The blessing of existence is the utmost grace Allah bestowed upon man:
Dear noble brothers, Surat Al-An'am starts with:
﴾ All praises and thanks be to Allah, Who (Alone) created the heavens and the earth, and originated the darkness and the light, yet those who disbelieve hold others as equal with their Lord. ﴿
"All praises and thanks be to Allah, Who (Alone) created the heavens and the earth" indicates that Allah is praised for creating the heavens and the earth in general, thus the greatest grace Allah bestowed upon us is creating us and bringing us to existence after we were nothing to be mentioned.
Let me clarify this point by giving you an example. A well-known faculty is established to teach students and help them become graduate leaders of the nation, but if one of its students cheats in the exams, and accordingly he is deprived of having the exam for six semesters, which causes him a psychological crisis, he should not say, "I wish they had never established this university." Will you accept what he says? This faculty is established for the best interest of the nation, so if one of its students cheats, and he is deprived for six semesters of having the exam thereupon, this does not mean that this faculty is evil.
Similarly, when people break away from Allah's Path, they will be punished by adversities. As a result, they would wish they have never existed. They might go further and say, "Allah created us for torture". This is not right, and Allah should be praised "All praises and thanks be to Allah, Who (Alone) created the heavens and the earth", for the great bestowal of creating the heavens and the earth.
﴾ Has there not been over man a period of time, when he was nothing to be mentioned? ﴿
The greatest Divine Blessing upon you is your existence.
The wisdom behind the blessing of existence:
The question to be asked is: Why was I created? Allah created you in order to grant you happiness and mercy. He created you for paradise that is as wide as the heavens and the earth, and putting you in the worldly life is your chance to enter paradise by paying its price. The price for paradise is to know Allah, to be steadfast and to offer good deeds. Therefore, when man breaks away from Allah's Path, Allah disciplines him so that he may turn back to His Path. However, man upon being punished would say, "I wish I have never existed before that", "I wish Allah had never created me", or "I wish that this universe had never been created". They say things for which Allah has sent down no authority.
Maryam (Mary) said as Allah the Almighty narrates:
﴾ "Would that I had died before this, ﴿
She said so, because she is a chaste, honorable and religious woman, and she conceived Jesus without a father, so she was fearful of shame. Her words, "Would that I had died before this" are said in a justified exceptional situation, but as for us, we should never wish death as mentioned in the following Hadith:
(( Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) reported: Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said, "None of you should wish for death. If he is righteous, perhaps he may add to (his) good works, and if he is a sinner, possibly he may repent (in case he is given a longer life)." ))
[ Al-Bukhari, on the authority of Abi Hurairah ]
He, who takes out his own life, shall be admitted to Hellfire, but why is that? It is because he rejects his existence. Allah created him to grant him happiness, and when Allah disciplines him for his sins, he rejects his entire existence, which is wrong.
How great the Words of the Quran are! The Ayah which starts with, "All praises and thanks be to Allah, Who (Alone) created the heavens and the earth, and originated the darkness and the light" refers to the fact that Allah the Almighty created the creations and enlighten the Path for them, He created the creations and made things clear for them, He created the creations and guided them, and He created the creations and discipline them. Hence, all praises and thanks be to Allah for the blessing of existence and guidance.
When we construct a main road, yet we leave it without signs, given this road has blind turns, narrow bridge, and slippery slope, we are facilitating accidents to take place. This road is very important, so it should not be left without signs and fluorescent lights lest accidents happen. It is beneficial to construct this road, but helping drivers by putting fluorescent big and clear signs is an extra benefit.
Allah, Exalted and Sublime be He, created His creations made things clear for them and guided them. He created the universe and enlightened you through His Book to see the manifestations of His Greatness in the universe, "Who (Alone) created the heavens and the earth, and originated the darkness and the light".
If you read the Quran, He will enlighten you to understand it, and if you reflect on His creations upon reciting His Book, He will cast light into your heart. Despite all these Divine Signs, Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ …Yet those who disbelieve hold others as equal with their Lord. ﴿
They turned away from faith and headed towards Kufr (disbelief).
A man once stood before Al-Hajjaj, and the latter asked him, "What do you say about me?" He answered, "You are Qasit (it is ambivalent word that seems to mean he is just but it means he is oppressor)" and Adel (it is ambivalent word that seems to mean he is fair but it refers to the one who deviates from the truth)". The attendants thought he praised him, but Al-Hajjaj was wit enough to know that he was dispraised him, and he said to the attendants, "He means I am a disbeliever and a tyrant". Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And as for the Qasitun (disbelievers who deviated from the Right Path), they shall be firewood for Hell, ﴿
Al-Qasit means the oppressor, and Al-Adel is the one who deviates from faith towards Kufr.
The prudent comes to terms with facts and reality and never lives in fantasies:
People wrongly surmise that Allah the Almighty is in heaven only, whereas the earth is controlled by its own rules and powers. Allah says regarding this point in Surat Al-An'am:
﴾ And He is Allah (to be worshipped Alone) in the heavens and on the earth, He knows what you conceal and what you reveal, and He knows what you earn (good or bad). ﴿
Someone might think that he can pay someone he knows his friend a visit in order to ransack his papers while he is in the kitchen preparing tea or coffee for him, and he will try to copy some names and business addresses, so that he would jostle against this person in his own field. He thought of all that and never uttered it loudly, yet Allah knows about his thoughts. He would rather know that Allah comes in between a person and his heart.
A man said to another, "After traveling to USA, I have got married to a 50 year old American woman in order to guide her to Allah". The other said, "No, you have married her to get the green card". Now who knows the truth? Is it true that he has got married to that old woman in order to guide her to Allah, or he was in dire need for the green card? Only Allah knows what is in his heart and what his intentions are. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Indeed, they rejected the truth (the Qur'an and Muhammad PBUH) when it came to them, but there will come to them the news of that (the torment) which they used to mock at. ﴿
The phrase "the news of that (the torment) which they used to mock at" means it will definitely takes place. To clarify, I heard once that in Egypt they warned the residents of a ramshackle building to evacuate it, because it was in danger of collapse. They refused to leave it, because they did not have any place to go. The government forced them to evacuate the building, and 24 hours later, the building collapsed. I saw it with my own eyes. All that started with a warning, and then the collapse of the building was the news (the inescapable occurrence) of that warning.
﴾ Indeed, they rejected the truth (the Qur'an and Muhammad PBUH) when it came to them, but there will come to them the news of that (the torment) which they used to mock at. ﴿
Success lies in believing deeply in something that will definitely happen, and loss lies in denying its occurrence. Prudence, prosperity and sanity are manifested in believing in the inevitable occurrence of some events like death and the Day of Judgment. On the other hand, the big loss, the heedlessness and foolishness are manifested in denying such matters.
﴾ Indeed, they rejected the truth (the Qur'an and Muhammad PBUH) when it came to them, ﴿
The phrase, "when it came to them" is meant for threatening.
﴾ But there will come to them the news of that (the torment) which they used to mock at. ﴿
[ Al-An'am, 5
]
Man may make fun of something, but later on, he finds out that this very thing is a big deal. The prudent then is the one who comes to terms with the facts, but unfortunately some people lives in fantasies.
The people of the scripture knew that Muhammad PBUH is a Prophet, yet they belied him:
Dear noble brothers, there is the intuitive knowledge, but what is the nature of this intuitive knowledge which is known to you without effort, confusion, or delay, and you even smell it from a distance? Let me give you an example: You might run into someone in the street who will say to you, "Do you not recognize me?" It might take you a little while to answer, but if you see your son for example, you will know right away that he is your son without taking any time to recognize him, right? The intuitive knowledge is like knowing your son right away, so you do not need time to recognize him.
Now let us read the following Ayaat in Surat Al-An'am:
﴾ Those to whom We have given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) recognize him (i.e. Muhammad PBUH as a Messenger of Allah, and they also know that there is no Ilah (God) but Allah and Islam is Allah’s Religion), as they recognize their own sons. Those who destroy themselves will not believe (Tafsir At-Tabari)* And who does more wrong than he who invents a lie against Allah or rejects His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, revelations, etc.)? Verily, the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.) shall never be successful* And on the Day when We shall gather them all together, We shall say to those who joined partners in worship (with Us): "Where are your partners (false deities) whom you used to assert (as partners in worship with Allah)?"* There will then be (left) no Fitnah (excuses or statements or arguments) for them but to say: "By Allah, our Lord, we were not those who joined others in worship with Allah."* Look! How they lie against themselves! But the (lie) which they invented will disappear from them. ﴿
[ Al-An'am, 20-24
]
Similarly, those, whom were given the scripture, knew the Prophet PBUH very well just like they knew their own sons, yet they belied him. Your relation with Al-Haqq (the truth) should be like your relation with your own son, namely, it should be based on intuitive knowledge, on instinct, on reason and on a million of evidences. The people of the scripture recognized the Noble Prophet. Yet, they belied him.
Oppressing one's self is the most severe kind of oppression:
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Those to whom We have given the Scripture (Jews and Christians) recognize him (i.e. Muhammad PBUH as a Messenger of Allah, and they also know that there is no Ilah (God) but Allah and Islam is Allah's Religion), as they recognize their own sons. Those who destroy themselves will not believe. (Tafsir At-Tabari) ﴿
[ Al-An'am, 20
]
"And who does more wrong than" is a rhetorical question, and it indicates that there is no one on earth among the 7 billion people who is more wrong than he who invents lies against Allah and invents theories for which Allah has sent down no authority, although he knows beyond doubt that these theories are not true.
The one who knows about his lie but he believes it is like the porter of the anecdote who made use of his the death of his donkey. When his donkey died, he became poor, because it was the source of his money. He wanted to benefit from its death, so he buried the donkey and built a shrine roofed with a green dome and pretended that this is the grave of a Wali (religious man). People started to visit the shrine asking Allah the Almighty for their needs by the intercession of this blessed Wali. They brought gifts and money.
When one of them doubted the truth about that fake Wali inside the grave, the porter was about to kill him and was so defensive though he knew for sure that there was a donkey in the grave. This man knew the truth, yet he lied, because he was getting benefits, and he became rich thereupon. The moral lesson of this anecdote: Do not argue with a rich man, an exploiter, a fool or a powerful man. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And who does more wrong than he who invents a lie against Allah or rejects His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, revelations, etc.)? Verily, the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.) shall never be successful. ﴿
The most crucial thing in life is to tell lies against Allah the Almighty for which Allah has sent down no authority.
If someone writes a book about a new way of understanding the Noble Quran, and so he cancels all Islamic rulings, values and Divine prescribed punishments, claiming that his book is a contemporary understanding of the Quran, this book is actually a mere lie against Allah and His Ayaat. Either this man is lying or he is fabricating a lie against Allah. This man is the most wrongful man on earth:
﴾ And who does more wrong than he who invents a lie against Allah or rejects His Ayat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, revelations, etc.)? Verily, the Zalimun (polytheists and wrong-doers, etc.) shall never be successful. ﴿
[ Al-An'am, 21
]
Wronging man's own self is the severest form of oppression.
﴾ And on the Day when We shall gather them all together, We shall say to those who joined partners in worship (with Us): "Where are your partners (false deities) whom you used to assert (as partners in worship with Allah)?"* There will then be (left) no Fitnah (excuses or statements or arguments) for them but to say: "By Allah, our Lord, we were not those who joined others in worship with Allah." ﴿
Man's relation with Al-Haqq (the truth) is a fateful one:
Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ Look! How they lie against themselves! ﴿
Your relation with Al-Haqq is a fateful, an instinctive, a reasonable and a realistic one. Insisting on knowing the truth is like knowing your own son, for you are able to recognize your son among a million people, because he is the closest to you. You are supposed to insist on knowing Al-Haqq like insisting on knowing your own son, "…recognize him as they recognize their own sons". Accordingly, the one who denies Al-Haqq is either doing so out of envy and oppression or out of fearing for his own interests and materialistic gains. There is no such a thing as an objective denial:
﴾ Look! How they lie against themselves ﴿
They lie when they say as Allah the Almighty narrates:
﴾ "By Allah, our Lord, we were not those who joined others in worship with Allah." ﴿
Hence, the one who denies Al-Haqq is either defending his whims, interests and gains, or he is doing so out of envy, resentment, enmity or outrage, and there are no reasons other than these for his denial of the Al-Haqq.
When man denounces whims, interests, gains, envy, resentment, enmity and outrage, he will definitely believe. Why did Fir'aun (Pharaoh) summon his sorcerers? He did so in order to refute Musa's (Moses') miracle. They are sorcerers, and they knew that their serpents were nothing but tubes dyed as snakes and were filled with mercury, so when they heated the ground beneath them, the mercury expanded, and the tubes wiggled like snakes. However, when they saw a real serpent, they fell down prostrating, because they knew it was a real miracle.
Again, when man denounces his whims, interests, gains, envy, resentment, enmity and outrage, he will definitely believe. He knows Al-Haqq just like he knows his own sons, "…recognize him as they recognize their own sons".
﴾ And who does more wrong than he who invents a lie against Allah or rejects His Ayaat (proofs, evidences, verses, lessons, revelations, etc.) ﴿
Either they invent a new theory that cancels the foundations of the religion, or they deny the religion. The one who denies Al-Haqq is the one who comes on the Day of Resurrection with the greatest loss. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And they prevent others from him (from following Prophet Muhammad PBUH) and they themselves keep away from him, and (by doing so) they destroy not but their ownselves, yet they perceive (it) not. ﴿
They keep themselves away from religion, and they prevent others from it. Allah the Almighty says:
﴾ And (by doing so) they destroy not but their ownselves, yet they perceive (it) not. ﴿
He who denies Al-Haqq in order to prove his identity and to empower his self-esteem is subconsciously destroying his own self.
The more man knows Allah, the more he fears Him:
There is another important point. Allah ordered the Prophet PBUH to say the following: in Surat Al-An'am:
﴾ Say: "I fear, if I disobey my Lord, the torment of a Mighty Day." Who is averted from (such a torment) on that Day, (Allah) has surely been Merciful to him. And that would be the obvious success. ﴿
[ Al-An'am, 15-16
]
The Prophet PBUH said:
(( Fearing Allah is the peak (or source) of wisdom. ))
[ Al-Baihaqi, by the authority of Ibn Mas'ud
]
The more you know Allah, the more you fear Him. In other words, you fear Allah as much as you know Him. It is like the physician who over cleans the fruits, because he is aware of the existence of bacteria, germs, infections, contagious diseases and health problems. Having known all these dangerous things makes him over clean the fruits. Each physician becomes cautious when it comes to what he knows. Much in the same line, you fear Allah as much as you know Him, and the more you know Him, the more you fear having your connection with Him severed.
In fact, Prophets fear Allah the most. When the Divine revelation stopped for two or three weeks, the Prophet PBUH was baffled, and he said to A'ishah, may Allah be pleased with her:
(May be it is because I ate the date I saw on the bed the other day, and it might come from charity.)
He teaches us how to be pious.
The true triumph is to survive Hellfire:
Dear brothers, the Prophet PBUH is the most fearful man from Allah:
﴾ Say: "I fear, if I disobey my Lord, the torment of a Mighty Day." Who is averted from (such a torment) on that Day, (Allah) has surely been Merciful to him. And that would be the obvious success. ﴿
Real victory is not acquired by owning the most beautiful house, car or land, and it is not acquired by being married to a very beautiful wife, but rather real victory lies in surviving an unavoidable Hellfire that is the punishment to the people of Kufr.
﴾ Who is averted from (such a torment) on that Day, (Allah) has surely been Merciful to him. And that would be the obvious success. ﴿
Conclusion:
Let us review the things I have mentioned in this lecture.
First, "All praises and thanks be to Allah, Who (Alone) created the heavens and the earth", so never wish that you should have never been existed and never wish that you should have never been created.
Allah should be praised for creating us, because He created us to grant us Mercy, and when someone deviates from the Right Path, and so he deserves to be disciplined by Allah, this is not a justified reason for wishing that this universe should have never been created by Allah.
Second, knowing Al-Haqq is intuitive knowledge similar to knowing your own son. When an infant cries, he stops crying when his mother nurses him, but if another woman tries so, it will not stop crying. This infant knows his mother though it is only born days ago. I meant to say that the strongest tie is the one between the mother and her son and they mutually know each other.
As a human being, you are molded to know Al-Haqq just like you know your sons or just like the sons know their fathers. If you deny Al-Haqq, then your denial is due to a mundane reason, such like oppression, envy, enmity or position's protection, and all these things prevent man from being guided to the Right Path, and if he denounces them, he will find his way to Al-Haqq.
