Bilal Philips – Tafseer – Surah Al-Kahf 07
AI: Summary ©
The importance of praying for Islam is essential for achieving spiritual health and disease. The use of artificiality and misuse of artificiality is a result of the Sun's movement and is a negative impact on health and reputation. Safety and integrity are essential for employees and customers, and working in a team environment is essential for achieving a culture of safety and integrity. The need for a culture of safety and integrity is emphasized.
AI: Summary ©
hamdu Lillahi Rabbil alameen wa Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah Karim. Allah Allah was Hobie, who many standard episode Nigerian within operates due to a law and realized peace and blessings be on the last prophet muhammad sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, and all those who follow the path of righteousness until the last day.
In the previous verses
14 through 16, which we took in our previous session,
Allah mentions his strengthening the hearts of those who had stood up for the truth, those being primarily the youths
who ended up in the cave, about whom the story is being told.
He mentioned their own statements concerning
their position with regards to worshiping Allah alone, and how they would never say anything
with regards to worshiping others besides Him, as such statements would be in a great in grave error. And furthermore,
they
pointed out that
to assign any partner to Allah is the greatest possible lie that could ever be done.
And we talked about the verses which speak about the greatest lies, and pointed out here that this was the greatest lie with regards to Allah Spano, tala himself, whereas there are other verses which refer to greatest lies in with regards to other aspects of laws, commands.
And in verse 16, basically, they
took their way they advise each other to go to the cave, and
awaited a laws, mercy,
turning to him turning their affairs over to Him in prayer.
And
what should be noted from that, before we go into verse 17, is that
the
these verses address the concept of
prayer, being a source of change,
that, though we believe that everything is already written, Allah has written everything, the destiny has been set.
We're still enjoined to pray. And this is something which people sometimes get confused with. You know, if it's already written, then why pray?
You know,
what's the point of prayer, if God has already decided, that's the knees already been set, and
the essence of it, how it actually works, and why it works, etc. Perhaps our brains are not able to comprehend it. But what we do know is that Allah has instructed us to pray.
And we said, for us to pray with full sincerity, post mortems are seldom said, Oh, you're allowed to move in a Java call on a law, being certain that your prayers will be answered.
But at the same time, you should know that a law does not answer the prayers of a playful, negligent heart. So if we're just going through the motions, then we can be assured that those prayers are not going to be answered, but sincere prayers will be answered. Now, we just have we have to believe we have to accept the concept that
if there was no benefit in prayer,
Allah would not have instructed us to do it. So is messenger.
So the fact that we are unable to comprehend or to explain for ourselves satisfactorily, you know, on a logical level on a level of our logic, how it is that prayers, change things, yet the law has already written things.
We just have to accept it and go on. The bottom line is, of course, that whatever changes take place is what the law wrote.
And that if we didn't make the effort to make the prayer
No change would have taken place. And that's what I would have written.
And that's just as far as we can go, you know, so we just, you know, either case, yeah, it's a law is written it. So we believe that if we want that change, we want that we do desire something, then we do turn to align prayer, believing that the prayer does work. Otherwise Allah would not have instructed us to do it.
And of course, in the case of this people of the cave,
the prayer brought for them a miracle problems as lm also told us about three people who had been caught in a cave also, they sought shelter from rain and stone had closed the entrance. And they also, each one of them made a prayer and the stone rolled away from the entrance, and they were able to get out.
that these are things which are, we would say, supernatural or whatever. But that's real. Belief in a lie is belief in the supernatural belief in what is beyond the natural laws that we live in accordance with, you know that a law can change those laws, you can go beyond those laws.
And the story as we said, of the people, that cave is a classic example of a law coming to the aid of those who believe sincerely in him, turn to Him in prayer. And he came to their aid
through miraculous means relative to themselves.
Now going on to verse 17,
where law says there
are total shumsa
the Talat does our own cafe him that will Yemeni will either robot Takata Hamza Shimon, whom FIFA jawatan Minho Valley come in iottie la he mejor de la who, for who Alma de
Lille, Fallon, tagit Allahu wa alien murshida, you will see the sun declining to the right of their clay cave, when it rose and touching the left left sides when it's set. While they lay in the middle of the cave, that was among a lot of science, whoever a lot guides is rightly guided, and whoever he sends a stray will not find any guiding friend to lead him to the right path.
here Allah describes
the situation in the cave.
How the sun rose with regards to it
gave the scholars of Tafseer the commentators some points from which they could deduce the location of the cave.
If it gets here, he said that the description in this verse indicates at the entrance to the cave faced North because a lot tells us that sunlight entered the cave while the sun was rising.
The sun declining to the right of the cave, when it rose,
meant that the shade decreased towards the right, as it nobis, Sidon jubair cortada said declining meant leaning. Whenever the sun rises above the horizon, it's raised decline until there is nothing left when it reaches, then zennith. So a lot of said and touching the left sides when it's set, meaning it's raised entered their cave from the left side of its entrance, which means it entered from the west. This is evidence
from our position for our position, for it is clear to anyone who reflects on the matter, and has some knowledge of astronomy and the movements of the sun, moon and stars. If the entrance of the cave faced east, no sunlight would have entered it when the sunset
and if it faced the direction of the Qibla. In this case that would be south, no sunlight would have entered it at the time of sunrise or sunset.
And the shadows would have leaned neither to the right nor to the left.
With that face the West no sunlight would have entered it at the time of sunrise until after the sun had passed its zenith and it would have stayed until sunset. The description in the verse supports what we have stated and praise belongs to Allah, even Abbas, Medina and patata. These are companions of the Prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him and their students. They said that catching the
left sides meant that the rays would shine on them and then leave them.
Allah has told us this because he wants us to understand it and ponder over its meaning. However, he did not inform us about the actual location of the cave. Because there was no benefit for us in knowing that, and no legislative objective behind it. If there was any spiritual or religious interest that could be served by our knowing that our laws messenger, Allah and His Messenger would have taught us about it as the Prophet sallallahu wasallam it said, matter Dr. Shay and your caribou Camila La Ilaha combi,
I'm not left to anything which would bring you closer to a law without informing you about it.
As a well known statement of the prophet SAW Salem, which
clarifies for us on one hand, that there are things which Alor has left unexplained. In the Quran, you will find elements throughout the Quran, which are left unexplained details are not there. Because there is no value in knowing those details. And remember, I spoke before about comparing the stories for example of Prophet Yusuf, in the Quran. With the story of Prophet Yusuf, in the Bible, and prophet use them in the Bible is very extensive, very extensive story, a very long detail, filled with all kinds of details,
details which have no relevance or benefit to the message that you find in the story. Whereas as the story comes in the Quran, you see it chopped down to the essential elements, the law conveys the story for the message, the guidance that is in the story, not for the details of a story just for entertainment purposes, where they don't serve any useful
benefit, then a lot doesn't bother to mention it. And of course, in such cases, these things are best left as they are.
You will find However, in in a number of books of Tafseer past and present, where some scholars of Tafseer commentary of the Quran have actually gone into details spoken about these details and opinions concerning these details. But where they have no benefit really the best, it's best to leave them and share a shank at his Tafseer called a while by an is one of the toughest years which I use for preparing this
Tafseer here
he scrupulously avoid these details, you find him pointing out Yes, people have spoken about it, I'm not getting involved in it because it has no benefit. And we have no evidence, because even when people speak about it, if there is no clear evidence to affirm the truthfulness of what has been said or not, then it's useless.
Of course, the statement of the lamb, I've left nothing which will bring you closer to a law without telling you about it. And there are other narrations of it. And there's another one which said I left nothing which will bring you closer to paradise and keep you further away from * without telling you or teaching you about it. That this statement also speaks to the issue of innovation.
Besides the issue of useful information, it speaks to issues of innovation, that whatever people add to the religion, claiming that there is some good in it, this hadith or the statement of the prophet SAW Selim rejects it. Because if there were any good in it, then the prophet may God's peace and blessings be upon him would have been the first to tell us and it's in following this principle. And there are a number of other statements of the Prophet sallallahu wasallam in this regard.
It is in following this principle that
caused Islam the message of Islam to remain in its pristine purity till today
that there is an objection to innovation and to change because what Allah has informed of the religion
is complete, as he said, and Yamamoto Lacan dynochem Today I've completed for you your religion. So as some scholars pointed out, whatever was not part of the religion, when that verse was revealed, can never be a part of the religion. Because otherwise then that sentence
Statement of a law becomes meaningless. law said I completed your religion for you today. And somebody else comes and says, well, there's something else which was left out, we need to add this other thing, then it means that a law was not correct in his statement that we have completed the religion.
So this is what Muslims have to return to, in our times where so much baggage has been added to the practices of religion, that the average Muslim today can hardly determine what is actually Islamic teachings, and what is their culture, you know, that the lines have become so blurred that for many Muslims are not able to distinguish between the two. So you have many Muslims, for example, in India, Pakistan and Jordan,
who believe well is Pakistan and Jordan who believe that honor killing, we find it in Turkey also is something which is, you know, the honor for the sake of your honor of your family, this is very important. And yes, Islam does put a lot of importance on the honor of the family, the honor of the individual. But does it legislate killing those who threaten that honor? No, it doesn't. But for tribes and groups and individuals in those areas, they're thinking that this is a part of Islam, to defend the honor of your family, yes, kill your sister, your daughter, your mother, your aunt.
And so this negative image of Islam is presented to the world. And,
of course, the media, eats it up, spreads it and, and promotes false information about Islam, discouraging other people who will not even think about looking into Islam.
I'll say mean, explain that when it's set, to the left of the cave, it would leave them or catch them. The second meaning being closer to the intended meaning, more likely,
or the more likely intended meaning the benefit of this touching by the sun, is that it prevented the bodies from change, because Sun is healthy for human bodies.
This is something that we know, a person who is locked away from sunlight
ends up with a variety of diseases that can come from it. And again, on the other hand, too much sunlight can also be harmful. So a lot in describing what is in the cave, he's describing something which rarely, in our times, it has particular significance that it didn't have, in the time when this surah this chapter of the Quran was revealed. Because the issue of too much sunshine, calling it causing harm, for example, cancer, the skin and other things like this is not known then
wasn't done.
And, you know, lack of sunshine over long periods of time, the absolute lack of it, remember, the Quran was revealed in the desert, where sunshine is just a part of life, there's just no place you could go to be away from sunshine for any length of time beyond, you know, the night. So
this is among the miracles you can say of the crime where a law has addressed and spoken about something because one might say, you know, why did he talk about this, this fact that the sun came in the cave, but it didn't come directly on them, it will just light up the cave and touch them briefly, as it was setting.
That description had significance. If a law brings it, then it has significance. Even if we may not be able to understand the significance at this point in time. Know that ultimately, it has significance, perhaps it's for another time. But anyway, we can see a classical case here 1400 years ago, that description had no significance. But in our times, where we have medical science etc, which is clarify this for us. It has further significance.
While they lay in the middle of the cave meant that they were not at the mouth of the cave, but inside, which was more protective to them right at the mouth of the cave meant they would have been exposed for longer periods of time to the direct rays of the sun. And also that it would have been easier for people to come across them while they're in the cave.
Malik narrated from say dibny Aslam that the phrase declining to the right of their cave when it rose and inclining to the left when it's set, while they lay in the middle of the cave man, the sun enter the cave without touching them, because if it had touched them, it would have burnt their bodies and close. This was the view of a boss this was an opinion in which was expressed long time before which
was not based on sufficient scientific knowledge that we know now, you know, based on on their, in from their time they understood that it could have burned the close of course, it couldn't have been close, you know or burnt their bodies, well in the sense of you know the tanning process of you know harmful Yes, we said long exposure to the sun.
Following this, I loose I mean, mentioned something and this is significant for us to understand, I mean concluded from the description of the sun's rising and setting here. And in other texts of the Quran and Sunnah, that it is the sun which revolves around the earth, and not vice versa.
He said, when it rose, so on so when it says is evidence that it is the sun which moves, and it is by its movement, that there is sunrise and sunset, in contrast to what people say today about it being the earth that revolves around the Sun being stable.
We have with us a law statement as evidence, it is obligatory that we take it according to its obvious meaning, and not deviate from the apparent out
from the apparent meaning unless there is clear evidence to the contrary. So if it becomes established for us, by certain evidence, the changing of the night and day is a result of the Earth's revolution. It then becomes obligatory on us to interpret the verses according to the meaning which agrees with reality. We would then say, if the sun rises according to what the eyes see, however, we will never accept that the sun is fixed.
before it becomes clear, and incontrovertibly evidence that the sun is fixed and the Earth revolves, that it is by its revolution, that there's day and night. It is obligatory on us to say that the sun revolved and this revolution caused the day and night because the law has associated rising and setting to it. Furthermore, on one occasion, when the sun set the prophet SAW, Selim asked, I wonder, do you know where it's going? And he attributed going to it and we know with certainty, that Allah Almighty knows his creation better. So we do not accept in its place, conjecture or guesswork. Of course, Shere Khan loose a mean, is expressing based on his knowledge of the Quran, and his
understanding of physics.
Right, modern science, right.
He, his position actually is an ancient position. Right? This is, this was the position from way back in the time of Aristotle. And we know that
the whole revolution in Europe
concerning the what we refer to as the Renaissance, you know, part of that had to do with the Copernican theory, Copernicus, who put out the idea that the earth revolved around the sun. And its way back in the 14th century.
And it was a big struggle until Galileo
developed the telescope looked at the bodies and confirmed that, hey, this is the truth. But even when he confirmed that it was the truth, you know, those people the whole body of, of Christian Science at the time, which had been locked into Aristotelian thought, rose against him, his books were burned, and he was declared a heretic. Later on, of course, you know, this became common knowledge,
a lot of times, but
in the Muslim world, we have some scholars, who still hold on to some of these theories and ideas. And this is only for us, when we look at this, we look at this as human beings. You know, and this is why, I mean, as great a scholar as shaken with a mean, was, he died a few years ago, in one of the leading scholars of Islamic law in Saudi Arabia. Well, of course, in the area where he has the expertise, and he brings the evidence, etc, we recognize we accept etc. But if he speaks in an area, which is not his area of expertise, then we just have to look at it as an opinion, put it aside if we see it to be incorrect, and in this case, it is incorrect. Actually, you know,
the Saudi Prince sell man, he had gone up in the space shuttle, and the first Arab to circle around the earth. And he made his observations.
He looked he saw the earth.
Rotating his other son was out there.
They're not going around the Earth. So really, that was enough evidence.
That was enough evidence. I mean, for those who say, Okay, well, maybe this science is, you know, developed by non Muslims who have other agendas, whatever. So we may not be trusting them, we don't want to trust them.
If we have what we say, Okay, here's what happened. He confirmed it, you know. So,
you know, when we see these, as I said, these type of
conclusions drawn, we recognize, you know, you don't necessarily put the scholar down, you know, because, of course, there was a time, some years back back in the 70s, where Time magazine in order to ridicule Muslims, they quoted a statement from chefman boss, wherein he expressed that the Earth was flat.
Okay. And he, this was back in the 70s. He did make that expression. You know, he had that belief, though Muslim scientists, in a way back in the 15th century, Al idrisi, for example, it already proposed that the earth was round.
And he gave his evidence for why he concluded the world had to be round, because he was a geographer, and he wrote to some of the the most
definitive works on geography of his time. In fact, Columbus etc, used it, when he was going to try and find India and bumped into the Americans, right.
He concluded that the Earth had to be round, because coming up on a ship, towards the shore, he could see the shore more and more as he came. If the earth was flat, you would see the shore, and it wouldn't change.
Right? If it was just flat, it would remain the same as you got closer and closer.
Maybe bigger in size, but not that you would see more of it.
But what he noted was that when you're coming, because of course, naturally, when you're coming over the horizon, the Earth is round, you're going to see the shoreline, and you will not see what's behind it. If there are mountains in the background, you won't see it. But as you come closer, then you'll see the mountain start to rise and rise and you see mountains, and you'll see other things, you know, beyond that, etc, which indicated he concluded from that quite logical and quite correct, correctly, that the earth was round. So this is, remember that even Prophet Mohammed Salatu was Salam.
On one occasion, when he had after he had emigrated to Medina, and he found the people artificially pollinating the date palms.
And he suggested to them perhaps it's better if you didn't do it. He asked them why they did it first. And they said, Well, we did it because our great great grandparents, everybody has been doing it. As far back as we know. We just did it as they did it. So it's the process is better, you didn't do it, because he concluded now in general, Islam doesn't like artificial artificiality. You know, it forbade plucking eyebrows, you know, scarring, the skin, making no tattoos, and right everything, putting spaces between your teeth, all these things, Islam forbid, cutting the ears of the cattle and all these kinds of artificial changes being done to a last creation, you find general
instructions from a law against these. So he made his own personal deduction, and said perhaps it's better not to do it, let it just fertilize itself, with the wind and the whatever.
The next year, the yield, dropped,
dropped, dropped dramatically. And the people came back to the prophet SAW someone said, you told us not to do this thing and you know, the yield dropped.
And of course, this is from Allah, because how the law wished the yield could have multiplied.
You know, a lot could have caused the yield of the dates to multiply. But he allowed the natural laws to take place, that this process of artificially fertilizing the date prom was something which evolved to the practice of the people of the past, which was a practical thing which they learned.
And it had benefit.
Right? So the yield dropped, they came back to the prophet SAW Selim and he said, Listen,
if I tell you something about the religion,
then no, it's the full truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, you accept it.
But if I tell you something about the affairs of the world, day to day affairs, then you know better your affairs
is I have opinions, they may be right, they may not be wrong, right? Right. So he expressed his own fallibility. And of course, this was the, this was the
nature of the prophethood. The problem was that the last month Allah allowed the prophet SAW Selim to say
Some things from himself. And if they were not correct and beneficial, then he would make the circumstances clear that this was not correct. And he would correct them either in the Quran or through something which happened, they would come back to him, whatever, you know.
So, and that's why we don't you know, when we say we talk about the infallibility of prophethood, we talk about infallibility with regards to Revelation.
But the problem is our solemn was still a human being. And that's what's been pointed out there in that incident also, that he was a human being, right.
So, if that could happen to partners or solemn, and surely chef min bars, or shall we say mean, lesser human beings, this can happen to them to making rulings. But the other point that we can take from this is that when we try because in our times the whole issue of science in the Quran, it has become a big thing. Science is the great equalizer, you know, great proof. Now, this is what Western civilization is based on everything science, science has become religion for the West. So one of the ways to explain Islam to bring Islam to non Muslims is to bring the science of the Quran.
But you have to remember that science has fact and theory,
we have fact and theory, we have to be careful, because of course, if we lock the Quran into a scientific theory,
though, there may be implications in the verse which seem to imply this,
this may turn out to be wrong later on. So we have to be careful.
You know, what is fact?
Because concrete evidence has been brought to establish it, we have no doubts about it.
Then you want to make to look in the Quran to see if there is reference to it, etc. If we do find reference, it's useful to bring out like, for example, the case of the development of the embryo. This is fact, what we have now, in terms of the development of the embryo. In fact, descriptions in the Quran,
were sufficiently detailed, to cause one of the leading embryologist in the world, Dr. Keith Moore, Canadian embryologist, whose book is studied in most universities to say that this could not possibly have been known by a human being.
It had to have come from God.
It is not a Muslim.
He didn't accept Islam.
But he had no problem in recognizing that there is no way 1400 years ago that the embryo at the stage when it could not even be seen with the naked eye, you have to look at it under a microscope could be described as it was in the Quran.
by a human being,
from his own knowledge, not possible.
So something like this is fact is not going to change. No matter how big a microscope we get, it's not going to change reality of how that embryo is evolved. But other things, for example, like the expanding universe, you know, I mean, this is conclusions that we the people have made based on, you know, the stars, the light that is coming from the stars, it's this shifted in the spectrum. So they assume that since we know when things move, and light changes and shifts, and well, it must be moving. It's probably moving at this speed, speed. And all these are calculations and theories.
You know, we're not absolutely certain. And yes, a lot does say he created the creation, and he expands it. But to say, well, that is what is they're called now the expansion, which is the Big Bang, which came from an explosion and you know, we have to be careful. We don't want to link the Big Bang, which some years from now, people might come and say, Hey, no, there was no big bang.
Okay, because this is only a theory, you have to be careful about what we link with the grant.
images here went on to explain that, that was among a lot of science, which a lot said, refer to how he guided the use to the cave where he kept them alive, and how the sun and wind enter the cave, preserving their bodies.
And the same he noted that this phrase refers to the use. They're leaving their people is among the signs of a loss of science to people with spoke about before the importance of hijra,
you know where there's evil in a society to stand out against it, and leave that society if you cannot change it.
Also, they're seeking refuge in that particular cave. in that cave. This is the sign of a law. They found that cave, the cave
Allah guided them to was the cave which would be the best one to preserve them.
And thirdly, there are making it easy for them to find the suitable cave. This is all from the signs of a law and signs which indicate his wisdom and mercy.
Even Cathy o'clock clarify that whoever a lot guides is rightly guided, meant that Allah is the one who guided these young men to true guidance among the people. For the one whom Allah guides is truly guided, and the one whom Allah leaves a stray will find no one to guide him. And with him, he noted in this information in this is information from a law
or in this information from Eliza not to us that we should not ask for guidance from anyone besides a law, whoever law guides is rightly guided, is a law telling us at the same time, that we should not ask for guidance from anyone besides the law, and that we should not be worried or aggrieved when we see someone astray, because misguidance is also in our laws hands.
We believe in
the destiny, and should not be upset with misguidance coming from a law.
But we must show the way to those astray.
We have to find a balance between the two. You know, sometimes I know myself, you know, when I go back to the west, and you travel amongst non Muslims, and you see all these crowds, hundreds of people going in different directions, living their lives, and they don't have the light of guidance.
You know, you really wonder, you know,
within yourself, you know, Wow, so many people just a straight gun.
And it's something grieving when one thinks about because how do you how do you reach all of these people, hundreds and hundreds of people 1000s of people, how do you reach them? Well,
Allah tells us here, you know, this is a part of his father,
we should be thankful that we are guided,
we should have a desire to want to try to help those who are not guided. But at the same time, we have to accept a laws decision with regards to others.
So there is law, which is the shediac and there's destiny, the coder,
you must be pleased with destiny under all circumstances.
But in the case of what was destined, there is some distinction.
You must be pleased with destiny under all circumstances, whether it's good, or whether it's evil, one has to be pleased with it. He's meaning we accept that it is from a law and believe that there is good in it, even though we cannot perceive it, even if we can't perceive it. But at the same time what has been destined,
we should be pleased that the law has destined it that we accept the realized destiny but at the same time, a law has given us instructions in how to deal with it. And that's to convey the message of Islam. We spoke about that earlier that it's obligatory on each and every Muslim, when they want to convey whatever you learn from me, as a prophet SAW, Selim said even if it'd be only a single verse of the Quran, so that is the Sharia, we have the destiny that people are non Muslims, we have the shehryar that we have to convey the message. So these two we have to work with both when we accept a loss destiny at the same time, we accept the responsibility which Allah has placed on us
with regards to his people.
Whoever he sends astray will not find any guiding friend to lead him to the right path.
This statement of a lie in the same verse has some similar implications to a laws sealing the hearts in Surah Al Baqarah, the beginning of sorba Allah says, Allah Allah, Allah obey Him, or Allah summary him wa beside him with a shower. Well, Omar Abu Navin, Allah has set the seal on their hearts and on their hearing and on their eyes. There is a covering, there's will be a great torment. This was in reference to whom
was this talking about this world? Bukhara?
hypocrites.
No, this was in reference to
the disbelievers. First he spoke about the believers. Then he spoke about the disbelievers. Then he went on to talk about the hypocrites. So this was in reference to the disbelievers, those who have rejected the truth. The evidence has come to them, but they have rejected it.
So Allah says
To seal their hearts.
aside, he said that this meant that allies seal their hearts and ears with a seal, which prevents faith from entering our prevents them from acting upon it, or it acting upon them. So they will not care for what benefits them, nor listen to how to profit them. The covering prevents the eyes from seeing what would assist them.
These are parts of knowledge and goodness, these paths of knowledge and goodness are blocked. So there is no hope for them. No good to be anticipated from them. They were prevented from that and the doors are faith walk before them because of their disbelief, their denial of the truth and their obstinacy, after the truth was made clear to them. As Alon Almighty said, For Lama Zopa who as of Allahu Colaba home, or La Jolla del Carmen ferocity in so when they turned away, a lot turn their hearts away, and a lot of guides not rebellious disobedient people.
So
sometimes we have you know, this this phrase, which we say, whoever law sends a strain and can guide it has if you just take it on surface value, the implication that alarm misguides, some people deliberately, meaning that you could want guidance and desire it, wish for it, strive for it, and the law says no, no guidance for you. You don't get any guidance. Somebody else may not want guidance, don't care about it or anything, they're evil, etc. But our law says guidance for you, and it gives them guidance. But the point is that this is not how law works. It's not an arbitrary thing. There is a connection between our own actions and our laws, guidance with regards to
ourselves. So actually, maybe a more explanatory translation would be whoever Allah allows to go astray and can guide
whoever Allah allows to go astray and can guide because this is what happens, a person chooses the path of misguidance. And a law allows them to go down that path he could have forced them to believe.
You know, as the law said, and so a rod 13 chapter, verse 31.
I follow me I see levena Avenue, and loja shot along with the head of NASA, Jimmy, I have those who believe not yet known that had a law world, he could have guided all of humankind.
He could have made them all believe.
But he gave them a choice.
So they have a choice between either accepting the guidance when it comes or rejecting it. When they reject it, and they consistently rejected, then a law
allows them to go astray.
And in doing so, their hearts become sealed. But actually they're the ones who seal their own hearts.
And there's really their actions which has sealed their hearts. A lot refers to it as he's sealing the hearts because nothing takes place without his permission.
So even in their sealing of their own hearts, it's still by a laws permission. This is why a law refers to it as his sealing the hearts.
And that's why actually, even in the claim the false claim of the idol worshipers when they said we're calling it the natural coup. Lo sha Allah Huma Abedin. I mean, dooney him in shape. Nakano, Allah, una, those who joined others in worship with a law said, If Allah had so willed,
neither we nor our forefathers would have worshipped anything besides Him.
Right?
I mean, this is a claim of falsehood in defense of falsehood.
If a law had when willed otherwise, we wouldn't have worshiped others besides Him. So it is by the will of Allah, that we're worshipping others besides Him. It's true. It's by the will of a law, but it's still their choice. Everything is by the will of Allah.
Nothing takes place without his permission. But we are held according to not the will of Allah, but our choices.
Because even if a person chooses to do evil,
whether that evil takes place or not,
cannot be guaranteed by the individual.
You may plan, make all your arrangements and then circumstances change. You can't apply them we get implemented.
Not the circumstances are not in your hands. They're in a laws control. So it takes places by laws will but what we are held accountable is ultimately
Before is the choice that we make.
What takes place or doesn't take place is by a laws wheel. And this is where, again, the grace of a law comes into play in our lives. In that the problems are Solomon said, Whoever thinks to do a good deed,
they make just the mental decision to do a good deed, they get one reward.
If they act on it, a lot permits it to take place. Then he multiplies that 10 times and more.
Every person thinks to do an evil deed
changes his mind, he gets one reward
for changing his mind.
If he acts on it, after thinking to do it, he only gets one evil deed counted against him.
That is the grace of Allah at his mercy here, because if he were to hold us to account, one good deed against one evil deed, nobody would make it to paradise. And that's what the prophet SAW Solomon said, no one will make it to paradise simply because of the deeds. If it were not for the grace of God, Grace of Allah smart Allah. No one would make it to paradise and they asked him his companions, us and even you almost dribbler he said yes, even I
Shan Shan TT, noted also that from this verse, where a lot talked about those who
Allah guides are rightly guided
that the it involves or provides evidence against those people who claim
human freewill
in the absolute sense that human beings have freewill, whatever they decide, whatever they do, is their own.
This is known as the
Adria
or Cordelia.
Those who claim that basically there is no other
there is no destiny, nothing written and fixed. We do everything we want to do and make our own decisions.
The fact that the law says that those who guides are right to guided those who leads to go straight. None can guide them. This is
proof that
we are not free. Absolutely. In our world. There is an element that we do have where we choose. But the consequences of our choices are not in our own hands.
Verse 18 was boom iPod Ah, well homebrew couldn't locally boom that'll Yamini without the chemin Raquel boom bow Seaton. He bill was in love with Allah tala him lava later man whom Ferrara palamu lichterman, home raba.
And you would have thought them awake while they were asleep. And I turned them on their right sides and on the left sides, and their dog lay with its front legs stretched out at the entrance of the cave. Had you seen them you would have turned and fled, filled with fear of them.
Verse 18
completes the description of the state of the use in the cave.
According to chef Alice a mean
and you would have fought them awake meant that they did not exhibit the normal science of relaxation are usually associated with sleep. Instead, they appeared to be awake. Some scholars suggested that the reason they appeared awake was because they slept with their eyes open
as an opinion, but we don't have evidence for it. So those kind of statements, these are the kind of statements that we say,
really, it has no value. Allah said
you would have thought that they were awake
if you saw them.
Others suggested that it was because they were turning from the right and to the left. Or they're switching from the right side to the left side.
That this is actually this this position is more sorts supported by the verse itself because right after our losses, I turned them on the right side and on the left side. They're turning if you saw somebody lying in a cave, rolling over to his right side and rolling over to his left side.
I mean, you would assume that that person is awake. Because normally, you know you don't. In sleep when people go into deep sleep, I mean, you're basically fixed in your position, right? People who are half asleep or awake and this is when you're shifting around, you go on your ride, you're not comfortable you shift your left disturb movements, usually associated with people awake.
It's worth noting that a lot did not mention I turned when he said I turned them on the right sides in the left side. It didn't mention about turning them on their back or on their stomachs.
No, he just said the right side and the left side.
And this is because basically asleep. On the right side of the left side is more perfect.
Apartments I sell me slept on the right side. And he said, if you have a bad dream, when you wake up what he said to do, turn to your left side. It didn't say go on your back or on your stomach.
And in fact, sleeping on the stomach. We have a number of hadiths
like one narrator Bible Herrera, which he said the prophet SAW, Selim saw a man lying on his stomach and he said Indeed, this is the way of lying not pleasing to Allah.
Yeah, it should have been far less fit. He related that his father had said, while I was lying on my stomach in the mosque in the early morning, a man began to nudge me with his foot and then said, this is a method of lying which God hates. I looked up and saw that he was the Messenger of Allah.
was our referee, also reported the prophet SAW Selim came upon him while he was lying on his stomach, and poked him with his foot and said, john dub, that was his actual name, the inhabitants of * lie this way.
So lying on the stomach, basically, is something greatly disliked. Now, this is one of the
evidence is again, from both the Quran and the Sunnah of knowledge, which was unknown 1400 years ago. And we only know about it in recent times. Because this whole issue I mean, besides the fact that a lie didn't say lie on your stomach,
and the bandsaw, Selim said, Don't lie in your stomach.
There was no explanation.
For the last 1400 years, there was no satisfactory explanation for this, just above saw, Selim said don't do it. So people avoided it. Muslims just avoided it. Because if the police are seldom said, Don't do it, it's not good people who live that way, you know, a lot of dislikes it etc, that it meant it to something not good. And the basic understanding in Islam is that if Islam is prohibited something or disliked, it means it's something not good for you.
Because the law has not prohibited or dislike anything, which is in fact good for us.
Those are the things he made halaal
right. So when he is prohibited something there is some harm in it may be very great, then it becomes Haram, or maybe smaller than it becomes mcru.
But there must be some harm. I know myself personally.
When I had asked, I heard this hadith
I was traveling with Jamaat tab live. And they told me that the reason was because if you lie on your stomach, you know, especially when you're out on the Jamaat
you're likely to have *.
So of course, it's a lot of hassles going and showering in the masjid, and you know, so it's kind of a hustle. So it made kind of sense. But what about women?
It doesn't affect them in the same way. So it was a kind of a shaky explanation, you know, I really wasn't satisfied with it. Anyway.
I had gone to
Panama to give some lectures in Central America. And some people asked me the same question. I was dealing with the etiquette of sleeping in the scanner, I came across it people asked me the same question. I didn't want to say what I heard from Guatemala, because I really wasn't convinced about it. So I said, I really don't know. But it was a lot. Well, that was I was flying to Ghana, that on the same the plane, they had the issue of Time Magazine, I was reading it. And that issue is dedicated to
the various operations which the West Western medical researchers have developed for correcting problems of the spine. They had huge description of how they would go in and put in, you know,
stainless steel braces and things to straighten up people's spine and when this was all Kansas, at the end of it.
hamdu Lillah wa Salatu was Salam ala rasulillah
Though is saying that this issue of Time magazine after the researchers, medical researchers, etc, had
put their conclusions that talked about all these diverse operations. They had a series of recommendations at the end of this articles long, eight page article in the magazine.
And this was actually in Time magazine the July 14 1980 edition.
It stated their poor sleep posture is a short invitation to backaches use a firm mattress, lie on their side
with a bend to the knees, avoid lying on the belly,
a position that increases the spines lumber curve
caused causing that familiar sagging called sway back. So they identified here, the harm of sleeping on your stomach. This is 1400 years later.
But not only that,
I mean, besides the fact that when you look at the way the prophet SAW, Selim used to sleep used to sleep on his right side with his knee bent, slept on palm fronds back tight, hard covered by leather, the firm bed, all the recommendations, they had this what he was doing. Besides that, actually, in the late 80s, researchers in the UK,
tabulating the conditions in the homes of families, who experienced what they call SDS, or sudden death syndrome, cut death now the name for it, where a child is put to sleep two years old, one years old, and it just dies in its sleep. No way, no explanation, nobody knows why. So they went around to these various families that experienced it and gathered all the data they could, the temperature of the room, the kind of mattresses, they slept in, all kinds of stuff.
At the end of it, and they put it all in the computer computer, put all the things together, they came up with one big point, sleeping on the stomach. This was a common point right away, they immediately put front page news, you know, researchers have concluded do not put your children to sleep on their stomachs.
And this had been normal practice nurses and that, you know, child has colic and that you put them on the stomach. This is supposed to help them you know, but here's the doctor say no, don't put them on their stomach
10 years later, in the mid 90s, after this had been publicized, went to the US and elsewhere. Also this thing they found in the UK, that the rate of death had dropped dramatically, drastically dropped.
So here was something else. Something which, obviously 1400 years ago, we had no knowledge of here is harm, real harm, and sleeping on the stomach.
And this just reminds us again, as we said that where we have revelation telling us not to do something, avoid something for sure, there is harm in it.
The phrase I turned them, which allows us I turn them on the right sides on the left side contains evidence that the actions of a sleeping person are not attributable to himself. Instead, they're more properly attributed to a law. Thus, if a man said during sleep, I divorced my wife
or I also and so 1000 reals. It is not binding because it occurred without his wish, which is why the prophet SAW Selim was reported to have said,
Ali narrated it, the pen is lifted from the book of three people Raphael columbu and Filatov.
From the sleeper until he awakes, from the child until he reaches puberty, and from the insane until he regains his sanity.
The pen is lifted meaning the record dependent recording deeds, evil and good, is lifted from the sleeper until he awakes. A lock cause the bodies to turn from side to side.
during sleep, humans commonly turn their bodies from side to side without knowing it. However, if the body of a person is in a coma, and that body is laid out, it will not move. They will stay in the same spot. And in such cases in hospitals, nurses have to come and turn them from one side to the other side. Why?
They turn them from one side to the other side. doctor tell us
for bed sores. Why? Why do the people get bed sores from lying on one side all the time.
Right, the pressure points where the the body comes in contact with the bed, you know, at the knees and different points where you're sort of pressing into the bed, their circulation is cut down, it's lowered, right, and then you start to develop sores there, the skin starts to rot, you know, now, this is something which was observable in the past. And as the people of the past concluded
that a person will lay lies on the ground, eventually they get these things, they concluded that it was the earth that was eating them. Right, because when you put somebody in the grave, eventually they're eaten up, right. That's how it appears. That's how they that's how they viewed it. So when you read the early Tafseer, scholars talking about this, they said, Well, you know, a lot turning from side to side, to prevent the earth from eating them. Right. That's how they explained it, that modern science we know now, it's not the earth eating them, but the circulation being stopped. And
but this was, again, important, the I the issue of turning them from side to side, this was a part of our laws,
will in order to preserve them over that period of time that they remain sleeping.
Their dog laid with its front legs stretched out means that the law and the law knows best that it did not sleep because the dog when he lives with his paws ahead and you sit like this, you know, like the Sphinx is this awaking position, you're in a guard position, when he wants to sleep he rolls over like everybody else, right? So this implied that he stayed awake. And from this actually,
scholars in a concluded that it is permissible to keep a guard dog. And there are Hadees, which do indicate dogs may be kept for other purposes processor and said, Whoever keeps a dog for other than farming, shipping or hunting, will have to karats decreased from his good deeds daily. So keeping a dog just because you love dogs, you know, as a pet, buddy, replacement for lost children or whatever people have all kinds of purposes for dogs. man's best friend,
right? Islam says no, you keep him for a purpose. He has a specific purpose. You guards your, your sheep, your farm area, you go hunting with him. All right, but taking men sleeping in bed with him and it is not. In fact, there is some harm and too much closeness to the dog. Right? I mean, besides the fact you have so many dogs, chewing up people every year,
chewing up kids and stuff like that you read about the paper, dog gets hungry parents forget to leave food for the dog and he starts eating the kids after that, you know, besides that, we also there's diseases that are passed on from the saliva of the dog.
But this this mentioned in the Quran, here is of a dog as a guard dog. It's not mentioned actually in the Hadith, but the scholars took from this the permissibility of having a guard dog and of course, it makes sense anyway, that you know, if you can have a dog to guide your farm, and your sheep, surely you can have one to guard your house, your home yourself.
And Scott has also concluded I mean, the fact that the dog, he ended up staying in that cave 300 plus years,
alive awake,
that the blessing which Allah had put on those sleepers, the youths in the cave that put them to sleep for those years, it had included even their dog from that the scholars, you know, pointed out that blessings which are enjoyed
by the righteous, benefit those accompanying the righteous. And this is why it is good to be in the company of the righteous.
But whenever Lord blesses you are with them, you get some of that blessing. And naturally the opposite that not to be in the company of the evil as well. I said you know fear a fitna calamity which will not only strike the evil amongst you, but even the good who ended up being amongst them, it will catch you too.
So, we have to be careful about who we choose to accompany in the promised land Sallam himself had
given us a metaphor to describe this. He said that the good company good companion is like the perfume merchant. When you sit with the perfume merchant, from his opening his bottles of perfume, either just the scent will come on you you walk away smelling good, because the scent of all those bottles opened up, always smelling good, or he's going to give you some pressure
You got a lot of good there. Whereas the bad companion is like the blacksmith working at the front of the furnace beating his iron. And so
either you're going to get sparks hit hitting you and burning your clothes, you go with your clothes with holes in it, or at least the smoke from this furnace is going to be all over, you're going stinking of smoke, one or the other. And the West we say, if you live with dogs, you're going to get up with fleas. Right? So that's sort of more crude way. But the idea is the same idea. You know that you choose your companions? Well, in the process, I saw him and said that you will be raised on the Day of Judgment with your companions.
And we have a verse in Surah sofar, the 37th chapter, verses 5157, which describe this. People in help people in heaven, one in heaven would say,
indeed, I had a companion who used to say, are you among those who believe that when we die and become Dustin bones will be held accountable? It will be said to him, as we look below,
when he looked down, he saw that same person in the middle of the fire, he exclaimed by a law you nearly ruined me. Had it not been for the grace of my Lord, I would certainly have been among those brought forth to the hellfire.
So
we have to be very careful about those who may choose as companions. We'll stop here. And shall Are there any questions or comments that you'd like to make on verses 17 and 18? Please
share them.
People.
Usually the seizure that occurs in the depressed people when they are irresistible to do it. So is a suicide is
unfolding from the heart of God.
Could you repeat your question please?
Okay, well, there's question
eight, a depressed person who commits suicide.
Is he held responsible?
When, according to your statement, his depression now gives him no other option?
Well, the question is,
does the person really not have any other option
that you have to prove?
First and foremost, because we all go through bouts of depression in our lives? I mean, why are we still here? I mean, if it is that depression means you must kill yourself. with too many people left on the face of the earth is not the case. In fact,
a person who kills himself who chooses to kill himself if he was not insane, if depression led to insanity, then he's not held accountable or she's not held accountable. But if they have still their wits about them, simply because they are depressed killing themselves. Francois Salim said whoever kills himself in this life, will find himself in the Hellfire killing himself in the same way perpetually.
So you are accountable. Suicide is not an acceptable way out because really what you're saying in suicide is that a law has oppressed you.
He has burdened you beyond your capacity and a law said, like you can live alone Epson Illa Allah does not burden any soul beyond its capacity. So it means that we no matter what we are faced with, we are capable of handling it a lot has not given us anything, which is beyond our ability to handle
for the question
or comment
Okay, well breakfast Allah Subhana Allah homerville Ambika shadow Allah, Allah and the end, start Furukawa