Lessons from Surah Baqarah: Part 3
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Before the coming of the Prophet, if the Jews and Christians practiced their religion in a pure way—not corrupted with innovations and such—it was permissible and a means of reward, however after Islam was revealed, iman is only accepted and become a means of Jannah if one believes in the finality of Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه و سلم
The tradition of Sabbath was that Saturdays were declared sacred for the Jews; they were commanded to honor that day and not fish on it. This was a test from Allah, because the livelihood of the jews came from fishing, and the fish would appear abundantly on the surface on Saturdays. The Jews in their defiant disobedience would cast out nets on Friday, and come on Sunday to retrieve the fish. They made a mockery of the command.
What we learn from this is that we should not be looking for loopholes or ways out in the shariah to fulfill our desires.
Riba is prohibited, regardless of whatever we rename it as
An excuse the Jews in Madinah made to not accept Islam was that the revelation was brought to the Prophet ﷺ through Jibraeel, when they wanted angel Mikaeel to bring it. Here Allah informs the people that Jibraeel was given the duty to deliver the message to the prophet, and that Allah does not tolerate disrespect of His angels
There is infinite wisdom behind the hurdles Allah makes us go through, if He wills, He can do anything without any effort from us
The stories Allah mentions in the Quran are lessons for the believers, for them to ponder over them and be mindful of our actions
When Musa said to his people, “Allah commands you to slaughter a cow”, they said, “Are you making fun of us?” He said, “I seek refuge with Allah from being one of the ignorant.” (2:67)
Du’a for protection from ignorance: Aoothu billahi an akoona minal jahileen (2:67)
The incident of the slaughtering of the cow was to create humility in the Bani Israel, for them to see their own reluctance in following a command of Allah by asking excessive questions and trying to find ways out
We learn from this is that we should not busy ourselves with the nitty gritty of commands, rather we should submit to Allah’s will completely; while making dua that Allah makes the matter easy for us and for us to be submissive to His will
Our spiritual heart is responsible for the kind of actions we perform in this world. To get a soft heart, we should remember death abundantly, visit graveyards and hospitals occasionally, listen to the Quran, cry to Allah, and spend time with the poor and needy
“‘No man who weeps for fear of Allah will be touched by the Fire…” (Sunan an-Nasa'i 3107)
Allah gave Bani Israel plenty of reminders and opportunities to turn back to Him, but they did not obey, coming up with reasons to disbelieve and disobey
What we should learn from this is that we mustn't be like them; not availing the opportunities and chances Allah gives us to return to Him
Similarly, like them we mustn't entertain false hopes that regardless of our lack of good actions, piety, going against the commands of Allah, we will somehow be saved in the HereAfter
Every moment has an opportunity cost, either you can use that moment to earn for this world or the next
Not repenting from your sins blackens the heart, and too many layers of it can make the heart impermeable
A sign of this is not feeling remorse or regret when we sin
Introspection over our conduct removes these layers
The more a soul is attached to the world, the more difficult it will be for the soul to leave the body
In this context, it is fine to desire a long life, because a long life may becomes a means of more years of doing good
We learn that shaytan was responsible for the taintment of the reputation of prophet Sulaiman.
To protect and cure ourselves of black magic, we should rely on Allah alone, rather than a third person
It is easy to blame your failures on black magic rather than reflecting upon your own misconduct
It is permissible to study something with the intention to protect yourself from it once you know, for e.g. studying agnostic philosophy in order to refute it
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