Lessons from the Lives of the Prophets

The Core Message of All Messengers

This evening I am here speaking to you Alhamdulillah believe me I feel that the honor is mine the privilege has been given by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala Wallahi we to be seated here in the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala for the sole reason of listening to some form of nourishment for our soul and to be reminded to come towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala this alone is a sign of the happiness and the pleasure of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala we could have been spending our evening in a different way today.

We have a festive season subhanallah and at the same time we have holidays in this entire region and at the same time we could have been anywhere else but we have chosen to come to the house of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala may he make it a means of acceptance may he make it a means of turning for us and our offspring our family members and may he bless us in every single way.

Believe me if you study the lives of the messengers you will see that nobody has ever achieved the blessings of the almighty through the displeasure of the almighty nobody has ever achieved the pleasure of the almighty or his blessings through his displeasure how could we think that I need blessings in my family but we disobey the almighty so take a look at what happened to the messengers.

Hadith About Striving with Allah's Help

Going back to the story of Nuh a.s. he told his people do you want wealth do you want health do you want children do you want abundance two types of children one is you have children who are growing up mashallah good looking but they are a means of burden upon their parents that is one we don't want that but the other is when you have children who are a means of the coolness of your eyes may Allah grant that to us you look at them and you are happy you are in old age they look after you they know how to strike a balance between their spouse and their parents and they know that none should cross the lines and so on what a beautiful gift of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala when you have children who are the coolness of your eyes.

So Nuh a.s. told his people and this we know because he complained to Allah you see after a long long time of calling the people towards Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala there came a time when he raised his hands and he raised them against his own people allahu akbar and from this we learn my brothers and sisters that you and I will be reminded by Allah in one way or another either through a television program a radio program a CD we have in our motor vehicles a lecture we've heard a talk we've had with a friend a book we've read or whatever else Allah has chosen to get to you we will learn my brothers and sisters and we will be reminded time and again but there is a limit to the amount of reminders you will have before you are left and the same with me.

There will be reminders if I'm involved in a sin or something wrong I will be reminded I will be warned sometimes the warning comes in the form of a medical condition allahu akbar just today I sent out a tweet saying if a calamity brings you closer to the almighty it is a blessing and if a blessing takes you further away from the almighty or a gift takes you away from the almighty it is a calamity subhanallah.

Some people their life is happy they found a good job they have a good salary they have a beautiful wife they have lovely children so they don't read salah they only come for Jumu'ah and Eid and sometimes for Jumu'ah they come late allahu akbar if that is the case because you have so much gift that means it is a calamity the fact that you are living a happy life so beautiful and so luxury and it has drawn you away from the masjid that itself is not a means of the blessings of the almighty it is actually a calamity on its own.

So sometimes when Allah gives you a pain in your knee and for example a pain in your chest and you feel you are going to die allahu akbar sometimes that is the biggest gift you could have had because that is what might draw you closer to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala ultimately when we get closer to Allah we will be able to achieve a greater rank of the life after death which is everlasting.

The Message Pattern in Surah Ash-Shu'ara

So Nuh a.s. after some time he complains he says oh Allah I told my people I called them day and night I told them in the morning in the afternoon in the evening in the night I reminded them at every occasion I told them you were one and remember the core message of all the messengers was to call towards the worship of Allah alone and warning them not to associate partners with the almighty in any way that is the gift we have we hold fast upon it solid grip on the issue of not associating partners with the almighty in anything and everything may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us.

If you open the pages of the Quran obviously in this hour we will not be able to go through every single verse of the Quran but if you open the pages of the Quran take a look at surah al shuara where Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks messenger by messenger messenger by messenger:

"I do not ask you for it any payment. My payment is only from the Lord of the worlds."

Reference: Quran 26:109 (and repeated throughout the chapter)

Those type of verses are repeated every single messenger has uttered those words to their people what do they mean Allah says the people of Houd belied him, the people of Aad they were known as the people of Aad and they were the people of the prophet Houd may Allah's peace be upon him they belied the messengers because when you belied one you belied all of them so if I believe in Muhammad I believe in all the other messengers but if someone were to disbelieve in one, they have insulted the rest of them because each one came with a warning or with glad tidings of another to come after him so it has a skittle effect the minute you drop one, all the skittles have fallen may Allah grant us an understanding.

So Allah says, remember when this messenger told his people to fear Allah won't you be conscious of your maker, how beautiful words they are, won't you be conscious of your maker.

Applying the Message Today

We can repeat the same words today, my brothers and sisters won't you be conscious of your maker do you know you are going to return to your maker so instead of reading a story and saying those were the people of Houd, those were the people of Thamud, those were the people of for example Madian those were the people of Nuh and instead of saying they were warned in this way and that way, ask yourself what have I done with the same message:

"Will you not fear Allah?"

Every single time, that message is for me as well and if I were to deny or to forget or to conveniently put aside that message and I were to ignore it perhaps I will suffer similar punishment that they have suffered in the past, Allahu Akbar.

And this is why what is of utmost importance whenever we read these stories as I say, put yourself into the picture and ask yourself, if I were there how would it apply to me, Allahu Akbar.

One thing we definitely do know if we open the pages of the Quran Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says the messengers, they never sought financial assistance from anyone nor did they want a recompense because of the message, it is a message that comes without making a payment for it, subhanallah.

Look at Surat Yasin, where the man who came from the innermost part of the city, he says:

"Follow those who do not ask of you [any] payment, and they are [rightly] guided."

Reference: Quran 36:21

He's telling his people, why don't you follow these who are not asking any wealth from you, they are rightly guided, all they are doing is giving you the pristine pure message, telling you to worship your maker, what can be wrong with that may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala bless us.

The Pattern of Past Nations

May He make us from those who can make time and spend a little bit of our monies perhaps, effort and energy to take part in the activity that will result in our spiritual development many of us forget it you know we have a few holidays in the year set aside one holiday where that will be specially for your spiritual revival, subhanallah why is it that sometimes every holiday we think of you know visiting here and there and enjoying ourselves in terms of the dunya wallahi, if a person only thinks of enjoyment of the dunya and this world the day they step into their graves, they will realize the great regret.

And this is why the stories of the prophets have been mentioned for us to look at how the people have regretted, what they did and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says go and see, go and see where they are, what they did how they responded to us and look at where they are today and go and see their ruins.

Allah says at the end of surah Maryam:

"Do you perceive of them anyone or hear from them a sound?"

Reference: Quran 19:98

Do you feel any one of these haughty people of the past? Do you feel any one of them? Fir'aun and Qarun and the others and the people who were huge and big and the people who had more wealth and strength than us:

"Did he not know that Allah had destroyed before him of the generations those who were greater than him in power and greater in accumulation [of wealth]?"

Reference: Quran 28:78

Allah is speaking about Qarun and Allah says did he not know that we have destroyed before him those who were stronger and those who were more powerful than him, subhanallah.

What might do I have today, today we are weaker than the people of Aad and Thamud they were huge people some of them carved the mountains in order to live in those mountains how many of us have a palace which is carved by mountains perhaps the bricks we use are no bigger than something we can carry in our hands my brothers and sisters people of the past yes what happened to them should always be a lesson for us and what message came from the messengers should also be a lesson for us.

Stories Relevant to Our Ummah

There is a very interesting point that we derive from the stories of the prophets if you look at the messengers take Lut, the prophet Lot may peace be upon him, his people were engaged in sodomy and homosexuality, that was one major thing they were engaged in and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala gave them warnings and Allah explains to them today people believe this is hereditary science has not proven that it is hereditary, it's just a statement made, a farce made by the environment, it is not hereditary people say you are born that way that is not correct either.

In Islam we do not believe that a person is born with gay inclinations we do not believe that but at the same time what we do know the environment has become so hostile, the movies are promoting that behavior the environment and the adverts are promoting that behavior the news and the television and the newspapers are promoting that type of behavior in the secular world and the people are beginning to force and impose upon others to look at it as a norm so people are now considering it a norm whereas the Quran, the Bible the Torah, the Talmud and the previous books are full of explanations of how wrong it is and it was, and it will remain.

And this is why a whole nation a whole nation was warned by the messenger for a period of time in so many different ways and thereafter when they did not repent from their bad habits, I'm saying one habit that they had, which was bad, they were destroyed in the most treacherous way, which means in the most painful way and at the same time that is mentioned in all the books, even in the Old Testament as well as in the Quran with the Quran having the accurate version of what occurred.

The reason is for us to draw a lesson whereas in this ummah, if you take a look, we have the calamities if I can call them or the sins if I can call them of all those previous nations put into one in us at the time of Lut they did not consume interest, at the time of Lut, that was not a major issue, which means it is not made mention of those items other items are not made mention of, one major thing is made mention of, at the time of Shu'aib, may peace be upon him they used to cheat people in business.

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says:

"And do not be of those who cause loss."

Reference: Quran 26:181

The statement of Shu'aib to his people was, make sure you fulfill the measure correctly and don't be from amongst those who cheat and who short change people, so that lesson is for us today in the ummah, we have people who have the problem that the people of Lut had we have people who have the problem of the people of Shu'aib, we short change people in business, we don't pay people properly, we sometimes give them goods, we've hidden the defect, we sell a vehicle saying, no accident damage and we know it was damaged in the last flood, may Allah protect us and we lie, so this is a warning for us.

We have people for example in our midst, sometimes who have cheated in the way that the people of Hud have cheated they lived in these beautiful homes they forgot Allah, they used to oppress one another, some of them were Jabbarin a Jabbar is a person who doesn't mind eradicating others all at once, and sometimes a person who has even murdered and they want to get away with it so these type of things one after the other, the nations were affected by one at a time, generally if you look at the Quran it confirms it, sometimes two main matters, but with us there are so many matters that we need to deal with.

And this is why all those stories are very valid for us, what I have intended to do this evening is to bring forth the lesson that we have in our lives, for us, that is current now, today, relevant and apply it in my life to say, if the people of Nuh did this then what will happen to me if I do the same, the same thing that happened to them Allah may grant me respite and as I said, after a certain time, there is nothing to worry about, which means the punishment will definitely come, there are no more messages that will come.

The Finality of Warnings

Take a look at the story of Nuh A.S after he makes this dua that we will make mention of in a few moments Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says to him:

Nobody is now going to believe except those who have already believed, which means he used to give them a warning every day, every morning:

Allahu Akbar he says, O Allah, I called my people night and day but every time I called them it drove them further away Allahu Akbar, how many of us when people tell you, brother, ittaqillah Allahu Akbar, I know the statement you know sometimes people tell you ittaqillah ya akhi you know, fear Allah and you say, what do you mean, do you think I don't fear ya akhi, do not allow the statement fear Allah to make you so hateful of the person who is telling you to fear Allah it's a good message, you know you need to appreciate it.

Sometimes when someone calls you towards goodness brother, you know, your music is blasting so much, brother, why don't you turn it off who do you think you are, my father hasn't told me that, this is what happened at the time of Nuh when people told them to do good, when Nuh a.s. called them towards goodness, they went further away they developed arrogance in that sin and they did not take heed, so Allah says we destroyed them with the flood.

So Nuh a.s. says I called my people day and night night and day, and this calling only drove them further away, they got angry and upset and they became arrogant in their message, so much so that his own son did not accept the message, so why does Allah make mention of some of the family members of the prophets who did not accept the message to show us that guidance is in the hands of Allah:

And this goes to show that sometimes we may not be able to shove guidance down the throats of people, we need to pray to Allah to guide.

Dua for Guidance

What a powerful supplication of the prophet peace be upon him, where he says:

"O turner of hearts, keep my heart steadfast on your deen."

(Jami' at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2140)

O Allah who strengthens the heart, in whose hands lies the controls of the heart strengthen our heart upon the deen and not away from it and we make this dua for our offspring as well.

Look at Ibrahim A.S the story of that prophet is amazing he prayed for his offspring he prayed for his children he prayed for his progeny and Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala loved the fact that he was concerned about his children:

O Allah, Ibrahim A.S says make the two of us myself and my son Ismail make the two of us submitters unto you how many of us make a dua to Allah make me and my children submitters unto you in order to make that dua you need to make an effort to submit some of us are not submitters you know, we follow Islam where it is easy for us only well, we need to do better than that which means, where it is easy Alhamdulillah, where it is difficult we still want to try and we still want to please Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Meaning of True Strength

The other day, I got a beautiful message on my phone, I need to share it with you it showed a little caricature lifting weights you know, weights which have heavy weights I think maybe 60-70 kilos on either side and he is lifting weights he says, you think you are strong you see, the question is you think you are powerful obviously, this is because the young people of today they want to have big muscles you know, and they want to be seen and they want to be felt, when they greet you you just got to say, Wa alaikumussalam because you cannot look at them anymore in the way that we used to in the past no, big man, you got to look at him carefully so it says, if you think you are very strong you can lift lift your blanket for Salatul Fajr then you will be strong Allahu Akbar you are strong, you want to lift lift your blanket at Salatul Fajr that is the heavy weight title Allahu Akbar.

Brothers and sisters, I thought it was a very good message because today the message of the deen needs to be put forth to our children and ourselves, in a way that we look at it and we really think Wallahi, it is correct the powerful person is not the one who can lift 120 kilos with one hand and with his little finger Subhanallah, no, it isn't a powerful person is the one who can lift his blanket up for Salatul Fajr and for Tahajjud Allahu Akbar.

In Surah Sajdah, Allah says, speaks about these powerful believers and Allah says, they are the ones whose sides refuse to actually lay down on those beds, they move themselves off the beddings, in order to stand up in prayer for the almighty at night praying to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala fearing him and having hope in his mercy may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala grant that to us.

Today when you have big muscles you're excited, you see a people today, the youth would know what I'm talking about, they have protein supplements like mad, they have protein supplements and they want

to eat so many egg whites and egg yellows, I don't know how it works and what happens, they want to build the strength of their body, brother read the stories of the prophets the strength of your Iman is far more important than the strength of your body, and even if you were so passionate about the strength of your body, yes, and here we're talking of excess strength, it is your Islamic duty to maintain the good health of your body, definitely, it is your Islamic duty to tone yourself keep yourself fit so that you can fulfill the obligations to Allah.

But here we are talking of going beyond the limit, brothers and sisters, are we are we oblivious of the fact that death could come to us before we can enjoy watching that muscle in the mirror, do you know that? Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar and this is why when you prepare one, make sure you know which one is more important to prepare this you will find from the stories of the previous nations.

Lessons from Qarun and Previous Nations

Allah says to Qarun did he not see that we destroyed those before him, who had more power than him, they were more powerful, they had more wealth than him, yet he had so much wealth, that the Quran says it was difficult for those with much energy, a group of people men, with much energy to lift up the keys to the treasures of Qarun:

We gave him so much in terms of treasures, the keys to the treasures were quite heavy for a group of men to lift, Allahu Akbar we don't even have that much, and Allah says to him, we gave others before you, more than that Allahu Akbar, and still we destroyed them, so Allah reminds us brothers and sisters, you can be very wealthy, Allah says you will only benefit from your wealth if you turn to me you can be very good looking those good looks are of no use, unless you turn to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala you can be a person who is extremely intelligent, that intelligence is no point, no use unless you turn to Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The reminders come, and they come on a daily basis wallahi, and we see the previous nations, Allah says:

And in another place he says, go and see their ruins go and look at where they are, learn a lesson from them, see what has happened to them subhanallah so we ask the almighty to grant us lesson.

The Building of the Ark

Nuh a.s. was told that after this point nobody will believe, so don't worry about what they're doing:

We would like you to build the ark, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala instructed him to build the ark and at that point he stopped calling the people towards the deen, he left they used to laugh at him, they used to tell him, oh Nuh you were a prophet of Allah and now you've become a carpenter they literally told him that you were a prophet of Allah and now you've become a carpenter Allah says don't worry, let them laugh let them scoff, a day will come when they will realize.

So much so that if you look at Aad and you look at the people of Nuh, you will find when the punishment was coming they did not recognize initially that this is the punishment, Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala speaks about Aad Allah says:

When he warned his people Hud a.s. warned his people at the sand dunes about Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and so on they did not take heed they did not turn and when the punishment came, what did they say? They said oh these clouds are going to come with much rain that is needed and Allah says:

Allah says no this is actually the punishment that has come in the form of severe winds that hold within them a very painful punishment, may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala protect us.

So sometimes we look at things that may appear a blessing, but if we are away from the path of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala and we are not concerned about pleasing our maker, perhaps what appears to be good to us might in fact be a means of punishment for us, may the almighty not do that to us, but he has done it to those in the past, so what makes us people who think that we are secure.

Allah says in several verses in the Quran where Allah asks a question about the people of the towns:

Do they feel secure against the punishment of Allah, do they think that the punishment cannot come to them whilst they are lying down or sleeping or perhaps oblivious, whether it is in the day time or in the night time you and I know there have been nations who have been destroyed, there have been cities that have been destroyed whilst they were asleep at night, they did not get up some of them whilst they were playing in the afternoon, Allahu Akbar what makes me certain that that will not happen to me but wallahi if I am on the right page and if I am trying to please my maker then by the will of Allah that will be a means of my entry into jannah and not a means of my destruction.

And this is why today we have calamities that befall people some people for them it is a means of punishment and some people the same calamity is a means of the mercy of Allah, like we said if a calamity brings you close to Allah it is a tapping from Allah to draw you close, my worshipper I sent you so many reminders you did not turn to me, my worshipper here is a tapping, today you saw an earthquake, now you've come to me, Allahu Akbar Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala becomes so happy with the repentance of a worshipper of his that the description is in the hadith it's amazing, he becomes happier than a man who has lost his camel in the middle of the desert which had all his provisions in it.

The Story of the Lost Camel

Look at this description it's in the hadith and the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - s.a.w.) says a man in the middle of a desert who had his camel that he put and he perhaps went to lie down that camel had all his provisions and the camel was lost, when he got up, no camel and he is now worried because his food, his drink his existence in this vast desert of his no hope because everything is gone, the camel is over and after some time of searching, he finds the camel and out of extreme excitement and happiness, he says, oh Allah I am your lord and you are my worshipper imagine he made a statement that was the other way around that was the excitement the happiness of this particular person so happy, so excited Allah says or the Prophet (صلى الله عليه وسلم - s.a.w.) says, Allah becomes more pleased when anyone of us turn to him in repentance.

You want to please Allah? Subhanahu wa ta'ala, quit your adultery, quit it, it is easy and it can be done, there is privacy and it is very easily facilitated, but if you quit it only because you say inni akhafullah Allah will give you the shade of the day of judgement, Allahu Akbar and you make him happy quit the sin that you are involved in quit the laziness that you are involved in turn to Allah, read your five salah a day, a Muslim and he does not read five salah Allahu Akbar how can that be.

My brothers and sisters if you have read one in the past and now you are reading two it is a very big improvement but that is not still the ideal you need to continue because as Muslimin, we have khamsa salawat in fi kulli yawmin wa layla if you look at the hadith of Muadh ibn Jabalradhiallahu anhu, when he was sent to Yemen, he was told to teach the people several items from amongst them, one of them was tell them they owe Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala five daily prayers, not two, not three you know, we word it differently when we speak to the younger people sometimes we tell them, you know, you need a key to enter for example, let's say jannah you want to enter jannah, you need a key you want to enter this door, you need a key each key has a number of teeth just like if I want to phone you I need your phone number, brother, if I have one error in the whole phone number, I won't get through to you you see, so if I would like jannah, I need to read five salah on a daily basis that is the figure, that's the number of teeth on the key, if you have one tooth missing, what happens? Try it, take your key and break out one tooth, put it in it won't open your door but there are so many other teeth, one is missing.

My brothers and sisters against your laziness or mine, against the coziness of your bed, against whatever you are doing in the mall or at your workplace or enjoying with your family stop everything at the time of salah and quickly fulfill your salah, imagine I am saying quickly, whereas by right it's not supposed to be

Conclusion: Benefits of Following the Messengers

We learn this from the stories of the previous prophets, whenever they were given instruction, their people who followed those instructions were granted mercy:

Allah says, we saved him and those who were with him those who obeyed the instructions were saved Allahu Akbar:

We saved those who believed and who used to be conscious of us, who used to be fearful of us and who used to be hopeful in our mercy may Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala grant us hope in his mercy and may he make us from amongst those who understand and realize from amongst the stories of the prophets.

Final Message from Prophet Nuh

We will come across matters that affect us on a daily basis we spoke about usurping the wealth of others how dare we usurp the wealth of others if that happens we would be punished in the same way the people of Shu'aib were punished Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وسلم) has reiterated every single one of those aspects and this is why one day he went out into the market and he put his hand into a set of dates a pile of dates that there was in the market and these dates from the top were looking quite nice and as he put his hand inside and he found balal, balal meaning it was wet you know the low quality date was at the bottom and the top quality the show was at the top and he looked and he says what is this Oh man who is selling this food item what is it that you are doing he says:

(Sahih Muslim, Hadith 101)

Whoever deceives us is not from amongst us may Allah protect us from deception when it comes not only to business but anything else in this world deception is not the quality of a true believer.

I'd like to end making mention of one point the point of nooh alayhis salam telling his people do you want sustenance do you want children who will be the coolness of your eyes he says to Allah subhanahu wa'ta'ala when he complained:

Pull to stop feel up back home in now who can I love I told my people repent to Allah turn to Allah he is most forgiving ghafar is used in the Arabic language to depict one who is very very forgiving ghafar one who forgives a lot so nooh alayhis salam says I told them seek the forgiveness of Allah what will it do for you he says I told them what it will do for them yursili sama alaikum midarara as a result of your Istighfar as a result of you seeking forgiveness of Allah he will send beneficial rain to you wa yumdidkum bi amwalin wabaneen and he will extend to you and grant you lots of sustenance and wealth as a result of you seeking forgiveness and that wealth which comes with blessing not with destruction some people when they get a million Riyal they will fly to Thailand to commit sin but others when they get a million Riyal they will use half of it to build a masjid somewhere in Africa perhaps or to do something constructive so Allah says wealth which will come with blessing and baneen means he will grant you offspring as well who is the owner of offspring what type of offspring do you want you want baneen ashuhud and you want children who will be around you when you grow old you don't want children who are going to be really a means of your temper and anger whenever you see them and a means of making you upset wa ya jalakum jannatin wa ya jalakum anharan and he will he will cause for you gardens plush gardens he will grant you and not only the gardens of paradise but even in this world he will give you the beauty of the scenes and the scenery and so on and he will grant you rivers and so on so this is what istighfar does this statement was uttered by nooh aleihissalatu wassalam but it is applicable in my life and yours you want sustenance ask Allah's forgiveness he will grant you sustenance you want goodness you want children you want pious offspring become on the same page with Allah which means try to be on that right path and you will find everything falling in slowly but surely it will come in sometimes it might come overnight and sometimes it might take a little bit of time no matter what the case it will definitely come by the will of Allah may he grant us goodness and may he open our doors until we meet again we say:

وَالْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ