Bismil
Laahir Rahmaanir Raheem
Assalaamu
alaikum wa rahmatul Laahi wa barkaatuh brothers and sisters in Islam. We thank
Allah, Al-Haqq, for His uncountable mercies. We praise Him for the blessing of
Islam. What would you and I have done had we been anything else but Muslim?
Subhaanal Laah! What ingrates we are!
May
Allah, Al-Ghaffar, forgive our ingratitude to Him and everything else. Aameen.
So,
I’m watching this series on Umar ibn Al-Khattab, radiyal Laahu anhu, that was
given to me by a sister and friend, Kabeerah. I am grateful for this sister,
‘Sisters Forever.’
The
life of Umar, radiyal Laahu anhu, the ‘Ameerul Mo’amineen does not cease to
amaze me. He was a man so conscious of his actions and whether they were
acceptable or not to Allah, Al-Khaaliq. But of course, in this article, I am
not talking about him, may Allah make us like him. Aameen.
Almost
to the end of the third episode of the series, something interesting hit me
hard. Well, it never really crossed my mind that there could be a great wisdom
in that aspect of the Prophet’s mission in this life.
Almost to the End
Three
uncles of the Prophet Muhammad, suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam, Abu Talib,
Hamza, radiyal Laahu anhu and Al-Abbas, radiyal Laahu anhu, come to pay him a
visit. They see Abu Lahab pour some nasty stuff in front of the Prophet’s door.
After
some exchanges with his brothers, they made him collect the stuff and walk away
in shame. Well, something interesting that Abu Talib had said to him to cause
him that shame was;
‘People say that: ‘You may have a
brother who was not born to your mother’ but no one said: ‘You may have an
enemy born by your mother.’
My Understanding of the Statement Above
A
detail study of the Arab culture prior to Islam shows a strong feeling of
brotherhood amongst them. Even when a clan member is doing something bad, they
would never for anything in the world give the person up to be punished by
another clan which was deemed as a great insult and demeaning of their status
among the others.
We
see how Abu Talib who never became Muslim stood by the Prophet suallal Laahu
alayhi wa sallam even though he was the leader of the Quraish. And sometime in
the history of Islam, the whole Hashimite clan suffered together with the
Prophet because others threatened to kill him.
It
was therefore such a shock and disdain that the Prophet’s own uncle, Abu Lahab
could stand against him so vehemently. It was well known among them that
someone who has your blood could never be your enemy but here was Abu Lahab
doing his worst.
Continued…
After Abu Lahab had left,
Hamza, radiyal Laahu anhu, asks Abu Talib what Abu Lahab meant by the fact that
Prophet Muhammad, suallal Laahu alayhi wa sallam, had denounced him in the Qur’an.
Abu Talib recites to him the aayaat;
In the name of Allah, the Merciful,
the Compassionate
May the hands of Abu Lahab be ruined,
and ruined is he.
His wealth will not avail him or that
which he gained.
He will [enter to] burn in a Fire of
[blazing] flame
And his wife [as well] - the carrier
of firewood.
Around her neck is a rope of [twisted]
fiber.
Surah Al-Masad (the palm fibre/flame), Chapter 111
Hamza, radiyal Laahu anhu,
laughs his head off and said;
‘If there were a second life and a
fire, our brother Abu Lahab, has deserved it by his actions. He is the most
stupid of people or probably Muhammad is truly supported by revelations.’
Al-Abbas, radiyal Laahu
anhu, asks him what he meant by that and he said;
‘Had Abu Lahab willed, he would have
shown Muhammad’s claims to be false in a moment.’
He is asked again, how can
that be? He said;
‘Hasn’t he condemned him for the fire
by this Qur’an? It is a final judgment.’
Then suddenly Al-Abbas,
radiyal Laahu anhu, gets the point that his brother was trying to make all the
while so he adds;
‘Yes, indeed. All he has to do is to
say in public that he believes in Muhammad and he has adopted Islam to lead a
life of piety. He will thus render these verses false and show our nephew as a
liar.’
Hamza, radiyal Laahu anhu,
is happy that his younger brother had understood him and so he adds;
‘Thank God that he is such a fool. We
can now say this of him, if we don’t say anything else.’
What I learnt from that Conversation
Most
definitely, guidance is only in the hands of Allah and He guides whom He wills
unto His path. Allah azza wa jal says;
“This is the Guidance of Allah. He
gives that guidance to whom He pleases, of His servants. But if they were to
join other gods with Him, all that they did would be vain for them.”
Surah An-am, the Cattle, Chapter 6 ayah 88
Imagine
that Abu Lahab who was condemned by Allah in the Qur’an to Hellfire even before
His death continued to intensify his enmity to his own nephew instead of trying
to prove him wrong by showering him with love even if he couldn’t accept his
deen.
Abu
Lahab’s own younger brother found this out and so they all came to terms with
the fact that indeed, ‘Abu Lahab was a fool’ and that if really there was going
to be a life after death and a Hellfire, then he rightly deserved it.
Facts about Abu Lahab
He
succeeded Abu Talib as the head of the Hashimite clan. His real name was Abdl
Uzza. His wife; Umm Jamil used to help him in his fight against the Prophet’s
message. She would carry firewood and put them in the Prophet’s way. So she was
featured in the Surah. He was hit with a tent pole by Lubaba bint al-Harith,
the wife of the Prophet’s uncle, Abbass radiyal Laahu anhu. That subsequently
led to his demise.
Are there the likes of Abu Lahab among
us?
We
pray that we never ever get into the kind of fix Abu Lahab was in. Such
destruction is something that we should feel scared about. May Allah save us.
Aameen.
Are
there the likes of Abu Lahab among us? He had really loved the Prophet before
his message. He knew the Prophet was like no other yet a message from him that
went against a wrong believe he had held onto for so long made him make an
enemy out of his own beloved nephew.
In
this there are indeed lessons for those who ponder. May we be among them and
may Allah favour us with knowledge, wisdom and understanding that lead only to
Him. Aameen.
Bear me witness O brother
or sister, that;
‘Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illal Laah wa
ash-hadu anna Muhammadan rasulul Laah’
‘I bear witness that there is no god
except God and Muhammad is His Messenger.’
May Allah, the Sustainer,
sustain us on this testimony. Aameen
Jazaakumul Laahu khair!!!
Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatul Laah!!!
Islam forever in shaa Allah!
Rubaba Mmahajia Rahma Sabtiu
No comments:
Post a Comment