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 Al-Muddaththir Teachings and Commentary Soorah 74:32-56 Ayub A. Hamid The next verse continues with the discourse that was interrupted by the above-mentioned parenthetical response. 32 Not at all! Witness is the moon, 33 and the night when it retreats, 34 and the morning when it brightens, 35 it is one of the mighty matters, 36 described as a warning to humanity - 37 to whoever among you wants to advance forward or lag behind. It starts with "Not at all" to reject outright the views of Makkans, and then it explains to them the reality using examples of natural phenomena. The way the moon gradually waxes, becomes full and then gradually wanes, until it disappears teaches an important lesson that things happen in Allaah's universe through a controlled process and according to a definite timetable. The end of the world cannot happen instantly just because the Makkans are challenging it to happen. It shall happen, but on its time according to Allaah's timetable and through a process predetermined by Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala's. Though there are no signs to indicate its inevitability, it does not mean that it is not coming. At night, there are no signs that the night will ever end, but then it retreats and a bright morning appears. In the same manner, when the time comes, the destruction of the world will suddenly happen and everyone will see it as they see the brightness of the day. This system of night and day and the moon and sun - the solar system - is such great a system whereupon life and its sustainability depends. It is the light of the sun that makes the darkness retreat and brightens up the day and it is the light and heat of the sun that makes the earth inhabitable and that produces sustenance. Why would people doubt the power of Allaah to create a burning hell while they witness the sun burning like the Hell for billions of years. Like the solar system, Hell itself is an extraordinary matter, the news of which has been given to people, not to laugh or scoff at, but to learn a lesson and protect themselves from. It is up to people now if they want to step forward, accept the reality and prepare in advance to save themselves from it, or ignore the warnings and stay behind to suffer its painful punishment. The fact is that every person is held as pawn for his or her performance. If a person does not attain his freedom by submitting to Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala and doing good deeds that please Him, he will remain behind among those who will end up in the Hell Fire, and none of his family, lineage, wealth, status or accomplishments in the world would be of any use. 38 Everyone is pawned for one's deeds, 39 except for those who will be given records in the right hand, 40 who, in the Gardens, will be asking each other 41 about the criminals, 42 and then ask them directly, "What has brought you into Hell Fire?" 43 They will say, "We were not of those who performed Salaah[1], 43 nor did we use to feed the poor, 45 and we used to join in with those who carped and caviled, 46 and we used to deny the Day of Recompense, 47 until death came to us with certainty." 48 Anyhow, they will not benefit from the intercession of any intercessors. To give clear idea about the reality of Hereafter, these verses describe a dialogue that will occur in the Hereafter. As you know, the believers who were able to please Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala in their life will be given the account of their deeds on the Day of Judgment in their right hands. That will be first signal that they are those who passed the test. Once they will be settled in Jannah, they will start wondering about the disbelievers and the disobedient people they used to know. In the Hereafter, people will be able to see and communicate with each other over long distances as well as they will be able to see and communicate with those close to them. So the people of the right - those in Jannah - will talk to those in the Hell Fire and ask them what, in their opinion, was the cause of their ending up in the Fire. Their response underscores the following points: a.. Formal worship of Allaah in the form of Salaah is critical for salvation. Although only a believer can offer Salaah to worship Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala, the belief in itself is not sufficient for salvation. Belief must show itself in action and Salaah is the representative of all good actions and of obedience to Allaah. b.. Caring for the hungry and deprived is the second critical factor for salvation, without which salvation is not possible. Whereas Salaah is the right of Allaah on His slaves, charity is the right of have-nots on those who have the means to feed others while feeding their families. c.. The indulgence and participation in raising nit-picking objections and making sceptical remarks about the Hereafter will be the third root cause of their failure. Such people disbelieve in the Day of judgement and strive for the world as if there is no Hereafter. They will admit that they continued to live that kind of lifestyle until they died and they realized the reality of the Hereafter with certainty. Makkans were worshipping all those idols and angels in the hope that those entities would intercede to Allaah on their behalf. They will find out on the Day of Judgment that their presumptions were totally invalid. Their assumed intercessors were all fictitious. Also, even the intercession of real intercessors will be useless for them. For anyone who did not live the Islamic lifestyle and did not free himself from the lien by doing the abovementioned type of critical good deeds, nothing will be useful for redemption of that person from the Fire. Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala is so kindly and mercifully warning them so that they can redeem themselves. He has revealed the Book and sent a Messenger for their sake, but instead of listening they are running away. 49 Then what is the matter with them that they turn away from admonition, 50 as if they are startled donkeys 51 fleeing from a lion? 52 Rather, every one of them desires that he should be given open scriptures. 53 By no means! The reality is that they do not fear the Hereafter. 54 Nothing but the Qur-aan! It surely is an admonition, 55 so whoever wants may heed it. 56 Yet they will not heed unless Allaah wills so, He is entitled to be feared as well as entitled to grant forgiveness. "Running like startled donkeys" is an Arabic idiom to describe those who run away in a panic mode, even on a hint of danger. It paints their picture of how they run away from the truth so that they do not have to accept it and consequently change their lifestyle. Similarly, they avoid listening to the Prophet lest they are affected by the very appealing message of the Qur-aan and its exquisite prose. Although the real reason for the Makkans' disbelief and their running away from the Qur-aan and the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam was their lack of belief in the life Hereafter and of fear for the accountability and punishment therein, they would concoct other reasons to defend their disbelief or they would make absurd demands of the Prophet sall Allaahu`alayhi wa sallam as a precondition for believing in him. One such demand was that they would not believe until they were directly sent written scriptures from Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala. But even if that happened, they would still refuse to believe and would come up with other excuses. For example, regardless of how evidently such a thing happened, it could easily be disregarded as magic. But above all, that is not Allaah's way of guiding people. He sends the guidance through a Messenger who presents the guidance to people, explains it to them, demonstrates it by living it and organizes the believers in order to achieve the objective that Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala wants to achieve through the guidance. If the Makkans do not want to listen to this admonition, it is their choice. They are not harming Allaah or His Messenger, but themselves. Neither Allaah nor His Messenger is going to force or coerce them. It is the Sunnah of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala that those people who close their minds and erect barriers of jealousy, arrogance and tribal pride between them and the guidance lose the capacity to think freely and independently and thus deprive themselves of guidance and truth. Allaah does not wish to use His power to open their minds and make them understand the reality. Allaah guides people only when they take an initiative to open their own minds and become willing to think about matters in a rational manner. Otherwise, they remain misguided. As this is ingrained in human nature by Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala, it is mentioned as Allaah's Will. Such people are being notified that they will not be able to benefit from the admonition unless Allaah wills – that is, unless they open their mind to benefit from it, according to the will and Sunnah of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala. Their accepting the guidance of Islam is not going to benefit Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta`aala in any way, shape or form. As the Creator and Master of people, it is Allaah's right that people submit to Him, worship Him, endeavour to please Him and fear being accountable to Him. Although He has all the right to punish people who disobey Him, it is also His privilege and prerogative that when people come back to Him in submission, He forgive their past infractions as well as the mistakes they make when they are genuinely trying to be obedient. He does not have to do it, but as a Merciful Master He likes to use His prerogative of forgiving. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1] Worshipped Allaah -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 2009 Ayub A. Hamid All rights reserved This document may be used, only with this copyright notice included. Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on internet forums, and include in not-for-profit publications subject to the following conditions: (1) Material used must be produced faithfully in full, without alteration or omission; (2) The author's subject title must remain unchanged, in whole or in part; (3) Material must be 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 Al Jinn Al Muzammil Al Muddaththir - Name, Background and Placement / Teachings and Commentary Aayaat 1-7 / Aayaat 8-31 K a r i m a -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
