الَّذِينَ يَحْمِلُونَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ ﴿٧﴾رَبَّنَا وَأَدْخِلْهُمْ جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ الَّتِي وَعَدْتَهُمْ وَمَنْ صَلَحَ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ ﴿٨﴾ وَقِهِمُ السَّيِّئَاتِ ۚ وَمَنْ تَقِ السَّيِّئَاتِ يَوْمَئِذٍ فَقَدْ رَحِمْتَهُ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ ﴿٩﴾
Those [angels] who carry the Throne and those around it exalt [ Allah ] with praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those who have believed, [saying], "Our Lord, You have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who have repented and followed Your way and protect them from the punishment of Hellfire. Our Lord, and admit them to gardens of perpetual residence which You have promised them and whoever was righteous among their fathers, their spouses and their offspring. Indeed, it is You who is the Exalted in Might, the Wise. And protect them from the evil consequences [of their deeds]. And he whom You protect from evil consequences that Day - You will have given him mercy. And that is the great attainment."
(Surah Ghafir 7-8-9)
The joy of Eid was doubled when we got the golden opportunity to meet our beloved respected Ustaza Dr. Farhat Hashmi at the premises of our Madrasa Dar Umm Sulaim in Jeddah. We got the opportunity to learn many things in this session. During the month of Ramzan we could benefit from the daily Dawrah e Quran of respected Ustaza and had the chance to read and understand the Noble Quran with meaning and brief Tafseer along with the lessons derived from the Aayaat for application in daily life. We pray that Allah keeps her in good health and well being and accept all her good deeds.
The session started with the recitation of aayaat 7, 8 and 9 of Surat Ghafir by Ms Tahreem. Ustaza then reflected upon these aayaat and the audience also participated actively in this reflection. A gathering where Allah is remembered is covered in tranquility and blessings by the presence of the angels. The audience must have felt that peace in this session. As we talked about Allah and His Throne and those Angels who carry His Throne so the environment became grander and more serene. Ustaza explained these three aayaat so eloquently that we could understand and learn a lot in just one session.
When we read about the Throne of Allah we understand how Allah is above all His creation, Exalted and the Most High. He is above the Throne. We can also understand the magnanimity of the Throne itself though we cannot imagine how it looks like. Also, we can understand what kind of Angels must be carrying that magnificent Throne of Allah, the Almighty. When we talk about the Throne we know that there is one Hadith where it is mentioned that 7 kinds of people will be under its shade when there will be no shade other than the shade of Allah’s Throne on the Day of Judgment. The following Hadith mentions this:
وعن أبى هريرة رضي الله عنه، عن النبى صلى الله عليه وسلم قال:
"سبعة يظلهم الله في ظله يوم لا ظل إلا ظله:
1. إمام عادل،
2. وشاب نشأ في عبادة الله تعالى،
3. ورجل قلبه معلق بالمساجد،
4. ورجلان تحابا في الله اجتمعا عليه وتفرقا عليه،
5. ورجل دعته امرأة ذات منصب وجمال، فقال: إنى أخاف الله،
6. ورجل تصدق بصدقة فأخفاها حتى لا تعلم شماله ما تنفق يمينه،
7. ورجل ذكر الله خالياً ففاضت عيناه"۔ (متفق عليه)
The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him said: "There are seven whom Allah will shade in His Shade on the Day when there is no shade except His Shade:
1. a just ruler;
2. a youth who grew up in the worship of Allah, the Mighty and Majestic;
3. a man whose heart is attached to the mosques;
4. two men who love each other for Allah's sake, meeting for that and parting upon that;
5. a man who is called by a woman of beauty and position (for illegal intercourse), but be says: 'I fear Allah',
6. a man who gives in charity and hides it, such that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives in charity; and
7. a man who remembered Allah in private and so his eyes shed tears.'" (Abu Hurairah & collected in Saheeh al-Bukhari)
Ustaza said that remembering Allah in seclusion where no one sees you happens only out of the love of Allah or His fear and it is one of the most sincere acts. When we are in a gathering we can easily shed tears influenced by those crying there but during times of seclusion we are alone and nobody sees us except Allah. Such kind of crying has no show-off and it is heartfelt. Since such kind of crying is pure and sincere its reward is also immense as mentioned in the above Hadith. Ustaza said that one must remember the blessings of Allah and acknowledge them and then cry out of thankfulness. We can also cry out of the fear of Allah’s punishment when we remember our sins privately. The most important thing here is sincerity or ikhlas. We should not do things to impress others or to show-off. We should be content with the fact that Allah has seen our deeds and He will reward us in the best way. When a person thinks in this manner then he has strong Eman or Faith in Allah. But opposite to that if someone wants to please and impress people then he will be motivated to do things only when people acknowledge or praise him otherwise he will do nothing. Those actions that are done just to please Allah are done even when there is no one around and no one even comes to know of that act or the doer of that act. May Allah give us such sincerity in our actions that we become eligible for the shade of Allah’s Throne of the Day of Judgment.
We could know so much more about the Throne of Allah, the Arsh. Allah has made the Throne by His own Hands. Apart from it the Pen, the Garden of Eden and Adam are also made by Allah Himself and the rest of the creation is made by the Word “Be”. Ustaza guided us that whenever children ask ‘where is Allah’, we should point toward the sky and say that He is Above. Allah is the Most High and He is Above all His creation, including the Throne. The Throne is the most magnificent of Allah’s creation and it is the roof of all the rest of His creation, the skies, the heavens and the universe and everything that we can imagine.
The aayaat under reflection mention the carriers of Allah’s Throne, the 8 noble angels. These angels are also very huge and magnificent and it is mentioned in ahadith that the distance between their earlobe and their shoulders is equal to 700 years of journeying. They are doing such a great job and they are so magnificent yet they are not arrogant. They are keen on worshiping their Rabb and they talk to each other in a low tone. This must be because they are aware of their Majestic Rabb and His Power. They are so humble that they care to pray for the forgiveness of the people of Faith or the believers to their Rabb even after having such a lofty position near their Lord. Their humility and that of the Prophets of Allah is something to take lesson from. Those who have arrogance will not enter Paradise. The Prophets were the most humble of people. Take the example of Musa peace be upon him. He acknowledged the fact that he was weak in the aspect of speech and his brother Haroon was good at it. He asked Allah to make Haroon peace be upon him his helper in the mission that he was assigned. He did not feel shy or constricted at heart to say that his brother was better than him in something. On the contrary, shaytan said that he was better than Adam peace be upon him, and so he refused to bow down to him in respect. We come to know that humility and giving people the credit of their qualities and accepting them whole-heartedly is the character of the Prophets, whereas, being arrogant and considering oneself as better than others is the way of shaytan. If ever we find it difficult to acknowledge the good in others we must check the state of our hearts. This is due to the constriction in the hearts, envy, stinginess of the soul etc., and we should work on its treatment. When we ponder on our own attitude we come to understand our own selves better and realize that there is so much that we say but don’t mean it.
وَمَنْ حَوْلَهُ يُسَبِّحُونَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُونَ بِهِ
Apart from the Angels who carry the Throne of Allah, the Angels around it also exalt the Praise of Allah. Allah is the Rabb; He is the Creator, the Master and the Planner of everything. He does all the Planning. If something untoward happens in our life then we must remember that it is the decree of Allah and His planning and it is based on nothing but Justice and Wisdom. If some disease of illness strikes us we must glorify Allah and believe that there must be some good in it. Even if things go against our will we should not get angry rather say that we are pleased with our Rabb and His Plan. Never say that this should not have happened. Everything takes place by His Will. He never does injustice to His creation. Whatever He Wills is better for His slaves. There are many occasions to glorify the praises of our Lord like when we face any pain or difficulty in life, when we encounter evil whisperings, when Allah bestows His blessings etc; in all these situations and more we should glorify Allah. We should recite سبحان اللہ و بحمدہ in all situations whether pleasant or unpleasant. The angels around the Throne also glorify Allah with His Praise and their quality of Faith is mentioned here specifically. They have Faith in Allah and believe in Him. We should also keep our Faith strong in the hard times. The difficult times in life are indeed painful to handle but this is the test of our Faith in Allah. They are put into our life to train us in patience and to test the strength of our belief system. The whole life of a believer is a test. Through these tests Allah raises the status of the believers and erases their sins. This is indeed due to the Mercy of our Rabb that he tests us to make us pure and deserving of His Reward in the form of Paradise. Those who praise Allah even when a hardship befalls them are the true believers. Death is the most difficult of all hardships and when a dying person praises Allah it is the sign of his strong Eman. It means that he is please with His Rabb even when he is about to die.
وَيَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
These angels ask forgiveness for the believers. These servants of Allah keep their relationship with Allah in good shape therefore the angels pray for them. We usually ask others to make dua for us but here we come to know that if we have a strong Faith then the angels themselves pray for our forgiveness. They pray for those who believe in Allah alone and do not associate anyone or anything with Him. We have a relationship of Eman or Faith with the noble angels. Proclaiming the declaration of Faith and standing firmly on it is not a light matter. Correct belief and Faith are essential for the acceptance of our good deeds. Eman has its highs and lows and this is why even the believers fall short and make mistakes. The angels ask Allah to forgive the believers. Forgiveness of Allah means that the sins will be covered and hidden. When the sinners seek Allah’s forgiveness and do sincere repentance Allah readily forgives them.
رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَحْمَةً وَعِلْمًا
The Mercy and Knowledge of Allah is very vast and it envelopes everything that exists. His Mercy prevails over His Wrath and He has written Mercy for Himself. The knowledge of Allah is complete in the sense of time and place whereas the knowledge of His creation is very limited. We get so impressed with those who are great scholars and have gained much knowledge in the world. But the reality is that there knowledge is nothing compared to the knowledge of Allah. When the so called learned men and scholars realize this they are humbled. They always seek the help of Allah in their matters because they know that Allah knows everything. When Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him was suffering due to some magic done on him he sought the help of Allah alone. Whenever we face any distress or confusion we usually ask others for suggestion or help when in fact we should first turn to Allah as the knowledge of people is limited whereas the knowledge of the Creator is all encompassing and vast. We need to make our connection with Allah so strong that before anyone else we turn to Him alone ask Him for help. We should pray the Istikhara prayer to seek the guidance of Allah in our matters. Ask him to make matters clear for you and make your difficulties easy for you. It is important to believe in Allah, in whatever He does and in all His attributes as well. Sometimes things happen in our life that our incomprehensible for us. This is the time when the strength of our Eman in Allah shows up. Knowledge of the attributes of Allah help in building up a strong Eman in Him. When we know His power and authority we easily understand that all that He Wills has justice an wisdom behind it.
One of the students related the sad story of her sister’s illness and demise. She described how the period of her illness till her death was extremely trying for everyone. She was thankful that due to the guidance from the Quran they could go through this tough period with patience and strength. She thanked Ustaza for her course ‘mera jeena mera marna’, because of which she and her mother could carry out the last rites of her sister in the proper Islamic manner. When you have the light of guidance from Allah you can smoothly go through the trials of life with patience and strength. Though the pain is there but the connection and strong relationship with our Creator at all times gives us immense courage and the ability to do the right thing at the right time. Allah never does injustice to His servants. We should have this firm belief in Him.
فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا وَاتَّبَعُوا سَبِيلَكَ وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَحِيمِ﴿٧﴾
The angels who carry the Throne of Allah and those around it ask forgiveness for those who repent. Every one of us is guilty of some sin or disobedience to Allah. No one can say that he has never done any mistake. Those who accept that they are wrong, feel the remorse, do sincere repentance and choose the path of goodness; those are the ones for whom the angels ask forgiveness from Allah. This aayah gives such consolation that indeed Allah turns with Mercy toward those who repent to Him and He shows them the right path. This is indeed by the Mercy of Allah alone that we have been given this chance to seek forgiveness and repent and have the assurance that Allah accepts our repentance. If this was not so then people would have lived under the pressure and constant distress of the guilt. The life would become a burden for the sinners. But we should never lose hope in the Mercy of Allah. We should not live in the guilt of our sins. The sinners must repent and start their journey on the path of good deeds. These are the blessings of Eman. Allah covers everything with His Rahmah. The angels pray for those who repent. The effect of true repentance is that the person shuns the sin and its path and takes over the path of good deeds.
Ustaza said that these aayaat bring such peace and hope in a person’s heart. We must try to learn these aayaat by heart.
Furthermore, the angels pray that Allah saves the believers from the fire of Hell. They call Allah ‘their Rabb’, this is so beautiful to know that they acknowledge and declare that Allah is their true Master.
Allah is the only Master and the best of planners. We plan for so many things in life but sometimes just the opposite happens. We are helpless in many situations. The actual plan of action is Allah’s. He does whatever He wills. When some difficulty arises in life we should not complain about it. If something good happens in life we should not feel proud of it. Nothing happened due to our ability or mastery. It is in fact Allah Who made things possible. All the Might and Power belongs to Allah. It is none of our genius. We should not just say this but really mean it. Allah is not just our Creator rather He is our Guardian as well. He is not in need of our worship; rather it is we who are in need. He is self-sufficient, Master of everything. If any of His blessings is lost we should have patience thinking that He gave the blessing and He took it away. He has the full authority over everything. Whatever we have in the world is temporary. We should say انا للہ و انا الیہ راجعون on every small or great loss or difficulty in life. There is good in what He gives and good in what He takes away. The real planning is His and it comes into effect ما شاءاللہ کان و ما لم یشاء لم یکن
For example, we plan and organize a trip. Everything is ready and we are just about to leave our home when some guests arrive. We have to stay back to see the guests and all our planning to go out is cancelled. This is just a small example but many great plans also go to waste if Allah does not will them to happen in our life.
رَبَّنَا وَأَدْخِلْهُمْ جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ الَّتِي وَعَدْتَهُمْ وَمَنْ صَلَحَ مِنْ آبَائِهِمْ وَأَزْوَاجِهِمْ وَذُرِّيَّاتِهِمْ ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنْتَ الْعَزِيزُ الْحَكِيمُ﴿٨﴾
The noble angels of Allah also acknowledge and declare that Allah is exalted in Might and the most Wise so they ask for the Gardens of Eden for the believers. They do not stop their dua at this alone but ask Allah to let the righteous ones from among the families of the believers too enter the Paradise with them. Pray that Allah joins us and our loved ones in the paradise together and not let the sins distance us from each other. We should always keep praying for ourselves and for our spouses and children.
وَقِهِمُ السَّيِّئَاتِ ۚ وَمَنْ تَقِ السَّيِّئَاتِ يَوْمَئِذٍ فَقَدْ رَحِمْتَهُ ۚ وَذَٰلِكَ هُوَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ ﴿٩﴾
Furthermore, the angels pray to Allah that He removes the bad effects of the pious believers’ sins and save them from a bad end. Even if someone is righteous he is not free from mistakes and sins. No one can claim that he or she is not guilty of any sin. It is only Allah Who gives us the tawfeeq to do good deeds. This is the Mercy of Allah. The real success is that the servant of Allah enters Jannah and is saved from the Jahannam. This is possible only by the Mercy of Allah. The angels intercede and pray for the pious servants of Allah and ask Him to grant them this ultimate success.
The Path of Jannah is not an easy one; in fact it is filled with difficulties. Similarly, the path of knowledge is also full of hardships. The path of Jannah is surrounded with painful things. Every evil deed is made to appear attractive and beautiful. The soul urges man to incline to these evil deeds. Shaytan is after the son of Adam to remove him from the path of Jannah.
If someone takes to the path of Jannah he should not leave it even when it seems difficult. Once we take the path of knowledge we should be very careful. Always pray to Allah that He helps you to be steadfast on the path of knowledge. Sometimes we are unable to realize the evil things around us and get fooled by it. Likewise shaytan came to Adam and Hawwa alayhimussalaam as a well wisher. They could not recognise him and fell into his evil plan. Sometimes people try to make you confused and doubtful about the scholars of deen and this might keep you back from seeking the knowledge of deen. In this manner every good deed will be surrounded with doubtful thoughts and evil whisperings. It is extremely important to keep safe from these bad thoughts. If we are able to save ourselves from the difficulties coming from inside then we might face problems from outside. People around you will never be satisfied from you however hard you try. At this point Ustaza relate the story of a man and his son who were going with their donkey. People made fun of them that they were walking while they had the ride with them. Both of them sat on the donkey. Now the people criticised them for putting too much load on the donkey. The father came down and let the son ride on the donkey. People now criticized the son for being so heartless; him riding on the donkey and the poor father was left walking. The father now sat on the donkey and the son was on foot. This too was not received with acceptance by the people as now they criticised the father for being selfish. Now both of them had enough. They carried the donkey on their shoulders now. People declared them fools and laughed at them.
The moral of the story is that even if you try your best you will never ever satisfy people. They will never be pleased with you. Therefore you should never worry about the opinion of others when you are doing something right. Those who have not tasted the pleasure of seeking knowledge will never be able to understand your feelings and thoughts.
Things to do:
Whenever you face any difficulty in the path of seeking knowledge:
1. First and foremost, seek the help of Allah. Ask Him to help you out. Ask Him for guidance. Do istikhara and pray.
2. Secondly, see whether by seeking the knowledge of the Quran your life has changed for good or not. If your life has become better then keep firm on this path and never give up.
The shaytan will never stop harming you and he will keep trying to remove you from the right path till your last breath. Therefore we have been taught this dua: وَأَعُوذُ بِكَ أَن يَتَخَبَّطَنِي الشَّيطَانُ عِندَ المَوتِ
Also always keep praying for the steadfastness on the path of guidance once you tread on this path:
رَبَّنَا لَا تُزِغْ قُلُوبَنَا بَعْدَ إِذْ هَدَيْتَنَا وَهَبْ لَنَا مِن لَّدُنكَ رَحْمَةً ۚ إِنَّكَ أَنتَ الْوَهَّابُ
Even after your course is completed try to continue this journey of learning.
Reflecting upon these aayaat helped us understand that Eman/Faith is such a valuable thing! Because of our correct Eman/Faith the noblest of Allah’s Angels pray for us. Because of the faith Allah grants us His Taqwa. Pray that Allah gives us the opportunity to seek knowledge till our last day. Let there be no shortcoming from your side in the effort to learn things. Do not judge yourself from the eyes of other people and do not let their opinions affect you. Give everything and everyone the due rights. Leave your matter to Allah. حسبی اللہ ونعم الوکیل Allah is enough for me and he is such a good disposer of Affairs. After reflecting upon the aayaahs the question answer session started. Someone from the audience asked about the issue of Eman and Decree on which most of the youth do arguments. Ustaza said that we should not get into arguments and debates regarding the topic of Destiny or Decree of Allah. We are not capable of giving anyone guidance. Whenever we face difficulty with regard to our children or spouses we should focus more and more on praying for them.
A student asked about those who invoke the Messenger of Allah peace be upon him, saying Ya Rasoolullah. How should we make them understand that it is not correct to ask the Messenger peace be upon him. Ustaza told her that she should not correct them then and there rather see the situation and then explain to them the meaning and tafseer of suratul fatiha. She should specifically explain to them the ayah iyyaka na’budu wa iyyaka nas’taeen which says that we worship only You (Allah) and ask only You (Allah) for help.
Regarding parenting issues ustaza asked the mothers not to let the children feel that they know better than us and that they are very intelligent and clever rather time and again make them realize who the real boss is and who is in control. This way they will not overpower you and will listen to what you tell them. One of the students asked about the dua that we recite on the Night of Al Qadr اللَّهُمَّ إِنَّكَ عُفُوٌّ تُحِبُّ الْعَفْوَ فَاعْفُ عَنِّي She said that since this dua is so virtuous is it better to recite it in place of istighfar. At this point ustaza told us that Afuw has a more vast meaning than istighfar. Referring to Ibn al Qayyim’s explanation of this dua she explained why Rasulullah peace be upon him asked us to recite this dua on the special Night of Al Qadr. This is because this dua is very vast. It covers all aspects of our life from bodily needs, that is cure from all physical illnesses, to the requirements of our deen, that is having the ability and opportunity to do good deeds, and it also refers to the attribute of Allah the Exalted Ad Dayyaan which means the One Who is the Supreme Judge and Who Recompenses or takes account. In short, this dua comprises of all the needs of man that one can think of and more. One of the students pointed to the fact that many people get up from the place of prayer immediately after praying which is not a good thing. Since the angels pray for the person who sits on his place of prayer and is engaged in the remembrance of Allah until his wudu breaks or he gets up from the place, we must try not to get up immediately after saying salaam rather sit there for some time. Ustaza also stressed on the importance of keeping the rows straight and told us to correct people and inform them gradually and not force things on people. It is very necessary that correct knowledge is spread to create awareness among the masses. We should make the meaning and translation of Quran easily available for everyone. To save ourselves from misguidance the two most important things are the knowledge of Al Quran and the Sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him.
Some other lady asked about the evil whisperings that trouble us regarding those whom we do some favour and they do not acknowledge it or appreciate our good efforts. Ustaza said that as long as the whispers are inside our hearts and we do not say them aloud we are not accountable for them. If people do not appreciate your goodness toward them do not lose heart. It is Allah Whom we should try to please and hope for the rewards from Him for our good deeds.
We should start the work of our deen from our home. In the case of giving dawah to the non muslims we should reach out first to those who are nearest to us like our neighbours, our fellows at work etc. Regarding the Quranic and Masnoon duas that we recite, Ustaza said that at least once we should read their meaning so that we know what we are asking Allah for. Ustaza also told us that if we are patience during the time of loss and Praise Allah at that time then Allah asks the Angels to build a house for us in Jannah and name it The House of the Praise or Bait Al Hamd. Ustaza advised us never to live our lives in guilt. Guilts come in the way of patience. Repent from the sins, rectify the mistakes and keep going on the path of righteousness.
This beautiful and gracious gathering was so informative and enlightening for us Alhamdulillah. I pray to Allah the Exalted that He accepts our attendance in this gathering and forgive each one of us, accept the duas of everyone and give our dear Ustaza Dr Farhat Hashmi good health and well being and best rewards for her good work.
