Jordan- Masjid Al-Taqwa- Lesson (017): Luqman's Most Important Commandments for his Son; Wisdom, Gratitude to Allah, and Avoiding Shirk (Polytheism)
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In the Name of Allah, The Most Gracious, Most Merciful
Praise be to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our Master Muhammad and upon his noble Folks, Companions, the trustees of his mission and the leaders of his banner, and be pleased with us and them, O Lord of the Worlds. O Allah, lead us out from the depths of darkness and illusion unto the lights of erudition and knowledge, and from the muddy shallows of lusts unto the heavens of Your Vicinity.
Intellectual and emotional accomplishments of mankind:
Dear noble brothers, our topic is very critical, because it is related to man's destiny.
Dear noble brothers, man is a mind that understands, a heart that loves, and a body that moves. The mind is nourished with science, the heart is nourished with love, and the body is nourished with food and drink. In fact, when man feeds his mind with science, his heart with love and his body with food and drink, he will be the exalted and utmost creature. On the other hand, if he feeds his mind but neglects his heart, he feeds his heart but neglects his mind, or he feeds his body but neglects his heart and mind, he will become an extremist, and there is a big difference between transcendence and extremism.
Actually, the intellectual and emotional accomplishments of man are science, philosophy and art. Let me repeat, since the creation of Adam, peace be upon him till the Day of Resurrection, man's emotions, feelings, tangible things and body belong to three major categories: art, philosophy and art.
Science is whatever is realistic and existent, philosophy is whatever that should be and science is whatever that is, like the table, the telephone, the tissue, and so on, and philosophy is whatever that should be, and it is divided into the philosophy of existence, the philosophy of believing in Allah or atheism, and the philosophy of principles and values.
Credibility is a critical word that indicates the authenticity of speech. When someone's words reflect illusion, then the credibility of his speech is 30%, when they contain doubtful points, the credibility of his speech is 50%, and when they are not entirely correct, the credibility of his speech is 70% incredible. When they are most likely true, then the credibility of his speech is 90% credible, but when his words are definitely true, the credibility of his speech is 100%. These percentages of the credibility of words are applied to science which is whatever that exists, to philosophy that refers to the way things should be and to art which includes all interesting things.
Let me highlight a crucial point. If you read a literary work, such as a story, a poem or any art work, and you feel that it contains sophisticated ideas, and as a result of reading it, you start improving your way of thinking, then this is a transcendental piece of art. On the other hand, if any piece of literary work stirs the worse of the sensual feelings and thoughts, then it is a mundane work. Unfortunately, the mundane literary works are widely spread, and they cause the destruction of many nations. The West uses such mundane art as a weapon to fight against other nations by corrupting and ruining their children. In fact, we are facing a new atomic bomb of a different nature from the one we all familiar with.
Everyone wish safety, happiness and continuity:
Twenty years ago, while I was in the Unites States, I delivered a speech in the Islamic Community of the U.S.A when Bill Clinton was the President then. I said to the attendants, "If you have the high position of President Clinton, the wealth of Onassis and the intelligence of Einstein, you will be the most miserable father if your son is not as you wish."
The 8 billion people on earth are keen on their safety. Is there anyone who feels fine with illness? Is there anyone who does not mind being poor? Absolutely, there is no one. Do you not think that all people wish to be rich and happy and to have dutiful children? We all have these wishes, and we all seek safety and happiness.
There is one more thing that all of us seek, which is having a long lifespan. One of the Sheikhs of Al-Azhar lived for 130 years, and actually all of us like to live for a long time. The 8 billion people seek safety, happiness and continuity.
Safety can be achieved by following the instructions of the Creator. As a human being, you are a very complicated creature that manifests Allah's Miraculous Creation. You are just like a complicated appliance, and so the Great Creator has put Divine instructions for you to follow in order to keep safe, gain happiness and grantee continuity.
If you walk in the wild, and suddenly you read a sign that says, "Mine field do not trespass", Will you think that such a sign was put to restrict your movement or will you be certain that it is there to keep you safe? Much in the same line, you should be sure that all the Divine Commands are for your own advantage, and they are not ordained on you to restrict you, but rather they guarantee your safety, happiness and continuity. Bear in mind that gaining these three things can be only by obeying Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And whosoever obeys Allah and His Messenger (PBUH) he has indeed achieved a great achievement (i.e. he will be saved from the Hell-fire and made to enter Paradise). ﴿
Be grateful to Allah for existence, provision and guidance:
I would like to refer to some Ayaat in the Noble Quran that indicate critical issues. Some of these Ayaat are the ones that refer to Luqman upon whom Wisdom was bestowed. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al–Hikmah (wisdom and religious understanding, etc.)… ﴿
Allah's Words "…indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al–Hikmah" indicate the fact that wisdom is bestowed upon someone, so it is neither taken nor given, but rather it is bestowed upon others. The words are very precise, and so no matter how smart you might be, you may commit a grave mistake that makes you look stupid if you are not steadfast. Also, no matter how knowledgeable you might be, you will do something that may destroy you if you are not steadfast.
﴾ And indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al–Hikmah (wisdom and religious understanding, etc.) saying: "Give thanks to Allah," ﴿
The important question is: For what should we give thanks to Allah the Almighty? For three important blessings: The first one is the blessing of existence. Every one of us has a birthday, right? If you read a book that was written before you were born, you will realize that at the time such a book was written, you were nothing. Regarding this point, Allah the Almighty says:
(Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was nothing to be mentioned?)
[Al-Insan, 1]
By Allah, whenever I come across a book that was written before I was born, I thought to myself, "Where was I when this book was written? I was nothing!" Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was nothing to be mentioned? ﴿
I would like to repeat the Ayah:
﴾ And indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al–Hikmah (wisdom and religious understanding, etc.) saying: "Give thanks to Allah," ﴿
For what should one be grateful to Allah the Almighty? For the blessing of existence; Allah the Almighty has created you, and for the blessing of provision; Allah the Almighty has provided you with your father, mother, mind, which enables you to peruse your studies and have a job and so on.
I know a person who used to live in a luxurious mansion, but one day he started to suffer from a mental disorder and he was taken to a mental health center although he was the owner of the mansion and the one who chose the furniture, the chandeliers, the tiles, and everything else in the mansion.
While I was in Amman, I was invited in Baq'ah to a wedding in a very poor neighborhood. The house I entered was only two rooms, each one of them was 15 square meters, and the wedding ceremony was very simple. For profound Divine Wisdom, I went to offer my condolences in a house in B'abdoon, and the house of the deceased was beyond description; there were very expensive chandeliers, the ground was covered with expensive Persian rugs and the marble tiles were brought from Italy. While I was sitting, many questions came to my mind: Who bought these chandeliers? The deceased did. Who chose the tiles? The deceased did. Who bought the Persian rugs? The deceased did. Where is the deceased? He is in the grave under the ground.
(O My worshipper, they left you alone here after they put you in the dust, and even if they stayed with you, they would not be useful. No one is left with you but I – Allah – and I am The Ever Lasting Who never dies.)
By Allah the only Deity, the most prudent person is he who keeps working for the unavoidable hour of death, after which man will be under the ground.
(O My worshipper, they left you alone here after they put you in the dust, and even if they stayed with you, they would not be useful. No one is left with you but I – Allah – and I am The Ever Lasting Who never dies.)
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al–Hikmah (wisdom and religious understanding, etc.) saying: "Give thanks to Allah," ﴿
Man should be grateful to Allah the Almighty for the blessings of existence, provision and guidance. He The Almighty has created you, has provided you with your parents, health, mind, scientific certificate, a wife, a house, a car and so on, and has guided you to know Islamic knowledge through reciting the Noble Quran, reading about the Noble Sunnah, attending the religious session at the Masjid, etc.
I repeat; the three blessings are: the blessing of existence, the blessing of provision and the blessing of guidance. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Saying: "Give thanks to Allah," and whoever gives thanks, he gives thanks for (the good of) his ownself ﴿
Allah the Almighty is in no need of us:
﴾ And Musa (Moses) said: "If you disbelieve, you and all on earth together, then verily! Allah is Rich (Free of all wants), Owner of all Praise."﴿
Allah is free of all wants, but due to His Infinite Perfection, He does not like disbelief for His servants. To make this point clearer, the father who is rich, who occupies a high position and who has a good health will be deeply hurt if his son is morally deviated although he is in no need of him. He cannot leave his son like that due to his mercy towards him.
Being undutiful to parents is a grave sin:
Allah the Almighty has created you as the result of your father and mother's relationship, and these two persons are the only ones who wish you to be better than them in having money and having good health and in everything else. Everyone else other than your parents does not wish you to be better than him, even your own brother, because they feel jealous of you if you become better than them. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. ﴿
Pay attention to this part of the Ayah, please:
﴾ And that you be dutiful to your parents. ﴿
The coordinating conjunction is used to join two words or main clauses of the same structure. Notice how Allah the Almighty elevates being dutiful to the parents to the level of worshipping Him.
﴾ And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him. And that you be dutiful to your parents. ﴿
Regarding this point, it was reported in the relic:
(( Let the undutiful child do whatever he wants, he will not be admitted to Jannah (Paradise). ))
Which indicates that being undutiful to the parents is one of the gravest sins.
Allah is in no need of His Servants:
I would like to repeat the Ayah once again:
﴾ And indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al–Hikmah (wisdom and religious understanding, etc.) saying: "Give thanks to Allah," and whoever gives thanks, he gives thanks for (the good of) his ownself.﴿
When one gives thanks to Allah, he actually does that for his own good.
We move to the second part of the Ayah:
﴾ And whoever is unthankful… ﴿
Listen to the continuation of the Ayah:
﴾ Then verily, Allah is All-Rich (Free of all wants), Worthy of all praise. ﴿
Although Allah the Almighty is Free of being in need of us, He treats us in a way that we should always be grateful to Him for, and although He is not in need of us, He treats us is a way that makes us praise Him all the time for it.
Wisdom is the greatest Divine Bestowal at all:
One more time, I repeat the Ayah:
﴾ And indeed We bestowed upon Luqman Al–Hikmah (wisdom and religious understanding, etc. ﴿
Wisdom is not taken but rather it is bestowed upon man. Indeed, the greatest Divine Bestowal at all is wisdom, and being wise is the priceless fortune you will ever have.
With wisdom, you will be pleased with your wife, but without it, you will be miserable with even the best wife. Also, with wisdom, you can make your enemy a friend, but without it, you will lose your friend and make him an enemy. Furthermore, with wisdom you can manage your expenses wisely with your limited income, but without it, you will waste a lot of money in trivial things.
Pleasure and happiness:
Dear noble brothers, I would like to mention few facts briefly. One of the wealthiest people in the world is Bill Gates, who owns about $93 billion, and before him in rank comes Steve Jobs, but the latter said while he was on deathbed, "The great amount of my wealth means nothing to me."
The person who constructed the red 12 km bridge in Istanbul, which connects Asia with Europe, and which is the second longest bridge in the world (after San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge), was a Japanese engineer. During the ribbon cutting ceremony, the engineer who was standing next to the Turkish President, committed suicide by throwing himself in the Bosporus. When the authorities went to his room in Sheraton, they found a note written in it, "I tasted everything in life, but I found them tasteless, so I just wanted to taste death."
Well, an Islamic knowledge seeker who lives in a 60-square meter house, who is married to a good wife, and whose Islamic knowledge is very simple is happier than that famous engineer.
I once visited someone who used to live in the poorest neighborhood in Damascus. His house was very small, and the ground was cement (there were no tiles on the ground), and it was covered with a very simple rug. Yet, once I entered into that house, I felt that it was the happiest household; by Allah it seemed like paradise. In contrast, there are houses the cost of each is millions, but they lack happiness.
Bear in mind that there is a difference between happiness and pleasure. Pleasure requires money, good health and enough time to be gained. Due to Allah's Profound Wisdom the three requirements of gaining pleasure are not always come together. To clarify, the young man does not have enough money in the first years of his job, but he has good health and enough time to enjoy himself. As he grows older, and he expands his job, he will have enough money and good health, but there will be no time to have fun (since he spends most of time working to collect more money). A factory owner once told me, "By Allah, for more than 36 years I have not gone for a vacation except for once, and it was when I wanted to get my car from Lattakia."
As man gets old, he will have money and enough time but will start to suffer from certain diseases. Thus, you will always lack one of the requirements of gaining pleasure. On the other hand, happiness is gained as long as you are connected to Allah the Almighty.
As a believing man, who has established a good connection to Allah, and who turns to Him with sincere repentance, if you do not believe deeply in your heart in the following fact, "There is none on earth who is happier than me but the one who is more pious than me", then there is a serious problem with your faith.
Who supports you? He is Allah, The Greatest Deity, The Creator, The Bountiful One, The Maintainer of Life, The Inflictor of Death, the Self-Sufficient One, and The All-Authoritative.
If Allah the Almighty supports you, who can be against you? If Allah the Almighty abandons you, who can get you any benefit? A scholar said, "O Lord! What does the one who misses You find? And what does the one who finds You miss? "
Let me get back to the three blessings: the blessing of existence, the blessing of provision and the blessing of guidance.
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And (remember) when Luqman said to his son when he was advising him: "O my son!... ﴿
Shirk can be hidden or apparent:
Pay attention to the commandments of Luqman, please:
﴾ Join not in worship others with Allah… ﴿
Shirk (polytheism) is two kinds: apparent Shirk and hidden Shirk. The apparent one is manifested clearly in the countries where people worship Buddha instead of worshipping Allah the Almighty. On the other hand, the hidden Shirk is manifested in many ways, such as worshipping one's desires. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Have you (O Muhammad PBUH) seen him who has taken as his ilah (god) his own desire? ﴿
The hidden shirk is more serious than the apparent one. Listen to the following Hadith, please:
(( I am really afraid shirk, the hidden desire, will destroy my Ummah. It was said, "Ya Rasulluah PBUH, will your Ummah commit shirk after you?" He said, "Yes, they will not worship sun, moon, stone, or statue, but they will show off with their deeds. And the hidden desire is a person who plans to fast his day then a carnal desire crosses him then he leaves his fast ."))
The most serious problem the Ummah faces these days is the hidden Shirk and not the apparent one. The hidden Shirk is the desires that control one's manner and behavior, and it can be the deeds that are done to please people at the expense of pleasing Allah the Almighty.
"His is the Creation and Commandment":
There is an essential point; Allah, Exalted Sublime be He says, referring to such a point:
﴾ Surely, His is the Creation and Commandment ﴿
Everything is Allah's, as Allah created everything by His Hand. However, when a powerful state manufactures a jet and it sells it to a developing country, which in turn uses it to bomb cities and villages in other countries, then this is not the Creation of Allah. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Surely, His is the Creation and Commandment ﴿
His Alone is the Creation and the Commandment
﴾ Surely, His is the Creation and Commandment ﴿
The main point is that if ten ravenous and starving beasts are controlled by a just, a merciful, and a wise party, do you deal with these beasts or with the one who controls them? Is my question clear? Let me repeat it one more time; do you deal with the starving and terrifying wild creatures or with the one who controls them? Of course, you will deal with the one who controls them. Pay attention to the following Ayaat, please:
﴾ With Him (Allah). So plot against me, all of you, and give me no respite* "I put my trust in Allah, my Lord and your Lord! There is not a moving (living) creature but He has grasp of its forelock. Verily, my Lord is on the Straight Path (the truth). ﴿
I swear to Allah, once I saw an ant which was zero in width and a quarter of a millimeter in length, and when it reached a wall, it stopped walking in order not to hit it. This means that although it is less than a quarter of a millimeter in length and zero in width, it has eyes with which it can see the wall.
Another example of Allah's Great Creation is the blue whale, which weighs 150 tons. It is 50 tons of meat, 50 tons of fat, and 50 tons of bones, and it contains 90 barrels of oil.
Allah always saves believers from distress:
Listen to the following Ayah which refers to the distress of a Noble Prophet who was swallowed by the whale, whose mouth is big enough to fit 10 men in a standing position. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ But he cried through the darkness (saying). ﴿
Prophet Yunus, peace be upon him, cried through the darkness of the night, the sea, and the stomach of the whale:
﴾ La ilaha illa Anta [none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)], Glorified (and Exalted) are You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]. Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers."﴿
﴾ But he cried through the darkness (saying). ﴿
Prophet Yunus, peace be upon him, cried through the darkness of the night, the sea, and the stomach of the whale, saying these words as Allah the Almighty narrates:
﴾ La ilaha illa Anta [none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)], Glorified (and Exalted) are You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]. Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers."﴿
Please, listen carefully:
﴾ So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress. ﴿
The following Ayah has become a law:
﴾ And thus We do deliver the believers (who believe in the Oneness of Allah, abstain from evil and work righteousness). ﴿
No matter how serious your problems might be, they will never be as serious as being in the stomach of the whale, will they?
﴾ But he cried through the darkness (saying): La ilaha illa Anta [none has the right to be worshipped but You (O Allah)], Glorified (and Exalted) are You [above all that (evil) they associate with You]. Truly, I have been of the wrong-doers."* So We answered his call, and delivered him from the distress. ﴿
This has become a law.
﴾ And thus We do deliver the believers (who believe in the Oneness of Allah, abstain from evil and work righteousness). ﴿
Man is subjugated to the important law of perception, reaction and behavior:
Dear noble bothers, there is a critical point concerning your relationship with those who surround you. This relationship is based on perception, reaction and behavior. To clarify one's perception to things, if you say to someone, "Be careful, there is a scorpion on your back", and you know that the poison of the scorpion is fatal, yet this person stays calm, smiles and thanks you for notifying him, do you think he has understood what you have said to him? Absolutely, he has not. Had he understood what you have said to him, he would have jumped and taken off his cloth out of fear looking for this scorpion. Unless you perceive matters, react to them and take an action, you do not realize the serious nature of dangers.
The same goes with your reaction to a dangerous snake you might see while you are walking in an orchard. There are snakes whose poison is fatal; it causes lysis of red blood cells, and so man dies within an hour. So, if you come across a dangerous snake, but you do not run away from it or kill it, you have not realized the dangerous nature of such an animal.
As I have said earlier, the whole thing starts with perception, then reaction and after that behavior. Otherwise, man lacks realization of things he sees or hears. Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, says:
﴾ Verily! Joining others in worship with Allah is a great Zulm (wrong) indeed. ﴿
Allah's Grace unto man is ever Great:
If your nephew says to you in Eid, "I have a great amount of money", you might estimate that he has 100 Dinars, while if a high-ranking official in the Pentagon says, "We have budgeted a great sum of money for the war in Iraq", you might estimate that it is about $200 billion. Therefore when the child uses this expression (great amount of money), you expect it to be about 20 Dinars, but when this very same expression is said by a senior official in the Pentagon, you expect it to be about $200 billion. What if this word "Great" is said by Allah the Almighty, the Creator of universes?
﴾ And taught you that which you knew not. And Ever Great is the Grace of Allah unto you (O Muhammad PBUH). ﴿
This adjective is said by the Creator of the universes, and this is an enough reason to imagine how Great Allah's Grace is! It is said by the Creator of hundreds of galaxies, one of which is the Milky Way. Comparing to the Milky Way, our solar system looks like a dot, so can you imagine how Great the Grace is since it is from the Creator of thousands of hundreds of galaxies? Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And taught you that which you knew not. And Ever Great is the Grace of Allah unto you (O Muhammad PBUH). ﴿
The adjective "Great" is evaluated by the greatness of the one who uses it, and so its value is difference when it is said by a child and by a high-ranking official. How about being said by the Creator of the universes?
﴾ And taught you that which you knew not. And Ever Great is the Grace of Allah unto you (O Muhammad PBUH). ﴿
Sincere repentance:
Dear noble brothers, as long as we are alive, we still have time to turn to Allah the Almighty with sincere repentance. Being alive is a great blessing; it lets you repent to Allah.
A relative of mine has a patisserie shop, and one day a young man came into the shop gave its owner 10 Liras and ran away. My relative was surprised, so he asked his employee to run after him. When he reached him, he asked him why he did that to which the man replied, "I did that, because ten years ago, I took a piece of cake and ate it without paying its price." Hence, as long as you are alive, you still have the chance to rectify your old mistakes.
Dear noble brothers, repenting before it is too late is a decisive issue, but you may not realize that, Allah forbid, until death comes to you.
(( O My worshipper, they left you alone here after they put you in the dust, and even if they stayed with you, they would not be useful. No one is left with you but I – Allah – and I am The Ever Lasting Who never dies.))
As long as man's heart beats, let him repent to Allah. The sincere repentance requires regretting the mistakes and sins one has committed, quitting those mistakes and sins at once and determining not to repeat them again.
