Summary of Study Circle from 13 November 2016:
Status of Khadija (ra)
We talked last week
about some of the benefits of Allah choosing Khadija to be the companion of the
Prophet*. She is one of the four greatest women ever (according to the hadith)
and provided unstinting and constant support for the mission of the Prophet and
his dawah. She provided emotional, physical and financial support to the
Prophet. The other greatest women – all have a relationship to a Prophet /
Messenger (mother, bringing them up, wife and daughter) give an insight into
what values are important in Islam – are:
1. Maryam (mother of
Isa)
2. Khadija (wife of
Prophet Muhammed)
3. Aasiya (brought up
Musa in the House of Pharaoh)
4. Fatima (daughter of
Prophet Muhammed)
*Second Revelation*
After ‘IQRA’ the Prophet* stopped
getting revelation. Ibn Abass says the Prophet* would wonder Mecca and its
valleys wanting to see Jibraeel AS again. Some scholars say 40 days others say
a few months. Then the Prophet* was caught in a sort of depression coupled with
astonishment and perplexity. Al-Bukhari reported: The Divine inspiration paused for a while and
the Prophet* became so sad, as we have heard, that he intended several times to
throw himself from the tops of high mountains, and every time he went up the
top of a mountain in order to throw himself down, Jibraeel would appear before
him and say: “O Muhammad! You are indeed Allah’s Messenger in truth,” whereupon
his heart would become quiet and he would calm down and return home. Whenever
the period of the coming of the Revelation used to become long, he would do as
before, but Jibraeel would appear again before him and say to him what he had
said before.
Jibraeel Brings Allah's Revelation:
Ibn Hajar said: ‘That (the pause
of Allah’s revelation for a few days) was to relieve the Messenger of Allah* of
the fear he experienced and to make him long for the Revelation. When the
shades of puzzle receded, the flags of truth were raised, the Messenger of Allah*
knew for sure that he had become the Messenger of the Great Lord. He was also
certain that what had come to him was no more than the ambassador of
inspiration. His waiting and longing for the coming of the revelation
constituted a good reason for his steadfastness and self-possession on the arrival
of Allah’s inspiration, Al-Bukhari reported on the authority of Jabir bin
‘Abdullah that he had heard the Messenger of Allah* speak about the period of
pause as follows: “While I was walking, I heard a voice from the sky. I looked
up, and surely enough, it was the same angel who had visited me in the cave of
Hira’. He was sitting on a chair between the earth and the sky. I was very
afraid of him and knelt on the ground. I went home saying: ‘Cover me …, Cover
me …’. Allah revealed to me the verses (from surah Mudaththir):
“‘O you [Muhammad*] enveloped (in
garments)! Arise and warn! And your Lord (Allah) magnify! And your garments
purify! And keep away from Ar-Rujz (the idols)!’” [74:1-5]
After that the revelation started
coming strongly, frequently and regularly. The scholars say one wisdom for this
pause was to prepare him for the second reunion. To recollect his energy and
make him feel enthused. But despite this preparation he still became terrified
when he saw him. All of this shows us the humanity of the Prophet* - we find a
human reaction to these supernatural events and one that is sincere.
The revelation occurred in the
house of Khadija RA. This shows Jibraeel AS followed the Prophet* back to the
house and then said:
- "Oh you who is
clothed" - meaning "Oh you who is living in comfort and ease, stop
this life of ease, stand up, be active, leave this sheltered life AND go out
and warn the people."
- "While you are doing this,
praise Him and glorify your Lord".
- And "Make sure you're
garments are clean - make sure you have a pure soul and a good soul.
- And as for idols, get rid of
them and leave them".
- "Don't remind people of
the favours that you've done". This is important because Allah is saying
when you do good, don't do it to get the favours back from people or be repayed
back. Again this goes back to sincerity - do things only for the sake of Allah.
- And the last ayah Jibraeel AS
revealed was "for the sake of your Lord, be patient". This shows that
there WILL be calamities and troubles but be patient.
Some scholars came he became a Nabi
with Iqra. When he got second revelation, he became a Rasul.
Nabi vs Rasul (Prophet vs Messenger)
What is the difference between
them? There are four main opinions:
1. One group of scholars say
there is no difference. They are synonyms.
This is not the strongest opinion
a verse in the Quran states "We didn’t send before you either a Rasul or a
Nabi except that..." Hence – not the same.
2. A Nabi is one who is inspired
by Allah with a revelation but not called to preach it.
Whereas a Rasul is told to
proclaim it to mankind. This doesn’t make sense either as prophets have to
preach and spread the Word and it is a sin for prophets to conceal the
knowledge. The Prophet* said "I saw all of the prophets and there was a Nabi
with a large group, few people, 2 people and no one".
3. A Rasul is someone who has
been given a new shariah. A Nabi follows the shariah of the Rasul before him.
It seems to be good but it doesn’t
match up to all of the examples: Dawud & Suleiman followed the shariah of
Musa, despite Dawud being given the Psalms (Zabur). Adam was the first Nabi and
Nuh the first Rasul. Other Rasul included Younus and Yusuf. Idris was before
Nuh but only a Nabi.
4. The correct opinion seems to
be that a Nabi is sent to a people that accept him as a Nabi whereas a Rasul is
rejected by the people or is sent to different peoples.
The linguistic meaning can
highlight this difference - Nabi comes from naba'a which means information. So a Nabi informs and preaches and
teaches - he gives information. He speaks to you a message form Allah. A Rasul
comes from arsala rasoola which
means to send, so a Rasul is sent to a nation that does not believe in him.
Whereas a Nabi teaches to a people that already accepts him. Nuh, Dawud, Sulaiman
they were sent. They established kingdoms. Other examples: Isa and Yahya - one
was a Rasul, the other a Nabi because they accepted Yahya and rejected Isa.
Generally every Rasul has a new shariah
(there are some exceptions as we have mentioned above). The Prophet* said
"there were 310 and something Rasuls and 124,000 prophets". Thus we
can see every Rasul is a Nabi, not the other way around. Out of the Rasul, they
are the elite Rasul - Nuh, Ibrahim, Musa, Isa and Muhammad – peace be upon them
all.
What is the purpose of prophets?
Why do we need them? We covered
this topic when we discussed the Belief Pathway and introduction to the Stories
of the Prophets.
This is the difference between us
and the West. Throughout all of human history until the last few hundred years
every society has believed in a higher power that is the ultimate Law-Maker,
but the modern Western societies believe they will find their own way in life
(man-made law = democracy) but we believe the best law of the law of Allah sent
through the prophets. Allah knows what is best. This is why He sends Prophets -
to deny Allah sends prophets is to deny the Mercy and Power of Allah. It’s
insulting to Allah and He says "they did not give the respect that is due
to Allah when they said Allah does not reveal anything to mankind".
Anyone sincerely searching for
the Truth, to answer the 3 fundamental questions (where did I come from, what
happens when I die and what is the purpose of my life) will always come to the
conclusion that they are created by a more powerful being and the person must
then define his relationship with this Creator and will get that from the Books
sent by the Creator and he will realise that only the Quran is a living
miracle.
The Afterlife (Akhira) Series
Paradise and Hell
We started off with a recap of
our souls created, conceived, born in this life, through death, life in the
grave to be resurrected for the Day of Judgment leading to the final Judgment
and then crossing the Siraat Bridge to its final sphere of existence.
Our soul (ruh) will continue to
exist for all eternity since it has been created. Currently it has life, then
experience ‘death’ but will still exist in the Grave and be resurrected after
the end of the world on the Day on Judgment, before finally living out FOREVER
in Paradise (InshaAllah) and the others may taste Hellfire or live there
forever.
Remember what ‘A`isha said: “If
the first thing revealed in Qur’an was ‘do not drink’, the people would have
said ‘we are never going to stop drinking.’ And if the first thing that was
revealed in the Qur’an was telling the people to not commit fornication and
adultery the people would have said ‘we’re never going to stop committing
fornication and adultery!’ The first things that were revealed in the Qur’an
were the Surah Al-Muddathir that talked about and mentioned hell fire and
paradise. Until the hearts were attached to Allah SWT, THEN the orders for halal
and haram came down.”
‘A`isha said that if you first
tell people this is haram, that’s haram, they won’t listen to you. The first
things that were revealed were about paradise and hell. When the hearts were
attached to Allah the dos and don’ts were revealed.
We can tell from ‘A`isha that the
way to attach the hearts to Allah is to remind ourselves about paradise and
hell. We are immersed in this world too much and detached from reality. We are
not getting enough dose of akhirah. Unless we remind ourselves of it
constantly, it’s not going to be on our mind. We are very attached to the ones
we love in this dunya, the things that we have and the pleasures this life can
offer.
InshaAllah, we will do the
descriptions of Hellfire & Paradise, as well as some of the actions that
lead to both ends; also what to expect in both places including what your
abodes (houses) will be like and what is there to eat and drink, to wear and to
talk about…
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