*: May the peace blessings & Mercy of Allah be upon him
TMQ: Translation to the nearest meaning of the Qur’an
Some of the extra-ordinary and miraculous events surrounding the Prophet*
The greatest miracle that the Prophet* was given and presented to the people of Arabia was the Qur’an – the Absolute Word of Allah. We have covered its miraculous nature in previous study circles. Here we will deal with some additional events that were signs for the people at the time.
A couple of weeks ago we covered the dissolution (cancelling) of the boycott of the Muslims and some of the tribes. When the people went to tear up the document that was hanging on the Kaaba wall it had been eaten up by insects, all apart from the first words: ‘In the name of Allah our Lord’. This demonstrates that the helpers of Allah come in all shapes and sizes.
Another sign was the strength and ability of the Prophet* when he wrested with Rukaana – the undisputed & undefeated wrestling champion of Mecca. He had asked the Prophet* to challenge him in order to discredit the Prophet* and claim superiority over him – and they settled on a bet of 100 sheep (in the time before betting was made Haram) for the winner. Thrice the Prophet* defeated Rukaana who had never been overturned and put on his back. After that he professed Islam and was given back his 100 sheep by the Prophet*.
In the time between the migration to Abyssinia and the conversion of Umer, the Prophet* performed one of his greatest miracles by the leave of Allah. The Quraish knew that prophets came with miracles and wanted a sign other than the Qur’an and so the Prophet* told them to gather one night and observe the splitting of the moon. Many people gathered, Muslims & non-Muslims, and saw the moon split in two on either side of the mountain of Mina. The Prophet* asked them to behold the majesty of Allah but the disbelievers made excuses – and this is mentioned in the Qur’an: “The hour of Judgement in near and the moon is cleft asunder, but if they see a sign they say this is but transient magic.”
Some scholars say this is one of the greatest miracles of any of the prophets as it was witnessed both in the heavens and on earth. So, why isn’t this documented in any other place if the moon did split, ask some people even today:
- As this happened at night it would not have been visible to the half of the globe in daylight.
- in the area covered by night, some parts would have been too early or too late to see the moon
- in the area covered by night, some parts may have been cloudy
- in the area covered by night, people do not generally run around looking at the moon
- documentation of the peoples in that era was not great and many important things that happened were not always recorded
- some scholars have heard rumours that this event was documented in places like India and China, where people refer to events happening ‘in the year the moon split’. There needs to be more evidence of this documentation and other arguments about astronomy and a rift on the moon being observable.
In the early years the Quraish teased the Muslims about many things (see previous circles) and they were particularly delighted when the Persian Empire defeated the Christians from the West. They taunted the Muslims saying that it was now the time of the pagans as they were winning, and as the Persians were victorious so the Quraish would defeat the Muslims. The sympathies of the Muslims were with the Christians as they were ‘people of the Book’ and were originally worshippers of the one True God (although many had since gone astray). Then Allah revealed a prophecy in the Qur’an: “The Romans have been defeated but they will be victorious within 10 years in the nearest land, and on that day the Muslims will be happy with the victory of Allah.”
On hearing this Abu Bakr placed a bet with Abu Jahl for 100 camels (again, in the time before betting was prohibited) that the Romans would win within 10 years. Abu Jahl agreed as the general news was that the Persians were so strong that they would roll over and obliterate the Christians. About 8 years later the Persians were indeed defeated in a major battle near the Dead Sea and news of this victory reached the Muslims on the very day that they defeated the Quraish in the battle of Badr. In addition, the word in Arabic (ard-nal ard) was previously translated as ‘the nearest land’ but could also mean ‘the lowest land’ which would refer to the Dead Sea area – as it is below sea level.
[The other extra-ordinary event was the Night Journey & Ascension....more next week]
Choosing friends and feeling good as Muslims
The Prophet* once said: ‘The Muslim is a mirror to a Muslim…’ There are many lessons from this short statement that highlight how we should chose our friends, how important good friends are and how we can start to feel good about ourselves.
- a mirror helps to complete you: you can notice if your hair is straight or if your shirt is buttoned properly. It helps you to perfect yourself. Likewise, a Muslim friend would point out the good and negative elements in a person so that they can improve themselves – and this is done by friends for the best of intentions.
- a mirror is fair and it doesn’t exaggerate or belittle features – it will show your nose as it is, neither bigger nor smaller. Likewise, a Muslim friend will always be honest to another Muslim friend and reflect things as they are.
- a mirror provides a ‘secret image’ – one that is for those that are present and looking. The mirror does not store the image (especially if not nice) and show it to other people later on. Hence, Muslim friends are friends to each other and keep their secrets safe and between each other, and does not go behind his friend and start backbiting or putting his friend down. So, friends keeps confidence for each other.
- a mirror is always polite and says so much by saying so little, hence the mirror does not overpower someone with criticism if they look bad in the mirror. A friend wouldn’t slap another friend just because of the way they look but they would be polite and get the message across effectively.
- the closer you get to a mirror the clearer the image can become and so, any defect can be fixed more easily. Hence, with a good Muslim friend, the closer they are in friendship the more honest they are and the better they know each other, especially their good points and faults. Hence, their advice would be sincere and for the best of intentions.
- when you stand back from the mirror it can also give you a sense of the whole picture – more than just the face. With good Muslim friends they are also able to tell each other not just about the small aspects of life but the wider picture – including complimenting on the overall objectives of life and where each action fits into the scheme of life & worship.
How we feel about ourselves should not be based on our colour, height, physique, place of birth as we did not, as individuals, put much effort into being these. If we base our worth on these that would be shallow. If a good-looking person had and accident and became disfigured, they should not go from being proud to ashamed because of how society or other people see them. We should not live our life for the approval of other people as all of us are flawed. Muslims should have a positive identity about themselves based on something better and more lasting than the identity that western society gives us. Our reference point for feeling good is not ‘what people think’ but something greater.
If parents keep telling children that they are silly or stupid, then over time the children will start to believe it and act according to it. Also, if friends or society always tell people to behave in a certain way or are something bad then people will start to believe that themselves. We shouldn’t let western society judge us as Muslims because their values can be different to many Muslim values. The Prophet* did not criticise people or always put them down. Infact, the Prophet* used to praise people whenever he found good in them and there are books dedicated to the compliments the Prophet* paid to his followers. Hence we should not belittle people with constant criticism as this may crush their confidence over time, but we should sincerely compliment each other.
When children are approaching their teen years then they are very impressionable and there is a danger they will change their behaviour to gain approval from friends – such as starting to smoke, dressing a in ceratin way or talking/swearing in a particular fashion. Then children will act differently with friends, with parents, with the opposite sex, with relatives, and when they are by themselves. They never get settled and develop different personalities rather than being consistent and true to themselves. People may even want to change their names because they are ashamed of the name or what others may think about them because of it.
Last week we talked about a story where the followers of Musa felt very negative about themselves. But our Prophet* forbade Muslims to be disrespectful about themselves and he said tat is was haram to belittle ourselves. On one occasion he said that Muslims shouldn’t say they are ‘like pigs or donkeys’ in a way that is derogatory (saying very negative things). Today we may say that we are ‘so stupid and always foolish’, but this is wrong. We should mention what we have done wrong and try to improve on it but not to lower our self-worth. On another occasion, Abu Hurairah was very late for a gathering and the Prophet* sent for him. He reported that he didn’t come to the meeting because he thought he was unclean following a dream he had. The Prophet* told him off saying that a believing Muslim is never impure.
Another companion stayed away from the Prophet* and went to see Abu Bakr complaining that he felt like a hypocrite because when he was around the Prophet* he felt really good but when he got home he would go back to normal and be caught up in worldly affairs. Abu Bakr said that the same happened to him. So they went to the Prophet* who reassured them that it is not humanly possible to feel so good all the time. This lifted their morale and self-confidence.
So, where do we get our confidence from? Where do we get our self-belief or esteem from? What should we be proud of?
Our worth comes from our relationship with Allah. Allah informs us that He “has honoured the son of Adam”. We have all been honoured by Allah. Indeed, Allah says that “We have preferred them over many of Our creation”. Furthermore, the Prophet* said that the destruction of the Kaaba is less evil in the eyes of Allah than the death of an innocent Muslim. They drop of blood of Muslims is sacred and we should feel proud because of that.
We would naturally feel some joy if we get a specific personal mention & praise by important people such as a headmaster, a community leader, or the Prime Minister or even Obama! However, if we mention the name of Allah in an assembly of people, the Prophet* informs us that Allah – the Creator of the heavens and earth – will make a mention of us in a better assembly. Also, the Prophet* tells us that even if we make a mention of Allah (such as ‘SubhanAllah’ or ‘Alhadulillah’) then Allah will make a mention of us in Himself. That must be one of the best power-up boosts we can imagine! Saying the Kalimah gives us a personal relationship with Allah. As our belief (Aqeeda) and actions are based on Islam, something we think about and put our effort into – this would be something we should truly feel proud of!
Proud to be Muslim!
To finish off and linking the two themes from today: friendship and esteem. The Prophet* mentioned that the parable of friendship is like the perfume seller and the blacksmith – hanging around the latter will be associated with smelly and dirty clothes whereas being with the former and we will smell nicer! Also, we will begin to be judged by the company we keep and are seen to be with –and we should have self respect in this regard too.
In addition, Ali gave advice to his son, saying: “Oh my son! Be selective with your friends and do not enslave yourself to others as Allah has created you a free man”. Enslavement to others could mean changing ourselves (personality, behaviour, habits, clothes etc) for the approval of others.
Ali also mentioned that we should be careful with our friends as they can be our helpers in this life and the Hereafter. People asked him how could friends help us in the hereafter, as the former is fairly obvious. Ali replied by quoting from the Qur’an where “friends in the Hereafter will be the enemies of each other except the righteous”. Those ‘friends’ in Hell will be cursing each other and blaming each other for their situation, and those friends in Paradise will be thanking each other – for eternity – for the friendship they had and how it helped them reach a more settled place. All that is left to say is Alhamdulillah – and praise Allah in ourselves or in a group!!
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