Bismillahir
Rahmaanir Raheem
By Hadhrat Moulana Abdul Hamid
Is’haq Saheb
(Daamat Barakaatuhum)
On one occasion, Nabi (Sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) drew a square on the earth (as an illustration). He (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) then drew a line in the middle, transcending the square, and then drew short lines on both sides of the middle line. Nabi (Sallallaahu alaihi wasallam) thereupon explained the illustration:
The square is the life-span of
man. The sides of the square, surrounding him represent death, which cannot be
escaped. The middle line signifies man, living his life (till the end of the
square). The line continues beyond the square (his death), representing his
hopes and desires, which go beyond his life-span.
Man constantly faces problems during his worldly stay.
The little lines on either side of the middle line, represents those problems,
misfortunes, hazards and dangers that are part and parcel of living in this
world. …If one misses him, another will get him; if that misses him, there will
be another and another. These are the tests and trials at different stages in
life.
If we ponder over
our circumstances, we will see that we are surrounded by countless causes of
death at every second.
For man to be still alive is actually nothing but a
miracle. For him
to be dead should have been natural – since it is a known fact that thousands
are dying, throughout the world, all the time.
There is an Arabic saying that
if you hear that somebody has died you should not be surprised, but if you hear that
somebody is still alive, then this should totally astonish you. However, our condition
is the opposite. We are surprised when we hear someone has died – whereas death
is inevitable. It will visit each of us – at some time. It is to be expected.
MILLIONS OF DANGERS
We should reflect and ponder
for a little while: We could be lying on our beds, resting, but we are
exposed to millions of dangers! …A person’s blood can clot, he can suffer a
heart attack or stroke or brain damage. A nerve can twitch and he is paralysed
– and we can add many more possibilities. …Man
is vulnerable at all times!
…His house can catch on fire
due to some electrical fault or due to some other reason, or a robbery can take
place and he can get killed. He can be a martial artist, a boxer, a wrestler, a
weight-lifter and super-strong, but if just one little bullet hits him, it
brings him down.
He can take a walk and slip on
a banana peel or miscalculate a step and fall, and his injuries could be
serious to the extent of needing a pelvis joint replacement, or he could be
handicapped for life. …Many people even die from a simple fall!
He sits in his car to drive
(whether to work or elsewhere) and he can be hijacked in his driveway, the car
can catch fire, an accident can happen by his negligence or somebody else's
fault or no fault, a tyre can burst, etc.
At work, in the shop, factory,
office, so many things can go wrong: robberies, machines malfunctioning, an
argument or a fight where someone pulls out a gun and the person is killed,
court cases, jail sentences, and so many possibilities.
May Allah Ta'ala grant us His Special Protection. However, on a little reflection, we realise that all the time, everywhere, what
and what could happen and is happening!
…Each one of us has had narrow escapes at some time or another in our lives. When we think of those times, we shudder, thinking, that just a few centimetres and what could have happened or just a few seconds and what could have happened! …We should realise that at every split second what and what could have happened, what and what can happen right now!
In this contemplation we come to realise that
it is only Allah Jalla Jalaaluhu Who protects life. And He has appointed
protectors for man - in front of him and behind him!
EXCLUSIVE SECURITY
Allah Ta’ala informs us:
“For each (such person) there are
(angels) in succession, before and behind him: They guard him by Command of
Allah. Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what
is in themselves. But when Allah intends a people's punishment, there is no
averting it, and besides Him they have no protector.”
[Surah
Ar-Ra’d 13 : 11]
Allah Ta’ala
creates the paragon of His Creation: Man. And then institutes a unique system
for man’s protection. SubhanAllah. ...The Malaa`ikah (Angels) are appointed to guard man from
different harms, evils and calamities. They protect him from jinn, animals and even
people. One angel guards him from in front of him and the other from behind
him. Every person – Muslim and non-Muslim – has these Malaa’ikah to
protect him.
The Mufassireen (Commentators
of Qur'aan Sharief) have explained that when some calamity is decreed for man, then
these Malaa`ikah withdraw from him. After all, this world is a world of test
and trial and Allah Ta’ala has informed us that He will be testing us also.
Allah Ta’ala also only changes
the condition of security to fear, difficulty and so forth, when man changes
his state by indulging in sins and ingratitude.
Allah Ta’ala says:
"And
He is the Omnipotent, above His servants, and He sends guardians (angels guarding and writing all of one's good and bad
deeds) over you; until when death comes to one of you, Our messengers (the Angel of
death and his assistants) take his soul, and they never neglect their duty."
[Surah
Al-'An`ām 6 : 61]
Hadhrat Mufti Muhammad Shaf'i
(Rahmatullahi ‘alayh) mentions in his Tafsier, Ma’ariful Qur’aan – the gist of
which is that as long as Allah Ta’ala wills to have man alive, He assigns
angels to safeguard him, as a result of which no one and nothing can harm him.
And when man reaches the appointed time of death, then these angels become
agents towards his death, by giving way to the causes of death, which unfold –
on the Will of Allah Ta’ala.
ANOTHER TWO COMPANIONS
Ibn Khateer (Rahmatullahi 'alayh) and other Mufassireen have explained
that besides these two angels who take turns to protect man night and day,
there are other angels assigned with the duty to record the deeds of man, night
and day.
Kiraman Kaatibeen are the two
scribes who record the good and the bad deeds of man, respectively.
“But
verily over you (are appointed angels) to protect you;
Kind
and Honourable, writing down (your deeds).
They
know (and understand)
all that you do.”
[Surah Infitaar 82 : 10 / 11 / 12]
In this manner, four angels
accompany each person during the day and another four angels keep his company
during the night.
From our respected Mufassireen,
we learn that the angels also work towards encouraging man towards good and
towards fearing Allah Ta’ala; that he may keep away from any form of
disobedience. If the person falls into sin, they even pray for him and hope for
him to repent sincerely.
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi
wasallam) informed us: “Malaa`ikah take
turns around you, some at night and some by day, and all of them get together
at the time of the Fajr and Asr Salaah. Then those who have passed the night
with you (or stayed with you) ascend to Allah, Who asks them, and He knows
everything about you better than they:
“In what condition did you leave my servants?' The angels reply: “We
came to them while they were praying, and we left while they were
praying.”[1]
Those who sleep through Fajr
and those who miss their Asr Salaah, should reflect over what answers the
angels will be presenting to Allah Ta’ala. …What shame and dishonour if the angels were to report that they found us sleeping at Fajr,
or missing Salaah because we were engrossed in Rands and cents, or occupied with cricket, soccer
and other mundane, useless activities and sometimes even in sinful actions.
We should be conscious of these
angels because this awareness will be a means of distancing ourselves from
sins. We would feel ashamed to engage in anything evil, anything shameless or
nonsensical – knowing that we are in the presence of four angels.
LIES
In addition, when we lie, the
stench that emits from our mouths due to the lie is so terrible that the
Malaa’ikah flee to a great distance, not being able to tolerate the foul smell.
Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi
wasallam) said: “When a servant (of Allah) tells a lie, (his) Angel goes away from him
to the distance of a mile, because of the foul odour of what it brings.”
(Tirmidhi)
…Once, we were in the Kruger
National Park and came across the carcass of a giraffe which, most probably,
the lions had eaten. The remains were being enjoyed by vultures. We stopped at
the scene but such a stench was given off that we immediately closed the
windows and sped off. The stench was just so bad. But for those vultures, it
was the smell of biryani and roast. In the same way when we lie and backbite,
we may find some enjoyment but the Malaa’ikah cannot bear it at all!
INCREASED PROTECTION
Allah Ta’ala has also taught
us, through His Beloved (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi wasallam) different ways whereby
we invite and secure for ourselves, greater protection. There are numerous
Ayaat that we have been directed to read, which offer protection. Ayatul Kursi
is the most well-known Ayah of protection. Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alayhi
wasallam) said that whoever recites Ayatul Kursi after the Fardh (Salaah) will
remain in the protection of Allah Ta’ala until the next Salaah, and if
read, before falling asleep, Allah Ta’ala grants protection to the
person’s home and family.
The Quls were revealed for our protection and the Hadith explain that the Quls are a protection from
all harms. Added to these, are many Duas that Rasulullah (Sallallaahu ‘alaihi
wasallam) taught us which also offer protection.
This is the bonus of Imaan – that the Believer is
surrounded by security guards – the Angels, and he is also granted special
armour with his Salaah, a shield with his Wazaa`if and a weapon with his Wudhu.
So his protection is compounded. Alhamdulillah.
Other Ahadith direct us towards
different A’maal whereby we are protected even further – through our Sadaqah
and through our recitation of Qur’aan Sharief and other good deeds. These will
be a means of security for us in this world, in our grave and in the Hereafter.
We are also directed towards
adopting certain practises whereby our children are protected, and even a
person’s animals are protected. For example, a Hadith states: “When the night approaches, prevent your children (from venturing
outdoors) because verily shaytaan spreads out at this time...”
We are also told that Dua is so
powerful that it can avert calamities and as such Dua offers us protection as well.
Whilst there are all these
measures of safeguarding ourselves, we should also understand that the tests
are inevitable - as mentioned at the beginning. Our protection falls away when Allah Ta’ala decrees a test or
when we engage in sins.
Allah Ta’ala says in the
Qur`aan Sharief:
“We will definitely test you with
some fear, some hunger and some loss in your wealth, in your health and in the
fruits (‘fruits’ denote many things). Give glad tidings to those who patiently
persevere. And when any trial reaches them, they say: ‘Inna lillahi wa inna
ilayhi raji'oon ’ (from Allah we have come and to Him is our return). They
are those on whom are the benefactions of their Lord, and receive His mercy,
and it is they who are the guided ones.”
[Surah Al-Baqarah : 155/156/157 ]
Sabr (patience) and Shukr
(gratitude) are two qualities we need to adopt in dealing with life’s
challenges, that we may pass through the worldly life successfully,
Insha-Allah.
The tests will come and go –
and these are on the Command of Allah Ta’ala, whereby our Jannah is made,
Insha-Allah.
However, we should keep in mind
that we are facing billions of dangers at every split second and are
desperately in need of the protection of Allah Ta’ala. Through obedience,
good deeds, staying in a condition of Taharah, etc. we protect ourselves from Jinn and Jadu (witchcraft)
and other harms.
May Allah Ta’ala grant us the
understanding, the Taufeeq of appreciating and also of adopting the means of
protection and working towards earning the pleasure of Allah Ta’ala. May Allah
Ta’ala perpetuate His protection over us.
[1] Sahih Al-Bukhari
