اَعُوْذُ بِاللهِ مِنَّ الشِّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيْمِ۞
بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَانِ الرَّحِيْمَ۞
اَلْحَمْدُ لله ، وَالصَّلَاةُ وَالسَّلَامُ عَلى سَيِّدِنَا محمد وَعَلَى اَلِهِ وَصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ تَسْلِيْمًا كَثِيْرا
Rasool Allah ﷺ used to spend long periods of time in Ghaar-e-Hiraa(غار حرا), in the cave of Hiraa(حرا).
One day, he was visited by the angel Jibreel عليه السّلام,
Jibreel عليه السّلام came to Muhammadﷺ in his original form.
So, Muhammadﷺ saw Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل) in his angelic form and not in the form of a man,
which he would sometimes see him in.
In the Hadith(حديث) of Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل), the well known Hadith(حديث) of Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل) narrated by Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب).
Jibreel عليه السّلام came in the form of a man.
Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) says:
شَدِيدُ سَوَادِ الشَّعْرِ، شَدِيدُ بَيَاضِ الثِّيَابِ، لا يُرَى عَلَيْهِ أَثَرُ السَّفَرِ،
A man with very dark hair and very bright white clothes and we don't see any traces of travel on him.
So, he came in the form of a man but in this particular situation
Jibreel عليه السّلام appeared in his original form and that happened twice.
Jibreel عليه السّلام came to Muhammadﷺ and told him Iqra(إقراء), recite!
Now the word Iqra(إقراء) has two meanings,
one of them is read and the other is recite,
in the situation of Muhammadﷺ, it means recite.
Jibreel عليه السّلام told Muhammadﷺ, Iqra(إقراء),
Muhammad صلوات الله وسلام عليه responded and said:
مَا اَنَا بِقَارِيْ
I cannot read
Jibreel عليه السّلام grabbed Muhammadﷺ and squeezed him, crushed him
and then he released Muhammadﷺ and told him: Iqra(إقراء), recite!.
Muhammadﷺ responded again and said:
مَا اَنَا بِقَارِيْ
I cannot read.
So, Jibreel عليه السّلام held him a second time and pressed him hard,
and then released him again and told him: Iqra(إقراء)!.
And this happened three times.
Until, Jibreel عليه السّلام eventually recited the first verses of Qur'an.
اِقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ۝ خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ۝
اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ۝ الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ۝ عَلَّمَ الْإِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ۝
Recite in the name of Your Lord,
اِقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ۝
The One, Who created, created man from clot, recite.
اِقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ۝ خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ۝ اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ۝
Recite in the name of Your noble Lord,
الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ۝
The One, Who taught the pen.
عَلَّمَ الْإِنْسَانَ مَا لَمْ يَعْلَمْ۝
THe taught him, what he knew not.
This was the first encounter between Rasool Allah ﷺ and the angel Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل).
The Messenger of Allah, Muhammadﷺ was terrified by that incident.
He went back home and he entered,
and he immediately went to his wife Khadijah رضي الله عنها and said:
زَمِّلُوْنِي زَمِّلُوْنِيْ، دَثِّرُوْنِيْ دَثِّرُوْنِيْ
Wrap me in a garment! wrap me in a garment!.
Rasool Allah ﷺ was shivering,
he was feeling cold.
And he was asking his wife to wrap him up.
Rasool Allah ﷺ, was terrified and afraid because of this incident that happened to him.
Plus, Rasool Allah ﷺ had a dislike to anything that had to do with Jin(جن), and spirits, and sorcery,
and he was afraid that, what happened to him might be similar to what is happening to sorcerers.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ explained the incident to his wife Khadijah رضي الله عنها.
Khadijah(خديجه) she responded and said:
كَلَّا لَنْ يُخْزِيْكَ اللهُ أَبَدَا
No, Allah سبحانه وتعالى will never forsake you because of your righteousness,
إِنَّكَ تَحْمِلُ الْكَلَّ ، وَتُعِيْنُ عَلى نَوَائِبِ الْحَقَّ
She said, that you support the needy, you help the poor, you are generous towards the guests.
So, because of the prior conduct of Rasool Allah ﷺ, Khadijah رضي الله عنه knew that such a person cannot be forsaken by God.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى will protect you don't worry,
what happened to you cannot be from Satan.
And then she offered to take Muhammadﷺ to her uncle,
or in some narrations, it is her cousin, Waraqah Bin Nofal(ورقة بن نوفل).
So, he went to Waraqah Bin Nofal(ورقة بن نوفل)
and we mentioned that Waraqah Bin Nofal(ورقة بن نوفل) was a man, who became Christian
and he was lettered and he had scrolls from the Bible which he would study.
Khadijah(خديجه) took Muhammadﷺ to Waraqah(ورقه)
and Waraqah(ورقه) asked Muhammadﷺ to explain exactly what happened.
Waraqah Bin Nofal(ورقة بن نوفل) responded and said:
that this is An-Namoos Al-Akbar(ألناموس الأكبر),
An-Namoos Al-Akbar(ألناموس الأكبر) is the greatest Angel Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل),
who descended on Musa(موسى)
Waraqah Bin Nofal(ورقة بن نوفل) immediately knew that this is the angel Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل)
and he is revealing to Muhammadﷺ a revelation similar to that, that was given to Musa عليه السّلام
and you can see Subhaan Allah(سُبْحَان الله) that Waraqah Bin Nofal(ورقة بن نوفل) here
made the correlation between Muhammadﷺ and Musa(موسى) back to what we were saying.
He said this is similar to what was given to Musa عليه السّلام
and then Waraqah Bin Nofal(ورقة بن نوفل) said something interesting, he said:
وَ يَالَيْتَنِيْ كُنْتُ فِيْهَا جَدْعًا حِيْنَ يُخْرِجُكَ قَوْمُكَ مِنْ اَرْضِكْ
And I wish that I was young,
when your people will drive you out of your land.
This was a surprise, to Rasool Allah ﷺ.
So, Rasool Allah question Waraqah(ورقه) and said:
أَوَ مُخْرِجِيَ هُمْ ؟
They will drive me out of my land.
How could that happen?
And Rasool Allah ﷺ had every right to question what Waraqah(ورقه) was saying because
Muhammadﷺ was the most beloved man, he was the most admired man in Makkah.
How could they drive me out?
Muhammadﷺ belong to the noblest family in Makkah, Bannu Hashim(بنو هاشم).
Muhammadﷺ was someone, who had no quarrels with the people,
for them to drive him out of his land.
Plus, they were living in the environment, and the culture,
which it was unacceptable to drive somebody out of their homeland.
In the tribal society, the only way they could survive in the harsh environment of the desert
is for them to hold together.
So, you had extreme loyalty to the tribe,
every member of a tribe considered that their total loyalty goes to the tribe,
and the same thing the tribe is loyal to the member of the tribe.
Anything else would mean death, in that harsh environment,
so they used to stick together, and their family relationships were very strong.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ was asking, Waraqah Bin Nofal(ورقة بن نوفل) would they drive me out of my land.?
Waraqah Bin Nofal(ورقة بن نوفل) said:
"Anyone who has presented his people with something similar to this,
would be driven out of their land, they will take him as an enemy."
Waraqah Bin Nofal(ورقة بن نوفل) was a wise man, who studied history.
And he knows the nature of the conflict between truth and falsehood.
He knew that even though Muhammadﷺ was admired by his people,
even though he belonged to the most noble family,
even though he had no conflicts with the members of his community.
But because he is calling them to Islam,
this is what will happen to him.
He will go through these trials and tribulations and what Waraqah Bin Nofal(ورقة بن نوفل) said, came to fruition.
It happened exactly as he stated.
And the words of Waraqah Bin Nofal(ورقة بن نوفل) were an early warning for Muhammadﷺ to tell him, what was coming ahead,
that it's going to be difficult, and it won't be easy for you.
We talked about the revelation, the beginning of the revelation, Al-Wahee(ألوحى).
And the first words that were given to Rasool Allah ﷺ were Iqraa(إقراء), recite.
What does that mean for us? Iqraa(إقراء),
these words, Iqraa(إقراء), what they mean to us,
the Muslims is that we are an Ummah(امة) that reads,
an Ummah(امة) that studies and Ummah(امة) that learns.
These words had the powerful effect on an illiterate nation, that made them the scholars of the world.
When Qur'an was revealed, the followers of Rasool Allah ﷺ were mostly illiterate.
But these words inspired them to learn.
And within a very short time,
the Muslim Ummah(امة) was the most educated, the most scholarly nation on the face of the earth.
And the number of scholars that this Ummah(امة) has produced, is unsurpassed.
And when you look at the qualities of the scholars of this Ummah(امة), you see their uniqueness
and the fact that they don't have any resemblance in any other nation.
Take, for example, the memory of Al-Bukhari(ألبخاري),
his ability to memorize over a quarter of a million Hadith(حديث)
or Shafi(الشافعي), who said that when I open a book, I have to cover one page,
because I would memorize everything, I don't want the information on the two pages to mix, photographic memory.
Or the scholar Al-Wafaa Bin Aqeel(أبوالوفاء بن عقيل), who wrote an encyclopedia of 300 volumes unfortunately,
it didn't survive, the original copies of it were
in the library of Baghdad(بغداد), which was sacked by the Tataar(تتار),
only I think a volume or two survived.
It was the power of these words, Iqraa(إقراء) that made this Sudden change in the Ummah(امة).
Now, with Rasool Allah ﷺ the situation is different
with Rasool Allah ﷺ he did not learn how to read and write.
With Rasool Allah ﷺ the word meant, recite.
For us it means that we have to learn how to read and write.
But for Rasool Allah ﷺ, it has a different meaning, it has the meaning of
reciting and repeating what Allahسبحانه وتعالى has revealed to him...
Why.?
Because with Rasool Allah ﷺ, Allah wanted him to be illiterate
it was part of the plan, the decree of Allahعَزّ وجَلّ,
Allahسبحانه وتعالى says:
وَمَا كُنْتَ تَتْلُو مِنْ قَبْلِهِ مِنْ كِتَابٍ وَلَا تَخُطُّهُ بِيَمِينِكَ ۖ إِذًا لَارْتَابَ الْمُبْطِلُونَ۝
If you had known scripture before this,
or were able to write, then this would cause doubts
in the ones, who want to make doubts.
So, Allahسبحانه وتعالى says that Muhammadﷺ, first of all, he did not learn any scripture before Qur'an
and he had not learned the ability to read and write,
so he was illiterate.
Now why would Rasool Allah ﷺ after Islam have to learn to read and write
What purpose would that serve him, what good would that do for him?
When he is receiving the knowledge fresh from Allah سبحانه وتعالى through Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل).
What purpose would it be for Rasool Allah ﷺ to learn how to read and write.
For us, reading is our key to knowledge that's how we can learn knowledge
but for Rasool Allah ﷺ he was been taught by Jibreel عليه السّلام.
And there's nothing that books will do for Rasool Allah ﷺ,
there is no knowledge that the books can offer to Rasool Allah ﷺ when, he is receiving the knowledge directly from Allah.
So, Iqraa(اِقراء) has a different meaning for Muhammadﷺ.
It means recite in his case, but for us, it means read.
And this is how the early Muslims understood the first word that was revealed in Qur'an.
And notice that in the fourth Ayah(آية):
اِقْرَأْ بِاسْمِ رَبِّكَ الَّذِي خَلَقَ۝ خَلَقَ الْإِنْسَانَ مِنْ عَلَقٍ۝ اقْرَأْ وَرَبُّكَ الْأَكْرَمُ۝ الَّذِي عَلَّمَ بِالْقَلَمِ۝
The One who taught with the pen.
So, that was an indication for us that it is Allah, Who taught the pen, and it is a bounty and blessing from Him,
and Allah سبحانه وتعالى makes an oath in Surah Al-Qalam(سورة القلم).
ن ۚ وَالْقَلَمِ وَمَا يَسْطُرُونَ۝
And when Allah سبحانه وتعالى makes an oath in something it is to give an importance.
So, Allah made an oath in the name of the pen.
And it is mentioned that in the Battle of Badr(بدر),
the non believers, who are prisoners of war, were offered freedom,
if they can teach 10 Muslims how to read and write.
So, that is the importance that Islam gave to knowledge.
We are an Ummah(امة) of knowledge, we are an Ummah(امة) of scholarship,
and unfortunately, today, we are lagging behind in our duties,
this is an Ummah(امة) that should be the top in fields of scholarship.
And dear brothers and sisters!
If we have lost the interest in learning at least, let's fix the problem with the next generation.
I mean, if you happen to be a person who is having difficulty encouraging yourself to learn and to study
do your best but at least make sure that this problem does not become an inherited problem from you, to your children
We want to make sure that the next generation is a generation that will love reading,
that will love knowledge, that will love to study and learn.
There was study done on childern, who love to read and children who don't have the same interest.
And they try to find what is the difference in their upbringing,
how come some children love reading, and some don't.
They found out the common traits or some common characteristics
among the children, who love to read.
Number one, they found out that their parents are people, who love reading.
So, the child will grow up always seeing one of their parents or both holding a book.
And in the early years of our development, it is a process of imitation.
So, when the child grows up in their young age,
seeing one or two of their parents always holding a book and reading.
They associate reading with something good because they always try to be like their parents,
so they grow up loving, playing with magazines and books,
you'd find that the child isn't even able to read yet.
And nevertheless, they're flipping pages of a magazine.
And since they are unable to read, they would usually look for photos or pictures.
But they're doing it because they see their parents do it.
So, the more they see their parents reading or flipping through pages,
the more they would love to imitate them.
So, in your house in front of your children read, give them this good example.
Second quality, they grow up in a print rich environment.
They grow up in houses that have books that have a library, they have a lot of books around them.
So, they're surrounded with books in their young age,
so they have access to books.
Number three, they own libraries.
It is something good to encourage your child to own a library and to build their own library.
Because it is you know, as a human being,
we have this love of ownership, especially with kids, you can see it, this is mine,
that's the word that you'll always hear it, it belongs to me, it's mine.
So, have them feel that they own a book that they have their own library, it has some special meaning to them.
Their parents would take them out, to bookstores to libraries,
when the parents want to entertain their children from once in a while they would take them to a public library
or they would take them to a bookstore.
So, all of this is part of encouraging them.
And finally, number five, these are children who watch little or no TV.
TV is one of the greatest distractions from learning
If you give child a choice between TV and a book, they will choose TV.
So, restricting their TV viewing would encourage them to read.
So again, these are kids who either don't watch TV at all, or their viewing time is controlled.
So, these are some steps that we as parents can take to ensure that our children will grow up loving reading.
Now, even though I've been talking about reading and encouraging reading, and that we should read a lot
but I need to qualify that statement.
This doesn't mean that we read anything.
At particular stages, there are some things that could be dangerous to a development of a person.
Rasool Allah ﷺ in the early years of Madina,
he saw with Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب), some scrolls of At-Torah(التوراة).
Rasool Allah ﷺ became very angry and his face was red.
And he criticized Umar Ibn Al-Khattab(عمر ابن الخطاب) for reading from the Torah(توراة)
But that wasn't a permanent ban,
it was only in the early years,
until the Muslims developed solid foundation.
And then later on, that order was abrogated, and Rasool Allah ﷺ said,
I have prohibited you from reading the stories of Banni Israel(بني اسرائيل), children of Israel, meaning their Scripture
but now I am allowing you to read it.
However, don't believe it and don't disbelieve in it.
In other words, you are going to be faced with statements, that have no reference in Qur'an,
so don't take it as the truth but in the same time, don't reject it, because it possibly could be true,
or it possibly could be some later insertion.
So, we can see that Rasool Allah ﷺ didn't want them to be exposed to material at the early stage of development
that could be detrimental for their education process.
And in any curriculum in an institution, it is a development process.
So, you need to feed the student what the student is capable of absorbing.
And Ibn Masood(ابن مسعود) Razi Allah Anho says,
مَا حَدَّثْتَ النَّاسْ بِمَا لَمْ تَبْلُغُ اَكُوْلُهُمْ اِلَّا كَانَ لِبَعْضِهِمْ فِتْنَهْ
If you speak to the people, things that their minds are unable to comprehend,
it might be a Fitnah(فِتْنَه), for some of them, it might turn them away.
Therefore, one needs to be careful what material they are reading and what material that children are reading.
So, I'm not just saying read anything comics and the other nonsense books that exists out there,
or people just wasting their time, you would find that people are always holding books, in trains and on planes,
most of the time is going to be a fiction book.
A novel, it's just a way to pass their time, there's no real knowledge in it.
And in Islam, we know that there's knowledge that benefits and knowledge that doesn't.
Rasool Allah ﷺ used to make Dua(دُعَا):
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي اَسْئَلُكَ عِلْمًا نَافِعًا، وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ مِنْ عِلْمٍ لَا يَنْفَعُ
O Allah, I ask You to give me knowledge that benefits and I seek refuge in You from knowledge that doesn't.
So, there is some good knowledge, and there's some bad knowledge
And we know that for a fact it is in Surah Al-Baqarah(سورة البقره).
The two angels, who came down to teach the people magic.
هَارُوتَ وَمَارُوتَ ۚ وَمَا يُعَلِّمَانِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ حَتَّىٰ يَقُولَا إِنَّمَا نَحْنُ فِتْنَةٌ فَلَا تَكْفُرْ ۖ
فَيَتَعَلَّمُونَ مِنْهُمَا مَا يُفَرِّقُونَ بِهِ بَيْنَ الْمَرْءِ وَزَوْجِهِ ۚ وَمَا هُمْ بِضَارِّينَ بِهِ مِنْ أَحَدٍ إِلَّا بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ ۚ
That, they are teaching people knowledge that is evil,
and they are telling the people that this is not good for you.
So, even though it is knowledge, but it's knowledge that doesn't benefit,
it is knowledge of sorcery, magic.
So, these are the first verses revealed to Muhammadﷺ.
Ibn Qayyim(ابن القيم), He talks about the different types of Revelation.
The first and this is from his book,
Za'ad Al-Ma'ad(زاد المعاد), Ibn Qayyim(ابن القيم) is a fascinating scholar.
He was the most prominent of the students of Ibn Taymiyaa(ابن تيميه).
And he was a prolific writer, I mean, he wrote so many books, in so many different subjects.
This particular book is called Za'ad Al-Ma'ad(زاد المعاد)
and in this book, he writes about the Sunnah(سنة) of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
So, he writes about the prophetic medicine, actually, the book, the medicine of the Prophet,
is one volume of Za'ad Al-Ma'ad(زاد المعاد).
The book is everything surrounding Rasool Allah ﷺ
everything that had to do with Rasool Allah ﷺ.
So, he would write about the different forms of transportation that Rasool Allah ﷺ had,
all of his weapons, his wives, his children, his family life,
what would the Messenger of Allah do when he was in Hajj(حج),
what he did in a Salah(صلاة), so it is everything about the life of Muhammadﷺ.
The amazing thing about this book is Ibn Al-Qayyim(ابن القيم) says in the introduction to the book,
عَلَّقْتُه’ فِيْ السَّفَرْ لَا فِيْ الْاِقَامَهْ
He said, I wrote this book when I was traveling
not when I was residing in my house
therefore, I did not have my references and books with me.
So, it's amazing how you could write about such as topic without having references and books with you.
And write such a book when you're traveling,
and it is pretty much the best book written on the subject.
Ibn Al-Qayyim(ابن القيم) says in the book,
he talks about the stages or the different categories of Revelation, he says
The first is the period of True Vision.
It was the starting point of the revelation to the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him,
for six months before receiving the revelation.
Rasool Allah ﷺ used to frequently see dreams.
He would see a dream at night time,
and he would see the fulfillment of the dream during the daytime.
And this continued for six months,
whatever he sees at night would happen the next day.
Rasool Allah ﷺ says about dreams, that the true dream is one out of 46 parts of Prophet hood.
The true dreams are one part out of 46 parts of Prophet hood.
And this number is interesting because for how long was Rasool Allah ﷺ seeing dreams, six months,
and how long was the Prophet hood of Rasool Allah ﷺ 23 years,
what is the ratio of six months to 23 years, one to 46,
according to the Hadith(حديث).
Dreams are something that the believer can see, it is not restricted to the Prophets.
But the difference is, in the situation of the Prophets, a dream is a form of Revelation.
With us, we have three categories of dreams which were stated Rasool Allah ﷺ.
1) Number one, a true dream and this is a dream that will occur as it was seen,
or it has a meaning that needs to be interpreted.
This is the first dream.
2) Second type of dreams is a dream from Shaytaan(شيطان):
رُؤيَا تَحزِيْنْ مِنَّ الشَّيْطَانْ
Rasool Allah ﷺ says this is a dream from Shaytaan(شيطان) and he wants to inflict harm on you.
Rasool Allah ﷺ says if you ever see such a dream,
then seek refuge in Allah from Shaytaan(شيطان).
And don't tell that dream to anyone.
Why?
Because that's what Shaytaan(شيطان) wants to happen.
He wants to see you miserable, going around complaining to people about that horrible dream that you've seen.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ is telling you, to forget about it.
Don't tell anybody about it, if it seems to be a bad dream.
3) The third type of dreams is
Rasool Allah ﷺ says, you think about something in the daytime, and you dream about it at night.
So, it's something on your mind something that you think about frequently.
You see it at night, Rasool Allah ﷺ says this is a meaningless dream,
it doesn't have any meaning.
So, these are the three different types of dreams that we could have.
So, one of them is true, one is false, and one is meaningless.
2) The second type of Revelation,
it is when the angel inspires to Rasool Allah ﷺ
but he does not appear to Muhammadﷺ, it is just a form of inspiration.
يَقُوْلُ صلى الله عليه وسلم نَفَثَ رَوْحُ الْقُدُسْ فِيْ رَوْعِيْ اَنَّه’ لَنْ تَمُوْتَ نَفْسٌ حَتَّى تَسْتَكْمِلَ اَجَلَهَا وَرِزْقَهَا
An example of this is.?
Rasool Allah ﷺ said:
the noble spirit meaning Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل) revealed to me,
no soul will perish until it exhausts its due course.
So, fear Allah and gently request him,
never get so impatient to the verge of disobedience of Allah,
what Allah has can never be acquired,
but through obedience to Him.
So, this is not Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل) speaking to Muhammadﷺ it's an inspiration.
3) The third type is, the angel appearing to Muhammadﷺ in the physical form of human beings.
And an example of that would Hadith(حديث) Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل),
Jibreel عليه السّلام came in the form of a man and he was seen by Rasool Allah ﷺ and by the other companions.
4) The fourth, the angel came to him, like the toll of a bell.
And this was the most difficult form because the angel used to seize him tightly
and sweat would stream from his forehead even on the coldest day.
This was the most difficult form,
Jibreel عليه السّلام would descend on Muhammadﷺ, and the Messenger of Allah would feel the weight,
and he would hear like the voice of a ringing bell
And that might be the vibration of the wings of the angel because there's another Hadith(حديث)
that says that when Allah سبحانه وتعالى reveals His command
the angels have so much Khusho'oo(خشوع).
They start shaking their wings and the sound of the movement of their wings is like dragging a chain over a rock bed.
So, it's like dragging steel over rocks,
it has that violent ringing sound that's the sound of the vibration of the wings of the angels.
When Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل) would come to Rasool Allah ﷺ in this form
the weight of Rasool Allah ﷺ would increase and if he is on top of his camel,
the camel would be forced to get down on his knees
because of the extreme weight and the and the back of the camel would bend.
Once Rasool Allah ﷺ had his knee over the thigh of Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه)
and Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل) descended on Muhammadﷺ, Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه) said:
I felt the weight of the knee of Rasool Allah ﷺ and it was almost going to crush my thigh.
And again what seems to be very heavy is because the words of Qur'an are heavy.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى says
إِنَّا سَنُلْقِي عَلَيْكَ قَوْلًا ثَقِيلًا۝
The words of Allah are heavy, it's heavy burden.
Number five,
the Prophet ﷺ would see Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل) in his actual form,
and this occurred twice and it's mentioned in Surah An-Najam(سورة النجم).
وَلَقَدْ رَآهُ نَزْلَةً أُخْرَىٰ ۝ عِنْدَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَىٰ۝
He saw him another time.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ saw Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل) in his original form twice.
And Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل) in his original form, had wings that would cover the horizon,
huge, he would cover the horizon,
in fact Rasool Allah ﷺ said: Wherever he would look, he would see the wings of the angel of Jibreel(جِبْرِيْل) in front of him,
covering the horizon in every direction.
Finally, the six
Allah سبحانه وتعالى would speak to Muhammadﷺ directly without any intermediary,
and this occurred in Al-Miraaj(ألمعراج).
Rasool Allah ﷺ spoke directly to Allah سبحانه وتعالى and Allah spoke directly to Muhammadﷺ,
and this form actually also occurred to Musa عليه السّلام.
So, these are the seven(six) different forms of Revelation.
Rasool Allah ﷺ initially was instructed to keep the message private,
not to make it public.
And to invite only his very close associates.
So Rasool Allah ﷺ made Da'wah(دعوة) to the ones, who were very close to him.
The first person to believe out of both men and woman
was Khadijahرضي الله عنها, she was the first believer.
Ibn Kathir(اِبْنِ كَثِيْر) says:
Combining these accounts we see that Khadijah(خديجه) was the first woman to accept Islam,
the leader of the pack, as it were, and also she proceeded the men.
She was the first to believe in Muhammadﷺ.
Now we talked about Khadijahرضي الله عنها
and we talked earlier about the marriage of Rasool Allah ﷺ to Khadijahرضي الله عنها.
Now, what made Khadijah(خديجه) special?
How come she was one of the greatest woman that ever lived?
Was it because of her career, was it because of her knowledge?
What was it exactly?
That made Khadijah(خديجه) among the four best women that ever lived.?
I think we should give this some consideration.
And especially the sisters should revisit the text regarding Khadijahرضي الله عنها
and the other three women which were mentioned in the Hadith(حديث),
Mariyam(مريم), Aasiya(آسيه) and Fatima(فاطمه).
If we want to find something in common between these four women,
we would find the following.
1) Number one.
All of the four had a solid spiritual heart,
they had some strong spirituality.
Their Eeman(إيمان) was powerful, their Eeman(إيمان) was solid,
that is something that is clearly seen in the case of the four,
they had strong, Eeman(إيمان).
And their faith in Allahعَزّوجَلّ reached to the level of Yaqeen(يقين).
Yaqeen(يقين) is a state of conviction
where nothing can bring doubts into the heart.
So, the heart has absorbed Eeman(ايمان) to a level where it makes the heart unshakable that is Yaqeen(يقين).
It is strong to the extent that one would have more faith in what they believe
than what they would see or hear, that is Yaqeen(يقين).
It is, as if you see something in front of your eyes, even though you don't see it.
That is the level of Yaqeen(يقين).
It is clear that all of these four had that level of Eeman(ايمان).
I mean, Let's look for example, take an example Aasiyah(آسيه),
Aasiyah(آسيه) the wife of Firaun(فرعون).
Aasiyah(آسيه), had all what a worldly woman would want
A woman who's concerned is this Duniyah(دُنِيَّا), would want wealth,
would want a very comfortable living, would want to have a rich and powerful husband
would want to have servants, would want to have power, she had it all.
Aasiyah(آسيه) was willing to give up all of this for the sake of Allahعَزّ وجَلّ.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى has put her in a place
in a palace, that was the best in the world.
She said: O Allah I want a house in Jannah(جنة),
وَضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلًا لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا امْرَأَتَ فِرْعَوْنَ
إِذْ قَالَتْ رَبِّ ابْنِ لِي عِنْدَكَ بَيْتًا فِي الْجَنَّةِ
وَنَجِّنِي مِنْ فِرْعَوْنَ وَعَمَلِهِ وَنَجِّنِي مِنَ الْقَوْمِ الظَّالِمِينَ۝
O Allah, I don't want this, I want something in Jannah(جنة)
Allah سبحانه وتعالى has given her the most powerful and wealthiest husband.
She said, I don't want this,
وَنَجِّنِي مِنْ فِرْعَوْنَ وَعَمَلِهِ
And Allah save me from Firaun(فرعون) and all of his deeds, I don't want to have anything to do with it.
So, that willingness to give up, all of these worldly aspects for the sake of Allah is a reflection of the depth of her faith.
Now, keep in mind that Aasiyah(آسيه) was living in a very evil and corrupt environment,
she was surrounded with evil from every direction.
Nevertheless, she was able to overcome all of her surroundings and attached her heart to Allah.
That's another indication of the strength of Eeman(ايمان),
that you are able to fight the tide which is surrounding you from every direction
and keep your connection to Allah.
And we could say the same, about all of the rest.
So number one, they had deep faith in Allahسبحانه وتعالى that reach the level of Yaqeen(يقين).
The second common thing that we find among them,
is that all of the four were either good wives, or good mothers.
And this is something that might not pass Well, with feminists,
or our sisters who are feminized or affected by that line of thought.
These four women were not great because of their activism or their career, or their knowledge.
You find something common between the four and that was they were either good wives or good mothers.
Aasiyah(آسيه) and Maryam(مريم) both raised up two of the greatest Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء) of Allah,
Eesa(عيسى) and Musa(موسى).
Khadijahرضي الله عنها was outstanding because of her support of her husband.
It wasn't because he was a businesswoman.
That did not factor in, it was because he was an excellent wife
for Rasool Allah ﷺ and she supported him, when he needed her.
Rasool Allah ﷺ would always find Khadijah(خديجه) on his side.
And Fatima رضي الله عنها was an exceptional wife too.
To give you an example,
Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) heard that Rasool Allah ﷺ has received some servants.
So, he and his wife decided that they should go to Rasool Allah ﷺ and asked him
to give them one servant because of the difficult work,
that Fatimaرضي الله عنها has going through, in her house.
So, they went to the house of Rasool Allah ﷺ and Rasool Allah ﷺ wasn't there.
So, they spoke to Ayesha(عائشه),
and they told Ayeshaرضي الله عنها we want to ask Rasool Allah ﷺ to give us a servant
because of the hardship that Fatimaرضي الله عنها is going through.
She was suffering hard work, serving in her house.
Rasool Allah ﷺ was told by Ayesha(عائشه),
so he went to the house of Ali(علي) and Fatima(فاطمه).
Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) is narrating this Hadith(حديث), he says;
that Rasool Allah ﷺ came in and we were already ready to go to bed.
We're already in our bed.
As soon as we saw Rasool Allah ﷺ we stood up,
Rasool Allah ﷺ said: Remain where you are.
So, they were laying in their beds.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) said: Rasool Allah ﷺ came and he sat between me and Fatima(فاطمه).
So, he was touching both of us, he came and sat between us in our bed.
Now, Rasool Allah ﷺ he loves his daughter so much he once said that Fatima(فاطمه) is part of me.
What hurts her, hurts me and what pleases her, pleases me.
This was his only surviving child and he loved her dearly.
He loved her so much.
So, Rasool Allah ﷺ would want to do for his daughter what is best for her,
he would want his daughter to have the best life.
Rasool Allah ﷺ had the ability to give them a servant.
But did he do that?
Rasool Allah ﷺ said:
I have something better for you, than a servant
Before you go to bed say, Subhaan Allah(سُبْحَان الله) Thirty three(33) times
Alhamdolillah(ألحمدلله) Thirty Three(33) times and Allah Ho Akbar(الله اكبر) Thirty Three(33) times,
that is better for you, than a servant.
Now Rasool Allah ﷺ knew that his daughter
the daughter of the best and she is, of the best.
Rasool Allah ﷺ knew that she was serving in a household until her hands became harsh,
the skin on her hand was thick.
Nevertheless, Rasool Allah ﷺ advised her to continue with what she's doing.
And he told her instead of getting a servant,
I would give you this gift Subhaan Allah(سُبْحَان الله), Alhamdolillah(ألحمدلله) and Allah Ho Akbar(الله اكبر).
Now, Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) later on, he said that Fatima(فاطمه) was working so hard.
He said that she was using the stone mill, until her hands became harsh and rough.
She was drawing water out of the well, until it left marks on her neck.
She was cleaning the house until, her clothes became dirty.
And she was cooking until, it affected her face.
Now this was the daughter of the greatest man that ever lived Muhammadﷺ.
and she was his only daughter
and Rasool Allah ﷺ knew what she was going through.
And that is what made Fatima رضي الله عنها among the four best women that ever lived.
In terms of knowledge Ayesha(عائشه) is more knowledgeable than Fatima(فاطمه) and Khadijah(خديجه).
Nevertheless, Ayesha رضي الله عنها did not have the same level as Fatima(فاطمه) and Khadijah(خديجه).
So, sisters, think about your future and think about your priorities.
This is not to say that we should not learn and we should not be Islamicly active
but we want to know where the Ajr(أجر) is, where the greatest Ajr(أجْر) is.
We're all encouraged to fulfill our roles and to be the best and to learn the most.
But there are things that are more rewardable than others.
So let's optimize our Ibadah(عبادة).
So, Khadijah رضي الله عنها was the first to believe,
and she stood besides Rasool Allah ﷺ until she died.
She was the first believer.
The first slave to become Muslim was Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه),
the first child to become Muslim was Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب).
And the first free man to become Muslim was Abu Bakr As-Siddique رضي الله عنه.
Now there's an old discussion between our scholars on who was the first man to become Muslim?
Some would say Abu Bakr(ابوبكر), and then some would say Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب),
we know the first woman was Khadijah(خديجه), and she was first among everyone.
But among men, who was the first was it Abu Bakr(ابوبكر), or Ali(علي).
And this is an old discussion between our scholars.
Ibn Hajar Al-Asqalaani(ابن حجر العسقلاني) tries to resolve the dispute.
He says that, the first to accept Islam was Abu Bakr(ابو بكر)
because Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) was never a non Muslim, to become a Muslim.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) never was in his life, a non Muslim for him to embrace Islam,
because Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) became a Muslim at a very young age.
And he never worshiped idols in his life and he never embraced the religion of the people of Makkah,
and he was brought up in the household of Prophet hood.
Therefore he was brought up on Islam from day one.
Because again, he was adopted by Rasool Allah ﷺ.
Therefore, we would say that the first man to become Muslim was Abu Bakr As-Siddiqueرضي الله عنه.
Now let's continue with the quotation from Ibn Kathir(اِبْنِ كَثِيْر), he says,
combining these accounts, we see
that Khadijah(خديجه) was the first woman to accept Islam,
the leader of the pack, as it were, and also she proceeded the men.
Among the slaves, the first to accept Islam was Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه),
by the way Zaid Bin Harissa(زيد بن حارثه) was also in the household of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
And the first boy to accept Islam was Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب),
he was young then, and had not reached the age of puberty, as generally believed.
These were the family of Rasool Allah ﷺ.
The first free man to accept Islam was Abu Bakr(ابو بكر), the trusting,
his conversion was more beneficial than that of those mentioned before,
because he was highly a respected leader,
and honored chief of Quraish(قُرَيْشْ) and the man of wealth.
He became a missionary for Islam,
and was very much liked and admired for spending his wealth in the service of Allah and His messenger.
So, it's an interesting note from Ibn Kathir(اِبْنِ كَثِيْر),
that Abu Bakr(ابو بكر) was the most beneficial.
Why?
Because he was a wealthy, prominent member of the society,
who brought in, all of his resources for the service of Islam.
See, when you say wealthy and respected member of the society, it would mean nothing.
if a person does not bring in, what Allah has endowed them with, to serve Islam
but Abu Bakr رضي الله عنه, he put everything on the line.
All of his wealth, all of his business, his connections, his knowledge,
he used it all for Islam.
He put everything under the service of Rasool Allah ﷺ, it's all yours.
And that's why it was called Siddique(الصديق) because it was the first
Siddique(الصديق) is the one, who believes
people rejected Rasool Allah ﷺ Abu Bakr(ابوبكر) accepted him.
There was a saying that everyone hesitated in accepting Islam, except Abu Bakr(ابوبكر),
as soon as this was presented to him, he accepted it
Everyone else thought about it, gave it a second thought with Abu Bakr(ابو بكر), it was an immediate response.
And he would never have second thoughts about serving Islam he would, he was the one, who came with all of his wealth,
he was the one, who first believed in Rasool Allah ﷺ in Makkah,
he was the one, who first believed in Al-Israa Wal Miraj(الاسراء والمعراج)
He was the one or accompanied Rasool Allah ﷺ in difficult journey of Al-Hijrah(هجرة
That was the status of Abu Bakr As-Siddique رضي الله عنه.
We talked earlier about the loyalty of Rasool Allah ﷺ to the ones, who stood with him, in the early days.
Here we have a Hadith(حديث) in Bukhari(بخاريْ):
Abu Darda(ابو درداء) narrates that feud happened between Abu Bakr(ابوبكر) and Umar(عُمَر) ,
now these were the two advisors of Rasool Allah ﷺ, they're very close to him.
Ali Ibn Abi Talib(علي ابن ابي طالب) said:
I would see Rasool Allah ﷺ enter with Abu Bakr(ابوبكر) and Umar(عُمَر),
he would leave with Abu Bakr(ابوبكر) and Umar(عُمَر),
he would sit with Abu Bakr(ابوبكر) and Umar(عُمَر)
where ever you would see Rasool Allah ﷺ you would see Abu Bakr(ابوبكر) on one side and Umar(عُمَر) on the other,
these were his two advisors.
But still Rasool Allah ﷺ had this special loyalty to the ones,
who were with him from the early days.
So, this dispute happened between Abu Bakr(ابوبكر) and Umar(عُمَر),
Rasool Allah ﷺ said:
Allah sent me to you
and all of you said, You lie, except Abu Bakr(ابوبكر), who said, he spoke the truth.
And he dedicated himself and his fortune to me.
Will you then leave this friend of mine to me, he said that twice.
He said leave my friend alone.
Don't harm him, leave him alone.
The early stage of Da'wah(دعوة); the secret stage was over, with the revelation of the verse.
وَأَنْذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ۝
Warn your nearest Kindred.
This is in Surah Ash-Shua'raa(سورة الشعرآء)
it was revealed to Rasool Allah ﷺ,
Rasool Allah ﷺ went out and stood on the mountain of As-Saffah(ألصفاء).
And he called;
وا صَبَاحَاه
Wa'Sub-haa(وا صَبَاحَاهْ) is like, sounding the alarm, the sirens.
You don't say Wa'Sub-haa(وا صَبَاحَاهْ), unless there's an emergency going on, there's something very critical.
So, everyone who heard Rasool Allah ﷺ
ran towards the source of the voice.
And the ones, who could not go with send someone to report back to them.
So, Wa'Sub-haa(وا صَبَاحَاهْ) is something that you don't say unless it's something very important.
So, all of the people gathered,
Rasool Allah ﷺ asked them,
if I tell you that there is an army behind this mountain that is about to ambush you, attack you.
Would you believe me?,
They said:
مَا عَهِدْنَا عَلَيْكَ كَذِبَا
we have never heard you lie.
Rasool Allah ﷺ said:
فَاِنِّيْ نَذِيْرُلَّكُمْ بَيْنَ يَدَيْ عَذَابٍ اَلِيْمْ
I am here to warn you a severe punishment.
I came to warn you, Allah سبحانه وتعالى sent me as a Warner to you,
and I'm warning you as severe punishment that will befall you if you don't believe.
These were the words Rasool Allah ﷺ chose to deliver in his first public speech to the people of Quraish(قُرَيْشْ).
I am here to warn you.
So, you can see that it was very straightforward.
Without much introduction, straight to the point.
I am warning you a severe punishment.
Rasool Allah ﷺ did that because the Ambiyaa(أنبِيَاء),
Allah سبحانه وتعالى tells them that your duty is Balaagh Mubeen(بلاغ مبين),
your duty is to convey the message plainly.
So, when you convey the message, it should not be confusing.
It should not be obscure, it should not be sugar coated, it should not be altered, it should be straightforward.
Because you don't want to leave any doubts in the mind of the listener,
you don't want to confuse them.
Now unfortunately, many times when we make Da'wah(دعوة) we confuse the listener
the listener comes out not knowing what's going on.
What are we talking about?
What are the consequences of belief?
And what are the consequences of disbelief?
But Rasool Allah ﷺ would leave no doubt in the mind of the listener.
The listener would know that if they believe they will be a promised Jannah(جنة).
And if they don't, they're risking hellfire.
They know that the consequences of disbelief would be hellfire.
And Rasool Allah ﷺ would make his warnings very straightforward.
Now, Rasool Allah ﷺ called the people and the people assumed that, this is something urgent and important, and it was.!!
Abu Lahab(ابو لهب) responded and said:
تَبَّنْ الَّكَ اَلِى هَذَا جَمَاعْتَنَا
May evil befall you the rest of your day.
Is this why you called us.?
Abu Lahab(ابو لهب) was upset, he was angry.
Why?
Because Rasool Allah ﷺ called for an urgent gathering during the official business hours,
and he took me from my work and my business,
and I came here not to hear something serious, according to Abu Lahab(ابو لهب).
He was talking about afterlife, he's talking about religion,
he's talking about spirituality.
He's talking about things that are not tangible
He's wasting my time,
I could have made money, during those valuable minutes that I spent listening to him.
So, Abu Lahab(ابو لهب) was upset.
Abu Lahab(ابو لهب) is thinking that this is the material world, this is real world
And if you don't have a deal to discuss some business, some money to make, don't waste my time.
And he said,
تَبَّاً الَّكَ سَائِرَ الْيَوْمْ
may evil befall you the rest of the day, you wasted my time.
Abu Lahab(ابو لهب) is not alone, in that he's speaking on behalf of a lot of people.
People don't want to listen about religion,
don't waste my time talking about this religious stuff.
If you can promise me some money,
if they can promise me something that will do me good in this world,
otherwise, don't waste my time.
Excuse me, sir, can I talk to you about religion for half an hour?
No, I'm busy.
I can't afford half an hour.
And then what is that man in a rush to do?
Maybe is going to buy a refrigerator or a car or something
you know, you're asking the person to give you half an hour from their time to talk about their salvation and they would refuse,
nevertheless, they willing to spend hours and hours before buying your refrigerator or an oven.
They would look at all of the deals,
they would visit all of the department stores.
Before a person would buy a used car, they would spend days and days of research they would go and consult the blue book.
So, I would consult the blue book then I would go and read all of the classified ads
days and days of my valuable life, I'm spending just to save a few hundred dollars.
and I'm not willing to give half an hour of my time to learn about what will save me, in my eternal life.
So, Abu Lahab(ابو لهب) was representing lots of people when they said:
تَبَّاً الَّكَ سَائِرَ الْيَوْمْ
Allah سبحانه وتعالى revealed the Surah(سورة).
تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ۝ مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ۝
The hands of Abu Lahab(ابواهب) will perish and perish he and then the Ayah(آية) says:
مَا أَغْنَىٰ عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ۝
His wealth will not do him any good.
What was keeping Abu Lahab(ابو لهب) away from the truth, business, his wealth.
Allah سبحانه وتعالى is saying that his wealth will do him no good.
The people who are rushing after Duniyah(دُنِيَّا), Duniyah(دُنِيَّا) will do the no good.
If they don't have Islam in their heart.
This Surah(سورة) is a miracle of Qur'an
because it says that Abu Lahab(ابولهب) and his wife are in hellfire.
And this Ayah(آية) was revealed while Abu Lahab(ابولهب) and his wife were still alive.
If Abu Lahab(ابولهب) and his wife wanted to prove Qur'an wrong, they could have said we are Muslims.
But they remained disbelievers until, the day they died.
So, this is a miracle of Qur'an.
It is speaking about an event that did not happen yet.
It is saying that Abu Lahab(ابولهب) and his wife are in Hellfire, while they're still alive.
And they could have embraced Islam if they wanted to prove Qur'an wrong.
But they didn't do it.
صَلَّى الله عَلى سَيَّدِنَا محمد وَعَلى اَلِهِ وَ صَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ