بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
26-7-1438
One of the greatest blessings of the gatherings of remembrance of Allah is that the Angels look for it. When they find it, they come and sit with its people. When it is finished, it will be said, "Get up while your sins are forgiven". This does not happen except in the gatherings of religious knowledge.
Allah swore in the Quran, in Surah Ibrahim [14:7], that if you are grateful, He will increase you:
"And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: "If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give you more (of My Blessings), but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers), verily! My Punishment is indeed severe."
"لئن شكرتم لازيدنكم" - If you give thanks, I will increase you
Allah left it open; He did not specify what He will increase you in. He will increase you in knowledge, in faith, in understanding, in all provisions - in spiritual provision, worldly provision, etc. This is what Allah promised. So whoever appreciates these gatherings, Allah will give him more and more. But there are many people who do not appreciate this غنيمة (booty) from Allah and do not give it its due importance.
Another of the effects of attending these gatherings is an increase in faith. And this faith has light. In the Dunya, this light is intangible. We do not see it, but we may feel it when our hearts are broadened. On the Day of Resurrection, this faith will take the form of a tangible light.
The light of the sun and moon and stars, which is tangible, will be extinguished on the Day of Judgement. In Surah Takwir [81:1]:
"When the sun Kuwwirat (wound round and lost its light and is overthrown)."
Which light will remain? The light of faith, which you do not see in this world, will be tangible on the Day of Judgement. It will brighten your way on the Siraat, so that you are able to cross it.
Ibn Masoud رضي الله عنه said that the people will be in complete darkness before they cross the Siraat. Allah will then distribute light, according to each persons faith and good deeds. There will be people whose light will be as great as mountains, others like a palm tree, others like a standing man, and others like the tip of their index finger - it will be lit for a while and extinguish for a while. This variation is according to the level faith the person had while he lived in this life. The more you have faith, the more you will have light on the Day of Judgement.
The lights of the hypocrites will be extinguished and they will be in complete darkness, because they did not have faith in their hearts. We have to take care of taking advantage of every opportunity in this life to increase our faith. We have to take all the means of acquiring knowledge. No matter where you are, how old you are, how much remains of your life, acquire knowledge.
It is enough for you that your sins will be forgiven when you attend the مجاليس الذكر (Assemblies of Remembrance). Our sins are barriers which prevent our faith from increasing. Just attending and listening to the gathering are means of your sins being forgiven. Remembering Allah, performing good deeds, pondering over the Quran, avoiding persisting in committing sins, are all means of increasing faith.
We are approaching the month of Ramadan. These means will also help us in the Dunya; to fast in the way pleasing to Allah, then to enter the season of Dhul-Hijjah with high faith.
We have to put effort to increase our faith, not neglect ourselves and show laziness. The true believer does not recline and allow the whispers of the Shaytan make him lazy. This life is short.
The Prophet ﷺ said,
عُمُرُ أُمَّتِي مِنْ سِتِّينَ سَنَةً إِلَى سَبْعِينَ سَنَةً
The lifespan of my nation is between sixty years to seventy years. [At-Tirmithi]
Now even the young are dying a lot before the old. How can you guarantee that you will even live to that age? The Shaytan is the one that makes us have long hopes in the Dunya. Those who are twenty look at those who are thirty and think they are young. Those who are thirty look at those who are forty and think they are still young. Those who are seventy look at those who are eighty and think they atill are young.
And yet no one can guarantee that we will live till tomorrow. We have to take advantage of every minute of our lives.
اللهم اجعل خير أعمالنا خواتمها وخير أيامنا يوم نلقاك
O Allah make our best actions our last and the best of our days the day we meet You
One of the most important means of increasing faith is knowledge about Allah. The more you know Him,the more you love Him. The more you love Him, the more you will worship Him. The more you know Allah, the more you will be satisfied with what you have in this world. Knowledge about Allah is the most noble and important knowledge which will increase or faith.
Allah particularized Himself with the knowledge of the unseen and informed us that no one knows it except Him. We have to single Allah out with the attribute of علم الغيب.
When people see that their dreams are coming true all the time, they think they know the unseen, not knowing that it is whispering from the Shaytan as a test from Allah. Will they believe they know what is going to happen in the future? Or do they believe that no one knows about the future except Allah? People even reach an extent where they say that their dreams never fail them. If you think you know the future you have committed Shirk.
Even the Jinn do not know the unseen. In Surah Saba [34:14]:
"Then when We decreed death for him [Sulaiman (Solomon)], nothing informed them (jinns) of his death except a little worm of the earth, which kept (slowly) gnawing away at his stick, so when he fell down, the jinns saw clearly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating torment."
When the worm of the earth ate Sulayman عليه اسلام's stick he fell from it. The Jinn then came to know the truth:
"فلما خَر تبينت الجن أن لو كانوا يعلمون الغيب ما لبثوا في العذاب المهين" - So when he fell down, the Jinns saw clearly that if they had known the unseen, they would not have stayed in the humiliating torment.
This indicates that even the Jinn do not know the unseen. So those who seek help from Jinn and go to fortune tellers and soothsayers are doing something wrong. No one knows the unseen except Allah.
In Surah Al-Jinn [72:9-10], Allah said on the tongue of the Jinn:
"'And verily, we used to sit there in stations, to (steal) a hearing, but any who listens now will find a flaming fire watching him in ambush."
"And we know not whether evil is intended for those on earth, or whether their Lord intends for them a Right Path."
The Jinn were sitting on positions of hearing near the heavens, in order to listen to the news of the heavens. Then, they were prevented from hearing. The Jinn say that they do not know if this event is because Allah wills good for the people of the earth or something evil. It is clearly mentioned in the Quran that the Jinn do not know, but there are still some Muslims who go to fortune tellers, soothsayers, and palm readers, thinking that these means can tell them about the unseen.
IMPACT: Your belief in the Name of Allah العليم will increase your Faith in the Day of Judgment and in the Qadar
The Connection between the Name العليم and the belief in the Day of Judgement.
E.g In Surah Fatir [35:31-37]:
"And what We have inspired in you (O Muhammad), of the Book (the Quran), it is the (very) truth [that you (Muhammad) and your followers must act on its instructions], confirming that which was (revealed) before it. Verily! Allah is indeed AllAware, and AllSeer of His slaves."
Allah mentions the revealing of His Book on the Prophet ﷺ, which is all truth. But what happened to the people?
"Then We gave the Book the Quran) for inheritance to such of Our slaves whom We chose (the followers of Muhammad). Then of them are some who wrong their ownselves, and of them are some who follow a middle course, and of them are some who are, by Allah's Leave, foremost in good deeds. That (inheritance of the Quran), that is indeed a great grace."
After Allah gave the Quran as inheritance to the slaves He chose, they divided into three categories:
1) People who wrong themselves (by committing sins)
2) Those who follow a moderate course. They do what is obligatory, but not more than that.
3) Those who are foremost; they do not just do the obligatory but the recommendable.
Allah then mentions the recompense of these three categories:
"'Adn (Eden) Paradise (everlasting Gardens) will they enter, therein will they be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls, and their garments there will be of silk (i.e. in Paradise)."
After Allah mentioned the three categories, He said "جنات عدن يدخلونها"
The Scholars called the واو in "يدخلونها" the "واو السعادة" (The Waw of Happiness), because all the three will enter Paradise. All these three categories are believers. This gives you hope; do not despair in the Mercy of Allah. But also, do not persist in sin, because there are different degrees in Jannah.
After Allah mentioned the recompense of the three, He said in Verses 36 to 37:
"But those who disbelieve, (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) for them will be the Fire of Hell. Neither it will have a complete killing effect on them so that they die, nor shall its torment be lightened for them. Thus do We requite every disbeliever!"
"Therein they will cry: "Our Lord! Bring us out, we shall do righteous good deeds, not (the evil deeds) that we used to do." (Allah will reply): "Did We not give you lives long enough, so that whosoever would receive admonition, - could receive it? And the warner came to you. So taste you (the evil of your deeds). For the Zalimun (polytheists and wrongdoers, etc.) there is no helper."
All the three will enter Paradise, and only the disbelievers will enter to Hellfire.
Then, in Verse 38:
"Verily, Allah is the AllKnower of the unseen of the heavens and the earth. Verily! He is the AllKnower of that is in the breasts."
After Allah mentioned these categories of people and their recompense in the Hereafter, He mentioned this verse.
What is the connection?
As-Sa'di رحمه الله said in his Tafseer:
لما ذكر تعالى جزاء أهل الدارين و ذكر أعمال الفريقين، أخبر تعالى عن سعة علمه تعالى و اطلاعه على غيب السماوات و الأرض التي غابت عن أبصار الخلق و عن علمهم، و أنه عالم بالسرائر و ما تنطوي عليه الصدور من الخير و الشر و الزكاء و غيره، فيعطي كلا ما يستحقه و ينزل كل أحد منزلته
After Allah mentioned the recompense of the People of the Two Abodes (Paradise and Hell), and mentioned the deeds of the two parties, He informed us about His vast Knowledge and awareness of the unseen of the heavens and earth which He has made hidden from the sight of the creation and has made hidden from their knowledge, and that He is the All-Knower of the secrets and what the breasts conceal of good and evil, and purity and besides that. Accordingly, He will give everyone what he deserves and put everyone in the place that fits him
E.g. In Surah Ghafir [40:17-20]:
"This Day shall every person be recompensed for what he earned. No injustice (shall be done to anybody). Truly, Allah is Swift in reckoning."
We believe that there is no injustice on that day; Allah is swift in taking account.
"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, and they can neither return them (hearts) to their chests nor can they throw them out. There will be no friend, nor an intercessor for the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.), who could be given heed to."
الآزفة - The Day which is drawing close.
The hearts will be choking the throats. It will neither go back to its place nor come out, out of severe horror. But Allah will give safety and security to the believers on that day. Those who will be afraid are the disbelievers and those who transgressed against themselves with sin.
Those who have transgressed and did wrong will have no close friend nor an intercessor on that day who could give them help.
In Verses 19-20:
"Allah knows the fraud of the eyes, and all that the breasts conceal."
"And Allah judges with truth, while those to whom they invoke besides Him, cannot judge anything. Certainly, Allah! He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer."
Allah knows the fraud of the eyes and what the breasts conceal. The fraud of the eyes is the quick movement of the eye to something that is unlawful. Accordingly, Allah will judge with truth on the Day of Judgement.
There are many verses in the Quran where Allah mentions His Knowledge along with recompense and judgement on the Day of Judgement. When we read this, it should increase our faith. Allah knows everything we do in this life, and He will recompense us for it on the Day of Judgement.
(See Surah Al-An'am [6:73])
Connection between the Name العليم and Belief in the Qadar:
This Name should also increase our belief in the Qadar. This is an issue which is still not clear for many Muslims, they either deny it or are still thinking bad about Allah. Many groups have deviated with regards to the matter of the Qadar.
What is Al-Qadar? In Arabic it is derived from the word تقدير which means estimation or determination. It is to put something in a place according to your will.
In Islamic Terminology it has two meanings:
1) The Will of Allah (إرادة الله)
2) The Decreed Ordainments; which Allah decreed before the creations of the heavens and the earth.
The Qadar has four ranks:
1) Knowledge (العلم)
Allah knew everything in advance; what happened, what is happening, what will happen. He knows about things which are impossible to happen, how they would be if they happened. He knows about the unseen and the consequence of the matters. This is the Aqeedah of Ahlus-Sunnah. Allah knows everything in advance, in detail and in general. Nothing is hidden from Him.
This is based on the verse in Surah Al-Qamar [54:49]:
"Verily, We have created all things with Qadar (Divine Preordainments of all things before their creation, as written in the Book of Decrees Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz)."
We believe that Allah's Knowledge is صفة ذاتية (An Essential Attribute); it is never separated from Allah. He has always been attributed with knowledge and always will be. His Knowledge is neither preceded with ignorance nor followed with forgetfulness. His Knowledge does not change, nor does it increase with the occurrence of the matter. When something happens we come to know. There are people who believe that Allah does not know things except after they happen. But the Aqeedah of Ahlus-Sunnah is that Allah's Knowledge is perfect. He already Knows everything that is going to happen until the Day of Judgement.
2) Writing (الكتابة)
Allah wrote what He knew in The Preserved Tablet.
Evidence: Surah Al-Hajj [22:70]:
"Know you not that Allah knows all that is in heaven and on earth? Verily, it is (all) in the Book (Al-Lauh Al-Mahfuz). Verily! That is easy for Allah."
The above two ranks are before the creation and the occurrence of the Qadar.
The remaining two ranks occur now:
3) The Will (المشيئة)
4) Creation (الخلق)
Everything befalls now according to the Will of Allah, according to what He has decreed before.
a) There is something called إرادة and something called مشيئة. In English they both are translated to "will".
Allah says, "والله يفعل ما يريد" and He said, "والله يفعل ما يشاء". It is not the same, there is a difference. There is a difference between إرادة and مشيئة.
b) الإرادة is broader than مشيئة. The مشيئة is a part of the إرادة.
c) There are two kinds of إرادة of Allah:
a) الإرادة الشرعية (Legal Will)
b) الإرادة الكونيه (Universal Will); What Allah decreed to happen in the Universe by His word كن فيكن
The Differences between the two:
| Legal Will (الإرادة الشرعية) | Universal Will (الإرادة الكونية) |
| It may occur and it may not | It will definitely occur |
| Allah loves what He has ordained of legal ordainments | Allah may love what He ordains or may not |
| E.g. Tawheed, Dutifulness to Parents, Obedience to Him, etc. Not all people do the above, although Allah loves it. It is مقصود لذاته; Allah loves it because there is good in it. | E.g. The Creation of Iblees, The Creation of Evil, Killing, etc. Allah does not love evil, but it happens. It is مقصود لغيره; Allah ordains it because there is a good purpose behind it. |
Allah does not like Iblees but created him so that we can repent, struggle against ourselves, etc. If there was no Iblees people will not relent, struggle, seek refuge, etc. There is something good behind the creation of Iblees, therefore Allah willed his creation.
Note: Whenever you see the word "والله يحب" (Allah loves) in the Quran, it refers to the إرادة شرعية, because Allah loves it.
Also the word "قضى" appears in the Quran, which is another word for إرادة.
Examples:
1) In Surah Al-Baqarah [2:253]:
"Those Messengers! We preferred some to others; to some of them Allah spoke (directly); others He raised to degrees (of honour); and to 'Iesa (Jesus), the son of Maryam (Mary), We gave clear proofs and evidences, and supported him with Ruh-ul-Qudus [Jibrael (Gabriel)]. If Allah had willed, succeeding generations would not have fought against each other, after clear Verses of Allah had come to them, but they differed - some of them believed and others disbelieved. If Allah had willed, they would not have fought against one another, but Allah does what He likes."
إرادة كونية
2) In Surah Al-Isra'a [17:4]:
"And We decreed for the Children of Israel in the Scripture, that indeed you would do mischief on the earth twice and you will become tyrants and extremely arrogant!"
إرادة كونية because Allah does not like mischief in the land, but He allowed it to happen.
3) Surah Al-Israa [17:23]:
"And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. If one of them or both of them attain old age in your life, say not to them a word of disrespect, nor shout at them but address them in terms of honour."
إرادة شرعية because Allah loves the aforementioned.
Sometimes we have both كونية and شرعية together. If something Allah loves happens, it is both كونية and شرعية.
E.g. The Faith of Abu Bakr.
4) Surah Al-Baqarah [2:185]:
"The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Quran, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong). So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan i.e. is present at his home), he must observe Saum (fasts) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number [of days which one did not observe Saum (fasts) must be made up] from other days. Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allah [i.e. to say Takbir (Allahu-Akbar; Allah is the Most Great) on seeing the crescent of the months of Ramadan and Shawwal] for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him."
Allah loves ease, and Allah's laws are all easy and it happened, so it is both إرادة شرعية and إرادة كونية.
Summary:
إرادة كونية - تقع و لا يحبه الله (فقط)
إرادة شرعية - يحبها و لا تقع (فقط)
إوادة شرعية كونية - يحبها و يقع
Why do we have to understand all of this?
i) Allah mentioned it in the Quran. We sometimes read يشاء and other times يريد.
ii) We have to understand that Allah does not love evil, but He wills it. Why? Because there is a good purpose behind it.
iii) Evil is not attributed to Allah because all Allah's Actions are good.
Whatever Allah ordains is good, even if it appears evil. He does not ordain anything but there is some good behind it. But there are people who know this and there are people who are ignorant. This is the Aqeedah we should have.
E.g. What is happening in the Muslim World of killing. There is great wisdom behind it. If the innocent believers died on belief, their end will be Paradise. Through these trials, the hypocrites are distinguished from the believers; the liars are distinguished from the truthful. When there were no calamities, the hypocrites were mixed with the believers, but Allah revealed their secrets through this calamity. Also, the disbelievers increase in sin through this calamity, so they deserve the severe punishment of Allah. And when Allah takes them, they will never be released from His grasp.
iii) The Qadar could be good or evil, but with regards to the actions of Allah, they are all good, because it complies with the great wisdom of Allah.
E.g. Allah decreed upon you the loss of a child, job, deportation from the country. There is all good behind it, although it appears evil. The believer knows that there is something good behind all Allah's actions, which he may come to know sooner or later. He deals with Allah with حسن الظن (Good Thinking)
The Prophet ﷺ said in an Opening Supplication:
والخير كله في يديك، والشرّ ليس إليك
All goodness is in Your Hands and evil is not attributed to You. [Muslim]
There is nothing that happens in the heavens or the earth except it happens with the Will of Allah. Nothing happens in the dominion of Allah what He does not will. Why? For a purpose.
Do not think that anything happens independent of the will of Allah. Allah wills everything that is happening. No one can do anything out of the will of Allah. We have to repeat this Aqeedah again and again to ourselves, because there are fruits we will gain if we believe in this.
4) Creation (الخلق)
Next time....
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