6.
FUTILE
DEEDS
A
well-known Egyptian dā‘in (dā‘iyah, Islamic preacher) at the end of the
late century, called ‘Amr Khalid, called people to stick to Islam and to
observe its teachings. In one of his lectures, he posed this question: What
would happen to those people who do good deeds in this world, but kāfirs, do not accept Islam, would they get
benefit from these good deeds in the Hereafter? He answered this question
briefly in Egyptian slang, enta mālak enta!, meaning, “it is not your business.”
What he means is that do not bother with other people whether they are Muslims
or not, but what should concern you is your own salvation.
The
word kāfir in its original, classical, pre-Islamic meaning, is derived
from the verb kafara, “to cover”, so that the word kāfir, literally
means “a person (or something) that covers something (else).” Technically, a kāfir
is “a person who covers the truth of Islam, by denying it.” The pre-Islamic
poet Labid said in his poem:
... في لَيْلَةٍ كَفَرَ النّجُومَ غَمَامُهَا
… in a
night where its cloud covered its stars
The
answer to this question is found in verses in many chapters of the Qur’an, as
follows:
وَقَالَ الَّذِينَ لَا يَرْجُونَ
لِقَاءَنَا لَوْلَا أُنْزِلَ عَلَيْنَا الْمَلَائِكَةُ أَوْ نَرَى رَبَّنَا
لَقَدِ اسْتَكْبَرُوا فِي أَنْفُسِهِمْ
وَعَتَوْا عُتُوًّا كَبِيرًا . يَوْمَ يَرَوْنَ الْمَلَائِكَةَ
لَا بُشْرَى يَوْمَئِذٍ لِلْمُجْرِمِينَ
وَيَقُولُونَ حِجْرًا مَحْجُورًا. وَقَدِمْنَا
إِلَى مَا عَمِلُوا مِنْ عَمَلٍ
فَجَعَلْنَاهُ هَبَاءً مَنْثُورًا (الفرقان:21-23)
And those who expect not a
meeting with Us (i.e.,
those who deny the Day of Resurrection and the
Life of the Hereafter) said: “Why are not the angels sent
down to us, or why do we not see our Lord?”
Indeed they
think too highly of themselves, and are
scornful with great
pride. On the day they will see the angels—no
glad tidings
will there be for
the mujrimin (criminals, disbelievers)that
day.
And they (the angels) will say: “All kinds of
glad tidings are forbidden to you,”. And We
shall turn to whatever deeds they did, and
We shall make such deeds as scattered
floating
particles of dust (Q. 25:23)
In
this verse it is mentioned that pride makes them reject the truth. In a ḥadīth
narrated by Abdullah ibn Mas’ud, the Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said:
عَنْ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ
بْنِ مَسْعُودٍ عَنْ النَّبِيِّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قَالَ لَا يَدْخُلُ
الْجَنَّةَ مَنْ كَانَ فِي قَلْبِهِ
مِثْقَالُ ذَرَّةٍ مِنْ كِبْرٍ قَالَ رَجُلٌ إِنَّ الرَّجُلَ يُحِبُّ
أَنْ يَكُونَ ثَوْبُهُ حَسَنًا وَنَعْلُهُ
حَسَنَةً قَالَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ جَمِيلٌ يُحِبُّ
الْجَمَالَ الْكِبْرُ بَطَرُ الْحَقِّ
وَغَمْطُ النَّاسِ (رواه مسلم)
“Whosoever has pride in his heart equal to
the
weight of an atom shall not
enter Paradise.”
A person (among the
audience) said: “Verily,
a person loves that his
dress should be
beautiful, and his shoes
should be beautiful.”
The Prophet remarked:
“Verily, Allah is the
Most Beautiful, and He loves
beauty. Pride
is completely disregard the
truth, and to
scorn (look down upon) the
people.
(Reported by Muslim)
The futility of deeds of
non-believers in the Hereafter is explained vividly, and compared to mirage in
a desert in the following verse:
وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَعْمَالُهُمْ
كَسَرَابٍ بِقِيعَةٍ يَحْسَبُهُ الظَّمْآَنُ
مَاءً حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَهُ لَمْ يَجِدْهُ شَيْئًا
وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ فَوَفَّاهُ
حِسَابَهُ وَاللَّهُ سَرِيعُ الْحِسَابِ
(النور:39)
As for those who disbelieved,
their deeds are like
a mirage in a desert. The thirsty one thinks
it to be
water, until he comes up to it, he finds it to
be
nothing; but he finds Allah with him, Who will
pay him his due (Hell). And Allah is swift
in taking account (Q. 24:39).
According to this verse disbelievers will not get reward
from Allah in the Hereafter for their good deeds in this world. It is like a
mirage for a thirsty person; instead of water he finds nothing.
In another verse
the good deeds of disbelievers are like ashes blown by wind on a stormy day.
The verse runs as follows:
مَثَلُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا بِرَبِّهِمْ
أَعْمَالُهُمْ كَرَمَادٍ اشْتَدَّتْ بِهِ
الرِّيحُ فِي يَوْمٍ عَاصِفٍ لَا يَقْدِرُونَ مِمَّا
كَسَبُوا عَلَى شَيْءٍ
ذَلِكَ هُوَ الضَّلَالُ الْبَعِيدُ
(إبراهيم:18)
The parable of those who disbelieved
in their Lord
is that their works are as ashes,
on
which the wind blows furiously on a stormy
days; they shall not be able to get aught of
what
they have earned. That is the straying, far
away (from the Right Path). (Q.
14:18)
Here
again lies the importance of guidance and following the right path, Islam,
without which there will be no salvation. Without following the right path you
will never reach your destination. Even people close to Allah, like prophets,
could not rescue disbelievers among their close relatives: Prophet Noah’s wife,
Prophet Lot’s wife, Prophet Abraham’s father, and Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.’s
uncle, Abu Talib. (CIVIC, 8.2.13)
7. INKᾹR AL-SUNNAH (1)
)THE REJECTION OF
THE SUNNAH)
Prophet
Muhammad s.a.w. said:
أَلَا
هَلْ عَسَى رَجُلٌ يَبْلُغُهُ الْحَدِيثُ عَنِّي وَهُوَ مُتَّكِئٌ عَلَى
أَرِيكَتِهِ فَيَقُولُ بَيْنَنَا
وَبَيْنَكُمْ
كِتَابُ اللَّهِ فَمَا وَجَدْنَا فِيهِ حَلَالًا اسْتَحْلَلْنَاهُ وَمَا وَجَدْنَا
فِيهِ حَرَامًا حَرَّمْنَاهُ
وَإِنَّ
مَا حَرَّمَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَمَا حَرَّمَ
اللَّهُ
.(رواه
الإمام أحمد وأبو داود وابن ماجه)
See
that a man might reach him a hadith from
me while he was leaning against a sofa,
and said:
“Between us and you is the Book of
Allah, whatever
we find in it is halal we make it halal
(permitted),
And what we find haram in it, we make it
haram
(prohibited), and verily, what the
Messenger of
Allah s.a.w. prohibited it is as
prohibited by
Allah.” (Reported
by Imam Ahmad,
Abū
Dā’ūd, and Ibn Mājah)
In
another hadith the Prophet s.a.w. said:
لَا
أُلْفِيَنَّ أَحَدَكُمْ مُتَّكِئًا عَلَى أَرِيكَتِهِ يَأْتِيهِ أَمْرٌ مِمَّا
أَمَرْتُ بِهِ أَوْ
نَهَيْتُ عَنْهُ فَيَقُولُ لَا أَدْرِي مَا
وَجَدْنَا فِي كِتَابِ اللَّهِ اتَّبَعْنَاهُ".
(رواه الإمام أحمد فى مسنده
وأبو داود والترمذى
وابن ماجة والدارمى فى سننهم)
Verily, one of you would lean
comfortably
a
sofa when an order or prohibition from me
reached him he would say: “I do not know,
we (only) follow what we find in the
Book of Allah (the Qur’ān).”
(Reported
by Ahmad, al-Tirmidhī, Abū Dā’ūd,
Ibn Mājah and al-Dārimī)
In another hadith, he said:
تَرَكْتُ
فِيْكُمْ أَمْرَيْنِ لَنْ تَضِلُّوْا مَا تَمَسَّكْتُمْ بِهِمَا:
كِتَابَ اللهِ وَسُنَّةَ نَبِيِّه (رواه الحاكم)
I have left you two things, you will
never
go astray as
long as you stick to them: the
Book of Allah and the Sunnah of
His
Prophet. (Reported by al-Ḥākim.
Similar version is also reported by
al-Bayhaqī))
The Prophet also said:
أَلَا
إِنِّي أُوتِيتُ الْكِتَابَ وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ أَلَا إِنِّي أُوتِيتُ الْقُرْآنَ
وَمِثْلَهُ مَعَهُ لا يُوشِكُ
رَجُلٌ
يَنْثَنِي شَبْعَانًا عَلَى أَرِيكَتِهِ يَقُولُ عَلَيْكُمْ بِالْقُرْآنِ فَمَا
وَجَدْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ حَلَالٍ
فَأَحِلُّوهُ وَمَا وَجَدْتُمْ فِيهِ مِنْ حَرَامٍ فَحَرِّمُوهُ (رواه الإمام أحمد)
Be informed
that verily the Book was
brought to
me and a similar thing with it (i.e.,
the Sunnah of the Prophet), and be informed
that
verily the Qur’an
was brought to me and a similar
thing with it, know that a man leaning on a
sofa
while he is
full is on the point of saying: “Stick
to the
Qur’an, so whatever you find in it halal,
then make
it halal, and whatever you find
in it haram, then make
it haram.”
(Reported by
Ahmad)
This is
the prophecy and warning of our Prophet, that some people would later ignore
the Sunnah (sayings, practices, and tacit approvals of the Prophet) as
the source of Islamic law, and claim that the Qur’an is the sole source of
Islamic law. This view is called “inkār al-sunnah” (the Rejection of the
Sunnah). It appeared at the end
of the 1st Century and the beginning of the 2nd Century of Hijrah.
This view appeared out of misunderstanding the Qur’ānic texts, and the
ignorance of the significance of Sunnah in Islam. When they were
explained to people who misunderstood them, they abandoned this view and came
back to the right one. For example, a man asked Abū Nujayd, one the companions
of the Prophet, to explain to him something exclusively from the Qur’an, he
told him that many things were not explained in details in the Qur’an, but in
the Sunnah. For example, how to perform the prayers, how many units (raka‘āt)
they are, fasting, paying the zakat and performing the hajj (pilgrimage) are
all explained in details in the Sunnah. Similar questions were posed to
al-Ḥasan al-Baṣrī, the great ‘alim in Basrah. After giving the explanation of
the significance of the Sunnah, the questioner prayed for him: لَقَدْ أَحْيَيَتَنِي أَحْيَاكَ الله “You have enliven me, may Allah enliven you.”
A man asked the scholar ‘Imrān ibn Ḥiṣṣīn r.a. about a certain issue. He
gave his answer from the Sunnah. The man said: “I am asking you (the
answer) from the Book of Allah, and do not tell me other than it.” ‘Imran said: “Do you find in the Book of
Allah that the Zuhr prayer is four rak’ahs (units) cited with low voice,
the number of prayers, the number of zakats, and the like?” Then he said: “Do
you find this explained in the Book of Allah? Verily, Allah made it general,
and the Sunnah explains it.”
Al-Imām al-Shāfi‘ī was asked one day whether he still
followed the Sunnah. He told the questioner whether he had seen him coming
out of the church, namely, no longer a Muslim. He dealt with this issue of inkār
al-sunnah in his book al-Umm, with arguments in details, so that
people would keep following the Sunnah. Later, al-Suyuti in his book Miftāḥ
al-Jannah fi ‘l-Iḥtijāj bi’ l-Sunnah (“The Key of Paradise in Applying Sunnah
as Arguments”), and stated that whoever denied it as one of the sources of the
Shari’ah would became non-Muslim, like the Jews and the Christians.
Unlike the
classical inkār al-sunnah which emerged only out of ignorance, modern inkār
al-sunnah, although started with individuals’ view of people who have full
conviction to it, later became a group of people who call themselves Ahl
al-Qur’ān (the Upholder of the Qur’an), whereas their opponents call their
view Inkār Sunnah. This view emerged post the era of colonization, in
Egypt and Indian Sub-continent (Pakistan). In Egypt, Ahmad Amin in his Fajr
al-Islām (“The Dawn of Islam”) showed his doubt about the significance of
the Sunnah, and Maḥmūd Abū Rayyah in his book Aḍwā’ ‘alā ‘l-Sunnah al-Muḥammadiyyah (“Light on the
Muhammadan Sunnah”) where he rejects the authority and authenticity of the Sunnah.
In the Indian Subcontinent (Pakistan) Ghulam Ahmad Parves (Perves) rejected many
hadiths widely accepted as authentic and declared a heretic by some Muslim
scholars for the same view, denying the authority and
authenticity of the Hadiths
(Sunnah).
In modern time we have Dr. Ahmed Sobhi Masour, a
friend of the late Rashad Khalifah who claimed to be a prophet, and Sa‘d al-Dīn
Ibrāhīm, the Director of Ibn Khaldūn Centre who was arrested and accused of
treason in 2002. Dr. Ahmed Sobhi was graduated from the Department of Arabic
Language at al-Azhar University, but expelled from it in 1987 for spreading his
view. In 2002 he obtained a political asylum in the USA where he established
his internet website in 2004 called Ahl al-Qur’ān, to spread his view
against the Sunnah attacking
hadiths and its scholars like Imam Bukhari. His books and articles have been
translated into English. He said that the trend of the salaf (earlier
generation, such as of the ṣaḥābah and the tābi‘īn) is mainly
based the ḥadīths written after the death of the Prophet and then
attributed to him. This is the Sunnah which he did not agree. The Sunnah
for him and for the Ahl al-Qur’ān is what the Qur’ān states and put into
practice. The only hadith they believe is the hadith of Allah in
the Qur’ān, as Allah said: (فَبِأَيِّ حَدِيثٍ بَعْدَهُ يُؤْمِنُونَ (الأعراف: 185) “In what ḥadīth (message) after this
will they then believe?”(Q. 7:185)
Their argument is the Qur’ān, as follows:
وَنَزَّلْنَا عَلَيْكَ الْكِتَابَ تِبْيَانًا لِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ ( النحل :89)
…And We have sent down the
Book (The Qur’ān)
as an exposition of everything…(Q. 7:185)
Therefore, for
them, there is no need
for Sunnah or hadiths.
The answer to
this allegation is in the Qur’ān itself. Allah said:
وَأَنْزَلْنَا
إِلَيْكَ الذِّكْرَ لِتُبَيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ مَا نُزِّلَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَعَلَّهُمْ
يَتَفَكَّرُونَ (النحل:44).
…And we have also sent down to you
(O Muhammad)the Dhikr [reminder and
the advice, i.e. the Qur’ān],that you may
explain clearly to men what is sent
down to them, and that they may
give thought. (Q. 7:44)
Based on this verse the Prophet has a duty to explain
the meanings of the revealed verses and their application into practice. The ṣaḥābah
(companions) used to ask his explanation whenever they have problem in
understanding and applying the verses. For example, a man asked him what would
happen to his fasting when he had eaten forgetting that he was fasting. The
Prophet told him to keep fasting, and that Allah had fed and given him to drink.
The Prophet’s answer was based on the Qur’ānic verses:
رَبَّنَا لا تُؤَاخِذْنَا إِنْ نَسِينَا أَوْ
أَخْطَأْنَا) البقرة: 286)
…Our Lord! Punish us not if we forget
or fall into
error (Q. 2:285).
ولَيْسَ عَلَيْكُمْ جُنَاحٌ فِيمَا أَخْطَأْتُمْ بِهِ وَلَكِنْ مَا
تَعَمَّدَتْ قُلُوبُكُمْ (الأحزاب:5)
…And there
is no sin on you concerning that in which
you made
mistake, except in regard to what your
hearts deliberately intend…(Q. 33:5)
Other verses
justifying the validity of the Sunnah as the second source of the
Shari‘ah are as follows:
وَمَا آَتَاكُمُ الرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَاكُمْ
عَنْهُ فَانْتَهُوا وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ (الحشر:7) .
…and
whatsoever the Messenger gives you, take it; and
whatsoever he forbids you, abstain from it.
And fear
Allah; verily, Allah is Severe in punishment. (Q. 59:7)
قُلْ أَطِيعُواْ اللّهَ وَالرَّسُولَ فإِن تَوَلَّوْاْ
فَإِنَّ اللّهَ لاَ يُحِبُّ الْكَافِرِينَ (آل عمران :
32 )
Say (O
Muhammad) “Obey Allah and the Messenger
(Muhammad.”But if they turn away, then Allah
does
not like the
disbelievers (Q. 3:32).
وَمَا كَانَ لِمُؤْمِنٍ وَلَا مُؤْمِنَةٍ إِذَا
قَضَى اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ أَمْرًا أَنْ يَكُونَ لَهُمُ الْخِيَرَةُ مِنْ
أَمْرِهِمْ وَمَنْ يَعْصِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ فَقَدْ
ضَلَّ ضَلَالًا مُبِينًا (الأحزاب :
36 ) .
It
is not for a believer, man or woman, when Allah and
His Messenger have decreed a matter that they
should
have any option in their decision. And
whoever
disobeys Allah and His Messenger, he has
indeed strayed into a plain error.(Q.
33:36)
مَنْ يُطِعِ الرَّسُولَ فَقَدْ أَطَاعَ اللَّهَ (النساء:
80).
He who
obeys the Messenger [Muhammad],
has indeed
obeyed Allah (Q. 4:80)
Some examples where the Prophet prohibited things not
mentioned in the Qur’ān are as follows:
- Abu Hurayrah r.a., said that the Messenger of
Allah prohibited from marrying a woman together with her paternal or maternal
aunt, whereas in the Qur’ān it is mentioned the prohibition of marrying a woman
together with her sister only (Reported by Bukhari and Muslim).
وَأَنْ تَجْمَعُوا بَيْنَ الْأُخْتَيْنِ (النساء :23) ...
…and two sisters in wedlock at
the same time,…
(Q. 4:23)
- Ali ibn Abu Talib said that the Prophet held silk in
his right hand and held gold in his left hand, then said: “These two things
are prohibited to the males of my ummah.” (Reported by Abū Dā’ūd, Ibn
Mājah, al-Nasā’ī, and Ahmad)
In
conclusion, the duty of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. is not only to convey the message of Islam in
the Qur’an, but also to explain it when it is not clear to some sahabah, giving
examples through practice, and to be a law maker. All these are found in the Sunnah
(sayings, deeds and tacit approvals of Prophet Muhammad s.a.w.)
which is the second source of Islamic law. (CIVIC, 21.12.12)
Sources:
المكتبة الشاملة
Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia
http://quran-m.com/container.php?fun=artview&id=1005
(Kesesatan kelompok inkar Sunnah)
8. SHAYKH YŪSUF AL-QARAḌĀWĪ’S COMMENTARY
ON MAKING
FRIENDSHIP (ALLIANCE,
LOYALTY) TO NON-MUSLIMS
Freedom of
association in the Australian law is compatible with that in Islamic law. Man
is free to join or not to join an organization or group, such as political
parties, trade unions and social groups, provided it is legal. It has to be
peaceful, and no damage or injury to people. In Islamic law it has to be
exercised for propagation of doing virtue and righteousness, not for doing evil
and mischief.
Allah in the
Qur’an orders Muslims to help each other. He says:
...وَتَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى الْبِرِّ وَالتَّقْوَى وَلَا تَعَاوَنُوا عَلَى
الْإِثْمِ وَالْعُدْوَانِ
وَاتَّقُوا اللَّهَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ شَدِيدُ الْعِقَابِ
(المائدة:2)
…Help you
one another in virtue, righteousness
and piety; but do not help one another in sin and
transgression. And fear Allah. Verily, Allah
is severe in punishment.(Q. 5:2)
Allah
also says to the whole mankind:
يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ إِنَّا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ مِنْ ذَكَرٍ وَأُنْثَى وَجَعَلْنَاكُمْ
شُعُوبًا وَقَبَائِلَ لِتَعَارَفُوا
إِنَّ أَكْرَمَكُمْ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ أَتْقَاكُمْ إِنَّ
اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ خَبِيرٌ (الحجرات:13)
O mankind!
We created you from a single
[pair] of a male and a female, and made you
into nations and tribes, that you may know each
other (not that you may despise each other). Verily,
the most honoured of you in the sight of Allah is
(he who is) the most righteous of you. And Allah
has full knowledge and is well-acquainted
(with all things). (Q.
49:13)
To know each other implies mutual assistance. Man is a
social being. Being different in gender, race, language and skin colour, is one
of the signs of Allah as a Creator, and the difference makes us curious to know
each other. This difference leads to mutual understanding, assistance,
cooperation, and integration. This is in line with the spirit of multicultural
Australia whereby people of different in faiths, cultures, and background live
cooperatively together. There no superiority of one individual, race, or gender
in the sight of Allah except through righteousness.
If someone says
that according to the Qur’an Muslims are not allowed to take non-Muslims as
friends, it is by translating the word wali, meaning “friend” which one
of its many meanings. This meaning can be justified only if the intended verse
means non-Muslims who are hostile to Muslims. The word walī (وَلِيّ) has many meanings, as follows: near, nearby;
neighbouring, adjacent; close; (its plural: awliyā’, أَوْلِيَاء) helper, supporter, benefactor, sponsor;
friend, close associate; relative; patron, protector; legal guardian, curator,
tutor; a man close to God, holy man, saint; proprietor, possessor, owner. Some examples
are as follows:
لَا
يَتَّخِذِ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
وَمَنْ يَفْعَلْ ذَلِكَ
فَلَيْسَ
مِنَ اللَّهِ فِي شَيْءٍ
إِلَّا أَنْ تَتَّقُوا مِنْهُمْ تُقَاةً وَيُحَذِّرُكُمُ اللَّهُ نَفْسَهُ
وَإِلَى اللَّهِ الْمَصِيرُ ( آل
عمران:28)
Let not the believers take the disbelievers
as auliya (supporters,
helpers) instead of the
believers,
and whoever does that will never be
helped by
Allah in any way , except if you indeed
fear a
danger from them. And Allah warns you
against
Himself (His punishment) and Allah
is Able to
do all things (Q. 3:28)
Here
Allah warns the Muslims not to take non-believers instead of believers as
supporters, unless they fear of any danger, or Allah will punish them. This threat of
punishment is repeated in another surah and verse, as follows:
يَاأَيُّهَا
الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا الْكَافِرِينَ أَوْلِيَاءَ مِنْ دُونِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
أَتُرِيدُونَ أَنْ تَجْعَلُوا لِلَّهِ عَلَيْكُمْ
سُلْطَانًا مُبِينًا (النساء ٤ : ١٤٤)
O you believe! Take not for loyalty
and
sincerity
disbelievers instead of believers.
Do you wish to offer Allah a manifest
proof against yourselves? (Q.
4:144)
means, “proof against
you that warrants receiving His torment.”
In another verse Allah specifies the Jews and the
Christians, as follows:
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا
الْيَهُودَ وَالنَّصَارَى أَوْلِيَاءَ
بَعْضُهُمْ أَوْلِيَاءُ بَعْضٍ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّهُمْ
مِنْكُمْ فَإِنَّهُ مِنْهُمْ
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ
الظَّالِمِينَ (المائدة:51)
O you who believe! Take not the Jews and the
Christians
as auliya (friends, protectors, helpers)
,they are
but auliya of each other. And if any amongst
you takes
them as auliya, then surely he is one of them.
Verily,
Allah guides not those people who are
zalimun
(polytheists and wrong-doers
and unjust) (Q. 5:51)
It means Christians help their fellow
Christians, and the Jews help their fellow Jews. In the following verse even
our fathers and brothers are not allowed to be taken as awliyā’.
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا آَبَاءَكُمْ
وَإِخْوَانَكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ إِنِ اسْتَحَبُّوا الْكُفْرَ عَلَى
الْإِيمَانِ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّهُمْ مِنْكُمْ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ
الظَّالِمُونَ (التوبة:23)
O you who
believe! Take not as auliyā’ (supporters, helpers)
your fathers and your brothers if they prefer
disbelief
to belief. And whoever of you does so, then he
is one
of the wrong-doers. (Q. 9:23)
Quoting some of the
above verse, the contemporary Muslim scholar Shaykh Yūsuf al-Qaraḍāwī said that
these verses and some hadiths of the Prophet are superficially understood to
indicate the fanatical attitude of Islam towards the Jews, the Christians and
others. After considering carefully and investigating the history, the occasion
and surrounding conditions which led to the revelation of these verses he gave
his commentary as follows:
1.
The prohibition is taking as awliyā’
(friends, allies) are those who are different as specified groups with
their own religions, beliefs, views, and characteristics, namely,
characterizing them as Jews, Christians, Zoroastrians (Magians), not characterized
as neighbours, colleagues, or citizens. The loyalty of Muslims is to Muslim ummah
(community, nation) alone. Hence, the warning of taking them as allies is
mentioned in several verses in the Qur’an. The verse “other than the believers”
(Q. 3:28, 4: 138-139 and144) indicates that loyalty to them was at the expense
of the believers; it is what is known in the political technical term
“treason”.
2. The friendship prohibited in the above verses
is not friendship with those who have different religions, but friendship with
those who offend the Muslims and oppose Allah and His Messenger, as Allah said:
(a)
لَا تَجِدُ قَوْمًا
يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الْآَخِرِ يُوَادُّونَ مَنْ حَادَّ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ
وَلَوْ كَانُوا آَبَاءَهُمْ أَوْ أَبْنَاءَهُمْ أَوْ إِخْوَانَهُمْ أَوْ عَشِيرَتَهُمْ
... (المجادلة:22) “You (Muhammad) will not find any
people who believe in Allah and the Last Day, making friendship with those who
oppose Allah and His Messenger, even though they were
their fathers or their sons or their brothers or their kindred (people)…”
(Q. 58:22). Opposing Allah and His Messenger is not simply denying them, but
waging war on their message, standing up against it and offending the Muslims.
(b)
يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا لَا تَتَّخِذُوا عَدُوِّي
وَعَدُوَّكُمْ أَوْلِيَاءَ تُلْقُونَ إِلَيْهِمْ بِالْمَوَدَّةِ وَقَدْ كَفَرُوا بِمَا
جَاءَكُمْ مِنَ الْحَقِّ يُخْرِجُونَ الرَّسُولَ وَإِيَّاكُمْ أَنْ تُؤْمِنُوا بِاللَّهِ
رَبِّكُم (الممتحنة: 1) “O you who
believe! Take not My enemies and your enemies as friends, showing
affection towards them, while they have disbelieved in what has come to you of
the truth, and have driven out the Messenger and yourselves (from your
homeland) because you believe in Allah, your Lord!...” (Q.60:1). This verse
indicates the prohibition of making friendship and showing affection to the
idolater with two conditions altogether: their denial of Islam and their
expelling the Messenger and the believers from their homeland without any valid
justification.
(c)
لَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ الَّذِينَ لَمْ يُقَاتِلُوكُمْ
فِي الدِّينِ وَلَمْ يُخْرِجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ أَنْ تَبَرُّوهُمْ وَتُقْسِطُوا
إِلَيْهِمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ الْمُقْسِطِينَ . إِنَّمَا يَنْهَاكُمُ اللَّهُ عَنِ
الَّذِينَ قَاتَلُوكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَأَخْرَجُوكُمْ مِنْ دِيَارِكُمْ وَظَاهَرُوا
عَلَى إِخْرَاجِكُمْ أَنْ تَوَلَّوْهُمْ وَمَنْ يَتَوَلَّهُمْ فَأُولَئِكَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
(الممتحنة:8-9) “Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly with
those fought not against you on account of religion nor drove you out of your
homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal with equity. It is only as regards
those who fought against you on account of religion, and have driven you out of
your homes, and helped to drive you out, that Allah forbids you to befriend
them. And whosoever will befriend them, then such are the wrongdoers.” (Q. 60:8-9). These verses mention two groups
of people: a group of people who are peaceful to the Muslims, do not fight them
for their religion, and do not expel them from their homes: these people
deserve kindness and equity. The other group of people is those who are hostile
and oppose the Muslims through fighting them or expelling them from their
homes, or help in expelling them, to them Muslims are not allowed to befriend
with them. The meaning of this divine text is that the Muslims are allowed to
befriend to another group (which is not hostile to the Muslims).
3. The Muslims are allowed to marry the women of
the People of the Book (Jewish and Christians). Married life has to be based on
spiritual tranquillity, love, and mercy, as indicated in the Qur’ān, وَمِنْ آَيَاتِهِ أَنْ خَلَقَ لَكُمْ مِنْ أَنْفُسِكُمْ
أَزْوَاجًا لِتَسْكُنُوا إِلَيْهَا وَجَعَلَ بَيْنَكُمْ مَوَدَّةً وَرَحْمَةً إِنَّ
فِي ذَلِكَ لَآَيَاتٍ لِقَوْمٍ يَتَفَكَّرُونَ (الروم:21)) “And among His Signs is that He created for
you wives from among yourselves, that you may find repose in them, and He has
put between you affection and mercy. Verily, in that are indeed signs for a
people who reflect.” (Q. 30:21). This indicates that there is no harm in
showing affection (of a Muslim) towards a non-Muslim. How could it be possible
that a man does not love his Jewish or Christian wife, and for a boy not to
love his (maternal) grand-parents, (maternal) uncles and aunts if his mother is
a Jewess or a Christian?
4. The undoubted truth is that Islam confirms the
promotion of religious bond above any bond, either blood, territorial, race, or
social class. A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim; a believer is a brother
of another believer. The Muslims are one ummah (nation); they quickly
protect their deprived ones. They are power over others. A Muslim is closer to
another Muslim than any non-Muslim, even if he is his own father, son or
brother. This, Shaykh al-Qaraḍāwī asserts, is not exclusively in Islam, but it
is the nature of every religion and every belief. He claims that this view is
also confirmed in the Bible.
In
conclusion, Islam is always a peaceful religion in teaching, propagating and
promoting peace and tranquillity in this world. It is its followers who
sometimes misunderstand or are extreme in understanding of its teachings which
lead them to act extremely. The proverb says: “Half knowledge is dangerous.”
(CIVIC, 22.02.13).
المراجع:
تفسير
أبن كثير
المازني
, إبراهيم بن محمد. التعامل مع الآخر: شواهد تاريخية من الحضارة الآسلامية
الرياض:
مركز الملك عبد العزيز للحوار الوطني , 1426 هـ، ص 182-187.
9. CHILD
AND WIFE-BEATING IN ISLAM
Before dealing with wife-biting
claimed to have been practiced among Muslims, I would like to speak about the
culture of beating. Since I was born in Indonesia where I lived over
twenty-years, lived in Egypt over ten years, and in Saudi Arabia four years, I
would like to talk about beating in these areas.
In Indonesia, the culture of beating school children
was practiced during the Dutch and Japanese occupations, even till the early
50s. It was one of many ways of punishing them for not doing their school
assignments, and for their bad behavior. We could understand that, as we did
not have any qualified teacher. The education and teachers of elementary
schools at that time were 6 year Dutch elementary school (Kweek School)
with an extra teaching training about two years, and sometimes as apprentices.
In late 1946 or early 47, when I was at grade 2, an inspector come to our class
testing the apprentice teacher in counting: “Four and a half plus four and a
half?” The apprentice answered: “Sembilan, tuan!” (Nine, sir!). Even I
myself can answer that easy question.”
That was in government schools. In the madrasahs (Islamic
religious schools) where most of the subjects taught were Islamic and Arabic,
physical punishment mostly with beating the hand and the foot with a stick was
also practiced and was accepted in the community. With minor mistakes, pulling
the ear was also practiced.
Among the
Arabs, especially the ancient Arabs, beating was common and was acceptable.
There are many Arabic proverbs mentioned it, such as:
a. العَبْدُ
يُضْرَبُ بِاْلعَصَا وَ الْحُرُّ يَكْفِيْهِ الإشَارَة“The slave is beaten with stick [to discipline him], whereas for
the free-man gesture would be sufficient.”
b. اْلعَصَا
لِمَنْ عَصَى
“Sticks are used for those who disobey.”
c.
ضَرْبُ
اْلحَبِيْبِ أَحْلَى مِنْ أَكْلِ الزَّبِيْب “The
beating of the beloved-one is sweeter than eating sultanas.”
d. ضَرْبُ
اْلمُعَلِّمِ تُسْلَمُ أَيْدُه “The
beating of the teacher (instructor, master) is accepted with appreciation.”
The second caliph ‘Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb was known for
his strict rule and beating people. Some examples are as follows:
a.
He beat people who performed the abrogated recommended 2 rak‘ah
(units) prayer after ‘asr (late afternoon) prayer. It was also reported
that ‘Abdullah ibn ‘Abbās did the abrogated recommended 2 rak‘ah, probably
to discourage people from delaying their ‘asr obligatory prayer till
sunset.
b.
He beat a person who came to his office while he was busy. He realised
his mistake, and demanded and insisted retaliation from him, but the person
also insisted to forgive him.
c.
He beat the slave-girl of Anas family when he saw her covering her
head. He told her: اكْشِفِي رَأْسَكِ، لَا تَشَبَّهِينَ
بِالْحَرَائِرِ “Uncover
your head, do not be like free women.”
d.
He beat Ubayy ibn Ka‘b with an udder as a reprimand when he saw him let
people walk behind him (out of respect). He also beat his son ‘Ubaydullah for
drinking alcohol.
As a last resort the
Prophet ordered parents to beat their children if they do not pray at the age
of ten. But if the parents pray their children would also pray following their
examples. He said:
مُرُوا
أَبْنَاءَكُمْ بِالصَّلَاةِ لِسَبْعِ سِنِينَ وَاضْرِبُوهُمْ عَلَيْهَا لِعَشْرِ
سِنِينَ ...
(رواه أحمد و النسائي و الترمذي و الطبراني و البيهقي)
Order your children to pray at the age of seven, and
beat them at the age of ten (in order to pray)
(Reported by Ahmad, al-Nasa’i, al-Tirmidhi,
al-Tabrani, and
al-Bayhaqi)
إِذَا
بَلَغَ الْغُلَامُ سَبْعَ سِنِينَ أُمِرَ بِالصَّلَاةِ فَإِذَا بَلَغَ عَشْرًا
ضُرِبَ عَلَيْهَا
(رواه أحمد و النسائي و الترمذي و الطبراني و البيهقي(
If the
boy reaches the age of seven he shall
be ordered to pray,
and be beaten at the age
of ten (in order to pray) (Reported by
Ahmad, al-Nasā’ī, al-Tirmidhī,
al-Ṭabrānī, and al-Bayhaqī)
In mid 50s teachers in Egypt still
used stick to discipline their pupils and students. I witnessed myself a
director of al-Azhar high school for foreign students used to have a stick in
his hand to chase students into their classrooms when the time for class was
starting. It happened in early 1959.
Beating the students’ palm-hands by
their teachers as punishment was common in elementary and junior secondary
school, especially in rural areas in Saudi Arabia. As a teacher at the
secondary school (1969-1973) I was told to do the same, which I did
reluctantly. When I rebuked a student for his misbehavior, he raised his palms
to be beaten as punishment before being asked. It was a gesture to end-up my
reproach. This happened in 1970.
A student himself would give his teacher a good stick
as a present to be used to discipline his students, and he knew that one day he
might be “the victim”, and I as a teacher received one. At that time it was
acceptable for a teacher to beat his students’ palms exclusively to discipline
them.
In the first half of the 20th century
corporeal punishment was accepted as an effective means to discipline pupils of
elementary schools among the Arabs and Indonesians. However, students of senior
high schools, let alone university students, are mature enough, and have enough
responsibility and good character that beating is no longer necessary. There
are many other ways of punishing students rather than using corporeal
punishment.
In about 1994 an Indonesian friend of
Arab descent in Sydney told me that his daughter complained to him of her
teacher’s corporeal punishment. He went to her school, met the principal and
the teacher, and told him, “I don’t mind if you punish my daughter, as long as
you do not break her bones.”
Some Muslims beat their wives for various
reasons, such as: to show that they are the masters of the house, being raised and
occasionally beaten by their parents, and
saw their fathers beating their mothers, being mentally ill, misunderstanding
the Qur’anic verses dealing with family lives, and thinking that wife-beating
is normal, like beating school children.
Ghawwār, a 20th century well-known actor among the
Arabs for his satirical remarks, in one of his film he was married to his
cousin. When his wife complained to him for beating her, he said, “It is
alright, you beat the children, and the children would beat the children of our
neighbour,” as if beating is normal and not to be fussy about.
Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. who was sent as an
example for Muslims, never beat his wives, but treated him the best treatment.
He detested wife-beating and beating women in general. He said:
لا
تَضْرِبُوا إِمَاءَ اللَّهِ (رواه أبو داؤد و ابن ماجة
و
النسائي و أحمد و ابن حبان)
“Never
beat God’s handmaidens.”
(Reported by Abū Dā’ūd, Ibn Mājah, an-Nasā’i,
Aḥmad ibn Ḥanbal, Ibn Ḥibbān).
He also said,
يَضْرِبُ
أَحَدُكُمُ امْرَأَتَهُ ضَرْبَ الْعَبْدِ، ثُمَّ يُعَانِقُهَا آخِرَ النَّهَار (متفق
عليه)
“Could any of you beat his wife as he would
beat a slave, and then lie down with her in
the evening?” (Bukhari and Muslim).
خَيْرُكُمْ
خَيْرُكُمْ لِأَهْلِهِ, وَأَنَا خَيْرُكُمْ لِأَهْلِي (رواه ابن ماجه)
The best among you is the one who
treats his
family the best, and I am the best in treating
family.
(Reported
by Ibn Mājah).
خِيَارُكُمْ
خِيَارُكُمْ لِنِسَائِهِمْ (رواه الترمذي)
The best among you is the one who treats his
wife the best (Reported by al-Tirmidhi)
‘Umar who was known
for his hard treatment did not beat his wife. A man came to his house to
complain to him about his wife’s mistreatment. He waited at his door and heard
Umar’s wife treated him harshly. The man left home, but Umar saw him and called
him. When he was asked the purpose of his visit he said that it was about his
wife’s mistreatment, but he saw that even the caliph Umar’s wife mistreated him
and he tolerated it. ‘Umar said that it was because his wife had done lots of
things: baking, cooking his food, washing his clothes and raising his children.
He advised the man to tolerate his wife’s mistreatment and said that it would
not last long.
The Qur’ān which was referred to
permitting wife-beating is as follows:
...وَاللَّاتِي
تَخَافُونَ نُشُوزَهُنَّ فَعِظُوهُنَّ وَاهْجُرُوهُنَّ فِي الْمَضَاجِعِ
وَاضْرِبُوهُنَّ
فَإِنْ
أَطَعْنَكُمْ فَلَا تَبْغُوا عَلَيْهِنَّ سَبِيلًا إِنَّ اللَّهَ كَانَ عَلِيًّا
كَبِيرًا (النساء:34(
And to
those women on whose part you see ill conduct,
admonish
them, and abandon them in their beds, and beat
them, but
if they return to obedience, do not seek
a means
against them. Surely, Allah is Ever
Most
High, Most Great. (Q. 4: 34)
However, this beating, if it is absolutely
necessary, is only the last resort if the wife “has become guilty, in an
obvious manner, of immoral conduct” which is the interpretation of the term “nushūz”
mentioned in the verse. When admonishing her failed, then abandoning her in her
bed. According to the Qur’ānic commentators al-Suddī, al-Daḥḥāq, ‘Ikrimah and
Ibn Abbās, it includes “not to speak with her or talk to her.” Ibn ‘Abbas also
said that in includes “to lie on her bed with his back to her.” When this also
fails, then beating her as the last sort, but it should be done “in such a way
not to cause pain (ghayr mubarriḥ)”. The well-known commentator of the
Qur’ān al-Ṭabarī mentioned the view of earlier scholars that the beating should
be only symbolic, with a piece of siwāk (a small stick used for cleaning
and polishing the teeth after softening its tip) or anything. Another early
Qur’ānic commentator al-Rāzi said that the beating should be very light even
with a folded handkerchief. Many great early scholars such as al-Shāfi‘ī said
that although beating is permissible, it should be avoided following the
Prophet’s own personal feeling on this matter. (See commentary of Muhammad Asad
on this verse in his translation of the Qur’an entitle The Message of the
Qur’an on this verse):
Following the teaching and the example of the
Prophet beating women in general and wives in particular should be banned in
this modern time. The outdated tradition of child beating should be stopped,
and instead, understanding the motives of children’s behaviour would help us in
making them behave better.
An article entitled “Disciplining
Your Child without Beating” by UNICEF Jamaica and Parenting Corner gives
us some advices among which are as follows:
-
Physical punishment sometimes causes serious physical and emotional
damage to children. Some of them get used to it and means nothing to them.
Others may rebel and act out against it.
-
The parents should set the right example for their children, and follow
the rules they have set. If the children do something wrong, give them a
time-out - that is make them sit in a quiet place away from others. It also
will give the parents to cool off and the children to think about their
misbehavior. Then they discuss the problem with their children.
-
Another option is to take away their favourite toys, or preventing them
from playing with their friends for a particular period. The parents should
praise, reward and show lots of love and trust to their children when they do
well.
-
The parents should spend time, communicate with their children, and
encourage them to speak freely with them. (CIVIC, 01.03.13)
المراجع:
المكتبة
الشاملة
تفسير الطبري
تفسير
القرطبي
لفسير ابن
كثير
10.
TIME WILL COME
A prophet, in Arabic نَبِيْئ (nabī’) -- and later became نَبِّيَ (nabīy) for easy articulating -- literally
means “a person who prophesies, nabba’a (نَبَّأَ) what will happen in the future, naba’ (النَّبَأ)Its
plural is anbā’ (أَنْبَاء). The Arabic
word for what has happened in the past isخَبَر
, its plural is أَخْبَار“news” in
English. Then these two words نَبَأand خَبَر
are used as synonyms, both have the same
meaning, namely, what will happen in the future as well as what happened in the
past. As the word naba’ and its derivatives are easier to articulate
than khabar and its derivatives, it is used mostly in the Qur’ān, as it
is to be read by Arabs as well as non-Arabs.
As a
prophet who brought the Qur’ān to people, it contains many prophecies of the
future. He also prophesies many things not mentioned directly in the Qur’ān,
such as follows:
لا يَأْتِي
زَمَانٌ إِلا الَّذِي بَعْدَهُ شَرٌّ مِنْهُ حَتَّى تَلْقَوْا رَبَّكُمْ (رواه
البخاري)
Time
will come where its later will be worse
than what precedes it, until you meet
your Lord
(Reported
by Bukhari)
The
Prophet s.a.w. also said:
إِنَّ اللَّهَ لا يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ
انْتِزَاعًا يَنْتَزِعُهُ مِنْ الْعِبَادِ، وَلَكِنْ يَقْبِضُ الْعِلْمَ
بِقَبْضِ
الْعُلَمَاءِ، حَتَّى إِذَا لَمْ يُبْقِ عَالِمًا اتَّخَذَ النَّاسُ رُءُوسًا
جُهَّالًا فَسُئِلُوا
فَأَفْتَوْا
بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ فَضَلُّوا وَأَضَلُّوا
(رواه البخاري)
Allah does not take away the knowledge, by taking it
away
from (the
hearts of) the people, but takes it away by the death
of the
religious learned men till when none of the (religious
learned men) remains, people will take as their
leaders
ignorant
persons who when consulted will give their
verdict without
knowledge. So they will go astray and
will lead
people astray (Reported by Bukhari)
The Prophet s.a.w. prophesised
that religious knowledge would be disappeared and religious ignorance would
appear. He said:
مِنْ
أَشْرَاطِ السَّاعَةِ أَنْ يُرْفَعَ الْعِلْمُ وَيَثْبُتَ الْجَهْلُ وَتُشْرَبَ
الْخُمُورُ
وَيَظْهَرَ
الزِّنَا (رواه
البخاري)
From among the portents of the Hour are
(the
following): religious knowledge will be taken
away (by the death of religious learned
men);
(religious) ignorance will prevail; drinking
of
alcoholic drink (will be very common);
there
will be prevalence of zina (adultery)
. (Reported by Bukhari)
Nowadays people
learning Islamic knowledge become less and less compared to those who learn
other subjects, especially IT, as it is highly required almost everywhere. If
we look around us we find that many of the children of our scholars in Islam, ‘ulamā’,
are not interested in becoming ‘ulamā’. Non-Arab among them cannot
read the Arabic books of their parents which could be rare and very valuable
books. When the parents died these books end up in the bookshops or the library
of Islamic schools (madrasahs).
Ignorance
of Islamic knowledge is starting to prevail, as many Muslims give their
personal opinions about a certain subject in Islam, sometimes based of what
they call “common sense”. There is danger in basing the truth on ”common sense”
as it is relative and keeps changing based on time and place. Reading the
translations of Islamic books without referring to their original Arabic
language, especially the Qur’ān and the Ḥadīth, does not guarantee that
a person masters Islamic knowledge. If someone said that you do not have to
know Arabic to know Islam, I would say that you do not have to know English in
order to know English literature.
Drinking alcohol
has become common in Western countries, so that road accident and alcohol are
mostly closely related. When a Muslim convert told the police man who checked
his breath for alcohol that he did not
drink such thing, the police man said to him: “If everybody is like you,
then I could lose my job.“ That means
alcohol and the like, although it is bad for causing many accidents and creating problems, at the same
time it creates jobs.
Adultery is
common, that every big city has usually a red light district where brothels
are, and people working there would not be very ashamed for their job, as they
are working serving people in “sex industry”, just like working in steel
industry, and pay taxes like any other workers. Marriage institution becomes in
jeopardy, and even some married people do not want to have babies, although the
main purpose of marriage is procreation beside sakīnah (tranquillity).
In Islam having children is an investment for the Hereafter where they are
expected to pray for their parents after their death. For those who do not
believe in this, may consider having children to be a burden, and therefore
they preferred keeping pets, cats, dogs, etc. rather than having babies.
These animals are affectionate and obedient to their owners, and unlike
children, they never talk back.
A similar ḥadīth
is as follows:
مِنْ أَشْرَاطِ
السَّاعَةِ أَنْ يَقِلَّ الْعِلْمُ وَيَظْهَرَ الْجَهْلُ وَيَظْهَرَ الزِّنَا وَتَكْثرَ النِّسَاءُ
وَيَقِلَّ
الرِّجَالُ حَتَّى يَكُونَ لِخَمْسِينَ امْرَأَةً الْقَيِّمُ الْوَاحِدُ (رواه
البخاري)
From the portents of the Hour are: (religious) knowledge
will
decrease, there will be prevalence of
zina (adultery),
women will
increase in number so much so that fifty
women will be looked after by one man.
(Reported by Bukhari)
The number of men will decrease, but the number of
women will increase drastically, so that it will reach fifty times more than
men. Those who are involved in and victims of arm conflicts are mostly men.
Although the policy of the government in China that every couple should have
one baby only, they prefer males, the number of females in the world keeps
increasing more than males. More girls are born than boys.
The number of
pious and religious men will decrease. Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said:
«إِنَّمَا النَّاسُ كَالإِبِلِ المِائَةِ،
لاَ تَكَادُ تَجِدُ فِيهَا رَاحِلَةً» (رواه البخاري)
People are like a hundred camels, you almost do not find
a proper one suitable for
traveling and carrying goods.
(Reported by Bukhari)
It means that time will come when there will be so
many people, but the those who are following Allah’s prescription are very few.
A ḥadīth with a similar meaning is as follows:
«يُوشِكُ أَنْ يَأْتِيَ زَمَانٌ
يُغَرْبَلُ النَّاسُ فِيهِ غَرْبَلَةً، تَبْقَى حُثَالَةٌ مِنَ النَّاسِ،
قَدْ مَرِجَتْ عُهُودُهُمْ، وَأَمَانَاتُهُمْ،
وَاخْتَلَفُوا فَكَانُوا هَكَذَا»
وَشَبَّكَ بَيْنَ أَصَابِعِهِ،
فَقَالُوا: وَكَيْفَ بِنَا يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ؟
قَالَ: «تَأْخُذُونَ مَا تَعْرِفُونَ، وَتَذَرُونَ
مَا تُنْكِرُونَ، وَتُقْبِلُونَ عَلَى أَمْرِ
خَاصَّتِكُمْ، وَتَذَرُونَ أَمْرَ عَامَّتِكُمْ (رواه النسائي)
Time soon will come when good people will go and
bad people
remain; they will break their promises and
faithfulness,
and disagree among themselves, and they
become like this (the Prophet intertwined his fingers);
they said: what shall we do then, O Messenger of
Allah? He
said: Do what you think is right and leave
what you think is not right, and turn to the
order
of your leading personalities, and avoid the order
of your
common people. (Reported by al-Nasā’ī)
Time
will come when the majority of people are crook and unreliable, so that we do not
know who is good and who is bad. At that time, the Prophet told us to stick to
what we think is right and avoid what we think is wrong, and turn to the order
of educated people and avoid the order of common people.
In a long ḥadīth the Prophet said that among the signs
of the coming of the Hour are:
... أَنْ
تَلِدَ الْأَمَةُ رَبَّتَهَا، وَأَنْ تَرَى الْحُفَاةَ الْعُرَاةَ الْعَالَةَ
رِعَاءَ الشَّاءِ
يَتَطَاوَلُونَ
فِي الْبُنْيَانِ (رواه مسلم)
… that the slave-girl will give birth to her
mistress,
that you
will see the barefooted ones, the naked, the
destitute, the herdsmen of the sheep
(competing
with each
other) in raising lofty buildings."
(Reported by Muslim)
This
means that parents would have no longer any authority over their children, and
children would no longer respect their parents.
Parents would desperately try to please their children as if they are
their masters.
The second sign
of the coming of the Hour is poor barefoot shepherds suddenly became rich and
competing with one another over building the tallest building. Among the 300
tall buildings in the world, the tallest one is the Skyscraper Burj Khalifa
in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 828 m high, built in 2010, consisting of 163 floor.
Abu Dhabi, is the second leading country, that built 55 tall buildings in this
21th century (except one, Burj al-‘Arab, built in 1999), after China
that built about 75 high buildings. The USA has 41 high buildings, and
Australia has 7 high buildings.
The second high building in the world is Makkah
Royal Clock Tower, has 120 (123?) floors, 601 m high, took more than five
years to build, completed in 2012, The third tallest building is Taipei 101
in Taipei (Taiwan), has 101 floors, 509 m high, built in 2004 the
tallest building in the world at that time. The fourth tallest building is Shanghai World Financial Center in Shanghai, has 101
floors, 492 m high, built in 2008. The fifth tallest building is International
Commerce Centre in Hongkong, has 118 floors, 484 m high, built in 2010. The
sixth tallest building is Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, has 88
floors, 452 m high, built in 1998.
The
Sky City in Changsha in China is planning to be built the tallest skyscraper in
the world, 10 meters taller than Burj Khalifa in Dubai, standing at 838m high, over 220 floors.
The proposed tallest building in the world that will
also take over Burj Khalifa as the tallest skyscraper will be the Kingdom
Tower in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, 1,000 meter high. It will be built by the
Saudi construction firm Ben Laden Group in over five years. The tower will
include a hotel, serviced apartments, and luxury condominiums.
High rise apartment buildings are in great demand,
especially in the Arab countries in the Middle East, where the populations are
increasing rapidly with limited space. The discovery of oil in these desert
countries that turns them into oil rich ones is the main contribution to the fulfillment
of this pressing need for high rising buildings. The Prophet s.a.w. had
prophesized it over one thousand years ago. (CIVIC, 22.03.13)
1.
Maktabah Shamilah
world
3.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/china-to-build-worlds-tallest-building--injust-90-days-8340870
4.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2013/feb/21/shard-builder-worlds-tallest-skyscraper.html
5.
http://www.emporis.com/statistics/worlds-tallest-buildings
6.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abraj_Al_Bait
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