12 April 215: Suleiman* and Bilqees; Scenes from the Day of Judgment

12 April 2015: Suleiman* and Bilqees and Scenes from the Day of Judgment

Lives of the Prophets: Suleiman* and Bilqees (part 1)

"He inspected the birds, and said: "What is the matter that I see not a hoopoe? Or is he among the absentees? I will surely punish him with a severe torment, or slaughter him, unless he brings me a clear reason."

But the hoopoe stayed not long, he came up and said: "I have grasped (the knowledge of a thing) which you have not grasped and I have come to you from Sheba with true news. I found a woman ruling over them, and she has been given all things that could be possessed by any ruler of the earth, and she has a great throne. I found her and her people worshipping the sun instead of Allah, and Satan has made their deeds fair seeming to them, and has barred them from Allah's Way, so they have no guidance."

Al-La (this word has two interpretations) [As Satan has barred them from Allah's Way} so that they do not worship (prostrate before) Allah, or so that they may worship (prostrate before) Allah, Who brings light to what is hidden in the heavens and the earth, and knows what you conceal and what you reveal. Allah, La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He), the Lord of the Supreme Throne!

(Suleiman) said: "We shall see whether you speak the truth or you are one of the liars. Go with this letter of mine, and deliver it to them, then draw back from them, and see what answer they return."

She said: "O chiefs! Verily! Here is a delivered to me a noble letter. Verily! It is from Suleiman and verily! It (reads): 'In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful; Be you not exalted against me, but come to me as Muslims (true believers who submit to Allah with full submission)."

She said: "O chiefs! Advise me in this case of mine. I decide no case till you are present with me." They said: "We have great strength, and great ability for war, but it is for you to command; so think over what you will command." [TMQ 27:20-44]

Yemeni Dams

The people of Yemen (Sanaa) were quite renowned for their irrigation system due the scarcity of rain they made large dams with a clever method of channeling water all over their cities. The rain they would receive was usually seasonal and mentioned in the Qur’an (Mausum) – a word that we know in English as Monsoon!

The Hoopoe Brings Information to Suleiman

He set out to find the hoopoe bird, which could detect water under the ground. He sent signals all over the hoopoe to call on him, but it was nowhere to be found. In anger, he declared that unless the bird had a good reason for its absence, he would punish it severely. The hoopoe eventually came to Suleiman and explained the reason for its delay. "I have discovered something of which you are not aware. I have come from Sheba (Sab'a) with important news." Suleiman became curious, and his anger subsided. The bird continued: "Sab'a is ruled by a queen named Bilqees, who has plenty of everything, including a splendid throne. But in spite of all this wealth, Satan has entered her heart and the hearts of her people. She rules their minds completely. I was shocked to learn that they worship the sun instead of Allah the Almighty."

To check the hoopoe's information, Suleiman sent a letter to the queen with the bird. He instructed the bird to remain hidden and to watch everything.

* The group undertook an exercise to write a letter to the Queen from Suleiman*

The Queen of Sheba makes counsel

The hoopoe dropped the letter in front of the queen and flew away to hide. She excitedly opened and read it: "Verily! It is from Suleiman, and verily! It reads: 'In the Name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, and Most Merciful; be you not exalted against me, but come to me as Muslims (true believers who submit with full submission).'" ( TMQ 27:30-31).

The queen was very disturbed and hurriedly summoned her advisors. They reacted as to a challenge, for they felt that there was someone challenging them, hinting at war and defeat, and asking them to submit to his conditions. They told her that they could only offer advice, but it was her right to command action – as she was the Commander-in-Chief. She asked for their advice as she was a wise ruler but they said that if she wanted to go to war they were capable but the final decision was hers alone to command.

She sensed that they wanted to meet Suleiman's invasion threat with a battle. However, she told them: "Peace and friendship are better and wiser; war only brings humiliation, enslaves people and destroys the good things. I have decided to send gifts to Suleiman, selected from our most precious treasure. The courtiers who will deliver the gifts will also have an opportunity to learn about Suleiman and his military mighty."

Women Rulers

We then briefly talked about the hadith of the Prophet* about women rulers: "Narrated Abu Bakra: During the battle of Al-Jamal, Allah benefited me with a Word (I heard from the Prophet). When the Prophet heard the news that the people of the Persia had made the daughter of Khosrau their Queen (ruler), he said, "Never will succeed such a nation as makes a woman their ruler." [Bukhari]

This is not a prophesy about whether a nation will do well with a female ruler / leader but a statement that Allah does not permit (in Islam) for a woman to be a ruler (like Khalife) – as the issue was linked to ‘Success’ which equates to the Hereafter.

This does not mean that women are less intelligent than men, but it is a ruling that only Allah Knows the wisdom behind and it is best for both men and women. As for other positions than leadership like Judiciary, electing a Khaleefah, elect and be elected in Majlis al-Ummah (Ummah Council), and other such legitimate jobs that are not part of leadership, are permissible for her to carry out. Hence, women can become general judges and Hisba judges, This is permissible for both men and women.

Looking at the life of women during the time of the Prophet* women took part in life just like men, they carried intellectual and political struggle. The first martyr in Islam was Summayah, a woman, who carried the Dawah with the Prophet* Umm Umara and Umm Manee' were amongst the people who gave a pledge of support to the Prophet* in the second Aqabah pledge, with the men. Women treated the injured in the battlefield, they enjoined the good and forbade the evil, and they accounted the Khaleefah. Truly they were the twin-halves of men. All of this was according to the Shariah rule that regulated the life of men and women, and women were not a wasted effort, or house-ridden never leaving them.

And in the end, the best picture that portrays women in the Islamic life are given in the saying of Allah: "The believing men and believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and establish prayer and give zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. Those - Allah will have mercy upon them. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise. Allah has promised the believing men and believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they abide eternally, and pleasant dwellings in gardens of perpetual residence; but approval from Allah is greater. It is that which is the great attainment" (At-Tawba: 71-72)

The Day of Judgment

** Centre of the Universe video **

Here is the short video clip we saw: 
... we are not the centre of Universe

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2d7czQbeOk

Size of the Universe

There are seven heavens. We are living in the lowest heaven, and this heaven, compared to the one above it, is like a ring in a desert. Every star that we see and every galaxy that is discovered are all within the lowest heaven. Allah says: “Verily! We have adorned the near heaven with the stars (for beauty).” (TMQ 37:6)

We are talking about light years of distance – the sun is about 8 minutes in light years. And the closest star is 4.25 light years. And each heaven is like a ring in a desert compared to the one above it. And the seventh heaven, compared to the al-Kursi of Allah is like a ring in a desert, and the Kursi compared to the Throne is like a ring in a desert.

Events of that Day:

The Wrapping of the Heavens

Allah will grab the earth with His Hand and then He will wrap the sky like a scroll – that is how easy it will be for Allah to sweep up this earth. Allah says, “Verily! We have adorned the near heaven with the stars (for beauty).” (TMQ 37:6) To Allah, it is just zeena (adornment). This vast creation, that we are struggling to understand, is just adornment to Allah, and on that Day, it will be wrapped in His Hand.

Allah says, “They made not a just estimate of Allah such as is due to Him. And on the Day of Resurrection the whole of the earth will be grasped by His Hand and the heavens will be rolled up in His Right Hand….” (TMQ 39:67)

“And [remember] the Day when We shall roll up the heaven like a scroll rolled up for books. As We began the first creation, We shall repeat it. [It is] a promise binding upon Us. Truly, We shall do it)” (TMQ 21: 1 04)

Spreading of the Earth

“On the Day when the earth will be changed to another earth and so will be the heavens, and they (all creatures) will appear before Allah, the One, the Irresistible.” (TMQ 14:48)

lbn 'Abbaas said "Some things will be added to it and some will be taken away, and its hills, mountains, valleys and trees will disappear, and it will be spread out like an 'Ukaazi carpet.” The earth will change. It will not be in the same state. Some of the changes that will happen to the earth:

• It’s going to be spread. It won’t be a sphere any more (with gravity / mass). Muddat means that it is flattened and then spread. “And when the earth is stretched forth, And has cast out all that was in it and became empty.” (84:3-4) When the earth is spread, everything will be released on it; it doesn’t have its mass any more.
• The Prophet* says, “The people will be assembled on the day of judgment on a wide land that is Afraa (pale - not bright white, but pale white) and Naqi’ (used to describe the land in the hadith) is very fine, pure sand”.
• The Prophet* says in another hadith that the earth will be pressed and flattened out, nevertheless, the son of Adam will not have a position except the spot he is standing on. Allah will assemble the entire creation – the humans, the jinns, the animals and insects – it will be so crowded that you will only have the spot to stand which is covered by your feet. People will be crowded and pressing against each other on that difficult day.

What will happen to the mountains?

Allah also says, “And the earth and the mountains shall be removed from their places, and crushed with a single crushing.” (69:14) Allah also says, “And the mountains will be like carded wool,” (101:5) and “And when the mountains are blown away” (77:10)

“Then when the Trumpet will be blown with one blowing [the first one]. And the earth and the mountains shall be removed from their places, and crushed with a single crushing. Then on that Day shall the [Great] Event befall) (TMQ 69: 13-15)

“Nay! When the earth is ground to powder., (TMQ 89: 21)

“On the Day when the earth and the mountains will be in violent shake, and the mountains will be a heap of sand poured out.) (TMQ 73: 14)

And the mountains will be like flakes of wool.) (TMQ 70: 9)

And the mountains will be like carded wool) (TMQ 101: 5)

(And the mountains shall be moved away from their places and they will be as if they were a mirage) (TMQ 78: 20)

“And when the mountains are blown away.” (TMQ 77: 10)

“(And [remember] the Day We shall cause the mountains to pass away [like clouds of dust], and you will see the earth as a levelled plain .. ) (TMQ 18: 47)

“And they ask you concerning the mountains: say, 'My Lord will blast them and scatter them as particles of dust. Then He shall leave them as a level smooth plain. You will see therein nothing crooked or curved. ' (TMQ 20: 105-107)

The bursting forth and overflowing of the seas / Oceans

These seas which cover the greater part of our planet, in which such great numbers of creatures live and on the surface of which ships come and go, will on that Day burst forth. In modem times, we have learned of the great horror which is unleashed by the explosion of atoms which are smaller than water molecules, so how will it be then when the molecules of water in these vast oceans explode, when the seas tum to blazing fire? You can imagine how these huge seas will be when they become inflammable, how they will look with flames reaching up to the sky.

Allah says: “And when the seas are burst forth [got dried up) (TMQ 82: 3)

“And when the seas are become as blazing Fire or shall overflow) (TMQ 81: 6)

The mufassireen of the past thought that this referred to the sea overflowing and breaking its barriers, so that the fresh water would be mixed with the salt water, and it would become one body of water. 8 But what we have mentioned is more obvious and closer to the meaning, because the idea of exploding fits the idea of busting forth. And Allah knows best.

The shaking and splitting of the sky

Our beautiful blue sky, which lifts our spirits when we look at it, will be terribly shaken: “On the Day when the heaven will shake with a dreadful shaking. (TMQ 52: 9)

Then it will be rent asunder, “When the heaven is cleft asunder. (TMQ 82: 1)

“When the heaven is split asunder and listens and obeys its Lord, - and it must do so. (TMQ 84: 1-2)

At that time it will become weak and tom up, like a great palace, solidly built with string pillars, when it is shaken by an earthquake, so you see how, after being strong, it becomes broken, weak and cracked. “And the heaven will be rent asunder, for that Day it [the heaven] will be frail and tom up) (TMQ 69: 16)

The colour of this beautiful blue sky will also change. On that Day the sky will start to take on different colours, like dyes - red and yellow and green, and then blue, as Allah says: “Then when the heaven is rent asunder, and it becomes rosy or red like red oil, or red hide)(TMQ 55: 3 7)

It is narrated from lbn 'Ab baas that on that Day, the sky will be like a bay mare which is yellow in the spring and red in the winter; when it becomes very cold, its colour changes - meaning that it will be of several colours.

The heavens would be moving above your head, and you would see it cracking here and there. Holes will be popping out in the sky; it will crack. Eventually, what will happen is “And the heaven will split asunder, for that Day it (the heaven will be frail (weak), and torn up” (69:16). It will keep on cracking and falling apart until it is frail and weak. Waahiya means frail and weak. And it will start falling apart.

The rolling up of the sun, the eclipse of the moon and the falling of the stars

This sun which we see shining every day, that fills our world with light and gives us light and energy which we cannot do without in order to see and move, and which is needed by every living creature and every plant that grows, will be collected and rolled up, and its light will vanish, as Allah says: “When the sun kuwwirat [wound round and lost its light and is overthrown].) (TMQ 81: 1)

“So, when the sight shall be dazed, And the moon will be eclipsed) (TMQ 75: 7-8)

“When the stars have fallen and been scattered) (TMQ 82: 2)

“And when the stars shall fall” (TMQ 81: 2) - The words translated here as "fallen" and "scattered" come from roots which indicate "being poured out"

Allah will Assemble All

Allah will assemble everyone, whether this human was lost in the depths of the ocean or this human being was in the dungeons of the earth. Allah will bring them all together. Allah says: “[...] Wheresoever you may be, Allah will bring you together (on the Day of Resurrection). Truly, Allah is Able to do all things.” (2:148) Wherever you may be – even in outer space – Allah will bring you together, because all of this universe belongs to Allah.

Allah says, “We bought them together, we did not leave any one of them.” Even the animals will be included. Allah says, “When the wild beasts are herded together.” (81:5)

Abu Hurayrah says, “On the Day of Judgment, Allah will assemble all of the creation: the beasts, the birds, even the insects; everything. And Allah will be Just on that day, because His Name is the Just (al ‘Adl). And of the justice of Allah, Allah will take revenge for the goat that did not have horns from the goat that did have horns.”

After every dispute is settled, then Allah will tell the beasts and animals to be turaab – dirt; and they would turn into dirt. And that is when the non-believer would say, “I wish that I was dirt.” Allah says in the Qur’an, “And the non-believer will say, ‘I wish that I am dirt.’” The non-believer will wish they never lived or existed. This non-believer who was so careful to save money and live in this money and enjoy himself; he will wish he were dirt.

What is the Condition the People will be Resurrected in?

The Prophet* says, “You will be resurrected barefoot, naked and uncircumcised.” Then The Prophet* recited the ayah, where Allah says, “[...]as We began the first creation, We shall repeat it, (it is) a promise binding upon Us. Truly, We shall do it.” (21:104) When ‘Aa`isha heard this, she was concerned that men and women are going to be in the same place, naked. Allah’s Apostle said, “The people will be gathered barefooted, naked, and uncircumcised.” I said, “O Allah’s Apostle! Will the men and the women look at each other?” He said, “The situation will be too hard for them to pay attention to that.” [Bukhari]

Who is the first one whose grave will open?

Muhammad*, whose grave is in Medina, will be the first one whose grave will open up. The Prophet* says, “I am the leader of mankind on the day of judgement and I am the first one whose grave will open on the Day of Judgment.”

In another authentic hadith, a Muslim had a dispute with a Jew. The Jew said, “In the name of the One who revealed the tawrah on Musa” so this Muslim hit him and started praising Muhammad*. So the Jew came and complained to The Prophet*. The Prophet* said, “Do not prefer me over Musa, because I will be the first one to come out of his grave, but I will find that Musa is already holding onto the throne of Allah. So I do not know whether he was included in the ones who were dead in the first blow or not.”

What does this hadith mean – ‘do not say that I am better than Musa’? Obviously, The Prophet* did say in many ahaadith that he is the leader of mankind. We believe that The Prophet* is the greatest of all of the Prophets, but The Prophet* does not want us to say that when we are in a conversation with a non-believer because we are just putting down the Prophets just to make the non-believer upset. The Prophets of Allah belong to this Ummah, not to anybody else. Musa belongs to the Ummah of Islam. That’s why when The Prophet* went to Medina and saw the Jews fasting, he asked why they were fasting, and they said, “This is the day in which Allah has saved Musa from Firawn.” The Prophet* said, “Musa belongs to us more than he does to them, so we should fast this day.”

We should not go to the Jew and say, “Muhammad is better than your Prophet!” We should not go the Christian and say, “Muhammad is better than your Prophet!” We are putting the Messengers of Allah down; we need to show the respect we have for all Messengers, even though we believe Muhammad* is the one Allah chose out of all of his creation.

The Clothing Of Mankind On The Day Of Resurrection / Who Will be Dressed First?

We know that people are going to start out naked, but then Allah will dress them. The Prophet* says that the first one to be dressed on the day of judgement is Ibrahim [Abraham], the friend of Allah. The Prophet* said that he will be dressed in a dress from Jannah. Then The Prophet* says, “And then I will be dressed next with a dress from Jannah that no one would have similar to.” The Prophet* will be given the best dress, but the first to be dressed will be Ibrahim. And this is a blessing and uniqueness that Allah has given to Ibrahim.

The righteous will be clothed in noble garments, and the evildoers will be clothed in trousers of tar and a shield of scabs, and other awful garments. The first one among the slaves of Allah to be clothed will be the Prophet Ibrahim (Abraham), the Close Friend of the Most Merciful (Khaleel ar-Rahman). In Bukhari it is narrated that the Prophet* said: "The first of creation to be clothed on the Day of Resurrection will be Ibrahim al-Khaleel. "  'The first one to be clothed on the Day of Resurrection will be Ibrahim, who will be clothed in a garment from Paradise. A chair will be brought and placed to the right of the Throne, then I will be brought and clothed in a garment from Paradise, the like of which has never been seen."

Adhan in the Wilderness

The Prophet* said to a Bedouin, by the name of Abdur Rahman ibn Sa’Sa’, “I see that you love sheep and goats and the Bedouin life. If you are in the wilderness and it is time for salah, then raise your voice in adhan because whatever hears you – whether jinns or humans or anything – will witness for you on the day of judgment.” The mountains, rocks, animals, human beings and jinns will witness for you on the day of judgment. You are in harmony with creation; everything is Muslim except for the corrupt jinn and the corrupt Muslim.

Jannah Tips #1 - Garauntee Paradise: How to Erase 2500 Sins in 5 minutes per day

Abd-Allah ibn ‘Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: “The Messenger of Allah* said: ‘There are two qualities, no Muslim man acquires them but he will enter Paradise, and they are simple and easy:
- He should glorify Allah (say Subhaan Allah) ten times immediately after each prayer, and
- praise Him (say Al-hamdu Lillaah) ten times and 
- magnify Him (say Allaahu Akbar) ten times.’

I saw the Messenger of Allah* counting this on his fingers. He said: ‘That makes one hundred and fifty on the tongue and one thousand five hundred (hasanaat) in the scales.

- Glorifying Allah 100 times when one goes to bed

When you go to bed, glorify Him and praise Him and magnify Him One hundred times: that will be one hundred on the tongue and a thousand in the scales.

Who among you does 2,500 bad deeds in one day?’ They said:‘How could we not count (our sins)?’
He said: ‘The Shaytaan comes to any one of you whilst he is praying and says, Remember this, remember that, until he finishes his prayer and does not do (this dhikr), or he comes to him when he is lying down and makes him sleepy, until he falls asleep (without doing this dhikr).’” (Tirmidhi).