Part 34

And Korah, Pharaoh and Haman! Moses came unto them with clear proofs of Allah’s sovereignty, but they were boastful in the land. And they were not winners in the race.

So We took each one in his sins; of them was he on whom We sent a hurricane, and of them was he who was overtaken by the Awful Cry, and of them was he whom We caused the earth to swallow, and of them was he whom We drowned. It was not for Allah to wrong them, but they wronged themselves.” (29: 38-40)

Consider how the Lord, in His judgement, willed that certain people should be transformed into various forms, corresponding to their sins. As a certain people let their hearts be transformed to the dispositions and natures of a kind of animal, it was just right that their forms should be transformed to that of the same animal, so that there is correspondence and complete fit, and this is quite just. Apply this to people who were changed into apes or monkeys, how they had justified that by adopting the qualities, behaviours and dispositions of the respective animals. If you are of the careful examiners you can find an affinity between those ancient peoples and the features of their modern successors; you will see the qualities plain despite the disguise of human form. Observe the affinity of apes in the features of the fraudulent and crooked who have little sense. They are even the least endowed intellectually and are the perpetrators of fraud, guile and wrong-doing in their grossest and crudest form. If you fail to read that in their faces, then you are not one of the careful examiners. Observe also the affinity with pigs in the features of other people, as sinful as the above ones, especially those who are antagonistic to the righteous servants of Allah, who are next only to messengers in status. They are the Companions of the Prophet 4. You can

see that affinity plain on the faces of the Rafidah, * plain to every believer, literate or illiterate. It shows or hides in accordance with the degree of piggishness and wickedness of the heart. The pig itself is the basest among animals and the worst-behaved. It is unique in declining to eat healthy food, and when a human defecates, a pig hastens to the excretion. Think of the similarity of such behaviour to that of the adversaries of the Prophet’s Companions; you will see it justly and rightly applicable to them. They took a hostile attitude to the purest and most righteous of Allah’s servants and announced their renouncing of them, while they were loyal to every enemy of the Companions, such as the Christians, the Jews and the idolaters. Throughout history, they sought the support of disbelievers in their fight against believers who were loyal to the Companions of the Messenger 3%, even declaring that they themselves were better than the Companions. So what is more apt and fit than likening them to pigs. If you fail to see the affinity in their faces, then you are not among the clear sighted.

As for the traditions of the Prophet % concerning the metamorphosis of certain individuals of the above category into pigs at the time of their death, they are as numerous as to be of absolute authenticity (‘mutawatir’ in the terminology of scholars); those traditions are too many to be listed here. We refer the reader to a booklet on the subject by Al-Hafedh Abdul-Wahid Al-Maqdisi.

Consider also the wisdom manifested in exterminating some previous nations by catastrophes despite their usual longevity, physical strength, and boastfulness in challenging Allah and His messengers. In contrast, after life-spans got shorter, and bodies became less resistant to the torture of natural disasters, they were

“an unorthodox Muslim sect who are hostile to many of the Companions of the Prophet. They are also known as Shiites.

stopped, and from then on disbelievers were tormented by the hands of believers. And so wisdom is maintained in both cases, each proper at its own time.

Wisdom of sending of messengers

Consider the wisdom of Allah reflected in sending messengers to the various peoples in constant succession, each succeeding his predecessor after his decease; this is due to the peoples’ need for frequent messengers and prophets, as their minds were weak; and they did not take the message of the previous messenger in earnest. Things had changed, however, by the time of the prophethood of Muhammad bin Abdullah, Allah’s Messenger and Prophet, #. The Lord sent him to convey the message to more enlightened intellects, to keener minds and _betterinformed nations. The message revealed to Prophet Muhammad % was the maturest from the earliest days of mankind to his own time. So Allah blessed the Muslim ummah (nation) with the perfection of its messenger, the perfection of its religion, the perfection of its minds, the rightness of its intellects, so that they are in no need of a messenger to succeed Muhammad #. Instead, Allah chose from the Muslim ummah devout scholars who guard the Prophet's shari‘ah; He entrusted them with preserving the shari‘ah, with transmitting it safely into the hands of their successors, to implant it into the minds of like-minded persons, in a way that they did not need another messenger or a new prophet. It is for such aspects that the Prophet 4 said: e254 ft ae. 45s tee, Ay 5 S05 Sie 8

Coed FB OS OB O SIRS AY OS AUS OS uD “There were amongst the past peoples inspired people. If there is one in my ummah, it would be Umar.” Here, the Prophet, # speaks in affirmation in the case of previous

, Reported by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

peoples, that there were inspired persons amongst them; while he makes the existence of such persons in his ummah conditional, using the subjunctive ‘if’. This should not, however, be construed as a proof of inferiority in this ummah in comparison with the earlier peoples; it is on the contrary a sign of the superiority of this ummah. It is because of its perfectness, the perfectness of its Prophet and the perfectness of his shari‘ah that this ummah is not in need of an inspired person. If such a person does appear, he will be fit to assist and enlighten, rather than to be followed. This ummah finds its contentment in the message of its Prophet 3% without the support of dreams, inspiration, introspection or clairvoyance. Previous peoples, on the other hand, needed such clairvoyants, and so inspired persons were raised among them. You should not assume that the selection of Umar, may Allah be pleased with him, to be an inspired person rather than Abu Bakr implies a preference for the former over the latter. On the contrary, it is that Abu Bakr, because of his perfect saturation with the message of prophethood, his being thoroughly steeped in its tenets, is in no need of additional clairvoyance or inspiration. So reflect long on this aspect, and give it its due of contemplation; think over its implication of the overwhelming wisdom of Allah, the Wise, the Knowing; think in its light of the Messenger of Allah # as the most perfect of His slaves, the bearer of the most perfect message, his ummah being likewise the most perfect of peoples.

Though this section is a diversion, it is one of the most beneficial sections. Had I not been guarding against boring the reader, I would have expounded on the subject, adding a lot of evidence and examples. It has been the bounty of the Generous Lord that He guided me to the truth concerning the matters raised here. It is to Him | turn to fulfill His favour. All power is from Allah, the Most High, the Most Great.

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“And the earth have We laid out; how gracious is the spreader thereof.”

Creation of the world Ibn Al-Qayyem goes on to say the following:

Reflect on the creation of this world, the composition of its parts, its organization having the best system; all that inevitably points to the perfect ability of the Lord, His omniscience and the infinity of His wisdom and kindness! If you regard the world you will find it like a constructed house, well-equipped with all its appliances, provisions and supplies. The sky is its roof, raised above the world; the ground is its floor, mattresses and carpets; welladapted for the convenience of the dwellers; the sun and the moon are glowing lights above it; the stars are sparkling over it like decorative lamps, signals for the traveller around this world. The minerals and gems stored beneath it are like treasures and hoards, or like wellstuffed storages prepared for any who needs them; the plants in their variety and abundance fulfill man’s requirements, the animals in their diversity offer him so many services; some are riding-animals, some milk-giving animals, some meat-providing animals; some animals provide clothing, furniture and tools, some guard man as they are ordained to do, guarding him while asleep, set against what may cause him harm or danger. Were it not for the control of man over certain fierce creatures that repulse other creatures, there would be no hope of survival for the human being. Man is given a royal status in the world; he is authorized to dominate those creatures, to employ them in carrying out his orders and directions. In all this we can witness the most evident indication that the world is the creation of a Wise, Omnipotent and Omniscient Lord, Who designed it to the best design, ordered it to the most perfect discipline; we can perceive that the Creator is impossible to be more than one, that He is the One God, with no god but He, exalted is He above what the evil-doers say. It is manifest that if there were another god in the heavens or the earth their system

would be ruined, and their system would be thrown out of order, and their habitability would come toa stop. If the body is impossible to admit two equal and coordinate souls, which is a concept contrary to the simplest mind and the innate nature, how is it conceivable that the great universe could have two sovereign Lords. It is as is wellexpressed by the Qur’an:

Cites EIS SECTS Late Jp IyY Qe]

“If there were therein [the heaven and the earth] gods beside Allah, then verily both [the heaven and the earth} had been disordered.” (21: 22)

“Allah has not chosen any son, nor is there any god along with Him; or else each god would have assuredly championed that which he created, and some of them would assuredly have overcome others. Glorified be Allah above all that they allege.” (23: 91)