What Has Been Said Concerning Al-Anwaa` [Al-Anwaa': Those who deny the Provision of Allah By Disbelief]
Allah (swt
), says:
" And
instead [of thanking Allah] for the provision He gives
you, on the contrary, you deny [Him] by
disbelief" (Qur'an 56:82)
Allah (swt
), Most Glorified, Most High, rebukes those who reject
His Blessings upon them, such as the rain which gives
life to the land, causing the crops and fruits of the
earth to grow; instead, they attribute it to the
movements of the stars which can neither harm nor
benefit, saying: "We have been given rain by virtue
of the movement of the moon and the stars."
Benefits
Derived From This Verse
1. That
good and evil are ordained by Allah.
2. That
the rain is a blessing from Allah.
3.
Attributing blessings to other than Allah is an act of
disbelief in Him.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject of the Chapter
That it
proves that whoever attributes blessings such as the
rain to the movements of the moon and stars is a
disbeliever.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject of
Tawheed
That it
rejects the claims of those who attribute blessings to
other than Allah (swt ), such as the sending of the
rain, because such a belief is shirk.
..ooOOoo..
It is
reported on the authority of Ibn Malik Al-Ash'ari (ra )
that the Messenger of Allah (saas ) said:
"There
are four traits remaining from the Jaahiliyyah
to be found in my Ummah, which they will not
abandon: (i) Pride in the nobility of one's ancestors,
(ii) defaming the ancestors of others, (iii) seeking
rainfall from the stars and excessive mourning and
wailing for the dead." And he (saas ) added:
"The wailing woman, if she does not repent before
she dies, will be raised on the Day of Resurrection
with a dress of liquid tar and a cloak of mange or
scabies."
(Narrated
by Muslim)
It being
the intention of Islam to cut off every connection with
the iniquitous customs of the Jahiliyyah, the
Messenger of Allah (saas ) informs us in this Hadith, in
a spirit of censure and rebuke, that four customs of the
Days of Ignorance will remain in this Ummah: The
first is pride in the nobility of one's lineage for this
leads to slackness and idleness, as one rests on the
laurels of one's forebears; the second is the
disparagement of the ancestry of others which leads to a
situation in which people spend their time in seeking
out weaknesses and defects in each others' backgrounds
which causes the reputation of Islam and the Muslims to
suffer and results in division and enmity amongst them;
the third is seeking rainfall from the stars because it
causes the hearts to become attached to other than Allah
(swt ) and humility before His creations which possess
no power to benefit or harm; and the fourth is excessive
mourning and bewailing of the dead and eulogising them
in loud voices for this suggests non-acceptance of
Allah's Ordainments, and adversely affects the
deceased's family and spreads depression and despair;
because of this, the Prophet (saas ) stressed the
punishment of such wailing women, should they not repent
to Allah (swt ) before they die.
Benefits
Derived From This Hadith
1. The
refutation of the evil customs practised during the Jahiliyyah.
2. The
prohibition of pride in one's ancestry, of defaming the
lineage of others, and of excessive mourning and
bewailing of the dead.
3. That
those who seek rain from the stars in the belief that
they can, of their own accord send rain, are
disbelievers, while those who believe that the stars are
the cause of rain, but that Allah (swt ) made them so,
are guilty of an act of disbelief, without being
considered disbelievers.
4. The
acceptance of repentance as long as it is before the
death of the penitent.
5.
Confirmation of the miracle of the Prophet (saas ),
since his prophesy has proved true in every respect.
6.
Confirmation of the reality of the Resurrection and the
Requital.
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of the Chapter
That the
Hadith proves the forbiddance of seeking rain from the
movements of the stars.
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of
Tawheed
That the
Hadithrejects seeking rain from the stars as
this necessitates requesting blessings from other than
Allah (swt ), which is shirk.
Important
Note
It is
permissible to mention a person by a nickname such as
"the son of the tall one" or "the son of
the thin man" or "the son of the lame
one" etc., even though the person so named may
dislike it, if it is the only way in which he can be
identified.
..ooOOoo..
It is
narrated by Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Zaid
Ibn Khalid Al-Juhani (ra ) that he said: "Allah's
Messenger (saas ) prayed the morning prayer with us in
Al-Hudaibiyyah after it had rained during the night, and
when he had finished, he addressed the people, saying:
"Do you know what your Rabb said?" They
said: "Allah (swt ) and His Messenger (saas ) know
best!" He (saas ) said: (Allah swt said:)
"Some of My slaves this morning are true Believers
in Me and others are disbelievers: As for those who say:
"We have received rain from the Bounty of Allah (swt
) and His Mercy," they are Believers in Me and
disbelievers in the stars, while those who say: "We
have received rain from the movements of such-and-such a
star," are disbelievers in Me and believers in the
stars."
Zaid Ibn
Khalid (ra ) tells us in this Hadith that the Prophet (saas
) led the people in fajr prayer in the area known
as Al-Hudaibiyyah, after a night of rain. After the
prayer, facing the people, He (saas ) addressed them,
wishing to encourage them to do good and to increase
their knowledge; He (saas ) told them that Allah (swt )
had revealed to him that regarding the rain, the people
are divided into two categories: (i) Those who thank Him
and (ii) those who are ungrateful to Him. As for those
who are grateful and believe in Him, they are the ones
who attribute the blessing of rain to Allah (swt ); and
as for those who are ungrateful and disbelieve in Him,
they are the ones who attribute the rainfall to the
positions of the planets and stars.
Benefits
Derived From This Hadith
1. The
virtue of the Imam addressing the congregation after
finishing the prayer.
2. The
virtue of infusing knowledge by asking: "Do you
know.?"
3.
Confirmation of Allah's Divine Attribute of Speech.
4. The
correct manner of responding to a question in religious
matters when one does not know the answer.
5. The
forbiddance of rejecting Allah's Blessings.
6.
Confirmation of Allah's Divine Attribute of Mercy.
7. That
attributing Allah's Blessings to other than Allah is
kufr.
8. The
forbiddance of saying: "We have received rain due
to the position of such-and-such a star."
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of the Chapter
That the
Hadith proves that attributing rainfall to the movements
or positions of stars is forbidden.
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of
Tawheed
That the
Hadithshows that whoever attributes rainfall to
the stars' movements is a disbeliever because he has
attributed blessings to other than Allah (swt ), Who is
the Source of all blessings.
..ooOOoo..
It is
reported by Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Ibn
`Abbas (ra ) a Hadith carrying the same meaning as the
previous Hadith: "Some (of the people) said:
"The promise of rain of such-and-such a star has
come true." Then Allah (swt ) revealed the
following verses:
" Furthermore,
I call to witness the setting of the stars - and that
is indeed a mighty oath, did you but know it - that
this is indeed a Qur'an most honourable, in a
Book well-guarded, which none has touched except the
pure ones [i.e. the angels]: A Revelation from the
Lord of the worlds. Is it such a Message as you would
deny? and instead [of thanking Allah] for the
provision He gives you, on the contrary, you deny
[Him] by disbelief" (Qur'an 56:75-82)
In these
verses, Allah (swt ), Most High, swears by the setting
of the stars concerning the greatness of the Qur'an and
its blessings, that it is preserved in a Book, which is
in the hands of the angels, touched by none but the
angels, and that it was revealed from the Owner of
creation and the Director of its affairs, and that it is
not, as the disbeliever's claimed, poetry, or magic.
Then Allah (swt ) rebukes those who support the
disbeliever's in the Qur'an and abet them by attributing
to the stars that which is for Allah (swt ), Alone, i.e.
the rain, for this is a denial of the Qur'an which
clearly states that it is Allah (swt ) Who sends the
rain.
Benefits
Derived From This Verse
1. That
it is for Allah (swt ) to swear by anything He Wills,
but it is not permissible for His slaves to swear except
by Allah (swt ), or one of His Divine Attributes.
2.
Confirmation of the greatness of Qur'an and that Allah (swt
) has preserved it from all corruption and change.
3. That
the Qur'an was revealed, not created.
4.
Confirmation of Allah's Divine Attribute of being Above
His creation.
5. The
forbiddance of friendly relations at the expense of
religion.
6. The
prohibition of attributing the rain to the movements of
the heavenly bodies.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject of the Chapter
That it
proves that whoever attributed blessings to other than
Allah (swt ) is a disbeliever.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject of
Tawheed
That the
verse rejects the claim that blessings come from other
than Allah (swt ); this includes attributing the rain to
the movements of the stars and planets, because this is shirk.