Transcription
All praise is due to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. Blessings and salutations upon Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam. We ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala to bless him and to bless every single one of us.
This evening, I will continue from where I left off last night. As you know, it was the introduction of the series that we have commenced with. I had ended where we were making mention of why it is that the stories of the previous prophets are made mention of. I made mention of one point, and I'd like to go further.
But before I do that, it is important for us to highlight where we got the word "stories" from. Sometimes, it does not sound appropriate to use the word "stories" when it comes to the Quran; rather, we would say the lives of the prophets. Someone might say we'd rather say something else. But if you look at the words used in the Quran, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says, "So narrate to them the stories in order that they may ponder."
So these stories are narrated to us for what reason? That we may ponder and we may learn a thing or two. Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam was told in the Quran, "You were not there, O Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, at that mount when we called out to him. But how did you know about it? We informed you about it."
We are fortunate that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has informed us as well about it. As I said yesterday, if it was not for revelation, we would never know what it was. So we have selected the word "stories" because it is the closest. In fact, in Surah Yusuf, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says right at the beginning, "We are narrating to you the best of stories in that which we have revealed in this Quran."
So that is the best of stories. Allah calls it a story. Now, if we look at why or some of the other reasons that these stories are made mention of, it is in order to be a consolation and a comfort to Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and to anyone who wants to carry out that work.
What does this mean? Allah says in the Quran, "And each time we mention for you a story of those of the past, it is in order to comfort you, to grant you strength, to strengthen you, to be a form of consolation for you." When you know the stories of the past, you will be able to relate to what is happening now in your midst.
Indeed, in this Quran, the truth has come as a reminder for those who believe. So we ask Allah to grant us a reminder from these particular stories.
Now let us commence from the beginning of creation. Right at the beginning, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala created the pen and He told the pen, "Write whatever is going to happen up to the end." That was the instruction of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
How exactly it happened, we do not need to know. Why do we say we do not need to know? Because there are certain things that our brains and our minds are incapable of understanding. We will never be able to understand in the same way that the other creatures have a brain according to their capacity.
They feel that they are sophisticated and they feel that they have improved. So does man. Man feels he is so improved and he has eyes. Can you see what we call the unseen? The answer is no. We believe that there are jinn kind. Can we see them? The answer is no. We believe the angels come and go. Can we see them? The answer is no.
Which means our eyes are restricted to a restriction placed by Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. So there are certain things, if they are not in the Quran, we will not need to know them. If they are not in the correct Sunnah of Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, we will not need to know them.
However, there are certain narrations known as Israiliyat. Who is Israiliyat? It is the Prophet Jacob, may peace be upon him. He was also known as Israel. There are narrations that have come to us via the people of the book, more so the Jewish clans and tribes who were there at the time of Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam and before.
So those narrations, how do we treat them? Because we find them, people have read them. As I said yesterday, there are some similarities between all these revelations. There are three types of these narrations:
One, those which the Quran or the Sunnah have negated and disagreed with. Those we would throw out completely. Secondly, those which the Quran has confirmed or the Sunnah of the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam has confirmed. Those we will take, not because they were found in the Israiliyat, but because they were found in our narrations and they were found to be in conformance with what the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam brought.
The third type of narrations are those where the Quran has not said anything, the Sunnah has not said anything about it. It is not negated nor is it confirmed. For those, we have a policy: we say we neither believe it nor do we disbelieve it. We hold it, we might read it, it might create a little bit of information in our minds, but we neither believe nor reject it. We do not actually need to know those details.
So this is something very important. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala created the angels, and then He created the jinn kind. Very interestingly, He created another kind known as the bin kind.
Allah makes mention of this in one of His books, which is the book that I've mainly used for this series as well. He says in there that there was a certain creature or creatures of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala known as the bin, and they were on the earth. They created chaos and havoc and so on.
So Allah sent the jinn to deal with the bin on earth. The jinn came in and they dealt with the bin, and they overcame them and overpowered them and destroyed them completely. And who was the head of the jinn? One known as Iblis.
He was very, very proud of his good deed. This is why we say a lesson drawn from this: whenever you do a good deed, don't let it make you arrogant and think, "I'm holy, I'm pious, the other one is nothing." No, we do not judge books by their covers, number one.
And number two, no matter what level you are on, look at those who are above you and tell yourself, "I have not got anywhere yet." May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala grant us goodness. There is a chance that those who might appear to be lower than us, they might overtake us.
So what happened to Iblis? He became very proud. He was so happy, so happy that whenever those in the heavens were addressed, he was addressed as one of them. He used to be addressed as the angels.
You know, I like to give the example of a donkey. I say when people have come to visit you, the whole community came and they came riding on their donkeys. You say the community came to visit us, but you didn't say the donkeys also came because the donkey is part of the community.
It's come and it's now come to you. You don't make mention of it. So when Allah speaks of malaika, Iblis was also included in it. But he was not from amongst them; he was just included because he happened to be a good person.
Like nowadays we say, "Oh, he's such an angel," or "she is such an angel," and so on. Do we really mean they have joined the ranks of malaika? The answer is no. But what we mean is they are very good and so on.
So he was good at the time. Then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala thereafter informed the angels of something very important. "Inni khaliqun basharan min teen." Imagine right at the beginning of the Quran, Allah is speaking about it.
Very interestingly, and remember when Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala told the angels, "I am creating a vicegerent on the earth." What is the meaning of a vicegerent? It has two important meanings. One is one who stands in the place of someone else or one who assumes the position of another.
So that is the first meaning. They say this person is a vicegerent. That was Adam. They called him those who came and assumed the position of the other and they continued the work.
So that is the first meaning. The second is more appropriate: one who succeeds another. Those who come succeeding one after the other.
So think about it carefully. The angels, they don't die. The jinn kind, Allah knows, but they live very long. They don't succeed; they actually live very long. But everything on earth, what happens to it? It has a lifespan and it continues.
Adam Alaihis Salam came, and after a while, his children continued. He was gone, his children went, and others came. Then they were gone, and their children came. We are here; we will go after a while.
So we are only here for a period of time. This is also known as vicegerent: one who succeeds another. We have succeeded those before us, and those after us will succeed us. That is also the meaning of vicegerent.
So when Allah says, "I am putting on the earth a vicegerent," it would also mean those who are coming one after the other. They will not last until the end of the earth, but they will come one after the other.
So immediately, the angels uttered something. They said, "O Allah, are you going to create someone and place them on earth who are going to cause chaos and they are going to spill blood and they are going to do a lot of damage on the earth? And yet we are here, we are declaring in your praise, we are worshiping you."
What did Allah say? "I know that which you do not know." Knowledge is with Allah. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala had a purpose to create Adam. It's important for us to know this purpose and aim because we have succeeded them.
We are now on earth; Adam is no longer alive here with us. So we need to know why it is we were created. So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala continues. This discussion is so beautiful.
It is mentioned, "Inni khaliqun basharan min teen." Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says thereafter that He created Adam. Let us spend a few moments on how He created Adam.
The Quran uses several words: it uses the word "teen," it uses the word "turab," it uses the word "salsal," and it uses the word "hamim." What are these words? One is dust, one is soil, one is clay, and one is the dark clay.
So why all these words? Words are used for the same creation because it is depicting different stages in the creation of man. Let us move further.
Amazingly and interestingly, Allah took dust from the earth, and that dust was taken from different parts of the earth. You and I know that the soil on the earth is different colors. You have red, you have slightly lighter color, you have a darker color, you have different shades of brown, and so on.
So they were different shades and different colors, and He took these from different parts of the globe: from the valleys, from the mountain tops, from the sandy regions, from the rocky regions, and so on.
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala put it all together. This is why in mankind nowadays, we use the word "genes." Not referring to those hipsters that people wear, no. The genes within man.
What do we understand? If it is in your genes, if something is in your genes, there is a likelihood that it will be passed on to your children. Hereditary.
So Adam Alaihis Salam was created from different types, different colors, and different qualities. So from his progeny, there are different colors, and there are people who are easy to get along with, people who are very difficult to get along with, people who are hardcore, strong, powerful, and people who are weaklings.
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala grant us the middle path, and Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala make us from amongst the best. So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala created all of them so differently, and this is why we have different colors, and this is why we have different shades, different attitudes, and different characteristics and characters.
We ask Allah to grant us the best, and we ask Allah to open the doors for us and our offspring. We ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala to have mercy on us at all times.
So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala then speaks about how He created this man. Do you know that the narrations make mention of the fact that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala first had this dust, and then He added water to it? It became soil, and then He shaped it up; it became clay.
He left it for a while, and then He speaks about the word used in the Quran is "kahl," meaning the pottery. The clay of pottery. Why does He say similar to the clay of pottery but not exactly the clay of pottery?
Because for the clay of pottery, heat is used. For man, no heat was used. SubhanAllah, no heat was used. So if Allah said the clay of pottery, it would mean heat was used. But He says similar to that clay of pottery because there is one thing missing: "Allahu Akbar."
So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala thereafter left man. Now, what was the size of Adam? Very interestingly, the narration says 60 feet.
Now what is a foot? One would say is about roughly from your elbow to the top or to the wrist and so on. So one might say roughly 30 cm. However, maybe the feet at that time might have been 1 m.
So he was either 6 m or he was either, if we were to calculate it with today's feet, 18 m. Either way, he was huge. Just imagine Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala created Adam.
The hadith says Allah created Adam upon His image. Now what is meant by this? Ask the Christians; they give you a totally wrong answer. They'll tell you it means man was created on the image of God. That is wrong.
It is simple to understand. When me and you were born, how were we created? A little seed began to multiply, and thereafter the form was given slowly but surely. But with Adam, it was different.
Allah created him on His image from day one, which means he was already big. He already had size; he already had eyes. That is the meaning of creation in His image. Not the image of Allah, but Adam was created in the image of Adam.
He was already an adult when he was created. So this is the meaning of it. We must never be confused and think that, you know, they say Jesus came in the form of God. That is totally wrong; it's a mistake according to us.
We cannot discuss that matter with Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala because we would need to see Him, and none of us have. So when it comes to Adam Alaihis Salam, Allah left him.
When Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala left him for a period of time, he had a certain very, very pious being who was known as Iblis, who happened to think, "Now why is Allah doing this? You know, I went on the earth and I sorted things out on the earth, and I went to engage in such great acts of worship, and here we have Allah creating someone else."
So he began to look up and down, and he was literally monitoring this creature. He was trying to look and see and survey and take a look at what's happening. He saw the size, and he saw the belly; he saw the stomach.
One narration says when he checked it, it was hollow. He says, "Oh, I know I can control this. I know." You know what that means? He is not consistent. This man will not be consistent.
We'll be able to push him this way or that way. He already made a promise before the soul was blown into Adam. You find Iblis making a promise. He looks at this more or less a statue which is now lying, and he says, "No, if I have an opportunity, I'm going to lead you astray. And if you are made to be higher than me, I'll never follow you."
This is what he said from that time. What was the sin? The sin was he thought he was too holy. This is what it is. This is why let us be careful.
When Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala has granted us the acceptance to fulfill Salah, let's not think we're doing Him a favor. We are doing ourselves a favor. And let's not think we're better than the other.
Who knows? That person might be sacrificing much more than us in a different way, and they might be closer to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala than us.
So this issue of becoming too holy or feeling that "I am it," what does it make us do? May Allah protect us. It might make us look at others with an inferiority complex, meaning that they are inferior to us.
We would have a superiority complex, so to speak. Now Allah protect us. That's what happened to Iblis.
So when Iblis looked at this, he was very, very upset and angry, and he made his promises. Then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala began, or He blew the soul into Adam Alaihis Salam.
Where did it start from? Very interestingly, it started from the top, from the head. So the most honored organ that we have is the brain. That is what distinguishes us from the rest of the creatures.
We have a brain. Allah gave it life first before everything else. Then as the soul came, meaning as the life began to come, everything was turning into flesh and blood. Flesh and blood from soil was becoming flesh and blood.
The brain came alive, then the eyes came alive, and Adam Alaihis Salam suddenly opened his eyes. MashaAllah, imagine what must have happened: an adult opening his eyes, granted full knowledge.
Allah says in the Quran, "We taught Adam the names of everything." So we brought everything that was in creation and we told him, "This is a tree, this is a stone, this is a mountain," and so on.
He was already taught. He was not like us. When you are born, you slowly learn. You learn to say "Allah," and then you learn to say something else, and then you learn to say "daddy" and "mommy." No, it was not like that with Adam Alaihis Salam.
He already knew the words and the names of everything, and Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala speaks about that in the Quran.
So as his eyes opened, he saw the fruits of Jannah. He was in Jannah. He was in a place that we don't know; we haven't been in yet. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala grant us Paradise.
So when his eyes opened, he was so happy. He saw all these fruits and so on. He already understood what it was. And what happened as the soul was blown and the life came into his nose and his mouth? He sneezed.
He sneezed! So sneezing is a sign of goodness. It is a gift of Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala which protects you from illness. That is a sneeze.
So one narration says the angels said, "O Adam, thank Allah." So Adam says, "Alhamdulillah." He says, "Alhamdulillah, all praise is due to Allah." This is where we get it from.
All praise, when you sneeze, you should utter, "All praises due to Allah." So the narration makes mention of how Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala responded to him, that Allah has had mercy on you, O Adam.
Hence what happens when we hear, when we sneeze, we say "Alhamdulillah." If we hear someone say "Alhamdulillah," we should say, "Allah has definitely had mercy on you." That is the beauty, and this is where it started, and this is where it came from.
So as life came into his hands, he stretched out to get what? Amazing! He stretched out to get what he was seeing. He was seeing the fruits of Jannah.
So he's stretching out, but life had not yet come onto his legs, so he couldn't get there. And this is why the Quran says, "And in another place, Allah says, 'Man was always in a rush, always making haste.'"
Look at us. How do we treat life? Life is like this much, so to speak, from this point to that point, and we try to get as much as we can between this point and that point.
We want to fill it with as much money, as much knowledge, as much this, as much that. So very beautifully, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala makes mention of how man was always in haste.
Then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, after He created Adam Alaihis Salam, instructed the angels to prostrate. That prostration was not to worship him, but only in order to recognize and to acknowledge his status. His status was raised higher than all of them.
So Allah says to recognize that status, prostrate. And remember when we told the angels to prostrate to Adam? They all prostrated immediately besides Iblis.
Now why didn't he? Allah makes mention of it in so many places. He says he refused out of arrogance and he became from amongst those who were disbelievers.
This was the first sin being committed against Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala. The first sin. He refused out of arrogance.
So what is the meaning of arrogance? The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says that arrogance is not when you wear good clothes or when you drive a good vehicle. No, it is when you reject the truth and you despise people.
Look at that translation; so beautiful. Whenever anyone rejects the truth, they are proud; they are arrogant. Whenever anyone despises other people, they are proud; they are arrogant.
Remember those two because a lot of people don't understand the meaning of pride. You look at a man, "MashaAllah, in good clothing," and you say, "Look at that uncle, he's proud." That statement of ours is actually pride.
May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala grant us a deeper understanding because the Sahaba asked the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam, "When you say that nobody will enter Jannah if they have got even a mustard's weight of pride in their hearts, we like to wear good clothing, we like to have a good conveyance."
The Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, "No, that's not what pride is. Pride is when you reject the truth and when you despise people."
So Iblis was the one who showed that pride and arrogance. In another place in the Quran, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says he was from amongst the jinn kind. You see, he was not from amongst the angels.
Allah says he was from amongst the jinn. Now the malaika, the angels, were created from light, and the jinn were created from smokeless fire. That Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala makes mention of even in the Quran.
And this is why there was a difference between them. And where did this difference show? It showed when man was created.
Now the two were differentiated, and then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says to Adam Alaihis Salam, in fact, before that, Allah questions, "What is it that's stopping you from prostrating to that which I have created with My own hands?"
Allah says, "What is it that is stopping you from prostrating to this that I have created?" Do you know what he says? He says, "I am much better than him. You made him from dust, and you made me from fire. How can I prostrate to him? He must prostrate to me."
Who is he? Now let us look into our lives. As we said, we want to draw lessons from this. We don't just want to mention the history.
The lesson is: never underestimate the next person. Never. Don't think this man is poor, this man is not good-looking, this man is like this, or this woman is like that, or she has this and she has that, so I am better.
Not at all. We are taught people are equal like the teeth of a comb. You see a comb and its teeth? We are all equal, exactly like that when it comes to access to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
Allah loves you as much as He loves me. He's waiting for you to turn to Him as much as He's waiting for me to turn to Him. So nobody should think that no one is better than the other.
May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala open our doors. And here we are speaking of the personal thought. If we feel that someone is pious or someone is closer to Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, that is different.
But we are talking about feeling that someone is inferior and feeling that someone is lower. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala never ever make us from those who look down upon other people.
So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala speaks about how Iblis refused, and he's debating with Allah. He told Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, "If you give me respite up to the Day of Judgment, the day when everything is going to come to an end, then I will show you. I will lead astray all that progeny that you spoke about that will follow him, except a few."
Who are those few? Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala makes mention of them: "Those who are My true worshippers, you will not have any authority over them."
Oh, you won't be able to handle them or to control them. So let's take a look at what happened when Adam Alaihis Salam was now standing.
Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala taught him all the names. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala told him to go to the angels, and he was told to greet the angels. This is a narration which is correct and it's authentic.
He went up to the angels as instructed by Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala, and he was told to tell them, "Peace be upon you." When he greeted them, they greeted him back.
So this is our greeting. You see where we get it from? And this is why even the previous nations or those who have the other books, the people of the book, they are also taught to greet in a similar way.
But a lot of them have lost it to the highs and the buys and the yos and what have you. May Allah protect us. Yes, this is what has happened.
We used to have a yo-yo when we were young. It's a little thing that goes down. After that, we heard them cutting it in half and giving it to you as a greeting. Allahu Akbar.
May Allah open our doors. Really, we have a beautiful greeting: "May peace be upon you." For your information, do you know what it means? It means I guarantee you I won't harm you.
Because if I am saying, "May peace be upon you," from what? From my harm. So I'm not going to harm you. There's peace from me. So we are friends, basically. We are together.
And this is why it is hypocritical to greet a person and say, "Peace be upon you," and then behind his back, you are busy stabbing him and so on. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala safeguard us.
This is why in a narration, the Prophet Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam says, "Should I not show you that which, if you were to spread it properly, it would spread the peace and the love between you?"
What is it? "As-salam," the correct greeting in the proper way without hypocrisy. We ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala to make us from those who can love one another solely because we share Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam.
So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala speaks of this and how Iblis, may the curse be upon him, already did this. Then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says, "Tell those angels the names of all these things."
Allah brought all the things in front of the angels. So Allah asked the angels first, "Do you know the names of these things?" And they said, "We don't know."
Allah knows. Allah knows. So Allah says, "O Adam, tell them the names of these things." And Adam Alaihis Salam began to recite, "This is a tree, this is a stone, this is a mountain, this is this, this is that."
The angels were shocked. They were shocked; they were amazed. Things they didn't know, Adam Alaihis Salam knew. This is when they said, "O Allah, You are the knower of the unseen."
And Allah says, "I know that which you don't know." Didn't I tell you? But there is something else that Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala referred to as well when He said, "I know that which you don't know."
Let's get to it. Iblis was very, very angry. He already made his promises. And now what happened? Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says, "We told Adam Alaihis Salam that you can dwell here with your wife, and you will live in Jannah with her. Have what you want, eat what you want, do what you want, but there's one thing that I don't want you to do, and that is that tree. You don't eat from it."
The one tree you don't eat from it. Now one might say, "Well, why is it that Allah decided that He wants to have prohibitions?" Someone asked me, "Why did Allah create the pig if He doesn't want us to eat the pig?"
Good question. When you have a mathematics test, do they only teach you addition? You have subtraction as well. Do they only teach you multiplication? You have division as well.
So you know how to go this way, and you know how to go that way. You are tested this way, and you are tested that way. There is a different part of your spirituality that is enhanced when you engage in fulfilling the commands, and there is a different part of your spirituality that grows when you abstain from prohibitions.
That is Allah. So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala kept one thing. And what we learn from this now is most of the things are permissible besides a little list. Just like there, everything was permissible besides one item.
Now there is a question: how did Hawwa or Eve, may peace be upon her, come about? It's a very interesting question, and it has a beautiful answer. According to some of the narrations, Adam Alaihis Salam was the only species, the only of his kind, mankind one.
There was no one else. Naturally, he was feeling lonely. Lonely because the angels, there are so many. This, there are so many. Me, I'm only one.
So he used to want company. He used to ask Allah for company, something that would grant him comfort. One day when he got up, he noticed someone looking very similar to him.
What do we learn from this? A woman was given to a man as a gift after great prayer. MashaAllah. So we ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala really to make us from those who can appreciate that and who can understand it.
Because many people forget this, and they don't realize that this woman was actually a gift. But let me quickly also remind the sisters: live your lives in such a way that you are like a gift, not a burden.
Ameen. So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says that this Adam had Hawwa standing right next to him. The Quran says at the beginning of Surah An-Nisa, Allah makes mention of how He created a woman, and He says, "We created from him," meaning from Adam, "his spouse, his wife," which means Hawwa.
Now there are certain people who are embarrassed, and they say, "No, we weren't created from man." Well, why be embarrassed? We were created from dust, from soil. At least you were created from something which is already living.
Allahu Akbar. There is nothing embarrassing. We are there right now. Let's talk of where we are now. This is history. No need to deny it, and no need to deny a verse of the Quran.
Clearly, it says this in the opening verses of that Allah created man, and then He created a woman from the man. So the hadith of Abu Huraira makes mention of the rib. There is nothing wrong with being created from a rib.
And when the hadith speaks about how a rib is bent and how the top of it is bent, and if you try to straighten it, you might crack it. So be very, very careful how you treat your women.
I think a lot of the women don't understand that hadith, and they take it personally, and they take it wrongly. They think it's an insult.
It's not. All it is, it is telling the menfolk that be careful how you handle the women. Be very kind to them, be very tolerant, and be very, very patient with them.
Because if you want to straighten them like a pin, you might end up cracking them, which is true. You can't have your wife exactly as you want.
No, no two human beings are the same. Not at all. You know, when I was young, we were always told the five fingers are not the same. One day my dad came along and he says, "Well, if you make an effort, they can all be one."
You see, you need to bend one and change the other one and do this to the other one, then you get all of them in one line. So it means an effort is required for us to be on par.
There is a give and take. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala grant us goodness. Then there is the issue of Iblis, who thought of his plan.
He was sitting in Jannah. There, he's watching. He's seeing, "Look, Allah made one prohibition. I promised Allah that I'm going to come to Adam."
The thing is, he knows me, and Allah warned Adam. Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala warned him, and Allah says, "Watch out for him. Let him not take you out of the goodness you are in. Be careful that he doesn't take you out from all this goodness that you have in this garden here."
Because then you will be unfortunate. You will be very unfortunate if you fall into his trap. Allah says, "You will neither be hungry in it, nor will you ever need clothing. You won't be naked in Jannah, nor will you ever be thirsty, and you will never ever get tired."
There is nothing. So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says, "Enjoy, enjoy as much as you want. The only thing I want you to do is make sure that you've understood the enmity that this one has against you."
The enmity that this one has against you, understand it. And he has promised he's going to lead you astray. Be careful.
So now one day goes after some time, he goes to Adam, and he says, "Look at what plan he used. He says, 'O Adam, can I show you the tree that if you eat from it, you won't die? You won't die at all. You'll have life forever, and you will have lots and lots of belongings that will never stop. You will own absolutely everything. You'll have so much kingdom that it won't even finish.'"
So Adam Alaihis Salam turned to him. That's the mistake: you don't turn to shaytan. Allah says in the Quran, "When shaytan, when you feel the slight whisper of shaytan, immediately seek the protection of Allah against shaytan."
When you feel the whisper, don't even have bad company. Don't even go in that direction. Don't even want to listen to him. Immediately throw it out and say, "This is what Allah says."
So he managed to get the ear of Adam, and Adam heard it. He tried again, and he tried a third time and a fourth time. After some time, Adam Alaihis Salam decided together with his wife that now let's just have a taste of it.
What are we going to lose? We have a taste. Why? Because he now had forgotten that it was prohibited. Where do we get this from? The Quran says, "And we had made a promise with Adam before, but he forgot about it, and we did not find him to be resolute."
What is the meaning of resolute? He did not make a firm intention to sin and to transgress against Allah. We found when he did what he did, it was not intentional; he made a mistake. It's clear in the Quran.
This is why yesterday I said that the prophets of Allah, they did not intentionally commit sin. They did not commit sin; they were protected by Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala.
In the case of Adam, there is a narration where he meets Musa, may peace be upon them all. He says, "O Allah, You have spoken to me, and You have chosen me to be spoken to. You went to kill that man."
Musa is talking about me. How can you blame me for something that Allah had already decreed prior to my creation? And He made it part of my creation for me to get onto the earth. And Musa was quiet.
Allahu Akbar. That is a narration in the Quran that is made mention of. So we don't blame Adam. It was supposed to be in order for him to come onto the earth.
A question that comes up: many people think that it was Hawwa, may peace be upon her, who was the one whom shaytan had conned. There is no evidence for that. That is just something that people say in order to try and blame women.
And they all say, "Well, the woman was the first one who sinned, and the woman is the one because of her we are all astray," and so on. There is no concrete evidence, neither in the Quran nor the Sunnah.
In fact, the Quran speaks about talking to Adam. It says, "O Adam, can I show you?" Then Allah says, "The two of them ate together." That's what Allah says.
So why blame one or the other? May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala grant us the ability to take the blame when it is supposed to be on us. Because we all sometimes want to lay that buck on someone else.
We learn from this that whenever it is our fault, just admit it. Don't try and pass the buck onto someone else just to blame them so that we can come out scot-free.
So Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says they ate from that tree. And when they ate from the tree, do you want to know what happened? Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says immediately as they ate, their private parts began to show, and they ran to the trees of Jannah and the leaves of Jannah, and they tried to cover themselves.
Allah said moments ago that you will never be hungry, you will never need clothing, because your private parts will not show. And Allah says you will not need this, and you will not need that.
But once they ate from the tree, they began to feel the need to cover themselves. That was the first thing. They were now full of shame. They were ashamed of their deed, number one.
And number two is they had to cover themselves. And then Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says beautifully in the Quran, this is going to be the last point for this evening.
Allah says Adam received certain words from Allah, so Allah forgave him after that. What were these words? Powerful words. The first time in the history of existence, someone was taught how to seek forgiveness.
That act of worship known as Tawbah and forgiveness and repentance was never ever engaged in before. No, never. Allah taught it to Adam first.
This is when the angels were in shock once again. Now we see this is an act of worship that nobody has engaged in before. Allah taught Adam Alaihis Salam a few words, and immediately he uttered the words.
What did he say? Him and his wife, both of them, they said, "O our Lord, we have oppressed ourselves. We have wronged ourselves. And if You are not going to have mercy on us, if You are not going to forgive us, we are going to be the losers, Ya Allah."
So forgive us, Ya Allah. And Allah says, "We forgave him immediately." What do we learn from this?
We learn from this that one of the most powerful acts of worship that man can engage in is repentance, asking for forgiveness. Because that is what man was made for.
Man was given the free will, but unlike the angels who do not have the ability to sin, man has the ability to sin, but he's asked to abstain from it. And wherever he has fallen, he needs to immediately ask Allah's forgiveness.
This is why so many places in the Quran, Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala says, "O mankind, those of you who have oppressed against themselves, never lose hope in My mercy. I will forgive all your sins."
All that is required is for us to ask Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala to forgive us. So it's important we learn the lesson. There are four things required when we want to ask Allah's forgiveness:
Firstly, to admit the sin. Secondly, to regret over it. Thirdly, to ask Allah to forgive it. And fourthly, to promise that we will not do it again.
Once those four conditions are met, nobody needs to know your sin, not a single soul. Between you and Allah, it is wiped out. Allahu Akbar.
Don't have a doubt in your heart and in your mind. May Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala grant us the ability to understand those four conditions, and may He make us from those who can fulfill it.
InshaAllah, we will continue tomorrow. And InshaAllah, we ask Allah to forgive us our sins, and we ask Allah to open our doors. Until we meet again with the continuation, we say...