TAG: Knowledge
Man Has A Free Will In Islam
Before assigning to man this vicegerency (Khilafat), Allah made it clear to him that He alone is the Lord, the Ruler, and the Deity. As such, the entire universe and all the creatures in it (including man) should submit to Him alone.
Man must not think himself totally free and must realize that this earth is not his permanent abode.
He has been created to live on it only for a probationary period and, in due course, he will return to his Lord, to be judged according to the way he has spent that period.
The only right course for man is to acknowledge Allah as the only Lord, the Sustainer, and the Deity, and to follow His guidance and His commands in all he does.
His sole objective should be to merit the approval of Allah.
If man follows a course of righteousness and godliness (which he is free to choose and follow) he will be rewarded in this world and the next: in this world he will live a life of peace and contentment, and in the Hereafter he will qualify for the heaven of eternal bliss, Al-Jannah. If he chooses to follow the course of godlessness and evil (which he is equally free to choose and follow), his life will be one of corruption and frustration in this world, and in the life to come, he will face the prospect of that abode of pain and misery which is called Hell.
After making this position clear, Allah placed man on earth and provided the very first human beings (Adam and Eve) with guidance as to how they were to live.
Thus man’s life on this earth did not start in utter darkness. From the beginning, a bright torch of light was provided so that humanity could fulfill its glorious destiny.
The very first man received revealed knowledge from Allah Himself and was told the correct way to live.
This code of life was Islam, the attitude of complete submission to Allah, the Creator of man and the whole universe. It was this religion that Adam, the first man, passed down to posterity.
But later generations gradually drifted away from the right path.
Either they lost the original teachings through negligence or they deliberately adulterated and distorted them. They associated Allah with innumerable human beings, material objects, and imaginary gods. Shirk (polytheism) became widespread. They mixed up the teachings of Allah with myths and strange philosophies and thus produced a jumble of religions and cults; and they discarded the God-given principles of personal and social morality, the Shariah.
Although man departed from the path of truth, disregarded or distorted the Shariah, or even rejected the code of Divine guidance, Allah did not destroy them or force them to take the right course. Forced morality was not in keeping with the autonomy He had given to man. Instead, God appointed certain good people from among the human society itself to guide men to the right path.
These men believed in Allah and lived a life of obedience to Him. He honored them with His revelations, giving them the knowledge of reality. Known as prophets, blessings, and peace be on all of them, they were assigned the task of spreading Allah’s message among men.
A Word Of Advice To Seekers Of Knowledge
We give thanks to Allah, the One free of all defects, for having inspired us. And we ask Him to grant us the ability to act upon what He has given us knowledge of. Indeed, goodness cannot be attained, except by His granting and His assistance. Whomsoever Allah leads astray, there is no one from His creation that can guide him. May Allah send His blessings upon Muhammad, the chief of the first and the last (of people), and upon his brothers from among the prophets and messengers. And upon those who follow the light ( i.e. the Qur’an) that was revealed to him until the Day of Recompense.
To proceed, I advise you O seeker of knowledge to have a sincere and pure intention in your search for knowledge. And that you exert yourself in acting upon what it necessitates (from action). For indeed knowledge is a tree and action is its fruit. And one can never be considered knowledgeable so long as he doesn’t act upon what he has knowledge of.
It has also been stated: “Knowledge is a parent and action is its offspring.” And “Knowledge comes with action, while narrating comes with investigating.”
So do not feel satisfied with your actions so long as you are lacking in knowledge. Nor feel satisfied with knowledge so long as you fall short of producing actions. Rather, combine them both, even if your share of the two is small.
And there is nothing worse than a scholar, whose knowledge the people abandon because of the corruption of his ways, nor an ignorant person whose ignorance the people accept because of what they see from his worship.
So a little of this (knowledge) along with a little of that (action) is what is most likely to save you in the end, when Allah bestows His mercy upon His servant and completes his favor upon him. But as for laziness and negligence, love for ease and comfort, preferring the easy life and showing indifference, inclining towards leisure and relaxation, then the results of these characteristics are blameworthy, detestable, and disastrous.
Knowledge leads to action, just as action leads to salvation. So if the action falls short of the knowledge, then the knowledge becomes a burden upon the one who possesses that knowledge. And we seek Allah’s refuge from knowledge that turns into a burden, is the cause of humiliation, and becomes a shackle on the neck of the one who possesses it.
Differences Among People: A Fact Of Life
It is a law of nature that differences will always exist among people. Everywhere and at all times there have been diverse colors, tongues, customs, concepts, intellects, and degrees of knowledge. All that is a sign of Allah’s Omnipotence, as the following verse from the Holy Qur’an states:
“And among His signs is the creation of the heavens and the earth, and the variations in your languages and your colors: verily in that are signs for those who know.” (Qur’an, 30:22)
These external variations reflect internal variations, variations of opinions, attitudes, and objectives. This also is registered in various places of the Holy Qur’an. Here is an example:
“If your Lord had so willed, He could have made mankind one people: but they will not cease to dispute, except those on whom your Lord has bestowed His mercy: and for this did He create them.” (Qur’an, 11:118-19)
Imam Al-Razi comments: “This verse is indicating the diversity in people’s creeds, moral codes, and behaviors.”
I would like to elaborate on the above verse by saying that had Allah so willed, all humans would have embraced one religion by instinct and original creation (Arabic: Al-Fitrah).
But in this case, they would cease to be human in the sense we know them — their social life would be something similar to bees or ants, and in spirit, they would be like angels who are disposed by creation to embrace truth and obey all that they are commanded to by Allah.
There is no room for conflict or disagreement among them. But Allah in His wisdom has chosen to create humans otherwise. They have to acquire knowledge rather than have it as an inherent endowment; they have the volition to choose how to act and to weigh out positives and negatives; they are not predestined to behave in a fixed way. They differ widely as to abilities, capacity for acquiring knowledge, and preferences.
As for the clause: “and for this did He create them” in the above-quoted verse, it may not be presumed to mean that Allah created humans so that they may disagree. It is known from other texts that what Allah created humans for is to worship Him.
The purport of the above clause is rather that Allah created humans so that there will be among them the group of the well-guided and the group of the misguided, the former destined to enter Paradise and the latter to be punished in Hell-Fire.
In addition, the following may be deduced from the same clause: Allah created humans so that they would, because of diversity in abilities and dispositions, choose different professions, and this would make for stability in the world.
It is through humans that Allah carries out His ordinances. Men will employ other men to do work for them (See Tafseer Ruh Al-Ma’ani, Vol IV, Chapter 12, p 164, and Tafseer Al-Qasimi, Vol ix, p 182)
There is in the creation of humans the propensity for variation in learning, inclinations, and feelings; this, in turn, will lead to variation in wills and preferences; and faith, obedience, and disobedience are part of that. (Tafseer Al-Manar, Vol xii, p 194)
Right Consequence Of Faith
A student studies hard for his final examinations, researching in libraries, re-doing past papers, and revising his notes because he wants a university degree that will help advance his career.
A businessman invests much of his time, energy, and money into a commercial venture in the hope of large profits in the future.
A farmer plows his land, sows it, waters it, and tends it regularly in the hope of a good harvest.
They all know that success does not come down on a plate but has to be achieved through hard work. Man does certain things in life for certain results, and he avoids other acts because of their consequences.
An adult will not put his hand into a naked flame because he knows that fire burns, but a child will do so as he is unaware of the consequences.
The most important belief and knowledge that should dictate our actions is that Allah Almighty exists, that He is the Creator and Provider, and that none can benefit nor harm us except with His permission. If a person’s Iman (faith) in Allah is firm and unyielding, he will be able to direct all his worship and obedience to Allah and will feel no fear of false deities or worldly powers.
Consider the encounter of Pharaoh’s court magicians with Prophet Musa (peace be upon him) as described in the Qur’an. Before meeting the Prophet, they pleaded with Pharaoh for a substantial reward were they to defeat Musa in a duel using magic.
“So the sorcerers came to Pharaoh and said, ‘Of course, we shall have a suitable reward if we win.’ (Qur’an, 7:113)
Are We Born With Religion?
Sometimes people wonder whether religion is inherited. Could it be genetic? Is there something in man’s make-up that sways him to be religious, or to reject religion? If so, is he influenced by his parent’s religion? What about the children of interfaith marriages? The ready answer offered on the basis of both science and reason is that belief in a religion is not genetic.
It is something that we choose for ourselves, influenced by various factors, no doubt, but there is nothing in our makeup to make us lean toward a particular religion. When we are born, we have no knowledge of anything, whether religious or temporal. God says in the Qur’an: “Allah has brought you forth from your mothers’ wombs devoid of all knowledge, but He has given you hearing, and sight, and minds.” (16: 78) Our knowledge is acquired, not inherent. Yet we have the faculties of perception which will indeed influence how we react to what we acquire of knowledge.
This is indeed confirmed by the Prophet in the following hadith quoted by Abu Hurayrah: “Every newborn is born with sound nature. It is his parents who bring him up as a Christian, a Jew, or a Zoroastrian. It is just like an animal is born whole: you do not see any of them born with a cut ear.” As he reported this Hadith, Abu Hurayrah quoted the Qur’anic verse that says: “(It is) the natural disposition which God has installed into man. Nothing can change God’s creation. Such is the ever-true faith.” (30: 30)
The Hadith stresses the fact that we are all born with the same clear image of religion. It does not matter what religion our families follow, we have the same blank sheet at birth. We are just like clear and pure water which has no taste, smell, or color. When you add salt, sugar, or lemon juice to water, you make it salty, sweet, or sour. You can color it with whatever dye you put in it. The Prophet gives the analogy of cattle and how they are born completely: none is born with a cut ear or nose. It is people who print their marks on cattle or cut their ears or noses to mark them for identification.
The Prophet says that it is a child’s parents that make him a Jew, a Christian or a Zoroastrian. It is how they bring him up. Thus, it is the family and social environment that influence a child’s identity, giving him his religion.
When a child grows up in a religious environment, he will follow the religion he is brought up in. Likewise, if he is brought up in an atheist or agnostic environment, he will not care about religion.
If we imagine someone growing up without any environmental influence whatsoever as far as religion is concerned, he will retain his clear nature. As such, he tends to believe that the universe is created by a Supreme Being and that Supreme Being is one and has no partners. This is the religion of clear human nature. This is the natural disposition God has installed in man.
The more contemplation in the universe around us we do, the stronger is our belief that everything in it is controlled by its Creator, the Supreme Being we call God in English, Allah in Arabic, and by other names in other languages.
-by Adil Salahi
Allah Knows Everything That Will Happen
“Does God know everything that is going to happen? – Does He have absolute control over the outcome of everything? – If so, how is that fair for us? Where is our free will then?”
Allah Knows everything that will happen. The first thing He created was the “pen” and He ordered the pen to write. The pen wrote until it had written everything that would happen. And then Allah began to create the universe. All of this was already known to Him before He created it. He does have absolute and total control at all times. There is nothing that happens except that He is in control of it. There is a mistake in the question: “Free Will.” Allah alone, has Free Will, He Wills whatever He likes and it will always happen as He wills. We have something called, “Free choice.” The difference is that what Allah “Wills” always happens and what we choose may or may not happen. We are not being judged on the outcome of things, we are being judged on our choices. This means that at the core of everything will always be our intentions. Whatever we intended, is what we will have the reward for. Each person will be judged according to what Allah gave them to work with, how they used it, and what they intended to do with it.
As regards the actual “Judgment Day” – Allah tells us that everything we are doing is being recorded and not a single tiny thing escapes from this record. Even an atom’s weight of good will be seen on the Day of Judgment and even a single atom’s weight of evil will be seen too.
The one who will bring the evidence against us will be ourselves. Our ears, tongue, eyes, and all of our bodies will begin to testify against us in front of Allah on the Day of Judgment. None will be oppressed on that Day, none will be falsely accused.
He could have put everyone in their respective places from the very beginning, but the people would complain as to why they were thrown in Hell without being given a chance. This life is exactly that; a chance to prove to ourselves who we really are and what we would really do if we indeed had a free choice.
Allah Knows everything that will happen, but we don’t. That is why the test is fair.
Holding On To Burning Coals
The Prophet (peace be upon him) said: “There will come a time of patience when the one who adheres steadfastly to his religion will be like one who holds a burning coal.” (Al-Tirmidhi, no. 2260, authenticated by Al-Albani)
Strange, strange times we are passing through. In one part of the world, a man may grow up in a land where he has never heard of anything except Islam; while in another place, a woman may struggle and face isolation while trying to adhere to this ‘never-heard-of strange’ religion. The former may spend his life praying, fasting, and giving charity, while the other may die in persecution and violence. Most of us will lie in shades of gray between these two black-and-white realities.
Without a doubt, several Muslims around the world are going through severe trials. They are being pressured to accept beliefs, systems, and lifestyles that other societies have termed ‘ideal’ instead of the Islamic ones. A man sporting a beard may become a terror suspect, women should remove their veils to either be ‘liberated’ or be part of a secular society, and youth cannot be ‘cool’ unless they drink in pubs and lose their virginity before the marriage. What do you do when the world tells you to be ashamed of your identity and the path that you know with full conviction is true? What do you do when holding on to your faith is akin to holding on to burning coals?
The first thing we should do when we face such – or any – trouble turns to Allah for help. Address your du’a to him. He has heard us and answered our prayers in our most difficult times in the past, He provides us and has given what we didn’t even ask for, so to Him we need to turn – and expect – help.
Realize the futility of what is being propounded. Ideas, values, beliefs, and systems keep changing in today’s world. What was good yesterday, is bad today; what is bad today, is good tomorrow! A fine example is the financial crisis. Yesterday, everyone in America was laughing at those who preferred saving and not taking loans more than their income. The ‘ideal’ thing to do then took mortgage loans; spending went up to 135 percent of a person’s salary! Today, after the crisis has hit, people are saying, saving was the right thing to do!
Islam’s teachings always remain the same. Its principles never change. Any path that is different from that of Islam is bound to fail. In America, those who did not take interest-based loans and did not spend extravagantly are better off in the current crisis. In short, those who stuck to Islam, despite what people around them said during that time, have emerged victorious.
The examples are too many, but the point is: don’t be blinded into confusion during Fitan (trials). Be strong and stand firm, because, by Allah, you are upon the truth. At work, and at social gatherings, your adherence to Islam may be questioned and ridiculed, but that should not deter you. Go back to the Qur’an and Sunnah, read them for comfort and your faith will automatically increase. Reflect on the verses of the Qur’an, and reflect on the evidence Allah gives to prove the truthfulness of His Message. Is there any uncorrupted truthful divine book with so many miracles present today? Has anyone ever brought forth a book similar to the Qur’an?
The more you learn about Islam, the more your faith in it will increase In Sha Allah. In fact, Allah revealed the Qur’an in stages to Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) to strengthen his heart. Learning will not be so fruitful unless we practice the knowledge we have. So the product of our knowledge should be righteous deeds.
Be The Driving Force Of Good
ASHAAB As-Sabt, the people of the Sabbath (Saturday), was townsfolk from the Children of Israel who were tested with the Sabbath, the day when they were to leave their worldly affairs and devote themselves to the worship of Allah. All week long, they would go fishing, with the scant return. But on Saturdays, when they were required to put aside their activities, the fish would come in abundance. A test from Allah!
“And ask them (O Muhammad, peace be upon him)) about the town that was by the sea; when they transgressed in the matter of the Sabbath ( i.e. Saturday): when their fish came to them openly on the Sabbath day and did not come to them on the day they had no Sabbath.
Thus We made a trial of them for they used to rebel against Allah’s Command (disobey Allah.)” [Qur’an, An-Nisa 4:154]
A group of the townsfolk transgressed, not satisfied with Allah’s commandments they devised a scheme to bypass the commandment. They would put out their fishing nets on Friday, and then on Sunday they would come and pick the nets up. Now all the Saturday fish would be caught.
The townsfolk divided into two groups when they saw the grave evil and sin that was befalling them. One of them tried to advise the transgressors and warn them of the horrific consequences of their action – commanding the good and forbidding the evil.
Thinking they had no responsibility for what was taking place, the other group just went about minding their own business, holding that Allah would eventually destroy the sinners.
And when a community among them said: “Why do you preach to a people whom Allah is about to destroy or to punish with severe torment?” Listen carefully to the reply of those callers to the obedience of Allah.
(The preachers) said: “In order to be free from guilt before your Lord (Allah), and perhaps they may fear Allah.” (Qur’an, 7:164)
In one sweep in the night, the punishment rained down and they were transfigured into pigs and monkeys.
Dear brothers and sisters, it is the nature of a human being to feel the need to do good or feel the drive to indulge in evil. Even if he or she were to be alone, deserted, and secluded, they would still feel the drive to do good or indulge in evil.
From here, it is a characteristic of this Ummah (Islamic nation) to not only do good ourselves, but we must encourage others to do good, we must be the driving force. And we must not only distance ourselves from vice, but we must forbid others from doing it also – we must act as the barrier between the evil and the men. The Qur ‘tells us that the winners, those that attain success, are those Muslim men and women who command the good and forbid the evil: Allah teaches us that He cursed nations before us because they lost this characteristic of encouraging good and forbidding evil:
[Those among the Children of Israel who disbelieved were cursed by the tongue of Dâwûd (David) and ‘Isa (Jesus), son of Maryam (Mary). That was because they disobeyed (Allah and the Messengers) and were ever transgressing beyond bounds. They used not to forbid one another from Al-Munkar (wrong, evil-doing, sins, polytheism, disbelief) which they committed. Vile indeed was what they used to do. (Qur’an, 5:78-79).
Ibn Abbas: The Interpreter of the Qur’an
ABDULLAH Ibn Abbas (Allah be pleased with him) was born four or five years before the Hijrah. He had a keen intelligence and memory and was an inspired man. Allah s Messenger (peace be upon him) prayed for him, O Allah, make him perceptive and well-versed in the religion and teach him the interpretation of the Quran. In his life, he came to be called The Great Scholar of the Ummah or The Sea, meaning one very profound in knowledge or the interpreter of the Quran.
He was a very handsome, tall man endowed with great fluency of speech. His memory was such that he memorized, at one reading, a poem 80 couplets long by `Amr ibn Rabi`ah. Besides his profound knowledge of Quranic interpretation, tradition, and jurisprudence, he was also well-versed in literature, particularly in the poetry of the pre-Islamic Age of Ignorance. Ibn Jarir At-Tabari relates, in his Tafseer, either a couplet or verse from him in connection with the interpretation of almost every verse of the Quran.
He was greatly loved by the Companions. Despite his youth, `Umar (Allah be pleased with him) included him in his Advisory Council, the other members of which were chosen from the elders among the Companions. When asked why he had included that young man in the council, `Umar (Allah be pleased with him) tested the council about their level of understanding of the Quran. He asked them about the meaning of Surat An-Nasr: (110, 1-3)
When there comes the Help of Allah (to you O Muhammad – peace be upon him – against your enemies, and the Conquest (of Makkah). And you see that the people enter Allah s religion (Islam) in crowds. So glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask His forgiveness. He is the One Who accepts repentance and Who forgives.
The elders answered It orders the Prophet (peace be upon him) to praise Allah and seek His forgiveness when he sees people entering Islam in throngs after the help of Allah and victory came. `Umar (Allah be pleased with him) did not like this and put the same question to Ibn Abbas: What does this surah mean? Ibn Abbas replied This Surah implies that the death of Allah s Messenger is near. Because, when people enter Islam in throngs, it means that the mission of Messengership has terminated. Umar (Allah be pleased with him) turned to the council and explained, That is why I include him among you.