1 February 2015 ~ Talut's Army and Inside the Grave

1 February 2015 ~ Talut's Army and Inside the Grave

Prophet Yusha* to other Prophets

Prophet Yusha* captured Jerusalem for Bani Israel and they lived there in peace and prosperity for some time. After many years they lost their way, became arrogant and disobedient to Allah. This resulted in them losing battles and losing their precious Ark of the Covenant – which contained items from Prophet Musa* and Harun*. They were then further humiliated by being defeated and thrown out of their cities. It is at this time that they approached their Prophet (not named in the Qur’an) but thought to be Samuel (Shaamil) to ask for a king to help them fight and retain their cities.

Before that story, there are two other Prophets briefly mentioned by name in Ibn Kathir’s Lives of the Prophets as being sent to Bani Israel. There were many others sent but not mentioned but Allah highlights these with no additional commentary:

Prophet Ilyas* (thought to be Elijah from the Bible):

The Quran mentions about Prophet Ilyas* along with some of the other great Prophets, who were the descendants of Abraham*: “And Zacharias and John, Jesus and Elias (all were upright men).” [TMQ 6:85]

“And lo! Elias was of those sent (to warn), When he said unto his folk: Will ye not ward off (evil)? Will ye cry unto Baal and forsake the best of creators, Allah, your Lord and Lord of your forefathers? But they denied him, so they surely will be haled forth (to the doom) Save single-minded slaves of Allah. And we left for him among the later folk (the salutation): Peace be unto Elias! Lo! thus do We reward the good. Lo! he is one of our believing slaves. And lo! Lot verily was of those sent (to warn). When We saved him and his household, every one, Save an old woman among those who stayed behind; Then We destroyed the others. And lo! ye verily pass by (the ruin of) them in the morning. And at night-time; have ye then no sense?” [TMQ 37:123-138]

Prophet Al-Yasa* (thought to be Elisha from the Bible)

“And Ishmael and Elisha and Jonah and Lot. Each one of them did We prefer above (Our) creatures,  With some of their forefathers and their offspring and their brethren; and We chose them and guided them unto a straight path.” [TMQ 6:86-7]

“And make mention of Ishmael and Elisha and Dhu'l-Kifl. All are of the chosen.” [TMQ 38:48]

King Talut is chosen

Ibn Jarir reported that the condition of Bani Israel deteriorated. They committed many sins and killed whom they wished of the prophets. Consequently Allah sent them tyrannous king who ill-treated them and spilled their blood, and set their enemies from outside against them as well. They used to go war, taking with them The Ark of the Covenant. They did this so that they would be victorious by its blessings, and it became a symbol of calm and a relic left behind by Moses's people. When they went to war with the people of Gaza and Askalon, they were defeated because the Ark of the Covenant was captured from them. When the king of Bani Israel heard of this he died on the spot. Bani Israel remained lost until Almighty Allah sent them a prophet ( thought to be Samuel/Shammil* - although not named in the Qur’an). They asked him to appoint a king over them to lead in a war against their enemies.

Prophet Samuel*, knowing their weakness, told them: "I fear that when the time comes to fight you may refuse." But they assured him that they had suffered enough insults and were now ready to fight in the way of Allah, even if they lost their lives. Prophet Samuel prayed to Allah for guidance. Allah revealed to him that He had chosen one, Talut (Saul), to be their king. The prophet wanted to know how to recognize the future king. He was told that Talut would come to him by himself and that they should then hand over the control of kingdom to him, for he would lead them in battle against the Philistines.

He then told Talut that Allah had chosen him as the king of the children of Israel. His duty would be to take charge of their affairs, to unite them under one banner, and to protect them from their enemies. If he carried out Allah's commands, he would be given victory. Talut was surprised by this sudden honour offered to him. It was also a heavy responsibility. He protested to the prophet that he was a of the children of Benjamin, the least famous of the tribes of Jacob; he did not know anything of leadership or kingship and had no wealth. Samuel told him that it was the will of Allah that he should be the king, that he should thank Allah for His favour and be strong in faith.

Taking Talut by the hand, Samuel* led him to the children of Israel, but they insisted on a direct sign from Allah. Prophet Samuel* told them to go outside the city to see the sign, which they did.

When Prophet Samuel* presented Talut to Bani Israel, they were very upset because of his tribe called Benjamin, who they considered unworthy of such greatness. After long arguments they finally demanded that if the long lost chest with Prophet Musa* and Prophet Harun* belongings was restored to them, they would accept Talut as their king. God restored the chest to them and though they were overjoyed and very happy to recover the chest, they had no other choices but to accept Talut as their king.

After becoming a king Talut very carefully established an army, but on their way to fight Philistine he put them through vigorous trainings and gave them strict criteria. So, by the time they came to face the tyrant king of Philistine named Goliath king Talut ended up with an army of about 310 out of 80,000. But he was happy with these truly qualified fighters. With this small army when he faced king Goliath, who was a very big and gigantic person and no one in king Talut’s army wanted to fight him in a single combat offered by Goliath.

Talut set about organizing his army with strong faith and wisdom. He ordered that only men free from responsibilities should join. Those engaged in building homes, men who were about to be married and those occupied with business should not join. After establishing a well-trained army, he decided to put them to the test. He told them that along the route they would pass a river where they should drink enough water to quench their thirst but not more than that. To his disappointment, he discovered the majority of them drank more water than they should have. He discharged them for disobedience and kept only the few who had obeyed him, as they were the ones who proved their sincerity. This resulted in a split in the army, but he was not bothered. He believed in quality and not numbers; better a small band of true believers he could rely on than a huge army of unreliable men.

Talut's men sighted the enemy on the other side of the river. Their opponents appeared physically strong and were armed with better weapons. They were led by the mighty warrior Goliath (Jalut), known for his huge build and brute strength. A great number of Talut's men ran away on seeing this strong force. The small band that remained was willing to fight, whatever the outcome, for they had heard that there had been many incidents in the past in which Allah had caused a small force to defeat a larger one.

"Have you not thought about the group of children of Israel after (the time of ) Moses? When they said to a Prophet of theirs: "Appoint for us a king and we will fight in Allah's Way."
He said: "Would you then refrain from fighting, if fighting was prescribed for you?"
They said: "Why should we not fight in Allah's Way while we have been driven out of our homes and our children (families have been taken as captives)?"
But when fighting was ordered for them, they turned away, all except a few of them. And Allah is All-Aware of the Zalimeen (polytheists, and wrongdoers).
And their Prophet (Samuel) said to them: "Indeed Allah has appointed Talut as a king over you."
They said: "How can he be a king over us when we are better fitted than him for the kingdom, and he has not been given enough wealth."
He said: "Verily, Allah has chosen him above you and has increased him abundantly in knowledge and stature. And Allah grants His Kingdom to whom He wills. And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower."
And their Prophet (Samuel) said to them: "Verily! The sigh of His kingdom is that there shall come to you At Tabut (a wooden box), wherein is Sakinah (peace and reassurance) from your Lord and a remnant of that which Moses and Aaron left behind, carried by the angels. Verily, in this is a sigh for you if you are indeed believers."
Then when Talut set out with the army, he said: "Verily! Allah will try you by a river. So whoever drinks thereof, he is not of me, and whoever tastes it not, he is of me, except him who takes thereof in the hollow of his hand."
Yet, they drank thereof, all, except a few of them. So when he had crossed it (the river), he and those who believed with him, they said: "We have no power on this day against Goliath and his hosts."
But those who knew with certainty that they were to meet their Lord, said: "How often a small group overcame a mighty host by Allah's Leave?" And Allah is with the patient.
And when they advanced to meet Goliath and his forces, they invoked. "Our Lord! Pour forth on us patience and make us victorious over the disbelieving people." [TMQ 2:246-250]

Main Topic ~ Fitna al-Qabr (Trials in the Grave)

The Prophet* told us that two angels will descend on the person that is in the grave – called Munkar and Nakir. They would scream at him and they would shock that person and surprise him. Their way of conversation is not very polite. They are very tough and strong. They expect a straight and immediate answer from you. Whether you are a believer or not, they will come in that fashion. These two angels will come down and ask three questions:

- “Ma rabbuk? Wa ma deenuk? Wa man nabiyuk?”

- Who is your Lord? What is your religion? And who is your Prophet?

Our response from the soul will be dependent upon how we have lived our life and whether every part of our body/soul/consciousness would testify to that truth. It is not something we can blag!

The Muslim

The believer would say, “My Lord is Allah. And my religion is Islam. And my Prophet is Muhammad*.” They would hear a sound coming from above, “Qad saddaqa ‘abdi” = “My servant is saying the truth. So furnish his grave from paradise, and provide him clothes from paradise and open for him a gate to paradise.”

So Allah is verifying the answer. This grave on earth is hooked up to Jannah via a different dimension - directly connected to paradise. This person in the grave is able to see his place in Jannah. He is not able to go there, but he can see it. Then a very handsome person will walk into the grave. The dead person would say, “Who are you?” That person would say, “I am your good deeds and I came to spend time with you until the day of judgement.” So the believer would not be alone. The Prophet* says that the believer will have window showing paradise, and a window showing hell. And he will be told, “This is where you could have been if you were not a believer. And this is what you have got because of your imaan.” When he sees that, he would say:  “O Allah, start the day of judgement so that I can go to my family and my wealth!”

The non-Believer

When the angels ask the non-believer: “Who is your prophet?” He would say, “Huh? What? I don’t know. I heard the people say this and I said it.” The angels would smash him with a hammer that would turn him into dust. That person is saying what he heard the people say about the Prophet* – what Abu Jahl said, what newspapers wrote, etc. This is not the answer the angels are looking for. It needs to be clear that belief in Muhammad* is what you will be asked about in the grave. It is not sufficient to say that there is one God. You have to believe in God’s representatives, His Messengers – Muhammad*, Isa*, Musa*, Ibrahim*. They are the ones conveying the Message of Allah to the people of the earth.

After the corrupt, or evil person, is questioned, an announcement will be made from the heavens, “He is a liar! Furnish his grave from hellfire, give him clothes from hell fire and open for him a gate to hell fire.” Then an evil, ugly person will come to him in the grave. The person will ask, “Who are you?” The person will say, “I am your evil deeds and I will be with you until the day of judgement.” That man will have stinking, rotten smell. Two windows will be opened – a window to Jannah and a window to hell fire. He will be told, “This is where you could have been if you were a believer. This is where you will be in hellfire.” He will say: O Lord, do not let the day of judgement start.”

Not only is he suffering physically, but he’s suffering psychologically because of regret.

The Final Trials

Al-Bukhari narrates that Asma bint Abi Bakr narrated that The Prophet* stood in the masjid and gave a Khutbah. He started talking about the fitna of the grave until there was an uproar in the masjid – loud noises. What was that noise? The Sahabah were crying. Asma said, “I couldn’t hear the Khutbah. And I waited until the noise calmed down and then I asked a man next to me, ‘BarakAllahu feek. What was the last thing The Prophet* said?’ The Prophet* said, ‘It has been revealed to me that you will go through fitna in the grave similar to the fitna of ad-dajjaal.’”

The Prophet* said that this is the last test the believer will go through, the last ibtilaa.