sins. And Allah is Oft-

Forgiving, Most Merciful. [3:31]

Rasulullah r said:

There is no believer but I, of all the people, I am the closest to him

both in this world and in the akhira. Recite if you wish [3]:

ۖ ْمِهِسُفْنَٔا ْنِم َنيِنِمْؤُمْلاِب ٰىَلْؤَا ُّيِبَّنلا

The Prophet is closer to the believers than their selves… [33:6]

So if a believer (dies) leaves some property then his relatives will

inherit that property; but if he is in debt or he leaves poor children,

let those (creditors and children) come to me, for them I am his

sponsor [3].

Ahead of you there lie days of patience, during which being patient

will be like grasping a hot coal. The one who does good deeds then

will have a reward like that of fifty men who do such deeds.

Someone asked: O Messenger of Allah, the reward of fifty of

them?

He said: “ 7 The reward of fifty of you.”

Following a thing becomes easy when one loves that thing. The love that sahaba f had for Rasulullah r is unprecedented, regardless of their back-ground - men, women, or children.

A woman from the tribe of Banu Deenar lost her husband, father and brother in the battle of Uhud. When she was informed of this, she asked ”But what happened to the Prophet?” The people replied: ”All praise is due to Allah, he is as safe as you would wish him to be.” She replied: ”Show him to me so that I can see for myself,” so the people pointed him out. When she saw him, she said: ”Any disaster besides that of losing you is insignificant.”

Once a man came to Rasulullah r and said, ”O Rasulullah r! You are dearer to me than my family, my children and even myself. Sometimes I am sitting in my home and I remember you, and then I am overwhelmed with the desire

to come and see you. When I think about your death and mine; I realise that when you die you will be at the rank of the prophets in Jannah, but I fear that if I enter Jannah, I will not be able to see you.”

Rasulullah r 8 did not answer this man until Allah revealed the verse:

َنيِقيِّد ِّصلاَو َنيِّيِبَّنلا َنِم ْمِهْيَلَع ُهَّللا َمَعْنَٔا َنيِذَّلا َعَم َكِئَٰلؤُاَف َلوُسَّرلاَو َهَّللا ِعِطُي ْنَمَو

اًقيِفَر َكِئَٰلؤُا َن ُسَحَو ۚ َنيِحِلا َّصلاَو ِءاَدَهُّشلاَو

And whoever obeys Allah and the messenger, then they will be

with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed His grace, of the

prophets, the siddeeqs, the martyrs, and the righteous. And

how excellent these companions are! [4:69]

Rasulullah r further said:

By Him in Whose Hands my life is, none of you will have faith till he

loves me more than his father, and his children and all mankind [3].

One who is indifferent to my sunnah has no relationship with me [3].

Imam Malik ? said:

The sunnah of Rasulullah r is like the Ark of Nooh u . Who-

ever embarks upon it reaches salvation and whoever refuses is

drowned 9.

A man from Khalid ibn Asid’s family asked ’Abdullah ibn ’Umar, “Abu ’Abdur-Rahman! We find the Fear Prayer and the prayer at home in the Qur’an, but we do not find the travelling prayer.” Ibn ’Umard said, “My nephew, Allah sent Muhammad to us when we did not know anything. We do as we saw

him doing [20].”

Today we are doing things the way we want, eg. in weddings from morn-ing till evening every arrangement is causing immodesty, no pordah, what does this show to Allah? Today the more problems people solve, even more problems start, that’s because man’s foundation is wrong.

The only effective way to remove and purify our lifestyle of bid’ah or rep-rehensible innovation into deen is to introduce sunnah. When sunnah is implemented bid’ah will find no room to stay just as darkness cannot with-stand light. We will never be able to do more than just imitate him.

Rasulullah r said:

I have not left anything that will bring you closer to Allah and dis-

tance you from the Jahannam, except that I have commanded you

with it. And I have not left anything that will bring you closer to the

Jahannam and distance you from Allah except that I have forbade

you from it 10.

Things taught by Rasulullah r are of the highest calibre material. In it is tremendous power. It nurtures in the fundamentals as well as in branches and sub-branches of deen. If your intention is for branches and sub-branches and things low in the sight of Allah, then it will still be blessed from that power, and be educated as Rasulullah r taught this as well. But make inten-tions for the fundamental teachings so that you do not deprive the ummah or yourselves of higher purpose and benefits by getting caught up with with

lower level effort [16].

’Umar ibn ’Abd al-’Aziz ? said [20]:

Rasulullah r made a sunnah and the people in command after

him made sunnahs. To adopt them is to confirm the Book of

Allah and to act on them is to obey Allah and strengthen the

deen of Allah. It is not for anyone to change the Sunnah or alter

it or to look into the opinion of those who oppose it. Whoever

follows it is guided. Whoever seeks help by it will have victory.

Whoever opposes it and follows other than the path of the be-

lievers, Allah will entrust him to what he turns to and will roast

him in Jahannam, what an evil end.

Maulana Yusuf ? said:

“ ”. The fact that Allah is the greatest, in هللا لوسر ادمحم نٔا دهشٔاو

whose hand is the creation and destruction, success and failure,

we do not know how to benefit from His qudrati power. We are

blind in this path, Muhammad r is the guide, he is the messen-

ger of Allah, only by following his way, we can receive the benef-

icence and mercy of Allah. Through the life-style of Rasulullah r

we will find Allah I, our condition will be rectified. On the con-

trary, if we follow our lives according to the way of Jews and

Christians then our condition will only get worse.

… " …

Allah I Does Each and

Everything, Creation

Cannot do Anything

Without the Will of Allah

In this universe, whatever Allah I wishes, happens.

ُديِرُي اَمِل ٌلاَّعَف َكَّبَر َّنِٕا

Verily, your Lord accomplishes whatsoever He intends. [11:107]

ُءا َشَي اَم ُلَعفَي َهَّللا َّنِٕا

Verily! Allah does what He wills. [22:18]

ُنوُكَيَف ْنُك ُهَل ُلوُقَي اَمَّنِٕاَف اًرْمَٔا ٰى َضَق اَذِٕا َو

When He decrees a matter, He only says to it: “Be!”

– and it is. [2:117]

ُديِرُي اَم ُلَعْفَي َهَّللا َّنِٕا

Verily, Allah does what He wills. [22:14] Allah I creates whatever He wills. He creates whenever & however He wills. He wished to create this universe; skies, stars, galaxies, sun & moon and time etc. and it came to be.

He wished to create the trees, rivers & mountains, gold & silver, land & sea etc. and it all came to be.

He wished to create animals, fish, birds & bees, milk & honey etc. and it all came to be.

He wished to create life & death, happiness & sadness, love & hate, pain & pleasure, envy & pride, disease & cure etc. and it all came to be.

It is only Allah I who has the characteristic of doing whatever He wills. Everything happens by the command of the Lord.

ٌريِدَق ٍء ْيَش ِّلُك ٰىَلَع ُهَّنِٕا ٰىَلَب

Yes, He surely is Able to do all things. [46:33]

ٌميِلَع ٍء ْيَش ِّلُكِب َوُهَو ۖ ٍء ْيَش َّلُك َقَلَخَو

He created all things and He is the All-Knower of

everything. [6:101]

And how amazing is the way Allah I creates? Simply look at the cow - how it eats GREEN grass and generates YELLOW urine, RED blood and WHITE milk. All these have different benefits, tastes and smell yet they do not spoil each other’s qualities while running side by side!

There is no interference of man’s effort or intelligence in outcomes. If Allah wills wealth for an ignorant and poverty for an intelligent person, then this will happen. We are ignorant of our Lord, therefore we think it is happening by other than Him.

The brothers of Yusuf u planned to rid themselves of him but Allah pro-tected him and eventually humbled the brothers in front of him. Similarly, when the wife of the chief minister of Egypt, Aziz, tried to seduce Yusuf u, Allah opened the door which was locked in front him as he ran away from her. Yusuf u who lived through all these humiliations never forgot Allah, he even gave da’wah while in the prison, then Allah I blessed him with an honourable position in the government.

Pharaoh wanted to secure his position by killing thousands of male babies of Children of Israel. His plan failed most miserably. There, Allah showed

how He can bring up Pharaoh’s enemy inside his palace! Thus who runs which country is ultimately in the hands of Allah.

ْنَم ُّزِعُتَو ُءاَشَت ْنَّمِم َكْلُمْلا ُعِزْنَتَو ُءاَشَت ْنَم َكْلُمْلا يِت ْؤُت ِكْلُمْلا َكِلاَم َّمُهَّللا ِلُق

ٌريِدَق ٍء ْيَش ِّلُك ٰىَلَع َكَّنِٕا ۖ ُرْيَخْلا َكِدَيِب ۖ ُءاَشَت ْنَم ُّلِذُتَو ُءاَشَت

Say: “O Allah! Possessor of the kingdom, You give the kingdom

to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You

will, and You endue with honour whom You will, and You humili-

ate whom You will. In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are Able

to do all things. [3:26]

When hunger struck during the Battle of Trench, Rasulullah r promised sahaba f wealth of three kingdoms: Sham (belonged to Roman empire), Persia and Yemen. Yet munafiqs and jews were mocking, “How can these people, stone tied to their stomach, dream of such wealth?” In due time, Allah I made this prophecy to realise even though it was inconceivable to the human mind!

Anas ibn Malikd reported that a person said: Allah’s messenger, how the non-believers would be made to assemble on the Day of Resurrection (by crawling) on their faces? Thereupon he said:

Is He Who is powerful to make them walk on their feet is not pow-

erful enough to make them (crawl) upon their faces on the Day of

Resurrection?

Qatadaf said: Of course, it is so. (He adjured): By the might of our Lord [4].

Allah I explains Rasulullah r ’s throwing of the sand on Quraish:

َنيِنِمْؤُمْلا َيِلْبُيِلَو ۚ ٰىَمَر َهَّللا َّنِكَٰلَو َتْيَمَر ْذِٕا َتْيَمَر اَمَو ۚ ْمُهَلَتَق َهَّللا َّنِكَٰلَو ْمُهوُلُتْقَت ْمَلَف

ۚ اًن َسَح ًءاَلَب ُهْنِم

And you did not kill them, but it was Allah who killed them. And

you threw not, when you threw, but it was Allah who threw that

He might test the believers with a good test. [8:17]

Here Allah created an action performed by Rasulullah r . This was a test of eman, as we need to relate it to Allah I . Allah states that He creates the actions that the servants perform and that whatever good actions they take, it is He Who should be praised for them, for He directed and helped

them perform these actions [2].

All the created things are depended on the creator, Allah. He decides who gets just boys or just girls or both or neither. It is Allah who strengthened us with the power of speech, intellect etc. But He can take these powers back. Hence, we are in need of Allah’s desire. Nobody can go to sleep or wake up without the Will of Allah. Allah made Uzair u , a prophet, sleep for one hundred years while keeping his food warm and donkey dead - all three in three different states of existence - during which period He also

regenerated the entire locality that was destroyed 11!

Means are just creations and all creations are in need. All creations share four weaknesses:

• Creations need the Will of Allah to come into existence.

• Creations need the Will of Allah for sustenance.

• Creations need the Will of Allah to cease to exist.

• Creations need the Will of Allah to benefit or harm.

Just as every creation is dependent, so they can’t do anything for each other. Money is dependent. Man is dependent. Money and man cannot do any-thing for each other as they are both dependants. It’s like an invalid asking another invalid for help.

A water tap exposes water but delivers water only when connected to the main water reservoir. Similarly, things visible here in this world exposes the qudrah of Allah. Examples of these are all in front of us, within ourselves, in all the natural systems such as water cycle, in the land and in the sea, in the motion of celestial bodies, in food items on our plates and so on. Thus we bow down to the one who made them.

… " …

Allah I Can Do Anything

With Means, Without Means

and Against Means

Means (asbab) are certain resources, materials, actions, capability, methods or systems by which a result is achieved. For example, medicine is used to treat diseases, water to quench thirst, warm clothes for protection against cold etc. By their nature, means are creations. Means can be apparent (worldly, jahiri) or deeni (hidden, batini):

Apparent Means -One can appreciate thousands of trees hidden in a sin-

gle seed, growing eggs inside birds and bringing live chicks from those

egg etc. Allah I creates and sustains these systems over and over

again. These are from the signs of Allah. Yet people see the means

which are apparent and do not see the power behind it. Thus people

naturally develop beliefs around such means. They consider dignity,

success in the apparent means, but alas! Allah I has not kept those

things there.

Deeni Means -In contrast, deeni means are the beliefs and deeds of men

which bring about their true success or failure - Allah kept success

in deeni means but people fail to see it and thus prophets are sent.

When the hidden system of Allah comes to support nothing can fore-Allah I promised victory against enemies in Makkah which was fulfilled in Madinah. A’isha g used to recite the following verse in Makkah while still a

stall it. When Allah I willed to bring up Musa u in the palace of His

arch-enemy Pharaoh, all the resources of then superpower and mur-

der of thousands of young boys of Children of Israel could not prevent

it!

The role asbabs play is not more than the role of a dinner plate upon which food is placed. The plates of happiness and sadness in this world are small and so small amount of it we see in this life. In the akhira the plates of happiness and sadness will be large and so the blessing or problems of the akhira will be large!

So in this sense, education is a plate, job is a plate, marriage is a plate, home is a plate, money is a plate, every kind of relationship is a plate and so on. Ultimately it is Allah I who bestows on the plates the quality of success or failure, benefit or loss, blessing or affliction etc. This then also means that we can never know, for sure, when something looks good is actually good or when something looks evil is actually evil and so forth. This is why we need guidance, we need to beseech everything from Allah I. And for the same reason revelation takes precedence over reason.

People’s deception is like a mirage. This deception is also likened to reflec-tion of the sun on pond water. Allah I is able to give wealth without us seeking after it, security without power. Allah I questions, “Who gives wa-ter? …spread the land? …created your body?”

Allah created the whole universe with His Will, without any means. He cre-ated Adam u without any father & mother.

اَل ْلَب ۚ َضْرَٔاْلاَو ِتاَواَمَّسلا اوُقَلَخ ْمَٔا * َنوُقِلاَخْلا ُمُه ْمَٔا ٍء ْيَش ِرْيَغ ْنِم اوُقِلُخ ْمَٔا * َنوُنِقوُي

Or were they created by nothing, or are they the creators? Or

did they create the heavens and the earth? Rather, they are not

certain. [52:35-6]

Sahabaf- few in number, they hardly had any means, wearing tatty clothes, living in tiny houses, poverty was their norm but when the help of Allah came they were able to defeat the two superpowers of the time. Thus we must listen attentively, learn, practice and sacrifice upon the authentic knowledge of prophethood even if the system of the world or the so-called conventional wisdom is against it.

young girl 12:

* َرُبُّدلا َنوُّلَوُيَو ُعْمَجْلا ُمَزْهُيَس

Their multitude will be put to flight, and they will show their

backs. [54:45]

In the Qur’an, Allah I warned us against relying on apparent means. Three such examples are:

• Yusuf u asked a fellow prisoner to mention him to the king with the

hope that this will lead to an early release but the person forgot.

• Sulaiman u didn’t say inshallah when he met his women, hoping a

hundred boys will be born who will fight in the path of Allah.

• Son of Nooh u took shelter in the mountain to avoid the flood which

was meant as punishment from Allah I.

All apparent means are traps (fitnah). Allah I created the means to fulfil our needs, not to corrupt our beliefs. We utilise means, but the condition is that our certainty must not be with it as the means cannot bring any ben-efit or harm except by the permission of Allah. In other words, there is no guarantee that the means will deliver success, but there is a guarantee of success with the support of Allah I. Similarly, there is no guarantee of fail-ure with lack of means.

Man thinks, like the son of Nooh, Kanan, that he can escape the punishment of Allah I by some apparent means which are there by the virtue of His qudrah, eg going to a high mountain in case of a flood. But the manifest qudrah of Allah, in this case, was contrary to man’s perception. Also, people think that majority would be successful but Nooh’s minority succeeded.

People earning more than ever, yet they are going in debt, everybody: men, women, teenagers. They are after prestige, yet not getting it. This is a man-ifest failure of means. On the contrary, Allah I can give honour even inside jails as it happened with Yusuf u.

If Allah wishes fire can burn and if He so wishes fire cannot burn. Ibrahim u was thrown in the fire but it did not burn.

Yunus u cried out from the belly of the fish. Being underwater is enough for death, being inside the belly of a fish is enough for death but he was inside both! He was in total darkness. Here more than one means for death was present but Allah I saved Yunus u against means.

In this world we will be tested again and again, in individual and collective life but the ultimate success is guaranteed with taqwa, patience and dua -all these three are deeni means:

ىَلَع ْلَّكَوَتَي ْنَمَو ۚ ُبِسَتْحَي اَل ُثْيَح ْنِم ُهْقُزْرَيَو * اًجَرْخَم ُهَل ْلَعْجَي َهَّللا ِقَّتَي ْنَمَو

* ۚ ُهُب ْسَح َوُهَف ِهَّللا

And whosoever had taqwa of Allah, He will make a way for him

to get out (from every difficulty). And He will provide him from

(sources) he never could imagine. And whosoever puts his trust

in Allah, then He will suffice him. [65:2-3]

اْو َصاَوَتَو ِتاَحِلا َّصلا اوُلِمَعَو اوُنَمٓا َنيِذَّلا اَّلِٕا * ٍر ْسُخ يِفَل َنا َسْنِٕاْلا َّنِٕا * ِر ْصَعْلاَو

* ِرْب َّصلاِب اْو َصاَوَتَو ِّقَحْلاِب

By time, Verily! Man is in loss, except those who believe and do

righteous good deeds, and recommend one another to the truth

(i.e. order al-Ma’ruf, and abstain from al-Munkar), and recom-

mend one another to patience 13. [103:1-3]

Rasulullah r said:

The honest and trustworthy merchant will be with the prophets,

the truthful, and the martyrs 14.

Ulama explain that this high status for the traders is because while sitting within the means of their sustenance they sincerely believe and say Allah I is our sustainer and establish His deen inside the business and the busi-nesses do not prevent them from performing all the commands of Allah I. Thus the traders earned the high status, not through apparent means but hidden means.

Allah can cause birth where there is death and vice versa. He can sustain life when there no means of support to sustain life. He can let life be destroyed amid all the systems supporting life. Allah I can cause construction where human see destruction and vice versa. The ”Big Bang” theory, if it is true at all, shows Allah I bringing about an incredibly complex universe from an explosion - we do not get flowers, cars, or smart-phones out of an explosion!

In surah Kahaf Allah I protected the young men and the dog against the elements for 300 years. Allah I covered up their sense of hearing. Dur-ing this long period of time, their soul did not pass away, their body did not decay, they did not wake from sleep to urinate or defecate, their bodily hair, nails did not grow beyond normal. In fact, their complete sustenance is against the means by the qudrah of Allah I. Allah loved their concern for the protection of their eman, above all else, so much so that He narrated it in the Qur’an for all the people till qiyamah to reflect.

Allah I split the earth to destroy Karun but He split the earth to save the life of Ismael u with zamzam water. Allah I disgraced and destroyed Nimrud and Pharaoh with their armies & kingdoms but He gave success and honour to Sulaiman u and Zul-Karnain with their armies & kingdoms.

Success is not in wealth and materials - and failure is not from lack of wealth and materials. If success was in money and materials then Karun would have been successful. Success is in the hands of Allah. If He wants to give success, He can give success without money and materials. And if He wants to give

failure, He can give failure even in the structure of wealth and materials [16].

Therefore we should not approach or leave means for its apparent capa-bility to benefit or harm but we should approach or leave according to the command of Allah I. We get this training five times a day when we leave our preoccupation for salat, demonstrating that it’s Allah who is our sus-tainer etc. This is same with all the commands of Allah I, in every aspect of life, whether personal or communal.

… " …

Allah I Gave Forms &

Qualities of Everything

Nothing is Beyond His Control

Allah I created the universe and everything within it. However, after their creation, Allah didn’t just leave them to their devices. He is sustaining them, He is fully aware of their needs and conditions, nothing is beyond His grasp.

Whatever is created by qudrah is controlled by qudrah. Upon every struc-ture, whether it is in the form of kingdom, or material, whether it’s a matter of electricity and gas, that is subject to qudrah, and His power operates in them.

Allah I kept the systems of this universe in His control. Creation cannot solve their own problems, let alone solve others’ problems. If Allah gives a problem in their body then they lose control. So how can this man solve the problems of the world?

Allah I changes the form and quality of creation. We see this in how our bodies evolved in the mother’s womb, in the way babies grow to strength at youth and back to weakness at old age.

Allah I informs us in the Qur’an:

َّمُث ٍةَفْطُن ْنِم َّمُث ٍباَرُت ْنِم ْمُكاَنْقَلَخ اَّنِٕاَف ِثْعَبْلا َنِم ٍبْيَر يِف ْمُتْنُك ْنِٕا ُساَّنلا اَهُّئَا اَي

ٰىَلِٕا ُءا َشَن اَم ِماَحْرَٔاْلا يِف ُّرِقُنَو ۚ ْمُكَل َنِّيَبُنِل ٍةَقَّل َخُم ِرْيَغَو ٍةَقَّل َخُم ٍةَغ ْضُم ْنِم َّمُث ٍةَقَلَع ْنِم

ُّدَرُي ْنَم ْمُكْنِمَو ٰىَّفَوَتُي ْنَم ْمُكْنِمَو ۖ ْمُكَّدُشَٔا اوُغُلْبَتِل َّمُث اًلْفِط ْمُكُجِر ْخُن َّمُث ىًّم َسُم ٍلَجَٔا

ۚ اًئْيَش ٍمْلِع ِدْعَب ْنِم َمَلْعَي اَلْيَكِل ِرُمُعْلا ِلَذْرَٔا ٰىَلِٕا

O People, if you are in doubt about the Resurrection, then [con-

sider that] indeed, We created you from dust, then from a sperm-

drop, then from a clinging clot, and then from a lump of flesh,

formed and unformed – that We may show you. And We set-

tle in the wombs whom We will for a specified term, then We

bring you out as a child, and then [We grow you] that you may

reach your maturity. And among you is he who dies [young], and

among you is he who is returned to the frail old age so that he

knows nothing after having known. [22:5]

We see such dramatic changes in various other creations as well. The silk-worms undergo a process of metamorphosis from a maggot into a caterpil-lar, in which they appear to be different insects in each stage. In the first stage, the maggots’ sole concern is to eat, and that is why Allah inspires their mothers to lay their eggs in a place where food is nearby.

We see in the growth of plants and bearing of the flowers and fruits the qudrah of Allah I. So many things must come in place for the farmer to reap the harvest. It is Allah who waters the plants and make it grow, only Allah knows how much sunlight and carbon-di-oxide are to be supplied. If one tries to find any grain in the rice plant before its due time they will see no sign of grain in it. Similarly, we see the qudrah of Allah in the growth and maturity of the fruits, how Allah I evolves it’s colour, taste, smell, texture etc.

Among the examples we find in the Qur’an of how Allah I changed the quality of objects and means are:

Stick- Musa u’s stick became a snake and back to stick. Allah I turned

twigs into swords for the sahabaf in the battle of Badr.

Water- Allah I created paths inside sea to make way for Musa u and his

people.

Stone- Musa u hit the stone and water came out. Saleh u made dua and

she-camel came from a rocky mountain.

Human- Some among the Children of Israel were turned into apes and

swine (a reversal of the Theory of Evolution!).

Earth- Allah caused the earth, which supports heavy weights and struc-

tures, to swallow Karun and his house.

In the case of Karun the earth opened up for destruction whereas in case of Ismaeel u earth opened up to provide zamzam water by the command of Allah. Regarding Karun Allah says:

َضْرَٔاْلا ِهِراَدِبَو ِهِب اَنْف َس َخَف

So We caused the earth to swallow him and his home. [28:81]

“Al-Bari” is one of the names of Allah. The meaning of al-Bari is “The Evolver”, “The Developer.”

ۖ ُرِّو َصُمْلا ُئِراَبْلا ُقِلاَخْلا ُهَّللا َوُه

He is Allah, the Creator, the Inventor of all things, the Bestower

of forms. [59:24]

Rasulullah r said:

Shortly before the Hour begins, people will be transformed into

monkeys and pigs, swallowed up in the earth, and pelted with stones [7].

Among this ummah those who disbelieve in the divine decree (al-

qadr) will be swallowed up by the earth, transformed into monkeys

and pigs or pelted with stones [5].

These hadiths indicate that such transformations will happen in this ummah as a punishment for some sins. For example when singing-girls and musical

instruments become widespread and wine is drunk [5]. Woe to the one who provokes the anger, wrath and vengeance of Allah. May Allah keep us all safe from the things that incur His punishment.

When Rasulullah r was emigrating with Abu Bakrd to Madina, Suraqa ibn Malik pursued him on horse-back. Rasulullah r made a dua against him, “O Allah! Cause him to fall down.” As a result Suraqa’s horse stumbled and he fell.

Allah I is fully aware of the creation and able to change their qualities:

ْمُهَرْجَٔا ْمُهَّنَيِزْجَنَلَو ۖ ًةَبِّيَط ًةاَيَح ُهَّنَيِيْحُنَلَف ٌنِمْؤُم َوُهَو ٰىَثْنُٔا ْؤَا ٍرَكَذ ْنِم اًحِلا َص َلِمَع ْنَم

* َنوُلَمْعَي اوُناَك اَم ِن َسْحَٔاِب

Whoever works righteousness, whether male or female, while

he (or she) is a true believer, verily, to him We will give a good life

(in this world with respect, contentment and lawful provision),

and We shall pay them certainly a reward in proportion to the

best of what they used to do. [16:97]

ۖ َنيِرِفاَكْلاِب ٌطيِحُم ُهَّللاَو

But Allah ever encompasses the disbelievers. [2:19]

* اًكْن َض ًةَشيِعَم ُهَل َّنِٕاَف يِرْكِذ ْنَع َضَرْعَٔا ْنَمَو

And whoever turns away from My remembrance, verily for him

is a wretched life. [20:124]

ۖ َنوُلَمْعَت اَمِب ٌريِبَخ َهَّللا َّنِٕا ۚ َهَّللا اوُقَّتاَو

And fear Allah. Verily, Allah is All-Aware of what you do. [59:18]

There are many instances when Allah I removed the qualities of the as-babs. Knife cuts but in the story Ismaeel u it failed to do so. Fire burns but in the story of Ibrahim u it was unable to do so.

* َميِهاَرْبِٕا ٰىَلَع اًماَلَسَو اًدْرَب يِنوُك ُراَن اَي اَنْلُق

We said: “O fire! Be you coolness and safety for Ibrahim! [21:69]

Food and drink get spoilt over time but in the story of Uzair u , Allah I kept them fresh for over hundred years:

ۖ ْهَّن َسَتَي ْمَل َكِباَرَشَو َكِماَعَط ٰىَلِٕا ْرُظْناَف

Look at your food and your drink; they show no change. [2:159]

The nature of the eye is such that it can only see what is apparent, it can-not see the reality. If it is a physical body then it sees only the part of the structure that is visible to the eye, it cannot see the inside of the heart for instance. Because of this limitation, one can easily be fooled. We see in the case of a pencil in a glass of water the pencil is bent. This is how “science”, which only investigates what is apparent, can trick some people and why it needs updating to conform to the evolved knowledge.

We see rain descending from the clouds, but it is Allah I who sends us rain:

ْنِم ُجُر ْخَي َقْدَوْلا ىَرَتَف اًماَكُر ُهُلَعْجَي َّمُث ُهَنْيَب ُفِّلَؤُي َّمُث اًباَح َس يِجْزُي َهَّللا َّنَٔا َرَت ْمَلَٔا

ْنَم ْنَع ُهُفِر ْصَيَو ُءاَشَي ْنَم ِهِب ُبيِصُيَف ٍدَرَب ْنِم اَهيِف ٍلاَبِج ْنِم ِءاَم َّسلا َنِم ُلِّزَنُيَو ِهِلاَل ِخ

ۖ ُءاَشَي

See you not that Allah drives the clouds gently, then joins them

together, then makes them into a heap of layers, and you see the

rain comes forth from between them. And He sends down from

the sky hail (like) mountains, and strike therewith whom He will,

and averts it from whom He wills. [24:43]

The eye does not see the beginning or ending, it only sees the current state (excluding the distant galaxies and stars about which we can only see their distant past, not current or future state!). Every object began from the soil and will turn into soil. Eye didn’t see the time when first it was soil, and it cannot see the time when it will turn into soil. But only sees the current state. When you see an object, then think it’s nothing, by the qudrah of Allah it has taken this state, and one day it will be soil. Allah I says in the Qur’an:

* ٰىَرْخُٔا ًةَراَت ْمُكُجِرْخُن اَهْنِمَو ْمُكُديِعُن اَهيِفَو ْمُكاَنْقَلَخ اَهْنِم

We created you from soil, and will return you to soil, then will

take you out from the soil a second time. [20:55]

رظن Think of yourself like this as well [16]. Thus we turn our certainty from nazar, ربخ (evidenced by witnessing, science etc.) to khobar, (revelation authen-

tically handed down). Revelation takes precedence over reason.

… " …

For Every Creation Allah I

Created a Condition for it

Allah creates conditions and results. Allah I doesn’t just create but He takes an active role in the guidance and condition of the creations.

* ٰىَدَه َّمُث ُهَقْلَخ ٍء ْيَش َّلُك ٰىَطْعَٔا يِذَّلا اَنُّبَر َلاَق

[Musa] said: ”Our Lord is He Who gave to each thing its form and

nature, then guided it.” [20:50]

This type of guidance is given by Allah to all creations. By this guidance ani-mals, plants and even inanimate objects fulfil the purpose of their creation. This type of guidance also includes the general intellect, wits, and inherent intuitive knowledge given to everyone.

Mujahid ? 15 said:

He guided man to distress and happiness, and he guided the cat-

tle to their pastures.

Rasulullah r said:

Every thing is predetermined, even laziness and intelligence [8, 4].

Seek the help of Allah and do not succumb to feebleness. And when

an affliction strikes you, say, ”Allah has decreed this, and He does

as He wills.” Do not say, ”Had I done this or that, this or that would In contrast, in the story of Uzair u, Allah I gave death to him and gave life again after 100 years. He kept the food fresh and gave life to the donkey in front of him:

have happened, because “if” opens the door wide for the work of

shaitan [2].”

Nothing has been created without a purpose, these are signs of Allah - re-flecting on these should increase our eman. Allah I has made many cre-ations in pairs or with it’s opposites, eg. life & death, day & night, heaven & earth, man & women, rich & poor, land & sea, light & darkness, intelligence

& foolishness, Jannah & Jahannam [2].

* َنوُرَّكَذَت ْمُكَّلَعَل ِنْيَجْوَز اَنْقَلَخ ٍء ْيَش ِّلُك ْنِمَو

And all thing We have created in pairs, that you may reflect. [51:49]

ِضْرَٔاْلاَو ِتاَواَمَّسلا ِقْلَخ يِف َنوُرَّكَفَتَيَو ْمِهِبوُنُج ٰىَلَعَو اًدوُعُقَو اًماَيِق َهَّللا َنوُرُكْذَي َنيِذَّلا

* ِراَّنلا َباَذَع اَنِقَف َكَناَحْبُس اًلِطاَب اَذَٰه َتْقَلَخ اَم اَنَّبَر

Those who remember Allah standing, sitting, and lying down on

their sides, and think deeply about the creation of the heavens

and the earth, (saying): “Our Lord! You have not created (all)

this without purpose, glory to You! Give us salvation from the

torment of the Fire. [3:191]

Every moment of the 24-hours countless decisions of Allah I are manifest-ing in the people: happiness, sadness; success, failure; honour, disgrace; health, sickness; life, death; fear, hope; profit, loss etc. At every moment, He is growing the foetuses in the wombs, growing babies to strength & youths to their old age.

Nothing can interfere in Allah I’s distribution of conditions. He is not lim-ited by means or anything else. For example Allah I is not dependent on food to keep people alive. He kept ashab-e-kahaf in cave for more than 300 years in sleep. His Will prevailed upon them against all laws of natural science: controlling hearing, hunger, thirst and other systems within their bodies to sustain them in that time.

ٌطِساب مُهُبلَكَو ۖ ِلامِّشلا َتاذَو ِنيمَيلا َتاذ مُهُبِّلَقُنَو ۚ ٌدوقُر مُهَو اًظاقئَا مُهُب َسحَتَو

* ۚ ِديصَولاِب ِهيَعارِذ

And you would have thought them awake, whereas they were

asleep. And We turned them on their right and on their left

sides, and their dog stretching forth his two forelegs at the en-

trance. [18:18]

اهِتوَم َدعَب ُهَّللا ِهِذٰه ييحُي ٰىّنَٔا َلاق اهِشورُع ٰىلَع ٌةَيِواخ َيِهَو ٍةَيرَق ٰىلَع َّرَم يذَّلاَك ؤَا

لَب َلاق ۖ ٍموَي َضعَب ؤَا اًموَي ُتثِبَل َلاق ۖ َتثِبَل مَك َلاق ۖ ُهَثَعَب َّمُث ٍماع َةَئاِم ُهَّللا ُهَتامَٔاَف ۖ

ًةَيٓا َكَلَعجَنِلَو َكِرامِح ٰىلِٕا رُظناَو ۖ هَّن َسَتَي مَل َكِبارَشَو َكِماعَط ٰىلِٕا رُظناَف ٍماع َةَئاِم َتثِبَل

َّنَٔا ُمَلعَٔا َلاق ُهَل َنَّيَبَت اّمَلَف ۚ اًمحَل اهوسكَن َّمُث اهُزِشنُن َفيَك ِماظِعلا ىَلِٕا رُظناَو ۖ ِساّنلِل

* ٌريدَق ٍءيَش ِّلُك ٰىلَع َهَّللا

Or like the one who passed by a township which had fallen into

ruin. He said: ”Oh! How will Allah ever bring it to life after its

death?” So Allah caused him to die for a hundred years, then

raised him up. He said: ”How long did you remain?” He (the man)

said: ”(Perhaps) I remained (dead) a day or part of a day”. He

said: ”Nay, you have remained (dead) for a hundred years, look

at your food and your drink, they show no change; and look at

your donkey! And thus We have made of you a sign for the peo-

ple. Look at the bones, how We bring them together and clothe

them with flesh”. When this was clearly shown to him, he said, ”I

know (now) that Allah is Able to do all things.” [2:259]

Similarly, Allah I controls the conditions of nations:

نَم ُّزِعُتَو ُءاشَت نَّمِم َكلُملا ُعِزنَتَو ُءاشَت نَم َكلُملا يِتؤُت ِكلُملا َكِلام َّمُهَّللا ِلُق

* ٌريدَق ٍءيَش ِّلُك ٰىلَع َكَّنِٕا ۖ ُريَخلا َكِدَيِب ۖ ُءاشَت نَم ُّلِذُتَو ُءاشَت

Say: ”O Allah! Possessor of the kingdom, You give the kingdom

to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You

will, and You endue with honour whom You will, and You humil-

iate whom You will. In Your Hand1 is the good. Verily, You are

Able to do all things. [3:26]

However, Allah I has His sunnah in dealing with communities & nations - He does not change the condition of people unless they change what is within themselves. If people rectify their a’mals then Allah will bring better condi-tions for them and if they change for worse then Allah will deprive them of the blessings they enjoy.

َهَّللا َّنَٔاَو ۙ ْمِه ِسُفْنَٔاِب اَم اوُرِّيَغُي ٰىَّتَح ٍمْوَق ٰىَلَع اَهَمَعْنَٔا ًةَمْعِن اًرِّيَغُم ُكَي ْمَل َهَّللا َّنَٔاِب َكِلَٰذ

* ٌميِلَع ٌعيِمَس

That is so because Allah will never change a grace which He has

bestowed on a people until they change what is in their own-

selves. And verily, Allah is All-Hearer, All-Knower. [8:53]

ۚ ُهَل َّدَرَم اَلَف اًءوُس ٍمْوَقِب ُهَّللا َداَرَٔا اَذِٕاَو ۗ ْمِهِسُفْنَٔاِب اَم اوُرِّيَغُي ٰىَّتَح ٍمْوَقِب اَم ُرِّيَغُي اَل َهَّللا َّنِٕا

* ٍلاَو ْنِم ِهِنوُد ْنِم ْمُهَل اَمَو

Verily, Allah will not change the (good) condition of a people as

long as they do not change their state themselves. But when

Allah wills a people’s punishment, there can be no turning back

of it, and they will find besides Him no protector. [13:11]

Allah I promises grace & salvation upon taqwa - this is how victory came to the Children of Israel against the Pharaoh and Help of Allah came in the battle of Badr to sahabaf against the mushriqins .

اوُبَّذَك ْنِكَٰلَو ِضْرَٔاْلاَو ِءاَمَّسلا َنِم ٍتاَكَرَب ْمِهْيَلَع اَنْحَتَفَل اْوَقَّتاَو اوُنَمٓا ٰىَرُقْلا َلْهَٔا َّنَٔا ْوَلَو

* َنوُبِسْكَي اوُناَك اَمِب ْمُهاَنْذَخَٔاَف

And if the people of the towns had believed and had the Taqwa

(piety), certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from

the heaven and the earth, but they belied (the messengers). So

We seized them for what they used to earn. [7:96]

Such conditions, though connected to asbabs in this world, they are deter-mined by Allah I and these decisions descend to all the creations in every second and every minute in the entirety of their lifetime. So we seek to redress our conditions through Him with correct yaqin and a’mal.

… " …

Benefit & Harm Lies in the

Hands of Allah I

Means are endowed with potency to benefit or harm, they can only do so by the leave of Allah I. Allah alone permits or brings benefit or harm. Peo-ple see the means but they do not see Allah - generally, this is how people develop corrupt beliefs. Allah I does whatever He wills with His creatures, none can resist His judgment or prevent what He decrees:

ۚ ِهِل ْضَفِل َّداَر اَلَف ٍرْيَخِب َكْدِرُي ْنِٕا َو ۖ َوُه اَّلِٕا ُهَل َفِشاَك اَلَف ٍّر ُضِب ُهَّللا َك ْس َسْمَي ْنِٕاَو

ۚ ِهِداَبِع ْنِم ُءاَشَي ْنَم ِهِب ُبيِصُي

And if Allah touches you with hurt, there is none who can remove

it but He; and if He intends any good for you, there is none who

can repel His favour which He causes it to reach whomsoever of

His slaves He will. [10:107]

Rasulullah r used to supplicate [3]:

دَجْلا َكْنِم ِّدَجْلا اَذ ُعَفْنَي اَلَو ، َتْعَنَم اَمِل َيِطْعُم اَلَو َتْيَطْعَٔا اَمِل َعِناَم اَل َّمُهَّللا

…O Allah, there is none who can avert what You grant or give what

You deprive, and no fortune ever helps the fortunate against You.

Objects and things cannot harm or benefit except by the will of Allah. Here are some common examples:

Water- Water has the ability to quench thirst. In the story of Jalut (Go-

liath), Talut (Saul), when the army of Talut came to the river, Allah in-

spired him to test the Children of Israel, he ordered them to drink not

more than one sip of water 16. Those who disobeyed died as it only

increased their thirst.

Medicine- Allah I has put power in medicine to give cure. However with

the same medicine Allah chooses who it benefits and who it fails.

Cloud- The sight of cloud usually is an occasion of relief after a dry spell.

With this water, Allah gives life to the dead land which brings out all

sorts of crops. With the same cloud, Allah can give a disastrous flood

for both life and property.

Money- The money which benefits the owner can also bring harm. A rob-

ber can kill the owner for money.

The objects, creations, systems and circumstances around us are like dum-mies - it will give benefit or harm depending on what Allah commands it to give. The staff of Musa u is a good example of this. Musa u described many benefits of the stick, which became an object of harm when it turned into a serpent. Then again the snake turned into staff by the will of Allah. In life, in general, every single asbab, which we consider to benefit or harm, is no different from the staff of Musa u- only Allah decides what they ultimately do.

A person with a gun in his hand is in need of Allah’s protection. Allah pro-tected Musau in the house of His enemy. The brothers of Yusuf u planned to get rid of him, he was sold as a slave, he was put in prison for refusing the wife of the Egyptian minister but Allah protected and honoured him. Sim-ilarly, Quraish planned to murder Rasulullah r yet they failed to harm him when he left his house in front of his enemies who were fully armed. Noth-ing or no worldly power can terminate the life of anybody until they have finished the rizk that Allah allocated to them. When someone realises these examples, then it is easy to understand the true reality of power possessed by materials, machines, people and nations.

We should learn to treat all means no different than the idols about which Allah I said:

ُباَبُّذلا ُمُهْبُل ْسَي ْنِٕا َو ۖ ُهَل اوُعَمَتْجا ِوَلَو اًباَبُذ اوُقُل ْخَي ْنَل ِهَّللا ِنوُد ْنِم َنوُعْدَت َنيِذَّلا َّنِٕا

َهَّللا َّنِٕا ۗ ِهِرْدَق َّقَح َهَّللا اوُرَدَق اَم * ُبوُلْطَمْلاَو ُبِلاَّطلا َفُع َض ۚ ُهْنِم ُهوُذِقْنَت ْسَي اَل اًئْيَش

* ٌزيِزَع ٌّيِوَقَل

Indeed, those you invoke besides Allah will never create [even] a

fly, even if they gathered together for that purpose. And if the

fly should steal away from them a [tiny] thing, they could not

recover it from him. Weak are the pursuer and pursued. They

have not estimated Allah His Rightful Estimate; Verily, Allah is

All-Strong, All-Mighty. [22:73-4]

Allah I directed Rasulullah r to claim all powers of benefit and harm to Him:

ۚ ُهَّللا َءاَش اَم اَّلِٕا اًّر َض اَلَو اًعْفَن يِسْفَنِل ُكِلْمَٔا اَل ْلُق

Say, “I hold not for myself [the power of] benefit or harm, except

what Allah has willed. [7:188]

Misplacing the power of benefit and harm absolutely to creation can be tan-tamount to shirk. There are two types of shirk:

• Open (Jalli) - Worship of idols or something else thinking it will benefit

or harm.

• Hidden(Kafi) - Man does not say business, money, job etc. are idols,

but he thinks if he can please his boss or acquire money, he will be

benefited. Like termites, such thinking is eating away at our eman.

Muawiyad used to take advise from A’isha g and she used to quote hadith of Rasulullah r. Once Mu’awiyahd wrote a letter to A’isha g that: “Write a letter to advise me, and do not overburden me.” So A’isha g wrote to Mu’awiyahd :

Peace be upon you. As for what follows: Indeed I heard Rasulul-

lah r saying:

Whoever seeks Allah’s pleasure by the people’s wrath, Allah will

suffice him from the people. And whoever seeks the people’s plea-

sure by Allah’s wrath, Allah will entrust him to the people. And

Peace be upon you [5].

Allah treats man the way he thinks of Him. Wahab bin Abaan Qurashi that once Ibn Umar d was travelling on a joumey when they saw a crowd of people standing by the road. ”What is the matter with those people?” Ibn Umard enquired. ”There is a lion on the road frightening them,” came the reply. Ibn Umard got off his animal, walked up to the lion and held its ears. He then twisted its ears, slapped its nape and moved it off the road. There-

after, he said (to himself) 17:

Rasulullah r did not lie to you. I heard Rasulullah say:

Only that which man fears will be given the upper hand over him

and if he fears none besides Allah, Allah will not allow anything

else to gain the upper hand over him. Man is also handed over to

that which he entertains hopes in and if he pins his hopes in none

other than Allah, Allah will not hand him over to anyone else.

Rasulullah r said to ibn ’Abbasd while he was still a youth,

Young man, I will teach you something: Remember Allah and He

will remember you. Keep Him in your heart and you will find Him

with you. If you beg of someone, beg of Allah. If you rely on some-

one, rely on Allah.

Know that if the whole world united in order to provide you with

some benefit, they could only benefit you with what Allah has al-

ready decreed for you. And know that if the whole world united in

order to bring you harm, they could only harm you with what Allah

had already decreed to befall you.

The pens have been lifted from the pages and the ink has dried [5].

We thus turn to Allah to seek benefits and to ward off harm - we need to show our gratitude to Him. Allah I teaches us to acknowledge this many times a day:

*ۚ ُنيِعَت ْسَن َكاَّيِٕاَو ُدُبْعَن َكاَّيِٕا

You (alone) we worship, and You (alone) we ask for help (for each

and everything). [1:5]

Even a husband would not tolerate if his wife tries to go to someone else to solve their problem (eg lack of food etc.). The husband would not tolerate this even though he didn’t create eyes, ears, nose etc. Similarly, if someone

employs a person, then if the employee goes to do some other work - would the employer tolerate this? Similarly, Allah controls all of our affairs, the person we may plead to, even that person is in the Hands of Allah! So how do we expect Allah to tolerate our behaviour (in misplacing fear and hope)?

Nimrud bin Kan’an, a pagan king who ruled the whole world, wished to pun-ish Ibrahim u for destroying the idols they worshipped. To punish him, a giant fire which only a state apparatus can afford was arranged, and people gathered around to witness. The king wanted to make Ibrahim u an exam-ple so that the pagan beliefs are never challenged. But Allah showed that the king cannot kill Ibrahim u even with huge planning and fire. Allah I protected and sustained Ibrahim u inside the fire.

We have to fear for our sins and nothing else. No need to fear any creations at all. Eman is belief in Allah I with fear and hope.

… " …

Allah I Has Infinite

Treasures

Sahaba f Learnt to Take

From it Directly

Whatever exists on the earth is finite but Allah I’s treasures are infinite. For example, all water put together (past, present, future) is a drop compared to what is in the treasures of Allah I. Similarly, the stock of milk, honey, fruits etc. is a drop compared to what is in the treasures of Allah.

Every form of condition on a person, family, village, town, city, country, and the world is coming from the treasures of Allah I. It’s from the treasures of Allah I that man gets peace, comfort and ease; man gets difficulty and stress; he gets happiness, he gets sorrow. This was and is and will continue to be the case until Day of Qiyamah. Whatever is available in this earthly life is not even a drop in Allah’s infinite treasures.

* َنوُهَقْفَي اَل َنيِقِفاَنُمْلا َّنِكَٰلَو ِضْرَٔاْلاَو ِتاَواَمَّسلا ُنِئاَزَخ ِهَّلِلَو

And to Allah belong the treasures of the heavens and the earth,

but the hypocrites comprehend not. [63:7]

Allah I is great and His jail for eternal punishment, Jahannam, is great. Allah I is great and His place for eternal entertainment, Jannah, is great. The blessings and punishments of the hereafter not only exceed those of the earth in quantity, but also in quality!

Sahaba f had the firm belief in the fact that all creations, whether it is in the form of materials, means or conditions are all from the treasures of one supreme being, Allah I. Thus they focused all their attention to Allah I and His commands.

Rasulullah r said:

The early period of this Ummah attained salvation by virtue of its

firm belief in Allah I and disregard for worldly things; the last of

it will be damned through niggardliness and high hopes regarding

distant future 18.

Abu Umama d was in debt, he had no means to pay, he could not stay at home, he was staying in the masjid in grief. So Rasulullah r said, “Shall I give you du’a through which Allah will relieve mountain of debt.” Thus, he r trained his sahaba f that only Allah provides without measure and takes out of all difficulty and in ways unimaginable!

Once Abu Mu’liqd, who was a trader who traded both his own goods and goods of others. Once he faced a robber who wanted to kill him. So Abu Mu’liq d requested permission to pray two rakat of salat. Before he fin-

ished his dua an angel came and killed the robber 19.

Abu Hurayrahd reports:

I followed Alaa bin Hadhramid when Rasulullah dispatched him

to Bahrain. I witnessed three incidents with him and I cannot tell

which of them was most astonishing.

When we stood by the shore on one occasion, he said, ’Recite

Bismillah and lunge into the ocean.’ We recited Bismillah, lunged

in and crossed the sea without even the hooves of our animals

getting wet.

On the return journey, we had to pass through an arid plain and

had no water with us. When we brought this to his attention,

he performed two rakat salat and then made du’a. There sud-

denly appeared a cloud the size of a shield, which rained down

so heavily on us that we had enough water to drink and to give

to our animals.

When he passed away, we buried him in some soft sand, but af-

ter travelling a short distance, it occurred to us that wild animals

would (easily dig up the grave and) eat up the body. We there-

fore returned, but did not find his body in the grave 20.

Mu’aawiya bin Harmal reports that once he was sitting in the Masjid with Tameem Daarid when a fire was emerging from Harra. Umard then came to Tameemd saying, ”Go and see to that fire!” Tameemd said, ”Who am I and what am I?” Umard however insisted until Tameem d went with him. Mu’aawiya fol-lowed them as they proceeded to the fire where Tameemd rounded up the fire with his bare hands until it returned into the crevice it had come out from, with Tameemd behind it. Umard then remarked, ”The one who

has witnessed this can never be like the one who has not 21.”

Once a Muslim army had to set up camp in one of the wild jungles of North Africa, in Kairouan. This jungle was filled with dangerous wild animals. The commander Uqbah bin Nafaed went with a few sahaba f to a certain spot, they made du’a to Allah and then made an announcement:

0 you creatures living in the earth and you wild animals. We are

the companions of Rasulullah r. Please depart from here, for we

intend camping here. Whoever of you we find here after this, we

shall kill.

As this announcement was made, it was as if a bolt of lightning had trav-elled among the wild beasts and reptiles. Picking up their small ones they immediately departed from there.

When hunger struck during the battle Khandaaq, Rasulullah r promised wealth of three kingdoms. Yet munafiqs and jews were mocking - “How can these people, stone tied to their stomach, dream of such wealth?” Thus we need to work with steadfastness when difficulty comes.

Rasulullah r used to teach sahabaf to make istikharah, asking Allah to help one make a choice, in all things, just as he used to teach them surahs from

the Qur’an [3, 5, 9, 7].

Rasulullah r brought many means from Allah I- when we implement sun-nah in our lives, when our lives will embody that life style of Rasulullah r , then with every means:

• our relation with the supreme being Allah I will be built,

• we will benefit directly from His qudrah,

• Allah I will show success from every design, regardless of whether

that design appear adequate or inadequate, of failure or success, of

honour or disgrace!

Maulana Yusuf ? said:

All our needs and problems have a due connection with Allah.

These needs and problems do not have any connection with ma-

terials spread out in the markets. Our sight should not fall on

materials.

In the same way our thought should not be about them. If our

sight falls on them we should consider those things as clay. If

our hearts go out to those material things then how would the

hearts of the people, to whom we are going to, will turn away

from them?

Even today, if we are to take from the treasures of Allah, we should sacrifice upon fulfilling His commands in the way of Rasulullah r , persevere with patience and perform salat and make du’a in earnest. If we do not have eman we cannot benefit directly from the treasures of Allah - qudhra of Allah.

If everyone understands the one Lord and the treasures of the Lord then all problems will end. People will feel that, “Why should I steal or rip someone off?”, their thinking will be that, “The one (Lord) who gave him, can give me from his vast treasures - so through salat I will take from Him.”

… " …

Distribution of Rizk:

Conditions & Means are all

From Allah I

Rizk has a general meaning - food, cloth, house, companion, transport and shelter etc. The distribution of conditions & means is only from Allah I. The blessings of this world are temporary and Allah gives these to believers and disbelievers as He pleases. Allah I said:

يِف اوُنَمٓا َنيِذَّلِل َيِه ْلُق ۚ ِقْزِّرلا َنِم ِتاَبِّيَّطلاَو ِهِداَبِعِل َجَرْخَٔا يِتَّلا ِهَّللا َةَنيِز َمَّرَح ْنَم ْلُق

ۗ ِةَماَيِقْلا َمْوَي ًة َصِلاَخ اَيْنُّدلا ِةاَيَحْلا

Say (O Muhammad): “Who has forbidden the adoration with clothes

given by Allah, which He has produced for his slaves, and the

good [lawful] things of provision?” Say: “They are, in the life of

this world, for those who believe, (and) exclusively for them (be-

lievers) on the Day of Resurrection.” [7:32]

ٰىَكْبَٔاَو َكَح ْضَٔا َوُه ُهَّنَٔاَو

And that it is He (Allah) who grants laughter and tears. [53:43]

Nothing takes place on earth, except that it is inscribed in al-Lawh al-Mahfudh (Preserved Tablet); everything about the creation by Allah I ; livelihood, provisions, ages, deeds, etc.

Rasulullah r said:

Allah had written the ordained measures (and due proportions) of

the creation, fifty-thousand years before the creation of the Heav-

ens and the Earth… [4].

Allah I enriches his enemies with means, with materials, but it can become a trial for them and others. It is a trial when they think their affluence is solely their own product and a sign that they are on the correct path.

ُقْزِرَو ۚ ِهيِف ْمُهَنِتْفَنِل اَيْنُّدلا ِةاَيَحْلا َةَرْهَز ْمُهْنِم اًجاَوْزَٔا ِهِب اَنْعَّتَم اَم ٰىَلِٕا َكْيَنْيَع َّنَّدُمَت اَلَو

ٰىَقْبَٔاَو ٌرْيَخ َكِّبَر

And strain not your eyes in longing for the things We have given

for enjoyment to various groups of them, the splendour of the

life of this world that We may test them thereby. But the pro-

vision (good reward in the hereafter) of your Lord is better and

more lasting. [20:131]

ْنَع اوُّلِضُيِل اَنَّبَر اَيْنُّدلا ِةاَيَحْلا يِف اًلاَوْمَٔاَو ًةَنيِز ُهَٔاَلَمَو َنْوَعْرِف َتْيَتٓا َكَّنِٕا اَنَّبَر ٰى َسوُم َلاَقَو

َباَذَعْلا اُوَرَي ٰىَّتَح اوُنِمْؤُي اَلَف ْمِهِبوُلُق ٰىَلَع ْدُد ْشاَو ْمِهِلاَوْمَٔا ٰىَلَع ْسِمْطا اَنَّبَر ۖ َكِليِب َس

َميِلَٔاْلا

And Musa said: “Our Lord! You have indeed bestowed on Pharaoh

and his chiefs splendour and wealth in the life of this world, our

Lord! That they may lead men astray from Your Path. Our Lord!

Destroy their wealth, and harden their hearts, so that they will

not believe until they see the painful torment.” [10:88]

Rizk is not determined by the size of the population. Today population con-trol is taking place. But Allah said to Quraish:

ٍقاَلْمِٕا َةَيْشَخ ْمُكَداَلْؤَا اوُلُتْقَت اَلَو

Do not kill your children fearing poverty. [17:31]

Narrated by Anasd:

My mother, Umm Anas, brought me to Rasulullah r and she had

made me an Izár out of half of her head cover and had made the

other half into a Ridâ’.

She said: ’0 messenger of Allah, this is Unais, my son. I have

brought him to you to serve you, so pray to Allah for him.’

He said: ’0 Allah, increase his wealth and offspring.”

By Allah, my wealth is great and today my children and my chil-

dren’s children are now more than one hundred in number.

Rizk is not exactly what is apparent. Rasulullah r said:

A servant says, My wealth, My wealth, but out of his wealth three

things are only his: whatever he eats and makes use of or by means

of which he dresses himself and it wears out or he gives as charity,

and this is what he stored for himself, and what is beyond this (is of

no use) because you are to depart and leave it for other people[4].

Allah I will ask about the blessings we receive. Once a sahabi received some dates after three days, Rasulullah r said even for this they would be asked, even the shadow of a tree is a favour from Allah I.

The sunnah of Allah is that He gives rizk through apparent means, that is from land, through job or trade etc. He is not limited by the number or type of means or by circumstances to provide rizk.

اَهُقْزِر ِهَّللا ىَلَع اَّلِٕا ِضْرَٔاْلا يِف ٍةَّباَد ْنِم اَمَو

And no creature is there on earth but its provision is due from

Allah. [11:6]

Allah I can feed the poor, rich man’s food, and He can also feed the rich, the poor man’s food. How many people are there who suffer from food allergies? There are others who cannot even digest good food. These are predetermined so that we can appreciate what we have and not focus on what we don’t have. Rasulullah r said:

Look at those who stand at a lower (financial) level than you but

don’t look at those who stand at a higher level than you, for this

would make the favours (conferred upon you by Allah) insignificant

(in your eyes) [4].

Abu ‘Abbas Sahl ibn Sa’d as-Sa’idi said [7]:

A man came to Rasulullah r and said, “Messenger of Allah, show

me an action for which Allah will love me and for which people

will love me if I do it.”

He said, “Do with little of this world and Allah will love you, and

do with little of what belongs to other people and people will love

you.”

Allah I also gives without means. Maryam u received fresh fruits in closed chambers - she didn’t approach any means for that. Similarly, Allah I gave out of season grapes to Khubaib d who was captured and kept caged in Makkah, he too received the rizk without means.

Thus a mumin will sacrifice time to beautify salaat, beautify a’mal, he will sacrifice asbab to do a’mal. On the contrary, a Muslim with weak eman will sacrifice salat, sacrifice a’mal to give more time to his business etc. Allah created asbab to test us - what level of yaqin do we hold about His rubu-biyat?

Mualana Yusuf ? said:

Before death settle this in our heart that there is success in fol-

lowing the methodology of Rasulullah r and there is no success

inherent in authority or in a piece of material. This dictum needs

to open up within us. This is because when we die the first ques-

tion we are going to face, ”Tell who is your sustainer?”

If we made effort on the saying that my business sustains me,

we sustain from our own effort, money sustains me, then we will

not be able to say that our sustainer is Allah. Whatever is inside

the heart will come from the tongue, even if we say Allahu Akbar

millions of times.

… " …

10 .

Promises & Qudrah of Allah I

are With Eman & A’mal,

Not With Asbabs

The promises of Allah and His messenger is not with the people of Muslim names but with those who are mumins. Sahabaf had absolute certainly in getting from the promises of Allah I and Rasulullah r , far more than say our certainty in getting a salary or wages after doing some work.

The following conversations between Abdullah ibn Masudd who was on his deathbed and Uthmand illustrate how much yaqin sahabaf had on a’mals brought by Rasulullah r:

Uthman d: What illness do you have?

Ibn Masud d: My sins!

Uthman d: So what do you desire?

Ibn Masud d: The mercy of my Lord.

Uthman d: Can I get a doctor to attend to you?

Ibn Masud d: The doctor has made me ill.

Uthman d: Should I send some money for you?

Ibn Masud d: I have no need for money.

Uthman d: The money will assist your daughters after your demise.

Ibn Masudd explained, “Do you fear that my daughters will be-

come poor? I have commanded them to recite Surah Waqiah ev-amount of means. How many young people have broken their backs upon this? How many nations have been destroyed because of this? Only Allah promises the guarantee of benefit and harm and that is with His commands.

ery night. I heard Rasulullah r saying, ‘Whoever recites Surah

Waqiah every night will never be afflicted by poverty [2].’

Allah I can use any means to benefit anybody. Allah did not create asbab because He could not do without them. For those who have taqwa, Allah I provides in a way that is unimaginable:

ۚ ُبِسَتْحَي اَل ُثْيَح ْنِم ُهْقُزْرَيَو * اًجَرْخَم ُهَل ْلَعْجَي َهَّللا ِقَّتَي ْنَمَو

And whosoever fears Allah and keeps his duty to Him, He will

make a way for him to get out (from every difficulty). And He

will provide him from (sources) he never could imagine. [65:2-3]

If we follow Allah, He will fulfil all the promises, ie. Allah will protect us. When we take interest, He will destroy us. We must have certainty in this. Allah I is always with the believers as He says:

َنيِنِمْؤُمْلا َعَم َهَّللا َّنَٔاَو

Allah is with the believers. [8:19]

Unfortunately, today if we say, ”Allah will look after us”, people get angry, eg. when a young man leaves a pregnant wife and says Allah will look after her, people get angry, ”what nonsense!” etc.

Zakariya u left Mariyam u in the sacred room by the command of Allah. Allah I provided her with food. Later on, when she was by the date-palm tree during pregnancy, Allah asked her to shake the big tree. Mariyam u did not use her reason such as it was a big tree and she was weak or in pain. On the contrary, she shook the tree because Allah commanded it. So when the command of Allah is heard we must do it. Shaitan says, “It’s difficult or impossible.”

How can one explain a young boy, how a baby comes out from the womb? Similarly, we are like that young boy, how can we understand the qudrah of Allah I? In the same manner when following his commands, if we have the yaqin then the help of Allah will come to us, whether we understand how.

There are no promises from Allah I upon relying on means, such as what Pharaoh relied upon. The Pharaohic doctrine is taught in the educational establishments - only now it’s propagated on an industrial scale, and hardly anyone in this world is spared. They just want people to believe what is apparent in means, and so to acquire the most benefit acquire the most

Sure Allah I has created asbabs for a purpose - they serve the following four purposes:

To know Allah I through His signs & qudrah: At the most basic level,

we see the amazing system of life in this universe from the smallest

to the largest creations which direct to their supreme creator. The

way Allah evolves the creation during its creation (eg. in the womb)

or in its lifetime (eg. growing old) shows off His qudrah. He created

everything, He guided them, He sustains them, He gives the results of

their effort, He gives success or failure, all are from the signs of Allah.

Asbabs are a test: Allah I can test us with means, either by giving or by

withdrawing.

* اًلَمَع ُن َسْحَٔا ْمُهُّئَا ْمُهَوُلْبَنِل اَهَل ًةَنيِز ِضْرَٔاْلا ىَلَع اَم اَنْلَعَج اَّنِٕا

Verily! We have made that which is on earth as an adornment for it,

so that We may test them as to which of them is best in deed. [18:7]

They are not created for our sustenance or rectification. For example,

Allah is not in need of the means to sustain humans. He fed manna and

salwa to Children of Israel.

Allah I can utilise them to raise or debase people: Means are like con-

tainers. Whatever Allah chooses to put on them will occur regardless

of the outward structure or notion of them. Earth was split to benefit

Ismail u but the same earth was split to bring destruction to Karun.

It is the sunnah of Allah that He uses the means and if He so wishes

He doesn’t. He asked Nooh u to make the boat, Musa u to hit the

water. In the battle of Badr, Allah I sent Jibrael u to inform Muham-

mad r to throw a handful of sand at the enemy.

We submit to Allah: After looking at the splendour of His creations; the

systems and means of this universe and recognising that these are

powerless in their ability to exist, or to bring benefit and harm to any-

body, we realise that these are just signs of Allah and His qudrah and

we submit to Him.

Allah I kept the benefits of this deen in disguise. Hence when men get tests, sometimes they are deceived. If we do not achieve these (disguised) benefits, then the apparent benefits (false, eg interest) will come to us but with punishments.

Three people stuck in a cave were given freedom on account of their a’mals. Each person sought Allah’s help by making dua sincerely by means of their a’mal and the boulder moved slightly each time. After all of their du’as, Allah I removed the boulder completely from the mouth of the cave.

The qudrah of Allah I is for those with yaqin, it is not just on a’mal, it is on the full yaqin of the outcome of a’mal. The strong eman & yaqin of sahabaf enabled them to resist the effect of any asbab on their heart and remain steadfast on their mission.

At the request of Rustam, Sa’d ibn Waqqasd sent Rab’ee bin Aamird as his envoy. The court of Rustam had been decorated to impress him. There were cushions decorated with gold, rugs of silk, gleaming emeralds, price-less pearls and other elaborate decorations. Rustam wore his crown and other expensive garments and accessories as he sat on a throne of gold. Wearing old clothing Rab’eed entered with his sword, his shield and under-sized horse. He continued riding the horse, even trampling on the edges of the rugs. He then dismounted and tied his horse on one of the couches. He then walked along with his weapons and armour still wearing his helmet.

When the courtiers asked him to remove his weapons, he said, “I have not come of my own accord but have come on your request. Either leave me as I am or grant me leave.” Rustam instructed them to grant him entry and he came with his spear, which tore most of the rug as he walked while leaning

on it. The courtiers asked, “What brings you here?” Rab’eed replied [15]:

Allah has sent us to remove those whom He wills from the slav-

ery of man to take them to the slavery of Allah, to remove them

from the narrowness of this world towards its vastness and from

the oppression of other religions towards the justice of Islam….

Maulana Yusuf ? said:

Currently in this world effort is only made on materials or things

related to it. People have forgotten how by acquiring taqwa, and

by developing a pure relationship with Allah, they can take from

Allah by his blessing and benevolence. Rather it is the way that is

sought in every supplication made in every salat, in every raka’a.

This is the way of every single prophet, messenger, and those of

His accepted slaves.

On the contrary, the people who are deprived of the guidance of Allah, and upon whom there is the punishment of Allah, their way is such that they are completely heedless of Allah, lacking yaqin upon His qualities, and His worship and help, who act as carefree, making an all-out effort on materials. Allah says about them:

َنوُبِسْكَي اوُناَك اَمِب ْمُهاَنْذَخَٔاَف

And if only the people of the cities had believed and feared

Allah, We would have opened upon them blessings from the heaven

and the earth; but they denied [the messengers], so We seized

them for what they were earning. [7:96]

If people’s eman become rectified, their actions become accepted, their thinking become holy then Allah will bring good circumstances for them. Thus Allah gave victory to the believers on Day of Hudaybiyyah. Further, when the sahaba f were content with acceptance and were at

peace, Allah I increased their eman [2]:

ُدوُنُج ِهَّلِلَو ۗ ْمِهِناَميِٕا َعَم اًناَميِٕا اوُداَدْزَيِل َنيِنِمْؤُمْلا ِبوُلُق يِف َةَنيِك َّسلا َلَزْنَٔا يِذَّلا َوُه

اًميِكَح اًميِلَع ُهَّللا َناَكَو ۚ ِضْرَٔاْلاَو ِتاَواَمَّسلا

It is He who sent down tranquillity into the hearts of the believ-

ers that they would increase in faith along with their [present]

faith. And to Allah belong the Forces of the heavens and the

earth, and ever is Allah Knowing and Wise. [48:4]

There are those who break the commands of Allah and yet appear to pros-per, then this success will end at death at the latest. At death, their failure will fully manifest and will never end. As for believers, their poor conditions are not a sign of failure as their eternal bliss will begin at death.

Da’wah Bitesize by Talib Jaleel - HTML preview

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