Lives of the Prophets: Courtroom Cases
Case 1:
The case of 99
Sheep and a good talking man with one man and his only sheep
Case 2:
The case of Sheep
grazing in neighbours field destroying his livelihood
Case 3:
The case of a
worshipper admiring horses and missing their prayer
Case 4:
The case of what to
do with the first batch of Prisoners of War
Case 5:
Mothers disputing
about whose child survived the wolf attack
Case 1:
-----------------------
Once Dawud* was in
his private chamber which was the best and holiest place in his house. He had
ordered that none was to invade his privacy that day. He suddenly found two
persons who had climbed over the wall of the private chamber asking him to
judge between them.
"Has the Story
of the Disputants reached thee?
Behold, they
climbed over the wall of the private chamber; when they entered to Dawud* and
he was terrified of them, they said: 'Fear not: we are two disputants, one of
whom has wronged the other: decide now between us with truth, and treat us not
with injustice, but guide us to the even Path.
This man is my
brother: he has nine and ninety ewes, and I have (but) one: yet he says:
'Commit her to my care " and he is moreover harsh to me in speech.'
(Dawud*) said: 'He
has undoubtedly wronged thee in demanding thy (single) ewe to be added to his
flock of ewes: truly many are the Partners (in business) who wrong each other:
not so do those who believe and work deeds of righteousness, and how few are
they?'
And Dawud* gathered
that We had tried him: he asked forgiveness of his Lord, fell down, bowing (in
prostration) and turned (to Allah in repentance).
So We forgave him
this (lapse): he enjoyed, indeed, a Near Approach to Us, and a beautiful Place
of (final) return." (TMQ Saad: 21-25)
* Hence – do not
jump to conclusions until you hear both sides of the story. Once you make a
mistake immediately ask for Allah’s forgiveness. It is important to learn in
improve after mistakes.
Case 2:
-----------------------
"And remember Dawud*
and Solomon, when they give judgment in the matter of the field into which the
sheep of certain people had strayed by night: We did witness their judgment. To
Solomon We inspired the (right) understanding of the matter: to each (of them)
we gave Judgment and Knowledge."
It was recounted by
many narrators that those people had a vineyard, wherein the sheep of the other
people had spread, i.e. trespassed on by night and ate up all its plants.
They raised their
case to Dawud* and he awarded the owner of the field the sheep themselves in
compensation for his damage.
When they went out
and met Solomon, he asked them, "what did the Prophet of Allah rule?"
They answered, "He ruled so and so."
He said, "Had
it been up to me, I would have ordered the sheep to be handed to the owners of
the vineyard to benefit from its yield and profit until the owners of the sheep
have restored the vineyard of the other people to its previous condition, and
then they could have their sheep back."
When Dawud* was
informed of this, he approved it.
*Hence – both
judged with the facts and made correct decisions but one was closer to justice
than the other. It is important not just to have a Just Law (Shariah) but also
a Just Judge (with Iman) who applies the Law appropriately. Throughout the many
centuries of Islam and the Islamic State Muslims have grown up with the idea of
variations in application of the Shariah and this has led to tolerance of
different opinions as Islam is not a monolith and Shariah is more than simply
the Hudood. There is no territory today that applies Islam even though they may
claim to.
Case 3:
-----------------------
The Story of
Solomon* with the Horses: Allah says in Surah Saad:
"To Dawud* we
gave Solomon (for a son)" and he was a Prophet "how excellent in Our
service! Ever did he tum when (to Us)!"
"Behold, there
were brought before him, at eventide, horses of the highest breeding, and swift
offoot; And he said, 'Truly do I love the love of Good, with a view to the glory
of my Lord '-until (the sun) was hidden in the veil (of Night):" (Saad:
32)
Some scholars say
that Solomon* was so engrossed in the inspection of his fine horses that he
completely forgot to perform his Asr prayer before the sunset (not deliberately).
Upon missing the
'Asr prayer, he said, " 'Bring them back to me.' "Then he fell to
slashing (their) legs and their necks with his sword.
Case 4
-----------------------
Prisoners of war
constituted a problem awaiting resolution because it was a new phenomenon in
the history of Islam after the Battle of Badr. The Prophet* consulted Abu Bakr
and ‘Umar bin Al-Khattab as to what he should do with the prisoners.
Abu Bakr suggested
that he should ransom them, explaining this by saying: "They are after all
our relatives, and this money would give us strength against the disbelievers, moreover,
Allâh could guide them to Islam."
‘Umar advised
killing them, saying, "They are the leaders of Kufr (disbelief)."
The Prophet*
preferred Abu Bakr’s suggestion to that of ‘Umar’s.
The following day,
‘Umar called on the Prophet* and Abu Bakr to see them weeping. He showed
extreme astonishment and inquired about the situation so that he might weep if
it was worth weeping for, or else he would feign weeping.
The Prophet* said
that a Qur’ânic verse had been revealed rebuking them for taking ransom from
the captives rather than slaying them: "It is not for a Prophet that he
should have prisoners of war (and free them with ransom) until he had made a
great slaughter (among his enemies) in the land. You desire the good of this
world (i.e. the money of ransom for freeing the captives), but Allah desires
(for you) the Hereafter. And Allah is All- Mighty, All- Wise. Were it not a
previous ordainment from Allah, a severe torment would have touched you for
what you took." [TMQ 8:67-68]
The previous Divine
ordainment went as follows, "Thereafter (is the time) either for
generosity (i.e. free them without ransom) or ransom." [TMQ 47:4]
Which included an
area providing permission to take ransom, that is why no penalty was imposed.
They were rebuked
only for taking prisoners before subduing all the land of disbelief. Apart from
this, the polytheists taken to Madinah were not only prisoners of war but
rather archcriminals of war whom modern war penal law brings to justice to
receive their due sentence of death or prison for life.
Case 5:
-----------------------
Abu Huraira said,
that the Messenger of Allah* said, "Two women had their sons with them,
and suddenly a wolf passed by snatching one of the two boys.
Thus they fought
over the other.
The elder said,
'The wolf took your son', and the younger said, 'No, it took yours.'
They raised their
case to Dawud*, who ruled that he was the elder's.
They went out and
met Solomon*, who said, 'Bring me a knife and I will cut him into two, for each
to take a half.
'The younger
thereupon said, 'Do not, may Allah have mercy on you, he is her son.
Thus, he ruled that
the child was hers. " [Bukhari, Muslim]
*Hence – the
element of surprise from Solomon* allowed him to assess who really loved the
child and would rather give him up than have him killed.
Main Topic: What protects us
from the Punishment of the Grave?
The good deeds
The Prophet* said,
“When the dead person is buried, he is able to hear the footsteps of the people
when they are leaving the cemetery. Then his good deeds will surround him.
So Salah would come
next to his head; fasting would come on his right side and
Zakah would come on
the left side.
The other good
deeds would come next to his feet.
So whenever this
person would be attacked from the head, the salah would say, ‘No you cannot
come from this side.’
And whenever the
attack is from the right side, the siyaam [fasting] would say, ‘No, you cannot
come from this side.’
The Zakah would
say, you cannot come from this side.
And the other good
deeds would say, you cannot from the feet.
And they would be
making a shield, surrounding this person from every side and protecting this
person.”
Seeking refuge in
Allah from the punishment of the grave
The Prophet* said,
“When you make tashahud, seek refuge in Allah from four things:
- from punishment
of the hell fire,
- from the
punishment of the grave,
- from the fitna of
life and death, and
- from the fitna of
ad-dajjal (the false messiah).”
It is a sunnah to
say this [Du'aa`] during salah, after tashahud (before salaam).
Who are the ones
that are saved from the punishment of the grave?
The Martyrs
(shuhada)
The Prophet* said,
“There are six qualities for the Martyr (shaheed): he would be forgiven with
the first drop of blood that comes from his body; he would see his place in
paradise; he would be saved from the punishment of the grave; he would be saved
from the fear of the most fearful day; the crown of tranquility will be placed
on his head – one emerald in it is worth the world and everything in it; he would
be married to 72 hoor al-ayn; he would be given shafa’aa (intercession) for 70
of his relatives.”
One of the companions
said, “O RasulAllah, how come the believers go through the trials of the grave,
but the shaheed doesn’t?” The Prophet* said, “The shining of the swords over
his head is enough of a fitna for him.”
The Frontier Guard
(Al muraabit)
They are the
soldier who is positioned in a station away from home, guarding the Muslims,
waiting for instructions to fight. The word comes from ‘rabat’ – when you tie
something. Al muraabit is someone who is tied to that post – they cannot leave.
That guard/soldier has to guard day and night. It is a very difficult job.
Because of that, Allah gives him a special reward. The Prophet* said,
“Everyone’s deeds would be terminated they die, except for the one who dies as
a muraabat. Allah would continue his deeds for him, and they would keep growing
until the day of judgement, and he would be saved from the punishment of the
grave.”
Those who die on
Friday
In a hasan hadith,
“Any Muslim who dies on Friday, Allah will save him from the punishment of the
grave.”
Read Surah Mulk
Imam Ahmad recorded
from Abu Hurayrah the Prophet* said, "Verily, there is a chapter in the
Qur’an which contains thirty Ayat that will intercede on behalf of its reciter
until he is forgiven. (It is): ‘Blessed be He in Whose Hand is the
dominion.’" Ibn Abbas narrates that the Prophet* said, “It is a protector;
a rescuer; saving from the punishment of the grave.” (At-Tirmidhi and
Al-Hakim.)
Deeds that Benefit
after death
Abu Hurairah
narrated that the Prophet* said, "When a man dies, his good deeds come to
an end except three: ongoing charity, beneficial knowledge, and righteous
offspring who will pray for him." (Muslim)
Commenting on this
hadith, Imam An-Nawawi said, "The scholars said, the meaning of this
hadith is that the deeds of the deceased come to an end as soon as he or she
dies, and the renewal of reward ceases for him or her, except in these three
cases because he or she is the cause of them:
• his or her
offspring is counted among his or her earnings,
• the knowledge
that he or she leaves behind through teaching or writing,
• ongoing charity,
i.e., a waqf (Islamic endowment)."
The narration below
adds further details: Abu Hurairah narrated that the Prophet* said, "The
good deeds that will reach a believer after his death are:
- knowledge which
he learned and then spread;
- a righteous son
whom he leaves behind;
- a copy of the Qur'an
that he leaves as a legacy;
- a mosque that he
built;
- a house that he
built for wayfarers;
- a canal that he
dug;
- or charity that
he gave during his lifetime when he was in good health.
- These deeds will
reach him after his death."
(Ibn Majah)
[We also talked
about some other etiquettes of visiting the Graves such as saying ‘Salaam’ to
the ‘People of the Graveyard’ who will reply back]
May Allah protect
us, our families and all of the Muslims from the punishment of the grave.
Ameen.
