Sulaiman Moola – Tafseer of Surah An Naml #13 Sound advice
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AI: Transcript ©
So we concluded in the previous segment where
Hudhud made a sudden presence
after the absence of Hudhud,
and, Sayyidina Sulaiman
was concerned,
about the absence of this bird, but then
it came in and gave an explanation to
its absence
to say that hang on, o Soleiman, I've
got some genuine, tangible,
absolute, concrete evidence
regarding the queen of, Sheba.
She and her nation is worshiping the sun,
etcetera.
The devil has adorned and decorated it and
enticed them into this year.
Verse 27, Surayman
says, okay, let's analyze the merits of the
case.
Let's probe it. Let's see how reliable, authentic
it is. So you've said what you've said,
but now we need to put it to
test.
A student could arrive late at school and
say, you know what?
There was a major accident on the way
and due to that traffic was diverted
and lives were lost and it was really
serious.
And you say, oh, okay, okay. That's absolutely
excusable and and, you know, you are excused
given this year. But then when you do
homework, you realize that, that particular
accident, which the youngster was referring to, had
happened 2 days before.
So the story doesn't tie up. Verse 27,
says,
he said,
We will now look into the matter to
find
out and,
to follow-up a,
or have you spoken the truth,
or are you from amongst those that are
speaking a lie?
I mean, today,
an average person, the common person, you won't
have that form of authority and communication
with a fellow human,
teacher to student, parent to child, whatever it
is. Appreciate
the the empire that Allah
had given Sayyidina Sulaiman
that he could interrogate the merits of the
case,
narrated to him by this bird.
So, verse
28,
Okay. Listen.
I'm going to task you with a duty.
And Soleiman alayhis salaam then deployed
Hudhud as a courier.
So a courier service. Right? Today, we think
we're smart, and today, we think, you know,
what we have,
swift mail and we can
communicate so easily and effectively.
Look at at that time, back at that
time,
Suleiman alayhis salatu was salam writes a note
and then gives it to the bird. The
narration say that,
Hudhut took it in his minkar.
Minkar meaning in the beak. Exact translation, verse
28,
Take this note of minds.
Then go and drop it on them. Go
and drop it on them.
Then step aside. Step aside.
Step aside means step slightly aside.
And how do we know? How do we
know that it is meant step aside slightly?
Because
in the latter portion of verse 28,
Sayyidina Sulaiman alayhis salam gives instructions to Hudhut
that after dropping a note, step, but step
aside, and we understand that from this verse
here, then listen to what their response is.
So how would the bird be able to
intercept what the response is if the bird
was far away, if hudhud was far away?
Surely that indicates
that step aside, which is an etiquette that
you don't,
overwhelm the person. You don't,
you know, invade the privacy of the individual.
You give them time and space. You've communicated
a note, you step aside, give them some
space,
and then you wait and see whatever the
response is. So it is mentioned in Marif
ul Quran that this is etiquette. This is
etiquette as an envoy. In fact, Luqman Hakim
said that send a wise person as an
envoy.
And if you don't find a wise envoy,
then take your note yourself.
Send a wise person as an envoy. You're
sending someone as a messenger
to communicate a message, to drop a note,
whatever it is. Let your envoy be a
wise person. And if it's not someone who's
Hakim and wise, then delay the matter or
go yourself
because then you would have to undo the
wrong that he did. And this is so
important. Sometimes we assign a task to someone
who is simple minded, who is naive, who
is foolish, who is not wise, who is
not calculated,
and then,
that individual
distorts the message or does not present it
in its holistic form. So
step aside. Etiquettes. Etiquettes in the presence of
seniors,
prominent people, etcetera. You you convey in a
message, move aside.
And then wait and see
what they respond.
This portion, the latter portion,
of verse 28
reveals to us that as much as
could understand
and comprehend
and converse with
could
also understand and comprehend
the communication
of others.
And this also
was a miracle of Soleiman
So one was
that, Sayyidina Soleiman
knew
the language of birds and, by extension, the
animals, as we spoke about the ant, etcetera.
And here,
the bird has been tasked
to understand, comprehend, and relay
the information of their response,
which then reveals to us
that had
a
further understanding
in comprehending
the discussion and the communication
of others as well. Okay. So that's it.
Verse 28,
the letter of Sulaiman entrusted
to,
Hudhud and Hudhud goes.
Verse 29.
Allahu Akbar.
1st 29,
the Quran goes direct to the point. And
like I've mentioned previously,
that the Quran
is a book of guidance.
So Allah
will omit those things which are not connected
to our guidance which could be understood.
Meaning the bird then took the letter and
off it flew. Now Allah doesn't describe the
flight and the duration and the altitude
and and all those related things. Yes. Allah
does tell us in the Quran to marvel
at the birds.
Will they not marvel at the flight of
birds and the flock of birds and how
smooth they fly and how they glide? Who
keeps them? I mean, by the law of
gravity,
why is it that they still remain? Why
is it they still remain in the atmosphere?
And when you go back to,
you know, the the the,
invention of the aircraft, and the first person
was Abbas,
Abbas, if you can do your homework, the
Wright brothers,
they propelled on his idea, if you understand
the phrase here.
They propelled on his idea, but it was
a person by the name of Abbas who
looked at the bird, and he said, well,
if the birds can do it, why not?
So why why don't they look why don't
they look at the birds? How it's just,
you know, flying
in the atmosphere.
It is Allah that keeps them,
airborne. It is Allah that keeps them in
midair.
Yes, indeed. That is the the kindness of
Allah
and how Allah has blessed the different creations
with different abilities.
We we we we know it's the chapter
of the end. One of the distinct,
abilities that Allah has blessed the end with
what is the ability to smell.
Right?
When he writes about the intelligence of pharaoh,
They had the eye of a crow and
the smelling sense of an ant. So Allah
has blessed different creatures with different abilities and
different instincts.
1st 29,
Bilqis receives the letter,
says,
Oh my ministers.
Refers to the prominent, the leaders, the ministers,
you know, those who have an impact on
society.
Oh my ministers.
Verily
I have received
a very dignified note.
So is
as we would say. It's not,
meaning not in an active voice, in a
passive voice,
indicating at this stage, I don't know who
the letter is from.
I've just received this. And then, of course,
she discovers it as the letter itself describes
who the letter is from.
Verily I
have received
a note
respectful,
dignified.
Why did she receive or or refer to
this letter as a,
respectful note, a dignified note. You know, sometimes
a person writes you a letter or sends
you a gift, seals it nice, presents it
nice, the whole presentation,
the envoy itself. Okay. I I don't know
this person, but just, the handwriting itself,
the the the the tone of the letter.
I mean, so many times you get a,
you get a WhatsApp message or you get
an email. You you don't know the individual
from above. So but just the tone, the
expression, the communication,
the the related,
you know, expressions,
kinda give you an idea
to the nature of the scribe or the
nature of the individual.
So one is it had a stem, right?
And that itself what would give a sense
of, official status to the letter. The prophet
sallallahu alaihi wasallam, the companions had told him
that these people want a stamp and then
he, sallallahu alaihi wasallam, had Muhammad Rasulullah.
Muhammad sallallahu alaihi wasallam, the messenger of
Allah. The very hadith in Bukhary
to the Roman emperor in which
he then wrote a letter. He wrote to
the different rulers and kings, conveying the dawat
of Allah. So this was a practice of
the pious. This was a practice of the
and the pious
communicating the message through a letter.
And even even when we look at the
Sahaba, there was correspondence.
Whoever
disobeys Allah with the passage of time, his
cronies and allies
will become his adversary
and foe and opponents.
Letter concluded.
Abdullah ibn Abbas
said, In my entire life, I never benefited
from a single piece of advice after the
advices of the prophet sallallahu alaihi wasallam
as much as I benefited
from one advice of Ali radiAllahu anhu, he
wrote to me,
The common average regular individual is such that
he becomes elated when he accomplishes something material
and he becomes depressed when he loses something
material.
So
this is the advice been given to you.
Let your joy and happiness, bliss and excitement
revolve around your spiritual accomplishments,
and let your sadness and regret
revolve around your spiritual losses.
And as for the losses of this world,
let it not conceals consume you. Let it
not depress you. And as for the accomplishments
of this world,
let it not take you to a point
of obsession,
and let your focus be on the latter.
So these, you know, was the correspondence between
Sayidina Ali and Abdullah ibn Abbas. And how
clean were the hearts? I mean, Ibn Abbas
radiallahu anhu was such a great scholar, but
he was open. He was bold. He embraced.
He accepted. There was nothing like plagiarism.
Today, we just plagiarize,
we wanna take the efforts of others or
the works of others or the research of
others or the findings of others, and we
wanna attribute it to ourselves.
And they love to be lauded and acknowledged
and complimented for things they did not do.
Okay. Let's get back into the ayah. So
the Hudhut comes and drops the note.
Bildis, the queen of Sheba, addresses her people.
Oh, folks, oh, people, oh, ministers, listen. I've
received a very dignified note. Okay? Tell us
more about it. Verse
30.
The letter is from Suleyman.
The likelihood is that she heard about Suleyman
alayhis salatu wa salam. This is what the
scholars say, being the Nabi of Allah subhanahu
wa ta'ala having the kingdom and the empire
and being the prophet of Allah, the news
would have definitely got around.
So,
she she would have heard about Suleyman alayhis
salaam.
In Nahum in Suleyman, look at how brief,
how comprehensive,
yet all encompassing. So this is again something
important.
So sometimes we we we speak so long,
but the message is not understood.
Sometimes it's so brief that it's inadequate.
So here we find comprehensive,
nature
and yet it addresses all the aspects of
concern.
In Nahum insulayman,
you need to know who sent it. Right?
Hakimul Umar
used to also say when you send a
gift to someone,
then the individual who receives the gift needs
to be informed
from who the gift was sent.
Because that person needs to know, do I
accept it or not?
Number 2, I would like to make dua
for that individual.
So it is important it is important
that,
the person who conveys the gift or gives
the gift
provides that basic information,
provides that basic information.
Otherwise, now some somebody sent a gift for
you. Now I'm skeptical to take it. I
I don't know what it could what could
be in it, etcetera.
What's the format of the letter? In the
name of Allah,
the most compassionate,
the most merciful.
So we've got 2 things going here, the
introduction
to,
the sender,
and then, of course, commencing the letter with
the name of
Allah
Every matter of importance which is not commenced
with the name of Allah
will remain insufficient and incomplete.
The letter is from Suleyman.
As believers, we commence, we open, we start,
we embark all our ventures from a letter
to an address, to a gathering, to an
event, to a meeting by the name of
Allah Subhanahu Wa Ta'ala.
The question is,
what was the message in that letter? Let's
just wait and see. We conclude on verse
30. The letter has fallen in her lap.
She's introduced it that it is from Suleyman.
The opening words are in the name of
Allah. Let's see what the message is all
about.