And [mention] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam”; so they prostrated, except for Iblis. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers.
We said: "O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the garden and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) you will but approach not this tree or you run into harm and transgression."
QURAN 2:34-35
The first lesson we learn from these blessed verses of the Quran was based upon the order of Prostration. Allah سبحانه وتعالىٰ gave the order to the Angels and they implemented this order and prostrated before Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام. However shaytan refused and rejected this order despite the clear instruction from Allah. This rejection of shaytan was based upon knowing that Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام was made from clay and he challenged this instruction by raising a defect. In other words he did not implement the order of Allah. The lesson for the Children of Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام upon being sent to the Earth is that when the order of Allah reaches you, then there should be no delay, challenge, making your own choices from nafs and regarding it as wisdom/hikmah and excuses in implementing the order. There should only be one thing in your mind and that is the fact that this is an order from my Rab, and I need to bring it into fruition. There is no condition, situation or barrier that can excuse you from implementing this order rather you accept and obey. If we do not implement the orders and instruction of Allah, then we will be from shaytan’s group (hizbu’shaytan) and we will suffer the same consequences as shaytan. Allah states in the Quran:
The reason for the rejection was أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ which is pride and arrogance. We must revise, revise and revise this lesson thoroughly. Why are we reading the Quran? Why are we repeating these verses? When I read the verses of the Quran I stop, reflect and on several occasions, I cannot get past the ayah due to the depth of meaning. This is done to strengthen our Imaan and certainty. Alhamdulillah. The similitude for this is just like when you place the apple in the juicer the more you press it further juice will be released to the extent that the apple juice drops will fall into the glass. The pressing and gaining further juice are just like when you reflect on the verses of the Quran you can extract the meanings and message of Allah in the Quran. This can only happen with the blessing and ability from Allah. If we do not take the learning and message from the verse, then we cannot progress forward from that verse. Therefore I revise the verse thoroughly and keep pressing to gain the drops from the ocean of Allah which is never ending. When we reach the last drops, we know we have reached the maximum understanding and we are able to progress to the next verse. The objective is to understand the message of Allah. In this particular verse Allah is informing the Children of Hadhrat Adamعليه السلام on the importance of following an order of Allah. The prostration is a symbol, sample and example of all the orders of Allah. We must remember this that any order of Allah must be done in the way that Allah has told us prostrate. This does not mean we can just pray Salah and not follow other orders. Indeed order of Allah will be based upon the command of Allah to prostrate. Hence, we should not refuse to fulfil any order of Allah otherwise our refusal will be just like the refusal of shaytan to prostrate before Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام. In simple words any order of Allah to us is the same as the order to prostrate. Further we will be punished the same way shaytan was punished for rejecting the order of Allah. We must learn from this example and apply it to all the commands of Allah. It is only a mutakabbir (proud person) that can refuse to implement the order of Allah and he has Kibar. This will apply to a small order, big order and in fact all the orders of Allah are the greatest because Allah is the Greatest. Please remember this first lesson.
The second lesson: وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ
Allah states O Adam dwell thou and your companion/wife has been given to you. Further Allah states to Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام, eat from the fruits of paradise wherever you want, wherever you will, open plain/realm. The comparison here with us is that when we are in the dunya, Allah will give us ease, countless gifts/blessings, comfortable assets, buildings, house, resources then you must not disobey any of Allah’s commands. This is where lesson number 2 starts as just like Hadhrat Adamعليه السلام was given the comforts and treasures of Paradise: رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا , eat from wherever you want, relax but Allah stated beware of one thing. The first lesson was AMAL, do not refuse and the second lesson is:
Hadhrat Adamعليه السلام was told to eat and drink from wherever you want but be careful of one thing وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ, do not go near this tree, وَلَا تَقْرَبَا don’t even go close to it.
فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ, Allahu Akbar, Subhan’Allah, Allah states in the first lesson if you refuse to fulfil the command of Allah you will be amongst the وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ. In the second lesson if you do not stop, leave and refrain, from وَلَا تَقْرَبَا all that which I have informed, then you will be amongst the مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ. The are two types of order in both lessons, the first is to do and second order is not to do. The first order is to implement, the second order is to refrain from, and both orders are equal. The conclusions to reject both orders are severe, whether you understand it you must implement it even if you are in the ocean or river, whichever country or part of the world you are residing. There is no person that can palace a barrier or restriction between my orders. When Allah asks us to stop, leave and refrain it must be done straight away. The first is Amal or practice and secondly those things that Allah has asked to refrain and leave. We must implement both orders, we cannot take one and leave one. Allah is explaining to us in an incredibly unique way:
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ
Herein Allah is commanding to prostrate but in the second line it is وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ which is not to even go near it. The symbol in the first lesson was the prostration but here it is a Tree. There are various opinions on which type of tree this was: wheat tree, vegetable tree but we do not need to get into the technicalities as the tree is an example of not doing. The hukm/order to do is based on prostration and not to do is based upon the command to Hadhrat Adamعليه السلام not go near the tree. This is just like the order of Allah not to go anywhere near immodesty we must look at the consequences. The tree represents all the orders that Allah has told us to fulfil. I repeat this again and again that these are examples. Allah states in the case of the tree not to go near it but many other things apply here. In an incredibly unique way Allah is not just saying do not do it but not to even go near it. This is an especially important point to understand because the darkness of sin has a lot of attraction, power, it lures, pull you and drag you to commit the act of disobedience. The two powers constantly working on the human being is shaytan and nafs/desires. They influence and motivate the person to commit the act. This the reason why Allah has told us not to go near because just
like a magnet it will drag you in to the ditch.
We should not think because I am a scholar or learned person that I am protected from this, but you should constantly look out for the traps of shaytan and nafs. This is just like the command of Allah not go near the Ghair Mehram, to do purdah/barrier but we use excuses like he is just like my brother, he is only my Uncles son, he is a father figure but the principle is if the person falls under the conditions of ghair mahram then the line should be drawn there. If we do not follow this strictly then we will face dangerous consequences. If we do not recognise this, then the same relation who we think is just like a brother will turn out to be something else. A great advice from Allah on all those acts that are forbidden is that do not just say I will not do it but rather we need to reject all the resources, means, mediums that lead to that sinful act.
A further example is the mobile phone wherein we have the Quran apps, but it also has sinful content. Herein we must look at the order of Allah
وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ , so if we apply this to the mobile then we can replace the word الشَّجَرَةَ with mobile which will translate to do not go near the mobile. It does have some goodness, but it is outweighed by the badness and the strength of evil will attract you to commit sinful acts via the mobile. If you trust yourself and think you are strong enough to overcome this attraction, then you will most definitely fail. Indeed you will start from one place on the mobile, the shaytan and nafs will whisper into your brain and end with watching sinful content. This is all because you failed to follow the order of Allah just like the order given to Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام
وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ which was not to go near the tree. This applies to all those things that Allah has forbidden as the forces of bad are so strong we have been told not to go near such acts in any way shape or form. We must refrain from all the resources, ways and means that take us towards that sin. We cannot win shaytan/nafs as they have been given the power and we will be overwhelmed. This is not a punishment from Allah, but this is part of the test/challenge of dunya. Allah has clearly taught us in advance the lessons and repeated them otherwise why would Allah inform us of the story of Hadhrat Adamعليه السلام . This is not a story but there are serious lessons for us to apply in our lives. The first is Amal-practice امر بالمعروف و نهى عن المنكر and leave the bad. To do and to leave. This is a part of daily life, morning and evening we are fluctuating between both instructions. We are either being told TO DO, or we are being told TO LEAVE. It is a great mercy and blessing of Allah to take part in doing something that Allah has ordered. The things Allah has asked us not to do we become big headed and exercise our big minds. Allah told Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام
وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا
To eat and drink with absolute freedom. This is just like us today that with our houses, cars we have forgot our real purpose of existence. We do not read the Quran and look deeply into the understanding, we are learning so many valuable lessons and this is true self rectification, may Allah save us from the fire of Jahannam (Ameen). This is the reality of the test we are facing, there is a hadith in Abu Dawood Subhan’Allah which will informs us on our true objective of life. Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqa رضی اللہ عنھا narrates that when Jahannam was mentioned she would cry. If we pause here and look at the position and status of Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqa رضی اللہ عنھا, the greatest woman of the world, the rank and even today the Holy Prophet’s ﷺ Blessed Body is present in the Hujra Mubarak of Hadhrat Aisha رضی اللہ عنھا. It is absolutely amazing the level of fear. If we look at ourselves, we are not fulfilling the orders of Allah and staying away from those sins prescribed by Allah. We measure orders by our nafs/desires saying that it is only a small order, yet we face such severe consequences for this. On that day we will shake to core, does anyone have guarantee of life. Only a shake and we will leave this world and be transferred. If we meet someone who broke his leg yet we say to him you were fine 30 minutes ago, if someone sleeps healthy at night and they wake up not being able to move their hand, this happened to me as well and happens to all human beings. This is the nature of life, so Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqa رضی اللہ عنھا began to cry upon listening to the description of Jahannam upon which the Holy Prophet ﷺ stated: “Why are you crying O Aisha, the love the Holy Prophet ﷺ had for Hadhrat Aisha رضی اللہ عنھا was immense. Hadhrat Aisha رضی اللہ عنھا responded by saying it is the description of Jahannam that has made me cry, the Holy Prophet ﷺ could have said you do not need to worry about the hell fire because you are Umma Ha Tul Momineen and the wife of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. This is the reality being portrayed in the hadith. If we had the certainty of belief in the grave in our minds with every order of Allah we would not be neglectful of our prayer, we would not be unjust with people, we have left orders of Allah, our nafs presents excuses.
The shaytan and nafs work together to convince the person that he/she can overcome the order of Allah by making excuses. The Quran is full of examples like this and do we think the people who refuse and do not refrain from sins will be entered into Paradise? We can continue to make excuses my children are not happy; how can the sisters stay hope all day and the reason why we make these excuses is that we have no concern for the grave. Death is close yet we are not aware. Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqaرضی اللہ عنھا states further that I remembered the fire and this made me cry and then Hadhrat Aisha رضی اللہ عنھا asked a beautiful question; O My Beloved Habib ﷺ, My Husband, you are the Rasul ﷺ and I am your beloved and wife, on the day of Qiyamah will you remember your Household (Subhan’Allah). Hadhrat Aisha رضی اللہ عنھا is concerned and worried about what will happen, the Holy Prophet ﷺ responded: “My Beloved Aisha there are 3 places that are so severe, this is advice, The Beloved Prophet ﷺ is extremely affectionate and cares for every one and the advice/sunnah that the Habib ﷺ gave will guide us. The Holy Prophet ﷺ states that the 3 places such that nobody will be remembered Allah-u-Akbar. If an earthquake comes now, we will try to jump out of the window and try to save our life. That will be the day of judgment, who are we tricking, we are playing games with the orders of Allah. To please the husband the wife takes part in major sins, it is because of my husband that I do not do purdah, it is why I go outside to work, I have to support him and I can’t reject him. Imagine the excuses for sins men and women make. Will husbands be able to help on the day of judgement? They are both in the wrong for using lame excuses to stop them following the commands of Allah. The parents say I am taking interest/riba for my children, fraudulent benefit claims, lying, deceiving and we say that we are doing all this for the children. Allah’s Nabi ﷺ stated that nobody will remember you on that day of judgement, so tell me will your children/offspring help you at that time? Will your wife help you for whom you are doing dirty and impure actions? In this respect one must be very selfish because Allah has very clearly stated TO DO, when my order comes you can’t disobey me by co-operating with somebody else even if the whole world is on one side we must obey the order of Allah. This is regardless of whether your children, wife or relatives leave you as the order of Allah must not be rejected. This is such a massive example of where the person can be called a true lover/ashiq of Allah. This is not the dunya saying he is ashiq, but the angels are saying this. The shaytan despite all his knowledge and worship Allah was aware of the inner hypocrisy (munafiq) and his desires. Therefore Allah states do not be overconfident and proud over your knowledge and status. We must not rely on our worship and people but like those things that Allah likes then he will like you.
On that day of judgement where no person will remember the other person there will be 3 places. The first place is the Mizaan, the Scales of Justice, herein his mind will have evaporated, what will happen to me, how will my deeds be weighed on the scales and Rasulullah ﷺ stated that this will be a very unique scene which no words can describe. During this time of not knowing the person will lose consciousness. The second place will be where the deeds are measured, and he will question whether he has enough deeds and he will be totally lost at that time. The concern will be how my book of deeds is presented, whether it is given in the right hand or the left hand and until he is given this knowledge he will be in an awfully bad state. The third place will be the Bridge of Sirat, this will be on the stomach of the hell fire, he does not know how he will cross this, very thin, razor sharp, in the intense darkness and as thin as a hair. We need to imagine here what state that person will be in and this is where Allah’s Nabi ﷺ informed us that nobody will remember anyone. Further despite the position of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and His Family, the Holy Prophet ﷺ stated these 3 places on the day of judgement and informed Hadhrat Aisha رضی اللہ عنھا that you are indeed rightfully crying.
My Brothers we must obey both commands to do and not to do. Every Hukm/order of Allah is significant, there is no big or small and just like the order of prostration they must be followed. All the orders not to do are just like that tree when Allah instructed Hadhrat Adamعليه السلام not to near it. Now, I would like to explain to you how we can learn the lesson from this and what have we understood from today. We live in the world and there are different times and places where these orders will apply to us, DOING AND NOT DOING. We must analyse ourselves, there are a group of people who doing امر, but they do not accept the نهى. They are enjoying themselves; these are people with Imaan, and I am not talking about the people without Imaan. They have no care for where there is a need to obey Allah’s order, they are just interested in being merry, big cars, children can do what they want, wander/doss around, no interest in what is halal and haram. This is the first group. The second group place great emphasis on prayer, hajj, fasting but where Allah asks them not to do something they do not obey. For example music, gatherings which are not allowed in Shariah, not to consume riba/interest and not to do immodest actions. They take part in all these acts which Allah has ordered to refrain from. We can see clear examples of both groups in the world today and this is how Allah has differentiated these types of people. We must pay attention to how shaytan has divided and split the Ummah into these two groups. This further confirms that shaytan is vowed enemy of the human being. Allah has clearly informed us that we have come to the Dunya to fulfil the orders of Allah and leave what Allah has asked us to leave. The second group of people are proud of the outward worship, they think everything is fine and when they are told of the orders to refrain نهى, they say O Allah is The Most Forgiving and The Most Merciful, yet this is clear hypocrisy. They say my Salah will save me, the children also offer Salah, yet they have big screens on the walls at home, immodesty is open, husband’s beard is down to the belly button but he has never prayed Namaz in congregation/jamaat and they are not visible at Jummah. This second group of people have covered up the actions they must refrain from and swept them under the carpet. The only concern for them is for their nafs and people to think they are honourable people. The third group people created by shaytan are those that have accepted the نهى, but they do not obey the orders of Allah. When they are questioned about Salah, they say we are doing such actions of piety, social and community help. They say Allah will forgive them and they have forgotten امر and they have gone towards نهى. Look at the trickery of shaytan and how he has created these groups of Jahannam.
The fourth group of people accept both the امر and the نهى. They totally accept the actions to do, refrain from the actions that Allah has ordained, and they try their best. For this group of people Allah has made Paradise and they have understood the objective of coming into this world. They have understood the examples in the Quran:
This group of people have clearly understood that they need to implement the orders of Allah and leave what Allah has asked to leave. Allahu Akbar. We need to think and analyse ourselves to see which group we belong to. I am not reading the Quran to make a speech or to pick out technical points and grammar. The actual purpose of reading the Quran is so that we can act upon every piece of the verses and the advice we are receiving. Let us be honest, which group are we in today, say this with the honesty and depth of Imaan, life and death is near. Which group are we in? Let us not lie to each other and be hypocrites. Let us give a genuine answer, are we in the first group who accept the orders of Allah then put cracks inside and refuse to act. We need to remember here that shaytan made these groups and he manufactured them.
How did the fourth group save themselves as all the other groups shaytan and nafs have deviated? How did they get saved? Allah has given shaytan and nafs so many powers, they can pull people left and right, they make the splits, groups and cracks within people. Did Allah Ta’ala not give the human being a powerful tool to defeat the powers of shaytan and nafs? Indeed the tool is the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, say Subhan’Allah, this is the defence Shariah and Sunnah. The shaytan and nafs melt like water in front of the Shariah and Sunnah. If you start any order of Allah and take the assistance of Shariah and Sunnah, then you will be successful. For example, when your nafs is dragging you to watch a certain programme on the mobile then you must ask yourself does the Shariah and Sunnah allow this. As soon as you seek the assistance of Shariah and Sunnah it will say وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ
do not go near otherwise you will fall into the trap of shaytan. The pious predecessors have also placed great emphasis to not go near anything that will lead to you to committing a sin. Allah has given us great resources, means and many great techniques to save ourselves from the shaytan and nafs. The man and woman who follow the Shariah and Sunnah in all their decisions in life they can never go to the hell fire. Therefore there is a clash today, we have anger issues, nafs and shaytan want us to take revenge and drag us towards sin. The person should be consulting Shariah and Sunnah and asking should I take revenge on this person or not. If the Shariah says forgive him then you pour water on all the anger and rage within yourself and you forgive that person. Herein, you have won and nafs will run far away and immediately the help of Allah will come to you. The real game of life is Allah wants to see who utilises my Habib’s ﷺ Shariah and Sunnah, for this world was made for My Habib ﷺ and success will be for that person who imitates my Habib ﷺ The Sunnah and My Habib ﷺ will save him from all wrong. If a person follows the Shariah and Sunnah throughout his life, then will Allah oppress him? Will I make that person wretched, cursed? Will he keep him hungry? Surely there will be tests but these tests will be designed to elevate the status of that person.
Let us supplicate to Allah Ta’ala allow us to understand these verses properly, correctly and according to these verses may Allah give us the ability to practice. After every verse we learn that the Shariah and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ will save us. The world has left the Shariah and Sunnah and this shaytan has managed to create these groups. The only group that will be successful and forgiven will be those who have observed the Shariah and Sunnah in every aspect of their lives. We cannot have one foot here and one foot there, it must be a complete observation in eating, drinking, business, transactions, trade, travelling and all phases of life. This is the test, did Hadhrat Bilal رضي الله عنه have many cars? How many houses or mansions or villas did he have? All the people today are running after assets, money, mansions and it is all a drama. Look at yourself with justice, nothing will be accepted amongst your knowledge, Hadith, but Allah will only accept those people who have obeyed the orders of Allah and who refrains from all that Allah has asked to leave. This is the only fact that Allah is interested in and the person who obeys and leaves, Allah will ask now to bring his deeds. If this is not present, then nothing will benefit that person on the day of judgement. They will only have the outward practice like speeches, and they will be full of pride like shaytan was and he failed. We must take hold of the order of Allah and leave what Allah has ordered to leave. May Allah Ta’Ala give us the ability to practice. Ameen.
TWO MESSAGES FOR US
20TH JULY 2020
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ
وَقُلْنَا يَا آدَمُ اسْكُنْ أَنْتَ وَزَوْجُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
And [mention] when We said to the angels, “Prostrate before Adam”; so they prostrated, except for Iblis. He refused and was arrogant and became of the disbelievers.
We said: "O Adam! dwell thou and thy wife in the garden and eat of the bountiful things therein as (where and when) you will but approach not this tree or you run into harm and transgression."
QURAN 2:34-35
The first lesson we learn from these blessed verses of the Quran was based upon the order of Prostration. Allah سبحانه وتعالىٰ gave the order to the Angels and they implemented this order and prostrated before Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام. However shaytan refused and rejected this order despite the clear instruction from Allah. This rejection of shaytan was based upon knowing that Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام was made from clay and he challenged this instruction by raising a defect. In other words he did not implement the order of Allah. The lesson for the Children of Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام upon being sent to the Earth is that when the order of Allah reaches you, then there should be no delay, challenge, making your own choices from nafs and regarding it as wisdom/hikmah and excuses in implementing the order. There should only be one thing in your mind and that is the fact that this is an order from my Rab, and I need to bring it into fruition. There is no condition, situation or barrier that can excuse you from implementing this order rather you accept and obey. If we do not implement the orders and instruction of Allah, then we will be from shaytan’s group (hizbu’shaytan) and we will suffer the same consequences as shaytan. Allah states in the Quran:
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ
The reason for the rejection was أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ which is pride and arrogance. We must revise, revise and revise this lesson thoroughly. Why are we reading the Quran? Why are we repeating these verses? When I read the verses of the Quran I stop, reflect and on several occasions, I cannot get past the ayah due to the depth of meaning. This is done to strengthen our Imaan and certainty. Alhamdulillah. The similitude for this is just like when you place the apple in the juicer the more you press it further juice will be released to the extent that the apple juice drops will fall into the glass. The pressing and gaining further juice are just like when you reflect on the verses of the Quran you can extract the meanings and message of Allah in the Quran. This can only happen with the blessing and ability from Allah. If we do not take the learning and message from the verse, then we cannot progress forward from that verse. Therefore I revise the verse thoroughly and keep pressing to gain the drops from the ocean of Allah which is never ending. When we reach the last drops, we know we have reached the maximum understanding and we are able to progress to the next verse. The objective is to understand the message of Allah. In this particular verse Allah is informing the Children of Hadhrat Adamعليه السلام on the importance of following an order of Allah. The prostration is a symbol, sample and example of all the orders of Allah. We must remember this that any order of Allah must be done in the way that Allah has told us prostrate. This does not mean we can just pray Salah and not follow other orders. Indeed order of Allah will be based upon the command of Allah to prostrate. Hence, we should not refuse to fulfil any order of Allah otherwise our refusal will be just like the refusal of shaytan to prostrate before Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام. In simple words any order of Allah to us is the same as the order to prostrate. Further we will be punished the same way shaytan was punished for rejecting the order of Allah. We must learn from this example and apply it to all the commands of Allah. It is only a mutakabbir (proud person) that can refuse to implement the order of Allah and he has Kibar. This will apply to a small order, big order and in fact all the orders of Allah are the greatest because Allah is the Greatest. Please remember this first lesson.
The second lesson: وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ
Allah states O Adam dwell thou and your companion/wife has been given to you. Further Allah states to Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام, eat from the fruits of paradise wherever you want, wherever you will, open plain/realm. The comparison here with us is that when we are in the dunya, Allah will give us ease, countless gifts/blessings, comfortable assets, buildings, house, resources then you must not disobey any of Allah’s commands. This is where lesson number 2 starts as just like Hadhrat Adamعليه السلام was given the comforts and treasures of Paradise: رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا , eat from wherever you want, relax but Allah stated beware of one thing. The first lesson was AMAL, do not refuse and the second lesson is:
وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
Hadhrat Adamعليه السلام was told to eat and drink from wherever you want but be careful of one thing وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ, do not go near this tree, وَلَا تَقْرَبَا don’t even go close to it.
فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ, Allahu Akbar, Subhan’Allah, Allah states in the first lesson if you refuse to fulfil the command of Allah you will be amongst the وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ. In the second lesson if you do not stop, leave and refrain, from وَلَا تَقْرَبَا all that which I have informed, then you will be amongst the مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ. The are two types of order in both lessons, the first is to do and second order is not to do. The first order is to implement, the second order is to refrain from, and both orders are equal. The conclusions to reject both orders are severe, whether you understand it you must implement it even if you are in the ocean or river, whichever country or part of the world you are residing. There is no person that can palace a barrier or restriction between my orders. When Allah asks us to stop, leave and refrain it must be done straight away. The first is Amal or practice and secondly those things that Allah has asked to refrain and leave. We must implement both orders, we cannot take one and leave one. Allah is explaining to us in an incredibly unique way:
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ
Herein Allah is commanding to prostrate but in the second line it is وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ which is not to even go near it. The symbol in the first lesson was the prostration but here it is a Tree. There are various opinions on which type of tree this was: wheat tree, vegetable tree but we do not need to get into the technicalities as the tree is an example of not doing. The hukm/order to do is based on prostration and not to do is based upon the command to Hadhrat Adamعليه السلام not go near the tree. This is just like the order of Allah not to go anywhere near immodesty we must look at the consequences. The tree represents all the orders that Allah has told us to fulfil. I repeat this again and again that these are examples. Allah states in the case of the tree not to go near it but many other things apply here. In an incredibly unique way Allah is not just saying do not do it but not to even go near it. This is an especially important point to understand because the darkness of sin has a lot of attraction, power, it lures, pull you and drag you to commit the act of disobedience. The two powers constantly working on the human being is shaytan and nafs/desires. They influence and motivate the person to commit the act. This the reason why Allah has told us not to go near because just
like a magnet it will drag you in to the ditch.
We should not think because I am a scholar or learned person that I am protected from this, but you should constantly look out for the traps of shaytan and nafs. This is just like the command of Allah not go near the Ghair Mehram, to do purdah/barrier but we use excuses like he is just like my brother, he is only my Uncles son, he is a father figure but the principle is if the person falls under the conditions of ghair mahram then the line should be drawn there. If we do not follow this strictly then we will face dangerous consequences. If we do not recognise this, then the same relation who we think is just like a brother will turn out to be something else. A great advice from Allah on all those acts that are forbidden is that do not just say I will not do it but rather we need to reject all the resources, means, mediums that lead to that sinful act.
A further example is the mobile phone wherein we have the Quran apps, but it also has sinful content. Herein we must look at the order of Allah
وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ , so if we apply this to the mobile then we can replace the word الشَّجَرَةَ with mobile which will translate to do not go near the mobile. It does have some goodness, but it is outweighed by the badness and the strength of evil will attract you to commit sinful acts via the mobile. If you trust yourself and think you are strong enough to overcome this attraction, then you will most definitely fail. Indeed you will start from one place on the mobile, the shaytan and nafs will whisper into your brain and end with watching sinful content. This is all because you failed to follow the order of Allah just like the order given to Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام
وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ which was not to go near the tree. This applies to all those things that Allah has forbidden as the forces of bad are so strong we have been told not to go near such acts in any way shape or form. We must refrain from all the resources, ways and means that take us towards that sin. We cannot win shaytan/nafs as they have been given the power and we will be overwhelmed. This is not a punishment from Allah, but this is part of the test/challenge of dunya. Allah has clearly taught us in advance the lessons and repeated them otherwise why would Allah inform us of the story of Hadhrat Adamعليه السلام . This is not a story but there are serious lessons for us to apply in our lives. The first is Amal-practice امر بالمعروف و نهى عن المنكر and leave the bad. To do and to leave. This is a part of daily life, morning and evening we are fluctuating between both instructions. We are either being told TO DO, or we are being told TO LEAVE. It is a great mercy and blessing of Allah to take part in doing something that Allah has ordered. The things Allah has asked us not to do we become big headed and exercise our big minds. Allah told Hadhrat Adam عليه السلام
وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا
To eat and drink with absolute freedom. This is just like us today that with our houses, cars we have forgot our real purpose of existence. We do not read the Quran and look deeply into the understanding, we are learning so many valuable lessons and this is true self rectification, may Allah save us from the fire of Jahannam (Ameen). This is the reality of the test we are facing, there is a hadith in Abu Dawood Subhan’Allah which will informs us on our true objective of life. Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqa رضی اللہ عنھا narrates that when Jahannam was mentioned she would cry. If we pause here and look at the position and status of Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqa رضی اللہ عنھا, the greatest woman of the world, the rank and even today the Holy Prophet’s ﷺ Blessed Body is present in the Hujra Mubarak of Hadhrat Aisha رضی اللہ عنھا. It is absolutely amazing the level of fear. If we look at ourselves, we are not fulfilling the orders of Allah and staying away from those sins prescribed by Allah. We measure orders by our nafs/desires saying that it is only a small order, yet we face such severe consequences for this. On that day we will shake to core, does anyone have guarantee of life. Only a shake and we will leave this world and be transferred. If we meet someone who broke his leg yet we say to him you were fine 30 minutes ago, if someone sleeps healthy at night and they wake up not being able to move their hand, this happened to me as well and happens to all human beings. This is the nature of life, so Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqa رضی اللہ عنھا began to cry upon listening to the description of Jahannam upon which the Holy Prophet ﷺ stated: “Why are you crying O Aisha, the love the Holy Prophet ﷺ had for Hadhrat Aisha رضی اللہ عنھا was immense. Hadhrat Aisha رضی اللہ عنھا responded by saying it is the description of Jahannam that has made me cry, the Holy Prophet ﷺ could have said you do not need to worry about the hell fire because you are Umma Ha Tul Momineen and the wife of the Holy Prophet ﷺ. This is the reality being portrayed in the hadith. If we had the certainty of belief in the grave in our minds with every order of Allah we would not be neglectful of our prayer, we would not be unjust with people, we have left orders of Allah, our nafs presents excuses.
The shaytan and nafs work together to convince the person that he/she can overcome the order of Allah by making excuses. The Quran is full of examples like this and do we think the people who refuse and do not refrain from sins will be entered into Paradise? We can continue to make excuses my children are not happy; how can the sisters stay hope all day and the reason why we make these excuses is that we have no concern for the grave. Death is close yet we are not aware. Hadhrat Aisha Siddiqaرضی اللہ عنھا states further that I remembered the fire and this made me cry and then Hadhrat Aisha رضی اللہ عنھا asked a beautiful question; O My Beloved Habib ﷺ, My Husband, you are the Rasul ﷺ and I am your beloved and wife, on the day of Qiyamah will you remember your Household (Subhan’Allah). Hadhrat Aisha رضی اللہ عنھا is concerned and worried about what will happen, the Holy Prophet ﷺ responded: “My Beloved Aisha there are 3 places that are so severe, this is advice, The Beloved Prophet ﷺ is extremely affectionate and cares for every one and the advice/sunnah that the Habib ﷺ gave will guide us. The Holy Prophet ﷺ states that the 3 places such that nobody will be remembered Allah-u-Akbar. If an earthquake comes now, we will try to jump out of the window and try to save our life. That will be the day of judgment, who are we tricking, we are playing games with the orders of Allah. To please the husband the wife takes part in major sins, it is because of my husband that I do not do purdah, it is why I go outside to work, I have to support him and I can’t reject him. Imagine the excuses for sins men and women make. Will husbands be able to help on the day of judgement? They are both in the wrong for using lame excuses to stop them following the commands of Allah. The parents say I am taking interest/riba for my children, fraudulent benefit claims, lying, deceiving and we say that we are doing all this for the children. Allah’s Nabi ﷺ stated that nobody will remember you on that day of judgement, so tell me will your children/offspring help you at that time? Will your wife help you for whom you are doing dirty and impure actions? In this respect one must be very selfish because Allah has very clearly stated TO DO, when my order comes you can’t disobey me by co-operating with somebody else even if the whole world is on one side we must obey the order of Allah. This is regardless of whether your children, wife or relatives leave you as the order of Allah must not be rejected. This is such a massive example of where the person can be called a true lover/ashiq of Allah. This is not the dunya saying he is ashiq, but the angels are saying this. The shaytan despite all his knowledge and worship Allah was aware of the inner hypocrisy (munafiq) and his desires. Therefore Allah states do not be overconfident and proud over your knowledge and status. We must not rely on our worship and people but like those things that Allah likes then he will like you.
On that day of judgement where no person will remember the other person there will be 3 places. The first place is the Mizaan, the Scales of Justice, herein his mind will have evaporated, what will happen to me, how will my deeds be weighed on the scales and Rasulullah ﷺ stated that this will be a very unique scene which no words can describe. During this time of not knowing the person will lose consciousness. The second place will be where the deeds are measured, and he will question whether he has enough deeds and he will be totally lost at that time. The concern will be how my book of deeds is presented, whether it is given in the right hand or the left hand and until he is given this knowledge he will be in an awfully bad state. The third place will be the Bridge of Sirat, this will be on the stomach of the hell fire, he does not know how he will cross this, very thin, razor sharp, in the intense darkness and as thin as a hair. We need to imagine here what state that person will be in and this is where Allah’s Nabi ﷺ informed us that nobody will remember anyone. Further despite the position of the Holy Prophet ﷺ and His Family, the Holy Prophet ﷺ stated these 3 places on the day of judgement and informed Hadhrat Aisha رضی اللہ عنھا that you are indeed rightfully crying.
My Brothers we must obey both commands to do and not to do. Every Hukm/order of Allah is significant, there is no big or small and just like the order of prostration they must be followed. All the orders not to do are just like that tree when Allah instructed Hadhrat Adamعليه السلام not to near it. Now, I would like to explain to you how we can learn the lesson from this and what have we understood from today. We live in the world and there are different times and places where these orders will apply to us, DOING AND NOT DOING. We must analyse ourselves, there are a group of people who doing امر, but they do not accept the نهى. They are enjoying themselves; these are people with Imaan, and I am not talking about the people without Imaan. They have no care for where there is a need to obey Allah’s order, they are just interested in being merry, big cars, children can do what they want, wander/doss around, no interest in what is halal and haram. This is the first group. The second group place great emphasis on prayer, hajj, fasting but where Allah asks them not to do something they do not obey. For example music, gatherings which are not allowed in Shariah, not to consume riba/interest and not to do immodest actions. They take part in all these acts which Allah has ordered to refrain from. We can see clear examples of both groups in the world today and this is how Allah has differentiated these types of people. We must pay attention to how shaytan has divided and split the Ummah into these two groups. This further confirms that shaytan is vowed enemy of the human being. Allah has clearly informed us that we have come to the Dunya to fulfil the orders of Allah and leave what Allah has asked us to leave. The second group of people are proud of the outward worship, they think everything is fine and when they are told of the orders to refrain نهى, they say O Allah is The Most Forgiving and The Most Merciful, yet this is clear hypocrisy. They say my Salah will save me, the children also offer Salah, yet they have big screens on the walls at home, immodesty is open, husband’s beard is down to the belly button but he has never prayed Namaz in congregation/jamaat and they are not visible at Jummah. This second group of people have covered up the actions they must refrain from and swept them under the carpet. The only concern for them is for their nafs and people to think they are honourable people. The third group people created by shaytan are those that have accepted the نهى, but they do not obey the orders of Allah. When they are questioned about Salah, they say we are doing such actions of piety, social and community help. They say Allah will forgive them and they have forgotten امر and they have gone towards نهى. Look at the trickery of shaytan and how he has created these groups of Jahannam.
The fourth group of people accept both the امر and the نهى. They totally accept the actions to do, refrain from the actions that Allah has ordained, and they try their best. For this group of people Allah has made Paradise and they have understood the objective of coming into this world. They have understood the examples in the Quran:
وَإِذْ قُلْنَا لِلْمَلَائِكَةِ اسْجُدُوا لِآدَمَ فَسَجَدُوا إِلَّا إِبْلِيسَ أَبَىٰ وَاسْتَكْبَرَ وَكَانَ مِنَ الْكَافِرِينَ
وَقُلْنَا يَا آدَمُ اسْكُنْ أَنْتَ وَزَوْجُكَ الْجَنَّةَ وَكُلَا مِنْهَا رَغَدًا حَيْثُ شِئْتُمَا وَلَا
تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ فَتَكُونَا مِنَ الظَّالِمِينَ
This group of people have clearly understood that they need to implement the orders of Allah and leave what Allah has asked to leave. Allahu Akbar. We need to think and analyse ourselves to see which group we belong to. I am not reading the Quran to make a speech or to pick out technical points and grammar. The actual purpose of reading the Quran is so that we can act upon every piece of the verses and the advice we are receiving. Let us be honest, which group are we in today, say this with the honesty and depth of Imaan, life and death is near. Which group are we in? Let us not lie to each other and be hypocrites. Let us give a genuine answer, are we in the first group who accept the orders of Allah then put cracks inside and refuse to act. We need to remember here that shaytan made these groups and he manufactured them.
How did the fourth group save themselves as all the other groups shaytan and nafs have deviated? How did they get saved? Allah has given shaytan and nafs so many powers, they can pull people left and right, they make the splits, groups and cracks within people. Did Allah Ta’ala not give the human being a powerful tool to defeat the powers of shaytan and nafs? Indeed the tool is the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ, say Subhan’Allah, this is the defence Shariah and Sunnah. The shaytan and nafs melt like water in front of the Shariah and Sunnah. If you start any order of Allah and take the assistance of Shariah and Sunnah, then you will be successful. For example, when your nafs is dragging you to watch a certain programme on the mobile then you must ask yourself does the Shariah and Sunnah allow this. As soon as you seek the assistance of Shariah and Sunnah it will say وَلَا تَقْرَبَا هَٰذِهِ الشَّجَرَةَ
do not go near otherwise you will fall into the trap of shaytan. The pious predecessors have also placed great emphasis to not go near anything that will lead to you to committing a sin. Allah has given us great resources, means and many great techniques to save ourselves from the shaytan and nafs. The man and woman who follow the Shariah and Sunnah in all their decisions in life they can never go to the hell fire. Therefore there is a clash today, we have anger issues, nafs and shaytan want us to take revenge and drag us towards sin. The person should be consulting Shariah and Sunnah and asking should I take revenge on this person or not. If the Shariah says forgive him then you pour water on all the anger and rage within yourself and you forgive that person. Herein, you have won and nafs will run far away and immediately the help of Allah will come to you. The real game of life is Allah wants to see who utilises my Habib’s ﷺ Shariah and Sunnah, for this world was made for My Habib ﷺ and success will be for that person who imitates my Habib ﷺ The Sunnah and My Habib ﷺ will save him from all wrong. If a person follows the Shariah and Sunnah throughout his life, then will Allah oppress him? Will I make that person wretched, cursed? Will he keep him hungry? Surely there will be tests but these tests will be designed to elevate the status of that person.
Let us supplicate to Allah Ta’ala allow us to understand these verses properly, correctly and according to these verses may Allah give us the ability to practice. After every verse we learn that the Shariah and Sunnah of the Holy Prophet ﷺ will save us. The world has left the Shariah and Sunnah and this shaytan has managed to create these groups. The only group that will be successful and forgiven will be those who have observed the Shariah and Sunnah in every aspect of their lives. We cannot have one foot here and one foot there, it must be a complete observation in eating, drinking, business, transactions, trade, travelling and all phases of life. This is the test, did Hadhrat Bilal رضي الله عنه have many cars? How many houses or mansions or villas did he have? All the people today are running after assets, money, mansions and it is all a drama. Look at yourself with justice, nothing will be accepted amongst your knowledge, Hadith, but Allah will only accept those people who have obeyed the orders of Allah and who refrains from all that Allah has asked to leave. This is the only fact that Allah is interested in and the person who obeys and leaves, Allah will ask now to bring his deeds. If this is not present, then nothing will benefit that person on the day of judgement. They will only have the outward practice like speeches, and they will be full of pride like shaytan was and he failed. We must take hold of the order of Allah and leave what Allah has ordered to leave. May Allah Ta’Ala give us the ability to practice. Ameen.