Incredimail gallery - A Medley of Themes Based On Collectibles
B i s m i l l a a h i r R a h m a a n i r R a h e e m
Teachings of the Qur'aan
Nooh
Soorah 71:21-28
Ayub A. Hamid
Thus, Nooh 'alayhissalaam presented all such points to his
people that might help in opening their hearts and minds for accepting the
truth. But despite all of Nooh's logical, rational and convincing explanations,
people did not listen to him. Instead they listened to those leaders who were
misguiding them to maintain the status quo and thus protect their leadership,
power and influence in the society. So, after describing all he had done in
carrying out the mission given to him by Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala, Nooh
'alayhissalaam sums up the disbeliever's insolence and insistence on evil in
the next few verses.
21 Nooh prayed, "My Lord! My people have disobeyed me, and
have followed those leaders whose wealth and children have made them even
bigger losers 22 and who have deployed an immense web of plots. 23 They have
told people, 'Never abandon your gods and never abandon Wadd and Suwaa', nor
Yaghooth and Ya'ooq and Nasr.' 24 These leaders have already mislead many, and
Lord, do not increase the wrong-doers except in misguidance."
To keep people from believing in Nooh 'alayhissalaam and
Islam, the religious and political leaders had fabricated a variety of
propaganda schemes which they kept on repeating so frequently and in so many
different ways that people believed them to be true and valid. The propaganda
they used has been hinted at different places in the Qur-aan. They would say
things like:
§ Nooh is an ordinary human being, how can we believe that
Allaah sends him messages when none of us have ever had or witnessed that
experience;
§ He is making this claim just to become a greater leader
than everyone else;
§ Had Allaah wanted to send someone, He would have sent an
angel;
§ If Allaah had selected him, he would have all the
treasures and wealth as well as the knowledge of unseen and not subject to
human sufferings and setbacks;
§ There is nothing extraordinarily special about him on the
basis of which his claim is accepted;
§ He is crazy or possessed by a Jinn;
§ His followers are only some outcasts who have accepted his
claim without much thought;
§ Had his claims made sense, the leaders and intellectuals
of the society would have endorsed him and followed him; and
§ So on and so forth.
They would use such propaganda to convince people not to
forsake their idols and to stick with their existing fantastic lifestyle. To
make it sentimental, they would appeal people not to forsake the idols by
naming some of their favourite ones such as Wadd, Suwaa', Yaghooth, Ya'ooq and
Nasr, which Arabs were also familiar with.
At that stage, it had become evident that there could not
come out of them even a single more believer. So Nooh 'alayhissalaam prayed to
Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala requesting Him to take the final step and destroy
the disbelievers so that Nooh 'alayhissalaam and his followers (the Muslims)
could establish a clean and pure society according to the Islamic system of
justice, peace and excellence. His supplication for the destruction of the
disbelievers starts in verse 24 and ends with verse 28. But as soon as his
supplication is initiated in verse 24, Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala interrupts
the flow and informs of the disbelievers' destruction through a parenthetical
comment in verse 25, before letting the words of Nooh 'alayhissalaam's
supplication complete in verse 26-28. This is to indicate the effectiveness of
Nooh 'alayhissalaam's supplication and Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala's
responsiveness to the prayer of a messenger.
25 Because of their sins, they were drowned, then made to
enter Fire, so they did not find any helpers besides Allaah.
In addition to informing us of their immediate destruction by
drowning in the flood, the verse also mentions their ultimate punishment in
Hell. For the benefit of those who believe in gods other than Allaah Subhaanahu
wa Ta'aala, the verse also points out that, when the destruction came, there
was none to help the disbelievers because their presumed gods were false and
fabricated.
The remaining text of Nooh 'alayhissalaam's prayer follows:
26 Nooh continued his prayer, "My Lord! Do not leave upon the
earth even a single inhabitant from the disbelievers. 27 If you leave them,
they will indeed mislead Your slaves and they will breed none but wicked
disbelievers. 28 My Lord! Forgive me, my parents, whoever enters my house as a
believer, and all the believing men and the believing women; and do not
increase the wrong-doers in anything except destruction!
Although there was absolutely no hope for any of them to
become a believer, even then a door of repentance was kept open for them in
case anyone changed his or her mind at the last moment. When people were
finally warned that they would be destroyed by a great flood, they were also
offered a final opportunity so that if anyone changed his or her mind, they
could come to Nooh 'alayhissalaam's house and accept Islam, before the signs of
the storm appeared.
Obviously, as is commonly known, the believers were saved
from destruction because they boarded the boat that Nooh 'alayhissalaam had
built before the storm arrived. As all people except those in the boat were
destroyed, all human beings of the world today have descended from Nooh
'alayhissalaam and the Muslims who boarded the boat with him. Logically that
should have been the end of the idol worship, especially those idols that were
worshipped by the people who were destroyed. However, it is so ironic that the
idols mentioned in this Soorah were being worshipped in Arabia at the time of
the revelation of these verses. The following is their description:
§ Wadd had as shape of a huge man and was god of Banee Kalb
branch of Qudhaa'h tribe and was erected at Doomatul-jandal. It was also called
Wadd, the Father. Quraish of Makkah also revered it, but called it Wudd.
§ Suwaa' was shaped like a woman and was erected at Rubaat,
near Yanboo'. She was goddess of Hudzail tribe.
§ Yaghooth was shaped like a lion. It was erected at Jurash,
between Yemen and Hijaaz. Some clans of Tay tribe and Madzjih tribe worshipped
it.
§ Ya'ooq was shaped like a horse and was worshipped by a
clan of Hamdaan tribe of Yemen.
§ Nasr was shaped like a vulture and was erected at Balkha'.
It was worshipped by a clan of Himyar. It was also known as Naswar.
As the Qur-aan has mentioned their names in two groups, it
indicates that the first two Wadd and Suwaa' enjoyed a higher status than the
other three. Presence of some people among Quraish bearing names such as 'Abdi
Wudd (slave of Wudd) and 'Abdi Yaghooth (slave of Yaghooth) indicates that they
also revered those idols.
The point to ponder is: How did the Arabs end up worshipping
the idols whose worshippers were all destroyed? It appears that Shaytaan uses
history, archaeology and human love for their "heritage" as his tools for
trapping people to re-engage in the evils that had been eradicated by the
previous prophets and messengers.
In this age of enlightenment, we see many people reviving and
re-adopting many evils of the past under various pretexts. Even Muslims have
adopted so many evils of the past that were eradicated by our Prophet sall
Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and previous prophets. Relying on their books and
traditions, and without being very vigilant, many Muslims have adopted Jewish
and Christian ways that were not approved of by Allaah and His messengers.
Similarly many Muslim populations are proudly associating themselves with
pre-Islamic heritage of Jaahiliyyah.
If Muslims want to remain believers in Islam, they must
reject whatever was rejected by the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and
his companions, and they must abandon anything they have adopted from the
previous civilizations that was not part of the collective views and practices
of the companions of the Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. The pure Islam
is only that what was preached, practised and approved by the Prophet sall
Allaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and collectively by his companions. Anything added
later on is innovation brought in from other sources.
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Copyright © 2009 Ayub A. Hamid
All rights reserved
This document may be used, only with this copyright notice
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attributed to the author Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid. Contact the author for all
other rights, which are reserved.
Note: This series is providing the teachings of the Qur'aan,
not a literal translation. Instead of literal translation, it gives
interpretive meanings of the verses, along with their contextual details.
Please remember that any translation of the Holy Qur'aan is in fact only an
expression of the translator's understanding of the Word of Allaah Subhaanahu
wa Ta'aala, and hence cannot be equated with the Qur'aan itself. Only the
original Arabic text can be called the Holy Qur'aan.
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Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid is a visionary and strategic Islamic
thinker residing in Canada for the last 34 years. His recently published books
are:
1. Islam - Does It Make Sense?
2. Unveiling the Commands-The Truth about Hijaab, Khimaar
and Jilbaab.
3. Finding A Soulmate - A Guide for Parents and Youth.
4. A Book Unlike Any Other.
5. Islam - Adopting Its Paradigms.
6. Exploring the Islamic Beliefs.
http://soundvisioncanada.com/shop/pbrowse.asp?Pg=3&Cat=10004
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The following soowar 'Teachings of the Qur'aan' series by
Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid, are available on request:-
Al Faatihah
Al Baqarah
Aali 'Imraan
A Nisaa'
Al Maaidah
Al An'aam
Al A'raaf
Al Anfaal
At Teen
Al`Alaq
Al Qadr
Al Bayyinah
Al Zilzaal
Al Aadiyatt
Al Qaari`ah
At Takaathur
Al`Asr
Al Humazah
Al Feel
Al Quraish
Al Maa`oon
Al-Kowthar
Al Kaafiroon
Al Nasr
Al Lahab
Al Ikhlaas
Al Falaq
An Naas
Al Mulk
Al Qalam
Al Haaqqah
Al Ma`aarij
Nooh 1-20
K a r i m a
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