Lives of the Prophets: Prophet Suleiman* continued
Prophets leave no inheritance
Allah says in Surah Saad: "To Dawud* we gave Suleiman*
(for a son)" and he was a Prophet "how excellent in Our service! Ever
did he tum when (to Us)!"
"And Suleiman* was Dawud's heir." (AI-Naml: 16)
This verse means that Suleiman* inherited his father's kingdom and Prophetic
office. It does not imply that he inherited his property and riches as Dawud*
would not bequeath him solely his property. Moreover, it was reported by
authentic transmission that the Prophet* said, "Our property, we the chain
of Prophets, is not to be inherited, and whatever we leave is to be given to
charity.
His Power and Kingdom:
Allah, Exalted be He, says, "And we did try Suleiman* -
We placed on his throne a body (without life). But he did tum (to Us in true
devotion): He said, 'O my Lord! Forgive me, and grant me a kingdom which (it
may be), suits not another after me. For Thou art the Grantor of Bounties
(without measure). " (Saad: 32)
One of the possible interpretations of this ‘dead body on
his throne’ is the story mentioned by some of the early Muslims that Suleiman*
had a many wives (900 or 700 or 300) and Abu Hurairah stated that Allah's
Messenger* said, “Suleiman*, son of Dawud said, I can stop by all my wives
causing each of whom to give birth to a baby who will fiercely fight for Allah's
cause. However he did not say InshaAllah ("if Allah wills it"). He
did stop by his wives and not one of them conceived, with the exception of one
who gave birth to half a child. Allah's Messenger* said, had he said, 'If Allah
wills it', each of the Women would have given birth to a boy who would fiercely
fight for Allah's cause. "
After that incident Suleiman asked for forgiveness and
wanted a unique kingdom which was granted to him by Allah – one that would not
occur again. Hence, his power over the Jinn, the wind and special buildings.
It was reported by Abu Hurairah, that the Prophet* said,
"A strong demon from the Jinns came to me yesterday suddenly, so as to
spoil my prayer, but Allah enabled me to overpower him, and so I caught him and
intended to tie him to one of the pillars of the mosque so that all of you
might see him, but I remembered the invocation of my brother Suleiman*:' o my
Lord! Forgive me, and grant me a kingdom which (it may be), suits not another
after me: ' so I let him go humiliated. "
Virtues of Al-Aqsa
It was stated by Amr Ibn Al-Aas that the Messenger of Allah,
peace and blessings be upon him, said, "When Suleiman* built Jerusalem, he
asked Allah, Exalted be He, three things, two of which he was granted and we
hope to have been granted the third: he asked Him judgment that was comparable
to Allah's, and this he was granted, he asked him a kingdom that suits not
another after him, and this he was granted, and he asked him that whenever a
man left his house with the sole intention of praying in this mosque (Al Aqsa Mosque),
he would be absolved of all his sins and would become sinless as he was the day
he was born. We therefore hope that Allah has granted us this. "
The Valley of the Ants
"And before Suleiman* were marshaled with his hosts -
of Jinns and men and birds, and they were all kept in order and ranks. At
length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one of the ants said, 'O ye
ants, get into your habitations, lest Suleiman* and his hosts crush you (under
foot) without knowing it.' So he smiled, amused at its speech; and said,
"O my lord! so order me that I may be grateful for Thy favours, which Thou
hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may work the righteousness
that will please Thee: and admit me, by Thy Grace to the ranks of Thy Righteous
Servants. "(AI Naml: 17-9)
The ant voiced an order, issued a warning, and saw the
excuse of Suleiman* and his soldiers namely, that they did not know or did not
do it deliberately. Suleiman* understood its speech, and smiled out of joy and
happiness for being solely chosen by Allah to be let in on this. Even as the
colony of ants may be destroyed the ant still sought to find an excuse for
Suleiman* and his army. How quick are we nowadays in blaming our fellow Muslims
for the most minor issue and come up with 70 ways to blame. Rather than look
for 70 excuses and seeking to forgive our fellow Muslim.
Main Topic: The Resurrection
Our purpose in Life
Our purpose in Life is to live according to the wishes of
Allah (what makes Allah pleased) and to avoid the evil. If we do that we will
pass the test and enter into Paradise for eternity. That is the deal. Hence,
the central tenant of our deen and all religions from Allah are this contract
and ‘The Hour’ / ‘Day of Judgment’ have been mentioned by all Prophets
throughout all the ages. Essential to this is for Muslims to believe without
doubt that we will return (be resurrected) ready for Judgement. There are some
people that have always denied that we can come back and many people still do
as they see only what is in front of them and are materialistic. So, Allah
tries to address this in many ways and one way to communicate this to the
desert Arabs was how life returns to seemingly dead land after rain.
The short video clips highlight this:
The Desert: https://youtu.be/2jX9SgtRTgE
Flowers in the Desert: https://youtu.be/z1IBnHIOFxs
Al Ba’ath wa An-Nushur (Resurrection)
Allah described it and said, “And the trumpet will be blown
and behold, from the graves they will come out quickly to their Lord. They will
say, ‘Woe to us! Who has raised us up from our place of sleep? This is what the
Most Gracious has promised us and the Messengers spoke the truth.’ It will be
but a single shout, and behold, they will all be bought before us.”
Notice how people say “Who has woke us up from our sleep?”
because when we are sleeping, the worse thing that can happen is that we wake
up in a state of surprise. When we’re sleeping, we want to wake up slowly and
calmly. You’ll find that when you suddenly wake someone up, that person wakes
up disoriented. Imagine waking up from the graves after a long state of sleep…
Imagine that a child is coming out of the grave. On the day
of resurrection, he comes out and sees mountains exploding; the oceans in
flames; the planets knocked out of their orbits; the sun will be just above
their heads; the people will be running around them as if they are drunk. What
do you think the response of this child will be? Allah says in the Qur’an, “How
will you save yourselves from a day [if you disbelieve] that will make a child
grey-headed?” The horrors of that day will turn that child’s head grey. A child
that hasn’t even sinned! What will happen to us – who are insisting on sins and
not repenting?
How will the Resurrection Happen?
Allah will send down a rain after everything is destroyed
and dead. We will grow from our seeds. What are our seeds? The Prophet* told us
in a hadith that every part of our body will decompose except for a small part
of our body – at the bottom of our spines. That small part will remain intact
and that will be the seed we are going to grow from. Allah will send down a
liquid from the sky (different from water) and we will grow up from that small
seed.
The Prophet* says in a hadith in Bukhari, “Between the two
shouts is forty.” The Prophet* was asked, “Forty days?” He did not respond.
“Forty months?” He did not respond. He was asked, “Forty years?” Still, The
Prophet* did not respond. So we do not know. The Prophet* said that a fluid
will fall from the sky and then we would grow up like plants would grow.
Everything in the human being will decompose except for ajab udh-dhanab, and
that is what the human body would grow out of it. That is why you will find
when Allah talks about the Resurrection, He ties it up with the growing of
plants.
Allah says, “And it is Allah who sends the winds so that
they raise up the clouds and we drive them to a dead land and revive the earth
therewith after its death. As such will be the resurrection.” Allah is telling
us to look at the dead earth, and how He revives the plants. This is the exact
thing that will happen with us on the day of resurrection. Just as flowers in a
desert bloom after rain (despite the desert being as dead) that is how we shall
be brought back to life.
The reason why there are so many names for the Day of
Judgment
If things are important to people and society – there will
often be many names to reflect that. In this society alcohol is important and
we find so many names for it – and even all the soap operas in the UK are based
around the pub! The names given by the children in the circle within 60 seconds
included: Alcohol, beer, cider, ale wine, red / white, drink, vodka, lager,
strongbow, whiskey, gin, Guinness.......
A Muslim scholar stated: "Everything that is of great
status has many attributes and many names. This is the way in which the Arabs
express the importance of a thing. Do you not see that because the sword is so
important to them and is held in such high esteem by them, that they gave it
five hundred names? And there are other similar examples. Because the
Resurrection is so important and its terrors are so many, Allah has given it
many names in His Book, and has described it in many ways."
The Names of The Day Of Resurrection
Allah has called this Day - on which this universe will be
destroyed and the Resurrection and Reckoning will take place - by many names. A
number of scholars have endeavoured to list these names. Al-Ghazali and Qurtubi
counted them and listed fifty names.
1 - Yawm al-Qiyaamah (The Day of Standing)
This name is mentioned in seventy ayat (verses) of the
Qur'an, such as:
“Allah! Laa ilaaha ilia Huwa [none has the right to be
worshipped but He]. Surely, He will gather you together on the Day of Standing
about which there is no doubt..)” (Qur 'an 4: 87)
“And We shall gather them together on the Day of Standing on
their faces, blind, dumb and deaf .. )” (TMQ 1 7: 97)
“Verily, the losers are they who lose themselves and their
families on the Day of Standing.” (TMQ 42: 45)
The root of the word qiyaamah in Arabic is to stand, rise.
It appears in the feminine form (with the ending -ah) to give more emphasis to
its meaning, as is the custom of the Arabs in their speech. It is so called
because of the great events which will happen (yaqoomu fihaa) on that Day, as
described in the texts. One of these events is when the people will stand
before the Lord of the Worlds.
2 - Al-Yawm al-Aakhir (The Last Day)
“But Al-Birr is [the quality of] the one who believes in
Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the Prophets .. ) (TMQ 2: 1 77)
“... This [instruction] is an admonition for him among you
who believes in Allah and the Last Day .. ) (TMQ 2: 232)
“The mosques of Allah shall be maintained only by those who
believe in Allah and the Last Day .. ) (TMQ 9:18)
This Day is called the Last Day, because it is the Day after
which there will be no more days. Sometimes it is called Al-Aakhirah (the
Hereafter) or Ad-Daar alAakhirah (the Home of the Hereafter), as in the verses:
“... Truly, We chose him in this world and verily, in the
Hereafter he will be among the righteous) (TMQ 2: 130)
3 - As-Saa'ah (The Hour)
“... And the Hour is surely, coming, so overlook [O'
Muhammad], their faults with gracious forgiveness.) (TMQ 15: 85)
“Verily, the Hour is coming - and I am almost hiding it...)
(TMQ 20: 15)
“O' mankind! Fear your Lord and be dutiful to Him! Verily,
the earthquake of the Hour [of Judgement] is a terrible thing) (TMQ 22: 1)
There are 3 interpretations for the Hour (not just the 24
hours!):
- it refers to the current time, i.e. now. The Resurrection is called As-Saa 'ah either because it is close at hand, for everything that is coming is near
- or as an indication of the tremendous, heart-stopping events that will happen on that Day
- It was also said that it is called the Hour because it will come suddenly, in an instant
4 - Yawm al-Ba'th (The Day of Resurrection)
Allah says: “O' mankind! If you are in doubt about the
Resurrection, then verily, We have created you [i.e. Adam] from dust..) (TMQ
22: 5)
lbn Man’oor said: "Al-Ba'th refers to when Allah will
revive the dead and bring them forth on the Day of Resurrection.
5 - Yawm al-Khurooj (The Day of Coming Out)
Allah says: “The Day when they will hear Aô€€ -SaylJah [shout] in truth,
that will be the Day of coming out [from the graves, i.e. the Day of
Resurrection].) (TMQ 50: 42)
“The Day when
they will come out [yakhrujoon] of the graves quickly as racing to a goal) (TMQ
70: 43)
It is so called because on that Day people will come out of
their graves when the Trumpet is blown.
6 - Al-Qaari'ah (The Striking Hour)
Allah says: (A!-Qaari'ah [the striking Hour, i.e. the Day of
Resurrection]. What is the striking [Hour]? And what will make you know what
the striking [Hour] is?) (TMQ 101: 1-3)
“Thamood and
'Aad people denied the Qaari 'ah [the striking Hour of Judgement] !
7 - Yawm al-Fadl (The Day of Judgement, Day of Decision)
“This is the Day of Judgement which you
used to deny.• (TMQ 3 7: 21)
It is so called because on that Day Allah will judge or
decide (yafe.il) between His slaves in that concerning which they differed and
disputed. Allah says: “Verily, your Lord will judge [yafe.il] between them, on
the Day of Resurrection, concerning that wherein they used to differ) (TMQ 32:
25)
8 - Yawm ad-Deen (The Day of Recompense)
“And verily,
the Fujjaar [the wicked, disbelievers, polytheists, sinners and evildoers] will
be in the blazing Fire [Hell], Therein they will enter, and taste its burning
flame on the Day of Recompense, And they [Al-Fujjaar] will not be absent
therefrom. And what will make you know what the Day of Recompense is? Again,
what will make you know what the Day of Recompense is? [It will be] the Day
when no person shall have power [to do anything] for another, and the Decision,
that Day, will be [wholly] with Allah) (TMQ 82: 14-19)
In Arabic, the word deen means recompense and reckoning.
(This Day) is so called because Allah will reward or punish His slaves and will
bring them to account for their actions on that Day.
9 - Ad-Daakhkhah (The Trumpet-Blast)
“Then when there comes Ad-Daakhkhah [the
(second) blowing of the Trumpet on the Day of Resurrection]. (TMQ 80: 33)
lbn Katheer said: "Al-Baghawi said: Ad-Daakhkhah means
the tumult of the Day of Resurrection. It is so called because it will
penetrate their ears to such an extent that it will nearly make them deaf.
'"
10 – At-Taammat al-Kubraa (The Greatest Catastrophe)
“But when there
comes the greatest catastrophe [i.e. the Day of Recompense]. (TMQ 79: 34)
Qurtubi said: "At-Taammah means overwhelming - as you
say tamma ash-shay 'u if it overwhelms and takes over. Because it will
overwhelm everything, this Day alone has this name which is true.
11 - Yawm al-Hasrah (The Day of Grief and Regrets)
“And warn them
[O' Muhammad] of the Day of grief and regrets, when the case has been decided,
while [now] they are in a state of carelessness, and they believe not) (TMQ 1
9: 39)
“... Until all
of a sudden, the Hour [signs of death] is on them, and they say: 'Alas for us
that we gave no thought to it.' .. ) (TMQ 6: 31)
It is so called because of the intensity of the grief and
regret that people will feel on that Day. The disbelievers - will regret their
lack of faith. The sorrow and regret that the disbelievers feel will reach
their peak when the masters and followers disown one another:
“And those who
followed will say: 'If only we had one more chance to return [to the worldly
life], we would disown [declare ourselves as innocent from] them as they have
disowned [declared themselves as innocent from] us. ' Thus Allah will show them
their deeds as regrets for them. And they will never get out of the Fire. (TMQ
2: 167)
12 - Al-Ghaashiyah (The Overwhelming)
“Has there come
to you the narration of the overwhelming [i.e. the Day of Resurrection]? (TMQ
88: 1)
It is so called because its terrifying events will overwhelm
the people and cause them grief. One of the aspects of this meaning is that the
Fire will overwhelm the non-believers and encompass them from above and from
beneath their feet, as Allah says:
“On the Day when
the torment [Hell-fire] shall cover them from above them and from underneath
their feet.” (TMQ 29: 55)
13 - Yawm al-Khulood (The Day of Eternal Life)
“Enter you
therein in peace and security - this is a Day of eternal life!) (TMQ 50: 34)
That Day is called the Day of eternal life because the
people will go to their place of eternal abode: the disbelievers will abide
forever in Hell, and the believers will abide forever in Paradise.
Allah says: “But those who disbelieve and belie Our Aayaat
[proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, signs, revelations, etc.] - such are the
dwellers of the Fire. They shall abide therein forever) (TMQ 2: 39)
14 - Yawm al-Hisaab (The Day of Reckoning)
Allah says: “- .. Verily, those who wander astray from the
path of Allah [shall] have a severe torment, because they forgot the Day of
Reckoning) (TMQ 38: 26)
“Moosa [Moses]
said: 'Verily, I seek refuge in my Lord and your Lord from every arrogant who
believes not in the Day of Reckoning! '
(TMQ 40: 2 7)
This Day is called the Day of Reckoning, because on this Day
Allah will bring His slaves to account. The meaning of Al-Hisaab (the
Reckoning) is that Allah will count people's deeds, good and bad, and will
count His blessings (that He bestowed). Then He will weigh the elements of good
and evil (in each action), and whichever outweighs the other will determine
whether that action is recorded as good or evil. It is narrated that the
Prophet* said: "There is not one among you but Allah will speak to him
directly without any mediator."
15 - Al-Waaqi'ah (The Event)
“When the Event [i.e. the Day of
Resurrection] befalls - (TMQ 56:1)
Ibn Katheer said: "It is so called because it will
definitely come to pass."
The root of waqa 'a in Arabic means "took place"
or "existed".
16 - Yawm al-Wa 'eed [The Day Whereof Warning (had been
given)]
“And the Trumpet will be blown - that will
be the Day whereof warning [had been given] [i.e. the Day of Resurrection].)
(TMQ 50:20)
- because it is the Day of which He had warned His slaves,
and warning means telling of the punishment when an offence takes place.
17 - Yawm al-Aazifah (The Day that is Drawing Near)
“And warn them [O' Muhammad] of the Day
that is drawing near [i.e. the Day of Resurrection], when the hearts will be
choking the throats ...
(TMQ 40: 18)
It is so called because it is close at hand. The Hour is
very near, for everything that is coming is near, even if it is still far away.
And after its signs appear, the Hour is even closer.
18 - Yawm al-Jama ' (The Day of Assembling)
“And thus We have revealed to you [O'
Muhammad] a Qur'an in Arabic that you may warn the Mother of the Towns [Makkah]
and all around it, and warn [them] of the Day of Assembling of which there is
no doubt..) (TMQ 42: 7)
It is so called because on this Day Allah will assemble all
of mankind together.
19 - Al-Haaqqah (The Inevitable)
Allah says: “The Inevitable [i.e. the Day of Resurrection]!
What is the Inevitable? (TMQ 69: 1 -2)
It is so called because on this Day the promise and the
warning will be fulfilled. It is the Inevitable because on that Day there will
be reward and punishment and the reality of things will become apparent.
20 - Yawm at-Talaaq (The Day of Mutual Meeting)
[He is Allah] Owner
of High Ranks and Degrees, the Owner of the Throne. He sends the Revelation by
His Command to any of His slaves He wills, that he [the person who receives
Revelation] may warn [men] of the Day of Mutual Meeting [i.e. the Day of Resurrection].)
(TMQ 40: 15)
lbn Katheer said: on that Day, Adam and the last of his
children will meet, on that Day the people of heaven and earth will meet, and
the Creator and His created beings will meet, on that Day the oppressor and the
one whom he oppressed will meet.
21 - Yawm at-Tanaad (The Day When There will be Mutual
Calling)
Allah tells us that the believer among the people of Pharaoh
said to his people: “And, O' my people!
Verily, I fear for you the Day when there will be mutual calling [between the
people of Hell and of Paradise].) (TMQ 40: 32)
It is so called because there will be so much calling that
Day. Each person will be called by name to be brought to account and rewarded
or punished accordingly. The people of Paradise will call the people of Hell,
and the people of Hell will call the people of Paradise.
22 - Yawm at-Taghaabun (The Day of Mutual Loss and Gain)
[And remember] the
Day when He will gather you [all] on the Day of Gathering, - that will be the
Day of mutual loss and gain .. ) (TMQ 64: 9)
It is so called because the people of Paradise will get the
better of the people of Hell; they will enter Paradise and take that which was
promised to them, and they will inherit the disbeliever's share of Paradise.
Other names:
These are the most famous names of the Day of Resurrection.
Some scholars also list other names apart from those that we have mentioned.
These names they have derived from what is mentioned in the texts.
So they called it Yawm as-Sadr (the Day of proceeding),
based on the aayah (verse): “That Day mankind will proceed [yasdur] in
scattered groups that they may be shown their deeds.) (TMQ 99: 6)
Yawm al-Jidaal (the Day of pleading), based on the aayah:
[Remember] the Day when every person will come up pleading [tujaadil] for
himself...) (Qur'an 16: 111)
They listed names describing that Day in the same terms that
Allah has described it. Among the names they mentioned are the following:
A Hard Day:
A Mighty Day;
the Day when all (the dwellers of the heavens and the earth)
will be present;
A Day, hard and distressful, that will make the faces look
horrible (from extreme dislike of it);
The Day after which there will be no night.
Other names that they have mentioned include:
The Day which will bring low and exalt:
The Day of retribution;
The Day of recompense;
The Day when the Trumpet is blown;
The Day of the (final) earthquake;
The Day when the earth and the mountains will shake
violently;
The Day when the Trumpet is sounded;
The Day of dispersal;
The day when the earth will split;
The Day when the contents of the graves are brought forth;
The Day of regret; the Day of flight.
The Day when all the secrets will be examined:
The Day when no person shall have power (to do) anything for
another;
The Day when they will be pushed down by force to the Fire
of Hell, with a horrible, forceful pushing;
The Day when the eyes will stare in horror;
The Day when their excuses will be of no profit to the
Dhaalimoon (wrongdoers);
The Day when they shall not speak;
The Day whereon neither wealth nor children will avail;
The Day when not a single fact will be hidden from Allah;
The Day from Allah which none can avert;
The Day on which there will be neither mutual bargaining nor
befriending;
The Day of which there is no doubt.
Some scholars add other names. Qurtubi said: "There is
no reason not to call it by names other than those which have been mentioned,
based on the circumstances that will prevail on that Day, such as crowding,
constriction, humiliation, helplessness, the appointed Day, and so on."
