CHAPTER SIX

 

Allah Encompass All Things

  We talked about the believers and the infidels and how both of them do not get away form Allah’s will, but they only obey or disobey Allah’s prescribed intension in His universe. But the dispute of the non-believers leaves us several points that need to be addressed. For man is in most things contentious and he tries to find a way to escape Allah’s punishment and he claims that the punishment is Allah’s will and that he has no choice in it.   We say yes, punishment is the will of Allah (SWT), but it is you who choose the path to Allah’s will to enter his mercy and bliss or the path leading to his wrath and punishment. The key is in your own hands, for when you believe Allah increases your faith. When you wake up to worship Him in the middle of the night Allah raises you in position and when you read the Qur’an Allah increases your reward. When you do the good deeds Allah raises you to a high position and when you decline from all that Allah distances you more from his obedience and leaves you to Satin (Al-Shytan).   And here we come to the noble verse that a lot of people dispute. Al-Haqq (Jalla Jallaloh) says:   <<And surely, We have created many of the Jinn and mankind for Hell. They have hearts wherewith they understand not, and they have eyes wherewith they see not, and they have ears wherewith they hear not (the truth). They are like cattle, nay even more astray; those! They are the heedless ones>> Ayah 179 from surat Al-A’raf   Those who want to wrongfully dispute would say since Al-Haqq (SWT) has created those people for Hell (Jahanam) and since He made them with hearts that do not understand and eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, then what is their guilt to be punished in Hell?   We say that you did not understand the meaning of the noble verse for Allah (SWT) has created those people with hearts that understands but they do not want to use it and He has gave them eyes that can see but they do not see with it and He created them with ears that listen but they do not want to listen.   For if we take their hearts for example and the heart is the place where the Faith settles after it has been debated fully by the mind, we find out that they refuse the correct logical notion. They say as was mentioned in the Qur’an:   <<And (remember) when they said: “O Allah! If this (the Qur’an) is indeed the truth (revealed) from You, then rain down stones on us from the sky or bring on us a painful torment>> Ayah 32 from surat Al-Anfal   Could that be the words of people with hearts that understand? Would not the logic make them say that if that is the righteous from Allah then may God guide us to it. But in that specific point they would rather take the wrong path and they would prefer the punishment above the belief in “Al-Haqq”, the righteous. Never the less we should emphasize that in their worldly life and their trade they take the right decisions to increase their wealth. They prepare for the shipments and deal with money very well, for those who say such words are the elites of Qoraish (Greatest group in Mecca) and the wealthiest among the Arabs. But when it comes to religion and the righteous, they get away from the correct understanding and correct logic and they start talking as if they have no hearts to know or understand. Allah (SWT) did not create them with hearts that do not understand, He created them with normal hearts and they refused to use it. More than that they are so negligent that they know that the message of Muhammad (PBUH) is the Right but they ask for punishment rather than believe in the Message.

The Eye Sees .. But ..

    And if we talk about their eyes for example, we find that Allah (SWT) made their eyes able to see but they do not use that function. For Moses (Peace be upon our Prophet and upon him) came to the people of Pharaoh with a lot of signs that they had seen with their eyes and in that Al-Haqq (SWT) says:   <<We sent on them: the flood, the locusts, the lice, the frogs, and the blood (as a succession of) manifest signs, yet they remained arrogant, and they were of those people who were Mujrimun (criminals, polytheists, sinners)>> Ayah 133 from surat Al-A’raf   All those signs that Al-Haqq (SWT) sent to the people of Pharaoh were signs that could be seen by the eyes without any effort. The wholesale death that drowned the earth was obvious for every one of them. The locusts that ate the crops were watched by all the people, and also were the lice and the frogs that they found in their food. And the water that turned to blood whenever they tried to drink it. Were not all those signs visible to all of them? Yes but although they saw it they did not believe as if their eyes did not see. Because the objective of seeing is to know something, make sure you see it right and believe what you see.   But those people saw things and they did not believe it and by that they were the same as those who are not able to see. When the infidels asked the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) for the moon to split as a sign from his God to proof that he (PBUH) is the Messenger, the moon was split. Did the infidels then believe in what they saw? No and they said that Muhammad did magic to their eyes and by that they were the same like those who could not see because they watched and refused to believe.   And for their ears that do not listen, did not the infidels of Qoraish say as mentioned in the Qur’an:   <<And those who disbelieve say: “Listen not to this Qura’n, and make noise in the midst of its (recitation) that you may overcome>> Ayah 26 from surat Fussilat   As if their hearing devices is working and could hear, but they themselves stopped using them to listen to the words of Allah and they asked the people not to listen when they themselves should have listened and understood.   Didn’t they say about the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) that he was a poet, a soothsayer and possessed? Was that applicable with the right logic typical to the sayings and acts of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH)? Did the Messenger of Allah say one line of poetry before he has been responsible for conveying the Message so that they call him a poet? Did he (PBUH) practice any supernatural deeds before the Message was sent upon him so that they call him a soothsayer? Did they hear anything from the Messenger of Allah other than the best words and the best deeds? They used to call him the Faithful and the Trustworthy and they all bore witness that he (PBUH) had the highest standards of character and manners and when he (PBUH) came with the Message they called him possessed.   Could those words that they said about the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) be applied to what they have seen, heard, reasoned or understood from the most honorable man, Muhammad (PBUH). Of course not but their senses functioned normally before Muhammad (PBUH) conveyed the Message of Allah and that was why they called him the Trustworthy and described him to be the man with high standards of character and manners who never lies or betrays their trust.   But after the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was made responsible of conveying the Message they revoked their brains, their eyes and their ears and started talking with their vain desires as if they did not understand, see or hear.

Rejected Logic

  Saying that Al-Haqq (SWT) did not create for them hearts to understand or eyes to see or ears to hear is not correct, but they unutilized their senses because they do not want to believe so they did not use them and if they have utilized them correctly they would have believed.   But Al-Haqq (SWT) says << And We have made>> that is We have created, for since the origin of creation Al-Haqq (SWT) has ruled that those people are in Hell although by that time they did not do anything yet. We call that Allah’s Knowledge that encompasses His Universe, for Allah’s knowledge (SWT) has no boundaries and He knew the moment He created them that they are going to be among the people of Hell. And how would some people say that this is a strange thing knowing that Allah’s Knowledge (SWT) includes everything in this worldly life and in the Hereafter.   Did not Noah (PBUH) say as mentioned in the Qur’an:   <<And Nuh (Noah) said: “My Lord! Leave not one of the disbelievers on the earth! If You leave them, they will mislead Your slaves, and they will beget none but wicked disbelievers”>> Ayat 26, 27 from surat Nuh   Who told Noah (PBUH) that those people are infidels and that they will give birth only to wicked and ungrateful generations? He took the wisdom from the earlier signs that he saw in front of him while trying to convey the Message of Allah to his own people whom he had lived among for a thousand year less fifty years (950 years).   And Satan (Iblees Al-Shytan) did not he say as mentioned in the Qur’an:   << [Ibees (Satan)] said: “By Your Might, then I will surely mislead them all, except Your chosen slaves amongst them (i.e. faithful, obedient, true believers of Islamic Monotheism”>> Ayat 82, 83 from surat Sad   Who told Satan (Iblees -  Al-Shytan) that he is going to divert every servant who is unfaithful to Allah (SWT)? Al-Haqq (Jalla Jallaloh) clarified to us that in His saying:   <<And indeed Iblees (Satan) did prove true his thought about them: and they followed him, all except a group of true believers (in the Oneness of Allah)>> Ayah 20 from surat Saba’   So Satan (Iblees - Al-Shytan) said that by guessing because he felt the acceptance of Adam and Eve to the diversion.

Allah’s Encompassing Knowledge

  If we look at the normal human; for example if you see that your son is not studying and is careless about his classes, you will say to him that he will not pass his exams and definitely he will not. Did you know the unknown future then? Or had you concluded that from the facts around you. And the same with the teacher who explains the lessons to a class of 20 students and says that only ten of the twenty students are going to pass the exams and actually only ten students pass. Does this teacher predict the future? Or did he judge them by evaluating their work in class.   If that happens with the humans who are Allah’s creation with their limited knowledge and weak power, do you think that it is hard for Allah (SWT) and He is the Creator and the All Knowing to know by fact that some of his own creatures are in Hell. If the Creatures of Allah could guess some predictions that turn out to be true, would not Allah’s knowledge (SWT) reach definite conclusions by surety? Of course it does and Allah (SWT) knows by surety. This is confirmed by what He (Jalla Jallaloh) says:   <<Should not He Who has created know? And He is the Most Kind and Courteous (to His slaves), All-Aware (of everything)>>

Ayah 14 from surat Al-Mulk

  Allah’s knowledge is beyond our power and beyond all the knowledge that we could possibly have. That is why it is easy for Allah (SWT) to know the destiny of His creatures. But some people would stop at the words of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), Al-Hadith Al-Nabawy   (A man amongst you acts like the people deserving Paradise until between him and Paradise there remains but the distance of a cubit, when suddenly the writing of destiny overcomes him and he begins to act like the denizens of Hell and thus enters Hell…..)   So how would the judgment be just when someone who is performing the deeds of the dwellers of Paradise until he becomes very close to entering it and then he stops doing that as it is pre-destined for him and he ends to be among the people of Hell. And how would one of us doing the deeds of the dwellers of Hell because of his destiny turns out to be among the people of Paradise. For if it is already written in the book it seems as if entering Paradise or Hell is already pre-destined irrespective of what he does because the book has already changed the consequences of his actions. Those words are spoken a lot and is taken as an excuse for those who have transgressed on themselves and want to blame others for what they do or want to say that it is out of their hands and it is already pre-destined for them, the same as the Pagans say as Al-Haqq (TWT) clarified to us in the Qur’an. He (SWT) says:   <<Those who took partners (in worship) with Allah will say: “ If Allah had had willed, we would not have taken partners (in worship) with Him, nor would our fathers, and we would not have forbidden anything (against His will)”>> Ayah 148 from surat Al-An’am   The Pagans who are associating partners (in worship) with Allah, by saying that wants to throw the responsibility of their faults on the will of Allah (SWT). We tell them, yes you have not been out of Allah’s will as we have already shown that those who believe and those who disobey are both not out of Allah’s will. The one who believed entered the will of Faith and so Allah helped him to the way of Guidance and he endeared Faith to him and he will end to be in Paradise. And the one who expiated and associated partners with Allah (We seek refuge from Allah to protect us against that – wal ‘uiaz be Allah) entered the will of Infidelity. Allah (SWT) has not helped him to guidance and has left him for the devils (Al-Shyatin) to send him astray. So neither the believer nor the infidel has walked out of Allah’s will.

Warning From Satan (Al-Shytan)

  We go back to the Hadith of the Messenger of Allah (PBUH). He (PBUH) wanted to warn us from the obsession of Satan (Al-Shytan) and from the vain desires of our souls. He also wanted to open the gate of hope in front of us and not to close it so that those who believe would take every precaution and those who disobey would hang to Allah’s repentance (SWT) and forgiveness. That is why in Al-Hadith we see that a man will do all the good deeds that makes him deserve to be among the people of Paradise, but is then tempted by Satan (Al-Shytan) who concentrates on seducing the faithful believers and never leaves them alone. Just as Al-Haqq (SWT) tells us that Satan (Al-Shytan) concentrates his seduction on the believers in the noble verse:   <<”Surely, I will sit in wait against them (human beings) on Your Straight Path”>> Ayah 16 from surat Al-‘Araf   So Satan (Al-Shytan) does not concentrate his effort on the places of amusement and wickedness where there is wine served. For he is already done with the people in those places and they do not need to be tempted any more as they have already fallen into seduction. Their lusts and vain desires have responded to the seduction and they have become helpers of the devils (Al-Shyatin) and that is why Satan does need to spend any effort with them but he focuses his effort on the people who do their prayers, the ones who obey. He approaches them by all means; he tempts them with illegal money and if they resist he will tempt them to do adultery by beautifying women to them and if that does not work he will seduce them to take bribes or to gamble or lie or drink wine.   And by that Satan (Al-Shytan) keeps on beautifying the wrong deeds to the believer until he falls into doing the sins. If Satan fails in driving man into sins, he never loses hope and he starts approaching him from the acts of worship. He for example, whispers to man to make him doubt his ablution (wodo’o) and repeat it many times. And every time man makes ablution (wodo’o), Satan would whisper to him that his ablution (wodo’) is not accepted and he would do the same when man makes his prayer. And in that way Satan (Al-Shytan) keeps approaching man from the side of Faith and keeps whispering to him until the acts of worship becomes hard on him, although religion is meant to be easy.   The main objective of Satan (Al-Shytan) is to make the acts of worship hard on the believer so that he would hate it or to make the believer think desperately that his devotion is not accepted from Allah (SWT) so that he would stop performing it altogether.   The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) wants to draw our attention to the access points that Satan (Al-Shytan) uses with the believer so that we would know it. For our prophet (PBUH) wants us to know that Satan (Al-Sytan) will not leave us until our life term ends. Al-Shytan never loses hope and he keeps whispering to us to stop our devotion by saying that we have Paradise guaranteed. He keeps repeating those words until we are wrongly convinced by his concept and we reduce our devotion and do less good things. Then Al-Shytan tempts us to do sins until we slip into it one after the other and then the writing of destiny overcomes us. The writing that Allah (SWT) pre-destined for the sinners and for those who walk away from his course and by that are deprived of Allah’s (SWT) lead to guidance.   But also those who perform sins should pay attention that the door of repentance is open as long as they live and as long as the time of death has not come yet. That is why they have to be quick in the race for forgiveness for if they do that and act like the dwellers of Paradise, they would enter the will of Allah’s guidance and He would then help them to guidance and would endear Faith and beautify it in their hearts. Allah (SWT) would change their evil into good and they would become among the people of Paradise.   So we can see how the Noble Hadith does not mean that the person who performs good deeds would irrespective of his good deeds go to Hell. We Bear Witness Against Ourselves   Then comes a question that is repeated by those who want to doubt Allah’s fairness (SWT) and put despair in the hearts of people so that they would stop their acts of worship. Those people say that if in the knowledge of Al-Haqq (SWT) that a person is among the people of Paradise or among the people of Hell, will not that be sufficient without any need to work on it?   We say to those people that the worldly life is a place of examination for man and there is a difference between the saying and the doing. For a man might say a lot of things that he will not do when the time comes for doing it. For example, a soldier before going to the battle might tell you that he will kill twenty soldiers from the enemy’s side, but when the fighting actually starts he is the first to run away and leave the battle. And also a person might tell you that he will give you a thousand dollars if you do something for him and when the time comes for paying he is stingy and does not give you anything.   Al-Haqq (SWT) draws our attention to that in his mighty book and says:   <<And when there came to them (the Jews), a Book (this Qur’an) from Allah confirming what is with them [the Taurat (torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)], although aforetime they had invoked Allah (for coming of Muhammad (PBUH)) in order to gain victory over those who disbelieved, then when there came to them that which they had recognized, they disbelieved in it, So let the Curse ofAllah be on the disbelievers>> Ayah 89 from surat Al-Baqarah   This is regarding the Jewish people for they were telling the infidels from Al-Madina that the time has come for a new Messenger that they the Jews would believe and follow and with the Messenger they would kill the infidels in the same way the People of Ad and Thamud were killed. But after the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) was sent, the Jews were the first to reject him and fight him and they plotted conspiracies to kill him. And the people of Pharaoh asked Moses, (PBUH) and upon our Messenger, to lighten the penalty on them and they promised him Faith and when Allah answered Moses’ call (PBUH) they did not believe and continued to reject.   And in that Al-Haqq (TWT) says:   <<But when We removed the punishment from them to a fixed term, which they had to reach, behold! They broke their word!>> Ayah 135 from surat Al-A’raf   And the noble Qura’n is full of verses that shows us how the non-believers and the hypocrites and others say and promise things and when time comes to fulfill their promises they do not perform them.   So there is a difference between the words and the deeds, and to prevent man from coming on the Day of Resurrection to dispute and say to God that if He had invited him to Faith he would have believed and that if He had sent a Messenger he would have followed him and that if He had asked him to do good deeds he would have done them, there should be a practical test for man to go through so that he would witness against himself on the Day of Resurrection. In that case man would not come to say that if God had guided him to Faith he would have believed because Guide came to him but he did not follow it and he would not claim that if God had sent a Messenger he would have been the first to help him because Allah had actually sent the Messenger but he was the first to fight him. So on the Day of Resurrection man should witness against himself and should not dispute at the time of Account because he experienced the practical test and failed it. And that is according to what Allah (Azz wa Jall) says:   <<(It will be said to him): “Read your book. You yourself are sufficient as a reckoner against you this Day”>> Ayah 14 from surat Al-Isra’   But that test, the test of Faith in the worldly life does not happen because Allah is not knowledgeable or because (SWT) wants to increase his knowledge, for Allah’s knowledge (Jalla Jallaloh) encompasses everything, but that test is only for people to bear witness against themselves. Exactly in the same way we have exams for the university students, for the university does not do those exams to learn from the students, for it has provided them with the knowledge, but it actually do it so that every student bear witnesses against himself. If a student comes and claims that he did well in the exam, they will get out his answers and he will see that he has failed and cannot then dispute.   Here we reach the point that those people who Allah (SWT) has described them in the noble Qura’n to have hearts that do not understand and eyes that do not see and ears that do not hear, they themselves have ruined their own sensing devices and they have not used them in what Allah has created them for. Also man should beware from the whispering of Al-Shytan because if he follows it, then it will move him from the will of Faith to the will of Infidelity, though in both cases he does not get out of Allah’s will (SWT). We also reach the point that this present life, the worldly life is a test for us so that we would bear witness against ourselves and so that we do not come on the Day of Resurrection to dispute but to know that Allah’s knowledge (TWT) encompasses everything.