Interpretation of the - Al-Imran (3)- Lesson (54-60)- Verses [181-182]

Praise be to Allah, the Lord of Creations, and Peace and blessings be upon our prophet , the faithful and the honest. Oh, Allah, w e know nothing but w hat You teach us. You are the All- Know er, the Wise. Oh Allah, teach us w hat is good for us, and benefit us from w hat You taught us, and increase our know ledge. Show us the righteous things as righteous and help us to do them, and show us the bad things as bad and help us to keep aw ay from them. O Allah our Lord, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion, unto the lights of erudition and know ledge, and from the muddy shallow s of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity.

Allah has heard those who said: Allah is poor:

﴿!Indeed, Allah has heard the statement of those w ho say: “Truly Allah is poor and w e are rich﴾

Dear Brothers, Allah says:

﴿!Indeed, Allah has heard the statement of those w ho say: “Truly Allah is poor and w e are rich﴾

(Al-Imran: 181)

The Jews fancied that Allah was poor so He asked for loan:

The Jew s said so w hen Allah ordered them to give charity. They thought that Allah w as poor and they w ere rich. Allah the Almighty says:

﴿w e shall record w hat they say﴾

(Al-Imran: 181)

Feeling that one is watched by Allah is the highest level of :

First, the greatest level of faith is to feel that Allah is w ith you, and the He know s w hat is in your heart, hears your speech, and sees your movements. When Allah says:

It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof. His Command﴾ ﴿ descends between them, that you may know

(At-Talaq: 12)

The Universe refers to the Creator:

This verse is w onderful; the cause of creating the heavens and earth for humans is:

It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof. His Command﴾ ﴿ descends between them, that you may know

(At-Talaq: 12)

This means that the task of this great universe is to make you know Allah. Our eyes don’t see Allah, but our mind does. This universe contains the Divine Attributes, and it refers to them, so if you contemplate in the universe you w ill reach to the Creator of this universe. You go from creation to the Creator, from management to the Manager, from grace to the Benefactor, from the system to the Organizer, from w isdom to the Wise. This is the difference betw een the believer and the disbeliever; the believer is w ith the Benefactor, but the disbeliever is w ith the grace, he tastes it, gets it, enjoys it, but he is aw ay from the Benefactor. The disbeliever is w ith the system, but he doesn’t move from it to the Organizer. Heroism is to penetrate the system to reach the Organizer, w isdom to the Wise, creation to the Creator, Beauty to the Most Beautiful, to the Creator of Beauty. When you observe a beautiful odorous flow er w ith w onderful colors, you should move to think of the Creator. The w hole case is to move from the universe to its Creator, from the system to its Organizer, and from the grace to the Benefactor:

It is Allah Who has created seven heavens and of the earth the like thereof. His Command﴾ ﴿ descends between them, that you may know

(At-Talaq: 12)

Knowing that Allah knows makes you disciplined:

In order to know that Allah is Capable of everything, and that He know s everything, can you do anything w rong in the presence of a security officer? You can’t. Thus, w hen you know that Allah know s, do you kill a child? Do you destroy a house? Do you steal money? Do you cheat a Muslim? In other w ords: all errors are made because you don’t know that Allah know s. All discipline w e aspire; national discipline, w ork discipline, discipline in earning and spending money, and discipline in having pleasures allow ed by Allah, all this discipline can’t be achieved unless w e know that Allah know s. There is another verse:

﴿That you may know that Allah know s﴾

(Al-Ma’ida: 97)

When you know that Allah know s, you w ill have self discipline, because no man can do a mistake in front of the one w ho can punish him. There is a very simple example: you w on’t cross the street w hile the traffic light is red, in the midday, and if the police officer is there, but you can cross it at 3 in the morning, because the one w ho imposed the law is not there. The one w ho imposed the law is represented by the officer. At three in the morning the one w ho imposed the law can’t see you, so you cross the street, or you can ignore the law if you are stronger than the one w ho imposed it. When does man discipline practically? When he know s that Allah know s and the He w ill reckon him, and punish him. I sw ear to Allah that any other discipline is an illusion. They say: self sanction, conscience, home education, all of this is nonsense. If you don’t know that Allah know s and that He w ill punish, you can’t discipline. By the w ay, you discipline w ith a human being like you. He might be younger, but stronger than you. When you see that the One you disobey know s and w ill punish. Which merchant dare hide an external deal from his registers? None, because a rate of the deal goes to the Ministry of Finance, so if you don’t mention it, you w ill be charged w ith a huge tax. So you discipline w ith a creature like you, but stronger than you, how w ill you do w ith the Creator. Dear brothers: ﴿!Indeed, Allah has heard the statement of those w ho say: “Truly Allah is poor and w e are rich﴾

Divergent has illusions like a deceptive vision:

Those w ho cheat Muslims- how do you cheat them?- if they know that Allah know s and that he w ill pay for that of his health, children, or his closest relatives, they w ouldn’t cheat them. The cause of every sin committed is that people have an illusion that Allah doesn’t know , or that He know s but doesn’t reckon. They say: Allah is Oft-Forgiving and Merciful, His Mercy contains us. This is nonsense. His Mercy contains us w hen w e obey Him in His Orders:

:Say: “O My slaves w ho have transgressed against themselves! Despair not of the Mercy of Allah﴾ ﴿.verily, Allah forgives all sins. Truly, He is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful

(Az-Zumar: 53)

His Mercy contains us if w e repent and return to Him and reconcile w ith Him, then His Mercy w ill contain us. How ever, how could someone insist on a sin, insist on earning illegal money, and insist on an unlaw ful relation w ith a w oman says: Nothing contains us but Allah’s Mercy. You can’t mock Allah’s religion, and escape His Punishment. This is kind of mockery. If someone says joking: I earn illegal money and pay part of it as charity, charity is rew arded ten times, so I w ill survive. He w ill never survive the punishment.

Beware of mocking and playing with Allah’s religion:

By the w ay, there is a very important issue in jurisprudence it is time to discuss: Can you say: I w ant to perform pilgrimage but I don’t w ant to w ear the clothes of Ihram, can I offer ten sheep and w ear normal clothes? Of course you can’t. If you offer a million sheep your pilgrimage is invalid, but if you pass the Miquat (the place in w hich a pilgrim must enter the state of Ihram) by mistake w ithout w earing the clothes of Ihram, he must offer a sheep as (Hadi), this could recondition. For example, if tw o poor people made an agreement that each of them pays the other zakat Fitr. This is playing w ith the religion of Allah. It is as if none of them pay anything, but you can pay zakat Fitr, w hile you are poor, and you receive zakat Fitr w ithout you feel it, plan for it, or even know it. In other w ords, Allah’s limits can’t be transgressed w ith anything. It might happen that a person goes on pilgrimage for the first time in his life, flies for the first time, w ith the clothes of Ihram in his big suitcase. After boarding on the plane, and the plane flies to , it is announced that this place is Miquat (the place in w hich you should enter the state of ihram), so he says: I w ant my tow els. He doesn’t understand that he can’t get them in the plane as they are in another place. What happens to this pilgrim? There is a solution. He must offer a sheep as Hadi, or return to the Miquat to enter the state of ihram. On the other hand, if a rich man says: I w ill pay the value of a hundred sheep in order not to w ear the clothes of ihram, his pilgrimage is invalid. There is another example, if you miss a w ajib (obligation) in prayer, you have to do tw o prostrations for inattention. If someone says: I w on’t sit betw een each couple of rak’as, and he performs the four rak’as and then the tw o prostrations of inattention, in this case his prayer is invalid. If he misses it by mistake, he prostrates for inattention, but if he does it intentionally, and plays w ith the religion of Allah, this w ill never be accepted of him. Dear brothers: I say this to tell you that nothing can justify transgressing the limits of Allah, neither charity, nor Hadi, not any deed. How ever, if a person does a mistake, every violation has a penance, but penances can’t be paid in advance to justify transgression. It is impossible:

﴿!Indeed, Allah has heard the statement of those w ho say: “Truly Allah is poor and w e are rich﴾ Allah knows and punishes:

They don’t know that Allah hears them, or they know that He hears them, but they think that He doesn’t punish them. The fact is that there are tw o important points: Allah know s and punishes. Those w ho are brought up in Islamic countries know that Allah know s, but they fancy that He doesn’t punish:

﴿So, by your Lord, We shall certainly call all of them to account. For all that they used to do﴾

(Al-Hijr: 92-93)

How about the Beduin w ho asked the Prophet to advice him and outline, so the prophet recited the Holy verse:

So whosoever does good equal to the w eight of an atom shall see it. And w hosoever does evil﴾ ﴿equal to the w eight of an atom shall see it

(Az-Zalzalah: 7-8)

So he said: that is enough. I ask you by Allah: If there is a punishment for every sin, if you really believe in this, w ould you commit a sin? A friend of mine, w ho is dead now , may Allah have mercy on him, told me that he had a new car w hich w as broken. He asked a man to repair it. This man w as so clever. He knew that the car is new and that its ow ner doesn’t know anything of its details. The car could be repaired in ten minutes, but he asked for ten thousand pounds. My friend believed him. He promised him to give it back to him ready after tw o days. He took his family for a picnic in the first day, and to another place in the second day, repaired it in a few minutes, and took ten thousand pounds in cash. He said to his neighbor w ho is a friend of mine: this is people must w ork. I knew that this person doesn’t know the details of this car, he w ants it sound, and he is rich, coming from the Gulf. He knew that Allah know s, because he w as brought up in an Islamic country, but he thought that Allah w on’t punish him. He had a son w ho w orks in cutting metals, a small piece of steel got in his eye. He paid 16 thousand Lebanese pounds w hen the Lebanese pound w as w orth of 160 Syrian cents, w hich w as about 22 thousand Syrian pounds. If he had know n that he w ill pay w hat he took in double, he w ouldn’t have done it. It is a matter of know ledge. A man w as driving on the highw ay. He saw a dog. He w anted to express his excellence in driving, so he cuts its hands only, he didn’t kill it. He w ent laughing hysterically. A man w ho w as w ith him in the car sw ears that the next w eek, in the same place, he had a problem w ith the tire, so he stopped to change it. He lifted the car w ith crane. Suddenly, the car fell on the tire, and the tire fell on his arms. He w as taken to a hospital. His hands w ere black, and they had to cut them. The man sw ears to me, and he is still alive, after a w eek, he lost his hands. When a man know s that Allah know s and w ill punishe, he w ill count to billion before committing a sin, or assault anyone.

Those people are the stupid, don’t be like them:

Who are the stupid people in the w orld today? I sw ear that the most stupid people are those w ho destroy, bomb, and kill people. It is estimated that 300 thousand innocent people w ere killed in South East Asia. They w ere killed in a bombing. They don’t have anything to do w ith w hat happened. w ho are the stupid? It is those people w ho enjoy killing, destroying houses, killing the innocent people and children. They think that they achieve victory. They don’t know that Allah knew and they w ould be in Hellfire eternally. Allah says: Consider not that Allah is unaw are of that w hich the polytheists do, but He gives them respite up﴾ ﴿to a Day w hen the eyes w ill stare in horror

(: 42)

﴿Let not the free disposal of the disbelievers throughout the land deceive you﴾

(Al-Imran 196)

Say:

﴿Do w hat you w ill﴾

(: 40)

It is a threat from Allah. The lesson is that you should know that Allah know s, before you eat something illegal, before you cheat a person w ho trusts you and ask him to make useless test, or ask him for money for no effort. How many jobs are based on lying, cheating, and fraud? What is the reason of this terrible deviation in the behavior of Muslims? The reason is a terrible deviation in their creed. They don’t know that Allah know s. When you knew you discipline. I heard today that a heir, the oldest among heirs, took all the money, and deprived all his brothers of their shares in the heritage. He is still a young man, but he w as inflicted w ith a malignant, and now he is on the death bed. When you know that Allah know s, you count to million before committing a sin, before oppressing people, before earning a penny illegally, before cheating people, before hurting them. Who is the happy one? It is he w ho w orks for the benefit of Muslims. Who is the most w retched one? It is he w ho builds his earning on terrifying Muslims, taking their money, and disgracing them. On w hat do those w ho circulate immorality live? On the morals of the youth. One of my students told me that his uncle had a cinema in Damascus. He said: w hen he w as forty he w as inflicted w ith incurable disease. He w ent to him and saw him crying. He asked him about the reason. He said: I collected a huge w ealth to enjoy w hen I get old. This disease came to me early and I haven’t enjoyed my w ealth. This man built his w ealth on spoiling young people. he looked for hot films, young people came to him to enjoy the prohibited. Watching w ould probably end w ith illegal action, adultery, or something like this. When you don’t know that Allah know s, or w hen you know that Allah know s but you think that He doesn’t punish. You have a serious problem in your belief, and you pay for this. The most important thing in religion is that you should stay firm on the orders of Allah. This keeps you safe, but righteous deeds make you happy. verily, those w ho say: “our Lord is Allah,” and then they stand firm, on them the angels w ill﴾ descend (saying): “Fear not, nor grieve! But receive the glad tidings of Paradise w hich you have been promised (30) We have been your friends in the life of this w orld and are (so) in the Hereafter. Therein you shall have (all) that your inner-selves desire, and therein you shall have ﴿.all) of w hich you ask)

(Fussilat: 30-32)

By standing firm you are safe, but:

So, whoever hopes for the Meeting with His Lord, let him w ork righteousness and associate﴾ ﴿none as a partner in the w orship of His Lord

(Al-Kahf: 110)

O dear brothers, the essence of religion is that you must abide to the Holy Book of Allah. To obey His orders, and keep aw ay from w hat He prohibits, to do good deeds. Muslims don’t lie, don’t eat illegal money, don’t cheat, don’t take other people’s money, don’t spoil them, don’t accept a job based on hurting Muslims, scaring them, or taking their money illegally. I w anted through this verse to shake our beliefs to the better. We perform acts of w orship but w e don’t care for dealing w ith people. This is confirmed in the noble narrated by Abi-Huraira, that the prophet peace be upon him said:

((Do you know w ho the bankrupt is? They said: it is he w ho doesn’t have money nor luggage. He said: the bankrupt in my nation is the one w ho comes at the Day of Resurrection having performed prayer, fasting, and zakat, but w ho has disguised someone, backbit someone, took the money of someone illegally, caused death of someone, and hit someone, so each of them would take some of his good deeds, so w hen his good deeds end, their bad deeds w ould be throw n over him and he would be thrown into Hell fire))

[ Muslim, Termithi, and Ahmad]

The bankrupt is the one w ho doesn’t abide to Allah’s approach, but he performs acts of w orship. He is a bankrupt. In order to gain time, and your life time is the most important thing in religion after belief in Allah, you must stay firm on obeying Allah’s orders. You can’t keep obeying unless you know that Allah know s. This is the most important sanction that keeps you aw ay from sins, know ing that Allah know s. Those people:

﴿We shall record w hat they have said﴾

(Al-Imran: 181)

These w ords are registered on them. How many deeds do Muslims do unknow ing that they are committing one of the biggest guilts?

And their killing of Prophets unjustly

﴿And their killing of the Prophets unjustly ﴾

(Al-Imran: 181)

This is also one of their characteristics:

And We shall say: “Taste you the torment of the burning (181) This is because of that w hich your﴾ ﴿.hands have sent before you. And certainly, Allah in never unjust to (His) slaves

(Al-Imran: 181)

In other w ords:

And if there be the w eight of a mustard seed, We w ill bring it. And Sufficient are We as)﴾ ﴿(.Reckoners

(Al-Anbia’ 47)

So whosoever does good equal to the w eight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it. And﴾ ﴿.whosoever does evil equal to the w eight of an atom (or a small ant), shall see it

(Al-Zalzalah 7-8)

This is a brief summary, and this is religion. The Bedouin w ho w as tested by our master Omar w hen he said: “sell me this ew e”. He answ ered: “It isn’t mine.” He said: “tell its ow ner that it died.” He said: “ I sw ear that I need its price badly, and if I told its ow ner that it died or w as eaten by a w olf, he w ould believe me, but w here is Allah???” This Bedouin shepherd captured the essence of religion. Unless you say: w here is Allah? I w on’t do this because I fear Allah, all your acts of w orship w ould be useless. Unless you say: I fear Allah the Lord of Creations, w hen you are offered something that Allah w ouldn’t be content w ith, all your acts of w orship are useless unless you are straight on the orders on Allah. Q &A There is a question I am frequently asked: Q: Can a w oman read the Quran for learning purposes during her monthly period? A: If she is a student or a teacher, and she has a Quran lesson, for learning purposes she can read the Quran, and this is agreed upon by all jurisprudence schools. Q: Is it allow ed that w e revile a non-Muslim w hen he is mentioned? A: What is this statement???

So long, as they are true to you, stand you true to them. Verily, Allah loves Al-Muttaqun (the )﴾ ﴿ ( pious

(At-Tawba,7)

Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly w ith those who fought not against you on) ﴾ account of religion and did not drive you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal ﴿(.w ith equity

(Al-Mumtahina, 8)

You can visit the non-Muslim, you can congratulate him for a new -born baby, or for graduation, you can help him, and he can visit you, w ithout transgressing the limits of religion.

So long, as they are true to you, stand you true to them. Verily, Allah loves Al-Muttaqun (the )﴾ ﴿ ( pious

(At-Tawba,7)

Allah does not forbid you to deal justly and kindly w ith those who fought not against you on) ﴾ account of religion and did not drive you out of your homes. Verily, Allah loves those who deal ﴿(.w ith equity

(Al-Mumtahina, 8)

These are the w ords of Allah. Where does this statement come from? This extravagance in w hich some Muslims fell is the cause of w hat is going on in the w orld now . Q: Someone bought a coat, and then he realized that it is made of sw ine leather? A: He’d better not use it. Some scholars said that tanned leather is pure, but the common opinion of scholars is that he should not use it. Q: How can w e harmonize the verse:

,(And never say of anything, "I shall do such and such thing tomorrow ." Except (w ith the saying)﴾ ﴿("!If Allah w ill"

(Al-Kahf: 23-24)

With the fact that man has freedom of choice? A: You are free to choose w hat you are ordered to do or to avoid. So th ere are things in w hich you have freedom of choice and there are things you can’t choose. Do you have choice of your father and mother? Do you choose the place and date of your birth? No. Do you have choice in your abilities and shape? No. But you have freedom of choice in your duties. You are ordered to be truthful, and you are free to be truthful or not. Thus being forced in some matters is not contradicted w ith having freedom of choice in duties. You have choice in your duties, but you don’t have choice in w hat is not your duty. It is certainly for your benefit. The best is w hat has really happened. If things are revealed you w ould choose w hat has happened. Allah moves you to your best, the suitable place, time, mother, shape, and capabilities. It is the best for you. But you are free to choose to obey Allah or to disobey Him.

Translation : Maha Sulieman Auditing : Leen Redwan