Q. How does the testimony La Ilaha Illallah (None has the right to be worshipped except Allah) include all types of Tawheed? A. It includes all types of Tawheed either by implication or as a requirement. This is because when a person says: I testify that none is worthy of worship except Allah, it comes immediately to mind that what is intended by it is affirming Allah’s sole right to be worshipped, which is known as Tawheed Al-Uloohiyyah and this implies Tawheed Ar-Ruboobeeyyah, because every person who worships Allah Alone would not do so unless he acknowledged His Oneness in matters of Lordship. Likewise, it implies Tawheed Al-Asmaa was-Sifaat, because a person does not worship except One Whom he knows has the right to be worshipped because of the Names and Attributes which belong to Him. Ibrahim said to his father: يَا أَبَتِ لِمَ تَعْبُدُ مَا لَا يَسْمَعُ وَلَا يُبْصِرُ وَلَا يُغْنِي عَنكَ شَيْئًا “O my father! Why do you worship that which hears not, sees not and cannot avail you in anything? (Maryam 19:42) So affirming Allah’s sole right to be worshipped implies Tawheed Ar-Ruboobeeyyah andTawheed Al-Asma’ was-Sifat.
Pondering upon the creation of the heavens and the earth and all that is between them, upon the amazing variety of creation and the creation of man himself is a potent invigorator of faith. This is because the greatness of this creation points to the greatness of the Creator and His Omnipotence, its conformity and harmony points to the vastness of Allaah’s Knowledge and His All-Encompassing Wisdom, its innumerable blessings and bounty point to the expanse of Allaah’s Mercy, His Generosity and His Kindness. All of these factors lead one to exalt its Creator, give thanks to Him, resort to His remembrance and make the religion sincerely for Him Alone. This is the essence and very spirit of faith. Pondering over the impoverishment and the need of the whole of creation of its Lord for everything, the fact that it cannot survive without Him for even the blink of an eye, especially that which you witness in yourself, leads the servant to humbly submit before Him, to frequent supplication of Him in order to promote all that would benefit him with regards to this world and the Hereafter and repress all that would harm him. It leads one to have complete reliance upon, and absolute trust in his Lord along with total belief in His promise and an ardent desre for His beneficence. Through all these matters does one actualize faith and strengthen his worship for indeed supplication is the essence and spirit of worship.
Since the beginning of time, Allaah ta’ala sent Prophets to the people to guide them aright, to show them the correct path, and relentlessly call them to it. They all came with the same message, that is, to worship Allaah alone and associate no partners with him.This call to tawheed was at the foundation of their da’wah and still remains to be today, for those who wish to be messengers of the messengers – continuing to propagate their call. We take from their example, wishing to emulate them in this aspect. Shaykh Ibn Baaz also advises us in this regard: “So this [tawheed] is the most fundamental principle, and the greatest understanding. It is the first thing that the writers should write about, and it is what the callers to guidance, and what the supporters of the truth should focus on. It is the most important science that they should grab onto with their molar teeth, and it should be spread amongst all societies, until they know its reality, and until they distance themselves from whatever opposes it.” And this reality of beginning your call with tawheed is something we learn by examining the lives of the Prophets, seeking to inherit the same wisdom today and letting the call live and flourish, in the hearts and [on the] tongues of the people.
The Messengers came to establish justice on the Earth, along with the scriptures and instructions they were sent with. A part of the wisdom of these laws is that they were essentially sent down to protect us from our own ourselves. And how utterly lost is the one who is left to himself receiving no guidance and instruction from his Lord? These books were complete – outlining that which was halaal and haraam, a source of guidance for the people, and essentially a complete way of life. Realize the sheer power of these books of guidance, their message and the prophets that carried them – they change a people, change a civilization – eradicting the baatil therein and replacing it with the haqq. We still continue to benefit from the miracle of Muhammad sal’Allaahu ‘alayhi wasallam today – that is, the pure and unadulterated message of al Qur’aan.
Despite the immense hardships they encountered, they continued to call in the way of Allah ta’ala. Prophet Nuh ‘alahi salaam called his people for 950 years while the majority of them rejected his call; he was, however, relentless, calling them in public and in secret. Prophet Muhammad salallahu alayhi wa sallam was utterly humiliated at Ta’if – the people mocked him and pelted him with stones, such that his entire body was covered in blood. Prophet Musa ‘alayhi salaam faced a formidable foe in Fir’aun with his wealth and status and unbendable will to destroy Islam and its followers.SubhaanAllah, the trials and tribulations they faced were many and they endured them all to bring honor to this deen. Upon examining their struggles and perserverance and looking into their relentless will upon times of harship and the patience exuded therein, then perhaps you will know what is upon you of actions. That time has passed, this present time is what remains; will you be of those who honor their struggles and uphold the haqq or of those who trample upon it so carelessly?
Allaah ta’ala has sent Messengers to every nation – of them were those who responded to the call, of them were those who rejected it, of them were those who believed in their hearts the message to be the truth but did not act upon this belief. A part from them were destroyed – death reached them while they were in a state of denial – and a part from them were saved from this, to live out their life in the ‘ibadah of Allaah – incessantly responding to that call, the legislations, and fulfilling their purpose.
O Muslim! How did you respond to the call of the Messenger?
In the Name of Allaah, the All-Merciful, may His Salaah and Salaam be upon His final Messenger, to proceed... ]
Someone may say, and it actually has been said, “What is it with you that you always focus on tawheed and you talk so much about it?! And you don’t take into consideration the condition of the Muslims in our day and time, those who are being killed and caused to flee all over the earth, those being persecuted by the empires of disbelief in every place?!”
So we say, and with Allaah lies success:
Tawheed is the foundation upon which this upright religion has been built, so focusing on it means to focus on the very core itself. For if we were to reflect over the Noble Qur’aan we would find that it expounds on issues of tawheedrepetitively, so much so that there does not exist a single soorah in the Qur’aan that does not mention tawheed, clarifying it and prohibiting what opposes it. It was Al-Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim who pointed out that the entire Qur’aan is abouttawheed, since it is only made up of the following:
* Commands to worship Allaah alone with no partners and prohibitions of worshipping other than Him – This is the tawheed that we must put into action, called tawheed al-uloohiyyah.
* Commands to obey Allaah and His Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) and prohibitions of disobeying Allaah and His Messenger (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) – These are the ways that tawheed is actualized and completed.
* Information about what Allaah has prepared for the people of tawheed, the delights, success, salvation, and triumphs in this life and the next, and the punishments that are in store for the people of shirk in this life, and the eternal torture prepared for them upon their one-way entrance into the Hellfire – The first is for those who actualize tawheed, the latter is for those who do not. [1]
Therefore the entire Qur’aan is centered around tawheed. If you were to think about the soorahs revealed in Makkah, you would find that most of them focus entirely on tawheed. That is because the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) stayed in Makkah for 13 years calling to tawheed and warning against shirk. The vast majority of the religious obligations like zakaah, fasting, Hajj, the affairs ofhalaal and haraam, business transactions, etc. were not revealed until after theHijrah to Al-Madeenah. The legislation of the prayer is an exception to this, as it was made an obligation while the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) was still in Makkah on the Night of Al-Mi’raaj, when he (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) was taken by night (to Jerusalem) [2], but that was only a short time before theHijrah.
So the majority of the soorahs revealed before the Prophet (sallallaahu ‘alayhe wa sallam) made hijrah were focused entirely on tawheed, thus showing how truly important the subject is. Furthermore, the religious obligations were not revealed until tawheed was presented and established within the souls of the people, and the proper ‘aqeedah had taken root. For verily actions can not be correct except with tawheed, nor can they have other than tawheed as their foundation.
The Qur’aan has illustrated that the Messengers (‘alayhim As-Salaatu was-Salaam) all began their missions by inviting the people to tawheed before anything else, as Allaah says [3]:
(And We sent a messenger to every nation (proclaiming): ‘Worship Allaah and shun false deities!’ )
Allaah also says [4]:
(And We never sent any messenger before you, except that we revealed to him that ‘There is no deity worthy of worship except Me, so worship Me!’)
And every prophet used to say to his people [5]:
(O my people – Worship Allaah as you have no other deity worthy of worship!)
So this was the affair of the messengers – they began with tawheed.
Similarly the callers and revivalists who followed the messengers used to begin by focusing on tawheed. That is because every single da’wah that is not built upon tawheed is a fruitless call that does not fulfill its purpose, and there is no positive result to it. Every da’wah that does not focus on tawheed is a lost call, with regards to its end results. This is something well known and seen all over.
On the other hand, every da’wah centered around tawheed is a truly successful call, by Allaah’s Permission, a call that benefits the society and bears many fruits. History bears witness to this.
So we are not neglecting the issues of the Muslims, rather we are very concerned about them. We are assisting them and trying to prevent every harm from reaching them using all our resources. It is not something light on us that the Muslims are being killed and exiled, but it is not true concern for the situation of the Muslims that we force ourselves to shed tears insincerely, or that we fill the world with speeches and writings, screaming and wailing… for verily this does not accomplish a thing.
Finding the real solution to the Muslims’ problems requires us to seek out the reasons that have led to the punishments afflicting the Muslims at the hands of their enemies.
What is causing the enemies of the Muslims to gain and hold authority over them?
When we look to the Muslim world, we do not see any serious commitment to Islaam with most of those who ascribe to it, except the few that Allaah has had Mercy on. What we see are Muslims by name only, the ‘aqeedah of most of them is lost. They worship other than Allaah, calling on saints and righteous people, clinging to graves and tombs, not establishing the prayer, not paying zakaah, not fasting, etc. They are not fulfilling the basic obligations Allaah asked of them. This is the case with the majority of those who ascribe themselves to Islaam – they have lost their religion, so Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic, caused them to be lost.
The most significant factor that has led them to be subjected to these punishments is their heedlessness regarding affairs of tawheed and their falling into major shirk, to the point that they do not prohibit each other from it, nor do they even show any contempt for it! Those who do not fall into it themselves still condone it or do not consider it shirk. An explanation of this is forthcoming, in shaa’ Allaah. So know that this is the primary reason that the Muslims have been subjected to such punishments.
If they were to hold firmly to their religion, actualizing tawheed and establishing their‘aqeedah upon the Book and the Sunnah, holding together to the Rope of Allaah, shunning division, then verily what has been allowed to befall them will not be allowed to befall them anymore, as Allaah says [6]:
(And verily Allaah will make those who aid His Cause victorious, for verily He is All-Powerful and Mighty. (They are) those who, when given power in the land, establish the prayer, pay zakaah, command what is good, and forbid what is evil, and with Allaah is the end result of all affairs.)
So Allaah has made it clear that victory will not be given to the Muslims unless they focus on what He mentioned – establishing the prayer, paying zakaah, commanding what is good, and forbidding what is evil.
Where are these affairs with the Muslims and their current situations today? Where is the establishment of the prayer by most of the Muslims? Or even more importantly, where is the correct ‘aqeedah for most of those who claim Islaam as their religion?!
Allaah says [7]:
(Allaah has promised those of you who believe and do righteous deeds that He will cause them to rule the earth just as He caused those who came before them to rule it, and He will grant them the ability to practice their religion, the one He chose for them, and He will change their fears into safety…)
But where is the very first condition for this promise? [7]
(…they worship Me without ascribing a single partner to Me)
So He clarified that this gaining of authority and fortification will only come to pass when this condition is fulfilled – that they worship Him alone without any partners, and this is the essence of tawheed. These generously promised things will not be granted except to those who understand and apply tawheed, worshipping Allaah alone with no partners, with acts of worship including prayer, zakaah, Hajj, and all other acts of obedience.
Note that Allaah, Glorified and Exalted, did not say, “They worship Me,” only, rather He followed that up with His Statement [7]:
(…without ascribing a single partner to Me)
That is because worship is of no benefit with the presence of shirk. All forms of shirk must be avoided, no matter what shape, form, or name. Shirk simply means to perform an act of worship for other than Allaah, the Mighty and Majestic.
This is what brings about true salvation, safety, victory, and strength in the land – correcting the ‘aqeedah and then correcting the deeds. Without this, disasters and punishments will continue to befall whoever does not completely fulfill the condition (for Allaah’s Aid). Being conquered by the enemies is only the result of the Muslims not fulfilling this necessary condition, their lack of proper concern for their ‘aqeedah and Religion, and their contentment with carrying Muslim names and nothing more.
1. This is a journey that was taken by Prophets and Messengers before you. Those who take the path of the Prophets magnify the tawheed of Allah and His House. There are those, however, who come to perform hajj and their hearts are attached to other than Allaah. They invoke the dead and the righteous, whether present or absent. This is the opposite of tawheed, it is shirk no matter what they call it because it is setting up rivals besides Allaah. So, free your intention from any kind of devotion to other than Allaah. Repent and come with a sincere heart submitting to Allaah remembering what Ibraheem and his son Ismaa’eel said when they were raising the foundations of Allah’s House, theka’bah: “Our Lord! And make us submissive unto You and of our offspring a nation submissive unto You, and show us our Manasik (all the ceremonies of pilgrimage – Hajj and ‘Umrah, etc.), and accept our repentance. Truly, You are the One Who accepts repentance, the Most Merciful.” (Baqarah 2:128) 2. You are set to depart and you may or may not return to your home. Make this journey to Allaah’s House as Allaah wants it. Think of the next journey that is surely coming, the one that leads to the meeting of Allaah, Most High. This raises questions like: What did I prepare for that Day? Am I following Allaah’s Commands? Am I a follower of the sunnah of Muhammad salAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam? Do I really know of Allaah? Am I a believer that Allaah is above the seven heavens over his ‘arsh as He has stated in His Book and as His Messengers have asserted? Am I a believer that believes Allah has a true Face that suits His Majesty as He has affirmed in the Qur’aan and as has been affirmed by His Prophet Muhammad salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam? Am I a believer in all of Allaah’s Names, Attributes and Actions which He has affirmed in His Book and by His Messengers? Or do I just take and accept by my doubt, rejecting, or distorting the meanings of Allaah’s Attributes and Actions? And invoke not any other ilah (god) along with Allah, La ilaha illa Huwa (none has the right to be worshipped but He). Everything will perish save His Face. His is the Decision, and to Him you (all) shall be returned. (Al-Qasas 28:88) 3. Know, may Allaah’s Mercy be upon you, that when you reach the meeqaatthere is another meeqaat that is still to come. It is the meeqaat (appointed meeting) on the Day of Ressurection: Say (O Muhammad salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasalaam): “(Yes) verily, those of old, and those of later times. All will surely be gathered together for appointed Meeting of a known Day. (Al-Waqi’ah 56:49-50) 4. When you start the talbiyah remember the Command of Allaah ‘azza wa jall to the Prophet Ibraaheem ‘alayhi salaam: (Al-Hajj 22:27) The talbiyah you make is in response to the Prophet Ibraaheem’s proclamation to visit Allaah’s house of worship. Allaah is Most Great. 5. Upon entering Makkah remember that you are in the Secure Sanctuary: Have We not established for them a secure sanctuary (Makkah), to which are brought fruits of all kinds, a provision from Ourselves, but most of them know not. (Al-Qasas 28:57) Let one commit himself to repentance, having a good opinion of Allaah, hoping that Allaah will grant him security from His Punishment. 6. You will enter one of the gates of al-Masjid al-Haraam. Then there you are before the magnificent House of Allaah, Most High, the ka’bah. Now you see what you hoped to see for a long time. Thank Allaah subhanahu wa ta’ala for making this possible and hope that He ‘azza wa jall will grant you the greatest reward of seeing His Majestic Face on the Day of Resurrection. This thankfulness is not just in saying “alhamdu-lillaah,” but also by obeying Allaah while on hajjand for the rest of your life. 7. You start your tawaaf knowing that it is a great time for magnifying Allaah the Exalted. Remember Him ‘azza wa jall by His Names, Attributes and Actions. Also while in tawaaf try to reflect upon the time when Prophet Muhammad salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam was prevented from doing the same thing you are doing today. Then think about what he did in clearing out the site from the symbols signifying worship to other than Allaah! All idols were demolished. Busy yourself withdu’aa. Ask Allaah, the Most Great, to make you hold to the correct belief and Path of the salaf and make you die on it. Ask Allaah to save you from all forms ofshirk and bid’ah.
And proclaim to mankind the Hajj (pilgrimage). They will come to you on foot and on every lean camel, they will come from every deep and distant (wide) mountain highway (to perform Hajj).
Think about Ibraaheem’s invocation on his way homeward to Palestine: O our Lord! I have made some of my offspring to dwell in an uncultivable valley by Your Sacred House (the Ka’bah at Makkah); in order, O our Lord, that they may perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), so fill some hearts among men with love towards them, and (O Allah) provide them with fruits so that they may give thanks. (Ibrahim 14:37) Men and fruits came to Makkah from many places. Ibraaheem ‘alayhi salaamreturned to visit and later to share with his son Ismaa’eel the noble task of raising the foundations of the ka’bah. 9. The standing on ‘Arafaat is the hajj. The crowds should remind you of the Day of Resurrection. Humble yourself to Allaah, manifest your ‘uboodiyyah to Him Alone through du’aa, sincere intention and strong determination to free yourself from the sins of the past and to build up a commitment to rush for doing what is good. Think of becoming a better person when you return. Rid yourself of false pride and showing off because it may ruin what you gain on this day. 10. You gathered the pebbles and you are about to embark on stoning thejamaraat. This is an act of obedience and remembrance of Allaah, Most Magnificent. The Prophet salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam said: “When you cast the small pebbles (i.e. at the jamaraat), it will be a light for you on the Day of Resurrection.” (1) 11. When performing the sacrifice remember the saying oh Allaah, the Most High: It is neither their meat nor their blood that reaches Allah, but it is piety from you that reaches Him. (Al-Hajj 22:37) 12. When you have completed your hajj, do not think that the remembrance of Allaah has ended. Listen to what Allah ‘azza wa jall says: So when you have accomplished your Manasik [i.e. the rites of hajj] remember Allah as you remember your forefathers or with a far more remembrance. (Al-Baqarah 2:200) Special note: If you go to Madeenah then the objective of your visit should be according to the sunnah and not bid’ah. Your intention is to set on a journey to visit the Prophet’s mosque and not his grave. When you reach the mosque and you pray upon entering then you may go to the grave and say, “Assalamu ‘alayka ayyuhan-nabiyy.” (2) The same salaam is also mentioned when you pass by Abu Bakr and ‘Umar without innovations like: a. Visiting the grave of the Prophet salAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam before praying in the mosque. b. Making du’aa facing the grave. c. Seeking nearness to Allaah by means of the Prophet salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam. This is a prohibited form of tawassul. d. Seeking intercession from the Prophet salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam. e. Placing the hands upon the grills around the room containing the Prophet’s grave to seek blessings, etc. (3) Remember the Prophet’s salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam sayings: “Do not make my grave an ‘eed (place of celebration)…” (4) “May Allaah’s curse be on the Jews and Christians for taking the graves of their Prophets as places of worship.” (5) “Those before you took the graves of their Prophets as places of worship. Do not take graves as places of worship for verily I forbid you to do so.” (6) 13. The journey is not meant to gain any material reward. It is a selfless sacrifice solely for Allaah, Most Majestic. It demands true love and fear of Him. It should be performed with full consciousness of one’s heart, with full humility and submission to Allaah. It should not be thought of as a tourist-type excursion or be performed as mere physical rites. It develops sincerity, piety, humility, self-control, sacrifice, and true knowledge of the meaning of submission and obedience to Allaah, Most High. It helps the pilgrim to be a better person who is devoted to Allaah in every aspect of his life. Footnotes: 1. Reported by Al-Bazzaar in his Zawaa’id (p. 113) on the authority of Ibn ‘Abbas. Al-Haafith Ibn Hajar reported that its isnaad is hasan. This hadeeth is reported by Shaykh Al-Albaani in his Silsilat al-Ahaadeeth as-Saheehah, V.6, hedeeth #2515 2. The position of the scholars regarding visiting the gravesites by women can be summarized as follows: (a) Disliked but not unlawful, (b) Allowable, if done infrequently. If a woman is known as being unable to behave herself within the limits of sharee’ah at a gravesite, then she should be prevented from visiting the graves, (c) Forbidden, and (d) A grave sin Many scholars state that women visiting the Prophet’s mosque may pronounce the salaam upon the Prophet salAllaahu ‘alayhi wasallam wherever the person may be. The Prophet salAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam is in a state of barzakh (a state of existence that begins with death and lasts until the Day of Resurrection), the nature of which is only known to Allaah, Most High. [See ash-Sharhul Mumti', V.5, pp. 475-478] 3. Refer to Shaykh Al-Albaani’s book Manaasik al-Hajj wal ‘Umrah for more details. 4. Collected by Abu Daawood, [sunan Abee Daawwood (English Translation), V.2, pp. 542-543, hadeeth #2037], and Ahmad (2:367). Shaykh Al-Albaani stated its isnaad (chain of narrators) is hasan (correct). [See Tahtheer as-Saajid min Ittikhaathil Quboor Masaajid by Shaykh Muhammad Naasirud-Deen Al-Albaani (4th edition), [Beirut: al-maktab al-islaami, 1403/1983], p.97] 5. Collected by Al-Bukhari [Saheeh al-Bukhari (Arabic/English), V.2, p.232, hadeeth#414],and Muslim [Saheeh Muslim (English trans.), V.1, p.268, hadeeth #1074], Abu Daawood, At-Tirmithee, An-Nassaa’i, and Ibn Majah. 6. Saheeh Muslim, (English trans.), V.1, p. 269, hadeeth #1063
When there comes the Help of Allâh and the Conquest. And you see that the people enter Allâh’s religion in crowds. So glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask for His Forgiveness. Verily, He is the One Who accepts the repentance and forgives. (An-Nasr 110:1-3)
Its Name
It is called Surat An-Nasr because it is a word that appears in the first verse. It literally means “help” and it is referring to Allah’s help that caused the conquest of Makkah. It is also called Surat At-Tawdi’ (farewell, because it suggests the parting of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam from this world)...
The Subject Matter of This Surah
This Surah discusses the conquest of Makkah, through which Allah Almighty granted victory and honor to the Muslims. Islam then spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula, and ever so quickly, Shirk and misguidance were rooted out. With this conquest people entered into Allah’s religion in crowds: the banner of Islam was raised and the religion of statues faded away. That the Prophet salAllaahu alayhi wa sallam was informed about this conquest before it occurred is one of the clear signs that indicate the validity of his Prophethood.
Its Relation To What is Before It
In the previous Surah [Kafirun], Allah Almighty said that the religion that Muhammad salAllahu alayhi wa sallam was calling to was diametrically opposed to the religion of the disbelievers; here, Allah Almighty informs the disbelievers of Makkah that their religion will die away and that the religion called to by the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam will overcome it, and become the religion of the vast majority in their populated areas.
The Virtues of This Surah
At-Tirmithi recorded a Hadith from Anas, may Allah be pleased with him, and he said that it was Hasan. In it the Prophet salAllaahu alayhi wa sallam said:
It (An-Nasr) is equivalent to one quarter of the Qur’an.
In What Context Was This Surah Revealed
Al-Bukhari and others recorded that Ibn ‘Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, said, “Umar bin Al-Khattab used to make me sit with the elderly men who fought in the Battle of Badr. Some of them were uncomfortable with that and said to ‘Umar: ‘Why do you bring this boy to sit with us while we have sons like him?’ One day, ‘Umar called me and made me sit in the gathering of those people; and I think that he called me just to show them. ‘Umar then asked them, ‘What do you say about the interpretation of the saying of Allah:
When there comes the help of Allah and the Conquest (An-Nasr 110:1)
Some of them said, ‘We are ordered to praise Allah and ask His forgiveness when Allah’s help and Conquest comes to us.’ Some others kept quiet and did not say anything. On that, ‘Umar asked me, ‘Do you say the same, O Ibn Abbas?’ I replied, ‘No.’ He asked what do you say then?’ I replied, ‘That is the sign of death of Allah’s Messenger salAllahu alayhi wa sallam which Allah informed him of. Allah said:
When there comes the Help of Allâh and the Conquest. And you see that the people enter Allâh’s religion in crowds. So glorify the Praises of your Lord, and ask for His Forgiveness. Verily, He is the One Who accepts the repentance and forgives. (An-Nasr 110:1-3)
With that, ‘Umar said, ‘ I do not know anything about it other than what you have said.’”
The Meaning of Its Words
Itha Jaa’a Nasrullahi: i.e., when Allah makes His Prophet Muhammad salAllahu ‘alayhi wasallam victorious over his enemies – the polytheists.
Al-Fath: i.e., the conquest of Makkah.
Fee Deenillahi: Allah’s religion, i.e., Islam.
Afwaaja: In many packed crowds.
Fasabbih Bihamdi Rabbika: Glorify Allah Almighty, considering Him far above having a partner, and at the same time, praise Him.
Wastaghfirhu: Repent to Allah Almighty and ask Him to forgive you.
Tawwaba: i.e., Allah Almighty often accepts the repentance of His worshippers.
The Meaning in Summary
This Surah first gives glad tidings of a great event with far reaching implications and then gives the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam certain commands to follow when that event takes place. At the same time, Allah Almighty alludes to some of the results of that event.
The glad tidings are for Allah’s help to the Messenger of Allah salAllahu alayhi wa sallam, the conquest of Makkah, and the mass acceptance of Islam, when throngs upon throngs of people will enter the religion, many of whom were previously its enemies. All of those blessed events took place.
Upon the realization of the conquest, Allah Almighty ordered the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam to thank Him, glorify Him, praise Him, and ask His forgiveness. Then there are two matters that Allah Almighty alludes to:
1) That the victory of the religion will continue and increase with the Prophet’s glorification and praising of Allah Almighty; and with his asking for Allah’s forgiveness. Allah Almighty says:
If you give thanks, I will give you more. (Ibrahim 14:7)
This was seen during and after the period of the rightly-guided caliphs, which is why Allah’s help continued, so that the boundaries of Islam expanded to a size unsurpassed by any other religion in history. And there were peoples who entered the fold of Islam, who had previously resisted entering any other religion. But only when Muslims abandoned Allah’s commands and divided into groups did well-known events take place that signified something of a decline for Muslims. Nonetheless, Allah’s favors and mercy for this nation and religion have reached high levels that surpassed anyone’s expectations and dreams.
2) That the Prophet’s death is near. His life was a most superior one, and in Islam, all superior matters end with asking forgiveness from Allah, such as in prayer and Hajj. By ordering the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam to praise Him and seek forgiveness from Him, Allah Almighty hints to his death, and suggests that he should prepare to meet his Lord. So the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam ended his life on the highest of notes – may Allah’s blessing and peace be upon him. When bowing and prostrating, he salAllahu alayhi wa sallam would say, “How perfect You are, O Allah, our Lord, and I praise you. O Allah, forgive me.”
What Can Be Derived From These Verses
1) It is legislated to inform others of someone’s death, but not in the way of an announcement and not in a loud voice.
2) When a blessing is realized for us, we must be thankful to Allah Alnighty; one way of doing so is to make the prostration for thankfulness.
3) When bowing or prostrating in the prayer, it is legislated to say, “How perfect You are, O Allah, our Lord, and I praise you. O Allah, forgive me.”
4) Allah’s religion is Islam, for He said:
Truly, the religion with Allah Almighty is Islam. (Aal ‘Imraan 3:19)
And, He said:
And whoever seeks the religion other than Islam, it will never be accepted of him. (Aal ‘Imran 3:85)
5) We appreciate the virtues of saying, “SubhaanAllah (How perfect Allah is!)” and “Alhamdulillah (All praise is for Allah)” when we consider this: To glorify and praise Allah Almighty was enough for the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wa sallam and his nation to fulfill what was incumbent upon them in terms of showing thankfulness for the blessings of the victory and conquest.
Whoever’s knowledge is not beneficial and deems himself better than those who preceded him in his stances and his elaborate, laborious speech, will also deem himself better than them in knowledge or ranking in the Sight of Allah. He will look down upon those who came before him and mock them for having little knowledge. This pauper does not realize that the lack of speech arising from the Salaf was because of their wara’ and fear of Allah, had they wished to lengthen or detail their discussions, they were fully capable of doing so. When ibn ‘Abbas heard some people debating about the religion he said, Do you not know that to Allah belong certain servants, though they are fully able to respond and are not dumb, the fear of Allah has silenced them and given them tranquility. They are the true scholars, the eloquent ones, the intelligent, the noble; scholars of the Days of Allah, except that when they brought to mind the greatness of Allah, their minds were overcome, their hearts split for the fear of Allah, and their tongues were silenced. When they recovered from this state they rushed to performing righteous deeds thinking themselves to be amongst those who were negligent when in reality they were sagacious, those of strong determination; thinking themselves to be oppressors and sinners when in reality they were pious worshippers, free of oppression and sin. They did not think that abundant worship was too much for Him; they were not content with little worship, and they did not look down on any acts of worship. Wherever you were to meet them you would find them sombre, solicitous, in a state of dread and fear of their Lord. [Reported by Abu Nu'aym and others.]
An-Nadhr ibn Ismaa’eel said, “I heard Aboo Dharr 1 saying in one of his speeches, “Concerning Death –then it has been announced to you such that you are looking at it every day and night. It appears to the one it takes away –who was dear to his people, noble amongst his clan, obeyed and followed among his folk — taking him to a dry arid pit, and to a place of massive hard rocks of stone. The people there have no cushions – except cushions that are mixed and stuffed with poisonous reptiles and vermin – for their cushions on that Day will be [as a result] of their [evil] deeds. And it appears to those who are filled with concern and are like strangers, those whose concern is just this worldly life, who have striven long for it and their bodies have toiled hard for it. But then death overcomes them before they can attain their goal, for it has taken them by surprise. And so Death appears to the young boy who is still being suckled, the sick man who is afflicted with pain, and the one who is a hostage of evil, being hell-bent on doing such deeds. Death has been allocated to all these people, and so they are all overtaken by it. Have not the slaves taken heed of what the admonishers have said?! Sometimes I say: Indeed Allaah is far from any imperfection, and exalted is His Splendour, for He has given you respite to the extent that it is as if He has left you to your own devices. Then I consider His Forbearance and His Complete Ability and Power. And so I say: Rather He has simply deferred us to our appointed times. Indeed He is far from any imperfection. And hence we are left until a Day during which the eyes will be transfixed and the hearts will be dry and withered: مُهْطِعِينَ مُقْنِعِي رُءُوسِهِمْ لاَ يَرْتَدُّ إِلَيْهِمْ طَرْفُهُمْ وَأَفْئِدَتُهُمْ هَوَاء (They will be) hastening forward with their necks outstretched, their hands raised up (towards the sky), their gaze not returning towards them and their hearts empty (from thinking, due to extreme fear). [Soorah Ibraaheem 14:43] O Lord! You have indeed given notice and warned us to be on guard, and so You have established the proof against your creation. Then he recited: وَأَنذِرِ النَّاسَ يَوْمَ يَأْتِيهِمُ الْعَذَابُ فَيَقُولُ الَّذِينَ ظَلَمُواْ رَبَّنَا أَخِّرْنَا إِلَى أَجَلٍ قَرِيبٍ Warn (O Muhammad salAllahu alayhi wasallam) mankind of the Day when the torment will come unto them. Then the wrong doers will say, “Our Lord! Give us respite for a little while …” [Soorah Ibraaheem 14:44] Then he continued… “O wrong-doing oppressor! You are within your appointed time – which you have tried to postpone. So seize the opportunity before your time takes place and hurry up before it escapes. The close of this deadline is when one witnesses it with one’s own eyes – and that is when Death descends. And when that happens, then being sorry and regretful will be of no benefit. Indeed, the son of Aadam is nothing but averse to and distressed about Death, for whomever Death fires its arrow at, it never fails to hit its target, and it will not hit anyone else. O indeed, the greatest good is the good of the Hereafter which lasts forever and never dwindles. It always remains and never perishes, and it is extensive and is not cut short. The honoured slaves will be in the proximity of Allaah the Most High, living amongst all the things that the souls desire and the eyes find pleasure in, exchanging visits upon the excellent ones, meeting each other and recollecting what they used to do in the world. There is nothing but ease and comfort for these people. They have indeed found their objective and have obtained what they requested, since they asked for and craved for the Master, the Noble One, the One who confers all favours [i.e. Allaah].” 2
The assignment was given to me in the Sunnipath, Essentials of Islam (Hanafi) course and it was to ponder on the logic behind the phrobition of certain things to mankind by Almigty Allah. Firstly I would like to state that as Muslims we do not even need to ponder why Allah has made something lawful or unlawful for us, if we are Muslims we should enter Islam completely. If we gain knowledge of a new law in Sharia we have to obey it immidiately without questioning it. When the phrobition of alcohol was revealed to the Muslims,, the streets of Madina al-Munawwara were flooded with wine, because of the level of Iman that the Sahaba r.a had, they heard the new revelation and they threw out all the wine they had in their houses, they did not question the order and neither should we. In the next section I’m going to analyze the phrobitions of zina,alcohol,drugs and the looking of immoral pictures and videos. It will inshAllah become quite clear that even though these sins might be separate on surface they are linked in one way or another. 1.Alcohol: Even though this substance is in a different category it could be in the category of drugs, since it is a poison that effects the nerve system and is lethal if taken excessively. I live in a country where alcohol could be seen as a plague that is effecting the population. People start drinking at the age of 14 and continue to do so until their death, which can come sooner than expected because of the intake of the substance. Lets look at some facts about alchol use, In my country,Finland about 80% of all crimes are alcoholrelated and 4% of the population are addicted to drinking, not to forget the 500.000 people who are in a so called ”riskgroup”. In the UK 70% of all admissions to hospital accident and emergency departements are linked to alcohol misuse. In the EU 10% of ”premature” deaths are caused by alcohol. Just looking at the facts wont give you the whole picture of the situation, specially if you live in a country where alcohol is banned you can not completely understand what kind of problems alcohol brings with it. It increases the risk for zina which is in itself a disgousting sin. Not only does alcohol affect a society on a personal level but it also effects the state itself. Alot of people say that it is actually good for the state to sell alcohol but infact that is not true, the state of Finland loses about 5 billion Euros each year because of the medical care and other damage related to alcohol use. 2.Drugs The definition of drugs differ from country to country with for example the Netherlands having a ”liberal” policy on so called ”soft drugs” like Cannabis. In Islam the phrobition stands very clear, banning the use of any intoxicants, wether it he Cannabis, Alcohol or Heroin. Drugs affect the human beings in very different ways, Cannabis which is considered a ”soft drug” makes the person passive and hence he is not a beneficial member of the society, he does not study nor work at his full capacity. Then there are the very lethal drugs like Heroin. Not only is it highly addictive and poisonous, it can lead to the spread of HIV through the re-usage of needles between Heroin addicts, which leads to the death of many. The virus might be spread further because of some addicts that are forced by someone or by their financial status into prostitution to get money for their addiction, hence spreading the HIV to the ones visiting the prostitutes. Crimerates also rise because of drugusage, in Usa in the year 2004, 17% of the inmates were convicted because of crimes committed in order to get money for drugs. Drugs can effectively cripple a whole nations economy .For example in Afghanistan many farmers prefered to grow poppys instead of wheat or other beneficial plants because they would get 20 times more income from the poppys, hence making the individual farmers rich but affecting the states financial status negatively when not paying taxes. 3. Immoral pictures and movies. With modern technology such as satellite disks and Internet the spread of immoral pictures and movies has been rapid all over the world, specially with the internet enabeling the accessing websites from all over the planet. Alhamdulillah some of the Muslim countries have tried restricting the access to the material by placing filters to block the citizens from accessing such websites and material. However where the material is acessable it has led to some problems, namely that women are not respected as they should be, most of the immoral material shows women as some kind of objects that not really are humanbeings , rather some objects that you can use as you please. In the west this phenomenon is so common that even shops that are specialized in this kind of material have been set up and people can visit them casually like it were a grocery store, the shops are not even hidden, but out on display for everyone to see and find them. It has effectively corrupted the mentality of the people and alot of women have eating disorders and are obsessed with the way they look so they can attract attention from men. This has also made the youth to become ”sexually active” in a much younger age. 4.Zina You may have noticed that the sections before all lead into zina and this is a very serious sin but unfortunately alot of the non-Muslims and even Muslims do not understand the logic behind phrobihiting it. In 1996 the World Health Organization stated that about 1 million people are infected with a sexually transmitted disease daily, 352 million infected people per year, and 60% of those infected are below the age of 25. There are a number of different sexually transmitted diseases that and they vary from eachother alot, some of the disases will go away with time and some of the more serious ones will eventually lead to the death of the infected person. The most common sexually transmitted disease is Chlamydia which aparently 25% of the global population has had and in 2007 HIV had infected 33.2 million people and killed 2.1 million. The sexually transmitted diseases are not the only problem that zina brings, another problem is teenage pregnancy, specially the babies that are born outside the wedlock. In Usa 55.6 girls out of 1000 will become pregnant during their teenyears and 30.2 out of 1000 will have an abortion. The ones who abort the baby will have that on their consience during their whole lifetime and this can be very traumatic. The ones who decide to have the baby often become single mothers since the man does not want to take responsibility and abandons the new mother. I would like to conclude with saying that everything that Allah has deemed unlawful for us has a logic behind it, it might not be clear for us in this day and age, but the thing we have to remember is that Allah has created us and he knows his creation the best.
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