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.

Prophet Adam: The Creation Story

The Creation Story

Note that occasion, when your Lord said to the angels: I am going to place a vicegerent on earth. The angels said: “Will You place there one who will make mischief and shed blood while we sing Your praises and glorify Your name?” Allah said: “I know what you know not.”

Lessons:

- Mankind is the custodian of the Earth.

- We were always going to be sent to Earth.

- We were created to live here.

- Angels knew that having free-will leads to war, violence and murder.

- Allah knows best.

- Angels have limited knowledge.

- Angels continuously praise Allah.

He taught Adam the names of all things; then He presented the things to the angels and said: “Tell Me the names of these, if what you say is true?”  “Glory to You,” they replied, “we have no knowledge except what You have taught us: in fact You are the One who is perfect in knowledge and wisdom.”

Lessons:

- Allah taught Adam language.

- Allah tests the angels.

- Only Allah has perfect knowledge.

Allah said: “O Adam! Tell them the names.” When Adam told them the names, Allah said: “Did I not tell you that I know the secrets of the heavens and the earth and I know what you reveal and what you conceal?”

When We ordered the angels: “Prostrate before Adam in respect,” they all prostrated except Iblees who refused in his arrogance and became a disbeliever.

Lessons:

- Allah knows the secrets of the creation.

- Prostration to Adam was not worship of him as Allah had commanded it.

- Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alayhi wasallam) said, “He who has in his heart the weight of a mustard seed of pride shall not enter Paradise.”[1]

- Pride and arrogance are the antithesis of Islam, since Islam means surrender and submission to Allah’s will.

- Angels never disobey Allah.

Jinn have free-will too.

To Adam We said: “Dwell with your wife in Paradise and eat anything you want from its bountiful food from wherever you wish, but do not approach this tree, or you shall both become transgressors.” But Satan tempted them with the tree to disobey Allah's commandment and caused them to be expelled from Paradise, and We said: "Get out from here, some of you being enemies to others, and there is for you in the earth an abode and provisions for a specified time.  Then Adam received appropriate words from his Lord and repented, and Allah accepted his repentance. Surely Allah is the Most Forgiving, the Most Merciful.

Lessons:

- Our original home was in paradise.

- Satan is our greatest enemy.

- Repentance is our salvation.

- Allah forgave Adam and Hawwa when they repented to Him. We should follow their example in this.

- Only ask Allah for the forgiveness of our sins.

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet said, "But for the Israelis, meat would not decay and but for Eve, wives would never betray their husbands."[2] On the commentary of this Hadith the reputable scholar Allamah Ibni Hajar Al-'Asqalani states that: "Hawwa (A.S.) was mesmerized by the false promises and embellishments of Shaitaan, as a result she encouraged Adam (A.S.) to partake from the forbidden tree." The Khiyaanah (betrayal) which Nabi (S.A.W.) speaks of in the Hadith is not referring to acts such as adultery, etc. Instead it is regarding a Khiyaanah of a much lesser degree e.g. the wife, due to her weak understanding, encourages the husband to do something of which the consequences are detrimental. [3] 

"Get out from here all of you," We said at the time of Adam's departure from Paradise. "There will come to you guidance from Me, those who accept and follow it shall have nothing to fear or to regret. But those who reject and defy Our revelations will be inmates of Hellfire wherein they shall live forever."[4]

Lessons:

- Allah will send guidance in the form of messengers and books till the Day of Judgment.

- Only those who follow the guidance will be saved.

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[1] Muslim, vol.1, no.166

[2] Al-Bukhari, vol.4, book 55, no.547.

[3] Fathul Baari, vol.6, p.368

[4] Surah al-Baraqah 2:30-39