بِسۡمِ
اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ
قُدُّوسٌ
قُدُّوسٌ قُدُّوسٌ
الصلاة
والسلام عليك يا سيدي يا رسول الله
In
the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful
Holy,
Holy, Holy
Allah,
Holy and Exalted is He, says:
فَاَعۡرَضَ
اَکۡثَرُہُمۡ فَہُمۡ لَا یَسۡمَعُوۡنَ
Most
of them turn away and they hear not
(Surah
41, Ayah 4)
Most
of humanity is steeped in unbelief and rejection of the Truth.
Despite its phenomenal growth, the Muslim Ummah comprises only a
fifth of humanity today, meaning four-fifths have turned away and
fail to hear the Message of Islam.
قُلۡ
اِنَّمَاۤ اَنَا بَشَرٌ مِّثۡلُکُمۡ
یُوۡحٰۤی اِلَیَّ اَنَّمَاۤ اِلٰـہُکُمۡ
اِلٰہٌ وَّاحِدٌ
Say
(My beloved Prophet): “I am only a human like you. It has been
inspired to me that your God is One God”
(Surah
41, Ayah 6)
The
Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, is a mortal human. His likeness to
us is therefore only in genus, not at all a likeness in rank and many
other characteristics. This is made clear when the Ayah adds that he
is a recipient of Wahi (divine inspiration), making him a Prophet.
And the difference between a Prophet and an ordinary human is like
the difference between Heaven and Earth. Hence, the Prophet, peace be
upon him, when asked why he prohibited his followers from ceaseless
fasting (fasting in a day without breaking the fast at sunset) while
he himself practiced it, said:
إِنِّي
لَسْتُ مِثْلَكُمْ إِنِّي أُطْعَمُ
وَأُسْقَى
I
am not like you. I am fed and given drink (miraculously) (Sahih
al-Bukhari & Sahih Muslim)
The
Hadith is significant in rejecting the interpretation of the Ayah
“Say I am a human like you” as meaning an absolute similarity.
The similarity between the Prophet, peace be upon him, and us humans
is only in genus. The Hadith also answers those who reject the life
of the Messiah Jesus, peace be upon him, in Heaven on the basis that
the Quran states:
وَمَا
جَعَلۡنٰہُمۡ جَسَدًا لَّا یَاۡکُلُوۡنَ
الطَّعَامَ وَمَا کَانُوۡا خٰلِدِیۡنَ
We
did not make them bodies that do not eat food, nor were they immortal
(Surah
21, Ayah 8)
While
the bodies of the Prophets require food for sustenance, it is not
necessary that they eat in the same way we ordinary humans do. Allah
feeds and nourishes His Prophets invisibly, while they sleep, so that
in the apparent the Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, would fast
ceaselessly without experiencing starvation. Likewise, it is possible
that the Messiah, peace be upon him, who lives in Heaven and has not
yet tasted death is being fed and nourished miraculously, in an
unseen way.
قُلۡ
اَئِنَّکُمۡ لَتَکۡفُرُوۡنَ بِالَّذِیۡ
خَلَقَ الۡاَرۡضَ فِیۡ یَوۡمَیۡنِ
Say
(My beloved Prophet): “Do you really disbelieve in the One Who
created the Earth in two days?”
(Surah
41, Ayah 9)
Elsewhere
in the Quran Allah explains that a yawm (day) is not necessarily the
duration of twenty-four hours from one sunset to another:
وَاِنَّ
یَوۡمًا عِنۡدَ رَبِّکَ کَاَلۡفِ سَنَۃٍ
مِّمَّا تَعُدُّوۡنَ
And
verily a day with your Lord is as a thousand years of your reckoning
(Surah
22, Ayah 47)
Therefore,
the creation of the Earth was in two days meaning two phases of equal
but undefined duration. We can only be certain that those two days
were much lengthier than the duration of two days in our reckoning.
Ibn Taymiyah said:
فلا
ريب أن تلك الأيام التي خلقت فيها السموات
والأرض غير هذه الأيام وغير الزمان
الذي هو مقدار حركة هذه الأفلاك
There
is no doubt that those days in which the Heavens and the Earth were
created are not like these days and not the time whose duration is
based on the movement of these spheres (Majmu’ al-Fatawa; v.18,
p.235)
Scientists
claims it took the Earth between ten to twenty million years to form,
but Allah and His Apostle know best.
وَجَعَلَ
فِیۡہَا رَوَاسِیَ مِنۡ فَوۡقِہَا
وَبٰرَکَ فِیۡہَا وَقَدَّرَ فِیۡہَاۤ
اَقۡوَاتَہَا فِیۡۤ اَرۡبَعَۃِ اَیَّامٍ
ؕ سَوَآءً لِّلسَّآئِلِیۡنَ
And
He made therein firm mountains above it and He blessed therein and
provided therein its sustenance in four equal days, for those who ask
(Surah
41, Ayah 10)
After
the formation of the Earth in two days, Allah continued to develop
its landscape so that it would eventually become habitable and a
place of blessing and sustenance. This occurred in four days, meaning
four phases of equal duration, the length of which remains undefined
though certainly lengthier than our reckoning of four days. The
Rawasiya, which means firm mountains, has been understood by the
Sufis as a name for a category of Saints, Friends of Allah, who are
like firm mountains that soar above the surface of the Earth. Hence,
al-Qushayri says in his Tafsir:
الجبالُ
أوتادُ الأرضِ في الصورة والأولياءُ
أوتادٌ ورواسٍ للأرض في الحقيقة
The
mountains are pegs of the Earth in form, and the Awliya (Saints) are
Awtad (pegs) and Ruwas (firmly set mountains) in reality (Lata’if
al-Isharat; v.3, p.321)
ثُمَّ
اسۡتَوٰۤی اِلَی السَّمَآءِ وَہِیَ
دُخَانٌ فَقَالَ لَہَا وَلِلۡاَرۡضِ
ائۡتِیَا طَوۡعًا اَوۡ کَرۡہًا ؕ قَالَتَاۤ
اَتَیۡنَا طَآئِعِیۡنَ
Then
He directed Himself to the Heaven and it was smoke. So He said to it
and to the Earth: “Come both of you willingly or unwillingly.”
They both said, “We come willingly.”
(Surah
41, Ayah 11)
Ibn
Taymiyah and his blind-followers believe Allah created the universe
from pre-existing matter (creatio ex materia) and cite this Ayah with
the understanding that the universe was created from dukhan meaning
some kind of steam or water vapor. But that seems to be a distortion
of the Ayah, which more likely means that the universe was created by
Allah and subsequently in one stage of its existence it was in some
gaseous state. We understand the Heavens and Earth as unconscious
things, but the Ayah reveals they are conscious and possess
willpower. It may also suggest that there is an esoteric meaning of
Heaven and Earth such that it becomes clear why they are addressed
and described as having willpower. But this Ayah is essentially
pointing to the reality that everything in nature is in a state of
submission and prostration to Allah:
اَلَمۡ
تَرَ اَنَّ اللّٰہَ یَسۡجُدُ لَہٗ مَنۡ
فِی السَّمٰوٰتِ وَمَنۡ فِی الۡاَرۡضِ
وَالشَّمۡسُ وَالۡقَمَرُ وَالنُّجُوۡمُ
وَالۡجِبَالُ وَالشَّجَرُ وَالدَّوَآبُّ
وَکَثِیۡرٌ مِّنَ النَّاسِ
Do
you not see that Allah, to Him prostrate whoever is in the Heaven and
whoever is in the Earth, the Sun, the Moon, the Stars, the Mountains,
the Trees, the Beasts and many from among Mankind
(Surah
22, Ayah 18)
We
come to know that their submission and prostration to Allah is not
coerced.
فَقَضٰہُنَّ
سَبۡعَ سَمٰوَاتٍ فِیۡ یَوۡمَیۡنِ
وَاَوۡحٰی فِیۡ کُلِّ سَمَآءٍ اَمۡرَہَا
ؕ وَزَیَّنَّا السَّمَآءَ الدُّنۡیَا
بِمَصَابِیۡحَ ٭ۖ وَحِفۡظًا
So
He determined them as seven Heavens in two days and He inspired in
each Heaven its affair. And We adorned the sky of (this) world with
lamps, (as) protection
(Surah
41, Ayah 12)
Here
again the Heavens have been anthropomorphized in the sense that they
are recipients of Wahi or divine inspiration from Allah. But this is
like the inspiration that means placing intuitive instinct into
something like in the example of honeybees:
وَاَوۡحٰی
رَبُّکَ اِلَی النَّحۡلِ اَنِ اتَّخِذِیۡ
مِنَ الۡجِبَالِ بُیُوۡتًا وَّمِنَ
الشَّجَرِ وَمِمَّا یَعۡرِشُوۡنَ
And
your Lord inspired to the bee to take houses in mountains and in
trees and in what they construct
(Surah
16, Ayah 68)
But
the esoteric meaning of Allah inspiring every Heaven about its affair
may be that seven ascending categories of Saints are intended.
Likewise, the Lamps which beautify this otherwise dark and gloomy
world are the Saints, who are guides that illuminate the Path to
Allah. They also serve as protection for this world in the sense that
Allah withholds disasters as an expression of His wrath and
punishment upon the people for their sake, and on account of their
intercession and prayers for mercy. Their serving as protection also
means they repel the devils and demons, who seek to harm and misguide
the people. This is indicated in another Ayah concerning the Lamps in
which they are described as forces that drive away the devils:
وَلَقَدۡ
زَیَّنَّا السَّمَآءَ الدُّنۡیَا
بِمَصَابِیۡحَ وَجَعَلۡنٰہَا رُجُوۡمًا
لِّلشَّیٰطِیۡنِ
And
certainly We have adorned the sky of (this) world with Lamps and We
have made them missiles for the devils
(Surah
67, Ayah 5)
Continuing
on the theme of divine inspiration in this Surah (Ha Mim as-Sajdah),
Allah says:
اِنَّ
الَّذِیۡنَ قَالُوۡا رَبُّنَا اللّٰہُ
ثُمَّ اسۡتَقَامُوۡا تَتَنَزَّلُ
عَلَیۡہِمُ الۡمَلٰٓئِکَۃُ اَلَّا
تَخَافُوۡا وَلَا تَحۡزَنُوۡا وَاَبۡشِرُوۡا
بِالۡجَنَّۃِ الَّتِیۡ کُنۡتُمۡ
تُوۡعَدُوۡنَ
Those
who say, “Our Lord is Allah” then remain steadfast, the Angels
descend upon them, “Fear not and do not grieve, but receive
glad-tidings of Paradise that you were promised”
نَحۡنُ
اَوۡلِیٰٓؤُکُمۡ فِی الۡحَیٰوۃِ الدُّنۡیَا
وَفِی الۡاٰخِرَۃِ
We
are your friends in the life of (this) world and in the Afterlife
(Surah
41, Ayah 30 & 31)
This
passage establishes the reality of Angels descending upon and
inspiring the Believers. It refutes the false notion that Angels only
descend upon and speak to Prophets. The nature of the inspiration
that Believers experience through the Angels is reassurance, comfort,
and glad-tidings for the Afterlife.
لَا
تَسۡجُدُوۡا لِلشَّمۡسِ وَلَا لِلۡقَمَرِ
وَاسۡجُدُوۡا لِلّٰہِ الَّذِیۡ خَلَقَہُنَّ
Do
not prostrate to the Sun and to the Moon, but prostrate to Allah Who
created them both
(Surah
41, Ayah 37)
The
absurd allegation that Islam teaches worship of the moon, or that
Allah is a lunar deity has been thoroughly debunked in this one Ayah.
According to the Islamic Shari’ah, prostration is only to Allah,
and prostration to anyone or anything else, whether with the
intention of worship, reverence or as a method of greeting is totally
forbidden. Prostration to other than Allah as worship is manifest
polytheism and unbelief which expels an individual from the Millah.
In previous times prostration as a form of reverence or greeting was
done, as in the examples of the Angels prostrating to Adam, or Jacob
and his sons prostrating to Joseph. But in the Shari’ah of
Muhammad, peace be upon him, that has been abolished and now
prostration of any kind has been forbidden except to Allah.
مَا
یُقَالُ لَکَ اِلَّا مَا قَدۡ قِیۡلَ
لِلرُّسُلِ مِنۡ قَبۡلِکَ
Nothing
is said to you (My beloved Prophet Muhammad) except what was said to
the Apostles prior to you
(Surah
41, Ayah 43)
The
essential message of our Holy Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, is
identical to the message of all the Apostles who preceded him;
worship Allah alone and prepare for the Resurrection when you will
have to stand before the One God for judgment. Elsewhere in the
Quran, the Prophet, peace be upon him, is instructed to say:
قُلۡ
مَا کُنۡتُ بِدۡعًا مِّنَ الرُّسُلِ
Say
(My beloved Prophet Muhammad), “I am not a novelty among the
Apostles”
(Surah
46, Ayah 9)
Allah
says about Himself:
اِلَیۡہِ
یُرَدُّ عِلۡمُ السَّاعَۃِ
To
Him is referred the knowledge of the Hour
(Surah
41, Ayah 47)
Only
Allah, Most High, knows exactly when the Hour, meaning Judgment Day,
shall occur. Even Jesus, whom Christians worship as “God the Son”
confessed: “But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the
angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Matthew 24:36,
NIV). Likewise, the Holy Prophet, peace be upon him, said when he was
asked by Angel Gabriel when the Hour shall occur:
مَا
الْمَسْئُولُ عَنْهَا بِأَعْلَمَ مِنَ
السَّائِلِ
The
one who is asked does not know more than the one who is asking
So
while our Prophet and the Apostles before him, peace be upon them
all, relayed portents and signs of the approach of the Hour, none of
them knows when precisely it shall occur as that knowledge is with
Allah alone.
سَنُرِیۡہِمۡ
اٰیٰتِنَا فِی الۡاٰفَاقِ وَفِیۡۤ
اَنۡفُسِہِمۡ حَتّٰی یَتَبَیَّنَ لَہُمۡ
اَنَّہُ الۡحَقُّ
We
will soon show them Our Signs in the horizons and in their souls
until it becomes clear to them that it is the Truth
(Surah
41, Ayah 53)
The
classification of Divine Signs into external and internal are in
relation to each individual. Everything you witness outside of you
that points to the Truth falls into the first category, but there are
also Signs within you which are far more compelling for recognition
of the Truth. If one opens his eyes, his ears and his heart he will
surely perceive the apocalyptic reality. That is because Allah
created each soul and endowed it with a sixth sense through which it
is able to perceive His Presence.
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