Bonds and affiliation are permanent in the 'here and hereafter'....
SOCIAL DIFFERENCES HAVE EXISTED in all human societies. There have always been masters and slaves; leaders and followers; elites and masses; heroes and their admirers who look up to them and emulate their example. But although all of these different groups are normally brought together by a unity of purpose, the difference is that the one group usually reflects or expresses the convictions, feelings, and aspirations of the other, just as often the admirers of a particular author or novelist come from those who share the ideas he articulates in his work. The relationship between leaders and followers is evident in many walks of life. We note that during the Battle of Badr the non-Muslim Arab leader Abu Jahl, a foremost opponent of Islam at that time, was being protected by his followers who were determined to defend him. But this did not prevent some young Muslim fighters from reaching and killing him!
It is ironic therefore to note that on the Day of Judgement the unbelievers will fall back on some of the bonds that bind them to one another, but to no avail.
They all come forth unto their Lord. Then those who were despised say unto those who were scornful:" We were unto you a following, can ye then avert from us aught of Allah's doom?" They say:" Had Allah guided us, we should have guided you. Whether we rage or patiently endure is (now) all one for us; we have no place of refuge. "(21)
These concepts were explained by God to people well in advance so that they would not be misled by bogus leaders. Nevertheless, many still continue to be exploited and misguided by those they trust and look up to. "Hast thou not seen those who gave the grace of Allah in exchange for thanklessness and led their people down to the Abode of Loss, (28) (Even to) hell? They are exposed thereto. A hapless end! "(29).
Leaders and followers shall meet with the same miserable fate.
Like al-Rad before it, this surah affirms the fact that besides being logical and natural, truth is a positive, beneficial, and constructive concept, while falsehood is harmful and destructive to society. In the surah we read:
"He sendeth down water from the sky, so that valleys flow according to their measure, and the flood beareth (on its surface) swelling foam - from that which they smelt in the fire in order to make ornaments and tools riseth a foam like unto it - thus Allah coineth (the similitude of) the true and the false. Then, as for the foam, it passeth away as scum upon the banks, while, as for that which is of use to mankind, it remaineth in the earth. Thus Allah coineth the similitudes "(al-Rad: 17). In the present surah we read:
Seest thou not how Allah coineth a similitude: A goodly saying, as a goodly tree, its root set firm, its branches reaching into heaven, (24) Giving its fruit at every season by permission of its Lord? Allah coineth the similitudes for mankind in order that they may reflect. (25)
Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali
[ 1917 - 1996 ]
Reflection and commentary by Shaykh Najib Khan:-
Part 2..2/3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8CUMzdIfG4&feature=relmfu
Part 2..3/3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBwAS2i2jYU&feature=relmfu
Part 3..1/3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AuienvzVQ7o&feature=relmfu
Part 3..2/3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=03q5HCWj0lQ&feature=relmfu
Part 3..3/3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kLkwqEI-qw&feature=relmfu
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