Ahsan Hanif – Quran Tafseer – Page 162 – The Story Of Prophet ShuAyb
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The struggles of people returning to Islam after experiencing negative behavior and the need for people to stop pressuring them into returning to their religion are discussed. The importance of trusting one's abilities and faith in one's creator is emphasized, along with the use of media in social media and the loss of people's culture. The destruction of the people of Shu principle by Allah is also discussed, with the story being discussed as a test and prediction of failure for those who refuse to believe in the people of Shu. The speaker emphasizes the importance of acceptance tests and the negative impact of the Prophet's actions on people's lives.
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I seek refuge with Allah from the accursed
Satan In the name of Allah, Most Gracious,
Most Merciful I
seek refuge with Allah from the accursed Satan
He is causing families to split up, he
is causing our slaves to rebel against us,
he is causing our society to be appended
and he is disparaging our gods and our
idols that we worship.
And so they said to Abu Tarib, tell
him to stop, if he wants to practice
this, let him practice it in the confines
of his home, quietly, privately, but don't call
people to this, don't make it a public
issue.
And they said the same to Abu Bakr
as he is mentioned in a number of
narrations concerning Abu Bakr at the beginning of
Islam, Abu Bakr because of the persecution of
the Quraish towards him, Abu Bakr decided to
leave Mecca and as he was leaving and
exiting the city of Mecca and going in
the desert, he came across a businessman, an
influential man because of his wealth and his
trade links.
He was someone of influence and so he
saw Abu Bakr leaving and he said where
are you going?
Abu Bakr, because Abu Bakr is another fellow
businessman, he is a trader, he has his
own influence within Arabia, where are you going
Abu Bakr?
He said my people have not let me
worship my lord in peace, so I am
leaving and finding a different land, wherever it
is that I will go.
So this man said to him, oh Abu
Bakr, someone like you should never be made
to leave his city because of your nobility,
because of your character, because of your integrity
and honesty, you are a person that people
should be happy to come and be within
that city and that's a very important lesson
for us.
There are people within our communities who because
of their knowledge, because of their piety, because
of their righteousness, because of their character, because
of the influence, the good influence that they
have upon the people, these people you should
try to keep it in that community and
the community, if it is a strong community,
will look after those people and encourage them
to remain because the community benefits as a
result of them.
Whereas if they leave because they don't feel
that it is a good place for them
to stay, start productive for them, like Abu
Bakr is doing, then the whole of that
community loses out.
Oh Abu Bakr, don't leave, I will go
and speak to the Quraysh on your behalf.
And so he went, this man along with
Abu Bakr, he went to the leaders of
Quraysh and he said he is under my
protection, you harm him, you harm me, as
the Arabs used to do, so he gives
him protection.
So the Quraysh said okay, if you are
going to give him your protection that's fine,
but we have a condition and that is
that he only worships his lord in his
house, let him do what he wants in
his home, but don't come out in public
and practice this because that we won't tolerate.
And so Abu Bakr accepts this and this
is at the very beginning of Islam and
obviously as we know, things change very quickly
afterwards.
But the point here being that it was
a common thing, leave your religion or stop
preaching it openly, don't call and invite others
to it or we will exile you from
our land or we will do something far
worse.
So Shu'aib a.s responds and he
says what, even if we detest it, meaning
that you would make us forcibly go back
to your religion, apostate from what we believe
in and we don't like it, we don't
accept it, you are doing it by force,
that's how you want to do this issue
and obviously they don't really care because they
just want him to stop teaching his religion,
preaching towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
So they continue, or he continues rather in
verse 89 If
you were to return to your religion after
Allah has saved us from it, we would
be inventing lies about him.
There is no way we could return to
it unless by the will of Allah our
Lord, in his knowledge he comprehends everything.
We put our trust in Allah, our Lord
exposes the truth and judge between us and
our people for you are the best judge.
So Shu'aib a.s continues and he
says are you going to force us, compel
us to leave our religion because if we
were to do so in that way then
all we would be doing after Allah a
.s favoured us and he saved us and
he blessed us with Islam, all we would
be doing is inventing lies about Allah just
as the way you are.
You claim that Allah has partners, you claim
that Allah a.s there are other gods
that are worthy of worship besides him, we
were saved by Allah from that.
Now if you were to return and leave
our religion then we are just going back
to inventing the same lies as you are
but it is worse because we have now
seen the truth and Allah has guided us
to it and now we are going to
leave it as because you have done so.
وَمَا يَكُونُ لَنَا أَن نَعُودَ فِيهَا And there
is no way that we could return to
that.
How can someone return to shirk after they
have seen Iman, how can someone after tasting
the beauty and the sweetness of Tawheed and
the worship of Allah a.s alone then
return to shirk and kufr and disbelief in
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.
It's not possible, we will never return to
it.
إِلَّا إِنْ يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ رَبُّنَا Unless it is
something that Allah has already decreed upon us
because Allah a.s is all-knowing and
Allah a.s has knowledge of everyone and
Allah knows the purity of someone's heart and
it's nobility or lack thereof and Allah knows
what every heart contains in reality and that
is why there are people who leave Islam,
there are people who apostate from this religion,
there are people who will discount this religion
and the way that Allah a.s gave
to them and that's because Allah knows what
is in their heart and Allah a.s
knows their lack of sincerity and so Allah
a.s responds to people in accordance to
the way that they are.
وَسِعَ رَبُّنَا كُلَّ شَيْءٍ عِلْمًا And our Lord,
He comprehends everything, His knowledge has encompassed everything
subhanahu wa ta'ala.
عَلَى اللَّهِ تَوَكَّلْنَا We put our trust in
our Lord and look at the manifestation here
of the Tawheed of Allah a.s and
Iman in Him and the abilities of Allah
a.s that is being mentioned here by
the Prophet Shoaib a.s. These people are
coming with their violence, with their oppression, with
their persecution, look at this response of this
amazing Messenger of Allah or this Prophet of
Allah, Shoaib a.s. and that is that
he is saying to them that you can't
do anything to make us leave our religion,
doesn't matter, nothing is more important to us
than our faith.
But if Allah decrees, because Allah's knowledge encompasses
everything, He will do what He decrees subhanahu
wa ta'ala because He has the ability
and power of all things.
But we, we trust upon our Lord, You're
going to harm us, You're going to exile
us, You're going to try to murder us
and kill us, we trust in Allah a
.s. We have reliance upon our Lord and
we have faith in His decree subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
رَبَّنَا افْتَحْ بَيْنَنَا وَبَيْنَ قَوْمِنَا بِالْحَقِّ وَأَنْتَ خَيْرُ
الْفَاتِحِينَ Oh our Lord, expose the truth and
judge between us and our people, for You
are the best of those who judge.
And so he makes dua to Allah a
.s., Oh Allah, expose the truth, make it
manifest and clear and judge between us and
these people who disbelieve in You, for You
are the one who is the best of
judges.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then says in
the following verse that they respond, in verse
number 90, the people of Shu'aib and
the leaders amongst them, they respond and they
say وَقَالَ الْمَلَأُ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا مِنْ قَوْمِهِ لَئِنِ
اتَّبَعْتُمْ شُعِيبًا إِنَّكُمْ إِذَاً لَخَاسِرُونَ The disbelieving leaders
amongst his people said you will certainly be
losers if you follow Shu'aib.
So now they try to change tack, as
they often do.
They go to the prophet and the messenger,
they try to persuade him, dissuade him from
what he's doing, try to manipulate him, force
him, try to do all sorts of things.
And once that doesn't work, then they go
to the masses and they say, don't listen
to him.
Because if you follow him, you will be
losers like him.
We've sat with him.
We've listened to him.
What he's saying doesn't make any sense.
He's crazy.
He's mad.
He's a poet.
Whatever it may be, he's a liar.
And if you follow him, then you will
be like him.
That's exactly what they did with the prophet
sallallahu alayhi wa sallam.
They came to him.
They tried to negotiate with him.
They tried to reach an understanding with him.
And when they saw that the prophet sallallahu
alayhi wa sallam was steadfast and he was
strong and courageous and that it wouldn't be
easy just to manipulate him because he's not
going to be manipulated with wealth or with
position or with power or with fame or
with everything else that they had at their
disposal of the dunya.
So now what is left?
How do you find a man who has
such strong principles?
So now let's go to the masses.
They speak to them.
He's crazy.
He doesn't understand.
He's mad.
He's a liar.
He's a poet.
He's a rambler.
Whatever it may be, don't listen to him.
We've tested him.
And for many people, that is enough.
For many people, they're not going to go
a step further and listen and try to
understand and see and discern from whether it
is true or not.
And this is the old version of the
propaganda, the mass media machine at play.
Today, that's what we have in social media,
in the media that we have through our
TVs and newspapers and internet.
That's what you have.
You have a media that tells you a
certain line and most people will tend to
believe and accept it.
But there are people who want to question
this.
There are people who want to go and
want to get to the bottom of this
issue.
Is it correct?
Not correct.
In the olden times, this is the mass
media machine.
The leaders come out, their people come out
and they spread whatever it is that they
want to spread.
And so they say to the people, don't
follow Shu'aib because if you do, you
will be a loser like he is a
loser.
You will fall into the same path that
he has fallen into.
So Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala responds and
he says what took place with them once
they rejected and denied Shu'aib a.s.
In verse number 91, فَأَخَذَتْهُمُ الرَّجَفَةُ فَأَصْبَحُوا فِي
دَارِهِمْ جَاثِمِينَ An earthquake, a severe earthquake seized
them, meaning a shaking of the earth.
By the next morning, they were lying dead
in their homes.
So the punishment of Allah azzawajal came upon
them.
They turned away from Allah.
They turned away from the Prophet of Allah
that was sent to them.
They turned away from the guidance that Allah
azzawajal was showing them and displaying to them
and urging them to accept and take heed
of.
And because of that, Allah azzawajal destroyed them.
And so they are from the nations that
were destroyed, the people of Madian, just as
the ones who came before them were also
destroyed.
And Allah azzawajal then says in conclusion to
the story in verse number 92, أَلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا
شُعَيْبًا كَأَلَّمْ يَغْنَوْ فِيهَا أَلَّذِينَ كَذَّبُوا شُعَيْبًا كَانُوا
هُمُ الْخَاسِنِينَ It was as if those who
had rejected Shu'aib had never lived there.
It was those who had rejected Shu'aib
that were losers.
Allah azzawajal says that the destruction of the
people of Shu'aib was so complete, so
total that it's as if they never resided
there, as if they never lived in Madian,
as if they never did any business transactions,
as if they never had their families and
their neighbors and they went about their daily
business as they did.
For only Allah azzawajal knows how long.
It's as if they had no trees there
that they ate from or fruit that they
ate from or meat that they devoured or
the different things that they used to use
for enjoyment that they benefited from and enjoyed.
It's as if none of that existed, meaning
that the mention of these people other than
the believers that were with Shu'aib a
.s is as if there was nothing about
them.
And look at how Allah azzawajal mentions in
these stories like that we've mentioned, whether it's
the people of Nuh or Hud or Salih
or Shu'aib or Lut a.s, all
of these people how when they're destroyed, their
destruction is total and complete.
They are wiped off the face of the
earth.
And now the stories that we have of
them is of their rejection, of their denial,
of their punishment and their destruction.
No one knows their name.
No one knows their stories in detail, their
history in terms of their, you know, other
than the broad history that we have now
in the Qur'an, it is not mentioned.
And that is the case that you will
find throughout the Qur'an.
Allah azzawajal does not honor these people.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not speak
about them in a positive way.
In fact, even the blessings that they have
is often mentioned in the context of their
stories to be a trial and a test
and a means of misery and punishment upon
them.
And so these people who are trying to
show that they had all of the dunya,
they are no longer mentioned anywhere within our
history.
No one knows their names or no one
knows who they were.
No one remembers them.
Who do you remember from the Qur'an?
The believers.
You remember the names of Nuh and Lut
and Hud and Salih and Shu'aib and
Musa and Ibrahim and the other Prophets a
.s. It is their names that Allah azzawajal
has caused to be in memorial all the
way until Yawm al-Qiyamah.
However, these are the people.
We don't know them.
And the ones that we know them, we
know by their title like Pharaoh.
But we don't know his name.
Pharaoh was the title of every leader of
the Egyptian empire.
It's not a name of an individual.
We don't know their names.
And the one that is mentioned by name
in that way, like for example, Qarun and
Haman and Abu Lahab.
These ones are mentioned by name.
Again, it is few and far between.
And it was also done in the worst
types of contexts that are mentioned in the
Qur'an.
But for the vast majority of them, they're
not known.
Meaning their names are mentioned or they're not
recorded.
And even the ones that are recorded from
the time of our Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa
sallam, then there is always in the worst
context and in the worst possible way.
And that is from the humiliation that Allah
azzawajal causes upon them.
Whereas for the believers and the prophets and
the messengers, Allah praises them.
And their name is mentioned high.
And their remembrance is often mentioned in the
book of Allah azzawajal.
And to read their names and to mention
their names, it is rewarding in the book
of Allah azzawajal because of the reward that
you have in reciting the Qur'an.
And so Allah azzawajal says that these people
is as if they never existed.
It was those who rejected Shu'aib who
were the true losers.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then continues concluding
this particular story in verse 93.
So he turned away from them saying, my
people, I delivered my Lord's messages to you
and gave you sincere advice.
So why should I grieve for people who
refuse to believe?
So Shu'aib a.s when his people
rejected him, and again as Allah azzawajal does
in the previous stories, the response of Shu
'aib a.s is mentioned after the destruction
takes place.
But as they're being destroyed, he turns away
from them.
And he sees that there is no hope
for these people.
And he says to them, meaning out of
remorse for them, out of regret for those
people, that Allah had given to them a
prophet.
Allah had shown them the way of guidance.
Allah had given to them the reminders and
warnings.
So he turns away and he says that
I gave to you your Lord's messages.
I gave to you that reminder and warning.
And I was sincere to you.
And I was telling you the truth.
And now you can see that truth playing
upon you.
You can see the promise of Allah being
delivered upon you.
فَكَيْفَآسَ عَلَى قَوْمٍ كَافِرِينَ So why should I
then grieve upon those who refuse to believe?
And so those people that Allah azzawajal decreed
that they would be from the disbelievers, those
nations that will be punished and destroyed, there
is no point in grieving upon them.
They had their chance.
They had their opportunity.
They were given all of the means by
Allah azzawajal in order to accept guidance.
But they refused to do so.
And as a result, Allah azzawajal punished them.
Some of them in this dunya and others
of them will be punished in the akhirah.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then says in
verse number 94 وَمَا أَرْسَلْنَا فِي قَرْيَةٍ مِّن
نَّبِيٍ إِلَّا أَخَذْنَا أَهْلَهَا بِالْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ لَعَلَّهُمْ
يَضْدَرَّعُونَ Whenever we sent a prophet to a
town, we afflicted its disbelieving people with suffering
and hardship so that they might humble themselves
and turn back to Allah azzawajal.
This is the sunnah of Allah subhanahu wa
ta'ala.
His universal law.
Number one, that every town, every nation was
sent a prophet.
As Allah azzawajal mentions also in the Quran
وَلَقَدْ بَعَثْنَا فِي كُلِّ أُمَّةٍ رَسُولًا We sent
to every nation a prophet.
Every person was given guidance.
Every person was sent a prophet that they
should use in order to accept Islam and
to believe.
إِلَّا أَخَذْنَهَا أَهْلَهَا بِالْبَأْسَاءِ وَالضَّرَّاءِ And then Allah
azzawajal says, but alongside that we caused and
afflicted the people of that town to be
overcome with hardship.
That they would see different types of difficulties
because those difficulties are a reminder.
Every time Allah azzawajal tests you, that is
a reminder for you.
So you fall ill.
It is a reminder of how weak you
are and how fragile your life is and
how quickly you could die and leave this
world and go to the everlasting realm of
the hereafter.
Allah azzawajal tests you with poverty.
Allah tests you with the death of the
loved ones close to you.
Allah tests you with famine and with hunger.
Allah tests you in so many different ways
with your family, with your spouse, with the
people around you, with the society that you
live in.
All of these are tests.
For the believer, they recognize them as tests
and as a result they turn back to
Allah azzawajal and they renew and strengthen their
faith and iman in Allah subhanahu wa ta
'ala and their connection of ibadah with Allah
azzawajal.
But those people who are heedless and negligent,
they don't recognize them as tests.
They will take them back to some other
factor or they will legitimize them or justify
them or rationalize them in a different way
and so those people then don't see those
tests from Allah azzawajal.
But Allah gives those tests that they may
perhaps humble themselves by turning back to Allah
azzawajal.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala then says in
the final verse, we'll take today verse 95.
And then we change their hardship into prosperity
until they multiplied.
But when they said hardship and affluence also
befell our forefathers and so we took them
suddenly unaware.
Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as he often
does because that is from the way that
Allah azzawajal tests people.
Allah says then subhanahu wa ta'ala that
then we change their hardship into prosperity.
We gave from them their hardship a place
of prosperity and that place of prosperity is
that Allah azzawajal makes things easy for them.
Gives to them wealth, gives to them health,
gives to them from the blessings of the
dunya because those are also from the tests
of Allah azzawajal.
That is also from the way that Allah
subhanahu wa ta'ala tests people.
And so those people when they were given
those tests and they were given that type
of prosperity after those tests, they said, قَدْ
مَسَّ آبَاءَنَا الضَّرَّاءُ وَالسَّرَّاءُ That this is nothing
new.
That's not a sign from Allah azzawajal.
Our forefathers, our ancestors also had times of
tests and times of hardship and times of
ease and times of felicity.
That's something which they too also had.
So then they didn't pay any attention and
heed.
And when they turn away from Allah azzawajal
and from his message, that is when Allah
azzawajal punishes those people if he chooses to
do so as we've seen in the previous
stories that we mentioned within this surah.
فَأَخَذْنَاهُمْ بَغْتَةً وَهُمْ لَا يَشْعُرُونَ Allah says, so
we take them suddenly, meaning we punish them
suddenly and they are unaware, meaning that they
don't even expect the punishment of Allah to
fall upon them and it befalls them.
And Allah azzawajal decrees that that is the
end of those people.
May Allah azzawajal save us from such an
ending.
May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala make us
and allow us to be from those people
who recognize the tests of Allah azzawajal both
good and bad and use those tests as
a means of coming back to him and
showing humility before him subhanahu wa ta'ala.
And with that we end today's episode.
بارك الله فيكم وصلى الله على نبينا محمد
وعلى آله وصحبه أجمعين والسلام عليكم ورحمة الله
وبركاته بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم