9 November 2014 ~ Ten Commandments and story of Barsisa

9 November 2014 ~ Ten Commandments and story of Barsisa

Lives of the Prophets: Musa* (part 17) and Bani Israel
For much of his life, the Prophet Musa* had tried to communicate Allah's message to them. He strove to save his tribe from the worship of idols and guide them to the true religion. His aim was merely to warn people and save them from the torment of Hell, a mission which he carried solely to earn the good pleasure of Allah. To this purpose, he had confronted Pharaoh and had attempted to rid his people's beliefs of superstition. Nevertheless, he became the object to the cruelties of Pharaoh, as well as some of his own people. However, he was a noble servant, who lived merely to attain the good pleasure of Allah, and our Lord saved him from all difficulties inflicted upon him.
There are lessons to be drawn from the ingratitude of some of the Children of Israel, a people who did not follow in their Prophets' footsteps, who turned their backs to the religion entrusted to them, and so perverse as to say, "you and your Lord go and fight." Allah has warned mankind against succumbing to the insolence of some of the Children of Israel towards their Prophet:
You who believe! Do not be like those who abused Musa*. Allah absolved him of what they said and he was highly honored with Allah. (Surat al-Ahzab: 69)
Musa* had an appointment with Allah and he was in a rush to get there – so his 30 days  of fasting for purification was extended by 10 days to 40 days. When Musa* left he had appointed his brother Harun in charge of Bani Israel but because his stay had been extended someone called Samiri started stirring trouble and convinced some of the people of Bani Israel to use their gold to make a golden calf to worship. Musa* had the Words of Allah in his hands (the Tablets) when he returned he threw them down despite having been tipped of by Allah that the people had done wrong.
"And what made you hasten from your people, O Musa*?" He said: "They are close on my footsteps, and I hastened to You, O my Lord, that You might be pleased." (Allah) said: "Verily! we have tried your people in your absence, and As-Samiri has led them astray."
Then Musa* returned to his people in a state of anger and sorrow. He said: "O my people! Did not your Lord promise you a fair promise? Did then the promise seem to you long in coming? Or did you desire that wrath should descend from your Lord on you, that you broke your promise to me (i.e disbelieving in Allah and worshipping the calf)?" They said: "We broke not the promise to you, of our own will, but we were made to carry the weight of the ornaments of the Pharaoh’s people, then we cast them (into the fire), and that was what As-Samiri suggested." Then he took out (of the fire) for them (a statue of) a calf which seemed to low. They said: "This is your ilah (god), and the ilah (god) of Musa*, but [Musa*] has forgotten (his god).'" Did they not see that it could not return them a word (for answer), and that it had no power either to harm them or to do them good? And Harun indeed had said to them beforehand: "O my people! You are being tried in this, and verily, your Lord is (Allah) the Most Gracious, so follow me and obey my order." They said: "We will not stop worshipping it (i.e. the calf), until Musa* returns to us." [Musa*] said: "O Harun! What prevented you when you saw them going astray; "That you followed me not (according to my advice to you)? Have you then disobeyed my order?"
He [Harun] said: "O son of my mother! Seize (me) not by my beard, nor by my head! Verily, I feared lest you should say: 'You have caused a division among the Children of Israel, and you have not respected my word!' "[Musa*] said: "And what is the matter with you. O Samiri? (i.e. why did you do so?)" (Samiri) said: "I saw what they saw not, so I took a handful (of dust) from the (hoof) print of the messenger [Jibril's (Gabriel) horse] and threw it [into the fire]. Thus my inner-self suggested to me." Musa* said: "Then go away! And verily, your (punishment) in this life will be that you will say: "Touch me not (i.e.you will live alone exiled away from mankind); and verily, you have a promise that will not fail. And look at your ilah (god), to which you have been devoted. We will certainly burn it, and scatter its particles in the sea." Your Ilah (God) is only Allah, (the One) La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He). He has full knowledge of all things. (20: 83-98)
 
The story also continues in Surah Baqarah:
And (remember) when We appointed for Musa* forty nights, and (in his absence) you took the calf (for worship), and you were Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers,) Then after that We forgave you so that you might be grateful.) And (remember) when We gave Musa* the Scripture [the Taurat (Torah)] and the criterion (of right and wrong) so that you may be guided aright. And (remember) when Musa* said to his people: "O my people! Verily, you have wronged yourselves by worshipping the calf. So turn in repentance to your Creator and kill yourselves (the innocent kill the wrongdoers among you), that will be better for you with your Creator." Then He accepted your repentance. Truly, He is the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful. (2: 51-54)
Musa* was very angry when he saw this abomination and immediately dragged Harun off by the beard and head. Harun reassured his brother after reminding him of their brotherhood. The people of Babi Israel blamed Samiri as the trouble causer and Samiri was haughty and showed no real regrets for his actions and so was banished and he would only be able to say ‘Don’t touch me’ for the rest of his life. The punishment for those that had worshipped the calf had to repent to Allah and then be killed by those that did not worship the calf.

Main Topic:
Death and the AfterLife (part 4)
We talked about the Angel of Death and the other angels that come at the time of death. But there is a point in time that repentance is no longer accepted and a barrier is erected by Allah to prevent to soul returning. When death has started Allah may not accept our repentance like he did with Pharaoh upon his death.

Sakaraat ul-Mowt: the stupor of death.
This is the dizziness and unconsciousness that is caused by pain at the end of life. Allah says: “And the stupor of death will come in truth. This is what you have been avoiding.” Allah says: “And if you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the agonies of death when the angels are stretching forth their hands saying ‘This day you shall be recompensed with the torment of degradation because of what you used to utter against Allah other than the truth and you used to reject His ayaat (signs) with disrespect.” Taste the pain of death. The Prophet* says, “The shaheed (martyr) feels the pain of death like one of you would feel the sting of an insect.”. 
When man leaves this world, he desires to come back. If he’s a non-Muslim (Kafir), he wants to become a Muslim. If he’s an ‘Aasiy (a sinner), he wants to come back to make Tawbah. Allah says: “Until, when death comes to one of them (those who join partners with Allah), he says: ‘My Lord! Send me back, So that I may do good in that which I have left behind!’ No! It is but a word that he speaks, and behind them is Barzakh (a barrier) until the Day when they will be resurrected.” (23:99-100)
Allah says: “Allah accepts the repentance of those who do evil in ignorance and repent soon afterwards; to them will Allah turn in mercy: For Allah is full of knowledge and wisdom.” (4:17)
Allah says: “And of no effect is the repentance of those who continue to do evil deeds until death faces one of them and he says: ‘Now I repent;’ nor of those who die while they are disbelievers. For them We have prepared a painful torment.” (4:18)
“…he [Fir'awn] said: ‘I believe that La ilaha illa (Huwa): (none has the right to be worshipped but) He, in Whom the Children of Israel believe, and I am one of the Muslims (those who submit to Allah’s Will).’ Now (you believe) while you refused to believe before and you were one of the Mufsidun (evil-doers, corrupts, etc.).” (10:90-91)
Death comes suddenly – you are not given a notice. It comes unannounced and there is no way you can change it, or no matter how much you try to convince the angel of death or no matter how busy you are. The best time for Tawbah is NOW.

“Whoever desires or looks forward to meeting Allah, Allah would love meeting him. Whoever dislikes meeting Allah, Allah dislikes meeting him.” When Aisha, heard this she said to the Prophet saw: “And who of us does not dislike death?” (Does disliking death mean we dislike meeting Allah?) Prophet* said, “This is not what I meant. When the believer, he is about to die, he will be given the news that Allah is pleased with him. So that the most beloved thing to him would be his future. So he would love to meet Allah, and Allah would love to meet him. When the non believer is about to die, he is given the news that Allah is angry with him and will punish him. So he will dislike meeting Allah, and Allah will dislike meeting him.”
The Prophet* said: “When the janaazah is placed and the men carry it on their shoulders, if it is a righteous person, it will say ‘Go as fast as you can!’ If it is otherwise, then he will be say: ‘Woe to it! Where are you taking me?’ Everyone would hear that sound except the human beings. And if the human beings would hear it, they would die due to that shock.”
The Prophet* also said: “If it wasn’t for the fact that none of you would bury the dead, I would ask Allah to let you hear the sounds of the people in the graves.”

A short story about ‘Diverting from the Straight Path’ (al-Istiqaamah)
The Story of Barsisa
Another story: Barsisa. He was a man from children of Israel was a famous worshipper. He was an ‘aabid. He had his temple and devoted himself to worship. Three men from the children of Israel had to go for a battle. They didn’t know where to leave their sister. They couldn’t leave her alone; they looked around and found that the best place to leave her was with the ‘aabid. They said they would leave him with that ‘aabid and would leave her with him because he is the most righteous and trustworthy.
They went to the ‘aabid, Barsisa, and told him the situation and said, “Can you please take care of our sister?” The ‘aabid said, “I seek refuge in Allah from you.” Shaytaan came to him [Barsisa] and said, “Who are you going to leave her with? If you don’t take care of her, an evil person may take care of her, and you know what will happen. How can you let this good slip out of your hands?” Shaytaan is encouraging him to do good. The ‘Aabid called the brothers back and said that he would take care of her, but she is going to stay in that house over there and I wil stay in my temple.
So she would stay in that house and Barsisa would bring food and leave it on his doorstep. He didn’t even want to see her. She would come out and get the food. Shaytaan came to him and said, “What are you doing? Don’t you know that if she walks out from her room and comes to your temple, people can see her? You have to deliver the food to her doorstep.” Barsisa said, “Yes, that’s true.” Shaytaan is not speaking to him face to face; this is was wasa (inspiration). Barsisa started to take the food and leave it on her doorstep. That continued for awhile.
And then shaytaan told him, “She’s coming out to get the plate and somebody can still see her. You have to deliver the plate into her own room.” Barsisa would take the food in the room and leave it there. This continued for a while.
The three brothers were late. This jihad/war took a while. So shaytaan came to him and said, “Are you going to leave her alone? There’s nobody to take care of her. She’s been in there [so long]; it’s like she’s in prison, speaking to no one. Why don’t you take that responsibility and speak to her a little? She can go out and speak to another man and have a relationship with him.” So Barsisa would go outside of her and speak to her from there.
He would talk from outside and she would talk from inside her room and they would be screaming to hear one another. Shaytaan told him, “Why don’t you make it a little convenient for each other? Don’t scream to each other. Sit in the same room.” So Barsisa would go inside the room and slowly they spent more and more time with each other.
And they started getting closer and closer until the great ‘aabid committed zina.
She became pregnant. She delivered a child. Shaytaan came to him and said, “What have you done? Do you know what the brothers will do when they come back? They’re going to kill you. Even if you say ‘This is not my son’, they’re going to say that he was supposed to take care of her and you were responsible for her. The only solution is that you murder the child and bury it.” The ‘aabid chopped off the head of the infant and buried him.
Shaytaan came to him and said, “Do you think the mother will keep the secret after you have killed her son? You’re a fool if you think so. You should kill her too.” And so Barsisa killed her and buried them both in that room.
The brothers came back and said, “Where is our sister?” Barsisa said, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi ra ji’oon. She was ill and she died. She is buried in that place.” And he went and showed them a fictitious grave. They said, “Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi ra ji’oon” and they made du’aa` for her.
At night time, one of the brothers saw a dream. Who came to him in that dream? Shaytaan. He said, “Did you believe Barsisa? He’s lying! He committed zina with your sister and then he killed her and her son. The evidence is that she is not buried in the place that he showed you, but he is buried in her room, under the rock.” So he woke up and he told his brothers about the dream. They said, “We saw the same dream. It must be true.” So they went to the fictitious grave and dug it up. They went to her room and uncovered the earth. They found their sister buried with an infant.
They grabbed Barsisa and told him, “You Liar! This is what you have done!” They took him to the king. While they were taking him, Shaytaan came to Barsisa. Now shaytaan didn’t come in the form of inspiration. He came in human form.  He said, “Do you know who I am, Barsisa? I am shaytaan. I caused you all of that mess. And I am the only one who can deliver you out of it. If you want me to save you, I can.” Barsisa said, “Please save me!” Shaytaan said, “Make sujood for me.” Barsisa made sujood for shaytaan – who then said ‘Thank you very much, it was a pleasure meeting you’.” And then he never saw him.
Barsisa made sujood for shaytaan and that was the last thing he did in his life because shortly afterwards, he was executed. This was an ‘aabid on the straight path. He took a small turn – in the name of maslaha, the benefit – look at where he ended. That is the danger of following desire. Sometimes we feel confident because of our knowledge or the Qur’aan that we know or the ‘ibaadah that we do. We should always be afraid and never be over confident.