Islamic Work

Note: this is our 14th post in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma.

Allah says, in Surah ‘Asr:

وَالْعَصْرِ

إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَفِي خُسْرٍ

إِلَّا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالْحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوْا بِالصَّبْرِ

“By Time. Indeed, mankind is at loss. Except for those who have believed, done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” [Asr: 1-3]

Allah swears by time–which shows how enormous and noble this creation is. Time.

Imam Shafi said about this revelation that had it been the only revelation sent to mankind, it would have been enough.  What motivated him to say this?

Note: this is our 13th post in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma. Stand up and do more. Muslims don’t retire or quit from working for the deen. Persist. Be like the flower that springs through concrete. Allah says, in verse 3: وَرَفَعْنَا لَكَ ذِكْرَكَ Translation: And raised high for you your repute. If you see those polls on CNN and BBC and all those places, “Who is the most famous person in the world?

Note: this is our 12th post in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma.

Insha’Allah in this post, we’re going to discuss three points:

1. The close relationship between Allah and His prophet
2. A glimpse of Paradise
3. A core theme of social services in Islam

The Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) received revelation prior to Surah Duhaa. Then for a while, nothing. Umm Jameelah, the wife of Abu Lahab, came to him and said: “I hope your shaytaan has finally left you.” Because the Arabs used to say, if someone was really good at something, that they had a shaytaan helping them. (No doubt like some of the musicians today.)

Still nothing came. The people began to talk … and they said, maybe his Lord has left him. Maybe He has abandoned him.

And so Allah revealed:

In Surah Duhaa, Allah says:

وَالضُّحَى

وَاللَّيْلِ إِذَا سَجَى

مَا وَدَّعَكَ رَبُّكَ وَمَا قَلَى

Translation: By duhaa (the morning brightness after Fajr), and [by] the night when it covers with darkness, your Lord has not taken leave of you, [O Muúammad], nor has He detested [you].

[This hadith is found in Bukhari and Muslim, and is quoted in Tafseer ibn Katheer]

This shows us two things: first, that the people knew when revelation came; that it was a big deal, and everybody knew about it. And second, the immense love of Allah for His prophet. How close their relationship–that even something as small as this stress, Allah revealed verses on behalf of the prophet, to reassure him. Subhanallah!

What’s more, Allah swears by duhaa–by the brightness of the day right after the sun has come up–and by the night, as it covers up the day with darkness. (This shows the greatness of these creations–that Allah swears by them. Who would deny these things? Nobody!)

The hypocrisy of Western Modern culture is amazing! We need to realize that Islam began as something strange, and will end as something strange, so we need not worry what people think of us; rather, we need to be people that respect and fear Allah (سبحانه وتعال), and the creation of Allah (the people) come second. Legal marriage age is 16? 18? but: It’s okay for 14-year-old teens to have sex , and their parents having no idea about it, and it’s with someone they may not approve of, and the person may not have their son or daughter’s best interest at heart.

The Messenger of Allah (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said to his cousin: “And know that victory comes with patience, relief with affliction, and ease with hardship. 1 Even in the battle of Qadisiyyah, after fighting through the whole day, the Muslim leader said “just be patient, and keep fighting.” Even into the night, when most armies stop fighting at night! But subhanallah, what happened? By the next morning, the Muslims had won.

In a very beautiful hadith, our beloved Prophet (صلي الله عليه وسلم) said: __ “There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade: a just ruler; a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic; a man whose heart is attached to the mosques; two men who love each other for Allah’s sake, meeting for that and parting upon that; a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position [for illegal intercourse], but be says: ‘I fear Allah’; a man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity; and a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears.

Innal-Hamdu lillah was-Salaatu was-Salaam `alaa Rasoolillah “Lucky escape … hmmm … Nah! It just wasn’t my time to go yet; Allah saved me and gave me a little longer …” Driving home from work after having a late staff meeting, it was an ordinary evening not much traffic on the road. I got onto the dual carriage, I was in the right lane doing around 60-70 miles an hour, then all of a sudden *BANG* the bonnet of my car flew open and smashed against my car windscreen, *SMASH* all the glass cracked and from the great impact, my back view mirror had completely broken off.

Imagine that your time is water. Every day, you get 24 liters to use as you wish. You keep it in one giant metal bucket and carry it around with you. The bucket leaks–if you don’t pour your time into buckets and use it effectively, most of it will end up spilled on the ground, lost. Each day, you pass by some plants, and you have to stop and water them, or they die–the big, thick bush of family.

In the Qur’an, surah Nisaa, Allah says: فَقَاتِلْ فِي سَبِيلِ اللّهِ لاَ تُكَلَّفُ إِلاَّ نَفْسَكَ وَحَرِّضِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ عَسَى اللّهُ أَن يَكُفَّ بَأْسَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ وَاللّهُ أَشَدُّ بَأْسًا وَأَشَدُّ تَنكِيلاً Translation: Then fight in Allah’s cause – you are responsible only for yourself – and rouse the believers. It may be that Allah will restrain the fury of the Unbelievers; for Allah is the strongest in might and in punishment (Surah Nisaa, 4:84)1

Pain is often an instigator of change. Pain works as one method to break people out of their cycles or mindsets. Look at the story of ‘Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be pleased with him. In Mecca, before he became Muslim, he was one of the toughest on the Muslims. One of his relatives, Umm Abdullah, prepared to leave for Habasha. He asked “where are you going?” and she said “To Habasha.