He (Allah) who has perfected everything which He has created and He began the creation of man from clay. Then He made his (man’s) progeny from an extract of an insignificant fluid. Then He fashioned him in due proportion, and breathed into him from His Spirit. And He gave you (the faculties of) hearing and sight and heart (feelings), yet only few of you are thankful.
The above ayat informs us that the creation of man started from clay/dust. Dust or clay is in-organic material. From in-organic matter to organic matter and then into present form of human being, stage after stage of creations (71:14, 84:19) may span several hundred million years. What course did this stage by stage evolution took, we don’t know as yet. The famous Miller-Urey experiment gives some hint about the first step, i.e the possibility of creation of organic matter from in-organic matter.
The Miller–Urey experiment[1] (or Miller experiment)[2] was a chemical experiment conducted in 1952, that simulated the conditions thought at the time to be present on the early Earth, and tested the chemical origin of life under those conditions. The experiment supported the hypothesis that putative conditions on the primitive Earth favored chemical reactions that synthesized more complex organic compounds from simpler inorganic precursors.
After Miller’s death in 2007, scientists examining sealed vials preserved from the original experiments were able to show that there were actually well over 20 different amino acids produced in Miller’s original experiments. That is considerably more than what Miller originally reported, and more than the 20 that naturally occur in life.[7] More-recent evidence suggests that Earth’s original atmosphere might have had a different composition from the gas used in the Miller experiment. But prebiotic experiments continue to produce racemic mixtures of simple to complex compounds under varying conditions.[8]
The experiments showed that simple organic compounds of building blocks of proteins and other macromolecules can be formed from gases with the addition of energy. Also ‘Clay Mineral Hypothesis’ suggest that the organic compounds, amino acids and nucleotides formed in early earth would have accumulated and propagated in clay to form early RNA. Clay minerals have been shown to act as efficient catalysts in the polymerization of amino acids and nucleotides. (Please see notes below)
And God sprouted/grew you from the Earth (as) a growth.
71-14 وَقَدْ خَلَقَكُمْ أَطْوَارًا
He (Allah) has created you in stages.
84:19 لَتَرْكَبُنَّ طَبَقًا عَن طَبَقٍ
Ye shall surely travel from stage to stage.
So the living organisms were made to grow from the earth and they evolved from stage to another stage. Until the stage of body from of human beings were reached. In the initial stage of that form, human beings were not any worth mentioning thing, i.e devoid of intelligence.
There surely came over human a period of time when he was a thing not worth mentioning.
The living organisms undergo changes in their genes according to their environment and they change and adopt according to the changes in their environment. Genes are the codes of the program according to which the living organisms grow, age and die. How the evolution took place since the beginning of life on Earth, is still not understood properly and there are many theories about it. Quran tells us that Allah has created man from different stages and the first stage was dust. Dust and mud is in-organic material. So the beginning of evolution was from in-organic materials. Quran does not mention the time it took from mud to the formation of homo sapiens; it could have taken hundreds of millions of years in the making and we don’t know if it involved going through different animal stages or not. Science has also not found out for sure, as yet.
And We created you all, then We gave you (all), shapes; then We said to the angels to bow down to Adam, and they bowed down; except for Iblis; he was not to be of those who bowed down.
The above ayat states that after creating us and figuring us, Allah gave the order to angels to bow down to Adam. So it means that mankind had existed physically when Allah breathed His Spirit into the khalifa/vicegerent on earth.
The below ayah states that Adam (representative of Homosapiens) was chosen by Allah over others. The subsequent generations of humans carried on after him.
O mankind! Take guard of your Lord, who created you from a single Nafs (psyche), and created from it its pair, and scattered from them men and women in large numbers………
What we dont’ know, is the complete story of evolution. We don’t even find evidence of mid way species e.g lets say if a specie is changing from form A to B, it would undergo transition stages. What we find is fully transformed species and not sure if we have evidence of transition forms.
The main standoff between Darwinism and religion is not that religion excludes evolution. It is mainly that Darwinism wants to exclude God from evolution. It postulates that evolution takes place without intervention of God. While Al-Quran tells us that evolution is the mechanism by which God creates. We know that all living organisms have genetic coding in the form of DNA which directs the growth and eventual death of the living organism through out it’s life. This genetic coding/DNA is much more complex than the coding we see in high level computers of today and contains billions of lines of codes. For every coding which is programming step by step instructions, there has to be an intelligent being making the code, as the coding cannot come into existence by itself by random events. This genetic programming which is part of every living organism is a proof of it’s creation by an all powerful and intelligent Creator.
The mutations in genes help an organism to develop certain changes to adopt to its environment, however, for mutations in genes to completely develop new species of animal as per mathematics of genes, there is simply not enough time for all the species to emerge which we see on earth. Therefore the explanations given by Darwin for formation of new specifies is not correct and the coding in the genes has been preprogrammed so that different species of animals appear on earth at a specific time. A solid indication of creation by an Intelligent being. Please see link to the video explaining the time constraint in formation of new species by genetic mutation.
O’ Mankind! if you are in doubt about the raising, then surely We created you from dust, then from a sperm, then from a clot, then from a lump of flesh, complete in make and incomplete, that We may make clear to you; and We cause what We please to stay in the wombs till an appointed time, then We bring you forth as a child, then that you may attain your maturity; and of you is he, who is caused to die, and of you is he, who is brought back to the worst part of life, so that after having knowledge he does not know anything; and you see the earth sterile land, but when We send down on it the water, it stirs and swells and brings forth of every kind a beautiful herbage.
Scientists believe that some where about 30000-70,000 years ago some thing unusual happened to homo sapiens probably due to mutation (this is what scientists think) which can be called ‘cognitive revolution’. This cognitive revolution made humans superior to all animals present on earth at that time. They were able to develop languages and were able to think much higher concepts like religions, myths, legends, and fantasies making them far distinct and superior to all animals. Before gaining this cognitive ability, humans were not even at the top of food chain and were not much different from other animals living at that time on earth. This profound change in humans which can be described as a change from animal to human could be related to the incidence of creation of ‘Adam’ described allegorically in Quran. Quran describes that Adam was given the learning and language ability which made forces of nature subservient to him. وَعَلَّمَ آدَمَ الْأَسْمَاءَ كُلَّهَا Adam is given the language ability which comprise nouns and words and this sets him apart from other creatures.
And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said. “Tell me the names of these if you are truthful.”
The example of prophet Essa is like the example of Adam. Both were aided from Rooh/Spirit of Allah. Prophet Essa was able to communicate from the time when he was an infant, the knowledge of words was taught by Allah to him. Similarly Adam was the first in his community to start communicating with words i.e first to get consciousness in home sapiens who were created from dust like all other animals however, then made into a conscious creature with the Will of Allah.
The clay mineral hypothesis, also known as the clay hypothesis, is a theory that clay minerals may have been involved in the origin of life. The hypothesis was first proposed by Graham Cairns-Smith in 1985.
Explanation
The hypothesis suggests that clay minerals could have acted as replication surfaces for complex organic molecules.
Clay minerals have properties that could have allowed them to catalyze the polymerization of amino acids and nucleotides.
Clay minerals could have also acted as templates for the polymerization of organic molecules.
The hypothesis suggests that clay crystals could have been naturally selected for their ability to trap certain molecules, which could have enhanced their replication potential.
Evidence
Clay minerals have been shown to act as efficient catalysts in the polymerization of amino acids and nucleotides.
The clay mineral montmorillonite has been shown to catalyze the polymerization of RNA.
The clay hypothesis for the origin of life was proposed by Graham Cairns-Smith in 1985.[27][28] It postulates that complex organic molecules arose gradually on pre-existing, non-organic replication surfaces of silicate crystals in contact with an aqueous solution. The clay mineral montmorillonite has been shown to catalyze the polymerization of RNA in aqueous solution from nucleotide monomers,[29] and the formation of membranes from lipids.[30] In 1998, Hyman Hartman proposed that “the first organisms were self-replicating iron-rich clays which fixed carbon dioxide into oxalic acid and other dicarboxylic acids. This system of replicating clays and their metabolic phenotype then evolved into the sulfide rich region of the hot spring acquiring the ability to fix nitrogen. Finally phosphate was incorporated into the evolving system which allowed the synthesis of nucleotides and phospholipids.”[31]
You see the mountains and think them as unmoving, but they move like the movement of clouds. The artistry of Allah, who perfected everything, for He is aware of what you do.
The above Ayat states that the mountains apparently look fixed, however their movement is similar to the movement of clouds.
The Earth as a sphere, comprises layers one over another. Mountains, and in general the Earth’s crust is part of the lithosphere. This lithosphere is the outermost layer of the Earth. It is a relatively non-dense, solid and rigid piece of rock. The lithosphere lies on top of the asthenosphere, which is a more ductile layer composed of the upper mantle. In a sense, the lithosphere “floats” on the asthenosphere. You can think of ice cubes floating on water, or a better comparison would be solid cold chocolate floating on warm (but still solid) chocolate.
The Earth’s interior is composed of several layers. The deepest layer is a solid iron ball, about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) in diameter. Although this inner core is white hot, the pressure is so high the iron cannot melt.
Above the inner core is the outer core, a shell of liquid iron. This layer is cooler but still very hot, perhaps 4,000 to 5,000 degrees Celsius. It too is composed mostly of iron, plus substantial amounts of sulfur and nickel. It creates the Earth’s magnetic field and is about 1,400 miles (2,300 kilometers) thick.
River of Rock
The next layer is the mantle. Many people think of this as lava, but it’s actually rock. The rock is so hot, however, that it flows under pressure, like road tar. This creates very slow-moving currents as hot rock rises from the depths and cooler rock descends.
The mantle is about 1,800 miles (2,900 kilometers) thick and appears to be divided into two layers: the upper mantle and the lower mantle. The boundary between the two lies about 465 miles (750 kilometers) beneath the Earth’s surface.
The crust is the outermost layer of the Earth. It is the familiar landscape on which we live: rocks, soil, and seabed. It ranges from about five miles (eight kilometers) thick beneath the oceans to an average of 25 miles (40 kilometers) thick beneath the continents.
Currents within the mantle have broken the crust into blocks, called plates, which slowly move around, colliding to build mountains or rifting apart to form new seafloor.
Continents are composed of relatively light blocks that float high on the mantle, like gigantic, slow-moving icebergs. Seafloor is made of a denser rock called basalt, which presses deeper into the mantle, producing basins that can fill with water.
And We have set on the earth firmaments, so that it should sway with them, and We have made therein broad highways so that they may receive guidance.
The above Ayat is usually translated with an extra negation added while it may be a possibility that the Ayat is referring to the tilt of the Earth. We know that Earth is tilted on its axis and this tilt gives the seasons on Earth.
Without the extra negation added, the above Ayat states that Allah has put firmaments or pegs so that the Earth should sway with them. Could be some thing for further research to find out if the mountains have a role in keeping the tilt of Earth on its axis, something similar to shim pieces.
Notes:
Some relevant information and their links are given below:
Mountain ranges are the result of continental collision. When two plates carrying continental crust converge, crustal rocks are folded and faulted. The result is deformed, thickened crust. This thicker crust rests on the underlying mantle, floating on the denser mantle rocks just as an iceberg floats in water. Mountains also resemble icebergs in that the part you see is much smaller than the part hidden beneath the Earth’s surface. The high topography of mountain ranges is mirrored by a much larger crustal root beneath. The height of mountains depends on the thickness of the crust, and the difference in density between the crust and the mantle. These relationships are part of the principle of isostasy, which governs how icebergs, mountains, and all other objects float.
Mountains, exert less gravitational pull than they should do because they have roots. Their less dense material extends down into the earth, in whose denser interior they float like icebergs in water.
Earth’s tectonic plates are in constant motion. Their movement is driven by heat within the Earth. The deep Earth is very hot, while its surface is quite cool. This causes hot material within the Earth to rise, until it reaches the surface where it moves sideways, cools, then sinks. This circular motion is called convection. Convection within the mantle drives the motion of the overlying plates.
The word ‘Nafs’ in Al-Quran is used in the meaning of ‘psyche’ or ‘consciousness’ which is accountable for its orders. What choices we make or what decisions we take consciously, are by our ‘Nafs/Psyche’ and we will be accountable for these actions. When we are asleep our Nafs/consciousness is dead. Anything we do, during your sleep or unconscious state, we will not be held accountable for it. The below Ayas 39:42 and 6:50, define the characteristics of Nafs as a conscious state of mind.
It is Allah who cause to die/complete the nafs/phyche at the time of death; and those whose time of death has not come (He causes these Nafs to die/ be completed) during their sleep. Then those (Nafoos) on whom He has passed the decree of death, He prevents (from returning to life), but the rest He sends until a term appointed; Verily in this are Signs for those who ponder.
It is He who makes you (your Nafs/psyche) to die by night, and He knows of all that you do by the day. He raises you up again in it; so that a term appointed is fulfilled; In the end unto Him will be your return; then will He inform you of all that you used to do.
Nafs is the psyche/psychology of a person. The nafs is capable of both corruption and obedience to God. The one who puts efforts in purifying the Nafs will be successful in the eyes of the Lord.
By the Nafs/pshyce, and what shapes it, So He transmitted (to) it its corruption, and its obedience, Truly he succeeds who purifies it (the Nafs), and he fails who corrupts it (nafs)
The Nafs/psyche is prone to give orders of evil and corruption, unless with the help of God. The help of God comes to he, who tries to purify his Nafs (91:9)
“Nor do I absolve my own nafs (of blame). the Nafs/psyche certainly orders (to do) evil, unless on whom my Lord bestows His Mercy, but surely my Lord is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful.”
A child Nafs/psyche is not fully matured, therefore its is not considered accountable for its deeds as it is not considered a (matured) Nafs in Quran.
Then they proceeded, until, when they met a child, he slew him. Moses said. “Did you slay an innocent Nafs without a Nafs? Truly you came up with a strange thing”
The Nafs/psyche is reprimanding/reproaching, unless one purifies it to become contended by keeping a clean conscience.
“O you the satisfied Nafs/psyche! Come to your Lord,- well pleased (yourself), and well-pleasing unto Him! Enter, in My servants! and, enter in My gardens! “
To be overcome by powerful influences of one’s environment of corruption and disbelief and not taking corrective actions to control one’s Nafs, shall be considered as being unjust to one’s nafs (phyche)
Verily, when angels are completing/taking lives of those who were unjust to their nafs (psyche), they say. “In what (plight) were you?” They reply. “We were weak in the earth.” They say. “Was not the earth of Allah spacious enough for you to have migrated?” For such the abode is in Hell,- What an evil abode! –
To be killed in the way of Allah, means that our Nafs/psyche is killed by us following orders of Allah. For example, our Nafs could be fond of doing things forbidden by Allah, then after getting Spirit of Allahs Ayats, we abstain our self from them and kill our nafs and its internal desires abstaining from evil. After killing our own Nafs and with the help of Spirit of Ayas, we then fight an intellectual fight with the Nafoos of other people.
Surely Allah has purchased from the believers their Nafs and their wealth, (in return) is gardens for them. They fight in the way of Allah thus they kill (their nafs) and get killed (their nafs). A promise on Him in truth in At-Taurah / The Law and Al-Injeel / The Good news and in Al-Quran / The Reading. And who can fulfill with his promise than Allah, thus rejoice with your deal that you bargained with Him, and that is the supreme achievement.
When one has killed his own Nafs with Haq/Truth, only then he would be able to kill others Nafs/psyche with truth. Believers strive to sell their Nafs to Allah. After this sale, only Allah’s Will should remain in the Nafs. There is a difference between believers killing their Nafs and rejecters killing their Nafs. Believers are killing their Nafs so that it is purchased by Allah and their self is nullified. Rejecters do the opposite, their Nafoos are not purchased by Allah. Their Nafoos are their desires. Allah does not purchase their Nafoos and their Nafoos are dead in the eyes of Allah. One indication for successful sale of Nafs, is that once you kill an evil in your Nafs/psyche, the desire of it should not re-occur. If this desire reoccurs, it is an indication that the evil was not killed properly and Allah has not purchased your Nafs and you still have to make more effort *
Notes:
Lecture by Scholar Mohammad Shaikh on killing of Nafs:
‘Maula’ (مَوْلَا) means helper/protector. Al-Kitab states Allah as Maula Al-Haq (the Maula of Truth) for the people. Allah has declared that He is the Maula Al-Haq for the people and the other maulas, the people call upon, are batil/false (31:30). Allah has declared upon the prophet (pbuh) to proclaim that he does not have authority for any benefit or harm for the people (72:21). Nor the prophet (pbuh) has the knowledge of Ghaib/unseen because of which he could hear people in his absence (7:188). Also Allah has informed people that the other people they call upon are only people like them (7:194) with no super human powers.
Say. “Nothing will happen to us except what Allah has written for us. He is our Maula/protector”, and on Allah, let the believers should put their trust.
There will every nafs/pshyche get (the fruits of) the deeds it sent before. They will be brought back to Allah their Maula Al-Haq/ Rightful Protector, and their invented falsehoods will leave them in the lurch.
Allah is the protector of those who believe that Allah is their Maula, and those who reject and may consider others as their maulas, Allah is not the Maula/protector of them.
It is not for a man whom is given the Book, and Wisdom, and the Prophet-hood; should say to people. “Be you my servants rather than Allah’s”. on the contrary (He would say) “Be you the servants of the Lord. For you have taught the Book and you have studied it.”
A messenger of Allah, never would say to people to be his servants or to make him their Maula. He would direct the focus of the people to Allah, as this is what Allah’s Books is about.
Say. “I have no power over any good or harm to myself except as Allah wills. If I had knowledge of the ghaib/unseen, I should have multiplied all goods, and no evil should have touched me. I am but a warner, and a bringer of glad tidings to those who have faith.”
Allah asks the Messenger to declare that he does not possess power for any good or harm, nor he has the knowledge of unseen. Had he such knowledge, he would have got a lot of goodies. The role of the Messenger is to be a bringer of glad tidings and be a warner to the people.
Say, “Behold, I do not own the power to harm or enforce enlightenment upon you.”
The prophet declared that he does not have the power to harm or bring good for the people. When prophet does not have this power, is it imaginable that any other person can possess such power over other people?
If you two (wives of prophet) turn in repentance to Allah, your hearts are indeed so inclined; but if you back up each other against him (the prophet), truly Allah is his Maula/Protector, and Gabriel, and the righteous one among the believers,- and furthermore, the angels – will back (him) up.
The ayat 66:4, states that Allah is the Maula/protector of the prophet (pbuh) and after Allah are Jibraeel and righteous believers and after them, the angels are his helpers.
Word ‘Ummi’ is from root ( ا م م ), the same root from which the word ‘Umm’/mother is formed. Common perception is that this word means ‘un-lettered’ i.e someone who is ‘unable to read and write’. This word is not a common word in Arabic usage, therefore not well defined in dictionaries. We will see occurrences of this word in Al-Kitab, to see what could be the intended meanings of this word.
In Al-Kitab, the word ‘Ummi’ is used for a prophet and also for a nation in which the prophet was sent. The word is used in a positive sense for the prophet and in the negative sense for the nation. The traditional rendering of the word ‘Ummi’ is ‘un-lettered’. We will look into the ayas to see if the ‘un-lettered’ rendering of this word makes sense in ayahs where it is used in Quran.
This is He, Who sent amongst the ‘Ummi’ people a messenger from among them, he rehearses to them His Signs, and purifies them, and instructs them the book and the wisdom,- while earlier they were in clear misguidance.
Allah sent down among the ‘Ummis’, a messenger from among them who recites ayahs on them and teaches them Al-Kitab and widsom and before that, they were in manifest error. In this ayat, ‘un-lettered’ would not fit as meaning of ‘Ummi’ because if the nation does not know how to read and write then what is the purpose of sending a book to them. Also, historically we know that, the whole community at that time was not unlettered. There were many people who knew how to read and write at that time.
The word ‘Ummi’ is from the same root as of the word ‘Umm’ (mother). ‘Ummi’ could be referring to ‘motherly’ or ‘original’ state. ‘Ummi’ in above ayat seems to be those people who are at their original state of belief in which they were born. i.e they don’t get guidance from the Book of Allah. They just believe what their environment and people around them tell them to believe.They have not themselves studied the Book and changed their direction of belief according to the Book of Allah. Does not necessarily mean that they don’t know how to read and write. It just implies that they did not change themselves in the light of the Book (2:141) and remained on the original belief system on which they were born.
And there are among them Ummis, who do not know the Book, but (see therein their own) desires, and they do nothing but conjecture.
The above ayat can be related to most people we encounter today as well, although they are able to read and write but in reality they are unaware of the book of Allah. All they know about the book is their conjectures and desires which they acquire from the teachings in their surroundings.
Now what about ‘Nabi Ummi’ mentioned in ‘al-kitab’? Is there a prophet mentioned there who also remained on his original belief system? We find that, one prophet in Al-Quran is referred to by his mother i.e Essa ibne Mariam (a.s). He is the one, who is prophet from birth as a sign of Allah, i.e he was not granted prophet-hood at a later stage in life, but was made prophet since birth.
But she (Mariam) pointed to him (baby Essa). They said. “How can we talk to one who is a child in the cradle?” , (Essa) said: “I am indeed a servant of Allah: He (Allah) has given me the book and made me a prophet.
We gave Moosa the Book and followed him up with a succession of messengers; We gave Essa the son of Mariam, clear signs and strengthened him with the ‘Ruh ul Qudus’. Is it that whenever there comes to you a messenger with what your nafs desire/agree not, you were puffed up with pride?- Some of them you belied, and others you slew!
Ruh i.e the Spirit of Allah is is messenger of Allah as per Quran 19:17-19 and a messenger for all times and for all mankind.
The Messenger of Allah declares to all mankind to believe in that Ummi prophet, who believes in Allah and His Words. The Ummi prophet in Al-Kitab declares that he and his mother are no gods but they are only servants of God (5:72, 5:116-117). The first part of the ayat is the saying of the Messenger to all mankind in all times i.e Rooh ul Qudus. He orders to believe in the Ummi prophet.
Say. “O Mankind! I am to you all, the messenger of Allah, to Whom belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth. there is no god but He. It is He who gives life and death. So believe in Allah and His messenger, the Ummi Prophet, who believes in Allah and His words. And follow him so that you may be guided.”
The Messenger for all mankind is the powerful messenger, the Sacred Sprit (Rul ul Qudus) who teaches the human prophets:
He (the human prophet and people’s companion) is taught by one Mighty in Power, endued with Wisdom. for he appeared While he was in the highest part of the horizon, then he approached and came closer, And was at a distance of but two bow-lengths or (even) nearer, so did (Allah) convey the inspiration to His Servant- (conveyed) what He (meant) to convey.
The Ummi prophet teaches them from the wisdom, the Book (Al-kitab), Taurat and Injeel, informs them about lawful and unlawful things and removes un-necessary burdens on them (3:47-50) *.
“Those who follow the messenger, the Ummi Prophet, whom they find written in what is with them,- in the Taurat and the Injeel;- for he commands them what is just and forbids them what is evil; he allows them as lawful what is good (and pure) and prohibits them from what is bad (and impure); He releases them from their heavy burdens and from the yokes that are upon them. So it is those who believe in him, honor him, help him, and follow the light which is sent down with him,- it is they who will prosper.”
She (Mariam) said. ‘O my Lord how shall I have a son when no man has ever touched me?’ He (Allah) said. ‘This is how Allah creates what He wills. When He has decreed an order, He says it to, `Be` and it is (happens)!’ And (Allah) will teach him(Essa), Al-Kitab (The Book) and Al-Hikma (The Wisdom) And At-Taurah (The Law) and Al-Injeel (The Good News).
“‘(I have come to you), to attest the Taurat which is between the hands and to make lawful to you part of what was forbidden to you; I have come to you with a Sign/Ayat from your Lord. So take guard of Allah, and obey me.
For clarity on Ahlal-Kitab please see previous post (https://topicsfromquran.com/2017/03/26/who-are-ahlal-kitab/ ). The below ayat mentions ‘Ahlal Kitab’ and ‘Ummiyyin’ as two groups. There can be some overlapping between the groups as well. Ahlal Kitab are those who have the Book of Allah. ‘Ummiyin’ are those who don’t change the direction of belief in which they were born, so they can be of any religion or sect. The below ayat mentions a portion of ‘Ahlal Kitab’ who are not very honest in financial dealings because they have made by themselves some rules of financial transactions based on their own beliefs. They have a tendency to treat people differently in financial transactions based on faith. Their rules are tilted disadvantageously to people belonging to different faith than theirs.
Among the People of the Book are some who, if entrusted with a hoard of gold, will pay it back; others, who, if entrusted with a single Dinar/silver coin, will not repay it unless you constantly stood demanding, because, they say, “there is no call on us with these Ummi people.” but they tell a lie against Allah, and they know it.
The message of the messenger to Ahlal Kitab and ‘Ummis’ is to ‘submit to orders of Allah. If they submit they get guidance, but if they deviate to other teachings, the duty of the messenger is to convey the message only.
So if they dispute with you, say. “I have submitted myself to Allah and so have those, who follow me.” And say to the People of the Book and to Ummis. “Do you (also) submit yourselves?” If they do, they are in right guidance, but if they turn back, your duty is to convey the message; and Allah is an observer of (all) His servants.
Bait (بَيْت) in Arabic means ‘house’. Al-Bait when mentioned in Al-Quran refers to a specific house which is Allah’s House. This House has been identified in Quran as the first House established for man-kind (3:96), and is situated in Bakka/Makka. Other identification for this House of Allah is that it is situated in a non-agricultural valley, where fruits are brought from all over (14:37). This House of Allah is for guidance of all man-kind (3:96).
House in general is associated with providing protection to its inhabitants. Similarly a spiritual house is the one which is associated with faith. Most people in the world, have a spiritual house of faith, the foundations of which are built upon the religious or philosophical beliefs they adhere to. The people who have built their houses of faith not on the basis of ayahs of Allah but on the teaching of their leaders of faiths, their houses have the similitude of the house of a spider which is inherently weak (29:41) and will not be able to sustain when confronted with the force of ayahs of Allah.
Allah advises that the House of Allah is the guidance for all mankind and whosoever enters His House will be lead to security ( وَمَن دَخَلَهُ كَانَ آمِنًا 3:97). To enter the house of Allah, first you have to set your direction correctly towards the Masjid Ul Haram, where the House of Allah is situated. From whichever faith/philosophy you were before or are now, after clarification of these ayahs, you have to make your orientation towards Masjid ul Haram ( 2:144 وَحَيْثُ مَا كُنتُمْ فَوَلُّوا وُجُوهَكُمْ شَطْرَهُ ۗ ). You should not be opposing system of Masjid ul Haram (8:34 وَمَا لَهُمْ أَلَّا يُعَذِّبَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَهُمْ يَصُدُّونَ عَنِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْحَرَامِ وَمَا كَانُوا أَوْلِيَاءَهُ ۚ إِنْ أَوْلِيَاؤُهُ إِلَّا الْمُتَّقُونَ وَلَٰكِنَّ أَكْثَرَهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ) and not taking guidance from it, if you want to be associated with the House of Allah.
The word ‘Ahl’ means ‘people’. The people associated with the House of Allah (in Al-Quran) will be ‘Ahlal Bait’ (As the people associated with Allah’s Book are Ahlal Kitab). The messengers of Allah who clarify the ayahs of Allah are obviously associated with the House of Allah as they invite towards Allah’s House and are Ahlal Bait. Likewise, the family of the Ibrahim A.S and the Prophets’ family are called Ahlal Bait in Quran.
In it are clear Ayas / signs, the standing position of Ibraheem whoever enters it attains security. and for Allah is pilgrimage of the house on people, those who can afford the journey but if anyone denies, surely Allah is not in need of any of His beings in the worlds.
Who ever enters the House of Allah will attain security. ‘Ahl’ means people, who-ever enters the House of Allah spiritually will therefore be ‘Ahlal Bait’ in Quran which means those people who take guidance from the practice of Allah established at the House. As Al-Bait in Quran is the House of Allah and ‘Ahlal Bait would be the people of the House of Allah.
The example of those who take protectors other than Allah is that of the spider, who builds a house; and truly the flimsiest of houses is that of the spider;- if they but knew.
The people who will take an alternative house instead of Allah’s House based on teachings other than Allah’s and His ayahs, will have a weak house without solid foundations.
And when We pointed out the place of the house to Ibrahim , “associate not anything with Me; and purify My house for those who go around, and who stand and bow, prostrate.”
The House of Allah is associated with removal of all sort of associations with Allah and bowing and prostrating on the ayahs of Allah. All messengers of Allah, order this to the believers and lead them towards the House of Allah to be Ahlal-Bait.Ibrahim’s (a.s) and his family (his wife and sons) is specifically named in Quran to be Ahlal Bait/People of the House.
Do they not then see that We have made the ‘Haram’ a place of security, and (still) people are being snatched away from around it? Then, do they believe in that which is vain, and reject the Grace of Allah?
The people who immerse completely in the House of Allah and the guidance emanating from it i.e the Quranic recitation and the systems established there in with the Sunnat of Allah i.e system of Salat and Pilgrimage, are those who get into peace and security. Those who hover around it and don’t completely immerse in the guidance, there is a chance that they get snatched away.
And his wife was standing and she laughed then We gave her the good news with Ishaq and after Ishaq, Yaqoob. She said : O Alas, shall I bear a child? And I am an old woman, and my husband is an old man. Surely this would be an amazing thing. They said : are you amazed at the order of Allah, the mercy of Allah and His blessings be upon you, O’People of the House! Surely, He is praise worthy, Glorious.
In the below ayat the family and wives of the Prophet pbuh are stated to be Ahlal Bait.
O’women of the Prophet, you are not like any one from the (other) women, if you take guard, do not be subjugated with the saying (conversation) so the one who has disease in his heart will have desire, and you should speak an acknowledged saying. And keep link with your houses and you do not decorate yourself as you decorated previously in ignorance and establish Salah/Prayers and give Zakat/justification and obey Allah and His messenger surely Allah wants to take away the filth from you O’people of the house and to purify you as purified ones.
Mohammad is not the father / ancestor of any one of you men but he is the messenger of Allah and the seal of prophets. And Allah has knowledge of everything.
As per Quran, Mohammad (pbuh) is not the father/forefather of any man. Therefore Allah does not accept claim of anyone to be in the lineage of the messenger Mohammad (pbuh); why because the ayat further says that ‘but he is a messenger of Allah and seal of prophets’. So Allah has projected the role of Mohammad (pbuh) as the messenger and seal of prophets and not as a founder of a family. Now of course, Mohammad (pbuh) as a person/bashar may have a lineage, however, this lineage is not spiritually considered by Allah associated with Mohammad the messenger.
And we ordained that he (Moosa) refused suck at first, until (His sister came up and) said. “Shall I point out to you the people of a house that will nourish and bring him up for you and be sincere to him?”
When the word used in Quran is Ahle Bait, instead of Ahlal Bait, it means a ‘household’.
Notes:
What guidance can the World take from the House of Lord? Allah has established place of Ibrahim at the House/Kaaba and ordered mankind to take their ‘mussala’ from the place of Ibrahim, who is the Imam for mankind. See earlier post about procedure of As-Salat from Quran (https://topicsfromquran.com/2017/03/21/salat-procedure/ ).
Without doubt, We see the movements of your face in the sky, so, We will revert you to a Qiblah/direction (of faith) that shall please you. So revert yourself to the intersection/portion of the Sacred Mosque: and from wherever you come, revert yourselves to its intersection/portion. Surely, those who are given the Book definitely know that this is the truth from their Lord. and Allah is not unaware of what they are doing.
But what plea they have, that Allah should not punish them when they are in opposition about the Sacred Mosque and they are not its protectors (Walis). No one can be its protectors except those who guard, but most of them do not understand.
And hold fast all together to the rope of Allah and do not be divided among yourselves, and remember the favor of Allah on you when you were enemies and He joined your hearts in love; you became brethren and you were on the brink of the pit of fire and He saved you from it. Likewise Allah make His Ayats/Signs clear to you that you may be guided.
Believers when leaving the sectarian teachings and holding to one rope of Allah, will get rid of hatred with each other in their hearts and will be saved after being very near to be fallen off from the edge of the pit of fire.
Below is a link to an interesting lecture by brother Mohammad Shaikh on ‘Direction of belief/ Qibla and Kaaba:
The word Riba / رِبَا is from root word (ر ب و). This root word conveys the meaning of increased,augmented, excess,addition, to grow and swell etc. Ar-Riba (الرِّبَا) when used in Quran, means ‘the increase’ referring to a specific increase. Lets review ayahs of Quran to see what is this specific increase:
And their taking of Ar-Riba / The Increase and without doubt they were prohibited about it. And they ate the wealth of the people with falsehood and We have prepared for the rejecters among them a painful punishment. The above ayat states that Ar-Riba/the increase is prohibited. Also we come to know that Ar-Riba/the increase is related to the wealth of the people and eating Ar-Riba is related to eating wealth of the people to which it rightfully belong. So we try to find where the wealth of the people is defined in Al-Quran.
And know that whatever Ghanim / Profit / gain you get from anything, if you believe in Allah then surely, One Fifth is for Allah and for the Messenger and for the relatives and for the orphans and for the needy (poor) and for the sons of the way, and whatever We sent down over Our servant on the day of the division, the day when the two accumulations meet. And Allah has power over everything. In the above Ayat we see that Allah is ordering what ever we gain from anything, the fifth portion of that wealth is for certain categories e.g Allah, messenger (i.e for propagation of message of Allah), orphans, poor and for way-farers. So Allah has ordered that one fifth portion of our savings (gain=which is saved after expenses over a certain period of time) is the defined wealth for these categories for distribution among them. However, if one does not pay the defined portion of his savings as per above instruction then he is increasing his own wealth by holding back on Allah’s prescribed portion, and this is therefore the increase (Ar-Riba) which Allah has forbidden.
O’ you who believe, take guard of Allah and leave off, what remains from Ar-Riba/the increase, if you are believers. When the ayahs related to Ar-Riba become clear to believers, they are asked to leave that portion of the wealth which they have been holding back from the deserving categories. That is if they have been paying less than 1/5th portion of their savings on the deserving categories, then they are now advised to pay the prescribed amount.
And if he is in difficulties, then respite is given to him towards easiness and that you give sadaq / charity, that is better for you if you would have known. If some one is not currently able to pay the prescribed amount to the categories after doing calculations of 1/5th of savings, (the gain is the increase in your net worth from the last calculation period) then the same will remain in his account to pay, and he can pay them later on, upon ease of his financial situation. Please see previous post on Zakat (https://topicsfromquran.com/2017/11/04/zakatcharity/ )
O’ you who believe! eat not Ar-Riba, double redouble and take guard of Allah so that you may prosper. Warning to believers not to pay less than the amount of charity prescribed in Quran. If you are paying 2.5% only, instead of prescribed 20% then you are eating the ‘wealth of the categories of people’ multiple times.
Then if you do not, (leave off, what remains from Ar-Riba/the increase),so take a notice of war from Allah and His messenger. And if you turn back, so for you are the heads of your wealth. You do not oppress and you will not be oppressed. Please note that the notice of war has been given by Allah to the people who believe but eat Riba/Increase. The notice of war is given only in this ayat in the whole Quran and it is issued to the momineen/believers. And when you pay heed, for you are the heads of the wealth i.e 80% of the savings and the remaining 20% is for the categories of people (deserving of Sadqa/Zakat).
So, enjoy what you have saved, lawful and good. But fear Allah. For Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. 80% of the savings after paying the 20% portion to the categories, is lawful for us to spend. The Ayat 2:279 informs that for you is the heads of the wealth i.e after paying the prescribed portion in Zakat.
The example of those who spend their wealth in the way of Allah is like the example of grain that grows seven ears and in every ear is 100 grains. And Allah multiplies for whom He wills. And Allah is All spacious, All knowing The money spent from your wealth (after paying the due share of categories) increases in multiples in the nearness of Allah.
And what you give from Riba/increase, to increase in the wealth of people (the categories) then it does not increase in the nearness of Allah and what you give from Zakah/ justification) intending the face of Allah so they are those who will get manifolds. If you have not paid the full due share of 20% from savings then any charity you give is being given from Ar-Riba/the increase which you are holding back from the wealth of categories (by not giving from the Allah’s allotted share to them). So this charity does not grow in the nearness of Allah, as it was already their share, not your wealth.
Allah removes Ar-Riba/the increase , and increases Sadqa/charities , and Allah does not love any rejecter, sinner. There exists an inverse relationship for the Al-Riba and Al-Sadqat. As you spend from Sadqat the Ar-Riba decreases (if you have held the due share to be paid from savings)
Those who eat Ar-Riba/the increase, do not take a stand except like one, who stands to madness from the touch of Satan. That is because they say that Al-Bai/the deal is the example of Ar-Riba . And Allah has made Al-Bai/the deal lawful and has made Ar-Riba/the increase unlawful so he to whom comes the sermon from his Lord then he abstain, that is past for him. And his affair is towards Allah, and whosoever returns , then they are the companions of the fire. They will live forever in it. The common perception however in the society is that Ar-Riba is the interest i.e a periodical charge on the original amount of loan. They say that if you loan some one money and charge an amount in addition to the original amount, then this is Ar-Riba. Most people think, that the interest bank charges on loans, is Ar-Riba, while Al-Bai is ‘a deal’ i.e a normal trade transaction. Normally when banks give a loan they make a deal with the loanee and both parties agree on the loan amount and the interest to be charged on the loan. Those people who equate Ar-Riba (which is the increase in wealth by not paying the prescribed charity) with Al-Bai (that is the deal which, is made with the bank or any other loaner or trading partner), are declared as crazy people. They are two different things. Deals are lawful and Ar-Riba is not lawful. We know that there is a time value of money. If you loan some one a certain amount of money in currency and if he returns the same denomination of currency, in lets say 20 years time, the purchasing power of that amount of currency would have been reduced multiple times. In fact, it will not be fair to you, to be returned the same amount of currency, loaned several years earlier keeping in view the factor of depreciation of currency. Also we know that any thing of value when we borrow it from the owner, we have to pay rent for it. For example if we live in some one’s house, we pay rent for it. Similarly if we rent someone’s car we have to pay rent for it. Will it be fair to the person whose house we are borrowing, not to pay him any rent? Similar is the case of money, as it has a value attached to it. Will it be fair to get a loan from someone and not to pay any rent on that loan? Consider the example of a house valued at one million dollars. When you rent this house, you will pay a certain amount of rent on it. If instead of a house, you borrow, one million dollars in currency, is there no obligation on you to pay the due amount of rent to the loaner? If you borrow a thing of value and do not pay any rent for it, is definitely not fair to the lender. The justification we normally hear is that instead of making a deal of paying fixed amount interest, we should share in profit and loss of that business. However, we know that a majority of people in the society are not business oriented people. They don’t have the capability of carrying out a business profitably. At best they will be sleeping partners and then depend upon the active partners for the fair returns and the fees charged for being active partners. Many people in the society simply cannot take the risk of being involved in businesses e.g widowers and retired people, they do not have the risk taking capability nor any risk taking is suitable for them. Then why should they be forced to take un-necessary risks on which they don’t have any control. Similarly it is banks’ business to give loans to people who can do business and take risks. However, banks cannot be in partnership of profit and loss sharing with all those people who take loans from banks. It is simply not possible to handle so many businesses and risks for banks. Therefore interest is the factor which keeps the economic cycle running i.e deposits by general public to the banks or Government institutions and operation of banks, in turn by lending the money to prospective people or groups who can invest and run businesses and utilize loans for their businesses. Usury i.e very high interest rates is definitely a social evil as the poorest of people fall victims to it. Normally, the interest rate you will get depends upon your credit rating. The people with the best credit ratings will get the best rate of interest on their loans. Those people who are at the highest risks of being able to return the loan, get the highest rates of interests on their loans. These very people are the ones who deserve the charity of people (20% share for categories)or subsidies from the Government, instead of getting loans from loan sharks on high interest rate. While Quran does not prohibits interests or deals that people make with one another, it is the duty of the Government to curb un-fair deals as like other social or criminal evils.
Notes:
The Arabic Word for ‘Interest’ is (فائده ).
links to a lecture by scholar Mohammad Shaikh on Ar-Riba:
Ijl ( عِجْل) in Arabic translates to ‘calf’. The root of this word is ( ع ج ل ) which in its core means ‘to be hasty’ or ‘hastiness’. There is a hadith in Al-Kitab relating people of prophet Moosa a.s, and a ‘calf’, which they clung for worship after Prophet Moosa went away from them for a certain period of time. The nation of prophet Moosa a.s went through a great ordeal when the Pharaoh was very oppressive on them. When Allah emancipated them from the ordeal of Pharaoh and they crossed the sea, they went pass a people who were serving their beloved Idols ( أَصْنَامٍ). Bani Israeel were impressed by them and they asked Moosa a.s to assign similar idols for them. Moosa told them not to act like Jahil/Ignorant nation. After some time Moosa a.s went away from them for a certain period of time. During this time, a character which Quran calls ‘Samiri’, misguided the people to serve/worship a ‘calf’. Prophet Haroon a.s, was unable to dissuade the nation from the worship of the calf, due to overwhelming emotional attachment of the people with ‘the calf’.
We will analyze some of the terms used in this narration as below.
‘Samiri’ is from root word ( س م ر ) which in its core means idle or vain talk. Samiri is the name given to a character who leads others astray by making vain stories. Also he colored these stories from the ‘effect’ of the ‘Messenger’ as per what the ‘nafs’ of Samiri suggested to him. So, these idol talks about the messenger that Samiri invented were from the suggestions of his own ‘nafs’ instead of the facts about the messenger. Moosa a.s, on this return, confronted Samiri and told him that what he had invented will be destroyed and thrown away and he will be saying to people not to touch him. That is what the people of Samiri’s character do; they tell people that they are ‘untouchables’. With the effect of the messenger in their vain talks, they make their vain talks appear as ‘unquestionable’ and themselves as ‘untouchables’.
The root of the word ( ع ج ل ) conveys meanings of ‘hastiness’. The term Al-Ijl/the calf represents some thing which people of Moosa clung to, in his absence. Quran states that these people’s hearts were made to drink ‘the calf’. It is not possible to drink a calf. Therefore ‘the calf’ in Quran is representative of something, towards which Quran wants our attention drawn. Quran further states that ‘the calf’ was a ‘Jasad/body with sounds’. Jasad refers to a mere body, i.e a body without ‘spirit’. So Al-Ijl is a body without spirit and when this body emits sounds, these sounds are lacking ‘spirit’ also and unable to guide people to the right path. Therefore ‘Al-Ijl’ can be deemed as representing a body of a system, which is based on vain talks and lacking the spirit of Book of Allah. When this system speaks, it makes strange chants which are not able to guide the people to the right path. The people making this body of system induce effects of the Messenger in order to appeal to people emotions to make them cling to this body without spirit.The people making this body, make sure that they are considered ‘untouchable’ and their system unquestionable.
We took the Children of Israeel across the sea. They came upon a people devoted to some idols they had. They said. “O Moses! make for us a god like unto the gods they have.” He said. “Surely ye are a people without knowledge.”
There came to you Moosa with clear (Signs); yet you took the Ijl/calf after that, and you were the wrong-doers.
Allah says, why after having clear Signs, you people grabbed the Ijl/calf? Why is it they don’t consider the clear Ayas enough for them and have to seek the Ijl/calf?
And remember Moosa said to his people. “O my people! You have indeed wronged your nafs by your taking the Ijl/calf. So turn (in repentance) towards your Maker, and slay your nafs/psyche; that will be better for you in the sight of your Maker.” Then He turned towards you (in forgiveness), for He is Oft-Returning, Most Merciful.
And remember We took your covenant and We raised above you, At-Toor. “Hold firmly to what We have given you, and listen”. They said.” We hear, and we disobey.” And they were made to drink into their hearts the Ijl/calf because of their rejection. Say, “Vile indeed are the orders of your faith if you are the believers!”
The Ijl represent something which they drank in their hearts with so much emotional attachment because of the vain talks with effects of the messenger, that when they were ordered to hold with power what Allah has given them, they said that they will disobey. Allah says it is bad what their faith orders them to do.
The people of Moosa grabbed a calf, after him, from their ornamentations. A body with sound. Don’t they see that it did not speak to them, nor guided them to a path? They took it and they were oppressors.
Ornamentations are things which are made to appear good in the eyes of people. In 16:63 it is stated that Satan makes the works of the people appear attractive to them(تَاللَّهِ لَقَدْ أَرْسَلْنَا إِلَىٰ أُمَمٍ مِّن قَبْلِكَ فَزَيَّنَ لَهُمُ الشَّيْطَانُ أَعْمَالَهُمْ فَهُوَ وَلِيُّهُمُ الْيَوْمَ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ )
When Moses came back to his people, angry and grieved, he said. “Evil it is that ye have done in my place in my absence. did ye make haste to bring on the judgment of your Lord?” He put down the tablets, seized his brother by (the hair of) his head, and dragged him to him. Aaron said. “Son of my mother! the people did indeed weakened me, and they were near to kill me! Make not the enemies gloat over me, nor count me amongst the wrong doers.”
When Prophet Moosa a.s returned to his nation, he was furious by the action of his people, and he asked them did they make haste in the orders of the Lord? So the calf’ is also associated with the ‘hastiness’ in orders of the Lord. The Spirit of the orders of the Lord does not come with the wishes of people, it only comes with the Will of Allah. Anyone wishing to get understanding of the Allah’s orders quickly, cannot attain by studying books from a huge body of religious system made by people. ‘The Spirit’ only comes to a pure heart, with the Will of Allah and it does not come in haste (75:16 لَا تُحَرِّكْ بِهِ لِسَانَكَ لِتَعْجَلَ بِهِ ) .
Those who took the Ijl/calf will indeed be overwhelmed with wrath from their Lord, and with shame in this life. thus do We recompense those who invent (falsehoods).
The people who take Al-Ijl/the calf are Muftareen/makers of false hood they will experience the wrath of Allah in this world as well.
They said. “We did not go back on our promise to you with our power (intention), but we were made to carry the weight of the ornamentation of the nation, and we dropped it, and that was what the Samiri suggested.
The nation was carrying a huge weight of things which were made alluring in their eyes (16:63). They used it in the fabrication of the calf as suggested by Samiri.
Then he brought out Ijl/calf before the (people) a body with sounds. So they said, This is your god, and the god of Moosa, but (Moosa) has forgotten! Could they not see that it could not return them a word (for answer), and that it had no power either to harm them or to do them good?
Calf was a mere body (without Spirit) emitting sounds (deprived of guidance). He made the people believe that this body is the lord for the people and also the lord of Moosa, however Moosa forgot (so Samiri preserved it for the people). That’s what Samiri made people to believe.
(Moses) said. “What then is your case, O Samiri?” He replied. “I saw what they did not see. so I took a handful of from the effects of the Messenger, and threw it in, thus did my nafs/psyche suggested to me.”
Samiri told that he saw an opportunity. So, he took a only a handful from the effects/teachings of the Messenger and threw it in the mix of Ijl (The body of hasty and false teachings)
(Moses) said. “Go (from here)! For you in this life will be that, you will say, ‘touch me not’; and moreover you has a promise that will not fail. Now look at your god, of whom you had become a devout . We will certainly put it in a blazing fire and scatter it in the sea!”
Samiri the story teller, will say to the people ‘Don’t touch me’ probably in the sense that, he is ‘un-touchable’.
Man is a creature of haste. soon (enough) will I show you My Signs; thus ye should not hasten/rush!
Allah will show His signs to man at the right time. People cannot make haste in their eagerness to get the essence of Allah’s Ayas by studying man-written books. We have to pray to Allah supplicating to increase us in knowledge.
High above all is Allah, the King of the Truth! Be not in haste with the Qur’an before its inspiration to thee is completed, but say, “O my Lord! advance me in knowledge.”
Part of Ayat 33:53 is copied below. This portion of ayat tells us which behavior of believers is hurtful and annoying to a prophet of God i.e showing fondness for hadith/vain talks in the nearness of the Prophet.
O you who believe! Do not enter the Prophet’s houses,- until permission is granted to you,- for a meal, (and then) not to wait for its preparation. but when you are invited, enter; and when you have taken your meal, disperse, without showing fondness for hadith/ narrations/vain talks. Such (behaviour) persecutes the Prophet.
In below ayahs Allah warns the believers that similar hurtful behaviour was imparted by his people to prophet Moosa a.s but Allah liberated Moosa from them. So, there must be people who invented huge collections of vain talks and traditions about Prophet Moosa A.S as well, which is a cause of annoyance and hurt to prophet Moosa a.s. So Allah liberated Moosa from these false traditions and told the correct hadiths/narrations about prophet Moosa a.s. in His Book.
O you who believe! Do not become like those who persecuted Moosa, but Allah cleared him (Moosa) of their sayings, and he was honourable in Allah’s sight. O’ you people who believe, fear Allah and say an accurate/truthful saying.
The believers are advised to say only truthful and accurate sayings and not to indulge in vain, inaccurate and doubtful accounts.
Allah has promised you many gains that ye shall acquire, and He has given you this (some of it) beforehand; and He has restrained the hands of people from you; that it may be a Sign for the believers, and that He may guide you to a straight path.
The gains for the believers are also the secrets which Allah opens up for them. Some of the gains they get quickly and some come with time. Allah make these gains a sign for the believers, He protects them and leads them to a straight path.
Notes:
The word ‘samiran’ is also used in 23:67 in the meaning of vain stories. All translator have translated it in similar way.
23:67 مُسْتَكْبِرِينَ بِهِ سَامِرًا تَهْجُرُونَ
Being arrogant with it like vain fables, you abandoned.
As we saw in the last post of As-Salat, Allah taught Adam ‘words’ to ask forgiveness and when Adam prayed with these words, Allah accepted his supplication (2:37). In this post we will see some duas/prayers in Quran which we can use in various situations normally encountered in life. By identifying our situation and appropriate prayer/dua in Quran for the situation, we can pray to Allah in Quranic words. We should honestly mean these words, and repeat these words/ayahs in As-Salat.
When My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them). I listen to the prayer of every supplicant when he calls on Me. Let them also respond to Me, and believe in Me, so that they get the wisdom.
Supplication to Allah to increase our knowledge:
20:114 رَّبِّ زِدْنِي عِلْمًا
“O my Lord! Advance me in knowledge.”
Prayers to make us and our offspring steadfast in As-Salat and asking forgiveness for ourselves and our parents:
“Our Lord! give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the torment of the fire!”
When engulfed in problems in life, the below supplication makes us realize that the problems will not exceed our capacity to handle them and we supplicate to Allah to lessen our burden and grant us His forgiveness, blessings and help.
Allah does not put to task a nafs/soul except to his capacity; what he earns is for him, and what he has earned is on him. O’ our Lord, do not catch us if we forget and we make a mistake , O’ our Lord, do not load a burden on us like you burdened on those from before us , O’ our Lord, do not burden us with that we do not have the strength to bear, pardon us, and forgive us and have mercy on us! , You are our protector, so help us over the nation of rejecters.
On realization of a committed blunder and honestly seeking forgiveness and turning back to the Lord:
Glory to Him, Who has subjected these to our (use), for we could never have accomplished this (by ourselves), “And to our Lord, surely, we are to go back!”
When taking up a challenging task or speaknig to a formidable audience:
“O my Lord! direct me that I should be grateful for your favours, which thou hast bestowed on me and on my parents, and that I may work the righteousness that will please Thee. And admit me, by your Grace, to the ranks of your righteous Servants.”
“This is by the Grace of my Lord!- to test me whether I am grateful or ungrateful! And if any is grateful, truly his gratitude is (a gain) for his own self; but if any is ungrateful, truly my Lord is Free of all needs and is Gracious !”
Seeking guidance from the Lord:
37:99 إِنِّي ذَاهِبٌ إِلَىٰ رَبِّي سَيَهْدِينِ
“I am a goer towards my Lord! He will surely guide me!
Seeking help from oppressive surroundings and country:
Our Lord! Rescue us from this town, whose people are oppressors; and appoint from your nearness a wali/protector/guardian for us; and appoint from your nearness a helper for us!”
Our Lord can reach out to the utmost recesses of things by His knowledge. In Allah is our trust. our Lord! decide Thou between us and our people in truth, for You are the best to decide.”
After getting out of a sad and painful situation in life:
“Our Lord! We heard one caller inviting to Faith, ‘Believe in your Lord,’ thus we have believed. Our Lord! forgive our sins, blot out from us our evils, and make us die/recompense our souls with the righteous ones.
When consoling your self in order to heal psychological would inflicted by unjust actions.
And don’t think that Allah is oblivious of what the unjust people do. He only gives them respite against a Day when the eyes will fixedly stare (in horror),-
When longing for a relationship/getting married or some thing you like and would like Allah to bestow upon you.
Say. “O my Lord! Let my entry be by the entrance of Truth, and my exit be the exit of Truth; and grant me from your presence an authority for (my) help.”
‘Salat’ in Arabic is translated as ‘prayer’. Most people, irrespective of what religion they follow, use some sort of prayers to connect to God. Allah teaches in His book, how to establish communication with Allah. A great way to establish communication with Allah is As-Salat (The Prayer). In As-Salat, believers communicate with Allah, in words which are taught by Allah in a specific format which is established in the house of Allah in Makkah. This house of Allah is a guidance for all worlds and prophet Ibraheem (a.s) and prophet Ismaeel (a.s) were ordered to keep the house of the Lord clean for people who do rukoo(bowing down), sujjood (prostrating) and tawaf (Hajj & Umra ritual).
To make As-Salat/the prayer an effective communication tool, it is imperative that we understand what the words mean which we recite in As-Salat. Allah has taught many supplications in His book for various situations which a person may encounter in life. It is important that we recognize the proper supplication, know the meanings, and repeat the supplication in our prayers, in order to ensure response from Allah. As prayers are enjoined on believers several times a day, it is an excellent tool, to enhance familiarity with Quran. Quran is not unlike other books whose reading once or a few times could be sufficient for learning. Quran is a fascinating book which is meant to be read and understood over and over again. It has several layers of understanding and appeals to all levels of knowledge. Salat is a tool which gives an opportunity to resort to Quran multiple times a day. If normally you don’t find time to resort to Quran every day, you may read a page or some portion of Quran in each ‘raka’ and then ponder on it during the salat and later on. This way we can learn and grow in our understanding of ayahs, and repeat them in As-Salat. If we learn and repeat even a few new verses of Quran in prayers, our understanding of Quran Insha-Allah will grow rapidly. By learning more ayahs, understanding them and repeating them in As-Salat, our prayers will not be a burden but can become an interesting experience. Quran warns that As-Salat is a burden on Munafiqeen/hypocrites.
The spirit of as-Salat is learning Al-Quran and its remembrance. Rote repetition of only a few sura’s over and over again like most people do, does not serve the purpose of as-Salat effectively. As-Salat provides the mechanism and adds a discipline to it so that believers are obliged to find time resorting to Al-Quran, several times during the day. Human beings need some discipline, therefore the institution of as-Salat is enjoined by Allah on believers. If people don’t know what is said to them by their Lord in His book, how can they act on it. So, Salat is an important tool in understanding what is required by God and then acting on it.
In As-Salat we have to pray in words taught by Allah. For example Allah taught Adam some words to ask forgiveness. When Adam made the supplication in these words, Allah responded to him.
They both said. “O Our Lord! We have oppressed our nafs/psyche and if You do not have forgiveness for us and mercy for us, definitely we will be of the losers.”
Format of Prayers:
There is also a specific format for As-Salat/the prayers, enjoined in Quran. In this format, ayahs/kalamat of Allah are recited while standing, then the believer bows down and prostrate, symbolizing bowing and submitting to the ayahs that he just recited. This system of prayers is established in Allah’s house in Bakka/Makka. The House of Allah is declared to be for the guidance for the entire world.
The first House appointed for mankind is that at Bakka/Makkah: full of blessings and of guidance for all worlds.
What guidance can the world take from the House of Lord? Allah has established place of Ibrahim at the House/Kaaba and ordered mankind to take their ‘mussala’ from the place of Ibrahim, who is the Imam for mankind.See earlier post about procedure of As-Salat from Quran (https://topicsfromquran.com/2017/03/21/salat-procedure/ ).
Allah has also ordered Ibrahim (a.s) and Ismaeel (a.s) to purify His house for people. The system of As-Salat is established in this House (2: 125 وَاتَّخِذُوا مِن مَّقَامِ إِبْرَاهِيمَ مُصَلًّى ), however in many people’s mind, the House is highjacked by impure people and they have established their incorrect format of As-Salat in the House (8:34). Allah declares that the protectors of Majid Ul-Haram are ‘Muttaqeen’ and those people who adhere to a different format of As-Salat and oppose the Masjid ul Haram, their salat near Masjid is tantamount to clapping and whistling (8:35). Some people say the messenger (pbuh) established As-Salat in different formats/ways, (which are followed by different sectarian Muslims). Had it been a true statement, then the sunnat/practice of the messenger (pbuh) is to establish salat in all different formats, instead of sticking to one way according to one’s sect. The sectarian Muslims should establish salat in all sectarian formats if they are true followers of the messenger (pbuh). But they are actually followers of the imams of their sect therefore they will not do that. We see that as per Quran, there is only one format of As-Salat/the prayer which is established in Masjidul Haram.
Say; “My lord has ordered with justice; and you establish your faces/souls near every mosque and call Him, making your ‘Deen’/judgment pure for Him. As He originated you, so you will return”.
In the above ayat, Allah orders to establish yourselves in all mosques. What we practically see is that. people who go to mosques for prayers they normally prefer to go in the mosques of their sect only. When you know the format of As-Salat from Quran then you can go to mosques of all sects and pray there. In case there is a discussion and engagement about your format of As-Salat, you can provide your justification of praying according to the format of As-Salat given in Quran.
Salat is not a new phenomena brought by the messenger Mohammad (pbuh), all messengers and prophets of Allah since day one, have been performing the same As-Salat. Some examples of the mention of As-Salat with prophets and people of earlier times in Quran is given below:
“O’ our Lord, surely I have settled from my offspring within the valley without cultivation/agriculture near your sacred house, O’ Our Lord, so that they establish As-Salat/the prayer, so make the hearts of people loving towards them and provide them with fruits so that they will be thankful.”
And We made them the Imams/leaders that they guide with Our order and We inspired towards them to do good deeds and establish As-Salat/the prayer and give zakat/justification and to Us they served.
Also mention in the book, Ismail: He was true to what he promised, and he was a messenger (and) a prophet. He enjoined on his people As-Salat/the prayer and Az-Zakat, and he was most acceptable in the sight of his Lord.
When We took a covenant with the Bani-Israeel/Children of Israel that you will serve none but Allah and be good with your parents and with relatives and the orphan and the needy and say to mankind good words and establish As-Salat/the prayer and give Az-Zakat/the Justification then except few from you, turn away avoiding it.
They said, “O Shoaib, does your salat/prayer dictates upon you that we must abandon what our forefathers served, or running our businesses in any manner we choose? Surely, you are known for being clement, wise.”
With the help of ‘as-Salat’ as you grow in understanding of the spirit of Allah’s ayahs, you will be bound to abondon the ways of your ancesters if they are in conflict with Al-Quran and spend your wealth as directed by Allah.
Thus the angels called unto him while he was establishing prayer in the chamber, . “Allah gives you glad tidings of Yahya, confirming the truth of a Word from Allah, and Syed (Leader), chaste, and a prophet,- of the company of the righteous.”
And We inspired to Moosa and his brother that you appoint for your people, houses in Egypt and make your houses a Qiblah/direction. And establish As-Salat/the prayer and give good news to the believers.
“O my son! establish As-Salat/the prayer, enjoin what is just, and forbid what is wrong. and bear with patience whatever befalls on you; for this is firmness (of purpose) in (the conduct of) affairs.
Also, in 19:58-59, it is stated that those who came after the blessed people from the children of Adam, Nooh and Ibrahim and Isreael, wasted their salat. How can one waste his ‘salat’ ? i.e by not making it an effective tool to grow in understanding of Allah’s Words.
Have you not seen that whatsoever is in the skies and in the earth, praises for Allah and the birds in the rows. Everyone knows his salat/prayers and his praise. And Allah knows with what they do.
Even the birds and other creatures in the Universe know their prayers. We humans don’t know their prayers, Allah has instilled their prayers into them and He knows their prayers. We should be concerned with our prayers which Allah has taught us in His Book. We cannot make assumption of same human Salat for other creatures. The salat of other creature and beings is definitely according to their composition.
It is He (Allah) who does salat on you, as do His angels, that He may bring you out from the darkness into the light and He is full of mercy to the believers.
As we don’t know about salat of other creatures like birds, we also don’t know about Salat of Allah, who does salat on believers as per above ayat. Most probably this is His communication to believers to bring them from darkness of ignorance into light of Allah’s awareness.
So when you complete the (shortened) As-Salat then remember Allah in standing and sitting and on your sides, so when you are in tranquility then establish As-Salat/prayer, surely As-salat is written over the believers on appointed times.
Every person has a biological clock built in him, which is tuned to a 24 hours day. According to this clock we get up in the morning, eat food, do work, take rest and finally go back to sleep. If a person for example goes to a place where the Sun last for 6 month at a stretch, he will still be following his 24 hour internal clock for sleeping, working and eating food.
So glorify Allah’s praises, when you make your evenings and when you make your mornings; and the night and when you make your noons, and for him is the praise in the heavens and the earth.
The above ayahs state that when ever you do you mornings, evenings, days and nights, glorify Allah’s praise. Even if you are at a place where the time is different than 24 hours day, you are to follow your biological clock inside you, which follows the 24 hours day system.
The 24 hours day is according to the movement of Sun. We experience different times in it, a reference of which we can find in different ayahs of Quran; some given as below:
And establish As-Salat/the prayer, the two sides of the day and in the advances of the night. Surely the goodness will take away the badness. That is the remembrance for those who remember.
We had previously seen that the ‘Mussala’ i.e the system of Salat is to be taken from ‘Masjid-ul Haram’. That system comprises 5 mandatory prayers during 24 hours cycle. There are different interpretations for the timings of Salat in the above ayat. One interpretation could be that this ayat is referring to the three out of 5 salats which are Fajr, Maghrib and Isha.
Establish As-salat by the sun’s decline till the darkening of the night and the reading (of Quran) at dawn, (Fajr) surely the reading (of the Quran) at the dawn is witnessed.
The above ayat states that the salat to be established from the decline of the Sun to the darkening of the night. During day time when the sun reaches its peak and begins to decline from the peak until beginning of night are the 2, day-prayers i.e Zuhar and Asar. From beginning of darkness is Maghrib and with further darkening of night is Isha prayer, and little before beginning of day is Fajr prayers. The above Ayat states that there is no mandatory prayer during the time after Fajr i.e from start of the day till the decline of the sun (before Zuhr) and after that from decline of the Sun to the darkness of the nights the prayers can be performed (as per system established in the Sacred Mosque)
And in some hours of the night, strive with it (Quran), This is additional for you, so it may be that your Lord will raise you to a standing position of praise.
Nafal is optional. Night time is a peaceful time without expected disturbance to strive with Quran.
“O’ you who believe, you do not go near to As-Salat/the prayer with a mind befogged, until you can understand what you say; and nor in a state of stranger except you are crossing the way until you have washed yourselves, if you are ill, or on a journey, or one of you come from offices of nature, or you have been in contact with women, and you find no water, then take for yourselves clean sand, and therewith rub your faces and hands, for Allah does blot out sins and forgive again and again.”
Sukara is a condition of either intoxication, or confusion, when your mind is not focused and you are not able to understand and focus on what you are saying. In this state it is not permissible to establish Salat.
Recite what is inspired to you from The Book and establish As-Salat/the prayer. Surely As-Salat/the prayer stops from obscenity and that which is disguised. and definitely remembrance of Allah is great. And Allah knows what you fabricate.
Salat is about getting the ‘Spirit’ of the ‘Word’ of Allah. The below ayat states that the people who are rewarded, when they hear what is recited in ayahs of Allah they fall in prostration, crying. You can only get the feel of the ayahs of Quran when you understand the spirit behind the ayahs. Without understanding them, is like being deaf and dumb to the ayahs. So the rewarded people don’t fall upon the ayahs of Quran, deaf and dumb.
Those were among the prophets for whom Allah has blessed from the offspring of Adam and from those whom We carried with Nooh and from the offspring of Ibrahim and Israel and from those whom We guided and We chose, when the ayats/signs of the Most Gracious were recited on them they fall down prostrating, weeping. ۩(Sajda)
And when they are reminded with the ayahs / signs of their Lord they do not fall down over them, deaf and blind.
How can one waste his Salat/prayer? by not understanding the spirit of the ayahs he is reciting and not using ayahs to correct one’s mistakes by acting on them. Just doing as ritual to desire ‘Sawab’ from prayers will have little benefit.
Thus after them, succeeded successors who wasted As-Salat/the prayer and followed the desires, so soon they shall encounter wrong.
If As-salat becomes burdensome, it is a characteristic trait of hypocrites. If it is performed as a ritual of duty with rote repetition of few suras, and is not being used to increase awareness of Allah’s ayahs, it is likely to become burdensome.
The hypocrites (think that they) are deceiving Allah, but He deceives them. When they stand for As-salat/the prayer they stand sluggishly, to be seen by men, but little do they hold Allah in remembrance.
The mention of funeral prayers is in Sura 9: Funeral prayers are not for hypocrites but for believers.
Nor do you ever pray for any of them who dies, nor stand at his grave; for they rejected Allah and His Messenger, and died in a state of perverse rebellion.
When you strike in the earth, there is no blame on you if you shorten your prayers, if you fear that those people who disbelieved would inflict you with fitna/temptation. Verily the unbelievers are for you, open enemies.
When you are striving on earth i.e at work in offices or sites (does not necessarily mean travelling 2:273), where management is mainly non-muslim or where establishing As-Salat may not be looked upon favorably or interfere with work/site work/meeting etc, then it is permissible to shorten the prayers. The shortened prayer will follow the practice established during Hajj in Makkah. In offices or work places there is usually a lunch break. During that break the Zuhar prayer and Asar prayers may be combined with 2 rakas each. If the work has extended time in the evening, then you may combine Maghrib and Isha prayers when you come back home from work, offering Maghrib prayers at Isha’s time with Maghrib 3 Raka and Isha as 2 rakas.
So if you are in fear, then (pray) on foot or riding. So when you are in security remember Allah as He taught you, which you knew not.
If you are travelling and you fear or are concerned that you may not be able to establish As-Salat in time, then you may do As-salat mentally while on a vehicle or walking during your travel. This is an exception for travelers. However, safety first therefore if you are driving your self then better to stop at the side for a break and do prayers in the car.
“O’ my Lord! make me one who establishes As-Salah/the prayer and also from my offspring and O my Lord! you accept my call. O’ our Lord! have forgiveness for me, for my parents and for the believers when the day of account is established!”.
Notes:
A detailed lecture explaining, Salat, timing of Salat, procedure of Salat in Quran by Scholar Mohammad Shaikh in in below link. This post is mainly an excerpt of this lecture:
الصَّلَاةَ= The Prayer (the specific format of Prayer whose format is preserved at the sacred non-agricultural valley of Makkah)
صَلُّوا عَلَيْ= Pray for ( صَلُّو when comes with عَلَيْ, means to pray for ‘some one’)
Critics of Ritualistic salat:
There are people who don’t consider ‘as-salat’ to be a ritualistic practice. They mostly interpret the establishment of ‘as-salat’ as the establishment of Allah’s system of rules. While there is no disagreement on the end result of establishment of Allah’s rules, some points need to be considered.
We know that not all people in the world have equal capabilities. For example, in a large corporation, some employees can work well within a ‘management by objectives’ system. These employees can typically accomplish their goals without much supervision. Management is not overly concerned with how they achieve results. However, this approach cannot be applied to all employees. Therefore, the company uses a system of rules to provide structure for the majority, helping them achieve their goals.
While not every member of the community may be fit or required to establish Allah’s system of rules, but everyone should be aligned with the concept. Salat is a tool for familiarization with the Quran and understanding Allah’s message. It is a means to achieve the final objective. The reward comes not from the means itself but from the end result—i.e developing one’s character in line with Quran’s instruction. The tool of ‘salat’ helps compels people to set aside time and resort to Quran several times during a day. Quran is not a book whose reading once or twice in a life time is sufficient. It has to be read again and again and does not cease to bring new insights every time.
Allah established the system of Salat to provide structure for the masses to communicate with Him and understand His rules by resorting to His book every day. Some people, akin to the loose example of MBO, would like focus on the end result without adhering to the structure. They might believe that ritualistic Muslims do not benefit from their Salat, reinforcing their perspective. However, for the nation as a whole, the system must be inclusive, aiming to bring everyone on board with a common objective.
No doubt, the objective of Salat in the minds of the masses needs reform. It should become an effective tool for reading and understanding al-Quran, and then applying al-Quran in their lives. Rote repetition of a few suras in every Salat will not achieve the objective. One very simple practical way of increasing familiarity with al-Quran can be to read e.g one page of Quran in every raka from the book, instead of repeating a few sura’s all the time by rote. After the salat, the meaning of the ayahs recited should be pondered upon.
One more point: attacking the institution of Salat as non-Islamic will not gain mainstream acceptance. It will only create divisions and rancor among Muslims. The Quran recounts an incident involving the prophet Haroon, who faced an even greater abomination of his nation committing shirk. Yet, he refrained from taking extreme action out of fear of dividing the nation.
Similarly the mosques can perform useful roles in the community one example could be reducing cost of marriages by encouraging people to have Nikah ceremony in the mosque. A nikah in the mosque will be a fraction of a cost of arranging the function anywhere else. Other useful function of community center may also be thought of and introduced in the mosques.
And who is more unjust than he who refrains mosques of Allah that Allah’s name be remembered in them and he tries for their ruin? It was not fitting that those should themselves enter them except in fear. For them there is nothing but disgrace in this world, and in the world to come, an exceeding torment.
The congregation of salat in a mosque is provides important lesson in social equality. No where other than in a mosque people could witness people of all social classes as being equal, where a peon of a company can stand shoulder to shoulder to the CEO. No one has the privilege to stand in the first row except who comes first all humble towards God in unison.
Objection that Islamic salat copied from Zoroastrian sources:
The objection that As-Salat is derived from Zoroastrian prayer practices is a common one, based on the premise that Zoroastrianism predates Islam by centuries. Critics argue that certain Islamic rituals, stories, and concepts—such as the Prophet’s ascension to the heavens, the Kaaba’s black stone, pilgrimage, and other elements—were borrowed from earlier religions, including Zoroastrianism, pagan practices, and Biblical sources.
However, this claim overlooks a fundamental principle conveyed in the Quran: Allah has consistently emphasized that the message delivered to the Messenger (pbuh)is not new. The Quran explicitly states that its teachings and directives are the same as those given to all previous prophets. Thus, a resemblance between Islamic practices and rituals in other religions, such as Zoroastrian prayer, reflects those practices that have since been distorted over time. Quran states that nothing new is said and ordered to the last prophet and the Shariat has been the same from the first to last prophet. Therefore, those practices and concepts in other religions which have some similarity with those of al-Quran, but are different, are actually the distorted ones over period of time. Rituals of As-Salat and the Hajj have been preserved in the Holy city of Bakkah/Makkah, as a testament to their divine origin and continuity throughout history deduced by order of Quran that the first house made for mankind is in Bakkah (Makkah) and is guidance for the whole world ( in all times)
Salat as a system for establishment of Allah’s writ in the world
Then there are people who think that as-Salat is a system of God to be established and not actually the ritual that people perform. However from below ayat we see that Salat has an ending and a beginning as well that you do a wazoo washing of certain parts of body (5:6), and is ordained on appointed times, therefore Salat itself cannot be a system but a tool to gain understanding of Allah’s word and then be prepared to establish the system of Allah.
So when you complete the (shortened) As-Salat then remember Allah in standing and sitting and on your sides, so when you are in tranquility then establish As-Salat/prayer, surely As-salat is written over the believers on appointed times.
Another aspect of Salat is pay attention and focus. This is derived from Quran ayah 75:31-32.
The closest meaning of ‘Salli’ in ayahs 75:31-32 would be ‘to pay attention/focus‘. When used with ‘AL’ i.e as-salat it mean the special format of prayers which needs be established. But without the Arabic ‘AL’, it would mean to pay attention and focus. The As-Salat would provide the discipline for paying attention and focus on learning of Quran i.e learning new ayahs with their understandings and reciting them in the As-salat.
In below two ayahs ‘Saddaqa’ i.e to ‘acknowledge Truth’ comes with its antonym ‘Kazzaba’ i.e to reject (Truth) and ‘Salla’ i.e to pay attention/focus comes with the antonym ‘Tawalla’ i.e to turn away.
And We have set on the earth firmaments, so that it should sway with them, and We have made therein broad highways so that they may receive guidance.
The above Ayat is usually translated with an extra negation added while it may be a possibility that the Ayat is referring to the tilt of the Earth. We know that Earth is tilted on its axis and this tilt gives the seasons on Earth.
Without the extra negation added, the above Ayat states that Allah has put firmaments or pegs so that the Earth should sway with them. Could be some thing for further research to find out if the mountains have a role in keeping the tilt of Earth on its axis, something similar to shim pieces.