Prophet Nuh (Noah)

71 – Surah Nuh
NoahIn the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful.

Prophet Nuh’s dawah to his people

71:1 Indeed, We sent Nuh to his people, [saying], "Warn your people before there comes to them a painful punishment." 71:2 He said, "O my people, indeed I am to you a clear warner, 71:3 [Saying], 'Worship Allah, fear Him and obey me. 71:4 Allah will forgive you of your sins and delay you for a specified term. Indeed, the time [set by] Allah, when it comes, will not be delayed, if you only knew.’” 71:5 He said, "My Lord, indeed I invited my people [to truth] night and day. 71:6 But my invitation increased them not except in flight. 71:7 And indeed, every time I invited them that You may forgive them, they put their fingers in their ears, covered themselves with their garments, persisted, and were arrogant with [great] arrogance. 71:8 Then I invited them publicly. 71:9 Then I announced to them and [also] confided to them secretly 71:10 And said, 'Ask forgiveness of your Lord. Indeed, He is ever a Perpetual Forgiver. 71:11 He will send [rain from] the sky upon you in [continuing] showers 71:12 And give you increase in wealth and children and provide for you gardens and provide for you rivers. 71:13 What is [the matter] with you that you do not attribute to Allah [due] grandeur 71:14 While He has created you in stages? 71:15 Do you not consider how Allah has created seven heavens in layers 71:16 And made the moon therein a [reflected] light and made the sun a burning lamp? 71:17 And Allah has caused you to grow from the earth a [progressive] growth. 71:18 Then He will return you into it and extract you [another] extraction. 71:19 And Allah has made for you the earth an expanse 71:20 That you may follow therein roads of passage.' "

Lessons:

- Allah warns us before a punishment.

- Repentance can avert punishment.

- No other way to stop a punishment except through repentance.

- Dawah should be given at every opportunity, as well as in public and in private.

- It is never the message, it is always the people who must change.

- Always let people know the rewards of becoming Muslim.
- Ask people to reflect on their own creation as well as the creation of the universe.

The Dua of Prophet Nuh

71:21 Nuh said, "My Lord, indeed they have disobeyed me and followed him whose wealth and children will not increase him except in loss. 71:22 And they conspired an immense conspiracy. 71:23 And said, 'Never leave your gods and never leave Wadd or Suwa or Yaghuth and Ya‘uq and Nasr. 71:24 And already they have misled many. And, [my Lord], do not increase the wrongdoers except in error." 71:25 Because of their sins they were drowned and put into the Fire, and they found not for themselves besides Allah [any] helpers. 71:26 And Nuh said, "My Lord, do not leave upon the earth from among the disbelievers an inhabitant. 71:27 Indeed, if You leave them, they will mislead Your servants and not beget except [every] wicked one and [confirmed] disbeliever. 71:28 My Lord, forgive me and my parents and whoever enters my house a believer and the believing men and believing women. And do not increase the wrongdoers except in destruction." 

Lessons:

- Allah answers supplications of the sincere, righteous, determined and hardworking slave.

- Allah does not give punishments straight away. He gives chances for people to repent and mend their ways.
- Keep the company of the righteous and do not oppress or harm them. For it is dangerous for a righteous person to make dua against you. 

Prophet Idris (Enoch)

This beloved prophet of Allah is mentioned only once in the Quran. Allah says about him,

"And mention in the Book Idris, he was a man of truth, a prophet. And We raised him to a high station." [Surah Maryam 19:56-57]

Out of all the things that Allah could have mentioned about Prophet Idris, He tells us that "he was a man of truth." Telling us that telling the truth is loved by Allah and that being a truthful person makes you closer to Allah.

In Surah Hujurat Allah tells us about those who are truthful,

"Only those are the believers who have believed in Allah and His Messenger, and afterward doubt not but strive with their wealth and their lives for the Cause of Allah. Those! They are the truthful." [49:15]

So a truthful person after he or she has believed in Allah and His Messenger (sallallahu alayhi wasallam), they -

1. Do not have any doubt in hearts about their belief.

2. Strive with their wealth and their lives in Allah's Cause.

They are truthful because that have lived and embodied the shahadah or Testimony of Faith.

In Sahih Bukhari we are told two things about Prophet Idris:

1. Our prophet (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) met him in the fourth heaven when he went on the Night Journey (Isra wal Miraj) to the heaven to meet Allah. [Book 58, no.227]

2. He was the first person who was able to write. [Book 60, no.480]

In regard to the ayah, "And We raised him to a high station" [19:57], Ibn Jarir narrates that Ka'b was asked by Ibn Abbas about what it meant. Ka'b replied, "Allah revealed to Idris: 'I would raise for you every day the same amount of the deeds as of all Adam's children.' As a result Idris wanted to increase his deeds and devotion so asked an angel friend of his speak to the angel of death, so he could increase his good deeds. The angel agreed and took Idris on his back and flew to the heavens.  They met the angel of death on the fourth heaven and the angel explained to him what Idris had told him. To which the angel of death enquired, "Where is Idris?" To which the angel replied, "He is on my back." To which the angel of death proclaimed, "How amazing! I was just sent to take his soul in the fourth heaven while I kept thinking how will I take his soul in the fourth heaven when he lives on the earth?" And so Idris died in the fourth heaven and that is the meaning of the ayat." [Stories of the Prophets by Ibn Kathir, (no date), 1st Ed., Rashad Ahmed Azami (trans.), Darssalam, Riyadh, pp.49-50]

Iblees: The First Racist

Recall the occasion when We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourselves before Adam." They all prostrated except Iblees (Satan), who replied: "Should I prostrate to the one whom You have created from clay?"  Then he asked: "Tell me, is this the one whom You have honoured above me? If You give me respite till the Day of Resurrection, I will certainly uproot all but a few of his descendants."

Lessons:

-       Iblees was the first racist.

-       Racism was the original sin that was borne out of pride.

-       Allah honoured humans above the angels and jinns.

-       Satan vowed that he would not stop misguiding and deceiving us until the Day of Judgment.

-       Even though Allah commanded the angels to bow down to Adam, the commandment also applied to Satan as he was amongst them, as this is a rule of Arabic grammar.

-       Also note that Satan never claimed that this commandment was not meant for him since he was not an angel. As such Satan knew full well that the commandment applied to him and his only objection was that humans were inferior to him so he saw no need to obey Allah, thus committing kufr.

-        By bowing down to Adam the angels did not worship Adam but worshipped Allah as it was Allah who commanded them to bow down to Adam. This of course was a test for Iblees since angels never disobey Allah.

Allah said: "Go away! Hell is your reward, and the reward of those who follow you, an ample reward it shall be.  You may try to allure whomsoever you can with your seductive voice, muster against them all your cavalry and infantry, be their partner in their riches and their children, and promise them what you will – the promises of Satan are nothing but deception - as for My servants, you shall have no authority over them. Your Lord is sufficient as their Guardian."[1]

Lessons:

-       Allah hates racism.

-       Satan is going to tempt and allure humankind with things we love and desire.

-       Satan will promise us the moon in order to made sure we go astray.

-       “The promises of Satan are nothing but deception.”

-       Satan will have no authority over the prophets and messengers.

Indeed We created you, then We fashioned you, then We asked the angels: "Prostrate yourselves before Adam." They all prostrated accordingly except Iblees who did not join those who prostrated. Allah said: "What prevented you from prostrating when I commanded you?" He replied: "I am better than he; you created me from fire and him from clay."

Lessons:

-       Allah created Adam with His own hands.

-       Allah gave Iblees a chance to explain even though He knows everything.

-       Iblees refused to obey due to arrogance and self-conceited notion of his own superiority.

-       He chose to hate Adam for something he had no control over – something that Allah had decided.

Allah said: "Get down from here. You have no right to brag here of your superiority. Get out; henceforth you are of the petty ones." Satan requested: "Give me respite till the Day of Resurrection." Allah said: "The respite you requested is hereby granted."

Lessons:

-       Allah calls Iblees, Satan – the outcast.

-       Iblees asks Allah for respite knowing that only Allah can give him that request.

Satan declared: "Since You let me deviate, now I will lie in ambush for mankind on Your Right Way. I will come upon them from the front, from the rear, from the right, and from the left, and You will not find most of them to be grateful." Allah said: "Get out from here, you despicable outcast; I will certainly fill hell with you and all of them who follow you."[2]

Lessons:

-       Satan blames Allah for his evil disobedience.

-       Satan vows to take as many of us as he can to hell-fire with him.

-       Satan promises Allah that he will ambush us – from the front, the back, the right and the left.

-       Satan’s master plan to make sure we go to hell – make us ungrateful to Allah.

-       Allah tells Satan what he will do to him and those who follow him.

When We said to the angels: "Prostrate yourself before Adam, "all prostrated themselves except Iblees, who was one of the Jinns and chose to disobey the command of his Lord. Would you then take him and his children as your protectors rather than Me, even though they are your enemies? What a bad substitute the wrongdoers have chosen![3]

Lessons:

-       Satan is our true enemy.

-       Jinns, like humans can chose to obey or disobey Allah.

-       Those who do not believe and follow Allah’s religion are followers of Satan – no matter what they call themselves.

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[1] Surah al-Isra 17:61-65

[2] Surah al-A’raf 7:11-18

[3]  Surah al-Kahf 18:50

Prophet Adam's sons: Habil (Abel) and Qabil (Cain)

The First Murder[1]

“And recite to them the story of Adam's two sons [Habil and Qabil], in truth, when they both offered a sacrifice to Allah, and it was accepted from one of them but was not accepted from the other.

Lessons:

-       Allah only accepts deeds that are sincerely for His sake alone.

-       Envy can lead to murder.

-       Even brothers can kill one another over a woman.

Qabil said, "I will surely kill you." Habil said, "Indeed, Allah only accepts from the righteous who fear Him. If you should raise your hand against me to kill me – I shall not raise my hand against you to kill you. Indeed, I fear Allah, Lord of the worlds. Indeed I want you to obtain thereby my sin and your sin so you will be among the companions of the Fire. And that is the recompense of wrongdoers." And his soul permitted to him the murder of his brother, so he killed him and became among the losers.

Lessons:

-       The true believer should not try to kill the Muslim who is trying to kill him but to leave the matter to Allah even if he is killed.

-       The true believer must not have any intention to kill the fellow Muslim who is trying to kill him.

-       Whoever murders a Muslim, their place is in the fire of Hell.

-       It does not matter if the victim is in the right, as long as they wish to kill the one trying to harm them they are also guilty and liable to be punished in hell.

-        Narrated Al-Ahnaf bin Qais from Abu Bakra: “… I heard Allah's Messenger saying, 'If two Muslims meet each other with their swords then both the killer and the one killed are in the Hell-Fire.' I said, 'O Allah's Messenger! It is alright for the killer, but what about the one killed?' He replied, 'The one killed was eager to kill his opponent."[2]

Then Allah sent a crow searching in the ground to show him how to hide the disgrace of his brother. He said, "O woe to me! Have I failed to be like this crow and hide the body of my brother?" And he became of the regretful.

Lessons:

-       Allah exposes or hides our sins as He pleases.

-       Allah loves us to hide our sins than to expose it openly without shame.

-       Regret always follows a sinful act.

Because of that, We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for killing another soul or for corruption done in the land – it is as if he had slain all of mankind. And whoever saves one soul – it is as if he had saved all of mankind. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.

Lessons:

-       Murder is one of the most heinous crimes in Islam.

-       Killing a person is like genocide and saving a person is like saving all of humanity.

-       This story and its truth is a proof from the prophets and a sign and warning to us all.

-       We must never be transgressors nor support or condone transgression.

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[1] Surah al-Ma’ida 5:27-5:32

[2] Al-Bukhari, vol.9, book 83, no.14.