Story of Zakariyya
Posted by: Maryam on: Friday, January 6, 2012
Allah reveals the story of Zakariyya in Surah Maryam, chapter 19 in the Holy Quran in verses 1-15. Allah reminds mankind of his mercy on his servant Zakariyya. It has been recorded in the Sahih Al-Bukhari that the prophet S.A.S said that Zakariyya was a carpenter who used to eat from what he earned with his own hand through his carpentry. Zakariyya was a really old man, weak and feeble in strength (19:4); the point being not to describe his physical appearance but to inform the extent of his old age and weakness. He had no heir to carry forward his mission and therefore he used to make his supplications secretly (which is more beloved to Allah), he feared his Mawali (relatives) since he was afraid that the generation that would succeed him would be a wicked generation. Thus, he used to ask Allah for a prophet after him, who would guide them with his prophethood and that which was revealed to him.
Allah responded to his supplications by giving him glad tidings of a son to be named Yahya as mentioned: ‘At that time Zakariyya invoked his Lord saying: ‘O my Lord! Grant me from You, a good offspring. You are indeed the All-Hearer of invocation.’ Then the angles called him, while he was standing in prayer in the Mihrab (a private place for worship) saying :’Allah gives you glad tidings of Yahya, confirming (believing in) the word of Allah, noble, keeping away from sexual relations with women, a prophet, from among the righteous (3:38-39). Zakariyya was truly amazed when his supplications was answered and he was given the good news of a son. This is particularly amazing since his wife was an old woman who was barren and had not given birth to any children in her entire life. Even Zakariyya himself had become feeble and thin, and had no potent semen or vigor for sexual intercourse. The following Ayat also informs of the birth of the son from the same barren wife and not any other woman, showing how simple and easy it is for Allah to do so and reminded him of how he and every human is created from nothing in a womb.
Zakriyya then asks Allah to give him a sign (19: 10) and a proof of the existence of that which You have promised me, so that my soul will be at rest and my heart will be at ease with Your promise. Allah replies by saying, ‘Your sign in that you shall not speak unto mankind for three nights, though having no bodily defect‘ (19:10). Meaning that his tongue was prevented from speaking for three nights while he was totally healthy and fit.
Allah in following verses mentions the birth of Yahya as per His promise to Zakariyya. Yahya was blessed with characteristics like knowledge, fortitude, diligence and zeal for good and pirsuit of good, even though he was very young. Then Allah mentions the reward oh Yahya for this, ‘And Salam be on him the day he was born and the day he dies and the day her will be raised up to life‘(16:15). This means that Yahya was granted security and safety in these three circumstances where a man is the loneliest. The first situation is on that day he was born, the second when he dies and he will not see nayone anymore and the third when he will be resurrected and he sees himself in a great gathering. Allah exclusively honors Yahya by granting him peace in these situations.
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Story of Cain and Abel, two sons of Adam
Posted by: Maryam on: Tuesday, January 3, 2012
Allah reveals the story of the two sons of Adam, Abel and Cain in various verses throughout the Quran. In Chapter 5, verses from 27-31 talk about their story, but the experts/scholars opinion and more commentary on the same subject is being printed below as complied by the Darussalam publication in their book ‘ Stories of the Prophets’. It is mentioned by exegete’s that Adam and Hawwa had in every birth one male child and one female child. They were commanded that every son of them would marry the sister of his brother with whom she was born. No one was allowed to get married with his sister with whom he was born
Abel wanted to get married with the twin sister of his elder brother Cain. But since his twin sister was more beautiful, Cain wanted to keep his twin sister for himself. Adam asked Cain to her with Abel but he refused to do so. Then he ordered them both to offer a sacrifice and left for Makkah to perform Hajj. After Adam had left, both offered their scarifies. Abel offered a fat lamb since he was a Sheppard. While Cain offered a bundle of worst crops he had grown. A fire came down and devoured the sacrifice of Abel, leaving the sacrifice of Cain untouched. He became angry and started threatening Abel, ‘I will kill you so that you may not marry my sister’. Abel replied, ‘Allah accepts only from those who fear Him’.
One night, Abel did not return from tending his flock. So Adam sent Cain to see what happened to him. When Cain went looking for him, he found him and he complained, ‘Your offering was accepted, but mine was not’. Cain becomes angry in the argument and hits his brother with an iron he holds in his hand thereby killing his brother. The response which Abel showed after he was threatened by his brother is a sign of his noble character and piety. He avoided himself to respond with the same threat which his brother made towards him, as is clear from this verse: ‘Yet if you stretch out your hand against me to kill me, I shall not stretch out my hand to kill you, for I fear Allah, the Lord of the worlds‘. (5: 28)
Narrates Imam Ahmad from Abdullah bin Masud R.A.A who said that prophet S.A.S said, ‘No soul is killed unjustly but the first son of Adam bears a part of that sin. Because he was the first to initiate this tradition of killing‘ (Sahih Al-Bukhari).
As seen at ‘Stories of the Prophets’ by Ibn Kathir.
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Noah A.S
Posted by: Maryam on: Sunday, January 2, 2011
Perhaps the first Messenger to be sent upon this earth – Noah A.S. Allah S.W.T mentions his story and the story of his people, and how He sent to them His punishment of flood to those who rejected his call. He also mentions how He rescued people believing in Him in an Ark in different chapters of the Quran.
Noah A.S was sent during the times when people started worshiping idols other than Allah S.W.T, Following the saddening of people on the death of a few pious people, Satan whispered in their ears to erect statues in their memory to remind them to become just as pious as them, Sensing the people’s affection over those dead people Satan further worked his way in people’s head and encouraged them to build a statue each in their homes. But the idols/statues weren’t worshiped until a new generation among them came and Satan lied to them that their forefathers used to worship them and hence they should too.
Noah A.S was sent with a mission of inviting people back to Islam and hence giving them a chance of saving themselves from earning the wrath of Allah S.W.T, He carried on his mission through different means, for days and nights, in private and public. But none of the means succeeded. He was rather accused by his people for inventing falsehood and dishonoring their idols. “.. He lived among them one thousand years less fifty, then the flood seized them..‘ (29:14). After such a long time too, only a few believed in him and his message. And it was then revealed to Noah: ‘No more of your people shall believe in you other than those who have already believed, so grieve no longer at their misdeeds. Construct the Ark under our eyes and as Our Revelation, and address me no further on behalf of those who have been unjust; they shall be drowned in the flood. (11:36-37)
Noah A.S as per Allah S.W.T’s command started constructing an ark to save him and the believers from the flood Allah promised to send to destroy all non-believers. Allah S.W.T commanded him to build the ark eighty yards in length, and to paint it with tar inside and out, and its bow to be curved, so it could easily sail in the water. It was a three-story deck ship, every deck with a height of 10 yards, the bottom deck was kept for animals and cattle, the middle deck was for human, and the upper deck was for birds. All along people ridiculed Noah A.S walking by the ark, Noah A.S remained patient and cautioned them and asked them to fear the day of flood while he might be one smiling and not them.
It is said that from Noah A.S’s family, there were Noah A.S himself, his three sons, with his four daughter-in-law together with wife of Yam who did not believe in Noah A.S and hence never boarded the ark. Ibn Jarir has mentioned that the flood came on the 13th August in Coptic year, A group of exegetes hold the opinion that the water went 15 feet above the highest mountain of the earth, while others believe that the water was eighty yards above the highest mountain. This flood destroyed every thing and being as a result and when no non-believer remained. Allah S.W.T commanded the earth to swallow up the water and commanded the heaven to ceases raining. Those who did not pay heed to the message brought by Noah A.S met their ill-fate as such. Noah A.S’s son Yam drowned in the flood too as he never believed in the message brought down by his father.Therefore, none were left except the believers and they were commanded by Allah S.W.T to descend from the ark onto the mountain Judi when the water seeped away in the ground.
When death approached Noah A.S, his last advice to his children and hence us all was to follow two things – keeping one’s belief in Allah S.W.T oneness & knowing that when seven heavens and earths were to to put together in one side of the scale and ‘La ilaha illallah’ was to be put in the other, the latter outweighs the former and forbade us all from two things – Shirk (adjoining partners to Allah S.W.T) and haughtiness.
Gathered from Stories of the Prophets by Ibn Kathir.
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