7 April 2013

Death of Adam, Prophet Sheeth, Prophet Idrees (& Making Excuses for Fellow Muslims)

Summary
Adam is Shown His Descendants and gives 40 years to Dawood
Adam 'forgot' his agreement with Allah
Adam Preaches to His Children
The angels show how to bury Adam
Allah sent down 104 scrolls, of which 50 were sent down to Sheeth
Prophet Idrees came between Sheeth and Nuh (Noah) and is ‘elevated to a high level’

Main Topic: Making 70 Excuses for Others in Islam
“If a friend among your friends errs, make seventy excuses for them. If your hearts are unable to do this, then know that the shortcoming is in your own selves.”
We should give fellow Muslims the Benefit of the Doubt
Muslims should protect (hide) the sins of fellow Muslims rather than openly promoting them


The Death of Adam
Adam is Shown His Descendants
Allah stroked Adam’s back when he was created, so all of the descendants of Adam came out from the back of Adam. We don’t know in which form, but they all fell down from his back. Allah put some light between their eyes. Adam said, “Who are they?” Allah said, These are your descendants. Adam looked at one of them and he saw some bright, shining light between his eyes and he liked it and he liked him. Adam said, “Who is this?” Allah told him, This is one of your descendants who is going to come in the end of time, his name is Dawood. Adam said, “What’s his age?” Allah said 60 years old. Adam loved him; it was his child. We are all his children. He views us all as his children, his descendants. Even though there are thousands of years between Adam and Dawood, Adam loved him, so he told Allah, “O Allah, give him 40 years from my life.” Allah told Adam, Then it would be written down and sealed. In other words – “Are you sure?” Adam said, Yes. So it was prescribed and sealed.

Adam 'forgot' his agreement
Adam was supposed to live 1,000 years. That is the time Allah told Adam he would live. So now Adam is living in the dunya and years and years are passing by. Then, when he was 960 years old, the angel of death came to Adam and told him, “Are you ready to die?” The angel of death takes permission from the messengers. Adam said, “I still have 40 years to live.” The angel of death said, “Didn’t you give 40 years of your life to your son Dawood?” Adam denied. This hadith is Sahih.
The Prophet* says, “Adam denied, so the children of Adam, they deny. And Adam forgot, and his children forget. And Adam made mistakes and his children make mistakes.” Sometimes we forget, and that is human nature. And it is said that the name insaan (human) comes from nisyaan, which is forgetting. When we forget, we reject. Adam wasn’t lying – he forgot. He is a prphet of Allah and they are infallible from falling into these sins. Allah forgave him; it was a mistake from Adam. Every day in our daily conversations and dealings, we forget. That happens; give excuse for your brothers. The early Muslims told us to give our brothers 70 excuses. You can easily find 70 excuses or more if you want to (See Later).

Adam Preaches to His Children
Adam was utterly grief stricken by the loss of his two sons. One was dead, the other was won over by the devil. Adam prayed for his son and turned to mundane matters for he had to toil for his sustenance. At the same time he was a prophet advising his children and grandchildren, telling them about Allah and calling them to believe in Him. He told them about Iblis and warned them by recounting his own experience with the devil and of how the devil had tempted Cain to kill his brother.
 
Adam's Death
Abdullah Ibn Al Imam Ahmad Ibn Hanbal narrated that Ubai Ibn Kab said: "When Adam's death was near, he said to his children: "O my children, indeed I feel an appetite for the fruits of Paradise." So they went away searching for what Adam had requested. They met with the angels, who had with them his shroud and what he was to be embalmed with. They said to them: "O Children of Adam, what are you searching for? What do you want? Where are you going?" They said: "Our father is sick and has an appetite for the fruits of Paradise." The angels said to them: "Go back, for your father is going to meet his end soon."
So they returned (with the angels) and when Eve saw them she recognized them. She tried to hide herself behind Adam. He said to her. "Leave me alone. I came before you; do not go between me and the angels of my Lord." So they took his soul, embalmed and wrapped him, dug the grave and laid him in it. They prayed on him and put him in his grave, saying: "O Children of Adam, this is your tradition at the time of death.""
Before his death Adam reassured his children that Allah would not leave man alone on the earth, but would sent His prophets to guide them. The prophets would have different names, traits and miracles, but they would be united in one thing; the call to worship Allah alone. This was Adam's bequest to his children. Adam finished speaking and closed his eyes. Then the angels entered his room and surrounded him. When he recognized the Angel of Death among them, his heart smiled peacefully.
Adam submitted to the will of Allah and submitted his soul. Humans did not know [how to deal with death]; these things were new to them. So the angels descended and they washed Adam an odd number of times. They dug the grave for Adam. They made it in the form of a laht. The angels washed him and they buried him. This is the end of our father, Adam. We ask Allah to bring us together with him in Jannah.

Prophet Sheeth (Seth) - Adam's Successor
Years and years passed, Adam grew old and his children spread all over the earth. Muhammad Ibn Ishaq related that when Adam's death drew near, he appointed his son Seth to be his successor and taught him the hours of the day and night along with their appropriate acts of worship. He also foretold to him the floor that would come. Abu Dhar narrated that the Prophet Muhammad* said: "Allah sent down 104 scrolls, of which 50 were sent down to Seth." Sheeth received revelation from Allah.
Sheeth is one of the prophets that are not mentioned in the Qur’an. He is a prophet that we know from Sunnah. It is mentioned by some of the scholars that he is the son of Adam, and that Adam gave him the responsibility of leading when he was passing away. So Adam gave wasiyya to Sheeth to take care of the affairs of mankind. Sheeth assumed responsibility after his father, Adam.
That is almost all of what we know about Sheeth.
 
Prophet Idrees
Most of the scholars say that Idrees is a prophet that came between Sheeth and Nuh (Noah). Allah did mention of Idrees in the Qur’an: “And mention in the Book (the Quran) Idris (Enoch).Verily! He was a man of truth, (and) a Prophet. And We raised him to a high station.” (TMQ 19:56-57) This is the extent of the sure knowledge we have of Idrees, but we have some stories of him from the stories of The People of the Book (Ahl-e Kitaab) also known as Al Israliyaat.
Stories of The People of the Book (Ahl-e Kitaab) also known as Al Israliyaat
They are the stories of the people of the book. We learn them through some of the Christians and the Jews who became Muslim. Some of the Christians and the Jews who were scholars before, they bought some of these stories with them into Islam when they became Muslim. The Prophet* said, in the beginning, do not speak of these stories of Israliyaat. Towards the end of The Prophet’s* life, he said, Speak about [these stories]; do not believe them and do not disapprove them. This means we can use them sometimes, but we should not take it as certain knowledge. At the same time, if it doesn’t contradict anything in Islam, we shouldn’t completely reject it. That’s why many of the scholars say it is safe to stay away from these stories. Ibn Taymiyyah did mention that we can use Al Israliyaat as supplementary evidence, but not as primary evidence.
Death of Idrees
There is a story from The People of the Book (Ahl-e Kitaab) about the death of Idrees. Allah revealed to Idrees and told him that every day your deeds are equal to the deeds of everyone else on the face of the earth. With simple calculation, Idrees said that if I ask Allah to give me a longer life, I would be able to accumulate more good deeds. So he told one of his friends – an angel – why don’t we go to the angel of death and speak to him and see if we can go to Allah and ask Him to give me a longer life? So the angel said ok, ride on my wings. So Idrees went on his wings and the angel carried him into the Heavens. So they passed the first heaven, then the second, then the third, the fourth – and when they were going up, the angel of death was coming down. The angel of death said SubhaanAllah, I just received an order from Allah to take the soul of Idrees in the fourth heaven, and I had no idea how I was going to do it when he [Idrees] is on earth. The angel [carrying Idrees] looked on his back and saw that he had already passed away. They use this as an explanation of the ayah: “We elevated him to a very high level.” Allah elevated him to a very high level; nobody passed away in that level except Idrees, and that is why Allah specifically said in Qur’an that He elevated him to a high level.
In the authentic hadith, the Prophet* did meet with Idrees, in the Israa` wa Miraaj, in the fourth heaven.


Main Topic: Making 70 Excuses for Others in Islam
Making 70 Excuses for Others in Islam - A Key Duty of Brotherhood
Hamdun al-Qassar, one of the great early Muslims, said, “If a friend among your friends errs, make seventy excuses for them. If your hearts are unable to do this, then know that the shortcoming is in your own selves.” Imam Ghazali also quotes this in the Ihya. The Prophet* said, “Overlook the slips of respected people.”
 
The General Basis for Making Excuses
Ibn Ajiba mentions that making excuses for others returns to the Prophet’s words  that, “A believer is a mirror of the believer.” So what you see in your brethren is a reflection of what is within you–so beware. The way of purity and sincerity is to look at everyone–friend and foe–with the eye of sincere concern (nasiha) and mercy. The Prophet*  said that, “Religion is sincere concern (ad-dinu’n nasiha).” And, “It is only the merciful who are granted mercy by the All-Merciful. Be merciful to those on earth and the Lord of the Heavens will be merciful to you.” And, “None of you believes until they wish for others as they wish for themselves.” This is why Abdullah ibn Muhammad ibn Munazil, of the early Muslims, said, “The believer seeks excuses for their brethren, while the hypocrite seeks out the faults of their brethren.”
 
Why 70 Excuses?
This is because the default assumption about all humans and their actions is that they are sound and free of error. This is considered our operating certainty. After this, if we find something that makes us doubt about them, we are not permitted to leave this operating certainty that they did not err for mere doubts or misgivings. Allah Most High commanded us: “Believers! Leave much doubt, for most doubt is sinful.” [TMQ 49.12] The doubts and misgivings about others that are sinful are those that do not have a sound basis that would be sufficient to leave our operating assumption about others that they are upright and their actions free of error. “I told you a thousand times....blah blah' - doesn’t mean you actually told the person 1000 times, but you just told them many times... that's what 70 was used for back in those days.
While not Prophetic advice, this should still be considered good, sound advice for any Muslim. While he didn’t use these exact words, the Prophet Muhammad did advise Muslims to cover up the faults of others. The practice of making 70 excuses helps one to become humble and to be forgiving. In doing so, we recognize that only Allah sees and knows all things, even the secrets of the hearts. Making excuses for others is a way of stepping into their shoes, to try to see the situation from other possible angles and perspectives. We recognize that we should not be judgmental of others.
“If a friend among your friends errs, make seventy excuses for them. If your hearts are unable to do this, then know that the shortcoming is in your own selves.“ And the words of Imam Jafar as-Sadiq: “If you find see something you don’t like in a brother, try to find 1-70 excuses for him. And if you can’t find an excuse, say ‘There might be an excuse, but I don’t know it.’”  This is a very solid rule to live by when you see someone doing something wrong, because you won’t waste time worrying about them or trying to change them – one of the 70 excuses could be that maybe their Niyyah is not to do something wrong, or they do not know, or they will realize later and try to correct their mistake. If we think they do not know what they are doing is wrong we should try to tell them in a gentle way. Pointing fingers and calling a muslim ‘Kaafir!’ is highly unlikely to be productive!

Homework
Prophets ~ What is Society made of?
Main Topic ~ How do we make Laws in Islam