Kamil Ahmad – Parables from the Quran #07
AI: Summary ©
The speakers discuss the importance of understanding the history and predictions of Islam, including its historical significance and the lack of communication among Muslims. They also touch on the importance of knowing the meaning of the Qwhd in Islam and the potential for confusion. The segment concludes with a discussion of the importance of knowing the meaning of the Qwhd and the potential for confusion.
AI: Summary ©
In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious,
the Most Merciful.
All praise is due to Allah, Lord of
the worlds.
All praise is due to Him, Who is
much, good, and blessed.
As our Lord loves, He is blessed, and
He is pleased.
All praise is due to Allah, as He
should be due to His Majesty, His Face,
and His Great Sovereignty.
And may the complete peace and blessings be
upon the best of Allah's creation.
And upon His family and companions, and upon
those who were guided by His guidance, As
-salāmu ʿalaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
We continue on the parables of the Qur
'an, and last week we had reached Sūrat
al-An'am, and so we continue with
another parable in Sūrat al-An'am, and
this parable is basically where Allah ﷻ compares
the two camps of the believers and the
disbelievers, the people of īmān and the people
of kufr, and Allah gives an example of
each.
And there are going to be more that
are going to come later on in the
Qur'an, so this is not the only
one, but this is the first, this is
the first.
And so this āyah that we have from
Sūrat al-An'am, verse 122 of al
-An'am, it is said that this āyah
was revealed concerning Abu Jahl and Hamza, Hamza
رضي الله عنه.
When Abu Jahl did what he did to
the Prophet ﷺ, placing the guts of a
dead camel on his back, the intestines of
a dead camel, he went and placed it
on the back of the Prophet ﷺ when
he was in sujood.
Famous story.
So, Hamza, at the time he had not
been a Muslim yet, he heard about this.
He heard about what Abu Jahl did to
his nephew.
So he went up to Abu Jahl, and
it said that he was just coming back
from hunting, and Hamza was known to hunt
lions.
He was coming back and he still had
his arrow with him, he went to Abu
Jahl and he started beating him with the
arrow.
So Abu Jahl looked at him and said,
look at what your nephew has done to
us.
Meaning, look at how he's changed the religion
of our fathers and he split us into
two groups.
So Hamza, he said, there is no one
more foolish than you, than you people.
So, you carve out a stone and then
worship it, knowing that it cannot benefit you
nor harm you.
Take my testimony that I am on his
religion.
I follow his religion.
And then he said his shahada.
This is when Hamza accepted Islam.
So then it is said that this ayah
was revealed.
It is said that this ayah was revealed
from Surah Al-An'am.
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala says, أَوَمَنْ كَانَ
مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي
النَّاسِ كَمَنْ مَثَلُهُ فِي الظُّلُمَاتِ لَيْسَ بِخَارِجٍ مِّنْهَا
كَذَلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ Allah asks,
Is the one who was dead, and then
we gave to him life, and made for
him light, by which he could walk among
the people, is he like the one who
is in darkness, never to emerge from that
darkness?
Thus, it has been made pleasing to the
disbelievers that which they were doing.
So it is said that the mu'min here,
the believer here is Hamza, and the kafir
here is Abu Jahl.
Others mention that the believer that Allah is
referring to here, that he took him out
from darkness into light, and he gave him
life after death.
Others mention it is referring to Umar ibn
al-Khattab, and others mention that it was
Ammar ibn Yasir.
But they all agree that the kafir here
was Abu Jahl, that it is referring to
Abu Jahl.
Now, after mentioning the different opinions, Ibn Kathir,
he says in his tafsir, however, the correct
view is that the verse is general, encompassing
every believer and disbeliever.
Encompassing every believer and disbeliever.
So regardless of who it was revealed concerning,
it applies to everyone.
It applies to every mu'min and every kafir.
As the scholars of tafsir, they have a
famous principle of tafsir, they say, What
matters is the generality of the ayah, not
the particular reason why it was revealed.
So an ayah could be revealed concerning anything.
Most of the ayat of the Qur'an
were revealed as a result of certain incidents
that took place.
But that doesn't mean that the rule of
the ayah only applies to those particular cases,
but rather it is general.
So what is the comparison here?
Allah compares the person of Iman, the believer,
Allah compares him to one who was dead,
and then Allah gave him life and light.
Allah gave him life and light.
And as for the kafir, then he is
one who is in darkness, never to come
out from it.
Right?
So this is basically what Allah tells us
in this ayah.
So just like a living person, who knows
what's beneficial for himself, and is capable of
achieving it, and he knows what is harmful,
and is capable of preventing any harm from
reaching him, likewise is the believer.
Right?
He was once dead, meaning he was wandering
in confusion and misguidance.
Then Allah brought life to him by bringing
life to his heart with Iman.
With Iman.
And then guiding him with what?
With light.
And this refers to the light of the
Qur'an, the revelation.
And Allah says, يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ With
this light, he walks among the people.
What does that mean?
It means that he recognizes people through this
light.
This light helps him to distinguish between Iman
and Kufr.
Between the people who are upon the truth,
and the people who are upon falsehood.
And so there's no confusion for him.
There's no confusion for him between a Mushrik
and a person of Tawheed.
Between a person of Iman and a person
of Kufr.
He sees clearly everything.
It also means, when Allah says, يَمْشِي بِهِ
فِي النَّاسِ He uses this light to walk
among the people.
It also means that he uses this light,
the light of the Qur'an, to give
Dawah to the people.
He calls the people to this light.
As for the Kafir, who remains stubborn upon
Kufr, then just like a dead body will
never come to life, and leave the dark
grave that it's in, likewise the Kafir is
wandering in darkness, confused, never being able to
come out from that darkness.
And this Kafir here is referring to those
Kuffar, who Allah Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A
'la has not destined for them to be
guided.
Those whom Allah has sealed their hearts.
The likes of Abu Jahl, and Abu Lahab,
and others.
So Allah tells us in this ayah, they're
in darkness and they're never going to be
able to get out from that darkness.
Now Imam Sa'di, he says, as if it
was said after this, how could someone with
even the slightest bit of reason, prefer to
remain in such a condition, lost in darkness
and confusion?
Why would someone remain in that state?
Being confused and living in darkness is not
a good thing, right?
So how does Allah conclude the ayah?
Allah says, كَذَلِكَ زُيِّنَ لِلْكَافِرِينَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ
So Allah answers this, you know, this question.
What they were doing was made fair seeming
to them.
What they were doing was made fair seeming
to them.
So they didn't realize that they're in darkness.
Right?
He says, Shaytan continually beautifies their deeds and
adorns them in their hearts until they perceive
them as good and true.
This perception then becomes a firmly held belief
in their hearts, a deep seated and constant
trait that accompanies them.
Thus they become content with the evil and
these reprehensible acts that they are upon.
Right?
So Allah describes the kuffar in many different
ways in the Quran.
This is one, that they're in darkness.
Right?
And the kind of things that they're doing
are filthy and reprehensible.
But then one wonders why?
Why would someone who is in such a
state want to remain in such a state?
The answer is, Shaytan.
Shaytan makes their way of life fair seeming
to them.
He beautifies it for them.
And so they think that everything is cool
and everything is well.
And they'll only realize that that wasn't the
case at the time of death.
Right?
In the akhirah.
Now there are numerous examples of how Allah
Subhanahu wa ta'ala has described kuffar and
misguidance as, you know, death and darkness.
And He has described His guidance and Iman
as being life and light for the hearts.
For example, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says
in Surah Al-Baqarah وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ
الظُّلُمَاتِ إِلَى النُّورِ Right?
Allah is the guardian of those who believe.
He takes them out from darknesses into light.
What is this talking about?
It is talking about from kuffar to Iman.
And then Allah says, وَالَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَوْلِيَاءُهُمْ الطَّغُوتُ
يُخْرِجُهُمْ مِنَ النُّورِ إِلَى الظُّلُمَاتِ As for the
disbelievers, their guardian is basically Shaytan and the
false gods who lead them out from light
into darkness.
They keep them away from Iman and let
them stay in the kuffar that they're in.
As for life and death, Allah Subhanahu wa
ta'ala says in Surah Al-Fatir وَمَا
يَسْتَوِي الْأَحْيَاءُ وَلَا الْأَمْوَاتِ Those who are living
are not like those who are dead.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُسْمِعُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ Allah allows to
hear whomever He wills.
Allah makes whomever He wills to hear.
وَمَا أَنْتَ بِمُسْمِعٍ مَنْ فِي الْقُبُرِ Allah says
to the Prophet ﷺ, and you cannot make
those who are in the graves to hear.
What is Allah talking about here?
He's saying that these kuffar are dead.
It's as if they're in their graves.
Can you make those who are in their
graves to hear anything?
No.
Right?
So Allah has described Iman to be life
and light.
And He has described kuffar to be death
and darkness.
And this is all related to the heart.
This is all related to the heart.
The heart of the kafir is dead.
The heart of the believer is full of
life.
In addition to that, he has light that
guides him in his life.
We also have the hadith of Abdullah ibn
Amr.
This is in Musnad Imam Ahmed.
And it's authentic.
He narrates that Rasulullah ﷺ said, Allah created
His creation in darkness.
Then He sprinkled upon them from His light.
Whoever was touched by that light was guided.
And whomever missed it went astray.
And so this means that without the guidance
of Allah, we would have been lost and
remained in darkness.
And Allah sends His guidance as light that
guides us out from darkness into light.
Now what do we learn from this parable?
Number one, that guidance is a blessing of
Allah.
That this hidayah, this guidance is a blessing
from Allah.
And so look at how Allah attributed it
to Himself.
Right?
What did Allah say in this ayah?
وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا يَمْشِي بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ And
Allah is the one who gave him life.
أَوَمَنْ كَانَ مَيْتًا فَأَحْيَيْنَاهُ The one who was
dead and we gave him life.
Who gave him life?
Allah.
وَجَعَلْنَا لَهُ نُورًا And we gave him light.
And so it is Allah who guides.
Right?
Guidance is not something that we can acquire
on our own through our personal efforts and
our sharp intellects.
Yes, we should use our intellects.
We should put effort into being guided.
But that doesn't mean that the guidance is
ultimately conditioned on that.
Otherwise, the smartest of people intellectually would have
accepted it.
And the stupidest of people would have rejected
it.
But that is not the case.
Right?
That is not the case.
It is ultimately a gift from Allah.
And this is why whoever is blessed with
this guidance should be grateful.
And we should be grateful to Allah.
And we should strive to maintain it.
Recognizing it as a favor from Allah.
As the people of Jannah will say, when
they enter Jannah, وَقَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا
لِهَذَا All praise belongs to Allah who guided
us to this.
وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِيَ لَوْلَا أَنْ هَدَانَ اللَّهِ And
we would not have been guided to it
if it was not for Allah guiding us
to it.
And so look at how the people of
Jannah, they recognize that this guidance was a
favor from Allah.
They did not attribute it to themselves.
Right?
But still, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala in
the end of these ayat, what does He
say?
وَنُودُوا أَن تِلْكُمُ الْجَنَّةُ أُورِثْتُمُهَا بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ
A call will be made after they have
entered Jannah.
And it will be said, this is your
Jannah that you have inherited because of what
you used to do.
You got this because of you striving hard
and working towards it.
Right?
So it's a combination of both.
We have to strive hard for it, but
at the same time we have to understand
that the one guiding us to it is
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
Number two, the Qur'an is a light
that exposes all darknesses and shows you the
truth from falsehood.
And this light of the Qur'an will
continuously illuminate for the believers even after they
have left this world.
Right?
In your grave and on the Day of
Judgment.
And so for some people, their graves will
be dark.
For others, their graves will be full of
light.
And then the same thing on the Day
of Judgment, Allah will give light to the
believers that will guide them in the darkness.
And the hypocrites will ask for some of
that light as Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala
tells us in Surah Al-Hadeed.
As Allah mentions in Surah Al-Hadeed.
Number three, the darknesses of Kufr are layers
one after the other.
Allah does not describe darkness as being singular
as opposed to light.
What does Allah say?
With regards to the light of Iman, Allah
says, Allah did not make it plural.
But when it came to darkness, Allah made
it plural.
He didn't say dhulmah, but rather he said
dhulumat.
This is because the light of Iman is
one.
Truth is one, but falsehood is many.
Not only are there different kinds of falsehood,
but we can also say with regards to
one particular kafir, one particular person, that he
combines several dhulumat, several darknesses.
The darkness of Kufr combined with the darkness
of doubt, combined with the darkness of confusion,
combined with the darkness of misery, combined with
the darkness of depression.
Look at the kuffar and the kind of
lives they live, and you will see this.
And so their darknesses are layers one after
the other.
And that's why Allah mentions in Surah An
-Nur, Allah mentions the kind of darknesses that
they live in.
Allah says, like the darkness in a deep
sea, covered by waves upon waves, topped by
dark clouds, and then Allah says, Darknesses, one
on top of the other.
إِذَا أَخْرَجَ يَدَهُ لَمْ يَكَدْ يَرَاهَا If he
was to put out his hand in front
of him, he would barely be able to
even see his hand.
That's how dark it is.
وَمَنْ لَمْ يَجْعَلِ اللَّهُ لَهُ نُورًا فَمَا لَهُ
مِنْ نُورٍ And whoever Allah does not bless
with light, the light of guidance, the light
of iman, then he will have no light.
And this is why, those who truly recognize
this parable that we're talking about, of how
Allah takes a person who was dead, and
gives him life, and gives him light.
Who can relate to this parable the most?
Who can relate to this parable the most?
Exactly.
A kafir who embraces Islam.
Most of us who Allah blessed us to
be born as Muslims, we may not be
able to relate to this parable as much
as a kafir.
Who lived that dark life, and then Allah
guided him.
And that's why for them, they actually value
their Islam more than born Muslims.
You can only value something when you experience
never having it before.
You can only truly value, for example, being
rich if you were once poor.
But if you were born rich, like in
a rich family, you won't value it.
You won't value it as much.
And you'll waste your money, and you'll live
like you have no responsibilities, etc.
But that's not how someone who was once
poor, and Allah made him rich.
Likewise, here, those who value their Iman the
most are those who, once upon a time,
they didn't have it.
As the Sahaba, that's what made them to
be what they were.
Because the vast majority of them were kuffar
who embraced Islam.
Alright, we move on to the next parable.
This parable is now, we move now on
to Surah Al-A'raf.
So the question is regarding Allah saying, يَمْشِي
بِهِ فِي النَّاسِ He uses this light to
walk among the people.
Does this refer to someone who has memorized
the Qur'an?
No, not necessarily.
Anyone who uses the Qur'an throughout his
life.
Anyone who is attached to the Qur'an.
So it means everything regarding the Qur'an.
Reading it, memorizing it, always listening to it,
and implementing it in your life.
And referring to it for judgment.
It includes all of these things.
Basically, the Qur'an, you use it as
your guide in this dunya.
It includes everything related to the Qur'an.
Everything related to the Qur'an.
We move on to Surah Al-A'raf.
And here in Surah Al-A'raf, Allah
Subh'anaHu Wa Ta-A'la mentions how
it is impossible for a kafir to enter
Jannah.
For a kafir to enter Jannah.
In the long hadith of Al-Bara' Ibn
Azim He narrates that they were with Rasul
Allah ﷺ.
They went to the graveyard to bury.
To bury a body.
And the Prophet ﷺ sat, and the companions
sat around him.
And then the Prophet ﷺ told them to
seek refuge from the punishment of the grave.
And then he gave a long detailed description
of what happens in the grave.
From the time that your soul leaves your
body until it comes back after you're buried
in the grave and the punishment of the
grave.
So the Prophet ﷺ said in this hadith
regarding the soul of the believer that when
it leaves the body the angels come to
take the soul from the body.
The Prophet ﷺ said then the angels ascend
with it and they go up to the
heavens and they do not pass by any
assembly of angels without the angels asking what
is this good and pure soul?
So they reply it is so and so
the son of so and so mentioning him
by the best names by which he was
called in the dunya.
They continue to ascend until they reach the
lowest heaven where they request for the gates
to open.
And it is opened for them.
The angels of each heaven right the seven
heavens the angels of each heaven they accompany
him to the next heaven until they reach
the seventh.
Then Allah ﷻ says record the book of
My servant in Al-'Illiyyun which is the highest
register and return him to the earth for
I created them from it and I shall
return them to it and from it I
will bring them back once again.
So this is what the Prophet ﷺ said
regarding the soul of the believer.
Then he continued to mention what happens after
that but we just wanted to mention this
part.
As for the soul of the kafir the
Prophet ﷺ said after they take the soul
out of the body the angels then ascend
with it they go up and whenever they
pass by any assembly of angels the angels
ask what is this evil vile soul?
They reply it is so and so, the
son of so and so mentioning him by
the worst names that he used to be
called in the dunya.
They continue to ascend until they reach the
lowest heaven.
What happens here?
They ask for the gates to be opened
but it will not be opened for them.
It will not be opened for them.
When the Prophet ﷺ said this he then
recited the following ayah.
He then recited the following ayah.
Those who used to receive our ayat with
denial, with kufr and arrogance the gates of
heaven will not be opened for them.
The gates of heaven will not be opened
for them.
And then the Prophet ﷺ continued the rest
of the hadith.
So this is just a background regarding the
parable that we are going to be covering
and it is now the next part of
the ayah where Allah ﷻ says وَلَا يَدْخُلُونَ
الْجَنَّةَ حَتَّى يَلِجَ الْجَمَلُ فِي سَمِّ الْخِيَاطِ Nor
will they enter Jannah until a camel passes
through the eye of a needle.
وَكَذَلِكَ نَجِزِ الْمُجْرِيمِينَ And this is how we
reward the criminals or the wicked.
So here in this ayah Allah ﷻ first
tells us that the gates of the seven
heavens will not be opened for the kufr.
So at the time of death the soul
when it is taken out of the body
they go upwards first.
And we learned what happens with the soul
of the believer.
He makes it all the way up to
the seventh heaven.
As for the soul of the disbeliever it
makes that attempt and it is prevented from
the first heaven.
And the Prophet ﷺ mentioned after mentioning this
ayah he says then the soul is thrown
down to the earth.
Now the explanation of this ayah that the
gates will not be opened for them it
could either mean that their souls will not
be able to go up as we mentioned.
But it could also mean something else and
that is that their deeds will not go
up to Allah.
Or their dua does not go up to
Allah.
As Allah describes our deeds in the Qur
'an Allah describes them as going up to
Him.
And also when we make dua where is
our dua going?
It's going up to Allah.
So that doesn't happen with regards to the
kuffar.
And both of these explanations are attributed to
Ibn Abbas.
Ibn Abbas r.a. And both are correct.
So both the souls of the disbelievers will
not be able to penetrate through the heavens
and their deeds are not going up to
Allah to be accepted by Allah.
And their dua as well.
Then Allah tells us here that these people
will never be able to enter Jannah until
a camel passes through the eye of a
needle.
And so here we have a comparison.
We have a comparison.
The comparison here is that a disbeliever entering
Jannah it's being compared to a camel entering
through that small hole.
The hole that the thread goes through of
a needle.
Right?
And so here Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala
uses the camel as a reference to the
largest animal that the people would have known
at that time.
And the eye of a needle is the
smallest opening that they would have thought of.
That they could imagine.
Right?
And so this brings us back to what
we spoke about in the introduction to the
parables.
How Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala uses such
imagery.
He uses specifically such images that the people
of the time are familiar with.
Right?
Because that helps them to understand a certain
concept better.
Because now they could imagine it.
It's something they're familiar with.
It's something they can relate to.
And so Allah mentioned the biggest animal that
they could imagine.
And the smallest opening that they could imagine.
To prove that just like something as huge
as a camel cannot possibly enter through something
as small as the eye of a needle.
Likewise.
Likewise, a kafir who did not accept Islam
but continuously denied until the end he cannot
possibly enter Jannah.
Just like this is impossible, likewise, this is
impossible.
It's impossible and it's hopeless.
There's no hope for them.
It's just not gonna happen.
Just like this cannot possibly happen, a camel
going through the eye of a needle, likewise,
a kafir cannot possibly enter Jannah.
Now, it's interesting how this same parable, this
same parable was mentioned where?
It was mentioned by Isa Alayhis Salaam.
And it's actually preserved in the Bible until
today.
It's preserved in the Bible until today.
And this is in Matthew where Isa Alayhis
Salaam says, it is easier for a camel
to pass through the eye of a needle
than for a rich person to enter the
kingdom of God.
That's what it says.
However, the way the Christians interpret it, they
say that just like a rich person cannot
enter the kingdom of God, what they mean
is that one should rid himself of the
dunya and then he could enter Jannah.
But this just goes to show us that
whenever we have similarities between the Qur'an
and previous scriptures, we should understand that the
reason for that is that it's the same
source.
Because the Christians and the Jews, they'll try
to use these examples to say that the
Qur'an was plagiarized and copied from the
Bible.
But we easily respond to them by saying,
if you have two books that are similar,
it means that the source is the same.
They both come from Allah.
All right.
What we learned from this parable is number
one, that the fate of the kuffar is
eternal punishment in hellfire with no chance of
being admitted to Jannah.
With no chance of being admitted to Jannah.
This ayah is clear proof of that.
But we also have in Surah Al-Ma
'idah, Allah Subhanahu wa ta'ala says, إِنَّهُ
مَن يُشْرِكْ بِاللَّهِ فَقَدْ حَرَّمَ عَلَيْهِ الْجَنَّةِ وَمَأْوَاهُ
النَّارِ That whoever commits shirk with Allah, Allah
has made Jannah forbidden for him.
And his home will be the hellfire.
Now here Allah says shirk, but does that
exclude Ahlul Kitab?
No.
Because if you go back to the same
ayah, the very same ayah right before it,
in the ayah itself, Allah begins by saying,
لَقَدْ كَفَرَ الَّذِينَ قَالُوا إِنَّ اللَّهَ هُوَ الْمَسِيحُ
بِنُ مَرْيَمٍ Right?
That they have disbelieved, those who say that,
Allah is Isa Ibn Maryam.
And so the reference of this ayah is
regarding the Christians.
Right?
It's regarding the Christians.
And Allah is saying that they committed shirk,
by associating partners with Allah through Isa Alayhi
Salaam.
Rasulullah Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, and this is
in Bukhari and Muslim.
He says, لَا يَدْخُلُ الْجَنَّةِ إِلَّا نَفْسٌ مُؤْمِنَةٌ
That none will enter Jannah except the believing
soul, except the believing soul.
And this is part of our aqeedah.
Right?
We have to actually believe this.
And we should have no problem with believing
this.
The problem comes, when we accept this secular
liberal society that we live in, and we
accept their ideology.
That everyone should be treated the same, and
where all of our religions are okay, and
accepted by God, and this idea of interfaith.
Right?
This is when people start having problems with
this concept of, the kuffar going to the
hellfire forever, with no chance, with no hope
of exiting from it.
But if you read the Qur'an, and
you contemplate over it, and you understand its
meanings, you won't have a problem with it.
Right?
And so, this is why we're never allowed
to claim that someone, who dies upon clear
kuffar, that he has a chance.
We have some Muslims today who say, regarding
certain good kuffar, we shouldn't say that they're
going to the hellfire.
We should pray for them.
We should ask Allah to have mercy on
them.
Perhaps they have a chance.
If anyone had a chance, it would have
been the one, who sacrificed his status, his
wealth, in serving Rasulullah ﷺ, and protecting him,
his uncle Abu Talib, who died as a
kafir.
If anyone would have been exempt from this
rule, it would have been him.
So how about these other kuffar, who don't
come near to what Abu Talib did?
Right?
And yet the Prophet ﷺ said about Abu
Talib, what did he say?
That he will have the least amount of
punishment in the hellfire.
The Prophet ﷺ did not say, he has
a chance after being punished, he has a
chance of leaving the hellfire, and getting into
Jannah.
No.
Because that would go against the clear-cut
ayah of the Qur'an that we have.
That these people are not going to enter
Jannah, until the camel passes through the eye
of a needle.
The second point is related to this.
When we look at their punishment, and we
see how it is eternal, and they have
no chance of entering Jannah, some people may
think that this is unjust.
And so we say that this punishment is
a just and fair punishment.
This punishment is a just and fair punishment.
Why is that?
Because Allah is the most just.
And we can never attribute to Allah injustice.
That's because firstly, these people, we can say
firstly that Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala will
never punish anyone without establishing proof against them.
Number one.
Allah will never punish anyone without establishing proof
against them.
Has the proof been established against the kuffar?
The answer is yes.
How?
By the sending of the prophets and the
messengers and the Qur'an.
Secondly, these people turned away after the clear
proofs came to them, and they arrogantly rejected
them.
That's why Allah says in this ayah, those
who deny our ayat, وَاسْتَكْبَرُوا عَنْهَا and they
acted arrogantly.
Their rejection was based on arrogance, not ignorance.
Right?
It's not that they didn't know.
No, they knew.
The ayat were clear.
The proof came to them.
And they decided to arrogantly reject it.
And so that's why throughout the Qur'an,
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala negates any wrongdoing
on his part.
And he puts the blame on the fate
of the kuffar on who?
On themselves.
وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمْ اللَّهُ وَلَكِن كَانُوا أَنفُوسَهُمْ يَظْرِمُونَ Allah
did not wrong them.
He did not oppress them.
But they wronged themselves.
وَمَا ظَلَمْنَاهُمْ وَلَكِن كَانُوا أَنفُوسَهُمْ يَظْرِمُونَ We did
not wrong them.
They wronged themselves.
Allah mentions this to clear such a doubt
from our minds.
We should never once think that such a
punishment is unjust.
Right?
And this is where we say that you
know, sometimes we may not understand something that
Allah does but there has to be in
the end of the day an element of
submission.
There has to be an element of submission.
I mean, that's the very meaning of being
a Muslim.
Islam comes from aslamah, to submit.
الاستسلام To surrender and submit.
Right?
And just tell yourself whenever there's something you
can't understand about Allah why Allah does certain
things just tell yourself who are you and
who is Allah?
Just remind yourself that Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala and his knowledge and his wisdom and
his actions are infinite.
And your human understanding and intellect is is
it infinite?
It's finite.
So how can the finite comprehend and encompass
what is infinite?
The same goes with the qadr of Allah.
A lot of people, they can't understand this
topic.
Right?
We say this is a topic related to
the knowledge of Allah and his wisdom.
So just leave it at that.
Right?
Yes, we try to understand it.
Why will Allah give them this punishment?
Well, you know, the Prophet ﷺ told us
that the worst of sins is to make
a rival with Allah a partner with Allah
when he is the one who created you.
This is a good way of understanding why
they're going to receive such a punishment.
Who are you?
Allah creates you and then you turn to
other than Allah?
To serve other than Allah?
To direct your ibadah to other than Allah?
Right?
So we try to understand it but in
the end, if we don't understand it, there
has to be an element of submission.
Finally, what about the fate of people of
Iman and Muslims who end up in the
Hellfire?
They will eventually come out and enter Jannah.
Right?
And so this ayah is among the proofs
that it's possible for the kafir to enter.
That means the believer who happens to enter
the Hellfire, he does have a chance.
Right?
Because in this ayah, Allah specifically mentioned the
kafir.
Right?
Allah didn't say those who enter the Hellfire,
they have no chance of entering Jannah.
He didn't say that.
Right?
So yes, both of them may enter the
Hellfire.
Right?
But one will stay there forever and the
other one, he has a chance of eventually
leaving the Hellfire and entering Jannah.
And this is based on several ayat and
ahadith.
Right?
And so, when it comes to those who
committed major sins, people of Iman who had
you know, even if it be a small
amount of Iman in their hearts.
And they didn't do anything that would expel
them from Islam.
Right?
They didn't say anything or do anything, actions
of kufr or shirk that would expel them
from Islam.
And they had all the sins of the
world, besides kufr and shirk.
Right?
Their case, we leave with Allah.
We don't say these people are going to
the Hellfire.
We say, we leave them under the will
of Allah.
Allah will do with them what He feels
as being fair and just.
Some of these people may be saved from
the Hellfire.
Right?
Due to various reasons.
Due to intercessions on the day of judgment.
Others, they'll end up being punished by Allah
in the Hellfire.
But, because of their Iman, eventually they will
come out.
Right?
And them coming out is basically them being
purified.
Because their sins do not allow them to
enter Jannah.
Because sins represent filth.
And nothing filthy can enter Jannah.
So once they go through that process of
purification in the Hellfire, they're purified and now
they can come out and be admitted into
Jannah.
And then the only ones who will remain
in the Hellfire are the Kuffar.
With no chance to enter Jannah.
And Allah knows best.
Any questions?
Yeah.
So, in the Tafsir of this Ayah, one
explanation is that Jamal means the camel.
And the other interpretation is that Jamal is
the singular of Jummal.
Which means the ropes that are used to
tie ships.
However, this interpretation is based on a Qira
'ah which is Shadh.
Actually, it's read as Jummal.
It's read as Al-Jummal.
And not Jamal.
And that Qira'ah is Shadh.
And in order for any of the Qira
'at to be acceptable, they have to be
Mutawatir.
They have to be Mutawatir.
And so, that's why the scholars of Tafsir
say this is an invalid and wrong interpretation.
Shadh means it's a singular Qira'ah that
was not basically accepted by everyone.
Only one, for example, one person narrated it.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So the question is about some people use
an Ayah in Surah Al-Baqarah where Allah
says that the believers and the Nasara, the
Christians and the Jews and the Sabi'een
and Majus, that they will enter Jannah.
That Allah will admit them into Jannah.
We have to look at it in the
context of that Ayah.
What that Ayah is referring to is either
one of two things.
Either those people before the coming of the
Prophet ﷺ, before the coming of the Prophet
ﷺ, so, you know, with their prophets, right?
Or it refers to them after they accept
Islam.
So they used to be Christians or Jews
or Majus, etc.
And then they accepted Islam.
As Allah mentions regarding some among the Christians
and some among the Jews, Allah praises them
in the Qur'an, but He mentions them
in the context of those among them who
accept Islam.
Those among them who ended up accepting Islam.
As for once the Prophet ﷺ comes, whoever
doesn't accept his Deen, he's going to the
Hellfire.
As the Prophet ﷺ says in an authentic
hadith, that no Jew or Christian hears about
me and then does not believe in what
I have come with except that he will
be in the Hellfire.
Except that he will be in the Hellfire.
So the question is about the Kuffar, those
who did not receive the message of Islam.
We've spoken about this before.
Basically, when it comes to those who did
not receive the message of Islam, the Prophet
ﷺ said about those who came before him,
the people who came at a time when
there was no Prophet.
So for example, between him and Isa ﷺ,
it's a huge period, no Prophet came, so
what's going to happen to what's the fate
of these people?
And Allah is just.
He will not punish anyone until the message
comes as Allah mentions in the Qur'an.
وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّى نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًا We will
not punish until we send a messenger.
So the scholars mentioned, the Prophet ﷺ said
about Ahl al-Fatrah, those who come at
a time, a period between two Prophets, the
message didn't reach them, that they will be
tested on the Day of Judgment.
Allah will test them.
And if they pass the test of Allah,
they'll go to Jannah.
If they fail the test of Allah, they'll
go to the Hellfire.
Now once the Prophet ﷺ has come, Allah's
proof has come.
The Qur'an is Allah's hujjah for mankind
until the Day of Judgment.
His proof against.
And the Prophet ﷺ is Allah's proof against
people.
Right?
So now what happens with those people who
may have lived in a time or a
place where the Muslims never reached.
So the scholars say the same thing applies
to them.
The same thing applies to them.
That they will be tested on the Day
of Judgment.
Here we're talking about people who from the
time of the Sahaba until we could say
maybe the modern time, you know, we had
Islamic empires and you know, they fought and
they spread Islam.
Now the people that were far away where
the Muslim armies never reached, right, we're talking
about them here.
We're talking about they're very very far.
They weren't even on the borders.
They never heard about Islam or the Muslims.
Now we come to the modern era.
Right?
Now we're talking about a different era.
We're talking about an era where Islam has
pretty much reached every corner of the world.
And the Prophet ﷺ actually predicted this.
He said there will come a time when
Islam will reach every corner of the world.
Every house.
Every house.
And so it's unimaginable today that no one
has heard about Islam.
Right?
This is unimaginable.
But let's say there are people who for
example are, you know, they don't have technology
or they don't use technology but they're living,
you know, in the cities and the urban
centers.
So what we say about all these people
of the world is even if Islam has
not reached them, they have the ability to
easily access and find the truth.
They have that ability.
Right?
It's not like the past where if Islam
didn't reach you, you're excused because even if
you wanted to search for the truth, you
couldn't access it.
But that's not the case today.
Except rare cases of these people they call
the untouched or there are certain tribes living
in the Amazon or on islands where there's
no communication with them.
Those are the only exceptions.
But other than that, the rest of the
people of the world, they have no excuse.
They have no excuse.
If Islam reached them in a distorted way,
and that is the case with the majority
of people, they have the ability to search.
Right?
So they can't come and say, you know,
we didn't hear about Islam and we didn't
know what the truth was.
And Allah knows best.
Yeah.
So that's not enough of an excuse because
the same thing could be said about the
kuffar in the time of the Prophet ﷺ.
Wasn't Quraysh doing their best to distort the
message of Islam?
They did.
They would tell people, outsiders, who were coming
to Mecca, they would tell them that there's
a mad man here, don't listen to him.
And some of them would put cotton in
their ears not to listen.
Would they be excused?
No.
Right?
And some of them, as we know in
the stories of some of the Sahaba, they
decided to actually listen to what the Prophet
ﷺ was saying and they accepted Islam.
Basically, this is something that scholars speak about.
You know, when is ignorance, when can ignorance
be used as an excuse?
It is a detailed discussion in the books
of fiqh.
But basically, what we say is certain things
there's no excuse for.
Certain, you know, clear cut things which are
in the Qur'an.
You know, like a dua to Allah for
our needs.
Right?
So someone who goes to, you know, the
grave of someone and asks for his needs
from the person himself in the grave.
Here, we're not talking about what is referred
to as tawassul.
Right?
We have to differentiate between the two.
So some people, they go to the graves
asking Allah but through the person.
Although this is wrong, it's not the same
as the first example where someone is asking
for his needs from the person himself and
not from Allah.
So he's made that person a partner with
Allah.
Even though the second is also a form
of shirk, but it's not the same.
In the second example, someone may be excused
for having a wrong interpretation.
Especially when there are people who have, you
know, mentioned that this is okay.
Right?
So, you know, it depends on what exactly
is being spoken about.
The, you know, particular scenario that applies to
that, and Allah knows best.
So again, not knowing the Arabic language cannot
be used as an excuse except for people
who don't have access to a translation.
So as long as you have access to
the meanings of the Qur'an in the
form of a translation, then, you know, the
Qur'an is clear.
And the clear ayat can also be made
clear in any language.
It's the other ayat that could be interpreted
differently, you know, that depends on the tafsir
or the translation that you're using.
But generally, you know, the message of tawheed
in the Qur'an is clear.
Right?
And the message of shirk and its danger
is clear in the Qur'an.
That doesn't give anyone any excuse, and Allah
knows best.
Any other questions?
Okay, so we'll conclude here, and we'll continue
next week.
سبحانك اللهم وبحمدك أشهد أن لا إله إلا
أنت أستغفرك وأتوب إليك وصلي اللهم وسلم على
نبينا محمد وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين والسلام عليكم
ورحمة الله وبركاته Al Fatiha