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Am I Not Your Lord ?

And recall (O Prophet) when your Lord brought forth descendants from the loins of the sons of Adam, and made them witnesses against their own selves, asking them: ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They said: ‘Yes, we do testify.’ We did so lest you claim on the Day of Resurrection: ‘We were unaware of this.‘ (Qur’an, 7:172)

Allah made the Israelites enter into a covenant with their Lord. A covenant with God is not the exclusive privilege of the Children of Israel. In fact, all human beings are bound in a covenant with Allah and a Day will come when they will be made to answer how well they were able to observe that covenant.

This event, according to several traditions, took place at the time of the creation of Adam. Apart from the prostration of the angels before Adam and the proclamation that man would be Allah’s vicegerent on earth, all the future progeny of Adam were gathered and endowed with both existence and consciousness in order to bear witness to Allah’s lordship.

The best interpretation of this event is found in a statement by Ubayy Bin Ka’b, who has probably given the substance of what he had heard from the Prophet (peace be upon him):

Allah gathered all human beings, divided them into different groups, granted them human form and the faculty of speech, made them enter into a covenant, and then making them witnesses against themselves He asked them: ‘Am I not you Lord?’ They replied: ‘Assuredly you are our Lord.’ Then Allah told them: ‘I call upon the sky and the earth and your own progenitor, Adam, to be witness against you lest you should say on the Day of Judgment that you were ignorant of this. Know well that no one other than Me deserves to be worshipped and no other than Me is your Lord. So do not ascribe any partner to Me.

I shall send to you My Messengers who will remind you of this covenant which you made with Me. I shall send down to you My Books.’ In reply, all said: ‘We witness that You are Our Lord and our Deity. We have no lord or deity other than You.’

I know Allah Will Provide Me

Muhammad Alshareef narrates an interesting account of charity Sheikh Sa’eed Bin Musfir witnessed in Makkah

I was walking out of the Haram (the Kaaba in Makkah) when I saw a man begging everyone that passed by him.

Just then a man who had parked his tinted Mercedes excessively close to the Haram in a designated VIP parking walked passed the beggar on his way to his car. As he pulled the keys out and the alarm did the “whup whup”, the beggar raised his finger to the sky and said, “Please, for the sake of Allah!”

Trying to end the moment and avoid a dip into the pocket, the Mercedes man said back, “Allah will provide!” The beggar said back, “What! Did you at any moment think that I thought you were my provider?! I’m not asking for your provision, I know Allah will provide for me.” The two stood there staring at one another for a moment and then the Mercedes-tinted windows came up and the man drove away.

A needy African sister who was sitting nearby on the street selling textiles was moved by the incident. She did not have much, but from what she did have, she pulled out one riyal and placed it in the hands of that beggar. He smiled and went on his way. Meanwhile, the Mercedes man could not drive on with the choke of guilt. He turned the car around and made his way through the crowd to the place where the incident had happened.

I saw with my own eyes as he pulled out a 10 riyal bill from his briefcase to give to the beggar. But he looked left and right and could not find him.

What was he to do? He had already pulled out the bill to give for the sake of Allah and was not going to put it back. So he found the nearest person he thought was worthy of the bill, placed it in her lap, and went on his way.

The 10 riyals sat in the lap of the sister who had given the beggar one riyal! Abu Hurairah reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said that Allah’s injunction is: “O my servants! Spend and you will be given.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Abdullah Bin Abbas reported that Allah’s Messenger (peace be upon him) said, “Charity does not diminish wealth.” (Al-Tabarani)

He Was The Qur’an Walking On Earth

No doubt, the Holy Qur’an is the pillar on which Prophet Muhammad’s character is based.

The Holy Qur’an shaped the characteristics of this Noble Prophet.
When his wife A’isha was asked by one of the Muslims about his morals, she said, “He was a Qur’an walking on the earth.”

Prophet Muhammad said. “Allah has refined me in a way that is best and matchless.”

Allah says in the Holy Qur’an what means “And you (stand) on an exalted standard of character.” (Qur’an, Al-Qalam: 4)  Just like a pearl was this great Prophet, radiating colorful light in every direction. It is most difficult to get at the whole truth of the personality of Prophet Muhammad and only a glimpse of it I can catch. What a dramatic succession of picturesque scenes. There is Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Prophet; there is Muhammad (peace be upon him), the General; Muhammad (peace be upon him), the leader; Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Warrior; Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Businessman; Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Preacher; Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Philosopher; Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Statesman; Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Orator; Muhammad (peace be upon him); the Reformer; Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Refuge of Orphans; Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Protector of slaves; Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Emancipator of women; Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Judge; Muhammad the Ascetic (peace be upon him).

And in all these magnificent roles, in all these departments of human activities, he is like a hero. Still, many more sides are to be found in the person of this generous, pious Prophet.

His life was replete with hardships, soaked in seas of sadness. He became an orphan when very young; when the child went with his mother to see the grave of his father, his mother died there. Orphanhood is the extreme state of helplessness and his life on this earth began with it.

Leadership is the height of material power and his life ended with it.  From an orphan boy to a persecuted refugee and then to an overlord, spiritual as well as temporal, of a whole nation and arbiter of its destinies, with all its trials and temptations, with all its vicissitudes and changes, its lights and shades, its up and downs, its terror and glory, he has stood the trial and tribulation of the world and came out unscathed to serve as a model in every facet of life.

His achievements are not limited to one aspect of life, but cover the whole field of human activities. Prof. K. S. Ramakrishna Rao, head of the Department of Philosophy, Government College for Women, University of Mysore, India, says, “Circumstances changed, but the Prophet of God did not. In victory or in defeat, in power or in adversity, in affluence or in indigence, he was the same man, disclosed the same character. Like all the ways and laws of God, the Prophets of God are unchangeable.

Never did his acts run counter to what he said, if you try to find examples and incidents that prove his justice and mercy, you will need heavy burdens of volumes but we will just pick a few incidents.

Jesus says, “Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? Even so, every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits, ye shall know them. (Mathew: 15-17)

Think about what fruits this great generous Prophet gave to the world. Think about his teachings that heavy volumes are loaded with. Think about the number of his great early adherents that, up till now, stun the world with examples of their justice and mercy. They are the graduates of Muhammed’s  (peace be upon him) school  – the school of the Qur’an.

Considering Sins Too Light

O ALLAH forgive me my sins, Allah I will never do that again, I swear by Allah I was wrong, the supplication ends and the tears are wiped away. The next thing we know, we’re back to square one doing what we swore we would not do. Why is it that we return to our old ways after repenting and seeking forgiveness?

One reason could be that we are taking sins too lightly. We may be considering them insignificant, while they may not be so.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “Beware of the minor sins which are often thought of as insignificant, for they are like a group of people who stopped at the bottom of a valley. One of them brought a stick, and another brought a stick until they had gathered enough to cook their food. These minor sins, if a person is called to account for them, will destroy him. According to another report, he said: Beware of minor sins, for they will pile up until they destroy a person. (Ahmad; Sahih Al-Jaami’, 2686-2687)

Also, compare our attitude with that of the Companions’. They were so careful and worried about committing sins. That is how true Iman (faith) is – full of regret and remorse even when a small mistake happens.

Ibn Mas’ood (may Allah be pleased with him) said: “The believer regards his sin as if he were sitting beneath a mountain which he fears may fall on him, whereas the sinner regards his sin as if a fly lands on his nose and he swipes it away.” (Al-Bukhari)

Subhan Allah, what an excellent comparison! May Allah guide us and remove the attitude of considering sins too light from our hearts.

The Prophet (peace be upon him) used to seek forgiveness for over 70-100 times a day, even though Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was Ma’soom i.e. he did not commit sins. Further, Allah had already forgiven his past and future mistakes. Despite that, he used to seek Allah’s forgiveness over 70-100 times a day. If a person without any sins used to seek so much forgiveness, then what about us?

Seeking forgiveness is itself a great act of worship; one of its rewards is that Allah wipes out our sins as if we never did them. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “The one who repents from his sin is like the one who did not sin in the first place.” (Ibn Majah; Sahih Al-Jaami’, 3008)

No matter how great the crime or sin is, Allah can forgive it. Even the greatest crime on earth – Shirk (associating partners with Allah) – can be wiped out if one seeks forgiveness and repents during his or her lifetime.

However, there are a few conditions scholars have outlined about true repentance. First of all, repentance should be sincere for the sake of Allah. If one is leaving a sin for some other reason (e.g. a man gives up smoking because it was damaging his health or reputation among others), then it cannot be counted as repentance to Allah.

Allah said in the Qur’an:

“O you who Believe! Turn to Allah with Sincere repentance! (Qur’an, 66:8)

Apart from sincerity for Allah, the conditions include:

  • Immediately ceasing from the sin
  • Regret
  • Determination not to return to the sin
  • If the sin involved a victim: restoring the victim’s rights and/or seeking his forgiveness.

It’s such a shame that sometimes we miss our prayers or we don’t get up for Fajr, and yet we feel no regret, even though neglecting prayers is such a tremendous sin. A dangerous pit we fall into when we consider sins insignificant is that we even neglect to ask Allah’s forgiveness for that sin. May Allah guide us to turn to Him in sincere repentance, to stop committing sins completely, and feel absolutely remorseful and regretful of what we have done in the past, Ameen.

We should try our best not to fall into sin, but we as human beings will make mistakes. The way out is to seek forgiveness, for Allah is Oft-Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

“And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful” (Qur’an, 24:31)

The Believers Will Be Purified Before They Enter Paradise

After the Believers have passed over as-Siraat (the bridge over Hell), they will be kept on a bridge between Paradise and Hell, where they will be purified by means of their settling any wrongs that existed between any of them in this world. Then when they enter paradise they will be pure and clean, none of them bearing any ill-will towards another or demanding anything of another. al-Bukhaari reported from Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (RA) that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said:

“The believers will be saved from the Fire then they will be kept on a bridge between Paradise and Hell. They will settle their accounts with one another for any wrongs that existed between them in this world, until they are purified and cleansed, and will be permitted to enter Paradise. By the One in Whose hand is the soul of Muhammad, each of them will know his dwelling in Paradise better than he knew his dwelling in this world“. (Sahih al-Bukhaari, Kitaab ar-Riqaaq, Baab al-Qisas Yawm al-Qiyamah, Fath al-Baari, 11/395)

Our Prophet (saw) will be the first to ask for the gates of paradise to be opened, after Aadam, the father of mankind, and all the other great Prophets refuse this task.

Even A Smile …

Giving charity is such an important part of Islam that even the Arabic word tasaddaqa (to give charity) comes from the root sadaqah meaning to speak the truth, and to be sincere. Sadaqah (voluntary charity) is different from Zakah, the compulsory alms that are collected every year.

A Muslim shows his sincerity of faith and attains piety by being generous: “By no means shall you attain Al-Birr (piety) unless you spend (in Allah’s cause) of which you love; and whatever of good you spend, Allah knows it well.” (3:92)
There are dozens of verses in the Qur’an in which Allah tells Muslims to give in charity. Sometimes this charity is in expiation for wrongdoing, and other times it is an acknowledgment that everything one “owns” is in fact a trust from Allah and that anything spent in the way of Allah will be paid back in full and multiplied on the Day of Judgment. In fact, the Qur’an in places calls this spending “a beautiful loan.”

Muslims are enjoined to give charity without reproach to the recipient. It is also better for them to give secretly rather than openly so that their intention is entirely to gain the pleasure of Allah and not to gain the admiration of people. It is easy to give money as charity when one is wealthy, but the best charity is given when one fears poverty, for one must then sincerely trust in Allah’s reward. When Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) was asked which charity is best, he replied, “That you should give charity (in a state when you are) healthy, closefisted, haunted by the fear of poverty and hoping to become rich (charity in such a state of health and mind is the best).
 
And you must not defer (charity to such a length) that you are about to die and would be saying: This is for so and so, and this is for so and so. Lo, it has already come into (the possession of so and so).” (Reported by Muslim)

Even the money that a person spends on his family counts as charity if his intention is for Allah. The Prophet (peace be upon him) said, “When a Muslim spends on his family seeking reward for it from Allah, it counts for him as charity.” (Reported by Muslim)

There is a reward for good deeds done with no expectation of remuneration in this life.

And a woman may give charity of her husband’s earnings. A’ishah, the wife of the Prophet (peace be upon him) reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “When a woman gives in charity some of the food in her house, without causing any damage, there is a reward for her for whatever she has given, and a reward for her husband for what he earned. The same applies to the trustee. In no respect does the one diminish the reward of the other.” (Reported by Muslim)

Hope Until The Very End

Once when Ali Bin Abu Talib and Al-Hussain Bin Ali (may Allah be pleased with them) were walking together they heard a man making dua to Allah. The man was begging Allah to forgive him for his evil deeds. His sincere tone and eloquent words aroused his interest in Ali. He told his son, “Do you not hear the man who is so very penitent because of his sins? Go catch up with him and call him.”

When Al-Hussain caught up with the man, he saw that he was clean-looking, clean-smelling, with nice clothes, and altogether handsome, except that he seemed to be paralyzed on the right side of his body. Al-Hussain said, “Answer the summon of Amir Al-Mu’mineen, Ali Bin Abu Talib.”

Dragging his right side, the man followed Al-Hussain back to where Ali was waiting for them.

“Who are you!” asked Ali.

“A man who did not fulfill the rights of others and is now being punished for that,” replied the man.

“And what is your name?” asked Ali. “Munaazil Bin Laahiq,” said the man.

“What is your story?” asked Ali.

The man said, “I was famous among the Arabs for my frivolous and sinful exploits. Merciful and kind, my father would constantly admonish me and advise me to mend my ways. He would remind me of Allah’s punishment, saying, ‘My son, do not go against He who punishes with the Hell-fire!’ When he would persist in advising me, I felt his voice grating on my nerves. I would get so frustrated that I would beat him with harsh blows. In response to my blows, he one day said, ‘By Allah, I will fast without breaking my fast and I will pray without stopping to sleep.’

“He fasted for an entire week, but seeing no change in my behavior, he climbed a camel and set off to perform Haj. His parting words were, ‘I am going to the House of Allah, and there I will seek help from Allah against you.’ When he reached Makkah, he grasped the curtain of the Ka’ba and made du’a against me, asking Allah to make me paralyzed on one side of my body. By the One who raised the sky and sends down the rain, no sooner did my father finish his du’a that I became paralyzed on my right side, which became like a piece of wood. Anyone who would then pass by me would point to me and say, ‘Allah answered his father’s supplication against him.’”

“What did your father do then?” asked Ali.

“O Amir Al-Mu’mineen, after he became pleased with me, I asked him to go back and invoke Allah on my behalf. He agreed to do so. I walked alongside him as he rode on his camel until we reached a place called the Valley of Arak. When we reached there, a group of birds flew away from a tree, their sudden movement frightened the camel. As the camel raced off in a state of fright, my father fell off it and died.”

It was certainly late for the man, but not too late, and so Ali advised him to continue to make du’a and to repent for his past misdeeds. Ali then parted from the man, but before leaving him, he taught him the du’a that a person in distress should say. (The narration does not specifically mention which du’a Ali taught the man.)

 – an excerpt from the Stories of Repentance