Recitation Surah al-Isra' ayat 99 to ayat 111
Shaykh Idris Abkar
[ for the' modern man ' I would say....it is in the Qur'an, stupid! just read it with an open mind!]
Prophet Muhammad spared no effort to present the principle of tawhid in the simplest and most intelligible and forceful manner possible. Although miracles were demanded of him, and he was challenged to present extraordinary material evidence to support his arguments, there were no indications that his detractors would have believed him anyway. At one stage the Makkans demanded Muhammad to turn the hills of Safa, in Makkah, into gold before they would give any credence to what he was telling them.
However, there was no guarantee that they would have believed him, even if he had done as they asked, for God says: "Naught hindereth Us from sending portents save that the folk of old denied them. And We gave Thamud the she-camel - a clear portent--but they did wrong in respect of her. We send not portents save to warn "(59). The unbelievers of Qureysh were quite specific:
Or thou cause the heaven to fall upon us piecemeal, as thou hast pretended, or bring Allah and the angels as a warrant; (92) Or thou have a house of gold; or thou ascend up into heaven, and even then we will put no faith in thine ascension till thou bring down for us a book that we can read. Say (O Muhammad): My Lord be glorified! Am I aught save a mortal messenger? (93)
The truth of the matter, reiterated again and again, is that even if God has acceded to their demands, they still would not have believed in Him. The Qur'an says:
And even if We opened unto them a Gate of heaven and they kept mounting through it, They would say: Our sight is wrong - nay, but we are folk bewitched. (al-Hijr: 14-15)
The unbelievers are saturated with obstinacy and disbelief [ kufr ], an overwhelming persistent state of envy, stupidity, selfishness and greed. Freedom from kufr requires enlightenment, fair-mindedness and high moral standards. The conflict between kufr and faith [ iman ] is a continuing one in the history of man and its outcome will not become apparent until the hereafter, and then:
On the day when We shall summon all men with their record, whoso is given his book in his right hand - such will read their book and they will not be wronged a shred. (71) Whoso is blind here will be blind in the Hereafter, and yet further from the road. (72)
However, the rejection of his people was not going to deter Muhammad from the task with which he had been entrusted; the timeless message had been addressed to all mankind and so was destined to spread to the far corners of the world. Muhammad's mission was made aoo the more difficult by the fact that, apart from the help and blessing of God, his methods had to rely on persuasion, education, and reform alone. Some prominent Makkan leaders demanded to be given special concessions and insisted on being treated differently from the rest. A similar situation had been faced by prophet Noah when the more powerful members of his community had asked him:
They said: Shall we put faith in thee, when the lowest (of the people) follow thee? He[ Noah ] said: And what knowledge have I of what they may have been doing (in the past)? Lo! their reckoning is my Lord's concern, if ye but knew; And I am not (here) to repulse believers. (as-Shuara: 111-114)
If Muhammad could have been swayed into paying more attention to the demands of the influential people this would have been at the expense of the lesser, more ordinary folk, who had just as much right to learn and understand about the religion. The surah tells him, however:
And they indeed strove hard to beguile thee (Muhammad) away from that wherewith We have inspired thee, that thou shouldst invent other than it against Us; and then would they have accepted thee as a friend. (73) And if We had not made thee wholly firm thou mightest almost have inclined unto them a little. (74) Then had we made thee taste a double (punishment) of living and a double (punishment) of dying, then hadst thou found no helper against Us. (75)
Whatever means one adopt to spread the message of Islam, it must be in accordance with the principles of faith and cannot deviate from them. This is why the Prophet was reprimanded for giving more attention and energy to the pursuit of rich and influential individuals whilst neglecting the needs of the poor and ordinary ones. In any case, there was no way of ensuring that the powerful were simply not deceiving him in their continuous scheming to undermine the Muslims. "And they indeed wished to scare thee from the land that they might drive thee forth from thence, and then they would have stayed (there) but a little after thee "(76). Makkan Arabs resorted to persecution and conspiracy in order to intimidate the Prophet and his followers, and force then out of Makkah. At one point, they were poised to kill him, but God led him to safety. Prophet Muhammad emigrated to Madinah and, within a few years, Islam had prevailed and he returned to Makkah triumphant.
Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali
However, the rejection of his people was not going to deter Muhammad from the task with which he had been entrusted; the timeless message had been addressed to all mankind and so was destined to spread to the far corners of the world. Muhammad's mission was made aoo the more difficult by the fact that, apart from the help and blessing of God, his methods had to rely on persuasion, education, and reform alone. Some prominent Makkan leaders demanded to be given special concessions and insisted on being treated differently from the rest. A similar situation had been faced by prophet Noah when the more powerful members of his community had asked him:
They said: Shall we put faith in thee, when the lowest (of the people) follow thee? He[ Noah ] said: And what knowledge have I of what they may have been doing (in the past)? Lo! their reckoning is my Lord's concern, if ye but knew; And I am not (here) to repulse believers. (as-Shuara: 111-114)
If Muhammad could have been swayed into paying more attention to the demands of the influential people this would have been at the expense of the lesser, more ordinary folk, who had just as much right to learn and understand about the religion. The surah tells him, however:
And they indeed strove hard to beguile thee (Muhammad) away from that wherewith We have inspired thee, that thou shouldst invent other than it against Us; and then would they have accepted thee as a friend. (73) And if We had not made thee wholly firm thou mightest almost have inclined unto them a little. (74) Then had we made thee taste a double (punishment) of living and a double (punishment) of dying, then hadst thou found no helper against Us. (75)
Whatever means one adopt to spread the message of Islam, it must be in accordance with the principles of faith and cannot deviate from them. This is why the Prophet was reprimanded for giving more attention and energy to the pursuit of rich and influential individuals whilst neglecting the needs of the poor and ordinary ones. In any case, there was no way of ensuring that the powerful were simply not deceiving him in their continuous scheming to undermine the Muslims. "And they indeed wished to scare thee from the land that they might drive thee forth from thence, and then they would have stayed (there) but a little after thee "(76). Makkan Arabs resorted to persecution and conspiracy in order to intimidate the Prophet and his followers, and force then out of Makkah. At one point, they were poised to kill him, but God led him to safety. Prophet Muhammad emigrated to Madinah and, within a few years, Islam had prevailed and he returned to Makkah triumphant.
Shaykh Muhammad al-Ghazali
" A Thematic Commentary On The Qur'an "
Reflection and commentary by Imam Dr Yusuf Ziya Kavakci,
part 7
ayat 97 - ayat 109
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4_4i_P12XM
Reflection and commentary by Imam Dr Yusuf Ziya Kavakci,
part 7
ayat 97 - ayat 109
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4_4i_P12XM
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