B i s m i l l a a h i r R a h m a a n i r R a h e e m Teachings of the Qur`aan Soorah 7  Aayaat 155 - 159 Ayub A. Hamid
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Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala summoned Moosa �alayhisslaam to bring the leaders of the community to the mount to demonstrate their collective repentance from idolatry and to seek Allaah�s forgiveness. When they arrived there, Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala caused a thunderous earthquake to hit the mountain to let them feel a slight expression of His Majesty. 155 Then, Moosa chose seventy men from his people and brought them to the mount for repentance at Our appointed time. So when the earthquake seized them, he said, �My Lord! If you wanted, you could have killed them and me earlier. Are you going to kill us for a crime committed by a few fools among us? This was a trial by which you lead astray whomever you want and guide whomever you want. You are our Guardian; therefore, forgive us and have mercy on us; and You are the best of the forgivers. 156 And ordain for us what is good in this world�s life and in the Hereafter. We have certainly turned to you.� While beseeching and imploring for forgiveness and mercy, Moosa �alayhisslaam presented two points: � The crime was not committed by the whole community but only that section of the community who, because of their stupidity, did not understand the concept and demands of Towheed properly; � This was one of those hard tests (Fitnah) which truly expose a community�s level of maturity and understanding in the matters of faith and in its relationship with Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala. By their response to the Fitnah, those who are properly guided are clearly identified from those who are misguided. Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala said, �As for My punishment, I afflict with it whom I want, while My mercy encompasses everything. So I shall ordain that mercy for those who maintain Taqwa and pay Zakaah and especially for those who believe in Our signs -- 157 those who follow the Messenger, the gentile and unlettered prophet, whom they find mentioned in their own Torah and Gospel, who commands them what is good and forbids them what is evil; who makes lawful for them all decent things and disallows them what is bad and impure; and who relieves them of their burden and the shackles which were upon them. So those who believe in him, honour him, help him, and follow the light which has been sent down with him, they will be the successful.� Moosa �alayhisslaam had asked for forgiveness, mercy and goodness in this world and the Hereafter. In response, Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala explained the way He treats people. His normal and pervasive mode of dealing with people is that of mercy. He provides for their needs and takes care of them mercifully, so much so, that he does not deprive people from sustenance or from the fruits of their efforts even if they are the most rebellious or the most vicious criminals. That is His mercy in the world. It is also only because of His immense mercy that he forgives people who repent sincerely, regardless of the enormity of their sins. However, He does not forgive anyone who does not repent or seek His forgiveness or is insincere in his words of repentance. That is His rule of punishment and mercy. The words like �whom I want� refer to the rules Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala has Himself chosen to follow, because His �wills� and �wants� are neither arbitrary, nor inconsistent. Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala also explained that His mercy in the Hereafter will be especially and exclusively dedicated to those who have three attributes: � They have Taqwa � they carefully avoid anything that may displease Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala and eagerly do everything that pleases Him � They pay Zakaah � they happily pay their share for Islamic projects and for state finances � They believe in Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala�s signs � the Arabic style of this phrase indicates a special emphasis on this third attribute. Allaah�s signs usually include natural phenomena, reflection on which leads to the recognition of Allaah as the only Lord, miracles shown by prophets and Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala�s revelations sent to the messengers. Here the context indicates it refers to Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala�s promise of the future messengers in whom they should believe and support. Accordingly the most deserving people of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala�s mercy at the time of the revelation of the Qur-aan were those who believed in, supported and followed Prophet Muhammad sall Alaahu �alayhi wa sallam, the Messenger of Allaah. The Arabic word used as a title for Muĥammad the Prophet and Messenger is �Ummi.� This means Gentiles - people other than the Israelites. It also means unlettered � the person who does not know how to read or write. Prophet Muhammad sall Alaahu �alayhi wa sallam was Ummi in both senses of the word. The Messenger of Allaah, Prophet Muhammad sall Alaahu �alayhi wa sallam, has been mentioned at various places in the previous books such as Torah and Gospels, so much so, that it is a huge subject in itself. The details are available in my Book �Exploring Islamic Beliefs.� The advent of Messenger of Allaah sall Alaahu �alayhi wa sallam, brought three big favours for the Israelites: 1. In an Islamic society, Muslims are very sensitive about their overall environment. They do not tolerate evil among them. As soon as they see it raising its ugly head, they nip it in the bud. They appreciate goodness and encourage and promote it. Thus, good environment flourishes in an Islamic society and bad behaviour fails to take root, leaving the society clean and pure. Over time, the Israelite society had lost its ability to promote good and to discourage bad behaviour in the society. Evil was tolerated, while goodness was not appreciated or encouraged. This was causing growth of corruption in the society. Prophet Muhammad sall Alaahu �alayhi wa sallam re-introduced the basic Islamic values of enjoining good and forbidding evil. 2. A basic Islamic principle is that people should consume what Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala has regarded as good, clean and pure, while they should avoid what He has declared to be unclean and bad. When society degenerates, people do not pay much attention to what is Islamically clean or unclean. They, rather, go more by their customs and traditions, regardless of how baseless or ill-advised those customs or traditions might be. The Messenger of Allaah sall Alaahu �alayhi wa sallam advised them and identified for them what is clean and unclean. 3. Islam is a straightforward religion which gives basic principles and guidelines to live by, main goals to achieve and major rules to abide by. Overtime, the jurists create a web of intricate rules and regulations resulting from their hairsplitting analysis in their efforts to devise verdicts for different situations, which are further over burdened by customs and traditions of the society and exaggerate importance being given to unimportant matters by people. All this adds up to put too many burdens and restrictions over people and makes it extremely difficult to live by them. The Prophet sall Alaahu �alayhi wa sallam removed those man-made burdens, identifying and emphasizing only basic and simple Islamic teachings. The mention of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala�s mercy brought up the point that the most deserving of Allaah�s mercy are the Israelites who follow the Messenger of Allaah sall Alaahu �alayhi wa sallam, which gave rise to the additional favours that they enjoy if they follow the Prophet sall Alaahu �alayhi wa sallam. This provides an appropriate opportunity to call them directly to become Muslims. 158 Say, �O people! surely I am the Messenger of Allaah to you all, of Him Whose is the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, there is no god but He; He brings to life and causes to die; therefore believe in Allaah and His Messenger, the gentile and unlettered Prophet who believes in Allaah and His words, and follow him so that you attain guidance.� Those Israelites who fail to believe in the Prophet will remain misguided, undeserving of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala�s mercy. It is a very important feature of the Qur-aan that whenever Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala mentions the bad behaviour of any group of people, it always makes a special point to acknowledge, praise and appreciate those who do their best to avoid the evils described. Accordingly, the Israelites who avoided worshipping the idol and those who continued to live by pure Islamic teachings of fairness, justice and excellence are being recognized and acknowledged in the next verse. 159 And among Moosa�s people was a section who guided by the truth, and by it established justice.
 Copyright � 2007 Ayub A. Hamid All rights reserved
This document may be used, only with this copyright notice included. Permission is granted to circulate among private individuals and groups, to post on internet forums, and include in not-for-profit publications subject to the following conditions: (1) Material used must be produced faithfully in full, without alteration or omission; (2) The author�s subject title must remain unchanged, in whole or in part; (3) Material must be attributed to the author Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid. Contact the author for all other rights, which are reserved. Note: This series is providing the teachings of the Qur�aan, not a literal translation. Instead of literal translation, it gives interpretive meanings of the verses, along with their contextual details. Please remember that any translation of the Holy Qur�aan is in fact only an expression of the translator�s understanding of the Word of Allaah Subhaanahu wa Ta�aala, and hence cannot be equated with the Qur�aan itself. Only the original Arabic text can be called the Holy Qur�aan.
Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid is a visionary and strategic Islamic thinker residing in Canada for the last 31 years. His recently published books are: 1. Islam - Does It Make Sense? 2. Unveiling the Commands�The Truth about Hijaab, Khimaar and Jilbaab. 3. Finding A Soulmate - A Guide for Parents and Youth. 4. A Book Unlike Any Other. 5. Islam - Adopting Its Paradigms. 6. Exploring the Islamic Beliefs. http://soundvisionc anada.com/ shop/pbrowse. asp?Pg=3&Cat=10004
The following soowar �Teachings of the Qur�aan� series by Ustaadz Ayub A. Hamid, are available on request:- Al Faatihah Al Baqarah Aali �Imraan A Nisaa� Al Maaidah Al An�aam Al A'raaf: Name, Background and Topics/7:1-9/7:10-25/7:26-33/7:34-39/7:40-53/7:54-58/ 7:59-72/7:73-79/7:80-93/7:94-102/7:103-126/7:127-137/7:138-147/7:148-154/
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