In the Name of Allah, Most Merciful, Most Compassionate
Assalaamu alaykum
Dear Friends
I pray that you are well.
The Creator of the universe did not create things and left them to their own mercy to perform their particular function as they like, but they are shown the way in which they should be performed. In fact, He guided the entire creation by equipping each member of it with suitable nature to function for which it was created, whether the member is the sky or celestial creation, or it is the earth or the earthly creation. They all possess a special type of sense, though it is of a lower than that of man.
Allah Almighty says,
قَالَ رَبُّنَا ٱلَّذِىٓ أَعْطَىٰ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ خَلْقَهُۥ ثُمَّ هَدَىٰ ﴿٥٠[Qur'an Ta-Ha 20:50]
He (Moses) said, "Our Lord is He who gave each thing its form and then guided [it]." (50)
Consequently, since the inception of their creation, the skies, the earth, the stars and planets, mountains and oceans are all performing their functions accurately, without any failure or deviation. Humans and animals, in particular, whose intellect and sensibility can be observed easily, have been invested with capabilities of fulfilling their minute needs and repelling harmful things in a way that baffles the one who thinks about it.
Since human possesses sense and intelligence of a higher degree, his capabilities may not be so much surprising, but let us look into wild animals, ferocious animals or beasts of prey, birds and insects. Each and everyone of them is able to obtain its necessities of life. They are able to find their habitats. They have not acquired the skills of fulfilling their individual and communal needs through a teacher that may educate or train them, nor did they need any school or college to acquire this knowledge and skill. Their education and training comes directly from the Creator of the universe. It is this Divine guidance that has been referred to in the Qur'an by saying,
قَالَ رَبُّنَا ٱلَّذِىٓ أَعْطَىٰ كُلَّ شَىْءٍ خَلْقَهُۥ ثُمَّ هَدَىٰ ﴿٥٠[Qur'an Ta-Ha 20:50]
He (Moses) said, "Our Lord is He who gave each thing its form and then guided [it]." (50)
وَٱلَّذِى قَدَّرَ فَهَدَىٰ ﴿٣[Qur'an Al'Ala 87:3]
And who determined a measure (for everything), then guided (it),n(3)
Allah has equipped humans with the higher order of intelligence and sense. The entire universe is made subservient to us -- the earth, mountains and oceans and everything created therein are made to serve us and created for our benefit. However, full advantage of them is not possible unless human acquires knowledge and skill to put various things together and produce a new item.
Nature has provided human with intelligence and understanding to excavate mountains and dive into the oceans to obtain minerals and marine objects. He composes certain items like wood, iron, steel, copper, brass and so on and makes new items of his need. This knowledge and technology is not dependent on scientific research and college or university education. Even illiterate people have been doing this since the inception of human existence. This is intrinsic science that Allah has endowed upon human as a natural gift. Later, people developed the capability of doing technical and scientific research. They thus made progress in various fields of science and technology. The capability to do this is also a Divine gift.
Obviously, science and technology does not create anything, but it merely shows the way to use the created things. The initial knowledge about their use is taught by Allah, but there is a wide scope to make progress in it by the capabilities Allah has bestowed to humans, the manifestation of which we are witnessing in this scientific and technological age day by day, and what further range of these abilities and talents will manifest in future is unknown. This is all the manifestation of Al-Hadi. Allah has placed in them potentials and capabilities to perform their natural functions. But the scientists are getting more and more negligent, and we, the consumers are getting blind with the realities day by day.
Sayyidna 'Abdullah Ibn Mas'ud says that people generally prefer the worldly blessings and comforts to the blessings and comforts of the Hereafter, because the former is visible and readily available, while the latter is invisible and unavailable readily. People unaware of reality preferred the visible to the invisible, which became the cause of eternal loss. In order to spare them the eternal loss, Allah, through His Messengers and Books, described to them the blessings and comforts of the Hereafter so clearly as if they can perceive them [through their sense organs].
Those who are heedless of the Message and busy with this life, preferring this life to the Hereafter, are warned that they should use their intelligence to find out what they have preferred and what they have abandoned. First, realize that the highest degree of comfort and pleasure in this life is not free from the mixture of grief and hardship. Second, it is not permanent. We experience in our daily life that a king (or the wealthy) of today becomes a pauper tomorrow. A vigorous youth of today becomes old tomorrow. In the Hereafter, there will be freedom from both these defects. All its blessings and comforts will be 'much better' and they cannot be compared to the blessings and comforts of this life. Most importantly, it is "much more durable" (abqa).
Allah Almighty says,
بَلْ تُؤْثِرُونَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةَ ٱلدُّنْيَا ﴿١٦﴾ وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَىٰٓ ﴿١٧[Qur'an Al-'ala 87:16]
But you prefer the worldly life, (16) While the Hereafter is better and more enduring. (17)
It is unwise to put our heart into this life or faith in it, and waste our energy on it. If you are given the option to choose between a beautiful fully furnished mansion that you can only live in it for a month, and an ordinary, substandard house that you can live in it forever, which one would choose? Pretty sure we all will choose the second option. The fact is the bounties of the Hereafter is much more and much better than the beautiful fully furnished mansion. It is beyond our human comprehension and imagination. What we know of these great bounties, is nothing but only a glimpse. We just have to get there to know its realities. Only an unfortunate fool would prefer the blessings of this life to the bounties of the Hereafter.
Allah Almighty says,
فَذَكِّرْ إِن نَّفَعَتِ ٱلذِّكْرَىٰ ﴿٩﴾ سَيَذَّكَّرُ مَن يَخْشَىٰ ﴿١٠﴾ وَيَتَجَنَّبُهَا ٱلْأَشْقَى ﴿١١﴾ ٱلَّذِى يَصْلَى ٱلنَّارَ ٱلْكُبْرَىٰ ﴿١٢﴾ ثُمَّ لَا يَمُوتُ فِيهَا وَلَا يَحْيَىٰ ﴿١٣[Qur'an Al 'Ala 87:11-13]
So remind, if the reminder should benefit; (9) He who fears [Allah] will be reminded. (10) But the wretched one will avoid it - (11) [He] who will [enter and] burn in the greatest Fire, (12) Neither dying therein nor living. (13)
Success is achieved by purifying ourselves through repentance and remembrance of Allah and worship, leaving acts of disobedience and increasing acts of obedience and supererogatory worship, and getting rid of blameworthy traits and acquiring praiseworthy traits.
Sayyidna Abi Dharr Al-Ghifari says that he inquired from the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, as to the contents of the scripts of Prophet Musa alayhissalaam. The Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, replied that they contained lessons of wisdom. Some of them are as follows:
I am surprised at the person who believes that he will certainly die, and yet he lives happily.
I am surprised at the person who believes in Divine destiny, and yet he is despondent and aggrieved.
I am surprised at the person who experiences the vicissitudes of life and rise and fall of nations, and yet he is content with the world.
I am surprised at the person who believes in the Reckoning of the Hereafter, and yet he abandons [good] deeds.
Sayyidna Abu Dharr Al-Ghifari says that he asked the Prophet, Allah bless him and grant him peace, whether anything from these scriptures was revealed to him, he replied in the affirmative and asked Sayyidna Abu Dharr Ghifari to recite verses 14-19 of Surah Al 'Ala. [Qurtubi]
قَدْ أَفْلَحَ مَن تَزَكَّىٰ ﴿١٤﴾ وَذَكَرَ ٱسْمَ رَبِّهِۦ فَصَلَّىٰ ﴿١٥[Qur'an Al 'Ala 87:14-19]
بَلْ تُؤْثِرُونَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةَ ٱلدُّنْيَا ﴿١٦﴾ وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةُ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَىٰٓ ﴿١٧﴾ إِنَّ هَـٰذَا لَفِى ٱلصُّحُفِ ٱلْأُولَىٰ ﴿١٨﴾ صُحُفِ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ وَمُوسَىٰ ﴿١٩
He has certainly succeeded who purifies himself (14) And mentions the name of his Lord and prays. (15) But you prefer the worldly life, (16) While the Hereafter is better and more enduring. (17) Indeed, this is in the former scriptures, (18) The scriptures of Abraham and Moses. (19)
May Allah guide us and purify us and save us from Hellfire. Ameen.
Please don't forget us in your night prayers. Jazakum Allahu khairan.
And Allah knows best.
Wassalaam
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