Lessons of Surah Ahzaab

The theme of Surah Ahzaab is that a person should not cause any harm to Rasulullah g, nor to Allah c, nor to any believing man or woman. The Abraar are those people that are extremely pious. Mulla Ali Qari r has defined the Abraar as,

اَلَّذِيْنَ لَا يُؤْذُوْنَ الذَّرَّ وَلَا يَرْضَوْنَ الشَّرَّ

Those who do not even harm an ant and cannot tolerate evil

The name of Hadrat r’s Sheikh was also Abraar (Hadrat Maulana Abrar-ul-Haq Saheb r). He was also Abraar and had the name Abraar as well which is termed as Ism-Ba-Musamma. Once Hadrat Maulana was busy making Wudhu when he realised that there were ants around him. He feared that they would drown so he stood up and chose another location to perform Wudhu. On reaching the second location he realised that there were plenty of ants there as well, so he moved to a third location and completed his Wudhu. These are the Abraar who do not even harm or cause any form of inconvenience to even ants.

Hadrat Maseehul Ummat r

Hadrat Maulana Maseehullah r who was an outstanding Khalifa of Hadrat Thanwi r was once visiting our country. He was residing in Laudium (Pretoria) and was hosted by a well known person named Abramjee who was a politician and is still residing there. He is a wealthy person owning a huge mansion as well. He had prepared a beautiful bedroom for Hadrat with all the comforts that you can think of. After supper, Hadrat r was directed to his room and left to rest. In the morning they found Hadrat sleeping on the floor which meant that he had spent the entire night sleeping on the floor. They questioned Hadrat, “What a comfortable bed we had prepared for you and you had undergone great difficulty, and slept on the floor?” Hadrat said, “When I had entered the room, I had found the cat sleeping comfortably on the bed so I thought to myself that what right do I have to disturb the cat. You have a seven shield carpet which is more than comfortable so I enjoyed a good nights sleep on the carpet. Now, these are the Abraar. Had it been one of us, we would have kicked the cat and asked, “Is the bed for me or for you?”

 

Hadrat Maulana Maseehullah r used to reside in Jalalabad in India which was his permanent residence. After the Asr Salaah, they were once returning to the Khanqah during the rainy season when there are pools of water all over. Whilst proceeding to the Khanqah, they had found ducks playing in the pools of water, so Hadratjee r took a longer route to the Khanqah. Upon reaching the Khanqah he asked his friends, “Do you know why I had taken this long cut?” They replied in the negative. He said, “As we were coming, I saw the ducks playing in the water, had we passed by them it would have caused them to run away and I did not want to disturb them.”

 

 

A perfect believer

In the Hadith, Rasulullah g is reported to have said,

المسلم من سلم المسلمون من لسانه ويده

A perfect Muslim is who other Muslims are protected from his tongue and hands

A Muslim does not cause any form of harm to other human beings, nor to any animals or insects, nor does he pollute water or air, etc. The Hadith did not state that a Muslim is one who performs plenty of Tahajjud Salaah or gives out plenty of charity.

Rasulullah g is reported to have said,

إن من الأيمان حسن الخلق وأفضلكم إيمانا أحسنكم خلقا

Verily part of Imaan is good character, The most virtuous amongst you in Imaan is the one who possesses the best of character.

عَنْ أَبِى هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِىَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- :« إِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ لأُتَمِّمَ مَكَارِمَ الأَخْلاَقِ ».

Verily I have been sent amongst you to complete good character.

أثقل شيء فِي ميزان الْمُؤْمِن خلق حسن

The weightiest thing on the scale of deeds of a believer is good character.

Good character

What is good character? Hadrat Thanvi r used to address his disciples, “If you want to be a Sufi then go to another Khanqah, if you want to be a human being then come to this Khanqah.” From this we understand that good character is basically to teach us how to be a human being and not harm any creation of Allah c.

When wealth began to pour into Madinah Munawwarah, the wives of Rasulullah g requested for an increase in their expenditure. This had caused inconvenience to Rasulullah g. There were rumors in Madinah Madinah Munawwarah that Rasulullah g had divorced his wives (i.e. Azwaaj-e-Mutahharaat). The rumors are generally spread by the Munafiqeen. Hadrat Abu Bakr h and Hadrat Umar h had reprimanded their daughters for causing inconvenience to Rasulullah g.

 

 

Nikah of Rasulullah g

In this Surah, Allah c speaks of Zainub Bint-e-Jahsh who was the wife of the adopted son of Rasulullah g. Initially, he was known as Zaid ibn Muhammad (i.e. the son of Rasulullah g). Allah c revealed the verses of the Quraan Sharif,  

ادْعُوهُمْ لِآبَائِهِمْ هُوَ أَقْسَطُ عِندَ اللَّهِ فَإِن لَّمْ تَعْلَمُوا آبَاءهُمْ فَإِخْوَانُكُمْ فِي الدِّينِ وَمَوَالِيكُمْ

Call them (your adopted children) by (the names of) their fathers. This is more just in the sight of your Rabb. If you do not know (who) their fathers (are), then they are your brothers in religion and your friends (and will still not become your real sons).

This Nikah of Zainub i to Zaid h was arranged by Rasulullah. However, after the divorce of Zainub i and Zaid h, Rasulullah g is now commanded to marry Hadrat Zainub i, the wife of his adopted son.  This was such a wedding that a Walimah was held , for which approximately three hundred people were invited. There was roti and a meat dish that was served.

Battle of the trenches

Another aspect that is discussed in this Surah is the battle of trenches.  In this battle, the hypocrites turned away from the battlefield at the most crucial time. Allah c makes reference to this in the Quraan Sharif,

وَإِذْ قَالَت طَّائِفَةٌ مِّنْهُمْ يَا أَهْلَ يَثْرِبَ لَا مُقَامَ لَكُمْ فَارْجِعُوا وَيَسْتَأْذِنُ فَرِيقٌ مِّنْهُمُ النَّبِيَّ يَقُولُونَ إِنَّ بُيُوتَنَا عَوْرَةٌ وَمَا هِيَ بِعَوْرَةٍ إِن يُرِيدُونَ إِلَّا فِرَارًا

Remember the time) When a group of them (Munaafiqeen) said, “O people of Yathrib (Madinah) ! You cannot stand (against such a large and powerful enemy), so return (home).” A party of them (Munaafiqeen) sought permission from the Rasool r (to leave the battlefield) saying, “Our homes are exposed (to attack, so we have to be there to protect them in case the enemy attacks),” whereas they were not left exposed (unprotected). (By making this excuse,) They sought only to desert.

The Munafiqeen caused plenty of harm to Rasulullah g. We should learn not to cause any harm to our parents and Asaatizah. Nowadays, the parents come to Madrasah and fight with the Ustaads, and some even take the Ustaads to court.

Causing harm to Moosa n

Towards the ending of the Surah Allah c mentions,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَكُونُوا كَالَّذِينَ آذَوْا مُوسَى فَبَرَّأَهُ اللَّهُ مِمَّا قَالُوا وَكَانَ عِندَ اللَّهِ وَجِيهًا

O you who have Imaan! Do not be like those (the Bani Israa’eel) who hurt Moosa u (by directing false accusations at him), after which Allaah absolved him of what they said. (Allaah did this because) He (Moosa u) was extremely honourable in Allaah’s sight (Therefore, if you hurt Rasulullaah r in any way, Allaah will certainly come to his defence because he is even more honourable than Moosa u in Allaah’s sight).

A prostitute has accused Moosa n of adultery by claiming that  the child she has given birth to belongs to Nabie Moosa h. Moosa n had commanded her to take a Qasm on Allah c for her statement. She then correctly pointed out as to who was the father.

Shias challenge our Ulema

Hadrat Maulana Ahmad Ali Lahori r once addressed a congregation wherein he mentioned that a Shia can never be a Hafiz-ul-Quraan. A Shia stood up in the gathering and claimed that a Shia is a Hafiz. Hadrat mentioned, “I will be out on a journey for a period of three days. Thereafter, you can come forward with your Shia Hafiz.” They paid a Sunni Hafiz a Hundred Thousand rupees which was a large amount money at that time to recite on their behalf. Here again, the Hafiz was requested to take a Qasm. He admitted that he was a Sunni and not a Shia, and these people had paid him to recite on their behalf.

The Bani Israeel has troubled and caused tremendous inconvenience to their Nabie. We sometimes harm our Nabie g due to our manner of dressing. We go to Madinah Munawwarah and take pictures at the Rowdah-e-Mubarak. By conducting ourselves in such a manner, we are losing instead of drawing the mercy of Allah c. How many individuals sit in front of the Rowdah-e-Mubarak and indulge in backbiting. Some even have picnics in the Haram. On the Rowdah-e-Mubarak the verses of the Quraan sharif are inscribed,

يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا لَا تَرْفَعُوا أَصْوَاتَكُمْ فَوْقَ صَوْتِ النَّبِيِّ وَلَا تَجْهَرُوا لَهُ بِالْقَوْلِ كَجَهْرِ بَعْضِكُمْ لِبَعْضٍ أَن تَحْبَطَ أَعْمَالُكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تَشْعُرُونَ

O you who have Imaan! Never raise your voices above the voice of the Rasool r (literally and figuratively) and do not speak to him loudly as you speak loudly with each other, lest your deeds be laid to waste without your realising it.

Allah c has kept the Wilaayat (friendship) with Allah c in different things. One friend of Allah is unaware of the status of Wilayat of the other. The Wilaayat of some Awliya are in Tahajjud Salaah, whist the Wilaayat of others in Zikrullah, or taking care of the orphans, or good character, etc. Therefore it is incorrect to underestimate another.

Trust

Finally in the ending verses of the Surah Allah c speaks of a great Amaanat (trust) which the human being has been burdened with.

إِنَّا عَرَضْنَا الْأَمَانَةَ عَلَى السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ وَالْجِبَالِ فَأَبَيْنَ أَن يَحْمِلْنَهَا وَأَشْفَقْنَ مِنْهَا وَحَمَلَهَا الْإِنسَانُ إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا

Verily We had offered the trust (the responsibility of fulfilling Allaah’s commands) to the heavens, the earth and the mountains, but they refused to bear it and cringed at (the mere thought of bearing) it (because of the grave consequences of neglecting the duty). (When given to man,) Man bore it (realising that he was created to be Allaah’s deputy on earth). (However,) He (man in general) is extremely unjust (when it comes to fulfilling this trust) and ignorant (about the consequences of this).

 

لِيُعَذِّبَ اللَّهُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْمُشْرِكَاتِ وَيَتُوبَ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

The result of all of this is) That Allaah may punish the Munaafiqeen men, Munaafiqeen women, Mushrikeen men and Mushrikeen women (all of whom do no fulfil this trust at all) and forgive the Mu'mineen men and Mu'mineen women (for their shortcoming when making an effort to fulfil the trust). Allaah if Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

What does this Amaanat refer to? The entire Deen is an Amaanat. Generally we understand and link the word Amaanat to wealth.  The eyes which Allah c has blessed us with is an Amaanat. We cannot utilise the eyes as we wish. The tongue which Allah c has blessed us with is an Amaanat and cannot be used as we wish by swearing others, using vulgar. The hands that we have are an Amaanat from Allah c thus it cannot be used for hitting someone or touching a woman, etc.

Time

One of the greatest bounties that we have is that of time. This is a great Amaanat from the side of Allah c. In the Quraan Sharif, there are various occasions where Allah c takes a Qasm on time such as the time of Fajr. Similarly, Allah c takes a Qasm in Surah Asr on time. In Surah Shams, Allah c takes a Qasm on the brightness of day, and the night when it darkens. We should look at this alternating of day and night and recognise Allah c.

 

Allah c speaks of how He causes the dead to come out of the living (such an egg from a chicken) or causes the living to come out of the dead (such as a chick out of an egg).

 

Nevertheless, the brains that a person possesses is an Amaanat, the wife, the wealth that one possesses is an Amaanat. Therefore a person cannot squander his wealth in wedding ceremonies and parties as he wishes. A Muslim lady had commented by saying, “This body is mine thus I can use it as I wish.”

 

We do not own anything

Hadrat Sheikh r was a little child of two years old and he had a pillow which he liked very much. He would fight with other kids as kids generally do and then comment by saying, “It is my pillow.” His father had slapped him on hearing this statement and said, “You aren’t even earning, where did you get the pillow from?” Hadrat mentioned that he had learnt from that point that nothing belongs to him.

 

What is an Amaanat? A person that is working for a boss is entrusted with the responsibility of depositing the finances into the bank. On the way to the bank this person gets robbed and the money is lost. He won’t really be grieved even though he might take pity on the boss. On the other hand, if the same person loses 1% of the bosses loss from his personal wealth, he will be extremely grieved.  The lesson is that just as the employee is not tremendously grieved on the loss of the employer, if Allah c snatches away a bounty then it shouldn’t grieve us tremendously as the health, wealth, families that we have belong to Allah c.                 

 

Pledge in the realm of the souls

Another meaning of Amaanat in this verse is the pledge that we had all taken prior to our birth in the realm of the souls where Allah c has asked each one, “Am I not your Rabb?” We had all replied, “Certainly, You are (O Allah).” The outcome of this pledge should be proven in this world as Ibrahim n had proven it, and it is mentioned in the Quraan. Ibrahim n had introduced his Allah in the following verses,

 

الَّذِي خَلَقَنِي فَهُوَ يَهْدِينِ

“…(I therefore worship Only He) Who has created me and Who guides me (to the prosperity of both worlds)…”

وَالَّذِي هُوَ يُطْعِمُنِي وَيَسْقِينِ

 “…Who feeds me and gives me drink…”

وَإِذَا مَرِضْتُ فَهُوَ يَشْفِينِ

 “…and Who cures me when I am ill.”

 

وَالَّذِي يُمِيتُنِي ثُمَّ يُحْيِينِ

 “…(He) Who will grant me death and then give me life again (on the Day of Qiyaamah).”

 

وَالَّذِي أَطْمَعُ أَن يَغْفِرَ لِي خَطِيئَتِي يَوْمَ الدِّينِ

“…(He) Who I hope will forgive my shortcomings on the Day of Qiyaamah.”

A person should believe that his cure lies in a certain type of medication. Today, we think that the solution to my problems is in the hands of a certain doctor or psychologist or psychiatrist or in some medication. We should attract the mercy of Allah c in which lies the solution to our problems.  How do we draw the mercy of Allah c?

Five actions

1. Read our five daily Salaah.
2. Abstain from external sins as well as internal sins. Internal sins refers maladies of the heart such as hatred, animosity, jealousy, etc.
3. Be engrossed in Taubah and Istighfaar.
4. Recite a portion of the Quraan Sharif daily.
5. Recite the three Tasbeehaat daily. (100 times Durood Sharif, 100 times Istighfaar, 100 times third Kalimah.)

When the mercy of Allah c will descend then all problems and difficulties will disappear. Comming back to the point of Amaanat, Allah c presented this Amaanat to the skies, earth, mountains, and all of them refused to take the responsibility of this Amaanat yet Insaan took the responsibility upon himself. The example of this is similar to that of a father that instructs his twenty five year old son to carry out an errand but he puts up some excuse. The five year old tells the father that he is prepared to carry out the task for the father.

Weakness of Insaan

Similarly the human being was prepared to carry this Amaanat in spite of his weakness and incapability. Allah c says,

خُلِقَ الْإِنسَانُ ضعيفا

The  human being has been created weak.

 

The first to forget and err on the surface of the earth was Insaan.

 

اول الناس اول ناس

The first to forget was the first human being (on the surface of the earth, i.e. Adam n).

In spite of all weaknesses, the human was entrusted with the various forms of Amaanat. We are so weak that we incline towards women as our father Adam n had done. When Hawa A.S. was created in Jannat, Adam A.S. immediately went towards her on seeing her. He was held back and asked to pay her Mahr which was Durood Sharif upon Rasulullah g twenty times.

When Shah Anwar Kashmiri r got married, then people asked the wife as to how was married life. She said, “Shah Saheb remains busy studying his Kitaabs throughout the night.” She was then advised to attract him. When she managed to incline him towards her, then he commented by saying, “This is another world.”     

Finally in the end of the verse Allah c says,

إِنَّهُ كَانَ ظَلُومًا جَهُولًا

He (man in general) is extremely unjust (when it comes to fulfilling this trust) and ignorant (about the consequences of this).

 

The human being is referred to as a great oppressor for taking up such a huge responsibility. If a person had erred in some matter then our Buzurgs would refer to him as Dhaalim (oppressor) out of love for him. Similarly Allah c refers to the human as a great oppressor and a ignorant person, as where will the human being have the ability to carry this burden.

 

In the Hadith Rasulullah g is reported to have said,

 

لا ايمان لمن لا امانة له ولا دين لمن لا عهد له

There is no Imaan for the one that does not discharge his Amaanat, and there is no Deen for the one that does not fulfil his promises.

 

Enemies within yourselves.

The final verse of Surah Ahzaab Allah c says,

 

لِيُعَذِّبَ اللَّهُ الْمُنَافِقِينَ وَالْمُنَافِقَاتِ وَالْمُشْرِكِينَ وَالْمُشْرِكَاتِ وَيَتُوبَ اللَّهُ عَلَى الْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَالْمُؤْمِنَاتِ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُورًا رَّحِيمًا

The result of all of this is) That Allaah may punish the Munaafiqeen men, Munaafiqeen women, Mushrikeen men and Mushrikeen women (all of whom do no fulfil this trust at all) and forgive the Mu'mineen men and Mu'mineen women (for their shortcoming when making an effort to fulfil the trust). Allaah if Oft Forgiving, Most Merciful.

We have plenty of information stored on our Cd’s but the information is only displayed on our computers. Similarly, there are those individuals amongst the believers that have hypocrisy hidden within them. 

 

If a person is driving but runs out of fuel, he will get to a filling station acquire fuel and get back onto the road. If he has a puncture then he will get his tyre replaced and get back onto the road. Similarly, a true believer with the correct Niyyat might get involved in sin but will eventually repent and reach Allah c. On the other hand, a person that is treading the wrong path will never reach his destination. May Allah c grant us the taufeeq of practising upon the lessons derived of Surah Ahzaab. Ameen.